Forged Redemption, page 5
part #5 of Tribal Spirits Series
Ally loped around the side, teeth bared. She lashed out, but the wolf whipped away faster, even with the scraping drag to its foot. A nauseating rotten eggs smell surrounded the beast, making her nose sting. Her jaw snagged on fur right when it pivoted out of the way again. The beast loomed compared to the wolf shifters they sparred with, the massive size part of the mutation.
Drew launched around the other side, his claws extended. He raked out. The tips scraped against stone and fur alike, and the beast let out a low growl that vibrated in the air between them. Before Ally could lunge in, the wolf whipped toward her, leaping into the offensive.
She tried to dart away, too late. The beast crashed overtop her, and the force knocked the breath from her lungs. She thrashed beneath the crushing weight of the creature. Ally lashed out with her claws, scoring red streaks along the beast’s legs. Not like the creature budged. She slashed her tips against the patches of stone, which caused a high-pitched screech that made her wince. The wolf snapped and snarled, a glob of drool dropping into her fur. The milky eyes looked like they’d been plucked off a dead fish.
A thud reverberated over her. Drew rammed headfirst into the beast’s side.
Ally seized upon the slight shift in weight and threw her body into a roll. She tumbled past the wolf. It settled on four paws, the claws slamming to hit the earth instead of her.
She righted herself in a fluid motion, and the wolf whipped toward her again. Drew wouldn’t give up. He plunged his fangs into the beast’s flank right when it jerked forward to lunge for her. The moment the creature surged, Drew sank his teeth in deeper.
Ally charged from the opposite side, her forehead lowered.
It turned to try to shake Drew, but she slammed her thick skull against the wolf’s flank.
Even as the creature staggered, Drew kept it pinned. Ally lunged in, ignoring the blast of heat from its gaping maw and the acrid stench that made her eyes water. The creature’s teeth scraped against her flank when she slammed headfirst into it again. Pain prickled through her as blood welled to the surface, but she rammed harder. Stone scraped against her fur, her skin, the abrasion stinging.
A garbled growl came from the beast’s throat, and its muzzle slammed against her side. The force of the blow sent her staggering back. Drew let go of the beast’s backside, sailing overtop. He landed with a thud, piercing his claws past skin on both sides. The mutant wolf bucked, trying to shake Drew off, but he was a stubborn bastard.
Ally lunged forward, her teeth bared. She sank her fangs into the throat and they scraped against more stone. One of the paws knocked her square in the chest. She ignored the hitch in her breath and tried for another bite. This time the mutant dug its claws in past skin. Her shoulder screamed in response, but Ally refused to give up.
This beast needed to die, before it alerted the others.
She nipped out again, and her fangs found purchase in the skin. Ally clenched her jaw tight onto the bit and tugged. Copper filled her mouth when she tore a piece of flesh.
Drew sank his teeth into the wolf’s ear and twisted his head to the side, dragging the ear clean off with an audible rip. A garbled mix between a whine and a growl rumbled from the mutant’s chest, echoing through the clearing.
Ally reared back to ram into it again, but the beast slammed her with the stony foot. The force sent her stumbling. In a deft movement, the creature bucked, vaulting Drew overhead. He flew through the air but somehow landed on all fours. The wolf bled from multiple gashes and its breaths came out ragged. The mutant charged for her, a fury in its limbs fueled by desperation.
Ally crouched low to the ground. She hadn’t missed the tilt of Drew’s head or how he pawed the earth, ready to launch.
They’d worked as a team time and time again. Despite their countless clashes, when in their mountain lion forms, they’d always been united.
The milky eyes leveled on her, the muzzle dripping. The wolf neared, closer and closer.
Ally’s haunches tensed as she prepared herself. The creature’s muzzle opened, revealing sickly gray teeth stained by crimson and brown. The heat from its breath blasted her.
Yet she waited.
Feet away, the beast lunged.
Ally crouched so low she’d almost flattened herself to the ground.
It sailed toward her open flank, teeth bared. Right as the beast descended, she threw her entire weight forward. She collided with the wolf, the resounding smack echoing through the air and reverberating through her bones. Drew hadn’t been sitting idle.
He’d crept around the side, and once they smashed together, he lunged in.
He sank his teeth around the creature’s neck from the left. He tore the bit of exposed flesh amidst the stone coating the beast, and the wet slap echoed in the air. Blood sprayed from the spot, and the beast staggered away, thrashing back and forth. Ally shook herself off even though her muscles ached after the way she’d hurled her body against a rock wall. Drew crouched, his muzzle stained in crimson.
Together, they circled the wolf. The blood poured from the gashes at this point, puddles forming by the beast’s feet. It took one shaky step forward, then another.
The beast swayed and a moment later crashed to the ground.
Ally’s flank heaved, and the cuts and slices she’d earned began to sting in the wake of the immediate threat. Her eyes met Drew’s, and he dipped his muzzle toward the creature. They would have to find somewhere to hide the body.
* * * *
Ally lounged on the bed they were somehow supposed to share without jumping each other’s bones. Though, she couldn’t fast forget how Drew had backed away last night or the anguish in his tone. He’d let her shower off the blood and dirt first, and the second she’d cleaned out her scratches, they’d begun to shrink. By the morning, most of them would be healed.
The cabin in World’s End possessed a quaint charm similar to that of the cabins scattered around Ricketts Glen. Hickory panels surrounded her from the walls to the floors and ceiling. The rich scent of the wood mingled with the encroaching loam from the surrounding earth, the sap from the trees and the lemon polish that must’ve been used once in a while to gussy the place up. The cabin had the basics—a fridge, a kitchenette and a separate bathroom, but yet again they were left with a single bed.
The sound of the shower outside reminded her of rain, which brought on too many memories. Most people loved to live in the sunlight, but Ally preferred her rainy days—they were more real, more visceral than any trickery of the golden rays. She just needed to hold strong one more day, maybe two. Once she and Drew weren’t in this close proximity any longer, her mountain lion wouldn’t be ramming inside her chest like she was going insane. Maybe then, her heart wouldn’t feel like it tore in two with every glance to him.
Her phone buzzed with more messages from Dax and the others back at Silver Springs, one of the only spots she’d gotten cell service since they’d driven up. Apparently, some of the refugees had reached Ricketts Glen and were settling in. Eli, the wolf pup Drew had dragged from the cabin, was asking for him. Ally’s chest had squeezed tight at the message, and she forgot to breathe. Every time she witnessed how good he was with kids and every time she saw his tenderness, the sight threatened to unmake her a little bit more.
The shower shut off, and after a bit of rustling, the cabin door creaked open. Drew strolled out in nothing but a towel. Ally restrained her groan. Not fucking fair.
The fabric hung low on his hips, revealing those toned abs, the defined ‘v’ that traveled straight down into tempting territory, and all his delicious tan skin. Her tongue traced her lips on instinct. His blond hair was slicked back, still wet, and when he glanced up to meet her eyes, the brief flash of surprise was the biggest turn-on. Like he didn’t realize how much he made her hot.
Seconds later, a smirk stole to his lips. “Eyes up here, Car Crash. I’m not a haunch of meat.”
Parroting her own words at her. Cute. Ally rolled her eyes and swung her legs over the end of the bed. “Don’t strain yourself too hard, coming up with all that original content.”
“I’m a fan of the classics,” he said, sliding the towel off his hips. He grabbed a pair of sweats from his pack. Like Ally could look away when he was bending low like that. His muscles moved in perfect symmetry, and she got an eyeful of his back flexing, and an ass so perfect it might as well be a Michelangelo. With the way he got her core pulsing, she might just steal into the outside shower and masturbate the tension away.
He turned around, sweatpants hanging low on his hips, and strode toward her. Ally opened her legs, leaning back with her elbows digging into the mattress. Drew stopped right in front of her, his blue eyes scorching as his stare traveled up and down. She had thrown on a pair of jogging shorts and a heather-gray tee to crash out in, but the way he looked at her made her more aware of every ounce of skin showing.
Drew crooked an eyebrow. “You aren’t going to make space for me on the bed?” His tone teased, and Ally warred between the urge to punch him in the face or tug down those pants and wrap her lips around his cock. The thought alone had her tilting her head back, her breaths coming out a little more uneven. He nudged at her knee, even though his gaze never departed from hers.
She wanted his hands on her hips and his mouth on hers, but she couldn’t bear a repeat of last night. Ally swung her legs over and crawled up the bed to the side she’d staked out. She slipped under the sheets and flipped onto her side. If she didn’t get asleep and soon, she was liable to cause trouble.
Drew’s heavy tread sounded as the floorboards creaked, and a moment later the main lamp shut off, casting the room into darkness.
“So, tomorrow we narrow down the entrance for Mackey’s lair?” Ally said, needing to pull her thoughts to something other than the warm body settling into bed beside her. Drew leaned in, and like last night, he slid his hand to her shoulder, as if asking permission. Ally bit her lip and shifted his way in the bed, closing the space between them. He slid his arm around her waist, the heavy weight making her feel safe in a way she had forgotten existed.
“Yeah, we know the general radius, which will make tracking his lair a hell of a lot easier.” His hot breath on the back of her neck made her shiver. Everything about the way they lay together made her hurt, like a bruise refusing to heal. Yet she couldn’t pull away from him if she tried.
“The pack from yesterday made it to Ricketts Glen,” she murmured. “Eli was asking for you.” She didn’t know why she said those words. Maybe because he needed to know he’d done some good, or maybe because she liked to bleed.
Drew’s grip around her tightened, and their silence swam with the memories they both tried to bury. Every breath she took, Ally swallowed more and more glass, the pain in her chest growing.
“He was a sweet kid who didn’t deserve that sort of hell,” Drew murmured against her neck. His words made her want to sob, for him, for…
“Do you ever wonder?” he continued, his voice a hoarse scrape. “What ours would’ve been like?”
Even after two years had passed, Ally couldn’t voice the answer out loud. The words stuck in her throat, and the chasm in her chest throbbed anew. Drew simply hugged her tight to him, because he understood.
Every damn day.
Chapter Six
Drew should’ve gotten up an hour ago. He tended to wake with the sun and this day wasn’t any exception—he’d blinked awake once the first citrine rays streamed through the window. However, every second in bed with Ally offered an escape, like he’d traveled back in time. Like he’d never joined the Landsliders and lost her.
She’d curled toward him in the middle of the night and nestled against his chest. Drew had been powerless to resist. He’d tugged her close and pressed his lips to her tousled strands, the spun honey gold that always smelled as sweet. He’d memorized her features a thousand times, the thick fringe of lashes, those pouty lips twisted in a smirk and the slender slope of her neck. Except the other times, they’d been together—they’d shared something.
Now he could only grasp at these moments, knowing they would never be more, even if Ally was the only woman he could imagine forever with. Even if being apart felt like he’d lost an arm, a leg, the phantom ache ever present. Even if she was his mate.
Ally’s lashes fluttered, and she began to stir, and Drew forced himself to let her go. Her harsh words never bothered him—she’d always been as blunt as a baseball bat—but if she recoiled, if she pulled away from him in fear or disgust, he’d break. He floated through this life as a ghost of the former man he used to be, haunted by all the things he’d sacrificed when his father had forced him to join the Landsliders.
He had no pack to call his own. His remaining family hated him, and even his mate didn’t want him. Drew’s focus had narrowed to one goal—take down Mackey Kendricks. Nothing existed beyond that, because this was one mission he didn’t plan to come back from.
Drew slipped out of the bed. Ally stretched her arms over her head, thrusting her chest out in a way that had him paying attention. Her big blues rested on him, and her lips curled into a seductive smile. Throughout everything, the nuclear explosion of chemistry that detonated every time they were near each other never changed.
His heart slammed hard with an unrepentant longing that ignored every ounce of self-loathing he heaped upon himself daily. Out of everyone in his life, he’d missed Ally the most.
“Let me get some coffee started,” Drew said, striding to the kitchenette before the tempest in his head consumed him.
“If I’m going to be dealing with your ass all day, I’d better be caffeinated,” Ally grumbled as she slipped out of the bed. Drew grinned, warmth soaking through his chest without permission. He and Ally had been ragging on each other ever since they were kids—their affection always came with an extra helping of insults.
“Want some more sugar to temper all that bitterness?” he commented. He set to the ritual of getting the coffeemaker going. “Might have to dump the whole bag in.” Within seconds the thing chugged to life, a series of growls and hisses emerging from it.
Ally lifted her middle finger and snagged the pack of bacon and eggs they’d picked up on their later run for groceries. She nudged him out of the way of the single burner and pulled out a sketchy-looking pan from the cabinet.
“So, we’ve got the location narrowed down,” Ally said, placing bacon on the skillet. “Think we’ll find Mackey’s lair today?” She continued to bustle around the small space, cracking the eggs and bringing out plates with a clank. The whole rhythm of this domestic moment between them made his throat tighten. He’d wanted this with her for so long, to start every morning by her side and to share breakfast with their family. To have a little one of their own.
A couple of years ago, they might’ve had the chance.
Except, as with everything in life, his hopes had splattered like rotting fruit on the pavement. Ever since then, things between him and Ally had changed. She’d grown more distant and he’d gotten more involved in the Landslider mess and the secrets that came with it, until he’d lost sight of who he even was anymore.
Drew ran his fingers through his hair as he leaned against the counter. “We have to find the lair,” he responded, staring at the wooden ceiling. “The longer we’re here, the more we risk discovery. And the longer Mackey runs around unchecked, the more innocent packs are going to suffer.”
He tugged out two mugs from the narrow cabinet and poured them each hefty cups of coffee. Drew spent the time to doctor them up, extra cream and no sugar in hers, while he drank his with sugar, no cream. Even after all this time, he retained every detail about Ally, from the cans of strawberry-kiwi seltzer she pounded down to the fact that she changed her hair length and color as a form of stress relief.
Ally had already placed the bacon on a plate and begun the eggs. “Steal a piece, and I’ll cut your fingers off.”
“What fun is life without a little risk?” Drew responded, setting the cup of coffee by her side. “Besides, it’s an empty threat. You wouldn’t deprive the world of these fingers.”
Ally made a gagging noise over the skillet. “I think the world would survive.” Even as she chased around the eggs she’d cracked on the skillet, a hint of a smile clung to Ally’s lips. Somehow, the sharpness between him and Ally had softened a little, and they’d slipped into a normal back and forth. That sort of comfort was dangerous.
Drew had come to the conclusion a while back that he’d never get the normal life he craved. Nor did he deserve that sort of peace and quiet after all the agony and ruin he’d caused.
Ally took a sip from her coffee, and her gaze flickered over to him. She didn’t have to say anything for the intended look to land. Of course, he’d remembered. Even amidst the scent of bacon permeating the cabin, he caught a whiff of her gardenia perfume. He had missed her like the first breath from underwater.
She shoveled eggs onto two plates and divided the bacon between them. “All right, Train Wreck. Eat up.”
His heart twisted. Some things never changed, even if everything else had. Drew grabbed the plate. “Thanks, babe,” he said, taking a seat at the scratch-and-dent round table.
The chair squeaked as she pulled it out to sit on the opposite side. Here, with their plates of breakfast and their waning cups of coffee, he stole a piece of himself back, one he hadn’t realized he’d been missing.
Ally glanced to him while she sipped at her coffee. “Stop making those weird faces at me. It’s creepy.”
Sweet, sweet, domestic bliss.
Drew’s mouth quirked with a grin. “You mean my actual face? Should I just tear it off and start over from scratch?”
Ally laughed, the sound short and surprised. Her blue eyes crinkled at the corners, and like this, with her tangled blonde strands and all her gorgeous tan skin on display, she looked radiant.
Drew dipped his head to dive into the eggs and bacon, the salty explosion of the meat and the creaminess of the eggs pure perfection. Ally had always been a fantastic cook. He’d savor this moment, a brief flash of what might’ve been if he hadn’t scorched the earth of his past life. Of what might’ve been if he still had Ally by his side. The ice had melted between them, but this tentative spring was one snap away from killing those fragile buds.
