“That is acceptable. Horst requested to accompany me and help. I will see if he can convince any not completely in agreement with what the pack is doing to step away. If not, I will give them Queen’s Justice.”
“May they have the wisdom to choose life. Good luck to you both,” Yuko murmured as she closed the connection.
Chapter Nineteen
Gotsu Harbor, Gotsu, Japan
“Li,” Wu moaned as the ship limped into the calm waters inside of Gotsu Harbor. “Kill me now and end my suffering. I think I puked my liver out that last time.”
Li Song looked at the stricken man with a grin on his lips, having no sympathy for his plight. “Wu, we have arrived. It would be a waste to kill you now. I should have done it two days ago, or let Shao do it when you puked on his bunk.”
Wu covered his eyes with his hand, reliving the embarrassment of his traitorous stomach causing him to spew its contents on his teammate's bed. “Tigers do not belong on the sea,” he moaned. “I should have stayed in the mountains. They don’t move.”
“I have never seen one of us suffer from seasickness, you are unique among our Clan. Embrace it proudly,” Li chided.
“You do know that if there weren’t two of you standing there, I would beat you now,” Wu grumbled.
Li clapped his friend on the shoulder as he laughed, “Good thing I have a twin, then. We will rest in the town a few days before moving on. That was a hard trip for all of us.”
The ship had encountered a freak storm that damaged the solar collectors three days into the journey. With no way to charge the batteries and the winds blowing too hard for the crew to deploy the sails, they had been at the mercy of the currents for several days. By the time the crew was able to cobble a makeshift collector together, the choppy seas and unpredictable twists and turns had even Jin, the stoic of the group, ready to shift and kill them all.
“If we find that the teams sent here are not dead, I swear I will kill them myself,” Wu grumbled as his stomach churned again.
“I hope that there is a simple explanation and all is going as planned.” Li shrugged. “I fear they have met with an unexpected obstacle, though. The teams sent here were some of the most dedicated to the Clan. They would have to be dead not to have found some way to make contact.”
Wu nodded, knowing Li was right. After all, they had trained the teams tasked with Japan personally. That thought made his stomach tense for a reason other than the epic sea sickness he was dealing with.
“Here, Wu, drink this. The barman swears it will cure you of the aftereffects of the sickness,” Shao Hua told him as he returned to the table they had taken in the corner of a restaurant and bar next to the inn Li had secured.
Wu eyed the glass suspiciously. He sniffed it warily before he shoved it away, his nose wrinkling in disgust. “Smells like the inside of a chamber pot in the summer,” he complained.
“I told the barman the same thing.” Shao grunted as he slid the glass back in front of Wu. “He swears it will settle your stomach and stop the floor from moving under you.”
Wu watched him through slitted eyes, unsure if he was being truthful or if it was payback for his bunk. He glanced at the barman, raising the glass, and received a smile as the man nodded and motioned for him to drink.
He grabbed the glass and slammed the contents back, trying to get them down without having to taste the vile-smelling mix. His eyes shot open wide as he gasped. “That shit tastes worse than it smells,” he croaked.
Shao grinned as he answered, “He may have mentioned that. I forgot.”
Li and Jin burst out laughing at the look on Wu’s face, disgust with a big dose of mayhem thrown in.
“If you are lying, I promise I will kill you slowly and painfully,” Wu growled. “If this vile brew doesn’t kill me first.”
Shao held his hands up, mock fear in his eyes as he chuckled. “See, you’re feeling more like your old murderous self already.”
Wu glared at his amused friend and realized he was feeling better. “It seems the barman might have been correct. That doesn’t mean I don’t want to kill you, but I might let you live until we find those missing numbnuts.”
Sunrise Inn, Gotsu, Japan (two days later)
Li rapped the table the team was gathered around with his knuckles to get their attention. “We were originally supposed to land in Niigata and travel overland to Onuma, where Won and Lee were ordered to establish a base. We are now some six hundred kilometers from there due to the damage to the ship, so I have decided we will go to Aida first.”
“Wasn’t that where Sun and Ling were sent?” Wu asked.
“No,” Li replied. “Sun and Ling went to a small town near Wajima to secure a port facility. Huan and Lim were sent to Aida. Well, a small settlement in the mountains six kilometers west of there.”
Wu waved a hand, motioning for Li to continue.
“We will make our way there overland today and try to locate them,” Li explained. “Failing to do that, we will try to find out if anyone has seen them. If we have no luck, we will move on to Wajima and do the same.”
“What if we can’t locate them or any word?” Jin asked.
“We will go on to Onuma,” he replied. “If we don’t find anything there, I will contact the Master and get further instructions. Before we departed, he discussed us establishing a base here to coordinate additional teams.”
“If we find they were taken or killed, is it safe to assume we will get them back or take vengeance on the ones who did it?” Hua asked. “Won Ling is my cousin, and if he has been taken, I will rescue him. If he is dead, I claim blood right to exact vengeance.”
Li nodded. “If our people are captive, we will bring the might of the Clan against whoever has them—any of them. If they are dead, blood will spill.”
“As it should be,” Hua agreed.
“Gather your things,” Wu ordered. “We leave in fifteen minutes.”
The group all stood and headed for their rooms. One way or the other, they would find out why they lost contact with the teams.
Chapter Twenty
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia
Decklan was on the field when Owen arrived. He glared at his brother and did a double-take when he saw him dragging a human female along. When he reached him, Decklan pointed to the woman. “What you doing with her? Trying to get Maggie to kill her for you?”
“Nah, me and Maggie already had that talk, and she understood after I knocked her on her arse. This is the bitch who shot me and the one who has been organizing the prisoners. She wanted to know why we wanted those four.” He nodded at the men in the cage. “So I figured I’d give her a good close look.”
“I saw her face.” Decklan chuckled. “You know Maggie’s gonna bite something important off if you aren’t careful, right? I always told you not to date anyone crazier than you are. One of these days, you might listen.”
While they were talking, they looked at the seats. Everyone in the pack had come to see the show. Decklan had only shared his plans with a trusted few. The rest of the pack had no clue what was planned. They only knew the Alpha had commanded them to be there, and there they were.
Decklan shook his head. There was no talking to Owen about his women. He was sure his brother was in for some hurt down the road and hoped he survived it. “Maggie’s going to be fine. If she ain’t fine, she can either get over it,” he waved at the stands, “or one of the other bitches will take her place.”
“Well, let’s get this show started.” Decklan faced the crowd of over one hundred Weres. “Pack members, I’ve got bonza news for you all. Our efforts to clean out the human scum have been successful.” His statement brought a halfhearted smattering of applause from the crowd.
Decklan continued, not bothered by the lack of enthusiasm. He knew that many in the pack didn’t agree with his plans. He would show them. Once all the humans were gone, Adelaide would be the first of many Were-only cities in Australia. His plan was to spread the
pack throughout the country until it was without humans or Forsaken. They might not understand his genius, but someday they would recognize it. Until then, he was the strongest and the Alpha, and they could just do what he fucking said.
“Today, you will see that humans have no place in our world. The strictures of the past have kept us down for too many centuries. Today we throw off the vampire Michael’s yoke of oppression and take our places as the rulers of this new world.” He threw his arms in the air when he finished and glared at the pack members until all were applauding.
“Today, you will see one of your own, a young wolf barely grown, demonstrate why Wechselbalg are the superior race.” He motioned for a blond youngster who appeared to be barely into adolescence to come forward.
Decklan growled. “Put on a good show. I want the humans to know true fear when you are done.”
Dustin grinned at him, a manic gleam in his eyes. “Yessir.” He moved onto the field and stood, head cocked to one side as he studied the four in the cage.
Decklan addressed the caged men. “What you see in front of you is one of our youths. All of you were easily captured, but in the sense of fairness, I’m gonna give you a chance at freedom. If any of you can beat this child in open combat, I’ll allow you and another of your choosing to go free.”
The four looked at him warily, not understanding what his game was.
“In front of you are weapons, and you may use them if you like. The only rule in this contest is to survive.” Decklan smirked. “If you can.”
He stepped to the side, and Maggie pulled the rope that raised the gate that led from the cage to the field. The men slowly came out, expecting it to be a trap, but when nothing happened, they went to the pile of tools.
“Liam, is this guy serious?” Kane whispered.
“I don’t know, but I’m willing to see if he is,” Liam replied. “I’m tired of being locked up, and those bastards killed a lot of my friends. If all I have to do is take out that little wanker to leave, I have no problem with that.”
The others nodded agreement as they chose their weapons. Liam grabbed the old machete and tested its weight with a few swings.
Dustin stood watching with a bored expression as each of them settled on a weapon. When all were armed and looking his way, he sneered as he raised one hand palm up and curled his fingers in, taunting them to attack.
Liam growled and rushed toward the arrogant youngster, the machete held out to the front intending to stab him and then cut him down as quickly as possible. When he was only a short distance away, the blond youngster seemed to explode in front of his eyes.
Bits of cloth were still floating in the air when a tawny wolf sprang forward and caught Liam by the throat. His terrified scream was reduced to a gurgle when blood sprayed into the air from his torn-out throat.
“Fuck!” Kane yelled as he tried to back away.
The wolf locked eyes with him, and he almost wet himself when he saw intelligent human eyes looking back. The rake he had chosen for a weapon dropped from his shock-numbed fingers, forgotten as the wolf slowly stalked toward him.
The other two ran the opposite direction. Kane stood frozen in fear, unable to move as he waited for the wolf to end him.
Pod, Over the Northern Territory, Australia
“Horst, when we arrive, I would like you to call out to the Weres and tell them if they resist, they will die. I will take the Alpha first, so the pack should listen to you.”
“What makes you think they will listen to me?” Horst asked. “I’m not their Alpha, and I have no desire to be,” he added quickly.
“No, you’re not their Alpha, but you are an Alpha, and a strong one at that,” Akio assured him. “They should sense that when they are able to think again.”
“What do you mean, think again?” Horst asked. “Losing the Alpha might anger them, but that is the extent of it.”
The corner of Akio’s mouth quirked. ”I will be using a power that is unique to a few. Bethany Anne, Michael, and the Queen’s Bitches have the ability to project fear: deep, dark, bone-chilling, debilitating fear. When that clears, the ones who are not wholly on board with the Alpha should be open to listening to you.”
Horst nodded his understanding. He wondered how powerful Akio was to have an ability that was, according to rumor, wielded by only the Patriarch.
Akio started to say something else when he was interrupted.
“Akio,” Abel called over the Pod’s speakers. He was using them because Akio had directed him on the trip to Rasov with Horst to handle general communications that way. Since Horst didn’t have an implant, it didn’t leave him out of situations where he may have some input. It also served to make him feel like part of the team, something Yuko and he both wanted.
“Hai?”
“I’m picking up activity in Adelaide. I think they are about to start killing the humans they put in that cage.”
“How far out are we?” Akio asked.
“One minute, twelve seconds until you arrive at the stadium.”
“Nothing we can do now? Are we running at top speed?”
“No, top speed was limited by Eve’s orders several years ago. She analyzed the wear and stress generated by running at top levels and determined the effective life of the Pods would be extended by twenty-two point three-five-six percent if the maximum speed was set lower.”
Akio pursed his lips, aggravation showing on his normally calm face. “Was there a valid reason other than maintenance issues for this?”
“Affirmative.”
Akio waited for a moment until it was obvious Abel wasn’t going to continue. “Please tell me what other considerations were figured into this decision.”
“The lack of proper materials and the inability to manufacture some components with currently available resources.”
“If we went to maximum speed now, how would that affect our arrival time?”
“By six-point-eight-four seconds.”
He closed his eyes, contemplating the probability of being able to strangle the EI, or perhaps his creator. “Will we arrive in time to prevent them from harming the humans?”
“Probability is low,” Abel replied. “The cage has been opened, and the humans are selecting weapons now.”
“ETA,” Akio ground out.
“Twenty-three point four three seconds.”
“Bring us in fast,” Akio commanded. “Remove the dampers when we come into the stadium.”
“Removing the dampers will result in loss of stealth capabilities,” Abel warned.
“I am aware of that,” Akio replied. “Open the door and make some noise. Horst, you might want to shield your ears. This is going to be loud.”
Horst looked askance until Akio mimed sticking his fingers in his ears. He nodded and got them in just as Abel announced, “Arrival in two-point-nine seconds. Damping field dropping on my mark. Mark.”
The Pod had been losing altitude fast for the last thirty seconds. Horst looked around Akio. He could make out the tops of trees and buildings, blurred by the speed at which the Pod was passing over them. At Abel’s mark, Horst felt a change in pressure as the inertial damping field dropping was followed by a loud boom.
Akio stood in the open door of the Pod, one hand braced against the frame and his Jean Dukes Special in the other. He jumped out of the Pod as it slowed and fired his weapon as he hurtled toward the ground. The hypervelocity pellet struck the wolf at the base of his skull as he leapt at his helpless victim and his head exploded, covering the ground and the man in gore as the lifeless body struck him and knocked him to the ground.
Akio landed hard, one knee bending slightly, his fangs extended and his eyes glowing red. He saw the human woman from earlier swaying numbly on her feet, and the Were who had grabbed her from the crowd in the enclosure with one hand wrapped around her wrist.
“Horst, get their attention,” Akio ordered. “Any who do not fight will be given the opportunity to live. If they fight, their lives
are forfeit.” He turned toward the massed Weres in the stands.
“Ja,” Horst answered.
By the time Horst was unstrapped, and on his feet, the Pod had settled three inches above the ground in the center of the stadium he had seen in the video earlier. The first thing Horst saw when he exited the Pod was a dead wolf with its head blown apart lying on top of an unmoving man. He couldn’t tell if the man was alive, but farther on, he saw the remains of another man, and there was no doubt that one was very dead.
There were two other men climbing to their feet near the Pod, apparently knocked down by the blast. In the stands were over a hundred Weres, all suffering from the pain the sonic boom inside the confines of the stadium walls had caused them.
Akio was walking toward a Were in human form, sword in his hand at the ready. The Were shifted and started toward Akio when Akio turned on the fear.
Horst experienced the most mind-numbing sense of terror he had ever experienced. His mind was telling him to run, but his body had other plans. He managed to stay on his feet, swaying as he fought to do so. He retained the presence of mind to notice that many of the Weres fell to the ground, clutching their heads and retching as the fear overloaded their ability to function.
As fast as it started, it was gone. One moment, Horst was fighting the crippling sense of fear, and the next, it was a fading memory. He stood still for a few beats as his mind processed what had happened. He had been warned it would happen, but he’d had no reference to imagine how bad it would be. One thing he was certain of was that he hoped to never experience that particular ability of Akio’s again. The power of a Queen’s Bitch to strike terror into the heart of any who stood against him was beyond comprehension.
Akio was ready when the next Were launched toward him.
Horst watched in wonder as Akio’s form blurred, then appeared with a dead wolf at his feet. Horst was thankful once again that he’d had the survival instinct not to challenge him the night they met.
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