Rouen Chronicles Box Set

by Raven Steele

  He’d done so much for me, risked his own life even. I could honestly say he was the first person to truly care for me since my family died. But the real truth was, I was crazy about him. I’d let him in more than any other man in my life. He mattered to me.

  The realization flashed like a bolt of lightning in my mind. The fact that I could care about something more than my revenge.

  Well, hell’s bells.

  Dominic’s eyes gleamed, as if he knew the decision I’d made. I’d have to deal with the consequences of letting him go, even if he ordered the whole pack to kill me.

  I worked my jaw, struggling to set the words free from my mouth. “Fine. Tell me where Jake is, and I’ll let you go.”

  “Let me go first.”

  “Nice try.” I leaned in, so he could hear me clearly. “And if you lie to me, or try to trick me in any way, remember that I know what you smell like. I will hunt you down and kill you like the dog you are.”

  I squeezed his throat a little tighter, just to drive my point home.

  He nodded his head vigorously in agreement. “He’s with the Linchen Pack up in Mandeville. They’re in the St. Tammany Parish.”

  I glanced over my shoulder. “Vincent!”

  “I’m a little busy!” He was shoving anything he could find against the door.

  “Is the Linchen Pack in the St. Tammany County?”

  He grunted as he shoved a large cabinet against the desk. “I think so, but this is hardly the time to discuss real estate. Kill the bastard already!”

  I slowly turned back to Dominic. He was a bastard who deserved to die a horrible and painful death. Dominic flinched at my blood-thirsty eyes. He actually believed I was going to kill him. Good.

  The Komira power still pulsed through my system, raw and turbulent, and desperate for revenge. But I shook my head, using all my effort to control it.

  I had made a promise to someone I, dare I say, loved? Crap. Did I love this guy? I released Dominic and stepped away from him. He slid down the wall, his chin quivering.

  “Briar!” The door slammed open, and the desk slid across the room with a loud squeal, causing the cabinet to topple over, crashing into one of the empty glass cases. My uncle ran towards us. “They’re going to kill you!”

  Dominic darted behind me. My peripheral vision caught a flash of silver just as he raised a dagger up over his head. The Komira power surged through my veins, an ancient instinct to protect me. I screamed, unleashing my pent-up rage in a dark and violent thrum of power that tasted bitter on my tongue. Spinning, I grabbed his hand and with a flick of my wrist, I swiveled the blade toward him and shoved hard, embedding the knife deep inside his gut.

  I couldn’t stop.

  It slid in deeper, cutting his intestines as if they were raw steak. His startled eyes lowered to his stomach, staring at his own hand still clutching the blade beneath my tight fingers. Blood swelled around the wound and poured to the floor.

  I leaned closer. “Want to know how Silas died?” Each rancorous word fueled the raging fire inside me.

  Something solid and powerful smashed into the locked door. It groaned under the force.

  Dominic’s horror-filled eyes slowly found mine as color drained from his face, leaving only a sickly paste of grays and whites. Death’s painted masterpiece.

  I jerked the knife upward, slicing him open all the way to his throat. He slumped into me, but I held his shoulder, watching the life bleed from his dark, soulless eyes.

  When I was sure it was finished, I sucked in a breath and removed my shaking hand. His body collapsed to the dirty floor, his face lying in his own blood.

  I stumbled backward, my ears ringing. I could barely hear the banging on the door.

  My uncle came up behind me and stared down at Dominic. “You did it. You finally killed him. Do you know what that means?”

  “That I just screwed us over? The pack is going to kill us.”

  “No,” he said and looked over at me, his eyebrows lifted. “It means you’re Alpha.”

  Chapter 44

  “What are you saying?” I asked. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Dominic’s bloody body. I had waited so long for this moment.

  “Alpha. You’re Alpha now.” He grabbed my arm hard and shook it hard enough that it finally got my attention. My head snapped up to look at him.

  “What? No! I don’t want to be Alpha!” Nerves gripped my stomach as the pack spread through the room, heading right for us.

  “You have to. You killed the Alpha.” He glanced frantically behind him.

  “Hells to the no! That’s the last thing I want! There’s got to be a way around that stupid rule.”

  “I guess you could assign someone,” he said quickly, licking his lips.

  Luke emerged from the crowd first. He froze when he saw me covered in blood. His gaze slowly dropped to the floor to Dominic’s body. His whole body tensed and when he looked back at me, hurt reflected in his eyes. “You killed him.”

  “Luke, I’m sorry. I had to.” I tried to go to him, to explain myself, but then everyone rushed us. They were shocked, confused and some angry. Samantha and Leroy pushed Luke out of the way, taking in Dominic’s dead body. Everyone else was staring at the supernaturals trapped in the glass cages. Then their eyes shifted to me, covered in blood. And finally, Dominic’s dead body on the floor.

  “Bow to your new Alpha!” My uncle stepped in front of me, shouting before anyone else could speak. “She killed Dominic. He was in violation of pack rules.” When they looked confused further, he spread his arms towards the glass enclosures. “Look! See what Dominic did to these supernaturals.”

  They took a few more seconds to take in the glass enclosures. Other than the two shifters I had ordered to bed, the others were all standing still, watching us like mannequins. I quickly tried to wipe off the blood on my hands while no one was watching.

  “What is this?” one of them whispered.

  “Dominic didn’t care about making the pack stronger,” my uncle continued. “He was experimenting on these people. Is that the kind of Alpha you want to have? What if you’re the next one he puts in the cages?”

  “He drugged them—” My voice cracked. I cleared my throat and began again. “He’s been drugging these supernaturals with Scorpion’s Breath. He didn’t care about expanding our drug trade. Working with the Nocturnas was never about that.”

  “What was it about?” Jerry asked, stepping forward. His eyes held sympathy, but he was flexing his hands into fists.

  “He wouldn’t tell me, but he was feeding them the drug three times a day, giving him control over them. They would do anything he said.” I looked them over, hoping they would understand. “He released a few of them to try and kill me before he tried himself.” I pointed to the dead bodies on the floor and my injured side. “They tried to kill me. He tried to kill me. I had to defend myself.”

  Heather stepped forward, her face red and hands clenched tight. “I don’t believe you. You’re lying.”

  “You’re lying. You were with me. You saw how he could control them.” I turned towards everyone and saw Gerald. “Check his phone. He has some app that he was using.”

  I stepped away from Dominic’s body as Gerald pushed past me. He kneeled down, grabbing Dominic’s phone.

  Heather spoke. “If you thought it was so wrong, why didn’t you go and tell the pack immediately?”

  “Because I wanted to figure out who he was working with. I tried tonight, but I couldn’t get it out of him.” I almost mentioned magic was involved, but my story was hard to believe as it was. I snarled at Heather, frustrated she couldn’t be honest for once. “Those are my reasons. Why didn’t you tell anyone? Could it be because you worship him as if he were a god? Some part of you has to know that what he was doing was wrong!”

  She folded her arms and tightened her lips.

  I couldn’t stop and stepped toward her. I had tolerated her long enough. “You were fine with him experimenting on supe
rnaturals. And so, when he asked you to lure me here to my death, you went to Sinsual like a good little bitch. You knew it was a trap. You knew he was going to try to kill me.”

  She laughed out loud and turned to the group. “You can’t actually believe this? First Silas and now Dominic? She’s the one with sinister motives! If Dominic was trying to kill her, it’s because she deserved it. She should be executed immediately!”

  “She killed the Alpha,” my uncle spoke up again. His voice wasn’t loud, but it rang clear through the room.

  Gerald stood up, holding up Dominic’s phone so everyone could see it. “What she said checks out. Pack laws are clear.” He turned to me. “She is Alpha until someone else challenges her, or she gives away the position.”

  Heather’s nostrils flared. She growled and rushed me, but I was still buzzing with ancient power. As she reached me, I slammed my fist into her and she dropped to the floor. There was a collective gasp at the suddenness of it.

  Driving my boot into her neck, I leaned over. “For now, I am Alpha. If you’d like to challenge that, I’ll let you up and you can try again.”

  “I’m good.” Her lips scraped the concrete floor.

  I let her up and looked for Luke, desperately wanting to talk to him, but he had slipped away when I wasn’t paying attention. Shit. I needed to find him. I pulled out my phone and opened up a text message.

  “We need to have an emergency pack meeting,” Gerald said.

  “I agree.” I texted out a quick message to Luke, asking him to meet with me. “Set that up.”

  Terrence looked around. “What about all of this?”

  “I’ll take care of it,” my uncle said. “I know someone that can help with their drug addiction. As for Dominic’s body—”

  I returned my phone to my pocket. “He will not have an honorable burial. He will be buried as if he were human.”

  No one said anything but several eyed the ground, mumbling. It was a huge insult to be buried in a coffin.

  “He betrayed the supernatural community and was trying to enslave them. He doesn’t deserve an honorable burial.”

  They were silent as I pushed through them. I needed to get out of here. I needed to find Luke. Being Alpha hadn’t been part of the deal. I was supposed to kill him and leave. But everything was so complicated now. Dominic said things that made me doubt everything I’d ever believed. Now that he was dead, something I’d wanted for so long, I couldn’t ask him for the truth. Plus, could I leave Luke behind? And what about all this stuff with Trianus?

  I had to figure out what the hell I was doing.

  I ran outside and, grabbing the first motorcycle I found with the keys still in the ignition, sped into the darkness.

  Chapter 45

  The road melted under my tires as I flew from the warehouse. Emotions poured through my body, and I struggled to contain them all. I tightened my grip on the motorcycle’s handlebars, and my hair whipped violently around my face.

  Finally.

  The one thing I had promised so long ago in that dark hole as my skin had torn, fingers gripped, and lungs expanded. Dragging myself from the well, hurt, broken, and full of rage. Ready to devour the men who’d killed my family. And now it was finally done.

  Dominic, Silas, and the men who’d been with them that night were all dead. Every single one of them. I braked at a stop sign, planting my feet firmly on the ground to hold the bike steady. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the list.

  The one that sat close to my ass every day. The piece of paper that occupied my pocket as naturally as if it were a part of me. The wind made the edges flutter, and a fat drop of rain landed on it, blurring Dominic’s name. I looked up, surprised to see dark clouds overhead. I hadn’t even noticed the approaching darkness. The wind picked it up. I watched it float away with a sordid sense of triumphant satisfaction.

  The sky swirled in blacks and grays, crashing into each other. A torrent of rain escaped its fury, battering my skin. I tilted my head up, blinking through the water hitting my face, and inhaled, savoring the rich, earthy smell.

  The rain washed away my fury and sucked it deep inside the ground where it belonged. My tears joined the unrelenting raindrops and raced down my cheeks only to catch on my lips. I flickered out my tongue, tasting the salty drops.

  I swept my gaze across the landscape and startled when I realized I was in the very last place I’d spent time with Ryder. A sob wracked my body, tightening my chest. I jumped off the motorcycle and stumbled to the edge of the cliff, staring over the forest below me.

  It was finished.

  I cried like I’d never cried before, promising this would be the last time I shed tears for my pack, my family. I said their names, imagining their faces as I remembered every single one of them. I added Ryder to the list, but my body tightened and ached deep inside. Cold and wet, I dropped to the ground, the pain too great, and wrapped my arms around my bent knees. I tucked into a ball, still full of regret for the way I’d betrayed him.

  “Briar.” Smooth hands touched my cold arms. I jerked my head up. Angel’s eyes stared intensely into mine, small beads of water clinging to his thick eyelashes. He wore a white, crisp button-up shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his elbow. The wet material clung to every mound and valley of his abs and chest. “Come here, my love.”

  He pulled me up to him, crushing me to his chest.

  “No!” I struggled against him, but when he refused to let go, I gave up and slumped into him. His arms held me close while I sobbed, releasing everything I held inside. I feared my life would be nothing but emptiness. That the nightmares would never end. That I would only ever be the woman who got her revenge, and nothing more.

  Luke would probably never speak to me again. Samira was probably pissed that I’d killed Dominic before finding out about Trianus. Lynx probably held lingering regret for my role of Ryder’s death. I’d hurt everyone who only tried to help me. I would never find love or happiness again, not the kind that existed before my family’s death.

  I cried until there was nothing left except a black hole occupying the space where my heart should be. I sniffed into Angel’s firm chest, exhausted. The rain slowed to a light mist that chilled my lungs when I inhaled.

  We sat like that for a while, neither of us speaking, until he smoothed the wet hair away from my face. I shivered, and he rubbed my arms.

  I leaned back to look up at him. “How did you find me?”

  “I felt your pain and had to come to you.”

  I had no idea what the hell he meant by that, but was too tired to care. I rubbed at my eyes and rested my head against him. Once again, I was glad for his comfort. I slipped my hand into his to let him know without words how I felt. He leaned over, rubbing his chin on the top of my head.

  “What will you do, now that Dominic is dead?” he asked.

  I sighed. “I don’t know. Honestly, I’ve never planned any further than this.”

  His arms wrapped around me, holding me closer. “Do you think you can be Alpha?”

  “How did you know?”

  “If you killed Dominic, then you would replace him.” I peeked up at him, and he gave me a rogue smile. “I keep up with werewolf politics, of course. You must always know your friends and your enemies.”

  I picked at one of his buttons. “Apparently you’ve thought about it more than I have. I didn’t even consider it.”

  “You would make a glorious Alpha.” His words, said with such sincerity, almost made me believe it.

  “Ha. I’m a mess. How am I supposed to run a whole pack? Especially one as big as the Silver Claws?”

  He leaned back and, gripping my arms, searched my eyes. His eyes burned with blue fire, fierce and scorching. If I wasn’t careful, his gaze could burn me forever.

  “Briar, you are meant for greatness. It may not happen today. It may not happen next month or next year. But one of these days, you will embrace your calling and claim the life you are meant to live. Don’t ever doubt
this.”

  He spoke so passionately, I didn’t dare laugh at his claim. He genuinely believed it, and that in itself shook me to the core.

  “You must stop running from your past,” he continued, “and embrace your future. There are people who need you.” His grip tightened. “And there are people you need, too.”

  I stared into that fire roaring in his eyes, feeling its heat burn right through me. I did need those people. Samira, Lynx. Roma. They were my friends. The best I’d ever had. And Luke. I sucked in a hitched breath. I needed him. Wanted him. And even Angel. Without these people in my life, my life would be empty, and that’s a place I never wanted to go to again.

  “Thank you,” I whispered.

  His chest rose and fell, which was weird in itself. He wrapped his arm around me, and I rested my head on his shoulder. We stared over the tops of the trees in silence for a long time, watching the way the wind breathed lazily through their leaves.

  After a while, I realized I should get back. The whole pack was probably in chaos. I’d finally made a decision about what to do.

  As if he knew what I was thinking, he released me and straightened his shirt. “Before you return to your pack, would you please deliver me back to my hotel?”

  I frowned, looking around. “How did you get here?”

  He clasped my hand. “I ran to you, love. Never doubt my devotion.”

  I faced the mansion and inhaled a deep breath while I shook out my hands. By the amount of cars lining the driveway, everyone was here, all waiting for me. Before arriving, I had showered and changed into fresh clothes, then texted my uncle to ask him to tell the others what had happened. I thought my arrival would be less contentious that way if they all had a chance to ponder on recent events.

  The night sky was beginning to fade, a mere shadow of itself. Sunrise was less than an hour away.

  I was an Alpha now, something I had never considered or wanted. Still didn’t. But I was also so much more. I barely understood it, but I felt the ancient power simmering within me and wanted to know more. It was the only good thing to come out of my family’s death, and I wouldn’t see it wasted. I would begin training with Samira, doing whatever it took to grasp my legacy.