Crais (25 page)

“He’s probably been waiting his whole life to say that
,” Lucy side-whispered to me.

“How dare you speak to me like we are
equals?”

I laughed. “Equals?” I blinked a few times. “I don’t believe we di
d anything of the sort. You’re definitely not in the same universe as our men, so I suggest you leave now before someone rips your head off.”

He moved quickly
, gripping both of my biceps, lifting me up to his face. Hot anger laced my mind. I slammed shut the bond but it was too late. Brace’s roar could be heard from across the field.

“
You should really take your side-bitch, scream and run away now.” Lucy leaned forward. “Because if her mate gets his hands on you, your famous father is going to be mourning the loss of a son.”

The hands th
at gripped me were starting to heat. My skin burned under his touch.

“You’re going to
regret the disrespect you showed me today.” He leaned in closer.

I flinched as his lips grazed my ears.

“I have a way of bringing you to heel. Soon you will be begging for me.”

Eff. This.

Since he still held me off the ground I used his body mass to leverage my legs up, kneeing him in the jewels before continuing higher and kicking him in the chest. I added some of my power to it. I could see as we flew apart that he hadn’t been expecting my attack.

I was back on my feet in seconds,
falling into a fighting stance, my energy sending flickers of light up and down my arms.

Fury
moved to stand next to me, along with a dripping wet Talina, who was thankfully dressed in a swimsuit similar to my own. She must have exited the water during the fight.

The golden strands were
swimming in my energy, wanting to connect to the power I could feel brewing in the girls. I struggled to keep them from emerging; we were trying to keep my conduit powers a secret, not wanting Que and the Seventine to know. The more they underestimated us, the better our chances of victory.

He bellowed as he charged at me
. I held my ground, gathering energy. Not that I needed to worry about it. Just before he reached me, a blur flew in and smashed him away. The Walker flew to the side, and faster than my eye-blink Brace was on him. He had one hand around his throat, while the other punched into his cocky face. Brace’s black eyes never shifted from the Walker. I found it interesting that Brace mostly fought hand-to-hand in battle, instead of using his considerable power.

“Tell me what way you want to die?” He spoke in a cold methodical
voice.

I tried to reach Brace mentally
, but I was shut out in a wall of red rage.

“Brace is such an
honorable man, giving him options like that. I just prefer to rip their intestines out through their nose.” Colton had appeared and was lazily observing his best friend.

Throwing him a derisive glare, I i
gnored his cavalier attitude and took a step closer.

“Brace!”
I screamed. “Stop. It’s not worth killing him. You’ve made your point.”

This was why I’d tried to block him out earl
ier. He didn’t see reason when it came to me. I looked around for Josian or anyone who might help.

Unfortunately Brace was well known in the Walker community
: Que’s son and one of the most powerful of their kind. No one would challenge him. I wondered if my dream power was strong enough to use in this setting with so many around.

I was just gathering my energy to try when Colton dashed in a
nd slammed into Brace’s side. I followed him, diving in between the wrestling men. It wasn’t my smartest move. They could have torn me in two, but somehow Brace knew I was there. He snatched me up, placing his body in front of me protectively. He was growling these long deep grumbles.

“It’s okay
, baby.” I placed my hand on his arm. “He never hurt me; no one hurt me.”

Brace’s black eyes flicked to my biceps where the burning marks were just starting to fade. His snarl echoed around the area
. Half the Walkers hit the ground and were unable to rise again. I’d never seen Brace so angry. His power was leaking everywhere. There was no denying that the Seventine’s possession had changed my mate. He was so fiercely protective now.

“Brace.”
My voice snapped as I tried a different tactic. “Stop right now or I will be the one kicking your butt. Some punk-ass full-of-himself Walker is no match for me. You’re overreacting.”

He stared at me
. I glared back. The moment felt endless, but finally a sliver of brown bled back into his eyes and the slightest grin relaxed his features. He lowered his head and captured my lips in a kiss so scorching my breath fled my body and my head spun.

Damn his skills.

Once he’d kissed me senseless, he just turned and left to finish his duties. It took me a few minutes to regain my wits and by that time the Walkers were standing up and muttering amongst themselves. Brown-haired was still knocked out, and no one bothered to check on him.

Colton
moved over to me. He wasn’t smiling, but his eyes were laughing.

“Well handled, Red.” He’d adopted Brace’s nickname for me.
“Usually I just have to hang around waiting to clean the blood off the walls.”

I grimaced at the visual that produced
. I still wasn’t the biggest fan of blood. Although I no longer wanted to faint every time I saw it, which was a good thing, considering my life lately.

“I’m going to remind Dune
that no matter how much Brace annoys him, do not take him on,” Fury said, her gray eyes wide.

She’d secured her long white hair at the nape of her neck
. Despite the fact it was thick and coarse in texture, it looked like shiny silver in the sunlight and contrasted nicely with the red of her skin.

Talina nodded. “I love that man, but he is seriously scary and impressive.”

Colton laughed, so loud that the three of us jumped a foot. “You have no idea. I’ve seen Brace in his true Walker form once, and I hope it never happens again. We almost didn’t get him back.” He glanced at me. “Although we didn’t have Red last time.”

True Walker form? What did he mean?

“His sister?” I might not know exactly what he was talking about, but I had no problem guessing the event which triggered it. I’d felt Brace’s pain as he talked of her and this was over a hundred years later.

Colton nodded.

“Hey, where’s Lucy?” I realized I hadn’t seen her since the start of this little drama.

We all looked around, but my tiny best friend was nowhere to be seen. A strange feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

“When was the last time you saw her?” Colton bit out, his face falling into fierce lines.

“She was right next to us at the water’s edge when those two Walkers approached.”
I moved closer to the lake. I could clearly see she wasn’t nearby.

“I can’t scent her in this area
. She’s gone.” Colton had his face lifted into the breeze.

“Did you just say scent?” Fury
said, raising her eyebrows.

He didn’t answer immediately
. Instead he yanked up his shirt, revealing a perfect ivory body. He was not as muscled as Brace, but he was close. When his hand moved to his pants, I cleared my throat.

“Is this really the
right time for a strip show, Colton?” I was working hard to ignore the buzz of panic at the back of my head.

T
he last time Lucy had disappeared she’d been kidnapped. I hadn’t opened the bond to Brace yet – I wanted him to calm down – but if Lucy didn’t stroll up in the next few minutes I’d have no choice.

Colton
tilted his head, sizing me up, and then his eyes started to change. I stepped back as a light reflected in their white-blue. And then he dropped his pants in one swift movement.

B
efore I could say ‘what the eff?’, he’d shifted into a giant wolf.

A strangled screech left my lips
. I opened and closed my mouth, but no sound emerged. Fury, Talina and I moved closer together as the Colton-wolf stretched and shook out his mane of fur. He was beautiful: pure white with just black on his ears and around his eyes. He straightened on all fours, and I was staring into his icy blue eyes. I realized he was almost my height.

So at no point did you think it was a
good idea to mention that Colt was going to strip butt naked and turn into a very large dog?

I had no choice but to open the bond.

You saw Colt naked? That’s a shame. I’m going to miss my best friend, since I now have to kill him.

I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see me.

I just told you that where there once was a large blond Walker, there is now a large white wolf, and you’re worried about me seeing him naked?

Men.
Stupidity at its finest.

Why is he in his other form?

I can’t find Lucy. In the fight, she disappeared. And right when we’re about to start our search, I turn around and Colt is stripping off his clothes, has a snout and is probably looking for a tree to mark his territory on.

He’
ll want to scent her. His senses are unparalleled in that form. I’ll be right there. Don’t let your guard down; his wolf is not always trustworthy.

Great.
An almost six-foot, five-hundred-pound wolf was going to be easy to control. Where was his leash?

I
suddenly had another thought.

Uh, Brace, do you turn into a wolf as well?

Colton had said he had a true form. His laughter bubbled through me.

No, Red. Colt
’s the one with the interesting family tree. There are no animals in mine.

I was distracted as Colton, who was sniffing around the area, started a low growl. His fur st
ood on end down the length of his massive body.

“What,
Cujo? What did you find?”

He eyed me with what looked like wolfy disdain. Stepping closer, his hot breath fanned my face
, and I was just wondering what he was doing when his tongue darted out and he licked the length of my face.

“Ewww, Colt, come on.” I couldn’t help but bury my hand in his soft fur. It was so silky on top, but I felt a dense undercoat. “Brace said you were scary
, but you’re just a teddy-wolf.”

“Uh, Red, did you misunderstand my last words.
I said be careful of the psycho wolf.”

I lifted my head from where I’d rested it against Colton’s side. Brace
wore an amused expression.

“I’ve always wanted a dog.”
I kissed the wolf’s nose.

Colton snorted at me, before shaking off and stepping away.

“He wants me to tell you he picked up Lucy’s scent leaving the area. We’ll follow it with him.” Brace grinned. “And he said call him a dog one more time and he’ll be forced to ...” Brace reached out and grabbed Colton by the scruff of the neck. “I’m not telling her that and if you mention it again Abby will have a nice wolf rug for her floor.”

Colton’s tongue fell out of his mouth
. It looked like he was smiling before he turned and took off.

“Alright
, ladies, keep up,” Brace said as we followed along.

It took a few minutes
until we were out of the Doreen area. If anyone thought it was strange that a large wolf and the four of us were flying across the field, they certainly didn’t show it. Barely anyone even glanced our way. Walkers were definitely used to weird. I tried to keep my confidence up. If I even thought about Lucy being hurt for a second, I would crash under the emotions and I needed a clear head. Brace, who had slowed his pace to stay with us, reached over and captured my hand. I could still see Colton-wolf, although he was outdistancing us at a rapid rate.

We pass
ed by the Relli area, then Kaos, Gai, Laos and Whar. Colton continued to head toward the furthest flag, near the forest, and I just knew where we would find her.

Abernath.

The wolf
didn’t hesitate at the entrance. It was his clan and he could just stroll right through. As he dashed past, Magenta jumped to her feet. She’d been sitting in a large group of laughing Walkers.

“Colt, what the hell are you doing?” I heard her screech. She whipped her head around and noticed us following behind. “Of course it would have something to do with you, Abigail.”

I flipped her the finger as we moved past. More of the Abernaths were on their feet now, wondering why we were invading their territory. Technically we shouldn’t be in here unless invited, but since Brace, Colton and Talina were all from this clan, we were safe.

“Stop.”
Brace ground to a halt, his bellow echoing around the cavernous space. “Que has her, Abbs. We’re walking straight into a trap.”

Colton hadn’t stopped
. He was powering forward when a huge force of energy flew through the Abernath area and knocked everyone off their feet.