Dangerous (2 page)

“Fuck,” Xan screamed, and grabbed the spear, attempting to pull it free, but it didn’t budge. The shifters were strong, stronger than he would have imagined. “You’ll have to kill me first.”

“We not gonna kill you. Der are things much worse than death. We’ll show you, after it gets dark.” Ajani twisted the shaft before yanking it back and taking a chunk of his thigh with it. “We gonna record you shifting into a dog. And you will shift. So you can heal. Heye, heye, heye, hey, hey, hey.” The rest of the pack chuckled along with him, while Xan waited for the punch line.

It never came.

“I’m a wolf, not a dog, and it’s not happening.” It would take a lot more than stabbing him to get him to talk. Hell, Big Brother did worse things to prepare him should he be captured and tortured. He’d never had to fall back on his training—until now. Now, he focused on a place far away, where he’d run wild as a young wolf with no worries.

“Smells like a dog, barks like a dog. You’re a doggie. Heye, heye, hee, hee, hee.”

“Fucking scavengers.” Xan looked away from them. Perhaps if he ignored them, they’d go away.

“Ilimu are demons. You should be careful with dat mouth of yours, Mr. CIA mon.”

“Fuck you.” Yeah, thinking they were were-hyenas and could be reasoned with had been one mother of a mistake. He’d only encountered these demons in Africa, and at first, assumed they were like all the other shape-shifters he’d come across in his travels. He’d quickly learned the error of his ways. They were more a rabid pack of serial killers, taking out whole villages for the pleasure it gave them. Killing every man, woman, and child.

“We gonna become real good friends in the next few days. Pull him out of dat pit and stake him to da ground on his belly. We going to give him a big welcome—Ilium style.”

“Hurry on down to Country Toyota of the Black Hills to get your two-thousand-dollar rebate on a new pickup,” an announcer blasted his sales pitch from the television, snapping Xan out of his trance. He shivered and rubbed his arms, wondering if he’d ever be warm again. When would the twenty-four-hour nightmares end? Awake. Asleep. They haunted him every second of every day. God, when would he forget?

His first night in captivity hadn’t been the worst of it. They’d had him for a little over two months, before he got a break and killed Ajani’s mate. The pack beat, raped him, and assumed they’d killed him, leaving him to rot on the plains.

They’d been wrong. He hadn’t been dead—but he sure as hell wished for it by the time he’d made it to a safe house, after crawling damn near three miles on hot sand with injuries bad enough to put him in a grave.

Ten years before….

“Can you assure me regardless what happens, you won’t shift?”

Xan stared his Alpha in the eyes. A bold move, as most would take it as a challenge. “I won’t.” He broke eye contact, looking away. He had to get out of this place, find a way for his sister and him to coexist with the humans. If they stayed, Magnum would kill him, and God only knew what he’d do to Xio before he ended her life. He’d get her out as soon as he could, but for now, enough of the pack remained she should be safe. For now.

Magnum crossed his arms. “You know under stress we have no control of our wolf. You could be injured in battle, the adrenaline of the fight or struggle to survive could be enough to push your control past breaking. What if you shift in front of them? Ergot explained our ancestors’ lack of care; it won’t work as an excuse a second time. Hysteria, hallucinations can be proven or disproven. This is serious. The others can’t know about us. Learning the truth could lead to our extinction. They fear what they don’t understand.”

“I can control myself. I’d die before I gave up our secret. We need to be a part of the world, not just merely existing on it. Long ago, our pack should have started developing careers and learning what is going on out there. Our existence depends on our ability to adapt to the environment as it changes. You’re right, we are no longer in the Dark Ages with poisoning from moldy bread as an excuse when someone loses control, but coexisting in an age of technology, and it behooves us to understand it, lest we be destroyed in our ignorance. The other packs have already evolved and blended into society. Your way is antique, and it will bring us down. Draw attention. They found out once before, and they will again. Our best defense will be to know how to be like them and blend.” Complete bullshit. He only wanted to get away, find some place far enough away to start life over, outside the crazy Alpha’s reach. What Magnum didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

“We are not like them, and we never will be, though you are closer than other members of the pack, with the human taint in your blood. I may live by the old ways, but what I say is law and you will abide by the rules as long as you are a member of my pack—even if you are a half-blood.” The last bit he said with a sneer on his face. The only way to not be a member of Magnum’s pack was if he killed you. The disgust, Xander had grown accustomed to. A look all too common coming from the Alpha who constantly reminded him because of his human mix, he lived only because his Alpha willed it. The Alpha saw his hybridism as a bigger crime than revealing his true nature to the outside world.

“It’s why I came to you, instead of enlisting first.” He’d learned one thing—if a wolf appealed to Magnum’s vanity, it more often than not, got him what he wanted. Stroke his ego, grovel, feed him whatever bullshit he wanted to hear. Appease him and Xio would be safe until he could send for her. Submission and flattery always got a wolf further than trying to reason with the crazy Alpha.

“You’ll do this regardless of what I say?”

“I will.”

“Then it is better you remain a member of my pack, where you are under my authority. Understand if you slip up, I will still be your Alpha and charged with administering justice, up to, and including execution—and your sister’s punishment as well.” Yeah, like he’d ever find them. He licked his lips and smiled, cluing Xan into what his sister’s punishment might be. He balled his hands at his sides, fighting the urge to strangle his Alpha. He didn’t have the skill or strength to beat him yet.

“Leave Xio out of this.”

“She’s your blood; she’s already part of it. If you mess up, she’ll pay, too, and I’m keeping her as insurance.”

Not for long. “If I slip up, I’ll welcome your punishment with open arms. But if anyone goes near my sister, so much as looks at her cross-eyed, I will kill them.”

“If you slip up, my Enforcer will be the least of your worries. I’ll come for you myself. And then your sister will pay for your crimes. You better make sure this is what you want.” He grinned, fangs glistening in the dim light, promising dismemberment more than any words he could utter. “Half-breed, don’t make me regret letting you or your twin live instead of ripping your throats out when you came out of the womb.”

Xan jumped up from the bed and began to pace. He’d kept his promise to his Alpha. He’d not shifted under duress, yet his promise had cost him a piece of his soul, his ability to change when he desired. Ten years had passed, and his inner Wolf had become crazy, rattling the bars of its fleshy cage, demanding freedom. But try as hard as he like, he couldn’t bring the white alpine forward.

Now, when he wanted to, he couldn’t so much as sprout a whisker on his chin. He needed the healing the shift would bring. Something told him he could find restoration in the Black Hills, and if he had to go through Magnum to get it, so be it.

Xan ripped the blankets and pillows off the bed and threw them on the floor. He circled before sinking to the carpet and curling into a ball.

Tomorrow would be a better day.

Tomorrow he’d go home.

Sunlight streamed through a crack in the curtain and struck him like a slap to his face. Xan jerked awake, his heart pounding, his breathing coming in gasps. Long ago his body forgot the difference between rest and flight or fight. His primitive switch remained stuck in survival mode.

He rolled to his back, pressed his palm to his chest, and inhaled for three counts, holding for three and exhaling for three. After several focused breaths, his heart slowed and the tightness in his stomach eased. When he opened his eyes, he stared at the ceiling. Not the sky, not the faces of his enemies watching him in the pit. This wasn’t Africa.

This was home—or damn near close. He climbed to his feet, throwing the door to the room open and stared out at a blacktop parking lot. In the center, one hundred yards away, stood a sign, rising from a small six-by-six square patch of grass. He looked down and wiggled his toes. Even though he couldn’t shift, he still needed to connect with the earth, feel her hum with life under his feet, smell the rich tones of life and absorb all she had to give. Without thinking, he stepped out the door and started across the lot, walking in front of a car.

He barely registered the screech of brakes, the horn blasting, and the shouts of the angry driver. His focus remained on the small patch of green, promising, if for a short time, peace.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

He stepped onto the grass and closed his eyes.

“Hey, buddy, you okay?”

Xan inhaled deeply.

A hand dropped onto his shoulder. Xan’s eyes snapped open. He grabbed the person’s wrist, twisted, and dropped to one knee, throwing a man over his shoulder and onto the grass before him. He snarled, growling low in his throat, one hand securing his attacker’s arm as he moved to strike him in the windpipe.

“Jesus!” the man screamed and threw his hand in front of his face to block.

Xan’s knuckles stopped a fraction of an inch from pulverizing the man’s airway. He blinked, let go, and backed away. “Sorry. I thought….”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” The man rolled away and scrambled to his feet, running for the office. “I’m calling the police.”

“I’m sorry. I….” He shook his head. He’d been seconds from taking the man’s life. Would’ve killed him had he not screamed and snapped him out of it. Maybe the police should come get him? Arrest him. Xan’s heart began to pound again. Didn’t matter, they wouldn’t hold him long.

They’d pull up his records, see a lot of blacked-out data, get a call from somewhere in Washington, ordering them to stop digging around on his background and set him free. Within minutes he’d be back where he started, moving on down the road, no less fucked in the head.

Xan walked to the office, threw the door open, and strode in while the man babbled on the phone to someone. He reached into his pocket then handed the man a business card with a number only. “Tell them to call this person.” He held the card up between two fingers.

The man looked at it and sneered. “Don’t fucking tell me what to do. When I get off the phone with the police, I’m calling my lawyer.”

“I don’t have anything you can sue me for. I’m homeless.” Xan shrugged. “I have PTSD. I’m sorry. You surprised me.”

“You need to be locked up. You’re sick, man. You could have hurt me.”

“I could have killed you.” No sense in glossing over it. “But I didn’t.” Xan took the phone from his grip and put it to his ear. “Are you from local law enforcement? Please call this number and give them my serial number before you dispatch a squad car.” He recited the fake social security identification they’d given him when he joined years ago. “It will save you a boatload of aggravation and paperwork. I’m in room 155 and unarmed.” He hung up the phone and frowned, hating to use the get-out-of-jail-free card, but at least he wouldn’t be locked up, unable to escape. His worst nightmare. Who knew what he’d do if he completely snapped and lost it?

“Who the hell are you?”

“You don’t want to know, and I can’t tell you.” They may or may not call the number in Washington, but they always dispatched an officer. Xan walked barefoot back to his room, left the door open, and laid down on the bed, lifting his arms and tucking his hands behind his head, returning to staring at the ceiling. He didn’t have any weapons, but he also didn’t need one. Xan got rid of them long before, knowing the combination of his instability and lethal weapons were a bad mix.

The sounds of sirens in the distance grew louder. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

And here we go.

The squad car pulled in. Seconds later, the siren stopped. The car backed up and left.

So, they decided to call.
Time to leave.
Saved him a trip to the station and the bullshit which always followed, ultimately leading to his release. Xan hopped up and stuffed his clothes in his rucksack. He slipped on his combat boots and drew the laces tight, wrapping them around the tops a couple times before securing them. He hefted his bag up onto his shoulders, clipped and tightened the strap across his hips, and walked out the door, shutting it with a
click
behind him. He didn’t look back.

Birds chirped and flitted about. The air carried the sweet scent of fresh blooming hyacinths. Spring, a time of renewal and starting over and the irony didn’t escape him. Salt on the blacktop crunched under his thick rubber soles. A sign winter hadn’t quite relinquished its hold, regardless if the local wildlife felt it had.

The Black Hills called to him, serenading him like a Siren to a sailor. He could no longer ignore the call. Who knew what waited for him at home, having left Magnum behind and a life before he’d sworn never to return to. But there were scarier things out there than an insane alpha. He’d found them. Whatever stood before him wouldn’t be as bad as what he’d left behind in Africa. Xan picked up the pace, anxious to find his stable ground, to soak in Mother Earth and let her wrap him in comfort as only the North Dakota wilderness could.

He stretched out his stride, eating away the miles. If a person were to look at him, they’d see little of his Asian ancestor. Unlike his sister, he took after his great-grandfather’s side. He and his sister couldn’t be more opposite in appearance. Xio was petite to his tall and rugged. She had long, straight, dark hair. He, on the other hand, had light brown and wavy hair. His eyes were green—Xio’s, nearly black. He did have a slight Asian slant to his eyes, but they didn’t dominate his features the way they did sister’s. He looked more Pacific Islander than Chinese. Regardless the non-twin appearance, Xio and he did have something in common.