Overcome (17 page)

At any rate, the gunman would be hard pressed to kill more than one or two more people if attacked by several wolves.

Trouble was, Anna didn’t know how many adults were pack also.

•
●•

Marc’s bones popped in early shift, in the need to protect his mate. He’d lost her in the press of bodies rushing the doors. Only a few had made it through before the shooter trapped them inside. Those few would be able to get word out at least, if others hadn’t gotten somewhere on their cell phones.

Where the hell was Anna?

A blur of fur slashed across his vision. Jesus. The cubs were scared, and scared cubs couldn’t control their shift. If he didn’t put a stop to things soon, they would be faced with a gym full of frightened wolf pups.

Some of whom were going to get seriously hurt.

You don’t scare a dog unless you want to get bitten. The shooter likely wouldn’t get bitten because he’d put down any animal before they could get to him.

A pup sidled up next to him, instinctually seeking out their alpha for protection. A second. A third. Christ. He ordered them to be still with his palm and a silent command to quiet. The quivering pups hit the floor on their bellies.

“Fucking quit moving.” The gunman punctuated his direction with another random shot. The bullet went through a window, shattering the glass and causing it to rain down on the group below. Strangled yelps rose, an indication at least one or two had been cut.

The noise dimmed, and soon only the sobs of kids and the shushing of the teachers could be heard. He still couldn’t see Anna.

Marc moved, crouching, commanding his young charges, now numbering six, without words, to stay. He progressed slowly, not wanting to bring attention to himself as he eased his way toward the bleachers. If he could crawl through the space between the risers and wall unnoticed, he’d have an advantage on the man.

“I’m looking for Anna Belky. Hand her over and no one else gets hurt.”

Marc came to an abrupt halt. His heart shattered. His breath hitched in his throat. Had her ex come home to finish off what he’d started with all the games he’d been playing?

His fangs lengthened, fur sprouted along his skin, and based on the change in the colors in front of him, his eyes had gone wolf. No fucking way would he take Anna from this school. He scented the air with his superior wolf nose, picking through the scents of fear, anxiousness, blood, and soiled pants.

Left corner, nestled behind the bleachers, right where he suspected. From there the man had a clear exit route and a view of the entire room.

Since that corner was constructed of mostly glass with windows and outer door, that meant the police would see him too. And have a clear shot. It meant Colton might also be a target if the gunman started shooting outside too.

“I know you don’t want all these deaths on your conscience, Anna.” A woman’s voice startled Marc’s forward progress again.

What the fuck?

“Candy Apple?” Anna’s very perplexed answer sounded like a sonic boom in the now silent gym.

“What did you call me?” The shriek made Marc’s blood run cold.

Vanessa King.

“Why are you doing this?” Anna at least had the sense not to stand up, but Marc still felt his breakfast in his throat.

He heard a murmur of voices and then another shot was fired. A pain-filled shriek indicated another victim.

“Goddamn it.” Marc inched forward, doing his best not to attract their attention.

“Quit shooting,” Anna bellowed.

“I’ll keep shooting until you show your face, bitch.”

Marc willed her to stay hidden. He pictured her standing up and taking a bullet between her eyes. Her fear ate at him, made him shake inside and out. He didn’t know what had caused Vanessa to lose it, and he didn’t care. The only thing he knew was if he didn’t get to her soon and stop her, he would lose his mate. The woman he loved.

Principal Adams groaned from his position on the floor, a woman cried in anguish, yet another called for Anna to please give herself up, while three pack mates shouted for her to “no, stay put.”

“How do I know you won’t shoot me the second I stand up?”

Marc heard the tremble in her voice but had to applaud her for trying to vie for time. Colton had to be close.

Another bullet ricocheted off a ceiling light to slap into the wall. The bulb and glass rained down to the floor.

Marc’s ears picked out his phone, Colton’s ringtone, from the desk in his office. Hopefully he’d called to get a situation report. Unfortunately, Marc couldn’t get to his phone. And he only had about ten feet to go before the man and Vanessa would likely be able see him.

“I swear to God, if you don’t stand up, I’ll have Evan start shooting every single one of these snotheads. Now get over here, you pathetic bitch.”

Marc ground his jaw. The closer he got, the more his wolf battled to be released. If he waited until the last possible second, he knew he’d have surprise on his side.

A sharp yip echoed in the space, followed closely by another shot.

Fuck.
Marc sent them another silent verbal command to shift back to human, but he didn’t know if any of the pups would understand since they were so young. At the moment, naked children would be preferable to dead wolf pups.

“You have five seconds, Anna, or this little redhead eats a bullet.”

Marc drew close enough he could see through the slats of the bleachers Luke’s blown-wide eyeballs staring at the man with the gun pointed at him.

“Vanessa, stop.”

Marc watched in frozen anguish as Anna slowly stood, her face as pale as a sheet of paper, yet her eyes glittered with anger. His wolf took over. The breath left his lungs with a whoosh and he barely refrained from howling. The man lifted the rifle and aimed. Marc would never get to him in time.

Marc watched. Time slowed. The man closed one eye and his finger tightened to squeeze. Marc growled and pushed off his hind feet.

A shot rang out and Marc’s wolf howled in anguish. He landed on the man, tearing at his throat with a clawed paw. Screams hurt his ears. Blood tinged the air with its tinny scent.

“Marc, stop!” Anna’s pleas broke through his rage.

Aware that the man wasn’t moving beneath him, Marc sat back on his haunches. He looked at her through his wolf eyes, saw she wasn’t dead. Wasn’t hurt, even. He’d done it.

“Marc, let them take him.” Colton grasped Marc’s nape and tugged, trying to dislodge him from the shooter’s body. He realized then how the man held his breath, how blood seeped through his shirt and down his arm, how Marc had missed the man’s throat and clawed at his chest, leaving deep gashes, how the man had pissed himself.

Anna reached for him, holding her hand aloft as if she were afraid of him. Marc leaped off the man, who squealed and rolled into the fetal position.

When Marc got to Anna, he jumped, putting both paws on her shoulders and licked her face.

“Seriously?” Anna turned her head trying to avoid his tongue, and then buried her face in his fur and cried.

“You scared the shit out of me when you stood up today, baby.” Marc nuzzled her neck, licking at the spot he’d marked and sending tingles through her body. They definitely knew how to turn a girl on.

“What was I supposed to—” She gasped when his tongue lapped at a nipple. “—do?” She squirmed under his naked body and lifted her hips, trying to impale herself since he wasn’t moving fast enough. “Let him start shooting the kids?”

Marc glanced up her body. “I love you.”

Anna chuckled. “You’ve mentioned that several times today.”

“I didn’t tell you before. What if I’d lost you?”

She cradled his cheek in her palm. “I could say the same thing, hero boy.”

“It’s my job to protect my pack. To protect you.”

“The knowledge doesn’t make reality any easier.”

“You started without me.” Colton entered the room, stripping clothes as he went. He’d spent the day at the station trying to sort out what the hell had possessed Vanessa King to go after Anna the way she had. Anna had stayed at the station answering the detective’s inquiries until she thought her ears would fall off from hearing the repeated questions numerous times. They’d finally let her go with her promise to stick around should they need anything else.

The alphas weren’t about to let her go, so sticking around wouldn’t be a problem.

“Sorry.” Anna’s neck corded when she arched into Marc’s mouth at her core. His tongue probed her opening and his thumb pressed on her clit.

“Yeah. I can see you’re real sorry.” The bed dipped beside her as Colton climbed on.

Anna found herself facing a long thick cock. She licked her lips, eager to taste him for the first time. They opened up a whole new world for her. Where before she’d been fine with straight vanilla, Peter on top, no deviating from the missionary position sex, now Anna wanted to try everything.

Colton’s eyes said it all. He wanted her to suck him, but only if she wanted to.

She grasped his penis and guided him to her mouth. Her lips stretched around his flared head. She licked at the bead of come at the tip, teased him by flicking her pointed tongue through the slit. Colton’s eyes slid shut and his head dropped back.

Anna’s confidence soared. She might not have given the best head in the past, but Colton didn’t seem to mind how she sucked him.

Marc swirled his tongue in tiny circles around her clit. It was too much, yet not enough. She pushed against his mouth, whimpering when he held her down with a hand on her belly.

Colton leaned over her, putting his hands on the bed behind her. The angle put him in the best position to softly thrust into her mouth so all she had to do was suck. She did so, hollowing out her cheeks as he withdrew and drawing him as deep as she could before gagging.

“Fuck yes, Anna.”

Marc slipped a finger into her channel and pressed on something that made her moan around the cock in her mouth. A second finger joined the first, the pressure pushing her closer to release. His lips closed on the bundle of nerves, and Marc pulled on the little bud. Anna dug her heels into the mattress. She could do nothing but think about the swirl of sensation at her pussy and let Colton use her mouth.

When a third finger joined the first two and Marc’s teeth nipped at her swollen clit, she came, flying with the pounding of her pulse at her clit and humping Marc’s mouth with complete abandon.

He lapped at her as she came down from the high. Colton slipped from her mouth.

Only then did she realize she hadn’t experienced his come on her tongue, hadn’t swallowed him as he pulsed in her mouth.

Marc stood up at the edge of the bed, his eyes glowing, his cock hard and standing straight up. He wrapped his fingers around his length and gave a slow tug as he eyed her with a hunger she’d never seen before.

Colton wrapped his arms around her and flipped them both until she straddled his hips, his cock nestled in the slippery folds of her pussy.

He dragged her down for a kiss. Marc joined them, sliding in behind her, and Anna had a suspicion she was about to be taken by both of them at the same time. Her heart raced, and for a second, she panicked.

“Shh…” Colton put his palm on her jaw. “We’ll make it good for you, I promise.” His whispered words settled her, and when he raised his hips to slide his cock along her shattered nerve endings, she ground into the caress.

“I’m ready.” She was. More than ready to experience what they promised. She couldn’t imagine this scenario with any other men, but these two…they made her feel cherished, protected, loved.

How it happened so quickly, in the space of a week, she couldn’t say, but she also wasn’t about to dwell on it. She’d admitted to herself while Marc stalked a shooter and she stared down the barrel of a gun that this is exactly what she wanted. To be their third. Their mate.

A bottle of lube landed to her right and solidified what was about to happen. Holding his gaze, Anna took a deep breath, lifted up on her knees, guided Colton’s cock to her opening, and sank slowly down on his length.

He swallowed and covered her breasts, squeezing them gently and plucking at her nipples.

Marc moved in behind her and pushed her hair to the side. He licked a path down her neck. His cock pressed along her crack. She reached back and threaded her fingers into his hair, holding him close so she could kiss him. His fingers dipped to her clit, circled the restless nub, and brought it back to life.

“Bend over, baby. Rest your hands above Colton’s shoulders.” Marc bade her forward with a hand on her back until she was stretched out the way he wanted.

Colton kissed her deep, making her forget about anything but his tongue dueling with hers. Little lifts of his hips tunneled his cock in and out of her sheath, but she needed more than the small movement.

She heard the click of the lube top, and a few seconds later a fingertip probed her anus. Marc soothed her with a palm rubbing one hip while he dipped just the tip of his finger into her, and then back out, gradually going deeper, spreading the lube and her tight muscles.

“Don’t fight it, Anna. Let him open you up.” Colton’s breath fanned her lips as he spoke.

“I’m fighting because I need more,” she growled.

Marc gave her more, sliding his entire finger inside her while she was preoccupied with Colton. There was a quick rasp of pain that melted away almost before it registered. He worked the muscles, stretching them, loosening them for long moments, and just when she was about to beg, he added a second finger. The soft flare of pain made her groan. At the same time it pinched, it felt so good. Colton kept up his too shallow rhythm, another distraction she wanted to slap him for because, while their penetrations felt fantastic, she needed more than they were giving her.

“Please,” she implored.

“That’s what I wanted.” Marc withdrew his fingers and bent over her to whisper in her ear. “Ready to take us both?”

“Yes.” The hiss sounded almost nonhuman. Sweat had slicked her forehead, her pussy felt tight and achy, and she wanted them to move. To make her fly apart. And she wanted it now.