Dawn (The Dire Wolves Chronicles Book 3) (3 page)

W
e’d been driving
all day, but I didn’t mind. I’d never take anything for granted again, including time spent with Mary Anne. I tried to stay positive for her sake, but I had no idea what was going to happen to me. I had to keep her safe. I didn’t believe Hunter would leave her alone until the hunt was over, and he realized he didn’t need her. Preferably I would get to live as a result, but if I didn’t? I couldn’t go there.

I ate my burgers and felt better. I needed to keep meat in my system. Mary Anne had been right about that. I was starting to feel more animal than man, and that terrified me, but it also gave me confidence. Being a Dire came with strength. I could use that strength to protect Mary Anne.

It was already well after nine when we found a campsite to stop for the night somewhere in Alabama. We decided to heed Denny’s warning and stay away from hotels.

We set up the tent Denny had packed for us, and Mary Anne surprised me by knowing what to do. I’d never taken her as a girl who went camping, but there was a lot I didn’t know about her. I planned to make up for that lack of knowledge as soon as possible. First I had to get us through this mess alive.

A few drops of rain fell as I unzipped the tent. Luckily we had a rain fly.

“First snow and now rain, can we catch a break?” Mary Anne stepped inside the tent.

“It’s not cold enough to use the body heat excuse, is it?” I teased. The thought of her naked body in my arms set off all too many reactions. I was teasing myself as much as I was teasing her.

“Not quite.” She laid out our sleeping bags. “But we could zip them together, you know to save space.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Save space? That excuse doesn’t really work.”

“Does that matter?” She kneeled down on the floor and started to unroll the sleeping bags.

“Not at all.”

“I didn’t think so.” She unzipped her bag and zipped it together with mine. “I’m wearing clothes tonight.”

“I know.” It’s not that I wanted her dressed. I wanted the opposite, but I understood that she didn’t need sex, she needed me. Right now we were focused on ending the hunt, but afterward we would focus on us. That would be a whole lot easier if she believed I wanted her for more than her body.

To make sure she believed me I slipped into the sleeping bag completely clothed, and she did the same. I turned off our lantern, sending us into darkness. I had an unfair advantage because I could see in the dark. She snuggled up closer to me as I ran my hands down her back trying to reassure her.

“Think we’re safe here?” She rested her head on my chest.

“Safer than anywhere else.”

“Which doesn’t say much.”

“You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” I pulled her tighter against me.

“I’m worried about you too.”

“Then plan on protecting me.” I smiled, trying to lighten the conversation.

“You think I can protect you?” Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Yes.” I rubbed her back. “I know you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.” Considering all we’d been through, she had held it together remarkably well.

“Thanks.” She smiled.

“I’m only speaking the truth.”

“It’s the good kind of truth.”

“I’d have thought you were the kind of person who thought all truth was good.” I played with a strand of her hair. I was finally used to her with black hair. She looked gorgeous no matter what color it was.

“I’m logical, not stupid. Besides, even if I’d thought that before, I wouldn’t now. I’ve seen enough truth to last a lifetime.”

“What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?” As inconsequential as her answer was, it mattered to me. I wanted to know her tastes and preferences. I wanted to know everything about her.

“My favorite flavor of ice cream?” She leaned up on her elbow. “Are you seriously asking me that right now?”

“I need to know more about you.”

“And that includes learning my ice cream preferences?”

“You know all of that stuff about me, don’t you?” I already knew the answer.

“Rocky Road.” She flushed.

“See.”

“Does that freak you out?”

I ran my lips across hers. “Not in the slightest. It means you cared enough to know. I should have too. I should have noticed you more.”

“You had plenty of other girls to notice.”

“I don’t notice them now.” There was no one else I wanted. I’d never understand how I hadn’t noticed how perfect we were for each other.

“Maybe you will again.”

“Nope. You’re stuck with me.” I was only half joking. I wouldn’t force my company on her, but if it was up to me, I’d never leave her side again.

“Because I already know you’re a wolf?”

“No.” I felt a growl growing inside me. “Because you’re meant to be with me.”

“Oh no. No. No.” She moved away. “None of that. Next you are going to start talking about pre-destined dreams and freaky stuff like that.”

I stiffened. Those dreams were the root of most of our trouble. “This has nothing to do with dreams. It’s about the way I feel. Becoming Dire has made things even clearer for me.”

“But you’re still you, so if it’s just your Dire side…”

I rolled her over so she was under me. “My feelings for you come from both of my sides. They were always there, but this experience has made them stronger. Being with you has made them stronger. Becoming a Dire has only accentuated what I already felt as a human. Things are clearer now, crisper.”

She grazed her teeth over her lip in a nervous gesture, and I couldn’t hold back. I needed to taste her lips myself. I leaned my head down and let my lips connect with hers. The kiss wasn’t gentle nor any of the things I’d promised my kisses with her would be now. It was primal and needy. I was greedy, wanting and needing to soak up every ounce of her.

She responded immediately, pulling me down on top of her.

“Am I hurting you?” I broke the kiss. I didn’t know if she could handle my full weight.

“I like it.” She pulled my lips back to hers, as her hand slipped underneath my long-sleeve t-shirt.

I pulled my lips away just enough to speak. “I love you.” Those words slipped out easily now, but I felt the importance of them. The physical effect they had on both of us.

“I love you too.” She watched me with wide eyes. “More than I thought possible.”

“Genevieve is going to help us. Your plan is going to work.”

“Are you telling me that, or yourself?”

“Both.” I returned my lips to hers. I was confident but not delusional. It was important I didn’t waste a moment of our time together.

I ran my lips down her neck, resisting the urge to bite down.
Mating.
That’s what that would mean. No one had to explain it to me. I couldn’t do that to her
yet
. Not until I knew for sure I would survive. If I didn’t, I wanted her to be able to return to the human world. Selfishly I knew that if I did survive, I’d never want her to leave my side. But I’d let her. I might have been the one to get her into the messed up situation we were in, but that didn’t mean I’d keep her in it. She’d always have a choice. Human or not, I still understood the importance of choice.

“Gage,” She whispered my name in the dark. It sounded silky and strong. Perfect. I wanted to hear my names on her lips over and over. I let my lips continue their descent down her sensitive skin, leaving tiny kisses in my wake. I paused at her collar bone, pulling down her shirt to expose more of her soft skin.

She let out a moan, urging me on. I couldn’t pull her sweater lower, so I took it off, followed by the tank she wore underneath. I slipped down her bra strap, running my lips over her shoulder. She closed her eyes. I ran my mouth over her until I reached the area above the cups of her bra, and only then did I unclasp it and slip the bra off. I was savoring every moment. There was no need to rush either of us.

She opened her eyes as I took one of her breasts in my mouth. I cupped the other with my hand. I ran my tongue over her nipple, and she moaned. She ran her hands underneath my shirt and over my chest, exploring me in the way I loved. I bit down on her nipple and she gasped, “Gage.” I grinned like a fool when she rewarded me by saying my name again. I pulled off my shirt, wanting to get every piece of fabric separating us out of the way.

All thoughts of leaving sex out of the evening disappeared. I needed her, and she seemed to feel the same way. She fumbled with my pants, taking me in her hand as soon as she got them unbuttoned. I groaned, I was already hard, but her holding me brought me to a whole new level of readiness.

I unbuttoned her jeans, gently sliding them off her body. I added them to the ever growing pile of clothes next to our sleeping bag.

“We really have a track record with sleeping bags.” She laughed.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s not. It’s a great thing.”

I slipped out of my jeans. I’d stopped wearing anything underneath. It only added work when I shifted. I slowly eased her panties off, loving the way her heartbeat picked up as I moved them down her legs.

I finally had her naked in my arms again. Exactly the way she was supposed to be. My lips went back to her neck, and I had to force myself to stay in control. Not yet. I couldn’t yet. I knew exactly how to distract myself. I ran my hand down her body, enjoying every single spot I touched. I didn’t stop until my hand slipped between her legs.

Her body tensed for a moment before she opened up to me.

“Gage,” She whispered my name when I slipped a finger inside. She had no idea what the sound of my name on her lips did to me. I took her breast in my mouth. She squirmed underneath me, and I didn’t know whether it was because of my lips or my hand. Or both. She took me in her hand again when she thrust against me. I fought against my desires. I couldn’t rush things.

I released her breast and captured her lips again. I sucked her bottom lip into my mouth. She moaned as she tightened her hold on me.

I removed my fingers and prepared myself to return to my favorite place.

“I’m ready.” She watched me through her deep green eyes.

“So am I.” I thrust into her, needing to feel her wrapped around me.

She gasped and moaned as I moved more and more of myself inside of her.

“Gage.” She said it again, and I sped up. Using hard and fast motions I rocked us both inside the sleeping bag. I needed her, all of her. And she needed me too. I could tell. I could feel her in ways I’d never been able to before.

“I love you,” she moaned the words, and it was the first time she said them first.

“I love you,” I was soaring on a high I’d never felt. Everything was going to be okay. It had to be.

P
rison
. My world had turned upside down in the space of hours, and it was Gage’s fault. Technically that made this all my fault. I’d been the one to change him, and now the rest of the pack had to pay the price. I needed to convince my captors to release the others. I was the one they wanted. At least that’s what it should have been, but with the hunt that wasn’t true. The king and his men wouldn’t be satisfied until every last one of the Dires was gone. There was no way I was letting that happen.

Mary Anne was the key to ending the hunt. She had to be. There was no way my visions were wrong. I needed to escape and find her again. Everything would work out if I did.

“Stop daydreaming and move.” The guard grunted.

This punk was never going to let up. I fought down the growl that wanted to come out. I could have taken out the guy, in chains or not, but I’d never make it through all the guards on my way to find the others. That’s why they separated us. They understood pack mentality, and they knew I’d never leave a man or woman behind. I reluctantly moved forward through the opened gates.

“Get that thing away from me!” Semi’s loud voice reverberated off the walls.

“You have no choice, wolf.”

Semi let out a growl. This wouldn’t end well. I could bet on that.

“Stop him!” A voice yelled out.

“Let me see him.” I was the only chance they had of calming him down, and if they didn’t calm him down we were all in trouble.

“Like hell you will.”

“I can calm him.”

“Shut up.” The guard pushed me through the doors.

“Let him through.” A strong female voice cut the guard off. “Let him see him.”

A tall brunette walked into my line of sight. Her hair was tied up in a knot on the top of her head, but my guess was it was long enough to reach her waist. She was dressed all in black, and her clothes were fitted enough to show off her slender figure. She was pretty, and her features were striking in a completely different way than Mary Anne.

“Not until he gets his shot.” The guard with me laughed.

“Then give him the damn thing, Joseph.”

Joseph. The punk had a name. “Do it.” I already knew what the shot would do. There was only one thing they’d care about, and that was preventing us from shifting. It’s where we had far greater strength.

“It’s temporary.” The girl spoke again. She was studying me.

“I realize that. You think anything could stop a Dire from shifting forever?” I sure as hell hoped they hadn’t had a witch concoct something that strong.

“I don’t know, but if you’re the Alpha maybe you aren’t as tough as everyone thinks.” Joseph smirked.

I ignored him. “Give me the shot so I can see him.”

I felt the sting of the needle. No matter what magical serum they had, it couldn’t stop me from shifting. That didn’t mean it wouldn’t work on the rest of the pack. Being the Alpha came with its advantages.

“Try anything and you’ll never see your pack again.” Joseph’s idle threat made me want to laugh rather than retaliate. He only thought he had the power. He didn’t. And I now knew my ticket out. She was dressed all in black and walking on my other side.

“Got it.”

“Get the fuck off me!” Semi’s eyes were wild and each of his arms was held by another guard.

“Semi, calm.” I spoke out loud, keeping my voice level.

His eyes took a moment to focus, but then he turned to me. “Don’t let them stick you!”

“It’s too late, they already did.” My arm throbbed from where the needle had entered my skin.

“You let them?”

“We need to cooperate.” I spoke the words the Pterons wanted to hear, but inside I was sending Semi a completely different message.
Stay Calm. I will get us out
. I tried not to overuse my ability to get inside the Pack’s head, but sometimes it was the only way. We had to pretend to go along with things to keep the Pterons off guard.

“That’s enough. Time to go.” Joseph tightened his hold on my arm. “See you, Semi.” I sent another message to his head.
Bide your time and be ready.

He nodded, but no one seemed to notice.

I looked around for the girl, but she was gone.

Joseph led me down another dark corridor. “We’re giving you a cell with lots of peace and quiet.”

“I don’t mind the noise.” My bare feet were silent against the cool tile floor.

“We don’t really care what you think.”

“You’ve made your feelings about me known.” I didn’t care what they thought of me, but I wanted to know what they’d been told.

“I don’t like savages.”

“Says the bird shifter.” The Pterons had their own blood trail. They’d killed off nearly all of the Dire species.

He slammed me into the concrete wall. I felt the urge to shift. I couldn’t. I couldn’t let them know that their serum didn’t work on me.

He laughed. “Is that enough back talk?”

I pretended to be hurt, weak. “Yes.”

“I thought so.” He pushed me forward into a small cell and slammed a heavy iron door closed in front of me.

Joseph hurried off down the corridor. I was alone again, which was ideal.

I didn’t move. There was no point sitting down. Sitting never helped anyone. I liked to be ready to act at any given moment. I strained my ears to listen. I assumed Semi was being kept in the general direction I’d last seen him, but I needed to figure out where Marni and Chet were being held.

Now that I’d had the chance to calm down Semi, my next concern was hoping that Chet wouldn’t flip out over Marni. He was fiercely protective of her, and he wouldn’t be happy she was captive. Chet was usually level headed, one of the reasons he was my second in command, but with Marni in jeopardy he might do something reckless in an attempt to protect her. He knew she was strong, but his protective instincts were intense. The two of them needed to mate, but by tradition they couldn’t yet. Not until I mated. I hoped to be able to take care of that soon. My thoughts turned to Mary Anne. I had to break us out. We had no time to waste.

I had no watch to monitor the time, but it seemed to move slowly as I stood by the door. I heard light shuffling, but otherwise the corridor was silent. I mentally reached out for my pack, but I couldn’t reach anyone. There was something in my cell preventing me. I could generally reach them hundreds of feet away.

I heard footsteps heading toward me. I hoped it was the girl, but the steps were heavier than those she would take, and I wasn’t surprised when Joseph appeared in the darkness instead.

“Step back!” he bellowed as soon as he reached the front of my prison cell. I didn’t budge. Just because I was playing by the rules didn’t mean I was going to listen to every order. If he wanted something done he could talk politely. I was in a cell, yelling was unnecessary.

A vein bulged in his neck. “I said to step back.”

“Not until you say please.” It felt good to push the guy. He had been messing with me from the moment I met him. In any other situation I would be doing far worse to get him back.

“You think this is funny?” He moved further toward my cell. “You think I’m kidding around?”

“No.” I kept a straight face even though I wanted to laugh. The kid was far too easy to rile up. I was surprised the king didn’t have stronger men guarding me. Was he underestimating me? That could end up being a huge mistake.

“Then do as I say. Step back.” He crossed his arms and pressed his lips together in a firm line. This was his intimidation look. Maybe it worked on humans or some other paranormals, but it wasn’t going to work on me.

I waited a few beats to make him squirm. “Why should I step back?”

“Because I told you too.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot. He was getting increasingly frustrated, which meant things were going as I hoped. I didn’t want to disobey too much, but going along with his every command would make me appear weak.

I stretched my arms above my head to emphasize how relaxed I was. He wasn’t affecting me at all. “That’s not a reason.”

His face turned red. “Shut the fuck up.”

“Now you’re using profanity?” Hadn’t he received any training in maintaining his composure? He was playing straight into my hands.

“I can use whatever words I fucking want to.” He stepped toward the cell again.

“Oh, can you?”

“Of course.” He glowered.

“Then I can too.” I reached through the bars and grabbed hold of his shirt. I pulled him up against the bars.

He fought against my hold, so I held harder. “Your arrogance will be your downfall.”

“Fuck you.” His voice was hoarse. I was holding his shirt tightly.

“No thanks. You don’t do it for me.”

“Joseph, enough!” The girl strode over. She had her hands crossed over her chest in the same way Joseph had done. Was the intimidation look part of their basic training?

Joseph snarled. “This isn’t your problem, princess.”

“So you want me to leave you like that?” She gestured to where I held him against the bars. “Are you comfortable?” She was enjoying herself. There was no question that bad blood existed between these two. Yet another advantage for me.

He shook with anger. “Shut up.”

She rolled her eyes before turning her attention to me. “I know he’s annoying, but I need to ask you to let go of him. Prison policy and all.”

“What’s your name?” The girl was my ticket out. I knew it. She was smart, that much was clear, and her intelligence would help me.

“None of your business, prisoner # 279.” She lowered her arms to the side. She was relaxed despite the situation.

“I’ll have to make up a name for your then.” I kept my voice light, nonthreatening.

“Make one up?” She put a hand on her hip. Evidently she wasn’t in too big of a rush for me to let go of the kid. “This I have to hear.”

I went with the first name that came to my head even though I was sure it wasn’t really hers. It didn’t matter what name I chose. “You look like a Jane.”

She laughed. “Not quite, but if you call me Jane does that mean I can call you Dick?” Her eyes moved down to my crotch. And they stayed there.

I tried to ignore the way my body responded to her appraisal. “Aren’t you a little young to have read those books?”

“Who said anything about books?” She grinned. Her smile was full of bright white teeth.

“Well said.” I released the kid.

He stumbled back before glaring at the girl I was now calling Jane. “You can leave now.”

“Oh can I? You won’t get yourself captured by the prisoner again?” Jane laughed. It was a light laugh that didn’t seem to fit her. It should have been deeper and stronger. Everything about her exuded strength and prowess.

“I wasn’t captured. He’s the one in the cage.” He kicked the door.

“Yet you were the one with your face smashed against it. Interesting.” Her deep chocolate brown eyes twinkled. She winked at me before sauntering away.

I watched her retreating figure.

Joseph spat. “Don’t even look at her. She’s a Pteron, far too good for you.”

I smiled. “Is that so?”

“Yes. Stay away from her.”

“I planned on it. I am inside this cage after all.” I wasn’t interested in the girl in the way he was implying, but I’d let him think what he wanted. Maybe it would distract him enough that he’d slip up. All I needed was a small opening and some more information. Jane would be the key to that. Levi had promised a girl would watch Marni. I had only seen one female since entering the prison. It had to be her. I’d get information and get us all out of there.

“I came to get you for dinner, but forget that.”

“Going to starve me now?” I was hungry, but I wouldn’t let him know it.

“You’ve been uncooperative.”

“You haven’t seen uncooperative.”

His face faltered slightly. Maybe he was learning.

“I’ll bring your food here.”

“That’s probably a wise choice.” I stayed in the same spot. I wouldn’t move back. I wasn’t shifting, but that didn’t mean I would fully retreat. “No more games or you get nothing.” He turned and walked away.

“I’ll be on my best behavior.”

Only after he left did I hear the faintest sound of laughing. It was Chet. My first clue. If he was close enough to hear, I’d be able to find them fast. Maybe we’d get out even sooner than I thought.