by Raven Steele
She looked up at me, surprised. "You're not a regular shifter wolf.”
I stomped toward her. “There is nothing regular about me."
I lifted my foot to kick her again, but she became a blur and I hit the tree instead, splintering it nearly in half. She swiped at me from behind, taking my legs out from under me. I was in the air for a second before landing; my head slammed against the ground. I spat blood and managed to scramble out of the way when she came at me again.
Anger and rage raced through my blood, surging power into my bones and muscles. For the next several minutes, I fought harder than I ever had before. Samira was the best fighter I’d ever encountered. After a while, I couldn't help but grin. It felt good to release all this pent-up frustration and anger on someone that could handle my blows. I even caught Samira cracking a smile—just before she undercut her fist into my jaw, sending me into the air at least ten feet. Air exploded from my lungs when I hit the ground. The pain from the blow echoed throughout my body.
She stood over me. "Why do you have so much power?"
"Why do you seem so intent on hurting me?" I countered.
"Because you are stubborn and cocky. Those two don't mix well together. It will get you killed."
"What do you care?"
She tilted her head to the side as if she'd never considered the question. Her lips tightened then relaxed. "You remind me of me centuries ago."
That's the only answer she gave me as she extended her hand toward me. I hesitated briefly before accepting it. She pulled me to my feet. I wiped the blood from my mouth with the back of my hand. "As much fun as this was, I need to head over to Fire Ridge. I guess we'll be seeing each other later."
I walked away, but she called after me. "We're going to have to work together eventually."
I gave her the middle finger.
Chapter 24
I arrived at the mansion much later than I intended. I was hoping to have a chance to talk to Ryder before we left, but Silas was already at the front door, looking a million shades of pissed. "You're lucky you showed up when you did. A moment longer and you would've been punished. And,” his scowling face turned into a slow grin, “as much as I would've liked that, I want you at this meeting tonight."
Moving past him and into the foyer, I searched the large room for Ryder, but he wasn’t there. I turned back to Silas, whose eyes were trained on me. I looked at my wrist, where old people wore watches. “I’m right on time.”
His eyes darkened. “Let’s just go.”
I followed him out the door. "Who else is coming?"
"We are," Gerald said just outside. Toby stood next to him, adjusting his belt as if he’d just taken a piss. I had learned the two of them had been friends since they were ten years old. I rarely saw them apart.
I didn't get along with much of the pack, granted I hadn’t taken the time, but I was happy Gerald was coming. With him there, I wouldn’t have to watch my back as much. It was good Toby was coming too. He was one of the few members who went out of his way to be nice to me. He had a gentler nature; he also was a lot smarter than about ninety percent of the wolves here. I smiled at him, and he gave me a half-hug in greeting. We fell into line behind Silas and Gerald.
"And what about Lilith?” I asked. “Is she coming?"
Silas smoothed back his wet-looking hair. Did he put gel in it? I noticed he was also wearing a suit. The only time I’d seen him dress up like this was the first night I’d seen him at the bar. Tonight must be something special.
"These vamps are in a blood feud with the Morgans. If we brought her, the deal would be off." He turned around and lifted a finger at me, then flashed it to the other two, his face growing stern. "Let me make this perfectly clear. Nothing can screw this up tonight. The Silver Claws stand to make an obscene amount of money, so be on your best behavior."
I resisted the urge to give him the same order.
"Let's go.” He turned back around. "Luke has the car running."
My head jerked toward him. Luke? "Was he planning on coming?"
Silas jerked to a stop, and I almost ran into him. He turned around slowly, giving me a strange look. “Does it matter?”
He searched my face as if waiting for some kind of reaction from me, but I knew better. I couldn’t let him know I felt an attraction toward Luke. I feared he might use it against me one day. That’s just how Silas was—always looking for people’s weaknesses.
“Don’t matter in the least,” I said. “I was just wondering.”
He didn’t move as he continued to study my expression. “He came to me a few hours ago, asking to come along. I thought it was strange, but he asked just nice enough that I’m allowing it, after making him run one of my less savory errands, of course.”
His eyes stayed on me, but I gave him nothing. Finally, after a random eye twitch, he turned away from us and made his way toward an SUV.
I sat in the backseat, directly behind Luke, deliberately avoiding his eye contact in the rearview mirror. As everyone else piled into the SUV, I bit my lip, thinking. I didn’t want Luke to come. I couldn't explain why. I wasn't even sure I knew myself, but I just felt better if he wasn’t there. Maybe I didn’t want him to see my bad side, if I had to use it. Or maybe I didn’t want him to get hurt.
Toby sat next to me, and as Gerald began to climb in, Silas barked at him. “Gerald, sit in the back seat. We’re picking up the accountant.”
Thirty minutes later we arrived in the center of town and stopped at a building several stories high. It looked like it had been recently built and had the latest architectural style. I was guessing anyway. I had no idea what was considered the latest in architecture. On the outside, a single word read, “Trevisan.”
“Samira lives here?” I stared up and up, looking toward the top.
Luke peered at it through his window. “Yup. The whole building belongs to her.”
“Why the hell is she staying in a house with roommates if she's got this place?"
Silas glanced back at me. “That’s a great question. Why don’t you be a good little spy and find out as much as you can about her. We've already tried and came up empty."
"All I know is she's really good with numbers, and an amazing fighter.”
"And that's exactly why we use her, but I don't trust people if I don't know personal information about them. As her roommate, you're in a prime position. Do this and report to me. Anything is helpful.”
"She's coming," Luke’s voiced warned. Samira might easily hear us even though she was nearly fifty feet away.
She didn't say anything as she entered the car. Toby moved to the back so she could sit next to me. She didn’t bother looking at anyone, and no one spoke to her either. We just remained silent as we drove across town. The air felt pressurized with electric energy, probably because we all expected a fight with the vamps and were amped up. The strange sensation was giving me a headache, and I fidgeted with my hands.
“Everything will be fine,” Toby said and patted me on the shoulder. He probably thought I was nervous. I was.
Luke glanced at us in the rearview mirror, looking anything but happy. I didn’t meet his eye but stared ahead, my stomach knotting, which meant something bad was going to happen.
I wasn’t the only one nervous about tonight. Gerald was quiet as he stared out the window, and Luke’s fingers were tight on the steering wheel. Even Samira was still, not moving an inch, but then again she was dead.
Silas was the first to speak. “Let me do the talking. All of you are to stand behind me and only move when given permission."
"They will expect to fight.” Samira finally turned her head, nearly making me jump.
Silas dropped his visor down and stared at her in the mirror. "And why would they expect that?"
"They are vampires. They will want to make sure that whoever they do business with is strong and can handle themselves in a fight. It’s the only way we will gain their respect.”
He slammed the vis
or back to the roof. "If that is the case, I expect you will do your duty. If they want a fight, we’ll give them one."
Luke turned left onto an unmarked dirt road that weaved its way through a swampy area. Tall grasses and cattails slowly swayed as we passed, and I even thought I saw the blinking eyes of an alligator. We stopped when we reached a slow-moving river.
As we got out of the car, everyone but Silas went in a different direction to scout the area. A dock protruded into the murky waters and next to it was an old shack with a sign that read “Mike's Boat Rentals.”
The moon was bright and its silver skin reflected off the dark water. I walked to the edge and stared down at it, wishing I could be running in the forest instead of being here.
Luke appeared next to me. "You shouldn't have come.”
“Back at you.” I sighed, not wanting to fight with him. “I guess that makes us both stupid."
“Someone's coming!" Toby’s voice called from near the car.
We joined Silas and the rest of them back at the shack. I tilted my head, straining my hearing. The gentle hum of a motor sounded in the distance. It didn’t come from the road but from the river. My eyes met Samira’s. I hoped she didn't plan on sabotaging this meeting. Because if she did, I would have to stop her. I’d figure out what to do with the drugs later.
A minute later, a large airboat cut through the water. It came to a stop at the dock and twelve, mostly short, but extremely dangerous looking vampires hopped over its edge and onto the dock’s wooden planks. They were pale but still dark, in a weird way. I guess they looked exactly like what they were: Mexican vampires. It was an odd combination. But I didn’t dare laugh, knowing their strange look hid an extremely dangerous weapon.
Silas stepped away from us, leaning on his cane. His noticeable limp had returned. “Welcome.”
The tallest of the vampires broke apart from the others, and I heard a gasp from Samira as if she knew him. He wore his dark hair long and tied back in a ponytail. With sharpened cheekbones and jawline, he looked every bit an aristocrat of old, as if he had just stepped out of a history novel. "My name is Mateo Sanchez. I am fourth in command of the Sangre Nocturnas coven. I have come to forge a relationship with your pack. If terms are satisfactory, you will stand to make a lot of money."
"Please, Mateo.” Silas said. “We’ve no need for formalities. We are to be friends after tonight and can speak as if we are brothers."
Samira snorted as if she knew this was the wrong approach to take, but Silas didn't react.
Mateo wrinkled his nose. "We are not friends nor will we ever be friends. We do not associate with your kind beyond business. It is beneath us."
Every muscle in Silas’ body tensed. "Business it is. Show us your product."
While Mateo explained what was to come next, I studied the group, searching for weaknesses: those who were distracted or seemed bored. Those would be the ones I’d take out first as they wouldn’t put up much of a fight. My curious eye caught the attention of one of the vampires, the only other tall one among them, next to Mateo. His complexion was lighter than the others, more moonlight white beneath dark hair. Night’s shadows seemed to cling to him, almost as if he’d left their presence, but they weren’t able to let him go as easily. He was watching me closely, not in a dangerous way, but as if there was something about me that confused him.
I quickly averted my gaze, only to meet Samira's. She motioned her head forward silently telling me to pay attention to what was about to happen.
Two of the vampires left the others and returned to the boat. A moment later they returned, dragging a man that looked like he’d been sedated. He was conscious, but barely. His eyes rolled back into his head, and occasionally he attempted to put together a string of unintelligible words.
The vampires dropped him in front of Silas. Mateo removed a syringe of clear liquid from his pocket and knelt next to the human. He looked up at Silas. "What you are about to see is a demonstration of the drug, Scorpion’s Breath. The marvelous thing about this drug is it can be injected anywhere into the body. It will react more quickly if injected directly into a vein, but not required. It can also be dried into a powder for those who like to sniff their drugs."
Mateo straightened the man's arm and rubbed the vein at the crook of his elbow. "The high lasts four to six hours."
"That's not very long.” Silas frowned.
“Not to worry. The euphoria is powerful enough that users will immediately want another hit.” He pressed the tip of the needle to the man's vein and pushed the plunger.
I swallowed the tightness in my throat, anxious to see what would happen.
Mateo stepped away from the man. “Scorpion’s Breath gives humans an incredibly powerful feeling. It places them inside of either their most pleasant dream or their worst nightmare, depending upon the state they were in before applying the drug. But in each scenario, they are the hero. Even if they experience extreme pain, in their minds, they will believe it's pleasure."
The man's eyelids opened wide, and he sucked in a great breath, his chest lifting off the ground nearly a foot. His fingers dug into the muddy earth until the knuckles on his hands were bone white.
"I'm curious,” Silas said, watching the human with an inquisitive look. “What does this drug do to supernaturals?"
Like Samira, Mateo’s expressionless face showed little emotion, but at Silas’ question, his brows drew together, and his eyes turned dark. “Scorpion’s Breath is not meant for supernaturals as the effects and addiction are ten times worse and could kill someone of our nature if used too frequently. We may not associate with other species, but we would not harm them in this way. It holds no honor. We must remember that humans are our enemy. They are on this earth only to serve those more powerful and greater than them.”
At this, Samira bristled in her own undead way.
The human jumped to his feet in a move that startled everyone except for the vampires. I took a step back as he squatted on his feet, his head twitching in every direction. His eyeballs vibrated within his large sockets, and he scratched at his arms. His mouth opened to speak, but a string of words, too fast to make sense of, spilled from his mouth. He scooped at the ground frantically, as if trying to gather them back up.
Silas bent over him. "How do you feel?"
The human blinked several times. He spoke in tongues again, a language that sounded half-Klingon and half-Spanish. His arms shot high into the sky, and his fingers waded through the air, all the while smiling ear to ear. He jumped up and began to jog in place.
Silas looked past him to Mateo. "Will he be like this the whole time?"
"Depending upon his dream. It can change at a moment’s notice."
"And it truly is addictive?"
“More than anything I have ever seen."
His serious expression made my stomach turn. Now I understood Samira’s concerns. This was bad news.
Silas straightened and relaxed. “Let’s discuss terms. We would be honored to distribute Scorpion’s Breath throughout the country, but we expect a cut. We will incur a huge cost providing men and vehicles for transport.”
"As to be expected.”
"I will defer to our financial advisor who has crunched the numbers. She knows what our cost would be to do something of this magnitude.” Silas motioned with his fingers. “Samira, come forward."
She came next to him and began to blabber about all the manpower that would be required, the trucks involved, and the security needed to get past border control. She spewed out a bunch of numbers that made my eyes bleed.
I tuned her out and directed my attention to the human as he circled around the same spot on the ground. He should be dizzy by this point, but he continued to go round and round, talking in his foreign language. Gerald and Toby quietly laughed at him, but Luke looked especially tense and agitated as he stared ahead. I followed his gaze beyond the druggie. A few of the vampires were murmuring to each other in voices so soft even my sensitive hea
ring couldn’t understand what they were saying.
The human howled and slapped his face several times. He left his small circle on the ground and shuffled my direction. Snarling, he sniffed the air around me, spit foaming around his mouth is if he’d forgotten how to swallow.
I stepped to the side, hoping to lose his attention, but he followed me, his teeth now chomping up and down rapidly. I backed up several steps away from him and focused on Silas and Mateo, hoping that by ignoring the human, he’d get bored and leave me alone.
I turned back to Silas and Mateo and noticed that the same tall vampire next to Mateo was again watching me. I raised my eyebrows, challenging him. It was his turn to avert his gaze.
Silas scraped the ground impatiently with his cane. "Get to the point, Samira. How much do we need?”
"No less than forty percent.”
The human edged closer to me, and I had to alternate keeping my eye on him and the rest of the vampires, who had begun to fan out. That can’t be good.
The human leaned forward and sniffed my neck. I cringed and gently shoved him away.
“And yet, you shall only have ten,” Mateo said, his voice sharp and cold.
Silas laughed out loud. “Ten? I wouldn't hug my own mother for that. She said forty.”
One of the vampires at the back of the crowd produced a shiny dagger from his sleeve. I might've missed it had it not been for the moonlight shining off its smooth metal surface. I made note of my own blades pressed against the small of my back, and the knives tucked into my bra. It would take me a fraction of a second to retrieve one of them and, by the way Mateo and Silas were arguing, I was going to need it soon.