Her lips trembling and her voice shaky, “Are they out there?” Fighting zombies unexpectedly seemed like a simple task. She’d seen Dirk in full horror-movie-werewolf mode, a beast born of nightmares, fierce and indestructible. The thought of three such creatures chilled her to the bone.
“No, but we’re being stalked by your friend’s kitties.”
“Those kitties are tigers.”
He climbed back on the bike. “We head in. I don’t want to be responsible for killing endangered Siberian tigers. If the Benandanti are still here, fly to the highest tree.”
“But…”
His tone was fierce, “Start thinking of rhymes.”
Werewolf or not, she never liked bossy people. She gave an exaggerated sigh and spat. “Roses are red; violets are blue, kind of grouchy aren’t you!”
“Not as grouchy as the Benandanti are toward witches.” He floored the Harley onto the sanctuary’s paved road, chased by two massive tigers. They drove behind a second gate and Dirk stopped the bike. He grabbed her firefighter style and leapt onto the elevated walkway. Lightly, he set her down and steadied her.
She regained her equilibrium and straightened. “Put the fangs away, I don’t want to freak them out.”
He nodded. His claws and furred ears disappeared but his fangs still fanned out.
Lights flooded them and Dirk growled and pounded forward.
A woman with a long blonde braid stood on the lit bridge, pointing a rifle at them. “Stop, right there!”
Dora grabbed his arm. “Stay!”
He gave her a sidelong glance. “I thought you were a doctor not a dog trainer.”
She waved at the woman pointing the rifle at them. “Marti.”
Josh appeared behind the woman. “It’s Dora.”
The attractive woman relaxed her weapon and gave them a nod. “About time.”
Dora ran to Josh and embraced him. She kissed him a dozen times. “Thank God, you and Mel are alive.” Dirk had been mistaken. There were no witch-hating werewolves here.
Josh stiffened, his brow wrinkled in anguish. “Mel is…”
Dora’s heart sunk. They had been too late to rescue her. She’d seen zombie children and the thought of Melanie trapped as a ghoulish flesh eater made her stomach roil in grief. She pressed her lips together. “She was bitten?”
He shook his head and turned toward the forest. A shadow leapt on the deck. Not a tiger but a man.
Dirk snarled at the towering man. “Theo, you fucking ass! Where’s the child?”
The werewolf wore a black uniform with a small emblem of a wolf and cross on the front of his coat. His boots pounded against the wooden structure as he approached and he sneered at Dirk. “What are you doing here?”
Dirk’s muscles quivered and he glowered at him. “Release the girl or I’ll rip you in two.”
Josh snapped out of his stupor and stared at Dirk. “He’s one of them.”
Dora wound her arms around her brother. “This is Dirk and he helped me get here.”
Theo glared. “Dirk, you’re interfering with Benandanti business.” He turned to her. “Dora Adler, you almost escaped our radar but now that you’re here, we can make an exchange.”
Josh hung his head down. “He wants you in return for Melanie.”
Dora shook her head in disbelief. She couldn’t imagine the terror Mel must be going through. Stolen from her father, taken by werewolves, alone with no one to comfort her. Scared. No child should suffer so. Despite her locked knees, she stepped forward.
Dirk snarled. “NO!” He drew her in and held her tight.
Theo lowered his gaze at her and then he gaped, flashing impressive fangs. He shot Dirk a furious scowl. “You’ve committed sacrilege!”
Dora’s pulse raced. Dirk’s pack may need to go to war because he helped a witch. She’d lived all her life, thinking she was going to die by age twenty-seven. She’d come to terms with it. But Mel was just a child.
Her thoughts flashed to visiting Mel last summer. Enjoying ice cream on the beach, laughing, and quiet conversations in the park.
“Someday I’m going to be a doctor, just like you, Auntie Dora.”
She smiled at her niece as they fed the ducks.
“Of that I’m sure.”
Dora glared at the bully of a werewolf. Damn it. Why not be sacrificed? Better to let Mel live and Dirk be free of a needless war. “Dirk, I volunteer. My life for Melanie’s.”
“I won’t allow you!”
Theo raised his voice. “You can’t have the witch.”
Dirk snarled and approached. “You’ll need to kill me first.”
Theo’s claws emerged. “The child sits in a cage dangling over dozens of hungry zombies. You kill me, Arbor Wolf, and my betas will drop the cage. It might take the zombies an hour or maybe only minutes to break in.”
Josh fell on his knees. “Please, you’re mistaken, my sister isn’t a witch. Leave her alone, take me. Bring back my baby.”
Dirk scoffed. “So the Hounds of God are turning into child killers.”
Theo glared. “In exchange for the devil’s spawn, yes.”
Dora’s blood pressure climbed and maternal rage from the depths of her soul rose. She’d fought out of an underground lab, escaped zombies, and crossed two states in order to rescue Josh and Mel. No way in hell was she going to let these animals harm her niece. Infuriated, she snapped, “I’ve had enough of your crap!” The wooden boards beneath Theo’s boots splintered and weeds sprung through, wrapping around his legs.
He used his claws to break free of the plants’ clutches and roared a laugh. “Is that the best you can do, witch?”
Her blood still boiling, she hadn’t noticed what she must have done until Theo ripped the weeds off.
Not possible
. She had not even thought of using plants.
Dirk blew out a noisy breath, released Dora and glowered at Theo. His dangerous tone, taunting. “If she’s a witch then I’m the devil who will send you to hell.”
Theo sneered. “Like I said, if I don’t return the child dies.”
Dora had no choice. Dirk’s protective body loomed over her, but he leapt on the rail, ready to pounce on Theo. The two exchanged challenging growls, and in the moment of their distraction, she dashed into Theo’s arms. He instantly grabbed her and bound her hands with a thin rope, the kind used to strangle.
“Dora!” Dirk leapt in front of the Benandanti and growled. “Release her!”
“Dirk, I’m going willingly. I won’t have my niece’s death on my conscience.” If anyone knew about the guilt of the loss of a young child, it was Dirk. They locked eyes. He understood.
Theo moved his long dagger-like claw to her throat.
Josh shouted, “No! Don’t hurt her.”
Dirk’s shirt began to tear as he started to shift.
“You shift and I’ll kill her now and the child dies.” Theo warned. “I know, you’ll kill me, but at least I would have killed a witch, giving my sacrifice meaning.”
Dora entered Dirk’s mind.
“Let me go. Trust me, if we can escape from Mansfield’s lab this will be a no brainer.”
“
Understood, babe.”
Dirk’s eyes remained locked with Theo’s. “What about the child?”
“Once we return to my men with the witch, we’ll let you know where the little girl is being kept.”
Josh approached with ready fists. “No. You take me to her now!”
Dirk gripped him by the arm, yanking him so hard Josh stumbled. “Stop, before he rips your guts out.” Josh froze as if considering what would happen if he got too close to the menacing werewolf. Dirk relaxed his hold and let him go.
Marti, who had remained quiet most of the time, spoke. “He’s right. You saw what he and his goons did to the Bengal tigers.”
Dirk’s face shifted back and forth from man to wolf. “What will you do with Dora?”
He’d told her the Hounds of God always killed witches. She whispered, “Yeah, why not kill me now?”
“We have our reasons.” Theo pressed his claw tighter, drawing a red trickle about her throat. “Shut up!”
Dirk roared and threw off his coat as his yoga tee ripped. His fists opened into claws, even bigger than Theo’s. He circled like a wolf ready to pounce and garbled. “Mine!”
Tears streaming down her cheeks she focused.
“No. I’m begging you. Not now.”
He stood, panting in a quasi almost man-wolf form.
“Babe, I’m coming for you.”
Theo snarled and muttered something, maybe a prayer in Latin, then scowled. “Pater Valeray may request your head for what you’ve done.”
Dirk nodded. “Let him try.”
Theo stepped back while holding her.
She gazed at Dirk.
“Good bye.”
“Dora, know this. I love you.”
Her heart thumped.
“I love you, too”.
Theo threw her over his back and leapt down the bridge and into the woods.
****
Dirk howled in rage. No alpha could withstand his mate being hauled off by an enemy werewolf intent on killing her. The survival of the little girl weighed against his need to rescue his mate. The wolf fought to reach Dora. The only thing stopping him from going completely irrational werewolf was her gift of flight. How long before she escaped? She wouldn’t fly from Theo’s grip unless she’d secured her niece. Hell, he would do the same for a kid. Derrick’s loss had taught him that. Most likely, Dora would wait for Melanie’s release. Once someone returned her niece, she’d jet out of their grip. On the other hand, would she grab her niece? Would she be able to accomplish flight while carrying Melanie?
His mind roiled. What if she was knocked out or too hurt to do so? How long could he wait? Did the Benandanti know she had the power of flight? Theo seemed oblivious to her abilities and the fact they were communicating telepathically. They probably thought, like most new witches, she’d not mastered her new powers. The attempt to use weeds to tangle Theo was a bust. The Benandanti must only suspect she levitated in her sleep. Flight was the final skill a witch achieved, never the first. He inhaled in the direction of her scent and exhaled like a fuming wounded bull. Why were they keeping her alive? He imagined a mock trial and execution, perhaps to instill fear in new humans that joined the Hounds of God pack.
He dug his claws into the rail, splintering it and snarled at the tigers below. The large predators retreated into the wood, the way house cats would from a snarling dog.
Stepping away from the broken railing, he knew it was his fault. He should have taken her to his territory first. Cautious footsteps sounded behind him. Dirk twisted around and growled. Josh and Marti stood, gaping at him. He took in a calming breath to withdraw his fangs and claws. “I just need to vent.”
Josh shook his head. “I’m not sure what kind of shit my sister is in, but we need to rescue her and my daughter.”
Dirk studied him. There was nothing feminine about this gay man. His voice was masculine. He was tall and athletic, dressed conservatively with a thick canvas shirt, dark pants and an insulated jacket. A chick magnet. “I swear, I’m going to get Dora and Melanie back.”
Josh shot him a pained gaze. “How?”
“Dora and I can communicate telepathically. She also has other gifts.”
Josh blew out a breath and ranted. “First it was zombies, then werewolves, now what? My sister is a witch.” He pointed a finger at him. “Mind you, no one knows my sister better than me. She was always the rational one.”
“She didn’t know she was a witch until I met her and it became obvious what she was.”
He narrowed his eyes in challenge. “Met her where?” His tone was scolding, that of a protective brother, the way Dirk was with Sierra.
Marti placed a hand on Josh’s shoulder. “Let him explain.”
Dirk paced. “We don’t have much time. My pack is probably on its way.” His instinct spurred him to find his mate, but guilt drove him to wait for the child’s safe return. His gut said they would keep her niece. But why if they had their witch?
Josh laughed with a furious edge. “Pack? More of them?” He snapped, “You’ve got to be joking.”
“I’m not.”
“What? Are we supposed to wait for canine search and rescue?”
Dirk lifted his clawed fist. The wolf decided. “No, there’s no way I’m going to sit and do nothing. I’ll shift and wait for her to communicate.”
Josh’s stress hormones accosted Dirk’s sensitive nose but he calmed a bit. “So, how did you run across my sister?”
Dirk sighed. “Let me give you the quick version.” He explained about the black ops underground lab and their imprisonment as lab rats. How he learned of the twenty-seven year curse and the truth behind it. He finished by telling them why she was an especially gifted witch.
Josh nodded. “My husband, Victor, suspected her maternal line had been murdered but we never really discussed it or the possible motives. But for that reason?” He scratched his head. “I’ve got to admit, the weeds that attempted to grab the asshole were weird, but now you’re saying she can fly?”
“She hasn’t been properly trained, but yeah, it’s saved her life a number of times. Truth is, most witches don’t achieve flight until they’re much older. At least that’s what I’ve heard. No doubt, Dora is a powerful witch.”
Josh met his eyes. “You love her.”
“Damn right.” He didn’t want to go into detail about the mating claim but this was as good a time as any to ask him for human permission to court. “Dora says you were the one who approved the men she dated.”
Josh gave him a hard look from head to feet. “I do like Dora’s biker chick look but honestly I always thought she’d end up with another doctor, not a…”
“Big bad wolf.”
“Precisely.” He quirked a smile. “Not that I have anything against werewolves with the exception of the bad ones, but sis is more of a cat person. After reading
Twilight
, she was Team Edward.”
Hell, even Sierra was pro-vampire
. Dirk stiffened and glared at him. “Before I go, I’m officially asking you for her hand in marriage. Not that your opinion matters to me, but it does to her. Blessing or not, she’s mine.”