CHAPTER NINETEEN
Keri
I was in bad shape. Even though I was a werewolf and could heal quickly, I knew that I’d sustained a serious injury to my stomach, but there was no giving up. I’d been taught to be tough and to keep going my whole life, but I was too injured to get back up on my feet.
I closed my eyes and opened them again. The blurriness sharpened and I saw Richard had shifted back into his human form. He was looking triumphantly down at me. He’d won this fight. If I couldn’t get up, I couldn’t defend myself.
For most of my life I’d hated him as much as I’d hated my father.
“You never stood a chance,” he spat at me and I gritted my teeth as the reality of the situation sank in.
“You actually thought that you could defeat me.” He laughed, mocking me, and I felt anger rise up in me.
I would die and he would take over my pack. I’d done everything I could and it still hadn’t been enough. Blood poured through my wounds and the pain was excruciating. I breathed in a haggard breath as I tried to move.
“I’m going to end your life and you will die knowing that I own your pack,” he added with a sneer.
He would run the pack like my father had and every member of my pack would live in fear like they had before. All the changes I’d started to put into place to change things would be for nothing. They would go back to being treated like soldiers instead of people with a chance to live their lives with some choice. If I died, their freedom died with me.
“Get up!” I heard Kyle shout. I looked from Richard’s victorious face to Kyle, who was pleading with me to get back up.
For a few seconds I scanned the faces of my pack members and I felt guilty at the fact that I’d failed them. I heard a phone ring from where my pack stood. My eyes settled on Curtis for a moment and I saw the horror on his face. He could do nothing more than watch the inevitable unfold in front of him.
“Do you have any last words?” Richard asked, smiling down at me with the evil evident in his eyes.
I whimpered. I couldn’t die, but there was no way for me to get back up. I was too badly injured. My stomach felt like it had been shredded and my legs were injured as well. My dark red blood began to pool beneath me.
Richard bent down on one knee beside me and leaned closer.
“You’re a failure,” he said with a smug smile that I wanted to wipe off his face. “I don’t know how you thought you’d be able to defeat me.”
I saw my chance materialize when he leaned closer. In reveling in my defeat he’d made the mistake of getting too close to me. I lifted my head up quickly and he wasn’t fast enough to pull away. I closed my jaws around his throat. It just took pulling with all the strength that I had to rip his throat.
Surprise and horror filled his eyes as he realized the mistake he’d made. He might have been stronger than me but his over-confidence had been his weakness.
I collapsed back on the ground. Even though I was barely hanging on, I watched as Richard collapsed to the ground and began to gurgle. I watched while he took his last breath.
I’d killed him. Richard was dead.
Activity erupted around me as I lay struggling to breathe. Curtis dropped to his knees beside me and started assessing my wounds.
“You hang on,” he commanded as he put his hand to my biggest wound on my stomach to stop the flow of blood.
“Don’t you dare die,” Kyle said, desperation dripping into his voice as I turned to see him kneeling on the other side of me.
“I need you to shift back into your human form,” Curtis told me, looking frantic. He was normally so calm so to see him like this made me feel very scared.
I shook my head. I didn’t have enough energy to do that.
“You have to,” he told me with desperation creeping into his voice. “If you don’t shift, you’ll bleed out.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. I felt so tired and I just wanted to go to sleep.
“Open your eyes, princess,” Kyle told me. It was the use of the nickname that made me pull open my eyes, despite my exhaustion, and glare at him.
“That’s my girl,” Kyle said with a relieved smile. “You need to shift.”
I gritted my teeth as pain throbbed through me. I closed my eyes and tried to will myself back into my human form; nothing happened. I wasn’t strong enough.
“Come on, you can do it,” Kyle said, trying to encourage me.
I groaned and attempted to find the strength to try again.
“Do it for Blake,” Curtis encouraged.
Blake.
My heart lifted at the thought of him and I felt a sadness that I might die before I saw him again. He would be devastated if something happened to me. Even now as I was lying there on the verge of death, he would be able to feel my emotions. He would know that something was wrong.
I loved him and the thought of the pain he’d go through at my death made me try again. This time when I opened my eyes I was lying in my human form. Relief flooded through me.
“Good girl,” Kyle said, sounding relieved.
“We need to move her,” Curtis said to Kyle as nurses arrived with a stretcher.
“On my count we shift her,” Curtis instructed to Kyle. Kyle nodded his head.
“One, two, three,” he counted and when he got to three they both lifted me and shifted me onto the stretcher. I screamed out at the sudden movement and I was left gasping as they lifted me and moved me as quickly as they could back to the medical center. As soon as they got me inside, they began to check my wounds.
“I’m going to give you some pain medication,” Curtis informed me as he injected some liquid into my arm.
The pain I was struggling with began to fade as the pain medication took effect. Kyle stood beside me, running a hand through his hair as he held my hand with his other hand. His silver-gray eyes were wide and scared while he tried to soothe me.
“You’ll be okay,” he assured me. “And when you’re feeling better we are going to have a talk about what you did out there.”
I was too weak to try and respond. I was feeling tired and cold. It was probably from the loss of blood. A phone started to ring and I realized it was Kyle’s. He ignored it as he concentrated on me.
“We have to operate,” Curtis announced. The nurses began to prep me for surgery.
“You’ll need to leave,” he told Kyle, but he refused to let go of my hand. “You have to trust me,” Curtis added, trying to convince Kyle that he was going to do the best he could.
Kyle studied Curtis for a moment before he looked down at me. I felt like I was floating. It was probably the pain medication that was affecting me like this.
“I’ll see you soon,” Kyle said, giving my hand one last squeeze. I smiled at him.
“Soon,” I murmured softly, enjoying the weird feeling of being under the strong pain medication.
Curtis replaced him beside me. He looked concerned.
“I need to stitch you up,” he explained as I nodded my head, even though it was hard to understand him because I felt like I was so light I would float away.
The nurses began to cut my clothes away.
I watched him inject something into my arm. I didn’t feel the pain but I felt a tiredness that I couldn’t fight anymore. My eyelids grew heavy and I lost consciousness.
Blake
I was feeling so happy as I drove back to my territory. I was even thinking about how I was going to tell Cade that I was no longer going to be a part of his pack and we’d have to discuss how my pack would integrate with his permanently. The members of my pack who wanted to come with me to join Keri’s pack would be allowed to relocate.
Keri. When I thought of her I felt the love I felt for her fill my heart. I couldn’t believe how happy being with her made me and I was smiling like an idiot in love, but I didn’t care. There had been so many times that I’d been convinced we wouldn’t get our happy ending and now we were living it. I was happier than I ever thought possible.
I knew Keri felt the same. From the time we’d mated, I could feel her love and happiness as well. I knew with time I would be able to feel her emotions more but for the moment I was content with knowing that she felt the same way I did. After everything she’d been through, I was determined to make sure her life was filled with love and happiness. I would do everything to keep her safe and loved.
Loving her was the easy part, but I had a feeling keeping her safe was going to be more difficult.
Being an alpha of a pack meant she would always be a target. The only way she would be safer is if she gave it up. I couldn’t ask her to do that because I understood the responsibility and need to fulfil that role. She’d been raised to take over from her father. It was part of who she was.
It didn’t take me that long before I pulled into the driveway of Cade’s territory. A moment later the big gates swung open and I drove into the property.
You’re back, Cade said to me through the mind-link.
Yeah. I have some stuff I need to talk to you about, I replied, wanting to tell him my decision in person.
Meet you in the study, he told me as I parked in front of the house.
I smiled to myself. He was probably trying to get away from Scarlett who was still in heat. It wouldn’t be long and I’d be having the same problem with Keri. Honestly, I couldn’t wait.
I got out of the car and made my way into the house. I was waiting inside the study for Cade when I felt a strong emotion of fear. It felt so strange and I knew the emotion wasn’t mine. It had to be Keri. Being so far away from her made it nearly impossible to mind-link with her so I pulled my phone out as Cade opened the study door and entered the room.
“Hey,” I said, greeting my friend. I shoved my phone back into my pocket. I would call Keri as soon as I was finished talking to Cade, because the sooner I did what I needed to, the sooner I could get back to her.
“Hey,” he said, shaking his head. “Sorry for keeping you waiting but trying to get away from Scarlett is proving to be more difficult when she’s in heat.”
“I bet,” I laughed, shaking my head at him as he came to stand in front of me.
“How are things with you and Keri?” he asked.
“Things are good,” I told him, finding it hard to wipe the stupid grin off my face. “We mated.”
“That’s great,” he said, sounding genuinely happy for me.
“It is,” I confirmed.
“Did she shift?” he asked.
I nodded. “She’s a natural.”
“I’m really happy for you guys,” he said, studying my obvious happiness. He wasn’t talking as an alpha of a pack that was relieved that he wouldn’t have to worry about her getting taken out, he was talking like my friend whom he was happy for that I’d finally found happiness with my mate. There wouldn’t have to be any more lies or deceit.
I began to feel more anxious but I brushed the feeling aside. I didn’t want to overreact every time I felt a negative feeling come from Keri. She was in charge of a large pack and there would be times she would feel fearful or anxious over a decision she needed to make.
It was harder said than done and as I began to tell Cade about my decision, it was hard not to keep my hand wrapped around my phone in my pocket. I was itching to phone her to make sure everything was okay.
“Wow,” Cade said after I told him I was giving up my pack to join Keri’s. “I never expected that, but I understand why you need to do it.”
He had his mate so he would understand why I was doing it.
“Anyone who wants to come with me has that option but the ones that don’t want to will have to integrate with your pack,” I explained to him and he nodded in agreement.
“Whatever you feel is right,” he said. I could see he was already starting to formulate a way to integrate both the packs permanently.
The door opened and Scarlett walked in. She smiled at me and I rose up to embrace her.
“It’s good to see you,” she said as I released her.
“You miss me?” I asked in a teasing tone, and she laughed at me.
“Unbelievably. I’ve missed your annoying personality,” she bit back and I laughed.
I felt another strong emotion of fear and I stopped smiling and clutched my chest.
“What’s wrong?” Cade asked as his eyes fixed on my hand on my chest.
“I think it’s Keri,” I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket and starting to dial her number.
Scarlett and Cade watched me anxiously while I began to pace as her phone started to ring. My fear began to increase when her phone went to voicemail. The next person I called was Curtis. He was her beta and he would be able to tell me if anything was wrong.
I was becoming frantic when Curtis didn’t pick up. There was only one more person I could call but I was already striding out of the study, leaving Cade and Scarlett behind, as I hurried out of the house and to my car. I could feel it in my gut—something was very wrong.
Kyle’s phone just rang and went to voicemail. I needed to get back to Keri.
What happened? Cade asked through the mind-link as I started up the car.
I don’t know. No one is answering the phones, I said before I started to drive out of the property. I put my foot down on the accelerator, speeding up to get back as quickly as I could.
We’ll be right behind you, Cade assured through the mind-link.
I’d felt her initial fear and anxiousness, but I’d brushed it off. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something bad happened to her. Panic and fear intermingled as I thought of every scenario that might be playing out. My emotions mingled with hers and I felt her horror.
It suddenly became so hard to breathe, but I couldn’t stop. I had to get to her. I tried my best to keep calm enough to drive. When her emotions just stopped, I feared the worst.
She’s okay, I kept repeating to myself inside my head. I couldn’t believe anything else because I couldn’t imagine living on without her.
In my car mirror, I saw Cade’s SUV and knew they were following me. But it didn’t matter. Whatever had happened to Keri, I could already feel we were going to be too late.
I drove like a madman, trying to get back to Keri. When I finally got into the territory, I tried to mind-link with her but I couldn’t get through. My fear and panic had numbed me. When I got to Keri’s compound, I stopped the car and sprang out. I stopped the first pack member I could find.
“Where’s Keri?” I asked him frantically.
“She’s in medical,” he answered, but I could see the look in his eyes. It was like he was already mourning her loss.
I wanted to break down but something pushed me on.
“Where is she?” Cade asked when he appeared by my side.
I didn’t answer. There was only one thing on my mind and that was getting to Keri. As soon as I entered the medical center, I began to shout at the staff.
“Where is she?” I yelled, searching the area for Kyle or Curtis.
“She’s in surgery,” someone answered and my eyes swung to Kyle. He looked defeated and sad.
Anger began to rise up in me.
“You were supposed to watch over her,” I said, taking a step toward him. I wanted to hurt him for not taking care of her.
“If hitting me will make you feel better, then do it. But nothing is going to make me feel worse than I already do.”