Luke's Dream (16 page)

“Stupid.” Bethi’s voice was strong and
sure.

Before the lead mutt could move, I leapt at
the one to the left, knocking him into a tree. The second one was
on my back immediately. Ignoring him, I sunk my teeth into the
man’s exposed throat before the shift could fully take him. Blood
poured into my mouth, and I twisted away, pulling the flesh. His
breath gurgled from the hole I left.

Twisting, I shook the second one off my
back.

“Stupid and slow. A bad combination in a
fight,” Bethi said behind me.

Knowing the last mutt was focused on her, I
used the claws of my half transformed hand to open the underbelly
of the second wolf. He fell to the ground with a yowl. I felt no
remorse. These weren’t challengers. They’d hurt Bethi, a potential
mate.

When I turned, I saw Bethi holding her knife
to her own throat. Her complete calm accentuated the resigned look
in her eyes. Bethi’s words came back to me.
The knife gives me a
tiny bit of power over my fate.
My world stopped as I realized
what she meant to do.

I reached out, sinking my claws into the
mutt’s back and pulled. Off balance, he fell toward me, and I
gripped his throat in between my hands.

Bethi’s wide eyes remained focused on the
mutt. I turned, putting my back to her so she wouldn’t see me break
his miserable neck. His limbs twitched then he stilled.

In the silence, I heard more coming.

The drum of feet on the ground as they raced
toward us worried me. There were too many. Too many to continue to
believe these were challengers. Too many to defeat at one time. Too
many to keep from Bethi. But I would try, or I would die.

I tossed the mutt aside and backed toward
Bethi, shielding her with the only thing I had, myself.

She set her forehead against my back and
slowly inhaled. Her fear and desolation wrapped around me. I wanted
to comfort her, to wrap her in my arms, but there wasn’t time. The
sounds grew louder. Branches snapped. A howl rent the air.

Within the depth of her despair, a new
tendril of scent tickled my nose. Affection.

“I will hold the memory of you in my heart
forever,” she said. Then she straightened away from me. I was torn
between wanting her to run and wanting her to stay close. Which was
safer? I didn’t know. Before I could say anything, the mutts
arrived.

Like a wave, they washed over the light
underbrush, their numbers overwhelming the space we’d taken between
the trees. Using my claws, I gutted the first wolf who jumped at
me. His scream cut through the growls of his closest companions as
they cleared the brush.

I didn’t stop moving. Reaching for the next
wolf to sail overhead, I grabbed his muzzle and lower jaw and
pulled hard. Before the crunch of bone rang out, I’d already moved
to the following wolf. Sweeping my claws wide, I ripped through his
side and throat and caught the ribs on the wolf next to him. Blood
coated my hands and smeared across the next mutt’s fur as I twisted
its head.

With each body that fell, a new mutt filled
its place. I moved fast, even for my kind. I had to. The scent of
Bethi’s blood remained a constant reminder of what would happen if
I let any of them through.

Suddenly, Bethi moved behind me with focused
attention. I wanted to look but couldn’t stop my fight. The
consequence was too great.

One of the mutts pushing to get to me, moved
to the side. Skirting his group, he made his way around the main
mass to reach Bethi. More followed him, and I growled low, my
control slipping further.

“Focus on your side,” she said before I could
do anything about them.

Behind me, a wolf hissed and grunted. She had
her knife and was using it for the right purpose, finally. I felt
her start to move faster, fighting back those who thought to go
around me.

Adrenaline surged within me at her show of
courage. I swung my arms harder, clawing through my opponents in a
blur. Blood slicked my arms and chest. Some my own, but most not.
Mutts fell under my assault, and the ground turned red.

Panting, I looked for the next opponent and
found none before me. However, I heard more behind me. Turning, I
found Bethi crouched and lashing out with her blade to keep them at
bay.

One managed to catch her arm and pull her
forward, not yet noticing me. His eager focus remained on Bethi’s
face. His scent gave away just what he had in mind.

Jealous rage consumed me. I pushed Bethi into
his chest, hiding her face, then reached forward and sunk my claws
into his neck. With an upward heave, I separated head from body.
The brainless corpse went slack and fell away from Bethi as the
remaining men who had been focused on her converged on me.

Good. Even in my human skin, I could take
their claws. Bethi couldn’t.

Because they’d worked their way into the
clearing, I no longer had the advantage of tight space to force one
on one. They knew it, too. With angry snarls pulling their muzzles,
they launched themselves at me.

The impact of three bodies colliding with
mine almost brought me to my knees. I struggled and planted my
feet. We shuffled against each other, too close to see or
effectively strike.

A fist drove into my thigh. Another pounded
into my stomach. Then teeth sank into my neck. I blindly lashed out
in front of me, scoring one who’d hit me. Winning some space, I
reached across my stomach to jab into the soft gut of the biter. He
grunted. A fist crashed into my jaw, making me echo his grunt.

I reached out again. This time I managed to
grab a head. I forcefully twisted it until I heard popping and the
man went slack. Another stepped forward to take his place and more
bodies attempted to weigh me down. I couldn’t tell how many. I
continued to fight. There was no other option.

They were smart and tried to hold my arms.
But, when they managed to pin one, I used my teeth and my free
claws to rip into anything I could.

The sadist still locked onto my neck suddenly
jerked then started to yowl in pain. Bethi’s scent wrapped around
me. I knew she was doing something but didn’t look. Instead, I
continued to fight the men before me. Suddenly, the teeth left my
neck.

I struggled harder, knowing one of them was
now facing her. Each body that fell away was one less attacker to
hurt her. Blood filled my mouth and clouded my eyes. Rage and
determination had such a hold on me that when I swung out and met
nothing but air, it took a moment to realize no one was near me.
Bodies lay in a loose circle around my legs.

I turned to Bethi. The one who’d had my neck
stood before her on weak legs.

I grabbed the man by the shoulder, turned
him, then ripped my claws up his middle from groin to throat. Blood
bathed me, wetting my face and shirt, but it didn’t bother me like
the sight of the blood covering Bethi’s middle. The memory of the
way she’d held the knife to her own throat shook me.

While her gaze swept around the clearing,
mine remained locked on her face. The cuts I’d seen on her arms and
legs spelled out the truth for me. She wasn’t a teen struggling to
cope with some difficult situation. She was trying to escape one.
For good. If I hadn’t found her when I had, she would have killed
herself.

The rage I’d felt parking the bike continued
to boil in my veins as she finally looked at me and slowly
straightened.

She would have left me and taken away any
hope I had for a future with a Mate.

Her wide-eyed gaze held mine, and I realized
I was still crouched and half-shifted. Pulling the ferial thoughts
in, I focused on her, the soft curve of her cheek and the bright
blue of her gaze. With each breath, I suppressed just a little more
of the change. Bethi started to shake.

In two steps I reached her and plucked the
offending knife from her grasp. I tossed it to the ground. Though I
knew she’d used it to defend herself, I still hated it because of
how it had almost been used.

Her scent filled my lungs. Fear, concern,
determination swirled together with her base aroma. Need surged.
The need to hold her, to touch her, to confirm she was still with
me. But I didn’t move. I couldn’t. I was still too angry with
her.

She shrugged out of her jacket and stripped
out of the hoodie I’d given her. With a shaking hand, she lifted it
and used it to press against my neck.

Her touch sent a tremor through me, and I
reached out to gently hold her waist. Wetness met my palm, her
blood soaking the material. I snagged the hem of her shirt and
lifted the edge high enough to look at her wound. A long gash ran
horizontally across her stomach just above her belly button. It
wasn’t deep, but still bled. She would need stitches.

She flinched slightly, and I dropped the hem
to study her again. It was like I was really seeing her for the
first time. I’d thought her fragile. I still did. But within that
fragility there was also an iron determination that gave her an
incredible strength. She’d fought the mutts and had been willing to
use whatever means necessary not to fall victim to their
intentions. That strength scared me because with it, Bethi was
capable of anything. Including leaving me forever. I couldn’t let
that happen

I stepped closer. Her hold remained on the
material pressed to my neck. She needn’t bother. The bleeding would
stop soon and the wound would slowly start to knit, unlike hers. I
reached up and took her trembling hand in mine. I needed her so
much.

Setting my forehead to hers, I closed my
eyes. Her sweet and spicy scent wrapped around me, and I inhaled
deeply. She was in my lungs, in my blood. How did she think I could
possibly exist without her?

I released her hand and wrapped her in my
arms, brushing my lips against her temple. Didn’t she feel it, too?
How right she was in my arms? She squeaked when I clutched her a
bit too hard, a reminder that I hadn’t gotten to her soon enough.
Loosening my hold, I met her gaze.

“Don’t—” My voice broke, and I had to swallow
hard and try to calm down before speaking again. I couldn’t think
of how close I’d come to losing her. Instead, I needed to focus on
her with me in that moment.

I leaned in, lifted a hand, and slid my
fingers through her beautiful dark hair until I cupped the back of
her head. Her lips parted as I did the same thing with my other
hand. Once I held her, I leaned in further, moving closer until my
lips hovered over hers. Her breath washed over my skin while her
pulse raced. Both signs of how very alive we were.

“Don’t ever try to tell me goodbye again,” I
said. “We’re not done yet.”

Unable to resist, I closed the gap separating
us. The taste of her lips ensnared me. Her scent, while divine at
times, had nothing on her taste. Emotions couldn’t flavor her
mouth. It was pure Bethi.

I ran the tip of my tongue over the seam of
her lips, drinking in the bold cinnamon spiciness. She opened her
mouth to me, and I didn’t hesitate to delve further. Blood pounded
in my ears and my legs shook. She was everything I wanted and so
much more.

Her hands settled on my shoulders as her
tongue touched mine. I groaned into her mouth, wanting nothing more
than to continue. But the scent of her blood had grown stronger. We
needed to stop, for her sake.

I didn’t go far when I withdrew from the
kiss. Pressing my lips to her cheek and jaw, I continued to show
her what she meant to me. How much I felt for her. She sighed and
arched into me when my lips touched the skin at the base of her
neck. The shiver that ran through her had my canines lengthening in
response and fed my hope that she would one day be fully mine.

Gently, I pressed my lips to first one corner
of her mouth then the other before pulling away. She stood before
me, her eyes closed and her breath coming hard.

It took her a few moments to realize I wasn’t
going to continue. She opened her eyes and wrapped an arm around
her middle.

“I’m sorry,” I said, looking away. I
shouldn’t have kissed her. Not just because of her wound, but
because I’d been so tempted not to stop.

She reached out and set a cool hand on my
bare arm as if consoling me when I should have been assuring
her.

“That won’t happen again,” I said, meeting
her gaze. “Until you’re eighteen.” Then she would be mine.

Her mouth dropped open, and she made a sound
of disbelief.

“And don’t ever try hurting yourself again,”
I added.

“Are you kidding me?” Her face had turned a
livid red. “That’s the problem? We almost just
died.
We
almost lost a chance for an us.” She waved a hand between us. “And
you’re worried about how old I am?”

Although I liked her use of the word us, I
didn’t like the angry gleam in her eye or her scent.

“Bethi—”

“Don’t Bethi me. First stop, I’m molesting
your butt, and you’re going to like it!”

It was hard not to laugh at that as she bent
to pick up her blade. My smirk didn’t help cool her temper. She
stomped off, slashing at any saplings in her path. Her temper rode
her for several minutes before her arm stilled and her shoulders
slumped.

“How did you find me?” she asked.

“Your scent.” Eyeing her, I decided she was
calm enough to answer the question that had been burning within me
since I’d left the laundry mat. “Why did you leave?”

She exhaled heavily. “That’s not important
anymore. I won’t leave again. How long until we reach the Compound?
This is only going to get worse.”

I agreed the likelihood of more attacks would
only grow as we neared the Compound. Joshua’s mistake had caused
her so much pain. How was this really in the best interest of our
kind? Yes, I agreed keeping the truth of finding a potential Mate
was wrong. But I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t give the
command for all unmated to stay away from her until we were at the
Compound.