Chapter 18 - Tannen

I charged through the woods, far ahead of the rest of the Silver Wolves who had agreed to come with me. My wolf snarled with rage, the anger fueling his energy and propelling us forward.

I knew Damien was expecting me, and that automatically put me at a disadvantage. I kept an ear out for sentries as we got closer to the house, ready to attack anyone or anything that tried to stop me from getting to Thea.

As I ran, new and unfamiliar scents wafted through the trees. I slowed, spinning around to see who was coming.

A slender wolf, female, emerged from the woods. Another woman clung onto her back. They regarded us with unease. The wolf snarled at us, baring her fangs.

Something about the way they looked triggered a memory. They had the same panicked expression as the girls Thea and I had rescued. And they had the same stench of the house that I remembered the first time we were there. These were more women who'd been caged by Damien.

I shifted back to human, holding up my hands. "We're not here to hurt you," I said. "Did you come from a big house in the woods?"

The woman hesitated, then turned to look over her shoulder, where I saw more pairs of eyes peering out from the brush. Then she turned back to me and nodded.

"Was there a woman there?" I asked. "Blond hair, about this tall?" I gestured with my hand to show Thea's approximate height.

"An absent?" the girl asked, and I nodded. "Yeah. She broke us out. She told us to go this way, and that we'd eventually get to a town that could help us."

"That's us," Malcolm said, but I barely heard him. Leave it to Thea to break out all the other women instead of just running and saving herself. I didn't know whether to be proud or call her an idiot. I'd figure it out when I saw her.

"Where is she?" I asked. "Is she with you?"

The girl hesitated, then shook her head. "She got caught," she explained. "She made sure we all got out safely, but the guy caught her before she could get away."

Fuck.

Malcolm looked at me, seeming to read my thoughts. "Oliver and I will escort the girls back to Brixton," Malcolm said. "You guys keep going."

I nodded. Not waiting another moment, I shifted back, charging through the trees, increasing my pace as I knew Thea was probably running out of time. The only reason to keep her alive was to get to me. If they realized the claiming bond hadn't stuck, there was a chance they would count their losses. I couldn't have that.

When we got to the clearing, I saw exactly what I'd expected: several shifters waiting for us. They bared their fangs the instant we came into view, forming a line between us and the front of the house.

Snarling, the Silver Wolves formed their own line. Mark's wolf glanced over at me, giving a short jerk of his head in the direction of the house. I knew what he was saying. Get to Thea. We'll take care of these guys.

We charged forward. Just before we reached the line, I jumped, soaring over the enemy wolves to land behind them. Before any of them could turn around, I bolted, racing for the front door. It splintered as I ran into it, then shattered into a shower of broken wood with the second shove. I burst in and immediately smelled Thea's scent mixed with fear.

Not willing to wait a moment longer, I sped forward, following the scent until I came to a living room. I froze at the sight in front of me. Damien hovered above Thea, knife raised as he snarled down at her.

Growling, I charged forward, barreling into Damien and knocking him away. The knife sliced into my front leg with a searing pain, but I pushed the pain away, focusing on the shifter in front of me.

I pinned him down, slamming my front paws into his shoulder. Blood dripped from my shoulder onto him.

Damien snarled. The human body below me morphed, shifting into a large black wolf that shoved me off him. His claws raked across my stomach, sending new spasms of pain running through me.

I landed close to Thea, who had gotten shakily to her feet. Her breath was ragged, a scratch along her forehead trickling blood into her eye. I saw her glance from me to the knife on the floor to the other wolf stalking toward us. I let out a low growl, fur bristling, and jerked my head toward the door.

Thea hesitated. I could tell she was thinking about staying to fight. I shook my head, trying to convey a million different things in a single, half-second look.

I knew her. Knew she wanted to stay and fight, to prove herself. All I could do was hope that she realized that she didn't need to. She had already proven herself by rescuing those women not once but twice. If she stayed, I'd be distracted the entire time.

Finally, she let out a frustrated huff but nodded, running out the door.

I spun around, now able to focus entirely on the fight before me. Damien leaped through the air toward me, trying to catch me off-guard. I darted to the side, narrowly missing his claws. My muscles ached and screamed, my leg throbbing as blood matted the fur around the wound. I snarled, fur bristling as my own jaws snapped at his throat, but only got a mouthful of fur.

I knew I had to end this soon. I was already sliced up pretty badly, only exchanging minimal injuries in return. I'd slowed down, fighting through the pain but fully aware of each slash and bite on my body.

Damien lunged. I tried to move out of the way, but he slammed down onto my back. His teeth sank into the back of my neck, drawing blood as he refused to let go. I howled, flailing, trying to get out from underneath him.

Instead of trying to wriggle out, I shot upward, jumping to my feet and pushing him up with me. His jaws loosened in surprise, and I shook my entire body, forcing him to fly off. The instant he collapsed to the ground, I jumped on top of him, wasting no time in clamping down on his throat.

Damien stilled beneath my jaws, his body going limp. I dropped the body, growling, waiting to see if he started moving again. When I was certain he wasn't going to move, I turned, padding toward the door.

The world sounded eerily quiet. I pricked my ears, waiting for sounds of a struggle, of continued fighting. But it sounded like everything had ended.

As I stepped outside, the first thing I saw was an anxious Thea pacing back and forth next to a massive wolf I recognized as Rand. She bit her nails as she stared at the ground.

She pulled to a halt as her nostrils flared, and her head whipped toward me. Relief washed over her face, and she ran toward me.

Seeing her safe and alive was enough to make my wolf snarl with satisfaction. More than anything, I wanted to pull her close and hold her against me to make sure she stayed safe for the rest of our lives.

I shifted, wincing at the pain in my side and arm as I got to my feet. None of those injuries mattered, though, when she ran into me and wrapped her arms around me, though my aches and pains screamed in protest. I would have endured pain a hundred times worse than that if it meant she was safe.

"Are you all right?" she asked, stepping away. Her eyes scanned me up and down, marking each of my injuries.

"I'll live," I said. "More than I can say for that piece of shit."

She nodded, swallowing as she looked behind me, as if expecting him to appear. "He's dead, then?"

"Yeah, he's dead. Made sure of it this time."

Her shoulders slackened as she sighed. "Good. That's good."

"What about the others?" I directed that question to Rand, who had turned back to a human.

"All taken care of." Rand gave a feral grin. "Anyone who fought, we killed." He gestured to a corpse on the ground. "Anyone who gave up, we arrested. We'll let the Wolf's Council take care of them."

I nodded, my hand resting on Thea's shoulder. I didn't want to stop touching her, or let her go. Glancing down at her, the moonlight seemed to glint off her hair, making her look even more radiant than before.

"Thanks, by the way," I told her.

"For what?"

"For listening to me when I told you to run." I gave her a playful nudge. "It's probably the first time you've ever done that."

She frowned. "I didn't like standing off to the side and being helpless."

"I know." I brushed a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. My hand cupped her cheek, and she leaned into it. "But it meant I didn't have to worry about you. The fact that you actually listened instead of trying to argue…"

Her lips quirked upward. "I figure trying to prove myself isn't something I should worry about doing. And if it keeps you safer, I'll consider it an added bonus."

"Trust me. You're already incredible. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone."

"Tannen…" she hesitated, biting her lip as if worried to say what she was about to say. "The claiming bond… it didn't take." She tugged at her torn shirt so I could see the place where it should have been.

"I know," I said. "I figured it out after you ran off."

"So all those feelings… does that mean they were real?" she blushed. "God, that sounds so dumb."

"It doesn't sound dumb at all," I said. "And if you ask me, yes, they're real. I should have figured it out a lot sooner. And I meant it when I said I want to give us a shot." I cracked a grin. "I mean, hell, we're already married. We got that part out of the way."

"And what about the other girls?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Because I have no intention of sharing you."

I brushed a strand of hair from her face, cupping her face, thumb stroking her cheek.

"You're the only woman I need," I said. "I love you."

Her face brightened, giving me the most radiant and beautiful smile I'd ever seen. "I love you, too," she said.

"I just wish it hadn't taken all this to make me realize it," I said.

She shrugged, a small smile growing across her face as her eyes sparkled. "Better late than never," she teased.

I chuckled, smiling as I bent down to press my mouth to hers. Gently at first, then with more intensity. She moaned against my lips, and the sound of it began to drive me wild. I gripped her tighter, fully prepared to lay her down in the grass right then and there.

A loud, deliberate cough snapped me back to my senses. I pulled back, albeit reluctantly, hands still holding onto Thea. Rand watched from a distance, a knowing smirk on his face.

"Shouldn't we be getting back?" he asked. "I know you guys have some things to work out, but keep it to the bedroom."

"You don't seem surprised," I remarked.

"Oh, I've been calling this for weeks," he said. "Long before all of this started up."

"Astrid isn't going to be mad?" Thea asked.

Rand let out a loud laugh. "Are you kidding? She's going to be furious. She bet me a hundred dollars it wouldn't happen for at least another year."

"To be fair, I'm pretty sure the whole forced marriage and kidnapping accelerated things," I pointed out.

Rand shrugged. "Hey, I'll take my victories where I can get them. Now, come on. Let's get back to town."