Without Mercy Read Free

didn’t
matter, that I would treat her well and follow any pack rules he
wanted but that animal...” Gary paused to draw an angry breath and
my wolf bristled at the tone being used against my mate. “Mason
wouldn’t hear any of it. Kept apologizing to me and saying that it
wasn’t the way things were done. That he had someone else in mind
for his sister, but hoped we could still be friends. Friends!” Spit
flew from behind me at the force of that last word. “We will never
be friends.”
    “Gary, pack marries pack. Mason is right…” I
was silenced by the gun smashing hard against the side of my head.
My wolf practically bounced off my skin in an attempt to break free
over the quick act of aggression.
    “I don’t care about your stupid pack or its
archaic rules. They mean nothing to me. I love her and I will have
her, whatever it takes.”
    “But vampires? You went to vampires?” I knew
I was tempting my fate but I couldn’t keep the incredulous tone
from my voice. Gary relaxed a little as he took in a breath to
speak.
    “I was desperate. Depressed. They found me
and offered me a way to get her.”
    “Yeah, but at the cost of your soul!” I
exclaimed. “No one is worth that.”
    He moved so quickly. One minute I had my
back to him and next his hand was locked around my throat, in a
death grip, the barrel of the gun resting between my eyes.
    “Say it again, I dare you. Say Jasmine isn’t
worth it and I’ll splatter your brains all over the ground.” Gary’s
eyes were crazed and I knew I’d pushed him too far. There’d be no
reaching him. One of us was going to die.
    We stared into each other’s eyes, willing
the other to relent. A firm voice broke our concentration. “Let her
go, Gary. It’s me you want and I promise I’ll go with you. Just
stop this madness.”
    Gary released me to look at Jasmine,
suspicious hope on his face. I dropped to the floor, gasping for
air with my hand massaging my throat. I’d give this for the human;
he had an iron strong grip.
    “Leave us alone. Gary. Please,” Jasmine
growled.
    It was the please that drew my attention.
There was a hint of animal in the sound and my stomach dropped as I
watched Jasmine fight to rein in her wolf. It was relentlessly
trying to gain control now, the trauma of the evening triggering it
to break free and surface.
    The situation just went from dangerous to
dire. Jasmine didn’t have a good grasp on the beast side of her
nature. She hadn’t been pushed this far. The Pack had decided to
gently ease her into it. This wasn’t the ideal time to learn
mastery.
    Judging from the convulsions racking her
body, we were going to have a real problem in a moment. Scratch
that. Gary was about to have a problem and my wolf howled in
anticipation.
    “You need to calm down, Jasmine. Take deep
breaths. Everything’s alright,” I spoke softly, watching her
carefully. “We’ll figure this out. Just try to keep your body
relaxed and mind focused. Okay? Don’t give in, fight to stay
human.”
    Gary reached down and grabbed me by my
jacket, dragging me to my feet. “What’s happening? What’s wrong
with her?” He used the gun to point at Jasmine, who had dropped to
all fours, panting heavily.
    “She’s changing, you idiot, and she doesn’t
have the pack to help guide her. I need to get her to Mason before
it’s too late.” I used my hands to roughly shove at Gary. “Let me
go now !” I threw every ounce of compulsion into my voice. I
didn’t care what his issues were, Jasmine needed me and that was
all that mattered.
    “No! No Mason. Just you. Fix her.” The gun’s
trigger clicked back on as he aimed it at me. “Now”
    I lost my temper. I thought nothing about
diplomacy or trying to ease the weapon out of his hand. It didn’t
matter that he seemed just as on edge as I was. Jasmine’s whimpers
were becoming louder and louder as the change began to take
over.
    “There’s no fixing her! This is who and what
she is – she’s a