Tempest of Passion (19 page)

Emily searched George’s face for some inkling of
understanding. He nodded.

“
Not I, mind you, but the member I sent. He thought it was
best to hit you over the head and leave you there.”

“
I thought I had gone mad. Why did you not let me be? Why were
you trying to kill me?”

George
ran his fingers through his hair and cocked his head to stare at
her. Emily squirmed.

“
Does it matter?”

“
Yes.”

George stood. He pulled out a silver pocket
watch from his pocket and
tsk
ed.

“
In your current predicament, I believe it does not matter at
all, my dear cousin.”

He turned
toward the door.

“
Wait. If your intent has been to kill me all along, why do
you hold me hostage? Why am I still alive?”

“
I have a better use for you now that you’re in my hands, Mrs.
Dalton.”

“
You’re baiting, William.”

George chuckled darkly. Emily’s heart skipped a beat. William
was still alive. He might not care for her as George said, but he
did enjoy being a hero, be it with her or his family.

“
An intelligent woman. You are a rare, and might I add,
irritating species. It will be a shame to do away with you, though
my lads will enjoy your fresh meat. Good day, Mrs. Dalton. I’ll be
back for you when the sun sets.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

William bit back a whine of pain. At least one of his ribs was
broken and his vision was hazy, but none of that mattered. She was
nearby.

Emily was somewhere near. He could smell
her. The sweetness of her scent mingled with fear and confusion. He
breathed in a sigh of relief. Only fear and confusion, not pain
or––he swallowed the bile climbing to the back of his
throat––
death
.

He took in a deep breath, attempting to distinguish his
surroundings. There were other wolves nearby as well as people. His
ears perked up as he realized there were raised voices. A horse
neighed, not far off. He rolled onto his stomach and stood on
shaking legs, then took a step forward and a shaft of sunlight hit
him in the eyes. He blinked, panting in fear. He was in the city
center … locked in a dog pound’s coach.

He took a
step back and snarled as a man came into his line of
vision.

“
Oi, boss, beasty here is awake.”

His snarl turned into a growl as his cousin came forth. Beside
him, white as a leaf, stood Emily. He took a step back. She
couldn’t see him like this. She couldn’t know it was he.

“
Ah, excellent, excellent. I knew the beating I delivered
hadn’t killed him.”

George
pressed his face to the mesh wire that made up part of the coach’s
door. He pulled Emily to his side and forced her to look
inside.

William
slinked further into the shadows.

“
Look at him, Emily. Your beloved husband. He thinks you still
don’t know anything.” George chuckled. “Clearly, the drug I gave
him has addled his brains.”

William’s heart jumped to his throat. Was his cousin right?
Had Emily seen him shift? Had she realized what sort of man she was
involved with?

“
I can see your head spinning, William. Do not weary yourself
… Emily knows all. Don’t you, love?”

Roughly
grabbing her, George pushed her in front of him. He grasped her
chin and forced her to look into the cage. William stared at her.
Fear and disgust was written clearly all over her face. Her heart
was beating a tune akin to panic.

“
Look at her, cousin. Look at her well, for this will be the
last time you’ll see her.”

William
jumped without thinking. Emily gasped and stumbled backwards into
George.

No.

He wanted to rip his cousin’s throat out. To demand that he
release his wife … but he could do nothing.

“
Set him loose.”

What?

The man who had been standing guard over him opened the door.
William looked at his cousin, and then at Emily. He took a cautious
step forward upon hearing people about. The busy street bustled
with people going about their early morning chores. He would be
seen. It didn’t matter how fast he ran, someone would certainly see
him.

“
Not coming out, are we?”

George pulled Emily to his side. William bared his teeth as
the glint of a knife pressed into her ribs caught his
eye.

The brute. He wouldn’t dare.

George called to him, mocking. “Out with you,
wolfie.”

He took
another tentative step. If only he could grasp his cousin and take
him away, then maybe he’d avoid being seen and save Emily. They
were in a side street. He could see that now. The pound’s coach had
parked to the side and they were slowly inching toward the main
street. He only had to stop George from ever getting there. He took
another step. George retreated, carrying Emily with him.

“
Don’t you dare consider shifting, Will. I sense you change …
and I will dig this knife into her ribs as easily as it slips into
butter.”

William
swallowed and took another step. They were almost at the main
intersection. This was madness. What did his cousin want from all
this?

He looked
at George and something must have shown in his gaze, for the
younger man laughed.

“
You’re wondering when I went mad, are you not, William?” He
shook his head. “I’m not mad, cousin. I am a visionary. And…” he
narrowed his eyes, shifting them so the yellow tinge in them came
out, “…alpha.”

William
flattened his ears.

“
Yes, no need to look so shocked, cousin. You are not the only
family alpha. You are not the strongest, the fastest or the best of
the Dalton clan. I am too. And it’s about bloody time the rest of
the world knows we exist.”

William
took a step closer to them. His cousin grinned.

“
Think you can distract me enough to kill me, Will? Tsk. Tsk.
We are one step away from one of the busiest streets in London.
You’re going to come here, like a good boy … and die like one, too.
Didn’t you enjoy being the hero, William? Well, you’re going to die
like one.” Abruptly he grinned. “For me at least, because with your
death and after I get rid of your father, I’ll become alpha and
then the world will see what we are truly capable of.”

William swallowed, throat dry. He crouched. He could hear
Emily’s haggard breathing. Smell the putrid stench of blood on the
man in charge of the pound. He could sense the people in the street
beyond, moving about, careless of the world around them. His ears
perked up.

“
Ready, Knowles?”

“
Yes, Sir.”

The man
moved toward the edge of the street away from William.

“
And you, precious? Ready to scream like I taught
you?”

Emily did not reply. She didn’t need to, as William could
smell her disgust and fear. She glanced back at him. He looked
away. He would speak to her after all this passed. Now, now he had
to prepare to kill George.

His cousin and Emily stepped into the street. Emily shrieked
in surprise. The blade clattered to the floor as George stumbled
backwards with a curse. William lunged.

Chapter Twenty-Three

He didn’t bite into flesh, only layers of clothing that
allowed him to drag George further into the alley. Behind him, he
heard the man in charge of the pound and Reeves scuffling. Emily
was nearby. He couldn’t see or hear what she was doing, but she was
unhurt. He growled as his cousin struggled in his hold. His cousin
chuckled and shifted faster than he remembered ever having done
so.

William
snarled as the reddish wolf turned to face him with its tail high
up in the air, challenging him.

“
Didn’t quite remember me as quick, did you, Will? Last time
we fought we were barely overgrown pups but I was still the faster
of the two, or do you not remember how you received that hideous
scar?”

“
I remember it well, George. I also remember that you attacked
me from behind and didn’t give me time to react and that was why
you managed to stun me momentarily, for do you not remember that I
was the one that won that fight?”

George
bared his teeth and growled. They circled each other, both of them
searching for a weak spot.

“
You’ve been fortunate, cousin, I must admit … I had forgotten
your little omega friend.” George leered. “Never thought he’d have
it in him to find you and help you.”

“
Why are you doing this, George?”

“
For the good of the clan, William. Our numbers grow every
year. Not only the London packs, but everywhere … everywhere, there
are other wolves, others like us that live in solitude and wish to
be seen. Have you not met my pack? They roam the city right now,
awaiting my signal, awaiting the moment when I become head of the
Council and I show the world the true power of the
wolves.”

“
Head of the council? You’ll have to kill our fathers,
and…”

“
Kill or make them see reason. You know as well as I do that
times are changing. We’ve spoken of this before,
cousin.”

“
Yes, but this, all this façade, what is this for? I was
already banished, had you taken over the council…”

“
You would have come bounding in here ready to save the day.”
His cousin stopped moving and narrowed his eyes. “And you would
have. You would have because you always get what you want, William
Dalton. Born into a family that loves you, in a privileged
position, you had the world at your feet and yet you always did
everything by the book. Everything, except respect another man’s
woman.”

“
What are you speaking of?”

“
Melania. Do you remember her?”

William
stared.

“
A human noble with blue eyes and hair the color of sunshine.
You sniffed her out and went after her like a hungry
wolf.”

“
She was not your mate. She was simply looking to enjoy
herself, I…”

“
I wanted her.”
“George.”

“
It matters not, William. That was only one of the many things
you’ve taken from me throughout my life. First and foremost, the
alpha position. I am the one that should sit in the Elder’s seat
and truly follow the rules. Those old men: I finally manage to
incriminate you, and what do they do? They banish you. Banish you.”
He laughed drily. “They would have killed me without a thought.
That’s not the worst of it. You retire to a far-off town and what
do you find there? Your mate. Your mate.”

George
moved again and William kept a steady eye on him. His shackles
rose. Things would get ugly soon.

“
Yet, you’re a fool when it comes to that too. Instead of
claiming her from the start, you let her roam free and now, cousin,
I am going to kill her before your eyes.”

George lunged toward Emily. William ran behind him in hot
pursuit. Just as George was about to reach her, he veered around
and attacked William. His powerful jaws sank into his side and
William howled in pain. He lashed out, trying to disengage himself
from the teeth ripping into his side.

He threw himself into the ground and rolled, kicking with his
paws at George. One well aimed kick, had him flying into the nearby
alley wall. William got to his feet, feeling the blood dripping
down his side. His broken ribs protest the treatment. He chanced a
quick glance at Emily, who lay huddled against Reeves as he was
trying to coax her into the street.

Fear and anger gripped him at the same time. No one hurt his
mate. George leered at him.

“
I’m sorry, George.”

His
cousin gave him a quizzical glance.

“
Do you think that will save you?”

“
No, but I want you to know regardless that I’m sorry for
killing you.”

George’s laughter never made it past his lips as William threw
himself at him. They rolled on the floor, snapping at each other
until at last, William bit into George’s neck. The wolf beneath him
howled in agony as he sank his teeth harder into the fur. Blood
filled William’s mouth. He shook him from side to side, reveling in
the squeals of pain as the life bled through him. No one hurt his
mate. No one hurt his family. No one.

Finally, he released the body. Trembling, he took a step back.
He sat down, his legs wavering, unable to hold him steady anymore.
He glanced at Emily. She was enveloped in Reeve’s arms. Her eyes
were wide, her cheeks tear-stained as she looked at him. William
wagged his tail feebly. She pushed away from Reeves and ran into
the busy street like a frightened animal. Reeves glanced at him.
William nodded.

“
Emily.” Reeves ran after her.

William’s
heart constricted in pain superior
to that of his wounds: She was gone. After
all the care he’d taken to keep the truth from her to be revealed
in the right moment, she’d been forced to see the ugliest truth of
the shifter life. He slipped onto the floor. His eyes drifted shut.
He felt tired, exhausted even. His wounds bled heavily and he
wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to stay conscious. His last
thought as darkness enveloped him was that, at least, she was
safe.