Chapter Nine
Bianca dozed off in Eric’s arms, their limbs tangled, exhausted, warm and deliciously sore, but stirred awake again when she felt him moving away. “Eric?” she called for him sleepily, and he turned around to give her a soft, slow kiss.
“Shhh... sleep. I’ll be back in a few hours,” he told her.
“Where are you going?” she asked, and he replied with a smile that was positively wolfish.
“Listen,” he said. Out there in the distance, howls filled the silence of the night. “The moon is full and my Pack is calling,” he told her, smiling, and kissed her again. “Sleep,” he whispered, “I’ll be back before you know it and give you the best wake-up of your life.” Bianca couldn’t help but chuckle to that. She pulled him into her arms for another long, lingering kiss before she let him go.
Eric went to open the window, an image of beauty and power as he stood bathed in the silver moonlight, and shifted right in front of her. It was a captivating sight, full of fluid elegance, as his body morphed from human to that macabre yet fascinating creature again. Bianca wondered how she could ever think of him as a monster.
Sitting up, she reached for him, and Eric moved towards her on all fours until his massive, shaggy head was under her palm. “It’s so soft,” she whispered, amazed at how his fur felt on her skin, “I thought it’d be rough... like dog fur.” Eric let out a sound that reminded her of a scoffing laugh and let her pet him a little longer before he nipped at her fingers lightly, golden eyes shining in the dark, and jumped out of the window in one graceful leap. Bianca rushed to the window, and saw him land on his feet and break into a swift run, much faster than anything in nature could possibly move.
God, what did she get herself into, she wondered, but not for too long. As sudden and profound as this new change to her life was, she loved the way Eric made her feel and wanted to see what this thing between them was and what it could develop into. With a happy little sigh, she closed the window and went back to bed. Sleep claimed her quickly, soothing and deep... so deep that she didn’t even notice someone was in the room until a hand pressed hard over her mouth, waking her up with a panicked start.
“You fat little whore,” Jason McKenna growled at her, as he loomed above her, naked, his beautiful face contorted into an ugly mask of vicious fury. Bianca started to fight him, kicking and scratching at him, trying to free herself from his steely grip, even trying to bite his hand, but it was no use. He was just too strong. “Eric always did have abysmal taste,” he sneered at her snidely. “But at least this time I’ve got some use out of his vulgarity.”
He moved his hand away, giving Bianca just enough time to utter one desperate scream for help before he punched her, sending her into unconsciousness.
She did not know exactly how much time she spent passed out, but when she finally woke, she decided it couldn’t have been too long. It was still nighttime, and her head was in a whirl, heavy and thudding. Her wrists and ankles were bound painfully tight, and she was cold because the bastard had snatched her out of bed naked and just tossed her under a large oak tree in a clearing of some sort in the woods, adding humiliation to injury.
“Oh, good,” Jason snickered. “You’re awake.” An angry howl cut through the air, making Bianca’s skin crawl with dread. “Ah... I hear Eric’s got my message,” he said, grinning. Still naked, he would’ve been an even lovelier sight to behold than his brother was, if it weren’t for that psychotic look on his face. He was standing just a few strides away, holding an enormous gun in his hand. Bianca recognized it from the movies as the infamous Desert Eagle. He lifted it, aiming for her, and she cowered against the tree. “I knew he wouldn’t resist playing your knight in shaggy armor,” he taunted her, relishing her fear. “Damn fool always did have a hero complex.”
There was a rustle of leaves and branches, and Eric, still in werewolf form, jumped out of the bushes, landing just a few feet away. Unperturbed, Jason cocked his gun without a word, looking to Eric with a deranged grin on his face. “Not another step, brother, or I blow the bitch’s brains out.”
A moment later, Eric shifted back to human, his expression grim. “Your note said you’d let Bianca go if I came,” he said, making Jason bark out a cruel laugh.
“No, it said I’d kill her if you didn’t come,” he corrected Eric snidely. “Two very different things, those.”
The look on Eric’s face grew even darker. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked, tranquil fury in his voice, cold and cutting.
Jason’s reply sounded unhinged. “Taking what’s rightfully mine!” he growled, bitter resentment thick in his voice. “I should’ve been made Alpha – I’m smarter, and better, and more talented at everything that makes a good leader! But all anyone cares about is whether or not I have the brute strength to win in a fight. What’s the use of fighting skill in today’s world? The Pack needs a political leader, a cunning diplomat to solidify its position and build influence, not a knuckle-dragging Neanderthal who’d let it stagnate as a petty family commune. Even that blockhead Hector knows that – that’s why he passed down the title. He just chose the wrong brother to give it to.”
“The Pack is happy with the way things are,” Eric replied, but Jason just laughed him off.
“Oh, what do they know?” he scoffed. “They have no vision, no ambition. Twenty years from now, when the Government in the entire Tristate Area is full of our people and we can run this territory as we see fit, they’ll thank me for this.”
Insane, Bianca thought. Jason McKenna was utterly insane.
Sadly, Eric waved his head. “Don’t be a fool, Jason,” he said to his brother. “The Pack would never accept you as the Alpha.”
But that only made Jason angrier. “After I put you and Hector down, they’ll have no choice,” he snarled. “Everything you own – the land, the shares in the company – it’ll all be mine, and I’ll have the power to cut off every single one of them. And when I’m done with you, I’ll get rid of this whore as well. With you gone and no other heirs around, The Law will support my claim, and no one will dare stand against me!”
Eric sighed, looking hurt, beaten and exhausted, and Bianca’s heart hurt for him. To see his own brother turned into such a monster... she couldn’t imagine his pain.
“There’s just one problem with that plan,” Eric told Jason, his head dropping in defeat.
“Oh, yeah?” Jason jeered. “And what is that?”
Eric lifted his eyes, now shining gold. “Hector and I aren’t dead yet,” he replied, his tone sharp.
As if on cue, a werewolf with a red-brown pelt leapt out of the trees behind Jason.
Terrified, Bianca turned her head away and closed her eyes.
There was a horrific crunching sound and a thud, and then silence, heavy and eerie. The air was permeated with the iron scent of freshly-spilled blood.
Moments later, she could feel a pair of strong, gentle arms pulling her into a tight embrace, and something inside her broke in that moment. She began to cry, all of the stress of this horrible, magical day pouring into her tears. She knew it was Eric holding her, and she buried her head into his chest, desperate for his comfort and protection. Silently, he held her, letting her vent her emotions for as long as she needed, not even moving to cut her restraints until she had finally begun to calm down.
“Go bring her something to wear,” he murmured, and Bianca looked over his shoulder to see the enormous, red-brown creature was still there. He stood over Jason’s dead body, licking his bloody chops, before running away to do as his Alpha bid him.
“Was... was that Hector?” she asked Eric, her voice weak and choppy from crying, and he nodded. Gathering a bit of courage, Bianca looked at Jason... or what was left of him.
His body was on the ground, laid on its stomach, and Bianca could see large claw marks on the shoulders and lower back. His head resembled a smashed watermelon, skull cracked by the powerful jaws of his eldest brother, blood and brain matter spewed everywhere around it. The sight made bile rise in Bianca’s stomach, but the shock wouldn’t let her look away. She let Eric remove her bonds and scoop her into his arms protectively, almost catatonic from the experience.
“I’m sorry,” Eric whispered, holding her close, warming her with his body. “It’s all my fault.”
Bianca closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder, and sighed. “It was Jason’s fault, all of it,” she told him, her voice weak, “And it’s over now... right?”
Kissing her forehead, Eric petted her hair and nodded. “It’s over.”
And, for Bianca, that was enough.