by Sedona Venez
“Follow me,” he said with that weird smile that made me very uneasy. We walked into the expensively designed living room with a fireplace roaring. Luke gestured toward the leather sofa. “Have a seat.”
Crossing my arms, I stared at him. “I’d rather not. I won't be here long.”
He shrugged, sitting down in a large leather chair, staring at me with an indecent look that told me that he was undressing me with his eyes.
“I want you to leave me alone. Leave Knox alone. And lastly, stay the fuck away from my family.”
“No,” he responded flatly. “If I can’t have you, no one can.”
I pulled the gun out and aimed. “I tried to reason with you, Luke.”
He actually laughed at me like I was some sort of joke. “You won't kill me, Storm.” He got up from the chair and walked toward me slowly. “You love me.”
“Believe me,”—my stance widened—“I don't love you.” My finger slowly squeezed the trigger. “And I will kill you.”
He stopped mid-step, watching me with an amused look on his face.
I continued. “You're trying to hurt what is mine. And that will never do.”
“Do you think that you can just kill me and end my family's mission? I'm not the only descendant of Morpheus. Nor am I the only follower. We are the Shadows… always watching… always vigilant. He reached a hand toward me. “Don't you understand what we're trying to do?”
“No, I don’t. But what I do see is that you and your followers, the Shadows, are a bunch of fucking nut jobs that need to be exterminated like roaches.”
“Don't you fucking get it?” he screamed, practically foaming at the mouth. “I'm among the last of the living blueblood warlocks.” He gave me a cruel smile. “And with the union of our bloodline, we’ll be unstoppable.”
My jaw tightened. “That’s highly unlikely, nut job.”
His eyes narrowed. “You don't even realize how powerful you are. The Fae left this realm centuries ago. But their gift to us, to the world… is you. We will recreate this world. Exterminating the Others and making humans our slaves as our greatness dictates.”
Every hateful thing that spewed from his mouth only made me more upset. He and the Shadows were some elitist fucks that had to be stopped. “Oh, I get it all right. You want to stage some ridiculous revolution using my family. So let me clue you in real quick. It's not going to happen. In all the centuries your family and followers stalked us, killing every man we loved, has it ever occurred to any of you that we would rather render ourselves childless than to procreate with you psychos?”
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” His jaw tightened. “But you’ll come to see our way.” He stepped forward.
“That’s not going to happen.” It was time to send him a warning message that I meant fucking business. Slowly, I squeezed the trigger. The bullet grazed his ear. Luke squealed, jumping back hotly while grabbing his bloody ear.
“Lucky shot,” he snarled.
“Luck has nothing to do with it. This just got real for you, Luke. I feel threatened by your aggressive actions. So if I were you, I wouldn't make any sudden movements.” I smiled coldly.
“Bullshit.” He took a step forward.
“Freeze!” I screamed, aiming for his knee. “Do you like walking? Because I'm prepared to blow them both out.”
He froze in his tracks, wiping impatiently at the blood dripping from his ear. “Okay, Storm, you kill me, then what?”
My eyes narrowed. “Dispose of your body. Eliminate the problem. Make the world safer for humanity and the Others. And last but not least, go back to my mate and live in fucking peace,” I responded coolly.
Taking a life was not high on my to-do list, but I would if it meant saving countless innocent lives. He was dangerous—shit, his whole family was. The sheer number of men his family killed without remorse was staggering. Killings throughout centuries that caused Credence women to suffer needlessly, with some of them going damn near insane from the burden of the Credence Curse. It was just cruel and inhumane. And now, I had the opportunity to set everything straight just with one bullet. With a bonus of stopping any world takeover that he and his band of crazy followers were planning.
“What mate?” he asked sharply.
I laughed cruelly. “Oh, did I forget to tell you? I'm now mated to Knox. Surprise!”
His face glowed red with rage. I didn't care. I was too concerned with deciding which knee to blow out first. That's when the crazy bastard charged me, screeching hysterically like a reality show contestant. I got off one bullet to his shoulder before he tackled me like a football player, knocking the gun out of my hand and sending it sailing across the floor. Pain ricocheted through my body, my legs splayed awkwardly, as his body pinned me to the ground. His blood dripped from his wound.
I fought against him like a mad woman. The only thing that I could think of was survival as my blood-coated arms slipped, adding an extra complication to every move I made to escape. I didn't know what came first, his rage or mine, but a full-out fight ensued with him banging the back of my head against the floor with such force my vision swam.
His face was a distorted mask of sheer madness when he screamed, “You bitch!” over and over like some weird chant.
Pulling all my will and strength, I fought the urge to black out. My pulse raced. My instincts and training guided me as I swung my knee up into his groin so hard I even felt the force jarring against his body. I followed up with the heel of my hand to his nose so hard the blow sent blood everywhere.
Luke rolled over onto his back, screaming in pain like a hysterical girl. Rolling away, I scrambled to my knees, crawling away on all fours and trying to put as much distance as possible between us. The crazy bastard somehow got his bearing, lunging toward me with inhumane speed, yanking my foot toward him. The bite of his fingers across my ankle sent me into sheer panic, kicking him hard in the face and scrambling to my feet. I was a mess with his blood coating my clothes and face. Panting and tired as I circled him, I got into a fighting stance. Just a little more, and I win this thing… getting out of here alive.
He wobbled to his feet, swaying unsteadily toward me. “I still want you, Storm. Despite the fact you sullied yourself with that human. You're strong. A fighter. Beautiful. Imagine what we could do together.”
Circling him warily, I waited for an opening to strike a deadly blow. “But isn't that what we Credence women do? Sully ourselves with humans?” I spat sarcastically, taking a step back, preparing to strike him in the throat. He charged at me wildly. Smoothly, I delivered a roundhouse kick to his chest, knocking him back. Recovering, he charged again, this time grabbing my leather jacket and tugging at it wildly. I punched and kicked so hard that I felt the impact in my bones. But no matter what I did, he kept coming at me. It was like he was on some super steroids. He was taking my blows like it was nothing. Swinging me around, he banged me face first against the wall, plastering his body against me swiftly. He started rubbing his groin against my butt while moaning and panting like some sort of barn animal, all while successfully pinning my hands to my side.
“You're a damn freak,” I gritted out before headbutting him with the back of my head, feeling instant satisfaction at the sound of the crunch with the connection against his nose. But he remained steadfast. His breath came out harder against my ears. I couldn't believe the pervert was getting off on this.
I was almost in full-on panic mode, waiting for a lapse in his posture for my opportunity to launch another attack, when I heard loud crashing and ripping sounds. It was like someone was tearing the door off the hinges. I froze, waiting, but there was an eerie silence like the calm before the storm. There was a horrific growl that shook the ground like an earthquake before Luke's body was ripped away. Swerving my head, my body froze at the sight of a huge, feral, midnight-black wolf dragging a flaying and kicking Luke across the marble floor like yesterday's trash. Luke’s kick connected with the wolf’s flank, which only seemed
to incense the wolf even more.
The wolf’s hackles rose with its lips curled back, displaying nothing but fangs and gums. It was circling Luke, reaching in periodically to bite and rip into his flesh. It was almost like it was toying with Luke. Blood flew everywhere as sounds of flesh being mauled filled the air. It was terrifying, and I was undecided if I should run from the feral wolf while I had a chance or not. I decided on the latter as I backed away slowly, trying not to make any large movements that would turn the ferocious wolf on me. I was almost at a safe distance away when I bumped into something hard.
“Going somewhere, Storm?”
I yelped, swinging around, only to stare at Soar, Rip, and Jackal standing there like some great wall of muscle. “How did you find me?”
Rip smiled cockily. “Knox put a tracker on your cell.”
That sneaky bastard. I tried to move past them. The wolf growled menacingly with his green eyes strangely keyed in on me. My body froze.
“I advise you not to move. He seems to be a little pissed off at you at the moment,” Jackal said calmly.
“Rightly so,” Rip added, giving me a stern look. “You need to be bent over his lap, getting your ass smacked… hard for this asinine stunt.”
“Oh, she’s going to get more than that at the end of this little ordeal. He's fucking pissed,” Soar added with a smirk.
My heart raced with fear. I couldn’t deal with a pissed off wolf-shifter right now. “Who is that?” I licked my lips nervously, feeling like my bladder was about to fail. “Ryker?”
Soar dropped the bundle of clothes in his hand on the floor. “Nope. Guess again, sweetness.”
My eyebrows rose.
Jackal nodded toward the wolf tearing into Luke. “Darling, I wouldn’t want to be you when Knox is finished with that warlock.”
My eyes widened, feeling like my world was being upheaved. “What the hell are you talking about?”
They shrugged, looking over at the wolf-shifter tearing into Luke. I jammed my hands on my hips. “Are you fucking around?” They just stared at me. I turned to look at the wolf attacking Luke with such ferocity that I almost felt sorry for him.
I looked on anxiously. He looked damn near feral and that couldn't be good. “Well? Are you guys going to do something?”
“Like what? He’s got this,” Soar responded nonchalantly.
I pointed over at the blood and carnage. “He's ripping him into shreds. Don't get me wrong, the world could do with less trash, but I came here for answers and he’s killing the only person that can provide them.” I needed to know more about his cult, about who killed Celina, and anything else the little prick could tell me.
They just shrugged.
I walked forward. “Oh hell, just fuck it.” They swiftly blocked me.
“Are you crazy? He'll hurt you by mistake,” Rip said crisply.
“I'm not stupid. Move.” I shoved at them. My abrupt movement made Knox stop and growl at them like he was going to attack.
Jackal froze. “Oh shit!”
I’d had enough. If they weren't going to stop this, then I had to. Pushing them aside, I stepped forward slowly. Knox snarled at Luke, who was rolling on the floor bloody and screeching in pain. I clapped my hands loudly. Knox’s eyes locked on me. My chest tightened when a wave of heat rushed through my body. I lurched forward from the force of my knees almost buckling. “Drop it, Knox.”
Knox tilted his head before dropping the mangled arm. Luke tried to snatch it. Big mistake. Knox lunged, biting down hard on his other arm, ripping into it.
“Baby, please transform back. I want to go home. Our home,” I said tiredly. I began to figure out what was going on, and I knew Knox was not pleased with Luke or me. The black wolf stood there, massive, dominant, and focusing on Luke, who was backing away.
“I'm not afraid of you, wolf-shifter. She’s mine,” Luke croaked like a lunatic.
I reacted first by creeping forward. Knox sniffed the air loudly, picking up my scent, but his glare was totally focused on Luke. This wasn’t working. My clothes were saturated with Luke’s blood, masking my scent.
I had to get Knox to transform, but he was consumed with making Luke his next meal. “Guys, will you stop staring at me and give me the damn T-shirt.” Knox’s shirt was slapped into my hand. Pulling it over my head, I let it glide over my body before stepping forward again. I knew he couldn’t understand me in the state he was in, but he could smell the mixture of my scent combined with his.
He lunged again, sinking his canines into Luke's calf. Luke was going to die. I sighed heavily. Soar, Jackal, and Rip were laughing hysterically. Mental note to self, payback is a bitch, and those three were on my sugar-honey-iced-tea—in other words… shit list.
Knox’s nostrils flared, scenting my scent mixed with his. He growled loudly, lunging forward and grabbing Luke with his jaws around his throat. My mind snapped, somehow connecting to Knox’s mind. The room spun as his emotions battered my mind. My heart raced with the knowledge that my Fae powers picked a real fucked-up time to surface. It surged forward, wrapping around me like a viper. The power suddenly pulsed, sucking all of the energy and emotions out of the room like a vacuum. My body clenched as everyone’s emotions flooded my mind.
My throat constricted with searing pain as Luke yelped loudly. I was scared out of my mind when I felt the sensation of wolf's teeth sinking into my throat. Tears of pain streamed down my cheeks. I let out a blood-curdling scream in tandem with Luke's horrific howls of pain.
Knox's head whipped around to face me with his jaws still around Luke's throat. Releasing Luke, he let loose a low growl and then a whine. I sighed with relief when the pain abruptly stopped. Luke started rocking back and forth, chanting loudly in some sort of daze while the wolf snapped violently at him. The whole damn scene was just bizarre.
Knox gave Luke a disgruntled stare before trotting over to me. He proceeded to circle me slowly. I froze, waiting until he moved around to my side, nudging my knee with his nose until I crouched down beside him.
I slowly sat back on my heels, cooing softly. Knox nudged me playfully before sitting by my side, allowing me to run my fingers through his soft fur. “You’re even gorgeous as a wolf,” I said softly, relieved as he slowly transformed back to human form, instantly leaning back onto his heels tiredly.
I ran my hands across the slick, taut muscles of his back. “Are you okay?”
His breathing was hard when he leveled me with a hard stare.
I asked in a hushed voice, “Who exactly are you?”
He tilted his head in a wolf-like way. “Son of Ronan. Brother to Ryker Alfero. And Beta of the Alfero pack.” He scowled. “And when we get home, we'll have a serious fucking discussion about following instructions.” He pulled me up with him, clutching my body against him.
Pulling back, I widened my stance, giving him a hard stare of my own. “Yes, we will. Wolf-shifter, you have some serious explaining to do.” I jabbed him in the chest. “You sneaky asswipe. You put a GPS tracker on my cell?”
“Well, this asswipe just saved you from getting killed by that psycho warlock.”
As stupid as this faceoff was, neither one of us was willing to stand down. It was like we were getting off on fighting like it was foreplay.
“I was doing fine, Knox.” He arched a brow. “Okay, yes, I had some issues subduing him. But I was working on it.”
“What even possessed you to come over here alone?” he asked with a sharp tone I didn't like.
“I needed to know what he had to do with the Credence Curse.”
“That bullshit? If you were just straight up with me, I would’ve told you that curse is a bullshit urban legend.”
“Bullshit urban legend?” My eyes widened. “Before I found out about whacko over there and his demented family, every human that a Credence loved ended up six feet under.” He scoffed. “That is a fucking fact, Knox.” My anxiety was rising as my chest tightened.
He crossed his arms, looking
down at me with an air of disbelief. “So you left me years ago because of some urban legend instead of sticking around and fighting it out to the bitter end. Yep, sounds logical to me.”
“You don't know what the hell you're talking about, Knox. Do you think it was easy walking away from you? Because it wasn't. But that's what we do… We walk away to protect those we love.”
“Uh-huh. After you fuck them over… literally. You smile prettily, give men the it’s not you, it’s me speech and then move on to the next unsuspecting man. That seems like a pretty fucked-up way for the Credence family to live.”
My eyes opened with shock. He figured us out. But there was way more to the Credence story… and he was oversimplifying it. “I love how you conveniently just glossed over the fact that we were trying to protect humans from dying needlessly.”
“I'm giving you the truth with no fucking chaser, Storm. I always have and always will. Swallow it, digest it, and let's move the hell on.”
“We protected humans. Like I was just trying to protect you.”
He grabbed my chin, pulling it up so that our eyes were locked. “Let's get one thing straight. I'm your mate. I protect you, not the other way around.” His eyes narrowed. “You Credence women weren't protecting anyone but yourselves. You all used that curse as an excuse to keep every man at arm’s length.”
“You don't know what you're talking about. I came here to stop Luke from killing you. I was done running.”
“Thanks, baby, but I can take care of the both of us.” He grabbed my face softly. “I'm your mate. Next time, let me do the protecting, okay?”
A sense of relief came over me. It was exhausting to always be the protector. I needed someone who wanted to protect me. A wish I would never admit to him. At least not yet. “Whatever, Knox,” I responded softly.
“Hey, guys,” Rip snapped.
“Not now!” We both shouted in unison.
“Okay, but in case you're remotely interested, the crazy warlock just disappeared into thin air,” he replied coolly.