Mafia Beasts: The Complete Series, page 20
My stomach sank. Had I ruined his life by assuming the hunters were after both of us for all these years? He finally had a chance at normalcy when he turned eighteen and enrolled at the academy. He’d either been coerced, or chosen, to join the dark witches, and by extension 5th Circle, and I didn’t know which. I needed to find out.
“Your mind is made up.” It wasn’t a question. Zane’s long fingers brushed over mine and I shivered as desire zipped through me. Another reason I had to go—he and Lucas were a distraction. “I have something for you.” He stood and strode to a small dresser, retrieved a rolled piece of cloth from the top drawer, and set it beside the chessboard.
Tentatively, I unwrapped the fabric to find a long, tapered piece of citrine nestled within. “My wand.” I glanced at him. “Thank you.” This meant they were really going to let me walk out of here.
With a strangled growl, Lucas caught me around the waist and held me against his chest. His mouth came down on mine with brutal hunger. An answering call stirred deep in my core. He was mine. My mate.
But was that even true?
I broke the kiss. “I can’t do this. I don’t even know what I’m feeling or what it means.”
“We belong to each other,” Lucas said, his voice low. “You’re my mate. That’s how I know you are the one to break our curse.”
“I’m not.” I shook my head.
“You are, and we’re running out of time.”
“I can’t help you.”
Lucas’s jaw muscles worked. “You mean you won’t help me—us.”
“That’s what I mean,” I said, and his arms fell away. “You’ve turned hybrids over to 5th Circle before. The only reason you’re protecting me is because you think I can break this curse. We’re using each other to get what we want. I can’t trust anything you say. None of this is real. I can’t do it anymore. I’m out.”
Lucas released a frustrated sound and barreled toward the door. I watched his retreating back. My heart ached with the loss of him, but I wasn’t going to let some wolfish instincts, which I barely grasped, dictate my life.
I faced Zane. His brow was knitted over the black pools of his eyes. He stroked my cheek in the gentlest caress. “Take care of yourself.”
I nodded.
Picking up my wand, I headed to my room down the hall. For several long seconds, I stood in the doorway, realizing that nothing in there belonged to me except the rain boots I’d worn here. I slipped them on and chose a thick, warm coat from the wardrobe.
I reentered the hall and made my way toward the staircase. Maeve had betrayed all of us. How many other members of Penumbra Syndicate were actually loyal to 5th Circle? Yet another reason to leave.
My stride faltered when the butler, Jace, stepped into my path. He wrung his hands, watching as I approached.
“You’re leaving?” he asked.
“I am.”
His expression became grim. “We can’t convince you to stay?”
I sighed. Guilt wrapped around my ribs and squeezed. How many lives was I dooming to this curse? I inwardly shook myself. Penumbra had brought this upon themselves. Their curse had nothing to do with me. Even if I could come to love, and trust, Lucas and Zane… Cade hated my guts. Obviously, I wasn’t their girl. I was no one’s savior.
“No one can convince me. I’m sorry.” I sidestepped the butler and continued to the stairs.
I glanced at several guards on my way through the first-floor corridor and those stationed at the front door. They let me pass without a word, though haunted eyes lingered in my wake. The guilt returned tenfold. My presence here had brought them hope. Now, I was shattering it.
Shoving down my remorse, I pushed open the heavy door. I was free. Cold, clean air assaulted my lungs as I jogged down the front steps. Snow crunched under my rain boots. Flurries landed on my hair and shoulders, sticking and growing layer by layer.
In the driveway sat my broken-down car. It appeared nothing more than a lump of snow in the white landscape. But I wasn’t driving out of here. Using my wand, I summoned my go-bag from the car and lifted it over my shoulder.
I breached the tree line and let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. This was it. I was actually free of them. I should have felt ecstatic. Instead, a hollowness formed in my chest.
Through the trees, I glanced up to the third-floor windows. Yellow-gold eyes stared back. I swallowed hard, my throat thick. Lucas, forgive me.
I turned and ventured further until the faint hum of the wards dissipated and the snow eased. No terrible monsters stalked me this time. The woods were unnaturally quiet and still, as if I were the only living creature in them this evening.
Finally, I stopped in a clearing between the trees. Wand in hand, I spoke the teleportation spell. Purple smoke consumed my body, and I disappeared from that snowy forest near Seattle. When the haze cleared, I stood in the backyard of the rental house in Olympia, Washington.
Freedom had never tasted so bitter.
30
LUCAS
She vanished. She’d left me. She couldn’t wait to get away from us. I braced both hands against the window frame, my spine curving as if I’d received a blow to the gut. For several seconds, I couldn’t breathe. What was I going to do?
Emma had rejected me, but I hadn’t fully believed it until the moment she turned away and went deeper into the woods.
My wolf whined and clawed in anguish. I howled, rattling the window glass. In all my years, I’d only felt this kind of pain once before—when my first fated mate had betrayed me. The intensity threatened to shatter my heart, to drive me into the darkest corners of my soul.
Those rejected by their mate were driven from their pack, shunned, and left to die alone in the wilderness. I was already a lone wolf.
I’d already been shunned and driven away long ago. I had nothing left to lose except my sanity. Perhaps the curse would do me in before it came to that.
Drawing my fist back, I punched straight through the window. Glass shattered, cutting my knuckles, and embedding in my flesh. The pain helped drive away the overwhelming emotions. Freezing air whipped into the rarely used sitting room that overlooked the front of the mansion. The door burst open and both Zane and Cade appeared.
The vampire took one look at my hand and tsked. Cade grunted but went to work picking out the glass pieces. In silence, I let the Fae heal me while Zane found a temporary covering for the broken window. We’d been through a lot together. So much pain and anger, but this? I hated feeling weak in front of my brothers.
Cade let go of my hand. “If you need anything else, you let me know. No questions asked.”
I grunted. He didn’t need to ask any questions because he felt my feelings. He knew everything. A tiny, pathetic voice in my head wanted to ask him how Emma felt. Was she really through with me? Was I not enough for her?
Shut up, I told myself. Aloud I said, “What are we going to do now? Damian and his wolves need to die.”
Zane nodded. “We will deal with Eclipse once and for all. Their days are numbered. I want to hit them fast, hard, and soon.”
“Just say when,” Cade said, leaning against the wall with his arms folded.
“And what about Bryon Vexx and 5th Circle?” I asked. “We can’t leave Emma to fight them on her own. They will come at us again, whether she’s here or not, for breaking trust with them.”
Zane hummed. “They will be more difficult to sort out. 5th Circle runs wide and deep, as we saw with Maeve.” He pinned Cade with a narrowed gaze. “How is it she evaded detection?”
“Magic. Someone in 5th Circle is quite gifted with shielding charms. Both the physical and mental kind. I had to break through several layers within her mind to get to the truth of her identity as a spy.”
“That means there could be others within our household.” Zane sighed. “We need to evaluate every member of Penumbra. Cade, I place this task in your hands.”
The Fae inclined his head. “I’ll start with Ash. If he’s all clear, we’ll proceed together.” Cade shoved off from the wall and disappeared out the door.
Silence hung heavy between me and Zane for several minutes. What was there to say? We were doomed. Our few weeks of hope had been dashed in a single evening. We might as well resign ourselves to our fucking fate.
“I offered her everything,” Zane whispered. “Protection, wealth, power—”
“Love?” I asked with an irritated snarl. “Did you offer her that?”
“We both know I don’t have any love to offer.” Zane pursed his lips. “Though, I did like her. Desired her body and blood more than any other woman’s.”
That hindsight twenty-twenty thing? It’s real. Suddenly, I felt as if everything was simple—clear.
“You know why this curse is going to kill us?” I bared my teeth at him. “Because we fucking deserve it. She ran away because I came on too strong with all that fated mates crap. Because you’re a heartless son of a bitch. And Cade… well, I don’t even know what his problem is. She wants something real, and none of us could give that to her because we’re all a bunch of selfish pricks. She is my mate, but why would she believe me? We acted like assholes and broke what little trust she had in us.”
Zane frowned. “If I’d offered her my heart, she would have stayed,” he said more to himself than to me.
I replied anyway, “Yeah. Except why would she believe you? We care more about the curse than we do about her—or at least that’s how it must seem to her. In her position, I would have left too.”
How could she have stayed when it seemed all we wanted from her was to be free of the curse? Love us, be ours, and free us. Simple, right? No one could force, or coerce another into giving them their heart. But that was only part of the issue here, at least that was what I suspected.
Emma had been falling for me, I felt it through our wolfish bond. Had she been developing feelings for Zane as well? And with his offer… She had every reason to assume once she said she loved us, and broke the curse, we would abandon her and move on. Who would take that risk?
None of us truly understood how the enchantress’s spell worked. How deep did those feelings have to go? Could the simple utterance of love be enough to set us free?
I sank down on the sofa. “We went about this all wrong. Curse or not, Emma is my mate and I need to make her understand that.” I shot Zane a glare. “And you need to find your shriveled, black heart. It’s in there somewhere.”
“I’m not so sure.” He leaned against the window frame.
“Fine. Then you and Cade can go to Hell.” I lurched to my feet. “I’m winning her back.”
Zane followed me out to the hallway. “She’s already gone, and you don’t know where she went.”
“No, but I’ll find her.” My inner wolf whined and circled, wanting to be let out to hunt down our mate. “She’s going after Orion, and he’s with Bryon Vexx’s son. I’ll start there.”
“You can’t walk right into 5th Circle’s headquarters.”
“Watch me.” Jaw firmly set, I never felt more determined about anything in my life. I never should have let her go. Emma was mine.
31
EMMA
After casting a quick ward around the farmhouse, I raced to my bedroom to change and pack up what few supplies I needed. The hunters would know about this location, and it was probably being watched, so I needed to get in and out quickly.
It felt liberating to be clothed in jeans, T-shirt, and boots. For the first time in weeks, I was myself again. No more frilly dresses—ever.
I collected a few additional supplies and shrugged into a raincoat. All set, I turned to the open door just as a pang through my chest told me the ward had been breached.
They were here.
I gripped my wand, prepared to teleport and visualized my destination.
“Emma!” Orion’s voice called from the lower level.
My heart stopped. Was it really him or was this a trick? Only one way to find out.
I crept out of the bedroom to the staircase. Floorboards creaked under my weight. I peeked down to the main floor and Orion’s smiling face came into view. My stomach flip-flopped between anxiety and hope. Was it him? Really?
“What did I give you for your birthday last year?” I asked, my wand aimed at him.
He frowned. “Em, it’s me.”
“Answer the question.”
“New shoes. Black Converse that I’d been begging to have for two years. I still don’t know how you afforded them.” He shot me a lopsided grin.
My shoulders relaxed. “Is anyone else with you?”
“Nope. Just me. I decided to stop by and grab some things before heading back to the academy. Classes start on Monday.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“I didn’t. Though, I’ve been worried about you, Em.” He gestured up to me. “Come on down. There’s no one else here. Tell me how you got away from those monsters.”
I hesitated. Could I trust him? He seemed like his normal self, just a college kid headed back to school after winter break.
Wand still in hand, I stepped down the squeaky staircase. A scan of the main level showed no one else in sight. We were alone.
“They let me go,” I said.
“Really?” He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m glad you’re okay.” Orion scooped me up in a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You too.” I embraced him briefly before pulling away. “I’ve heard you’ve made some interesting friends at the academy.”
“Yeah. I’ll tell you all about it. But first, I want to show you something.” He placed his hand on my back and rushed us out the kitchen door. Twilight had descended, and with it the fresh scent of rain in the air.
“What do you—” I doubled over as the wind was driven from my lungs by a jolt of magic I hadn’t seen coming. My backpack slipped off my arm and landed with a thud in the wet grass.
Orion snatched my wand away. “Here she is!”
I tried to suck in air, but my ribcage refused to expand. Tears stung my eyes. Through the glaze, I watched as five forms emerged from the darkness, wands held high.
“Very good, Orion,” one raspy voice said. “Very good.”
My heartbeat spiked. I’d know that speaker anywhere, but how was it possible? Forrest was dead. I’d killed him.
Finally, my lungs cooperated, and I gasped, sucking in oxygen. I straightened up. Sure enough, Forrest stood not ten feet away. Orion sidled up to him.
Too late, I recalled the postscript from my stalker’s last note, Don’t trust Orion. I’d been played. I was a fool. Soon to be a dead fool. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around the idea that my own brother would betray me, much less the reality of it. I’d kept us safe. I’d struggled, fought, and overcame so many obstacles to keep us alive. How could he throw all of that away? How could he turn on me like this?
I didn’t understand…
“Orion, what are you doing?” I asked in a hoarse voice.
“You mean you want to know why?” He squinted.
I nodded, glancing at the other four figures. None I recognized. My pulse hammered in my ears. I needed a way out of this, an escape.
“You killed Dad.”
My full attention snapped to Orion. I gaped for half a second before recovering. “No, I didn’t. These crazy fuckers are feeding you lies!”
“You don’t even know what you are,” he said, his wand trained on me.
My mouth had gone dry. I licked my lips. “Yes, I do. I’m a hybrid. I’m part wolf.”
Orion’s features twisted in disgust. “You’re a monster.” He spat on the ground. “They just want you, Em. They’ve always wanted you, not me. If it weren’t for Mom—” his voice broke. “If it weren’t for Mom, you’d have been dealt with a long time ago. You killed Dad, Em, and Mom would still be alive too if it weren’t for you.”
“That’s all lies, Orion. You know me. You know I haven’t killed anybody.” I pleaded with him as two of Forrest’s goons started closing in on either side. It was unlikely I’d win my brother over to my side, but what he was saying was insane. I didn’t kill our dad. He’d died in an accident—a house fire. Everyone knew that. How could Orion think something like that about me?
One of the witches made a grab for me and I twisted away. At a full sprint, I ran toward the side of the house for cover. Laughter peeled from the group seconds before a brutal spell hit me square in the back. Pain seared across my skin. My head hit a rock with a sickening thunk, and I sprawled on the wet ground, groaning.
“Get her up,” Forrest barked.
Strong hands clamped around my upper arms, and I was hauled to my feet. The sky opened up, drenching my hair in seconds and plastered it to the sides of my face. This was it. I’d fallen for Orion’s trick and my life would end here tonight.
All those years of fighting to survive, running, and hiding seemed like a waste. If this was really how my life would end, then what was the point? The past several years were generally a blur until I’d stumbled upon a lonely mansion in the middle of a cursed forest and the haunted souls within. Being taken prisoner by the Penumbra Syndicate bosses had been the highlight of my adult life. How sad was that?
Lucas’s heated golden eyes floated to mind. His musky pine scent filled my nose. My taste buds bloomed with the cinnamon-vanilla sweetness of Zane’s kisses. Even the achingly beautiful melodies of Cade’s piano whispered in my ears.
Why had I left them?
For Orion. To find answers and face my future alone. To search for others like me.
Forrest’s icy eyes crowded my gaze. “Did you hit your head too hard? No matter.”
I spat in his face, and he grimaced. My spittle was quickly washed away by streaks of rain.
Orion hollered behind Forrest, “Bring her. Let’s go!”
My head cleared enough for my survival instincts to kick in. “No!” I screamed. I kicked at one of the thugs holding me and bit the other’s wrist. The metallic taste of blood coated my tongue. With a curse, the guy shook me off of him.
