Gunnar Read online

  His fingers curled around my throat, pressing my windpipe. He shouldn’t be strong enough to break me. He could never be as strong as I was, and that’s why he hated me.

  My eyes snapped open and the blindfold fell away. No. This wasn’t my vision, it was Jett’s. Maestro’s hands closed around her throat as he pulled her off her feet.

  Maestro. Sutter. They were one in the same. How had I not sensed it before?

  “Ah, you remember now,” Able said. I staggered backward as reality slammed back into my chest. Maestro was Sutter. Sutter had his hands around Jett’s throat and she was paralyzed by it because of me. My thoughts, my memories churned in her mind. My connection to her would be the very thing that could get her killed.

  “You’ve been waiting,” I said, though my voice didn’t sound like my own. “All this time, you knew if I claimed my mate, it would break your hold, but it would make me easier to track.”

  “Gunnar, I told you. No one alive knows shifters more than I do. I’m not just an Alpha, my son. I’m the Alpha. What did you think would happen?”

  “No,” I staggered back. No. No. It couldn’t happen. I would never let it happen. I closed my mind to him. I closed my mind to her.

  “She’s magnificent,” Able said. “I had someone special in mind for her. Did she tell you that? Maybe she didn’t know.”

  “It’s over,” I said. “Your little Birch Haven experiment is finished. You want to punish me, punish me. You don’t need Jett to do it.”

  I reached out with my mind, drawing on strength I hadn’t tapped before. If my connection to Jett was one strand, maybe Able’s connection to me was another. Maybe I could use it against him.

  “She’s strong,” he said. “She might even be the one. I think it’s worth a try.”

  The one? I tried to build a wall in my mind. Let Jett be Jett. Let her fight. Sutter put her down. That meant something. At the same time, I felt Able reaching out, pushing at the corners of my mind.

  “I could let you have her,” Able said. “I could let her live. That’s up to you.”

  “No!” I said, pushing back. Able rounded on me. I held my ground. Don’t shift. Don’t shift. Don’t shift.

  “Submit to me as your Alpha and I’ll let you keep Jett as your mate. It’s the best deal you’ll ever get and one I won’t make again.”

  I staggered sideways. Able’s power turned my stomach. He was so strong. Buzzing, like a thousand locusts, bored through my mind. He tested for weaknesses. Images of my mother flashed before me. Sutter. The last day when Able’s soldiers came for me, accusing me of turning traitor. The day I chose to run rather than submit. The day I met Liam and Mac. Molly’s smiling face as she bound one of my wounds. Jett. Always Jett. He would use it all against me.

  “Your choice,” Able said, as he felt my will. I would never willingly submit to him, even if it cost me my life. “Such a waste she’ll be. Maybe I’ll let Sutter have her for a while. He deserves some R and R.”

  My wolf sprang free. I couldn’t hold the shift back any longer. The world grew brighter as my wolf eyes locked on Able. He crouched low, but stayed human. His pull on my mind stretched taut. Just a thin membrane of resistance separated me from chaos. It’s what he wanted. It’s how he knew he could win.

  Gunnar! Jett’s mental cry tore at me. She felt the walls weakening around me. I snapped my jaw then let a howl rip from me. I closed her off. This began and ended with Able and me.

  I launched myself at him. Able shifted. His wolf loomed large and silver in front of me. His eyes went blood-red and I lost my footing. Oh, God. His hold was strong indeed.

  But, he was holding on only to me!

  As Able lunged for me, sinking his knife-like fangs into my neck, his hold broke on Sutter. I saw it happen through Jett’s eyes. Sutter took a staggering step backward as my blood filled Able’s mouth. He dropped low and shifted. Sutter’s wolf eyes flashed gold then faded to amber. It was just an instant, but Jett’s pulse pounded. It meant something to her.

  Able released his grip. I rolled away and got back to my feet. Before he could strike again, I hurled my body into his flank, throwing him end over end. He rounded quickly, spreading his paws wide and dropping his head low. His threatening snarl echoed off the trees. I felt his intention change. He no longer wanted to subjugate me. He wanted to kill me.

  I felt Jett’s fingers close around the cold handle of her nine. Sutter’s eyes were still a dull amber, his movements lumbering. It all happened in a split second. Able dropped his head low. Sutter’s eyes changed again, glowing red. But an instant before, Jett got her shot off. It ripped through Sutter’s chest, spinning him hard to the left.

  Able yelped as he felt Sutter’s pain. It was just a moment. A rift in the fiber that held Able to Sutter. It was all I needed. I leaped through the air and sank my teeth into Able’s neck.

  He was just a wolf. Just an ancient, strong wolf. I was stronger. Able’s eyes widened in shock as he realized what I understood. Blood poured from the puncture wounds I’d made in his chest. Able kicked off with his feet, sending me sailing through the air. I landed hard, my spine crunching against a tree. Adrenaline fueled me and I popped up. Able did too. He panted hard, foam dripping from his fangs. Sweat and blood matted his fur. But, he kept on coming.

  Mortal. He could be killed. I saw the light fade from his eyes and his scent changed, colored by fear. He wasn’t used to it. His death was mine. My Alpha rose strong.

  Submit! The command filled my head, but it was mine, not Able’s. Ancient instinct fueled me. I was stronger, younger, virile. He was old, weakening. It was always supposed to be this way. Old Alphas fall; others rise. New packs form. Even now, I could sense Able’s instincts flaring hot. It was in his blood to give in to me; my nature called to his. Succession. Strength. Change. It was how packs had survived for millennia.

  But Able Valent was no ordinary Alpha. Nature did not matter to him. He was a Tyrannous Alpha and one blow from me, no matter how devastating, would not change him.

  Jett’s scream filled the air, searing through my heart like a dagger. My vision clouded and I swayed on my feet. The pain from Able’s bite tore through me at last; blood leached from me.

  Sutter was mortally wounded, but his heart still beat. He would use the last gasps of life to do Able’s bidding. My ears pricked as dozens of other wolves poured down the hill. The Pack. The instant their Alpha’s blood began to flow, he called to them. Mindless. Murderous. Jett wasn’t safe.

  Sutter made his move. He leaped into the air and caught Jett’s right arm in his jaws. At full strength, he could have torn it off. The effort of it made his legs give out. Jett dropped the gun. Sutter was on her. In another instant, he would tear her open.

  Able was two feet from me, his strength still fading. He was weak, but he would not be easy to kill. A life for a life. Jett’s or Able’s. One Alpha versus another.

  I gave in to my nature. With each beat of my heart, I knew where I belonged. I covered the distance in seconds. My paws left the ground. Arcing high, I landed on Sutter’s back. The weight of me crushed his spine. He released his death grip on Jett’s arm. She was stunned, gravely injured, but she rolled away.

  Fueled by his own survival instinct and his master’s will, Sutter got to his feet. The ground was stained red from his blood. I went in for the kill. Sutter staggered backward as I tore open his throat. He had nothing left to bleed. His red eyes faded to amber, then to gold, then finally to a deep brown as he shifted back in death. His broken body curled in on itself. His lips were moving as he tried to say his dying words. But, I would not be his audience. The Maestro was finished.

  “Gunnar!” Jett cried. “The Pack!”

  Scores of wolves poured down from the hill. Half broke off, heading for their fallen leader. But, the others came straight for us.

  Jett got to her feet. She was bleeding badly from the wound on her arm. She wouldn’t die. I would not let her die. There was no time to ask her if she could run.


  Grab on to me! I shouted to her with my mind. Whatever happens, don’t let go!

  Jett gave me a desperate nod. She wrapped her good arm around my neck and hoisted herself on my back. The blood from my own wound coated us both, but it didn’t matter. Jett was alive and so was I. If we had any hope of staying that way, I’d have to outrun the Pack.

  Twenty-Eight

  Jett

  No pain. No breath. No sight.

  Gunnar covered the ground on powerful legs. His muscles hardened to steel as we flew west. I sensed the Pack through him. They were beyond reason, fueled only by murderous rage and their Alpha’s command. Mindless. Soulless. In some part of me, I felt sympathy for them. Once, they’d been just like Gunnar or the men who served with him, hadn’t they? Were those men still in there, or had Able Valent’s hold broken what was human about them?

  So much sorrow. So much rage. It blinded them. I could feel it. As Gunnar’s blood mixed with mine, the Alpha’s greatest crime unfurled before me. It left me breathless, weightless.

  We reached the outskirts of Gordon City. The town blinked to life in front of us. To the east, the highway loomed. Gunnar headed that way. Panic flared through me. We were safer in the shadows. We’d survived staying away from large groups of people where the Pack could blend in and hide. Now, we were charging straight for it.

  There was an industrial complex at the very edge of town. The smokestacks of a large oil refinery loomed. Its sprawling parking lot held hundreds of cars. Gunnar broke off and ran for it. The third shift was just letting out as the first shift rolled in. I knew Gunnar’s mind even if he couldn’t transmit it to me.

  I slid off Gunnar’s back. He stayed in his wolf. He was fierce and deadly, blood matting his fur. His silver wolf eyes gleamed brightly in the dim light.

  “What the fuck?” One of the factory workers had the ill luck to walk straight into our path. His overalls were covered in grease and held a lunch pail against his chest almost like a shield. I turned to him.

  “Your keys,” I said. “I just need your keys.”

  “You outta your mind, lady?”

  Gunnar dropped his head. His murderous growl vibrated through me. The worker dropped his empty pail to the ground and put his hands up. “Get away from him,” he said to me. “Walk slow.”

  “Your keys,” I said again. “Nobody’s going to hurt you.”

  He tossed them to me. I supposed now I could add grand theft auto to my list of crimes. I can’t imagine what I looked like to him. My entire right side was covered in blood. It hurt, but I knew shock and adrenaline drove me. I took his keys and hit the lock button. The lights of a silver F-250 flared three cars down. Gunnar went for it.

  He shifted on a dime and slid into the driver’s seat. I looked back at the truck’s owner. He was older, probably close to retirement. With his jaw on the ground, he shook his head and put his hands up, backing away. I shrugged and forced a smile.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “You’ll get it back.” I don’t know why I said it, but it made me feel better. Gunnar laid on the horn and I ran for the passenger seat.

  Climbing in, I barely got the door shut before Gunnar slammed the truck into reverse and peeled out of the parking space. He blew through the stop sign and headed for the highway.

  “They’re still coming!” I gasped. I reached for my nine and realized with horror I didn’t have it anymore. In all the excitement, I’d dropped it to the ground next to Sutter, the wolf I killed. When his name burned through Gunnar, I knew it too.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “If the Pack gets within firing range, we’ll be dead already. There’s too many of them.”

  He was right. We hit the on-ramp at nearly a hundred miles an hour. I chanced a look behind us. Dozens of pairs of glowing red eyes wavered in the distance. There were woods on either side of the road. They were coming from everywhere. Gunnar pressed the gas even harder. The truck lurched in protest, but responded. He took it to top speed, nearly one hundred and ten.

  “Just don’t fall apart on me now,” Gunnar whispered. I wasn’t sure if he meant me or the truck. Probably both.

  “We should go south,” I said, my voice cracking. “Hit the border, once and for all.”

  “No,” Gunnar said. His words came out in a hiss of pain. The truck had an extended cab. I leaned over the seat. I found a few old t-shirts, rags, spare work clothes. The poor guy who owned it looked like he slept it in regularly. Quickly stripping the rags, I pressed one to the wound in Gunnar’s side. It had stopped bleeding, but the edges were raw and open.

  “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “Use those for you. Can you wrap your arm tight? There’ll be help where we going. If I can get us there before they catch up.”

  I lurched to the side as Gunnar weaved around slower vehicles. It earned us a chorus of angry honks in our wake. Gunnar kept on going. With each mile marker, my heart started to ease. I could still see the glowing eyes in the distance, but they were fading.

  “When we get close enough, we’re going to have to ditch the truck,” he said. “Baby, can you hang on a little while longer? I know you’re in pain.”

  My voice caught in my throat. I held back the tears I’d wanted to cry since the moment I felt Able Valent’s hold on Gunnar return. I thought I’d lost him. I felt his pain when he realized who the black wolf was. Sutter, his betrayer. Maestro, his torturer. And yet, he’d held strong. He’d fought it all back for me. We’d done it together. My strength was Gunnar’s strength.

  “I can go as far as you can go,” I said, putting a gentle hand on his arm. He flicked his eyes to me, then focused on the road. His jaw jumped as he clenched it. I felt his own heart thump with emotion. So close. I’d been so close to losing him.

  We sat in silence as the road stretched ahead of us. Each howl in the distance cut through me. But, they faded. Each time I looked back, I saw fewer eyes. Five miles from Cave City, they faded to nothing.

  Suddenly, Gunnar pulled to the shoulder. His headlights shone on an exit sign. Shadow Springs. My heart soared.

  “Come on,” he said. “We have to go the rest of the way on foot. I’ll carry you if you’re not strong enough.”

  “They’re not here,” I said. “I don’t feel the Pack.”

  Gunnar pulled me to him, kissing my forehead. “We just might make it.”

  “Don’t say that,” I told him. “You’ll jinx us.”

  Smiling, Gunnar opened the driver’s side door. When I reached to open mine, pain exploded through me. Gunnar’s eyes widened with alarm and he pulled me out of the cab. I tried to stand, but my legs gave out.

  He reached into the back of the truck. He found one clean jumpsuit and put it on. Then, he tucked his arm beneath my legs and lifted me. “Come on,” he said. “It’s not far. You’ll make it.”

  I tried to smile, but it hurt too much. The ground became a blur beneath me as Gunnar started to run. We took to the woods again where I knew he belonged. With each step, new strength poured through him.

  Home. Friends. His hope bled through me.

  Then, my heart dropped as a menacing howl rent the air. One of the largest wolves I’d ever seen blocked our path to the woods. His mighty jaws snapped and his back went up, ready to pounce for the kill. His red fur bristled and he pawed the ground in a clear challenge.

  “Gunnar!” I yelled. Gunnar put himself between the wolf and me. Gold eyes narrowed and gleamed as he came toward us. Behind him, the woods drew dense. Could we make a run for it? I pulled on Gunnar’s sleeve. Strong as he was, I knew he wasn’t physically ready for another fight so soon. And this wolf looked ready to tear him to shreds.

  Gunnar pulled away from me. I felt his heart thundering through me. He went to the wolf. The wolf bared his fangs and snarled.

  “Gunnar, no,” I said. My hand went reflexively for the gun I no longer carried. I knew he’d rather die than submit to the Pack. Please, God, don’t let that be his plan now.

  Gunnar dropped
low, meeting the red wolf’s eyes. Then, he reached forward and grabbed his head. His shoulders shook as deep laughter erupted from him. The wolf snapped his jaw but only in the air. He pushed Gunnar sideways, nearly knocking him off the ground. Then, he let out a whine and shook his great head while Gunnar regained his balance and threw his arms around the wolf in an embrace.

  “Jett,” he said, laughing. “Meet Liam. Liam, this is Jett.”

  Liam’s wolf chuffed a greeting as Gunnar let him go. Liam came to me, tail high. The top of his head came up to my shoulders. He stared at me with intelligent, golden eyes. He raised his head once then brought it down in a sort of wolf nod.

  “Come on,” Gunnar said. “We need to get underground. Liam, we need Molly. Fast.”

  Liam’s wolf let out a short yip and he swung his head to the side. I didn’t speak wolf by any means, but this seemed like an invitation. Smiling, Gunnar took my hand. All the tension of that last few hours seemed to drain from him. With each step he took deeper into the woods, he seemed stronger, taller. Relief bled through me as I squeezed Gunnar’s hand.

  Liam’s wolf followed, but kept his distance. I knew instinctively he was watching out for us. If we hadn’t thrown off the Pack, he’d have to sound an alarm. Out here alone, he put himself at great risk. I didn’t know him. I hadn’t even met the man inside of him. Already, I liked him immensely.

  Gunnar stopped when we reached a clump of dead branches. He pushed them aside to reveal a hole in the ground. “Come on,” he said. “Duck when you pass through. And stick close to me. There’s a steep drop off on your left side as we go down. After that, it’s not so dangerous.”

  Nodding, I followed his lead. My head grew light as the effects of my injury started to catch up with me. Gunnar sensed it right away and wrapped his arm around me. I pushed back. I’d come this far. I wanted the Mammoth Forest wolves to see me walk in on my own power. It mattered to me somehow.

  Gunnar’s brow furrowed with concern. But he didn’t try to pick me up. The cavern entrance was just as he said. Still, it was a damn sight easier to traverse than the tunnels. Hell, it was a palace compared to what I was used to. When we reached the end of the first descending pathway, we walked into a larger, round cavern, reminding me of a rotunda.