by Kat Bellamy
The large spectral ghoul had Colt’s neck wrapped in his palm and Colt had never felt quite so close to decapitation. He knew if he didn’t somehow take out the massive variant ghoul, he didn’t stand a chance against the others. He did his best to ignore their gnashing teeth and managed to break his arm away, using all his force to dig his lengthened claws into the massive ghoul’s eyes.
The spectral ghoul snarled in rage and agony, but in his rampage, he inadvertently saved Colt from annihilation by flinging him into the wall across the room. The stone cracked and Colt’s vision went black for a half-second before he dropped to the ground. From a distance, he could see the larger ghoul attacking his own kin in his confusion and panic. The ghoul’s claws dug into the oldest Moreau’s neck and he pushed his fingers into the exposed crevice, tearing his head clean off.
The screams of the female ghoul told Colt she was probably the fallen man’s wife. She lunged to attack her husband’s slayer and all hell broke loose, but while the other Moreaus fought one another, one of them hadn’t forgotten their true prey. Colt barely managed to get back on his feet before Vincent rushed him.
Evelyn was watching from across the room, resting a clawed finger between her teeth as if in deep fixation. Colt hoped she was enjoying the show, because if he did somehow survive the feast, the bitch was on his list.
Before Vincent could attack, Colt lunged, knowing his only chance was to catch the Alpha of Alphas by surprise. He took Vincent down and tore into his neck, going straight for the jugular. He knew the only way to reliably kill another ghoul was to decapitate it or to consume so much of its flesh that regeneration was impossible. Since he’d long since lost the knife Evelyn had given him, tearing Vincent’s head off with his teeth seemed like his only option.
The other ghoul clawed viciously, but Colt refused to let him up even as the others surrounded them. Vincent’s claws pierced his chest and a stream of blood came forth from Colt’s mouth. In the face of actual cardiac arrest, every hypochondriac moment of wondering if he was having a heart attack as a nervous teenager seemed absurd. His heart stopped beating, and it was only the conscious reminder that a dead heart alone couldn’t kill him that kept him from giving in to the panic. Shock helped.
Following the spectral ghoul’s lead, Colt pushed his claws into the hole his fangs had torn in Vincent’s neck and he pried and pushed until he felt the sharp edges of a spinal column. He wrapped his fist tightly around and put all his might into jerking out the vertebrae. Hung with veins and sinew like a bloody garland, the vertebrae dangled from his grasp and the other ghouls who’d been attacking him viciously a moment earlier stood and stared in disbelief at their leader’s dismembered body.
Evelyn was the first to move, only instead of attacking Colt, she sprang on the woman who was still lashing out at the specter. She pulled a blade from her cloak and took the female ghoul’s head off in one clean blow. The head rolled and two of the others turned on Evelyn. The once orderly gathering had turned to chaos and she was now at the center of it.
Colt wasn’t sure what to make of her sudden allegiance other than the possibility that this had all been part of her plan from the beginning and she had merely been waiting to offer help until the odds turned in Colt’s favor. Nonetheless, he was in no position to refuse her assistance. He snarled and turned on the other ghouls who were still focused on him, using their confusion over Evelyn’s betrayal to his advantage.
As Colt bit down on his newest attacker’s shoulder, he forced himself to swallow the hunk of flesh that came off in his teeth. It was easier than he would have liked to admit and it gave him the energy to dispatch of two others. He finally looked up in time to see Evelyn take off another ghoul’s head as she narrowly escaped his blade herself. The remaining three Moreaus seemed to realize they were fighting a losing battle at the same moment and one took off through the open door while the other leaped into the rafters and disappeared down one of the many black corridors.
“Don’t just stand there like an idiot,” Evelyn seethed, already on her way after the ghoul who had disappeared into the rafters. “Go after them!”
Colt hesitated, uncertain of whether he wanted to go after them or her, but he finally decided that all four was a far better option. He caught up with one of the fleeing ghouls in the hall, but the other made it through the massive door that he assumed led to the outside of the Moreau family estate. With a deathly shriek, the ghoul tore into Colt’s shoulders with his claws, putting every bit of fight he had left into his defense.
It wasn’t enough. The ghoul was much older, but he was clearly not accustomed to fighting and the flesh Colt had consumed had given him a second wind. Colt grabbed the ghoul’s head in his claws and slammed it repeatedly into the stone floor until the other man went limp beneath him. With a sharp twist, its head came off and he collapsed against the wall to catch his breath. He finally dragged himself back to his feet, remembering the other ghoul that had escaped, but by the time he reached the front courtyard, the lone survivor of the Moreau clan was long gone.
The sound of Evelyn’s heels coming down the hall made Colt spin around and he snarled at her in warning. He wasn’t sure he had anything left in him, but he wouldn’t have minded tasting her blood just for the hell of it.
Evelyn ran right past him, kneeling down in front of the detached head that had rolled with its nose facing the corner of the wall. She picked it up and let out a cry of frustration as she chucked the head across the room. She turned on Colt, her eyes black and wild. “Where is he? Where’s Grayson?”
Chapter 34
Colt stared at Evelyn in disbelief. Not only was she not attacking him, she actually seemed pissed at him for sparing one of the ghouls she’d been ready to dine with an hour earlier. “How the fuck am I supposed to know?” Colt snapped. “I don’t even know who he is!”
“He’s Vincent’s brother, you idiot,” she seethed.
“Well, sorry I fucked up your plan, but maybe you should have let me know I was part of it before I woke up being eaten by your boyfriend and his fucking psycho family.”
Colt realized his voice sounded almost human and he looked down at his hands to realize the fur was receding and his claws were shrinking.
“I should have known better,” she hissed, stormed past him. “You can’t trust a man to do anything right.”
Colt went after her, grabbing her arm to spin her around. He wrapped his hand around her neck and pinned her to the wall, taking no small amount of satisfaction in the fear that shone in her eyes, however fleeting. “You’ve got five seconds to give me a reason not to kill you, and trust me, lady, that I’ll do a bang-up job on.”
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed, but she was above struggling and straining and made no move to push him away. “If it wasn’t for me, you’d be chum by now. How’s that for a reason?”
“Bullshit. You fucking handed me over to the Moreaus!”
“No, Miles did because you outed yourself and I had to implement the plan we both should have had months to prepare for.”
“What plan?” Colt demanded.
“Pretty much what happened tonight, only you would have had a weapon and a fighting chance. The only way to get you in the same room with all the Moreaus was to offer you as a tribute. You’re lucky I was with Vincent when Miles ran to tattle on you.”
Colt frowned. He wasn’t sure he believed her, but she was a fast thinker if she was lying. He’d give her that, even if it made him trust her even less. “You were still going to let them eat me.”
She shrugged. “I did what I could, but there was no point in intervening until I knew we could win. No reason for us both to be killed.”
“You’re an ice cold bitch, you know that?”
She smirked, her lips still stained with Colt’s blood. “Never claimed otherwise, darling.”
Colt snarled, but he finally released her. “I’ll deal with you later.”
“Where do you think you’re going?” she cried, running aft
er him. “Grayson is still out there and even with my forces, transferring power won’t be easy. The Assembly can’t get caught publicly supporting a coup of an Alpha family.”
“I don’t give a shit about your fucking power transfer. I killed seven Moreaus for you tonight, you handle the rest. I’m going after Miles.”
“Miles is nothing!”
“Miles killed Liam Carver,” Colt said, moving her aside when she tried to block his path to the door.
The look of shock on Evelyn’s face didn’t last long. “Liam is dead, what does it matter?”
“He’s the one who fucked Stan over and he’s out there somewhere with Susan and Ronnie, that’s what matters,” Colt snapped. “He’s a dead man, and if you don’t wanna end up like your boyfriend, I suggest you stay out of my way.”
Evelyn said nothing for a moment, but Colt could hear her right beside him as he tried to find his way through the labyrinth that was the Moreau garden.
“Take my car,” she said suddenly. “Better yet, I’ll drive.”
“The hell you will,” Colt growled, snatching the keys from her. He followed the sound of the unlock button to a lot on the other side of the tall hedges and realized they were on a gated estate in the middle of nowhere. He should have figured there was no room for a mansion that tacky in the middle of the city.
Evelyn didn’t reply, but when Colt slipped into her sports car, she was soon to follow. “I told you to —“
“If Grayson is still out there, half the city will still be following his orders. More than that if he’s smart and doesn’t let anyone know he’s the last Moreau standing,” she said firmly, pulling her door shut. “I have connections. Connections you need if you’re going to survive, let alone lead.”
“I never said I wanted to lead shit,” Colt snapped. He pulled onto the road, deciding not to waste time arguing with her.
For a few blissful moments, Evelyn didn’t say a word, but as Colt knew all too well, every good thing had to come to an end. “Why are the Browns so important to you?”
“Fuck you, that’s why.”
She rolled her eyes. “Clever, but I’m serious. Why are you so attached? It’s not like you actually belong to their family.”
“Because if it wasn’t for them, I’d think being a ghoul meant being as decadent, shallow and vindictive as the rest of you,” he shot back. “I wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand, but family isn’t always about blood. Sure as hell isn’t for me.”
“Oh, I see. This is about your abandonment issues.”
“Again, fuck off, Evelyn.”
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Ghouls are meant to live in family units. It makes sense that being cut off from your own father would yield a tendency to form unnatural, irrational attachments.”
Colt glanced over at her, frowning. “What are you talking about?”
“Human and ghoul psychology isn’t all that different.”
“No, not your bullshit analysis of my emotional issues. Why’d you specify being cut off from my father?”
“Did I?” she asked in a tone that seemed far less than genuine. Colt had been driving fast enough that he arrived at the Brown residence before he could question her on it. Probably just another one of her head games.
The Sheriff’s car was in the driveway. That was never a good sign. Before Colt could even knock, Roland flung the door open and Colt saw Ronnie and Susan huddled on the couch behind him. Roland’s eyes narrowed. “I told you it was a mistake to lie to me, boy,” he said, taking a step closer. He froze when he saw Evelyn behind Colt and his entire demeanor changed.
“Relax, Sheriff. It was all my idea.” She pouted mockingly, holding out her hands. “Are you gonna cuff me?”
“Ms. Leiton, I don’t—”
“Where is Miles?” Evelyn demanded, ignoring Roland as she strode into the living room.
“Colt,” Susan cried, jumping to her feet. She stopped short of approaching him and he could tell she was recalling his lupine form. “What happened? We thought you were…” She trailed off and looked at Evelyn, as if she didn’t want to out him in front of the other ghoul. So she was still looking out for him even though she knew he was an Alpha. He wasn’t surprised, but he was touched.
“It’s okay,” he said gently. “She knows.”
“You don’t give me nearly enough credit, Colt,” Evelyn huffed. “Truth be told, I masterminded his transformation into an Alpha and if I do say so myself, it went swimmingly. I just knew he’d end up being a variant.” Her lip curled back as she looked him over. “It’s a shame he couldn’t have been something a little more interesting, like a specter or a feline, but alas, beggars can’t be choosers.”
Colt rolled his eyes.
“Alright, someone needs to start explaining shit now,” Roland growled. “First, Susan calls me over in hysterics about how you’re an Alpha and the Moreaus are gonna kill you, now you two walk in like nothing happened?”
“A lot happened,” Colt muttered. “Evelyn works for the Assembly and she’s been blackmailing me into becoming an Alpha for weeks now.”
“Blackmailing you?” Susan asked. Ronnie came to stand beside her, watching Colt as warily as he had the first night they’d met.
“When I killed Trace, I did eat some of his flesh,” he admitted, unsure of why he still felt so embarrassed to admit it when he’d committed far worse sins since that.
“I knew it,” Roland said bitterly. Colt got the feeling he was more irritated that he’d been lied to than anything.
“Why would you want Colt to become an Alpha?” Ronnie asked, looking Evelyn up and down.
“Because the Assembly is tired of the typical Moreau bullshit and we needed a way to take them out indirectly,” Evelyn replied. “If the Assembly deposed a family of Alphas, it would cause chaos, but if another ghoul does it the old-fashioned way, that’s politics.”
“Still not down with your bullshit,” Colt growled before turning back to Susan. “But Miles is the one who killed Carver and he turned me in to the Moreaus without knowing Evelyn was working against them. He let Stan sit in jail knowing it was his fucking fault.”
Colt could tell Susan was struggling to process the revelation, but Ronnie seemed to accept it immediately.
“We tried to stop him from going to tell the Moreaus about you,” he mumbled.
“You should have told us,” said Susan.
“I didn’t want you any more involved in this shit than you already are,” Colt replied. “You’ve got enough to worry about with Stan, now with Miles. Where is the prick, anyway?”
“He left. We haven’t seen him since,” said Susan. “I called Roland hoping he might be able to help.” She tilted her head. “How did you get away from the Moreaus, anyway?”
“I didn’t,” Colt admitted. “I uh, killed them.”
“Not all of them,” Evelyn added bitterly.
Colt glared at her. “You’re never gonna let that go, are you?”
“As long as there’s a Moreau left alive, he still technically has command of the city. In order for there to be a decisive victory, the entire line has to be wiped out. Do you have any idea what a pain in my ass the traditionalists are going to be about this?”
“So what, that makes Colt the new Vincent?” Ronnie asked, frowning.
“No, dear. That makes me the new Vincent,” said Evelyn. “Colt here is just a figurehead.”
“We’ll talk about this shit later,” said Colt. “Right now, I don’t really care about your power games. Miles and Grayson are still out there, and Stan’s still behind bars.”
“There’s nothing I can do about that, whether Grayson Moreau is dead or not,” said Roland. He’d been listening in quiet contemplation and Colt was surprised at just how easily he’d accepted the news. Then again, if the Assembly was going to such trouble to skirt around the rules rather than taking the Moreaus out directly when they clearly had the power to do so, maybe ghoul politics were more convoluted—and es
sential—than he’d given them credit for. “How exactly did Colt end up killing eleven Alphas, anyway?”
Evelyn was more than happy to explain her “ingenious” plan, even if her version of the fight was far more self-gratifying than the truth. By the end, Ronnie and Susan were so quiet that Colt found himself worrying that they were even more horrified by him than they had been before.
“Dude,” Ronnie finally said, staring at Colt. “That’s sick.”
“Uh…thanks?”
“Evelyn, does Grayson know the Assembly was behind the attack?” Roland asked.
She hesitated. “It’s hard to say, but he does know I betrayed them.”
“Shit,” the Sheriff muttered, standing. “I’ll put a search out, but it’s not gonna be easy to explain why we’re hunting down the goddamn last of the Moreau line.”
“So have your human officers look for him instead. Between them and my army, I’m sure we’ll manage,” said Evelyn.
“Wait,” said Colt, staring at Roland. “Just like that, you’re with us? Aren’t the Moreaus your bosses?”
“Ever have a boss you hated, Colt?”
“Not really.” He glanced over at Evelyn. “Actually, yeah.”
“Let’s just say killing twelve people isn’t worth the headache, but picking off Grayson? That’s a risk I’m willing to take.” He looked Colt over and his snarl made it clear he’d found the other ghoul lacking. “Let’s hope I don’t regret it.”
With that, Roland left the house and Evelyn went to follow him.
“Wait,” Colt called. “What now?”
“You’re the one who wanted to come back here. Keep playing man of the house, for all I care. I’ll call you when I need you.”
The front door fell shut and Colt let out the breath it felt like he’d been holding ever since he’d come back into the house. He finally turned to face Ronnie and Susan, knowing there was a damn good chance they’d reject him the way they should have from the very beginning. He wouldn’t blame them.