LycanMate, page 10
"No!"
"Yes. And when I take you back to my lair, your sisters should already be there and you will do exactly as I say if you don't want them to die a gruesome death."
Stella nearly collapsed. Her sisters! The growls and whimpers grew louder from the back yard as Gunnar battled the four wolves and she squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to shift. She couldn't in either her Lycan or wolf form. Tyler started to cry and she stood firmly in front of him, blocking him from Marcellus's view.
"I won't let you do this," she choked out.
He laughed. "You can't stop me. I'm more powerful than Gunnar. Those two imbeciles I sent here the other night were nothing compared to my wolves fighting him now. Take a look, witch. He's already losing his battle."
She looked through the window and saw Gunnar surrounded by the four wolves. She saw blood on his fur and with each blow, he struggled to rise and fight back. Her eyes filled with tears. It couldn't end like this.
She squeezed her eyes, knowing what she had to do.
When she opened her eyes, she looked at Marcellus. "I'll come with you willingly if you let them both go." She had no choice. Gunnar, Tyler, her sisters. Their lives depended on her.
"No. They both die. You're not in any position to bargain with me."
She inched her hand slowly behind her. The sound of a loud, deafening roar in the back startled her. She felt him! She felt Gunnar! His thoughts, his emotions. She was stunned at the fierce love and protection assaulting her senses from him. Gunnar knew what she was going to do. The thrashing, growls, and whimpers grew louder in the back. Stunned, she glanced at the window and saw Gunnar tear a limb from a wolf. The wolf collapsed, whimpering in pain. The three other wolves circled him, and Gunnar lunged for the closest one. Her hand was almost on the knife.
She turned to Marcellus. "Let them go. This is your last chance."
The massive Lycan took a menacing step forward. "I'm not sure if I should be astounded by your courage or appalled by your ignorance. Look around you, witch. Your mate will soon be dead and you're a mere two day old fledgling. You cannot fight me."
Sadly, she shook her head. "No, but I can do something that will destroy your evil plan."
"And what is that?"
She swung the sharp knife to her throat and pursed her lips. "I can kill myself. Without me, you'll have nothing. You'll never be able to find the locations of Gunnar's kind."
The Lycan stiffened. "You bluff."
"Your heart is so black, you forgot what it's like to love," she said, pressing the knife onto her skin. She felt a pin prick on her skin, but wasn't scared. "And love can make you do crazy things."
"You're forgetting one thing," he said.
She pursed her lips. "No, I'm not. This knife is made of silver."
If they were all going to die, she was going to die with them. At the back of her mind, she realised the battle sounds from the backyard lessened, but she was too focused on what she had to do to pay any attention to it.
She felt Gunnar's love pouring into her heart and she squeezed her eyes. I love you, she whispered in her mind.
Noooo! he roared back telepathically.
The sounds in the backyard stopped and Gunnar crashed through the door in his Lycan form, bloodied with gashes on his chest as Stella was about to plunge the knife into her neck. With one taloned hand, he pushed the knife from her hand as he lunged forward toward Marcellus. The gun fired, smashing the door's windowpane to pieces.
Stella screamed and grabbed Tyler, dragging him to the floor.
She saw the gashes on Gunnar's skin disappear as he fought Marcellus. Silver could only kill werewolves, she thought. Then how did he kill the four wolves? A sickening feeling crept up her spine and she looked through the window. Gunnar had literally ripped the four wolves to shreds as she glanced queasily at the limbs scattered on the lawn. Worse, Marcellus's wolves were still alive, moving slightly, whimpering. She almost threw up.
She watched Gunnar and Marcellus smash each other against the walls. Pictures flew off their hinges and furniture splintered into a thousand pieces. They were locked in embrace, biting each other, digging their talons into the other's skin.
Stella saw the gun on the floor. She looked down at Tyler and took his little face in her hands.
"Close your eyes, baby. Stay here and don't move."
He was frightened to death, but she couldn't do anything about that now. Quickly, she crawled toward the gun. They were going to dismember each other, she thought wildly.
Gunnar fought with the strength of ten men and she knew he would die trying to protect her and Tyler. She grabbed the gun and pointed it at Marcellus. Dammit! They were moving too fast and she was afraid she was going to hit Gunnar.
With a ferocious growl, Gunnar grabbed Marcellus by the head and snapped his neck. Marcellus slumped to the ground, making weird gurgling noises at the back of his throat.
Stella screamed and watched the evil Lycan return to his human form. He was still alive. Gunnar took the gun from Stella's trembling hands and pointed it at Marcellus's heaving chest.
"Die, demon bastard. Die for trying to kill my family." And he shot him.
The cops arrived and took care of the bloody mess. Marcellus's body had already disintegrated and they shot the four wolves in the backyard. And the whole time Tyler was in Gunnar's room with a female werewolf cop who was consoling him.
Stella couldn't move from the chair she had taken at the kitchen table. She was horrified at the events she'd witnessed the past hour. She saw Gunnar return after he'd left to put on clothes. "Is it over?" she said.
"Yes. Your sisters are on their way. We picked them up and they should be here within a few hours."
"Did your people tell them anything?"
"No. I thought it best if you do that when they get here."
"Make sure Brenna doesn't touch anyone otherwise she'll know what's happened."
"I already took care of that."
"Oh, okay," she replied in a small voice.
He grimaced, taking her by the hands. "Come here."
She rose into his arms and he held her close to his chest. His heart beat strong and she felt safe and secure in his arms. "How did you know?" she whispered. "How did we speak with our minds?"
"We will always be one, Stella. I will always sense you and you will sense me. That is the way of soul mates."
She tightened her hold on him. "Poor Tyler. What a thing for a child to see."
"Veronica and I never hid our secret from him. One day, when he's older, he will make his own decision if he wants to be like you and I."
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you. I'm so sorry I couldn't shift."
"You will learn it all in time."
She looked up into his handsome face and smiled brokenly. "My inn is destroyed. I'm going to have to close it for renovations."
His mouth quirked. "You will come and live with me and we'll return when you want to reopen it."
She'd found her perfect mate. Gunnar was a man who feared nothing, who was brave. A man who loved her. "Gunnar, there's something I have to tell you," she said slowly.
"Yes, my love?" he said, kissing her forehead.
"Since you turned me, I feel things in my body I never felt before. Things I shouldn't feel. I don't know how it's possible because it's too soon to tell, but I think…I think I'm pregnant."
He smiled at her and gathered her closer. "I know."
About the Author
Anastasia Maltezos enjoys reading and writing all romance genres, whether it's a sweet contemporary or a dark paranormal. Her heroes vary from a high-powered corporate mogul falling in love with the girl next door, or a sexy vampire searching for his lost love.
Love blooms in all forms.
Anastasia Maltezos, LycanMate
