Something needed to relieve this pain. Something, anything, someone tell him how he could make it stop.
Kill her.
Who had said that? Not his wolf. No, his wolf howled inside of him, it needed relief too.
Very simple. The pain will stop when you kill her. Kill her, Tristan.
He knew that voice. It was his father, his Alpha. His father was still his Alpha, right?
Something was wrong—but the pain, it stopped him from thinking clearly. He couldn’t focus on any one thing, couldn’t make sense out of senselessness.
But his Alpha spoke to him and told him what to do, ordered him to take action.
Kill her, Tristan. Obey me.
Ashlee’s eyes fluttered open to stare at him. Her beautiful green eyes smiled at him in his frenzy.
Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it.
He gripped his head and rolled onto the floor. He shut his eyes. No, he didn’t want to. There had to be another way to stop the pain. He screamed, but he didn’t know if it was just in his head. Ashlee’s arms came around him.
“Tristan, what is it? What’s going on?” Her voice sounded scared but he didn’t dare open his eyes to look at her.
Kill her. Obey your Alpha.
“Ashlee,” he barked. “I need you to run or I’m going to kill you.” He pulled a deep breath into his lungs, trying to fight the sick, heavy fog that swamped his mind “I have to obey my Alpha. Run, baby, run now and hide from me. Don’t let me find you.”
Pain knifed through him and he felt like he was being gutted. Bright lights danced behind his closed eyelids. A fog formed over his mind and tried to put him into a deep sleep. He fought back, but the command to obey was strong. He felt a tear escape his eye and his wolf howled inside of him not to give in, to fight the pain, not to kill her. He could barely hear his constant companion. Ashlee let go of Tristan’s body, and he heard her run into the hall. Good, he had wanted that, hadn’t he?
Ashlee needed to die and he would see to it. Then he could rest, and then the pain would stop. If she wanted to run, he would chase her. He was a wolf after all. He called the shift to himself, and he followed his mate.
Kill her.
Yes, my Alpha, I will.
Chapter Seven
Ashlee tore into the hallway from their bedroom like the hounds of hell were after her. And the scariest part was that wouldn’t be far from the truth. Her bare feet hit the ground hard as she forced her sleep-deprived, recently sated body to move faster.
Something had happened to Tristan and Ashlee had no idea what it was. But he’d told her to run, told her he would kill her if he found her. Her wolf’s ears pulled back and inside she whimpered. Tristan was in pursuit. Her wolf could sense him.
If he catches me, I’m dead. But even worse—he is too.
She possessed part of Tristan’s soul now. If he murdered her, he would then be compelled to take his own life as well, and he would never forgive himself for her pain.
She could not let that happen.
She rounded the corner, her hands scraping at the walls. Every step, every ragged breath put more distance between her and Tristan. Or so she hoped.
She screamed as loudly as she could. She wasn’t even sure what she said but the further she ran, the more she bellowed. He was getting closer; in a moment he would catch her. Her heart pounded and she gasped for breath. She could smell his approach.
Just moments earlier Tristan’s scent—the forest, the breeze, and the water—would have meant heaven to Ashlee. Now it terrified her.
Theo and Rex ran into the corridor. Ashlee had just seconds to take in their appearance. Theo was half-dressed, shirtless, and the expression on his face said he wasn’t happy to have been disturbed. Rex looked exactly like he had earlier at their meeting but now he held a beer bottle in his left hand. She careened into Rex’s arms.
Rex almost fell backwards as Theo questioned her. “What is it?”
“It’s Tristan—he woke up and now he wants to kill me. He told me to run right before he lost control. Help him, you have to help him,” Ashlee panted out each word, as she struggled to catch her breath. Her wolf howled for release, to be allowed to shift, she wanted her mate back, and she wanted Tristan. Ashlee’s eyes filled with tears. She wanted the same thing.
Rex set her on the ground and shoved her next to him. “Did you perform the mating ritual?”
Ashlee nodded. It felt wrong to even voice that answer. The time between them had been so private. It dawned on her suddenly what Rex had just asked—he didn’t want to know if they’d had sex. He thought the spell had come back, that Tristan had been afflicted with the endless desire to kill her, as his kin had been thirty years earlier. Was that it, was that what had happened? Ashlee let out a half-sob and covered her mouth with her hands.
“Shit,” Theo screamed. “He’s right around the corner. We’ll head him off. Ashlee, Trip is fierce, deadly. Our father trained him and Gabriel as assassins when he was Alpha. It’s likely he will overpower Rex and me in a matter of moments. Get to Gabriel and Michael. They are two floors up. Take the stairs, run, now.”
This was the second time today she’d been told to flee, and once again she obeyed.
Ashlee turned towards the stairs and sprinted. She heard growls behind her and even though she knew it was stupid, when she reached the stair landing she turned around to look at the scene as it unfolded. Her wolf didn’t give her any other choice. She wanted to see her mate, and just as strongly, she didn’t want any of the other pack members to get hurt on her behalf.
Stay.
Her wolf begged. Ashlee was surprised to see that she agreed. She wasn’t going leave others to this. If this was to be her fate, she would face it with dignity. She sucked in her breath. That hadn’t been her own thought; it was Tristan’s. It was the part of his soul that she now shared speaking to her. Tristan would not run from danger and now neither would Ashlee.
Theo and Rex had shifted into their wolf forms. Theo was brown with stripes of silver fur intertwined, Rex all black as she‘d seen him that night at the zoo. When Tristan appeared before them, the length of time it took him was a tribute to how long he’d held himself back from stalking her.
Theo and Rex growled in unison. In response, Tristan bared his teeth and snarled.
Tristan raised his head to look past them at her where she stood in the landing. She could see the saliva drip from his mouth and hit the floor. His eyes spoke of menace and the hard set of his jaw made Ashlee gasp. She didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what he’d come for. He wanted her dead. Ashlee swallowed and pushed herself to be brave.
She stepped forward. “Tristan, you don’t want to hurt your brothers.”
Tristan growled louder and lunged forward. Theo intercepted him, used his own body to block Tristan’s way to Ashlee. They snarled and ripped at each other. Fleetingly, Ashlee realized she would have to rethink her opinion of Theo. He’d come off so cold, so brusque but whatever else he might be, he was the type of man to put his body, without thought, between a woman and the man who wanted to kill her. Even when the man was his own brother.
“Stop it, Tristan.” Ashlee shouted, her voice sounding hysterical to her own ears. Her face felt tight. She clenched her fists at her side.
Tristan pulled off of Theo and the two backed up and circled each other in fight positions. Rex growled, and the hair on his back stood up. He would attack Tristan next.