Feral Craving

by D. C. Stone

  Bari reached back and pulled out his wallet, seeing Curtis enter the bar again, and tossed some currency on the bar. The flushed look on the male’s face stated that he must have gotten one hell of a show from the surveillance cameras. And while the thought of anyone else looking at Mackenzie made both the man and demon growl, Bari realized it didn’t matter anymore. None of this did … as things between him and Mackenzie meant so much more.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  He sat outside the park, watching, waiting for the right moment. Those demons thought they could best him. Ha! The false guidance and reports had sent the Eurydice in a complete opposite direction then from where he headed. It all worked out too well, fit nicely into a puzzle.

  A few sacrifices were all it would cost him. He watched the little blonde-haired and gray-blue eyed girl run around, her mother sitting nearby but not paying any attention to the danger lurking. It would all work out so well. His plan was coming together and then his son would realize the errors of his ways and join forces with the winning side. There was no doubt about it. His strategy was flawless, perfect, and in the end, he would conquer the entire Earth and be the ruler of mankind. There was no chance of failure.

  Rising, he smiled and walked with purpose, his long strides closing the distance between him and his prize. No one paid attention to him and with a final glance at the mother, he kicked off phase one of his scheme, which came off without a hitch.

  ****

  A sudden shift in the air caused a change just before a blow landed across his jaw.

  “Fuck!”

  Bari’s vision dimmed, stars dancing as an odd feeling came over him. He fell backwards, slamming into the mat with a crack.

  Something was wrong.

  He hit the ground, and air rushed from his lungs, seizing from the impact. Bari’s attention to his body wasn’t there and instead focused elsewhere. He rolled to his side, choking on a lack of oxygen, coughing in a way that would make a doctor cringe. Inside, a red burning inferno uncurled. Bari glanced up as feet came into view and saw the concern and confusion marring Tyler’s features. Tyler’s lips moved, but no sound reached Bari. He couldn’t tell if it was the blow causing the roar in his ears, but unease prickled along his skin.

  Something was so wrong. It was as if a link, an invisible thread sewn into his soul and connected to the demon, suddenly snapped. His chest appeared empty, as if he had been tossed out of a spaceship and thrown into outer space without a lifeline. He knew the link existed but outside of Mackenzie had never felt it before. Now that he felt the cut, he understood he would recognize it always, distinguished it like a new sense.

  “Dude, what the fuck was that?” Tyler’s voice finally cut through the roar, getting louder with each passing second. Bari glanced at the male’s concerned face, watching as his brother shifted uncomfortably as if he felt the same unease. Bari tried to piece together what he felt and came up at a loss for words.

  “Something is wrong.”

  Bari paused, glanced around the room, listened for anything out of the ordinary coming from the halls outside.

  And found nothing.

  “Where is Mackenzie?”

  He knew the moment her face came to his mind, it wasn’t Mackenzie. His skin crawled with the knowledge, bubbles rising on the surface, his veins standing out in stark relief. Tyler frowned, took a hesitant step back, his eyes glazed as if off in another world. Bari shot to his feet in a smooth move and promptly dashed for the door. He didn’t know what was astray, only that somehow, someway, something was very, very wrong with one of his brothers.

  The four of them held a precious link, one he didn’t initially identify but since his change, understood now. An invisible thread, one holding their minds together with a colorful braid. Each of the threads held the colors of their eyes, the markings on their skin when they changed, all weaved and braided into one. The link shot out through darkness of their minds, bright like the sun rising over a flat desert. He hadn’t understood it at first, but now he knew; now he understood. The braid was shaking, stretching its threads, on the verge of snapping. Things were about to go to hell in a handbasket.

  Bari sprinted up the stairs, racing to track down his brother. Tyler was right on his heels, shouting out for Mike. The struggling braid pulled tighter, and he felt the power Tyler fed and tried to replicate on it. Bari focused on his own power, unsure of whether it helped. This was what they all feared, the breaking of the link, losing a brother, the death of brethren. Without the link to hold you down, evil would consume and push down, take over, and eventually turn you into exactly what you were protecting the human race from. Only this being, a turned Justice Demon was so much worse than anything else. A turned Justice Dealer was practically unstoppable, its thirst for evil unquenchable.

  And the worst part?

  Each link that broke within the bond made the rest of them susceptible to that very same evil.

  Coming up on a door, Bari ripped the remaining wrap from his knuckles and tossed it aside. He slammed into the wood, splintering it in to a thousand pieces, and pushed into Mike’s guest room. Tyler shouted. Panicked words flew from Tony’s mouth. He didn’t hear any of it.

  Mike’s dreadful cry filled the tiny room, physical heartbreak evident across his features. Such a terrible sound, Bari shrank back, sadness washing over him in waves at the sorrow Mike pulsed through their bond.

  Bari’s skin flamed on fire, his heart thundered, the sound clanging off of the walls.

  His body shimmered, that same erotic haze tingled across his skin. Bari’s eyes darted around the room, the four males shifting at once. He looked to his own hand and the skin, a midnight blue, pulsed with designs, which seared and popped, burned through his skin.

  Lights flickered once before going out, and even though there wasn’t a light on in the house, it was anything but dark. Electricity bounced off the one male in the middle of the room, his skin an inky green, his designs standing out in abundance with browns and deeper shades of red.

  Everything clicked like a well-placed puzzle, grief taking over the male, spreading to them all. Bari greeted the panic as it rose to the surface, welcomed the beast charging ahead. The house stilled and then a manipulative crack snapped through the air. Splitting pain shot through his body before a loud roar shook the very foundation of the house. Then all went black.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  How long had he been out? What in the fuck happened?

  Bari groaned, rolled over in bed and shot a quick look at the clock. The red fuzz of numbers pierced his sensitive eyes, sending screaming pain in his body as he fought a wave of nausea rolling through him. He was full of aches and pains, his stomach curling around itself.

  It could only mean one thing … he had turned. Fuzzy memories dimmed the pain. They tried to talk to the demon, tried like hell to reach the man but overcome with grief, it swelled in the room until the beast had risen to the surface like a seal hunting prey and burst out, taking complete control of Mike’s body and mind until the man didn’t exist.

  Groaning, Bari maneuvered on the bed, grunting as he sat up, and tossed his feet over the side. Covered in a thin layer of sweat, aching with uncertainty at being used, he shuddered. He pushed off the bed, and his weight immediately staggered, his muscles like noodles as he weaved past his furniture. Mike was missing, and by fuck’s sake, they needed to find him. The link, that precious bond holding the four of them together, slowly unraveled, the thread threatening emancipation. It held, but not for long. Straining under the pressure, before too much longer, it was going to snap.

  ****

  Bari stood outside the front door of the house, his brows drawn down in a frown as he stared at the wood separating them. His key to his bike in his hand, his body holding each of his weapons, but even then, there was no mistaking the turmoil that rolled through him. To be honest with himself, it wasn’t so much of wood that seemed to separate him and Mackenzie. No, it was more than that. It was as if
Mike had built up a concrete wall, cutting out the building emotions they discovered. He felt lost at sea with the grief plaguing him, as if thrust into treacherous, rolling black waves with no life jacket.

  The Eurydice were all scared fucking shitless at losing their brother, as now, it was a very real possibility. They had been unable to track him down and now, as Bari got ready to head out, he stood with uncertainty at Mackenzie’s door. He wanted to go to her, take some measure of peace and comfort, needed it so bad he practically tasted it. But right now he was a threat to her, and he couldn’t bring himself to take the additional steps. If that link broke, who knew what would happen with him. Would the evil take over? Would he become like his father? He didn’t know the answers but yet again, he fought with the need to protect Mackenzie and Byron rather than taking care of himself.

  “Fucking hell…” Turning, he made his way back down the walkway and away from the one person who would bring him peace. It wasn’t right; he didn’t deserve the peace she instilled in him. There was no way, especially not when one of his brothers was hurting and in need.

  Mike had been someone he laughed with. Someone who came into his life and showed him a different side. Bari took the world entirely too seriously. Mike was the joker of the unit, the one who always cracked a wise ass comment at the worst of times, the one who recognized each and every damn time it was needed.

  As Bari tossed a leg over his bike and pulled on the throttle, the engine roaring to life, he thought on Mackenzie and just how much she had taken over, when he never gave control to anyone. In response to that control, she had been his in every way. She didn’t hold back, gave herself completely over and in return, it was the sweetest gift he could have asked for. With Mackenzie, there was a quiet acceptance of everything he was, faults and all. She took both the man and demon, his dark beast into her life and accepted them both as hers. Any other female would have run for the hills, refused to accept that life was not as everyone knew it. Mackenzie acknowledged it with a whole new outlook. She gave him peace, a quiet of mind and soul. She brought him calm in the rage of his life.

  His hands itched with the phantom feel of her beneath his fingers and squeezed his fists on the handle bars to prevent turning the bike around and going to her. He needed to focus and with Mackenzie in his head, thoughts of how her sweet body unfolded beneath his…

  Not helping!

  Bari pulled up outside his house and scanned over as Tyler and Tony stepped out. He let out a deep breath and turned his head toward the mission ahead, knowing without a doubt they’d all get the job done. They had to. There wasn’t any other option. None of them were going to accept anything less. For now, the entire fate of the planet depended on it. Including Mackenzie and Byron.

  ****

  The helicopter landed soft, speed not needed currently. They were cautious about remaining under the radar rather than coming down with a bang. They had to find Mike, had to track down his mate Samantha and make sure their daughter, Rosalie, was okay. None of the Eurydice could reach Mike.

  Or Mike’s family.

  It didn’t make any sense.

  Bari glanced out of the darkened windows. They were each scanning their surroundings, searching, protecting, anticipating. The helicopter's doors unlocked with a hiss of air and stepping out, Bari grabbed his gear, sliding the pack on his back before looking over at Tyler and Tony. Worry and exhaustion met his own and deep down inside.

  They needed to find Mike.

  It couldn’t be said enough.

  "So what are you all thinking with this? Any idea where to start?"

  Bari’s mind focused on the mission, the threat to Earth, the need to find out what the hell had happened. His mind also struggled to stay away from thoughts and images of Mackenzie, a feat growing tougher and tougher with each passing moment. He scratched his palms, shuffled his feet in the dirt, and scrubbed his face. The longer he was away from her, the more he needed to return.

  About thirty miles northwest of New York City, Mike’s hometown was centered in one of the busiest, yet remote areas of the region. His senses prickled with unease, hairs on the back of his neck rising, and he recognized the feeling, had felt it before, even before he became a Eurydice.

  They were being watched, hunted, picked out.

  When had the Hunters become the Hunted? Bari slowly started to slide his hand around to the small of his back. “You two feel that?”

  “Yeah.” Tyler rubbed the back of his head and looked around. A dark forest surrounded the vast amount of space between houses. The fields rolled in abundance before slamming into the shore of the Hudson. Late at night, the sky seemingly lighter than it should be with the city so close, it felt unreal, like a different world.

  Starting out across the field, Bari had his misgivings, trepidation about what was to come. Their bond, the links that tied them together, allowed for any of them to find one another within hours. It was how Tyler, Tony, and Mike had known he was close to turning.

  Now?

  Silence.

  They entered the forest and spread out. This was his realm, what he lived and breathed. The anticipation of a fight a sweet taste on his tongue, causing his pulse to spike, his sight to grow crystal clear, and his hearing to pick up the slightest sound. After spending years in Iraq, the war lived and breathed through his veins. The electricity brewed.

  They stepped out of the forest some few hundred feet later and crossed a paved road. Bari jogged lightly, bleeding into the shadows, his mind and eyes staying one step ahead, working the surrounding areas. What they needed was to get behind whoever hunted them. Down one man, their best tracker, they were on unfamiliar grounds, and shit out of luck.

  Like shadows, Tyler and Tony moved up as he stepped out from behind cover. A sharp growl had his head swirling, turning as shock rose to see Mike charging him. The male looked nothing like the man they knew.

  His clothing torn, his chest heaved with breaths, spittle dripping from the corners of his mouth. He was in human form, but deep inside of his eyes, the red spark of power lingered, making his entire appearance look more deadly than ever. This wasn’t their brother who always joked and laughed with them, even at himself. The despair radiating off of Mike was so thick Bari choked on it. Bile rose up as he struggled for breath. There was no evidence of Mike on the outside, nothing through their link. A small fissure of a string held on like a lifeline.

  The fight for blood sat in Mike’s eyes. The growl he emitted sounded more animal than anything. And the cry coming through that growl was laced with so much grief, the very air around them seemed to weep.

  “Stop, Mike!” Bari shouted the warning, but Mike kept charging his way. Do or die. Kill or be killed. Fight to the last breath. It all showed in the feral gaze of his brother. Fuck, he didn’t want to hurt Mike, but he couldn’t let this continue.

  “Mike…” He choked out the name with a broken voice.

  “Take him!” Tyler ran wide-eyed from the tree line, the pounding of his boots matching the erratic beat of Bari’s heart.

  He let out a deep sigh and pivoted just as Mike reached him.

  “No! Don’t do this, brother.”

  Bari gripped his SIG in his palm, his finger sliding over the cool, smooth metal of the trigger guard.

  The very air around Mike seemed to shake with uncertainty, his remorse hanging thick. As Bari pivoted, he lifted his hand and slammed his fist out, feeling and hearing it meet the bones of Mike’s face. The blow was meant to disarm Mike, and it accomplished its task, sending the male flying backwards.

  Mike crashed into the ground with a sickening crunch. As the male’s body hit the ground, the rest of them closed in. Mike’s body shut down, his body falling into a black hole of unconscious peace, the male and demon exhausted, giving up.

  A slight whisper went through each of their minds. “She’s gone…”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Walking back into the house that night brought a strange awareness over him
. Bari didn’t understand anything anymore. He wanted to be one place and one place only, in Mackenzie’s arms. The sense so strong as he reached the second landing, he almost went to her. Instead, he fisted his hand at the door before dropping it and heading down the hall to his own room.

  He relied on her more and more lately. She was his peace, his soothing comfort. The years hadn’t changed that nor did it change when he learned who he was. Bari pushed into his room with a heavy breath and froze, his eyes landing on Mackenzie standing there.

  It was like déjà vu all over again, her being in his room. This was different though, he touched it, tasted it. It was as if she understood what he needed, the call as a man to his woman, a beast to his savior. He dropped his jacket to the floor and crossed to her, kicking his door shut with his boot behind him. She came willingly into his arms, wrapping her sweet, innocent limbs around him. It humbled him, broke him in two, and caused his entire world to pitch. Mike had lost a female held precious to him, was on the verge of losing another, and the pain filtered through their bond still. It was enough to bring a man to his knees.

  Mackenzie brushed her lips over his temple, and Bari closed his eyes, turning his face to press into the shelter of her neck. Peace washed over him, pulsed through his veins, and stole the breath right out of his fragmented body. No words were spoken, but none were needed. The silence comfortable, the touching need, soothing hugs, spoke louder than anything else.

  She stepped back, undressed him with such a peaceful concern. He lost himself in gazing at her. He wanted to remember what she looked like, wanted to recall this memory down the road, to see every small detail should he need this one moment in time in order to accomplish control, bring peace.