Maikoda: Power of the Moon (Blue Moon Trilogy Book 2) (25 page)

              It seemed to be working. Suzette ignored them as she turned back to Layla. She picked up an inwardly spiked collar attached to a chain hanging from ceiling and fixed it around Layla’s neck, effectively restricting her movements; if she struggled too much, she impaled herself.

              It was a simple enough concept; the more Layla moved, the greater the chance was that she would puncture her own neck with the spikes on the collar. 

              Brett tensed as the male Were walked over to Layla. He ran his hand down her arm almost familiarly. 

              “Brett.” Suzette’s voice whispered to him if through a fog. “See how he touches her? That intimacy.” She smiled cruelly. “It’s about to get a lot more intimate in a second.” 

              “See, Ray is going to finish what he started in that hotel room in Orlando.” She turned to him and laughed at the blanching of his face as realization dawned. “And the best part is that this time, you get to watch.”

              Suzette clapped her hands like a child at the fair. “Okay, you guys, let’s get started and make it good. We have an audience.”

~*~

Chapter 10

              All things considered, it was not a shock when the knife which was normally concealed at Martin’s waist was immediately plucked out of his hands before he could throw it. What did wipe the sneer off Suzette’s face was when Brett’s little blade—the same one that had killed Wattan—flew an inch past her ear to completely lodge in Ray’s throat. 

              The momentary distraction allowed Martin to wrench his knife from the Were behind him and with three swift strokes the Were lay in pieces on the concrete floor. Brett’s head whipped back as the Were next to him grabbed him and threw him across the room. As he turned to square off with his attacker, Martin raised his knife and this time threw it directly at Suzette. She ducked and the knife crashed through the chain holding Layla prisoner. 

              Brett ran to her, as his attacker turned to Martin, and helped her to her feet as the other man hurriedly grabbed his knife and transformed. Layla shook her head, her gaze dazed and unfocused. It was obvious she had been drugged. He smoothed his hands over the dark smudges under her eyes and brushed a quick kiss to her lips and she smiled up at him tiredly.

              “Come on, you two. Move it.” Martin growled. 

              A blush crawled across Layla’s face before being replaced by determination. She shook her head as if to clear it and he raced to the window as Layla transformed and joined Martin. Quickly, he placed a crystal in the window, the jewel flashing brilliantly in the sun. That was the signal. Taini and the others would see it and make their way into the house. All they had to do was hold out until then.

              He turned to Layla and Martin. They were face to face with the lone male Were as well as Amy and Suzette. They were all transformed. He felt almost insulted when he realized he was paired up with Amy. The blonde was small but wiry and although he hated her, he hated the male more. Layla noticed his discomfort and rolled her eyes before quickly switching with him, leaving Martin to fight Suzette.

              Brett flexed his arms as the male Were across from him sneered as his human state. “Hey, I killed your buddy with one hand tied behind my back. Literally. So you want to watch it when making fun of the human.” He raised an eyebrow.

              The Were glared at him for a second and then lunged. Brett stepped out of the way, slightly dismayed when the Were deftly turned and took a swipe at him. Only a quick jump back saved him a gash across the stomach. He retaliated and struck back, catching the Were with a wicked haymaker that had the Were stumbling back against the bars of the cage. 

              He glanced over his shoulder. Amy and Layla swiped at each other, dancing around the small space. Layla fought viciously, but was still out of it a bit, which allowed Amy to easily dodge most of her blows. Martin and Suzette were more cautious. Neither had thrown a single blow. They were circling each other, looking for a weakness. 

              Suddenly Amy’s head snapped up. “Suzette!” she yelled. “Company!”

              The other woman nodded and before Martin could respond, she lashed out at him with a series of kicks, swipes and hits that had the older, more experienced Were on the defense. Amy smiled at Layla and executed a perfect spin move that knocked her off her feet and onto the floor. Before Martin, Layla or Brett could respond; Suzette and Amy ran to a small doorway hidden beneath the main stairwell and disappeared.

              The lone male Were swallowed nervously as they heard the start of a motor and realized that Suzette and Amy had run to the snowmobiles, leaving him to fend for himself.

              Brett cracked his knuckles and grinned. “Hey buddy. How you doing?”

*

              Layla took in a deep breath of the fresh Florida air. She filled her lungs with the scents of pine and oak and dirt. She had missed home. Thanksgiving was over, but there were always a few die-hard fans with homemade pies. All in all, even Alaska had been great; it had been wonderful to meet her sisters and their family, but she had wanted to get back to her own. To her aunt Susan and Nali. 

              Her aunt had been excited at their return; the older woman almost been in tears when their flight had landed and she’d called home. She grabbed the bags and smiled as Brett pulled the car into the makeshift car-port. It was tiny which meant she had to hop out first to allow him room but it was worth it. The area hid the car perfectly. 

              It would take him a minute to cover the car to disguise it and they only had a few carryon pieces; nothing she couldn’t handle. Martin had chosen to head straight to the Were Council to update them on what had happened in Alaska with Suzette and Amy. 

              She walked into the house and stopped. The hair on the back of her neck stood straight up and her stomach churned so badly, it was almost in knots.

              Something was wrong.

              The last time she had felt this way was when she was trapped in the woods with Kuruk and his men. She looked around cautiously.

              Something was very wrong. By now, her aunt or Nali would have greeted her.

              Neither did. 

              Suddenly, she heard a gasp. Against her better judgment, she ran into the living room and stopped as she took in the scene. The TV was on and her aunt sat on the couch next to Nali, her eyes on the screen. The sweet everyday scene was broken by the large menacing man who sat next to her aunt. His suit was molded to his body and he held a paring knife in his hand as he deftly cut slices from an apple and brought the fruit to his lips.

              “Layla.” he acknowledged.

              She seethed. In a little more than a week, she had barely survived two kidnappings and here he was again. She was going down fighting this time. 

              “Kuruk,” she practically spat the name. “What do you want?”

              Kuruk inclined his head and three Weres slid from the shadows. They surrounded her. “The same thing I’ve always wanted Layla.  You.”

              “Well, you’re going to have to do a hell of a lot more than want her to get her.” 

              The words were low and full of danger. Layla looked over her shoulder at Brett. He stared coolly at the larger Were. 

              Kuruk smiled. “It’s the little human who wants to play with the big, bad werewolves.” 

              Brett smiled tightly. “You know what she is, don’t you?”

              Kuruk sighed. “Of course I know. Why do you think I have been wasting my time around this dump?” He waved a hand at the room.

              Susan’s spine stiffened and Layla closed her eyes in warning. Now was not the time for her aunt to become offended by an insult to her home’s décor. She breathed a sigh as she aunt relaxed somewhat, understanding her predicament. She looked at Nali as the little girl’s eyes filled with tears. 

              Damn. This was similar to how Nali’s family had died. This was going to haunt the child for a long while. She chewed at her bottom lip as she thought of a way to keep Nali calm. If the girl transformed now, she would be stuck at five for a very long time. Besides, she was getting tired of this game. She was getting tired of Kuruk. 

              “Well, if you know what she is, then I have to tell you that I may be human, but I am also her Protector.”

              Kuruk chuckled. “Yes. You’re Brett. The human that Mai-coh saved.” He placed the fruit and knife on a plate on the coffee table. “So, you have a learned a few Were tricks and you think you can take me on?”

              Before Brett could answer, Kuruk nodded and the group of Weres around Layla were joined by others who surrounded Brett as well. 

              Kuruk chuckled again. “Like you said, you’re going to have to do a hell of a lot more than want her to get her.” 

              Brett glared at Kuruk. “You lay a finger on her and you’ll regret it.”

              Kuruk’s face hardened. “Don’t threaten me, boy. When you were only a thought in your parent’s minds, I was killing Weres.” He stood up and grabbed Susan’s arm roughly.               

              “Let’s go.” He stalked out and the others grabbed Layla and Brett. Layla reached for Nali as the little girl started to scream. One of the Weres raised his hand to strike her. 

              “Don’t you dare.” Layla’s voice cut sharply. 

              The Were regarded her with a look. She pulled Nali into her arms and the little girl wrapped her arms around Layla’s waist as the Were approached them ominously.

              “Hassun.” 

              The Were back away, pushing them roughly as he heeded his Alpha’s command.

              The night air was cool and refreshing as they headed outside, but her thoughts were not on the nice fall evening. She needed to protect her family and that meant getting them out of this situation. The area behind the house was heavily wooded; one of the reasons they had chosen it, it made a great place to hide the bodies if they had to kill. 

              Kuruk walked quickly in front of the group, his familiarity with the area frightening. Layla shared a glance with Brett and lifted Nali to her hip as the little girl’s arms wrapped around her neck. The woods sounded with nocturnal creatures. The call of a bird was especially eerie and Nali whimpered in Layla’s ear.

              “Shh,” Layla soothed, trying to keep the child calm. “It’s okay, we’ll be fine.” She caught Brett’s eyes again and then suddenly swore when her foot caught a root. 

*

              The momentary distraction was all Brett needed. He had been trying to tell Layla that Martin was following them. She was so focused on keeping Nali calm and she didn’t think to smell for more Weres. The morons that Kuruk had hired had forgotten to check him and he’d pocket dialed Martin’s number the minute he realized something was wrong. 

              The old man had kept quiet, which confirmed that he was on his way. The phone line remained open to allow him to hear every word Kuruk had said and when Brett heard the bird call they had used in Alaska, he made his move. 

              He lunged for the Were closet to him and pushed the Were into Kuruk. The older Were lost his balance momentarily and released Susan, but quickly recovered. 

              Brett was faster. Used to being underestimated, he grabbed Susan and pushed her into one of the escape tunnels they had built around the perimeter. He silently apologized to Susan as she screamed as she fell into the dark hole. Once she calmed down, she would be able to find her way towards the reinforced basement they had transformed into a safe room underneath the house where she would be protected.

              The others Weres sprang into action. They transformed and he took off into the trees. He figured that at least three would follow him in the excitement and that would leave at least six, including Kuruk, for Layla and Martin to handle. Those odds were better than the ones they had earlier and now that Layla’s aunt was out of the way, it just made things easier.

*

              Layla watched in disbelief as Brett pushed her aunt towards the hole. Then she remembered the escape tunnels. She smiled as she knew the woman would be safe, for now. She grabbed Nali and ran, depositing the girl into another tunnel.

              “Stay here,” she instructed. “I will be right back.”

              She sensed the Weres behind her and took off heading in the opposite direction. She transformed as she ran, wincing as a particularly jarring step jolted bones that were shifting. Once fully transformed, she stopped and the Were immediately behind her careened into her back. 

              Layla used the momentum of the impact to rip his head from his neck. So much for not killing again. The other two flanked her. It was a rematch of the fight that had occurred only a few weeks earlier in almost the same spot. 

              She allowed the two to circle her and was amazed at how she was able to follow them in her head. Even without using her nightsight, she could see them, almost like she saw Taini’s scent trail. 

              One Were took a step toward her. She sensed his movements and planted her foot even as her other foot left the ground. It connected with his sternum and violently threw the Were back. He landed heavily against a tree with a shuddering breath and looked down in disbelief at the branch protruding from his chest. She almost gagged at the gruesome sight, but managed to keep her head in the game.

              She turned to the final Were. It was Hassun. The Were who tried to hit Nali. He grinned at her and shook his head.

              “Not gonna be that easy with me.”

              Layla raised an eyebrow. “That’s what they all say.”

              He bared his teeth and in a show of defiance, she snarled back. 

              “Mine is bigger than yours.” He laughed.

              She continued to snarl, “It’s not the size of the fangs; it depends on how you use them.” She jumped at him and the Were surprised her by moving agilely out of the way. He was much more limber than she would have suspected of such a big Were. Suddenly, she was no longer on the offensive. He turned and thrust at her as she dodged and weaved away from his blows. She twisted out of arms reach and eyed him warily.