Alexandra's Legacy

Chapter Seventeen

Joshua didn’t think as he launched himself into the air. He didn’t have to. Instinct had taken over. He was in the fight of his life. He could allow no one or nothing to harm Alex.

He plunged into his opponent’s side, taking him to the ground in a flurry of fur and snapping jaws. Sinking his teeth into the other beast’s neck, he held on.

Alex cried out and he swiveled his head toward her in time to see the other wolf lunge at her. He flung his opponent away and leapt at Alex, knocking her out of the way. Taking the full impact of the wolf on himself, he barely avoided being bitten before nimbly gaining his feet.

Positioning himself in front of Alex, he faced off against his two opponents. The first one was slowly staggering back to its feet, bloodlust in its eyes. The second was pacing to the side, trying to go around him. He backed up, all the while keeping his gaze on the other two wolves. He herded Alex back toward the base of a large oak tree. He’d left his clothing behind it when he’d shifted. If he could get her back there she would be able to find his hunting knife. He didn’t know how much ammunition was left in the handgun, but it wouldn’t be much help against werewolves. The silver-coated knife would be much more effective in slowing them down.

He bared his teeth, emitting a low, powerful growl as his opponents shifted closer. Both bounty hunters were dead. He’d killed one and Alex had shot the other. He’d smelled the other carcass and knew she’d also managed to kill a werewolf. Most women would be cowering or screaming. His woman looked pissed off as she continued to scout around for a weapon.

He’d killed two more werewolves in the woods, ones he hadn’t recognized. He’d also taken a few hits. These wolves, unlike the ones from the city, were seasoned warriors and no easy target. They’d gotten in their share of blows and he was bleeding from several different places along his sides. His shoulder was also bleeding again from the crossbow arrow. Because it had been silver-tipped, the wound would take longer to heal. Thankfully, the damage to the bone itself had fused and healed during his transformation to his wolf form.

The two wolves before him were gathering themselves to attack. He could sense the anticipation in the air, along with the stench of blood, fear and excitement. These wolves didn’t want to mate with Alex. They wanted to kill her. That’s why they had joined forces with the bounty hunters. These wolves were obviously part of the extreme packs who didn’t want to water down the blood of the species with half-breeds.

Well, too bad for them. They weren’t getting anywhere near Alex.

He’d managed to push her back to the base of the tree. Hopefully, she’d find his belongings. Not that it truly mattered. He planned on protecting her. But he knew she’d feel more secure if she had a weapon.

He could hear her deep breathing. Smell the stink of fear and blood that mingled with her sweat. He longed to coddle her, to take her away from all this death. He wanted to strip her naked and bathe away the stench that now coated them both. His body responded immediately to thoughts of her naked. His muscles flexed, rippling beneath his fur coat.

He was truly losing his focus if all he could think about was Alex being naked when he was faced with two vicious opponents. Shutting off his thoughts, he turned all his attention to the beasts in front of him.

Deciding the best defense was offense, he launched himself without warning. He landed on top of the larger of the two and sank his fangs deep, drawing blood, tearing flesh. He immediately leapt off the wolf’s back, kicking it backward in the process, as he jumped at the other one, bringing it down as it moved toward Alex.

In a blur of motion, he jumped from one opponent to the other, always inflicting some damage. He knew he couldn’t kill either of them like this. That wasn’t his goal. He planned to weaken them first and then move in for the final strike.

The smaller of the two brown wolves cut away suddenly, racing toward the safety of the woods. Joshua growled in fury. He knew he couldn’t allow the wolf to escape and bring back reinforcements, but he didn’t really have any choice. There was no way he could leave Alex unprotected.

Channeling his rage, he jumped at the remaining large wolf. They rolled to the ground, churning up the dirt as they growled and snapped and clawed at one another. Joshua knew his opponent was weak from the prolonged battle. He heaved himself on top of the wolf, clamping down hard on his neck.

This time he didn’t let go. Bones crunched beneath his powerful jaws.

A few minutes later, he dropped the deadweight, flinging it away in disgust. He stood there, lungs heaving, as blood dripped down his flanks.

Alex faced him bravely, hunting knife in hand. He’d known that she’d find it. Her face was stark white, but her hand was steady. As he trotted toward her, she began to tremble. “Oh, God,” she muttered as she sank to the ground, dropped the knife and buried her face in her hands.

Worried, he hurried up to her and licked the side of her face. They didn’t have time to waste. He had no way of knowing how close reinforcements were. There could be dozens more hunters and werewolves searching for them.

He wanted to change back into his human form, but he knew he couldn’t expend that much energy. Not until they were safe. He was more powerful in his animal form, his senses keener and sharper. And at the moment, that was more important than appearing human for her. Alex had to accept him for what he was.

Opening his muzzle, he carefully took one of her hands into his mouth and tugged gently. She raised her head, swiping at the sweat on her brow and the tears that clouded her eyes.

He tugged again.

“What?”

He backed up, pulling at her.

“All right. All right,” she groused. “Hold your horses.” She clambered to her feet and picked up his hunting knife.

He dropped her hand and padded to the side of the tree and pawed at his clothing.

“I suppose you want me to take that.”

He nodded and she groaned. “I’m talking to a wolf. Do you have any idea how weird this is for me?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but kept on muttering to herself as she grabbed the handgun, checked the safety and stuffed it in the waistband of her jeans. She jammed the hunting knife back in its sheath and shoved it in her coat pocket before gathering up his clothing and boots.

“I need to find my Glock and my knives.” She started to go around him, but he moved in front of her, blocking her path. There was no time. The wolf that had escaped was moving fast. There was no way of knowing how close the other members of his group were. There would be more of them. Of that, Joshua had no doubt. They had to move. Now.

“I guess that’s a no.”

Bitterness filled him. He wished they were mated. If they had completed the mating ritual, if he had claimed her for his own as his wolf was demanding, she’d have been able to hear his thoughts and to communicate with him mentally. That would have been a huge advantage when he’d been fighting the others. He’d have known what was happening to her at all times. When the shots had rung out, his heart had almost stopped. It was only when he’d heard the return fire that he’d managed to start breathing again.

Sometimes honor was a bitch.

They’d talk about this later. The important thing now was that they needed a safe place to hole up for the night. Their enemies were still searching for them, the sun was sinking and total darkness wasn’t too far away.

Alex was holding his clothing in her arms, her body swaying with fatigue. He hated the fact she couldn’t rest, but since there was nothing he could do about it now, he put it out of his mind as he nudged her body and then padded into the woods. He paused and glanced over his shoulder. Alex was staring at him.

“We’re just going to leave them, I guess.” She stared down at the carcasses that were flung carelessly across the dirt. She sighed and swallowed hard. He stood motionless, watching her gather her strength once again. Pride filled him when she shook herself, tilted her chin upward and stalked toward him. She never looked back as he led her deeper into the forest.

There was a cave not too far from here that would afford them some safety. Joshua recognized the area. He’d scouted this land when he’d been little more than a boy. Now, he was glad he had. Being familiar with it would give them an edge. And right now they could use any advantage they could get.

Alex stumbled behind the gigantic black wolf. Joshua! It was amazing to her, yet all too real that this magnificent predator was the same man who’d brought her a T-shirt because she needed clean clothing and who’d stopped and bought her a coffee earlier today for no other reason than because he’d known she’d wanted one.

She’d seen more blood and death this afternoon than she had in her entire lifetime. And she’d kill again if she had to. Staring down at her hands, she was unable to believe that they weren’t coated in blood. Sure, they were stained from where she’d bandaged Joshua’s injury, and from where she’d struggled to shove the dead werewolf off her, but that was it.

Somehow, she felt as if there should be more. She knew she’d done what she’d had to do to protect herself and Joshua, but still, it wasn’t easy.

The new life that had been thrust upon her was certainly more violent than the one she had left behind, and that was saying something considering where she’d grown up.

Swiping the back of her hand over her forehead, she then wiped it over the leg of her jeans. She was exhausted. Her legs and feet had long passed the burning-muscle stage and were almost completely numb. Her arm ached from carrying Joshua’s clothing. It wasn’t a large bundle, but it seemed as if she’d been lugging it around forever.

Realistically, she knew it had probably only been for two hours, maybe less, but it was hard going. There were no trails and she was constantly having to scramble over fallen trees and push her way through thick brush. She almost resented how easily Joshua maneuvered through the woods in his wolf form. She wondered what it must feel like to be that strong and agile. She guessed she’d eventually find out.

If she lived long enough.

She bit her lip to keep from asking to stop. There was no way she’d give in to weakness. Besides which, she knew they couldn’t stop. One of the wolves had gotten away and that could only mean one thing. There would be even more enemies on their trail.

When Joshua finally stopped at the base of a rather large hill, she almost cried with relief. Then she almost cried in agony when he started up the steep incline. She sucked in a deep breath and stared at the rocky hill. She could do this. There was no other choice.

Sighing, she put one foot in front of the other, being very careful where she placed her boot. As tired as she was, it wouldn’t take much for her to lose her focus and stumble. She couldn’t afford a sprained ankle or something worse at this point.

She concentrated on her breathing, which was becoming more labored with each step. Her sweat-stained clothes were sticking to her and she felt curiously detached from her body. One step. Then another. There was nothing else she had to think about. Nothing else she had to do. She trusted Joshua to stay alert.

She stumbled when she reached the top. Flinging out her hand, she managed to keep from ending up facedown in the dirt, but it was close. Her hand skidded out from beneath her and Joshua’s clothing went flying. She rested there on her hands and knees, her head bent as she sucked some air into her starving lungs. It hadn’t been a long climb, but it had taken what little energy she’d had in reserve.

Warm fur brushed against her cheek and she managed to raise her head. She found herself peering into concerned brown eyes. “I’m okay.” Lifting one of her hands out of the dirt, she stroked it over his side. She frowned when her fingers encountered something wet and sticky. Drawing back her hand, she stared down, horrified by the blood that dripped from the tips of her fingers. “You’re hurt!”

She scrambled to her feet, her fatigue washed away in a rush of adrenaline and concern. His black fur and her exhaustion had hid the fact that he was badly injured. The wolf backed away from her and if an animal could shrug, then this one did. The total unconcern for the state of his health was so familiar she wanted to scream.

“Oh yeah. You just go ahead and bleed to death. See if I care.” Stomping past him, she continued to beat a path through the woods. She had no idea where she was going, but what did it matter? “You get yourself killed and they’ll eventually find my petrified bones at some point I suppose.” She knew her anger was unreasonable, but she wasn’t feeling really reasonable after everything she’d been through the past few days.

Her hand was captured in the wolf’s strong jaw again, and when she tried to pull away, he clamped down tighter. Not hurting her, but letting her know who was in charge of this expedition. She glared down at the huge beast. “So which way are we going?”

He tugged her back in the opposite direction from which she’d been traveling. “It figures,” she muttered. Resigned, she tromped after him, stopping to scoop up his now dirty clothes as she went. Her adrenaline rush was giving her a much-needed boost. She knew she was on borrowed time though. When she crashed this time, there would be no going on until she rested. She could only hope they were getting closer to whatever destination Joshua had in mind.

The wolf stopped at the top of the path and disappeared behind some heavy brush. She paused when she reached the spot she’d last seen him and really looked around her. Being high up, she had a good view of the area. It was strange and unsettling for a city girl like herself to see nothing but forest as far as the eye could see. She was well and truly out of her element.

Although he didn’t make a sound, she knew when Joshua came up beside her. She could feel the sheer power of his presence like a ripple in the air. “I’m not sure I can get used to all this nature.”

Ignoring her, he headed off again. Her ears perked up a couple of minutes later. If she wasn’t mistaken, she was hearing water. Cool, wet, running water. Her throat burned and her skin itched, especially her arm. She was going to drink her fill and then strip off her clothing and wash every inch of herself. She smelled rank and felt worse.

But Joshua stopped before they reached the water. It was so tantalizingly close she was tempted to go on alone. Then she remembered his injuries and began to worry. Just because he acted as if everything was okay, didn’t mean it was.

He led her in between two large rocks and she was shocked to find there was actually a small cave nestled behind them. She assumed there were no other critters inhabiting the dwelling at the moment, but she still waited just outside until he poked his large furry head outside and peered questioningly at her.

“I’m assuming there are no surprises in there? No furry creatures, besides yourself that is?” There it was again, that wolfish grin. She’d almost swear he was laughing at her. “Well, you won’t be laughing if I find a mouse or a spider or anything,” she warned as she stomped past him.

The cave wasn’t actually a cave. More like an indentation. It only went back about ten feet and was about fifteen feet wide. And thankfully, from what she could see in the fading light that shone in from between the two large rocks, there didn’t seem to be any other inhabitants. It was dry and comfortable.

Laying Joshua’s clothing on the ground, she changed her mind at the last second and grabbed his T-shirt. That would do for a towel. She was having a bath before she was doing anything else. He was blocking the entrance now and she put her hands on her hips and glared down at him. “I’m having a bath and unless you want your furry butt kicked, I suggest you get out of my way.”

She’d had enough of alpha-type men in the past thirty-six hours. They either wanted to kill her or mate with her, with the exception of her father and Joshua, who wanted to protect her. Either way, she’d had enough. Apparently Joshua must have thought so too because he nodded and led the way out of the cave and headed toward the sound of the water.

The stream wasn’t far from the cave at all, for which she was grateful. Her poor feet couldn’t take much more abuse today. Falling to her knees in the moist dirt that lined the bank, she stuck her face right in the water. The cool wetness soothed her skin. She yanked her head back and took a deep breath before lowering it again. This time it was to drink.

It was awkward to try to slurp up water, but she didn’t stop until she’d had her fill. When she raised her head, Joshua was sitting beside her, watching her with that wolfish grin in place. Obviously he’d seen her make a fool of herself while she was drinking. He’d apparently had no such problems in his animal form. And why would he. Drinking from a running stream would be natural to a wolf.

He stared at her, his eyes going even darker. Lowering his head, he heaved a sigh before stretching his neck upward.

She sank back on her heels and waited, knowing what was coming. The first crack took her by surprise. It was strange and frightening to watch him change. Yet she couldn’t make herself look away. This was Joshua, the man she loved. And for better or for worse, this was now her life, her fate.

Bones lengthened, reforming into familiar limbs as hair began to disappear. His jaw cracked, shortened and reset itself in a familiar line. The hair on his face receded until there was nothing but the black slashes of his brows and heavy stubble on his jaw. His shaggy hair hung to his shoulders. It took only seconds for him to transform from beast to man. Only those deep, fathomless eyes were the same.

She sat there in the dirt, amazed and horrified.

It was… She didn’t know what it was. Incredible. Unbelievable. Enthralling. If she hadn’t seen it with her own two eyes, she never would have believed it. Her heart was pounding and her palms were sweating, which was stupid. This was Joshua. She knew him and certainly wasn’t afraid of him.

He slumped forward and then pushed himself upright again. That’s when she saw the wounds. His shoulder was bleeding again and there were several large gashes opened up on both his sides.

“You’re hurt.” Although she’d seen the blood earlier, she hadn’t been able to see just how badly he’d been injured. Scrambling closer, she all but crawled through the dirt to reach him.

“It’s nothing.” His voice was rough. His eyes steady.

“It’s not nothing. Of all the lame-brained idiotic things…” Her tirade trailed off as she examined his injuries, trying to be as gentle as possible. “We should have stopped earlier so I could have taken care of this for you.”

He seemed more bemused than angry as she trailed her fingers over his ribs checking for broken bones. “I didn’t have enough energy to change and still get us here. In my wolf form I have more strength and my senses are keener. I needed to be alert.”

She supposed he was right. She had no idea how hard it must be on a body to go through such a transformation, but having just witnessed it, she had a feeling it had to take something out of a person, especially if they were already injured. “Come over by the water so I can clean these.”

He followed her, his movements fluid as he settled on a flat rock that rested along the bank of the cheerful little stream. She plucked the hunting knife from the sheath and held up his shirt. He stayed her motions, his hand wrapping around her wrist. “If you cut that, I’ll only have my jeans to wear.” It was then she remembered he’d sacrificed his coat earlier to throw the hunters off their trail.

“I have to have something to wrap around your arm and you can wear the leather jacket. It’s my father’s so it should fit you.”

He shook his head. “Then you’d have nothing to wear.”

He had a point there, but she shook her head bravely. “I have my bra. It’s enough.”

His fingers stroked the back of her wrist, soothing the skin over her pounding pulse. “It’s a fairly long T-shirt. Cut a few strips off the bottom.”

Nodding, she did as he’d instructed and laid the rest of the shirt and the knife to one side. She dipped one of the strips into the water, wrung it out and began to clean his wounds. She flinched several times, but Joshua never moved a muscle.

And it had to hurt. The long gouges, obviously from the other wolves’ claws, were jagged, but thankfully, upon closer examination, not deep. They had almost stopped bleeding. She knew werewolves healed quickly, but this was incredible. Still, she wasn’t taking any chances. Cleaning each wound carefully, she made sure all the dirt had been removed from the area.

She tried her best to ignore the fact that his thick muscles rippled beneath her fingers as she stroked the thin piece of cloth over them. His flesh was deeply tanned and very appealing. She swallowed, not daring to look any lower than his waist.

Wringing out the cloth again, she focused on his shoulder. That wound was seeping blood once again. She did her best to wash it clean before making two pads out of one of the other strips of cloth. She picked up the final strip and wrapped it around the pads to hold them in place. She supposed he’d lost the original bandage when he’d shapeshifted into his wolf form.

She sat back on her heels, swiped her hand over her forehead and was immediately reminded of her own grungy state. “That will have to do until we get somewhere that has some real medical supplies.”

Joshua shrugged. “I’ve had much worse. I’ll be fine in a few days.”

“You may be fine, but I might not be.” Alex staggered to her feet and tossed the wet piece of cloth down onto a rock. “I need a bath.” Ignoring his blatant stare, she eased the leather jacket down her arms. The darn thing was heavy and her arm still stung from earlier. She sure as heck hoped she didn’t have a splinter or something sticking out of her arm.

Joshua surged to his feet, swearing pungently as he stalked toward her. The leather jacket fell to her feet, forgotten in the face of his anger.

“What’s wrong?”

He looked wild, his body practically vibrating with anger. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” he growled menacingly. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were shot?”