Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf [Wolf Creek Pack 6] (20 page)

Audley grabbed Stefan by the arm and shook him. “We have to do

something, Stefan. I’m not ready to give him up.”

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139

Stefan nodded and looked at Ben’s wounds. He still looked

confused. Audley snorted and pushed him back. He flicked one finger

up and extended his claw as far as it would go. Praying Ben slept

through it, Audley stuck his finger in the hole in Ben’s chest and

rooted around until he felt the bullet.

He knew the moment he touched the silver bullet. His finger

burned, the stench of smoldering flesh filling the room. Audley

ignored the pain as he knew Ben had done and dug until he got a claw

under the edge of the bullet. He pulled back slowly until the small

silver glob popped free and fell to the floor.

“Get your blood in that wound, Stefan,” Audley ordered as he

reached into the next bullet hole. As he dug for it, he could see Stefan

bite a large gash into his wrist, then dribble blood over Ben’s wound.

Audley dropped the second bullet to the floor and leaned over to

dig for the third. He glanced over at Ben’s chest wound, his heart

racing faster when he saw the wound starting to heal.

Audley worked harder, digging until he found the last silver bullet

and pulled it out. He tossed this one across the room and forgot it the

moment it left his hand. His entire world rested on the soft rise and

fall of Ben’s chest.

“Is it working?”

Audley glanced up to see Prince Zacarius standing over them.

Next to him stood a werewolf. Audley assumed it was Devlin by the

close way he hovered over the prince. He shook his head. “I don’t

know. We got the bullets out, but I just don’t know.”

“We need to get him upstairs. I’ve called for a car to take him

back to my estate,” Prince Zacarius said. “I have a special doctor

standing by, one who has dealt with our kind before. He should be

able to tell us if it worked.”

Audley bent his head over, wiped his tears away, and nodded.

“Okay, let’s move him, but we have to be very careful so we don’t

cause any more damage.”

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“I think Joe and I should be able to lift him without too much

difficulty,” Devlin said in a gravelly voice.

Audley frowned, his eyebrows drawing together as he glanced

around the room for the other werewolf. “Where is Joe?”

Devlin pointed over his shoulder. “He went after Nate.”

“And Dane?” Audley asked. “Did Joe stop Dane?”

“Dane?”

Audley closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again,

everyone was staring at him in confusion. Audley grimaced. “Dane

and Oliver put Stefan in the other room, and then brought me in here.

Oliver stayed here with me, but Dane took Nate off somewhere else.”

“Shit!” Devlin exclaimed as he headed out the door.

Audley jumped to his feet. He gestured to Ben. “Get him upstairs.

Devlin doesn’t know this place like I do. He’s liable to get lost in all

of these rooms. I have a pretty good idea of where Dane took Nate.”

He started for the door when Stefan reached out and grabbed his

wrist. “Audley, how do you know where Dane took Nate?”

“This isn’t my first time down here,” Audley replied. He heard

Stefan’s quick inhale and watched the way his face paled. Audley

reached up and caressed the side of Stefan’s face. “It’s okay, Stefan.

You and Ben took me away from this.”

“But Audley,” Stefan said. Audley knew what Stefan saw as he

glanced around the room, the ropes and chains, the hook in the

ceiling, the whips that hung in a line on the wall. It was a chamber of

horrors. “You’ve been here before?” Stefan asked. “In this room

specifically?”

Audley nodded. “Oliver would bring me down here when he came

over for dinner. He said he was training me to belong to him, to obey

to his every command.” Audley shrugged. “I guess it didn’t take

because I still got away from him.”

Stefan’s hand shook as he pushed it through his hair. “Fuck,

Audley. You should have told me what was going on. I could have—I

could have—”

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141

“There was nothing you could have done, Stefan,” Audley said.

“Neither of us is strong enough to take on Oliver or Dane. That’s why

we need Ben so much. He loves us enough to keep us safe.”

Audley almost laughed over the frown that covered Stefan’s face,

but he didn’t think now was the time for laughter.

“That’s why you weren’t afraid when they brought us down here,”

Stefan whispered. “You knew Ben would come for us, didn’t you?”

Audley crossed his arms over his chest as he nodded his head.

“Ben said he would always take care of us, keep us safe. I knew he

would come for us. He’s our mate. He wouldn’t leave us down here to

be abused by Oliver and Dane.”

“You have so much faith in a man you’ve only known for a few

weeks?” Prince Zacarius said from behind Audley.

Audley turned to face the prince. “Of course,” he said. “Didn’t

you trust Devlin once you knew he was your mate?”

“Just checking.” Prince Zacarius chuckled as he held up his hand.

“Besides, Stefan already gave me a dressing down the last time I said

anything about Ben. I just wanted to make sure you felt the same.”

“Without Ben and Stefan, I am nothing, I have nothing,” Audley

said simply. “They are my reason for living.”

“Audley,” Stefan whispered, tears in his eyes.

Audley could see the stunned amazement on his face. He smiled

and backed up toward the door. “Get Ben upstairs. I’ll go find our

friends.”

“I’d appreciate it if you could bring my mate back to me in one

piece,” the prince hollered as Audley darted out the door. “I’m kind of

attached to him.”

Audley had to hope that Prince Zacarius and Stefan could get Ben

up the stairs to safety. With Dane running around loose, everyone that

stayed downstairs would be in danger. Audley knew Oliver wasn’t

nearly as sadistic as his brother. Oliver just played at being sadistic.

Dane was evil right down to his bones.

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Audley made his way back down the hallway he’d come through

earlier, to the next hallway. There were three hallways that led off of

the main entrance, but the one in the middle led to the rooms Dane

liked to use the most, the rooms where the worst was done.

Audley held no doubt that his brother had taken Nate to one of

those rooms. He just needed to figure out exactly which one. That

question was answered for Audley when a door halfway down the

hallway abruptly shattered and two men came flying through,

fighting.

Dane was easily identifiable. He was the only one in human form.

The other man, er, werewolf—wasn’t so easy. Audley didn’t know if

it was Joe or Devlin, as they both looked similar in shifted

appearance.

It didn’t matter to Audley who it was, Joe or Devlin. Both were

friends and Audley knew he needed to help. He just wasn’t sure what

he could do. Audley couldn’t shift, and he certainly wasn’t as large as

Dane.

Audley suddenly remembered the whips that Dane kept in one of

the other rooms. One in particular came to mind. Audley shuddered as

he remembered the long leather straps with bits of sharp metal

attached to the ends.

He also remembered the pain those little metal shards produced.

While it gave him the willies to even touch the damn thing, a part of

him would be overjoyed to use it on the man who had used it on him.

Audley raced back down the hallway and into the first room. The

black leather whip hung from the wall, right where Audley

remembered it. He reached up and grabbed it off the wall, then turned

and ran back out into the hallway.

The fight had apparently gone back into the room, because the

hallway was deserted, but Audley could still hear growling and

grunts. He followed the noises to the shattered door and looked inside.

Sure enough, Dane and the werewolf were still fighting and they were

both a mass of cuts, scratches, and blood.

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143

Audley took just a moment to look around the room as he stepped

inside. As he did, he realized that the werewolf fighting Dane was

Devlin because Joe lay crumpled in a heap in the corner. He’d shifted

back to human form.

Audley rushed to his side and checked his pulse. He heaved a sigh

of relief when he found one, strong and steady. A quick check for

injuries and Audley found a small bump on the back of Joe’s head.

There was no blood. Whatever made the bump hadn’t even broken the

skin, just knocked the larger man out cold.

Hearing a whimper, Audley looked up and found Nate staring

down at him, tears on his cheeks. He quickly crossed over to the man

and tried to get him down off the hook in the ceiling, cursing to

himself when he found he was too short to reach.

“I’m sorry, Nate,” Audley said. “I can’t get you down yet. I’ll

look for something, though.” Audley started to turn away when Nate

whimpered again. He looked back, smiling when he saw the worried

frown on Nate’s face. “Joe’s fine, Nate. He just has a little bump on

the head.”

“Can you wake him up?” Nate whispered. “He can get me down.”

Audley wasn’t so sure of that. Joe might be strong, but he had also

been knocked over the head. Audley doubted the man could do

anything—even if he was conscious. Still, he could at least wake the

man up.

Audley looked around the room and spotted a bottle of water in

the far corner. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of the fight. He

walked to the wall and moved slowly around the edge of the room,

avoiding the fight as much as possible. It wasn’t easy.

Dane and Devlin were in a knock-down, drag-out fight for their

lives. Between the sharp-clawed swipes with their hands and the sharp

fangs, blood flew everywhere. By the time Audley reached the bottle

of water, he looked like he’d been directly involved in the fight.

Getting back to Nate was even harder. One stray swipe of

Devlin’s claws caught him in the upper arm. Audley cried out. He

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jumped back, leaving a smear of blood on the wall as he fell against

it.

He covered the deep gash with his free hand, wincing as pain

radiated down his arm. He could feel warm blood seep through his

fingers. It wasn’t a death blow by any means, but it sure hurt like hell.

Audley tried to ignore the pain, push it to the back of his mind. He

needed to get back to Nate and Joe. Standing to his feet, he started

around the edge of the room again. It took him a few minutes, but he

finally knelt down next to Joe.

Audley uncapped the water bottle and poured the contents out

onto Joe’s face. Joe just started to stir when Audley heard a low, deep,

ominous laugh behind him. He turned slowly, his eyes widening when

he saw Dane standing behind him, Devlin in an unmoving slump on

the floor at Dane’s feet.

Audley’s first thought was that Prince Zacarius was going to be

pissed at him. He had failed to protect the prince’s mate and bring

him back. His second thought as he watched Dane advance on him

was that there wasn’t going to be anything left of him for the prince to

tear apart. Dane was going to do that for him.

“Well, well, little brother.” Dane growled. “It seems you’ve been

very bad.” Dane cracked his knuckles together, one hand fisted into

the palm of the other. Audley almost snorted at the bad mafia-movie

stance.

“You’re such a drama queen, Dane.”Audley knew he was going to

die from the way Dane’s eyes narrowed to small slits as he stepped

closer. He just didn’t care. Audley had spent most of his life being

afraid of his older brother. He was done.

“You know you’re going to pay for that statement, don’t you?”

Audley rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you’re the big, bad

boogeyman and I should be shaking in my boots.” Audley stuck out a

bare leg and wiggled his toes at Dane. “Sorry, not wearing any boots.

Maybe you could catch me tomorrow. I’ll make sure to buy a pair.”

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145

Audley had the satisfaction of seeing Dane’s eyes widen just

before he was backhanded across the face.
So, the pain begins
,

Audley thought to himself. He’d experienced Dane’s punishments in

the past and before him, from his fathers. He was well versed in the

art of discipline.

Only this time, he wasn’t going to blindly take it like he had in the

past. Stefan and Ben had both shown him that he deserved better. He

was worthy of someone’s respect, love, and caring. He didn’t have to

be Dane’s punching boy anymore.

Audley climbed to his feet and stood up straight before Dane,

looking him right in the eye. The momentary pause in Dane’s stance

gave him strength. He’d never stood up to his brother before. Audley

knew Dane had to be stunned.

“I’ve had enough of you hitting me, Dane,” he said, pleased with