Tempest the Wolf Read online

  “Go call the pack together, George.” Dom’s voice was somber. “She’s asleep now and restrained in case the fucker tries to call…”

  George nodded and walked away, but he kept looking back. Alex saw the flash of wolf in his eyes and knew what the outcome would be.

  “He’s going to challenge you because of this,” Dominic said.

  “Yeah I know, and I’m going to kill him if he does,” Alex said. “Fuck, we should’ve told her what her dream meant.”

  “Why, so she could be scared of something we thought didn’t exist anymore?” Dom asked. “When was the last time we heard about the bite born? The Guardians killed them into extinction.”

  “Shit, we have to worry about them now,” Alex said. “There goes our life of keeping under the radar.”

  “Guardians are a myth.”

  Alex threw Dom a look. “We said the same thing about the bite born.”

  “Then if they come, we’ll fight them too. I’ll kill whoever tries to hurt Tempest hands down and with no guilt,” Dom answered.

  “Let’s get this over with.” Alex walked toward the main ground where they’d just finished building the fire pit. It seemed apparent that even before a feast, blood would be shed on the grounds.

  George stood in the center of the pack who had gathered. As soon as Alex and Dom stepped forward he pointed at them. “Their mate was bitten by a were and she will become a bite born. She needs to be killed before the Guardians come down on us all.”

  “You seem to forget she is our Beta and without her the chaos that reigned over our pack will return,” Vanity announced.

  “You also seem to forget, it was her who begged for us to intervene with you pack,” Dom said coldly. “If not Vernon would still be ruling you, raping your women and starving our children while you beg for scraps. This is our land and she is your Beta. How quickly you can forget the past, George, and the amount of times Vernon took your woman to his bed. And how quickly you can turn against the one who saved you.”

  George shrugged. “I like Tempest but I like my life more.”

  “Then leave,” Ale said bluntly. A soft cry of dismay went through the pack. “If we ever have to choose between her and you it will be her. She is the reason you all are living off our land and getting fat. She has helped your children, your wives, your entire families heal from Vernon and thrive, and this is how you repay her? If you’re not going to stand with her get off our land and fend for yourselves. Be at the mercy of any pack that may want to take you and know you have no pack bond. Anyone who dares think they will lay a hand on our mate will find that hand taken off their body… along with their head.”

  “I chose to stay, me and mine will be loyal to our Beta,” Heath spoke up.

  Vanity took his hand. “That’s right, I will not wander like some abandoned dog just because things got rough. She stood for us when we were at our lowest. I will stand with my mistress.”

  Many others voiced up to stay and weather the storm with Alex and Dominic as their leaders. Alex could see the anger simmer in George’s eyes when he couldn’t sway the pack.

  “Are you blind? She will not be pure blood but bitten born,” he shouted.

  “There is the story of the white wolf, born of bite not of blood,” Vanity said. “The one who runs with the light of the moon but carries its power as well within her. The one who does not need it to be wolf but can shift at will.”

  “A myth, a fucking old wives tale,” George snapped. “You will believe anything just to kiss her ass.”

  “Maybe, but the human who foretold the future and healed our wounds was also a tale,” Vanity commented. “Sometimes things are revealed in many ways, but some of us are too blind to see the forest for the trees.”

  “I challenge you.” George stepped up. He ripped his shirt off and looked around. “All of you are sheep, I refuse to be.”

  “Are you sure you want to do this, boy?” Dominic said quietly.

  “I have no fear of you or him.” George spat on the ground. “All of this will be mine and the Beta will die at my hands.”

  Alex sighed because the words George uttered sealed his fate. He made a promise that no threat to Tempest would ever be left alive. With his anger he knew that this would not be a pretty death or an easy one.

  “Mothers, take your children away,” Alex said coldly. “I do not want them to see what is going to happen here. The men can stay and witness.”

  That was all he said, he’d never even changed just walked over to the fire pit naked. Alex let his wolf take over and he stood and watched as George took his shoes and pants off and folded them neatly on the floor. It was a delay tactic, Alex knew. He could see the boy reconsidering but even so, he’d have to go. If he decided that he no longer wanted to fight, Alex would let him live but he could not be part of the Cormina pack. He’d send him away, abjure him and that could be worse than death. George was a dark brown wolf with a black patch over his right eye. He rushed at Alex with teeth bared to show razor-sharp canines, hoping to catch the first blow.

  He was dead wrong, the anger that was running through him was his fuel. George’s teeth caught him on the thick shoulders of his wolf and he barely got a nick. But he descended on George like a devil dog. He heard the cry that escaped George when he sank his teeth in his neck. He shook the younger wolf like a rag doll and tossed him aside. George got up on shaky legs and came at Alex again. He used the force of his body to knock Alex off his feet and bit at the underside of his belly. He felt the burn of George’s bite, and as he shook his head felt the skin of his abdomen tear. Alex took the pain for a little while, almost embracing the sensation. Tempest would feel much worse before her transformation was complete. He heard a loud wail from the house and his head turned toward the sound of their mate’s cry.

  “Finish this,” Dominic snarled and began to move away.

  Alex grabbed one of George’s legs with his teeth and the bones shattered beneath the force of his bite. George howled and that was the last sound he made. Alex took his neck in his jaws and broke it, killing him instantly. He tossed the wolf and was shifting to his human form as he moved toward the house. Blood ran down his torso as he jogged up the steps and into the kitchen.

  “Stop a moment, let me clean you up. Dominic is already up there with her to check the restraints,” Vanity said.

  Another loud wail travelled through the house and he shuddered as Vanity tried to bandage his wound.

  “I’ll heal quickly, she needs me,” Alex said brokenly.

  “She needs you well,” Vanity said. “As her second I must insist you be treated. She would not be pleased if her mate’s injuries were left unattended. Heath is with Dominic and the mistress, go shower and then we will get you bandaged.”

  He growled and went to a downstairs bathroom to clean up. She was right of course, but still he would have ran upstairs bleeding and covered in dirt to be at Tempest’s side. He came back out clad in sweat pants and shirtless. The wound had already begun to stop bleeding as he stood in front of Vanity.

  “Make it quick,” Alex said. He had a hard time keeping still for Vanity to bandage his wounds. “Did George have a mate or children?”

  Vanity shook her head and snorted. “No one would have his cocky egotistical ass. He was alone, he wanted to make John’s daughter Tina as his mate. John refused, and Tina is in love with Patrick. He was not pleased, thought of himself as a prized specimen.”

  “He’s dead,” Alex said. “I can’t say I feel anything about it right now, I hate killing but it’s a necessary evil.”

  “You have nothing to explain, you and Dom are the leaders, you must do what’s best for the pack.” Vanity rolled the bandage around his waist. “Tempest is best for the pack.”

  “What was that story you were talking about?” Alex asked. He remembered what she’d said at the meeting before George was killed.

  “I was looking into her visions and asked an old friend of mine,” Vanity said. “He’s a w
olf who chose no pack as well, many people don’t know he’s in the area at points.”

  “I haven’t scented any wolf,” Alex said.

  Vanity smiled. “He doesn’t want to be scented, he’s older than any other wolf in this area, even older than Jack or Vernon. He knew when you guys bought this place, scented you out and said you smelled like good people. He lives deep in the bayou.”

  “Who is he?” Alex asked. He didn’t like the way she spoke of this lone wolf.

  “My uncle. He was called Seth long ago, sometimes he remembers his name and sometimes he just wants to be called Gray,” Vanity explained. She stepped away to clean up the scraps of bandage and tape but kept talking. “He has to be over five hundred, he talks about the wars of the United States like it was yesterday but he’s been without a pack for so long he’s forgotten the mannerisms.”

  “What did he say about Tempest?” Alex asked.

  “I told him about her visions and it was like he became immediately lucid. He started firing questions at me and began pacing, says ‘I know this one, this is the one,’ and I thought he was crazy but then he started saying it was the white wolf, the female white wolf born of bite not blood. The Guardians would want to possess her or destroy her.”

  “Fuck, I bet the Guardians are still around too,” Alex muttered. “Why did old shifter packs discuss or formulate a society that weeds out werewolves from blood born wolves?”

  “Gray said that the werewolves used to stalk women and try to decimate the pure blood packs,” Vanity said. “But the white wolf was to unite both.”

  “I refuse, that fucker bit her and gave her no choice, he will not be in my pack. I will kill him for what he did to her and those who follow him,” Alex snarled.

  “If you’re right, he disrespected you as a pack leader and our Beta,” Vanity said. “Even if you kill them all, the Guardians will still come for her.”

  “If they still exist we’ll deal with them at that time.”

  A scream pierced the conversation he was having with Vanity. Without a word he was running upstairs with Vanity close on his heels. He burst into the room to see Tempest thrashing around on the bed and Dom trying to pin her arms while Heath made sure the restraints on her legs were secure. He could see from the torn fabric that she had broken the ties that they’d used. The blood of the werewolf taking over her blood was already making her stronger.

  Dom looked back at him. “It should not have started early, this isn’t right.”

  “Nothing about this is right,” Alex said and went over to help him. “A scratch would have taken more time but he bit her hard, sending his saliva deep into her so it would take over her blood. He knew what he was doing.”

  Dom wiped Tempest’s face as he sat down. “Honey, we’re going to help you through this.”

  “How, by lying to me some more?” Tempest groaned and struggled to evade the cloth he was wiping her face with. “You both could’ve told me so I could have been aware. Somehow one got me out of my bed from between the two of you and this happened. You let this happen.”

  Her words wrecked Alex and guilt ate at him. “Honey, they were supposed to be extinct, killed off…”

  “But they’re not, are they?” Her eyes were filled with tears and pain as she looked from him to Dom. “You were supposed to protect me, we’re supposed to be a team, you both kept this from me.”

  “Tempest, my love.” Dom’s voice cracked.

  “Leave me alone, Vanity can help me,” Tempest said.

  “She’s not strong enough to hold you back when you…”

  “When I turn into a werewolf?” she snapped then glared at them. “Or are you worried that I’d run off to find the were that did this and fulfill his fantasy of being his mate?”

  The question made Dom snarl and he brought his hand down onto the bedside table with such force he smashed it.

  “That won’t ever happen, ever!” Alex said and took a deep breath to control his wolf that wanted the freedom to be let loose ad claim her even while she suffered.

  Tempest moaned. “I don’t want to be around either of you right now. I will control this. Vanity, if you’re not scared to be in here with me, I promise I won’t hurt you in any way.”

  “I’ll be staying too. No offense to the Beta but Vanity is a mother and I will not lose her and have to tell her son she was killed,” Heath said.

  Tempest nodded. “That’s fine, I just want them to go.”

  Even worse than the blame, having her refuse them both to care for her hurt Alex more.

  Vanity looked at Alex, pleading with her eyes for him to comply. Dominic was pacing the room, trying to control his anger and his wolf as much as Alex was. For the both of them he knew it was best they walk out of that room and only come back when Tempest wanted to, even though it was killing him to make that choice.

  “Dom,” Alex said.

  “No, I refuse!” His voice was a harsh snarl and his eyes glowed yellow.

  Alex walked over and grabbed Dom by the shoulders. “It’s for her right now. Control the wolf inside and walk out of this room with me.”

  “She’ll be hurting and I can’t…”

  “I know, my friend, but we must respect her choice for now. Please Dom, look at her,” Alex said.

  “For now,” Dom growled.

  Dom left the room without even a second glance at the bed. Alex knew it wasn’t in anger, but if he’d looked back at the bed where Tempest lay, Dominic would never leave. It took everything in him to leave her as well. Outside the room he let his wolf cry out forlornly and a howl filled the air. Dominic joined in and they wailed for their mate’s refusal of them and her pain.

  “What have we done?” Alex whispered and sat heavily on the stairs.

  “We’ll fix it, brother, like everything else we’re in this together,” Dom said and slid down the hallway wall and leaned against it.

  Neither of them would go far even though she asked them to stay away. The mating instinct to be with Tempest while she suffered was too strong. Another wail came from the room and a shudder ran through Alex. My love, hold on and be strong. He sent the message out without even a word, hoping she would hear him. For the first time in their relationship the bond they all shared seemed to be blocked by her suffering, or she had shut them out.

  * * * *

  If you wanted to know how lava felt in your veins all you needed to do was get bitten by a werewolf, Tempest thought. She was amazed she could form cognitive thoughts through the haze of pain that never seemed to abate. There wasn’t even a lull so she could catch her breath. Between the angry fire that licked at her skin as fever scorched her, the echoes of visions, the beating in her in ears, and then the feel of Dom and Alex’s worry and fear for her, it was all an avalanche of pure torture that she was suffering through. God how she wanted it to end, to have it all end.

  It’s your destiny, it’s your birth right, white wolf, white wolf, white wolf. The litany in her head was like the beat of a drum.

  “Stop, shut up,” she screamed. Tempest was on her hands and knees in the middle of the bed she shared with her men. The sheets were in complete disarray around her and soaked with her sweat. Vanity and Heath had tried to change them a few times but to feel them move her was like acid on her skin. Every nerve ending in her body was overactive. Even as Vanity stood with her in the shower to wash her clean, the water was like daggers as the spray of the shower hit her and she screamed in agony until it was over. The heightened senses that were kicking in meant she could hear better, see better, and smell better. She wanted to hunt and to eat. The gnawing hunger to be a predator was unlike anything she had ever felt. If she came out on the other side of this she would be forever changed.

  Tempest rocked back and forth on her hands and knees, ready to snap and bite at anything that came her way. A low moan of agonized hunger escaped her. She felt the eyes on her and knew it was her mates, Heath and Vanity. She wanted to blame Alex and Dominic for what happened, but even if
she had known the outcome would have been the same if the visions and the voices of the long gone told her this was her destiny. The werewolf would have found a way to bite her and start this process. How many bodies would be left in the wake when this was all over?

  “Stop staring at me,” she snarled.

  “Sweetheart, we can help you,” Alex said gently. “Let us lay with you and we’ll take some of your suffering.”

  “I can’t stand to be touched,” she sobbed. “I’m too hot, yet I’m chilled to the bone. Anything against my skin is like being stabbed with needles. I can’t stand it!”

  “Our fur is soft, it won’t hurt I swear.” Dom stepped forward. “Please, Babydoll, let us be with you.”

  Vanity knelt by the bed. “Mistress, trust me because I’ve given you my loyalty. This will hurt longer if you stay without your mates. You ran to them because you were connected and that hasn’t changed. Only packs are supposed to be able to feel and help each other, but you were human and you three can still share one bond, one mind. They will share this with you and threefold it will ease your pain so you can rest.”

  “I was human, but not anymore huh?” Her throat hurt from the small laugh that escaped her.

  “No, not anymore,” Vanity said quietly. “You will be the white wolf.”

  Tempest crouched low and moved toward Vanity until they were nose-to-nose and whispered. “You know about the white wolf? They keep whispering it to me over and over again.”

  “This isn’t about the bite or the wolf that gave it to you, it’s bigger mistress,” Vanity whispered urgently. “If the pack leaders allow I will go find Gray and bring him to you so he can explain it all.”

  “I don’t want you going after that crazy old wolf by yourself,” Heath said.

  Vanity didn’t take her gaze away from Tempest. “Heath, he may be crazy but he’s my kin and that is stronger than any madness. You watch our son and I’ll be home to you both, I promise.”

  “Let her go, please,” Tempest looked at her mates and pleaded. “I need these answers more than visions can give me. It’s all fractured and I can’t make sense of them.”