Order (Blood Moon Covenant)

by R L Medina

  Some newer mansions were scattered among the old ones. Would Diego have claimed one of those for his hideout? Why weren’t his guards out patrolling? Were they that confident in their power?

  My lip curled at the thought.

  “That’s it. That’s the place.” Drew’s voice made me pause.

  Elijah motioned for him to be quiet. Werewolves had excellent hearing. They could probably already hear us. So why weren’t they coming out?

  “That’s where they had Jen,” Becca whispered and used her gun to indicate the house.

  It was an older one. A pretty, blue colonial with a wraparound porch. My stomach rolled. It looked like a grandmotherly house where you went to visit for tea and cake. Not a place where they caged and tortured humans.

  “It’s where they keep all the slaves,” Drew added. Fury danced in his eyes.

  “Not all of them. I saw some in another house they held me in.” Elijah spoke.

  I spun toward him. “What? Diego held you prisoner and you’re just now telling me?”

  My wolf snarled.

  His gaze darted away from me. “I didn’t think it was important.”

  “How did you get away?” Drew demanded.

  Elijah’s eyes narrowed on him. “Does it matter?”

  I stepped between them. “How?”

  He sighed and looked at me. “The queen stepped in. Then she held me prisoner in her coven. You know the rest.”

  Blinking, my mind was slow to register what he’d confessed. The queen of the witches saved him and in return he still wanted revenge for his sister’s death. What else was he not telling me?

  Drew stepped around me and jabbed a finger in the air at Elijah. “You were with other slaves and you just left them there?”

  Elijah stood taller and returned his stare. “I couldn’t do anything to help them.”

  “Couldn’t or wouldn’t?” Drew’s face grew stormy.

  Elijah stilled. I could feel his wolf rising to the surface—and he was pissed.

  “Stop. We have a job to do,” I interrupted.

  Becca grunted. “She’s right. Let’s get this over with before those wolves come after us.”

  They continued their stare off, neither one wanting to back down.

  “Elijah,” I snapped.

  He turned to me. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

  “Diego should be busy torturing slaves so we can hit his camp and lure Sylvie out.” Becca spoke as she led the way.

  I shuddered. The torturing slaves part made my stomach turn over. I didn’t want to imagine what they were doing to the poor humans.

  “Right there. That’s the camp.” Elijah nodded toward a nondescript guest house in the yard next door to the blue mansion.

  “The guest house? Are you sure?” Drew frowned.

  Elijah’s lip curled. “I know where I was held.”

  “Okay. Then lead the way. Let’s go before the veiling spell wears off.”

  He turned and ran for the fence. We raced after him. I winced at the sound of our heavy footsteps. They had to have heard us coming. My eyes ran up and down the street, my senses alert.

  We made it to the white picket fence without being spotted. My heart pounded in my ears and my wolf’s warning rang clear. Wolves. Everywhere.

  I snorted. That wasn’t helpful news. We were right in the middle of their territory, and there were only five of us. Why did we think that a good idea?

  Swallowing my fear, I followed the others to the back of the fence. Elijah stepped forward first and sprang for the top of the fence. He collided with something in the air and fell back. I gasped as he landed backwards on the ground.

  “Elijah?” I whispered.

  He groaned and shot back to his feet. “Barrier.”

  Becca swore.

  Drew’s eyes widened. “Magic?”

  Elijah leveled him a cool gaze. “I didn’t just fall for the fun of it.”

  I waved my hand for them to shut up. We were at the camp now and with that crash, someone was going to come.

  “Can you take it down?” I asked the witch who’d come with us.

  He nodded and waved his hand at the fence.

  My mind raced. Had Diego forced the rogue witches to spell his camp or were some of them working with him? Dread unfurled in my belly. The werewolves we could handle, but witches?

  The plan was falling to pieces.

  “Shh. Someone’s coming.” Elijah waved at us.

  “But what if it’s not Sylvie?” Becca whispered.

  It is. Their alpha and a beta. Two others.

  My eyes widened in surprise at my wolf’s words. How could she tell all of that from their human footsteps?

  I’m a smart wolf. Her smug tone made me smile.

  “What do we do now?” Becca hissed.

  Drew was staring at the fence, a determined look on his face. The witch’s fingers flew, but was it fast enough? I glanced at Elijah. He looked just as lost as I was.

  “We leave and come back with more back up. Let’s go see Taylor’s pack first.” Elijah finally answered.

  “No.” Drew was shaking his head. He turned to us, “If that alpha’s camp was near Diego’s she’s probably already taken his side or is dead.”

  His words filled me with horror. Diego was cruel, but he wouldn’t kill a fellow wolf, would he? Though he did threaten me.

  Elijah sneered at Drew. “So, what you want to just sit out here and wait for his pack to capture us?”

  “I’m not getting taken.” Becca lifted her gun, a fierce determination sparking in her eyes.

  No, I believed that. She would go out with a bang, taking as many of her enemies as she could with her.

  “Hurry up!” Drew urged the witch.

  The boy grunted. “I’m trying.”

  “Go. They’re coming. This way,” Elijah urged.

  We followed him as he ran past the fence and down the street. He was heading for Taylor’s camp, I realized. Drew’s words played back, and I really hoped he was wrong.

  If Diego had Taylor’s pack then we would be surrounded.

  “Look! There!” a voice called behind us.

  I didn’t stop to glance back. Elijah and I exchanged worried looks. Our cloak was gone.

  A gun fired at us and missed my arm by mere inches. My heart leapt into my throat and I pushed myself faster.

  “I thought we were supposed to be catching Sylvie not running from her.” Becca yelled at us.

  “Up there. We’ll set up an ambush.” Elijah nodded at a house at the end of the street.

  My mouth dropped open. “An ambush? Elijah, you know she sent one of those wolves to warn the others. They will all be coming after us.”

  “We just need to get a hold of Sylvie,” Drew insisted.

  “But what about her beta and the others?” I asked.

  “We’ll have to take them out,” Elijah answered.

  My eyes snapped to his. Take them out? Could he really do it? Kill another wolf? Uneasiness rolled through my gut.

  “Don’t look at me like that, Val. It’s too late to choose a different path now. It’s us or them.”

  I turned away, his words feeling like a slap. He was right, but I hated that he was right. Us or them.

  Elijah led us into the giant house, and we paused to take a breath. I glanced around at the entry way and the staircase leading upstairs. Walking farther in, I realized the house was empty. No furniture or anything left behind from its previous owners. Robbed? Or had whoever lived there moved before the curse? A lot of people had fled the city when the kids started dying. In the hope that the disease wouldn’t reach their families, but it didn’t matter. All the children died. Everywhere.

  “Spread out. Hide. We pick them off one by one and get Sylvie,” Elijah instructed.

  The door flung open before we could move. Sylvie led her beta and another wolf toward us. All of them were armed.

  My blood turned to ice.

  “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
She glared at him.

  Me, she purposefully ignored. My wolf growled at her insult.

  His eyes darted from her to her pack members. He stood in front of me, shielding me from them.

  “Sylvie. We just want to talk.”

  She issued a harsh laugh. “Yeah, right. Let’s talk about why you brought two humans into our camp.”

  Her wolves smiled at Drew and Becca. Hungry—predatory smiles.

  Elijah glanced at them and shrugged. “A gift. For Diego.”

  Drew’s head whipped toward him, fire burning in his gaze. Becca’s eyes held the same fire. She stepped away from Elijah, clutching her gun. I could see the calculation in her gaze.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed at my alpha.

  Sylvie laughed at me. “I think they call it acting,” She glanced back at Elijah. “Nice try, but you must think I’m pretty stupid to fall for that. You didn’t bring them here for Diego. What are you doing here, Elijah?”

  He returned her smile. “You caught me then. I’m here to see you.”

  His flippant grin made her pause. Her brow furrowed as her eyes swept the room. “Well, I’m here so now what?”

  Elijah met my eyes with a silent message. My heart raced. This was it. It was our only chance before the others came. If we wanted to get out of there alive, we needed Sylvie.

  A gun fired, making me jump.

  “Get her!” someone shouted.

  “The guns! Watch out.” Elijah pushed me out of the line of fire.

  My head whipped back and forth. Becca had taken down one of the wolves. Drew stood beside her, drawing his own gun. Elijah scrambled forward and grabbed the fallen weapon. The beta wolf returned fire, but his shots went astray. One caught the witch in the chest. He fell. Horror filled me.

  Elijah raised his gun to strike the beta, but Becca was faster.

  She fired a bullet through his head.

  Bile rose in my throat as he collapsed atop the other wolf. Sylvie stared at them, mouth open in horror. She clutched her gun to her side with a trembling hand.

  “Get her,” Becca screamed.

  Sylvie roared and lifted her gun. Elijah knocked it out of her hands before she could pull the trigger. Her eyes turned silver.

  “I’m sorry.” I grabbed her by the arms.

  She fought against me, eyes murderous.

  Before she could shift, Becca slammed the butt of her gun against her head. The loud crack made me wince. Sylvie’s eyes rolled back, and her body fell limp.

  “I had her. You didn’t have to do that,” I hissed at Becca.

  The girl snorted. “Whatever. She was about to turn.”

  She tucked her gun back into the top of her jeans and grabbed the alpha’s legs. I grabbed her top half, holding her beneath her arms and walking backwards towards the others.

  “He’s dead.” Drew was kneeling beside the witch.

  My gaze swept over his outstretched body. He’d only been trying to help us. I shuddered. What would happen now? I met Elijah’s eyes and found concern written there. Concern for the witch or for what Diego would do if he caught us?

  “Let’s get her back. To the coven. He won’t look for her there.” Elijah motioned me forward.

  I gaped at him. “The coven?”

  “Come on.”

  “It’s too far. We’ll never make it back,” I argued.

  “Then Taylor’s camp?” Elijah asked.

  I handed Sylvie off to him and took his gun. Shouts echoed in the distance driving fear through my heart. Diego.

  We ran out of the back of the house and raced for Taylor’s camp. Worry washed over me. What if Diego was already there? Waiting for us? What if Taylor was on his side? I pushed away the doubts and scanned the empty streets.

  Howls filled the air, making me tremble. My wolf bristled. The Red Wolves. They were coming.

  Pain jolted up my legs as we ran. My wolf begged to be freed, insisting she was faster than me, but I didn’t let her loose. I needed to think clearly about our next step. We didn’t know what we were heading into. It was already late afternoon. We were running out of time to get the alphas. Soon the blood moon would appear, and we had to make it back to sign the covenant.

  “There. It’s right there,” Elijah gasped out.

  I looked to where he indicated. Taylor’s camp. It was an older street than the one Diego lived on. The old main street with outdated little shops and restaurants. Elijah led us toward a block of empty buildings.

  He paused.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  His face turned grim. “There should be guards.”

  Drew swore and shook his head. “I told you.”

  Becca glanced around. “Where else can we go? We have to move now. They’re right on top of us.”

  “Come with me. I know where to hide.” Elijah led us through an alley.

  I frowned at him. “How do you know this place?”

  He looked away. “Taylor let me stay here for a bit. Right after I left our camp”—his gaze shot to Drew—“and she wasn’t working with Diego then.”

  My wolf growled at his confession.

  Taylor’s mate turned twenty almost two months ago and died from the curse. I tried not to think about what Elijah had been doing in Taylor’s camp.

  Storing away my hurt for later, I scanned the quiet street and bit my lip.

  “Valeria,” Elijah called.

  I picked up my pace and followed as he led us into the back of a building.

  23

  Valeria

  A medicinal smell mixed with herbs and spices filled my nose. Some kind of health shop? I blinked against the darkness. The windows were boarded, and no light streamed through.

  “Stay in here while I check it out.” Elijah waved us in.

  “What? No. You’re not going out there,” I argued.

  He sighed. “Val, I’m not going to argue with you. Just stay.”

  I bristled at his alpha tone.

  “I’m going too. I don’t trust you.” Becca spoke up.

  “Becca, no.” Drew grabbed her arm.

  Dim light shone from the window, highlighting the fear in his eyes.

  “No one is coming with me. Just stay here.” Elijah’s words were steel. He set Sylvie down on the floor beside us and stood.

  I wanted to laugh. His authority didn’t work on the humans and I was his equal. If he thought, he could boss me around…

  Listen to our mate, my wolf snapped.

  Before I could argue, he was gone. Becca and I moved to follow him. Drew stepped in our path.

  “What the hell, Drew?” His sister tried to shove by him.

  He glared at us. “Can we just stop for a minute and think about this? You really want to follow him into danger?”

  “I’m not staying here for them to find us,” Becca argued.

  Sylvie groaned. Becca moved toward her, the end of her gun raised.

  “Stop. Don’t hurt her.”

  I jumped between them and clenched my fists. “We said we weren’t going to hurt her.”

  Becca’s eyes were ablaze with anger. “I never agreed to that. She knew what was happening. To Jen and to the others. She probably took part herself.”

  Her words made me wince.

  “I’m sorry,” Sylvie gasped.

  I turned to her. She struggled to sit up, holding her head with her hand.

  “You’re sorry?” Becca scoffed.

  Sylvie flinched.

  “Becca,” her brother warned.

  “No, Drew. I’m not going to listen to her BS apology. Not after what they’ve done.” Her voice rose.

  I glanced at the gun in her hand. Fear washed over me. This wasn’t the plan. If she shot Sylvie… Diego would never sign the covenant. He’d kill us and everyone else.

  “Think about the covenant,” Drew told her.

  A half-crazed laugh escaped her. “The covenant? You want me to think about the fucking covenant? After what they did, we’re just going to sign a pa
per that says it’s all okay?”

  Her movements were jerky now.

  Drew and I exchanged nervous glances. Sylvie watched us from the floor, her eyes darting back and forth.

  “Yeah, I know, you think I’m crazy.” Becca huffed. “Maybe I am. What they did to Ruby.” She choked up.

  She kept shaking her head, gun waving with the movement. “I can’t stop seeing it. Seeing everything. I’m so fucking tired of seeing it.” Her voice was strained.

  I watched in horror as she held the gun to her own head.

  “Becca, no!” Drew moved toward her.

  She stepped away from him. “I just want it to end, Drew.”

  “Please, Becca. I’m sorry. I promise things are going to change. Please. God. Please. Don’t do this.” Drew’s words were desperate.

  The door flew open, making me jump. I turned to find Elijah storming in. He stopped in his tracks, eyes widening on Becca.

  She glanced at him and Drew dove for her. They fell to the floor together with a loud crash. He wrestled the gun away from her and stood. She curled into herself and didn’t move. Drew handed me the weapon and knelt beside her.

  Sylvie’s sniffles caught my ear. I turned to find her with her face buried in her hands.

  “I don’t know what the hell happened, but this is so not the time for… whatever this is.” Elijah shook his head at us.

  I frowned at him. “Just give them a moment.”

  He scoffed. “A moment? We don’t have a moment. Diego’s here.”

  Sylvie’s head snapped up.

  Fear spiked my blood. “He’s here?”

  Elijah nodded. “He’s got her. He’s got Taylor.”

  “Come out, Elijah. Valeria. I know you’re there and I know you have Sylvie. Bring her to me unharmed and I won’t kill you.”

  I glanced at her. She wiped her tears, her body still.

  Drew looked to us. Becca was sitting up, but her eyes were focused elsewhere. Drew held her tight to him. Pity filled me at the scene. They’d been through so much.

  Beads of sweat coated Elijah’s forehead. I could feel my own palms growing clammy.

  “You have exactly two minutes.”

  I bristled at Diego’s calmness. How could he be so cold? Attacking other alphas? What had made him turn into such a monster?