Moonlit Protector (Moonlit Novella #3) Read online

  Knowing Rock as she did, she wasn’t surprised. They were probably under a strict deadline to return her, and any punishment Rock issued would go beyond a beating. Tyler may have hurt them, but he’d done it quickly and efficiently, whereas Rock would torture the men over a long, drawn out period of time. Unless they were lucky and he just shot them between the eyes.

  “Where’s the man?” The one she recognized as Marquis asked.

  “Gone,” she answered quickly while scanning the cabin, her heart plummeting as negative realizations assaulted her. No back door. No place to lock herself away except the bathroom. That option wasn’t even worth a try because they would only break that door down too.

  “Gone where?” Fernando, the other thug asked. He was the one she feared most. He was the one who’d pulled the gun on her, the one who seemed to find perverse joy in harming people. The one she knew from overheard conversations had killed his own grandmother for her prescription drugs.

  She should fear for herself, she realized, but in that moment all she could think about was if they tried to kill Tyler. She’d brought them to him. “I don’t know. He just left. If we’re leaving, let’s just go. Or go on and kill me if that’s what you came for.”

  Marquis raised an eyebrow, then winced due to the pain. “You didn’t seem so willing to return with us the last time we saw you.”

  “Last you saw me, there was a gun on me.” She glared at Fernando. “I don’t think your intention was to take me back to Rock alive.”

  “There are lots of places you can shoot a person without killing them,” the hulking goon responded, pulling the gun from his waistband. “I’d love to demonstrate.”

  “Wait a minute,” the redneck from the bar, Chris, interjected. “The deal was I lead you to her and I get a turn at her before you do whatever it is you’re gonna do with her. She ain’t gonna be as good all bloodied up.”

  Kyra’s stomach rolled with nausea, more over the thought of what the reject from the bar wanted to do with her than the thought of being shot. She’d been threatened with bodily harm so much in the past while living with Rock, and endured so many of his carried out threats, she no longer cringed at the thought so easily. Especially now that she had someone to protect.

  If they killed her, their job was done. They could return her to Rock, dead or alive. There would be no reason to be at the cabin when Tyler returned. But if they allowed this creep to have a turn at her, as he’d so eloquently put it, Tyler would return and he’d risk his life to save her, or avenge her, depending on how much took place before his arrival.

  “If your orders were to kill me, just do it,” she urged. “You don’t owe this slob anything. But if your orders were to bring me back to Rock, I assure you he won’t be amused that you allowed someone else to have a sample of his property.”

  Fernando grinned, nodding toward her attire. “Looks like someone’s been sampling his property already.”

  “I was drenched from walking three miles in a storm. I had nothing else to put on after getting cleaned up.”

  “Hey, we had a deal!” Chris piped up again, earning a quick jab of Marquis’s elbow to the face. His head snapped back and he fell to the floor, effectively knocked out.

  The muscular, bald, black man looked at his partner. “Should we just shoot the jackass?”

  “I’d rather not have the blood on my floor,” came a deep voice from behind them.

  Kyra’s heart caught in her throat as the two men turned to see Tyler standing behind them. Before she could move, he threw himself at Fernando, taking him down, the Hispanic man’s gun escaping his hand to slide across the hardwood floor.

  She leapt for the gun the same time Marquis lunged, but the burly man reached it before she did. Turning with it in his hand, he froze as he watched the array of bright colors washing over Tyler as he shifted into his wolf form. “What the—”

  Fully shifted into his wolf form now, Tyler jumped off of Fernando and attacked Marquis, using the man’s shock to his advantage.

  Kyra turned her face away as Tyler’s jaws closed on Marquis’s neck, his long canines ripping the flesh, eliciting screams from the tough guy.

  Fernando rose from the floor, blood pouring from his nose, and turned toward Tyler. Sensing the action, Tyler left Marquis to bleed on the floor and lunged for the other man, tackling him with a ferocious snarl before ripping a chunk out of the man’s neck.

  With both of the attackers bleeding to death on the floor, and Chris Richie still unconscious, Tyler shifted back to human form. “So much for no blood on the floor.” He turned toward her. “You all right?”

  Still absorbing all she’d just seen, Kyra merely nodded, wrapping her arms around her middle to ward off the chill creeping into her bones. He’d killed them. He’d nearly eaten them.

  “They’re not dead, but if help doesn’t get here soon they will be. We can’t be here when the ambulance arrives. Let’s go.”

  She looked at him, uncertain.

  “Kyra. I did what needed to be done. You can’t show mercy to people bent on killing you.”

  She lowered her gaze down to where Marquis lay, gurgling on blood, but not dead. Despite his words, Tyler had shown a small sliver of mercy. He could have ripped them to shreds. He wasn’t Rock. He did this to protect her, not to display his power.

  “Let me throw some pants on. Did you get my clothes?”

  Tyler muttered a curse. “I felt you were in danger and rather than announce my arrival with the sound of the truck, I left it down the road and ran here. Just grab your shoes. We’ll let them air dry in the back of the truck while we head to Vermont. I’ll carry you to the truck so you don’t hurt your feet.”

  “What about your things? You haven’t packed.”

  “No need. I’m not leaving anything I can’t easily replace,” he said as he went to the closet and grabbed a black T-shirt to pull over his head. Already wearing jeans and shoes, he was set to go.

  “Let’s get a move on so help can get here. I don’t want anyone’s death on my hands, even if they pretty much deserve it,” he said, swinging her up into his arms. “Second thought, let’s just go. Leave the soggy shoes. We’ll get you a new pair.”

  He stepped over Chris Richie’s unconscious body and left the cabin, not looking back. Kyra did look back. She looked back at the men lying on the floor, her heart and conscience praying for two different outcomes. Like Tyler, she didn’t want anyone’s death on her conscience, but if they lived, they’d have knowledge of what Tyler was.

  “How bad will it be if they tell people you’re a werewolf?”

  “Not bad at all if no one believes them, which is normally the case.”

  “And if someone does believe them?”

  “Well, if they know enough true lore about Weres, it would be bad. Very bad, especially if they know how to kill us.”

  SIX

  Tyler yawned as he navigated the truck down the expressway, closer to Vermont. The nine-hour drive after all the energy he’d exerted within the last twenty-four hours wasn’t his smartest idea, but he knew Kyra was a sitting duck where they’d been.

  Surely, the gangster-wannabes who’d come after her had been in touch with her ex and he’d probably already dispatched more muscle to retrieve her long before those two lunk-heads had shown up at the cabin.

  He should have killed them, but he believed good always prevailed. If he could protect Kyra without killing them, then that was what he had to do. He couldn’t become a bad guy, even if his reason was good. Karma was a bitch, but she wasn’t a choosy bitch. You reaped what you sowed. Now, if more men kept coming and he eventually found himself in a position where he had to kill, he’d deal with that predicament then.

  Maybe he had killed them. He’d taken out a lot of flesh and there’d been no shortage of blood loss. He didn’t find any joy in the thought, but it would solve the problem of them being able to report to their boss that the man who’d rescued Kyra was a werewolf.

  He
yawned again, and turned the stereo up. Just a little bit. He didn’t want to wake Kyra, who slept slouched against the door, now dressed in his flannel shirt and a pair of her own jeans. They’d stopped at a Target about ten miles back and bought her a pair of boots.

  He did, however, want something to focus on other than the same thoughts that had been going back and forth in his head since they’d left Stix. Had he killed the men? Had they survived? Who would be sent after them now? How would they stop them for good? Would the new pack leader embrace him back into the pack after he’d left?

  That question started to outweigh the others as he neared Vermont. He’d never met Jason, but from conversations he’d had with his brother, Jason was a far better leader than their previous leader, Rong, had been. He was also mated to Rong’s sister, Ming. He doubted Ming could exchange a moon vow with the man who’d killed her brother, regardless whether or not the moon vow was involuntary, if he wasn’t one hell of a good person. The vow was taken from your heart and soul.

  You’re entering my territory.

  Tyler swerved, and quickly righted the truck. It’d been a long time since he’d had a pack leader’s voice in his head. Geez. Thanks for springing up on me like that.

  You’d be used to it if you hadn’t left the pack.

  So you know who I am?

  Of course. I’m the pack leader.

  Tyler grunted. The guy had been pack leader less than a year and he was already arrogant.

  So am I welcome or do I need to keep traveling north?

  Laughter traveled down the mental link between them. A lot has changed since you left. I saw a bit of what the pack life was like under Rong’s rule. I respect you for not wanting to abide by his laws. You will not be penalized for your absence.

  Tyler let out the breath he’d been holding, glad he at least didn’t have to worry about acceptance. So far. I may be followed.

  He glanced in the rearview mirror, taking note of the dark sedan still two cars behind him. It had been two cars behind him for the past two hours.

  By who? A dark undertone coated the pack leader’s question. Are they a threat?

  I have my soul mate with me. We haven’t exchanged the vow yet but I know we will. All the signs are there. She’s on the run from her ex, and he sent men after her. I left them for dead, but they may have survived.

  They know what we are?

  They definitely know what I am.

  If you left them for dead, why do you think you’ll be followed?

  Because I’ve had a tail on me for the last two hours, maybe longer. Kyra warned her ex wouldn’t stop at sending just the two men. I think the ones we encountered before contacted him and gave him enough information that he’d know how to pick up our trail.

  Get the woman and yourself here safely. We’ll be ready.

  All right. He finally sighed in relief, glad this news didn’t anger the pack leader. He wanted Kyra welcomed with open arms, not looked at as someone who’d brought danger with her.

  Tyler.

  Yeah?

  The best way to end this hunt is to kill the main hunter. When the time comes, I expect you to remember this.

  Tyler swallowed. He already knew this. He wanted to avoid it, but if the man didn’t let up…

  “No!”

  He jumped at the sound of Kyra’s startled scream upon waking, the truck swerving again. “Damn, baby.” He straightened the truck, getting back into his lane as vehicles around him blared their horns in anger. He ignored the horns and raised middle fingers to check Kyra. Her eyes were large, her breathing rapid and sweat dampened her forehead, but other than that she appeared fine. “Bad dream again?”

  “Again?” She rubbed her eyes, straightening herself in the seat.

  “You’ve been making sounds in your sleep,” he explained. “I thought you might be having bad dreams, but I didn’t want to wake you. You needed the rest and you’d settle right back down after a few mumbled sounds.” He shrugged. “I thought you’d be fine. Are you?”

  She nodded. “I just dreamed that Rock caught me. Not his men. Him. Maybe we should have killed his men. I mean, it was self defense.”

  Tyler’s heart ached for her as he watched her rubbing her arms, fighting off the cold bite of fear he felt attacking her. The next time he was forced to deal with Rock or his men, he’d get rid of that fear for good.

  “I’m sure I did, honey. They were bleeding pretty bad. They probably went before the ambulance even showed up. We’re almost to my pack. You’ll be safe.”

  “Are you sure?” Her dark brown eyes beseeched a promise of security. “What if they find us?”

  “Everything’s going to be fine,” he promised, turning off the expressway. He glanced into the rearview mirror, forcing down a hard swallow as the dark sedan turned off too. “Just promise me that no matter what I do to protect you, you’ll know I did it because I had to.”

  “What?” She frowned. “Tyler?”

  “Promise me.”

  “I … I promise.”

  “Good.” He shot another glance at the rearview mirror before flooring the gas.

  SEVEN

  “Look out!” Kyra screamed before covering her eyes with her hands. Her body jerked to the left, indicating Tyler had managed to not crash into the large tree. However, thanks to the snow and ice on the roads, she also felt the truck careening.

  “Hold on!”

  She uncovered her eyes, needing her hands to do exactly as he’d instructed. With one hand on the door handle and one on the dashboard, she braced herself for impact. The truck continued to slide diagonally, spinning, until it finally came to a stop. The black sedan that had been chasing them rolled to a stop in front of them and four men emerged. Three armed with guns. One armed with pure cruelty.

  “You all right?”

  Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth, she couldn’t formulate an answer. The overly muscular Italian man in the expensive suit grinned maliciously at her. The evil bastard had to have jumped on a plane to catch up to them. Winning was that important to him that he’d went to the trouble of retrieving her himself. He knew he could beat her into submission. He’d done it plenty of times before. He knew she was weak. He knew she was his.

  “No. You’re mine.”

  Tyler’s growled statement broke the trance and she looked into his blazing red eyes. “If you can get into my head well enough to know what I was just thinking, you know why I fear him.”

  Tyler nodded. “He won’t kill me and I won’t let him hurt you.”

  “How can you protect yourself if you’re focused on me? I’m not worth dying for.”

  He touched her cheek. “Good try, but I’m smart enough to know that you are. Still, I don’t intend on dying today.”

  “Kyra!” Rock yelled from where he stood. “Come to me, and your friend will live.”

  She reached for the door handle, but Tyler’s hand clamped over her wrist, stopping the action. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Saving you.”

  Tyler shook his head. “You walk over to him and all three of those men are going to shoot me where I sit. Then he’s going to torture you before finally killing you.”

  “Come on out, Kyra.” Rock laughed. “You know you’ll never win against me. Pure luck got you this far.”

  She bit her lip. He was right. Rock was vengeful and possessive. He wouldn’t spare someone he suspected her of sleeping with. But what other options did they have? They were sitting in a truck in the middle of a snowy clearing, no shelter in sight, and three armed men had guns trained on them. “If we keep sitting here, they’ll just come drag us out and kill us. If we get out, even at the same time, they’ll kill us. What are we supposed to do?”

  A howl ripped through the air, followed by a chorus of others.

  “Wait on the cavalry,” Tyler replied with a grin.

  Kyra looked toward the large snow covered hills looming before them, in search of the source of the howls. Her brea
th caught in her throat as a dozen dark shapes emerged, the sun behind them presenting them as shadows as they raced down the hills toward the clearing.

  “Is that your pack?”

  “Some of them,” he answered, grabbing his door handle. “Get ready.”

  Rock and his men turned, shouting in fear as the large red-eyed wolves closed in. Under Rock’s order, they raised their guns and started shooting at the shifters.

  “Now!” Tyler opened his door and slid out, pulling her along by her hand. “Run!”

  He shoved her ahead of him as they ran in the opposite direction of the fighting. They crested a hill to find three brown wolves waiting on them. “Go with them,” Tyler ordered. “I’m going back to help.”

  “No!” She grabbed his arm, nearly slipping in the snow as he turned back. “You’re unarmed.”

  “I’m a wolf. I’m always armed. My pack needs help.”

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “No, you’ll hinder us. I have to go.” He yanked his arm free. “Take her to safety!”

  As Kyra stood still, her heart aching with the knowledge he found her as useless as Rock always had, he ran back down the hill to aid his pack, two of the brown wolves on his heels.

  “We need to go.” A hand touched her shoulder, and she turned to see one of the brown wolves had shifted into a pretty Hispanic woman with long brunette hair.

  “I can’t leave him.”

  The Were laughed at her. “What are you going to do, human? Sacrifice yourself? The best place for you to be is where he knows you’re safe and out of the way.”

  Maybe it was Rock’s declaration that she’d never beat him, or the years he’d beat the threat of death into her. Maybe it was the Were’s laughter at the thought of her being useful, or the pain of Tyler’s insinuation that she couldn’t be, but something in her snapped.

  She wasn’t a werewolf, and she wasn’t one of Rock’s thugs, but she also wasn’t going to just stand there and let Tyler fight alone. She’d brought this danger to him, and now to his pack. She was not going to just hide away and let everyone else fight her battle.