Leader of the Pack (11 page)

“
I will tie you to this chair,” Jared spoke, his voice hard as steel.

“
What happened to all the crap about love and life mates? Was that just a big load of crap to get me to play the devoted love slave? I bet you laughed yourself silly when I begged you to fuck my a-”

His snarl stopped her words. “Do not go too far, Emily. I cannot allow you to go and that is final.”

Emily stilled. Her dreams shattered as surely as her will. “You don’t want a mate. You want some docile little female to do your bidding when you give the okay. You smelled me that day at the house and said to yourself I’ve got to have me a piece of that and you went full throttle until you got me. Well, that’s not me, Jared. It never was. You didn’t look beneath the surface long enough to find out.”

She sighed, the weight of his betrayal crushing the breath from her lungs. “You can let me go. I won’t search any more houses. I’ll go back to the hotel room and wait for you. When you find Rachel call me. She’s my responsibility, not yours.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

An hour later, Jared and Val made their way through another forest on the other side of Boone County. This was the third house they had checked. They had four more to go.

And Val was still telling him what an idiot he’d been.

“
You are one stupid wolf.” The other man shook his head in disbelief. “Even
I
know better than to forbid a woman to do something and I haven't had a woman in over a hundred years. I hope you’ve got a lot of money stashed away because this is going to take some expensive ice to win her back.”

“
Yeah, I know,” Jared said, thinking of the diamond ring he had bought yesterday. He knew the chances were slim to none that Emily would accept it now. He prayed if he couldn't give her anything else, he could give her back her friend.

“
Perhaps I could give you some pointers in handling a woman,” Val suggested.

“
And perhaps I could give you a boot up your ass.”

Their growls at each other stopped as they both heard the heavy thrashing sound in the bushes behind them. Both men turned and flashed their fangs.

A large, caramel colored wolf appeared, its tongue hanging from its mouth. Within seconds the wolf vanished, replaced by a blonde headed giant.

“
He’s got them,” he gasped. “He’s got Maria and Emily.” Val helped the younger man to his feet.

Jared’s whole world folded in on itself, then burst forth and reshaped all in a split second. “I sent Emily to Maria. They were at the hotel. How the hell did he know where they were?”

“
He broke in. He had darts.”

“
Were they hurt?” He forced the words past his throat. Val and Shawn exchanged a look that made his blood turn to ice.

“
There was some blood. I couldn’t. I didn’t.” The man stopped speaking, unwilling to say anything more.

“
Was she hurt, damn it! You’ve smelled her, was it her blood?” His fists clenched at his sides, the skin so taunt, the bone shone through.

“
They put up a hell of fight.”

Jared’s howl of despair rattled the very forest floor.

* * * * *

They searched two more houses before they found the one with the women. The door was gone, splintered by a show of supernatural strength. Jared went in first, flanked by Val and Shawn. Fresh blood splattered the walls and made his stomach roll over. Sniffing, he sighed in relief as he noted the musky smell of a vampire.

“
Is it Yuri’s blood?” he asked his friend.

Val stroked his finger through the blood tasting it. “Yes. And a lot of it. More than enough to prove fatal. It appears someone has beaten us to the punch.”

Jared sniffed again, blocking out the stench of the vampire. Emily. She was here. He tore towards the basement. Six naked women huddled in a corner. One was his wolf, the others human. Closer to the door, a tall, dark figure loomed over three more, his sharp white fangs gleaming in the darkness. Emily, Maria, his missing pack member and a woman Jared intuitively knew was Rachel. Before anyone could stop him, he lunged for the man’s throat, shape shifting in mid-air. His beast rose to the surface at the sight of Emily naked and shivering in the cold. The shadowy figure threw up his arm to ward off the attack of the great, black wolf. The pair tumbled over and over again along the smelly, dank floor, neither achieving the upper hand in the vicious battle.

Shawn immediately took the women from the room, running up and down the stairs at supernatural speed until they were all safely outside. It was imperative to get them out while Jared battled the vamp. As Val bent to get Emily, her voice croaked out a plea. “You’ve got to stop him. He saved us.”

Maria’s hand clutched Val’s arm. “It’s Cord. It’s Cord.”

Val whirled around and lent his strength to that of the other vampire, hoping to stop the great wolf. The other man was weak from his battle with Yuri, but together they managed to fling Jared away with a mighty shove. He shape shifted back to his human form as he landed on his feet.

His eyes still glowed, dark and golden. The moon had risen and the throes of the cycle were upon him. Having unleashed the beast, he could not reign it back in so easily.

“
Stop, my friend, stop.” Val put both hands on Jared’s chest holding back the head-long rush that would finish the other vampire. “It’s Cord. He killed Yuri. He didn’t hurt them. He didn’t hurt Emily.”

It took a moment for the words to penetrate the red haze of fury clouding Jared’s mind. He shook himself, trying desperately to quell his instinct to kill.

He strode across the room, his naked body bursting with raw rage. Emily cradled an unconscious woman in her arms and Maria lay bruised and beaten by her side.

His eyes raked his mate’s form, sensing her pain. The beast threatened to snap the chains that barely contained it. His mate had been hurt and the beast demanded retribution. He drew a deep breath, trying to still the tremors that raced along his limbs. “Is this your friend?”

“
Yes, it’s Rachel.” Tears streamed down her face as she reached out to cup his jaw. “I was so afraid for you.”

He placed a kiss in the palm of her hand. “Nothing can ever take me away from you. Except maybe my own stupidity. Can you ever forgive me?”

“
Of course, I can,” she smiled weakly, yet it was the most beautiful smile Jared had ever seen. “You are my mate.”

“
I am your mate.” Jared cupped the back of her neck and pulled her forward. He kissed the woman who had stolen his heart.

Several long moments later, he motioned Val over. “Can you take Emily’s friend?” The vamp nodded and took the unconscious woman gently in his arms.

Shawn took the missing wolf.

He gave the other man in the room a long, assessing look. He had managed to rake his claws along the vampire’s throat but already the jagged wounds were healing. “Can I trust you with Maria?”

Cord’s eyes flashed red. “I would give my life for her.”

“
I was afraid you’d say that.” Jared’s lips parted in a humorless smile.

He lifted Emily high against his chest and the other men followed him out into the night.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Some three and a half weeks later, Emily stood outside the bathroom door of Jared’s cabin. They had been married just short of one month.

In a surprising turn of events, Shawn had fallen head over paws in love with one of the humans who had been kidnapped. Maria was still teasing him about his “protectiveness.”

As for Val and Rachel, Emily was deeply concerned. Her friend had turned into a one woman killing machine, tracking down anyone or anything that remotely resembled a vampire. Val, for reasons he didn’t explain to anyone, had appointed himself her watchdog – or watch vamp. Emily took solace in knowing Val was looking out for her friend. And as for Maria and Cord? Time would only tell. The man had a lot of explaining to do.

But Rachel’s heartache wasn’t Emily’s main worry at the moment. No, her biggest worry was locked behind a solid oak bathroom door. She pressed her check against the wood panel. “You can’t hide in there forever.”

“
Oh yes, I can,” came the muffled reply.

“
Why won’t you share this with me? Don’t you love me?”

She heard the soft pad of his feet as he crossed the tile floor. “I love you more than life itself, Emily. If you were hurt, it would rip me apart. And I’m afraid, damn it. I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”

“
You’re hurting me now by not sharing this with me.” Her voice was coaxing as her fingers caressed the wood as if she were touching his face. She knew he was on the other side doing the same thing.

Her heart turned over at his words. Last month she had been too sore and bruised from Yuri’s attack and Jared had been too out of control from his fight with Cord for them to share the magic of the full moon. Werewolves were different during the full moon. She had learned from Maria how much control was needed when mating occurred during the cycle. Especially since she was human. But she knew she could never deny Jared anything. It made her feel special and extremely loved to know how concerned he was about her. Besides, Maria said it would be the best sex of her life. When she said everything got bigger and better, she meant everything.

It was time to get her husband out of hiding and she knew just the ticket.

“
Are you coming out or do I have to go get someone – or some ones – to knock down this door?” She pressed her ear against the wooden panel again.

No answer.

“
You know who I’ll get, don’t you?” Shawn and Val would never let Jared live it down if she called them.

“
You wouldn’t dare.”

Emily laughed at his warning growl. “Try me, baby.” She moved back just seconds before the he slung open the door.

Her eyes widened in shock – and appreciation – as he stepped across the threshold. A large, golden foot appeared first, followed by one long muscular leg and then the other. His sex jutted out in front of him, so heavy and thick it bowed under its own weight. Slowly the shadows revealed the rest of his body. His chest glistened with sweat and his arms were taut and flexed, as if straining to release themselves from some unseen bonds. The physical changes wrought in Hollywood horror movies had not occurred. Jared was still a man.

And oh, what a man.

Emily licked her lips nervously as she eyed his cock. Werewolves certainly were different during the full moon. They were more – stronger, faster, sharper. And bigger. A werewolf was known to grow three or four inches during the cycle. Everywhere. Could she take him now? Her knees grew weak imaging the feel of him inside her. Before, their coming together had bordered on discomfort he had filled her so completely. She saw his cock bob up and down and knew she had projected her thoughts. How could she not mate with this man?

He stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders. Maybe she had projected a little too much.

“
I want to be inside you, Emily, do you understand?” He shook her roughly even as she nodded yes to his question. “No you don’t, damn you. I want to be inside you everywhere. I want my cock stuffed up inside you so deep we won’t know where you begin and I end. I want your mouth, I want your cunt. I want this.” He grabbed her buttocks and spread her cheeks apart. One finger thrust into the small, puckered hole. Emily gasped at his crude invasion but didn’t flinch away. Instead she let herself relax, the weight of her body forcing him deeper inside. He growled.

“
I am a wolf. I am leader of my pack. I am the alpha male.” His eyes glittered gold as he struggled for control.

She had no fear of this man or his beast. To her, they were one and the same and they both loved her. “I know, I know. I am your mate and you are mine, I am yours, yada, yada, yada. The only problem I see is that we have to get these alpha male tendencies under control. I’m not about to be bossed around by –”

He slanted his mouth over hers and cut off her words then turned her away from him. “Bend over,” he commanded as he forced her body over the sofa’s high back.

“
Now wait a minute,” she protested. Her hands stretched out to stop her downward descent. “Didn’t I warn you about that overbearing male attitude?”

He parted the folds of her pussy. The smell of her pussy called to the beast he could no longer fully control. His teeth grew, his cock lengthened another inch and his claws burst through the tops of his fingers. He pressed her head down. “Don’t want to hurt you,” he panted between clenched teeth.

He heard Emily gasp as she finally realized his control was gone. But she didn’t beg for her release. Instead she said, “Do it. Just do it, damn it.”