He shoved again. Harder. The wood lifted, then fell back down with a snap. His eyes narrowed. Paige had put something on top of the trapdoor. She"d locked him in.
His beast didn"t like to be caged.
With a roar, Drake slammed his shoulders into that wood. He pushed. He heaved.
The wood broke apart. He leapt up, still shovingthe bed, she"d put the bed on top of the trapdoorthen raced for the front door.
He could hear the snarls and shouts and they seemed to burn his ears. The image of Paige running into that vampire"s arms was branded into his mind. Why? Why?
He rushed outside. Saw the blood on the ground. Michael. Still alive. Barely moving.
Paigeshe was...
"h.e.l.lo, alpha." The taunting voice came from his left.
Drake"s claws were out and so ready to claw that SOB apart.
"Did you lose something?" The vampire asked as Drake turned to face him.
The vampire was tall. Blond. Bleeding. And he held Paige in his arms. The embrace wasn"t one of a lover, though. One of the vampire"s arms locked around her throat, while the vamp"s other hand held a wooden stake right over Paige"s heart.
"Because it looks like I found something." The vamp smiled, flashing fangs.
Drake saw the other vampires stalking toward him. Was he supposed to be intimidated? Scared?
He was just p.i.s.sed. "Let her go."
The vampirehe had to be the one Paige had told him about, the one she"d called Gabe-shook his head and laughed. "If that"s what you want...she"s already served her purpose."
Drake was looking at Paige then. He saw her eyes flare wide in horror, then Gabe spun her around so that she faced the vampire.
"You"re free now," the vampire told her, voice soft, almost tender, "because that"s what your wolf wants."
Paige struggled against him, clawing, punching Drake realized, too late, just what the a.s.shole was doing.
You"re free now.
He was killing her.
Drake roared and lunged forward, forgetting the other vampires, desperate to reach Paige, to help her and Gunfire.
Bullets. Thudding into his flesh. Burning. Tearing apart muscle and bone.
His blood spilled onto the ground. His legs stopped working. He wanted to reach Paige, but he couldn"t.
He was falling.
The snow turned red beneath him.
His claws lifted as he tried to dig out the bullets. So many. In his chest. His back.
He managed to tilt back his head. He could see Paige. She was still fighting with Gabe. The stake was covered in blood.
But she was still alive.
She glanced back at Drake and screamed his name.
He"d promised to protect her. She"d asked him for just one thing.
I want you to rip his head off, and I want you to make d.a.m.n sure that he never rises again.
Now that vampire was laughing. She was bleeding.
And I"m dying.
No, no, he wouldn"t die. He wouldn"t go out like this.
Drake called on the beast within. Wake up. Drake pushed to his feet. Stumbled. Yanked out the silver in his shoulder and barely felt the burn.
Wake up.
The beast hated silver.
But the wolf loved the woman who was screaming for him.
A vampire came at him, still with a gun in his hand. Fool. You came too close. Drake grabbed the gun. Shot the vampire in the chest. Swiped out with his claws.
This time, it was the vampire that fell.
Drake dug another bullet from his flesh. The smoke from his blistering fingertips rose in the air.
Another vampire came at him.
A swipe of his claws and the vampire"s blood flowed.
"Stop him!" Gabe"s scream of fury.
Then all the vampires swarmed him. Even though Drake still had at least three silver bullets in him, he didn"t hesitate when they attacked.
He roared and slashed into the chest of the nearest vamp. Another one down. Bye, a.s.shole.
The other two vampsthey just turned and ran.
Drake grabbed a weapon that had been tossed aside and turned his focus on the one that mattered. The vampire that was about to lose his d.a.m.n head.
"How?" Gabe gritted as he stared at Drake with fury boiling in his dark gaze. "You can"tyou"re not strong enough"
Paige"s laughter cut through his words. "He"s strong enough...if he"s got vampire blood in him."
Drake could still taste her on his tongue.
Mark me.
The wolf had claimed his mate. Marked her. And tasted her blood.
"You b.i.t.c.h." Gabe shook Paige, sending her head snapping back.
Begging for death. Drake fired the gun. It just clicked. No more bullets. That was all right. He wanted to get his hands b.l.o.o.d.y.
"You did this to him!" Gabe shouted. The guy didn"t even seem to see Drake closing in on him. The stake had fallen from his hand. "You made him"
"Stronger," Paige gasped out as blood dripped from her lips. "I made him strong enough to kill you...just in case I couldn"t."
Her words had Drake"s body tensing. He"d kill the vamp for her, all right. A promise is a promise. Drake grabbed Paige and yanked her away from Gabe. Drake"s wolf was snarling, his claws were fully extended, and he was ready to destroy.
The stake broke beneath his feet, and he broke Gabe"s neck with one twist of his wrist.
But the vampire just laughedand his bones snapped back into place almost instantly.
"Try harder," Gabe murmured. There was no fear on the vampire"s face or in his eyes. "Come on, let"s see what you can do, alpha. Let"s see if you can fight as hard as you father did."
His father? What did his More laughter from Gabe. Colder than the night that surrounded them. "You thought that you got all the vamps from that attack, huh? Think again, alpha. Think f.u.c.king again." Gabe bared his teeth. "Those vamps attacked because I gave the order. Only they were supposed to have killed your sorry a.s.s that night, too."
But he hadn"t been at home when his family was so brutally attacked. He"d been out, watching Paige as she worked at a little diner. He"d gone to that diner over and over, eager to catch a glimpse of her. That night, he"d finally asked her out. He"d been so excited when he"d gone back home. She"d said yes! Then he"d found the blood and the bodies waiting on him.
"Jeremiah let me in," Gabe told him as the vamp circled around Drake. "He knew you"d be the next alpha, and he wasn"t ready to let go of the pack. He let me kill them all...and drink all that shifter blood."
Because shifter blood was stronger than human blood. Far more powerful.
Jeremiah had fed his own pack to this p.r.i.c.k? Why?
"Your b.a.s.t.a.r.d alpha was addicted...the same way she wants you to be...to vampire blood."
He could taste her...The wolf howled within him, desperate to break free and attack.
Drake sucked in a deep breath. Paige was on the ground. Still, like a broken, beautiful doll. "It"s not the blood I"m addicted to," Drake told Gabe, voice growling. The beast was coming out. The vamp was dying. "It"s her."
He leapt at the vamp even as the shift burned through him. The vamp would get in a few swipes while he transformed, no way around that, because Drake was weak in those moments when he was locked between man and beast.
But he had to shift. The shift would push the rest of the silver from his body, and the wolf would be stronger than the man.
The wolf would take the vamp"s head.
Gabe was smiling as he lunged toward Drake. The vamp"s fangs were bared and "Think f.u.c.king again," Paige shouted, throwing the vamp"s words right back at him. Then gunfire thundered. Once. Twice.
She had picked up one of the other discarded guns. But, unlike the weapon Drake had chosen, her gun still had ammunition. She filled Gabe"s chest with the silver bullets. He stumbled back, screaming and bleeding.
Not a broken doll, not anymore.
Time to die, Gabe.
In his mind, Drake could see his mother"s broken body. His father"s pale face.
The shift was over. The wolf growled and charged the vamp. They fell down in a tangle of limbs and claws. The vampire was biting, tearing into the wolf"s body, and punching with his enhanced strength.
Gabe was too used to pushing around humans. Too used to torturing them.
Wolves weren"t so easy to take down.
"K-killed the alpha..." Gabe gritted out as they fought. "And I"ll kill you, too." Blood dripped down his chin. "The vamps are taking over this"
Drake"s teeth locked around the pureblood"s throat.
Paige was standing right behind him. He could smell her sweet scent, hear the ragged gasp of her breaths.
This was it. She"d be free. His parents could rest in peace.
But Gabe was still laughing. "Mine..." Gabe gasped, spitting blood. "She"ll...always be...mine. The vamps...win. We take...Alaska..."
No, he wouldn"t win.
When the wolf"s teeth sank deep, the vamp didn"t speak again.
He just died.
Chapter Eight.
It was over.
Paige turned away from the sight of Gabe"s body. She didn"t want to see anymore. She just wanted Wolves surrounded her.
Oh, c.r.a.p, when had they arrived? She hadn"t even noticed them. She"d been so intent on fighting Gabe and helping Drake that she hadn"t been aware of the wolves. They could move so quietly as they prepared for an attack.
A dozen wolves formed a circle around her and Drake. They stood back. Watching, waiting.
Had they heard Gabe"s final taunt? h.e.l.l, she knew the wolves weren"t going to let her stay in the pack, so they didn"t have to worry about her taking over their precious territory.
The minute Gabe had transformed her, she"d known that her dream of finding Drake and staying with himforeverwell, it had truly just been a dream.
They might have s.e.x. They might turn to each other in the darkness, but his pack would never accept her.