Curves & Courage (16 page)

Come on, girl. Take over. I can’t remember. I’m panicking because I can’t remember.

Chapter 34

Dominick

Sorrow sieged me. She was doing so well. Her spirit amazed me. Just as I suspected, Sophie was so much more than met the eye. She would keep me on my toes; she was full of surprises.

But she’d choked. I could see the panic in her eyes; I smelled her fear as she slowly backed away from the roaring beast.

Why weren’t they letting me go, dammit? Why wasn’t my father letting me defend her yet?

I lunged my body harder, fighting, struggling to break free of their harsh grips. The men
and my best friend worked to keep me where I was. Their clutches were like iron shackles.

Dammi
t!
I needed to get to her!

Her father stalked towards her. I watched helplessly as she
shivered. Her wolf was there. She was so close, yet so far.

She needed me, dang it!

I snarled at my father, demanding his attention, commanding he tell them to release me. I wasn’t the fucking prisoner. Her damn dad deserved to be.

I didn’t want to hurt my pack, but desperation was eating away at me the closer her father got to her. Soon, my conscience would fade and I would be a victim to instinct. My instincts would always be to protect her, even if it meant shredding my own to reach her.

I heard another snap followed by several bones cracking. Pain contorted her face as she fell to her knees. She didn’t cry out, but I knew she wanted to. She refused to prove him right.

Her dad’s wolf howled a laugh as his daughter struggled through her shift. His reaction alone made me want to
tear him apart limb from limb. I suppose, though I knew he wasn’t a great man from her bruises, a part of me hadn’t believed how cruel he was. I hadn’t known a brutal parent; I hadn’t known an irresponsible prick. I’d only known my father, who was proving far better a man that I’d ever given him credit for.

My wolf’s anger surged, heating our body. I felt hair being plucked from our coat as we fought harder to break free, to get to her.

She was vulnerable dammit! She was open. He could pounce on her at any point during her change, a shift made more difficult since she had to strip her clothes along the way.

My heart raced. My wolf’s growls shook me. Fear drove me; frustration propelled me.

It was my job to protect her, dammit. She was mine!

…
and then it happened.

Chapter 35

Sophie

Come on, come on,
come on.

My body screamed as it slowly morphed. Sharp pain shot from every part of me. Excruciating pressure blinded me, blackened my mind as my wolf worked her way to freedom.

It felt like my body was being ripped in half. Ligaments tore and re-stitched themselves together. Bones broke and re-shaped themselves. Muscles shredded and rotated before gluing themselves to fresh tissue. All my old wounds disappeared as my body perfectly, if but slowly, reformed.

My teeth and nails elongated. My hands and fingers shortened into paws. My nose and mouth grew into a snout as
my clothes slowly were expunged from over me. Hair sprouted from every pore as the pressure began to fade.

No sooner had it begu
n to dull than an abrupt burst of agony worked through my jugular. A solid, powerful entity knocked me backwards as my vision cleared. A heavy paw pressed into my chest crushing my lungs.

I stared up at my father’s black wolf. Never one to stray from his true character, he’d taken a shot at me before I was ready.

His teeth had pierced my fur, were inches from my life source, from the pulsing vein in my neck. If he tore it, I was dead.

He leered down at me; he mocked me, boasting his power.

Had I really come all this way to fail? How could this be happening? The bully never won in the movies. Bravery was always rewarded in books and movies. Where was my reward? Where was God now? Where was Nature now as I stared into the pits of hell?

Suddenly, I caught a flash of motion out of the corner of my eye before my father w
ent flying across the room.

Dom stopped to give me a cursory look, to ensure I would be okay, before he charged my father. My heart hammered in my chest as my past and present collided before me.

I rolled over, getting up on all fours. My wolf and I were stricken by the sight before us. Swirls of caramel and black flew around. They moved so quickly, so bluntly. I struggled to keep up even with my enhanced senses.

I heard the tear of flesh. Like confetti at a parade, fur rained down over the floor as they moved over and under each other.

My heart beat wildly because there was no clear winner, because no one was stronger than the other. I was shocked and in awe of Dom’s strength. He was far more than I gave him credit for. He was a force to be reckoned with. He was my dad’s equal. He was my mate. He was mine to be proud of.

But this was still my fight.

I crouched as they bounced around on the floor. The vicious sounds of war, the haunting echoes of a rough fight that was bound to end in death carried through the room. Those sounds wrapped around my heart. Those noises reignited me; they slipped past my defenses, draping themselves around my soul and forcing me forward, pushing me back into my own battle. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t help win this war. I would never forgive myself if I didn’t help my mate fight. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to my love because I wasn’t brave enough, because I wasn’t determined enough, because I didn’t try hard enough.

Glimpsing a gap between, I lunged forward, clamping my mouth around my father’s chest. He was momentarily stunned, giving me the advantage to dig my teeth deeper into him until I tasted his bitter, foul blood.
His blood reflected the man, the wolf, it pumped within.

I jerked my head back and forth, ripping his flesh. The angle at which I’d caught him, just
behind his front leg, just out of reach of his head, made it impossible for him to retaliate. If he wiggled, he would only worsen his wound.

Dom howled, his war cry encouraging my wolf.

Tears stung my eyes as a chorus of howls sounded behind us. If we failed, if Dom and me couldn’t suppress my father, couldn’t stop him together, there was a pack of wolves ready to move in. This was my battle, but it had become our war.

I pushed my father into the floor, onto his side. He abruptly began to bunt, testing my hold. It was tough as iron though. Years of anger had sutured my jaw shut around his disgusting flesh. Years of oppression had me clamping tighter, thrusting my teeth deeper into him.

My wolf growled around him, vibrating his rib cage. She was declaring herself no longer a victim. She was declaring our victory.

My dad made one last futile attempt to free himself, snapping my head about, but my mate was there. Dom bit into my father’s neck, pinning him. He couldn’t move, unless he wanted to die.

Pity weighted my heart. He deserved many things, but I was never one to promote capital punishment. Furious tears stung, sliding down my fur covered snout, dripping onto him. What man would choose death over his daughter? My anger grew hollow, less dense, as it gave way to sorrow. What person would choose to live as he did? What parent would choose to be as he was? I didn’t understand him. I couldn’t comprehend what would drive anyone to choose as he did. I could wrap my mind around his chosen path. No one in their right mind would choose a dark and dreary existence over sunny days filled with happiness.

Money didn’t buy happiness, for happiness couldn’t be bought. Happiness was created; happiness was always there, but only if we embraced it.

He could have easily made the most of our situation. He could have appreciated what he had rather than scorning life, rather than abusing me over what he didn’t have.

That’s all he was: a jealous, bitter wolf. He was consumed by what he wanted, focused on the lifestyle he craved, rather than the life he could have easily created had he only tried.

It was over. He didn’t have a hold on me anymore. So why didn’t I feel free? Why wasn’t I rejoicing?

Because I was too busy mourning the loss of my final parent.

That’s what I’d been afraid of being all this time: an orphan.

Being an orphan meant either my parents didn’t want me or God, Nature, decided I didn’t deserve any…

Perhaps I was the bitter one all along.

I unclamped my mouth from around my father’s stiff wolf.

A look backwards showed the entire pack stood as wolves, aside from Dan. Confusion twisted his features as he watched me closely.

Suddenly, I felt closed in, trapped…the very thing I was trying to escape.

My emotions slammed into my chest, adrenaline shot through my veins sending my wolf running. I propelled my wolf’s body into the door, throwing open the escape route. I heard my name being shouted but continued. I sprinted. I ran. I broke free, allowing my wolf her much deserved freedom.

The cement sidewalks crushed the pads of my paws as
I bound aimlessly through the well-lit streets of the city. The wind rushed into my lungs, kindling my spirit. My limbs burned with bliss as I ran faster and faster. Nothing had ever felt so exquisite.

A howl of laughter exploded from my wolf as we flew through the city at a lightning speed. I was
a fat girl, but I was a sleek, athletic wolf. I was a worn and weary girl, but I was beautiful, powerful wolf.

Air ruffled my fur as it slid through the strands. My paws sent dust, dirt and debris flying upwards with each stride. My heart pounded in my chest; my pulse was a steady, harmonic rhythm pulsing beautifully. I was free.
I was a fool because there was nothing to mourn; there was nothing to feel sorry about.

My wolf came to an abrupt halt as Dom entered our thoughts. I was okay with my
orphan status because of him; because, while I was now an orphan, I wasn’t alone. I had lost someone who never cared about me, but I’d gained someone who cared immensely about me. I’d lost a warden in order to gain a partner, someone who would love me forever just as I was. I’d gained someone who was willing to fight to free me rather than to shackle me…

…
and, without thinking, I’d just done the one thing he’d begged me not to do. I’d just done what he admitted was he biggest fear: I ran.

I was so used to running. It wasn’t an excuse though. Dom had just fought beside me, helped me defeat my personal demons. I owed him, not because he demanded a penance from me, but because I loved him enough to give him one.

Chapter 36

Dominick

I stood frozen in front of the door. I didn’t care that I stood as a naked man, bared and broken before my pack. I didn’t care that they could see my pain. I didn’t even care that
he
could see my pain.

She ran. She up and left me.

My heart thundered in my chest. I was too stricken to embrace one emotion. She ran…

My father clasped a hand over my shoulder. “Remember what I said, son. She can only fight the feeling for so long. She’ll be back.”

I didn’t acknowledge him. I couldn’t.

He lingered nonetheless. His
attention drifted to Sophie’s father being cuffed and bound. He would be taken before the counsel, tried and punished for his crimes by the only ones capable of suppressing a man like him, a wolf like us: our own.

My dad squeezed my shoulder. “You did good, Dominick. I’m proud of you.” Still he stayed, refusing to move until he’d said whatever was on his mind. I heard him swallow hard. “Your mother would have been proud of you.”

I stared through the blackened glass, a small smile lifting my lips. I didn’t think about my mother often; it was too painful to because my memories always turned dark, always crashed into her death at the end. Instinctively I knew she would have loved Sophie though.

I blew out a deep breath, feeling a sense of calm descend upon me. I didn’t think it was possible with the tension binding my body, but, miraculously, it did. Possibly because I knew my dad was right…at least, I hoped he was.

“Thanks, Dad.” I met his gaze.

He nodded his head. His lips
rounded up in a knowing smile as he turned away from me. “Heed your father’s words, son, and watch the door.”

My wolf perked up immediately. My senses were on alert; I forced myself to
listen, to search the entrance and everything closing in on it.

There, in the distance, I heard her. I just knew it was
her.

It didn’t matter that I was naked or that there was an elderly couple exiting a chauffeured car across the street, I threw open the door and stepped outside, waiting.

My skin tingled, my heart sang with anticipation as she came bounding around the corner, still in her wolf form. She was a gorgeous wolf: silky soft chocolate. She was a beautiful young woman: curvy and courageous. And she was my mate. Damn if I wasn’t proud that she was my mate.

My heart stopped when she stopped a good six feet in front of me. Fear pinched my lungs when she refused to meet my gaze.