22. Beatriz

TWENTY-TWO

Beatriz was able to let out her sorrow before leaving the pack. There really wasn't much to do, but she found herself dragging her feet. She had fallen in love with the triplets and the Wolfe family. Even before meeting Mike, Blue Creek had nestled into her heart. She was going to deeply miss all of them, the ache becoming as palpable as a knife sinking between her ribs.

She moved through each room, combing through the memories where she and Mike had made love, learning more and more about each other's bodies, hearts, and souls. She moved through the cabin like a ghost haunting an ancient mansion.

Her limbs felt heavy as the sadness took over. Beatriz wasn't completely present when she went into the bedroom, which was bathed with beautiful memories. She didn't notice the various pizza boxes strewn around the garbage until she stepped on a beer bottle, shattering it beneath her foot.

Her wolf senses kicked in as a familiar scent wafted up from the ground. She snapped her head around toward the shadows of the chest of drawers, noticing a horrific sight that pulled her roughly from her trance.

"Good morning, Beatriz."

The woman who was crouching and groveling in the corner was a woman that Beatriz knew but she wouldn't have known visually. Her scent wasn't entirely unpleasant, but the intentions veiled themselves beneath the lemony zest but robust with sinister intention.

"Wallis, what are you doing here?"

Beatriz widened her stance just the way Mike had taught her and Karla. Wallis remained still, utterly unrecognizable in her disheveled, ragged state.

She snickered, the edges of her nails jagged from incessant gnawing. There was a glimmer of something red passing through her normally hazel eyes, a spark of insanity.

"Stupid question from a stupid girl," Wallis growled. "You should have kept your damn nose out of the Wolfe business."

Suddenly, it all became clear. Beatriz knew about the drugs and how they took hold of the users. She didn't know the details, but the transformation in front of her face was enough to tell the story.

Beatriz dug her feet into the floor, then lowered her glare. She watched Wallis closely, who was still sneering with a quiet, disturbing undercurrent of a chuckle. The hazel was nearly completely stained with a hideous streak of red.

"You better get out of here before you regret it," Beatriz snarled, trying to shield her terror. "Did you hear me? Get out!"

Wallis had no intention of leaving, not without what she came for … a drug-fueled battle.

"Fuck you, bitch! Don't scream at me," she shrieked.

Wallis leapt into action, coming at Beatriz with the speed and agility of a flying squirrel. They fought in their human forms, with Beatriz utilizing the combat moves that Mike had taught her, blocking Wallis's frenzied, pumping fists. After successfully avoiding her attacks, Wallis grew frustrated, and as Beatriz predicted, she went for a cheap shot.

It was something that she"d learned as a shifter, then from Barbara, that when immersed in a heated exchange, you will learn how honorable the battle will go once one side grows frustrated.

If they are worthy, then they will continue to fight fair as far as the rules of engagement go. If they are not, they will do anything to defeat you.

Even if that means sinking to a vulgar level.

Wallis did that by launching her knee between Beatriz"s legs. Beatriz expected it and blocked her effectively, catching her legs between her palms. She then slammed her fist down on the flat of the bone, digging her knuckles in with a fearsome strike.

Wallis buckled under the blow, hopping on one leg, then fell with half her body crashing onto the mattress.

She recovered fast, and Beatriz attributed it to the power of the drugs. She crawled on the ground like a demon who emerged from hell, skidding at a terrifying, staccato pace. Beatriz could only imagine the amount of poison she had ingested.

Beatriz chased after Wallis, who got to her while mumbling something incoherently and then pushed open the front door. Once outside, Wallis shifted into her wolf form at a speed that, to Beatriz, once again felt like a devilish possession.

It was different compared to the first time they'd fought. And the first time that they'd met at the Indulge Wine and Tapas bar. What had happened to her was like a mutation had grabbed hold of her brain stem and sunk its head in deep. But she had done it of her own volition. Beatriz could feel it.

She shifted as well in the bright daylight, a streak of thought passing through her mind about Mike. How far away was he from what was going on? Was having Wallis here all part of the ploy to take out the Wolfe family?

There wasn't a lot of time to ruminate because Wallis was coming for her. She charged Beatriz, slobbering and foaming at the mouth, her eyes crimson with the madness of her infection. Beatriz quivered for a fraction of a second, wishing she had held on tighter to Mike before he left.

Or even better, not allowing him to leave at all.

Strength coursed through Beatriz like a live wire. Her muscles inflated, and her blood pumped like water through a fire hose. Her bond with Mike had made her far more powerful than she could ever dream of. It was one of the many benefits of making a sacred bond with one"s mate.

Beatriz was no longer afraid. It melted off her like ice in the sun. She had Mike. She had her beloved. Nothing else in the entire universe meant more or felt more precious than that.

She stood her ground on all fours while Wallis launched her entire body at her. Beatriz rose on her hind legs, letting Wallis collide with her exposed torso. It knocked her off her feet, sending them backward and tumbling down the hill, but Beatriz didn't feel out of control for a second.

They rolled entangled as rocks and uneven ground clamored past them, the two wolves sinking their claws deeper into the other as they tried to find stability. Eventually, they stopped in the valley with Beatriz using her back legs to catapult Wallis off her body.

Wallis sailed through the air, wincing as she went. She landed hard, away from Beatriz, who was on her feet in a flash. She felt she was glowing, an invisible barrier of her cosmic connection pushing her to previously unimaginable heights.

Wallis snarled and scrambled to her feet, realization washing over her messy wolf face. But then Wallis looked over her shoulder.

The Wolfe estate loomed in the background.

Wallis gave Beatriz an insidious look that made the wolf feel sickly.

Wallis whipped around and shot off like a bullet in the direction of the estate. Beatriz raced after her, fear returning like a noose wrapped tightly around her neck.

She hurdled through the forest, ignoring a stitch as it threaded its way down her side. Her vision began to blur, but that didn't matter. Wallis was going to exact her vengeance on someone, anyone. If it couldn't be her, then it could be Tristan, Barbara., or hell, even the sweet little triplets.

Beatriz was willing to die before she let any of that happen.

Wallis curled around the corner of the house toward the commotion that both of them heard. They arrived to chaos. The sight of both Mike and Barbara in their wolf forms, exhausted, and the dead body of another lying dormant on the ground was petrifying.

Beatriz saw blood had stained Barbara's fur. Wallis was coming up behind the alpha, and Beatriz was still a good five or six feet behind. Beatriz pounded the ground, then sent a shrill scream to the matriarch that she prayed would make it in time.

Barbara! Watch out!

Barbara took heed of the warning and twirled around just before Wallis clamped down on the matriarch's spine. Barbara was a force to be reckoned with. She began hissing and slashing her paws relentlessly, swiping at Wallis until the wolf's face became nothing but a mask of blood. Beatriz popped Wallis in the head with a booming kick, rendering her unconscious as she fell to her back and stared up toward the clear blue sky.

Beatriz leapt onto her unmoving body and pinned her shoulders to the ground. All three of them heaved as an eerie silence took over, the threat having arrived so quickly and vanished just as fast.

Are you okay?Barbara asked, nuzzling Beatriz.

I'm as okay as you. Is that your blood?

Barbara chuckled, out of breath still. She turned to Mike and motioned at the house, where glass appeared to be shattered.

Get a rope and tie her up. Tristan will want to question her. Let's get this place cleaned up.

Mike did as Barbara asked, but not before giving Beatriz a long, evocative stare. She felt it wrap around her like a warm blanket.

There was no way she could leave.