Instead of getting angry, Clancy’s smile only grew. “You have until tonight to decide. I won’t force you to join the pack. We’re not monsters.”
Anticipation surged around him, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why. If they didn’t join, they died. “Why don’t you go to your trailer to decide?”
It wasn’t a suggestion.
She’d be a virtual prisoner until the main event. Once Taggert returned, the pack would need to be ready to move and fast.
“Don’t worry about your little wolf.”
Raven snapped up straight as if she’d been shot and whirled to face Clancy, horror piercing her soul.
Taggert.
The ruthless pack leader stared back at her. “I sent my hunters to follow him and drag him back. It wouldn’t do for him to miss the honor.”
They were going to hunt him down like some animal, not caring that he couldn’t shift. When she lunged for Clancy’s throat, a man lifted his rifle and locked her firmly in his sights.
Raven didn’t care.
Only when the dragon gave a warning thump in her chest did she hear a shell click into the chamber of a second rifle.
She froze and cranked her head back.
A second shooter stood in an aerial booth thirty feet in the air, his gun pointed straight at Jackson.
No way could she reach them both in time.
Impotent rage thickened the air around her, until she felt stuck in quicksand and sinking fast.
“Put a guard on that cat of hers. If she leaves the hospitality of the trailer, kill him.” Smugness oozed from Clancy as he turned his back on her … an insult in the shifter community. He didn’t consider her a threat.
It would be the last mistake he made.
“Take her away.”
Chapter Twenty-two
DAY FOUR: AN HOUR BEFORE MIDNIGHT
Raven paced the cramped trailer, the clank of the chain around her ankle dragging roughly against the floor with her every move. The metal chafed her skin raw, only adding to her annoyance. It had been two hours since they’d tossed her inside to await her fate. The afternoon heat had cooled as darkness fell. No one came to visit, not giving her the opportunity to squeeze any information out of them.
Her stomach rumbled, hunger devouring her from the inside out. She burned through calories like a shifter. If she didn’t eat soon, her control over the current and the dragon would waver.
The lack of food combined with the coming storm only meant trouble.
Not that she could see much outside.
A heaviness clung to the air like a weight pressing against her sternum. Energy continued to build, a palpable threat waiting to pounce as soon as she let down her guard. Her skin itched with static, current seeking entry in her body.
There would be no dodging a lightning strike in this tin can.
The park lights turned out one after another, the music slowly winding down as people departed. The atmosphere changed as a more dangerous clientele entered the fairground, the thrill seekers and hunters who craved the more challenging chase than regular animals or humans.
The sense of time running out coiled around her until she felt ready to snap. Taggert was in the middle of nowhere, being hunted if what Clancy said was true. Jackson would soon be fighting for his life, while Durant was left rotting in a fricken’ cage. To be trapped inside the trailer, not knowing what could be happening to her people was driving her insane.
Clancy expected her to be cowed.
Expected her to obey.
Maybe it was time to stop playing by his rules.
Crouching, she grabbed at the chain around her ankle and studied the shackle. A simple padlock secured the latch. She grabbed the lock, then reached for her energy.
Instead of the cooling blue strands of power, her dragon roared to life. She clenched and unclenched her hands, marveling as tiny plates of armor locked under her skin.
She pulled on the metal, stunned to see it stretch apart like clay and plunk to the floor as it fell apart.
Shifter strength … gotta love it.
She should be concerned the beast had taken over her body without even a struggle, but she was coming to understand that if she wanted to keep her pack, she needed to embrace the beast she’d always feared.
She stood, all her senses tingling as they came back to life after a long slumber, energy shimmering into her veins. Not wanting to waste any more time, she headed toward the door and twisted the knob.
Locked.
Using her strength, she wrenched it a little harder, and the handle came off in her hand. She dropped the tin knob to the floor with a hollow thunk. The door creaked open, and she waited for an alarm to blare, a shout to break the silence.
Nothing.
She refrained from throwing a blast of energy around to gauge how many people guarded the trailer. She couldn’t risk Taggert would notice, couldn’t risk distracting him. If he thought she was in trouble, he would charge right into danger.
The air practically crackled with electricity, the smell of ozone right before lightning strikes. The need to run and hide, escape before it was too late, swept over her like the tide, nearly drowning her under the force.
Her nerves steadied when a few minutes passed and no one burst into the trailer. Instead of easing her mind, worry stuttered in her chest.
If no one was watching her, where was everyone?
Thrusting the door open, Raven launched out of the trailer, her feet hitting the ground running. With no more reason to hide, she let the dragon off the leash. She kept low, gliding through the shadows, quickly adapting to the extra boost of speed. The rides had stopped hours ago, the lights extinguished, leaving the empty metal structures clawing at the sky like giant spider legs. Raven skirted the canvas curtain separating the trailers from the freak show, avoiding the late-night entertainment.
The farther she got away from the tents, the quieter it grew until she heard the rumble of animals in their cages.
Again, no guards.
So not good.
If they weren’t guarding the circus, Clancy had kept his promise … they were hunting Taggert. Raven wanted to charge into the forest and go after the men who thought to harm him, her muscles tensed as she scanned the tree line. The dragon swelled with the demand to hunt, the lure nearly irresistible.
It took all her willpower to turn her back on Taggert and the trouble sure to be following hot on his heels. As she neared the cages, she immediately sought Durant, tracking the big cat by the luscious scent of leather she’d come to associate with him. The tiger must have sensed her presence, pacing the length of the cage, his golden eyes scanning the grounds until it landed on her.
Just when she was ready to step out of the shadows, he turned his big head away.
Raven skidded to a stop and followed his gaze.
It took her two tries to see what he wanted her to find. The guard remained so well hidden, if she hadn’t caught a glint of metal, the smell of gun oil, she would’ve bumbled right into a trap.
The lack of guards on her own trailer now made sense. No need when all her men had them instead. She wasn’t going anywhere without them.
She could handle one guard, but it worried her to see his weapon was aimed directly at Durant.
Smart.
The tiger’s cage was out in the open, offering no coverage. Raven could wrap the darkness around her, a trick she picked up from the vampires, but she wasn’t sure she’d be fast enough to get to him before he got off a shot.
Raven studied the other cages and inched her way toward the nearest as a plan began to form. She leapt upward and grabbed the top bar of the nearest cage, effortlessly hoisting herself on top. The animals inside sensed the predator and hunkered down, not wanting to draw her attention. They peered out of their kennels.
Waited.
Anticipation of the hunt leaving their eyes glowing.
She ran across the cage tops, leaping the five-foot distance between
them without missing a beat, stopping right on top of Durant’s cage.
Durant roared, a deep bass sound that rumbled in the air, and the guard jumped.
Raven used the distraction and leapt.
She landed on top of the guard, wrenching the gun away. They rolled and Raven slammed her elbow into his temple, stunning him. She straddled him as armor plated together under her fist.
With one blow, the man lay still.
The dragon gave a rumble of pleasure at the hunt and wanted to continue to beat the crap out of the man. Getting physical, drawing the first blood filled her with a bloodlust so strong it was a struggle to take back control and force herself to her feet.
The dragon grumbled in displeasure and subsided, but not without one last kick to the guard’s head to make sure he stayed down.
Raven turned, chest heaving at the thrill of the hunt and faced Durant. She’d swear that his eyes warmed. Tension eased out of him, his gait smoothing out as he prowled toward her. “You about ready to get out of here and cause some trouble?”
Power swelled around him, and he drew it into his body. He shed his animal skin slower than Jackson but faster than any other shifter she’d seen. In a little over a minute, his bones cracked and shrank down, fur melted back under his skin, and his face and ears shrank.
From one second to the next, a very naked Durant knelt before her. She greedily scanned his body for signs of injury, but he appeared no worse for wear. The sword wound that he took high on his shoulder still hadn’t healed all the way, even though it’d been a little over a week. If he had been a weaker shifter, he wouldn’t have survived at all.
So lost in thought, she jumped when Durant reached between the bars, rubbed the distinct silver strands of her hair between his fingers before tucking them behind her ear. “I’m fine. It no longer hurts.”
The words had a sharper scent to them.
A lie.
Raven wanted to call Durant on it, but both of them knew it didn’t matter if he was hurt or not. They needed to leave.
Durant swiveled and pried out the key she’d hidden.
He threw the door wide and jumped to the ground, barely covering a wince as the movement jarred his shoulder. Muscles flexed as he lifted his arms, and he arched his back. Raven didn’t blink, fascinated by the stretch and pull of muscles.
She wondered if the cage had bothered him more or being locked in his beast for so long.
Either way, she couldn’t tear her gaze away.
It felt good to have him back.
He appeared thinner, his body honed down to pure skin and muscle, every inch of him chiseled and so defined, not an ounce of fat to be found anywhere. They barely fed the shifters, just enough to keep them weak and in check.
Just shy from going feral.
He saw her fascination—or possibly the drool on her chin—and froze. Then with a liquid grace that no human could duplicate, he strode toward her, hunger etched on his face.
She jolted with the look, her body turning molten with the urge her to give into temptation and touch him. The more sensible side of her said turn around, they didn’t have time for this, but she couldn’t make herself go.
A shadow passed over her as she remembered the disastrous encounter with Jackson. Worse, what she’d done to Taggert by just touching him. The conflicting emotions threatened to bury her under the avalanche. How could she want three so very different men with every fiber of her being?
Then she had no more room to think when Durant stopped before her, his warm leather scent seeping into her pores, tugging her closer to the source just so she could get another whiff.
Less than an inch separated them, his heat splashing into her when he ducked his head and pressed his lips to hers.
She expected to be scooped up in his arms and ravished.
Instead, he did something more dangerous to her peace of mind … treated her like something precious that he didn’t want to scare away. The kiss sank deep in her mind and heart, and the dragon rumbled in pleasure, urging her to brush against him and take everything he offered.
She shuffled closer to do just that when Durant lifted his head. She swayed and groaned in disappointment and a roguish smile tipped his lips. “Ready to cause some trouble?”
More trouble than kissing her again?
She blinked a few times to clear her mind before nodding. “Open the rest of the cages.”
The animals grew restless when they noticed them, wandering out of the wooden-like doghouses with the grumbled demand to be free.
“With pleasure.” Durant headed right, while she went left. In under ten minutes, all the cages were empty. Raven paused in front of the empty cage where they’d kept her. Then very deliberately, she opened the door.
The ghost wolf shimmered into existence for a few seconds, muscles bunching as he launched himself out of the cage. His form vanished in a wisp of smoke, and a gust of wind swirled around her as he disappeared. A faint growl vibrated in the air, excitement of the impending fight. Then, whatever she felt was gone.
Thunder rumbled in the distance like the very earth had cracked open. Raven twitched with the need to get somewhere safe, away from all the innocent people she could hurt.
“Will they be safe?” Raven watched the last of the animals disappear into the forest with a bit of trepidation, wondering what she’d unleased unto the world. Even being generous, they were half-broken beasts with nowhere to go.
“They will do what they have to in order to survive.” Durant shrugged in a fatalistic way. “We have much more pressing concerns to deal with right now.”
He was right, of course. With one last look at the forest, she faced Durant and noted he’d found a pair of sweats from somewhere. Sensible, but she mourned seeing all that glorious skin covered up. At least the pants made it easier for her to focus on the danger they faced and not his manly dangling parts. “They plan to force everyone to join the pack tonight.”
Durant nodded, not appearing the least bit worried. “Where are the others?”
“Taggert is searching for a missing child, while Jackson is still at the Big Top.” Unease lurched in her gut at not having them near. Riotous cheers echoed from the large tent, and she very much feared Jackson was in the middle of it.
She wove around the cages, her feet picking up speed, knowing she wouldn’t like what she was about to find. Garbage littered the ground as the entered the maze of tents. The magic of the circus appeared tarnished and run down, abandoned over a hundred years ago.
As they neared the Big Top, the crowd cheered again, and Raven’s head snapped up. She charged forward when Durant grabbed her arm and nearly yanked her off her feet, only to catch her up in his arms. She shoved at him, but the bastard didn’t have the grace to even budge as he dragged her to a stop. “They have Jackson.”
Durant pinned her against the small booth until not an inch of her could move. “You charging in there will solve nothing.”
The desperation to get to Jackson clawed up her insides, the beast swelling under her skin with the need to fight. The emotions were wild, the need primitive … the dragon influencing her. She could break his hold or give him a command he had no choice but to obey. The truth helped clear her head, and she nodded. “You’re right.”
That didn’t mean she had to like it.
The wind kicked up around them, the storm clouds rolling in faster as if drawn to her turmoil.
Durant reluctantly released her and backed away, ready to catch her if she so much as twitched. She immediately missed his warmth, wanted to run just so he’d catch her.
Foolishness … and she couldn’t blame it all on her beast either.
The emotions were pure her.
But work came first. Jackson needed them.
“Are you back?”
Raven lifted her head to find Durant gazing at her, knowledge gleaming in his eyes. She expected amusement and lust, not concern … and some other emotion she didn’t want to admit.
Then her throat tightened in recognition.
Fear.
Her heart shredded until she didn’t know if she could ever put back all the pieces. She rubbed her chest, wounded on a deeper level than she thought possible.
As if realizing what he’d done, remorse rippled through him, his expression stricken. “Raven—”
“No, you’re right.” When he moved to touch her, she swallowed the pain and brushed past him. They had a job to do. Touching him now would be unbearable, not if she wanted to stay sane. “Let’s get Jackson and Taggert.”
Two guards monitored the entrance, partially hidden in the shadows, paying more attention to what was happening inside than around them.
A costly mistake.
The pack should’ve been better trained than that. They were almost as bad as a couple of untrained humans.
“Let me handle this.” Durant streaked forward with his shifter speed, taking the first one by surprise. Two blows and the man collapsed.
The second guard turned in time to meet Durant head-on. She’d underestimated the scrawny guy, watching him plant his fists into Durant one after another, before dancing out of the way.
A dog of some sort.
A scavenger used to fighting in packs.
A hyena.
Durant growled, easily taking the blows, more pissed than hurt.
Without an ounce of fear, he pursued the dancing mutt, and the real fight began. They exchanged blows, neither man registering the hits, too busy beating the crap out of each other. The squeamish, girly part of her wanted to look away, the other part wanted to slice the bastard open.
They were evenly matched until the guard landed a lucky blow to Durant’s injured shoulder. Durant’s steps faltered, and he twisted to protect the wound.
The other man smiled at the tell and darted forward, smelling weakness.
The dragon crept forward, a slow swell of power as she stretched under her skin, and Raven welcomed the beast. Electricity crackled around her in a comforting hum. The cool blue soothed her nerves, while the deadly red magic twisted around her, searching for a threat, hungry for prey. With current riding her hard, Raven stepped out of her hiding place.
Electric series- Raven Investigations BoxSet Page 20