Phoenix's Fate (RARE Series, #2) (11 page)

“You better believe it,” she told him.  “I’m not going to let anyone take you from us, Hunter.  You belong with Phoenix and me.”

“Yes, he does,” Lily told them.  “Hunter is your son now.  The council will approve it.”  Serenity turned her gaze to the little girl who seemed so much older than her actual age.  This was Jenna’s daughter.  Phoenix had told her about Lily.  The General was after Lily, also.  He had kidnapped her once, but RARE had rescued her. 

Now Lily was watched very closely so nothing similar happened again.  Lily was very gifted.  Not only was she telepathic, but she also caught glimpses of the future.  She had obviously seen Hunter with Phoenix and Serenity as a family in the future.  Good, because even though she had just met Hunter, Serenity refused to give him up.  Her mama wolf instincts had risen to the surface the moment she had seen him and no one was taking him from her.  She knew it was not fair to try and hold on so tightly to Phoenix and Hunter when she had people trying to track her down to either kidnap or kill her, but Serenity refused to give them up.  She would fight for them and she would win, dammit.  They were hers.

Reaching out, Serenity gently ran her fingers through Hunter’s curly brown hair.  “Go play, Hunter,” she told him.  “I promise, we are not going to leave you.  And no one is going to take you from us.”  Grinning widely, the child gave her a quick hug and tore off towards the swing set, Lily giggling and running behind him.

As Serenity watched Hunter go down the slide, Nico got down to business.  “Serenity, Phoenix thinks someone besides the General is after you.  Is there?”

“Shut the fuck up, Nico,” Phoenix growled at him.  “I will talk to her about it later.”

“We need to know what kind of trouble she’s in, Phoenix.  We can’t keep her safe if we don’t know what we are up against.  Not only that, but I need to be able to protect my family”

Serenity gasped.  She hadn’t even thought about the danger that was following her affecting Phoenix or his friends.  She had been alone for so long.  Why hadn’t she thought about that?  Malcolm had even gone so far as to kill her parents.  And even though he hadn’t tried to connect telepathically with her since she had shot him, she did not fool herself into thinking she was safe.  No, that bastard would never stop coming after her until he either caught her or he was dead. 

Serenity’s eyes filled with tears.  Just five minutes ago she had been fiercely thinking she would fight for Phoenix and Hunter, now she was wondering if she should go on the run again.  If she left, then the bastards that were following her would not hurt anyone she cared about. 

“Don’t you even fucking think about it,” Phoenix growled at her.  “You aren’t going anywhere.  I went through hell knowing you were kidnapped by the General.  We spent days trying to find you.  Then I spent days by your bedside while you were in pain.  I did not go through all of that just to have you run from me.” 

Phoenix was right.  What was wrong with her?  Yes, she had run for years from her past.  But that was because there had been no one to turn to for help.  Now she had a mate who cared about her, and he had RARE.  One of the most elite mercenary teams out there.  If they could not protect her, then no one could.  And Serenity was not the spineless coward she had been.  She was not going to leave Phoenix and Hunter.  If Malcolm came after her again, she would make sure she killed him this time.

Phoenix reached out and pulled her down onto his lap.  “You can’t leave me, Beauty.  If you do, then you will just have one more person hunting you because I refuse to let you go.”  Serenity snuggled into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and inhaling his scent.  It soothed her wolf and calmed Serenity.  As Phoenix held her, Serenity thought back to how it had all started.  Sensing Jenna behind her, she motioned her over and began to tell her story.

“When I was eight years old, I was climbing trees with a friend of mine.  She fell and broke her arm.  She was in so much pain and I couldn’t stand to see her cry.  Someone ran to get the pack healer, but something made me go over to my friend and touch her arm where the break was.

I felt this heat, this power, flow through me and then it was like it jumped from my hand to her arm.  She screamed and screamed, but I didn’t let go.  I had no idea what was happening.  I was in so much pain, but this instinct made me hold onto her until I finally passed out. 

When I came to, my mom told me about my great grandmother and her healing ability.  It was passed down through the family, but Mom was hoping it would skip me since she did not have it.  None of her sisters had gotten it, nor had her mother.  She was hoping it was somehow gone.

When the pack healer saw what I could do, she went to the alpha and told him I needed to train under her.  She wanted me there to heal everyone that she couldn’t.”  Serenity paused as she remembered all of the pain she had gone through.  She had suffered severely at the hands of her pack and no one except her parents had cared.  As long as Serenity was able to heal the enforcers they weren’t concerned about what it cost her.

“At first she just made me heal the people that had minor cuts.  She wanted to see what I could do.  Gradually she moved up to having me heal broken bones, knife wounds, things like that.  I trained under her until I was 16.  The older she got, the less she did, and the more I was required to heal.  Finally I couldn’t take it anymore.  I was in constant pain and scared to death to go to her home every day to continue my training.  One day, I packed a bag and without telling my parents, I ran.”

Serenity got up and started pacing.  That had been the easy part of her story.  The next part really sucked.  “I didn’t know it, but the alpha’s son had been watching me for years.  I had always stayed clear of him because he was a sadistic son of a bitch that liked to take his anger out on people.  Many of the broken bones I healed were because of him.  Malcolm had the ability to connect with people like Angel and I do.  Except he was an ass.  He would make people do whatever he wanted by using his gift.  When he found out I was gone, he went crazy.  I had only made it about five miles when I felt him slam into my head with a force that scared the hell out of me.  I tried to block him, but he ripped my control away so fast there wasn’t anything I could do.  I turned back around and walked the five miles back home with him inside my head the whole time.  I fought and fought to kick him out, but he wouldn’t budge.  When I was finally back on pack lands, Malcolm was there to meet me.”

Pausing, Serenity looked straight into Phoenix’s eyes.  Gathering her courage, she whispered, “I fought him as hard as I could, but the bastard not only mind raped me, he beat the hell out of me right there in front of everyone.  No one stopped him because he claimed I was his mate and he was teaching me a lesson.  He ripped the clothes from my body.  I thought he was going to rape me, but he just wanted to humiliate me.  He grabbed my breasts and twisted and squeezed them hard leaving large bruises.  I had a broken arm and several bloody gashes all over my body. 

My parents were locked in their house with several guards.  There was nothing they could do.  After it was over, Malcolm had a couple of the enforcers take me home.  I was to get cleaned up and pack my bags.  He said he would be back for me in a couple of days to move me in with him, but that he was leaving that night for a meeting.”

Turning away from Phoenix, Serenity gazed at the darkening sky as she clenched her fists tightly.  “My parents already had our bags packed when I got there.  We left in the middle of the night with the help of one of the enforcers who did not agree with what Malcolm had done.  I learned later Malcolm found out and had the enforcer killed.  We ran for several years never letting ourselves stay in one place for too long.  My gift to connect with people hadn’t been my strongest gift when I was younger, but I practiced and practiced until I was strong enough to keep Malcolm out of my head.” 

Sitting back down beside Phoenix, Serenity rested her head on his shoulder as he slipped an arm round her, silently waiting for her to continue.  “He caught up with us five years ago,” she finally whispered.  “We had been staying in a little cabin in a forest in Maine and we’d started feeling safe.  Malcolm hadn’t tried connecting with me for months.  I even had a job.  I was out meeting people, making a life for myself.  One day I came home, and he was there.  My parents were on the floor dead, and Malcolm stood over their bodies laughing at me. 

There was blood all over the place.  All over them, all over the floor, all over Malcolm.  He had gone crazy.  I didn’t think twice.  I pulled out the gun my dad had insisted I carry and shot the bastard.  I unloaded the clip in him and then I turned and ran.  Obviously I should have shot him in the head, though, because he lived.  Every once in a while I feel him testing me, seeing how strong my shields are.  He’s still out there somewhere.  I have no idea where.”

Phoenix tightened his arms around Serenity as they sat in stunned silence.  “Well shit,” Nico said.  “So you got not only the General on your ass, but you have a lunatic from your old pack, too.”  Glancing at Phoenix, Nico grinned suddenly.  “I say we go after Malcolm first.  Let’s pull RARE together, hunt him down and eliminate him.”

“I’m going to fucking kill him slowly,” Phoenix growled.  “He is going to wish he never touched what’s mine.  Call them, Nico.  We’re going hunting.”

“Now wait just a minute, Phoenix,” Serenity protested when Nico took out his phone.  “You can’t just go after Malcolm.  First of all, you have no idea where he is.  Second of all, he is crazy!  And he can make you do things with his gift.  He can make you hurt yourself and you won’t be able to fight it.”

“What he has isn’t a gift, Serenity,” Jenna said.  “It is only a gift if you choose to help people with it.  You never harm.  What he has is a curse.”

“We are going to find him, Serenity, and we are going to remove him from your life once and for all,” Phoenix vowed.  “And then we are going to go after the General and bring him down.”  Serenity did not know what to say.  As much as she wanted to be free of Malcolm and her old pack, she didn’t want to place anyone else in danger.  As she tried to figure out a way to make everyone stand down, Nico ended his call.

“Angel will be here at 9am tomorrow.  She is going to bring the team with so we can come up with a plan.  You are family, Serenity.  And we protect our family.  Jenna, Angel wants you to call Chase and let him know about the meeting.  It is up to him whether or not he comes, but as the White River Alpha, he deserves to know what’s happening on his turf.”

As Jenna nodded and walked off to make the call, Serenity looked at Phoenix and Nico in amazement.  “Thank you,” she whispered softly.  “Thank you so much.”  Snuggling back into Phoenix, she clung to him as tears slipped down her cheeks.  She had never thought that she might really be free of Malcolm someday.  Serenity had accepted the fact that she might always be running from him.  Now she had real hope that freedom was near.  Well, freedom from Malcolm anyway.  She would worry about the General another day.

T
hat night Hunter surprised everyone by insisting he wanted to have a sleepover in Lily’s room.  They made up a bed for him on her floor; the children were so tired they fell asleep within minutes.

While Serenity was getting ready for bed, Phoenix went to check with the enforcers guarding the perimeter around Nico and Jenna’s home.  When Phoenix was done, he made his way down the hall to the room he and Serenity would share.  Opening the door, he quietly slipped inside.  Gazing at Serenity snuggled under the covers, he silently shut the door.  When he noticed her shoulders were bare and peeking out from under the comforter, Phoenix groaned.  Bare, beautiful shoulders...wait, there were no straps of any kind.  Holy shit, was she naked?  “Serenity?” he questioned softly.

“Come here, Phoenix,” Serenity demanded.  “I’m tired of waiting.  I need my mate.”  Phoenix’s breath caught in his chest as she pushed the covers down past her chest.  Her bare chest with the full perfect breasts that fit perfectly in his hands.  The nipples that he loved to tease with his tongue and suck into his mouth.  “I want to see you, Phoenix,” she moaned as she reached up and cupped her own breasts, playing with the nipples.  The phoenix necklace lay between them and it was like she was wearing his mark.  It was hot as hell! 

Phoenix shrugged his shirt off and started undoing the button on his jeans as he moved towards Serenity.  “No briefs?” she teased as he slid down the zipper and slipped the pants off.  Phoenix shook his head.  “Too constricting,” he ground out before he reached down and ripped the covers off the bed.  As Serenity’s eyes widened, Phoenix was on the bed and covering her with his body within seconds.  Leaning down, he slowly traced her lips with his tongue and pushed his way inside her mouth.  She tasted like fucking heaven. 

Growling, Serenity reached up and raked her nails down his back.  Phoenix pulled back when he felt her fangs graze his lips.  Serenity watched him though eyes that had gone pure wolf.  There was no way she was going to wait for foreplay. 

Serenity pushed him over onto his back and straddled him.  Reaching down, she grabbed hold of his cock and stroked once, twice.  Oh shit, Phoenix thought, this was going to be fast.  Serenity rose up on her knees and slid his cock into her hot, wet heat, slowly pushing down on top of him.  “Mine,” she growled.  “Mine.”  Then she started moving, slowly at first and then faster and faster.

Jesus, he wasn’t going to last.  He could feel his orgasm building.  “Mine,” she growled again.  Grabbing a hand full of her hair, he yanked her mouth to his shoulder, shuddering when he felt her bite down.  Phoenix shouted as he came, unable to hold back. 

Serenity pulled his head down to her shoulder, and not thinking twice, he bit down.  His teeth weren’t as sharp as hers, but they got the job done.  He felt her clench tightly around him as she came.  He felt the bond Nico had told him about slipping into place.  It was like their souls were merging together and becoming one.  Perfect, absolutely perfect.  Finally everything felt right in his life.