by Jodi Vaughn
Two other red wolves walked in behind him carrying automatic weapons.
“Zane?”
He glanced up at her with unfocused eyes.
“What did you do to him?” Ignoring the pain in her head, she crawled over to Zane.
“Just slowing him down a bit, that’s all.” Hershel laughed. “Seems like our boy Zane stumbled onto our little secret, didn’t ya, asshole?”
Zane growled but didn’t move from his position on the floor. She reached him and cradled his head between her palms. “Zane, what did they do to you?”
“Just put a little silver in him. I can’t have him going all apeshit up in here. This is a business, you know.” Hershel scowled.
“You’re a drug dealer, so what do you want with us?” She glared at him over her shoulder.
“I’ve got a surprise for you, Skylar.” Hershel walked over to the door where Zane had entered and motioned to someone in the hallway.
“Hey, little red.” A tall, lanky man with a pockmarked face and rotten teeth stepped into the light.
Skylar forgot to breathe. Dale Wade stepped out of his grave and into the room.
“That’s not possible. You’re dead.” The blood drained from her face as she stared up at her dead father.
Dale chortled. He reeked of cigarette smoke and meth. She knew he never touched the drug himself, but he sure as hell cooked it.
“It’s amazing what you can get away with when you put your mind to it.”
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
“It seems I got into a bit of trouble with these Arkansas Guardians.” He glared at Zane. “Ever since Middleton became Pack Master, he’s been fucking up my business, always shutting down drug deals.” He spit a dark stream of tobacco juice on the floor.
She cringed.
“I figured if he thought I was dead, then he’d quit snooping around. And it worked, too, until he” — he pointed at Zane — “fucked everything up.”
“That meth house he busted a few weeks ago was my biggest factory. He destroyed all my hard work and I lost a lot of fucking money over not filling those orders.” He stepped closer to her. “Hershel said he ran into you in town. So I followed you. That’s when I saw you two together. I knew if you were out of the picture, then the Guardian wouldn’t have any reason to stay in Jonesboro. So I sent Hershel out to that house you’ve been working on. I told him to make it look like an accident.”
Her blood ran cold. She’d always known she was a bother to her father when she was growing up, but she hadn’t thought he was capable of murdering her.
“And then Zane showed up,” she whispered.
“Yeah, and once again fucked everything up.” He ran his hand over his balding head. “I see I have to handle things myself around here.” He pulled out a gun from the back of his pants and aimed it at Zane.
“Stop!” She leapt in front of Zane, blocking her father’s aim.
He threw back his head and laughed. Hershel joined in with him, along with the two guards holding the rifles.
“You are still as stupid as you ever were. I swear, girl. Do you think I won’t shoot you too?” He scratched his chest and grinned as he aimed the gun at her head and pulled the hammer back.
“Wait until I’m done with her.” Hershel grinned and reached for his belt. He unzipped his pants and motioned with his head toward the dirty mattress. “Get over there and take your clothes off.”
***
Lucien stepped inside the abandoned apartments after the guard verified his invitation. Rap music drifted down the hall, and the stench of meth hung heavy in the air. As the armed guard closed the door, Lucien grabbed the guy by the neck and knocked his head into the wall.
The guard was human, so he didn’t kill him. He grabbed the limp guard, tossed him over his shoulder, and shoved him into the nearest closet. He locked it and glanced around to make sure no one else was coming.
He needed to get the Guardians inside as fast as possible. As much as he wanted to rush upstairs and find Zane, Lucien knew he needed to follow orders and get some backup.
He opened the door and motioned.
A jagged flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by a bellow of thunder. A few thick raindrops fell and soaked into the ground as he waited.
Jaxon strolled up to the front door, his head down and his hands in his pockets.
“What the fuck took you so long?” Lucien growled.
“Just trying to make it believable. Addicts don’t sprint to the door. They’d get their asses shot for coming in hot.” Jaxon winked before shoving past him inside.
“There are humans here,” Lucien whispered. He turned his attention back to the yard, waiting for the next Guardian to walk up.
“Fucking perfect. And here I thought I was going to shift.” Jaxon sighed and reached for his gun in the back of his jeans.
“Not this time. We need to take this slow and easy. No human casualties.” Lucien nodded as Braxton approached and stepped inside.
“Braxton, you go with Jaxon and secure the first floor. I’ll wait on Jayden and Damon before going to the second.”
Braxton and Jaxon nodded and made their way through the first floor, clearing and securing each room. By the time the first floor was swept, Damon and Jayden had made it inside.
“First floor is secured. Be advised there are humans among the Weres.”
“Fuck.” Damon reached into his holster and brought out his Sig Sauer. “Let’s go to the second floor. Zane is in here somewhere, and so is his girl, so we need to find them.”
***
The pain in Zane’s shoulder was astounding. No sooner had he entered the building than he’d been jumped and injected with silver. Whoever was responsible was waiting for him.
He tried to wade through the fog in his brain and focus on Skylar’s face. He’d been poisoned with silver and shoved in the room where she was being held. His blood was boiling with anger, and he didn’t care if the two guards with the rifles were human, he wanted to shift into wolf so he could tear their throats out.
“Zane.”
He could hear Skylar’s voice and was vaguely aware of what was going on, but he couldn’t make his body obey a fucking command. He was trapped.
By being self-disciplined before and unable to control his body now, he’d gone from one extreme to the next.
Skylar. Her father, Dale Wade. And that asshole Hershel Baker.
He’d grown up with Hershel, and they’d been enemies from the beginning. Hershel was more of a sociopath than an asshole. He’d been accused of animal mutilations in grade school and rape in high school.
He hated that motherfucker with a vengeance.
Skylar screamed as Hershel grabbed her by the hair and threw her on the dirty mattress.
Zane knew what was coming next. He had to get control of his body before Skylar got hurt.
***
“He’s not on the first or second floor. That leaves the third floor. There’s a shitload of guns and ammo on that floor, so we need to be careful,” Lucien whispered among his Guardians.
“Weapons ready. These red wolves that have Skylar and Zane are being cowards and using humans as guards. No shifting.” Damon scowled at the group.
“Got it.” Jaxon said.
“Barrett is en route. So let’s try to do this nice and easy and have it all wrapped up like a Christmas present before he gets here.”
***
Skylar landed with a thud on the dirty mattress. Hershel’s hand was in the front of his pants, and she knew if she didn’t get her ass up and fight, he was going to rape her.
“Remember how we used to play when you were a kid, Skylar?” Hershel rubbed his hand across his bulge in his jeans.
Her heart raced. Her breathing came in short pants. Shivers racked her body, and she didn’t bother holding back the tears that streamed down her face.
Skylar froze as her mind flooded with horrendous memories of the past. She remembered Hershel
coming into her bedroom after her father had passed out. She’d tried to get away, but he’d choked her until she passed out. When she woke up, he’d been on top of her.
“This time, I want you conscious. So I’m not going to choke you. I want you awake for every second I’m inside you.”
***
Red-hot rage built up inside Zane as he listened helplessly to Hershel’s vile words.
She’d been abused as a child by that pervert, and her father had stood by and let it happen.
Hershel shoved his pants down, grabbed his erection, and took a step toward Skylar.
Skylar screamed.
He was no match for the silver in his body, but the silver was no match for the animal that raged inside him.
As Zane pulsed with violent anger, his vision went white. He knew his eyes were shifting, changing to the color of bloodlust.
Throwing his head back, he growled, shattering every window in the room.
Hershel stopped and spun around, his eyes wide with surprise. Dale reached for his gun and aimed it at Zane while the two armed guards aimed their rifles at him.
“Shoot that fucker,” Hershel yelled.
He didn’t care if he lived or not, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let anyone hurt Skylar. Not ever again.
He’d continuously grappled for control since he’d been infected with the drug. He’d struggled with containing his shift and caging the monster inside his body. He’d fought against it for too fucking long.
With renewed clarity, he knew what he had to do to protect Skylar.
He had to let go.
He had to let go and let the wolf take control.
***
The first two floors were all humans, high on meth. None had put up much of a fight when they had tied them up.
“Let’s do this nice and easy. I don’t want a big shit show…” Damon’s words were cut off by a predatory growl from upstairs.
“Think we found Zane,” Jaxon quipped.
“So much for nice and easy.” Jayden tightened his hand around the gun. “Bring on the shit show.”
***
In a blinding flash, Zane shifted into wolf. Hershel cursed, realizing he no longer had the advantage over him.
One of the guards shot at him, but Zane was too fast, anticipating the bullet and jumping out of the way. He turned and growled at the guard.
Both human guards screamed and popped off another round. Zane dodged the bullets and turned and growled at the humans.
“Fuck this. You don’t pay me enough, Wade.” The guards scrambled out of the room, dropping their guns in their escape.
***
They raced up to the third floor just as the sound of gunfire erupted in the building.
“Fuck,” Damon growled as he hit the hallway. “Braxton, call Barrett and tell him the situation is out of control. He’s going to have to do some damage control on this one.”
Braxton hung back to update their Pack Master as the rest ran toward the room the noise was coming from.
Two terrified humans tore out of the room and raced toward them.
Damon grabbed one and slammed him up against the wall while Lucien grabbed the other one.
“You got to let us go, man. There’s a fucking animal in there. He’s going to kill us all.” The burly man struggled against Damon to get him to let him go, but he only tightened his grip.
“What do you mean?” Damon growled.
“It’s a fucking werewolf like in one of those movies. You got to let us go, man,” the other guard cried out.
“Fuck.” Lucien glanced at Damon. They both punched the guards in the face. Their limp bodies crumpled to the floor.
“I got these two.” Braxton grabbed the unconscious guards by their collars and pulled them toward the nearest room. “I’ll let Barrett deal with these two idiots.”
***
Zane growled and lunged for Hershel. They were both in wolf form, but Zane’s lust for the red wolves’ blood was insatiable.
Zane landed on Hershel and pinned him to the ground with his massive paws. Hershel plowed his claw into Zane’s chest where they’d cut him and injected the silver.
Pain shot through his chest, and he was momentarily crippled.
Hershel knocked Zane off and landed on top of him, biting him on the shoulder.
Zane’s blood pulsed as Hershel locked his teeth into his skin. What Hershel didn’t realize was that with every strike of pain inflicted and every visual of Skylar being hurt, his wolf strength grew.
It was time to end this. It was time to end him.
Using his powerful back legs, he kicked Hershel in the stomach. The red wolf went flying across the room, taking a patch of Zane’s hide with him.
Flipping to his feet, Zane registered the fact that the Guardians had arrived and were filling up the doorway, guns drawn and shouting orders.
Ignoring them, Zane jumped through the air and landed on Hershel, giving him the upper hand in the battle. Fear flashed through the wolf’s eyes as Zane bared his teeth and growled. He went for the neck, biting down hard on the throat. Cartilage and bone crackled in his mouth as Zane ripped out his enemy’s throat.
***
Lucien’s sense was on high alert as he surveyed the scent in the room.
Skylar was curled into a ball, looking on with horror as Zane ripped the throat out of another wolf. Even that wasn’t enough to satisfy his bloodlust. He continued to maul the body, ripping out pieces as blood spurted on the walls and floor.
Lucien growled as he recognized the other Were in the room as Dale Wade, Arkansas’s number-one drug dealer, who everyone thought was dead. Yet here he stood, in the flesh and clearly not dead. Dale swung his gun around at the group of Guardians as they entered the room.
“Put the fucking gun down.” Lucien aimed his gun at Dale.
“Fuck you.” Dale grabbed Skylar’s arm and tugged her to her feet. He pressed the gun to her temple and snarled. “This is your entire fucking fault, Skylar. If you hadn’t started fucking around with that Guardian, then I wouldn’t be in this mess. As usual, you’re fucking up my life.”
“Dale, put the fucking gun down and let the girl go or I’m going to put a bullet in your head.” Damon flanked Lucien, while Jaxon was on the other side of him.
From the corner of his eye, Lucien spotted Jayden edging his way toward Skylar.
“Why the fuck do you even care about her? Do you know what she is? She’s a red wolf, and she’s your enemy.” Dale laughed.
“Our only enemy is you and your rogue wolves who are constantly breaking the law and hurting people,” Lucien hissed.
“I bet you assholes wouldn’t be so quick to sacrifice your lives if you knew what Skylar really was.”
The room went silent. Even Zane stopped his attack and turned to face Dale.
“I see I got your attention too, Zane.” Dale narrowed his beady eyes and tightened his grip on Skylar’s neck. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to breathe.
“Skylar may look like a hot piece of ass for you Guardian boys, but she’s used goods. And we know how you only mate worthy females. None of you would risk your lives for used goods. I know that. Why, the first time Hershel took her, she was thirteen years old. She screamed like she was dying, but we all knew she liked it.”
“Shut your fucking mouth, Dale,” Lucien warned. He cut his eyes at Zane. The Were’s breathing increased and his whole body was trembling.
“I even got me a piece after Hershel made her pass out.” He bent his head to her cheek and grinned. “You wouldn’t remember, Skylar, but I was actually your first. Not Hershel.”
Skylar’s eyes widened in terror and her body convulsed as she struggled to get away.
“You’re a sick fuck, Dale, and if you think you’re walking out of here alive, you are wrong,” Damon growled.
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do, dumbass, because I got some insurance.” His grip on Skylar tightened. “And his name
is Zane. That crystal meth he got injected with was our latest serum. We created it so werewolves couldn’t control their shift anymore. Once the human population realizes what walks among them, it’s going to start a race war between us and them. We are stronger than fucking humans, and we are going to destroy every one of them until it’s just Weres running the earth.” Dale’s eyes glistened with delight. “It’s going to be paradise. And I’m going to lead us all.”
“You’ve been smoking too much of your own product, Dale,” Damon growled as he leveled his gun at Dale. “There’s no way we’re going to let that happen.”
Lucien glanced at Jayden, who was a few feet away from Skylar. He just needed to distract Dale a few more seconds.
“You’re not leaving this room with Skylar,” Lucien said.
Zane growled. Dale took the gun off Skylar for a second and aimed it at Zane, who took a step toward him. It was the opportunity Jayden needed.
Jayden grabbed Skylar and shoved her toward the door. Lucien grabbed her and pulled her safely behind him.
Dale growled, swung his gun toward Jayden, and fired.
***
Zane leapt through the air just before the gun went off. He landed in front of Jayden, taking the impact of the bullet to his side.
Wide-eyed, Dale realized he no longer had anything to leverage. He glanced at the door and swung his gun from Zane to the other Guardians.
Zane stumbled as the silver coursed through his body. His vision blurred and then turned black as he hit the floor with a thud.
***
“Skylar, tell them not to hurt your daddy, now.” Dale kept his eyes and his gun aimed at the Guardians. “You tell them not to hurt me, you hear?”
“Don’t hurt him.” Skylar heard herself say. She clutched the automatic rifle left by the guards in her hands and stepped out from the shadows. “I want to do it.”
Dale’s eyes widened for a brief second before she squeezed off a rapid-fire round straight into his chest. She aimed for his head and put a bullet there as well.
Dale Wade’s body crumpled to the floor.
Damon slid next to her and grabbed the gun from her hand. “He’s dead now, Skylar. He won’t hurt you again.”