Omegas In Love (8 page)

Run.

He wouldn’t be of any use to Katrina dead.

The Asian werewolf followed, but hadn’t bothered to shift yet.

Tyler could almost sense the out-stretched hand reaching for him as he neared the exit. Not bothering to slow down, he smashed into the door while he turned the knob, sending it crashing open.

A surprised yelp from a familiar angry Rottweiler greeted him.

After a split second of what-the-fucking, Tyler took off, running to the right and followed the water’s edge.

The dog joined in the chase, barking.

Short of breath, Tyler glanced over his shoulder at the parade of kick-my-ass following him.

The Asian shifter had caught up to the Rotie, who growled and snapped. Drool hung like a rope from its flapping lips.

Without a skip, the guard growled and snapped back.

Snarling, the dog twisted into the shifter’s path, tripping them both into a tangle of limbs and teeth.

Leaping into a full out sprint, Tyler didn’t bother looking back as the sounds of conflict grew louder in pitch behind him. He’d escaped. A miracle.

Chapter 8

Tyler’s pulse pounded in his ears and made it difficult to hear. The fight between shifter and stray dog faded the further he sprinted.

Darkness blanketed the docks and made searching for another ambush tricky, which meant it also would make finding him difficult. Using the night, Tyler found a corner to hide in. Hands on knees, he fought to catch his breath.

He glanced around the edge of the building, trying to keep hidden. The Rottweiler limped back toward the warehouse and his attacker lay unmoving on the ground.

What the hell was he doing? Eric and Daedalus better arrive soon before they needed to add his funeral to their to-do list. He surveyed the shipyard. Katrina could be anywhere. Hope took a gondola ride down to his gut. He stared at the midnight water, waiting for inspiration. They’d brought her here for a reason. People didn’t come to the docks for kicks.

He needed the pack’s help, but they were spread thin across the city. How long before Eric could gather them?

His gaze wandered to the crane. It had stopped loading cargo containers on the farthest ship while he’d been in the warehouse. Kind of odd. The dock was empty of any activity. No trucks or dock hands moving around.

A memorable high pitched squeal set his teeth on edge, then faded. Tony’s van had made that kind of noise when he’d rescued him from Chinatown, something about a fan belt slipping. Sticking to the shadows, Tyler moved toward the sound. He scurried across open ground to the still crane, edging around to the other side, where he found Tony’s white van parked by the ship. Tyler stopped so fast he had to grab the crane for balance. He blinked a few times and closed his mouth. Where was the pack? His alpha and the vampire?

Tony got out of the driver’s side. The thin Asian shifter kept glancing over his shoulder as he made his way to the rear of the vehicle.

Leaning forward, Tyler couldn’t calm his racing heart. Exposed in the open, his pack mate could be attacked at any moment. Why would Tony come here without Eric and Daedalus? No other car followed him. Maybe they’d gotten lost?

About to step out of his hiding spot, Tyler watched as Tony opened the van’s back doors and carried out a struggling, tied-up Spice.

Time stopped. Betrayal bit into Tyler. Tony had been helping Chen?

Rescuing Tyler in Chinatown, helping read Katrina’s diary, and taking Spice to the hospital was all a hoax?

The tip about the empty house, which exploded, had come from him. God, they were so naive. But Tony smelled Vasi. He’d been at pack meetings. Could Chen have been planning this invasion for that long?

Tyler shook his head to snap out of it. No wonder Chen always kept a step ahead of them. He’d known where they lived, who Eric’s mate was, and moved Katrina from the warehouse before Tyler arrived there.

Taking a deep breath, Tyler strode to the van, behind Tony, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, dude.”

Tony jumped as if the grim reaper had just struck him. He dropped Spice to the ground in a heap.

She snarled around a gag stuffed in her mouth and tore at her restraints. Her eyes bulged as she gazed from him to Tony.

“Tyler!” The traitor spun around, sweat beading on his forehead. “W–what are you doing here?”

“Thought I’d be dead by now, packmate?” He spat out the last word and shoved the young shifter against the van. No one had ever tried to murder him before. “What are you doing, Tony?” He couldn’t shake off his disbelief.

Straightening, Tony met his glare. “I’m making a trade. Spice and Katrina are the payment.”

“What?”

“You’ve no idea what’s it like to be a shifter in another country. Hunted and feared. You’re spoiled with pack meetings and pretending to be human. Day jobs, cars, houses, credit cards, movies, restaurants…” Tony stopped and caught his breath. A tear streaked along his cheek. “My sisters were kidnapped by Chen’s pack a few weeks ago. They’ve forced me to help them or they’ll take my little sisters to China for breeding.” He swallowed, determination squaring his jaw. “I can’t let you have her.” He gestured to Spice behind him.

“You should have come to Eric. He would have helped.” Tyler glanced at the bruises on Spice’s face and didn’t think his alpha would be so generous now.

“Screw that, he’d start spouting off on the accords again. You think Chen cares about old laws?” Tony shook his head. “When he offered my sisters for Spice and Katrina…my parents…this is the only way.”

“You think Chen will keep his word?” He wanted to shake the younger idiot.

“I’m not stupid. My sisters are on that ship. I’ve seen them.” He took a shaky breath. “Leave, Tyler. I don’t want to hurt you, but I’ll yell for help if I have to.”

“Don’t want to hurt me? You set me up.” Clenching his fists, Tyler glared at Tony. He wanted to pound his head in. He wanted to break his bones. He wanted…Katrina back.

“Set up? I didn’t–I mean, I told them you were coming…” His voice faded. “Oh.”

“A shifter was waiting for me at the warehouse, wanting to separate my head from my shoulders.”

Tony’s eyes grew wide. “I didn’t know.”

Spice rose behind him.

“I wouldn’t–” Tony shook his head.

The surprise must have shown on Tyler’s face, because the traitor wheeled around just in time for Spice to sucker punch him.

Knees wobbling, Tony flopped to the ground, out cold.

“Were you trying to talk him to death, Tyler?” She rubbed her fist. “Fuck, that hurt.”

“How did you–”

She lifted her left hand. Sharp, long claws had grown from her nail beds. “Robert’s been teaching me that trick of his. I can only grow the nails on this hand, though.” The sawed ropes lay in a tangle at her feet. “Help me carry him.” She took Tony’s legs as Tyler grabbed his shoulders. They placed him in the back of the van.

Spice shut the doors and locked them. “What now?” She glanced around.

He blinked. His alpha didn’t have a plan? Shit, that meant he was still making it up as he went. “Well, we’ll deal with Tony later.” He gazed at the dark ship. “I’m assuming Katrina’s on there.” No plan, no back up, and no skill, this was the worst rescue ever. “I had hoped Eric and Daedalus would be here by now.” He scratched his chin. “They don’t even know where we are.” Pulling out his cellphone, he turned it on. “Take the van and my phone. Get out of here and call them.”

“I’m not leaving you. I’m not doing this again.” She planted her hands on her hips.

“If they get you, Spice, they’ll have a bigger bargaining chip than just Katrina. They’ll have Eric by the balls.” He rested his hands on her shoulders and bent to make eye contact with her.

She opened her mouth, determination clearly in her thoughts, then it faded. “Shit on a stick, I hate this.” She shrugged out of his hold and hurried to the driver’s side door. “Come on, you’re coming with me. We’ll need to hurry. The ship might leave.”

“I know. That’s why I have to stay.”

Skidding to a stop, she spun on her heels. “Tyler.” A play of emotions warred on her face: concern, anger, confusion, until she frowned. “Get her.” She jumped into the van and a second later, the engine roared to life.

He couldn’t watch her leave. Instead, he sprinted to the side of the freighter, where a steel ladder was welded. Climbing, he kept praying nobody would see him. He jumped the side rail and hid between some of the cargo containers.

Short of breath, he sounded like a heavy breather crank call on a THX sound system. The cool metal stung his hot flesh. Deep down inside, he couldn’t blame Tony, but wished the idiot had come to them first. In a similar situation, Tyler might have done the same.

Tony’s sisters were on the ship with Katrina. That meant he had three females to rescue. He sighed. Shit, what next?

Katrina could be anywhere on this huge boat. He closed his eyes and inhaled through both his mouth and nose. Tasting the air, he started his search.

If he found her and they escaped, what would keep Chen from taking her back?

This could start a war. The casualties marched through his imagination. Humans would be caught in the crossfire. Shifter relations in Chicago would spiral back to the dark ages. The peace they’d fought to win and keep would vanish.

He came across a rope winch and ran his hand over the cool machine. The Rube Goldberg machine he’d won the contest with contained simple string strategies. There wasn’t much difference between string and rope. What if he took Chen out of the equation for good?

* * * *

The cracks in the ceiling paint created an intrinsic pattern. Katrina followed the lines with her sight, trying to find a way out of the maze. Her eyes were the only thing on her body that didn’t hurt.

Chen hadn’t held back on the hits once she’d defied him.

She shuddered, then hissed at the sharp pain in her chest. Each deep breath stung. Her ribs were probably cracked. She couldn’t even shift to heal her injuries. It would take her at least a day to recover.

The pain distracted her from the growing need between her thighs, though. Thank goodness, for little miracles. But how long before her heat took control over her body?

They’d laid her on a bed inside a cabin on a cargo ship destined for China. She suspected the room was more for Chen’s future comfort than for her injuries. If only the ground would swallow her whole before he returned.

They’d left the collar around her neck without the chain, a reminder of her status as a dog, and locked her room door. She squeezed her eyes shut. All her tears had been shed. They didn’t do her any good.

The freighter would set sail soon, and all those who’d helped her wouldn’t be bothered anymore. She would return to China. A thousand terrible possibilities loomed in her future.

How pathetic that she couldn’t break out. Without her beast, she wasn’t any better than a human. Every time she reached for her animal self, she found nothing. She’d never been so alone. How did humans cope?

The doorknob twisted and rattled slightly. Someone snuffled on the other side.

Moving slowly, she sat on the edge of the bed, not wanting to appear weak when Chen entered. She swallowed the pain and tried to take strength from it. No more groveling. She was Vasi now. The old Katrina had died when she ran from Chen.

“Katrina?” A familiar voice whispered.

Her spine snapped straight. All her pain vanished while her heart did a pirouette into the sky. “Tyler?”

Chapter 9

Tyler leaned against the door at the sound of Katrina’s voice, as if he could pass through the metal. He had found her. Lightheaded, he took a deep breath. The lock didn’t appear heavy duty, just a simple thing to keep humans out. The muscles in his back and arm contracted while he applied pressure to the knob. If he broke it, the lock would go too.

It took all his willpower not to bust down the door, but noise would attract attention. Concentrating supernatural strength in his hand finally snapped the knob. Its shattered pieces tumbled into his palms.

He shoved the door open.

Katrina stood on shaky legs. The most radiant smile spread across her face like moonbeams and night skies.

In three strides, he gathered her in his arms and squeezed tight. Nothing short of a crowbar would pry his arms from her.

Or her flinching at his touch.

He let go right away. She hadn’t reacted to him this way since they’d first met. Stepping away, he scanned her from head to toe. Torn dress, bruised face and limbs, her bottom lip swollen with a split. That bastard! She splinted her side as she moved toward him as if it hurt to walk.

“No.” The denial grated in his throat with contained rage. His pulse pounded behind his eyes. Had she already gone into heat? Was he too late?

Chen. Would. Die.

He’d tear that alpha’s heart out and eat it. Never had he wished harm on anyone until tonight.

Tears sparkled on Katrina’s eyelashes. “It’s not what you think. He only beat me.” She reached for him.

“Only?” He could barely speak. This time he gathered her in his arms gently. “I’m going to kill him.”

“No, you’re not.” She gazed into his eyes as she rested her head on his chest. “You will take me home. Let the warriors fight. I can’t lose you.” She sobbed once. “I’m so sorry.”

He gave her a chaste kiss. “We need to go.”

“Wait.” She whispered. “There’s something you need to know. I will be in my season soon. Very soon.”

“I know.”

Her shocked, confused expression was priceless.

“I had someone translate your diary.” He met her stare without shame. He’d have done it again if it meant saving her.

“The whole thing?” A deep blush crept up her cheeks then she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Chen’s gathered other females. He’s going to do terrible things to them. We have to help.”

“First, I get you off the ship. Then I’ll come back with help.”

“I have to stay.”

“Katrina–”

She placed a finger over his lips. “It is non-negotiable. I won’t be separated from you.”