Kym Grosso - Tristan's Lyceum Wolves

Although it was dark, her eyes quickly adjusted to the light. Taking in the barren accommodations, she noticed a small square window in the wall half way toward the ceiling. More of a hole really, it left no room to escape. The one foot by one foot portal was missing its glass, allowing a cool mountain breeze to seep into the room. Sniffing into the air, a stir of painful memories told her exactly where she was. Wallace pack. Heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains; spectacular waterfalls, scenic vistas, wild flowers. Yet the only thing this place held for Kalli was a lifetime of abuse and torture.

Heart racing, she struggled to remain calm as the door to the room flew open. And although the ray of bright light blinded her, she’d never forget the horrific scent of Gerald or the smell of whiskey on his breath. Telling herself she was stronger this time, she fortified her mind, readying for his attack.

“Look who the cat dragged in. Our little hybrid slut thought she’d hide from us. We always find what’s ours,” he cackled as he approached her, shining a spotlight into her face. “Old Morris lucked out, didn’t he? Thought he’d find something up in the big city. We was lookin’ for some bitches to bring back here. We’re low, ya see. But we knew there’d be plenty of girls we could take. Big city won’t miss ’em. Little did he know he’d find you.”

“I’m not who you think I am,” she protested.

“Oh, yeah, I know who ya are. Fancy degrees, I hear ya made a drug to hide your wolf,” he laughed. “Worked real well too. Dumb ole Lyceums didn’t know we was even there. Well, now that we got ya, you’re gonna make more of those pills. We can sell ’em on the streets. Got big plans for ya, you know?”

Overwhelmed by the odor, Kalli cringed in his presence. As if she were in a swamp at night with gators, she could see the red flecks of light reflecting off his cold black eyes. She wanted so badly to shift, but as long as she was silvered, she couldn’t. If somehow she could get the cuff off, she could summon her wolf. In her mind, she’d made the decision to die fighting. Dying seemed a preferable option compared to a lifetime in Wallace. No matter what happened to her, she wouldn’t let him manufacture the CLI. He’d never be able to do it without her.

“I don’t belong to you anymore,” she spat at him. “My mate. He’ll come for me.”

He ran a finger down her neck. Linking a claw into the rim of her t-shirt, he tore it open, revealing Tristan’s mark. “Claimed, I see. But mated, not yet. I can tell a mated bitch, and you’re not one. Close but no cigar.”

Refusing to give quarter, Kalli defiantly sat with her bra exposed, refusing to let him see how terrified she was.

“My mate will come for you. You’ll be dead by morning.”

“Maybe you’ll be the one who’ll be dead after I let a few of my men go at ya. Not many bitches around here. Now here you are, fallin’ into our laps.”

He ran his hand down her chest, but when he attempted to paw her breast, Kalli struck him between the eyes with the palm of her hand, ramming his nose.

“Fucking bitch,” he screamed as blood spurted from his nostrils. In response, he struck Kalli across the face with the back of his hand. Her head smashed into the cinderblock with a resounding crack.

She saw stars as the pain radiated throughout her face and then through the back of her head. Feigning unconsciousness, she kept her eyes closed. It wasn’t hard to fake given the injury to her head. She sighed in relief as she heard the door slam as he left, leaving a string of curse words in his wake.

Racking her brain for a way to escape, she needed to get out of the cuff. She was no Houdini, but she’d watched plenty of television shows where people unlocked their own handcuffs. What did they use? A credit card? No, that was for doors. Come on Kalli, think. A paperclip? A pin? Where the hell would she get a pin? Her hair, still in a ponytail, only had a rubber band in it. She still had on her shoes but they only held laces. Then it occurred to her that she was wearing a wired bra. She wasn’t crazy about the idea of stripping inside of her hellhole prison but if she could get the cuff off, she’d open the door, shift and wouldn’t need her clothes.

After managing to unhook her bra, she bit at the fabric with her teeth until a small hole emerged. Threading the wire out, she bent it back and forth until it broke into two pieces. She proceeded to shim the lock by inserting the small wire between the notches and the ratchet. Within a minute, the lock clicked open. Smiling to herself, she had her own plan for Gerald, and it involved him and a dirt bed.

Challenging the Alpha while silvered may not have been the brightest idea she’d had, but damn if she’d deny her mate. Tristan was coming for her. Released from the poison shackle, she could feel it in her blood. Her wolf called to the surface, and she swore she could sense him on the land, in the air. She was certain, in that moment, that Gerald would, indeed, end up a cadaverous, lifeless piece of flesh by sunrise.

Locked and loaded, Lyceum Wolves hit the ground. In a smooth landing, the plane taxied onto the private airstrip nestled on a small strip of land within the mountains. As soon as they came to a grinding halt, Tristan, Logan, Declan, Gavin and Shayne poured out of the plane into two waiting SUVs. Tristan could feel her as soon as they hit the rocky soil. The smell of blood hung in the air, and he swore he’d have vengeance.

The Wallace compound was set against a mountain face, with a myriad of trails leading into the dense brush. They’d parked about a mile outside of the perimeter. Nearly midnight, the waning moon lit the forest floor as they stealthily navigated the terrain. As they neared the housing complex, Tristan signaled to Simeon to take the highest point. Simeon, a former Navy SEAL, was a precision shooter. Aware that the Wallace wolves had a proclivity toward weapons, Tristan had instructed Simeon to pick off any wolf brandishing a gun. But not Gerald. No, Gerald was Tristan’s only.

Holding a hand up, Tristan pointed to the right, around the large dilapidated structure. Scenting Kalli, he could tell she was close, within a hundred yards at the very most. Logan, also catching her scent, had been assigned to take Kalli to safety. As beta, he was the only wolf Tristan trusted to ensure her rescue. No words were needed to convey his meaning as they exchanged glances. Furtively, Logan took off with Gavin around the building, as loud music whipped a cadence into the night.

Tristan’s primary mission was to annihilate Gerald. The man was a menace who needed taming. In a deliberate manner, with his usual confidence, Tristan strode up to the front door. Armed with silver bullets, Declan and Shayne flanked him. Like a homing missile, Tristan kicked in the door and strode into the melee. The sounds of bullets breaking the windows resounded, while Tristan shrewdly assessed the wolves around him, searching for Gerald. Shayne and Declan started fighting as soon as they entered. Shifting into wolf, the fur literally started to fly. Five wolves fell to the ground in a pool of blood as Simeon carried out his orders.

Tristan’s eyes locked onto the stocky wolf crouched in the corner, growling as each of his wolves hit the ground. Intrepidly approaching the wolf, his feet never stopped moving. Images of Toby lying dead in the ground ran through his mind followed by his mate, abused and nearly broken, at the hands of the monster before him. Tristan didn’t want to kill Gerald quickly; he planned on making him suffer the way he’d done to the others.

“What you want wolf? Can’t you see here that we’re just enjoying a drink?” The words had barely left Gerald’s mouth before Tristan had him by the throat.