“Was?” Rosalie whispered.
The gold ring twisted, turned, twirled.
“That good man of yours? The one you let into your bed and between your smooth little human thighs?” Corden’s eyes glowed and brown and silver hair sprouted across his face. “He murdered my boy.”
* * *
“Wait,” Porter said, “so this Corden owns a logging company, but it’s a front for drug smuggling?”
“Yes and no,” Hudson said. “The logging company is a legitimate business and in Alberta, Corden is a powerful shifter. He’s made a lot of money in the logging business, and he’s used that money to influence and bribe and blackmail tons of different people. That includes the local sheriff’s department. It was Corden’s son, John, who ran the drug smuggling. Corden knew about it though, and I’m pretty sure that he used his connections once or twice to bail John out of trouble.”
He glanced at Judd. “My best friend’s name was Samuel. He was a brown bear shifter and we grew up together. We moved to Canada when we were in our early twenties and worked construction for a while. It’s where I met Judd. Later, both Samuel and I started working for Corden’s logging company.”
“Where’s Samuel now?” Maggie asked.
“He had a heroine problem. He started spending time with John, and it didn’t take long before John had him hooked on other shit too. Eventually, he started running drugs for John across the border. But then Samuel double crossed him, kept some drugs that he was supposed to deliver.”
“Shit,” Heath said.
“Yeah.” Hudson took a deep breath. “Samuel was an addict and he couldn’t help it, but John, he… he took him out in the woods and he tortured him for two days. I eventually found his scent and tracked him down, but he was too badly injured, too… he died in my arms.”
“Fuck, man.” Judd squeezed his shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“John and his men were there.” He stared at the group of shifters who were studying him silently. “He gave me the chance to walk away, he told me to leave and I wouldn’t be killed, but I… I couldn’t. Samuel was my best friend. So, I stayed. I stayed, and I killed all of them, including John.”
* * *
“My boy was a good boy.” Corden smiled at Rosalie. “I knew about his little side business, of course, had even helped him out a few times when he got into some trouble. But, getting into trouble here and there doesn’t make him a bad person. Does it?”
“No,” Rosalie said in a low voice.
“Exactly. Everything was fine until Hudson’s asshole of a friend, Samuel, double-crossed John. What kind of shifter does that? Huh? What kind of shifter takes advantage of someone who’s trying to help them? Samuel was a degenerate, he was a useless piece of garbage who tried to take something that didn’t belong to him.”
Rosalie stared wide-eyed at Corden. He was speaking normally, cordially even, but there was madness in his eyes. Through numb lips, she said, “What-what did he take?”
“That’s not important.” Corden made a careless wave before twisting the rings around his fingers again. “What’s important is that Samuel betrayed John. John did what any good business man would do, he pulled Samuel aside and demanded that he give back what he’d stolen.”
Corden glanced out the window at the sky. “It looks like it might rain.”
Rosalie wrapped her arms tighter around her torso. She didn’t want to be, but she was fascinated by the story Corden was telling. “Did Samuel give it back?”
Corden smiled at her. “He did not, in fact, return what he had stolen. So, John was forced to take drastic measures. Did he go a little too far? Perhaps. But I can assure you, human, that he did not intend for Samuel to die. It was an unfortunate accident, brought on by Samuel’s refusal to do as asked.”
“He killed him,” Rosalie whispered.
“No!” Corden’s smile turned to a snarl and she swallowed down her whimper of fear. “Samuel’s death was his own fault. If he hadn’t fucked up so badly, he would be alive today. John was not a monster. Do you understand?”
When she didn’t reply, he reached into the back seat and squeezed her knee with his powerful fingers until she moaned in pain. “Do you, human?”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I understand.”
“Good.” He released her and then patted her knee in a grandfatherly way. “But Hudson, now he didn’t see it that way. I thought he was smart, human. I thought he understood that there are consequences to actions, and that Samuel’s death was a product of his own actions. He didn’t though. Hudson turned out to be nothing more than the mindless beast that everyone believed him to be.”
Corden leaned over the seat again and she could feel his hot breath washing over her. “Hudson murdered five shifters that day, including my boy. He tore their bodies apart and splintered their bones until there was nothing left of them but puddles of blood and fur and flesh.”
More hair pushed through Corden’s flesh until his entire face was covered in a thick layer of silver and brown hair. “He murdered John in cold blood, and today? Today, Hudson will reap what he’s sown.”
* * *
“So, you’ve been running for two years, knowing that Corden would never stop looking for you?” Lincoln said in a low voice.
Hudson refused to look at him. “Yes.”
“Then tell me why the fuck you thought it would be a good idea to start sleeping with Rosie.” Lincoln growled. “You put her in serious danger because you wanted somewhere warm to stick your dick? What the fuck is wrong with you? Rosalie is innocent, and now she’s going to die because you -”
“Shut up!” Hudson roared. He grabbed the lion shifter and, with an angry snarl, threw him across the bar. Lincoln crashed into a table and rolled onto the floor. He jumped up immediately, his clothes starting to tear as he began to shift.
“Lincoln! Enough!” Jace jumped in front of his friend and placed a restraining hand on his chest as Judd and Bishop grabbed Hudson’s arms.
“Get the fuck off of me,” Hudson growled.
Bishop bared his fangs at him. “This won’t help get her back. Trust me, I know what you’re going through and if you want your mate back, you need to keep it the fuck together.”
Hudson stared at him for a long moment before relaxing his tense body.
“Okay?” Judd said.
“Yeah,” Hudson said hoarsely. He glanced over at Lincoln. “Just keep that fucking asshole away from me.”
“If she dies,” Lincoln hissed at him, “I will fucking kill you.”
“Lincoln,” Jace gave him a look of exasperation, “knock it off.”
“She is my mate, not yours,” Hudson snarled. “She loves me. Not you. You mean nothing to her.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Lincoln said.
“Why don’t you try and make me shut up, lion shifter?” Hudson asked.
Kat made a loud hiss. “Both of you shut up. We need a plan to rescue Rosalie. So, do you think, maybe, the two of you could stop comparing dick sizes for two fucking minutes?”
Ronin put his arm around her and gave her a lazy grin. “Kitten, I found the unaltered footage of that “Beauty tames the Beast’ video. Trust me, Big White over there doesn’t have anything to worry about when it comes to dick size.”
His grin widened. “Not that I gave the video more than a cursory glance.”
Heath rolled his eyes. “You added the My Heart Will Go On song to it, looped it on repeat and emailed it to all of us, including Kat’s mother.”
“Ronin, you didn’t,” Kat said.
“What? I can’t help it if I’m a romantic. Besides, you knew about my Celine Dion obsession.”
“I only found out after you moved in with me,” Kat said.
“Kitten, she’s a vocal powerhouse with crowd-pleasing ballads and a sexy French accent. Why wouldn’t I love her?”
Ronin turned to Hudson. “She’s a goddamn Canadian icon. You’re from Canada, there’s no way you don’t love her. Am I righ
t, big guy?” He held out his arms in a wide half circle. “You can admit it. There’s no judgment in this friendship circle.”
Hudson grunted in annoyance and Kat repeated, “We need a plan.”
Hudson watched as almost all of the shifters turned to stare at Mal who was leaning against a table and staring at the floor.
“Mal?” Heath said.
Mal lifted his head and studied Hudson for a moment before pushing away from the table. “Here’s what we’re going to do…”
Chapter Twenty-One
Rosalie, her body shaking madly, leaned against the rough wood of the lodge. While she was grateful for the covered porch that kept her dry from the pouring rain, she was miserably cold. She’d thrown on just a thin cardigan over her shirt before leaving the house and she wished desperately that she’d been wearing a coat. She was going to freeze to death if she was out here much longer.
Uh, Rosie? You have a lot more to worry about than freezing to death.
That was true. She stared at Corden standing next to her before glancing at her watch. In exactly four minutes, she was going to have a damn finger cut off.
Her stomach was empty, but it tried it’s hardest to expel the bile swirling around in it. She swallowed the bile down, her throat burning, as she stared into the darkness surrounding them.
They had arrived at the closed-for-the-season campground almost four hours ago. She’d sat in the SUV with the others, her hope of surviving the day growing dimmer with each vehicle that arrived over the next few hours, bringing more large and scary looking men. They were all shifters, she’d already figured out that Corden wasn’t exactly a human enthusiast, and her hope that Hudson would show up to rescue her had switched to hope that he wouldn’t.
There were at least fifty shifters in addition to Corden and the one that stood on the porch of the locked up main lodge with her. Hudson might have been strong and powerful, but he didn’t stand a chance against that many shifters. If he came here to rescue her, he would die.
Despite what he said, despite that it was over between them, her chest tightened at the thought of Hudson dying.
Girl, you’re gonna die too. You don’t honestly think Corden is going to just let you walk away when Hudson shows up. Do you?
No, she didn’t. She was hellishly aware of her impending death. But she would die regardless of whether Hudson showed up or not. Wasn’t it better that only one of them died? If she had to watch Hudson being tortured and abused…
She gagged on more bile, and Corden stared down at her before giving her a brief smile. “Won’t be long now, human.”
Her eyes widened when he held out his hand and the tattooed shifter slapped a small but wickedly sharp knife into the palm.
“Thank you, Tony.” Corden smiled again at Rosalie. “Most of these shifters are just – what is it that humans call them… hired guns? But Tony has been with me for years now. Haven’t you?”
“Yes, sir,” Tony said.
“He’s a grizzly shifter, like me. His father worked for me for many years and Tony is as loyal as his father was,” Corden said.
Rosalie checked her watch. Two minutes to nine. “Uh, what type of shifters are, um, everyone else?”
She didn’t give a rat’s ass about the other shifters, but maybe if she kept him talking, it would spare her a few extra minutes until he chopped off a finger or two.
And then what? You can’t just run off into the woods, Rosalie. You can’t see them, but you know there are shifters hidden all around this damn campsite. Even if you could get off the porch and into the woods without Corden or Tony catching you, those hired goons can see in the fucking dark. They can smell you! You’re already dead. You just don’t want to admit it.
No, she supposed she didn’t, but could you blame her?
“Oh, a little bit of everything, I suppose,” Corden said. He leaned down and grinned at her until she could see his fangs gleaming in the dim light. “Tigers and lions and bears… oh my.”
She clamped her mouth shut against the whimper that wanted to escape. “Where, uh, where do you find guys like that?”
Corden laughed before reaching out and grabbing her wrist. “Tony, the time, please.”
“Eight fifty-nine, sir. Wait… nine,” Tony said before smiling almost pleasantly at Rosalie.
“No sign of him,” Corden said. “What a shame. Hold your hand out, human.”
“No.” Rosalie struggled to free herself from Corden’s grip. “Please. Don’t do this.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have a choice,” Corden said gently. “Consequences have actions, remember? Now, hold out your hand or -”
“Boss,” Tony sniffed the air, “he’s here.”
Still holding her wrist in a tight grip, Corden turned to stare into the darkness.
Rosalie’s heart banged against her ribcage when Hudson, wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, stepped out of the darkness. Tony raised his hand and the lights from the SUV blinked on, bathing Hudson in bright light.
He was soaking wet, the relentless rain bouncing off of his granite body as he stared unblinkingly at Rosalie.
“Hello, Hudson,” Corden said.
Hudson moved closer, stopping just a few feet from the steps to the porch and staring up at Corden briefly before his gaze swung to Rosalie again. “Are you all right, sweet Rosie?”
At the sound of his deep voice, her fragile courage broke, and the tears flowed down her cheeks. She nodded, and Hudson smiled at her.
“Everything will be okay. I love you, my mate.”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise and she sucked in a sobbing breath of damp air as Corden made a snort of derision. “Touching, but a lie, I’m afraid. You and your fragile human mate are going to die tonight, Hudson.”
“Let her go, Corden,” Hudson said. “Let her go and I won’t kill you.”
Corden curled his upper lip at him. “Like you killed my boy?”
“He killed Samuel,” Hudson said. “He tortured and killed him. John was a sadist who -”
“Shut up!” Corden snarled. “Speak my boy’s name again and I will slit your mate’s throat right here and you’ll watch her bleed out.”
Hudson stiffened and took a step back. “She has nothing to do with this. Just let her go.”
“No,” Corden said.
“Then you leave me no choice.” Hudson gave him a look that was a mixture of sorrow and weary resolve. “You’re going to die tonight, Corden.”
Corden’s lips curved up in a soft smile. “You and your mate are the only ones who will die.”
“You can’t defeat me,” Hudson said. “You’re too old, and your grief has made you weak. You’re not as strong as you think you are. I’ll kill you and,” his gaze dipped briefly to Tony, “your little errand boy.”
Corden’s smile turned to a laugh as men appeared out of the darkness of the woods. They moved steadily forward toward Hudson as Corden raised his eyebrows. “I told you I was not alone, Hudson.”
Hudson bared his teeth at Corden in a fierce grin. “Neither am I.”
* * *
His polar bear was snarling at him to leap onto the porch and kill the shifter who had taken his mate. Hudson held his bear back and stared steadily at Corden as the grizzly shifter shook his head. “You’re lying. You have no one, Hudson. No one would risk -”
The scream of pain cut through the sound of the rain and Corden’s voice. Hudson snarled at the shifter closest to him as the others turned toward the shriek. A brown bear shifter staggered forward, his body half shifted to his bear, before he fell to his knees. Kat, her golden coloured fur raised at the hackles and her long white fangs dripping with blood, stood behind him. She hissed softly as the bear shifter fell on his face. His back was torn open and Hudson could see the white of his spine as the pouring rain washed away the blood gushing out of his back.
There was shocked silence across the clearing as the shifters stared blankly at the jaguar. Kat yowled in satisfaction before,
her tail flicking rapidly, stalked toward the closest shifter. He shifted to his animal form – a panther – and the two giant cats leaped at each other.
Corden’s men quickly shifted as the three wolf shifters loped into the clearing. Moving as a pack, they surrounded two coyote shifters and easily took them both down, their teeth tearing and slashing into the howling coyotes’ flesh.
A second panther, his fur gleaming with rain, crouched to pounce on Kat as she fought the first. Before it could land on her back, Bishop in his grizzly form caught the cat by its long tail. The panther dug its feet into the wet ground, but it was no match for the grizzly bear’s strength. Bishop dragged it backward with a powerful jerk, and the cat screamed in agony when Bishop’s sharp claws tore open its stomach.
A flash of gold fur caught his eye and Hudson turned to the left. The lion, his mane soaking wet and his green eyes flashing emerald fire, leaped onto the back of a giant black bear. He buried his fangs deep into the meaty shoulder of the bear. It bellowed and used one large paw to tear Lincoln off his back. Jace jumped onto the bear’s chest, his large striped body knocking him onto the ground. He buried his fangs deep into the bear’s throat and tore open the flesh.
Hudson caught the scent of grizzly only seconds before he was sent flying to the ground. He scrambled to his feet and turned to bare his fangs at the tattooed shifter. “Walk away, Tony.”
“You fucking idiot,” Tony snarled. “I liked you, man, and now? Now I gotta fucking kill you.”
Tony shrugged out of his jacket, tore his shirt off and dropped it on the ground. The rain soaked into his tattooed flesh as his upper body swelled. He growled, his fangs starting to protrude from his mouth. “Why couldn’t you have just -”
He suddenly screamed and dropped to one knee. Ronin stood behind him and he delivered another brutal kick to the back of Tony’s other knee. His leg went out from him and he made a startled sound of shock as Ronin clamped one hand across his forehead and the other under his chin. He twisted Tony’s head to the right with a brisk yank. Tony’s body jerked, his eyes went blank and when Ronin released his head, his body fell forward with a harsh thud.
Rosalie Undone (The Shifters Series Book 6) Page 32