Healed: True Mates Book 3 (Wolf Shifter) (A Craggstone Paranormal Romance) (12 page)

She stared up at me, her blue eyes bright, her hand raising to cup my face tenderly. It was as though everyone else had disappeared, this moment with Amanda everything I had ever dreamed of. The way she was looking at me…

“I—I can’t—”

“But—”

“No, wait, hear me out. I can’t send you in there in my place because I would never forgive myself if something happened to you. I have already lived a long time carrying the guilt of a loved one’s death—don’t ask me to do it again. Please!”

My heart stuttered as what she said sunk in. She wasn’t going to let me fight. And she loved me! Did she even realize what she had admitted?

CHAPTER TWELVE

Tarq

I hadn’t planned on her being stubborn about it, digging her heels in. “You’re asking me to do it, though, if you fight—”

“But he won’t kill me. He said he wants to keep me alive.”

“For a fate worse than death! Amanda, you know what he wants to do with you. With all of the women here.” I felt sick to my stomach, the thought of that bastard abusing my mate like that. If he won in a challenge, he would have the Council on his side, and I would have to go rogue to protect her—but I would, in a heartbeat. Words choked in my throat, refusing to come out. I had to tell her my last secret, then maybe she would understand.

“You have to let me do this—” I cut her objection off with a glare, “—no, you do, and I’ll tell you why.” I took a deep breath, hardly able to believe I was about to blurt out the secret I had been carrying for so long. Hiding shamefully.

“If you look at the odds objectively, with the bond between us, I can draw on your strength. So, I should win,” I hedged, unable to just blurt it out.

“Should! It’s not good enough!”

“I haven’t finished. This is personal for me. Not only because you’re my mate, but because of who, and
what
he is.” Another deep breath, trying to loosen the tightening in my chest.
Just spit it out, Tarq!

“Wha—”

“A rapist.”
There. I’d said it.

But she stared at me, her face scrunched up in confusion, not understanding. “But how is that—”

I forced the words from my mouth, each cutting like a razorblade. “I’m a child of rape. My mother was forced, taken viciously against her will. The bastard bit her, claiming her at the same time…resulting in me. She couldn’t look at me without remembering. I brought her pain every day of her life…”

“So, that’s what you meant by not knowing if you could be an Alpha,” she murmured, shock in her eyes. And tears—for me.

“That’s why I can’t let you fight him, why I have to do it. If I can rid the earth of one more rapist scumbag—
I have to!
For my mother, who couldn’t fight back, and for you, who can, but shouldn’t fucking have to!”

There was a long moment where we just stared at each other, each fighting our own demons, and I wondered what the future would hold, whether we’d ever outrun the past.

Then she grabbed my hair, yanking my lips down to hers in a savage kiss of teeth and lips. She pulled back, her breath feathering my lips. “
Now
I understand—everything. Go put your past to rest. But if it looks like you’re getting your ass handed to you, I
will
step in!”

Thank fuck!
Relief cascaded through me. She was trusting me to do this. Trusting me not to get myself killed. I knew how hard this must be for her; she was putting her heart in my hands.

“I won’t—get my ass handed to me, that is.” I grinned and kissed the end of her pert, upturned nose—the nose that had once snubbed me, was hopefully now mine to adore—and moving her to the side, faced Gary across the circle.

“Finally! I thought I was going to die of old age! I don’t know why you even bothered. When I win, she’s mine anyway. So, I hope you enjoyed your kiss, because it’s the last one you’ll ever get.”

I ignored his bullshit grandstanding. “You and me. I’ll be generous, you call the weapons.” Human or wolf. Fists or claws.

Gary blinked, the sudden change in opponent throwing him for a second, then he grinned at me, anticipation lighting his eyes. “I think we’ll start as humans, then shift. It’ll be interesting to see just how fast you can move.
And
I want to smash that pretty face with my fists before I bite it off.”

I just nodded, then started removing my clothing, watching Gary do the same.
Shit!
He was even bigger than I had thought, bulked up like he was on steroids or something. The thought that had been snagging at my mind clicked into place. “Drugs,” I hissed to Amanda.

The bastard was riding a pharmaceutical high.

***

Amanda

Drugs!
Tarq’s words echoed in my ears, a skitter of panic tightening my chest. But it was too late now, the challenge had been accepted, Tarq
had
to fight him.

I watched the two men circle each other, feinting and jabbing out, both muscular in their own way, but Tarq’s body moved gracefully, his movements rippling and agile compared to Gary’s lumbering form.

If we’d been somewhere else, anywhere but here, I might have been able to appreciate the view, but I kept my eyes pinned to Tarq’s back, the scrolling calligraphy across his shoulders anchoring me.

In a split second, the men went from cautiously testing each other to grappling in the center, their bodies slamming together, fists flying, hands scrambling for a secure grip, their grunts and the sound of bone connecting with flesh echoing into the afternoon sky.

I gasped aloud as Gary’s fist connected with Tarq’s face, smashing his nose, flinging blood to the ground in a wet splatter. Tarq retaliated in a flash, his leg kicking out, sweeping Gary off his feet, fist jabbing at Gary’s kidney, following through with a second blow to the chest.

He wasn’t going for Gary’s face—why?

The men rolled in the dirt, crushing stones and moss in their wake, their limbs a tangle of vicious kicks and punches. Gary got another one in, connecting with Tarq’s eye, and my heart skipped a beat as his head flew back, threatening to dislocate from his shoulders.

Curling my hands into fists, I willed my mate on, to give this bastard the punishing he deserved. Then Tarq glanced up, his eyes cutting straight to me, and he grinned, the same easygoing, shit-eating grin that I knew and lov—

Wait! What? My mate—? Love?
I didn’t— I couldn’t— But I still loved
Max
…

The sound of bone crunching pulled me back to the fight. Tarq had Gary pinned, his fists flying into the other man’s chest, his lips pulled back in a snarl. I could hear him growling questions, and struggled to make out the words over the sound of flesh hitting flesh.

“Where is Bert?”
Thwack!

“Why are you working with him?”
Thwack!

“What are his plans?” Tarq hit him again, throwing another in for good measure, but Gary remained silent, his deep-set blue eyes glowing with the conviction of the righteous. And the mad. He wasn’t going to tell us anything.

The man was insane, believing he was in the right!

“Damn it! Tell us what his end game is! What is his plan?” This time Tarq plowed his large fist into Gary’s cheek.

Gary’s head rolled to the side, then snapped back, his previously faded-blue eyes glowing silver with his wolf. “Time to party,” he growled, heaving Tarq off him and throwing him clear.

Gary’s skin rippled as he called the shift to him, his bones crunching and fur sprouting.

Tarq immediately started to shift, his back hunching as he dropped to all fours, his shift working much faster than Gary’s.

But
shit
! Gary had halted the shift, was maintaining half form! Standing well over six feet, nearly touching seven, he towered over Tarq, his still human hands tipped with lethal claws.

“Tarq! He’s not shifting! You have to stop!” I screamed the words, darting forward into the circle, placing myself between the two men. “You can’t continue until he’s finished. It’s not honorable—”

Gary smashed a hand into the side of my head, sending me flying back into the crowd, my ears ringing from the force of the blow. “I don’t do
honorable
, sweetheart,” he growled, his voice even deeper than before, gritty from the shift.

Warm liquid trickled from my ear, and I swiped it away, not caring, my whole attention focused on the huge gray wolf that was finally shaking off the last of his shift. I had bought him time, but could he take on Gary’s half-shifted form?

The gray wolf looked at me, whining as he caught sight of my hand, sticky with blood.

Kin hands helped me to my feet, holding me as I swayed.
Monica
, I noted, clutching her arm in appreciative support. “I’m fine. Finish him, Tarq.”

Then he turned, just in time to dodge out of the way as Gary swiped a clawed hand through the air, Tarq leaping forward to sink his teeth into his enemy’s arm, ripping and snarling as he used his massive jaw to crush and splinter.

Gary shook the big wolf free and grabbed for him, sinking his hands into either side, piercing skin and muscle.

Tarq snapped his vicious teeth at Gary’s face, wriggling to get free, but Gary had him skewered. Kicking out his powerful hind legs, Tarq raked them down Gary’s stomach, splitting his skin, but still the bastard held on, not letting go.

Then Gary started to drag his claws upwards, slicing through fur and flesh, aiming for Tarq’s chest.

I had to help him! I had to—

The bond! I opened the gate inside my mind, flooding the Beta bond with everything I had, all my strength, my power, my hatred for Gary.

Tarq jolted in Gary’s arms, his back stiffening, his tail quivering.

But I couldn’t tell if it was because of me, or from being torn in two.

***

Tarq

Fuck!
It hurt, like razorblades stripping my skin from the bone. Actually, that was exactly what was happening…

I heard Amanda scream, but it seemed far away in the distance, my entire being swallowed up by the pain coursing through me, owning me. I had to get away!

If I died, then my mate would carry that guilt, and there was no way I was adding to that burden, or giving her up—not when I finally had a chance!

I kicked again, my feet slipping and sliding against Gary’s blood-soaked skin. I had inflicted damage, but not enough! The bastard held me pinned like a suckling pig roasting on a pit. And he was going to carve me up.

But what could I do? In half-shifted form, he had the advantages of both human and wolf.

His claws sliced upward, driving closer and closer to my heart.

Strength flooded me, poured into me, filling me—Amanda! It was as if her wolf was running through my veins, her essence flooding my senses. How was this happening? The bond should trickle, allowing me to pull on power, not stuff me full of it!

But shit, I was glad it was happening. Drawing on our combined strength, I channeled the energy, forcing my shift to retreat, my spine cracking as it straightened, paws lengthening into fingers. Fingers tipped with wickedly sharp claws.

Then, I dug my metaphorical heels in, willing things to grind to a halt. No one had ever halted the shift backwards before, not that I knew of. But I had to maintain half-shift, or I would be dying as a human in this bastard’s hands.

“What the fuck?” Gary’s hissed curse was like music to my ears.

The shift was holding, morphing my body, my muscles swelling and stretching until I stood face to face with my foe.

There was still the pesky matter of his claws being buried in my chest, so I grabbed them, forcing them out, inch by inch.

“How did you—?”

“The love of a good woman can give a man untold strength, not that you’d know anything about that. Love is not in your vocabulary,” I growled, then slashed out, aiming for his jugular.

Gary ducked, his shocked expression wiped from his face, replaced with one of contempt. “Love makes you weak. Susceptible to pain.”

“You wouldn’t know.”

Our fists connected, our limbs flying faster than the human eye could follow. Sweat flew, blood painting our bodies as we slashed and grappled, twisted and stabbed.

Gary faltered, strain marking his brow, the partial shift depleting his strength, and I lunged, my claws sinking into his neck.

“You’ll never know the love of a good woman,” I growled, tightening my hold.

“And,
you’ll
never know why this is all happening. Where Bert is.
Who
he really is,” Gary snarled back, his hands straining at mine, claws shredding and tearing, trying to loosen my grip.

I hesitated, his words sinking in. If I killed him, we’d lose any advantage catching him might have given us.

He must have read my indecision in my eyes, because he growled, continuing, “If you keep me alive, I will escape. Then I will hunt down your woman and take her like the animal she is. I will fucking
destroy
her, until she is begging to be put out of her misery. Which I eventually will, but not until she has given me a pup or two…”