Thunder

by Jasmine Wylder

  “So that’s what my mother was hearing. Huh.” Zane jumped onto the end table and took a closer look. “You know, there’s a foot of concrete you are going to have to dig through here… but by all means, keep going. I want to put a window there, anyway.”

  He jumped back down and gave her a smirk. Her stomach did an odd sort of flipping thing, and her cat purred. It was as though the damn thing was trying to tell her that this was proof that Zane wasn’t dangerous.

  “You might want to use a Philip’s rather than a Robertson; they’re pointier.” He winked at her then.

  Melanie didn’t hesitate. With a rush of inexplicable emotion, she charged at him. Her hand lashed out, trying to skewer the wolf. He jumped lithely out of the way. She turned on her heel, jutting the screwdriver toward his neck. He grabbed her wrist and spun her all the way around. The screwdriver fell from her hand as he shoved her forward and yawned.

  “Well, that was a pretty poor attempt.” He picked up the screwdriver. “You are a rather stubborn kitty, aren’t you? I don’t want to have to tie you up, Melanie, but I will if necessary.”

  Melanie glared at him. “Go ahead and try! I’ll scratch your face off. If you ever try touching me—”

  “If I was going to hurt you, you’d be dead already,” Zane interrupted. “And I understand your fears. Really, I do. I know what men like me are usually seen as. The kind that takes what they want regardless of anything else. But I will not hurt you, and I will not molest you. I was raised to respect women, not rape them.”

  Her cat rubbed against her chest. Melanie fought the sense of calm settling in her stomach. He wanted her to believe him, that didn’t mean he was actually telling her the truth. She opened her mouth, closed it, and considered him. If she did believe him, it would settle a lot of her fears.

  “What sort of gangster lives with his mother?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

  His gaze hardened. For a moment, Melanie was tempted to take it back. She liked seeing that she got some sort of a reaction from him, though. If he was genuine in saying that he wasn’t going to hurt her, she at least needed to know what limits she had here. A chill stole down her spine, but her stupid cat still insisted that it was nothing to worry about.

  “The kind of gangster who lives with his mother is the kind of gangster that is the alpha of one of the largest chapters of the Savage Brotherhood. He’s the kind of gangster whose father was murdered when he was a teen, and whose mother was permanently injured when her second husband beat her after finding out she could shift.”

  Melanie's eyes widened at that. So that was what Felicia had meant when she said that she used to be an eagle.

  Zane’s head lowered slightly, and he advanced on her, his eyes focused, his lips curling back again. Melanie backed against the wall and he pressed his hands to either side of her head, staring down at her.

  “I killed him for that,” he breathed. “And ended up in jail for ten years. Did you think that these tats were just for show?”

  He gestured at the peek of tattoos on his arms and shoulders. She had been too worried about herself before to pay attention, but she remembered them now. They hadn’t been any picture that she make out, but had been swirling and spiky. Prison tats.

  “You know, she tried going to the police. But my step-dad? He was a cop. Every time she tried to get away or when she tried to press charges? It was like Sisyphus trying to push the bolder up to Olympus. Every time we thought there was progress… He deserved everything he got and none of your self-righteous sneers about law and justice will change that.”

  Melanie opened her mouth and shut it again, having nothing to say to that. Her cat nudged her, wanting her to speak, apologize for her earlier statement, something. She didn’t dare, though. Not when the tightening in her stomach was becoming less about fear. It was clear that he loved his mother very much. Earlier, he had been so gentle with her.

  But he was the alpha of the Ivywood chapter of the Savage Brotherhood. He wasn’t some sort of woobie lover boy, he was a hardened killer. There was no reasoning with this sort of man.

  Unless… He loved his mother and cared for her. Maybe she could try some sort of reverse Stockholm Syndrome thing, get him to be sympathetic to her and let her go? It was worth a shot at least. She swallowed hard as he backed away from her, his eyes still hard.

  “I have to go home. For my father. I’m the only one he has, the only one who can take care of him. I’ve been trying to leave Coalfell for years and years, but he won’t budge and every time I get enough money for it, he relapses anyway. He’s in terrible health. If I don’t go home, he could die. My father is a wonderful person. My mother died when I was a little girl and I’m all he has, and he’s all I have. Please. Let me go home to him.”

  “You must care for him a lot, then.”

  “I do.” Tears filled Melanie's eyes as she thought of all the horrible things that could have happened to her father, even in the short time she had been gone. “It’s why I do what I do. Work full time at a cafe where I’m treated like I’m less than dirt, and then take off my clothes for a bunch of men who call me a slut just for selling what they’re so desperate to buy. I don’t even want to stay in Coalfell. I want to get away. From the town, from the gang, from all of it. Please. My father needs me.”

  Zane narrowed his eyes at her for a long time before he shook his head. “That’s your problem.”

  He headed for the door. Melanie let out a hiss and leapt forward. She grabbed his arm and yanked him to a stop. “It is my problem! You know what isn’t my problem? When a couple of idiots decide that they should kill someone in front of me! Cunningham wouldn’t do anything about it even if I did tell him. I need to get home to my father! If it was you, and your mother needed you—”

  “I’m a gangster.” Zane ripped his arm away from her. “Why should I care about your father? If it was my mother, I wouldn’t have gotten myself caught in the first place.”

  “Zane, please.”

  “Don’t think I’m some sort of saint, Melanie, just because I love my mother. Now eat your soup before it gets cold.”

  He stalked out of the basement without another word. And even though she was dressed now, and she still sweated from her efforts at chipping away the concrete, she had never felt colder. She ought to have known that she wasn’t going to get anywhere with him… she slowly crumpled to the floor, buried her face in her hands and started to cry.

  There was no escaping it. She was going to be held prisoner here forever. Zane was never going to release her. Not when she was a threat to his freedom. He said it himself… he was never going to let himself end up in the same situation again. If he was in jail, who would be there to look after his mother? He wasn’t going to risk that.

  And so, she was never going to be free. The best she could hope for was that Ava would stop by her place, looking for her, and watch out for her dad… Because the only other thing they could do was perhaps have him come and be a prisoner with her. But what sort of life was that?

  Chapter Four

  Thunder

  “Hey, Cap’n!”

  Zane stretched his back as he turned to greet his three closest friends, Kai, Tom, and Carl. His second, his enforcer, and his financial adviser. A fourth man, a new recruit named Bill or Phil or Gil or something like that, tagged after them. Kai, a huge buffalo shifter, smacked Zane on the back and plunked himself onto the couch in the lounge area of the warehouse.

  “So, what’s this I hear about you having a cute little pussycat locked up in your basement?” Kai grinned at him.

  Zane glared in return, mentally cursing. So, the rumors had already spread, had they? He hadn’t had Melanie as a prisoner for more than a handful of days. He still didn’t know what to do about her. Kai watched him closely as Tom and Carl plopped down beside him. Bill headed for the fridge.

  “You don’t have to worry about my pussycat,” Zane told the three of them sternly. “She’s connected to some business with
Coalfell.”

  Kai stretched and settled back down. He put one of his arms over Tom’s shoulders while the other stretched out on his other side. “Hey, I’d like to do some business with Coalfell if I can get a cat to keep all to myself.”

  Carl snorted. “Please. If you tried to lock up a cat, you’d end up with your dick bit off.”

  A wince answered these words and Kai withdrew his arms to shield his precious bits. “Whatever, Carl. So, why haven’t you told us about your kitty, Zane?”

  Zane shot a glance at Bill, who had retrieved a pack of beers. He handed them out. Zane took his with a nod and focused on his friends again. “Because I didn’t.”

  “Can’t argue with that,” Tom laughed as he took a swig of his beer. “Never thought you’d be one of those ‘straights’, though. I mean, keeping a woman captive? That’s some messed up stuff, bro.”

  “She’s not my sex slave,” Zane snapped at him. “I have zero interest in her that way.” He deserved an award for managing to say that with a semi-believable tone. It was the biggest lie he had ever told. “I’m not interested in girls now.”

  Tom grinned wickedly at him. “Ah, you’re trying out the other side of the fence, are you?”

  Zane glared at him for a moment, but a grin tugged at his reluctant lips. “Unfortunately, no. If you want to be an alpha’s mate, you’ll have to find someone else.”

  “If you’re worried about the dynamics, I’m a total bottom.” Tom winked, making Zane laugh.

  Carl turned to him. “Really? How do you know? Like, I mean, don’t you like to take turns with it?”

  Zane settled back with his beer, smiling as he felt himself relaxing. Just hanging out with the boys always helped clear his mind. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to simply enjoy their presence. Kai joined in the discussion now, the three of them arguing about what all the definitions of being a ‘top’ or a ‘bottom’ meant.

  “Dude, whatever.” Carl yawned. “I still say there’s no such thing as a top or bottom, you take turns or it’s just the same time all the time… Yo, I’ve been meaning to ask. Any of your friends willing to do casual? I’ve been thinking lately I might be bi, but how do I know unless I have sex with another guy, you know?”

  Tom snorted. “And so, you want one of my friends?”

  “If they’re willing to go casual with me for some curious exploration. I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

  “You guys aren’t serious, are you?”

  Zane opened his eyes, his gaze flicking to Bill. The man sat on the table, an uncomfortable look on his face. He frowned, but Bill didn’t seem to notice. He glanced at Tom and Carl, that familiar, disgusted look starting to come onto his face.

  “Are we going to actually do some work or just sit around and be gay?”

  That was the wrong thing to say. The temperature of the room dropped several degrees. Zane’s wolf snarled, and he slowly got to his feet. It was so hard to find proper recruits, really. It shouldn't be too much to ask that the shifters who wanted to be part of the gang weren’t homophobic pieces of shit. Bill still didn’t notice him, though, his gaze locked on Tom.

  Tom’s expression had completely smoothed out. He knew far better than Zane did, the type of action that could follow comments like that. His hands clenched but he remained calm—at least on the outside. “For your information, Brian, I’m gay all the time.”

  Bill—or Brian, apparently—made a choked noise of disgust in his throat. “Well… whatever. I don’t have a problem with your lifestyle choices, but don’t hit on me, or face the consequences.”

  That did it. Zane’s wolf howled, and his fist flew. It made a satisfying crunch as it smacked into Brian’s face. The recruit flew backward, his heels rolling up over his head. Kai, Carl and Tom all got to their feet. Tom grabbed his arm and pulled him back as Zane started to lunge again. The taste of blood was in his mouth and he wanted more.

  Brian cowered on the floor, his hands clutching his broken nose.

  “Homophobia isn’t allowed in my chapter,” Zane snarled, allowing Tom to keep him back. As the only gay man in the upper circle, Zane took his cues from Tom more often than not in these situations. He would not allow threats to his friends, though, not after what happened to his brother. “If you want to be an asshole, you can go crawling back to whatever mud pit you were born in.”

  Kai seized Brian’s arm and pulled him back to his feet.

  “I didn’t mean anything by it,” Brian whimpered, still cowering.

  “You meant enough,” Zane told him. “And you’d be damn lucky for a man as brave, strong and smart as Tom to be interested in your sniveling little corpse.”

  “Zane, that’s enough.” Tom pulled on his arm. “Let’s just calm down and drink our beers, okay?”

  Zane growled a final warning at Brian before allowing Tom to guide him away. Brian slunk into a corner, shoulders hunched as he downed his beer. What was he even sticking around for? Zane glowered at him as he sank back in his chair. He drummed his fingers against the arms of the chair, still feeling the thrum of energy beneath his skin. His wolf wanted blood.

  “Change of plans,” he said abruptly. “Those Southers are trying to muscle their way into Brotherhood territory. The five of us are going to go take care of them.”

  Brian’s head jerked up, eyes going wide. Zane kept his gaze steady on him. It would be a good way to see if he was willing to trust the men and that he had their backs. If not, then there was no point keeping him. Zane grinned, allowing his teeth to start to shift as he continued staring at Brian.

  “Let’s get going.”

  ***

  The Southers lounged about their little clubhouse, laughing and talking to each other. Zane signaled for Kai and Tom to strike. They dropped in from either side, eliciting cries of shock. The Southers jumped to their feet and started reaching for their guns and knives. Kai punched their leader in the face. Carl gave a bellow as he charged in from the back. Half the Southers fled, and Kai and Tom quickly cut between the two groups.

  Zane swung in, fists flying. His wolf snarled with pleasure as his fist struck into the face of a man who pulled a gun on him. Brian backed him up, blocking one of the Southers that came at him from an angle Zane intentionally left open. He drove into the midst of them, knocking hands aside as he clapped the Southers in the face and throat.

  A man stabbed at Zane’s throat. He easily sidestepped and hooked his arm around his attacker. He slammed his other palm against the man’s elbow, forcing it the wrong way. A crack rang through the air. The man’s legs buckled. Zane grabbed his other arm and twisted it sharply, popping the shoulder from its socket. The man dropped, screaming in pain.

  Tom and Kai fought back to back, Carl swinging through the Southers to keep them separated and off-kilter. Zane laughed as he kneed someone in the groin and threw him into another of the Southers. Behind him, Brian gave a shout and darted through the mass to rabbit punch a man in the back of the neck. A gun clattered to the floor and went off as the man dropped. Tom turned, snorted, and punched two more men in the face.

  The Southers panted, fighting to get free more than to subdue their enemies now, and with a single hand signal from Zane, the Brotherhood retreated, allowing them space. Zane smiled at them as he gazed at the fallen members of the rival gang. No deaths this time; it would serve as a warning without inciting the need for avenging fallen friends.

  “This is territory for the Savage Brotherhood,” he said calmly as the Southers regrouped, panting and nursing their wounds. “You’d better clear out before things get bloodier. If you have any sense, you’ll pack up and leave Ivywood tonight.”

  One of the men spat out a mouthful of blood. “Oh yeah? And who’s going to make us?”

  Kai burst into laughter. “That’d be much more impressive if we hadn’t handed your ass to you just now. There’s five of us against what? Twenty of you? And you’ve got six still standing… we can take the rest of you down if that’s what you want. I hav
en’t even broken a sweat.”

  The remaining Southers glanced at each other. A few of them looked like they would be more than willing to fight, but most them withdrew, looking at their feet, shuffling from side to side and wincing as their wounds pulled. Zane smiled, his wolf’s need for violence sated.

  “Let’s go,” he said to his men, turning on his heel. He sauntered back outside, whistling merrily.

  They quickly returned to their motorcycles and tore off. All the way back to the warehouse, the men laughed and hooted congratulations to one another. Zane allowed himself the high of success, even though he knew it was temporary. This was just the start of it. They’d have to hit Souther deals hard and fast. Make Ivywood too expensive a playground for them. Otherwise, they’d just regroup and cause more trouble.

  Even if the vampires had been oddly quiet these last few months, that didn’t mean he wanted to break their vigilance by having to deal with ordinary humans thinking they were bad asses.

  He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, and the Bluetooth speaker he’d installed in his helmet gave a series of beeps. Zane’s heart stuttered—that was his mother’s emergency signal. He pulled a fast U-turn on the street, earning him several angry horn blasts, but he ignored them. Kai turned slightly, meaning to follow, but Zane waved him on.

  This was either about Melanie or something else. If it was Melanie, he didn’t want anybody, even his friends, getting involved. And if it wasn’t her? Images of his mother lying crumpled at the base of the stairs or passed out from the agony of a broken hip flew through his mind. If it was something else, they wouldn’t be able to help anyway.

  ***

  The thing that hit him the moment he stepped into the house was the overpowering stench of vampire. The sickening sweet smell of rotten fruit was so strong it made him gag. Instantly, adrenaline flooded his system. His stomach churned as he inhaled deeply. No scent of blood, but with a vampire that didn’t mean anything.

  His heart pounded as he entered the house slowly, watching every shadow for the vampire. There was no noise from down the stairs. Zane turned to the main room where there was the soft murmur of the TV. He crept in, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.