ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (226 page)

Tara never gave up without a fight. And there hadn’t been one yet. Which meant it was still to come.

Bruce turned his head toward the trees, hearing the others approach. Steven and Rosa were still missing, and it was getting dangerous to be away from the alpha. With the moon so full the wolves lost control almost completely, and without the alpha to reign them in there was no telling what they would do.

Bruce felt the moon tugging at him, the pull to change was almost irresistible. A moment later Rosa appeared. Her eyes glowed in the dark and her face had already taken on animalistic features. Her nose was further out, like her face had been pushed out by a hand, and she moved like it hurt.

Bruce watched the trees for Stephen to appear behind her, but he didn’t. The tension built. He glanced around the circle of Family members but no one made eye contact with him. No one, except Tara. She looked him dead in the eye without flinching.

“Where’s Stephen?” Bruce asked Rosa. But it was too late. The moon ripped her out of her skin, and he could see the split and the fur flowing out of it. The change was horrible to look at. But his thoughts weren’t with Rosa right now. Stephen wasn’t here, and Tara was too calm.

He started running. The power of the night pushed him onward, faster and harder. He heard a roar behind him, and just after he reached the trees Tara, in her leopard form, jumped in front of him. Bruce skidded to a halt so he wouldn’t run into her. She growled low in her throat and her eyes were a bright white.

She was stopping him from getting down the mountain. That could only mean one thing.

“Jenna,” Bruce breathed, and then he forced the change. It came fast, and it wasn’t as painful as when he forced it outside of full moon. The bear was so close to the surface it was almost natural sinking into form. Once he’d changed he roared and smacked at Tara. She fell to the side and he barreled down the mountain, taking out small trees and avoiding rocks.

Tara was after him a moment later, and she lunged for him, jumping on his back. Her nails slammed into his fur and he grunted. There was no time to stop. He aimed for the closest tree in front of him and fell against it with his shoulder, using his downward momentum. The tree tore loose from the ground, but he’d managed to squash Tara and she made a strange screaming sound as she tumbled off his back.

Three seconds of peace was all he got as he raced on. He heard a wolf howl and he didn’t know if it was Stephen or Rosa. The night was alive with energy and power and he could feel Tara behind him, closing in like a force of nature.

She tried to get ahead of him this time but his speed was hard to beat with his using gravity to propel him forward. She managed to snap at his leg and when he pulled it out of the way – instinct – he stumbled and fell. He rolled down the hill and Tara was on him, and then dragged with him into the roll. They fought, tumbling and rolling down the hill, teeth gnashing and claws slashing and the mountain feeling like it was never going to end before the valley came up to meet him.

Finally they came to a stop at the foot of the mountain. Bruce’s body ached, and Tara was heaving, her legs trembling like it was hard to keep herself upright. There was another howl and it was from dead ahead, not from where they’d left the others. It was Stephen.

It was enough to push Bruce up. He climbed over the last rocks that marked the start of Williamsburg and he moved through the trees.

For some reason Tara didn’t follow him. Maybe she’d had enough, although Bruce knew that was unlikely. He moved towards Jenna’s cabin, slowly and carefully so he wouldn’t make a sound.

He crept through the trees, and then he saw him. Stephen’s wolf was big, light gray with a dark gray stripe down his back, and his eyes glowed in the night. He sat crouched underneath Jenna’s bedroom window.

Bruce felt a growl rumbling in his throat but he swallowed it. He didn’t want to give himself away, not to the villagers or Stephen. Instead he crept up slowly. Stephen went up on his hind legs, with his paws on the windowsill and his nose in the open window. I knew he could smell her, and it made Bruce furious.

Not just because Jenna was in danger, but because he saw her as his, and no other male should come close to her.

He moved up to Stephen, and raised his paw. He was about to smack him when the wolf realized he was there and spun around. He pulled his lips up in a snarl, and then he bolted, running right into the village, howling as he went along. It wasn’t on purpose, Bruce knew that. The village was the only way out for Stephen to avoid Bruce. The lesser of two evils.

Bruce wanted to follow, but cabin lights switched on and he fell back into the woods. They would see him now if he came out of the trees.

He heard shouts, another howl, a growling sound. And then a gunshot, a whimper. And another shot. He paced around in the trees, until he saw Jenna’s light go on. He fell back when he knew she was awake. Instead of waiting to see what had happened, he headed back into the trees and toward the mountain side.

Stephen wasn’t dead. If he was injured he was going to survive. The Family would feel it if something had happened to him. Their bond as pack mates would rip and it would hurt as much as if they’d lost a limb if one of them died.

Jenna was safe, for now. Stephen was stopped.

And there was no way Bruce was going to be able to keep this up every night if it was going to be a fight. He had to work out something else, something that would keep his people safe. He couldn’t leave the town with Jenna, and he wouldn’t leave without her. And this was turning into a war.

Bruce sat down in the mulch at the foot of the mountain and waited, he wasn’t sure for what. A long time passed and there was no sign of anyone or anything near the village. The pull of the moon was starting to fade as the dawn crept closer, and a while later Bruce dared to change back to human form. He didn’t know where the Family was. He closed his eyes to focus on them, to find them, when something fluttered up in the trees and then came down almost on top of him.

Bruce got a fright, wanted to scramble away, but then he stopped and felt the bond. An eagle-like creature sat on the ground in front of him, looking out of place in the mulch when it usually sat against the rocks. But then it shifted, so quick it was just a blur, and Cleveland sat in front of him.

He was easy to spot in the dark, with his pale hair and skin. But he was so small that he looked like a child in front of Bruce. He didn’t look threatening, and Bruce didn’t doubt that Cleveland came in peace, even though he didn’t know why he knew that.

“Where are they?” Bruce asked. 

“They’re on the plateau. Stephen was shot and Tara is up there trying to pull him back but she’s weak.”

“I wonder why,” Bruce said darkly. Cleveland nodded.

“I know, and she has less power than she had before. But I don’t blame you for what you did. The Family won’t suffer more because of it. She’s not a good alpha.”

The words were spoken calmly, but they had power behind them, not strength like Bruce’s own magic, but intensity. Cleveland’s power was different than anything Bruce had felt before.

“Tara has ordered us to kill her, your girl,” he said. The words, again calm, sliced through Bruce like a knife.

“When?” he asked, breathless.

“A few nights ago, but starting tonight. That was what Stephen had been doing. We weren’t allowed to tell you, but it’s not right for innocents to get harmed. Find a way to save her, but don’t drag us down in the process.”

Bruce nodded. He understood. He couldn’t leave, that was what Cleveland was saying. But the kindness was out of place.

“Why are you helping me?” he asked.

Cleveland shrugged.

“As a bird of prey I’m the weakest shifter in the Family. But that doesn’t mean I think the strongest one is right for the job of being alpha. If you can keep all this from getting worse, once Tara falls, you have my loyalty.”

“You’re so sure she’ll fall?” Bruce asked.

Cleveland got up and made to walk into the trees.

“I don’t see you submitting to her much longer.”

“And I thought Dwayne was the psychic,” I said, but Cleveland had already disappeared into the trees.

Chapter 4

“Where have you been, Drew?”  Jenna asked. She hadn’t seen or heard from him in days, since she’d sprained her ankle, and it was very unlike him.

She was out on her crutches again, not moving fast but at least moving. It was better than being cooped up in the cabin. She’d only been able to handle that for two days.

Drew shrugged and carried on packing the food into the paper bag. They were in the general store. She’d gone in to buy lunch and he was there, buying something of his own.

“Come on, you’re on my case all the time to be with you, and then when I finally agree you ignore me?” she asked. “What’s up with that? Did something happen?”

Drew sighed and turned to her.

“I know you don’t like me, Jenna. Not in that way. I’ve known that for a long time. But I’ve always wanted just a shot, you know? But you’re never here. When you’re with me it’s like your mind is somewhere else all the time. And when you hurt yourself… I’m sorry that it happened and I should probably have been better, but you didn’t want me to help you. You just pushed me away.”

Jenna opened her mouth to argue but closed it again. Maybe he was right.

“A lot has happened lately,” she said. He couldn’t blame her for being distant. But she had pushed him away. Was it really because she thought she was too heavy for him to carry? Or was there some other reason? Like the fact that subconsciously she still just didn’t want him, even though she’d decided to give it a shot?

“You still didn’t have to avoid me just because I couldn’t run after you and catch you,” she said. She gestured to her ankle. He looked down at it and his face softened.

“I’m sorry about that. I really am. But I figured that you knew what you wanted. I came to see you the night after it had happened, and I saw you hobbling your way to Bruce’s cabin. Not mine. There’s nothing more I can do if you’ve made up your mind about which man you want.”

Jenna opened her mouth to say something – anything – that would make it all seem better. But if that was the case, if Drew had seen her go to Bruce’s cabin – even if nothing had happened – it made more sense. She should have gone to Drew, would have, if she really felt something for him.

“I’m sorry, Drew,” she finally said.

“So am I,” he answered. “Look, we both made mistakes and we’ll just chalk it up to two people trying to make something happen that just doesn’t fit. I still think you’re great and we don’t have to walk away from this and never speak again.”

Jenna nodded. “Friends then?”

Drew gave her half a smile that didn’t look like he really thought it was the best idea, but he nodded, too.

“Friends.”

He tipped and imaginary hat to her and picked up his paper packet, waving at Murray at the back of the store. Then he walked out, leaving Jenna alone in the store. She sighed.

Murray came closer.

“What can I get you?” he asked. She told him what she needed and he ran through the shelves to get it for her, allowing her to rest her foot at the counter. When he was done, he came to the register and started ringing up.

“How are you doing?” he asked her. “Phil told me he ran you to the doctor the other day.”

“Turns out I needed to see someone after all. I’m too stubborn,” she said. Murray smiled and nodded.

“Sounds familiar. Your father was the same.”

They both fell quiet, thinking about the dead. A feeling crept into the shop, something low and dark. It was almost like a mist around Jenna’s ankles, but when she looked down she couldn’t see anything. She looked up at Murray to see if he’d felt it, too, but he carried on like nothing was wrong.

“What is that?” she asked before she could stop herself.

“What’s what?” Murray looked up at her.

“Can’t you feel that?”

Murray frowned.

“Never mind,” she said. She didn’t want to sound weird.  Murray narrowed his eyes at her but she looked away and cleared her throat. When Murray was done and she paid, she left the shop as fast as she could manage on her crutches.

Outside wasn’t much better. It was the kind of suffocating feeling she got at night sometimes, except this was daylight. It danced around her, the air was almost electric with it. She looked up and down the road.

No one else seemed to notice, or if they did, they didn’t show it. When Jenna glanced into the trees she got a horrible sense of foreboding, so she pulled her gaze away again and started down the road toward the salon. Her lunch break was almost over.

“Hey, Carla?” she said when she sat down in one of the customer chairs and took out her sandwich. The salon was empty.

“Yeah?” Carla said, chewing gum with an open mouth.

“Do you ever feel like something’s wrong?”

Carla frowned at her and tipped her head to the side. Her hair was teased up in an old-school beehive and it looked like it wouldn’t move no matter what, there was so much hairspray in it. The effect with her confused face would have been funny if Jenna didn’t feel sick to her stomach.