She felt him sigh. “I can only try, Kess. I’m an alpha’s son and I’m supposed to be Alpha myself someday. It kind of goes against my instincts, but I’ll do my best.” He thought for a moment. “Still, it’s probably best if you don’t involve me directly in any council business. I don’t want to step on Finn’s toes either.”
“I always told you that you were bossy,” Kess teased, nuzzling his neck.
“You’ve met my dad,” he shot back. “I come by it honestly.”
And with that Kess was content to let the matter drop.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Lukas did not enjoy the Everglades. He preferred the heavy and dark forests of his homeland, which offered better cover and better comfort. The Glades were sticky, marshy, and filled with bloodthirsty mosquitoes that would latch onto any visible skin at the first available opportunity. Still, it was to be expected. If he wanted the kills, he had to go to where the creatures he hunted were.
And he wanted the kills very badly.
What he was leaving behind was his legacy. Lukas knew the time for his deal with Zamiel was almost up—the demon popping up never failed to remind him of how many days, hours, and minutes he had left until the three-year debt came due. But he wasn’t worried about the payment; he was worried about his legacy. He wanted his father to realize what he’d thrown away. He wanted to be known as the greatest hunter in his family—the greatest in a line of great hunters.
He wanted vindication.
To get that he needed only a few more specimens. His hope was that Kess would round out his collection.
Hunting in the swamp was a challenge. Not only was he fighting against an animal capable of human thought with a were, but he was in competition with other animals as well. The gators were not shy about snapping up a meal if one got too close to the water’s edge, and there were plenty of large snakes that could take out a smaller animal. Hunting the jackal had been exciting, especially because it had been so unpredictable. Lukas was almost curious what it would have been like to hunt the man rather than the jackal.
Lukas stilled as the faint sounds of movement breaking through the underbrush began to sound close by him. A small wild pig broke from the cover of the scrub and ambled its way towards a watering hole nearby. He raised his regular rifle at the beast out of instinct, then stopped. He wasn’t here to bring down mediocre game, and there was no sense in alerting whatever might be out there of his presence with a rifle shot. Discretion was his only goal. He would do nothing to endanger his final hunt. He watched the pig for a few moments more, his mind on another time. Another hunt.
As he was lowering his rifle, Luka caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He’d learned to trust his peripheral vision over the course of his hunting career and this was no different. He sat there quietly, letting his eyes rove the area. Sure enough, there it was: a large black cat, stalking the pig. He thought there might be more, just out of range of the pig’s senses—it felt like there was more than one.
He watched closely as the cat stalked the pig. It moved low to the ground, slowly pacing closer and closer to its quarry. The cat was large with a blocky body and head. Jaguar maybe, or leopard. All black though, and not the normal golden color. Not a species that was indigenous to the Everglades or Florida as far as Lukas knew.
The pig’s head reared up suddenly. It made a squealing sound and tried to run, but the cat was fast. It had closed on the pig and with a powerful twitch of its back legs it had sunk its claws into the hind end of the pig. It used its claw-hold to crawl up the pig’s back and sink its teeth into the pig’s neck. The cat’s weight propelled the pig to the ground, where it lay writhing and squealing as it tried to get away. Lukas saw the cat change its grip on the pig, biting down on the animal’s throat. It hung on there until, eventually the pig’s struggling slowed, then stopped.
A couple of wolves seemed to melt out of the surrounding scrub bushes and walked over to the cat. The cat released its hold on the pig’s throat and stepped delicately away from the kill. Odd. There wasn’t any kind of dominance posturing or species aggression. Lukas smiled slightly to himself. He might have just hit the were jackpot, so to speak.
Another cat stalked into the small clearing. The animals made quick work of the pig meat, tearing through it at an impressive rate. When the pig was nothing but a carcass, the small group moved on. Lukas waited for them to get far enough away that his scramble from his perch wouldn’t be heard, then he began to track them.
He had no intention of hunting them tonight—there were simply too many of them. And he didn’t have any of his plans in place or any of his contingency measures set up. But it was still tempting. He itched to pull out Zamiel’s rifle and sight along its length, even if it meant he’d be set on by all of those animals. He resisted the temptation and continued following the group’s tracks.
Lukas slowed every few minutes, carefully listening for sounds of either pursuit or of his quarry doubling back. When he heard nothing out of the ordinary, he continued on. He wished he could take out his map to truly orient himself, but he didn’t want to risk the noise—he would just have to guess at the general location when he reached a stopping point.
He stopped when he thought he heard the telltale murmur of voices. Moving forward cautiously, careful to keep his steps silent. Lukas edged his way around a stand of trees. Bushes hid him from sight, but he stayed low to the ground just in case. He peered out through the breaks in the vegetation to get a good look.
There were several off-road vehicles parked in a gravel turn off. A group of humans and animals stood beside the cars and trucks. As he watched he saw one of the black cats turn into Kess. Standing next to her were two young men he had never seen before. All of them were naked. They pulled on clothes as more black cats showed up and transformed back into their human selves.
Lukas sat back, content to watch with only half an eye. He thought about what this meant. He knew Kess was a were—his amulet from Zamiel always burned to the touch in the presence of a shifter beast. The day they first met, it had burned red hot. It was why Lukas had chosen her to be his final hunt. And she was a leopard, one of the last specimens he needed for a complete collection of the biggest and most dangerous predators on the planet.
He allowed himself a small burn of satisfaction as he watched them all pile in the cars and drive away. He’d been right to pursue Kess. She’d make an excellent trophy.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Laila thought it best to pursue this hunter in her jackal form. She would be smaller and able to move almost silently through the swamp, and the sign of yet another animal would be dismissed. Plus her sense of smell was much keener in jackal form; once she picked up this nimrod’s scent, she’d be able to track him down anywhere he ran. She licked her lips in anticipation of doing just that.
Kess had called her, filling her in on the plan to go hunting tonight in the Everglades in the hopes of drawing out hunter-boy. Laila appreciated the gesture, but she didn’t like having to play second fiddle to Kess. She was glad she got to stay in Miami legally, but if she could have managed it any other way than through the wereleopard, she would have.
But beggars couldn’t exactly be choosers, and Laila needed to stay in Miami. It was up to her to take out this Lukas clown, just as it was up to her to avenge her brother properly. She was surprised her parents didn’t understand that.
Laila had been going out to the Everglades every day and most nights, searching for signs of the hunter. If the man was out here, he was good. She saw no instances of tracks or broken brush, no snags of clothing on branches, no footprints on soft earth. It was like she was trying to track a ghost. Any sign of her brother was likewise gone, but he’d gone missing weeks ago. And they weren’t even sure where he’d been taken and shot; even if it was the Everglades, the area she’d have to search was enormous. It would be a miracle to find something of Mebis left out here.
So she focused on Lukas Jaegar.
She’d gone out earlier than the rest, parking in a location Kess had given her over the phone. The wereleopard had told her the area they’d be hunting in tonight, so Laila knew to stay clear. She left the car, folding her clothes neatly on the front seat, and took off into the swamp. She paced out a wide perimeter sweep, giving herself lots of room to look, narrowing her patrols in ever tighter circles inward.
About halfway through her third circuit, she caught a whiff of something on the air. It wasn’t animal. Laila stilled, swiveling her head to try to catch another waft of the scent. She took a deep breath in through her nostrils, walking a few feet in each direction to see where it might be coming from. She caught it again. Definitely human, most likely male, with that pungent aroma. It had a sharp, almost medicinal bite to it.
She thought back to the strange encounter with Zamiel. He didn’t act like any kind of servant she could think of—he was too…she didn’t have an exact word for it. The closest she could get to the feeling of Zamiel was cocky, but that didn’t do his attitude justice. She wondered why he had gone to work for Lukas. He didn’t seem the type. And his scent was all off too.
Laila got a bead on the location and began a slow stalk, moving carefully so as not to make any noise. She let her nose and her instincts guide her. He was moving—she could tell because his scent would become thicker where he stood and paused and then thin back out again once he resumed walking. She stayed well back, content to let him lead her around. She had all night.
She could also smell wolves, specifically Finn in wolf form. The other one, the one unfamiliar to her must be Cormac. So the boys had come out with Kess too. Laila idly wondered where Rafe was for all of this, then realized she didn’t care. She had enough on her mind without adding a hyena into the mix. She needed to find a good place to hunker down and watch her prey.
She found such a place and was able to get her first real look at her brother’s murderer. He was tall and lanky, with blond hair and icy blue eyes. His rangy body was dressed in mottled black and green, a camouflage that fit in well with his surroundings. He moved very quietly, almost as quietly as she did. He was strong and in good physical condition. Top of his game.
Too bad for him she was at the top of hers.
Laila watched as he observed the werecrew packing up and leaving the Everglades. He’d smiled, a look so joyous on his face that, for a moment, Laila thought she might have the wrong person. He seemed almost normal for a moment, but then his true nature reasserted itself. She could tell he was strategizing, his mind on how to make the hunt work. He carried two rifles, one of which Laila had never seen before. The only thing she knew about it was that it was very old, which meant it was probably magical in some way to be in such good condition. She wanted a closer look at it.
When the echo of the last car faded into the night, he turned and walked back into the swamp. Laila held herself very still, fighting every urge she had not to jump at him right then. The only thing that stopped her was the likelihood of failure—in jackal form, she wouldn’t be as deadly as she was when she was human. And with him toting two guns, she’d most assuredly end up in the trophy room next to Mebis. No, she wouldn’t risk it. She could control herself.
Laila followed at a much greater distance this time. Now that she had his scent, she wanted to find out where his base was, if he had a stand, and where he tended to frequent. She didn’t want to risk running into him when he left the glades. So she hung back, waiting until he was well on his way to his own vehicle.
When she was sure he was gone, she switched back into her human form to have a look at his stand with human eyes. It was a professional stand, one that blended into the environment almost seamlessly. Despite herself, Laila was impressed. There were no identifying marks on it, nothing that could be used to find him—everything was so generic it would be like searching a crowd. He probably kept all of his custom stuff on him. Laila decided she definitely wanted to get a closer look at that rifle he was toting around.
As she was standing there naked, hands on her hips, Laila heard a throat clearing behind her. She turned slowly, not really concerned—it was probably just Finn coming to check on her—then cocked her head when she saw who it was. Zamiel stood before her, a very wide and appreciative grin on his face.
“I can turn around if you’d like,” he said, not sounding sorry at all.
Laila rolled her eyes and ignored his suggestion. She’d grown up in a house full of weres. Nudity wasn’t something she was embarrassed about. “Okay, so what are you?”
The smile faltered a little. “I don’t understand what you’re asking.”
Laila flipped her hand back and forth. “Cut the crap. You’re obviously more than you appear, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to pop up out of thin air without me sensing you. So spill. Are you a djinn? Afrit? Wizard? You’re not any were that I’ve ever smelled before.”
“Huh.”
“That’s quite the eloquent response.” Laila crossed her arms in front of her chest and fixed him with her choicest glare. “Care to elaborate?”
He leaned against a nearby tree. Laila tried to get a read on him, but his body language told her next to nothing. He wasn’t tense, he wasn’t worried; in fact, the most she got from him was a kind of mild curiosity. She wondered what he actually did for Lukas Jaegar.
“So?” She waved her hand to prompt him.
“No.” He tilted his head ever so slightly.
“No what?”
“No, I don’t care to elaborate.” He winked at her.
Okay, now she was beginning to get pissed off. If he wanted to flirt, he could do it on his own time. And why the hell was he hanging around anyway? Laila was positive that Lukas had no idea she was out here. How did this guy? “Whatever,” she said, preparing to leave. She’d change back to jackal form when she was well away from this clown.
He popped up right in front of her on the path. She jerked to a halt. “Really?” she asked, her voice fraying at the ends like an old rug. “You’re pulling this shit with me?”
“I am merely interested in you. You haven’t called on me yet, Laila. I’m surprised.” He began to walk beside her, keeping pace.
“Why should I?” Laila scoffed. “It’s not like you can actually do anything for me. You’re working for the competition, remember?” For good measure she said, “Isn’t that so, Zamiel?”
He closed his eyes when she said his name, as if he was savoring the sound of her voice as she said it. “My tenure with Lukas is almost at an end—it’s more of a short term assignment.” He leaned forward, pitching his voice low enough so only she could hear. “As for what I could do for you, well, that’s only limited by your imagination.”
“Are you trying to cut a deal with me?” Laila almost felt the click as everything came together. She was from New Orleans after all—home of the voodoo queen Marie Laveux and countless other stories of people consorting with dark powers to get what they wanted.
“You’re a demon.” She looked him up and down, wondering where he hid his horns and tail. “Crossroads?”
Zamiel waved his hand in dismissal. “Hardly. I’m a bit more advanced than making deals with blues musicians and the like.”
Laila snorted. “Didn’t mean to offend you, your high and mightiness.” She put a finger against her cheek as she thought about what this meant. “So Lukas Jaegar made a deal with you, huh? And now that deal is almost up, right?”
“I can’t talk about it. Demon-client privilege and all that.” But his grin told her everything she needed to know.
“Yeah, I’m sure there’d be hell to pay—pun intended—if you broke the rules.” She managed to stifle her eyeroll, but just barely. “So let me guess, he asked for something to do with hunting, right?”
“I can neither confirm nor deny such a statement.”
Suddenly Laila felt the overwhelming need to wipe that smarmy grin off of Zamiel’s face, preferably by ripping said face right off of his head. She didn’t st
op to think; she spun, putting all of her weight into her fist. The demon’s head snapped around and he staggered a little.
“That was…unexpected,” Zamiel eventually said, touching his finger lightly to his lip. He wasn’t bleeding, nor did he appear to be hurt in any significant way.
Laila felt immensely better. She wanted to continue beating on the demon, but stopped herself. There was no point to it. “I’m just full of surprises,” she whispered.
She took two steps, then triggered the change. In mere moments, she was a jackal and she took off once again into the scrub brush that surrounded her.
Laila began to run, not even stopping when she heard the demon yell after her, “Think about my offer!”
Like hell she would.
* * * * *
She waited until she was at the zoo to call Master Toshi. Laila was using her personal phone so her sensei would recognize the number and hopefully pick up. She needed his near encyclopedic knowledge of supernatural beings. If Lukas was bringing a demon to the party, then she wanted to be prepared, and it might take some time to arrange for a tactical nuke.
She found an out of the way spot amongst the swarms of children and their harried parents and dialed the martial arts studio. Laila knew that her parents weren’t too pleased with her, and neither were the Keepers, and that made using her phone a risk. If they were serious about bringing her home, they would need her whereabouts and a phone could be tracked. She hadn’t used her personal phone much since she got to Miami, choosing to remove the battery when it wasn’t in use so she couldn’t be tracked.
“Come on, pick up,” she murmured as she waited for a voice on the other end.
On the sixth ring, a familiar voice spoke from the other end of the line. “Laila.”
“Master Toshi.”
There was a moment of silence. Then the Japanese fox spirit said, “It saddens me to hear of your loss. Your brother will be missed. I have said as much to your parents.”
Hunter Moon (The Moon Series) Page 14