OtherKin: Tranquility (5 page)

Marcus made a
scoffing sound. "Clearly that loyalty was weak."

"No, the love
was just strong."

That earned her
another scoff. "Love—"

"Yes, love!"
she screamed at him. "Something you know less about than I
thought." She cradled her cheek in her hand and glared at him.

"You deserved
that," he spat at her. "You deserve worse." He spun on his heel and
walked toward the door. "You'll stay in here until I've decided how
to deal with Roane. Understand, sweet sister, you'll never see him
again."

She ran toward
him, panic filling her chest with an unpleasant fluttery sensation
and coursing cold through her veins. "Don't hurt him, Marcus!
Please, I'm begging you! Don't hurt—"

The door
slammed and the lock slid home.

Scarlet stopped
short and stared at the door for a second, then ran to it and began
to pound. She knew it wouldn't do any good. She could yell herself
hoarse in here and no one would open the door if Marcus hadn't
given leave, but she couldn't just sit and wait while her brother
did God knew what to the man she'd come to understand she
loved.

* * * * *

"Hey,
Bradley."

A woman's voice
filtered through Roane's consciousness, making him raise his head
from where he cradled it in his hands. A tall blonde had sauntered
into the station.

The pup was
giving her his full attention. "Hi, Amy."

“Thought I'd
come by and see if you needed anything, maybe some lunch or
something." She'd come to sit on the edge of his desk, her eyes all
for Bradley. "And…to…" She flicked a glance at Roane right before
she leaned down and whispered something in the pup's ear.

The pup
sputtered, then let out a burst of surprised laughter that eased
into a nervous giggle.

Roane let his
head droop again and closed his eyes. Ugh. He might be stuck in
this cell, but did they have to torture him too?

The sound of
kissing met his ear and then more murmurings he couldn't—and didn't
want—to hear. Then silence.

"Hey, big
guy."

Roane lifted
his head to see the blonde standing at the cell door. She showed
him the key she held. What the hell?

The woman slid
the key into the door's lock. It door slid open with a resounding
clank. "We don't have much time before Bradley comes back. You can
kick his ass easily enough, but he'll raise an alarm. Marcus has
Scarlet and he's acting weird. I think he hit her. He's holding her
in the basement of City Hall, right across the street. Go get
her."

A dull roar had
started in his head right after the words I think he hit her. Roane
rose and stalked out of the cell. "Thank you."

"Just go get my
roommate, Roane." She rolled her eyes. "I'm throwing myself under
the bus here for you."

It didn't take
long for Roane to high tail it across the street, making sure he
avoided all the Wolven in his path. As soon as the pup got back and
noticed he was gone—Amy could only distract him for so long—Marcus
would be alerted to his escape and would know right where he'd
gone. He needed to get to Scarlet before that happened.

Slipping into
City Hall, he made his way down to the basement via the stairwell.
It let out into a public administration area of the building—a long
white corridor with lots of closed doors and bad florescent
lighting.

But where was
Scarlet?

He hesitated at
the beginning of the corridor and strained his hearing for any
noises. In the distance, in a room far from the stairwell, he heard
pounding and a hoarse voice calling. He went for it.

When he got
closer, he recognized Scarlet's voice, heavy with stress and
emotion. "Scarlet?" he asked when he reached her.

"Roane! Oh,
thank God you're all right! Get me out of here!"

"Stand back."
With a kick, he splintered the door, letting it swing wide on its
hinges. Scarlet stood in the center of the room, blood caked on her
cheek.

He went to her,
cupping her face in his hands and tipping her face to the light. A
bruise had already begun to form on her pretty skin and her cheek
was cut. "I'll kill him," he growled.

Scarlet covered
his hands with hers and shook her head. "Marcus doesn't deserve to
die for hitting me one time, Roane."

"Yes. Yes, he
does, Scarlet." Every protective instinct within him roared to
life. He was serious about making her brother pay for hurting her.
His wolf rippled under the surface of his human consciousness at
the mere thought, wanting blood and flesh.

She searched
his face, her lips parted a little. When she understood he meant
it, her face tightened. "No, Roane."

He pushed the
hair away from her face, inspecting the damage. "Good alphas don’t
hit. They don't have to."

"He's my
brother." Her eyes pleaded with him to show Marcus mercy.

Footsteps
sounded behind them. "Oh, look, the lovers have found each
other."

Marcus.

Roane didn't
think, he just acted. Releasing Scarlet, he turned and leapt at
Marcus with a savage growl ripping from his throat. As he went,
shadow engulfed his form and he landed on four paws.

Marcus took up
the challenge and, lip curling even while in human form, met him in
the center of the room—his Wolven self engulfing his body as he
moved.

Roane hit
Marcus hard and they rolled, tangled together across the floor.
Marcus snapped at Roane's throat, missing trapping it in his huge
white teeth by a breath's space.

They hit the
wall and leapt apart, circling each other with their teeth bared.
An audience had gathered inside the room by now. They were going
watch their alpha be defeated and Roane was going to have stand in
his stead—even if he didn't want to.

Marcus had
brought this on himself. By hurting Scarlet, Marcus had made his
own nightmare come true.

Marcus lunged
at him, sinking his teeth deep into Roane's side. Scarlet screamed.
Pain exploded through Roane's body, but he fought through it,
twisting until he grabbed a hold of Marcus's haunch. He sank his
teeth in and worried, causing Marcus to release him and yelp.

They circled
each other again, Marcus limping and blood pouring from his side.
Both wolves were weakened from the earlier fight that day, both
still suffering injuries, but each of them had powerful emotions
running through their bodies to sustain them. Both of them had
strong goals.

Marcus wanted
to protect his territory. Roane wanted to protect the woman he
loved—his mate. This battle was about whose will was stronger.

Roane growled
low at the thought, the sound trickling from his peeled back lips.
He lowered his head, staring Marcus down. Then he leapt. Roane hit
Marcus in the side and went for his throat. Using his weight to
push Tranquility's alpha to the floor, Roane sealed his mouth
around Marcus's throat and tightened until Marcus was forced to go
limp.

The crowd in
the room let out a collective gasp. Roane had forced Marcus into
submission. Their alpha lay on his back, stomach exposed and his
tender, vulnerable throat between another Wolven's teeth. It was
clear that if Roane closed his jaw right now, Marcus would die.

The temptation
to do just that made Roane salivate.

I'll kill
you if you move,
Marcus said Roane telepathically.
I want to
kill you for hitting Scarlet. She wants you to remain living, so I
will allow it, but you will go far from here and never come back.
Understand me? You've lost Tranquility. If I ever see you again,
I'll have to disappoint your sister.

Marcus lay
motionless, unresponsive. He had to know it was over. His pack had
seen him defeated. They wouldn't accept his rule now.

Roane gave him
a little shake. Don't make me kill you.

I'll go.
Marcus answered finally.

It didn’t
have to be like this.
Roane gave Marcus one final shake and
then released the hold he had on his throat.

Marcus rolled
to the side and shifted back to human form. He lay naked in the
center of the room, blood coating his thigh. After a few moments,
gaze averted, he rose and limped out of the room.

Everyone
remained silent as he left.

Still in shadow
form, Roane surveyed the people in the room. All of them looked to
him as though expecting he would protect them, care for them,
create a safe place for them to exist. That's what an alpha did.
That was an alpha's job. Roane didn't want it, but it looked like
he had it anyway. His basic, innate nature had won out over
everything else.

Looking at the
hopeful faces in the room, Roane realized that maybe somewhere deep
inside he wanted it too.

Scarlet ran to
him and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his
fur. Roane changed back to human form and crushed her to him,
kissing over the non-bruised side of her face. Warmth filled him at
the feel of her in his arms and he closed his eyes, letting out a
breath of pure relief.

Most
importantly, he had Scarlet. No doubt one day they would mate, but
now they could take their time.

As he and
Scarlet clung to each other, the pack members all filed out of the
room, giving them privacy.

"I love you,"
Scarlet whispered, right before she kissed him.

Roane smiled
against her lips, finally filled with the sensation of being home.
"I love you too, baby."

THE END

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Anya Bast is
the award winning author of numerous works of romantic fiction,
mostly all paranormal and mostly all scorching hot. She lives in
the country with her husband, daughter, seven cats and two
dogs.

She grew up in
Minnesota and still favors the colder climates. After high school
she moved to the southeast United States where she attended
college. While in graduate school she sold her first book and
decided to pursue her lifelong dream of writing instead of a career
in psychology.

Somewhat
reclusive by nature, she can be drawn out with a good bottle of red
wine, classic movies, or good music. When she's not writing, she
can be found trying to grow organic vegetables, shopping in thrift
stores for that perfect piece of clothing, or dreaming about travel
to some faraway country.

She is the New
York Times bestselling author of the Elemental Witches and Dark
Magick series, and is now working on a new series. The Brotherhood
of the Damned will feature immortal Viking warriors, demons,
witches and more. Watch for the first book, Embrace of the Damned,
to release from Berkley Sensation in May, 2012.

Dark Magick
series:

Wicked
Enchantment

Cruel
Enchantment

Dark
Enchantment

Midnight
Enchantment (2/12)

Court of the
Edaeii (ménage a trois romance):

Jeweled

Jaded

Elemental Witch
series:

Witch Fire

Witch Blood

Witch Heart

Witch Fury

Embraced
series:

Blood of the
Rose

Blood of the
Raven

Blood of an
Angel

Blood of the
Damned

Anthologies:

What Happens in
Vegas

What Happens in
Vegas...After Dark

Magical
Seduction

And a Lady
Makes Three

Dreams of the
Oasis IV Anthology - Getting Slayed

Tales from the
Temple III Anthology - Scarlet Sweet

Other
Works:

The Chosen
Sin

A Change of
Season

Ordinary
Charm

Edge of
Sweetness

Seduced in
Twilight

Tempted By
Two

Water
Crystal

Whisper of the
Blade

Taken

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