Moonlit Rescue (8 page)
He crept along a ventilation grate high above the rooms used for storage and prisoners and assessed the lay of the land. From his vantage point, he only spotted two scouts.
“Is the little human tired of hanging around?” Xander’s voice echoed up to him.
The scouts turned their heads, showing Vale where they held his Kira. He listened for her voice, but only heard a moan and he tightened his grip on his knife. He would kill everyone who hurt his love.
“How long shall we wait?” Xander asked.
Vale slid closer. “Not long.” When the whisper left his mouth, one of the scouts looked up and growled.
No doubt they all sensed him, but he didn’t move. He needed more time and he was hoping for an opportunity to give him an advantage.
“What exactly will a human endure to be reunited with her mate?” Xander’s voice rose and his question ended with the telltale sound of a slap.
Kira’s cry of pain threw out any of his plans. His love needed him, and he kicked the metal out, throwing his knife right into the neck of a scout, killing it as he jumped down. “Not anything close to what an animal like me will do!”
“Vale, no.” Kira’s strained whimper met his ears.
No sooner had he landed than a second scout charged, knocking him down. He tried not to react to Kira’s scream and instead took another knife and shoved the blade through the scout’s belly.
“That was quite an entrance.” Xander clapped with slow, exaggerated movements.
Vale pushed the dead scout off him, turned to Kira and broke out in a sick sweat.
Four scouts and three guards surrounded his broken and blood soaked mate, but what caused him to shake and become lightheaded was how Xander had trapped her in the stone. Down here that was a death sentence. Even though he could change the stone as well, he couldn’t reverse the leader’s changes. Only Xander, could free her.
Kira believed he could be a leader. Now she had concrete proof she was wrong.
“Let her go.” Vale put his hand on the shaft of a large knife tethered to the back of his pants. He tried to look into her eyes, but they were dim, losing life by the second.
“I suppose you had to try that line.” Xander positioned himself in front of her. “Also, I won’t exchange you for her, so forget it.”
He focused on his brother and flung the knife in his direction.
A huge sneer took over Xander’s snout as he caught the weapon in mid-flight. “Seriously?” He held it up like a trophy and shoved it into the stone right by Kira’s face.
Kira’s head slumped forward. If she wasn’t dead, she was close. He clenched his fist, needing to focus. His rescuing her was her death sentence. He roared as his wolf side overtook him. With nothing more to sacrifice, he let loose. He would fight every one of them for the chance to be alone with her one last time.
Caught in a whirlwind of claws, fangs and blows, Vale attacked with everything he possessed. He killed two scouts using only his bare hands. The two remaining scouts bit and tore at his legs until he kicked them into submission. While he managed to trap one of the guards in the stone under his own power, the other beat him until he took his last knife and stabbed it through his enemy’s side.
“Guards!” Xander stayed by Kira.
Vale knew he wouldn’t survive another round of attacks. Death and destruction surrounded him. He wanted to lead, but he was nothing more than a joke when he couldn’t even keep his own mate alive.
“Vale.” Kira’s raspy voice was barely audible from behind Xander.
“Kira.” She was still alive. He had to be with her.
The coordinated stomps of more guards rushing toward the warehouse sounded a death knell.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I should have believed. I love…”
“No!” He swore she would hear the words he should have said before. A surge of energy ran through him, and he clawed himself up, heading not toward Kira, but toward the door of the warehouse, liquefying the rock at the entrance and sealing them inside, buying him time from the guards.
“I can get us out of here any time.” Xander yawned, raising his arms and patting his mouth. “It’s good to be the leader.”
Vale edged toward them. “I don’t care what you do, let her loose.”
“She’s dead already.” Xander stepped aside.
The vision of Kira hanging by her hands encased in the rock would haunt him forever.
He lunged toward Xander, throwing him to the ground and landing on top of his evil half-sibling. Xander managed to roll them over and bared his fangs.
Before Xander could strike, Vale punched him in the stomach, and turned them back over. There was only one way to save Kira. Vale crushed Xander’s wrist in his fist and dragged him over to Kira. “Free her.”
“Never, but I can make sure you’re with her.” Xander rolled them over, pushing Vale’s free arm into the stone.
Everything Vale wanted he lost. He’d lost his mother and father, his place in the pack, and now Kira. His arm sank into the stone. One thing he wouldn’t lose would be the opportunity to touch her one last time. The rock solidified around him, but he managed to grab Xander’s fur and slam his head into the wall hard enough to hear the sound of bones cracking.
Xander instantly collapsed in a heap. His body convulsed and he gasped for breath.
Vale reached up, not caring if he ripped his own arm off to get to her. “Kira.” He was too far away.
“Free us.” Vale grabbed Xander, holding up his brother’s flaccid arm. “Get up.”
Xander remained slumped over, no reaction, no movement.
“Xander!” Vale slapped his brother.
White foam poured out of Xander’s half-open mouth. Vale slammed Xander’s arm against the stone in an attempt to free himself. He glanced over at Kira, her eyes were closed, she wasn’t moving. Her only sign of life a struggled breath. “Hold on.”
Xander’s mind needed to be intact for him to concentrate in order to reverse the changes on the stone, and his brother was too far-gone to heal himself. Vale ground his teeth together, his whole life had centered on power, with him always coming up short. Only those who held higher positions in the hierarchy had the ability to reverse any changes to the stone once they were made.
Only a leader could reverse the changes to the stone.
He was second in command.
His every muscle tensed, his vision focusing not on Kira, but on Xander.
“Let’s see who holds the power now.” Before he could second-guess his next action, Vale snaked his arm around Xander’s neck, twisting until it snapped. Xander stilled as life left him.
With no time to reflect that he’d killed his rival and his half-brother, Vale concentrated on freeing himself.
Nothing happened. “What?” The element should be his to command and it disobeyed. Without Xander he was first in the hierarchy, but still he failed.
He turned to his love. He had to get to her somehow. “Please.”
As the word left his mouth a wind blew out of nowhere.
“The change.” He glanced around the warehouse. Xander’s body, and the bodies of the others, dried up, turned to dust and blew away. The cycle was complete.
Alone with only Kira, he tried again. He shut his eyes and concentrated, envisioning how he’d transformed the stone to create Kira’s ring. At last the rock yielded, softening around him and liberating his arm. For the first time, he had changed the stone after his brother. He was the leader.
“Kira.” He rushed to her and set her free. Her body fell into his arms. He held her close, burying his face in her hair, breathing in. Her scent was off, reeking of pain, blood and death. Four distinct jagged slices marred her beautiful face. If Xander wasn’t already dead Vale would have killed him.
“Please, Kira. Wake up.” He kissed her.
She didn’t move, her lips were cold—the end was near. No change would take place for his mate, no wind and fanfare, only her lying there, passing in his embrace.
Officially, he was now the leader. He had what he’d strived for his whole life, the stone obeyed his every touch, but it didn’t matter. He wanted to be what he never would be, a partner. He bent down to Kira’s ear. “I love you.” He prayed she could hear him.
****
Silver light flooded Kira’s eyes, summoning her. It would be easy to let it take her. Let it heal her aching body, eliminate her worry, and mend her heart. She fought the desire to fade away into the light.
“Vale.” Her throat burned, but she needed to say his name to remind her why she shouldn’t disappear.
“Kira.” A set of arms cradled her, grounding her and guiding her to where she needed to be.
A shadow clouded over the light. She had to fight to get to Vale. She blinked, focusing her eyes and the shadow transformed into her love. “Oh.” She tried to lift her arm toward his silver skin and carved face. “You found me.” He came for her. “I knew you would.”
“I lost you, I almost got you killed. I thought I did.” He placed his palm to her cheek. “You’re alive.”
“No, you rescued me.” Her body throbbed, resisting any attempt she made to move, but she needed to touch him to make sure he was real. “Where are we?”
“Still underground in my father’s old living quarters.” He put a finger over her lips and ran his hands and lips over every cut and bruise.
She shut her eyes as Vale’s touches and kisses caused the pain to dissipate.
He brushed his lips against hers and she opened her eyes, glancing down at her body. He’d found her, he’d fought for her, and he’d healed her in more ways than making her wounds disappear. She took his hand. “I am your mate.” No doubts, or overthinking. This was what her heart wanted and where her instinct led her.
Vale shook his head. “No. Not like that.”
“What?” She didn’t understand.
He stared into her eyes. “I love you.”
At one point she needed to hear those words, but now she knew his actions said much more. “You don’t have to say it.”
“I finally get it,” he told her. “I would like to ask if you would do me the honor of being my mate, my partner, my Kira.”
“Yes, we’re part of each other. I love you too.” She leaned in to kiss him as something cold and smooth was slipped onto her finger.
“The element may change, but I will always protect and love you.” He kissed the ring.
She held up her hand, smiling at the gleaming bit of rock that symbolized his love.
“Thank you for your smile.” He laughed and shook his head. “Humans love shiny things.”
A knock interrupted their reunion.
“Sir, the moon is full.” One of the wolves who’d tried to kill her entered their space.
“Vale!” She grabbed him, hiding her face in his chest. They would take her again.
“No one will ever hurt you.” He smoothed her hair down.
She peeked over her shoulder. The werewolf opened a small window in the ceiling, allowing moonlight to flood the space. “What’s happening?”
“It’s time for us to leave.” He gave her a light kiss, let go of her and went to the window.
Light enveloped the room, glowing bright then dimming. She pressed her fingers to her lips, transfixed at watching her mate and the other wolf transform into ordinary men.
She recoiled when Vale approached her.
“What do you think?” He knelt down.
In any other world, under any other circumstance, Vale would have been considered a truly handsome man. He was tall with the same black hair, only now his features were muted, his skin not the silver she adored. “Vale?”
“Well?” He tilted his head.
“I miss you.”
“It’s still me.” He kissed her, opening his mouth and intertwining their tongues.
She returned the kiss with everything she had, and held him close. He was her Vale.
“The wolf side of me wants to ravage you,” he said. “But the human side wants to love you.”
“Sir, we wish you would reconsider your decision to leave.” The guard bowed to him. “Without you we have no leader.”
“Leader?” She squeezed his hand. This was what he worked for, his dream. He couldn’t give it up to have a human as a mate.
“With you by my side, I’ll always be a leader.” He picked her up.
“You’ll be a leader.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Our new colony needs you. You can do it.”
He stopped on their way out. “You believe in me?”
“Always.” She held on as they passed through the moonlight.
A word about the authors...
Kim Preston and Ashley Stewart began writing together over eight years ago when their love of happy endings brought them together. Kim Preston is a wife and mother of two boys and two fluffy pups. She is a sales rep by day and an author by night. Ashley Stewart is a newlywed getting used to the military life with her Marine husband. She is also a doting mom to her new lab rescue. Together they have blended Kim’s dreaming and Ashley’s realism to create the stories now penned under the name Leigh Erikson.
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