Pieces of Three Page 4

  “I promise,” he repeated.

  The ship seemed to let out sick wail with the next series of dips.

  “Alyssa!” Porter wrapped one arm around her waist, lifted her and put her in the corner. “Don’t move from that spot and close your eyes. We will get you.”

  She glanced between them. “Don’t forget me.”

  Her words landed in the center of his chest. He stepped back. “Never.”

  “Close your eyes!” Porter pointed at her.

  At last she obeyed and hid her face in her hands.

  Porter pulled him over to the door. “You’re better with the boat and need opposable thumbs and I have extra aggression right now.”

  “I’m the Captain, or will be, stop telling me what to do.” He straightened up. “Everyone goes but the girl.”

  They both glanced back at Alyssa and Porter shifted into his complete animal form, a massive brown beast down on all fours with his fangs already bared, eyes glowing. The only items left from his human form were the scraps of ripped clothing left in his wolf’s wake.

  Julian stepped aside and Porter lunged for the door, knocking it down and ripping it off the hinges.

  Wind hit them the second the door collapsed. Cold, cutting wind, the kind that brought with it chaos and mayhem. The sizzle of electricity, seawater and rain pelted them. They raced up the stairs to the deck.

  The storm raged, bringing with it massive waves that crested over the sides of the ship and soaked the deck. In less than a second, he was drenched, but he welcomed the water, the air and the open space, anything normal, natural and organic was a treat. Never again would he be caged.

  Porter stalked away, staying in the shadows to complete his job while Julian assessed the scene of mass hysteria unfolding in front of him. “They need to take down the sails.” At least someone had the sense to turn the ship into the storm. He made his way around the deck counting the crew. A huge strike of lightening illuminated the entire situation for him.

  Apparently in times of emergency whatever code the humans conjured to control shifting was disregarded. Several Arktosian guards transformed into their bear form, standing upright with their long fur covering their entire body and using the strength only an animal possessed to attempt to bring the ship under control.

  Even in the midst of devastation, the human crewmembers stood by doing nothing but holding lanterns and watching the animals with their weapons ready.

  He smiled. The crew and the guards numbered less than ten. With the antidote, the numbers were on their side.

  “Take down the sails!” A human came out on the deck.

  Julian fought a laugh. The human was a little late.

  One of the bears lumbered ahead and climbed up the mast, but before he reached the sail, the ship veered the other way and shot the animal into the sea.

  “Someone let the dogs out.” A uniformed human came forward. “I order you to help us now.”

  “I don’t answer to you.” He kept his focus on the sails. Another bear attempted the climb up the mast only to meet the fate of the first.

  “You answer to who I say you answer to.” The man prodded him with the butt of his gun.

  In the holding cell on land, he had prayed for the opportunity to be handed to him. With a grin, he caught the gun, twisting out of the crewmember’s hand. The man fell, and he stomped over him. “I hate rats on my deck.” He lifted the man by his collar and threw him over the starboard side.

  Another wave careened into the ship and he crouched down to keep his balance. The water washed over him, dulling his senses. With the numbers thinning on the deck, he waited until the water retreated to sneak into the quarters, performing a quick search to ensure no stragglers were left behind.

  Again, the ship let out a groan, the wood weakening under the stress.

  “Ready the lifeboats!” one of the humans screamed from outside.

  With mayhem breaking out, he entered the bridge and smiled. Not everyone listened to the Captain, one human lagged behind, a coward. He took hold of the gun, spun around and aimed the weapon in the face of the leader.

  The Captain held his hands up. “You should have stayed down below. We need no help from you.”

  A shudder ran down his spine and he caught the faint waft of a stench as another entity entered the bridge. The distinctive odor of his own personal torturer would be forever imprinted on his mind and he vowed he would never breathe in such foulness again. “Looks like your little plush toys need some assistance. I hear they get pretty soggy in the water, almost as pathetic as humans.” He cocked the weapon and glanced over his shoulder to find the guard, the one who injected him and Porter. Unlike his Aktrosian cohorts, he remained in his quasi-human form. The Captain’s pet obviously suffered from some human complex.

  “But not quite as useless as you after we gave you some much needed medicine.” The guard charged toward him, a syringe out and ready.

  If the needle even grazed him, in their precarious situation, death would be certain. He fired the gun, but missed his mark. He and the guard collided.

  They wrestled on the deck, shifter against shifter, yet neither transformed. Their human fingers kept hold of their respective weapons.

  “Get him!” The Captain commanded.

  Julian slammed his elbow into the guard’s face.

  The guard grinned and held up the injection.

  He would take his enemy down, tear him apart by the throat. In need of all his strength, he prepared to shift right as a flash of brown fur jettisoned into the fray and in one swift motion threw the guard off him.

  The guard let out a growl and shifted into his bear form. With his huge paw, he dropped the syringe. The needle landed in his foot.

  Another flash of lightening lit the scene. Porter’s golden eyes, the bear’s white teeth, the silver of the syringe.

  Julian jumped up and hit the plunger down, injecting the bear with the swill.

  “Ahhh!” The bear collapsed back and writhed on the floor as his body transformed back into his more human state. He convulsed, twitching and squirming like a bug until at last he stiffened and passed out.

  The click of a gun cocking echoed through his ears.

  “Useless animals.” The Captain chuckled. “Why even bother with medicine when I could have your head hanging on my wall?”

  Another scent, one of fear graced Julian’s senses. “An animal just killed you.” He wouldn’t give the man a second chance. Once more he spun toward him, and without pause he fired the gun, purposely hitting him in the leg.

  The Captain’s cries of pain took over the pounding of the storm before he passed out. Julian kicked the gun away, inhaled and with nothing inhibiting him, morphed into his wolf form in a blast of freedom. His clothes tore away and the power took over.

  He glanced at Porter and they each took one of their enemies in their jaws. Together they made their way to the side of the ship and rid themselves of the true poison.

  The release subsiding, their mission complete, they returned to their human state. At least one of the bears succeeded in lowering the sails before departing the ship. Even with their strength they couldn’t stop the boat from drifting, following where the wind and the water led. Death lingered throughout the ship.

  Nude, soaked, and exhausted, he took a moment to collect his thoughts. No matter where they ended up, he failed his task and now those on his island were in more jeopardy. How would they ever get medicine to them?

  “Let’s get the ship under control, or what’s left of it.” Porter saluted him. “At least it’s only us aboard.”

  “Us and the girl.” His chest seized. In the pandemonium he forgot about their little charge. “I can only hope we’re not taking on any water.” If water flooded the ship, or if the bottom of the ship were damaged, it would be the end.

  “Let’s get the ship secure, we can’t do anything about her right now.” Porter stomped away. “Damn it!”

  Julian ran toward the bridge, b
ut before reaching the safe haven of the door, the ship heaved in a sudden slow down, and he fell against the deck. The vessel ground to a stop. The grinding of wood against stone overpowered the crash of thunder and reverberated throughout his entire body.

  He turned to find Porter. “We ran aground.” Where the hell were they? He pounded his fist into the deck. They told Alyssa the hold was the safest place for her, but for all he knew their latest disaster could have washed her to sea. She saved their lives, and he prayed that none of the death he sensed came from her.

  Chapter Three

  “Unbelievable.” Porter stared up at the sky. The rain lightened a bit and the glow of the nearly full moon radiated through the cloud cover. His body sizzled, the shift, the exertion of the last few hours not enough to satiate him.

  “Get up!” Julian yelled. “Go get her.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do. You’re not my leader.” He closed his eyes, shutting out the optimist, the one who thought they could steal medicine, thought the humans would understand, thought he could rebuild Lykos and rule. Apparently, he also thought the weak, little human who couldn’t swim had survived a storm and running aground on some ridiculous island. However, he couldn’t gather the courage to go find out for certain.

  In an instant Julian pounced on him, grabbing his shoulder and getting in his face. “I am as long as I’m the one with the sailing expertise. Go get her while I secure the ship, assess the damage and make sure we’re still alone.”

  “If you’re in charge, why don’t you go get her?” He lifted his chin. Maybe for once he didn’t have to be the one to walk in on the horrors.

  “You made the deal with her, you know healing, go fix her.” Julian dragged him into a standing position. “Noah says a true Lykan never goes back on his word, especially to someone who helped for no reason.”

  “One day maybe Noah will tell you to stop quoting him.” He ground his teeth together at the mention of the elder who spouted his own brand of propaganda even faster than Julian. Something happened to their world. One moment their kind were working at building something new, the next illness devastated them. One second they were on a ship sailing and free in the sunlight, the next standing naked in the rain wondering who else they’d hurt. In one instant he was getting ready to take on a mate, and in a flash he was burying a body.

  The image of how Alyssa held onto both of them, shaking but trying to stay calm remained clear in his mind. For someone terrified of water and small spaces…and human, she did well. Exceptional. She probably died for them. If she were alive one of them would sense it, but the energy around him was flat, devoid of anything. “Julian.” The power that rolled through his body before was replaced with nausea.

  “Please, no matter what, just get her.” He turned away.

  “Fine.” The rain continued to fall, soft tears like the ones Alyssa tried to hide. Even after he scared her with his unexpected shift, she continued to hold his hand. Her hand fit right in his palm. She paid an equal amount of attention to Julian and to him with her big blue eyes searching out his as if he had the power to stop the storm.

  He pounded his fist on his leg. They had work to do, their own were dying and they had to repair this rattletrap. If she were alive, they would have to deal with her every step of the way. He would be the one who ended up taking care of her.

  “I should have never promised to protect her.” He sprinted toward the hold, some errant shards of wood cutting into his bare feet, but with his goal in mind he ignored any pain. Water from the storm streamed down the stairs to the hold. If she were knocked unconscious she could drown in a couple of inches of water without ever having to learn to swim.

  Call it adrenaline, or panic, but a surge ran through him and he jumped down the stairs into the pitch black hold. He allowed her to be hurt after he promised to keep her safe, and he delayed in getting to her. “Alyssa!” He lost his footing and stumbled into the darkness, splashing in some water and colliding with the cot.

  “Porter!” Julian called to him. “Did you find her?”

  “Shut up.” He pushed himself up and allowed the other side of him to take over. The room was draped in the scent of her blood and fear making it hard to get a lock on her, but at last he located her toward the far corner. “Alyssa.”

  He crawled across the floor, moving aside the debris blocking his path including her suitcase and some of her snacks.

  His nerves stood at attention as he tried sense any life signs to no avail. The once confining space seemed a huge canyon between him and the woman he promised to protect. “Alyssa?”

  At last he reached her, a sad crumpled heap on the deck, but her faint heartbeat and shallow breaths let him know she survived. Still, he put his hand on her chest and allowed himself the luxury of exhaling when her chest moved. “Thank you.” The blood he picked up on came from a long gash across her forehead.

  “Porter!”

  “I found her, she’s alive, but she’s hurt.” Like earlier, he checked her pulse then pressed his palm to her cold skin.

  “How bad is she?”

  “I don’t know.” He gave her a quick assessment, running his hands over her. Without the benefit of any supplies he couldn’t tell. “Go back up and find a place for us to rest. She needs to get warm.”

  “Get her up here,” Julian called.

  As he gathered her up in his arms her head fell back and her arm fell lifeless to one side. He pressed his lips together and hurried back to the deck.

  “Let’s go to the quarters. The ship is secure, even if the tide gets higher. We’re wedged against a hill.” Julian touched her hair and guided him to their destination. “There’s some damage to the boat, but it’s hard to assess until sunlight. How is she?”

  “We need to get her warm and dry, she was in the corner like she tried to hide.” He sped up his steps.

  “At least she’s alive.” Julian ran ahead and opened the door to their shelter. “We have to take care of her like she did us.”

  He made his way inside. All he needed was to fail her like the ones sick back home. They trusted him and he left, escaping with Julian.

  “Put her here.” Julian pulled the covers down on one of the bunks. “We have to get her out of the those wet clothes.”

  Before placing her on the bunk, Porter brushed her hair aside. Why wasn’t she moving?

  “Put her down.”

  They had no tools, nothing to fix her if she were truly hurt beyond a bump and scare. He shook his head. Some protector he turned out to be.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m putting her down.” He didn’t budge.

  “Then do it before she freezes.”

  He paused before kneeling to get her on the bunk without jostling her too much.

  At the same time, they reached for the buttons on her shirt, stopped and looked at each other.

  “I got it. I want to look for injuries.” Porter took it upon himself to unbutton the first button.

  “Fine, I’ll work my way up.” Julian moved down and slipped off her shoes. “Her feet are practically ice.”

  “Cover her as you go.” He worked his way down, unfastening the buttons and taking his time to lift her to get her out of the soaked shirt. After tossing the garment to the floor, he was met with another challenge and frowned at her bra. Only humans went to such great lengths to bind their body parts in strange configurations. After two tries he ripped the blasted contraption open and threw it across the room before laying her back down.

  Darkness or not, he got the opportunity to take her all in without the unflattering clothes. She possessed the curves, softness and fragility Lykan women lacked. His mouth watered at the sight of her full breasts and her nipples hard from the temperature, a perfect contrast of textures.

  “I thought we were covering her as we went.” Julian pulled her pants and undergarments over her hips and let out a low growl. “She doesn’t appear injured to me.”

  At having her as naked
as the two of them he broke out into a sweat. In an attempt to distract his mind from all she had to offer, he leaned in and studied the gash on her forehead, brushing her hair aside.

  She moaned.

  Relief encompassed him, but he wanted to hear her speak. “Alyssa, talk to us.”

  “Help.” Her voice sounded as broken as the rest of her.

  He pressed his palm to her cheek.

  Julian bolted to her other side. “Keep talking.”

  Her eyes fluttered open. “You’re here.”

  “Are you in pain?” Julian took her hand.

  “You were in my dream.” Her eyes closed and she trembled. “Don’t leave me.”

  “I told you I would be here.” Julian let go of her hand and pulled the blanket up over her. “Everything is going to be fine.”

  “Please.” She snaked her hand out of the blanket and reached for Julian.

  Maybe he needed to leave the two of them alone. She wanted Julian and he was the best choice for her. “Stay with her and let me find any supplies.” Porter went stand.

  “No!” She liberated her other hand from the blanket and held it out to him.

  “Alyssa?” Though he instantly took hold of her hand, he tried to harden his tone and his body. He was not her soft place to land.

  She turned and gazed up at him. “Don’t let go.”

  Julian smiled.

  “What do you need?” He sucked in his cheeks. Damn those big blue eyes staring at him.

  “You.” Her teeth chattered. “Don’t let go.”

  He couldn’t let go if he wanted to, and he did. Her touch set him off. It seared through him, made him want to pull her in, hide her, protect her, or maybe something else. Something primal. Something he only experienced briefly one other time. “Not now.”

  “What?” Her shaking amplified and she tried to pull them closer.

  “These blankets are worthless.” Instinct took over and he lay down beside her. “We have a higher body temperature than she does.”

  “Well, she is more than welcome to any of my body temperature.” Julian slid into the bed as well.

  “Don’t leave me,” she repeated once more.