"Do yourself a favor and shut up. You know nothing of which you speak," I told him.
The Elliots were still in the dark about who and what the Arnou and the Zovics truly were. The Zovics were from the Other bloodline and I was an Arnou wolf shifter and my Pack's Alpha. Like all other humans, the Elliots would remain in the dark.
Humans didn't know our history well. They didn't know that long ago, before men were civilized, that a Caedmon tribe of extraordinary beings with magical and physical powers existed. And even to this day, most history books were inaccurate about us.
From the Caedmon tribe, separate groups emerged: the Caedmon wolves, the Arnou wolves, several families of witches, and several families with exceptional abilities that the ancestors labeled Other. The Zovics were of the Other bloodline. They were like shifters but without the ability to shift, but they still had a significant edge over their human counterparts. After a bloody war between the two most notable groups, the Caedmon and the Arnou, the tribe split. Many of the families died out over the centuries, but many others thrived.
Another few centuries passed before an Arnou male and a Zovic female found each other again and agreed to an arranged mating to strengthen the bloodlines—but most importantly, to provide the Zovics with the capital they needed to repay a debt. The Zovics were in jeopardy of being bought out by another organized investment group. If they hadn't come up with the funds, they would've lost everything. Their lives and their legacy. My family bailed them out. The agreement was that my great grandfather, who was to marry the niece of the boss, would one day become the boss himself. The transition never happened because the Zovic males never gave up control. Even to this day, they held some of our most valuable assets in a vault and refused to give them up.
Shifters wouldn't be able to run the network, they said. And once a suitable male heir was born carrying the Zovic name and the distinct traits of the Other bloodline, they carried on as if the clause in the agreement had only been a figment of the imagination. I guess my father and grandfather were content with being silent leaders. Advising and keeping the business operations running behind the scenes while the Zovics took all the credit and enjoyed the fruits of our labor.
But that's not the type of wolf I was. I'm no silent leader and the moment I spoke out, they knew what time it was. Ever since then, they've been trying to cast me out. They've been unsuccessful.
"What's the truth? I don't even know what to believe anymore. What is it with this family? The Zovics and the Arnou?" Chancey asked, fuming in frustration.
"I don't owe you truth. You should've sought the truth before you betrayed me."
"Like I said, they'll send more," he said, almost in a quiet whisper. "I don't know what you've done to them, but they'll send more out to destroy this side racket you've been running behind their backs."
"Behind their backs?" I scoffed. "I'm not running a side racket. COBRA is mine and that's what I run."
"So, what are doing? Are you trying to completely overthrow the Zovics?"
"Overthrow is an inaccurate assessment of the situation. Obviously, you're still blinded when the facts are right here." I held my arms out to my side. "All you have to do is follow the money. Who do you think has been financing this building? I could've cut you off a long time ago. I should have after you failed to make your payments. Look how you betrayed me. You let the Zovics turn you against me."
Chancey swallowed visibly.
"Who do you think pays your salaries? Signs your checks? Hmm?"
He shook his head.
"Have you never paid attention to the seal on your contracts? Goran hasn't used his seal for quite some time. It's worth nothing. The Arnou seal, on the other hand, is what our business associates know and trust. When I give my word, they know I'll deliver. But you didn't care who was signing, did you? As long as you were getting paid, none of that mattered to you. But now that will end."
"No, it won't. I don't answer to you."
"No, you don't have to do anything. The question is, do you want to live or not," I stated.
"You bastard," he spat.
"Technically, I'm not," I countered. "You're no longer needed. You're dismissed. All funding will be cut off effective immediately."
"No! You can't do this!"
He shot to his feet but one of my wolves mowed him down again. The wolf snarled, his fangs inches from Chancey's throat, waiting for my command to execute.
"Then let's make deal," I said. "You tell me where Goran and Jovan are hiding and I'll let you live."
"I…I don't know. How could I possibly know?"
Even with the threat of a wolf tearing into his throat, he was still lying. I smelled it all around us.
I sighed heavily. "Let's try this again and this is your last chance. I'm tired of searching for these pussy ass motherfuckers. I want them to come out and let us talk like men…or not. Now, I'm not dumb enough to believe that they're able to contact you without leaking their whereabouts at some point."
"Call off the wolf and I'll tell you. Shit, I can't breathe," he replied.
I nodded to the wolf who backed off of Chancey.
"Get to it. What do you know?"
"They…they, ah…" He scooted back and some three feet away from the wolf.
"I've wasted enough time here as it is. Three minutes is all I have," I said, looking down at my watch. "In three minutes, you will die if you don't tell me what I asked you."
"In a safe house," he stuttered.
"Safe house?"
He nodded.
"They're giving out orders to destroy me from a safe house," I repeated.
"That's all I know."
"A lie." I nodded to the wolf and he prowled closer to Chancey and growled.
Chancey understood the threat and said, "Last time, I received a call from Texas, but I couldn't be sure."
"What town in Texas?" I demanded.
"I don't know!" Chancey bellowed. "The town of I-don't-fucking-know. I don't give a damn. They're paying me to do it! To kill. To eliminate. And you know what? You're next on the list, bastard!"
"Get the fuck up off the floor!" I yelled my blood past the boiling point.
My arm rose with him until he was looking down the barrel of the gun.
"Do you think I'm fucking playing games with you?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"This shit needs to end one way or another. I'm not running. Fuck, I need to get on with business. My fucking money and reputation are tied up in this shit while pussy ass number one and two are out hiding like rats. Now I'm going to ask you one more time—"
Before I could get my last sentence out, he threw himself on the floor and picked up the gun he dropped earlier. He aimed for my heart and fired right before my wolves pounced.
The bullet hit me in the shoulder, the force of it jolting me backward. Yet, I held my ground. I didn't have to lift a muscle. My wolves were already on him, tearing at his flesh. I felt a stream of blood leaking out through the bullet hole and I fought the paralyzing sensation of pain as it ripped through me.
"Prestani!" My command echoed harshly throughout the parking garage.
The wolves immediately stopped but circled Chancey like gluttonous vultures. They wanted to kill the man who'd shot their Alpha, but they'd only do so if I gave them the orders. I wouldn't. The kill was mine.
I had held my wolf in check long enough, but now he wanted out. I was only a shift away from relief. At this point, a full shift was the only thing that could expel the slug still lodged in my shoulder. So, I did what came naturally. I took off my jacket suit, hurled it aside, and then rid myself of the heavy belt around my waist. Only then did I give myself to the wolf, purging the foreign object from my body. My knees hit the pavement before my animal emerged, and the last thing I saw before my wolf took over completely was eyes widened in morbid fear. He had no idea what kind of monster I could become, but he would soon find out.
All my wolf saw was a blood-drenched Ch
ancey. Under his ripped clothes, nothing but mangled flesh and bite marks riddled his body. His face was so badly mauled, he couldn't even speak. Blood gushed from the wound on his cheek.
All I wanted was information on the whereabouts of my enemies. I hadn't come to kill him even though he'd managed to wipe out a handful of my soldiers. But he'd just proven that he wished to be my executioner.
"What…" Chancey mouthed. "…the fuck…"
I was the monster who'd just been provoked, that's what the fuck I was.
I growled, and then hurled myself at him, going straight for the throat, and ended his life instantly.
My Elites and I were fully shifted back into our human forms by the time the basement elevators opened up. Two cops got off with weapons in hand. After spotting the gruesome scene and surveying the area, one of the cops lowered his weapons and scowled.
"Jesus Christ, Tristan. You said there would be no blood," David Seabrooke stated.
I picked up my belt from the floor and put it back on. "I did say that, didn't I?" I used a handkerchief to wipe the remnants of blood from my mouth that had transferred over from my kill.
"I didn't bring enough men for this," Seabrooke added. He bent down and looked at the remains of Chancey. "Fucking Christ. You could've taken him out of the building before doing this."
Seabrooke was a cop working in the special investigations unit of his department. Both of our families had a long history together. He and his family had been part of the Arnou Pack for decades. They were also one of the few families who had a history of fathers and sons entering police forces, and even the military. Seabrooke called me a pain in the ass. I made his work harder. He kept warning me that those on the other side of the law, like himself, wouldn't be able to keep secrets for long. It was only a matter of time before the various special investigations units across the nation came together to compare notes that were becoming eerily similar and to make conclusions that couldn't be easily explained away as they had been for centuries.
"No need to call anyone else," I told him and handed him business card from my pocket. "This guy will help with the clean-up."
"To cover this shit up, I'll need more incentive for—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. You need to pay your folk to keep quiet—change up the story. I'll have funds wired to you within the hour. Now if you'll excuse me, my jet is waiting for me across town."
I tugged my jacket back on, flinching at the pain in my shoulder. The wound was rapidly healing, but from experience, the discomfort would last more than a few days. My men followed me to the elevator and we rode it back up to the thirteenth floor.
When we reached the conference room again, Angela was still strapped to the chair, gagged. She struggled against the ropes. In fact, it appeared that she'd been struggling without pause. Her glasses had somehow slipped off her face and fallen to the floor.
"Oh, Angela," I said. "All of that wasn't necessary." I untied the gag.
"You thick-headed, chauvinistic rude bastard! Untie me from this chair now."
I'd been called worst names.
"I'm sorry I had to do that to you. My meeting with Chancey is now over," I said.
An announcement came over the building's intercom system. "Attention, attention. The building is now on a temporary lockdown for your safety. Please remain on your floor until further notice. Attention, attention…"
Her eyes widened. "What did you do to him?"
"What do you care?" I untied the ropes around her and let them fall to the floor. "You won't have to get down on your knees today, at least?"
She swallowed visibly, her skin turning a bright shade of red.
I picked up her glasses from the floor and handed it to her.
"But he never gave me my paycheck today and it's Friday," she said.
I almost felt sorry for her, but then I didn't. She looked like a smart girl and this couldn't have been the only job in town she could secure. How could she have stayed here only to be fucked over and over again by that fleabag? I frowned. Yet, it wasn't my place to judge.
"Chancey has been terminated. You work for me now. You'll get your paycheck. I'll ensure it myself," I told her.
Her look of confusion faded with a sigh of relief.
"But I…I don't understand," she stammered.
"You'll understand by getting back to work. Answer the phones…file the paperwork. You know how to read, so here's your first assignment from your new boss: pull up your job description and do whatever the fuck it says if you want to keep your job. Don't spread your legs for anyone else in this building or I'll terminate you next."
I left her standing there more confused than she was when we met. I didn't care. I was done explaining myself to people.
My work here was done, but my job certainly hadn't ended.
Chapter Eight
Elisa
Most of the land was barren, with the occasional stray farm animals, abandoned sheds, and drying crops about every quarter of a mile or so. I remember Devin claiming a big city contractor came out here one day asking Devin for permission to buy the land. He was immediately shot down. Every single offer shot down. The land was ours. It belonged to Caedmon, and it would always be ours. At this moment, the only thing it was used for was running and hunting as wolves. Most of the true mating ceremonies were held out here too, but only when both mates were wolf shifters.
I knelt down in the grass and sank my fingers deep down into the soil again. I recited an ancient script of the Caedmon that I'd learned from Roman's memory and waited. I didn't have to wait long. Breeze began rustling through the trees. Thick straw and bramble rustled with the wind, some of it brushing past my ankles.
Nature wasn't the only thing I had disturbed in that moment. I had called to the ancestors of my past and they had answered. I wasn't surprised. Roman had always told me I had the gift, just not enough powers or confidence.
I rose, closed my eyes, and tried to focus on the elements around me. But suddenly, the spirits I had awakened vanished.
My eyes flew open when I picked up the scent of other Caedmon wolves approaching. I remained in the clearing in the forest. The wolves came out and stopped short when they saw me. The leader of the group shifted and I was relieved to see Nick Hyatt, my brother's second-in-command, emerge. Nick had been named Devin's right-hand man the moment he accepted the Alpha position, but that was no surprise to anyone. When Devin was cast out years before his father's death for being a bastard son, Nick had traveled with him wherever he went. The two men established a construction business in Colorado and were living quite the life until the late Roman had pleaded for Devin's return to claim the Alpha title.
"Elisa?" Nick came forward and gave me a hug. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"
The others shifted too. They were carrying backpacks and what looked like loads of mountain climbing equipment.
"I wasn't by myself," I said.
Nick looked around confused. "I thought you left town already."
"Not quite. I thought I'd stay for a while after the wedding," I told him. "It's good to see you. How's Selena?"
Nick smiled at the mention of his true mate. "She's out grocery shopping with the kids and Lindsey."
"Lindsey, the full-time maid, right?" I asked.
He nodded. "Right, she'll be a legal citizen in about a month."
"That's great. You and Selena are so sweet for helping her like that. How many orphans now?"
Selena used to be a counselor at a women's shelter. Her focus hadn't shifted from helping women, but she now had another focus. Caring for homeless kids.
"We have five right now in our home. We were looking to add a sixth, but the county says that our house isn't big enough. Guess what I'll be doing for the next three months?"
I chuckled. "Well, I heard about the pool you built for them last summer and construction is your trade."
"I love it, but you knew that already, though. And whatever keeps Selena happy makes me ha
ppy. Plus, we'd get bored without those kids around."
I smiled. "Must be nice to have someone."
"Yes, it is. So, um…you need a lift back to the village?" Nick asked, looking around.
I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. I jogged out here because I needed the exercise anyway."
"Alright. We'll be out here until dusk. Holler if you need us."
"Will do," I said. "You're still climbing, huh?" I glanced at the men and the equipment.
"Yes…always. I'm training the men here today."
"How far do you climb?" I asked.
"As far as I can manage," he replied.
"Maybe I'll take one of your classes one day," I told him.
Nick gave me dismissively look. "Devin would kill me, and then Tristan would bring me back to life just to kill me again." He laughed. "Ain't gonna happen."
I rolled my eyes. "No fun." I sighed. "Anyway, send me some pictures of the view, at least."
"You bet." Nick made a gesture in the air and the group of men shifted again. They picked up the backpack with their teeth and headed out again.
Knowing that I wasn't alone on the old Caedmon land told me that I'd have to come back another day to finish what I started.
Chapter Nine
Tristan
I turned off the water and rushed out of the shower as soon as I heard my phone vibrating on the bathroom counter. I made small puddles on the tile as I caught the phone just in time.
My Caller ID read Vinny.
"Hey!" I answered the call.
"Hey yourself," he answered. "What have you got going on tonight, kid?"
"Nothing. I just jumped out of the shower," I told him, mopping the towel down my torso with my free hand.
"You haven't been fucking around with those wasted chicks that Jovan brought around earlier today, have you?" Vinny asked.
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