The Calling (17 page)

"Can I shoot him now? I have a clear shot."

Caleb turned his head and scowled. "For the tenth time, no."

"What the hell are we waiting for," Bryce said, lowering the gun. "You said you wanted to watch and we did. Let's shoot him and get this over with."

"They're not finished," Caleb said, grinning.

"So we're just going to wait until he's through fucking her?"

Caleb leaned against the tree at his back and nodded his head. "Yes, that's exactly what we're going to do," he said. "Besides, you're the only one complaining." He turned his head, looking at the others. "The rest of you ready to call it a night?" A chorus of snickers and adamant rounds of "no," whispered along the pines. "There, see? No one wants to leave but you."

Bryce sat back down and propped his elbows on his knees, staring at the ground. "Man, I don't want to be out here all night."

"We'll be here for as long as it takes. Malcolm wants both of them. We can't even see Jacob from here but I know he's down there and I don't want him to get any heroic ideas. If the kid gets killed, the others will be harder to control. Besides, can't you give the man one last night with his girl? He'll be dead this time tomorrow. Now shut up before he realizes we're here." Caleb turned his attention back to Garrett and Rayna, smiling as he watched them. They'd been at it for over an hour and even though he'd settled his group of men high up on the rise, he could see enough to make him not want to disturb the scene below him. He could hear them even better as their voices carried through the clearing and that little brunette was a moaner. His dick throbbed every time he heard the breathy sounds she made. As much as he hated Garrett, he had to give the man credit. He wasn't letting his recent shift stop him from fucking his girl silly.

If Carmen could only see her favorite wolf now, he thought, grinning. She'd rip her own hair out. He should have brought a camera just so he could see the look on her face while he showed her what her beloved Garrett had been up to all night.

He wasn't stupid enough to think Carmen only had one agenda. He knew her better than she thought he did and he wasn't the brainless Alpha with a constant hard on she believed him to be. He knew who she really wanted and it wasn't him, regardless of what she said. It was Garrett she wanted, her Alpha. The man her wolf picked as her equal. No matter how many times she whored herself out in his bed, he knew what she wanted. She wanted a pawn to help her achieve her ultimate goal. To win Garrett and set herself up as mate to the pack leader. What the stupid bitch didn't realize was, Garrett didn't want her. He never did.

He smiled and settled back, his eyes boring into the two lovers at the bottom of the hill. If things went as he planned, then Carmen would spend the rest of her existence begging him for another day at life. He'd been her lapdog for more years than he wanted to remember and
his
reign was about to begin. Once Malcolm was out of the picture, he would kill Garrett and force Carmen, and Garrett's little bitch, to serve him and him alone. His smile widened as he thought of it and watched with renewed interest as the girl clawed at Garrett's back, her legs wrapping around his hips. He could hear her again, her small moans of pleasure like music to his ears and he wondered just how loud she could scream. He'd find out. He'd make her scream while Garrett watched.

Chapter 11

For the first time in eight months, Rayna woke wrapped in warmth. She smiled and buried her face against Garrett's chest, sighing when his arms tightened around her. He kissed the top of her head, his fingers sinking deeper into her hair. "We have to get up now, don't we?" He made a "Hmm," noise and slid his leg between her thighs but gave no other indication he was ready to move.

The sun was just barely peeking through the trees. She blinked at the lightening sky, barely holding back a smile as she remembered the previous night. Her body still ached as her abused muscles tried to recover from the strain she'd put on them. Garrett had made up for their eight-month separation like a man possessed. He took her to the edge of paradise and back again, never once letting her catch her breath in between. Her body had burned until she'd cried with the intensity of it. When she lay trembling under him, his lips and tongue tasting every inch of her flesh, she'd never felt more alive.

He raised his head all of a sudden and she felt his body go stiff against her. He pulled the blanket up, hiding her exposed backside and his arms tightened around her. "What is it?" He didn't say anything for long minutes and finally released the tight hold he had on her. Leaning back, he smiled down at her and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Probably just Jacob," he said, "But I'm not taking any chances. Get dressed so we can get out of here."

She reluctantly untangled herself from him and gathered her clothes as he did the same. They dressed without a word and when he stood and reached down to help her off the ground, she saw Jacob standing by the truck. He was looking into the forest and she wondered if he sensed something. The same something Garrett had sensed.

They left the blanket and walked to where Jacob stood. He looked over at them when they approached. "I haven't seen or smelled anyone but I feel like I'm being watched. I've felt it all night."

"Then chances are, we have been," Garrett said, grabbing Rayna's arm and starting around the truck. "Let's get out of here."

Garrett didn't wait for Jacob to catch up. He started down the old trail he'd used to drive into the clearing and wondered if entering the forest wouldn't be a better choice. They wouldn't be out in the open but the trees were enough camouflage for the pack to hide, unseen, until they were ready to attack and Rayna wouldn't be able to escape through the trees as fast as Jacob could.

He gritted his teeth at his stupidity. He should have moved last night, taken her and ran as far as he could have. But no, he'd let his dick do the thinking. It was probably a mistake he would live to regret. He hadn't sensed anyone all night but that didn't mean they weren't there. He'd been too content to think of anything other than how Rayna had felt under him, how the small noises she made drove him half crazy and how badly he wanted to sink his teeth into her and make her his.

"Garrett, you're hurting me."

He looked down, noticing how white her face was and how tight he held her arm. He let go of her. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," she said, rubbing her arm.

He looped his arm over her shoulder and leaned down, kissing the top of her head. "As soon as we get you out of here, I'm going to make all this shit up to you."

She grinned. "I don't know if you can ever make all this up to me, Garrett. The payment for treating me so bad alone is going to wear your ass out, not to mention dragging me into some turf war with your crazed wolf family."

He laughed and dropped his arm, grabbing her hand instead. "I can hardly wait," he said. "And I promise you, no matter what your demands, I can keep up."

"We'll see about that."

Jacob jogged in front of them and turned his head. "If we're where I think we are, there's a bend just up ahead. We're only a half a mile from Rusty's place. He has a clunker of a car but it runs. We might not make it to the county line but it'll be far enough from here that it won't matter."

Garrett nodded his head and walked faster. "Lead the way, then."

Jacob took off running, putting a great distance between them in a matter of seconds. Garrett looked down at Rayna and said, "Up for another run or do you want a lift?"

"Depends on how fast you plan on running," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. "I'm only human, you know."

"Then a lift it is." He scooped her up into his arms without missing a step and took off before she even had a good hold of him. Her arms tightened around his neck as his feet ate up the path and he caught Jacob just as he darted from the road and into the forest.

* * * *

"Is everything ready?" Malcolm asked.

Carmen smiled at him and walked across the room. "It's ready. It would take a miracle for him to get out of that."

"The collar will hold?"

"Yes," she said. "We won't have any surprises. Garrett will be utterly defenseless."

Malcolm looked down at her, taking in her red lips and the smile she was giving him. "I wouldn't underestimate his abilities, Carmen. I have no doubt what he'll do if he is freed."

"But he won't be free," she said. "He'll be caged like a dog. All he can do is watch."

"And that is another mistake. Making him watch will only push him further."

She ran her hand up his chest and leaned into him. "And the pack needs to see you in control of any situation. Once you've tamed the beast and destroyed him in front of them, their commitment to you will be reinforced. They want a powerful leader," she said. "And bringing Garrett down will show them who has the power. They fear him more than they fear you. They always have. Is that any way to lead? Show them the ruthless wolf I know is hiding under all this flesh and there isn't anything you can't get them to do."

Malcolm turned away from her and looked around the room. Everything seemed to be in order but he had a bad feeling. Something wasn't right and he wasn't sure what it was.
Probably the bitch at your back
, he thought, barely containing the growl clawing at his chest.
He let his features slacken and turned back to face her. "Go see to our guests and make sure everything is ready. I want Ms. Ford completely relaxed before we begin." She walked away, her hips swaying with every step. Tonight would prove to be interesting no matter the outcome. The other Breed leaders were waiting for his show, he had a new wolf, and come this time tomorrow, he would have another, one that would be their salvation. All he had to do was keep Garrett's wolf from killing them all before he had a chance to see his plans fall into place.

Turning, he walked to the stairs, leaving the basement and heading to the upper rooms in the house. Caleb would return soon and he wanted to be there when his prize was returned to him.

* * * *

"Do you ever get the feeling that no matter what you do, you just can't win?"

Garrett sat Rayna on her feet and stared down the hill toward Rusty's house. He saw the car Jacob had wanted to take. He also saw no less than ten people standing next to it, four of which he recognized as pack members. Were they waiting on them or was this just a coincidence?

"What do we do now?" Jacob asked.

"We'll, we obviously can't take the car," Garrett said.

"Why not?" Jacob grinned. "Surely you can take that many? It's only ten."

Garrett shot him a heated glance. "And six of them are humans."

"No, they're all pack," Jacob said.

He turned back to the men milling around the car. "I only recognize four. Where did the others come from?"

"Caleb has been recruiting."

Garrett's eyes widened. "What do you mean, recruiting?"

"Well, more like forced recruiting," he said. "There's a small group of them out by the old mine. Not sure why they don't associate with the pack much, but Malcolm knows they're there."

"And why is Caleb infecting people?"

Jacob shrugged his shoulder. "Building a private army?" he said. "Who knows? I haven't heard anything other than we have new pack members on a weekly basis now and Malcolm isn't happy about it."

Garrett crossed his arms over his chest and studied the men. If these were all Caleb's, then it made him wonder what Caleb was up to by infecting them all. There had to be a reason. No one just "made" a werewolf for the fun of it. Then again, this was Caleb. He always was impetuous. He'd get one crazy idea and run with it no matter how insane it seemed to anyone else and it was hard to tell how crazy he'd grown over the last twelve years.

Turning to look over his shoulder, he scanned the forest before glancing at Rayna. She was staring at the house, chewing on her bottom lip. Her eyes were slightly widened and he could taste just a hint of fear on her. He turned to Jacob. "Let's go back," he said. "We'll have to find another way. If these men belong to Caleb's group of recruits then its hard to tell what they're up to. I'd rather keep guessing than walk in there unprepared." Grabbing Rayna's hand he turned, leading her back into the forest. They hadn't taken four steps when a small popping noise, followed by a sharp whiz disturbed the air and echoed through the woods. Jacob yelled a moment later and Rayna squealed as Garrett grabbed her and threw her to the ground. The sound of Jacob's pained moans filled the air before all went deathly quiet.

"Stay down," Garrett said before jumping to his feet. She watched him run toward the trees and turned her head to look at Jacob. He was on the ground, his eyes closed, with an odd-looking metal dart sticking out of his back.

She heard the rustle of multiple feet running and leaned up, looking for Garrett. She saw him running toward her and was on her feet before he reached her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her through the trees, racing up the hill.

The sound of voices and laughs caused her heart to race out of control. Another shot from the gun whistled through the trees and she screamed. They were being hunted. Her eyes burned with unshed tears.

When they topped the hill, they both slid to a stop. Rayna panted for breath as she looked at the assembly of men waiting for them. She recognized Bryce and Caleb but the others she'd never seen before.

"Finally," Caleb said, his bright blue hair shining under the sun coming through the trees. "Do you have any idea how much sleep I've lost since you rolled into town, Garrett?"

Garrett's grip on her arm tightened before he took a step in front of her.

"Well, I'll tell you," Caleb said. "It took an entire day to heal that lucky shot you got in on me and I certainly didn't get much sleep that night." He lifted the hem of his shirt, showing the bright red, ragged scar slashing across his stomach. "Looks good though, don't it?" He dropped the shirt and looked back up. "Of course, the moment I could stand, Malcolm insisted on me chasing your worthless ass all over this mountain until I found you and we both know how that turned out, but I'm almost glad it was a stalemate otherwise I wouldn't have been rewarded the way I was. Catching you with your pants down, literally, was the highlight of my year. I lost sleep last night too." He grinned and said, "You know I had to watch. We all did."