Bad Blood Bear (Bad Blood Shifters Book 1) Page 17

  With a roar of challenge, Tank turned and bounded into the woods, one single thought pounding in his head.

  Brother Damien had to die.

  Lissa woke with a dull headache and a mouth that tasted like someone had rubbed dried dung inside it. She was lying on a bed of straw, and she was naked.

  Her first thought was: I’ve been captured.

  Fear raced through her, rendering her breathless. She sat up and looked around, trying to calm herself. Lissa Ramsey does not panic. Lissa Ramsey does not panic.

  Stop. Breathe. Think.

  She was in a rough wooden shed, about ten by twelve. It must be morning—there was light coming through the narrow, barred windows at the top of the walls.

  She crawled to her feet and tried the door. It didn’t budge—it must be bolted from the outside. There were people on the other side of it—she heard faint voices.

  Lissa leaned against the door and listened. That was Sloan, talking to Xander. Relief surged through her, and then more fear. They’d locked her in the crazy shed. How long would she have to stay in here? Where was Tank? She couldn’t remember anything after they’d gone to bed last night, except that she’d dreamed about someone calling her.

  Brother Damien.

  She pounded on the door. “Tank? Where are you? Let me out!”

  The voices cut off abruptly, and then she heard footsteps pounding towards the door. Farther away, Sloan yelled, “Flynn! She’s awake! She Changed back!”

  She heard the metallic rasp of the key in the padlock, and then the door opened and Xander was standing there. She’d never thought she’d be this glad to see him.

  “Hey,” she said. Her throat was raspy, and she was thirsty enough to fill up the giant bathtub in Tank’s bathroom and drink it dry.

  “Hey,” Xander said. She could have sworn that an almost-smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. “How are you?”

  “Thirsty. Headachy. Naked.”

  “Right.” He looked around, as if clothing was going to materialize out of thin air. Sloan came running up, carrying a big shirt, which he handed off to her. Lissa put it on gratefully.

  “Where’s Tank?” she said, looking past them into the compound.

  They exchanged looks, and she suddenly realized they both had assault rifles slung over their backs. Neither of them would meet her eyes.

  Her relief turned back into fear. “Why do you have guns? What happened to Tank? Is he okay?”

  Flynn appeared behind them. His face looked grim. “He went after Brother Damien last night. He hasn’t come back.”

  Lissa’s fear threatened to turn to panic. Fucking stupid grizzly bear. What the hell was he thinking? “Why didn’t you go with him?” she snapped.

  “We tried,” Flynn snapped back. “Jasmin followed him, but he got away from her.”

  Crazy, brave, stupid grizzly. Why had he gone off alone? What was he thinking?”

  Sloan took her arm gently, and Xander bumped her with his shoulder. “He’ll be okay,” he murmured.

  They didn’t know that. He could be dead right now, or his bear could have gone rogue. Otherwise, why wasn’t he back by now?

  She followed Flynn’s huge back across the yard, her heart icy with fear. It was one thing to keep calm when it was her in trouble. She could focus on the situation, strategizing, watching for opportunities to get herself out of it.

  It was another thing when it was the man she loved, and she didn’t even know if he was dead or alive.

  Suddenly, as they neared the porch steps, pain lanced through her head like her skull had been split with an ax. She stumbled and went to her knees.

  Pain. Terror. Rage.

  Tank was standing against a tall cliff, his wrists chained so that he was splayed out against the rock wall. Blood dripped down his body from half a dozen long, thin cuts. Some were closing, others looked fresh.

  Brother Damien walked up to him, carrying a knife with a blade made of crimson flame. He drew it across Tank’s ribs. Fiery red light emanated from it like a laser beam, opening another cut. Tank snarled at him, but there was no sound. Lissa’s ribs burned like fire, as if the magical blade had pierced her own flesh.

  Her bear rose up inside her. Hunt. Kill. Destroy.

  Fuck, yeah.

  Brother Damien’s voice spoke in her head.

  Come to me, Lissa. You belong to me—you always have, you always will. If you come now, I won’t kill him. Come willingly, come alone, and I’ll let him live.

  “Lissa? Lissa?” Someone was shaking her. It was Sloan. Flynn was on his knees in front of her, forcing her head up, and Xander was holding her up from behind.

  “I’m okay,” she croaked. “I just got a mental psycho-gram, that’s all.”

  The others exchanged glances. “Damien’s still communicating with you?” Flynn asked.

  Still?

  “What happened last night?” she asked.

  “Inside,” Flynn said shortly.

  They helped her the rest of the way into the house, sat her on the couch and got her some water. Jasmin was curled up on one of the couches, eating a plate of eggs and looking exhausted.

  “Brother Damien tried to compel you last night, from somewhere outside the compound,” Flynn told her, standing by the stone fireplace and leaning one elbow on the mantel. “He forced you to Change, and we had to trank you. Tank’s bear went wild and took off to find him.”

  “He took to the river to mask his trail. That’s where he lost me,” Jasmin said. “His bear’s not thinking straight—he thinks everyone is trying to keep him away from you, including us. My guess is that he’s trying to eliminate Brother Damien first, as the greatest threat. The best we can hope for is that Tank doesn’t find him.”

  “Too late,” Lissa said, the image of Tank being tortured playing over and over in her mind’s eye. “Brother Damien found him.”

  Chapter 30

  Lissa described her vision to the others, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “He’s torturing him,” she said. “Hurting him over and over.”

  Her bear was pacing and whining inside her. It hated Tank being hurt, but the more she thought about hurting Brother Damien, the more his magic hurt her bear.

  “He’s strong, Lissa,” Jasmin said. “He’s endured worse.”

  “But it broke him,” Lissa said. “How much more can he take?” Or had Brother Damien destroyed his bear for good?

  The others went silent.

  She wanted to kill him. Blood! Kill! Devour! Her bear said. And then, No! Don’t!

  “I have to do something,” she said. “He’s going to kill Tank.”

  “You’re sure as hell not going alone,” Flynn said. “He’s not going to keep his word. He just wants you to make it easy on him.”

  “Of course he isn’t going to keep his word,” Lissa said. “What do you think I am, a moron? He’s probably going to try to kill Tank and make me watch. And I’m not going to let that happen, so we have to figure out a plan where Damien gets killed and Tank doesn’t.”

  Xander, swiveling back and forth on one of the kitchen bar stools, perked up at that. “Killing?” he said. “I’m in.”

  “All of you are in,” Lissa informed them. “You’re Tank’s crew. So let’s get moving on this plan.”

  They all glanced at each other, but nobody said no.

  Flynn shrugged. “Okay then. Did Brother Damien tell you where this place is that you’re supposed to go?”

  Lissa shook her head. “No. I can find him, if I let him do that icky compulsion thing. But it’s like following a beacon. I can tell he’s that way,” she pointed, “but it could be fifty feet, or fifty miles. He expects me to just walk like a zombie until I get there.”

  “It’s not far. Within our territory bounds,” Flynn said quietly.

  Everyone stared at him. “How do you know that?” Jasmin asked. “It would have been kind of helpful while I was flailing around in the forest last night.”

  “I didn’t realize i
t, okay?” Flynn snapped. “I’ve been feeling antsy since last night, but I thought it was just the threat to Lissa. But when she pointed in that direction, I realized it’s more than that. It’s this itchy feeling, like a tick invading my skin. I think it’s the territory magic, sensing an enemy.”

  “It can do that?” Sloan asked.

  “It can probably do a shit-ton of things I don’t know about,” Flynn said. “It doesn’t come with a manual.”

  “Our territory only extends a little over a mile in that direction,” Jasmin said. “The only cliff face like the one she described is the one right on the edge of our territory, by that bend in the river.”

  “So let’s go,” Xander said. “He’s only got three little bears with him. We can take them.”

  “Three bears that we’ve seen,” said Sloan. “That doesn’t mean he didn’t bring others. He could have Turned the whole cult by now.”

  “And he has magic,” Flynn reminded them. “Including the ability to make Lissa do whatever he wants. If he can control Tank, too, then we’re fucked. Hell, he might be able to control all of us if he gets close enough.”

  “So we shoot him from a distance,” Xander said. “We have rifles. Hell, shoot them all. Not as much fun as bleeding them out, but I’ll take what I can get.”

  “Again, magic,” said Jasmin. “What if he can shield himself against bullets? We need a backup plan.”

  “Besides,” Lissa said. “He might have all the other bears under a compulsion too. I know those people. They’re kind and peaceful. If he’s making them help him, then they don’t deserve to die for it. We need to try to find a way not to kill them.”

  Xander snorted. “Way to take the fun out of it, Little Dip.”

  “Trank guns,” Flynn said. “And a couple of conventional ones just in case we can shoot him. But that doesn’t combat the magic. I’m not powerful enough to take him on. Fuck it, I can’t even negate the power he put into Lissa’s claiming mark.”

  They all went silent. Lissa bit her lips. Think, she told herself. Think. There has to be a way.

  She thought back to everything she’d been told about shifter magic. Finally she said, “Alpha wolves can use their magic to help defend their territories against enemies, right?”

  “I guess,” Flynn said. “But that takes the power of the pack bond. We don’t have a wolf pack. We don’t even have a real crew.”

  Well, if that was all it took, this was a no-brainer. She’d do anything for Tank. Even bow down to an alpha.

  “We can fix that,” Lissa said. She went over and stood in front of Flynn, feeling tiny in the face of his enormous presence. “I’ll be your crew. I’ll pledge to you. Just tell me what to do.”

  “Now wait a minute,” Flynn said. “We can’t just—”

  Damn the man. Didn’t he know how badly he needed this? How badly they all did?

  Fury welled up inside her. “Flynn, so help me, if Tank dies because of your commitment issues, I’ll come back here and kill you myself. Now tell me what to do.”

  Sloan walked up beside Lissa and touched her on the shoulder. He said in his quiet voice, “Like this.”

  He dropped to his knees in front of Flynn and said, “I, Sloan McCall, willingly pledge to the Bad Blood Crew. I submit to you as my alpha.” He bowed his head and bared his neck to Flynn.

  Flynn looked panicked. “Seriously?” he said. “You’re officially calling us the Bad Blood Crew?”

  Deep inside, Lissa felt a seed of warmth spreading. A seed of hope.

  “You had your chance to pick a better name,” she said to Flynn. “This is what happens when you don’t take charge.” She dropped to her knees next to Sloan. “I, Lissa Ramsey, willingly pledge to the Bad Blood Crew. I submit to you as my alpha.” She bared her neck to Flynn as Sloan had.

  Blue fire flickered around Flynn’s hands. They all waited as the seconds ticked by. Lissa held her breath.

  Then she felt Flynn’s hand settle on the top of her head. His other hand was on Sloan’s head. “I, Flynn, accept you into the Bad Blood Crew. As your alpha, I pledge my loyalty to you.”

  The blue fire enveloped them. Lissa felt Flynn’s strong, wild, loyal presence, and warm, soothing energy spread through her. She felt connected to Flynn, connected to Sloan…

  Suddenly, red fire burst from her shoulder, and she gasped in pain. She could feel Flynn fighting it, trying to break Brother Damien’s bond, but his power wasn’t strong enough.

  Jasmin rose from her place on the couch and knelt in front of Flynn. “I, Jasmin Wildacre, willingly pledge to the Bad Blood Crew…”

  As Flynn accepted her pledge, Lissa felt the magical connection expand to include the jaguar. The red fire receded, but it still burned, no matter how hard she tried to fight it.

  Finally Xander said, “Fuck it.”

  He strode over to Flynn and bowed his head, exposing his neck. “I’m not getting on my knees, motherfucker. But I willingly pledge, blah blah blah, and I submit to you as my alpha.”

  Flynn smacked him lightly upside the head. “I accept you into the Bad Blood Crew, Panther. Don’t be an asshole.”

  The blue light flared, and a surge of energy encircled them all. Lissa felt the connection—the loyalty and caring that hid beneath their rough exteriors. The red fire emanating from her was pushed back further, and further, until it receded into Lissa’s claiming mark. The pain faded, and she rubbed her shoulder.

  “Did we annihilate it?” Xander asked. “’Cause that was actually kind of non-heinous.”

  Lissa shook her head. “It’s still there,” she said. “But our bond is stronger than whatever Brother Damien did.”

  She looked at Flynn, who was smiling slightly, looking down at his hands.

  “I guess you have a crew,” she said.

  “Yeah.” She’d felt his heart, strong and true, and she had felt the emotions that surged through him when they pledged. He’d be a good alpha.

  Jasmin was watching him, a slight frown between her brows. “What’s wrong?” she asked Flynn.

  He was opening and closing his hands experimentally, watching the remnants of the blue flames that still rippled up and down his fingers.

  He shook his head, his gaze faraway. “I don’t know,” he said. “The magic feels stronger, but…something’s still missing.”

  The all looked at each other.

  “Tank,” Lissa said. “Tank’s missing. The crew isn’t complete without him.”

  “Well then,” Xander said, looking around the room, “Let’s go get him.”

  Chapter 31

  An hour later, Lissa and Flynn stood near the edge of the woods, as close as they could get to the place where Brother Damien was holding Tank without being seen.

  Flynn was wearing a combat vest bristling with weapons. Lissa was wearing nothing but a long robe resembling those worn by the People of Ursus, hastily made from an old bathrobe. It was supposed to make her look submissive to Brother Damien’s will.

  Instead of like she wanted to kill him.

  She could feel his compulsion pulling at her, pulling at her bear, but it was just barely possible to resist when Flynn was with her.

  Her alpha.

  The others were hidden in the trees, Sloan high up with a sharpshooter’s rifle in his hands, and the others with trank guns, ready to shoot or shift.

  “This is one crazy-ass plan, Little Bear,” Flynn said. “With way too many ‘ifs’ and ‘maybes’ in it.”

  “You’re just mad because you’re supposed to be the crazy one,” she said. “Don’t think they haven’t told me the stories. I just hope you can figure out how to use that blue magic on the fly.”

  “Me too,” he muttered.

  Lissa heard faint voices come through Flynn’s comm set. “Wildcat One, in position.” That was Sloan.

  “Wildcat Two.” Jasmin.

  “Xander.”

  Lissa smothered a snort. Always the rebel.

  “Showtime,” Flynn said.

&
nbsp; Lissa sent up a quick prayer to the real Bear God, if there was one, and moved through the trees, Flynn behind her. They pushed through the last ten feet of underbrush and stepped out of the woods.

  In front of them, the rock face curved like a natural amphitheater, with the center of it about forty feet away from her.

  There were three grim-faced Brothers of Ursus on either side, including Edward. Two more stood at the top of the cliff above, with rifles. In the center was the scene from her vision: Tank spread-eagled against the rock face, bound with heavy chains, and Brother Damien holding his flaming knife—this time against his neck.

  Lissa had to bite back a growl when she saw Tank. Brother Damien hadn’t stopped torturing him, even after he’d sent the vision. He’d just kept it up for fun.

  There was fresh blood streaked over the dried blood from the earlier wounds, and she saw at least a dozen new cuts. Tank was slumped, head down, all his weight on the manacles cutting into his wrists, but he must have caught Lissa’s scent, because his head lifted until she could see the despair in his eyes.

  Flynn gave a faint snarl.

  Brother Damien stared at her, his eyes glowing crimson. “My Vessel,” he said, his voice low and gravelly, as if his bear was trying to come out. “You should have come alone,” he said. “I told you to come alone. Now this bear must die.”

  Lissa’s bear was clawing at her insides, not knowing whether to kill Brother Damien, or run up and submit to him.

  We’re not doing either, she told her bear. Stick to the plan. Trust the crew.

  “He planned on killing Tank anyway,” Flynn murmured. “Don’t let him get to you.”

  She had no intention of letting him get to her. She was here to save the man she loved.

  “I must have forgotten the alone part,” she told him. “You know how women are. Disorganized minds, and not very bright. Only good for breeding, really. This is Flynn,” she added, as he stepped up beside her, legs splayed aggressively, hands on his assault weapon. “My new alpha.”