Fire in the Smokies

Chapter Ten

Jaxon paced back and forth between the trees. He stayed as far away from the rear line of defense against the flames as he dared. It was so hot. The air was filled with falling soot even with the wind blowing in the opposite direction. And fuck all, his mate did this every day? How was he ever going to kiss her goodbye in the mornings knowing the danger she put herself in?

You’re going to find a way, buddy. There wasn’t a chance in hell her job was up for discussion. She was strong-willed, independent and determined. He might win a lot of battles in the bedroom, and fully intended to test that theory, but all bets were off when they crossed the threshold from his wing of the house to the rest of the world at large.

Jaxon had his hands full scanning the area for McKinney. The flames presented two problems he hadn’t counted on. One: his eyes were burning from peering all around the forest. And two: all he could smell was charred wood. The burnt trees would mask his ability to scent out his opponent. And he was less than pleased.

On top of everything else, Jaxon put a lot of effort into blocking himself from his mate. The last thing he wanted was to distract her from her job with his banter in her head. And she must have been concentrating awfully hard herself, because he hadn’t gotten a single uttered word from her either.

“How’s it going?” Serg startled him from his thoughts.

“No action. Any news from there?”

“Nope. The sheriff hasn’t seen or heard anything. Micah circled the area and didn’t smell a trace of McKinney.”

If anything, not knowing McKinney’s whereabouts was almost worse than knowing. It put Jaxon on edge. High alert. His ears stood on end. His eyes bore into the hazy horizon. Deep repeated breaths gave him no indication of danger.

With his head held high, Jaxon was totally unprepared for what happened next…

“That’s it you fucker, a little to the left…two more steps…riiight…there. Bingo!” Keeton lowered his binoculars and laughed. That jackass werewolf had played right into his plan.

In the blink of an eye, the wolf had gone from scanning the area with his supposedly sharp vision to flying up into the air. Now he swung between the trees in the simple animal trap McKinney had set up. Howling with anger, the wolf fought to free himself of the ropes that ensnared him.

“Sorry, big guy. You’ll never get out of that mess. You’re mine now.”

With a glance at the line of firefighters in the distance, Keeton considered the idea of toying with the woman on the western end before killing the wolf. It would serve that damn wolf right if he had to watch Keeton fuck his prize before succumbing to a long, painful death.

There wasn’t time for that right now, however. Too risky. The effort of luring the girl away from her job was beyond his grip right now. The objective was to kill the wolves, one by one, ridding himself of their incessant trespassing on his national forest. The woman was just a pesky side…snack.

Enough was enough already. If it hadn’t been for the flames burning so fucking hot so close to that cave yesterday, Keeton would have had a field day killing both the human and the wolf.

But that was yesterday. Today, Keeton had to concentrate and settle for the wolf. Perhaps later, when the woman was desperate and teary-eyed over the loss of her pet, he would sweep in and suck her dry too, just to enjoy the taste of fear.

With no particular haste, Keeton climbed down from his perch and ambled toward the wolf. Even without his binoculars, he could see the rustling in the trees as the fucker tried to free himself. His howls grew louder.

“Yelp all you want, dog. No one is coming for you,” he muttered to himself. Keeton was almost three hundred years old. His powers had advanced gradually over the years, but recently he’d worked hard to perfect one particular aptitude—blocking these beings from communicating telepathically.

Keeton hadn’t met anyone for over two hundred years who could speak into another being’s mind until these wolves came along. A few months ago he’d managed to block the older wolf’s ability to communicate with his mate when Keeton had kidnapped her. Unfortunately his efforts had been thwarted when Sergius had followed her scent.

This time, there was no one tracking the younger brother. Jaxon was his name. He’d heard it several times out of the sheriff’s mouth. Young Jaxon was on duty, so to speak, apparently guarding the female firefighter. She appeared to be his mate, judging by Jaxon’s stance of protectiveness guarding her in the forest. The wolf wouldn’t head out to the woods and stalk just any human for no good reason.

So the wolf hadn’t just entered the cave yesterday to protect the woman. He’d fucked her. Claimed her. Ha. That was a short relationship. Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted.

Keeton had intended to catch the wolves off guard with his arrival. However, it seemed they must have either spotted him or scented him yesterday. After Jaxon had emerged from the cave with his woman, everyone had been suspicious. Leery. Scanning constantly. Staying close to home.

Had they always acted that way, ever since Keeton had fled the area several months ago to regroup before returning with a plan of attack?

What worried McKinney was the idea that the amount of energy he’d expended with his new ability to block telecommunication even from a distance had perhaps rendered him lax in noticing his own surroundings. When had the wolves discovered him? And how had he not known it?

It didn’t matter now. What did matter was that Jaxon was squirming with all his might to escape the hanging rope trap amongst the trees, and no one appeared to be dashing to the rescue.

Keeton smiled. His blocking skills seemed to have improved beyond his imagination. He was still a great distance from the suspended wolf. Even the woman hadn’t flinched from her spot on the front line fighting the fire. So, Jaxon wasn’t able to send her any thoughts either.

Perfect.

Fuck. Goddamn it. Shit. Jaxon was pissed. Especially with himself for not having noticed the trap. He’d been so damn worried about scanning, he hadn’t paid any attention to where he was walking.

For a moment, he’d assumed the trap had been left by some random hunter, which would have been a very bad thing. Hunters had a tendency to kill wolves when they caught them. Of course, he did have the option of shifting into human form to avoid being shot, but then he’d have the difficulty of explaining why he’d been traipsing around in the forest, in the fall no less, butt naked.

No. This situation reeked of McKinney. Especially since all efforts on Jaxon’s part to communicate with his brothers had been to no avail. He was fucked.

And pissed.

Sergius had explained McKinney’s ability to block the brothers’ telepathy last spring, but none of them had expected something like this. Where was that bastard?

And more importantly, how was he managing to control the wolves from a distance?

Struggling in vain, Jaxon twisted around in every direction. He didn’t want that fucking bloodsucker to catch him off guard. The least he could do was notice which direction McKinney approached from. And he had little doubt by now it would happen.

Calm yourself, Jax. If you expend all your energy before the guy gets here, you’ll be useless defending yourself when it really counts.

Jaxon took deep breaths. He squirmed only enough to scan the area in every direction—repeatedly. Meanwhile, he tried again to connect with his brothers.

“Serg? Mic?” The last thing he wanted was to disturb his mate. He wouldn’t attempt to contact her unless the situation grew dire. She might lose concentration, and the woman was busy fighting an out-of-control forest fire.

Nothing. Nada. Not even a twitch to indicate he’d gotten through to either man. Time was of the essence. The longer he went without reaching his brothers and managed to stay alive, the greater the chance the two would grow concerned and come looking for him.

So now he just needed to distract McKinney when he made his presence known long enough to give Sergius and Micah a head start.

Suddenly, McKinney stepped out of the trees, a huge smirk on his face. “Well, well, well. What have we here? Did the big bad wolf fail to pay attention to his surroundings?”

Jaxon grit his teeth and narrowed his gaze. His stomach roiled as though he’d eaten something bad. Directly below stood Keeton McKinney, pacing nonchalantly under Jaxon and taunting him with his stance.

Jaxon had no intention of engaging the fucker any more than absolutely necessary for survival.

“Perfect. And kind of your sheriff to blab your location on the radio. Made my work so much easier.” The vamp smirked up at Jaxon. “Let’s see. How shall we play this out?” McKinney thumped his lips with one finger, pondering what to do next. As though the asshole hadn’t planned the entire day before he’d gotten out of bed—if he even slept.

The vampire strutted around beneath Jaxon in a figure eight, glancing up at his victim. Suddenly, without warning, he lurched out and swiped a long knife through the air. Jaxon hadn’t even seen the machete-type weapon until that split second.

With a howl of fear, Jaxon tumbled to the ground. Instinct kicked in, helping him right himself so he landed more or less on all four paws. His immediate concern was injury. A quick survey of all his limbs showed little damage to himself.

He was, however, still trapped by the sack-like arrangement of ropes. Intentionally. McKinney grabbed the long end of rope and tugged. “Shame that fall didn’t kill you. Now I’ll have to do the dirty work myself.” He turned and began to pull.

Jaxon growled and dug his paws into the ground. He was caught in the rope contraption, but that didn’t mean he had to be helpful where his abduction was concerned.

McKinney turned toward him. “Listen, little doggy. We can do this the hard way or the easy way. You choose.” He nodded down the hill toward the fire. “If you insist on fighting me on this, I’ll leave you here to rot in hell and watch while I head on down the hill and take that sexy little blonde you seem so fond of for myself. Which will it be?”

Jaxon froze. How dare this motherfucker threaten his mate?

“Do you think she’ll scream while I suck her dry? Or perhaps she might enjoy herself while I fondle her pussy. They usually do. It’s amazing how much pleasure I can give my victims with just a touch while they succumb to my alluring qualities. Many women actually moan in delight while I bring them to orgasm, never knowing that their life is slowly leaking out of their necks and into my mouth.”

Jaxon narrowed his gaze. Goddamn this bastard. He knew where to hit and how hard.

“Your choice. You’re dead either way. If you want to take the blonde down with you, that’s fine. In fact, I think I’ll sequester you in the cave I have arranged for your funeral and let you watch while I fuck that sweet little number right in front of you.”

Jaxon growled, the lowest snarl he’d ever heard coming from his mouth. He was well and truly screwed. The best he could hope for was to buy himself as much time as possible while McKinney dragged him to the unknown destination. Perhaps if he managed to waste enough time, his brothers would catch on to his plight.

Trouble was, the brothers had no set arrangement when it concerned checking in. It could be a while before one of them tried and failed to contact Jaxon. By then, it could be too late.

Jaxon ducked his head, a sign of submission. He had no choice. He wasn’t about to shift. It was way too cold out this morning for him to survive as a naked human. His best chance was to remain in wolf form as long as possible.

“That’s what I thought you’d choose. Good doggy.” McKinney cinched the saclike contraption tighter.

This was the closest Jaxon had ever been to the vampire. He was surprised how normal the guy looked. Granted, he seemed rather old world, but other than being a bit too pale for his obviously Native American heritage, he appeared average. Black jeans, black boots, black tank, black leather jacket. The man liked black.

McKinney cut a long length of extra rope from the trap with his knife. After he sheathed the long blade behind him, he stared Jaxon right in the eye.

Jaxon nearly cringed. The man’s eyes were even black. And eerie. Not normal.

“We’re heading down this incline now. If you cooperate, I might consider going lenient with my plans. If not…well…let’s just say, the more grief you cause me before you die, the more grief I’m going to cause that sweet blonde after your death. Got it?” He raised an eyebrow.

Jaxon seethed with anger. He’d never in his life been in such a predicament. His blood boiled. If he’d been in human form, he’d have been beet red. Baring his teeth, he gave McKinney a look he hoped conveyed what he thought of the vampire’s threats.

If that vampire so much as considered laying even one finger on Brianna, Jaxon would come back from the dead personally and slaughter the motherfucker.

“Now, now. There’s no need for all this posturing. I’m sure you’ll be plenty compliant.” McKinney jerked on the rope trap and tugged. Jaxon slipped onto his side, losing his footing.

He had no idea what might disable the vampire. Hell, he didn’t even know the man’s strength. The best course of action for everyone right now was to comply and let McKinney drag him. There’d be a hole in his plan somewhere along the line, and Jaxon would be able to get the upper hand.

As though dragging a pig to slaughter, McKinney tugged on the rope sack like Jaxon weighed nothing at all. Jaxon did nothing. Luckily he was tangled up inside the ropes enough to not be injured as McKinney pulled him down the slope toward the nearest cave entrance.

“That’s a good doggy.” McKinney laughed at his own joke.

Jaxon snarled.

It was about a quarter of a mile to the cave. In minutes they had entered. Without saying a word, the vampire tied Jaxon to an iron loop protruding from the wall of the main cavern.

Jaxon eyed his surroundings. This wasn’t an ordinary uninhabited cave. This was an entrance that had once been used for tour groups. The iron hoops were set in concrete along the main wall and would have probably served as a location to attach a chain link in order to direct the visitors.

“There. That should do it. Now be a good little doggy and stay put. I’ve got a few things to take care of. I’ll be right back.” McKinney headed deeper into the cave.

The first thing Jaxon noticed was the lack of light. He could see fine, but apparently McKinney could too. Damn.

Hastily, Jaxon worked on the knot McKinney had used to tie him to the wall. The vampire wasn’t very bright if he thought a slipknot was going to contain his guest. Not only was Jaxon a wolf with very sharp teeth, but he was also a human beneath all that fur. And humans were known to possess enough sense to untie a knot.

What an idiot.

Jaxon wasted no time. He quickly shifted. He was naked, but with his adrenaline pumping the way it was, his lack of clothing was hardly an issue. He barely even noticed the cold.

With nimble fingers, Jaxon untied the knot and escaped the ropes that were no longer secure around him now that he was human.

A noise deeper in the cave alerted him to McKinney’s impending return. Jaxon shifted back, hoping the popping of bones wouldn’t be noticed. Having left one end of the rope draped through the iron loop, he now nuzzled his way under the tangle of his presumed restraints.

Hopefully he didn’t appear to have moved in McKinney’s absence. All he needed was to wait for the right moment and then pounce. It was well past time to put an end to the vampire. He didn’t yet have a clear plan of action, but he resumed peering around the entrance to the cave for anything that might assist him.

Jagged rocks and crooked iron loops dotted the concrete wall. Even in the near darkness, Jaxon could make out the details of each nuance.

Bingo. Internally, Jaxon smiled when his gaze landed on just the thing that might save his life.

“Did you have fun pondering your fate while I was away?” McKinney stepped back out of the darkness with his arms full. “What? You didn’t think I lured you here unprepared did you?” He set down a large box and rummaged through the contents.

From Jaxon’s location, he couldn’t identify anything specific.

“It would be so much more fun if you shifted, little doggy. I mean we can’t even haggle over the method of your execution if you stay all furry. I was planning on giving you choices.”

Jaxon didn’t move a muscle. His heart beat like never before. His blood pumped through his veins so hard he could hear a ringing in his ears that nearly drowned out McKinney’s banter. His tail twitched with impatience. But he remained as still as possible.

“No?” McKinney stood, holding a stick of dynamite in his hand. “Damn. You’re no fun.” He tapped the red cylinder against one palm and stalked toward Jaxon. “I’m thinking an explosion would be excellent. Not only will you be deader than dead, but your little blond cunt will be forced to run up to this cave and investigate. I’ll be watching from the trees when she finds your limbs strewn around the ground in here.” He laughed, a low chortle that didn’t resemble anything close to humor.

“Had you chosen to shift, I had hoped to drain you a bit before blowing your lupine carcass to smithereens. I’ve been wondering what the blood of a shifter might taste like. Is it as sweet as a full human? Or richer?”

Why was this bastard so intent on killing him?

As though he’d read his mind, McKinney continued his speech. “I’ll be glad to pick you three assholes off and rid this mountain range of the likes of you. Do you know what a thorn in my side you wolves have been for the last ten years? And you can’t just leave well enough alone. No, you have to be fucking heroes every damn day, saving every damsel in distress that gets lost amongst the trees.

“I’m fucking sick and tired of it! Those lost hikers are part of my diet. Do you know how difficult it is to get a good meal with you three meddling in my sustenance?” While he rambled, he worked. He grabbed a handful of dynamite and arranged it in a circle around Jaxon.

This guy was not modern in the least. In fact, he’d used dynamite when he’d attempted to make off with Juliana in the summer. For a contemporary-looking guy, he sure didn’t seem too bright. Why not just carry a gun? Hell, if he wanted, he could shoot the wolves all in one fell swoop and be done.

Was it possible he didn’t believe a bullet would kill a wolf? Was it possible a bullet wouldn’t kill a vampire? Jaxon’s gaze followed McKinney’s every step, waiting for the right moment to attack. All he could do was pray his instincts were correct.

“This much dynamite will blow a hole in the side of this mountain so big, the only thing the authorities will find will be bits and pieces of your flesh. In fact, if you don’t shift, they won’t find anything but a dead animal. Even better.”

McKinney turned his back on Jaxon and meandered back toward the box. Now or never.

In less time than it took for the vampire to flinch, Jaxon dropped the tangle of ropes and leaped through the air, pouncing on his victim as he turned to face the wolf.

Jaxon was huge in wolf form, larger than the average red wolf. And he was smart. He just prayed he outwitted this vampire.

With surprise on his side, Jaxon battled for the upper hand.

McKinney blocked his face from the claws Jaxon unleashed upon him. McKinney stumbled backward. Just what Jaxon intended. He pressed on, scratching the vampire any place where flesh was exposed. He growled and drooled and snapped his teeth at McKinney, not with the intention of ripping him limb from limb, but rather hoping to press the vampire back a few feet until he reached his goal.

It worked. McKinney stepped back. Jaxon pawed forward, standing on his hind legs and slamming his huge paws into the vampire. The moment Jaxon had the bloodsucker where he wanted him, he pounced forward with all his strength, toppling McKinney and sending him careening backward—right over the exposed piece of rebar that stuck straight up out of the concrete.

The twisted piece of iron hit its intended target dead center, ramming through McKinney’s chest until it stuck out the other end.

McKinney’s eyes grew so wide Jaxon could see the whites filling with blood. He stumbled back and watched in stunned shock as his worst enemy succumbed to an agonizing death.

Blood. So much of it. Jaxon was surprised to see blood. He’d expected something out of fiction to occur, like maybe McKinney suddenly going up in smoke and vaporizing, or cracking in half as though he were made of concrete and disintegrating to ash.

Neither was the case. Instead the vampire appeared almost human. He gurgled blood out of his mouth. His chest heaved, pumping only a few more times before stopping entirely. At last, McKinney went limp, his body hanging awkwardly over the stake; all life drained from his corpse.

Jaxon stepped back. Shock kept him from moving for a moment. He stared at the body as though it would spring back into action. It had been too easy. He hadn’t thought the entire plan through beforehand, but now that he paused to consider the ramifications of his actions, he’d have to be honest with himself and admit he hadn’t really expected this result.

Dead. The bastard was fucking dead. Thank God.

Jaxon turned then and ran out of the cave. His brothers would be frantic by now. He bounded through the trees, branches and leaves slamming into him. He barely noticed. He just wanted to get as far away from the scene as possible, touch base with Serg and Mic, and then wrap himself around his mate and love her for as long as they both should live.

“Serg? Mic?” Jaxon kept running, his goal clear. Base camp. He needed to reach the base and talk to the sheriff.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Sergius’s voice was music to his ears. Even though he was pissed to high hell, Jaxon had never heard a more glorious noise ringing in his head. “We’ve been worried sick about you.”

“I was a little preoccupied. Where are you?” Jaxon kept running. It wasn’t far, but he was impatient.

“Base. You?”

“On my way. Don’t move. Can either of you see Brianna? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine and accounted for. Still battling the flames with the others,” Sergius stated.

It took less than a minute more for Jaxon to arrive back at the base. He circled behind the huge trucks where he’d left his pack and shifted. No doubt Sergius and Micah had seen him arrive, but he still couldn’t very well waltz in wolf form into the group of humans gathered at the base.

Just as Jaxon pulled on his jeans and reached for his sweatshirt, Sergius rounded the fire truck. He strode forward with his gaze narrowed. “What the fuck happened to you?” he barked.

“McKinney.”

Sergius stepped back, bonking into Juliana who approached from behind. He sucked in a breath. “Seriously?” He tugged his mate into his embrace and held her tight.

“Would I lie about that goddamn vampire? Yes, seriously.”

Micah came up behind. “Did you say you saw McKinney?”

“Saw him? Ha. I fucking killed him.”

“You what?” Sergius screeched the word before he glanced back and forth and reined in his temper. “Where? How?”

“Are you okay?” Micah stayed calmer, stepping toward Jaxon while he let his gaze roam him from head to toe.

“I’m fine. If you two would shut up for a second and let me catch my breath, I’ll explain.” Jaxon gasped for air. He’d run faster than at any other time in his life.

Sheriff Hardin came around the corner, no doubt following in the footsteps of Jaxon’s brothers and Juliana. The wolves held no secrets from Hardin. If anything, Jaxon needed the sheriff now more than his own brothers. He didn’t know a thing about what to do with a dead vampire body.

It wasn’t as though he could suggest they send a coroner out to collect the corpse. What if it didn’t present the way a normal human did? How would they explain a vampire in the forest? They didn’t need that kind of publicity. No, the four men were going to have to be secretive about whatever plan they decided upon.

“What happened?” Hardin asked. Concern etched across his forehead in the form of creases where his eyebrows drew together.

“McKinney trapped me. Apparently he overheard you on the radio and knew where I would be today, so he set a rope trap that yanked me into the air when I stepped in the center of it. I was in wolf form, of course. He then proceeded to threaten Brianna if I didn’t do as he said—”

Sergius cut him off. “Why didn’t you contact us?”

Jaxon exhaled and glared at his brother. “Do you think I had some sort of hero complex here, Serg? For God’s sake man, I tried. You might recall he managed to block you and Juliana from communicating last spring when he kidnapped her.”

“Right. Of course. Sorry.” Serg nodded toward Jaxon.

“Well, he’s expanded that capability. Now he managed to block me even from a great distance. As though he zoned in on me from across the forest and shielded me from communicating with you. It was freaky.” Jaxon leaned down and stepped into his boots.

“Anyway, the bastard had me cornered. I decided the best thing to do was to go along with him until I could see a better escape route.” Jaxon stood and buttoned his jeans. “He dragged me into a cave like a pet dog and then had the audacity to tie me to a loop of rebar in the wall. Seriously? Like I couldn’t just shift and untie the knot? I don’t know what he was thinking.

“He left for a few minutes to get his stash of supplies from the cave. The man had sight as good as ours by the way. He never used a flashlight or anything to see… So, while he was gone, I shifted, untied and resumed my position pretending to be tethered. McKinney waltzed back like he did this sort of thing every day and proceeded to arrange to blow up the cave with his famous stash of dynamite.

“As soon as he turned away, I pounced, driving him backward until he fell onto a long, protruding piece of rebar sticking straight up out of the concrete.”

Everyone gasped.

Hardin spoke next. “And this worked? He’s dead?”

“Deadest guy I’ve ever seen.”

“Was it like…normal?” Hardin paced, his hand running through his hair, no doubt contemplating how he was going to recover the body and handle the fallout.

“Perfectly natural. Blood gushing out. Pupils dilating. Heart stopping. Dead.” Jaxon’s chest heaved, relief washing over him. He glanced at Juliana and winced. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to be so graphic.” Clearing his throat, he continued, “Granted, I’m not suggesting you send an ambulance out to the cave. I can’t guarantee he’s completely humanlike. Perhaps the four of us should take care of it ourselves and keep the entire episode under wraps.”

“Seems like a good idea.” Hardin was visibly stressed. This was apparently not the way he pictured his day going. He lifted both arms in the air and dragged a path through his mussed hair over and over again. He turned from side to side as though searching for the answers lurking in between the forest leaves.

“Well, let’s go now. Get this over with. I for one am looking forward to a good night’s sleep without having to worry about that bastard sneaking up on me.” Sergius zipped up his jacket and stuck his hands in his pockets.

Jaxon knew he wasn’t cold, but more like chilled. To the bone.

The relief of disposing of McKinney once and for all would put them all at ease.

When the group rounded the trucks and headed back to the base area, there were very few people mingling around. The fire chief was leaning over a large map, pointing at various locations and discussing strategy with two other men.

Jaxon looked at the fire chief and thought about checking on Brianna. The chief was busy and Jaxon knew Brianna would be pissed if Jaxon made an issue over her with the chief. She’s fine. If any of the firefighters were in danger, people would be scrambling. Deep breath. He turned back and followed his group. But after everything, her safety niggled at him. “You okay?” he communicated to her.

“Fine. Get out of my head. I’m working. You promised.”

He smiled at her stubborn streak, relieved by her tone that told him she was indeed fine.

No one paid any attention as the five of them jumped in the sheriff’s cruiser and drove away.

They only needed to go a short distance. Taking the car was more for show than anything else. It would have looked awfully suspicious for the men to have simply walked away into the trees. It was hardly a day for hiking.

“How are things on the fire front?” Jaxon questioned. He sat in the front seat with Hardin.

“Progressing. It’s slow work. The weather hasn’t been cooperating so far, but the forecast calling for rain keeps increasing. I think we’re up to an eighty percent chance of showers this afternoon. That would be a welcome relief.” Thank God Hardin knew what was happening on that front. No matter what, it would be a relief if rain would put an end to Brianna’s work for today. Vampire or no vampire.

Hardin glanced over at Jaxon. He grinned as he stopped the car. “I’m happy for you, by the way.”

Jaxon flushed. “Let’s get this over with.”

Everyone climbed out of the cruiser and headed in the direction Jaxon indicated.

“See that tree? That’s where he set up the trap that landed me in this predicament.” No one asked why he hadn’t been paying enough attention not to notice a fucking rope trap. Jaxon was glad for that small miracle.

They followed his lead in silence until they reached the cave. “Here we are. It must’ve been used for tours many years ago. That would explain the iron loops set in the walls.” Jaxon stepped inside.

Hardin pulled out a flashlight and shined it all around the chamber.

“What the fuck?” Jaxon ran deeper into the entrance and spun in circles. His heart pounded. Sweat trickled across his brow.

Nothing.

No body. No vampire. No McKinney.

“Jaxon?” Sergius asked.

Juliana touched his arm. “Maybe it wasn’t this cave?”

“It was. He was right here.” Jaxon pointed at the rebar sticking out of the cement path. He leaned down to touch the iron stake he’d used to pierce the vampire. Sticky blood still dripped down the rusted metal. “How the fuck did that bastard get out of this mess?”

Everyone gathered closer to inspect. They each leaned over and checked the ground and the surrounding concrete. There was a lot of blood. But no body.

“Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.” Jaxon stood and kicked a large rock with his boot. He spun around. A pile of ropes lay in the corner where he’d been held captive. Several sticks of dynamite lay scattered across the ground where they’d been disheveled in the battle.

The box that contained who-knew-what was gone.

“Jesus Christ,” Jaxon screamed in frustration and stomped out of the cave.

Brianna…

As if that dynamite was in fact lit and attached to Jaxon’s tail, he wasted no time shifting and running toward the flames. With no regard whatsoever for his clothing, the shreds landed on the forest floor as they tore from his lupine frame.

If he thought he’d run fast before, that was nothing compared to the speed he excelled at this time. If that bastard laid even one finger on his mate…

The wind picked up as he ran. He could hear his brothers yelling his name, but he didn’t stop. He needed to get to her. Make sure she was safe.

Nothing else was acceptable.

And then he saw her. He came to a ridge, the same one he’d been using earlier to watch her, and spotted her frame below. She was still in the same position in the line of men, fighting against nature.

As if he planned it, the sky suddenly let loose. Huge drops of rain landed on Jaxon’s fur, soaking him through in no time.

He gasped for breath and watched as the firefighters looked up toward the sky and then resumed their actions. It was going to take a hell of a lot of rain to put out this fire. He prayed a torrential downpour was about to descend. How many more hours could he sit back and watch while his mate battled these flames?

Clear and present in his mind: a very angry vampire was now loose and roaming this forest. Without a doubt, first chance he got, he would nail Jaxon, his brothers, and any other human who just happened to have ever met them, to the wall—most likely literally, since that was the fate Jaxon assumed he’d just bestowed on McKinney.