“It’s only going to be a matter of time before he tries.” She allowed herself to be steered outside. The slight breeze set her back on fire, her words emerging through gritted teeth.
Greggory didn’t say anything, just guided her around the tents until she was standing outside a larger trailer. His faint scent faded in and out, indicating he spent most of his time there, away from the others. When he opened the door, the sharp antiseptic stink of medicine and cleaners billowed out, cutting off his elusive scent before she could identify it.
He held open the door and nodded for her to enter. “We’ll have more privacy inside.”
She sneezed at the chemical stench, nearly bending double as pain riddled her body. It took her close to a full minute before she could straighten and enter.
Though the place was packed floor to ceiling with supplies, there was a sort of order to the chaos. Raven remained standing, twisting to keep Greggory in view, not trusting anyone at her back. Not even him despite his helpfulness.
“Clancy follows the same pattern with all new people. He always picks the most vulnerable, the one most likely to get the desired results. Any small infraction is met with brutal punishment, a lesson you only need to learn once.”
“Ah.” Everything made a sick sort of sense. “To bring us under his heel.”
Greggory ignored her and began gathering supplies. “Only it backfired for the first time today. Those men of yours gave him pause. They wouldn’t break. He has no use for those he can’t control.”
Foreboding wrenched through her gut.
Clancy had no intention of releasing them.
Greggory peered up from the supplies he’d gathered on the small table, the truth in his eyes. The shadows engulfing him parted, dragging her under his tow. A dozen or more tiny strands of energy bound him, not pack bonds, but something more. Each strand had a different flavor, like associated with a different pack. Before she could push for more, a huge brown bear formed in her mind. It reared on its hind legs and roared so loud it reverberated in her head, pain and anger and outrage thudding in her chest.
The connection between them shut down, severed so brutally she swayed at the abrupt loss. He might be terribly strong, but he’d fallen into Clancy’s trap like all the others. Only the multiple strands prevented him from being claimed by force.
So why would he linger, unless …
“The missing kid.” Greggory flinched slightly, a small tightening around his eyes that gave him away. “You don’t fit in with the rest of the group. You keep to yourself, not forming any ties. The others stay away, even the hunters avoid antagonizing you.”
He grunted as if she’d struck him. Ignoring her, he ripped open some of the packages and opened a bottle of antiseptic then slipped on a pair of gloves. “Let me see to your back. They’ll be coming for you soon.”
The ominous words didn’t deter her. “Taggert didn’t find anything, but he’s going to keep looking. He’s close.”
The hard set of his shoulders softened a fraction, the querulous bear changing, becoming curious. Raven had only met one other bear, London, her security guy. The man was massive and could change into a large Kodiak that would only attack when provoked, but he would be deadly and relentless until he got his prey. This grizzly was different, grumpy all the time. If she kept on poking, he would retaliate.
Then she thought no more as he poured antiseptic into her wounds, setting them afire. Ten minutes passed as he cleaned up the wounds and blood. “You’ve already stopped bleeding. I don’t think you’ll need stitches, but you’d do best to try not to heal too fast. Clancy is already suspicious.”
A faint accent tinged his voice, Russian if she had to guess, the first real sign of any emotion other than anger. He snapped off the gloves, not once looking at her as he pulled out a shirt from the sea of gray in a nearby drawer and handed to her. Raven accepted it, grateful not to walk around in her tattered clothes. She let what was left of her shirt fall to the floor and tugged the new one down over her head. Her body ached, but the pain was already easing. Though he was slim, the shirt still drowned her, his elusive scent going in and out of focus.
The dragon grumbled at being smothered in another shifter’s stink, not ready to trust him just because he’d helped her. Greggory’s loyalty wasn’t easily given, and she didn’t have it yet. Without that boy, his allegiance would always be to his owner.
Greggory headed toward the door, the muscles of his back tense as his hand clenched on the latch, but he didn’t open it. “You need to leave.”
He was telling her it was okay to leave him and the boy behind. His gruff tone, his lowered eyes were deferential to her … a female shifter. It gave her a little peek into his past. He’d grown up as part of a pack, with all the rules and structure instilled into him from birth.
“You’re worried about us being forced to pledge to Clancy.” The dragon perked up, breathing down her neck and she swallowed hard, needing to know how much he’d discovered about them. A prickle of unease slithered down her back, and the dragon sank its claws in her guts at the thought of someone else trying to claim what was hers.
Greggory’s nearly black eyes lifted toward hers. “I suspect that even if he tried, the binds wouldn’t form. All of your men have a prior claim that would prove too strong to break by the likes of him.”
Raven stilled, all sounds faded as her world became centered on the man before her.
He knew.
Well, knew enough to get them killed if he told the wrong people.
“You—”
“Don’t be a fool. I won’t have to say anything. If you stay, they’ll find out the truth on their own and kill you and your pack to protect themselves. If you were any other female, they might be tempted to keep you, but a rare alpha female is just too dangerous.”
A trickle of breath escaped her. He was right. Her mind quickly switched track, plotting the best escape routes. “More than half of the hunters were missing at the tent.”
“There are no scheduled hunts.” Greggory scratched his jaw, the scruff of his beard rasped in the silence. “They’ve been searching the woods for the missing lion.”
“Can’t leave evidence behind, not to mention losing a payday.” Then her attention sharpened. “Have they been going off in pairs and maybe not returning?”
From Taggert’s description of the mauled body he had found and the timing, Raven had a very good suspicion who was leaving the bodies.
Their very own king of the jungle.
Greggory’s eyes widened, a grin tugged at his lips, but warned, “That doesn’t mean that they’re all dead.”
But it did mean that more than half of them were not there to guard the circus.
Raven no longer cared.
They were leaving.
She’d given the dragon the benefit of the doubt, but if they continued to stay, she feared that none of her pack would survive.
The dragon didn’t protest this time, and that only made her apprehensive, wondering if she’d waited too long already.
Chapter Twenty-one
Two guards deposited Raven outside her trailer after her interesting exchange with Greggory. He was right. Today was the perfect time to leave, but that didn’t mean they would sneak out quietly like thieves.
As she reached for the knob, her spine tingled, and she froze.
Someone was watching her.
She turned, a twinge shooting down her back, when she spied Taggert lurking between two small trailers. His gaze raked over her from top to bottom, almost clinical as he searched for weaknesses like she were prey. Wildness poured off him in waves, but he seemed to be in charge if by the skin of his teeth. She took a step toward him, wanting to lay her hands on him and calm him, but he retreated, blending into the shadows without a word.
His slim form moved so graceful and fast she could barely track him. She expected him to pick a place to hide and watch her. Instead, he headed toward the woods and vanished into the trees f
rom one step to the next.
Heading after the boy.
Warmth filled her chest, and she curled her fingers into fists, missing not being able to touch him. She turned and entered her trailer—and stumbled to a stop to see Veronica coming out of the bathroom.
The wounds on her back tugged again, and Raven winced. Her beast sank into her bones, weighting them down, hiding until she couldn’t even feel a single thought from the creature. In the space of seconds, half her senses died, nearly doubling her over with the loss.
All the scents she’d relied upon vanished, the air losing taste, leaving her floundering for balance.
“Here.” Veronica opened a drawer and handed her a small bottle of lotion, her voice soft. “If you spread this on your skin, it should prevent scars.”
“You…”
A bitter smile twisted her lips, her thin blond hair appearing dull and lank out of water. “Just because I’m Clancy’s lover doesn’t exclude me from his punishments.”
Right then, Raven was sure she’d been placed with Veronica so the mermaid could spy and report back to her lover.
She needed to tread carefully.
Raven accepted the bottle, then eased down on a stool. “Then why?”
Veronica perched herself in front of her dresser, fussing with her hair and makeup. “Being at his beck-and-call allows me more freedom. Plus the perks. I get more food, my own place and the more time he spends with me, the less time he spends…”
She trailed off, fiddling with the brush she held, and Raven picked up the thread. “With your hostage.”
“Exactly.” A sad smile lifted her lips. She sighed and pushed to her feet, her beauty queen fake smile back in place. “Time to get back to work. I believe you’ll be with Eve today until your back has healed.”
“But the animals—”
“Will be handled. Until you’ve had a chance to heal, the smell of your blood will only provoke them.”
Effectively separating her from her whole pack, including Durant.
Raven stared at the door long after the woman left, but the dragon never returned.
Almost like she was afraid.
Two hours later, she sat next to the gypsy, watching her work the crowd. A light energy floated in the air around the witch, threaded through the person’s aura … as if she could really read their future from it, and Raven wondered if it were actually possible. The process must leave her exhausted by the end of the day. “You give them honest reads.”
A scowl scrunched up her face. “Of course.”
The tension between the two of them hadn’t dissipated. They had an unsteady truce, but Raven didn’t know how much longer it would last. Two men wove their way through the crowd toward them, people she recognized from the circus. One of the men dropped off a picture then walked away without a word.
Targets.
Eve paled, the starch beaten right out of her, resigned to her job.
Raven picked up the picture of a small family with a boy no more than four years old. “And just what are you supposed to do?”
She couldn’t keep the accusation out of her words, and Eve flinched before straightening and lifting her chin. “Whatever I have to in order to keep my son alive.”
Even with all the people milling about, Raven easily spotted the family. The woman was human, but the father and child were pure shifter. Love shone on their faces. Raven blinked her eyes, dropping into her second sight. Swirls of energy that made up the world flared to life.
When she locked on the family, her shoulders drooped.
They were not a part of a pack.
The truth knocked her out of her special sight, the world rushing back in a crashing wave of sounds and colors.
Eve stood and smiled, working her way through the crowd. Panic built up in Raven’s chest like a crushing weight. If lucky, the boy would be sold into the pack, at worst, he’d become nothing more than a slave … just like she had been at that age.
She couldn’t allow it.
Raven pushed through the crowd, beyond caring if anyone got too close and received a nasty shock.
Eve spoke to the parents, laughing and reading their palms.
All lies.
Raven bent toward the kid and dropped every shield that she’d spent a lifetime building. The dragon roared toward the surface with the force of a volcano erupting, nearly knocking her on her ass. Sparks crackled along her skin, scorching her flesh until tiny platelets slid into place.
The kid jumped, then froze, unable to move as she pinned him under her gaze. “You’re in danger. You must take your family and run.”
Power swelled as she spoke, changing the plain words into a command. The young kid looked scared shitless, but nodded.
Since Raven was a female alpha, he had no choice but to obey. “Now.”
The kid opened his mouth and screamed bloody murder. Both parents immediately stopped talking and surrounded him, trying to get the kid to hush, but nothing they did helped.
“I’m so sorry.” Embarrassment and concern tinged the parents’ apology. “The show must be too much for him.”
Raven quickly retreated, releasing the beast from her hold, swaying as all the lovely energy dissipated. The lashes on her back throbbed at the influx of energy, forcing her body to heal faster than it could handle all at once, as if someone had taken a blowtorch to seal her wounds.
The world spun wickedly, and she focused on the family making their way toward the exit. The boy gazed at her over his shoulder. Terror was etched on his face, but also a dangerous amount of awe, the kid not even fazed by her beast.
“What the hell did you do?” Eve grabbed her arm and spun Raven around and pain seared through her. “Do you even know what you’ve done? Clancy’s going to be after you now for defying him again. He can’t let it go or it will make him appear weak.”
The gypsy spoke from experience. And they were both going to be blamed for chasing the kid away. “I’m sorry to drag you into this.”
Eve’s lips compressed, but she didn’t protest further, her focus trailing after the small family, her brows pinched together. “He’s never targeted children before.”
Raven’s attention sharpened. “So you think it was a test?”
She lifted a brow as if to say what an idiotic question. “You don’t?”
And Raven had clearly failed.
Eve rolled up her sleeve, revealing a silvery mess of scars, not an inch of her skin unmarked. “Each time I let someone slip away, I get marked, a constant reminder of my failure. When I run out of room, my boy is next.”
Fury pierced Raven that they’d threaten to mark a child in such a way.
“Don’t say a word. Let me do the talking.”
Uncertainty lightened Eve’s eyes, a speck of hope glimmering there before she brutally crushed it. “Sure. Whatever.”
The commotion drew attention, especially from the two men who’d dropped off the picture, and they sliced their way through the crowd toward them like crocodiles closing in on wounded prey. They drew to a halt in front of Raven, purposefully edging into her personal space. A good intimidation factor if she’d been human. Both men towered over her, each inches over six feet. Their bodies were lean, but not trained for fighting like pack members were from birth. “Follow us.”
Eve nodded like a well-behaved pet, giving into the inevitable without a fight.
They were once again directed toward the Big Top. Clancy barked out orders, the people inside scrambling to get ready for the next show. When his eyes landed on them, he fell silent, a gleam of annoyance at being defied flashing in their depths. He let out a piercing whistle and everyone stopped and fell silent.
“You were given one task and failed.”
Panic swirled around Eve, her eyes shimmered with tears, but Raven had to give her credit when they didn’t fall.
There was no use denying anything, not since it was a set-up from the beginning.
Raven stepped forward, ducking her
head, not meeting his eyes, a pure submissive gesture that took everything in her to perform. “My fault. I came on too strong. The kid got scared before we could learn more.”
Clancy’s face scrunched up in displeasure as if she’d taken away his favorite toy. He wanted her to fight so he could punish her.
“Do you have anything to add, Eve?”
Raven kept her head down, not daring to even breathe as she waited for the gypsy to turn her over. Despite the distance between them, she felt Eve tremble, smelled the stench of fear emanating from her skin. “No.”
Raven peered up to catch Clancy’s scowl, clearly undecided if he was being played.
Then a smile tipped the corner of his lips, and her heart shriveled at the malicious pleasure. “Very well. For your reward, after the show, you and your men will have the honor of joining my pack. We’ll make it official.”
Bile rose in the back of her throat. The thought of being forced into service stabbed deep in her gut, pinning her in place with a sharp blade. Her mind flashed back to Jackson, and she wondered if that was how he’d felt when she’d taken him from his prestigious pack and dropped him into her messy life. It wasn’t as if she really gave him a choice. A vice clamped around her chest at the resentment he must feel.
As if her thoughts conjured him, Jackson appeared at the back of the crowd, moving into place as he waited for her signal. Their eyes clashed, and she looked away in shame.
Everyone deserved a choice.
The bindings holding the pack together might keep the men safe, but she wasn’t willing to risk their lives on a gamble. “And if we decline?”
Jackson tensed and crept farther into the crowd, heading toward one of the armed hunters.
He would cover her back even knowing it would be a suicide mission.
She shook her head.
Now was not the time to make a move. The pack was too separated. They would move tonight.
Satisfaction coursed through her veins at the decision.
Jackson hesitated for a fraction of a second then backed away, blending into the crowd.
Electric series- Raven Investigations BoxSet Page 19