Nickolai followed Brie’s scent up the stairwell and growled when it stopped at the top. He put his hand on the door handle and tried to calm his temper before slowly opening the door. He stepped out onto the top of the building and wondered where exactly Colin had thought he’d been going to hide up here, since he was sure the coward had been attempting to hide.

How strange that Nickolai had once come close to worshiping the other wolf. He had been Nickolai’s first alpha. He had taken Nickolai off the streets and given him a home. Made him a part of a pack. A family.

Then Colin had lied to Nickolai and taken from him the one thing in the world he had loved with all his heart. His mate. His Brie. Not only that but he had turned Nickolai into a murderer because Nickolai had ripped the young wolf that had been guarding Brie apart without even giving the man a chance to defend himself and tell him that he had never left his post and that Brie was not really dead.

Nickolai stepped out onto the rooftop. The building was large and there were three foot stone ledges around the edge. There were also several taller towers, Nickolai assumed they were meant for guards and defenses, though Faugrimm had been so secure in his magical protection that they were unmanned and unarmed.

Nickolai heard Brie cry out and he turned instantly and saw she and Colin on the other side of the roof, across a thin stone crosswalk. Colin hadn’t yet noticed him. He was busy struggling against a fighting Brie as he led her toward the ledge.

Nickolai saw a ladder on the edge of the fortress and knew that’s why Colin had come this way. He figured he could avoid everyone inside the fortress by coming to the roof and climbing down the ladder. Nickolai had no idea how Colin had known this was here but that didn’t matter. There was no way he was letting Colin take his Brie from him again.

He took off at a run without saying a word and shifted as he ran. Shedding his clothes and his human doubts. He was a wolf now. A wolf who wanted to protect his mate and kill the threat, even if the threat had once been the alpha.

As Brie fought against Colin, the man raised his hand and smacked her hard across the face, which brought a roar of rage from Nickolai. Colin’s head whipped around and he barely had time to register that Nickolai was coming before Nickolai leapt forward.

Colin threw Brie in front of him and Nickolai was forced to twist in the air and landed beside them, stumbling several steps before turning to face Colin, growling low in his throat.

“It’s been a long time, Nickolai. I see a few new scars. Has life been treating you well?” Nickolai growled and shifted back. He had things to say to Colin and answers he wanted to get and he wasn’t going to get any of those things accomplished as a bloodthirsty wolf.

“Let go of my mate now.” he stated, his face a cold mask of control as he took in the sight of his Brie’s bruising cheek. It was clear that she had shifted at some point and her bare skin and soft body had Nickolai’s desire building despite the situation they were in.

His Brie could always make him lose control of every emotion and desire that he had.

“I think I’ll just keep my daughter right here.” Colin said, holding Brie tight in front of him. “For insurance purposes.”

“Coward.” Nickolai growled and Colin shrugged, though his brow shown with sweat in the sunset light and licked his trembling bottom lip nervously.

“Some would say it was a wise move.” Brie looked like she was about to fight against her father and Nickolai quickly narrowed his eyes and shook his head. His mate would not have to fight. Not with him here. That was his job.

Fighting when she had to was one thing but right now she did not have to. Nickolai also did not want her to have harming her father on her conscience. No matter how big of a monster her father was.

“Why did you do it, Colin? Why did you sell your daughter to monsters? Do you have any idea what they put her through?”

“She was well cared for. She seems healthy enough.” Nickolai growled low in his throat and took a step forward. Colin’s eyes widened with panic and he shoved Brie toward the edge of the roof.

“I’ll throw her off, Nickolai. You just need to turn and walk away. This is between my daughter and I. I’m taking her home to her pack.”

“You will not take my mate from me again. Her place is with me and my pack.” Nickolai warned, though he didn’t move any closer. The fall from the roof would not kill Brie but it could quite possibly break all the bones in her body and the pain would be unbearable. If there was any way to keep his Brie from tumbling over the roof than that was the path Nickolai wanted to take.

“Her place is with me! Her father!”

“You’re crazy.” Brie accused and Colin’s grip tightened painfully on her arm.

“I’ll kill her, Nickolai.” Colin warned and then he slid a long knife and placed it against Brie’s neck.

Brie fought hard to stay brave when what she wanted to do was cry. She felt the knife prick her skin. If her father cut her throat deep enough she would die. That was one guaranteed way to kill a werewolf.

She looked at Nickolai but his face was unreadable. He was the single bravest person that she knew. He was strong, stoic and never panicked. Never showed fear. She was jealous of him at times. She had always wished she could be more like him. She simply did not have that in her.

Nickolai knew he had to act fast if he was going to save Brie. He took a step back as if in retreat and then lunged forward. Colin cried out in shock, as the knife clattered to the ground and he jumped backward. Nickolai felt fear and panic fill him when Colin tripped over the edge and fell from the roof, taking Brie with him.

“BRIE!” Nickolai cried as he jumped to the edge and reached out just in time to grab Brie’s hand. Colin’s screams ended abruptly as his body landed with a dull thud on the ground far below them.

“Nickolai.” Brie sighed with relief as he lifted her with one hand back onto the roof and wrapped his arms tight around her.

“You caught me…” she gasped as she clung to him and buried her nose in his bare chest. Nickolai nodded as he buried his nose in her thick red curls.

“Of course I caught you.” he replied gruffly. He moved her to the side and leaned over the edge to see Colin’s broken body in the back courtyard that Nickolai and the pack had entered through. He could hear Colin gasping in pain and knew the man was alive but his bones were all broken so he couldn’t move.

“We have to get off the roof.” Nickolai stated as he moved back to Brie and wrapped his arm tight around her shoulders. There were no words to describe how relieved he was to have her back again. Never again would he let her out of his sight. Never again would he risk her being taken away from him. He couldn’t stand it if it were to happen yet again.

He led her over to his clothes and picked up his torn shirt. He helped Brie slide it on and a faint smile curved his lips when he saw the way it hung to her knees.

His pants were torn as well but he pulled them on and they covered the necessary areas.

“You never used to be shy.” Brie teased, leaning against him. Nickolai found himself smiling.

“I’m not but the alpha female is.” Nickolai walked to the ladder and he climbed onto it, going down several steps and then motioning for Brie to follow him.

It took several long moments but finally they reached the grass and stone below them.

“Nickolai, where is everyone?” Brie asked.

“We have not seen either Faugrimm or Beechum. Dracon is dead. Trig, Farrah and Brendon are dealing with the last of the guards and Grange will be bringing Dawn out soon. We are all meeting here in the courtyard. Stay here.” he added quietly and Brie nodded and pushed her back against the stone wall as Nickolai walked out to Colin’s broken body.

“Finish…me..off…” Colin gasped as blood trickled from his mouth and ran down the side of his face. Nickolai shook his head.

“Not until you give me the answers I want.” he replied coldly as he stared down at Colin without emotion. Colin managed a painful smile that was more like a grimace in his current state. His bloody mouth and teeth gave him an almost scary appearance as his pain glazed eyes glared up at Nickolai.

“What answers are those?” he asked.

“Why did you do what you did to me?” Nickolai growled, fighting to keep his voice void of any emotion and hurt. “You were like a father. You were my alpha. I would have given my life to keep you safe. Why did you betray me?”

“I found your worthless ass wandering the streets and I saved you. I trained you. I groomed you. And then you took my baby girl away and my pack began to look at you differently. The stronger you got, the older and more experienced you became, the less respect they showed toward me. Instead it began being directed at you.” Colin growled, though he did not move. Nickolai guessed his neck was broke and that was why he was completely immobile. “I couldn’t have that.”

“Are you saying that you thought I was going to steal the pack? You thought I wanted to overthrow you and become alpha?” he demanded.

“You would have. Given enough time, you would have. I knew that if you challenged me I would lose. You were always a gifted fighter. Then I got into trouble financially. I knew that if the pack discovered the issue I would be overthrown and so I devised a plan to get rid of you and solve my monetary issues.”

“By selling your daughter and telling me that my mate had died?” Colin coughed and blood splattered from his mouth onto Nickolai’s bare chest.

“It really was a great plan.”

“Until she escaped and came back to me.” Nickolai replied and Colin frowned.

“Yes, until then.”

Nickolai stepped away and grabbed the knife that just a short time ago, Colin had had pressed against Brie’s neck. Nickolai went back to the other wolf and knelt down. He grabbed Colin’s red hair in one hand and placed the knife against his trembling throat with the other.

“Do you know the saddest part about all of this?” Nickolai asked and Colin raised a brow.

“What’s that?”

“I would have been loyal and submissive to you until the end, Colin. I never wanted to take over the pack or be the alpha. I simply wanted to serve you the best I could and love your daughter.”

“Funny how life works.” Colin stated with another bloody smile and Nickolai just shook his head and then finished Colin off. He tossed the knife aside and then stood straight and turned to look at Brie who was staring at her father with a mixture of powerful emotions that not even Nickolai could read or decipher.

He walked toward her slowly, wondering what was going on inside her head. He had warned her that if he ever saw her father again he would kill him and the man had been willing to kill her. Was she upset at him still despite all of that?

He stopped two feet from her and simply looked at her. He knew that his bare chest and arms were splattered with her fathers’ blood, though he made a conscious effort to keep his face free of emotions.

“My Brie…?” he questioned cautiously. A single tear ran down Brie’s cheek, piercing a hole straight through Nickolai’s heart and then she flung herself into his arms.

“I love you.” She whispered into his ear as her now free flowing tears soaked his skin. “I love you.”

“I love you too, my Brie. Are you angry with me?”

“No.” Brie assured him as she pulled away and looked into his pale blue eyes. She could see his worry and his fear even though she knew he was trying to hide it. “I’m angry with him” she said, tilting her head toward her father’s body without looking at him. “What he did to you was inexcusable.”

“He did it to us, my Brie, but he’s gone now.” Nickolai pulled her close again and kissed her brow. “Now let’s go near the hedges and wait for everyone else to join us.”

“What about the elves?” Brie asked and Nickolai shook his head.

“Killing them will have to wait. My first priority is getting you somewhere safe.”

“Too late.” A haughty voice replied and then Nickolai and Brie both cried out when the hedges seemed to come to life and grab them, trapping them in a tight embrace as an elf came out of the shadows and smiled at them both.

“Faugrimm.” Brie whispered, her voice trembling.

“You both just stay right there. Don’t bother trying to get free.” he told Nickolai who was tearing, uselessly at the vines and leaves around him. “It is quite useless, I assure you.”

Nickolai stilled and glared him.

“Let’s just stay here and wait shall we?” Faugrimm asked with a grin. “I believe your friends will be joining us soon.”

***

“Grange!” Dawn exclaimed as Beechum swung his long thin sword and Grange turned to shield Dawn from the blow. Dawn heard Grange grunt and then he stumbled forward, up the steps, banging her head against the wall.

“Sorry, love.” he growled through clenched teeth and Dawn stared at him with shock.

“Are you okay?” she demanded.

“Just fine.” he replied. “Would you mind standing here for a moment?” He sat her on her feet and then turned to face Beechum. Dawn saw the long tear in the back of his shirt and the blood soaking the black fabric. Grange had just taken a hit that had been aimed at her. For some reason that made her angry.

Grange hefted up his heavy broadsword and Beechum smiled.

“I will kill you.” he hissed. “And then I will kill your unborn mutt and take your mate for myself.”

“Keep talking, Beechum.” Grange warned and Beechum smiled.

“Are you a man of actions then instead of words?” he asked and Grange just growled and swung his sword, though his movements were hindered by the close walls and the size of the broadsword. Beechum’s sword was much smaller, much like the sword of a samurai warrior and therefore he was able to maneuver it more quickly in the tight surroundings.

However thanks to the damage that Dawn had dealt to his usual fighting arm earlier that day, Beechum wasn’t able to wield his sword as well as he usually could.

Dawn watched with horror as the two men battled one another. Each of them blocking and sometimes missing swings. The stone walls were quickly being splattered and smeared by dark red blood as they dueled on the stairwell and Grange fought to keep Beechum away from Dawn.

Dawn knew that they needed to get out of here. And when Grange receiving a glancing blow to his side by jumping in front of her and blocking her body once again Dawn had had enough.

She was no helpless damsel. She was a tough woman who had always made her own way and looked out for herself. She was the alpha female. A soon to be mother and mate to a powerful alpha. She did not need to be protected and coddled. She needed to kill this threat to her mate and child!

Grange was beginning to gain the upper hand on Beechum when he heard the low, angry growl behind him. He cast a glance back at Dawn as he blocked another swing of Beechum’s sword and pushed the man backward.

Her eyes were golden and she was angry. He knew what was going to happen before it happened and yet he was helpless to do anything to stop her.

Dawn jumped through the air, lunging for Beechum. She shifted in mid air, the sheet Grange had tied around her falling free as she came upon Beechum and the two of them went tumbling down the steps.

“Dawn!” Grange cried out as her terrible growls reverberated and echoed off the stone walls around them. Beechum’s sword clattered harmlessly to the floor and Grange chased them, realizing they hadn’t been far from the ground floor when the stairwell suddenly opened up and Beechum and Dawn rolled down into it.

Grange wanted to jump in and help but Dawn issued a sharp bark and Grange knew it was directed at him. His fierce tempered mate had just told him to stay back and let her handle things.

He watched in a mixture of shock and amazement as Dawn’s jaws suddenly closed around Beechum’s neck and the elves eyes widened in a moment of shocked realization just before she tore out his throat and blood spilled across her fur and began to pool on the cold stone floor.

She jumped away from Beechum, shook out her fur and then looked at Grange as her back legs gave out and she slumped to the floor. Grange shoved his hand roughly through his thick black hair and shook his head.

“What the hell were you thinking?! I had him! I was about to kill him! You can’t be putting yourself and our child in danger like that!” he scolded angrily even as he stepped forward and lifted her gently into his arms. She shifted as he held her and laid her head against his heart.

“I’m no helpless damsel, Grange.”

“I’d say not. That’s one hell of a woman you got there, Grange.” Grange turned quickly to see Brendon, Trig and Farrah walking toward them down the dungeon hallway. “You better hang on to that one.” Brendon added and Grange nodded.

“I plan on it.” he replied.

“Grange…” Dawn whispered with a squeak. Grange frowned.

“What?”

“I’m naked.” Brendon quickly pulled off the long duster coat he’d been wearing and handed it to Grange, who sat Dawn on her feet, helped her into the coat and then picked her back up.

“Aren’t you gonna argue that you can walk?” Trig asked with a grin as he swiped at a bloody cut on his cheek.

“And miss out on being carried?” Dawn asked with a scoff. “Of course not.” Then she frowned at Brendon.

“You smell like a mortal. What are you?” she asked when she saw the wound in his chest that would have killed a regular mortal.

“I’m a hunter, ma’am.” he replied with a tip of the stetson hat on his head.

“You don’t smell like an immortal.”

“Well it doesn’t do much good when you’re a hunter if your pray can smell you coming.”

“Are all the guards dead then?” Grange asked his pack and Farrah nodded.

“All that did not run away.” she replied.

“I killed the most.” Trig added quickly and Brendon shook his head.

“No, I believe that was me.” he argued. Grange rolled his eyes and started toward the dungeon cells, preparing himself for what he knew he would see and smell.

“No, it was me.” Trig fought back and Brendon sighed.

“I kept count. I killed forty-five.”

“Yeah well I killed forty-five and a half.” Trig replied.

“A half?” Grange found himself asking before he could stop himself. “How exactly did you kill a half?”

“Well Farrah had already cut him in half with a sword but his top half was still flopping around and I cut it’s head off. I figure that counts as a half.”

“Does not.” Brendon said matter of factly and Trig stuck his tongue out at him.

“Does too.”

“Oh my God!” Dawn exclaimed as her eyes fell on the sight of the prisoners for the first time.

“Help us.” a woman asked. Dawn scented the air and realized that she was sickly sweet. A vampire.

“Grange we have to help them.” Dawn stated as Grange quickly went past the cells and opened the squeaking door to the courtyard.

He stepped out into the fresh air, breathing it in to rid his nostrils of the scent of urine and filth.

“Dawn, we don’t have time.” he argued. Dawn glared at him and he sighed with defeat. “I can’t break open the cell doors. I’m strong but not that strong.”

“Then we need a key.” Dawn replied.

“I’m fresh outta keys.” Grange replied, wishing they could just get out of here.

“Farrah, who keeps the keys to the cells?” Dawn asked the other woman.

“That would be me.” Everyone turned as the wind kicked up and they saw Faugrimm standing twenty feet away in the courtyard, watching them with a smile. “You weren’t planning on leaving so soon, were you?”