Józsi started shaking Les, slamming repeatedly him against the wall. “Don’t bullshit me, Les. I don’t have time for your cryptic answers. Where are they?”
Someone behind them coughed. Józsi turned his head and saw Selene standing in his dining area, dressed in black leather. Her red hair had been pulled back, loose strands falling over her face. She wore a blank expression that crept over his skin in a dangerous manner, making the hair on his arms and legs stand.
It was almost as unnerving as Les’s damn lime-green eye.
She stood hands on her hips in the doorway. “Wolf, put down the asshole and let’s go. I know where they are.”
Józsi faced Les, his head mere inches from the other man. “I’ll deal with you later.”
Tossing the man against the railing, he walked back inside. He ignored Les’s coughing fit and slammed the window shut.
“How did he manage to find me?” Józsi wiped his brow, aware that Les was gathering his strength. What for? A possible retaliation for challenge? Fine, he could have it.
“Kiba was here.” Selene’s monotone voice grated over Józsi's nerves.
“I figured that much. Why?”
“He wanted to kidnap your two lovers.” She let out an exasperated breath.
His eyes widened, he raised a balled fist and took a step toward Selene. “I thought you said you put up wards or something last night, what the hell happened?”
“Don’t growl at me. And I don’t know,” she stepped forward, brushing her chest against his, “but don’t fuck with me right now wolf. You will lose.” Her chin tilted upwards and eyes, which sparkled last night, looked dull and swollen. Her hair seemed to move on its own accord.
A surge of power washed over him, through him, shaking him. It scared him that the pack witch was bucking him, but she had made her intentions clear last night. She didn’t like the prophecy, but was going to play the game anyway. “Fuck!” He yelled aloud and kicked a table toward Les.
Les stood and started for him, but tripped over the table and fell backward, crashing against the wall and knocking over a vase, sending splinters everywhere.
Józsi started for Les. “This is your fault you son of a bi—“
“Józsi! Leave him be!”
Selene's shout stopped him in his tracks, three feet from Les. Glancing at the Asian wolf, he stared hard and long, hair on the back of his neck bristling at the suggestion of leaving this stupid asshole be, let alone alive. For a split second, silence echoed loud enough that Józsi swore he heard Les’s pounding heartbeat.
Les didn’t move, didn’t open his eyes. He laid there, his shirt untucked and hair unkempt. It appeared that he had a five o’clock shadow that only emphasized the darkened olive tones of his skin.
For all his power, all his former bark, he wasn't even like himself anymore. Les became a shadow of himself, whatever that was before Józsi had been born. No one told stories of Les's involvement in the pack prior to Józsi's birth, no one ever spoke of the Elder.
They always focused attention on Kiba, current ruler.
Józsi's fists shook. He put a hand to his head, rubbed it down his face and began pacing in the mess of his living room. He stopped, glared at Les, then at Selene, before resuming his pacing.
The only thing he could think of involved murdering their former Alpha and having to step into the role to lead the pack. He hated that idea but killing Kiba would be the only way he'd ever free Lukina and Ilona, not to mention the rest of the pack, from a mad man.
Selene let out a long, slow breath and walked over to Józsi, her hips swaying. Leather creaked in the silence as she stepped over the table and reached for him.
Frozen in his tracks, Józsi found himself unable to move from the witch's path. Something in her eyes held him in place.
“You need something.” She clapped him on the shoulder.
Józsi looked at Selene, tilting his head slightly. “What?”
“This.” She closed her eyes and began speaking in a language he didn’t understand. Words appeared, glowing bright yellow. As she spoke the words surrounded him and dissipated into a fine mist until he was encased in a bubble of golden warmth.
She’d stopped speaking and the words closed in on him, sinking into his skin.
Fear rose up inside him and was immediately swallowed down. This was the pack witch, not someone with intent to hurt him. At first, tiny sparks illuminated his skin then sunk in. He felt like he was being pricked with needles. Seconds passed and the pain dissipated, replaced by nothingness. Józsi felt hollow and numb but kept his eyes closed as Selene instructed.
“Close your eyes and listen with your heart. Let what you feel for your true lovers guide you, replenish you. Let all that is within you replace darkness. You are my wolf to call, as are all wolves, so suffer no more.”
Józsi closed his eyes and let her words fill his ears. His rapid heartbeat slowed to a normal pace, then slowed even more. Blood moved through his veins, tranquility filling him, easing his pain. Memories of his childhood together with Ilona and Lukina flashed before his eyes, replaced by smells and scents of the rich Hungarian lands. The full, earthy lupine scent, the slightly salty bitter wind in the winter, fresh air from the lake, it all filled his nostrils. Called to a part of him that missed his homeland, and yearned for his lovers.
Then, the scent of sex, warm and heady, mixed with sunflowers and streaks of red and purple, appeared. That had to be Lukina and Ilona, again. Seeing them in the throes of lust, hands, fingers, hair tangled up in a mess while they kissed and found each other’s bodies.
But Ilona looked sad without him.
Lukina understood and tried her best to be dominating the way Józsi was, and Ilona gave her familiar weak smile.
It wasn’t enough. He was the missing link. He was the one they both wanted, needed. And it all became clear.
“Open your eyes and know peace.”
Selene’s voice brought him out of the image. Józsi opened his eyes and saw Selene standing before him.
She slapped him.
Her hand stung against his cheek. “Ouch! Was that part of your ritual?”
She smirked. “No. That was because I warned you earlier and you didn’t listen.”
“Oh.” He rubbed his cheek.
She narrowed her eyes and smiled. “Go get cleaned up. We’re going after them.”
He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, noticed the blood stains on his mouth and wrists from where he'd torn into the gunman. Of course dried blood coated his fingernails too. He shook off the thoughts of what he'd done, ran his hands through his disheveled hair, pulling it free of the ponytail he'd tied it back in.
He planned to burn the clothes he tore off his body at the first chance
He turned the faucet on in the guest bathroom, splashed cold water on his face. “Do you know where they are?”
She appeared in the doorway and leaned against the frame. “I do indeed. But this is your fight.”
He nodded. "So what? Are you going to tell me?"
Selene crossed her arms over her chest, glared at him.
"Okay, shit. Go fix yourself a drink, some coffee or something while I finish getting cleaned up, okay?” He'd tried to keep his tone neutral so as not to piss her off but found it difficult to care about anything except rescuing Ilona and Lukina.
She smiled. “Think I will.”
Walking into the kitchen a few minutes later, he felt fresh again. Clean shaven, hair tied back, dressed in black, he was ready. “What about Les?”
Selene grinned and led him out to her car.
“Leave him be. He’ll recover from his hangover on your couch and be gone in the morning.”
A silver Porsche sat in his driveway. Why hadn’t he noticed it earlier? Or even last night? Oh well. “He didn’t look too thrilled to see me.”
She opened the door and slid inside. “He knows what you’re going to do to his brother, Kiba. Also, he’s afraid of me and what my mate can do to him.”
>
Sliding into the passenger seat, he inhaled the clean leather scent. Józsi lifted his head. “He can’t expect me to not kill Kiba.”
They turned onto the highway. Carefully, she maneuvered the vehicle down the road, missing the ice patches and slow moving drivers. “Of course he expects you to kill Kiba. But that’s still his brother.”
Józsi nodded. "Why is he so afraid if he's so powerful? How was it your mate bested him in a fight?"
Selene made a clucking noise, "I have no idea honestly. I can't imagine a world where Les has true power other than illusion and mind control over humans much like his brother does, but whatever happened with Marco frightened Les and, dare I say it, calmed him down some."
"Sheesh."
"I know, right? Fear has a way of motivating even the strongest among men."
Józsi couldn't argue that fact. He'd lived his whole life avoiding fear just to have this all happen because of his actions. “Where are they? And why did he take them?”
“They’re downtown in a warehouse off Main Street. And as for why? Who the hell knows? That damned Kiba never does anything for a logical reason. Being infected by the Lunar Flower’s disease complicates things more because no one understands it. We just know that some in our pack, in the wolf species are being punished.”
Józsi leaned back in the seat, putting his hands behind his head. “What did we do to deserve such a punishment?”
Selene shook her head. “I don’t know, Józsi. I truly don’t know.” Her monotone voice told him enough.
A storm brewed inside him, his body shaking just slightly with anger. The average human would not pick up on his movements; he appeared to sit still the entire ride. His emotions remained in check until they pulled off the freeway and onto one of the service roads that would bring them downtown. Something inside his head snapped. His spine straightened, canine teeth protruded from his mouth. He’d never experienced this before, but Selene didn’t pay him any mind.
To his chagrin, they slowed down and pulled over. “Are we going to just park and walk?”
“Hell no! It’s fucking cold outside!”
He gave her a funny look. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am. I don’t have layers of fur, unlike some of us.”
He shrugged.
It didn’t matter anyway. Józsi didn’t know which warehouse she was talking about until she pointed at it.
“There.” A large brick warehouse on the corner of the street, a tattered chain and wooden fence serving as the only means of security. The gates were open and a few cars were parked just outside.
Józsi rolled the window down. Sniffing the air, he picked up on the faint scent of Ilona, her sweetness blending with Lukina’s spice. Nodding, he looked straight ahead at the warehouse. “Stop the car.”
“What?”
“Stop the damn car, witch!”
Her knuckles tightened around the steering wheel and she slammed on the brakes and the car jerked to a halt, sending them both lunging forward.
“Jesus Christ, woman!”
She glared at him. “Don’t test me, wolf. I am not in the mood.”
His eyebrows rose in an arch. “You think I am? If you’re so powerful, why haven’t you prevented this? Or fixed this shit?”
“Because,” she turned to face him, tears falling from her eyes down her cheeks. Her cheeks were red, lips trembling. “I can’t.”
“What do you mean, you can’t? Even Les is afraid of you. You’re more powerful than he is, obviously.”
Her hands went up, palms facing him. “Yes, and I have Marco’s support. You know the rule about malicious magic, though.”
His lip curled. “So you’re afraid of a little retribution from the universe?”
“For Lukina? No. She’s like a daughter to me. I’d go charging in there for her any day. But as I told you, this is not my fight. And it wouldn’t be a little retribution. Just trust me on this, okay?”
She didn’t look like she felt any better than he was. Studying her features, he realized she hadn’t had much sleep. Dark circles were under her eyes, not too bad, but bad enough that it was obvious to someone with higher senses than humans. “You are involved in this fight, regardless of what you want.”
Selene let out a long, slow breath. “I know.” Tendrils of hair slid from the ponytail and whispered across her face.
For no reason whatsoever, Józsi reached for Selene’s hand. Taking her hand in his, he wrapped his fingers around hers, feeling the difference between her tiny hands and his long, large fingers. She felt warm, but not like earlier when she touched his face. “You know something, don’t you?”
She nodded weakly. “The burden of pack witch is a heavy one. I don’t want this anymore than you want to be Alpha, but we never had a choice. For some reason, my great great grandmother was cursed by the powers that be for her decisions. But she loved us all, wanted us to survive.” Tears streamed down her face.
He smelled her fear, bitter and tangy. “Let’s do this, okay?” His voice seemed even. He relaxed his shoulders and stroked her palm.
Even he had to believe the lie that he could fix this somehow.
She nodded.
Józsi wiped the tears away from her cheeks with the brush of a finger.
She sniffled, smiled and parked the car within walking distance.
Reaching behind her, she retrieved the black leather trench coat and slipped it on. “There’s a shotgun on the floor. Grab it and hand it to me. Kiba’s going to have hunters thinking we’re all wolves.”
“Is there a way to do this without bloodshed?”
“For you? No. You are a wolf. Defend your territory.” Her normal demanding tone had returned.
He sighed silently and handed her the shotgun.
Looking at her, he nodded. “Let’s go.”
They got out of the car and walked slowly toward the warehouse, stopping when they reached the gate. Selene snapped her fingers and became a fine purple mist.
Józsi saw her and swore under his breath. “Fine, make it look like I’m the crazy wolf.”
She snickered in his head.
Ignoring her laughter, he stalked forward, looking past the gates for any guards.
There were none. Something inside him rose up, wagged a tail excitedly and licked its chops.
Moving swiftly through the gates, he came upon the large metal garage door and then found a smaller steel door on his left. Cautiously opening the door, he waited. Listened.
Smelling the scent of his soon to be former Alpha, mixed with blood and something that smelled of piss, he waited patiently. He knew when Kiba was alerted to his presence.
“Come in, wolf.” Vehemence personified in his tone.
Józsi slammed the door open against the brick wall, crashing the steel against the wall so loud it echoed and shook the air.
Readying his defenses, he felt Kiba’s power flow throughout the air. The wind whispered of sickness, of impending death. “Kiba, where are they?”
Standing in the center of the warehouse, Kiba turned around to face Józsi.
He hadn’t changed since he’d last seen the old man. Still gray, long hair flowed in a mess past his shoulders. His beard had gone from gray to white. Wrinkles in his eyes and around his mouth made him look even older, gave him a more insane look.
“You’ve come to sacrifice our pack to the Hunters and rid this world of the wolves’ curse, I take it?”
“I’ve come for what belongs to me, Kiba. Where are they?”
“Tell the hunters that. They have your precious lovers and have been waiting for your arrival—though we all thought you’d have brought more of your wolves with you.”
The lying bastard! Rage threatened to boil from inside. “What do you mean, my wolves? They’re your pack. You’re their Alpha!”
“I am no such thing. I am a human.” He snapped his fingers and doors opened behind him. A few men with large guns stepped forward.
They all po
inted guns at Józsi. Each wore the same menacing expression.
Kiba looked behind him, still keeping an eye on Józsi. “He is a wolf, tried and true. Look carefully at him and you will see his muzzle, his tail. His thick coat would fetch quite a price at market, wouldn’t it?”
Guns cocked.
Józsi stepped forward. “You do realize he is also a wolf, right?”
“No. He is not.” A tall man with a thick Fidel Castro-like beard stepped forward, his gun trained on Józsi. Dressed in khakis and military boots, the man held the rifle steady and looked through a scope.
Smelling gunpowder, Józsi looked down at his chest and saw the little light aimed at his heart. His pulse sped up, but he remained calm.
“What are you talking about? Has he fooled you all so much into thinking he is human that you cannot see him for what he is?”
The man with the beard took another step forward. “He has shown us what we have needed to see in order to do our jobs. We are here to exterminate your kind. Wolves have caused problems amongst humans for centuries.”
“And I have brought the hunters here as a final solution to the problems I’ve had. Aren’t you proud to know you’re a part of history, Józsi?”
Clenching his fist, Józsi took another step forward. “What are you talking about? How can you do this to your own flesh and blood, Kiba? Even your own brother would not turn his back on us.”
“Oh, but he did indeed. When he let Marco live with that witch and become impregnated, he crossed a line. A wolf mating with a human, how preposterous.”
Blood boiled beneath his skin. His mind felt a serious weight leave, pressure building in his hands. “You’re crazy old man. Where are Ilona and Lukina?”
Kiba threw his head back in laughter. “They are in a room somewhere here. Maybe. You could surrender now and join them.”
“Never.” Józsi gritted his teeth.
“Then you can die.” Kiba raised a hand and pointed at Józsi.
A quick count of the armed men amounted to five of them standing behind Kiba.
They moved around the old man, surrounding Józsi so that his only escape route was back the way he came. “No Alpha would give up his position to someone who deserted the pack, turned his back on them. Not after what you did, will you be able to fulfill the prophecy.”
His Reign (The Opeth Pack Saga Book 1) Page 12