Wolf Mate (13 page)

His wrath drowned out
Melynda's quiet, desperate voice. He would kill Phin first.

Phin stopped laughing and
swiped a dirty sleeve over his mouth. “Oh yes, at last. I get
to kill a werewolf. I'll be a werewolf slayer!” He grinned.
“Is she your girlfriend?” He waved his knife towards
Melynda. “She and I kind of have a connection. It's hard to
explain, but...it's intense!” His slitty eyes widened as he
gestured dramatically.

Dax's claws sliced out longer,
ready to sever all the veins in the man's thick neck.

“
I saw her,” Phin
smiled crookedly. “I saw what she was doing, in the hospital.
With my bitch Rebecca.”

Dax watched him closely. This
man was delusional, deranged, and just plain dangerous.

But how did he know they had
been to the hospital to see Rebecca Rose? Was he...there?

“
Nah, I know what you're
thinking, wolf. That animal brain of yours is wondering if I'm at
the hospital, watching you perform your hocus-pocus on my bitch. Let
me tell you. I was nowhere near the hospital. I was far, far away.
But your little witch...connected with me. I know! Fucking
unbelievable, right?” He spread out his arms and smirked.

With a blink, his smile
vanished. He stared at Dax, crouching slowly to mimic his position.
“Here's what I think happened. I, Phin Lester, am no longer
your average human. One night, I went back to the house to beat the
shit out of that traitorous little bitch, Rebecca, when a demoness
attacked me, in my own kitchen! She dragged me to her demon lord,
and I was chained in his dungeon. As the demon drank my blood, he
bled into my mouth. His blood was like a drug. It made me see
things. Next thing I knew, I was in a psychiatric hospital! I mean,
what the fuck! A psychiatric hospital? I'm not crazy. I was
attacked, in my own home! I should be suing that demon for damages,
for my pain and suffering, for everything! That demon was filthy
rich, I could tell. I should have sued him, then I'll be rich and
that bitch wouldn't be divorcing me!” He spat angrily. “I
should have smashed her head in harder, just finish her off! Fucking
slut!”

He sat on his haunches,
turning the long silver knife over in front of him. “Anyway,
that slut is now lying in a coma in the hospital. It's just a matter
of time before they pull the plug, and she'll be dead. And her bear
lover will be convicted of her murder, and he'll be dead as well.”
He smiled at his own reflection in the blade.

Standing up slowly, he leered
at Melynda and bowed. “Like I said, I'm not your average
human. That demon lord made me something else. No, he didn't make
me a demon.” He laughed humorlessly, almost bitterly. “I
ingested his blood, so...I think I may have gotten some of his
powers.” He tapped the tip of the blade against his chin. “I
heard that he was the demon Lord of Beasts and Bloodshed. I'm not
sure how it works, but—” He shrugged. “Here I
was, having a nap in the basement of this building, when I felt this
strange, pulling force. I opened my eyes, and I was still lying in
the corner of the basement but I could see inside a hospital room.
It was like I was half here and half there. That witch connected
with me. I told you we had a special connection.” He winked
and leered at Melynda before his expression turned stony. “I
was there. You saw me, you saw what I did—and I saw you. I
saw what you did. I saw Rebecca lying in the hospital bed, and I saw
the both of you in the room. You were watching Rebecca's memories.”

His eyes widened. “You
saw everything. So did I.” He pointed at Melynda. “That
witch pulled Rebecca's memories out. She's going to ruin everything.
Tsk!” Phin shook his head regretfully at Melynda. “You
should have just minded your own business, witch. Minding other
people's business will cost you your life.”

Phin cocked his head. “Pity
she has to die. Such nice boobs and ass!” He chortled. “Oh
yes, I felt her up and down, all over. I roughed her up real good.
Women always like it rough.”

His laughter was cut off as
Dax flew towards him in a blind rage. He would kill him. He would
make him pay for everything he did to Melynda!

Man and wolf spun to the
ground. Phin's blade was quick to parry the viscous slashes from
Dax's claws. Dax continued his relentless attack on Phin. He could
taste vile, bitter blood in his mouth, and he could feel thick,
sticky blood dripping from his fangs. For a moment, Dax saw that
Phin's blood was darker than normal. It looked almost black.

Despite his injuries, Phin
laughed as he fought the Silver Wolf, seemingly relishing the fight.
“Yes!” he shrieked delightedly. “Come on! More,
more!”

He scrambled to his feet and
veered towards the edge of the rooftop. Dax leaped towards him, his
powerful paws landing on Phin's shoulders. Phin lost his balance and
began to topple backwards. Just before he fell over the ledge, he
stared Dax straight in the eye and laughed.

It was Melynda's scream that
made Dax lunge forward at the very last second before Phin went over
the edge.

“
No! Don't kill him,
Dax!”

In a flash, Dax had thrown
himself forward to grab Phin's flailing hand in his mouth.

Dax was about to drag Phin
back up, when he saw the glint of the silver blade in Phin's hand.

He gave Dax a bloody smile.
“You. Die.”

With all his strength, Phin
threw the blade straight at Dax's chest, aiming for his heart.

Dax jerked to the side, but
not quickly enough.

The silver blade missed his
heart, but burrowed deep into his stomach. A searing, blinding pain
burned through Dax's body from the pit of his belly, through every
cell and exploded behind his eyes. His jaws slackened, and he
released his hold on Phin as he staggered back to collapse on the
ground.

Melynda's screams sounded
muffled and distant. Dax tried to raise his head but he could only
make out a faint outline of her. She seemed to be fumbling towards
him, but her voice sounded so faraway.

The silver was burning and
destroying the cells in his body. His wound would never heal with
that silver blade lodged in him. He had to get the knife out.

Dax felt his claws scrabbling
against the concrete as he struggled to contain the excruciating
pain. Yanking the knife out with his paws was going to be a
challenge. Could Melynda reach him in time? She was bound and
blindfolded. She couldn't see but she seemed to have sensed what was
going on.

Could she sense him, his pain?

“
Melynda...”

His voice came out in a croak.
But it was his human voice.

Dax gasped and raised his
hands to his blurry eyes. His claws had become fingers, and his
silver fur had receded from his hands and arms. He looked down at
his naked human body, sprawled in his own spreading pool of blood.
In his agony, he had shifted back to human form, his wolf driven back
by the deadly silver blade.

Grunting, Dax wrapped his
fingers around the hilt of the knife. The silver handle scorched his
hands, and he hissed in pain but he refused to let go. Ignoring the
terrible, twisting pain, he tightened his grip on the handle and
dragged the silver blade out of his belly.

Every muscle in his body
spasmed and screamed in protest. With the blade out of him, Dax
flung the knife aside and let his arm fall to the ground. He closed
his eyes, surrendering to the overwhelming pain.

His eyelids fluttered open to
Melynda's sobs and her warm, trembling touch. “Dax! Dax,
please...”

She was kneeling beside him,
cradling his head in her arms. He managed to smile up at her. She'd
managed to stagger to the silver knife and used it to cut the ropes
binding her wrists.
That's my girl
.

You're my girl, Melynda.
Since the moment I saw you, till the moment I die
.

Dax didn't take his eyes off
her face. He knew he could die tonight, in her arms, and he just
wanted to look at her a while longer.

“
I've always loved you,
Melynda. And I always will,” he whispered, just before his
eyes closed against his will.

Melynda stared at Dax,
stuttering his name over and over again. He didn't open his eyes
again, didn't wake up. Sobbing, Melynda pressed her hand over the
wound in his stomach which refused to heal. Shifters healed very
quickly, didn't they?

“
Silver,” she
hissed as she grabbed the knife lying at her side. Running to the
ledge, she leaned over, her knife raised.

But Phin was gone.

Melynda scanned the ground
below to see if the man had fallen to his death, but there was no
sign of him at all.

She turned back to Dax. Phin
was gone. She couldn't feel his presence at all.

Still clutching the knife, she
went to Dax and felt frantically for his pulse. It was weak, too
weak and he was scarcely breathing.

There was no time to get him
to the hospital. She held his hand and closed her eyes. She could
literally feel his life draining away. He was running out of time.
There was only a few precious minutes left, before Dax's heart would
stop forever.

A heart that had been loving
her all this time.

Melynda held both his hands
and raised her face to the full moon. It was up to her now. She had
to save the man she loved.

This was risky. She had never
done Emotional healing before. She had read about it secretly, but
she had never dared tried it on anyone. She had never done it, but
she would have to get it right the first time.

“
You can do it...for
Dax, for yourself,” she whispered quietly, taking deep,
fortifying breaths. “You can...do it.”

Slowly, she held her hands up
over Dax's body and tilted her face towards the moon.

She began to chant softly,
drawing upon the power of the moon and her own emotions for her
magick. She concentrated on the spell, careful not to stumble over
the words and mess anything up. Gradually, she began to feel a
spreading warmth from the center of her body. The heat moved down
her arms, to her fingertips, and swirled across her chest. Melynda's
eyes slid shut, as her body became a conduit for the healing power of
the moon and her magick. She had the strangest sensation of stepping
out of her own body and witnessing the whole scene from a distance.

She felt detached, and in
control, and slowly, she began to see moving images, a scene
replaying before her. With a start, Melynda realized that she was
watching Dax's repressed memories. She was trying to heal him, and
part of the healing process involved releasing all his suppressed
memories.

Melynda forced herself to keep
calm and just be an observer. These were Dax's memories. These were
events from his past, and should no longer affect him. But they did,
and she was about to see why.

The fog cleared to reveal a
scene in a cottage. She saw a young Dax, fresh faced, bright eyed,
and rosy cheeked. He looked to be around nineteen or twenty. He was
with a beautiful woman, a slender beauty with sable hair and dark,
green eyes. She looked older than him, but the young Dax was
following her around with his tongue hanging out. The slavish look
in his eyes was one Melynda had never seen before. Dax only had eyes
for that woman. His gray eyes never strayed from her as she moved
around the cottage.

The woman called over her
shoulder, “Come here, Dax.”

“
Yes, Savannah.”

Melynda reeled, but she kept
chanting steadily under her breath, powering the healing spell. She
had to let the vision play out, let Dax's memories come to the
surface and be free.

This was Savannah, Dax's mate.
And she was a witch, like Melynda.

Melynda saw the spell books
and wands strewn on the table in the cottage, and she glimpsed a
cauldron simmering in the fireplace. Even as a young man, Dax was
strikingly handsome. He was not as broad and muscular as he was now,
but still he was toned and tall. Dax was a full head taller than
Savannah, but she seemed to be controlling him completely. At a
word, he tore off his clothes and presented his naked body to her.
When she waved him down, he knelt before her immediately, still
gazing at her with that starry-eyed look.

Savannah walked over to the
fireplace and scooped the boiling, murky liquid into a huge bowl.
Standing over Dax as he smiled up at her, she held the bowl of
boiling liquid over his head and muttered a spell. Then before
Melynda's horrified eyes, she tipped the bowl over, letting the
boiling liquid spill down Dax's bare shoulders and body.

Shocked and sickened, Melynda
had to forced herself to continue chanting as she watched Dax's
painful memories play out.
This is part of his healing
, she
repeated stoically to herself. Don't baulk, just be strong.

Melynda watched the horrific
scene with clear, unblinking eyes. She saw Dax's skin redden and
smoke, his skin melting off to reveal raw, bleeding flesh. Yet Dax
remained kneeling on the floor, smiling up at Savannah as if she
hadn't just maliciously scalded the skin off his body. He didn't cry
out, didn't move away, didn't react at all to the pain. Grabbing a
knife, Savannah began to carve strange symbols onto his back, her
eyes glowing as the cottage darkened unnaturally. Dax started to
convulse, his eyes rolling back in his head. As she drew the final
stroke in his back, she raised the bloodstained blade to her chest
and craved a curved symbol right above her heart.