Shifters, Beasts, and Monsters (41 page)

Chapter Ten

“Focus!”

Nikki spun and blocked the blow before it landed across
the side of her head. Pain flared through her arm. Sweat ran in rivulets down
her skin as Adam continued to come at her.

“An enemy won’t stop. She won’t hesitate. She’ll just
keep coming.”

Nikki wondered if Adam used the word “she” knowing that
a confrontation between her and Sara was inevitable or if his subconscious did
it for him. She cleared her mind of all conscious thought and let instinct take
over. As she let her wolf climb closer to the surface, her movements became
more fluid, and she blocked the blows before they even came near landing.

Without even thinking about it, she spun and planted
her elbow in his solar plexus. Adam grunted and stumbled backward. Before he
could regain his footing, Nikki advanced, sweeping out her leg and taking
Adam’s out from underneath him. He hit the floor with a thud.

Nikki stood over him and grinned. For the first time
ever, she had managed to knock Zane’s second in command on his ass. Adam
laughed and held up his hands in mock surrender.

“I don’t know what Zane was worried about. You’re good.
Almost better than me.”

“Almost? Who’s on the floor, wolfboy?”

“Lucky shot.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Nikki knew she’d taken him fair and
square.

“You have amazing control. I don’t know if even Zane
can call his wolf that close to the surface without changing.”

Truth be told, Nikki had been practicing. She knew her
wolf was her secret weapon, and unlike Sara, it was one she embraced
whole-heartedly. No matter what happened, she swore Sara would not get the drop
on her like she had Rachel. In the three weeks since her death, Nikki practiced
every day and sparred with Adam three times a week.

Zane kept a close watch on her and attempted to ensure
she was never alone. He feared Sara would try to ambush Nikki when no one else
was around so she could play dirty with no witnesses. Nikki knew better though.
She knew this was one fight Sara would want everyone to see. Her arrogance led
her to believe she would beat Nikki, and her defeat would make the other women
in the pack hesitate before casting aspirations on Zane.

Wanting to fight public actually worked in Nikki’s
favor as far as she was concerned. It would keep the fighting dirty to a
minimum. If Sara acted outside the boundaries of pack law, she’d face the
ultimate consequence…death. Nikki intended to make sure Sara faced it anyway.
This was one fight where she would not offer the chance for her opponent to
live. The fight between her and Sara would be to the death.

Nikki held her hand out to Adam and helped him off the
floor. “After Rachel’s death and then finding Misha, I thought it best to
practice my control. We all know the closer the wolf is to the surface, the
better instincts we have.”

“Yes, and that’s one advantage you have.”

Nikki raised her eyebrow. Guess that answered the
question about whether or not his use of “she” was intentional.

“I made peace with my wolf a long time. If not, men in
white suits would’ve carted me off to some insane asylum. Trying to handle
being a wolf while also dealing with the changing body and hormones of a
teenager is just too much.”

Adam nodded. “That’s why turning a minor is prohibited
in most packs and greatly frowned upon in others.”

“It should be an outright law.”

“You’d need a governing body for that.”

Nikki frowned. “Yes, I know. Never going to happen. As
a whole, our species are just too rowdy and hotheaded.”

“Unfortunately. It’s the nature of the beast within
us.”

Nikki grabbed her water bottle and towel, giving her
forehead a swipe to dab away the sweat. “I’m going to head up and hit the
showers.”

“Be careful on your way up.”

“Always.”

Nikki had spent the past three weeks avoiding Sara as
much as possible. She tried to walk through the apartment complex with another
person, and if she couldn’t, she tended to take the stairs. Sara hated climbing
them in the high heels she always wore, so she was well known to take the
elevator.

Nikki bounded up the steps. Deep in thought, she almost
missed the sounds coming from above her. She stopped and listened. Voices
drifted down towards her. She silently padded halfway up the next flight,
straining her ears to hear the conversation.

“It’s too soon after the last one! We almost got
caught!” the unfamiliar male voice shouted.

“Keep your voice down!” the female hissed.

Sara!

“Almost getting caught was a fluke. Otherwise, I
would’ve finished what you started. Of course, that bitch Nikki had to show up
and ruin everything. It won’t happen again, I promise. Now, do you have a new
girl lined up for me?”

“Yes. She thinks she’s meeting me for a romantic night
out. I’ve told her nothing that would lead anyone to me or to you.”

“Good. Take her out a few times. Make her comfortable
with you, but be sure to keep to out of the way places so no one identifies you
after she disappears. We’ll do it right after the full moon. I’ll have the
bitch out of the way by then.”

Nikki drew in a full breath through her nose, and a
familiar scent filled her nostrils. Her heart tripped in her chest. Slowly, she
padded back down towards the basement, hoping Sara and her accomplice would be
so focused on their conversation that neither of them would hear nor smell her.
By the time she reached the basement elevator, her heart beat so quickly, it
threated to burst from her ribcage. The scent of the man with Sara lingered in
her nose. The same scent had drenched the bite on Misha.

Chapter Eleven

“It’s not enough, Nikki. You know that. Besides, you
didn’t see the man, so we still don’t know what he looks like.”

Nikki paced across the floor of her living room. “We
already knew Sara was involved somehow!”

Zane looked gravely at Nikki. “Yes, but we still need
more proof. What exactly did you hear?”

“They plan to attack another girl after the full moon.
It sounded like the intention with Misha was for him to wound her and Sara to
finish her off, but my appearance interrupted them.”

“Sounds like something Sara would do. She always goes
after the weak.”

“She’s a coward.”

Zane nodded and sighed. “Yes, she is. I wish I had seen
her for what she is before I got entangled with her.”

Nikki couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across her
face. “You don’t always think with your big head first.”

Zane playfully swatted her behind.

She grew serious again and perched on the edge of the
couch. “She said I would be out of the way by then.”

“Which means she intends to go after you next weekend
at the cabin.”

Nikki nodded in agreement. “Except, I plan to beat her
to the punch.”

Zane shot an incredulous look at Nikki. “What?”

“It will throw her off guard. She will never expect
it.”

Zane tapped his finger on his cheek in thought. “You
might be right. And putting her off her game can bring nothing but good. She’s
too impulsive. Instead of thinking and planning her moves or letting instinct
kick in, she will just jump right in.”

“That’s what I’m planning on.”

Zane walked over and pulled Nikki to her feet, drawing
her into his strong embrace. “You have to win. I can’t bear to lose you.”

“I will win. I know I can beat her.”

“When do you plan on calling her out?”

“Right after everyone arrives. It’s best that way,
don’t you think?”

Zane rested his chin on the top of Nikki’s head. “Yes.
It won’t give her a chance to throw down the gauntlet first.”

“What will we do about the rogue?”

“If we are lucky, he will move on once Sara is gone.
Otherwise, Adam and I will track him down. We’ll find him if he stays.” Zane
glanced at his watch and grimaced. “I have to go. Since I’m still keeping up
appearances, I promised Sara I would take her out tonight.”

Nikki frowned up at him. “Couldn’t you have told her
no?”

“Nik, we’ve been over this already. I’m trying to keep
you out of her crosshairs for now. The best way to do that is spend time with
her.”

Nikki pulled away from Zane and turned her back to him.
“And fuck her.”

“No. That I have not done. Not that she hasn’t tried to
tempt me. The truth is, nothing about her tempts me. I don’t find her
attractive anymore. Not knowing what she truly is.”

Nikki sighed and turned around. “I know as Alpha, you
have the right to fuck whoever you want.”

“Nik, I know I’ve used my privilege in the past with
gusto. But it’s different now.”

“How?”

Zane grasped Nikki’s hand and held it over his heart.
“Because this belongs to you, and once a wolf falls in love, it ends our wild
ways of bedding every female in sight. You know we mate for life.”

“But we aren’t mated yet.” The mating ritual involved a
blood exchange. It forever tied two wolves together.

“We will be.” Zane reached into his pocket and pulled
out a small box. “It’s not much, but think of it as a promise.” He opened the
box to reveal a gold ring with a small ruby. “A ruby for my fiery redhead.”

Nikki felt tears gathering in her eyes. “It’s
beautiful.”

“I couldn’t get something that would call attention to
itself, but I wanted you to have something. It’ll do until I can get you a
diamond.”

He slipped the ring onto Nikki’s finger. “This is my
promise to you. We may not yet be mates by blood, but we are mates of the
heart. The rest is just a technicality.”

“It’s beautiful.” Nikki wrapped her arms around Zane
and laid her face upon his chest. She could feel his heart beating against her
cheek. The heart that beat for her. She knew now the mating ritual would just
be a formality. She’d already won; Sara just didn’t know it yet.

Chapter Twelve

Nikki drove her Jeep up the winding dirt road that
snaked its way to the remote cabin the pack used for the full moon retreats.
Despite the fact she intended to challenge Sara fairly soon after arriving,
peace filled her. Instead of being nervous and apprehensive, she felt calm and
certain. It was time. The pack deserved a better Alpha than Sara, and Nikki
believed the spot belonged to her. Rachel’s death would not be in vain.

She pulled up to the cabin and parked behind Sara’s
dirty BMW. Shaking her head, she climbed out of the Jeep. The mud spattered car
just reinforced the fact that it was time for Sara’s reign to end. She didn’t
have the common sense or maturity needed to help lead a pack. She was selfish
and juvenile and only looked out for herself. The only reason she clung to Zane
was for the status of belonging to the male Alpha.

Most of the pack had already arrived. Nikki timed it
that way on purpose. She didn’t want to give Sara any time to waylay her before
the gathering. As she slammed the Jeep’s door shut, members of the pack began
to spill out of the cabin’s front door and onto the grassy front lawn. Adam had
stayed behind with Misha at the apartment complex. New cubs spent of the three
days of the cycle of the first couple of moons in the containment room in the
basement. A spurt of anger speared through Nikki. That poor little innocent
girl’s life had been changed forever because of Sara and her lust for power. At
least Nikki’s sudden appearance had stopped Sara and her rogue from killing
Misha as they’d planned.

Nikki strode toward the group as Zane and Sara followed
the members of the pack out the front door. It was time. She stepped into the
middle of the crowd and held up her hands.

“Pack! Hear my challenge!”

The pack responded in concert. “We hear!”

Nikki spun to face Sara who stood still with shock. “I
challenge you, Sara, for the place of Alpha female of the pack! I call you! My
wolf calls your wolf!”

Nikki stood tall and proud, her fiery curls flowing in
the wind as she waited for Sara to respond with the customary reply. She
could’ve sworn she saw a momentary flash of fear before Sara straightened and
took a step forward.

“I hear the challenge! May the best wolf win!”

Not wanting to waste a moment and give Sara any time to
formulate a defense, Nikki didn’t bother stripping out of her clothes. Instead,
she immediately initiated the change. Fabric ripped and shredded and red fur
replaced skin. As her body completed the transition from human to wolf, she
leaped forward and swiped a large front paw at Sara, catching her still in
mid-change.

The woman grunted and flew backward. Nikki pounced, and
as she landed, the yellow wolf beneath her finished the change. Nikki knew the
only chance she had of winning the challenge was to let her wolf control the
fight. Making a conscious effort to rein in her human thinking, she
relinquished control to the wolf inside her.

The yellow wolf yelped as if sensing the change in the
red wolf on top of her. Nikki’s wolf roared and bit down, closing her massive
jaws around the neck of Sara’s wolf. Jerking her head, she tore a huge gash in
Sara’s throat before the yellow wolf managed to throw her off. Nikki gained her
feet before Sara managed to stumble to full standing and once again, she leapt.

The two wolves tumbled and Sara landed a glancing blow
to Nikki’s side. The stinging pain incensed the red wolf, and she gained her
feet and charged. Sara attempted to block the claws and teeth of Nikki’s wolf,
but she was just too slow. Her hesitance to fully embrace her wolf led to her
defeat. Nikki once again closed her jaw around Sara’s throat, but this time,
she hit the jugular. The damage was too severe for Sara to heal.

Nikki lifted her head and howled as the darkness
settled around them and the full moon bathed them in its loving embrace. She
backed away from the yellow wolf as its breathing slowed and then stilled.
Unlike the myths about werewolves, her wolf did not change back to human. If a
werewolf died in wolf form, they stayed that way.

One by one new howls rent the air as the members of the
pack transformed. Each one affirmed their new female alpha. Zane’s howl was the
last to bellow through the air.
The challenge is won! All hail Nikki, your
new alpha!

All hail!

The pack yipped and howled and ran. The night’s run
would be a celebration, not only of their wolf nature, but of their new alpha.
Sara would be taken care of after their return. Though she had fallen, they
would still honor her as pack law dictated. Even the losers of a challenge
deserved a proper burial.