First Moon (New Moon Wolves) BBW Werewolf Romance (22 page)

Kai followed them onto the outlook, humming tunelessly under his breath, a steady droning sound that seemed to buzz over Audrey’s skin, making it vibrate. She rubbed her arm with her good hand to dispel the sensation but that didn’t help. Similar to the tingle that had infected her with Nick’s bite, Kai’s ‘song’ strummed through her, calling to something that lived inside her, something she didn’t understand.

Was he calling her wolf?

The thought gave her pause. No. That would be weird. Yet she couldn’t deny that
something
stirred inside her in response to his voice. Was this another kind of magic? Tao had said one of his brothers was like a medicine man of sorts for the pack. She gave her body a shake and managed to quell the effect of Kai’s voice enough to focus on the lookout. She didn’t join them, but stood to the side of the entrance. Close enough to hear everything, but far enough away to run if it became necessary.

I’m not running though,
she thought.
This ends today.

So why not join them on the lookout? Recalling the force of Nick’s blows and the way Dan had bitten off pieces of Nick, she shook her head.
Because I can’t take them in a fight. I can’t match their strength.

But Tao could. All her hopes were pinned on him as well as his brothers. Between the three of them, they had to be strong enough to take out Nick. Just in case, she had the gun she’d taken from the guy Nick had cold cocked. She just had to be willing to pull the trigger if it came down to it.

Audrey grit her teeth and lifted her chin.
I can do this. I have to.

Kai’s humming stopped abruptly and he spoke. “You are judged Nick. Judged by the moon’s spirit.”

Nick spat at Kai. “Shut up.”

“Your path is not here,” Kai continued as if he hadn’t heard his brother. Turning to Dan, he said, “You chose the way of blood and it will bleed you dry. Turn back or die.”

“I’m the alpha, I don’t listen to you, moonie,” Dan snarled.

Both men redoubled their efforts to break free. Nick squatted down and then thrust up with his powerful legs until he was airborne again. The force of his momentum blasted Tao’s arms apart. When he landed, Tao jumped him and the two went at each other in a flurry of fists and kicking legs.

Audrey held her breath, gun clutched tightly in her good hand. The brothers fought viciously and it was clear to her that this was a fight to the death. She looked at Leo who watched them fight with a grim expression. He couldn’t intervene unless he let go of Dan, something he appeared reluctant to do.

Kai, for his part, hung back, watching the scene unfold with a neutral expression on his face. When Nick started slamming Tao’s head onto the lookout floor, with such raw strength that the wooden boards cracked, Audrey couldn’t help herself.

“Do something,” she screamed. “Help him.”

Leo just looked at her, his eyes heavy with regret. Kai turned and regarded her with a blank expression. It was then she realized his eyes had filmed over or rolled back.
Something
had left only the whites visible. He was in some kind of trance.

She cast a helpless glance at Leo who stayed fast, locking Dan down with his hands alone. Letting Dan go would only make things worse, which meant she was the only free agent. Climbing up the lookout steps, she brushed past Kai who muttered a cryptic, “Don’t blink,” as she went by.

Ignoring him, she headed for Tao and Nick. Neither man noticed her approach, so intent on each other, they were blind to others around them. Audrey aimed with the gun and waited for the right opportunity. At the moment, Tao’s back was to her with Nick on the other side. Any bullets would have to go through Tao to get to Nick, which was unacceptable.

Audrey stepped to the side, hoping for a better angle. The men had their hands clamped on each other’s faces, fingers digging deep into cheeks as their thumbs made for their eyes. When Nick’s fingers got too close to his mouth, Tao snapped at them with his teeth.

She raised the gun and took aim once again. Time slowed, flowing like thick molasses. Audrey saw sweat bead on the men’s bodies and flick into the air as they moved. Dan, Leo and Kai seemed frozen, still as statues. Even the wind had died down to nothing, creating a vacuum of sound and oxygen. Audrey swallowed hard, said a little prayer and pulled the trigger.

The gun roared, the kickback hitting her harder since she wasn’t used to shooting with that hand. Time clicked into fast forward. There was a spray of red, a howl of pain, but nothing else happened. She narrowed her eyes and swore under her breath. She’d grazed Nick, a small injury that didn’t do much more than make him blink. At least she hadn’t hit Tao.

Biting her lip, she kept the gun up, ready to shoot, but Nick was on to her now and maneuvered Tao between them. Audrey moved, attempting to find a clear shot again, but Nick moved too, maintaining a status quo where the only way to hit him was through Tao.

Then he battered Tao with a head butt that caused the big man to stagger. His knees started to drop and Audrey screamed, loud and frantic as a horror movie sound track. The sound must’ve startled Tao into consciousness as he regained his footing and took a swing at Nick, connecting with his jaw.

Audrey pulled the trigger, her shoulders tense as she anticipated the gun’s kickback, but nothing happened. She tried again with the same result. She was out of bullets. With a growl of frustration, she dropped the gun. Great. Now she had no weapons to speak of.

Dashing over to Leo she said, “Do you have a gun?”

He shook his head.

“Does anyone have a gun?” She patted Dan down, recalling he’d had one, but it wasn’t on him. Audrey ran to Kai who remained stoic and white-eyed. She didn’t know why, but she was afraid to touch him. A powerful energy emanated from the lean man, strong enough to raise the hair on the back of her neck. She looked him over but didn’t see a gun or anything useful.

Behind her, there was an ominous groan, a sound that seemed to fly through the air and hit her low in the gut. She knew it was Tao before she even turned around.

Sure enough, Tao was flat on his back and still as death. Nick sat on top of him and clawed at his chest until rivulets of blood ran down his brother’s torso. Lifting a wet finger to his lips, Nick sucked off the blood and gave a maniacal laugh, throwing his head back to the sky.

“You may be strong, brother, but you’re not stronger than me.” Nick dug at Tao’s chest deepening and widening the wound he’d started.

“No! Stop!” Audrey screamed. Not knowing what else to do, she ran and threw her body into Nick’s, dislodging him from his dominant position on Tao. They both fell with a grunt, the wooden decking of the lookout trembling beneath them.

Nick rolled gracefully to his feet, using the momentum of their fall to carry him upright. Audrey flopped onto her back and struggled to follow him, nowhere near as graceful or fast. When she got her knees under her, Nick punched her in the face, his fist connecting with her jaw and snapping her head back.

“Fucking bitch. Down, stay.” He pointed to the ground with a finger. “Those are commands.”

She felt the mild compulsion of his words but they paled in comparison to the impact of his punch. Audrey dropped back down, catching herself with her hands as the world swam around her. Shadows lengthened in her peripheral vision, threatening to turn everything dark. Still, she caught Nick’s movement as he went to finish what he’d started with Tao and she managed to throw out a leg and trip him.

Nick crashed down again, and while he was still falling, Audrey staggered to her feet, good hand wrapped around the deck railing for support. Her foot kicked something as she stood, and looking down she smiled when she saw what it was.

A gun.

Noticing Nick was almost upright again, she quickly scooped up the weapon. Hopefully it was loaded. Either way, she was about to find out.

“I told you to stay down,” Nick snarled.

“You may have bitten me, but I don’t belong to you.” She lifted her chin and with it the gun. “You can’t control me. Not anymore.”

Surprise flickered in his eyes and he moved to stand in front of her, his back to the lake. The afternoon sun blazed overhead making his hair seem more golden than it was, hiding the true darkness inside Nick. “What happened?” He peered at her closely, his eyes narrowed.

“Tao is stronger than you. He always was. He marked me and took me from you. You think just because you can punch a man to the floor that you have his measure?” She held her head high. “Think again.”

“No, that’s not possible.” Nick frowned and made to move closer to her.

She lifted the gun and pulled the trigger. A bullet sank into his pec, just below the collarbone. Nick made a surprised ‘oof’ sound. The big man stepped back, pushed by the force of the bullet, but didn’t go down.

Audrey prayed there were more bullets in the gun and pulled the trigger again. A bullet ripped into Nick pushing him back against the lookout railing and pinning him there. Blood seeped from wounds to his chest and stomach. He looked less golden and more gray despite the bright sunshine overhead.

The wind stirred and then whipped through the air while the lake below seethed as if worked up by all the action above. Seagulls circled
overhead and cawed like shrill banshees.

Taking aim, she said, “You don’t own me, Nick. You never did and you never will.”

He spat blood and shot her a dirty look.

She pulled the trigger just as he tried to stagger toward her, a bloody sneer on his face. It hit him square in the chest and dropped him to the ground. He scrambled back and hit the deck railing so hard, the wood groaned and snapped in protest. The railing now leaned outward.

Afraid Nick would come at her, Audrey shot him again. Assuming she’d counted correctly, it was her last bullet. It had to count.

Nick heaved himself to his feet, moving slower now, and the bullet sank into his belly. He roared with pain and doubled over, backing away until he hit the railing again. This was too much for the wood railing, which hadn’t been made to withstand the brawling of werewolves. It snapped off, the wood dropping silently into the open air.

Nick teetered on the edge for a moment, panic in his eyes. For the first time, he seemed afraid, seemed to realize he was in danger. One hand over his gut, the other windmilling with increasing frequency, he tried to regain his balance.

Audrey stood, frozen with indecision. Save him? Or let him go? She hated both options.

Kai stepped forward, brushing past her to stand in front of his brother. Taking in a deep breath, he blew it out like he was blowing bubbles and not confronting his psychotic brother, who stood on the thin, sharp edge between life and death.

“Go, brother. This life is not for you.” Kai blew again. The wind rushed forward with his breath, strong enough to make Audrey take an involuntary step forward.

It was too much for Nick and he fell backward, howling a drawn out “Noooo,” as he went. There was no sound after that other than the wind howling and then the faintest splash when he hit bottom.

Audrey’s stomach dropped as if she, too, were falling.

Nick was dead.

She’d killed him.

Something black and vile opened inside her, a pit of horror ready to swallow her whole. A small gasp escaped her, and she dropped the gun so she could cover her mouth with her good hand as her heart froze in her chest.

When she turned to look at Tao, it made everything worse. He was conscious now and the wide-eyed look he gave her told Audrey he’d seen everything.

She’d killed someone he loved.

Maybe she hadn’t pushed him off the outlook, but she’d shot him until he could fall.

Audrey’s knees sagged and she slid to the ground, her breath coming in short little gasps. “I’m sorry,” she said over and over, reaching for Tao but afraid to go over to him. He looked as stricken as she felt and his expression twisted her gut into painful knots. Had she survived Nick only to lose everything that mattered?

“Now that’s why I keep telling you we can’t let these bit wolves live,” Dan said, his voice booming. “They’ll turn on you, two-faced liars just like their maker.” The alpha spit in disgust and then jerked his head back, slamming Leo in the face. When the burly man staggered back under the weight of the hit, Dan pulled forward and broke Leo’s grip. In one smooth movement, he bent over and pulled up his pant leg revealing a calf holster. Pulling the gun free, he aimed straight at Audrey.

Her mouth opened, ready to plead for her life, but he pulled the trigger before she even got a word out. She snapped her eyes closed and grit her teeth, waiting for the bullet to hit. Instead, she felt a whoosh of air followed by a thud as something heavy landed at her feet.

Opening her eyes, she saw Tao sprawled in front of her, a neat little bullet hole in his chest.

On the left side.

Where his heart lay.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“No,” she cried, scooting forward to wrap him in her arms. Tears poured from her eyes, streaking her face and dropping onto Tao. After all they’d been through it couldn’t end like this. It just couldn’t. Nick was dead, that should’ve ended everything. Why were people still shooting at them?