No Remorse (15 page)

“If I’m going to save the finger, you need to do this quick,” she continued speaking
,
picking the finger from the table.

Blake looked straight at the man in the chair. “It’s up to you.”

He knew immediately what Blake was getting at. He closed his eyes and nodded his head. “My name is Zachariah. I work on the Bloodsworth ranch a couple miles from here.”

As the man opened his mouth and began speaking, Seriana turned and left the room. Her temporary operating room was set up in one of the spare bedrooms down the hall. When Blake was finished interrogating him, they would bring her patient to her so she could get to work.

Blake recognized the Bloodsworth pack name from two territories over. The pack had been having some leadership issues and a few of its members had defected, had sought Blake out, swearing allegiance to him and his pack.

The Bloodsworth pack leader had sent word for Blake to release the Bloodsworth members from their allegiance to his pack or face the consequences. Blake refused the demand and continued to offer refuge for those who sought his assistance.

Feeling Amber’s questioning probe in his mind, Blake met her eyes with a frown. She wanted to know what was going on and he couldn’t take the time to explain it all right now. There were so many things that he needed to explain.

It’s a long story, promise, I will explain later.
Blake hoped she understood and didn’t press him with further questions.

Blake needed to talk to Adam, get the details on what had happened and who had attacked him. He was concerned, none of this made sense. The Bloodsworth pack had nothing to do with Amber or the Council. So why was Adam telling him to get her out of there?

Zach wasn't aware that Blake was only half listening to him while he continued explaining that the elder member of the family had hired him a couple years back. He and his family lived in one of the small mobile trailers at the back of the property.

“The strangest things always happenin’. One day there’d be people runnin’ ‘round, next they’d be gone. I didn’t listen to the rumors, didn’t wanna believe it. Not until I saw them change into the big ugly wolf things. Like you did,” he said, looking at Amber he continued “but you ain’t as ugly as they are.”

Amber took the compliment in stride, not wanting to feel any empathy for the man, but couldn’t stop herself. Zach found himself in the middle of something he had no business being in. He was only trying to take care of his family, but still, he could have handled the situation completely different than he had, could have come to Blake and asked for help instead of trying to kill him. It would have saved him a lot of pain.

Blake could hear her thoughts and smiled to himself while she tried to work it out in her mind. By trying to find a way to help, she was thinking of staying instead of running off again. He had to make himself concentrate on what Zach was saying instead of gazing lovingly at Amber. He knew he had it bad when he couldn’t stop looking at her.

“Last week, one of them warned me that things were gettin’ ugly.” He stared at the kitchen table. “He told me, I shoulda listened and got em outta there.”

Zach looked up at Blake with a shimmer of tears in his eyes. “I didn’t listen. I couldn’t leave. A couple years ago, I got laid off after nine eleven; we lost our house, everything. Barely fed my family.” Pausing, Zach swiped at the tear that slid down his cheek. “I got decent money to do what I was told and keep my mouth shut. No questions. I think that's why they liked having us around. I tended the cows and cleaned up after the families when they went out into the woods.” Zach stared at Blake, “You know what I’m talking about?”

Blake knew exactly what Zach was talking about and nodded his head. This man could tie the Bloodsworth pack back to the missing people throughout the area, which could be good, or bad. With this new information he needed to talk with Marcello as well as Adam. Blake looked at the man who guarded the door. Marcello was staring at him and nodded his head in acknowledgement. Marcello understood the severity of the situation.

Amber watched the exchange and kept quiet. She was with Blake now and would have to learn to deal with the drama’s that came with being a part of the pack. She just wished she understood more of what was happening now.

At Blake’s nod, Zach continued talking, the information spilling from his mouth in a hurry, like he had been bursting to tell someone. “My wife cleans house for them three weeks outta the month. Once, she told me she had seen strange stuff, but I told her to keep her mouth shut if she wanted to have a roof over her head and food in her mouth. I didn't want to know what she saw. Whatever it was, it scared her enough to never mention it again when the old man confronted her.” His voice broke and he paused to keep from breaking down.

Blake waited impatiently for Zach to gather himself and continue. He wanted to get in to talk to Adam and Marcello.

“I should have listened. Yesterday, my wife called upset that Mr. Bloodsworth had her at his house and wouldn’t let her leave. When I came in he told me that he would kill her and my son if I didn't kill you. I had to leave them with that madman.” Zach’s voice broke again when he thought of his wife staring at him through the window of the farmhouse.

Blake listened to the last part of Zach’s explanation thoughtfully. Resting against the counter, Blake leaned his head back; staring at nothing on the ceiling, sucking in a deep breath and blowing it slowly. He stood, turned to Zach as Seriana returned to the room.

At the look on Blake’s face, Zach knew he was no longer going to hurt him. Taking the hand Blake offered, Zach allowed Blake to pull him to his feet.

Without a word or looking at anyone, Seriana turned and walked from the room with Zach, Blake and Amber in tow. Motioning for Zach to lie down on the twin bed that served as her makeshift operating table, Seriana reached for the syringe that lay next to the surgical equipment on the table.

Zach sat on the side of the bed and gave her a worried look, staring at the assortment of equipment on the table and the syringe in her hand, then at the woman’s pale features. He wondered what the hell she was doing with all the blades, was she going to cut him open after she knocked him out?

Seriana hid her smile at his anxiety. The blades were only there because they happen to be in her bag when she had emptied it earlier. The syringe was all she would need, along with the needle and thread and her healing abilities to get his finger back on the mend. She could just imagine what must be going through the poor human’s mind. Keeping her eyes locked on his Seriana explained.

“This will knock you out long enough for me to reattach the finger,” she said while gently pushing on his shoulders so he lay back on the bed.” “There is no guarantee that this will work,” really, she knew it would, but told him just in case something weird happened, “and there is going to be pain when you wake up.” Since he was human, there probably would be. “I can give you some over the counter meds, but if you want anything stronger you’ll have to run into town and see Doc.”

Zach was distracted by the noise coming from the hallway and didn’t pay attention to Seriana when she began rolling the sleeve of his flannel shirt up his arm. Peering anxiously around her small body at the door, Zack heard the father of the boy he had shot ranting in the hallway. The man was angrily threatening to beat him until he wished he were dead and then kill him. Zach relaxed a bit when Blake pulled Amber with him out into the hallway to talk with the pissed off father.

Zach closed his eyes in exhausted frustration at the mess he had caused. Glancing at the big man standing watch at the door, Zach knew that he had seen Marcello at the Bloodsworth home and that Marcello being with Blake was the main reason this was all happening.

Zach heard Seriana tell him “Relax, Blake won’t let anything happen to you.”

He felt a small prick in his arm and everything faded away.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

T
he door to the study closed and Blake turned around, frustration written across his face. Amber went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He welcomed her warmth as she melted into embrace.

“You did great out there,” he told her, kissing the top of her head.

Amber responded with a small smile. “What was that ‘me Tarzan, you Jane’ crap on the porch?” she asked him.

He gave her a shrug, only slightly embarrassed. “Sorry about that, but wolves are territorial and what's mine is mine. Neither my wolf nor I like to share,” he informed her.

“Well, let me remind you, in case you’ve forgotten. I never slept with anyone until you and just because I touch someone, doesn't mean I am attracted to or going to sleep with them.”

“My wolf chose you as my mate and your wolf accepted. I can't help if he becomes a little jealous sometimes.”

“A little? You would have killed Adam if I hadn’t stopped you.” Amber exclaimed and frowned up at him, leaning back in his arms to look into his face.

Blake shook his head, “I could have controlled him before it got to that point.” Honestly though, he had fought hard to keep his wolf under control and if Amber hadn’t stepped up when she did, he wasn’t sure if Adam would have been safe. But he wasn’t going to tell her that. Instead, he smiled at her sheepishly.

“Just don’t do it again, there is no reason for it. Plus, you need to remember that I don’t share either. From the knife I felt slipping into my back, someone has the hot’s for you really bad and I'm in the way.”

Blake didn't disclose who the culprit was, but pulled her closer to him. “The only person I and the wolf want is you,” he told her. “The pack will respect you and will abide by my wishes.”

 
“That brings up my next question. Why didn't you tell me you were the leader of a pack?” Amber relaxed in his embrace, resting her head against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. She loved that sound she thought and quickly pulled her thoughts away from where they were heading. His deep voice vibrated in her ear when he spoke softly.

“It just happened,” he responded turning her in his arms and leading her to the large leather sectional that sat in the middle of the study. Together, they sank into its softness. “After you left the shelter, I did, too. I just couldn’t stay there anymore without you being there. I looked for you and came close to finding you a couple times. But it seemed that you were always just days ahead of me.”

Taking a deep breath, Blake let it out slowly, remembering how frustrating those days had been. He had been so close to finding her. Then she shows up, practically in his back yard for a month and he never even knew it.

“When I left, Adam came with me. We traveled from here to there, all over, really, until a couple of years ago. I came across this place.” He looked fondly around the room. “Everywhere we went we seemed to run across people, werewolves, who needed our help. Somehow word spread that this place was, is, a refuge for those who were not welcome anywhere. Or, they just didn’t want to be part of their pack any more, for one reason or another. Most were fed up and wanted out. When everything was said and done, I guess it just happened. I bought the house and the surrounding couple thousand acres. The house
required a lot of work to make it livable, and still needs repairs, but it works for what we need.
When everyone started migrating here, they started looking to me as pack leader and it stuck. This was not my intention at all. I didn't plan on starting a pack.”

Blake leaned down and kissed her lips. He hated talking about the Council, but he had to continue.

 
“The Council seriously frowns on new packs being formed, especially without their consent. I sent word a couple years ago that we had begun gathering, but never heard anything from them, good or bad. So, I continued. If this is to be a true pack, I had to try to make it different. No one is forced to do anything against their will. They are welcome to stay if they want or leave without anyone trying to force them back. But they are required to be loyal to the pack if they choose to be here. There are still rules we have to follow.”

“You’re helping a lot of people here Blake.” Amber felt her heart fill with pride. Just the way he had helped her out of the situation at the shelter, Blake had continued to help others. Amber thought about it briefly, this was really a good idea. There were plenty of werewolves out there that needed somewhere to go. Trina and Toby stood out in her mind. Before her thoughts could get away with her Blake brought her attention back to him.

“I’m being selfish now though,” he told her when he read her.

“How so?” she asked with a smile. She had read his thoughts, as well, but wanted to hear him say the words out loud.

“I should be thinking of a plan to help Zach, but right now I am too preoccupied,” he mumbled slipping his hand down the front of her blouse and captured her firm breast. “I can’t stop thinking of taking you over and over again,” he murmured against her hair while his thumb danced across her nipple, causing it to pebble at his touch.

She turned her head and captured his lips with hers. The tip of her tongue slid along his lips,
dipping in and inviting his
tongue to invade her mouth. Suddenly he deepened the kiss with a groan; the hand caressing her breast slid down to her hip and lifted her onto his lap.