Adele

Several hours later, Marie woke me with a hard jostle of my shoulder, the one Jackson had hit. Pain sparked in the joint, tearing a soft groan from my throat. It was better, but still healing.

Marie frowned down at me. "Are you okay?"

I sat up and rubbed my shoulder. "Yeah. I'm just sore."

"There's bone broth on the stove. Have a cup."

Covering a yawn, I said, "Thanks. What do you need me to do?"

"Keep an eye on Chloe and the babe. Make sure she has lots of water and bone broth."

"And the door?"  I noticed a pile of baby things—diapers, blankets, onesies, toys— had materialized while I'd slept.

"Answer it. Take what they offer and shut it. No one comes in under any circumstances, understand?"

"No visitors. Got it." I pointed to the baby pile. "Is this what they're bringing?"

"Yes."

I blinked, realizing the deputy wasn't there. "Where's Deputy Todd?"

She shook her head. "He hasn't been back yet."

A shiver of foreboding went through me. "Should I go look for him?"

"He probably went back to the station. They work in shifts. I expect someone new will be here soon."

"Without telling us?" That didn't sound right to me. The guy had seriously believed I was a murderer. He wouldn't walk off and leave me alone.

She shrugged."I don't really care, to be honest. He's not my job." She jerked a thumb toward Chloe and Jackson's bedroom. "They are. The deputy is a big boy. He's fine. If there was trouble, we would've heard."

"Maybe I'll call the sheriff and check just to be sure," I said.

"Great. You do that. Now get up so I can lay down. It's been a long night."

I jumped up. I'd been making her wait. "Sorry."

Marie waved me off and plopped down on the couch, her eyes shut before her body hit the cushions.

Stretching my arms overhead, I made my way to the kitchen. The scent of the bone broth filled my nose making my stomach growl. Shifters had been making it for centuries, but a human somewhere picked up on it and had made it trendy. Rumor said there'd been a cat shifter with a popular blog who first gave out the recipe. The Pack Council hadn't been happy about it.

Bone broth wasn't top secret, but the Pack Council frowned on publicity of any kind. We didn't want attention. Once humans figured out bone broth, they might just realize it had first been made with...well, dead humans. At least that's what I'd been told in shifter world history class in high school. Shifters hadn't worried too much about humans way back when. Our secrecy and avoidance of the human world was a relatively new thing, mostly due to our declining population.

Digging a coffee mug out of the cupboard, I dipped it into the simmering pot of bone broth and gulped it down. Delicious warmth filled my belly. Bone broth infused with healing herbs was amazing, but it couldn't erase the nagging worry that something had happened to the deputy.

There was a murderer out there, after all.

***

First, I checked on the new family. Chloe was nursing her son, a sweet smile curving her lips. Jackson sprawled on the bed next to her, softly snoring. Contentment shined in her eyes and she put a finger to her lips for me to be quiet. I nodded that I understood and topped off her bone broth before leaving her to rest.

In the living room, I fished my cell phone out of my back pocket, ready to call someone about the deputy, and frowned. I had no idea what number to call. I hadn't been in Huntsville long enough to learn phone numbers. Well, crap.

I tapped the phone against my forehead. How could I get a hold of the police? Remembering the pack police straddled the human and shifter world, I breathed a sigh of relief. They were real cops and their number would be public. Probably. That's how it had worked with my home pack.

Information connected me to the Huntsville police station and a crisp male voice said, "Huntsville PD."

"Hi. I'm Adele. I work with Marie."

"We know who you are."

Oh, right. A killer had been carving my name into people's heads. I guess that could make someone memorable. "Well, um, there was a deputy here with me and he's gone."

"Gone?"

"Yeah. Gone. He went out to check on some noises and he hasn't been back."

"How long ago was this?"

I glanced at the clock on my phone and made my best guess. "Five hours or so."

"Have you gone out and looked for him?"

"I can't. He said he'd shoot me. And we've been kind of busy helping with Chloe and Jackson's baby."

"All right. I'll send someone. Just sit tight. Don't open the door until we get there."

The line went dead. The Huntsville PD had hung up on me. Nice. With a shrug, I tucked my phone back into my pocket and settled into the arm chair that sat to the side of the couch. There was nothing to do but wait and hope the deputy was okay.

***

A vehicle pulled into the driveway some time later. I'd dozed off in my chair and jumped at the sound of tires spitting gravel. A big engine purred, rumbling like a beast ready to roar. Headlights flashed through the living room window and then went dark. Whoever the PD had sent had arrived.

Marie didn't even notice, her sleep was so deep. I left her and went to open the door. The porch light revealed a truck, not a police cruiser, parked in front of the house.

The driver's door opened and a big man hopped out. "Adele?"

I squinted at the man, trying to make out his features. Although I thought I recognized the voice and the truck by the dent in the front bumper. "Cal? Is that you? I thought they were sending an officer."

"We're short staffed. I figured I'd come out since I hadn't seen the baby yet." He shut the door to his truck and came up on the porch.

"I'm not supposed to let anyone in the house," I said.

"I'm the pack alpha, Adele. I'm coming in that house if I have to walk through a wall. That's my legacy in there, the future of this pack, and the place we call home."

He had a point. Marie's rules probably didn't apply to alphas. "Yeah. Sure. Sorry."

"No offense taken. It's good that we have people who will protect us." He turned and looked out into the inky black night. "Now, where's this deputy?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. We heard something that way." I pointed in the direction the noise had come from. "He went to investigate and I haven't seen him since."

"Okay. I'll go have a look-see."

"Marie thought he'd gone back to the station. She said they worked in shifts and the next deputy would be here soon, but no one else has come."

"No one's seen him since he left with you." He cast a dark look my way.

"I didn't kill him," I said, growling out the words.

"I know, but you've brought something into our pack that doesn't mean well. Any idea who or what this is?"

"Nope. I have no clue." I shook my head.

He heaved a sigh. "Okay. Well, give me a second, and let's see if I can find him." Cal threw back his head and gave a short bark that turned into a howl. Then he waited, his head cocked. I listened with him, but the dark kept its secrets quiet. Deputy Todd didn't answer.

"I'll be right back." He trudged off and shadows swallowed him up whole until he was just a sliver of darkness whose movement I could barely track.

The sound of his footsteps faded and silence filled the air. I shivered and rubbed my arms. Images of everyone I'd met in my life flickered in my mind. Who among them would do this? I hadn't mixed my addictions with cartels or gangs. I wasn't wanted by anyone. I didn't owe anyone money, either.

I stood on the porch for what seemed like a long time. Long enough to see the moon move even closer to the horizon. Dawn was only a few hours away.

A sudden burst of sound rippled through the air. Something was happening. I tensed, my ears pricked. Grunts came from the woods. Dry, brittle leaves rustled. Small branches snapped.

"Cal? Are you okay?" I stepped to the edge of the porch, ready to bound down the steps.

A dark form burst from the trees, running straight toward me. I squinted, trying to make out who or what it was. Going by the broad shoulders, I decided it was Cal.

"What is it?" I edged back. He was closer now and the moonlight showed me the anger on his face.

"Get in the house," he shouted at me.

A black shadow rose up behind him.

I hesitated.

"Now!" The shadow eclipsed him, bringing him down to the ground with a loud thud.

That galvanized me into action. I raced into the house. "Marie, wake up. Something's happened."  I streamed past her, heading for the bedroom. "Jackson, we need you. Now. Do you have a gun?" The words spilled out of me in a torrent.

Jackson bolted upright and Chloe hugged her baby close. "What's wrong? The baby?" He cast an anxious glance at Chloe.

I pulled on his arm, urging him to get up. "Cal's outside. Something's attacked him."

Jackson reacted instantly. Jumping to his feet, he ran out of the room, shifting as he went.

"Do you have a gun?" I asked Chloe.

She nodded to the drawer in the nightstand next to the bed. I pulled it open and grabbed the revolver inside. "Is it loaded?"

"Always."

"Stay here," I said, running out of the room.

Marie was up and on her way outside. "What's happening?"

"I don't know." I filled her in as quickly as I could. We were both on the porch now and could see the outline of Cal and Jackson's wolves battling with what looked to be another man. Clouds covered the moon, dimming its glow. I could make out figures and track movement, but identifying anyone required more light.

"Who is that?" asked Marie.

"No idea." I left the porch and crept toward the fight, keeping my movements slow and fluid so I wouldn't attract attention. I just needed to get close enough for a clear shot.

Jackson lunged for the attacker, but the assailant spun away and his jaw snapped on empty air. That put them closer to Cal, who hurled a fist toward the stranger, but he ducked at the last second. Whoever it was, they were fast. Supernaturally so. And held their own against two alphas.

Shit.

"I've got a gun. Back off and I'll shoot him." I raised the gun, ready to take aim, but nothing went as planned.

Jackson moved away a foot or two, but the attacker grabbed Cal around the neck and took cover behind the alpha. I tried to circle around fast enough to come up behind him, but he kept pace with me.

"Who are you?" I growled the question.

Jackson stalked around the stranger who had our alpha by the throat, adding his growl to mine.

I widened my stance. "And what do you want?"

"Oh, excellent. We're finally to the talking part," said a distinctly male voice with a faint patois. It sounded familiar. I'd heard it before, but my ear couldn't place it. "I came for you." He pointed at me.

"I'll be right over, asshole," I said with a snarl. "I hope you don't mind if I bring this gun and plant a bunch of bullets in your head."

"You'll do no such thing."

"Says who?"

"You don't recognize me?"

"No. Sorry. I don't know any murderers."

"Oh, but you do." He poked his head out from behind Cal. The clouds rolled away from the moon and the silver moonlight struck his face. I recoiled at the sight of it, feeling like I'd been kicked in the stomach.

"No. It can't be. You? You?" I stumbled back, shocked by the pinched, oval face sneering at me. I remembered his accent now. "Z-Zion?"

"Did you miss me?" He forced Cal to march forward, coming closer to me.

"You know him?" asked Cal.

"He was part of the blood slave ring. I had no idea he was here." To Zion, I said, "You killed all those people? Why?"

"Just saying hello." He flashed a smile that showed off his long fangs. "I like to be creative. It keeps immortality interesting."

Jackson lunged for him then and Zion slammed a fist into the wolf's side. There was a crack of bone breaking and a yelp. Jackson retreated. Breathing heavily, he paced around Zion, watching the vampire's every move for an opening.

"Easy, wolf. You keep that up and you're going to end up dead," Zion warned.

"You're the one who's going to die. You can't fight two alphas and expect to live," I said. "Leave while you can."

"Why would I leave? I just got here." He laughed. "And I am pumped full of shifter juice. That was a tender morsel you sent me. So full of testosterone and sweet, sweet fear."

My gut clenched at his words. Zion had killed Deputy Todd. I had no doubt. "What do you want?"

"You." His gaze collided with mine, a heavy anchor that dragged all the memories of our time together to the surface. It had been Zion who'd bought me from the alpha Mason and took me to the strip club. He'd forced me into blood slavery and sold me to Davian, almost killing me in the process. I'd survived, but I wasn't the same and the weird cloud over my wolf wasn't even all of the damage. I doubted myself, questioned who I was and what I was worth.

My fingers contracted, the tips of my wolf's claws threatening to poke through. I wanted to sink them into his head and claw off his face.

"You and I have unfinished business, Adele. Let's wrap it up and leave the fine shifters of Huntsville to bury their dead, shall we?"

"I don't owe you anything."

"But you do. Remember, I bought you and that means I own you."

"No," I said.

"Yes. You can protest all you want, but this night ends with you back in my arms, and this time, I'm not letting another vampire have you."

"Why? Why me? Why now? Why are you killing people?"

A coordinated assault from Cal and Jackson kept Zion from answering my questions. Cal used his head like a fist, ramming it into Zion's face and Jackson darted between his alpha's legs to attack from that angle.

Things moved in a blur for several seconds. I tracked the fight, but barely kept up with who was doing what to whom. My heart sank, though, when Zion did a back flip over Cal, arcing high in the sky and coming down to land in front of the alpha. Then, moving too fast for anyone to stop him, he shoved his fingers into Cal's throat and ripped out his esophagus, spine and anything else that was in there.

Blood gurgled and sprayed, dark even under a full moon. Cal collapsed to his knees. Zion dropped down with him, and using both hands, cracked the alpha's chest open like a nut. Jackson jumped on his back, preventing me from using the gun. I wouldn't have been able to pull the trigger anyway, I was shaking too badly.

Cal was dying right in front of me. My eyes didn't want to see it, and my brain had frozen, refusing to produce anything but shock. This was a movie and I was just the projector lens. I saw it all, but found it incomprehensible.

Zion shrugged off Jackson's wolf and yanked something out of Cal's chest. Turning around, he pulled Cal up in front of him with one hand and raised the other up high, showing off the alpha's heart.

"Back off, or I'll kill the rest of you." He smiled, pleased with himself.

He brought Cal's heart to his lips and sank his fangs into it, slurping up the blood inside. What was left of Cal slumped to the ground. Air and blood collided in his last breath, making a strange whistling sound.

The alpha of Huntsville was dead.

Jackson howled and redoubled his efforts to attack the vampire, but Zion seemed to anticipate every move. More bones cracked and Jackson moved slower and slower, but he didn't give up. An adrenaline surge hit me and I ran from side to side looking for a shot I could take, finally squeezing one off in sheer frustration.

I missed.

"Stop," screamed a woman's voice.

We all turned to see Chloe on the porch, her son cradled against her. Marie stood next to her, trying to draw her back inside by the elbow, but she shook off the healer.

"Jackson, get inside," Chloe said, fear and anger making her voice quiver.

The wolf shook his head.

"Now. It's over."

"Ah, finally someone with more than two brain cells. Yes, wolf. It is over, but I don't mind killing you, if you insist." Zion leered at Jackson, his mouth ringed in blood.

Jackson shook his head again. I looked from Chloe to Jackson and back again. Jackson was already tired, and Zion had proven to be the stronger opponent. He'd had too much shifter blood. No one could take him, least of all me.

"Go inside," I said.

Jackson shifted, his naked human form revealing blood and bruises. "No. He's a threat to our pack."

"He wants me. I'll go with him." My gut tightened. I didn't want to go, but I wouldn't let Zion tear through Huntsville either. He was here because of me. This was my mistake to pay for, not theirs.

"See how easy it is to say yes? Now, get rid of the gun and come over here," said Zion.

Biting my lip, I dropped the gun and kicked it away. Then, my stomach a pit of nausea, I went to Zion. He tossed Cal's body away and grabbed me, making me his new human shield. My life was going well. Getting alphas killed and becoming a slave again at best, or Zion's next murder victim at worst.

Dragging me with him, he darted over to the side of the yard. "Pick it up," he hissed in my ear.

I looked down and spotted a red gas can.

Zion nudged me toward it. "Go on, grab it."

I grabbed it. Liquid sloshed inside, pulling at my grip. It was heavy enough to be full.

He flicked a lighter behind me, the flame dancing in the dark night. "I found some fun in the garage."

"Gasoline." Marie breathed the word with horror. "He's going to start a fire."

"I already said I would go with you," I said. "You can stop now."

"No. I'll deal with him." Jackson moved toward us.

"No. He killed Cal," I said, my voice thick with tears. I knew what I had to do, but I didn't want to do it. Saving them meant the end of me. "If he can kill one alpha, he's strong. He could kill you. I-I can't live with that."

Jackson's jaw went tight, and his eyes narrowed, but he backed off, moving closer to his mate. "Are you sure?"

"Just let me go." I curled my one hand into a fist to hide how much I was trembling. Offering myself up as a sacrifice wasn't my style. I was the one who ran off and did drugs. Standing my ground was new. And terrifying.

"Well said, Adele." Zion's voice filled my ear, raising goose bumps up and down my spine. He wrapped a bony hand around my upper arm, and yanked me after him. At the foot of the porch, he took the red can from me and threw it onto the porch. It landed with a dull clang on its side, spilling gas all over the place. Marie, Jackson and Chloe retreated into the house.

"No!" I screamed, fighting his grip on me. "You got what you wanted." Fucking vampires. I should've known better than to trust them. Especially the one who'd run the blood slave ring that had ensnared so many other shifters.

Flicking the lighter, he tossed it after the can. The gas ignited with a loud 'poof.' Inside, I could see Marie, Chloe and Jackson running toward the back of the house.

Zion dragged me into the night. "Let's go."

I kicked at him, desperate to get away and go back to save whoever I could. "There's a baby in there."

"Then they'd better get out," he said.

I elbowed him in the gut and he grunted at the impact. Not wanting to waste any advantage, I stomped on his foot. Bones cracked and I smiled.

Zion's grip didn't falter. "Stop fighting me."

"I'm not yours. You don't own me," I spat at him.

"I seem to recall paying quite a bit to make you mine." He dragged me through the forest with resolute strength that resisted my every attempt to stop him.

"That wasn't legal." I kicked dirt and any loose sticks I could find at him, but he kept us moving faster than I could take aim.

"Nothing worth having ever is in this world. If you wait for what you want to be legal, you'd better be immortal because that's how long it will take."

"You are immortal, asshole."

"Yes, but I'm also impatient." He whipped me around so we were face-to-face. "It's not about good fighting and evil. It's patience against time that's the real fight. How long can you wait for happiness? Two weeks? A month? A year? Forever? I'm not a forever kind of vampire."

I shoved him into a tree trunk, still trying to break free. I was a werewolf, damn it. I wasn't helpless. In fact, if I just shifted, I would have a better chance of escape. My wolf didn't hesitate to jump through my skin. I let her flow out of me, anger fueling the shift, making it faster than usual.

My body condensed itself into my wolf, becoming smaller but stronger. Zion almost lost his grip. My arm narrowed into a foreleg, threatening to slip from his hand. At the last second, he caught my paw in a crushing grip.

Now it was his turn to smile at the sound of cracking bones.

Ignoring the pain in my foreleg, I lunged for his face, teeth snapping, but he leaned back and half turned, deflecting me with his shoulder. Undeterred, I leaped again, and this time, my face met his fist.

Sharp pain shot through my nose like lightning filled with glass shards. I couldn't smell anything and my eyes only saw dots that spun in dizzying circles. All I could do was feel the hurt. The hit also slammed me to the ground and I laid there too stunned to fight back.

This gave Zion the next move. Clamping his hand on the scruff of my neck, he lifted me like a puppy until we were eye to eye.

I gnashed my teeth at him, but he held me away from his body and out of reach.

"I knew you could eat my face off, but I didn't think you would actually try. I thought you'd be happy to be rescued."

A growl rumbled deep in my throat. This was a rescue? On what planet?

"Come on, she-wolf." He gave me a shake hard enough to rattle my teeth in my head. "You don't belong here. You're not the kind of wolf who belongs in a pack." 

My eyebrows shot up. What?

"There's a whole world out there," Zion said. "It could be yours, if you're brave enough to take a bite."

He dropped me to the ground then, and before I could get my feet under me, he fell on top of me, pinning me down. Nuzzling away the fur at my neck, his fangs pierced my skin. It pinched for a second, until his power smoothed out any pain, replacing it with a boneless lassitude. My body went slack, and I felt weightless, as if all the worries and pressures of my life had been taken away.

I closed my eyes and sank into the familiar feeling. This was so much better than any drug.

Crap.

No.

I had to fight this.

If he kept going, I would be under his control. I couldn't go back to that. For one, it was an easy way to end up dead. And I refused to be a slave again. As much as I hated being an addict, the cure wasn't becoming a slave.

Once again, I cursed my stupidity at being taken in by the ad on the deep net site used by shifters. It had promised me everything. I should've known it was too good to be true, but I'd wanted to change so badly, I'd fallen for the sales pitch.

I always fell for trouble.

Got an abusive asshole friend? I'd date him.

A drug that had killed almost everyone who'd taken it? I'd try it.

If I didn't do better this time, I might never see another full moon. I bucked under Zion and shifted so I could use my hands to push him away. Of course, that meant I was naked—my clothes had been destroyed in the shift— and even more vulnerable to his very sharp teeth. He held on through my shift, too, anchoring himself with his fangs.

Punching at his head, I attempted to dislodge him, but the languor that came with his bite made it difficult to be effective. My arms flailed, weak as a newborn's.

I reached deep, looking for the strength and power to fight back. I tapped into the moon and the hum of energy of the Huntsville Pack. Pulling it all into me, I took a deep breath, pleased to find the vampire's effects on me had lessened to a dull roar.

I tried to roll out from under him and fight, but Zion smashed his fist into my still tender face again. Through all that, his fangs stayed planted in my neck like a leech using super glue. Pain turned the world dark and I faded for a moment, which gave him enough time to press his wrist against my mouth.

I came back to myself a moment later, struggling to stay conscious, and found his blood had slipped through my lips to pool on my tongue.

"Swallow," he said.

I shook my head, trying to spit, but he covered my face and nose with a hand, squeezing until I couldn't breathe.

"You can't stop it now, Adele. Just swallow and get it over with." His voice held a crooning note that raised my hackles. With his other hand, he massaged my throat.

Lungs burning, I fought him with everything I had; bucking, twisting, clawing. My wolf raced in my heartbeat, trying to lend me what strength she could, but we couldn't stop the inevitable result of suffocation. I blacked out. Even as I drifted away, I tried to bite his hand to keep his blood from slipping down my throat.