The door opened and Claire sauntered inside. “How nice of you boys to hold a meeting without me.”
Her eyes narrowed at Maximus who had the gall to look guilty. “If you’re thinking of withholding information on my sister’s whereabouts, you had better think again.”
I sighed. “I would never do that. I told Maximus you need to stay out of this and let us handle it. It is the best way we can ensure your sister is brought back safely.”
She leaned over the desk with her hands planted firmly in front of her. When she bent down her face was so close to mine that her lips almost touched mine. I pulled back putting as much distance between us as possible.
“Cade, I saved your life. Don’t make me regret it.”
I held up my hands. “Have a seat. We’re going over the plan when the others arrive.”
It was an hour later when we finalized the plan. I didn’t feel comfortable with Claire going, but it was her sister. If this was about my sister, there would be no way I would stay home either. Maximus was acting like a bear, growling and snarling at everyone. His over protectiveness of Claire was exhausting.
I have no fault with her wanting to protect her baby sister.
We waited until midnight. The moon was bright in the sky and there was no one on the streets. It seemed like Trevor had been able to evoke fear and chaos, like he’d hoped to. Everyone knew that the treaty was broken, and they were not safe. I guessed there was an illusion of safety before the treaty had been broken and now that illusion had been ripped away.
The XJT Motorcycle Club building was a house made of red and brown brick. It stood in the distance down a winding road. I’m certain the location was on purpose since the club had a reputation of running drugs and guns. After humans realized they were not the biggest, worst things on earth, the motorcycle gangs stopped terrorizing people, or so we thought. I guess they were better at doing it under the radar.
Lifting my hand, I signaled to the men. Several of the men broke into teams and surrounded the building. Maximus, Claire, Orion and Akio followed me around the back of the building. The windows shook from the thump of base, as rock music blasted through the speakers. Crouching low, I avoided being spotted through the cracked window glass. The scent of smoke and marijuana drifted to my nose. Glancing behind me, I made sure everyone was with me, then I opened the back door.
Creeping inside the club, the hallway was empty. The music was coming from the bar area. Turning right I walked further away from the bar area and the loud music. There were several bedrooms on both sides and the men split up, disappearing inside the rooms as we searched for Alexa. Maximus held Claire’s shoulder, probably to prevent her from running headfirst into trouble. I opened the last door on the left, and my chest tightened.
I saw Alexa tied to a chair. I glanced back at Maximus, who stood in front of Claire. He turned and grabbed Claire, placing his hand over her mouth. A look of confusion flickered across her face until he turned, and she saw Alexa. Her color of her face drained when she saw a shirtless man unbuckling his jeans. Claire slumped in Maximus’s arms.
I had a bad feeling. Normally, when I got this feeling all hell broke loose. Blinking rapidly, I looked behind me and nodded. Two men started talking. Their voices came closer. I balled up my fist and waited.
Two men with black leather jackets turned the corner and came into view.
“Look at what we found Dan. You take the tall one on the right and leave the short one to me,” he said.
I ran down the hall and slid in between his legs, landing a hard punch to his crotch area. When he went down, I elbowed him in the face and tossed him into the wall. Maximus was beating the other man to death. He swayed on his feet and Maximus kept punching him in the face. He didn’t look like he was all there. I pushed the man, and he fell to the ground.
5
Arianna
I opened my eyes. The pain made them flood with water. Derrick was backing away from him with his hands held up in front of him. It would’ve been funny if I weren’t sure I was dying. My vision blurred as I tried to focus on the altercation.
Derrick sighed. “Why do you care if she is killed? She isn’t anyone important.”
He advanced on Derrick. “She was right. I never should have let you live. You must think I’m a fool.”
“Don’t you see what she’s trying to do? She wants you and I to be enemies. It’s the old divide and conqueror strategy. You should never let a female in your head, they’ll screw it up every time,” said Derrick.
Derrick was a chauvinistic pig as well as a murderer. I hoped he would get what’s coming to him. The pain in my lower limbs was blessedly numb and the pool of my blood underneath me signaled that it wouldn’t be too much longer. I never gave much thought to my death, but I guess when you’re young you expect to live forever.
My eyes closed briefly. Derrick screamed and my eyes opened. I winced against the sound that echoed off the cave walls. I saw him as he ran toward the other end of the cave, looking behind him at the man who was determined to kill him.
My niece and nephew may have a chance to be safe after all.
A sharp poke in my side had me swinging in the ropes toward the wall. Liam was standing next to me cutting the ropes with a sharp straight blade. When the ropes fell from my hands, I leaned up working at the knots that held my feet bound.
He brushed my hands away and cut the ropes at my feet. “We don’t have much time. You will need to run,” said Liam.
Falling on my hands I rolled into a ball and stumbled to my feet. I began running behind Liam. I couldn’t move as fast as him, but I moved as quick as I could. When we came to the edge of the cave, I saw the twenty-foot drop and backed away from the entrance. My stomach rolled with nausea and I shook my head.
“Liam go without me. I can’t make this drop. I’ll break every bone in my body.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me off the mountain with him. A scream tore from my throat, the wind whipped my hair about my face, and we plummeted toward the jagged rocks below. As the rocks came closer, he spread his wings and we soared down the path toward the trees.
When Liam’s feet touched the ground between a few tall oak trees, I fell to my knees and vomited.
He jerked me to my feet. “Let’s go. I’m sure he heard your scream, so they’ll be here any moment.”
Grimacing, I started running behind him again. Looking behind me, I saw him appear in the trees like a blur of light. Picking up my pace, I ran faster. “He’s behind us.”
Something flew through the trees causing the leaves to scatter over the ground. Darting between the trees, I ran faster until something clipped my left leg, causing me to skid to a stop. I tried to get up as I saw Liam running almost out of sight. He turned and saw me on the ground.
Scrambling to my feet, I started running again. I wasn’t fast as my blood left a crimson trail along the beautiful leaves on the muddy path. Strong hands locked around my neck from behind, and I used all my strength to heave him over my shoulder. I slammed him to the ground. He landed with a thud and I took off running using the last bit of strength I had to put distance between us.
Derrick jumped from behind the tree. He waved his knife in his left hand and beckoned me to come toward him with his right hand. I heard Nathaniel’s footsteps crunching on rocks as he ran toward me. I was cornered.
I rushed Derrick, stopping to pick up several rocks and tossing them at his face. He dodged three rocks and the fourth rock caught him in the stomach making him drop the knife. I kicked it away from him then kicked him in the face. He dropped to his knees and swept my legs out from under me.
He quickly climbed on top of me wrapping his hands around my throat. We wrestled on the ground until I was on top of him fiddling in the mud for the knife he dropped. When my hand closed around the metal hilt, I jabbed it in his side.
Rolling off him, I got to my feet. I ran into a solid wall of muscle.
Nathaniel bent his head to my ear. �
�I love it when you fight.”
A growl escaped me, and I raked my fingernails across his face. His arms were like bands of titanium, and I struggled against his hold on me. Suddenly, I saw Liam sneaking up behind Nathaniel. He dug his sharp claws into Nathaniel’s back pulling out his spine.
Derrick jumped to his feet. He looked at Nathaniel on the ground and ran away from us. I took a step toward him but Liam’s arms wound tight around my wrist. “Leave him.”
He slumped to the ground panting with his lower limbs twitching. Liam began running and I followed him. When he came to the end of the woods, he turned right and continued running.
We passed through a city that resembled World War III. Most of the houses had horizonal claw marks on the sides of the buidlings and multiple bullet holes through the roofs. Whoever lived there had been murdered or ran away. When we came to a white stucco house with no roof, I leaned against the side of the buuilding trying to catch my breath.
Liam passed by the front door. A huge werewolf jumped out of the shadows, and tore at Liam’s throat. A grunt escaped his lips as he tried to wrestle the werewolf off him. Running up to him, I yanked his gun out of his holster and pointed it at the werewolf.
He tossed the werewolf off him and it landed on its feet, showing all of its teeth at Liam. It’s mouth was red with Liam’s blood and it slowly walked toward him. This looked like the same werewolf that had thrown the glass shard back at me. I pointed the gun, aimed, and fired.
“No!” Liam jumped in front of the werewolf. The bullet went into Liam’s chest and he slumped to the ground.
The werewolf’s fur ceased to stand on its back, and it stopped slobbering. It bent its head; sniffed Liam’s nose and its tongue licked the wound on Liam’s chest. My mouth opened, and the gun shook in my hands.
I backed away from the werewolf. Its golden eyes sparkled like oval amber jewels in the moonlight. It turned and ran toward the woods. The ground shook in its wake. Placing the gun in my pocket, I holstered Liam over my shoulder and drug him to the first far away abandon house I saw.
By the time we got settled into the abandoned house, it was pitch dark. I lucked up, finding a house that still had running water and a refrigerator with food inside. Liam hadn’t regained consciousness, and I wondered if he ever would. After cleaning the bullet wound on his chest with some alcohol, and sterilizing a pair of needle nose pliers, I dug in his flesh until I gathered all the pieces of the bullet.
It was dangerous to stay close to where we escaped, but I couldn’t carry Liam. I didn’t like him very much, but he had rescued me, and I wasn’t leaving him. I was hoping that he would live. Why did he jump in front of the bullet? Why was he trying to save a werewolf that was trying to kill him?
The more I thought about it, the more questions came to mind. Flopping down on the musty blankets next to the bed, I closed my eyes. Liam had better wake up, we’ve got to get out of here. I don’t want to die when we are so close to escaping.
My body ached from all the stitches that I gave myself. I couldn’t afford to numb my pain despite the bottle of tequila that was cold in the refrigerator. Someone had to stay awake to protect us, and with Liam unconscious from the bullet wound, that duty fell on me.
When he tapped my shoulder, I jerked awake. “You can give me my gun back now.”
I reluctantly handed him his gun. He had changed his shirt to a raggedy tee-shirt and his face was ashy. It was hard to tell that he almost died last night. “Why did you jump in front of that werewolf?”
He sighed but said nothing.
I stood to my feet despite the aches and tight stiches throughout on my body. My face flushed with anger. “It almost killed me and that is how I was captured, by Nathaniel, in that cave and tortured.”
“Take some responsibility for your own actions, Arianna.”
I turned away from him. It was probably a good thing that he had his gun and I did not. I was tempted to use it on him. “You had the gall to say you didn’t trust me, but you’re the one keeping all the secrets.”
I appeased myself, with the knowledge that the next time the werewolf wanted to rip his head off, I’m not going to stop it. Heck, I might help her.
“When we get back to the academy, I will answer all of your questions, but it is not safe to do so now.”
I rolled my eyes. “How convenient.”
6
Trevor
I’m going to kill Victoria. I know that she’s crazy, but she has gone too far. She has stolen my daughter. I will end her. It does not matter that our lives are bound together. She must die. Now!
Kyra was holding our son like a porcelain doll. She was afraid to put him down, and I didn’t blame her. There were no words that could describe the emptiness and helplessness that overcame me.
She backhanded me across the face. “This was all your fault. How could you let this happen?”
I stood there as she ran to me and beat her fist against my chest. I would rather her anger, than wonder if her mental health had been shattered into tiny pieces.
Kyra sank to the floor with her forehead pressed against the dingy carpet. She was sobbing uncontrollably. I saw our son stand up in his crib. He was crying blue tears. He lifted his hand and a pink bubble engulfed Kyra, and she sighed slumping to the floor with a smiled on her face.
After a few minutes, she has a look of peace and serenity. Our son was soothing Kyra. His powers were strong. I have never seen an infant wield powers to that magnitude so early. He will grow big and strong. He was the future.
Picking him up, I cradled him in my arms. After placing a kiss on his forehead, I laid him back in the crib. “Mommy is ok. Rest, my son.”
When I laid him down in the crib, and he closed his eyes, the magic spell he had placed on Kyra fell away. I looked down at her. I wished I could keep her oblivious, but I could not. Our child is gone, and that was a problem. I bent to her and helped her stand to her feet.
“Where is that skank?’” She snatched her arm from me.
I gritted my teeth. This was the side of Kyra that did something to my animalistic side. When she was all spitfire and bad attitude, it aroused me. It made me want to do bad things to her. Naughty things. But this was not the time for any of that.
“Calm down, Kyra. I will get our daughter back.”
Dylan and the others came strolling into the house. I hated that they would know that Victoria had outwitted me and made me look like a fool.
Kyra ran her hands through her hair. “I’m going to kill her.”
I smoothed my hair. I was not accustomed to looking like a weak fool in front of others and I was not going to start now. My jaw ached with the force I was applying as I gritted my teeth.
Dylan took one look at me and walked over to us. “What happened?”
My mouth opened but no words came out. I am trying to talk but nothing was coming out my mouth.
“She stole Catalia.” Kyra started, pacing back and forth. When Jake stepped in her path, trying to stop her from wearing a hole in the carpet, she pushed him away from her.
Dylan looked at the empty pink crib in the corner next to the pale blue crib. “Who took her?”
Jake flopped down in the chair. “Is Arianna still alive? Man, you have got to admire her grit.”
Kyra’s face turned beet red. The mention of her sister’s name always drove her crazy. She was jealous of Arianna, and I didn’t understand it. My Kyra was the most beautiful girl on the planet, and she should have never felt less than anybody.
Kyra rolled her eyes. “Not her, dummy.”
The front door flew open. I jumped in front of Cyrus’s crib, shielding him from view. I was not going to lose my son. I loved my daughter and my son equally, but my son was protecting Kyra’s life, and I didn’t trust Victoria not to slay Kyra when I wasn’t around to protect her.
Celeste walked inside. Her cape blew about her shoulders as her colored hair blew in the wind. She had three others with her. When she closed the do
or, she removed her cape. She pointed to the man on her left. “Trevor, this is Warren Canes.”
He was tall and stood just over six feet. His blonde hair was cut short in a bowl, and his bangs were long, hanging over his cobalt blue eyes.
My eyes narrowed on his right hand, which was covered by a black leather glove.
Warren was studying me just as much as I was studying him. He gave off waves of troubled kid vibes. There was something in his eyes that told me he was not the loyal type.
He walked toward me and held out his uncovered hand. “Celeste has told me a lot about you.”
I stared down at his hand before looking back into his eyes. “She has told me nothing about you.”
Jake busted into laughter, and his deep chuckles made me sigh. He had not helped the situation. Warren had a bad attitude and he needed to know I was not going to tolerate it.
“There is only one rule that you need to concern yourself with, and that is: you do what I say, when I say, or you die. Questions?”
Warren’s lips thinned. He glanced at the girl behind him. Her vibrant red hair made her look pale. He shook his head and walked to the door.
The girl’s hood flew off her hair as she grabbed Warren’s hand. “Don’t go.”
Celeste rolled her eyes. “Warren, are you willing to leave Jada behind?”
Jake stood and walked toward Jada. He looked at the girl like he was in a trance. “She will be well taken care of.”
Warren walked toward Jake, but Jada pulled her sword. “You’ll stay away from me or taste my blade.”
Her words seemed to sexually arouse Jake and he reached down and adjusted himself in his pants.
Kyra elbowed me in the side. “I have never seen Jake like this before.”
I smiled. Jake was a lady’s man. He was not a one-woman kind of guy. He was the heart breaker and we teased him constantly about that. I must admit. It would be nice to see a female bring him to his knees.
The Pact Between Angels and Witches Page 4