The Alpha's Mate (38 page)

Marshall’s neck twisted at an impossible
angle and with an agility that was amazing to watch, his body spun
after it and caught the second wolf mid leap. He twisted again and
tore into the second wolf’s throat, cutting off the scream. Without
pausing, Marshall twisted yet again to dive at the third who had
released its hold to fight off this new threat. There was no
circling, no vying for position. The third wolf fell to the power
of the silver wolf’s jaws.

Marshall stood, facing the battling throng,
ready to defend his injured packmate from any new threat until the
injured animal crawled to safety beneath the fence rails where
wolvers and women surrounded him to give him aid. Their great
silver coated Alpha plunged back into the fray.

There were more screams of pain. Elizabeth
could see a few bodies lying prone on the field, their heaving
sides proof of life, while several wolves limped their way to the
sides. Rabbit Creek Pack was giving quarter. The Double W would
not.

Marshall and his wolvers were fighting for
their existence as a pack. Their opponents’ goal was death.

A small body brushed by her and she saw it
was her new friend, Bobby, only ten and too young to be here.
Elizabeth reached out to stop him and send him into the house, but
he’d already sidled up to one of the large wolves who stood by the
fence. It was one of the Witnesses, though she couldn’t have said
which one.

“Kind of like soccer,” Bobby said, sounding
completely innocent and fascinated by the battle. “I mean with
sending in subs for the players and all.”

The Witness’ head whipped around and he
snarled. Bobby took a step back, but didn’t retreat. “I’m just
saying, is all. Nobody told me you could substitute for injured
players.”

The Alpha wolver gave a small yip and Bobby
pointed to the opposite side of the field. “I was over there hiding
in that big oak so I could watch. I’m not supposed to be here, you
know,” he said confidentially. “A couple of injured wolvers came
off the field and others ran on. Don’t know if they’re ours or
theirs, just didn’t know you could do that. Can’t ask my Alpha
‘cause he’s out there doing battle, so I figured I’d ask one of
you. Alphas know all about this stuff, right.”

The Alpha snarled, not at Bobby but at the
field. He trotted away to nudge another Witness and they both took
off at a full run around the fence line. Bobby grinned at
Elizabeth.

“I told you me and Marshall would be looking
out for you and the pack.”

Elizabeth kissed the top of his head. “You,
young man, have just become my hero. You knew the Double W was
cheating, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t lie, ma’am.” The little imp
shrugged. “I couldn’t see who it was. But it had to be the other
guys. I gotta go now.” He held up a slingshot. “I got more work to
do.”

“No cheating, now.” Elizabeth was afraid of
what the boy might be planning next.

“Oh no ma’am.” Bobby toed the dirt. “The
Alpha don’t hold with cheating. Marshall says I can’t touch that
other Alpha no matter how much I want to put his eye out. For you,”
he said shyly.

Elizabeth had to swallow hard before she
could speak. “Marshall’s right,” she said, “I couldn’t love a hero
who cheated.”

Bobby beamed. “I’ll see you later at the
mating party.” He scampered off.

“I’ll save you a dance,” she called after
him.

“That boy’s got the makings of a good
second,” Maggie laughed behind her. “They’re six fighters down to
our three and seven shy of the missing twenty. We got them on the
run, girl. It’s time to get you ready to run. Moon’ll be up in no
time.”

Max and Gwenna were at her feet changing her
sandals for sneakers. Max patted the laced canvas shoe and grinned.
“We’ll see you in the woods. Good luck and don’t stop no matter
what.”

They were gone before she could answer.
Maggie tugged on the skirt of her dress. “Once you’re in the woods,
you tuck this up into your drawers so you can run free.”

Elizabeth had thought she was free forever
from granny pants, but Maggie had insisted she wear a pair from the
pack the old woman brought with the dress. Now she understood why.
Elizabeth hugged her.

“I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve
done.”

“You give our Alpha some babies for me to
spoil. That’ll be thanks enough.” Maggie slapped her hard on the
rump. “I’ll see you when it’s over and done. It’s time.”

A hush fell over the crowd. Except those of
the combatants, all eyes, human and wolver, turned to her. The sky
lightened slightly with the rising of the full moon.

“Go!” Maggie yelled and slapped her rump
again. She had three minutes until the Chase was on.

Three minutes was a long time when you were
waiting for the kettle to boil. It was nothing when you were
running through the woods for your life. Elizabeth wasted precious
seconds tucking up her skirts and getting her bearings in the dark.
She heard the crowd roar.

Heart pounding, Elizabeth ran. She’d thought
she could do this. She’d practiced until her legs felt like rubber
and her feet throbbed. But that had been with Max somewhere near,
ready to guide her if memory failed.

She saw the first ribbon, a dark outline on
the tree trunk, and sprinted past it. She saw the second and the
third. Her confidence grew.

“
Five feet to the left.
” The words
pounded in her brain in time to her feet pounding on the forest
floor. She heard movement to her left. Not yet! They couldn’t be
here that soon! Against Max’s instructions to keep running and
never look back, Elizabeth stole a glance to the side. The wolf
coming toward her was neither Marshall nor Everest, but it had
yellow eyes.

Ignoring the planned route, she swerved
sharply to the right. She expected a burst of speed from the
pursuing wolf, but he maintained his distance. She heard the crack
of branches and a yelp of surprise or pain as the wolf hit the pit
Junior and his friends had dug.

This time, she resisted the urge to look. If
there was one, there were others.
One down, twelve to
go.

Two more markers, along with their traps,
were passed before two more of Everest’s wolves showed up to her
left. Like the first, they didn’t attempt to capture or delay her
as Maggie thought they would. They seemed to run apace of her,
moving slightly closer every few yards. She saw her marker ahead
and swerved sharply to the right and headed downhill. They shifted
course with her. She almost missed the rope tied snugly to the tree
trunk and actually had to stop and lean back to pull the free end.
She therefore saw the two wolves snared in the net that fell from
above. She almost laughed aloud as they snarled and snapped at the
heavy ropes and at each other. She returned to her uphill route.
Ten to go
.

She was halfway there. Marshall was to run
above her on the mountain and intercept her on her climb. There was
no sign of Creepy Eyes and there were other tricks waiting for him
or his thugs. Max, Gwenna and Vickie would be up ahead, dressed in
white, ready to confuse her pursuers. Breath coming hard, her smile
was more of a grimace. Still, she was sure she would make her
rendezvous with Marshall.

Her confidence in their plans died a quick
death when the next wolf to reach her lunged, his jaws snapping
shut inches from her legs. Panic added to the adrenalin already
coursing through her veins. She shifted her direction downhill.
Every time she tried to veer upwards, the wolf lunged, going so far
as to tear at the back of her dress when she dared to push him.

The others may have been under orders not to
harm her as they tried to drive her downward. This wolf was under
no such compulsion. He might not kill her, but he would harm her if
need be. She had no choice but to keep running, farther and farther
away from her intended route.

She cried out to Marshall in her mind. They
were driving her downward and he was looking for her above. Two
more of Everest’s wolvers joined the chase. She ran where they
forced her to and her panic grew with every step.

“Run, Miz Elizabeth, run!” The voice came
from the branches above.

It was Bobby. Where had he come from?
Oh
God, don’t let them harm the boy.
There was a sharp splat and a
wolf fell screaming and thrashing to the ground. Bobby and his
slingshot. How many were left? Ten, nine? She was too frightened to
keep count. She ran, stumbled, ran on without thought or
direction.

There was another yelp and a flash of light
behind her. That and the sound of only one pursuing wolf told her
that Bobby had struck another. Only this one was strong enough to
change back to man in spite of the full moon.

“You little shit! You’re dead! Do you hear
me? Dead!”

“
Marshall!
” she screamed in her mind.
“
Save Bobby!
” She wouldn’t be able to live with the thought
of the boy dying on her behalf. Why hadn’t she sent him to the
house? “
Don’t let him die, Marshall. Don’t let him die!”

There was nothing she could do to stop what
was about to happen. She ran on and vowed to herself that if
Everest won this Chase, she would keep her sanity long enough to
find a way to kill him herself. One way or another, the boy would
be avenged.

They crossed a footpath and then another and
suddenly she realized where they were and where they were headed.
Everest had watched his men fight his battles before at the Home
Place. It would be familiar territory to him.

Chapter 40

There were eight of the missing wolvers left.
Elizabeth knew this because seven were waiting in the yard around
the Home Place when she and her shepherd arrived. It was a good
analogy since she was walking as meekly as a lamb to the
slaughter.

When she’d realized where they were headed,
she’d altered her pace, slowing eventually to a walk. As long as
she remained headed in the right direction, her shepherd seemed
satisfied. They came out of the woods on the main trail about
thirty feet away from the wild roses that marked the entrance to
her yard.

She released her dress, now wrinkled and
muddied and did what she could to straighten her hair. She was
determined to meet her fate with as much dignity as she could. She
wondered briefly where the Witnesses were. They’d watched the
battle so carefully, but were nowhere in evidence now that she
needed them. Perhaps the battle wasn’t over. The thought made her
stomach churn and she shook it off. The Rabbit Creek Pack had to
win. She could face whatever her future brought if she only knew
they were safe.

“Li-i-zz-ie…”

She heard her name clearly in her mind.

“
Marshall? Marshall!
Save
Bobby!
” She heard a noise that sounded like a chuckle.

“Ha-a-ng on. Com-m-ing.”

“
No, Marshall, no. Save Bobby
!”

Just knowing Marshall was alive gave her the
courage to walk through the space between the rose bushes. No
matter the result, he would know that she faced her fate bravely
and with pride.

Calvin Everest stood as a man in the center
of the half circle of his wolves. His smile was cruel and his eyes
glinted with hatred in the reflected light of the full moon. He
pointed to the ground beside him.

“Come, Mate.” It wasn’t said as an
invitation, but as a master commanding his dog.

With as much dignity as she could muster,
Elizabeth walked slowly toward him. She ignored his outstretched
hand and when she was close enough she behaved in a most unladylike
way. The gesture would have shamed her mother, but it was the most
effective way for Elizabeth to achieve her goal. She wanted Creepy
Eyes to beat her senseless so she would be saved the humiliation of
her witnessed rape. She spit and smiled as it dribbled down his
cheek.

Everest drew his arm across his body to
backhand her for her actions. His gesture acted like a signal.

The woods behind Everest’s wolvers erupted
with a storm of howling wolves. She didn’t recognize the attacking
wolves. She didn’t need to. That they were tackling Everest’s thugs
meant they were on her side.

Startled, Creepy Eyes dropped his hand and
started shouting orders. Elizabeth ducked and ran for the house.
She flew up the stairs and through the door, headed straight for
the mantle where the shotgun was kept. At that moment, she cared
nothing for Pack Law. They could do whatever they chose to her. She
would kill that bastard Everest before he laid a hand on her
again.

The gun was gone! Where? Where! A fleeting
image of it lying across Henry’s lap in the bed of her truck passed
through her mind and then Creepy Eyes hands were on her, driving
her to the floor. The full force of his Alpha’s touch surged
through her and flooded her with lust and revulsion.

She fought back in spite of, or perhaps
because of, the sickening hunger rising in her. Bile filled her
throat. He couldn’t do this to her. She wouldn’t let him. She
kicked and bit and scratched at his face and eyes.

Something she did had an effect, because his
grip suddenly faltered and she scrambled away, clawing her way
across the floor. His hand wrapped around her ankle to pull her
back. She kicked out with her free foot and grabbed for something,
anything to hang onto to prevent his pulling her beneath him.

What she grabbed offered her no support, but
it did give her a weapon. It was her broom, left beside the
fireplace by the crew who last repaired her house. She’d grabbed it
near the head where the straw bristles sprouted. Elizabeth twisted
back and jammed the sharp, pointed ends into his face with all the
force she could find in the awkward angle.

His scream of pain was sweet music. She
rammed him again and this time rolled enough that her knee
connected with his gut, driving upward into his diaphragm. His roar
of anger and pain was abruptly cut off as the gush of air left his
lungs. Again she scrambled away, climbing the stone of the
fireplace with one hand while using the broom’s support for the
other.