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“Good question.” His lips thinned as he kicked a wolf several yards. “They know they can’t win, so why risk it?”
Halfway to our destination, a huge, snarling beast dove through mist, aimed straight at us, claws and teeth bared and the ready. My hands lifted in reflex to hold the monster at bay, but Callen palmed an ax strapped to his back and swung, cutting off the creature’s head mid-air. Hot blood splattered over my face.
Callen picked up the ax as we raced past, and another laugh bubbled from me. Blood. On my face. Searing me to the core of my being. From a wolf-shifter who’d hoped to murder me. Words poured from my mouth, and I couldn’t stop them. “I need to shower.” The rain wasn’t enough. I required soap and sandpaper.
“I’m a little occupied at the moment, wife.” With only one arm available, the other busy holding me, he took down two, four, six more wolves, all while running up a hill.
Several of his men joined us, flanking his side, ripping through anyone who got in our way. Though the warriors had entered their battleheat, becoming true berserkers, they didn’t focus their menace on each other. They must be the exception to the ‘everyone dies’ rule.
The rain came down harder, and the wolves ramped up their attack. My heart pounded. Callen never missed a beat, somehow keeping me uninjured while brandishing his weapons. But sizzling rage had begun to pulse over his skin.I felt it. How long beforehetransformed and lost himself in a battle trance?
Can’t let him. “I demand a shower, Callen. Now!” On some level, I knew I wasn’t vocalizing the right thing. But the desire to shut myself into a stall and wash up grew urgent, overshadowing even my panic.
“Soon, I promise.” His understanding tone almost proved to be my undoing. Slash, slash. He ended two more wolves.
“Please?” It was all too much. Tears stung my eyes. I clung to him. “I’ll behave from now on, I swear.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. As we closed in on the stones, a line of wolves formed in front of us. Callen didn’t slow. Rather, he tightened his hold on me and dove, curling his body around mine. Like a living wrecking ball, we crashed into the wolves. I heard fierce snarls and felt acrid breath on my flesh, but I sustained no injuries. No bites or scratches.
We landed and rolled, Callen absorbing the worst of the impact. He popped to his feet, tugging me to mine.Oh my goodness!Bites and scratches litteredhisbody, crimson wetting his mutilated limbs. He’d taken all damage upon himself, and it only sharpened his rage. Was a trance imminent?
The wolves didn’t follow us, at least; they remained outside the circle, prowling while staring at me and drooling. The intelligence and hatred in those neon eyes…
I shrank back. “I–I want a weapon,” I told my husband.
The muscles between his shoulders bunched. He tossed me adagger hilt first without looking my direction. Shaky as I was, I missed and had to swoop down to grab it.
How would Isobel handle this situation? Yawn and check her nails? Demand a folding chair and popcorn? Noway would she ever break down and cry or beg to go home. I was probably embarrassing my big bad berserker king with my weakness. I mean, he and another king had just stabbed each other in an attempt to provoke his rage. Granted, Callen had claimed he liked my softness. But. The dagger shook in my grip.
He stepped in front of me and twirled his ax, daring the manimals to come closer. The snarling wolves pawed at the ground, only to part. A grinning Tavish walked behind them, all casual-like, as if a war wasn’t being waged in the background. He hadn’t shifted into his wolf form; he looked exactly as he’d looked before. Annoyingly smug.
Was he about to betray Isobel and announce their relationship? Sweat dampened my palms.
“Hello, Mr. King,” he said to Callen, his slow drawl grating on my nerves. “Donna worry. I’ll take my toys and go home soon enough. I just wanted tae meet the new Mrs. Bruce, is all.”
Lie! He wouldn’t risk his army for such a silly reason. Especially since he’d already met me. But why act as though we were strangers?
He turned and inspected me from head to toe, as if he’d never seen me. “She’s prettier than the last one. But is she stronger? Let’s find out, shall we?”
Silent, tense, Callen stalked forward. “You are dead.”
“Not today. But I’ll grant you a go at me very soon.” Smile growing wider, Tavish backed up, disappearing in the mist.
Surviving wolves ran off, fleeing the battlefield. The horde of berserkers, both American and Scottish, crouched to give chase. But Callen straightened and howled an otherworldly sound that chilled my bones. Malachi joined in and every berserker stood down, twitching asif fighting the supernatural adrenaline zipping through their veins. Some even bit the metal of their weapons.
Frozen and soaked, I scanned the devastation outside the circle and gagged. No matter how magnificent my host was, I wanted out of this brutal world. ASAP.
Scalding water poured over me,but I couldn’t get warm. I stood under the shower spray with my head tilted back, letting the evidence of the battle, and my tears, wash away. I missed the old days when I’d only theorized about the validity of berserkers and wolf-shifters.
To escape this nightmare, I needed a new plan. And money for a false ID, motels, food and travel. But Icouldn’t sell my necklace. Callen had stored it in a locked case once we arrived home. Hie might owe me twenty-five thousand pounds; he might not. I’d lost track of the end result of our bargain. I could only seek and attempt to claim it. If he denied me, I’d have to steal it. Then, as soon as I reached Oklahoma and facilitated a soul switch with Isobel, I’d call him and explain the situation. Tell him everything. The trade. Isobel’s betrayal with Tavish. The mole in his midst. I would even promise to pay back what I’d taken.
I’d then go into hiding to keep myself safe, since berserkers even killed the innocent party. A fate I didn’t enjoy, but accepted. He, in turn, would ensure Isobel never switched with another person and faced her consequences.
But, to perform a corrective trade, I needed Tavish. Someone I didn’t trust, even though he’d kept my secret. Especially because he’d kept my secret. What game did he play?
Did it matter? Whatever his aim, I would pay him to do the switch, then execute a double cross, helping Callen defeat him. First, though, I’d have to send the wolf a message. But how? The mole?
A mystery I must solve. The most likely culprit was Buzz. He’d guarded my door the day of the invasion. He and Ponytail had witnessed Isobel’s first interaction with me. Or perhaps the mole was Mackenzie; her boldness with me suggested she’d shared an uncommon familiarity with Isobel. What if she knew of the switch? Hmm, that was worth exploring.
