Chapter 27

Jordan and Sonja stepped onto the ramp of the plane just as it was being pushed closed by one of the crew. He looked at them with a shocked expression.

“Um…I’m sorry, but Alpha Cyprus has a full plane.”

“Hmm, then I guess someone else will need to step off then,” Jordan quipped with her arms folded. Sonja stepped up next to her and folded hers as well.

“Alpha Cyprus is not going to be happy about this,” the young Kodiak said. He knew who the women were and he seemed to be almost as reluctant to turn them away as he was to tell Cyprus they were there.

“It’s okay,” Jordan said as if reading his mind, “I’ll let Alpha Cyprus know we’re here.” She made her way up the ramp with Sonja right behind her. They stepped onto the plane—this one was much larger than the one they’d taken to pick up Sonja. Suddenly there were about fifteen pairs of eyes on them. Asher and Declan both stood up and went towards the girls.

“Jordan… baby, what are you doing here?” Asher asked. They just got the girls back, so they didn’t want to risk losing them again so soon.

But the stubborn headed nature of the sisters struck through, yet again.

“I’m going with you,” she said.

He chuckled softly. “No, you’re not. This is not a place for you.”

“Why? I’m as capable as you are when I’m in my animal form.”

“Yes, but you are also the prize they’re after. You don’t need to be anywhere near this clash. We’re going to end this tonight, and then we can all live in peace.”

“You promised me.”

“Jordan…”

“They killed my parents and then kept my sister and me captive for fourteen years while lying to us all the while. I deserve to be there.”

Asher looked at his father and Cyprus nodded. The look he gave his other son told a different story. “Sonja,” Declan said, taking her by the arm. “You don’t have the capability to change yet. This is too dangerous.”

“I need to see her Declan.” He didn’t have to ask who she was talking about. They’d discussed how angry she was with Mamma Sable. She’d been so attached to her, and she’d thought that the old woman was everything she wasn’t. She wanted one last chance to tell the old witch how disgusted with her she was. She wanted her to pay for all of her lies and for making a little girl who didn’t know any better fall in love with her.

“It’s too dangerous,” he said again. “Father isn’t going to let you come.” The engines of the plane began to whir, and Cyprus gave her another commanding look.

“Okay,” she said pulling Declan down for a quick kiss. “Be safe,” she said as she slipped out through the open door. Declan stood looking at her with a confused look on his face. That was too easy, and he knew it, he just didn’t know what she was up to. The pilot announced they were closing the door and getting ready for take-off.

“Sit down, Declan,” Cyprus told him.

Still concerned about what Sonja was doing, he took his seat. Meanwhile, as the crew member bent to push in the ramp, Sonja picked up a heavy wrench out of his open toolbox and whispered, “I’m sorry.” She raised it and brought it down on the back of his neck. It wasn’t hard enough to knock him out, but he was stunned. By the time he regained his footing, she had climbed back into the plane, kicked the ramp loose and closed the door. When she turned around, all eyes were on her again. She smiled at them, completely avoiding Cyprus and Declan’s faces as she did. But what she couldn’t avoid was the sound of the deep growl coming from Cyprus’s chest. She looked at her sister.

Jordan looked amused.

Asher did not.

She made her way to the back of the plane and took a seat. After the pilot turned off the ‘seatbelt’ sign, she saw Declan get up. She held her breath as she watched him make his way back towards her. He sat down in the seat next to her, and she looked up at him and smiled.

He shook his head. “What the hell are you doing?” he whispered.

“This is as much my fight… if not more so, than it is yours.” Sonja wouldn’t back down. She needed to be a part of this, and she needed to see what Mamma Sable had to say for herself.

“Maybe so, but you’re not equipped to fight like the rest of us.” Declan tried to reason with Sonja.

“I’ll keep a low profile. I have to see her, Declan.” He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat. She knew that he knew arguing with her would do no good. At this point, he’d have to tie a parachute on her to get rid of her anyways.

The plane landed forty-five minutes later. As they were unloading, each person changed into their wolf form except for Sonja and Cyprus. Cyprus was waiting for her as she stepped off. He gave her a stern look and said, “You’ll have to learn how to listen to your mate and your Alpha better than this.” She cast her eyes down. She truly hadn’t wanted to defy Cyprus.

“I’m really sorry, Alpha Cyprus but I have to have one chance to tell Mamma Sable what she took from me.”

“I’m sorry to Sonja, but I can’t let you risk yourself.” He nodded to two of his men, part of the crew at the airport. They suddenly morphed into a huge lion and a jaguar.

“What the hell? No! Cyprus, please! Declan!” The blue-eyed panther looked at her, and she could see regret in his eyes as well as love. The two big cats marched her backward back onto the plane.

She was royally pissed.

**

They made their way to the outskirts of town in their animal forms. When they arrived at the clearing where the buildings began, and they could see the Coyote bar they stopped and changed. Cyprus looked at his sons, Jordan and the twelve men that had joined them. “You know the plan. I’d like to spare the bloodshed, but I doubt that these wolves will let us walk out of there with their Alpha and his son without a fight.” His eyes landed on Jordan then. “The only thing that can kill us is fear, freezing up long enough to allow them to tear open our throat or rip out our heart. Remember who you are and where you come from.”

They all nodded their assent and followed Cyprus towards the bar. As they approached, a man came out the front door. Jordan recognized him as her bouncer Nick. The look on his face was pure shock when he saw the naked crew approaching. He started to back up into the bar to warn them when Cyprus suddenly changed and lunged for his throat. Nick tried to change, but he was already dead before the transformation was complete. Jordan looked down at him sadly as she walked by. His facial features were the Nick she knew and liked. The rest of him was the body of a huge, brown wolf. His eyes were still open and staring at her accusingly. She reminded herself, ‘No fear’ and she added, ‘No empathy’ because here where she knew these people, that might kill her just as quickly.

Cyprus busted through the doors of the bar, and his crew followed him. Chaos ensued as he said, “I just want Lennox and Jude. I will spare the rest of you, as long as you don’t fight us.”

Men and women were already changing. Jordan saw Asher go for the throat of one of the customers who had morphed into a large black wolf and then a flash of black out of the corner of her eye behind the bar. Within seconds the big white wolf was sailing over the bar and into the back room. She saw Jude, just as he went out the back door. When he saw her, he changed form but kept running. She gave chase, finally cornering him between two buildings at the end of the alley. He had his hind-quarters against the wall and his teeth bared. She took a huge risk then and changed back into her human form. For a few seconds she thought he was going to go ahead and attack, but then he changed too.

“Well, there’s my kidnapped mate, come home to me.”

“I was kidnapped alright, but it wasn’t by the Kodiak’s. You knew what they did to my family. You knew that they’d stolen my heritage… yet you claimed to care about me. You’re disgusting.”

He smiled. “That’s not what you said the night we mated. Just think, you might already have my cub growing inside of you.”

“I’ll eat it when it’s born if I do,” she retorted, defiantly. He took a step towards her, and she could see in the light where his face was scarred from Asher’s claws. It made her smile. “You know, you might look like your brother, but you’re not half the man or wolf that he was.”

“Noah was weak. That’s the only reason he allowed himself to be waylaid and eaten by a couple of panthers. He probably tried to talk them down. He didn’t believe in violence. That’s why my father kept him here and sent me away. He was the decoy.” He smiled, and his canines flashed in the moonlight. Jordan felt her body surge with a red-hot rage. They had used Noah almost the same as they had used her and her sister. If he made it fine, but they hadn’t expected him to. The bastards!

“Your breed is dying, and the earth will be a better place when the likes of you are gone. You don’t know a thing about family or love. Your kind is getting just what they deserve. A long, slow death.”

He took another step towards her, and as he reached out to her, she changed. He did too, but it was too late. She slammed into his chest with both of her paws, and he flew back into the brick wall behind him. As he slid down, she could see blood on the wall. He was stunned, but alert still enough to let out a long, loud howl. He was calling for back-up. Jordan went for his throat. She let herself remember Noah and how kind he was, her parents, her time lost with Asher. She sunk her strong jaws into his flesh. She felt the bones as they crushed and the vibrations of his throat as he tried to let out a yelp that died on his tongue. She started to swing her head back and forth, but before she could break his neck, she felt him twist around enough to clamp his teeth down into her shoulder. Her silky white coat became stained with the dark crimson of blood, but she still didn’t let go. Instead, she went ahead and began to shake her head back and forth violently, forcing her teeth deeper into his throat. Blood was being flung from one wall to the other, and she could feel his bite loosening, but he was strong and still doing his best to hold on.

Jordan was panting and blowing snot through her nostrils, shaking her whole body now, slamming the big, brown wolf into the wall. Suddenly she smelled a presence behind her. When she turned with the wolf’s throat still in her mouth, she saw Asher. His eyes told her to let go of Jude, and as soon as she did and his limp body fell to the ground, he transformed back into a man. Most of his throat was gone. He was dead.

She still nuzzled him with her nose a few times. She wanted to be sure. She wanted to live the rest of her life with her ‘family’ not having to worry that this man would someday raise an army and come to slaughter them as his father had done before him. At last satisfied he was dead, her fur matted with blood and sweat, she changed back into herself. The blood-stained her skin, and she could still taste it in her mouth. Asher changed too.

“Are you okay?” She remembered her shoulder. She reached up to touch it. The blood was flowing from it freely. “Shit! You’re hurt!”

“It’s okay. It’s just a bite. He didn’t hit anything vital. It will heal.”

Asher took a few strides closer to her. “You shouldn’t have come out here alone! What were you thinking? What if he’d gotten a hold of your throat first?”

“He didn’t. Besides, you were the one who told me that my sister and I were the two most powerful Kodiak’s alive weren’t you?” He looked like he wanted to throttle her, but he took her into his arms instead and held her close. When he pulled back, she saw that she wasn’t the only one with injuries. He had deep scratches running down both of his arms. “How is it in there?”

“Most of them gave up right away. Lennox is not a well-loved Alpha. When they saw what they would have to fight in order to save him, they gave him up.”

“Is he still alive?”

Asher nodded. “Father wants to take him back to the village. He feels like since everyone there lost someone that day fourteen years ago because of him, that everyone should have a chance to avenge their own family’s deaths by having a say in how he dies.”

Jordan nodded. Cyprus was a good leader, a good man she thought. “Good. Should we go?”

He put his large arms around her once again and said, “Yes, but if you ever scare me like that again I’ll…”

She grinned, leaning into his neck and then kissed it. “You’ll what?”

“You’ll be so…” She sucked a piece of it into her mouth and ran her tongue back and forth across it.

“So… what?” she asked with her face still buried in his neck.

She heard him take a deep breath and finally say, “You don’t fight fair.”

She grinned and said, “I know.”