The Nine

by C. M. Stunich

  "But you have?" I arched a brow at her and she gave me a wolfish grin.

  "Lots of us have. Bennett became alpha when he was only thirteen, and as bad as he is now … he was worse back then. People used to meet up in the caves and bitch about him behind his back. Kid stuff, you know?" She smiled and shrugged. "We spent a ton of time in there anyway, so lots of us know the cave layout like the backs of our paws."

  "What makes you think the diseased wolves know them, too?" I asked, guiding Lola smoothly around a tight corner in the darkness. I was heading straight for pack land, just like I’d done the other night. This time, at least, I had permission to be there. Well, permission from the alpha anyway. Mikhail was going to flip when he found out I’d gone against a direct order. Damn him though, he’d brought this shit on himself.

  "Where else would they go? Anywhere else on pack land, and Bennett would have taken his betas to deal with them by now."

  "Probably a good assumption," I agreed, settling into a comfortable sort of silence. Shelbi kept flicking glances over at me, like she was somehow awed by my presence. It was a tad uncomfortable, but I understood. She had no social standing in her own pack and here I was, treating her like we were good buddies when I didn’t know her for shit. I turned up the music, and we spent the remainder of the drive in companionable silence, pulling into the tourist parking lot and killing my engine. "Guess we better do this then."

  She gave me a grin. "You totally could have just driven up to the main lodge, you know? Bennett will know you’re here whether we go see him or not. Hopefully, he decides you’re not worth his time tonight. You’d be better off with just me."

  "I know." I shrugged. "But I like the idea of a secret entrance. Don't you?"

  She chuckled, but followed me as I locked up Lola, then started into pack land on foot. For the first hundred yards or so we walked as humans, but it quickly became clear that Shelbi was no stealth agent by the way her feet managed to break every twig possible.

  "Are you less noisy in wolf form?" I finally asked her when I cringed for what seemed like the millionth time as she tripped on a fallen tree branch. She nodded eagerly and I sagged with relief. "Thank fuck for that. Change then. I'll change too. If they hear us coming from three miles away we may as well have just driven straight there."

  I had the sudden urge to take a drag on my vape pen. I wasn't a cigarette smoker, but there was something about the act that was comforting. Knowing that I'd soon be facing Bennett made me want a smoke. Or a drink. Or a really big gun.

  Closing my eyes, I let the magic wash over me in a wave. The way Nix had shifted, that violent, ugliness of his transformation ... it was so far from what I did as a kitsune that I could barely relate. Even Shelbi had to shed her clothing to change. Not me. I could take my guns, knives, and my catsuit with me

  The power of the fox deity, Inari Okami, goddess of fertility, food, prosperity ... and of course, foxes, wrapped over me like a blanket, this warm, easy feeling like taking a dip in a Jacuzzi. It was easier than breathing for me, and when I opened my eyes, I was a fuck of a lot shorter and on full-alert.

  Usually, I felt more powerful in my fox form than my human one, but without my magic, I was basically a less powerful wolf. Glancing over, I found Shelbi standing next to me—towering over me because basically in every form, I was short as hell—with white fur streaked in gray. Her eyes were still dark, almost black in the shadows, and her doggy grin gave me serious chills.

  Wolves were the natural enemies of kitsune, period. And then slap all my personal issues on top of that crap sundae? Not a good combination. But an alpha's word was everything, and Bennett had promised I wouldn't be harmed on pack property by either him or his pack.

  The rabid wolves though ... those were another matter entirely.

  'Shall we?' Shelbi asked, her voice booming in my head like she was on loudspeaker. Wolves were so damn loud. It was annoying as hell, but at least I could still hear her. I'd wondered if losing my magic would keep me from being able to understand other species while in fox form. I wasn't sure, exactly, what it was that let us communicate but I thanked the gods for it.

  'Let's do it,' I replied, following my new friend through the trees. Such was my height versus hers that I had an almost perfect view of her butt hole, but I just ducked my head and tried not to look. Humans had this strange idea that being anything but human was automatically glamorous. Well, looking at wolf bums was hardly my idea of a good time.

  As promised, Shelbi was much quieter in wolf form than she was in human. That is to say, not all that quiet at all. I was starting to see why she was not only so low-ranking in the Vail Valley Pack, but also found herself working a job. Most pack members lived and worked exclusively on their own land. To send someone out into the real world, they either had to be at the top of the pack and looking for leisure ... or rock bottom and almost useless.

  For whatever reason, that made me like Shelbi more. She was normal. She didn't have all of this bullshit to deal with. As incredible as I knew my tails were, sometimes I wished I only had three or four, like Fin and Revel.

  Fin and Revel.

  Those names hit my brain and I immediately shut down my thoughts. I had a dangerous situation sitting in front of me, and letting my mind wander to romantic or ... whatever matters wouldn't do me any good.

  In the name of Inari and her nine lovers, let this go well.

  Technically, I wasn't supposed to be out here tonight. When—because there was no if—Mikhail found out about this, shit was going to go down. As long as everything went to plan, I'd have much higher ground to stand on when defending myself against him. If shit hit the fan, well, I could find myself out of a job and carrying a mortgage that would drown me in debt in three month's time.

  Several miles later, I gave up on stealth. It was taking too much of my energy and even in wolf form, Shelbi was a bumbling bee knocking over all the flowers. I'd never seen a wolf that looked less agile in my entire life.

  'Are you sure you know where we're going?' I asked as we headed further and further away from both the southern and western borders of pack property. To the south was my car, my escape route. To the west, was Vail Valley Earth land, sanctuary from wolves. But here? I was in the middle of enemy territory.

  'Almost there,' Shelbi reassured me, and sure enough, in less than ten minutes, we found ourselves at the opening of a cave entrance.

  I didn't waste a second before shifting back. No way was I going in there as I was, magic-less and vulnerable. Shelbi, obviously, chose to stay in wolf form. Even if she wasn't the biggest or baddest werewolf I'd ever seen, she was still the size of damn pony.

  Lifting my nose, I closed my eyes and tried to scent the air for the smell of wolf. But this whole damn place was soaked in scent—fur, urine, feces, semen, alcohol, tobacco, pot. Yup. Definite party spot.

  "Can you smell anyone you recognize?" I asked Shelbi instead, opening my eyes and pacing back and forth in front of the cave entrance a few times, shining my pocket-sized flashlight into the opening as I looked for the reflection of eyes in the darkness.

  'Not a thing,' Shelbi said, her voice still clear and sharp inside my head. I wondered if it was a canidae thing? Would I be able to hear Riot if he were around? My heart clenched tight and I swallowed hard, shoving a few loose strands of hair away from my forehead. Oh, Riot. I missed him with a sudden ferocity that made my jaw clench. For years, I'd brushed aside those feelings with the self-made promise that they'd soon go away. And yet, they were only getting worse.

  "Fuck," I cursed aloud as Shelbi padded up to stand beside me, tail wagging slowly, ears pricked forward, listening. I did the same with my fox ears, my tails dancing in a light breeze. In the distance, I could just make out the skitter of rodents' paws on the frozen leaves, scattered white pockets of snow lighting up the darkness. An owl hooted in protest at our presence, but other than that, all was quiet. "Maybe we should—" I started and then paused.

  Something was comin
g.

  Something big.

  I felt movement behind me before I got a chance to duck, yanking out my mother's knife as a hand clamped around my throat and hauled me backward into a solid chest. The musky scent of male and wolf surrounded me as I plunged my knife into the thigh of my attacker ... and got a laugh in response.

  "Oh, come on, is that the best you can do?" Bennett growled, licking my ear as I bent forward and used the counterbalance of his weight to throw him. He found his feet, but he also took my mom's knife with him, scrambling up and coming at me, this naked mountain of muscle.

  Bennett slammed into me, knocking the air from my lungs and sending me backward into a pile of snow. Hot, crimson blood was spurting from his wound as he pinned me to the ground with one hand and yanked the blade from his thigh with the other. As I watched, he raised it to his mouth and licked it, nice and slow.

  "Fuck, blood turns me on," he said, and I could very well see from my position beneath him that he meant it. He was straddling me, and he was hard as hell. Rightfully, I should've cut his dick right off. But, you know, he had my knife.

  "If you don't get the hell off of me, I'll blow your cock off with my Ruger," I growled, yanking an arm from his grip and whipping out the pistol from my holster. A smile lit my face as I pressed the barrel of the gun against the tip of Bennett's dick.

  He glanced down, his shaggy dark hair covering his face as he stared at my weapon, and then grinned big.

  "And I'd thought you were boring," he growled as he thrust against the gun and groaned. "But I could really get into this." With a laugh, Bennett released me and stood up, glancing over at Shelbi with a scowl. He seemed ridiculously unconcerned with the massive amount of blood spurting from his thigh. Pretty sure I'd hit an artery or something. "What the hell is that flea trap doing here?" he asked as I stood up and snatched my knife back from his hand.

  "Leave her the fuck alone," I snapped with a growl. I might've met Shelbi all of about two seconds ago, but I'd be damned if I was going to stand here and let a psychopath treat her like shit. Already, her personality had changed and she was grovelling, licking her lips and rolling onto her belly.

  I didn't blame her; it was part of wolf culture. Besides, clearly her leader was a nutcase. She'd probably be ripped to shreds if she didn't show proper etiquette. I hate this guy, I thought as I glanced over at him. But why the hell am I turned on by him? Much as I wanted to deny that fact, my nipples were hard, heat was flooding between my thighs ... ugh.

  Counseling.

  As soon as I woke up tomorrow, I was making an appointment to get some counseling, if only to sort out my own thoughts. Maybe I was addicted to assholes? Because I seemed to be surrounded by them lately.

  "I'll deal with my pack members as I see fit," Bennett said with a shrug of his massive shoulders. He was wide in the chest, narrow in the hips, but with toned legs and calves that drew the eye straight down. Of course, the constant hardness of his dick drew the eyes right up again. Why did wolves have to be naked when they shifted? Clearly, the source of their magic, their biology, their change ... it all had a different source than my own.

  Bennett put his foot on Shelbi's belly and I stiffened up. If he hurt her, I would shoot him. No doubt about it.

  Instead, he rolled her over with his foot.

  "Scat," he growled out, curling his lip and turning back toward the cave entrance, dismissing Shelbi like she was less than dirt.

  "You can't tell her off like that," I snapped at him, feeling like that was all I'd been doing lately: yelling at people, defending myself, defusing situations. It was getting old—and fast.

  "Can't I?" Bennett asked, turning some of that wild dominance and fury in my direction. "Shelbi's an omega for a reason. If you want to see her gutted and slaughtered by rabid wolves, then go ahead, give the order for her to follow." Bennett smiled at me, this wide, toothy smile, bright white in the darkness. "Your choice: Shelbi goes or Shelbi stays."

  With a final smirk, Bennett stalked off toward the cave entrance, the firm muscles of his ass drawing my attention. Swear to Inari Okami, a beam of silver moonlight fell through the trees and lit up that crack.

  "Goddamn it," I groaned as I glanced down at Shelbi. She was sitting there, looking up at me expectantly. She didn't say anything, but I didn't blame her. Whether she spoke to me aloud or in my head, with her alpha this close, he'd hear whatever it was she had to say. "Why don't you head home?" I suggested, sheathing both my Ruger and my mother's blade. "I get paid to do this after all." With a grin, I leaned down and gave my new friend a pat on the head. "At least you can rest easy knowing I'll be milking that asshole for a cool half-mil per hit."

  I stood up and headed after Bennett, into the damp, musky cave. During the day, bats would roost in here, that much was obvious from the amount of guano—aka bat shit—littering the ground. And on the weekends, well, it was obvious that teenagers were roosting in here. A used condom lay on the ground near my feet, right next to a small glass vial with pink sparkles that glimmered under the glare of my flashlight.

  P-dust bottle.

  Fuck.

  "You don't need to do anything but observe," I said, lifting my flashlight and somehow ending up with yet another crystal clear view of the alpha male's ass. "You hired the guild for a service—let us deliver, okay?"

  "You can't handle this on your own," Bennett said, and I felt my lips curling in response. Who the hell does this piece of shit think he is? "I would've asked for an entire team if I wanted it done without getting blood on my hands." He looked back at me and I wasn't sure what to make of his gleefully violent expression. "As I've said to you before, I do love me a little blood."

  Bennett turned away and continued on. He seemed so sure of where he was going, leading us deeper and deeper into the nightmarish cavern. It occurred to me that coming out here without Mik's knowledge was stupid. No, beyond stupid. Insane. If Bennett decided to kill me or rape me out here, it'd be a horrible, awful fight to the death. And I wasn't certain that it'd been him who was dead at the end of it.

  It could very well be me.

  Like spelunkers who used flight plans to let authorities know when they were going into a cave system, a plan that said when they would be back and where they were going so they could be rescued if any problems arose, the guild had a similar system. There was always at least one upper level manager—like Mik—and one employee in the same pay tier, usually Bex, who knew where I was on any given mission.

  But according to RADOPA records, I wasn't here tonight. I wasn't supposed to be here.

  Swearing under my breath, I caught up to the alpha wolf of the Vail Valley Pack and stalked along beside him.

  "These are my wolves," he said, keeping his attention straight ahead, blood dripping down his leg that he didn't even seem to notice. He was a crazy motherfucker, that was for sure, but there was a fierceness in his voice that I respected. He was a leader; these were his people. If they had to be taken out, he was going to at least help me do it.

  "Have you thought of containing them, waiting around for a cure?" I asked quietly. Seemed like an obvious question, but I had to ask it. Nix seemed to think a cure was possible. Yes, shifters went mad when they couldn’t change, but what if there was a way to reverse that?

  "There is no cure," Bennett said with a certainty that chilled me to the core. "At least not after the first few weeks."

  "What do you mean?" I asked him as he paused in a room that I knew right away was cavernous, just based on the way the sound of our footsteps changed. Lifting my flashlight, I couldn't even make out the ceiling.

  "I mean, I've been waiting for a cure, watching my wolves degenerate, and now ..." Bennett reached out and clamped his hand around my wrist, dragging the flashlight over to one side of the room and shining a glow on ... something. There was a hunched creature leaning against the wall, its head between its knees, blood and ... other fluids pooling around the mutated shape of its body.

  As I watched, it lif
ted its head, this grotesque mix of human and animal, wolf. It was a werewolf, stuck between forms, like something out of a horror movie. Werewolves were either human or wolf, not both at the same time, never a beast like they showed in films.

  "What the fu—" I started, but then Bennett was shoving me aside, so violently that my shoulder cracked against a wall and pain radiated through me. In the beam of the flashlight, I saw another one of those creatures drop down from goddess only knows where, cracking the stone floor beneath its massive, clawed feet.

  If I'd had my magic, I would've cast some foxfire and set the place burning, fought my battles in the glow of firelight. Instead, I had to wait for Bennett to do it, cast a silver ball of moonlight, the power of every werewolf. Well, every alpha werewolf, at least.

  When it came to supes, guns weren't usually the best option. We were too fast, too strong, too specialized. Even with the silver bullets I'd brought along with me, I doubted I would be able to take this creature unless I got a shot to the head. And the monster standing in front of me wasn't likely to hold off its assault long enough for me to do that. I barely managed to get my katanas out before the damn thing came barreling down on me, using the massive hulk of its body to pin me into the wall, my weapons crossed in an X in front of me, the only thing between me and death.

  Usually, I had the extra layer of my magic.

  I felt fucking naked without it.

  Lifting up my right leg, I kicked the creature in the stomach and sent it stumbling back. According to Bennett, there were eight wolves that needed taking down and I could only see two of them, one of them on the ground beneath Bennett and the other coming after me.

  Where the fuck were the other six?

  Swinging my blades around, I made a fanning motion and stepped into the monster's space. But fuck, no, this was a werewolf, a person, and not a monster. And yet, I could keep telling myself that as much as I wanted, but it wouldn't change the fact that the human-shaped beast coming for me was covered in thin, scraggly patches of hair, that its face was elongated and distorted, or that it was leaking strange fluids from its pores, eyes, ears, and nostrils.