Chapter Eight
He was dreaming. But he couldn’t remember what it had been about. Something had awakened him, and he lay there in the darkness, harnessing his super hearing to pierce through the silence and retrieve the culprit. He was wide awake, the only sounds were he and Doria’s hearts beating and his breathing. He held his breath and allowed his mind to be totally calm so he could pick up the out-of-balance element. Something was not right. This was not just some sound…
He felt the current of the air moving over his body changing slightly.
There was something here. Something was altering the balance of the environment.
He felt it the moment he’d opened his eyes. Rob was out of bed in an instant and putting on his boxer shorts. He would hate to fight some sort of evil in the buff. That would just be tacky, wouldn’t it?
“What is it?” Doria whispered from the bed.
He glanced at her. She did not sense it, did she? No, as a hybrid her senses were not quite as developed.
He held up his finger to his lips. “Stay here,” he whispered.
Rob stepped out of the bedroom and crept swiftly and weightlessly down the hall and to the bottom of the steps. He had sensed the presence coming from the kitchen. He moved from the living room to the kitchen and found nothing, and then he checked the rest of the downstairs.
The house was still, quiet. He was not hearing anything now. Could he have been mistaken? Was it possible that his senses had gotten something wrong? No… he could not remember the last time that had happened. The wolf senses were almost completely accurate. They did not make mistakes as a rule. If he sensed something, if he smelled something—it was pretty much a given that something was there.
Something was wrong…
Doria.
He ran through the house at superhuman speed and up the stairs to the bedroom.
The light was now on. Kade was standing there holding Doria by the neck. He appeared calm, serene, and angry at the same time. One slight twitch and her neck would be snapped. Such a blow done by a wolf might have ended her life.
“Hello, Rob,” Kade said. “Long time, no see.”
“Let her go!” Rob said.
“No; I don’t think so. You see, I’m in charge here. I’ve got the leverage so you are going to do what I say.”
Rob took a deep breath.
“What do you want?”
Kade pretended to be unsure. “Well, let’s see. I’ve got all the material things I want… but I think I would love to have you dead. And it just so happens I have provided an excellent opportunity for you to do just that.”
It was then that Rob noticed the pistol on the nightstand in front of him. Beside it was a silver bullet laid out on a doily.
“No…” Rob said.
“Yes. I’m afraid that is the only way. Put that bullet in your head or I will kill the girl. It’s really that simple.”
“You’ll kill her no matter what I do,” Rob said.
“Well, I had thought of that, but I think I’d rather have her as my mate. What do you think of that?”
“It’s not that simple; you can’t just decide that. It’s out of our hands. And she has been chosen to belong with me.”
“Oh, well if it doesn’t work then I promise I’ll let her go. Or at the very least I’ll let her stay a part of my tribe. What happens after you die is none of your concern; if you don’t kill yourself right now then I’ll kill her in front of you.”
“I’d rip your throat out before you could even take a breath if you did that.”
Kade laughed. “Possibly, but she’d still be dead. And I’m willing to leave the rest up to chance.”
“Rob, don’t!” Doria yelled.
Kade gripped her neck tighter. “Now, none of that. No affecting the outcome; we don’t play that way.”
Rob knew that he didn’t have a choice. He was fairly certain that Kade would kill Doria no matter what he did. But he had to try at least.
Rob? Can you hear me?
Doria’s voice was suddenly inside of his mind. She was speaking to him telepathically.
Yes. I hear you.
I wasn’t sure this would work, but it just felt right.
We have sealed our bond with our lovemaking. It is further proof of our bond. What is the plan? Rob asked.
On the count of three I will distract him long enough for you to shoot him. Just put the bullet in the gun and pretend to start the act.
Rob slowly grabbed the gun, and placed the bullet in the chamber. He did his best to act devastated, moving slowly as if he had to force himself to make each small gesture.
Then he held the gun to his head. He cocked the hammer of the .38 and took a deep breath.
Kade had a wicked smile on his face.
One…two… THREE!
Doria head butted Kade in the nose and moved just far enough out of the way for Rob to point the gun at Kade and pull the trigger.
Doria had jerked Kade far enough out of the line of fire as she tried to get away from him that the bullet hit him in the front of the shoulder.
He howled in pain as he staggered backwards and dropped Doria. She lunged out of the way as Rob charged at him.
Kade ducked his attack and leapt out of the window shattering the glass with his form as he sailed towards the ground from the high second story. Rob jumped towards the window, but Kade was already out of sight, disappeared into the darkness.
He was gone. Rob wasn’t sure where he went.
“Are you ok?” Doria asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you?” Rob asked cuddling Doria close to him.
“I’m fine. Why didn’t he die? I thought that silver…?”
“Not an alpha. Silver has to pierce the heart or the brain of an alpha,” Rob said.
“We have to go after him. The both of us can track him.”
“No. I want you safe.”
“I can help. I feel like I should help.”
“I know you want to help, but you are no match for him. He is an alpha.”
“I feel stronger. I mean, after we… shouldn’t I be much stronger. We are mated, right?”
“We are, but for you to become a pure blood there is a ritual that must be performed.”
“Wow, this thing keeps getting more complicated all the time,” Doria said.
Rob grabs his phone and begins to call his sister Steph.
“Who are you calling?”
“Steph. I’m going to have her stay with you while Alex and I go after Kade.”
Doria sighed heavily. “I just hate that I can’t go with you; I feel like this is more my fight than yours.”
“We are in this together,” Rob said. He kissed her sweetly. “Always.”