Love and Deception

Chapter Eighteen

Noah

Noah sat as still as he could behind Wade. Shrouding himself away from the eyes of Lucius as much as he possibly could. He kept Carlie in his peripheral sensory range but no one could split his focus that far. There was no way Lucius had a tight enough hold on her to be a danger anymore. Not unless he released Elizabeth. Her pain was grating on Noah’s consciousness in so many ways. A packmate, a sister, collateral f*****g damage in a way she had no business being anywhere near. For once he understood his father’s desire to keep her close and safe. She had a habit of taking on more than she could chew without really asking first.

The attacks on Elizabeth had changed Wade’s attacks. Instead of deflecting and returning Lucius’ bolts of magic energy he was now on the offensive. Wade used a much wider array of attacks to win the conflict. Not that Noah understood anything that he was seeing except Lucius had clearly lost his mind and was spreading himself far too thin. Wade, to his credit, was focused solely on defeating his adversary. The only sign that betrayed his emotional state was the intensity of the spells that were flung at Lucius when Elizabeth lost the fight to muffle her pain and another scream rent the air. Lucius must have been using more magic on her then just the errants bolts. While painful she wouldn’t have been in the fetal position and in tears. She had been through more pain than some moderate electrocution. No he must have been trying to break her in some way. No doubt he’d realized Wade was trying to protect her.

:NOAH!: Emmeline’s panicked mental shriek nearly made him take his eyes off of his prey to wince. :Kill him now! He’s killing her.: Noah growled in his mind. Elizabeth was not dying. She was hurting but he could tell from the wordless emotions she was sending that she wanted him to wait. She could handle it. :No she f*****g can’t. He’s trying to pull her wolf out forcibly. She’s fighting it. It’s going to tear her apart.: Noah sent a surge of energy down the pack bond to his sister and felt the immediate relief in her mind. He was immediately joined by Emmeline. Then Troy, Pierre, Annabelle, and his parents followed. It was a half a minute later when Meghan’s energy flooded through the pack bond, accompanied by her half demon mate’s.

The tainted energy made Noah’s skin crawl. His mind instinctively shied away but he forced himself to keep the bond open. Eboni was helping. The non wolf energy was giving Elizabeth the edge to push Lucius from her wolf. Once she was released from the danger, his family faded from his mind though his father lingered for a few moments. No doubt conferring with the twins about whether or not he was truly needed. Noah had no doubt that Emmeline was chewing him a new one for not overriding her stupid siblings’ need for freedom while Elizabeth vehemently argued the opposite. Noah knew he could handle it. He just needed that one moment of distraction.

:I’m okay Noah. Just rip his throat out. Wade is trying to give you an opening.: Noah doubted that Wade was trying to do anything other than kill the fucker but he let her think it. He felt Emmeline’s anger as she left his mind, no doubt using all of her focus on Elizabeth yet again. He was fairly certain she was on a plane to Chicago despite him telling her the conflict would be done before she made it here. But he wasn’t surprised. His siblings listened to him about as often as he did to them. He decided to go back to watching Lucius. Waiting for his opening. Though he no longer sat behind Wade. No he wanted to add some pressure. Let Lucius know how badly he was outnumbered and hoped that the fear made him f**k up faster. And he hoped that his presence might distract Wade enough so Noah could get the kill shot in. He didn’t necessarily mind if Wade did it but his wolf wanted Lucius’ blood so bad saliva was dripping out of the corner of his open jaw.

Noah felt Carlie move closer as the magic war started to grow in ferocity. The blood circle was no longer capable of containing the majority of the spells being cast in its confines. The elements raged around them as Lucius sent a whirlwind to engulf Wade, who transformed it into a water funnel and pushed it back on it’s original caster. The first whipped the room’s contents into a frenetic airborne grinder and the second dropped all of the debris to the ground while weighing down Noah’s thick fur and obscuring his line of sight on his prey. He grumbled in frustration but managed to dodge any heavy items that had been launched into the air by this new level of sorcery.

Next came fire. The element which all animals naturally feared, including the shifter ones. Carlie stilled and sank to the ground as the twin plumes twirled around each other and Wade, trying to burn him but unable to penetrate his personal shield sucked tight around his body. Noah fought his wolf trying to take a step back as the heat warmed his face and dried the water that had previously coated him. Elizabeth whimpered on the floor and hid her face in her hands. He felt Emmeline’s comfort as he reached out to offer his own. But there was only so much they could do. Yet Wade was all over it. With a great roaring tremor a giant hand made of stone rose from the ground and enveloped Lucius and his flames in a loud crunching grip.

Noah stood on all fours staring intently at the rock fist. Had they done it? Was the son of a b***h finally dead? Wade was also hesitantly watching his construct. It seemed a little anticlimactic but Noah wasn’t going to gripe. Carlie had risen off the floor and was moving closer to Elizabeth. So if he wasn’t dead he was no longer in control of Noah’s mate. A true wash of relief eased his tensed muscles and allowed his lungs to fully expand to inhale the first deep breath he’d taken all day. His mate was returned to him. Their link slammed open and their feelings poured into each other’s minds. He tried to keep his positive but he couldn’t stop the echoes of the fear, pain, and rage that had dominated his thoughts for large parts of the past two weeks. Carlie’s own emotional turmoil came through to him along with a heavy dose of love and comfort. They were okay now. They were all going to be ok.

As if the universe were waiting for that particular thought to spite him his sister’s blood curdling scream bounced around the room once more. She stared at the ceiling and began to claw at her face and flail around in panic. There was nothing attacking her that Noah could see. Carlie sent a confirmation from her angle as well. The rock fist cracked and then shattered around a heavily bloodied Lucius. He laughed maniacally. “Every injury you deal only makes me stronger!” He dipped fingers in his own blood and drew a symbol in the air. Wade’s eyes widened and then Elizabeth screamed again. Her hands clawed into her flesh so hard she started to draw her own blood.

Noah launched himself towards his sister. He met the painful resistance of the blood barrier. It felt like a frozen wall that reached out to embrace him as he made contact with it. He was pushed back but he immediately went for it again. He could withstand that s**t if Wade could. He was forced back again and again but he kept charging. He could feel the pain starting to take it’s toll on his body but he couldn’t stop. Elizabeth was raking furrows into her skin and screaming herself hoarse from whatever hell Lucius had forced on her. He felt Carlie’s wolf brush past him in his mind and follow their mated link to his pack one. She curled around Elizabeth’s distraught wolf and offered her scent and stability for Elizabeth to grab on to. Emmeline soon joined, simultaneously blasting him with a level of scalding rage that made his wolf a little nervous and the man hoped she wasn’t going to take it out of his hide later.

Noah wasn’t sure how many attempts he’d made at charging the barrier before he felt it give. He was already flying in the direction of Lucius when he felt it snap and the cold fingers dissipated as if they’d never been. His paws never even hit the ground as he soared toward the object of all his problems. Well...nearly all of them. He felt flesh and blood fill his mouth as he got a firm lock on the forearm that was raised to defend himself from the incoming werewolf. It was so satisfying that he didn’t focus enough on bringing his prey to the ground. Instead he landed all four paws on the side of his body, keeping his fangs lodged firmly in his arm. The pain filled screams were too intoxicating. The wolf wanted more. He wanted to use his claws to rip open the soft belly and hear the fearful gurgle and then final breathy sighs of death.

Yet they weren’t focusing enough on their prey while they enjoyed their victory and fantasized about further violence. They didn’t know until it was too late that the prey had gathered a large orb of magical energy in its other hand. Lucius blasted them with the energy and sent their body sailing through the air again, this time under no one’s control. They stopped when they hit the far cement wall with a painful crunching thud. Noah had a brief moment to feel Carlie’s terror and his own mind numbing agony before he blissfully lost consciousness.

Carlie

Carlie watched Noah’s body fall limp to the floor and howled in fear and rage. She raced to his side, forgetting all about his sister and the sorcerer's’ conflict nearing its end. She used her muzzled to prod under his chin and when that earned her no response she licked the fur of his cheek. She felt panic begin to choke her when even that soft touch garnered no response whatsoever. Yet she could see him breathing. He wasn’t dead. He possibly had internal injuries and could be bleeding to death but he wasn’t dead. How did one check for that type of thing in wolf form? Should she be satisfied that he was breathing and make sure the fight was over before coming back. The human frowned while the wolf flat out growled.

She was still waffling back and forth, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do next when she felt the all encompassing presence of an alpha wolf in her mind. She froze at the intrusion but recognized the warm yet firm energy that had surrounded Noah’s mother. It felt like she was reaching out to Carlie through Noah. Trying to relay comfort of some kind. Was she hallucinating or was his mother truly telling her that he would be ok? She’d seen the blast of energy that Lucius had hit Noah with. She’d heard the bones break before he’d even gotten to the wall. Not to mention Lucius’ spells tended to have some nasty little after effects.

The mental tug of war wasn’t letting up despite the comfort and insistence pouring through her mated link with Noah. Yet she didn’t make up her mind until the two spellcasters renewed their battle with even more gusto. Elizabeth was still unconscious on the floor. And there was no circle to keep their attacks somewhat less destructive. Carlie looked at Noah and watched his sides rise and fall in a somewhat steady rhythm, prayed she was choosing right, and bolted for the center of the room. Once she’d managed to get to Elizabeth she positioned herself over her prone from, standing on all fours and angled towards Lucius. Her message was clear. Any further attempts on her sister would have to go through her. And she was looking for a reason to sink her fangs into him.

Lucius saw and hissed at her with a psychotic fury in his eyes. She had no idea how he was managing to still fight. He was cradling his mangled and useless left arm against his torso while trying to fend off Wade. The pain had to be excruciating. Though he was on the defensive now. He was using a shield to block Wade’s attacks. To her it seemed they were at a stalemate but Wade kept going. Clearly he thought he wouldn’t be the first to tire. Lucius broke his shield for a moment to use a spell to direct one of Wade’s at Carlie and Elizabeth. She dodged the brunt of it but felt a sizzle along her left side and then smelt burnt fur. Oh that’s how it was going to be? She lowered her head and growled at Lucius with a swipe of her tongue across her fangs for good measure. She wanted him to know she was coming for him. She would finish what her mate had started.

The battle raged on as she watched Lucius intently, waiting for her chance. She maintained her position of defense over Elizabeth. She worried that another of Lucius’ deflection tactics would hurt her once Carlie made her move. But she was able to dodge all of the ones he let off so she got the feeling he couldn’t focus too much on aiming without losing to Wade. The sorcerer who had stated in no uncertain terms that Lucius was going to die. Though she wondered how he could think that wasn’t where this was going to end anyway. Even if he made it out of the room somehow his wounds were already starting to smell like rot. Plus the blood loss. Plus the most terrifying creature she’d ever laid eyes on and his mate just waiting for the chance to be of use to their children. She was honestly surprised they hadn’t stormed the place already. They must really want to give them the chance to handle it themselves.

Finally after what felt like hours yet was probably only minutes, Carlie saw Lucius’ shield waver. He was weakening. Wade had kept up the same constant level of attack and defend for the entire contest. He was very wolflike in his mannerisms sometimes she noted. It would probably serve him well when he and Elizabeth made an attempt at the attraction that sparked whenever they were in the same room. Of course, that was if they did. Were werewolves allowed to mate outside their species? She put that question away for later, cursing her distraction. She was clearly flagging as well.

Her break came when Lucius cast an offensive triple bolt of thin red energy. Wade deflected easily, sending it soaring back to Lucius who had no choice but to twist and turn to avoid them. In the process he’d flung his good arm over his head and turned to Carlie. She moved into his space in the blink of an eye, deftly avoiding his attempt to bring his elbow down to block her in a mirror of a move Noah had used on her earlier. She opened her jaws wide and felt the sheer joy as they closed around his exposed lower rib cage. She felt more than one fang slide between the bones and the lower ones tear into the sensitive weak flesh of his stomach. He let out a blood curdling scream and she bit down harder. Blood had never tasted so sweet on her tongue as the ambrosia that filled her mouth now. Revenge truly was the finest dessert.

She released him when she could hear his pulse start to slow. He fell to the floor with a thud and she felt the magic surge past her from Wade to surround the downed Lucius. She breathed a heavy sigh and licked the blood from her muzzle. They’d done it. Noah had gotten the first hit, she’d taken the second, and Wade would finish it off. She couldn’t have hoped for better. Well actually if Elizabeth hadn’t been involved then that would have been better. She felt a renewed surge of guilt at the memory of aiding Lucius to bring her here in the first place. She shook herself and ruthlessly pushed that thought away for the post victory aftermath. There would be plenty of time for all of that now.

She moved back to Noah and was relieved to see that he was already breathing better. A faint feeling of happiness and pride flowed into her mind from the same source that she had figured was his mother. She couldn’t help but feel a slight bit of pride herself. She’d been instrumental in freeing herself and her family. They’d been partners even in something as dangerous as the last few hours of their lives. He trusted her. He may not have volunteered her for such a perilous situation but once she’d been in it he hadn’t tried to bench her. Her mate was truly a marvelous male. She licked at his fur again, giving him a little comfort grooming. She still couldn’t quite feel any emotions from him but his presence was still in their bond. He must have been deeply unconscious to heal.

Wade’s voice drew her gaze back to the center of the room. She had no intention of leaving her mate again but she was still curious to see the end of the man who had taken so much from her. Maybe a little excited too but she was trying not to focus on that part of her psyche. Though as she watched Wade reiterate his crimes and his official sentence she noticed that Lucius’ wounds had all been healed. He was no longer bleeding and his arm seemed considerably less mangled, though clearly still a little broken. She frowned deeply, ready to get back up and inflict them again when Wade placed both hands on the side of Lucius’ head. “I’ve immobilized you. While I have no doubt that you could regain enough of your magic to be able to free yourself, for the immediate future you are paralyzed. Unfortunately for you that is more than enough time for me to impose your punishment. For your violation of the mandate of the Council and the tenets of magic you will endure every second of torture, pain, and sadism you inflicted within these walls. Over and over again until nothing remains of your mind but shredded tatters.” Carlie’s eyes widened. Wade would have made a truly scary werewolf.

He leaned in closer to his prisoner and spoke in a much lower voice. Clearly hoping that none of the werewolves would be able to hear him. Of course the acoustics in the room were far too good for that kind of privacy. But at least it was only Carlie who remained conscious. She knew how to keep a secret. “For what you did to her, every drop of water in your body will slowly evaporate, leaving a withered husk behind.” Carlie was well aware that she was not the female Wade was referencing. She shrank back a little farther at the viciousness of that punishment. He certainly knew how to inflict maximum fear and pain on a person. “And before you go getting any hopeful ideas about being rescued by a minion or something you owe fealty to, allow me to put your mind at ease. Once I’ve removed your contraband and those you have harmed, I’m sealing you in here. You will live out the rest of your pathetic existence within these confines.” And with that he stood up and approached Carlie.

“I can only take one of you at a time. Should I take Elizabeth or Noah?” Carlie’s answer was immediate.

“Elizabeth.” He nodded and his shoulders sagged briefly in relief.

“Where am I going?” She was going to say the hospital but then realized that unleashing hurt werewolves on a human hospital was probably a bad idea. She reached through her mate bond and plucked an image of Noah’s condo from his mind. She also sent what she hoped was a coherent message of where they were going to be to Noah’s mother. She felt so many minds in so many intense emotional states in his mind that she was quickly overwhelmed. How did he keep them all separate from his own thoughts?

“Noah showed me how you picked the image of this place from his mind. I have one of his condo. It’s the safest place I can think of.” Wade nodded and she felt his presence in her mind so she focused as hard as she could on the image. With another brisk nod he moved to Elizabeth and cradled her head in his lap before they both disappeared. He was back in a few moments and grabbed onto Noah’s shoulders. She felt a heartbeat of territorial rage as he too left the room. With one last look at the wide eyed Lucius, locked in the terror of his own actions she sighed again. It was finally over. And she couldn’t even muster an ounce of sympathy. He deserved everything he’d gotten.

Wade reappeared and held out his hand for her to take. “Noah’s mother is there already.” Carlie let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Thank God someone else was there to take charge. She had a feeling she was going to go to pieces as soon as the adrenaline faded. She nodded and placed her hand in Wade’s outstretched one. With a ripping sensation she was taken from the room and Lucius. Forever.