Mafia Beasts: The Complete Series, page 37
EMMA
After the first deafening bang from Lucas’s gun, I didn’t think, I just rolled with it, flinging nasty dark magic spells at anyone who came within reach. Bullets flew, magic sparked, and blood splattered to tarnish the freshly fallen snow.
We crept closer to the main cluster of buildings. Bodies piled in our wake. Between the magic and silver bullets, the wolves of Eclipse didn’t stand a chance. It was a massacre.
We joined the main battle raging on the back patio. Area lights showed the grisly scene in vivid detail. My pulse thudded, my breathing became heavy, but I felt fine. Normal. As if killing my enemy was as natural as taking air into my lungs and food into my stomach.
Honestly, my lack of horror had me worried. Not that there was time to think about it at the moment.
Once our people’s bullets were spent, the shifters transformed, wrecking havoc with their teeth and claws. The vampires sped through the wolves and tore them to shreds. Bears took on the wolves two and three at a time. None in my party shifted, so I kept using my wand while letting my new wolf instincts guide me.
I caught an enemy’s scent close to us a fraction of a second too late. An enormous wolf leapt into the air, his aim on Lucas. He missed and sailed past straight into Samuel.
I shouted a warning. Again too late. Blood splattered the snow. Five shots rang out, all of them finding their target in the giant wolf’s body. He slumped to the ground on top of Samuel.
I rushed forward. My jean clad knees landed in the snow at Samuel’s head. His practically severed head. The wolf had torn out his throat, it was simply... gone. My mentor’s lifeless eyes stared up at the predawn sky.
A strangled cry wrenched free from my chest. I glanced up, seeking someone, anyone who I could punish for stealing my mentor’s life. Getting to my feet, I charged into the fray with a series of spells on my lips and my wand’s aim true. Those in my group never left my side. They followed my lead as the body count climbed and climbed until there was no one left to kill.
I bent over to catch my breath and wobbled slightly from the amount of energy I’d expelled during the fight. Naked bodies, once wolves, were strewn across the open patio. The metallic scent of blood mixed with the clean smell of falling snow. An eerie hush fell over us, the only sounds were my pulse thudding in my ears and the soft crunch of bootsteps.
I made my way back over to Samuel. Cade lifted the dead man off of him and flipped the villain over so we could see his face. I’d only met him once, but I recognized Damien Garcia, leader of Eclipse. Blood coated his face, chest, and hands. He’d done his fair share of killing before we’d taken him out.
“Fucking bastard!” Aya repeatedly kicked Damien’s corpse.
I stared down at Samuel, a heavy sense of loss settled in my chest and clenched my heart. Lucas placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. I leaned into his warmth.
Cade said, “Let’s take him home.” He grabbed Ash and they lifted Samuel’s body between them, then carried him around the side of the sprawling house. I noticed others doing the same all around us. We’d lost a few lives tonight, though not nearly as many as Eclipse.
“What will happen to their bodies?” I asked, gesturing toward the now extinct Eclipse members.
“We’ll pile them up and burn them come nightfall,” Lucas said. “Then we’ll torch this place.”
“Really? Aren’t you afraid of the humans calling the emergency line?”
He shrugged. “Nah. If the fire department shows up, a bit of Fae magic should smooth it all out.”
I nodded. That simple, huh? Then it will be like Eclipse never existed. Burned from the face of the earth.
Kevin jogged up to us. “Sirs, we’ve identified all the Eclipse wolves here. There are twelve missing, including Mad Dog Maddox, Damien’s second in charge.”
My gaze snapped up to Lucas. Maddox had been the wolf he’d fought in the ring on New Year’s. Lucas had beat him, but only after they’d really torn into each other.
Zane said, “Let’s find them. And more importantly, let’s find out why they weren’t here tonight.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll put—”
Santiago, coming over, interrupted Kevin. “My pack has a couple of excellent trackers. Let us help.”
Zane nodded once. “I’ll leave it to you. Kevin, assist them.”
“Yes, sir.”
Santiago lumbered off to speak to members of his pack. Kevin followed.
Damn. I mean this had seemed relatively easy, not that I knew how these things normally went. Would a dozen more wolves being here have made that much of a difference?
I recalled Maddox’s brutal fists pounding Lucas in the ring. Him being here certainly would have offered an additional challenge tonight. What could have called them away?
Cade reappeared and motioned to us. We ambled in his direction, each of us seeming to be lost in our own thoughts.
When we drew near, Cade said, “We’re following the White River Pack trackers. Let’s go.”
We rounded the side of the mansion. In front was a circular driveway amid bare winter landscaping. Dawn light was beginning to brighten the eastern hills. The day promised to be breezy and cold. Charcoal-grey clouds hung low in the sky and a snowy rain mix swirled in the air.
Two SUVs idled near the entry stairs. The front one was full of burly wolves. Ash waved to us from the second one in line and we piled inside. The blast of the heater was a welcome relief from the frigid morning.
“The trackers have Maddox’s scent,” Ash said. “They already followed it to the property boundary. We’re going to drive around and let them pick it up again to see which way Maddox went from there. The fools left here in wolf form, so their scent trail will be easy to follow.”
Ahead of us, the vehicle lurched forward, and we started to roll. I sat in the back between Lucas and Cade. This night was turning into a long day. Hopefully we’d find them soon and finish this business.
The driveway wound down the hillside, then onto a narrow lane that ran alongside Garcia’s property. We drove for about ten minutes before the SUV in front slowed to a stop, pulling off the road. We parked behind them and got out, except for Ash, who stayed behind the wheel and kept the vehicle idling.
Quil, Santiago’s second, called to us, “This is it. They left the property here.” He paused, sniffing the air, the ground, and looked for signs of something. I didn’t know what. “North. They headed that way.”
We all focused in the direction he was pointing.
Santiago said, “We go on foot from here. My pack can take care of them.”
“We’ll come with you and see this through.” Zane gave me a pointed look. I lifted my chin and crossed my arms. “All of us are coming, it would seem.”
“Let’s move!” Santiago started toward the dense tree line.
The roar of an engine reached my ears from further up the lane. I turned toward our vehicles in time to see a box truck slam into the front end of the first SUV and keep going, making it crash into the vehicle parked behind.
“Ash!” I screamed. He was caught in the middle of it all.
The truck’s engine groaned as it worked hard to shove the two SUVs down the lane and closer to the ravine on the other side of the road.
I groped for my wand. Lucas, Zane, and Cade rushed past me toward the scene with the White River Wolves hot on their heels. I held my wand up, a levitation spell on my lips to get Ash’s vehicle out of there. From the corner of my eye, I spotted a tendril of purple smoke.
In a blink, a fist collided with my arm hard enough that I dropped my wand. Strong arms encircled mine, pinning them to my sides, and a fresh plume of purple haze engulfed me and my attacker. When it cleared, we were in a dimly lit cavern that smelled of moss, damp rock, and wolves.
I didn’t think, just reacted. I slammed my heel down on the top of the brute’s boot. He grunted. Before I could bite him or jab my elbow in his ribs and go for my gun, a rock crowded my vision. It hit the side of my head with a sickening thunk.
The force wasn’t enough to knock me out cold, but my body slumped. My vision blurred. Then I was being dragged across gravel. The shoulder holster and gun were taken away. Thick chains clasped around my wrists and ankles.
I wanted to scream. This was not happening again.
28
EMMA
Startling awake, I bolted upright. My head pounded and my vision tilted as I took in the iron barred cage, the thick chains at my wrists and ankles that threaded through the bars, and the sparse lantern glow in the cavern. I must have passed out because I sure as hell hadn’t fallen asleep.
I tested my wolf strength against the chains. They groaned but held. Fuck! Even if I shifted, I’d probably be trapped in this cage. I could really use my wand right about now—except it was laying in the forest somewhere. I was so pissed at myself for dropping it. Again. If—when—I got out of here, I was going to remedy that ongoing problem.
Three figures approached the cage. The one in the middle I recognized. Maddox. He took out a key and unlocked the door which opened with an ear-grating squeal. The other two remained outside as he let himself in.
“Hello there, she-wolf,” he said. Staring up at him, I’d forgotten how huge this guy was, all bulging muscles on top of a six-and-a-half-foot frame. “Gotch ya.”
“Fuck you,” I spat at him.
He backhanded me across the mouth. “Don’t disrespect me, you fucking cunt. I’m the new alpha of Eclipse. You’ll lower your eyes.”
I continued to stare at him, unblinking. This wasn’t going to turn out like the last time I sat in a prison cell. He’d get no whimpering or begging for mercy from me.
Maddox smacked me again. The force of it whipped my head to the side. I faced forward and growled, regaining eye contact.
His jaw worked as he ground his teeth. He folded his arms and widened his stance. His glare demanded that I cower, but I refused. My wolf’s hackles raised. She was ready for a fight.
“You’re a stupid bitch, you know that?” He bared his teeth. “So are all of your friends. Did you really think taking out Eclipse would be that easy? That you all just got the drop on us?”
His words made me frown. “What do you mean? We did get the drop on you.”
“Only because I allowed you to. I’ve known what you were up to for weeks. I just made sure Damien didn’t get the memo. I suppose I should thank you for taking him out along with all of his loyal wolves. They are dead, right?”
I nodded. “They’re all dead.”
“Good. Now the world can see Eclipse rise again—under my leadership now that Damien, that pussy, is out of the way.”
Maddox had used us to kill his own alpha. He had more brains than I’d given him credit for. Scary thought.
He cocked his head to one side. “Now it’s time to deal with you. Lucky for me, Forrest said he’d take you dead or alive. I think dead’s easier. Don’t you?”
Forrest? “You’re still working with 5th Circle,” I stated it as a fact. That would explain where a wolf shifter got a teleportation spell that he could use to kidnap me.
“You bet I am. Damien didn’t have the guts for it, but I do.”
My stomach sank. What kind of horrible shit was 5th Circle planning that a hardened criminal like Damien would back out of supporting?
“So, how do you want to die, bitch? Silver bullet?” He dropped his arms and flexed his fingers. “Strangulation? Or I could cave your head in with a rock.”
My mind raced, trying to think of anything that would delay the inevitable. Maddox had set up that false trail leading away from Damien Garcia’s property line. It had been an ambush—to catch me. By using teleportation magic, there would be no scent trail to follow. No evidence of where they’d taken me.
The bosses weren’t going to be able to track Maddox and his wolves. Once again, I was on my own. I very much doubted my stalker was going to show up and save me this time. I’d disobeyed his order to run far away and look where that got me. I was trying to play dominant wolf with a pack alpha.
An insane idea popped into my head, and I went with it. “Maddox, I challenge you as alpha to Eclipse,” I said loud enough for the other wolves to hear where they stood guard.
He snorted a laugh. “Stupid and crazy.”
“I’m serious. Do you accept my challenge or are you too much of a pussy?”
His growl rattled the cage. “Challenge accepted. I’m going to enjoy making you bleed, bitch.”
With that, he turned on his heel and exited the cage. The two guards remained, settling down on a couple of boulders strewn about the cavern.
If I was going to die here, I was going out on my own terms. Fighting. That’s how I wanted to go. No more letting my enemies beat me down and break me into pieces. Though I had a feeling that was exactly what Maddox had in mind, just more literally than how Forrest had done it.
We stood in an open field not far from the mouth of the cavern. Drizzle sprinkled down from the slate grey afternoon clouds. The other eleven remaining members of Eclipse formed a loose circle around me and Maddox. They jeered and whistled, some tossing lewd insults my way.
One of them stepped forward. “This she-wolf has challenged Alpha Maddox as leader of Eclipse.” The crowd booed. “He has accepted. We’re here to witness this fight to the death. On the count of ten, both wolves will shift, and the fight will begin.”
I rubbed my sweaty palms over my jean clad thighs. My pulse thumped so hard I thought my heart was going to burst from my ribcage. There was no backing out now—not that I wanted to.
“One… Two… Three…” The count began.
Maddox stripped out of his clothing and stood across the circle naked, sneering, and bouncing on his toes like he was about to engage in a boxing match. I wasn’t going to give these perverts the pleasure of seeing me nude, so I’d be shifting with my clothes on. It wasn’t like I would need them again afterward. Not if today went the way logic told me it would go.
“Eight. Nine. Ten!”
The second time in my life that I shifted came much easier and quicker than the first. My wolf was right there under my skin, and she sprang free with barely a nudge. My clothing shredded away, my bones reformed, and in a matter of seconds I stood on all fours.
At the opposite end of the makeshift fighting ring, Maddox’s pale brown wolf towered at nearly three times my size. What did they say about being big and falling hard?
A snarl tore from my throat. The onlookers howled as we began to circle each other. With hackles raised, teeth bared, and my entire focus on Maddox, I watched and waited.
He took a few test swings at me, which I avoided. He had a long reach, and those were sharp claws tipping the ends of his massive paws.
Maddox sprang forward, but I’d seen the move coming from the way his muscles bunched. I ducked and rolled away as he sailed over me. He landed hard on the packed earth. His back was to me, and I took the opportunity. I leapt onto it, using claws and teeth to tear at his flesh. My jaw clamped onto his neck with a death grip.
He shook and spun, trying to dislodge me. I bit down harder. He roared. Next, he rolled. The weight of him crushed the breath from my lungs. I howled, releasing my hold on him. He got to his feet, and I was slower to regain mine.
His swipe left four jagged, burning claw marks across my shoulder. I whirled out of reach as he came for me again.
Panting, we circled. He lunged again, this time anticipating my move, and interrupted himself in midair. He crashed down on my much smaller body. His teeth tore into my side and shoulder, taking out chunks of fur and flesh.
I yelped and snarled. He was crushing me, tearing me to pieces. Then suddenly it stopped. I hauled myself up to find him several feet away. He raced past me and delivered another rake of claws, this time across my muzzle.
He was doing what he’d promised—making me bleed. The slick substance gleamed in my black fur. My entire body ached and stung with wounds. I wheezed, sure that he’d crushed at least one of my ribs. Not that any of that was going to stop me.
With a growl, I charged at him. His golden wolf eyes widened in surprise. I latched onto the tender flesh of his throat. He reared back. I used my claws to slash at his belly. His roar of agony made me inwardly smile.
He scraped down my sides and I released him, falling to the ground. I barely crawled out of the way to avoid him landing on me again.
My limbs shook as I tried to stand. Wolf healing was apparently not instantaneous. I was going to bleed out long before this fight was over. To prove my fear, Maddox delivered two more blows to my weakening form.
Then a third opened up my skin all the way down my spine. I arched my back and howled in pain.
A chant rose up from the rest of the pack. “Finish the bitch! Finish the bitch!”
I pawed my way forward, not really sure where I was going. I was just trying to get away from all the torment. From my inevitable death.
The chanting continued. Maddox rose to his full height. His eyes promised the end was near. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a whimper or whine. Instead, when the temptation rose, I released it as a defiant growl and leveled my gaze on his. Another challenge—without the words.
He leapt. His maw opened wide and coming straight for my throat.
29
LUCAS
Marking my mate when I did was the best decision I’d ever made. Maddox and his gang of wolves had set up a false trail for us in order to capture Emma. They’d left us with nothing to follow—no scent, no markings, no idea of where they could be hiding out. What they hadn’t been counting on was our fated mate connection.
I led the way through the thick forest several miles up into the Tiger Mountain State Forest some ways from Seattle. A low thrumming in my chest told me I was getting closer to my mate. My own heartbeat threatened to drown it out as I also felt her agony and fear. The feelings were driving me mad. I had to reach her soon.
