Balance (9 page)

                As
we approached, I saw about twenty wolves spread out before us. I could see,
just beyond the semi-circle of dominant wolves, that Jameson was chained by the
ankle to a tree. He was maybe ten feet from Harris. How close did he need to be
for his gift to work?

                I
met Harris’ yellow gaze, taking in his appearance. He looked more filled out
than the last time I saw him, more toned. His arms were covered in tattoos and
his dark hair was slicked back.

                “I
believe your wolf Jameson is the mate to our female Alexa.” I got right to it
and pointed at Alexa as I felt Kai stand beside me.

                Harris
nodded. “Good. Leave the bitch and go.”

                My
mouth dropped open. Kai slipped off his t-shirt and tossed it to Max. Oh, shit.
Here we go.

                Kai
had been through a lot of shit in the last forty-eight hours. Having one of his
wolves be taken by the vampires, me getting shot and nearly bleeding to death.
I wouldn’t mess with him right now, but Jameson’s gift made Harris super strong.

                Kai’s
voice was so gruff I barely recognized it. “I wouldn’t give you one of my
females in a million years!”

                The
hairs on my arms stood up. God damn, my mate could be scary ... and sexy. I
nearly salivated staring at his chiseled, shirtless body.

                Harris
took off his shirt and gave Kai a devilish grin. “Then I guess we fight for it.
The old way.”

                Kai
nodded and his pack formed a circle around them.

                ‘The
old way?’
I asked Kai.

                ‘We
stay human. First one to get knocked out loses their wolf.’

                ‘Kai,
he has super strength with Jameson near.’

                Kai
gave me one glance that told me to shut the hell up. I swallowed. I guess I
should have said, ‘Go, babe, go!’

                Harris
grinned as he slipped on a glove with silver knuckles.

                “Hey!
Dirty cheat,” Max roared.

                Harris
shrugged. “Anything goes. You are allowed one non-lethal weapon of your
choice.”

                Max
stalked off to the SUV and returned with a tire iron. Whoa. Shit just got real.

                He
handed it to Kai who still hadn’t taken his eyes off Harris. I probed my mate’s
thoughts. He was feeling murderous with not one ounce of fear.

                Anna
approached Kai. “Let me fight him. It will be fairer.”

                Kai
didn’t look away from Harris. “No,” was all he said to Anna and then he walked into
the middle of the circle.

                Harris
nodded to Kai, who nodded back initiating acceptance of the fight. Then Kai
tightened his grip on the tire iron and with blinding speed struck Harris in
the side of the neck. It was a blur of fast motion and as he clocked Harris in
the side of the head, the entire pack took a step backward. Harris wobbled to
the side but straightened himself quickly. He took his silver knuckled hand and
gave Kai a strong upper cut to the jaw.

                I
heard Kai’s jaw break from where I stood. His body flew up and backward six
feet from the force of the blow, leaving him to crash into the hard ground.
Holy shit, Harris was strong! A growl ripped from my throat but Kai pushed
himself up onto one arm indicating he hadn’t lost consciousness yet. My eyes
fell on Jameson who looked scared and was trying to fiddle with his leg chains.
He wanted free.

                Anna
was shaking her head back and forth. She really would have been a better match
for Harris but no way would Kai let one of his females fight for him. I decided
I couldn’t watch. If I did, I would bum rush this asshole and blast him with
magic breaking all kinds of pack rules and starting a big-ass fight. I had to
calm my breathing.

                Suddenly,
Kai popped up and hunched over, running at Harris with vampire speed. He
crashed into his mid-section and slammed Harris into a tree. I turned away then
and began to skirt along the edge of the circle that had formed. I kept my
thoughts calm and supportive. I couldn’t have my mate worrying about how I felt
right now.

                Max
met my eyes and nodded. I nodded back. An unseen conversation passed in that nod.
He would watch Kai’s back; I would try to free Jameson. There was no way we
were leaving today without him, whether Kai won this fight or not. You don’t
tie your wolves to trees!

                I
was sneaking slowly around the outside of the circle when all of a sudden I
heard a tree crack. My head snapped in that direction just in time to see Kai
fall to the ground with the tree falling on top of him. Just like my vision. Anna
was a blur of motion as she charged Harris.

                “Anna,
no!” I screamed too late.

                Her
face looked murderous as she pushed Harris so hard he flew ten feet and slammed
into a huge redwood, splitting it. Harris crashed to the ground on all fours,
panting to catch his breath. No doubt there were some broken ribs. Kai was
barely holding onto his consciousness, his eyelids fluttering.

                I
couldn’t move. I had to keep the mist from pouring out of my skin.

                “She
interfered with an official Alpha fight! I will have the council put her down!
One on one, those are the rules!” Harris roared as he stalked towards her with
a slight limp in his step.

                Anna
stood there defiantly, not afraid, and met his gaze. Max held her mate, Jake,
by the arms, which were twisted behind his back.

                I
stepped forward. “Actually, you interfered with the fight first. One on one, you
say?” I flicked my eyes to Jameson. “You used Jameson’s gift to make you
stronger. Not fair. So I think two on two is fairer.”

                His
nostrils flared. I had a point. Kai was still on the ground struggling to get
up and I was ready to shift at any moment if shit got more worked up.

                “Fine,
two on two,” he said, and in one quick move he clocked Anna in the jaw with the
silver knuckles and sent her flying backward.

                “You’re
dead!” Jake roared and began shifting in Max’s arms. His teeth were snapping
and a guttural howl ripped from his throat.

                I
was about to shift when I saw a streak of black launch through the air and
knock Harris over. He hit the ground hard, his teeth cracking. I grinned and
cheered my mate on.

                ‘He
punched Anna! Screw the rules! Rip his goddamn head off!’
I told Kai and then slowly made my way behind
the crowd so that I could try to get within reach of Jameson. We needed to plan
our exit NOW. Five of the pack’s dominants were guarding him. They stood there
like a wall, glaring at me. One of them looked unsure, like maybe he wanted to
let me through. I glanced back at Kai, who was winning. Anna stood behind him
ready to jump in.

                “Boys,
let’s do this the nice way,” I told the dominants guarding Jameson.

                Harris’
second stood forward. He was tall, littered with tattoos, and had that ‘50’s
rockabilly look. “If your mate kills Harris, I become Alpha and I won’t let
Jameson go either. Leave the girl. Give up and go home!”

                His
breath smelled of beef and whiskey. My wolf didn’t like the threat. She came to
the surface, eyes going yellow. Little did these idiots know, I had been
distracting them the whole time. Alexa had gone all the way around and come up
the back of the fight. She made her way over to Jameson and quietly snapped his
chain with bolt cutters from the car. They shared a shy smile and she began to
undress and shift, then Jameson began to shift into his wolf form and I
grinned.

                But
the dominants caught me looking.

                “Run!”
I told Alexa and Jameson. Without a second thought, they took off like I had
lit their tails on fire.

                The
second in command tore off after them while four of the other dominants
advanced on me. I was a pretty badass martial arts fighter but four dominant
werewolves were too much for me.

                “Max!”
I shouted, glancing over my shoulder as Kai ended Harris’ life. I saw Harris’
head sail through the air and land with a thud.

                Turning
back to the dominants just in time, I blocked a kick but one of the guys
grabbed my arm, yanking me forward. Then I got sucked into a vision. Oh Jesus.
Bad timing. I couldn’t see, so I tried to back up as a fist landed in my face.

                “Don’t
touch her!” I heard Max roar next to me.

                “Mate
vision,” I choked out as I followed it. I had no choice.

                I
saw Kat, the red-headed Alpha from the Tucson, Arizona pack. This guy holding
my arm was her mate. His name was Murphy, I just knew. He let me go as I fell
to the ground but the vision played on. He had just been changed last week and
he was very dominant. He was a good guy and didn’t want to be mixed up in all
this. Harris changed him.

                When
I saw the events surrounding his change, I gasped. Murphy and Jameson were best
friends as humans. Harris stalked Murphy and Jameson for a few days first. He sought
out the strong, young males and then changed them against their will. They were
walking out to their car after working out at the gym, when Harris lured them
to a side building and attacked. Harris wanted a pack full of changed wolves so
that they would all have powers. The strong, young human males were more likely
to survive the change.

                The
vision kicked me out and I gasped for air as I came to. Opening my eyes, I
looked around, Harris was dead on the ground. Alexa and Jameson were back and
Kai had Harris’ second tied up, his face was shoved on the ground. Everyone
else was staring at me.

                I
waved awkwardly and then turned to Murphy. “I found your mate and I know what
happened to you and Jameson. That is not allowed!”

                His
eyes widened and everyone quieted.

                Then
I turned to Kai.
‘It’s Kat.’
 She had been waiting a long time for her
mate. I would be happy to give her this news.

                Kai
grinned, but his broken jaw was purple and swollen. I needed to heal it soon.

                “There
is something we need to clear up before we can leave,” I shouted to all of them.
Harris’ pack watched me quietly.

                “Your
Alpha was planning to change humans into wolves to collect powers. He changed
Jameson and Murphy against their will! That’s not allowed!” I roared.

                Kai
stumbled forward. His brow creased as he reached down and picked up Harris’
second. “Is this true?” he shouted in his rockabilly face.

                The
guy swallowed hard, all traces of his tough guy attitude had fled. This was a
council matter now and the enforcers would be here tomorrow to take him out if
he knew. Murphy glared at the second in command.

                “Remember
before you answer, that I have a seat on the council,” Kai told him through
gritted teeth.

                The
second nodded. “It’s true but I didn’t agree with it. I tried to convince him
to turn himself over to the council after he illegally changed the two.”

                Kai
rolled his eyes. “Sure you did.”

                The
second shouted, “I did! But he was too powerful with Jameson by his side. I
won’t lie, I liked having a powerful wolf like Jameson in the pack, but turning
humans to gain powers is wrong. I told him that. The rest of the pack didn’t
know. He told the pack he saved them from an accident.”

                Murphy
nodded. “He threatened us if we revealed the truth. Being new to this life, I
didn’t want any trouble. He promised me I would be strong and powerful,” Murphy
said, stepping forward and staring at the second in command like he was dead
meat. “After my power manifested, I knew I could leave anytime, but I stayed to
protect my best friend. He was submissive and Harris treated him like shit.” Murphy
stalked towards the second. “So did you!”

                Kai
backed up and let them go at it. Murphy clocked the second in the jaw and he
stumbled backward.

                Kai
and I shared an appraising look. It was a good punch.

                The
second stood up, hands still bound behind his back and glared at Murphy, fur
rippling along his body.

                Kai
stepped in between the two then and met Murphy’s eyes. “If you want to rip him
to shreds I won’t stop you. That’s your pack politics. But your mate, Kat, is a
very good friend of mine. She’s a gorgeous, stubborn woman who drives a Harley
and smokes way too many cigarettes, but she will be dying to meet you. I will
make sure the council takes care of this matter if you want to leave now.”