Lycan Christmas

Chapter Eighteen

Melony crawled into the back of the SUV again and looked out the windows. She didn’t see any sign of the rogue.

“What are you doing, Mel?”

“I’m going to go get help.”

“No! You have to stay in the car.”

“I have to get some help for you and your son. He needs to be looked at by the midwife to make sure he’s okay.”

Melony knew Sherry couldn’t argue with that logic no matter how much she wanted to. Her baby was the most important thing right now.

“I’ll be all right.”

“Be careful, Mel.”

Melony reached for the handle on the back passenger side. “As soon as I’m out, you engage the locks again.”

“Okay.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, took in a deep breath, and said a silent prayer. Please let the rogue be gone. Please let me be able to get help for Sherry and the baby.

She slipped out the door, and the eerie quietness of the woods chilled her, immediately making her wish she’d stayed inside the SUV. Her instincts warned her danger was lurking, but she couldn’t turn back now. She closed the door as quietly as possible, but the soft click and locks engaging shortly after sounded like a cannon in the silence. She put her back against the side of the vehicle and worked her way around to the front. The baby started to cry inside, and she froze and waited. If the rogue was still around, the noise would surely draw him out.

She cocked her head to the side. Silence. She took in several deep breaths, gathered every ounce of courage she possessed, and sprinted up the embankment and down the road. You had to wear the damn boots with the heels, didn’t you? She had run several feet, just starting to gain confidence that the rogue had fled, when she heard a sound behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder, and choked back a scream when she saw a large wolf chasing after her. She ran until her lungs felt as if they’d burst, but her attempt was futile. She was hit from behind and sprawled headfirst onto the road. She flung her hands out just in time to keep her face from hitting the ground, and turned over on her back to find a naked man with a scraggly beard and stringy brown hair standing over her.

He was huge, and her heart stuttered. Is this how she was going to die?

Or would he kidnap her and do much worse than kill her? She swallowed hard.

“Get away from me. The others are on their way, and they will kill you if you touch me.”

He smiled. “You have the scent. You are mine.”

“No. I’m not.” She wasn’t his. She was Lorent’s. And that’s when it dawned on her. If she got out of this alive, she’d tell Lorent she wanted to be with him. She’d lost so much time with him already, and now she may never get the chance to be happy with the man she loved.

He sniffed at her again, and the wicked smile that curved his lips made her skin crawl.

“I thought I recognized that scent. I think I met your mother.”

Melony’s heart thundered and anger hit her hard when she realized she was looking into the blank stare of her mother’s murderer. She wanted to claw out those black, empty eyes right before she ripped his cold heart from his chest.

“You killed my mother,” she whispered.

“I believe I did, but it was only because she refused to tell me where you were. Mommy was very protective of her little girl, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t convince her that you were mine.”

“Again, not yours. I belong to another.”

The rage that contorted his face made her think that it may not have been a wise thing to taunt him with that bit of info.

“I met your mother quite by accident. I’d been passing through the area when I caught your scent on her. The lovely blue scarf she was wearing smelled strongly of you.”

It had been her fault. She’d forgotten about the scarf she’d given her mother as a Mother’s Day gift. It had been in her room for months, as she’d found it on sale right after Christmas at one of her favorite shops.

“You’re an animal,” she sneered at him, uncaring if she pissed him off more at this point.

He laughed at her, which only spiked her anger further.

“Thanks for the compliment, babe.” He sniffed the air again. “I wonder if you knew Mommy Dear was fucking the good doc.”

“Dr. Carson? He was married.” What the hell?

The rogue shrugged. “Your point?” He laughed again. “Although I have to say Mommy and Doc got into a pretty heated argument while I was hiding out in the cage, waiting for my opportunity to talk with her. Seems Mommy wanted to end things since the doc refused to split from the old lady like he’d been promising. Human men are so predictable—weak. He should have simply taken what he wanted and made her deal with it.”

So that’s what had been wrong with her mother. She’d been having an affair with a married man. That explained the late-night calls, the sudden disinterest in her studies, and the stress that had started marring her mother’s features. The anger was now boiling inside her, making it hard to breathe.

How could Dr. Carson have used her mother like that, and how had her mother allowed it? Her mom might still be alive if he hadn’t been stringing her along, but even that didn’t change the fact that Melony’s scent had been the ultimate cause of her mother’s demise. Guilt washed through her, and she wanted to scream and cry in frustration.

When the rogue bent toward her, the movement immediately snapped her from her thoughts. She brought her foot up and kicked him in the nose with her heel as hard as she could manage. Now she was happy she’d worn the heels. She scrambled to her feet, but just as she made it fully upright, his hands wrapped around her throat. His eyes were wild, and she knew without a doubt he was going to kill her.

“Bitch!” Blood trickled out of his nose and ran in a small stream down the side of his face.

Suddenly, she remembered what Lorent had taught her, and instinct took over. She tucked her chin between his hands and her throat, bent her knees, twisted to the side, brought her arm up and down over his forearms and then up in an arc until her fist connected with his temple.

He let out a roar that sent fear slithering down her spine, but let her go.

Lorent crashed through the trees in time to see Melony execute a perfect punch to the rogue’s temple. Pride swelled in him, but was quickly replaced by anger and fear when she fell backward on her rump and the rogue leapt after her.

Lorent dropped the walkie and charged after him, fury turning his vision red. He leaped through the air and knocked the rogue to the ground before he could grab Melony. Lorent quickly shifted and stood over him, arms held out from his sides, ready for the impending fight.

“Lorent, is that you?” The rogue laughed out loud. “Better get off me, boy, before I give you another ass-whooping. You do remember those, right?”

Recognition hit him hard. Rufus. Lorent had witnessed this scum perform countless brutal acts, and had been on the wrong end of his fists on more than one occasion. Payback was going to be sweet because he had news for old Rufus. Times had changed, and he was the one about to get his ass whooped.

“I’m not like you. I don’t think I’m a badass because I can hurt those that are weaker. In fact, that only makes you a sniveling coward. You, on the other hand, are big enough to pick a fair fight with. Now get up. When I kill you, at least no one can say I didn’t give you a chance.” He shook in rage.

“You? You think you are going to kill me?” Rufus laughed as he got up.

“Oh yeah.” Lorent punched Rufus, and the rogue flew backward with the force of the blow and crashed into a tree. “Get back to the SUV, Melony.”

He growled as he started for Rufus again.

“Lorent! No! Please come with me!” Melony cried out.

“Go! Now!”

She sobbed, but ran toward the vehicle as he’d instructed.

Lorent turned back to Rufus just as the rogue charged him. He grunted when Rufus’s head drilled into his gut, and his arms came around his middle, driving him to his back, where they both skidded along the rough road from the momentum of the impact. Lorent plowed his elbow down into Rufus’s cheek and leapt to his feet. Rufus screamed out in fury and grabbed for Lorent’s feet, trying to bring him back down, but Lorent skillfully evaded him.

Rufus gained his feet, and this time when he charged, Lorent was ready.

Melony cried as she watched the fight through the windshield of the SUV. Lorent and the rogue—Rufus, Lorent had called him—threw punch after punch at one another. Every punch Rufus landed, Lorent landed one harder in return. She was surprised that the fact both men were nude didn’t distract her in the least. Her worry burned away any other thoughts but for Lorent’s safety.

“They are going to kill one another.”

Sherry’s eyes were wide as she cradled her son to her chest and watched the fight with Melony. “I don’t think they are going to kill each other. I think Lorent is going to rip Rufus a new one.”

A loud bang came from Sherry’s window, and they both jumped and shrieked.

“It’s me, Sherry. Open the door.”

“Thank God!” Melony unlocked the door, and Piers practically ripped Sherry’s door off the hinges.

“Baby, are you okay?” He asked before hugging her to him, careful not to smash the small bundle she held against her.

Sherry started sobbing against Piers’s chest. “Yes. I’m okay, and the baby is okay too, thanks to Mel. He’s so tiny, though. He’s too early.”

He pulled the blanket down so he could see his son for the first time, and the look on his face made Melony sorry for anyone who might try to harm Piers’s family. Her stomach churned when she considered that he might view her as such a person.

“Piers?”

He looked at her.

“Please don’t let Lorent get hurt,” Melony pleaded.

He turned toward Lorent and Rufus, who were still pummeling the hell out of one another. “I don’t think he’s the one that’s going to get hurt.” He looked over his shoulder. “Rose is here with the Jeep. You two get back to Sanctuary with her. The midwife should be there waiting by the time you get back or shortly thereafter.”

He kissed Sherry on the forehead. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you too. I’m sorry for going into town. I just wanted to get you something special for Christmas,” Sherry sobbed.

“We’ll talk about it later. I’m just relieved and beyond happy that you are both all right.” He looked over at Melony. “We’ll talk later too. Pop the back open. Spare clothes are kept in all Sanctuary vehicles, and I need to get some for Lorent.”

Melony fumbled around looking for a button to release the latch and finally found it tucked under the dash next to the headlight switch. The back popped open, and she heard rustling for a few seconds before the door was clicked shut.

Piers appeared at Sherry’s window again holding what appeared to be shoes, jeans, and a T-shirt under his arm. He gave Sherry a tight smile before focusing on Melony. “Help Rose get Sherry and my son out of here.” He turned away, but stopped and looked back. “I’ll make sure Lorent is safe,” he said over his shoulder.

Within a couple minutes, Rose, Sherry, and Melony were on their way back to Sanctuary. They’d picked up Knox about a half mile down the road, where Rose had let him out to scout the area for more rogues—which he found no trace of. Melony had been torn about leaving Lorent behind, but Rose assured her Lorent and Piers could handle the situation with no problem.

The ride back to Sanctuary seemed to take forever, but they finally made it. The midwife had been waiting at Sherry’s place. After spending an hour in the bedroom with Sherry and her son, the gray-haired woman had declared them both healthy. Melony went to say good-bye to Sherry. She looked exhausted—rightfully so after giving birth and being attacked—but healthy.

When Melony returned to the living room, Knox and Rose were waiting for her. By the look on his face, things were about to get nasty.

“What the hell were you thinking, Melony?” His voice thundered.

“Quiet. Don’t you dare disturb Sherry and that baby,” Rose chastised him.

Melony sighed. “I’m sorry. I made a bad decision. It won’t happen again.”

“No. It won’t,” Knox said sternly.

“Look.” Rose glanced at Knox. “You made a mistake today, but you are not a child. We can’t punish you or ground you. But I’m disappointed that you didn’t stop to think about the danger you were potentially placing you and Sherry in.”

“I did think about it. But when Sherry asked me to take her two weeks ago, it had seemed so important to her. I felt uneasy about it, but I couldn’t refuse. I’m sorry. It was extremely bad judgment on my part. Believe me when I say that no one can feel worse than I do. If anything had happened to Sherry or the baby . . .” She wrapped her arms around her middle and fought back a sob that suddenly threatened.

“And what about you? Don’t you think we would be devastated if something happened to you?” Rose said.

“I didn’t think about myself,” Melony whispered.

“We love you, Melony. You must know that by now. But I do believe you just made a stupid mistake. We all do at times.”

Knox groaned and pushed his fingers through his hair. Rose gave her a hug, and when she scowled at Knox, he did the same.

“You scared us,” Knox said.

“I really am sorry. I swear I will never do anything that stupid again.

Please forgive me.” Melony hugged them back and felt relief intermingle with a sense of belonging.

“We do forgive you.” Rose pulled back and laughed. “But don’t cut yourself short, girl. You’re still young. You’ll make many more stupid mistakes. Let’s just make sure they aren’t life-threatening ones, okay?”

Melony nodded. “Um, I have something else to tell you both.”

“Now what?” Knox said. “Oomph. Hey!” He rubbed his ribs where Rose had just poked him. “What was that for?”

“Take it easy, and have an open mind. Remember everything we went through when we met.”

He scowled and shrugged, clearly not understanding quite yet what their relationship had to do with the situation.

“I’m Lorent’s mate, and I’d like your blessing on our relationship.”

Knox’s hands clenched into fists. “What?”

“Settle down, babe.” Rose patted Knox on the chest. “I’ve had a hunch about that for a while now. Besides, what’s the harm? You can’t change the fact if it’s so.”

“Why hasn’t he claimed her?” He turned to Rose. “And why the hell didn’t you tell me about this hunch of yours?”

“Good grief, Knox. Cut the kids some slack. You know Lorent is shy.

He’s had a tough past. He’s trying to fit in here, meet with everyone’s approval, and then his mate shows up. It’s a lot on his plate.”

“You sure are the generous one.” Knox raised a brow at her.

“And as for the me-not-telling-you part, I was going to a while back, figured you needed some time to get used to the idea, but after thinking about it, I decided not to. What if I had been wrong? I would have gotten you all worked up over nothing.”

Knox yanked her to him. “I like when you get me all worked up.”

“Ew.” Melony rolled her eyes, and Rose smiled.

“Melony, do you love Lorent?” Rose asked.

“Yes.”

“Then that’s that. If you want him, go after him.” Rose unwrapped herself from Knox’s embrace and hugged her. “Now, let Knox walk you home.”

Knox looked from Rose to Melony then back at Rose with his mouth open. Finally, he shrugged and muttered, “Women. Okay. Let’s go. But if he hurts her, I’m kicking his ass.”

“If he hurts her, I’ll kick his ass,” Rose said with a fierce scowl marring her pretty features.

“Let’s compromise.” Melony held her hands up. “If he hurts me, I’ll kick his ass.”