Seeking Pack Redemption

Seeking Pack Redemption

Copyright © July
2012, Eve
Langlais

Cover art by Mina
Carter © July 2012

Amira Press

Charlotte, NC 28227

www.amirapress.com

ISBN:
978-1-937394-57-8

No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic
or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and
e-mail, without prior written permission from Amira Press.

Prologue

It killed
Jaxon
to see Bailey helpless in the monster’s grasp.
My fault.
All my
fault. I should have fought harder. Been stronger. Not caved in to the
wickedness controlling my mind.
A wickedness that haunted
him still.

The
nightmare of the past few days shamed him. He’d betrayed his pack, his
brothers, but worse than all that, he had handed the woman he loved over to a
killer and condemned her to torture. Harder to swallow, she’d forgiven him even
though he deserved to die.
And if I don’t
do something, she’ll perish right in front of me as I watch.

Bunching
his muscles, he strained to free himself, to move his frozen limbs, to no
avail. He lacked the strength to fight the invisible chains that bound him,
forcing him to stand as if a statue, a spectator to the unfolding events.

The
disdain in his
packmates
’ eyes shone clearly even from
where they ranged across from him.
Jaxon
had earned
their looks of disgust and rage. He’d have borne the same expression if he’d
stood at their side and gazed upon someone who lacked the mental strength to
fight Roderick’s hold.
Jaxon
hated the rogue he’d
unwillingly become. Yet . . . it still pulled the strings of his heart that
they hated him because he loved them like brothers, and always would.

Handling
the fact that his pack shunned him hurt, but he totally deserved it because
what he’d done was unforgivable. He’d have gladly submitted to punishment if
given the chance. But there was more than his need for atonement at stake here.
He couldn’t just sink into a ball of misery and pray to die. Nor could he remain
kneeling, limbs frozen like a statue, and watch his mate suffer.
Not while I still breathe and live.

However,
the situation seemed untenable. The monster held Bailey by the throat, the
claws tipping the vampire’s fingers dug into her pale skin. To her credit,
Bailey didn’t whimper or cry.
She is so
damned brave. I don’t deserve her love.
How could he atone for his actions?
How could he save her?

Jaxon
bided his time and waited for his moment, that single, momentary
lapse of attention when the leash the twisted creature held over his will would
slip, loosen enough for him to strike.

The bloodsucking
entity
who
was once one of them, a
Lycan
and leader of his pack, laughed—a chilling sound meant for his brothers
who faced off against him.

“So nice
of you to join us,” the vampire hissed.

“Let her
go, Roderick. There is no escape,” Gavin yelled. Shifted into his human shape,
Jaxon
could see the strain in his ex-friend’s body as Gavin
tried to hide his fear, a fear not for himself but the woman being held victim.

“Look, my incubator,” Roderick said in a low, mocking tone to Bailey.
“Your dogs have arrived
and are already barking orders. Shall I take them as I’ve taken your other
lover?”

Jaxon’s
head hung as the
monster mocked his inability to fight his mental grasp.
Just give me a chance.
A chance to save her.
A
prayer he hoped didn’t go unheeded. He’d love to shove the vampire’s head into
a place the sun didn’t shine. Actually, on second thought, he’d prefer to shove
it in the sun where the monster would hopefully die.

“No. Leave
them alone,” Bailey cried. Her brave reply caused the vampire to tighten his
grip, puncturing her flesh until rivulets of red ran down her skin. The coppery
scent of her blood roused his beast where it paced inside his mind.
It harms our mate.
Growling, his inner
wolf demanded action and tested the bounds of their mental captivity.
Soon,
Jaxon
promised.
Watch. Wait.
He needed to wait
for the right moment.

“I’m going
to kill you,” Wyatt shouted, forgoing his beast shape to speak.
Jaxon
ignored the glare flicked his way that screamed, “Dead
man.” It wouldn’t be the first time
Jaxon
had drawn Wyatt’s
ire.
But this time I totally deserve it.

Roderick
laughed, a grating sound that conjured images of dark dungeons
replete
with misery and pain. “I’ve faced death before,
numerous times, I might add. Apparently, that lord of darkness has no use for
me because I’m still here. And keep in mind, if you try anything, the first to
go will be your precious mate.”

Head
bowed, gaze averted,
Jaxon
could nevertheless guess
that Roderick tightened his grip because Bailey struggled to breathe. Choking
sounds escaped her as her legs thrashed in panic. Oh, how his inability to act
burned.

“Bastard.”
Gavin whispered the word, but everyone heard it. The benefit of being a
Lycan
included enhanced hearing, among other things, a
curse for those who sought privacy.

“Is that
any way to speak to your master?” Roderick replied. “Kneel for me, dogs. Bow to
me, and maybe I’ll let you live and serve.”

“Never,”
Wyatt vowed.

“Funny,
your friend here once said that. Shall I show you how I taught him to serve his
master?”

Bracing
himself,
Jaxon
waited for the tenebrous touch of evil
to invade his mind. The pervasive and unbreakable mind control that fucked him
over so royally and made him dance like a marionette. Except . . . The crushing
pain never arrived. As a matter of fact, the pressure in his head eased, and
his wolf growled.
Now?

His
brothers must have fought a mental invasion and won because the unnatural one
screamed, “Kill them. Kill them all!”

“No.” The
word emerged as the smallest of whispers, but
Jaxon
still forced it past numb lips, including a lower lip that tingled from the
bite Bailey gave them in the mating exchange. This reminder of her faith and
love gave him strength.
I will not watch
my friends and mate die.

Pushing
with all his strength against the paralysis in his limbs,
Jaxon
sprang up from his crouch and half-shifted. The bones in his face and hands
reshaped themselves, a familiar agony he could ignore. Hair sprouted in tufts
while his fingers grew claws. Strength flowed through him.

It didn’t
go unnoticed. “Down, dog!” Roderick bellowed.

The
crushing weight and torturous needles of Roderick’s attack slammed against the
walls of his mind.
Holy fuck
did it
hurt, but
Jaxon
kept moving, his mouth opening and
releasing a mournful howl, the only weakness he’d allow himself.

Despite the
pain and the command to heel,
Jaxon
sank his teeth
into the vampire’s arm. Blood spurted, and he inadvertently tasted it. Foul and
putrid, the taste caused his stomach to roil, but he didn’t relent. He clenched
harder, swallowing the unnatural essence that flooded his mouth, not daring to gag
or spit lest he lose his grip.

The hand
holding Bailey went slack, which released her. She slumped to the ground as
Jaxon
grappled with Roderick, the blood he’d swallowed
burning its way down, churning his stomach as fire shot through his veins.
Dammit, I think he’s poisoned me.
Not
that he truly cared at the moment, not when he still held the vampire in
fingers tipped with claws. Around him he could hear the sounds of battle as his
packmates
engaged Roderick’s army of rogue wolves. If
he could just hold Roderick off long enough for them to fight their way
through, then maybe Bailey could escape this fucking mess.

Jaxon
snapped his sharp teeth at Roderick’s face and almost smiled when
the creature recoiled.

Despite
Jaxon’s
minor victory, the vampire remained strong, and
worse,
Jaxon
not only fought his opponent’s body, but
the attacks on his mind as well. The invisible needles struck, burning,
ripping, torturing his psyche, but still
Jaxon
tried,
oh how he tried, to rip out the bastard’s throat. Tried to hurt him, kill
him,
end the vampire’s monstrous existence. But despite
Jaxon’s
wolfman
shape and strength,
Roderick still proved more powerful, and
Jaxon
knew
he wouldn’t be able to keep him at bay forever.
And when I let go, there’s nothing stopping him from going after Bailey
and my friends. I can’t allow it.

The
creeping tentacles of Roderick’s power began to seep in to try to control him, and
Jaxon
lost his hold on his half-shift as he fought
back. Back in his human form again,
Jaxon
had only a
heartbeat to decide his next step. There was only one real option.

A glance
to the side showed Bailey, crouched on the ground, her eyes wide with fright.
I can’t let Roderick have her.
Tears in
his eyes, he yelled, “I love you, Bailey. Tell them all I’m sorry.” With his final
words spoken, he surged forward against the vampire.

Deciphering
his intent, someone’s hands grasped for him. Fabric ripped free as momentum toppled
Jaxon
and Roderick over the edge of the precipice
where they stood.

As they
both plunged, tumbling head over heels in the air,
Jaxon
heard Bailey scream and sob harshly, sounds which signaled she lived. All that
mattered really.

Jaxon
smiled as he plummeted.
She’s
safe.
He used that serene, two-word chant to keep his lips sealed when he
hit the first rock. And the
second.
. . .

By the
time he hit the rapidly moving water, he was praying for death.