Devil's Property

by Fel Fern

  “I see. I haven’t lost hope yet,” Forrest said, looking at him with determined green eyes. “She’s always been strong. She’ll pull through this.”

  Santino flashed him a tired smile, having heard those words far too many times over the past few weeks, but he didn’t have the heart to tell Forrest the truth. He left the house. Once on the porch, he took off his jeans and turned to wolf. Spotting Zack lazing on one of the tree branches, he silently padded to the truck, raised a paw, and gave the tree a scratch.

  Zack gave him a hiss. If Santino were in human form, he’d have smiled. He raced deeper into the woods, thinking Sabine would have liked Zack. He heard the movement of tiny paws above him, knew Zack followed him through the treetops. Santino expended all his pent-up energy, making sure he didn’t go too fast to let Zack catch up.

  He led Zack to the northern part of the territory. The terrain soon turned even. Wind ruffled his fur. The trees thinned. He sensed other packmates in the vicinity, but he knew they’d mind their own sectors and give him privacy on his day off.

  Finally, he stopped in front of a familiar cave. Zack dropped from one of the trees, brushing his small furry body against his. Santino changed back to human form and Zack did the same.

  “This is the place you wanted to show me?” Zack asked.

  “You said you wanted to tell me something important. I’m the same. This cave was where Deacon found my sister and me,” he told Zack.

  Zack frowned, glancing at the small cave with an opening only a child could squeeze through. “Were you running from humans? Discipline Squad members? Did something happen to your pack or family?”

  “We had no family.” Santino looked at Zack. “Sabine and I were born in a lab, in an experimental facility run by the Humans Matter government. They experimented on cross-breeding shifters with Espers. We were the only successful result. When she stopped shifting back to human, I knew they’d kill her eventually. We escaped.”

  Santino watched Zack process the words, waited for Zack to come to the conclusion some packmates did, that he and his sister were unnatural. To his surprise, Zack did the most unexpected move and hugged him fiercely.

  “How old were you?” Zack asked, looking into his eyes.

  “Seven.”

  “That was really brave of you,” Zack murmured, closing his fingers over his, his touch comforting.

  “You’re not disturbed by my origins?” Santino asked.

  “Why would I be? Santino, look how far you’ve come. You’re the strongest enforcer in the most powerful pack in the country. Anyone would be lucky to be your mate.”

  “You’re my mate,” Santino pointed out. “You feel it, too. When you truly become mine, you’ll never want for anything more, Zack. Whoever touches you or so much as looks at you wrong, I’ll rip out their throats.”

  Zack swallowed. Santino could hear Zack’s racing heart. “I believe you,” Zack said.

  “You told me you want this, too,” Santino gently reminded Zack. “What did you want to tell me?”

  Zack took a deep breath and pulled away from him. Santino’s wolf didn’t like that, but he let the healer speak.

  “The truth is, I don’t know how to help your sister.” Zack began to fidget with his fingers, looked at him with wide eyes.

  His little bobcat shifter smelled a little of fear, which he didn’t like, yet hearing those words from Zack’s lips rattled him. Back in the clinic, Elaine mentioned Zack had fainted from overtaxing his abilities. He’d been pissed off at Elaine at first, but some part of him understood what she told him made sense, why Zack looked relieved the first day he suggested Zack rest for the evening.

  The entire night as he lay next to Zack, he went over the events of the past few days. Santino couldn’t see past his rage at first, that Zack lied to him, deceived him and Deacon. Then he remembered Zack made those hard choices so that he and the other Silver Thunder members could survive.

  If Santino were placed in a similar situation, he wouldn’t hesitate to make sacrifices for his loved ones, either. Zack was a healer, yet he had the heart of a dominant shifter warrior whose instincts told him to protect and fight for his pack.

  Zack turned a little pale, too, at the admission. The bobcat shifter expected judgement and had been prepared to take the punishment.

  “The others weren’t a part of this,” Zack finally said.

  Santino’s wolf hovered close to the surface, pissed their mate hid this secret from them. He never did well with betrayal, but this wasn’t just anyone. This was his mate, baring his soul to him. Yet, Santino reminded himself, he and his wolves bled to keep Zack safe.

  “Those Discipline Squad members we fought yesterday were looking for you,” he pointed out, trying his damnedest to keep his voice even, but it still came out with a snarl. Forgiveness never came to Santino easily, but the last thing he wanted was to drive Zack away with harsh words.

  Zack dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry.”

  “I need to think. Go back to the house, Zack.”

  Santino turned his back, snarl softly when Zack grabbed his shoulder, eyes blazing.

  “Are you telling me you want me gone? If that’s the case, please. Don’t kick the others out.”

  He gripped Zack’s hand and turned his attention to Zack. Zack let out a sharp intake of breath, probably sensing the temper and aggression of his wolf. Hurting Zack, however, was the last thing on his mind.

  “Leave me alone a few moments, Zack.” With those words, Zack let go of him and bit his bottom lip. The bobcat shifter shifted back to animal form, gave him one last concerned look, before sprinting upward to the closest tree.

  With Zack gone, Santino changed back to wolf. He ran himself ragged, until all the muscles in his paws ached. Santino didn’t know how much time passed, but when he looked up, the noonday sun peeked through the trees. He sensed the powerful presence of another werewolf, a packmate nearby.

  He growled in warning, but he couldn’t exactly tell Deacon to fuck off. Santino wished his sister was here. She’d always been a good listener. Deacon would most likely settle matters with claws and teeth if it came to it, but it was natural among dominant shifters to brawl and let off steam.

  Santino caught sight of Deacon’s night-black fur in the distance. Then his heart sank. Santino kept no secrets from his Alpha. What was he going to tell Deacon about Zack?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Zack sprinted across the trees, his heart heavy. If Santino reacted in anger, hit him or some other nearby object, it might have been better. He shuddered, remembering how Santino had turned suddenly cold. Hot rage he could deal with, but that frosty look in Santino’s silver eyes scared him shitless.

  Was Santino telling him to leave? No, Zack decided, the werewolf enforcer didn’t phrase it that way. Santino told him to wait back at the house. For what? Judgement, perhaps? His stomach churned. He’d been the one who lied to Deacon, to Santino about his abilities, and in the process, he’d also been dooming the other Silver Thunder survivors.

  Damn it. This was all his fault. He kept thinking about the way Santino’s entire face turned so still, emotions hard to read. It gutted him to see Santino hurting inside. Although Santino never showed it, Zack knew his confession changed everything, maybe even ruined whatever chances of a future he had with his wolf.

  Grief lodged his throat. He’d already lost so many of his former packmates. Now he had to lose the one man who made his heart race and his body sing?

  Zack had been too distracted that he miscalculated his leap from one tree to the next. He scrambled his paws in the air, hissed, seeing the ground underneath him. Shit. Cats were usually more graceful than this. Before he hit the ground, someone plucked him as his small body nearly sailed past the lower branches of the tree.

  Cold, he thought, chilled as he looked up to see who or what caught him. Fear crawled down his spine, seeing the pale, ruby-haired vampire who smiled at him, flashing dainty fangs. All the fur on his back rose as she se
t him down on the branch. She was undeniably beautiful, but even if Silver Thunder didn’t have a vampire coven who settled there, Zack knew tangling with them was dangerous.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, kitty,” she said with a velvet-coated laugh.

  He squirmed under his gaze.

  “Uncle Bobcat!” a cheerful voice called from below.

  Sylvia, he thought, hissing at Madeline in warning. The vampire sniffed as he jumped down the branches to reach the werewolf pup. Damn it. Where were Daryl and Forrest? Zack had zero chances against the vampire. He flattered his ears as Madeline gracefully dropped from the trees, agile as any feline shifter.

  “Do you think I’d hurt the girl?” Madeline sounded enraged, crimson eyes glowing slightly. “I’d never do anything to the daughter of the woman I care about.”

  “Why are you and Maddy fighting, Uncle Zack?” Sylvia asked, kneeling down to pat his ears.

  Sylvia wasn’t scared of the vampire, he thought with some awe and fear. Then Madeline’s words sank in. Zack lifted his head to look at the vampire, who crossed her arms.

  “You’ve caused trouble for your keepers again, little wolf,” Madeline told Sylvia.

  “If Mama sees Sylvia outside, Mama might wake,” Sylvia said, then rubbed furiously at her eyes. Seeing the tears gathering there, Zack changed back to human form and pulled the little girl to a hug. She staggered against him and looked at him with wide blue eyes. “Can you help Mama?”

  Pain flashed momentarily across the vampire’s eyes, and Zack understood that maybe Santino and the other wolves had it all wrong. This vampire would never hurt Sabine or her daughter. Zack gave her thin shoulders a squeeze, clenched his jaw, even more angry and disappointed in himself for being so helpless.

  A warning growl came from the direction of the house. Daryl and a big muscled wolf with angry green eyes came sprinting toward them. He assumed the werewolf was Forrest.

  “Well, her guards are here,” Madeline said in a frosty tone.

  “Wait,” Zack blurted.

  A puzzle formed in his head, the pieces not quite right yet. When Zack and Daryl spoke to Elaine yesterday, he remembered Daryl explaining how he kept Sabine alive by using himself as a conduct to transfer positive feelings from Sylvia to her dying mother.

  His heart raced as he recalled the story, the lie he concocted to the Alpha and repeated three times to Elaine. That child who’d been in a coma had his parents next to him when the Esper and shifter healer attempted the healing, a link.

  Forrest reached them now, nudging him and Sylvia aside and using himself as shield. Forrest flashed sharp fangs at Madeline, who hissed at him in response. Forrest was an enforcer and pack dominant, it was built in them to protect the young and healer of the pack. He was merely doing his job.

  “I’ve lived centuries, wolf. Try me and see who will come out of this fight alive,” Madeline crooned to Forrest, making the situation worse.

  “Everyone, stop. This is a misunderstanding,” he yelled as Daryl joined them, slightly out of breath.

  Zack’s heart pounded as everyone looked to him for explanation. Sweat coated his back and he wished he had Santino next to him, steadying him, but his werewolf was still probably mad at him.

  “Zack?” Daryl finally asked.

  “I have a plan to help wake Sabine, but for that, I need you all to calm down,” he said in a cool voice.

  “We’re listening, kitty,” Madeline said.

  Forrest glowered at her. The blood lust and aggressive energy coming off between the two made it hard to breathe. Shit. Zack could do this. He had to believe he could, because if he failed, he’d not only have Santino pissed off at him, but another enforcer and a centuries-old vampire.

  * * * *

  Santino didn’t know how far he ran, but he couldn’t stop, not yet. Deacon easily kept up with his pace, not pushing or saying a thing. This run took him back to months ago, when Deacon needed to let some steam off after a fight with Daryl. They ran themselves ragged then, too, until exhaustion hit their bodies.

  He circled the northern area of their territory. The packmates who spotted them understood the need for privacy and stayed away. Santino eventually returned to where he took Zack, to the cave he and his sister decided to hide for the night so many years ago.

  Santino changed back to human. “I took Zack here, told him about my past, where I came from,” he told his Alpha, the man who became his brother, his family.

  “What did he say?” Deacon asked after changing forms.

  “I expected him to turn away, to call me an unnatural monster like some of the pack. He hugged me instead and called my seven-year-old self brave.”

  “Zack’s one of a kind, isn’t he?” Deacon turned to look at where they came from, the mountainous terrain and cluster of old pine and oak trees. “When Alex died, I had a hell of a time picking his replacement, although plenty of paranormal communities sent their healers to us, hoping to strike an alliance with Devil Hills.”

  “I barely remembered that period,” Santino admitted, because after his sister’s mate died, Sabine had turned into a ghost, always forgetting things, and he’d focused on looking out for her.

  “It’s understandable. I picked Elaine even though she was no longer that young, because she’d been the only one in the prospects who hadn’t been scared of me. She looked me in the eye and told me outright she would be bossy, especially when it came to her patients. Your Zack is like that.”

  Santino smiled at the memory of Zack ordering his wolves around and tending to Jared, then the smile faded. “Deacon, I need to tell you something about Zack. He lied—”

  “Elaine told me,” Deacon interrupted.

  Santino crossed his arms. “Of course she did. Then I’m surprised you haven’t kicked him or the other shifters out.”

  “Mal and his hawk enforcers have agreed to adopt the raven shifters Milo and Adam into their Eyrie. Natasha and her brother Gavin have settled into the small lynx shifter group led by Cal,” Deacon told him. “Larry and Gina, have agreed to adopt the orphaned wolf pups.

  Santino mulled over that. Zack would be happy to learn that the other Silver Thunder survivors had managed to find a place in those groups. Where would Zack fit, though? The answer was easy enough—in his bed, home, and arms.

  Deacon wasn’t done. The Alpha continued, “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not happy about Zack lying to me, but pissing off Alphas and other authority figures is what healers are good at. Besides, I can’t exile the other half that would complete your wolf.”

  Santino sucked in a breath. “You knew?”

  Deacon laughed. “I’m Alpha, of course I do. Your wolf placed a claim on him ever since you saw him.”

  “And my sister?” Santino ventured.

  Deacon looked a lot more sober, contemplative, taking a couple of seconds to answer. “We won’t stop searching for an answer, of course. Maybe she’ll wake on her own one of these days. I think it’s about time you head back to your cat. He might be worrying his ass off.”

  “You’re right,” Santino agreed.

  “I’ll come with you. Daryl and I can take Sylvia for the night so you and Zack can sort things out.”

  With the end of the discussion, they both shifted back to wolves and returned toward the cabin. A familiar scent that reminded him of cold things and graveyards made his hackles rise. One of these days, he planned on ripping out Madeline’s throat, even if she was Ezekiel’s second.

  Then he snarled, seeing the odd group gathered on the porch, looking like they were in some sort of deep discussion. Santino spotted Sylvia, relieved to see her safe with Zack, who only wore a pair of loose jogging pants. One of his, he thought with some satisfaction. Daryl was there, as well as Forrest, who remained in wolf form. So was Madeline.

  What the fuck was Forrest doing? How could the enforcer let a damn vampire this close to his house?

  Zack spotted him at first. The healer smiled, then it quickly faded. Zack bit his lower
lip as if he’d momentarily forgotten they had an argument earlier. A snarl rippled out of his throat. Madeline regarded him coolly. He snapped and charged right at her, fury rippling through him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Santino, wait,” Zack yelled, seeing two hundred pounds of muscle, claws, and teeth run toward Madeline.

  His heart beat erratically. If Santino killed Madeline, he couldn’t even see if his theory worked. Worse, if Santino killed the second of the vampire king, there would be consequences. Santino halted for a fraction of a second, enough time for the Alpha to crash into Santino.

  “Uncle ‘Tino, Uncle Deacon,” Sylvia cried out, but both Daryl and Zack held onto her.

  It was dangerous for a werewolf pup, for anyone, to get between two dominant wolves in a fight. Santino growled at Deacon in warning. Forrest padded in front of all of them, barring their path, but Zack understood. He’d seen the dominant males in his bobcat pack clash when tempers were ruffled, but nothing as deadly as this.

  Deacon was the largest werewolf he’d ever seen, but Santino was only slightly smaller in terms of muscle mass. Both warily circled each other. He sucked in a breath. Did Santino know he was fighting his Alpha, or had seeing the vampire put him in such an enraged state that he didn’t know who he was fighting?

  Santino made the first move. Both wolves collided, a tangle of claws and teeth.

  “No!” Sylvia wrenched her hand from his and Daryl. Before he could get a hold of her again, she shrank in size.

  “Sylvia.” Even Madeline said her name in warning, about to swipe at her, but the wolf pup jumped out of her dress and bolted toward the two riled up males. Forrest used his body and snarled at them both, silent warning in his eyes.

  “Shit,” Daryl whispered.

  The small white wolf pup ran toward Deacon and Santino. The two males separated, baring teeth, freezing when Sylvia changed forms, tears streaking down her face as she held her two hands out.