At One's Pleasure (17 page)

“And then?”

“Then we
hope Logan finds us before the enemy does.”

“And if he
doesn’t?”

“They get close,
I’ll take them out.”  Her words were matter of fact, and Rebecca didn’t doubt
she was capable, but they had no idea how many they would be up against and
they had limited weapons available. 

Rebecca
decided not to dwell.  “What do you need me to do?”

“Can you sit
here quietly while I go back out and find some dry wood?  Keep the knife handy,
just in case.”

“Consider me
sitting.”  Rebecca said dropping down to the dry rock with relief.  “Though I
am willing to attempt some miraculous return to the cold and deadly arctic out
there if you need me to watch your back.”

Cleo
smiled.  “I think I got it.”  She turned without another word and headed back
out into the snow.

“Of that I
have no doubt.”  Rebecca mumbled, shaking her head in amazement watching the eminently
capable Cleo until she was out of sight.  Then she looked around the cave,
suddenly finding herself alone and having a minute to think.  She thought of
Jacob running after that wolf, and Griffin and Linc knowingly walking into an
ambush. 

She should
know if they were hurt but her wolf seemed to be buried under the drugs they
had hit them with, and she couldn’t feel them.  Not even a hint of them.  If
she thought about it too long, she would go crazy.  “You guys better be
alright.”  She whispered it to the shadows, and then turned it into a prayer.

Griffin,
Linc, Monteal, Rhett, and Nathan dressed in the extra clothes the wolves always
kept in case of clothes damage, and headed out with the information in Monteals
4x4, while the rest of the pack followed however fast their own vehicles could
make it.  Malcolm was conspicuously absent from the fight and from the day.  No
one seemed to have any idea where he was, other than Rhett, who kept insisting
he was doing his job and patrolling the outer borders of their lands.  Nathan
was convinced he was part of the rogue conspiracy, as he was dubbing it.  A
conspiracy that was aimed at bringing down the Alpha and his whole family, not
just a visiting Alpha that no one knew was going to be coming until a few days
prior.

“Malcolm is
all about pack.”  Rhett insisted.  “He will have a reason for being gone and it
has nothing to do with working with rogue mutts to take down the pack.  He
hates them.”

“Look at it
this way.  Griffin loses his Alpha mate and Lucas Gibbs loses a daughter and
that brings a shit load of fire to rain down on the pack, not just the Alpha
but the whole pack.”  Rhett kept going.  “These rogues have been here a long
time if they know the area enough to establish a base at that old barn.  Not
many knew it was even there, or that it had a fortified concrete bunker in case
of emergency.  That means someone old in the pack, because no one has used it
in a good twenty years.  Whoever is doing this is behind the scenes making sure
the pack falls.  That says Malcolm.”

“Some of it
screams Malcolm, but not all.”  Griffin said grimly from the front passenger
seat.  “Too much doesn’t make sense.”

“Malcolm
brings in as many rogues as he can find to take down the pack and then take
over?”  Linc shook his head.  “Griffin’s right, as much as I hate to say it. 
It makes no sense.  Malcolm would be the last one who would want to rule a
bunch of mutts.  He doesn’t trust them, and he certainly doesn’t want to become
king of them.”

“He’s right,”
Griffin said.  “Malcolm might hire mutts to do his dirty work and take down the
family, so he could emerge the hero of the pack, and take Alpha position, but
he wouldn’t do anything to hurt the pack as a whole, not when he wants to run
it.  We’re missing something.”

“Whoever
brought this many Rogues here is about revenge.”  Linc continued.  “This ends
how it looks to be going and the pack will be wiped out, either by rogue wolves
or Lucas Gibbs, when he comes looking for his daughter.”

Griffin
looked at his father, sitting so quietly in the driver’s seat.  “Know anyone
who wants that kind of revenge?  Not just against you but the pack as a whole?”

“Just you.” 
Rhett said coldly from the backseat.

“Not this
again?”  Nathan Close his eyes and rubbed his head.

“He was beat
up and kicked out of the pack, they all were.”  Rhett bit out each word.  “And
I suppose it’s just coincidence that he shows up here right when things start
to go wrong?”

“Things have
been going wrong for awhile now.”  Monteal said quietly from the front seat. 
“Did I ever tell you that Malcolm saved my life?”

Griffin
turned to study his father.  “He was a good man once,” Monteal went on.  “And I
have been holding on to that man for a long time, but Nathan is right about one
thing.  No group of rogues this big moves onto our land and the head enforcer
knows nothing.  Either he is working with the rogues or he is as incompetent as
Griffin accused me of being.”

“You know
something,” Griffin said, low.

“I know I
have ignored the signs, slept when I should have been paying attention, but
seeing those rogues almost kill you on my land, having those girls be taken. 
I’m awake now.”

“And?”

“That barn
was a part of Ruth’s childhood home before it burned down.  Malcolm would know
about it.”

“Fuck,”
Rhett said from the backseat.  “You don’t really believe he would work with
mutts?  Dad…”

“What I
know,” Monteal interrupted his oldest son.  “Is that he is involved in this one
way or another.  Either he planned it, or he is a dupe for whoever did.  Either
way, he is not the man he pretends to be.”

“Halle-fucking-lujiah.” 
Nathan muttered low from his side of the car.

“Yes,
Nathan.  I’m aware you never cared for Malcolm.”  His father said tightly.  “I
just always assumed Ruth was right and you were unconsciously competing for his
position as enforcer.”

“I hate to
break this to you dad, but the last thing I want is to be your enforcer.  I
would like to have a life outside of pack.”  Nathans voice was very dry but
gained heat as he went on.  “I hate Malcolm because he is a pompous ass when he
is around anyone he thinks doesn’t matter.  Like the second son who has no
interest in pack politics.”

“I see.”

“Why would
Ruth help Malcolm?”  Linc mused aloud.  “When I was young it was obvious how
much she hated him.”

“Maybe she thought
she was helping Nathan.”  Rhett answered the question, even though it was
obviously rhetorical.

“Yeah,”
Griffin said narrowing his eyes.  “Except that didn’t help Nathan, did it?  It
made you assume anything he said about Malcolm was based on a personal grudge.”

“Well, it’ll
have to wait; this is the turn off to the old Wagner place.  The barn where the
rogue said they had your mate and the Gibbs girl.”  Monteal was turning off,
even as he was talking.  “We’ll park here and walk in against the wind.”

That’s what
they did, and that was where Logan and Jacob, still in wolf form, caught up
with them.  In fact, they both walked out of the front door just as Griffin was
going in.

“They were
here,” Logan said.  “Way I read the situation is Cleo woke up and took out the
guards.  They headed out and someone else showed up and trailed them just like
we’re about to do.  Cleo picks up a trail and she’ll head for high ground and
get tactical advantage, rather than wander unfamiliar territory.”

Rhett
wandered over to the door and looked in.  “Holy shit!”  He turned to give Logan
an incredulous look, talking over him.  “You expect us to believe that little
girl did this damage?”

Logan looked
him over coolly.  “I could give a flying fuck what you believe, boy.  But if
you interrupt me again when I have places to be, I will rip your fuckin’ spleen
out.”  Then he turned back to Griffin.  “We run as wolves, and we run fast. 
Anyone who can’t keep up is left behind.”

Griffin
started to strip out of the sweats he had donned not so long ago.  Streaks of
blood had dried across his skin and he had a few places that were still tender,
but he would keep up.  “How many are following them?”

“Looks like
another six rogues and Malcolm, your enforcer.”  Logan said, stripping himself
while he turned to look at Monteal.  “Looks like you boys saw some more action
while I was away.”

“We also
managed to question one of them before he died,” Griffin growled out.  “He
didn’t know who hired them, but his Alpha and five others were going up to meet
him and turn over the women, while they were meant to take care of Rebecca’s
still living mates back in the clearing.  They weren’t expecting the rest of
the pack to show.”

“Which makes
you wonder what he expected to do with his own mate,” Nathan said.  “Since he
wants yours.”

“Let’s ask
him,” Griffin growled out, his eyes glowing gold.  He shifted, a split second
before the black wolf that was Logan sprang into the woods at high speed.  They
followed.

***

Cleo had
been gone long enough that Rebecca was worried when she heard her returning. 
“Finally, I was getting ready to make a plan to possibly figure out how to help
you, it would have been embarrassingly ineffectual actually.  Good thing you
came back when you did.”

“Aren’t you
the cutest little thing.”  The voice behind her was male and she had heard it
before.

She stood up
fast and turned.  “Hey Malcolm.  I was wondering if you were going to show up
as the villain, but then I thought.  Too obvious, he has to be a red herring.” 
She backed up slowly.  “Guess I was wrong.”

“I’m not the
villain pretty Rebecca.  I’m saving you from a fate worse than death.”

“And that
would be?”

“A future
mated to three nobodies.”

“Gee,
thanks.”  She backed up and angled left trying to get between him and the cave
entrance.  “I suppose you have some idea of whom I should be mated to?”

“Me, of
course.”

“Right,” she
muttered.  “And what happens to your mate so that can happen?”

“Why,
nothing at all.  If you can have three mates I can certainly have two.”

“And you
don’t think she’ll have a problem with that?”

“Of course
not, Ruth only wants the best for me.  Besides, it was her idea.”

Rebecca
blinked and froze, that was so unexpected that she tripped over her next step. 
It gave him an opening and he lunged, sweeping her up and back against the hard
cave wall.

“Oomph.” 
All the breath left her and she gasped trying to get more.

“You are
such a pretty little girl.”  He sniffed her neck.  “You know Ruth and I tried
to have sons for years.  I finally had to face the fact that my wife was
incapable.”

“Well, of
course,
you
couldn’t be the problem.”  The sarcasm was thick enough,
even he caught it, pulled her away from the wall, and then slammed her back.

Rebecca
sputtered over the pain spasming through her skull and back.  “Okay, ouch.” 

“Watch your
mouth girly.”  Malcolm growled it over her neck, where he bared sharp teeth. 
“I’ve broken other toys for less.”

“So what’s
your plan here exactly?  I mean don’t you think the rest of your pack, say
Griffin’s dad, might have a problem with you killing him and stealing his
mate?”

“I’m not
going to kill Griffin; the rogues we hired are going to do that, along with his
whole family, including the old Alpha.  Then I’ll ride to the rescue and get
rid the pack of the rogues, emerging the hero.  Actually, killing Griffin and
claiming you is just fate taking a hand.”  He leaned back and smiled cruelly. 
“I’ll be Alpha and you will give me sons.”  He licked up the side of her neck. 
“I think we should start now.”

Think
idiot, what would Cleo do?  The knife.  Crap.

She reached
into her pocket and flailed a bit feeling for the knife she had gingerly stuck
in there when they left the old barn.  While she did, Malcolm was getting busy
trying to peel her out of her coat, with no thought to her refusal, or possible
retaliation.  Frankly, it was adding insult to injury for him to be that
unconcerned with her fighting back.  Of course, she hadn’t done a bang up job
so far. 

She finally
got her hand around the handle of the knife when he got the buttons undone and
started to pull off the coat.  “Bet you look real nice in nothing at all.”  He
practically purred.

“I’m going
to throw up!”  She called frantically.  Using her other hand to cover her mouth
dramatically. 

He snorted
in disbelief and kept pulling at the jacket.

She did her
best to pretend gag.  “Whatever was in those darts made me sick.”  Then she
covered her mouth and looked frantic. 

He backed
up, not much, but it was enough.  She shoved the knife into his belly as hard
as she could and as low as she could angle.  He howled his rage, throwing her
away from him and pulling the knife out of his stomach.  He looked from the
bloody knife to her, his face incredulous.  She shook off yet another impact
with hard stone and ran.  He was right behind her.

Now what?
 
She told herself Cleo would have gone for the eye, or she’d turn and fight. 
Then yelled at herself to get a grip on reality.  She was not Super Cleo.  She
ran faster.

“You gotta
learn girl, and I’m just the wolf to teach you.”  The threat was real and right
on her heals.

A second
later, he was on her and she was face planting into the snow.  He flipped her
around with a roar of rage and let fly his open palm across her cheek.  Her
head whipped sideways as she felt the blunt force of the hit.  Her hands
flailed, seeking purchase in the snow and came up with an icy branch that was
so small as to be pathetic.  This time she did what Cleo would have done right
the first time.  She went for the eye and she did it with purpose. 

Malcolm
bellowed in pain and fell back clutching at the branch impaling his eye.  Cleo
crab shuffled back and away from him.  He pulled the branch out with a rush of
blood and matter and turned one gold eye her way, his face distorted, his teeth
elongating, and one eye socket crushed and hollow.  “I’m going to eat your
heart.”

“Catch me
first, you ugly bastard.”  She jumped to her feet, off and running, only this
time she knew it was the wolf chasing her, and she wasn’t going to be fast
enough.

***

Cleo had
taken out three of the rogue wolves before she heard Malcolm’s bellow of rage
and knew Rebecca was in trouble.  She turned and ran, dropping the body to the
ground, and moving as fast as she could, hoping her decision to thin out the
enemy numbers would not cost Rebecca her life.  Unfortunately, there were three
more rogues between her and the fight.  She almost made it; she could hear the
scuffle within a few yards of her position when she was jumped her from the
side and taken down to the snow in a hard tumble.

“What’s your
hurry, pretty girl?”  Then there were two other wolves stepping out of the bush
and she heard another scream of rage and smelled blood from the other side of
the trees.  The threat from the old wolf was also clear:

“I’m going
to eat your heart.” 

And Rebecca’s
voice, sounding very badass in training.  “You’ll have to catch me first, you
ugly bastard.”