Page 54 of The Night Wolf
He glanced toward Kristopher. “If he doesn’t come, kill the boy.”
Caleb’s eyes went wide. “Don’t listen to them. Run and get Gareth.”
Kristopher pressed the blade deeper, drawing a rivulet of blood. Caleb closed his eyes and shuddered as tears ran down his cheeks.
“Don’t hurt him. Please.”
“You’ll come with me?”
Sean nodded.
Ryker reached into his pocket and extracted that fucking collar. He marched over to Sean and clipped it around Sean’s neck. The instant he locked it, weakness flowed through Sean, and he had to put a hand on the wall to steady himself.
“You’re mine now.” He turned to Kristopher. “Kill the boy.”
When the blade drew across Caleb’s throat, blood spurting onto the floor, Sean screamed and tried to reach him, but Ryker yanked the chain attached to the collar.
“Heel, boy.” He jerked the chain again. “Leave him. Let’s go.”
Kristopher dropped Caleb’s body, which landed in a pool of blood as he choked and gasped.
“Please, let me help him. You said you wouldn’t hurt him.”
“And now you know what happens when you don’t do what you’re told.”
They dragged Sean from the room as Caleb lay there, staring at him, pleading for him to do something. Only he was helpless now, and because of it, Caleb was going to die.
Chapter Fifteen
THE MUSICstarted and Gareth stood in front of Lyram, who was grinning at him. In a matter of minutes, Sean would belong to him in both forms, and Gareth knew his excitement was palpable.
As he turned to face the doors that Sean and Caleb would be coming through, he was hit by a wave of terror unlike any he’d ever experienced before, and the coppery tang of blood.
“Sean!” Gareth’s voice rang through the room. Needing the fastest form, he gave himself over to his wolf, shredding the tuxedo. As soon as all four paws hit the ground, he was racing for the room where Sean was supposed to be. He shifted again as he got to the door, only to freeze at what he found. Caleb lay on the ground, his throat slit, blood gurgling from a gaping wound. He rushed to Caleb’s side and knelt down.
“Caleb.”
His eyes wide, Caleb glanced at the other door, and Gareth knew that was where Sean had been taken. He was torn, because that was his mate and child, but Caleb was his as well. He put a hand on Caleb’s head, wanting to make his passing easier, even though Gareth’s heart was breaking.
“Get the fuck out of my way!”
Lyram stood over him, huffing. He shoved Gareth, who sprawled on his ass. Lyram knelt down by Caleb, tears streaming down his face. “You willnotleave me, do you understand?” He leaned in and placed a kiss on Caleb’s head. “You can’t. I haven’t even been able to tell you….” His voice cracked. “Please, don’t die.”
It seemed inevitable, though. Even if Frank were here, they wouldn’t be able to fix a slashed throat. Lyram growled, a sound that actually made Gareth shiver.
“You will not die!” Lyram’s voice boomed. He leaned in closer. “Take my power. Take my life. But you willnotdie. You’re going to shift. Do you hear me?”
But it was impossible. The first shift wouldn’t occur for another month and—
The thought died in Gareth’s head as Caleb’s body shuddered. First his fingers grew shorter, thinner, and then his face extended, the muzzle forming. Gareth was stunned, seeing Caleb undergo the transformation. It was slow, and while it should have hurt, he actually seemed to calm as his body was twisted and turned inside out.
“That’s right. Shift for me. I need you to be by my side, do you understand? I can’t lose you, Caleb. You’re my whole world.”
Caleb’s eyes fluttered open, deep and gold. He fixed his gaze on Lyram, who knelt there, stroking his side. Gareth had never seen anything like it before. Somehow Lyram had forced a shift in Caleb.
“You saved him.”
The enormity of the words wasn’t lost on Gareth. For years he’d thought of Lyram as his Beta, but the truth was, he was an Alpha. Or maybe it was seeing Caleb on the floor near death that pushed him beyond his station. Either way, Lyram was now a true Alpha.
