Mayhem: The Order of the Wolf, Book 5 (12 page)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Allan came barreling into the room, startling her out of her scream, her brain coming fully online.

“Hannah, what’s wrong?”

She scrambled away as he moved toward her, frantic to avoid his touch. She was on a bed, just like in her dream. She pushed herself toward the headboard then quickly scanned her body, sighing with relief when she realized she was fully clothed. Just a dream.

“You’re safe,” he cooed as he approached slowly, like he was caging a wild animal.

She sucked in a deep breath, pressed herself harder against the headboard, wanting to be anywhere but there with him.

“You must have had a bad dream,” he said as he took another step toward her.

Hannah scanned the room, taking in the features she hadn’t noticed before. Walnut dressers, a small desk. Two doors, one opened to a brightly lit hallway, presumably where Allan had come from. How the hell had she gotten in here?

“Hannah, why don’t you come with me?” Allan waved his hand for her to move to the end of the bed. “I’ll get you something to eat. Now that you’ve had some sleep, we can talk a little.”

She batted his words away, her mind reeling back to what had felt so real only moments before. Hannah snapped her eyes to meet his. “I had a dream about a wolf.”

Allan frowned. “I’m sorry, Hannah, I know that it was scary for you to experience things like that. It was the only way—”

“It bit me,” she said as she raised her hand reflexively to her throat, surprised when she felt tenderness there. “Ow.”

Allan’s frown deepened. “The wolf bit you?”

Ignoring him, she moved to the side of the bed and kneeled so she could look in the mirror that hung on the wall. She lifted her hand from her throat, swept her hair back and tilted her head to the side. On her neck were two puncture marks, angry and red and sealing shut right before her eyes.

“Wha-a-a-a…” Words died on her tongue.

“Motherfucker!” Allan roared. “That bastard marked you!”

Allan was pacing angrily, his fists clenching and unclenching as Kelly examined Hannah’s neck.

“I don’t see anything there but…” Her frown grew. “I definitely feel something there. Like a hum of power.”

“He bit her!” Allan spat. “I don’t know how, but that’s what the bastard did!”

“What does that mean?” Hannah shifted away from Kelly, feeling awkward enough as it was with Allan acting like a maniac. “I had a dream…” She felt her cheeks blush.

“About Mayhem?” Allan roared.

Hannah flinched and drew back even more.

“Allan, will you calm down, man? You’re freaking your mate out!” Kelly motioned behind her. “Seriously, go take a seat or something. The pacing is getting on my nerves!”

Allan acted as if he’d been slapped, obviously unused to Kelly speaking to him that way. He paused, ran a hand down his face then looked at Hannah. “I’m sorry. I’m acting like an asshole.” He sighed as he moved to a nearby chair and collapsed into it, his features crushing into a look of defeat. “I don’t know what this means or what to do about it.”

“Do you feel any different, Hannah?” Kelly’s tone was softened when she spoke, her gaze shifting from Hannah’s to her neck. “You said you had a dream about Mayhem. Can you tell me about it?”

Hannah shook her head, shifting a guarded look at Allan. No way was she sharing
that
dream. “I don’t feel different, not really. Other than wanting to see Mayhem, but I felt that way before.”

Allan flinched and for a moment, Hannah actually felt sorry for him, but then she remembered that she was in a bed, in a room she had no recollection of and suddenly her confusion—her pity, her denial—was replaced by anger.

“Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?” Hannah shifted to the side of the bed and stood, putting it between her, Kelly and Allan. “What difference does it make that I had a dream about Mayhem? Why are there bite marks on my neck? Why am I in this room? Sleeping? With him only steps away?” She pointed an angry finger at Allan.

Kelly raised her hands and motioned for Hannah to calm down. “You needed to get some sleep, we thought it best…”

Hannah frowned, realization dawning. “You drugged me?” It came out as a whisper that sounded like a growl. Hannah had downed the tepid tea just after Kelly had dropped the bomb that Mayhem was a murderer. “You thought it was best to slip something into my drink and knock me out?”

Kelly nodded, no remorse in her expression. “You hadn’t slept really, had witnessed a traumatic encounter with a beast. You needed to sleep so you could think clearly, make a logical decision about what comes next.”

“You people are all crazy!” Hannah shook her head and took another few steps back, knowing that at some point she was going to hit the wall, that there was no escape from this situation but wanting to create distance all the same. “In what world is it okay to drug someone and keep them captive? How is this logical to you?”

“This is a world of life and death, Hannah,” Kelly said as she sat on the bed, one knee propped to the side on the mattress. “And the Order takes your life very seriously.”

“For all I know, that dream was totally a drug-induced hallucination!” It felt so real though, like Mayhem had been there with her. Touching her, caressing her, biting her. She lifted a hand to her neck, felt the odd sensitive throb still there.

“It was no hallucination,” Allan said, his voice grim. “He marked you somehow.”

“I don’t think it’s complete, though.” Kelly looked from Hannah to Allan, then back again. “She’s not feeling her powers like she should be at this point. We might be able to counteract it if you lay your bonding mark on her.”

Hannah’s eyes grew wide. “No one is laying anything on me!” They were talking about her like she wasn’t even in the room, like she wasn’t part of the conversation at all. “If what you’ve told me about the Huntress is true, then this is
my
destiny you’re talking about here.
My
choice.”

“Mayhem didn’t give you the choice,” Kelly said matter-of-factly. “He violated you while you slept, put his mark on you without consent.”

Hannah frowned, her thoughts growing muddled as she tried to recall the dream. “No, that’s not true…”

Mayhem would never force himself on her—she’d wanted him to take her, she wanted to be with him.

I am yours. Always. Forever.

But she didn’t know what that really meant, did she?

“He violated you. That’s what the wolves do. They take what they want with no consideration of the consequences. With his mark, you will become immortal. Did he tell you that?”

Hannah gasped, pressing her fingers to her throat. “You can’t expect me to believe—”

“Yes, yes,” Kelly waved her words away. “That’s getting a little old now, don’t you think, Hannah? You’ve seen the beast, you know this is real. His mark should bring out your powers. They are probably delayed because of the way he did it. His mark gifts you with immortality. It attaches you to him in a way that will make you loyal, committed. Like a dog.”

Hannah flinched. Bitten. Marked. Kelly was making her head buzz, a headache growing. Allan had taken her against her will. Had forced compliance somehow…with his powers? They’d drugged her—for her own good, Kelly had said. She pressed her fingers to her temples. She couldn’t think straight. None of this was making sense to her. Who was the bad guy? Where was the danger? What should she do?

“His mark isn’t as strong as it could be, but he has marked you to some extent, which means he will come looking for you. You’re tethered to him now and he will find you.” Kelly said that like it was a threat, like Hannah should be scared. “It’s possible that bonding with Allan right now will dampen the effects of that mark, maybe erase them completely. Wouldn’t you rather it be your choice this time? Allan is offering you love, strength, power. And not the kind of power that the wolves will give you. Allan will empower you. Give you what you need to become a true Huntress. A warrior.”

Hannah’s mind inadvertently slipped back to Mayhem—not the man himself, but back to the tapestry hanging in his mansion. The one of Alkaia, the wolf slayer. The woman she’d looked at and admired. Unforgettable. Powerful.

“What comes with Allan’s bond?” Hannah asked, refusing to look at Allan, the shift in her periphery enough to tell her that he’d sat up straighter, had pushed himself forward. “I mean, what’s the catch?” she quickly added.

Kelly smiled. “Love. Lust. Intense physical attraction.”

“It will make me hate Mayhem won’t it? It will make me want to kill him.”

“Your place is here, as a Huntress. That is your destiny, one of your choosing, yes, but one you were born to become.” Kelly shook her head. “You won’t hate Mayhem. I’m sure there will always be a place in your heart for him. And as long as he leaves us alone, leaves the humans alone, we can tolerate his existence.” Allan let out a low growl and Kelly held her hand out for silence. “He poses no real threat. He’s just a pup, acting on instinct.”

“A pup that will learn how to become a monster. At some point that wolf is going to figure out how to come into its beast.” Allan grumbled.

“You said he killed a Hunter…” Hannah cleared her throat, her mind conjuring the image of the beast from her dream. Mayhem and yet not him at the same time, not the wolf that she’d seen in the pictures. He’d been like the beast she’d seen outside Wolves’ Bane. Monstrous, brutality in its blood tinted fangs, its gnarly claws, its ragged looking fur. Not the beautiful creature that Allan had photographed. But how could that have been Mayhem if Mayhem wasn’t a monster? “You said Mayhem had ripped his throat out.”

Kelly nodded sadly, her frown creasing her forehead once again. “Talia’s mate. His death destroyed her. Made her unhinged. Made her weak.”

Allan snorted bitterly. “Mayhem killed her just as surely as he’d killed her Hunter. She turned into a coward, abandoned her team, ran when she could have helped.”

Hannah sighed, raising a hand to rub away the blooming headache.

“When Mayhem killed Talia’s mate, she got scared, left the rest of her team behind for Mayhem’s pack to kill. Two more men, dead. Because of your Mayhem—” Allan’s tone was hard “—they were murdered brutally, Talia attested to that when she came back to the Order to tell us what happened. The trauma of it made her lose her mind.”

“Where is she now?” Hannah asked, as she barely processed this new information. Mayhem not only a wolf, but a killer as well? What could she believe? What should she take as truth? Her gut clenched as the answer pushed back at her. Allan wasn’t lying.

“She ran,” Kelly said with a sigh. “She couldn’t handle the guilt, kept saying that she deserved exile. That her powers were waning. We haven’t seen her in over a week.” Kelly cleared her throat. “It’s possible some of the older Hunters may have led her to believe she no longer belonged here.”

Hannah frowned. “They pushed her out?” She shook her head, her mind fuzzy, muddled. “Is she a danger to Mayhem? Will she seek revenge?”

Dizziness swept over her and she swayed on her feet, sliding down to the bed as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath in. Something was tugging at her, insistent, urgent, like a knock at her subconscious.

“Hannah?” Allan’s voice came to her like he was talking into a hollow tunnel. Distant, quiet. “Are you okay?”

She opened her eyes and realized that the world had shifted a little. With a gasp, she scanned both Kelly and Allan. Things were different. “I-I-I see colors,” she murmured. Pulsing, vibrant colors emanating around Allan, shades of red, orange, yellow that flared and then shifted to blue, purple hues. Kelly was blanketed in blue herself, her frown drawn deep. “So beautiful.” The colors pulsed, cascading Hannah with a mixture of feelings—fear, concern, distrust, love. Love?

“Her powers are kicking in,” Allan said, his voice rough once again. “That bastard’s bite did work.”

“Is this how it is for you?” Hannah asked with awe. There was no denying this—this power, this experience. In her very core, that thing that made her who she was, understood that this power belonged to her. “So much…” Hannah frowned as the emotion in the room suddenly spiked. “Ouch…too much.” She gripped her head as more and more emotions poured into her mind, the spiking migraine gripping her like a vise.

“She doesn’t know how to control it,” Allan said, his hands suddenly under her arms, hoisting her up as she slumped against him.

She wanted to fight him off, wanted to push away, but he was right.
The pain, oh god, the pain.
“Too much,” she moaned.

The pain was so intense, suddenly pounding into her, noises from a thousand different directions, all barreling into her head. She wanted to vomit, cry, rip off her own damn head to make it stop.

“Hannah.” Allan’s voice was soothing somehow, cutting through the noise. “The only way you’re going to be able to control this is if you let me put my mark on you too.”

“No!” Hannah flinched to the side, wanting to argue further, her mouth not working as it should. “Mayhem,” she moaned.

“My bond will give you the knowledge so that you can control your powers. Mine aren’t as strong as yours but I’ve honed them all the same. If you let me bond with you, you’ll instantly have my knowledge, my expertise. You’ll be able to deal with this pain, manage the power you have.”

Another spike of pain ripped through Hannah’s head as wave upon wave of emotions poured in. She couldn’t think, Allan’s words scaring her but it was nothing compared to the other emotions pounding into her. Her body contorted in a spasm, her torso twisting, her back arching as she wrenched herself out of Allan’s grasp and tumbled to the floor. Her vision faded to black, blotting out the pain like a heavy blanket covering her.

She wasn’t dreaming, not like when she’d seen Mayhem, when he’d bitten her, but she wasn’t awake. Her body was light, floating, awareness just out of her reach. She knew that the second she came to she’d be awash with the intensity of her powers. They swirled around her now, emotions coming at her like threads of light, tendrils that snaked and curled, stroking her yet not actually making contact. Emotions that were sentient in their movements, testing her strength, tempting her curiosity, begging her to manipulate. She let it sweep her up, knowing that time was passing, allowing the pings of feelings to caress her, to know her. If she wanted it, it was hers to take, to play with and embrace. With a calmness she knew was fleeting, her mind settled on one truth. She needed to understand what she was becoming. She needed to harness the power that teased her flesh. A power that promised her own destruction if she didn’t learn to control it. Allan had offered knowledge, support, training. Despite all that had happened, her mistrust of the Order, of Allan and his manipulations, she knew she needed what he offered, if only to survive what Mayhem had done when he bit her.