"You're sick."
"No, darling. I'm ambitious, there's a difference."
I laughed and tried to hide the fear I could feel all the way down to my feet. I'd never been more scared in my life, but a part of me felt relieved that Annabelle was nowhere near this psycho. I was confident that the guys could beat the bastards that had taken her and knowing that Annabelle would soon be reunited with her family gave me a boost of confidence as I stood before Tyler. I straightened myself and looked him in the eye. If this was the way I was going to die, there was no way I was going down without a fight. How this man had managed to hide his true colours from us all was beyond me. Looking at him now, I found it impossible to believe he had had fooled us. His crazy eyes, his mad ramblings and his pacing on the floor just illustrated how loony he really was and I was in shock at how well he had managed to hide from us all. My mind went back to the time when Jasmine and I had been out shopping and those men had attacked us. Tyler had arrived only five minutes after, but now I saw it for what he really was. He hadn't been my rescuer. He had obviously known what was going to happen, planning to swoop in and rescue us so no-one would ever suspect him of anything. He looked like the hero and Jackson would have trusted him even more after saving my life.
He suddenly ran towards me with a speed that took me by surprise and before I could blink I was pushed backwards until he fell on top of me, knocking the breath right out of me. He balled his hand up and punched me so hard in the face, I saw stars and the nausea hit me as I fought to stay awake. His hand grabbed me by the throat and the panic hit me full force when I found I couldn't breathe. He squeezed tightly and I fought against him with everything I had, to try and get him off me. He laughed manically, watching the fear in my eyes and I knew that I needed to do something now, or I was going to die.
I managed to free my right arm from where I had landed on it and using the last remaining strength I had left, I reached between our bodies and grabbed at his crotch, inwardly cheering as I found what I was looking for. I shuddered as I could feel just how excited he was at watching me suffer. Desperate to get him away from me, I grabbed hold of his balls through his trousers and squeezed as hard as I could. Tyler let out an inhuman scream, reaching pitches I had never heard before and I tried to arch away from the sound, without releasing my hand. He let go of my throat and I sucked in a deep lungful of air, scrambling away from Tyler who was curled up in the foetal position and screaming. I knew I only had minutes before his accelerated healing kicked in, so I jumped up on shaky legs and started to run. My legs could barely hold my weight and my head felt woozy from where I had been starved of oxygen, but I knew this was a life or death situation and now I finally had something to live for there was no way I was going to let it end this way.
"You fucking bitch!" I heard Tyler's scream from close behind me, pushing myself faster through the forest. The next time he shouted, his voice sounded as if it was right behind me, causing my heart to drop.
"You think you can outrun a wolf? You're not only annoying, but you're fucking dumb too!"
It wasn't until I heard a growl, that I realised Tyler had shifted and now I was being chased by an injured, very pissed off wolf. My situation seemed dire and my strength was waning. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to outrun a wolf, so I needed to think smart.
I was trying to come up with some grand plan, when I heard Tyler's growls turn to whines but I didn't have the time to turn around to see what was happening to him. I kept running until I thought my lungs were going to burst and my legs gave out underneath me, causing me to crash down to the floor. I sat and tried to breathe but it was so fucking hard and I made a mental note to join a gym and get fit as soon as possible. I heard footsteps behind me and I stood up so quickly I thought I was going to pass out, but I readied my body for a fight against Tyler. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Jackson stood in front of me, completely naked and covered in bruises. Unable to hold myself up any longer and knowing that I was finally safe, I fell in a heap on the floor and started to cry.
I heard Jackson as he ran over to me. He sat down next to me, picked me up and deposited me in his lap. I curled up against his warmth and sobbed as all the terror and panic of the past few hours released, clinging on to him as if were anchoring me to the very floor beneath us.
"Shhh, you're okay sweetheart," he said in to my hair, gently rocking me back and forth.
"It was Tyler! He was a traitor," I sobbed, burrowing myself further in to his body.
"I know. Don't worry about him; he's dead."
I know I shouldn't, but I felt immense relief at hearing that Tyler was gone. The thought of him killing Jackson and taking over the pack was horrifying.
"Annabelle? Is she okay? Did you find her?"
"She's fine. She's shaken up but Jasmine's feeding her ice cream as we speak. I've got a feeling that girls gonna be even more spoiled now."
"He sent you all in to a trap."
"Look at me," he said, before cradling my face in his hands and wiping the tears from my cheeks. His eyes narrowed as he took in the bruises on my throat and face. Shit, I must have looked terrible. "If I could kill Tyler more than once, I would do for what he did to you."
"It's really over?"
"For now. We arrived to find the Grove bastards ready, but they were foolish and only sent half their men. We managed to take them down fairly easily, with just a few casualties. For a minute it looked like we were going to lose Ethan, but the doc says he's going to be fine. Thank god my men have hard heads, that's all I can say. The bastards that we left alive ran back home to lick their wounds, but we know this isn't the last we'll hear from them. They were lucky before because Tyler was giving them inside information. Next time they won't be so well informed."
My heart hurt at imagining my family and friends fighting for their lives and I was so relieved that everyone had made it back in one piece.
"How did you find me?"
Jackson kissed my forehead, pulling me in tighter to his body.
"Something felt off with Tyler's plan and I knew I wanted to send more men with you. As soon as you left I sent Max and Liam after you. They followed you and reported the location, which I noticed was different to where Tyler had sent us. We had a feeling that something was going down, so we went to the original location in case they'd split you and Annabelle up. We had a feeling they were sending us in to a trap, so I prayed that there would be more men to fight us than to meet you and Annabelle would be with the larger group, which she was. As soon as we had Annabelle I contacted the guys, who'd had a run-in with Grove Pack members who were hanging around near where you and Tyler were. Apparently, they were stationed to help Tyler dispose of your body when he'd killed you." A shudder went through him as he said the words. "When I knew my pack were safe, I rushed down here to find my guys just finishing up with those bastards. I heard you screaming and followed the sound. God, I've never been more scared in my life."
"You saved me."
"I wouldn't say that. Bastard could barely walk and was screaming like a little girl. Did you have something to do with that?"
I snorted quietly and nodded, feeling his chest move as he chuckled darkly.
"Remind me never to piss you off. I'm fucking proud of you, babe."
I looked up at him, before closing my eyes as a wave of exhaustion hit me.
"Come on," he said, as he started to move underneath me. "We need to get you to doc, you're hurting."
"In a minute," I said, pulling him towards me and squeezing him tight. I was in pain and so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open, but there was nowhere else I would have wanted to be. I was in Jacksons arms and he was my whole world.
LAURA
"He was a fucking traitor."
Two days after the dramatic events had unfolded with the Grove Pack, I was sat on the patio bench in Jackson's garden, wrapped in his arms. I felt like I hadn't slept in weeks, but for the first time in days I could finally relax. Tensions were still high with the rival pack, but after losing many members, they'd retreated to lick their wounds. Oh, we knew it wasn't the last we would hear from them, but for now we could relax in the knowledge that we were stronger than them. The next time they came for us, we would be ready. Ethan had been released from the clinic this morning, and was back to his normal cheeky self. He'd suffered serious injuries in the fight, but after shifting a few times to speed up the healing process, he was good as new. Thank God. Logan had paid me a visit, scolding me like a child at running headfirst in to danger and yelling at Jackson for letting me go, but once I explained about the threat to Annabelle, he understood. He told me he still wasn't happy about it, but he did understand and he was just relieved to see that I was okay. I'd had nightmares the past few nights, with many of them revolving around Tyler and ending in him hurting a member of my new family, but Jackson was always there to wake me up and hold me until I calmed down. I knew that I would have sleepless nights for a while, but I was so thankful that not only was I alive, but the rest of my family were too. Jasmine had been pretty much inconsolable after being reunited with Annabelle and once I had arrived back home, hugged me for so long my arms had started to go numb. She told me that she would never be able to repay me for the sacrifice I had made and the danger I had put myself in to save her daughter, but I told her that she didn't need to repay me for anything. Sometimes you had to put your neck on the line for those you loved and I would do it again in a heartbeat.