Dark Wolf Unbound (Heart of the Shifter #2) (8 page)

"No one can break it without the right training. It's impossible. But with the right training, it's possible for some wolves." She met his gaze. "If you noticed, Damien was there when my sister was killed, and he didn't shift. Grigori was there, and he didn't shift either."

Jace's expression was stunned at her words. He dropped his hands as if she'd burned him. "Son of a bitch," he said, his voice raw. "I didn't even think of that. They didn't shift. Only me. I'm the fucking alpha, and I was the one who didn't have enough control.
Fuck!"
He pushed her back and then held his hands up. His face was stricken, and she realized that in her attempt to encourage him, she'd given him the fuel to condemn himself the final time.

"Jace, no! They had training—"

"Damien was weak and pathetic," he snapped. "
Weak.
And yet, he didn't shift." He stepped away from her, but the moment he set his right foot down, he collapsed, dropping to the ground as his body literally gave out from the onslaught of pain that had burst through his shield.

Abby lunged for him, but he was too heavy, and she fell with him, tumbling to the ground beside him. They had just hit the ground when she heard the front door of the cabin open.

Jace swore, and rolled to his side, stumbling back to his feet, his body shaking as he scrambled to get back up.

But it was too late.

A black shadow streaked out the front door and launched itself at him.

J
ace braced
himself a split second before he was hit squarely in the chest by a scrawny black wolf that hit him with surprising, desperate force. He grabbed his assailant and flung her into the car, spinning himself out of the way as he did so. He leapt over to Abby and landed in front of her on one foot, crouching and ready. Pain flooded his body, but he shut it down, every last bit of his energy focused on protecting her.

The black wolf that had attacked him landed easily on all four feet, her upper lip raised in a snarl as she whirled back toward them.

Jace went still, holding back his own wolf, while he watched the female. She was lean and wiry, as if she'd lived a life skulking through alleys foraging for food, always prepared to fend off assailants. She was a wolf of the streets, the most dangerous and unpredictable kind in existence, because she lived by no rules. "I'm not here to hurt you," he said, attuning his senses to the cabin behind them, checking for the presence of any more wolves. He didn't like having his back to the cabin, so he pressed back against Abby, shifting her to the side so he could get them in a better position.

Abby was right behind him, her body rigid with fear. "Where's Kiernan?" He could smell her fear, but her voice was steady and strong.

The black wolf looked back and forth between them, her lips still raised in a silent snarl.

"We're here to see Kiernan," Abby repeated. "Where is he?"

The black wolf didn't move, her body taut as she watched them. Everything about her spoke of aggression, and a willingness to fight to the death. Jace's wolf fought to emerge, preparing for a battle, but he shoved it aside. He would not attack a female. There was no fucking way he was going to hurt another woman again.
Ever.
"Stand down," he snapped. "We're here in peace!"

I got her.
Drake's voice drifted through his mind.
Keep her distracted.

Jace couldn't smell Drake, and he knew his teammate was approaching downwind. Jace crouched lower, letting his wolf pace closer to the surface, letting the female shifter know that he was her equal.
Don't hurt her, Drake.

She gets mercy only if she deserves it.
Drake's voice was cool, without emotion, the voice of a soldier prepared to do whatever he needed. Jace swore, not liking the tone of Drake's voice. When had Drake begun to lose his humanity?

Abby touched his shoulder. "Don't shift," she said softly. "It's not safe."

Something about the edge to her voice caught his attention, and he stiffened. "Why not?"

"The song. I can hear it in your blood right now. If you shift again, it might own you."

He went cold, and fury coursed through him. What else did she know about that song? What had she not told him? "Abby—" The female wolf shifted position, drawing his attention back to her.

She'd focused on his injured leg, and he felt her sudden surge of energy. Son of a bitch. She was going to attack him and try to take advantage of his injury. "Stand down," he said again, using the voice he'd perfected with his fucked up pack when they were losing their shit.

She tensed her body, and then sprang at them, clearly immune to his fantastic powers of persuasion.

Jace swore, throwing himself in front of Abby as he held up his arm to block their assailant. The black wolf's teeth sank into his forearm, tearing flesh he couldn't afford to lose. With his leg injury, he couldn't get the leverage to defeat her without shifting, and his wolf knew it. It howled with the need to be released, but Jace fought it back with iron control. Even without Abby's warning, he would have known he couldn't shift. He was too close to the edge of control, and if his wolf took over, it would own him.

It would be a lethal killer he couldn't control. He'd rather have his throat ripped out than unleash himself onto the world, or this wolf.

There was something about the female that made the song hum even more loudly through his veins, calling to the monster Grigori had unleashed. He couldn't shift to his wolf form, but he knew he would lose if he didn't. Die or kill? Those were shitty options even for a guy with his morals. He wouldn't kill the she-wolf, but he wouldn't risk Abby either by letting himself get killed.

"Get to the car," he ordered Abby as he slammed his elbow into the wolf's ribs, trying to dislodge her teeth from his arm. She didn't let go, her teeth grinding deeper into his arm. "Get out of here!"

Abby didn't move. "No, I can't leave you—"

"Go!" He shoved her backward as the wolf tore at his arm. She threw him off balance, and he had to put his right foot down to keep from falling. The pain ripped through him, and his leg collapsed—

A silver wolf charged out of the woods. Drake tore across the grass and leapt on the black wolf, his teeth sinking into the back of her neck. She released Jace and whirled around, trying to dislodge Drake, but she had no chance. He was too heavy, and he'd gotten a perfect grip on her, because she'd been too focused on crushing Jace's forearm instead of paying attention to her surroundings.

It was a rookie mistake, an unusual lapse in judgement that he wouldn't have expected from a savvy street wolf. She should have been accustomed to always focusing on all possible threats, but she hadn't. It was an anomaly he'd contemplate when he wasn't in so much fucking pain.

Swearing, Jace rolled to his side, fighting against the nausea. He was an expert at shutting down pain, but between his ankle and his arm, it was impossible to keep it all at bay. Jesus. Pain was inconvenient as hell.

Abby crouched beside him, still too close to danger. "Let me help you up," she said urgently, her gaze flicking to the battle between Drake and the alley wolf.

"Get back," he gritted out. "Now."

"No. We have to get inside. We have to find Kiernan." She grabbed his uninjured arm, helping him up. He staggered, trying to keep his balance on one leg. His arm was torn, the ligaments and muscles heavily damaged. He'd almost been taken out by a street wolf half his size, a wolf he could usually take down without even an extra breath. What the hell? Even injured he shouldn't have been hit so hard. His timing had been slow, his awareness compromised, things that should have nothing to do with his injured leg.

Grigori had stolen everything from him: his values, his leg, and his freedom to shift. He was fucking defenseless, at a time when he needed to be the strongest he'd ever been.

"Come on!" Abby tugged at him. "We need to get inside. Something's wrong!"

He knew he had no choice. He'd been pushed to the limit physically. If there was any chance of being healed, he had to take it. If he didn't, he was a liability, and he would not be able to keep her safe, rescue the kid, or somehow fix the hell he'd brought down upon them. "Let's go." He put his hand on her back, urging her forward as he followed her, keeping one eye on Drake, who had the female pinned to the earth, using his teeth and his massive bodyweight to hold her still.

She was snarling, her ears pinned flat, waiting for a chance to take him. Jace could feel the energy rippling through her, building like a volcano preparing to erupt. "Careful with her, Drake."

Drake growled and tightened his grip on her neck, every muscle taut. Jace knew that Drake sensed exactly how dangerous she was, and he was ready.

"Hold her," Jace commanded, just as Abby spun away from him, yanked open the door to the cabin and ducked inside. "Hey. Wait!" He hopped after her, gritting his teeth as she disappeared out of sight into the darkened building.

He grabbed his gun out of his waistband and cocked it, holding it ready as he eased inside the shadowed cabin. A silver bullet could never be dispensed without great necessity and forethought due to how deadly it was, and Jace had never actually fired a silver bullet into anything, but right now, he was as close to that edge as he'd ever been.

He crossed the threshold. The door swung shut behind him, plunging him into darkness.

H
e went still
, his back up against the door as he waited for his eyes to adjust. "Abby," he said softly. "Tell me where you are. I don't want to shoot you."

"To your right."

At the sound of her voice, he immediately honed in on her location. He leapt across the room, landing beside her, keeping all his weight on his strong leg. She jumped, but he grabbed her arm, pulling her against him. "Where's the light?"

"It's out. There's a door at the back. We need to go there."

He moved first, hopping across the floor. He reached the door and then readied his weapon. Outside, the sounds of the scuffle had stopped, and the inside of the cabin was eerily silent. He was aware of Abby right behind him, and then he slowly tested the doorknob.

It turned easily, and he shoved at the door. It creaked open, and he went still, ready, his senses on alert for any movement.

There was nothing, but he caught the strong scent of male wolf, pungent and thick. He leapt into the room, landing on one foot, ready.

Stretched out on a narrow bed was a man, heavily bandaged, breathing shallowly. He was wearing only jeans, his bare torso wrapped tightly, though blood was still leaking through the bandages. It was a wolf, a shifter who'd been brutally attacked. The wolf needed protection, and suddenly he understood the ferocity of the female's attack outside. "Kiernan?" he asked Abby.

"No." She looked around the room, searching just as he was.

There were no other beds. No other occupants. Just the one man on the edge of death.

Jace pointed the gun toward the closet. "Open it and step back."

Abby hurried over to the door. She grabbed the doorknob and leapt back as she pulled it open. Nothing leapt out, and an assortment of men's clothing was hanging in haphazard fashion from the rack. Jace eased over to it, opening all his senses. He could smell wolf, but it wasn't the same scent as the man in the bed. "Kiernan's things, I assume." He nudged the clothes aside, but there was no trap door to another room, and no healer hiding among the garments. "Not here."

He turned around and faced the room again. There were no other doors, and the windows looked out into the woods. There were no more rooms in the cabin. That was it. "He's not here." Disappointment flooded him, and, belatedly, he realized that he'd been holding out hope that this healer could work his magic on him, and somehow fix his shattered leg.

Abby met his gaze, and fear flickered across her face. Her fingers brushed against the wound on her neck, and he swore, all too aware that his injuries weren't the only ones at risk. "Would Kiernan have been able to decrease the amount of wolf protein in your blood from the bite?"

She nodded. "That's what he did last time. I think that's why it didn't turn me."

Jace ground his jaw, looking around the small room. "So, what do we do now?"

"There's another room."

Jace glanced sharply at Abby. "What?"

"I was here for months being healed, but I wasn't in either of these rooms." She walked along the wall, trailing her hands over the plaster, her brow furrowed. "I was unconscious when I was brought here. In addition, on the day I went home, I woke up in this room in the morning, but when I was healing, I wasn't in these rooms." She looked at him. "There's somewhere else he does his work."

Jace ran his hand through his hair. "That could be anywhere—"

"No, it couldn't." She looked up at the ceiling. "There were times I could hear him talking to other people. I could hear what was going on in here. It's somewhere close."

Jace frowned and looked around again. He'd seen the outside of the cabin and he knew the perimeter was accounted for, and it was clear there was no second story. "There's only one option. It has to be underneath." He grabbed a bandage from a stash by the bed and wrapped it around his arm, using his teeth to secure it. As he wrapped it, he studied the floor carefully, inspecting each of the boards. Abby did the same, carefully testing each one, in the closet and in the main area.

After they'd both checked the entire floor, she looked at him. "Nothing?"

"Nothing."

The shifter in the bed groaned, and Jace glanced over at him. He was surprised to see his eyes open and watching them. His mouth moved, as if he was trying to say something, fighting for consciousness.

The same instincts that had turned him into an alpha willing to protect his wolves made him go to the injured wolf and crouch next to him. "What is it?"

The shifter's eyes were bloodshot. "My sister," he croaked. "Help her."

"Your sister?"

"That must be the black wolf Drake has," Abby gasped. "Oh, God, she was trying to keep her brother safe, not attack us offensively. I need to go get her—"

Jace locked his fingers around her wrist, keeping her close. There was no chance he was sending her out there until he had more information. "What happened to you?" As he asked, he scanned the shifter, cataloguing his injuries. Most of the damage appeared to have been centered on his abdomen...much like Abby's. "Lucius?"

The shifter closed his eyes and nodded. Abby tensed, her fingers digging into Jace's shoulder. "Lucius did this?" she whispered. "It's the same as what he did to me." She looked over her shoulder at the window. "We need to get out of here."

Jace put his hand on the shifter's forehead. His skin was cold, too cold. Shifters always ran hot, even when they weren't about to shift. The man was in dangerous condition, which was probably why his sister had brought him to Kiernan...only Kiernan couldn't be found. He leaned forward, sensing what the shifter needed from him. "I'll make sure your sister is safe from him."

The shifter nodded once, almost imperceptibly, but the tension slipped from his body, as if he were finally letting go.

"Oh, no." Abby fell to her knees beside him. "No, don't give up. We'll find Kiernan. He'll save you."

The shifter didn't respond. His only movement was the very shallow movement of his chest as he breathed.

"No! Don't give up!" Abby grabbed his hand, pressing it between her palms, tears pooling in her eyes. "Come on! Don't let him win."

Jace set his hand on her back, rubbing gently, even though he knew he couldn't take away the pain of her memories, and the moment. "We need to get his sister, so she can say goodbye."

Abby looked up at him, tears glistening in her eyes. "Lucius has killed so many," she whispered. "I can't do this anymore."

"You can. Seth needs us." Jace grabbed the edge of the bed and hauled himself up. "We need to get this guy's sister—"

Abby leapt up. "I'll do it. She won't trust you or Drake. You stay here with him."

"I'm not leaving you—"

"Drake is outside!" she shouted at him, suddenly angry. "Someone needs to stay with him. It has to be you."

Jace frowned. "Me? Why?"

"Because you're a wolf! Don't you get it?"

Jace caught her arm, holding gently. "No," he said softly. "I don't get it. Talk to me."

"My sister died alone! I was alone in that room for almost twenty-four hours after Lucius attacked me. My mom was killed and left to die alone." Tears glistened on her cheeks, and her hands started to shake. "Do you know what it's like to think you're going to die alone? That no one else understands the pain you're in? That there are so many things left undone and you can't do them, because there's no one coming to help? Because no one is going to come in time? Don't you get it?"

Her pain was raw and ragged, spilling out from the place he knew she'd kept it locked up for so long. Silently, he wrapped his good arm around her and pulled her against him. For a split second, she fought it, and then she collapsed into him, burying her face in his shoulder.

Jace pressed a kiss to her hair. "I won't let that happen to you," he said quietly. "I will track you down no matter what happens. I swear it." As he said the words, he realized he meant it. Not for Seth's sake. Not to atone for the fact he'd killed her sister. But simply because of her, because she mattered. Yeah, he knew he would never be worthy of her after what he'd done, but that didn't change the fact that her bravery and loyalty affected him deeply. Those traits were the core of what defined him and so few people lived by them. But she did.

He ached for the pain she'd endured, for the fear she'd lived under for so long. He had to make it end. He had to give her the freedom to live without fear again. Suddenly, it wasn't simply about rescuing Seth. It was about giving the woman in his arms the ability to live again without the memories haunting her.

Abby pulled back, searching his face. "Say it again."

"Which part? That I won't let it happen to you?" At her nod, he tightened his grip on her, pulling her tight against him. "I won't let that piece of shit ever touch you again," he said. "I will track you down and find you, no matter what happens. I give you my oath."

She searched his face, and sudden tears glistened in her eyes. "I'll hold you to that, Jace," her voice was thick with emotion, tainted with the fear that had haunted her since Lucius's attack.

"You won't need to. I meant it. I keep my promises." How the hell he was going to do it with half his limbs compromised, he didn't know, but it didn't matter. There was something about Abby that awakened his protective instincts. She wasn't a stray wolf who needed containment. She was love, courage, and loyalty, things that were so lost in the world he lived in. Somehow, he felt as though his job was to be her strength, to create the safe place for her that would allow her light to continue to shine. "Stay here." He wrapped his arm around her and reached out for Drake.
The alley wolf's brother is in here dying. She was protecting him. Let her in. He doesn't have much time.

There was a pulse of respect from Drake.
Got it.

Jace's good leg was aching now, and his muscles were beginning to tremble from the effort of supporting himself. As his adrenaline began to fade, the extent of his injuries became more apparent. The bandages on his arm were already soaked with blood, as were those on his ankle. He'd lost far too much blood already, and his body had little healing strength remaining.

"Jace?" Abby frowned, and suddenly he realized his legs were giving out on him. He tried to right himself, but the ground seemed to rise up and grab him. Abby grabbed for him, but her fingers slipped off as he hit the ground.

He rolled onto his back, the gun across his chest as Abby crouched beside him. "Jace!"

"I just need a second."

He heard the front door open, and he gestured at Abby. "Get back. I need a clear line to the door."

"You're going to shoot her?"

"If I have to." His vision swam out of focus, but he rolled onto his side and raised his gun, leveling it at the door. He was innately aware of Abby behind him, and he knew exactly where she was. The door opened, and Jace tensed.

Drake's silver wolf walked in first, blocking the door as he scanned the room. He saw Jace on the floor, and his eyes narrowed. He immediately trotted over to Jace and stood beside him, facing the door, offering his alpha his protection.
This is stupid, Jace. You don't know what she's capable of.

Her brother's dying.
It was enough.

The alley wolf appeared in the door, crouched low, her lips curled in a snarl as she eyed the room, prepared for a trap, just as Jace was. Jace kept the gun on her. "I will use this," he said. "Don't make me. I promised your brother I would keep you safe from Lucius. You're under my protection now."

At the mention of her brother, she snapped her gaze to the cot. When she saw how still he was, she let out a low whine and sprinted across the room. She nudged him, whining softly, her tail tucked between her legs. With a soft cry of distress, she shifted back to human form, taking her brother's hand in hers. "Roarke, you have to hang on. Don't give up." Tears rolled down her cheeks, and Jace felt the urge to look away, to give her privacy, but he couldn't take the risk.

Drake shifted to human form with innate ease, grabbed a sheet off a stack in the corner, and then strode across the room. The woman leapt up, her eyes wide with fear as he approached. He held out the sheet silently. She glanced down, belatedly realizing her nakedness, and took the sheet from him with a quick nod of appreciation.

Drake stepped back as she wrapped it around herself and sank down on her brother's cot, holding his hand between hers.

Jace groaned and lowered the gun, rolling onto his back again. "Put some clothes on," he gritted out. He hadn't even noticed the woman's nudity, but he was extremely aware that Drake was parading around in front of Abby stark naked. He was surprised to realize he didn't like it. It was his wolf reacting, claiming Abby as his own.

Drake raised his brows, glanced at Abby, who cleared her throat and looked away. He winked at Jace, and then strolled to the closet. "On it."

"We need to find the other room." Jace rolled to his side, grunting with pain when his arm bumped the floor.

"What other room?" Drake asked as he grabbed a pair of jeans from the closet. He was watching the brother and sister duo carefully, not taking his gaze off them.

"I don't know." Jace glanced at Abby. She understood his unspoken need, and crouched beside him to help him to his feet. He swayed against her, fighting to keep his balance. "This place belongs to a powerful healer. There's a hidden room somewhere. We need to find it."

Drake narrowed his eyes, watching Jace carefully. "What happened to you?"

"Bear trap. Wolf bite. A few minor injuries." Jace closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses. There were no other wolves around, but he reached past the superficial information in the air, summoning the depth of his powers that had propelled him to an alpha position. He latched onto Kiernan's scent, allowing it to reach inside him. He softened his mind, allowing his essence to mingle with the molecules in the air, becoming one with them, so he could pick up every nuance in the cabin. It was risky to do it, because he lost contact with his present, but he knew Drake had his back, and they were in trouble.