“You’re not human anymore, Detective,” Brad said.
“Way to let the wolf out of the bag,” Roel said. “Don’t hold back any. Tell it to him straight.”
“What?” Alex’s eyebrows popped up. “That’s it. You’re all going to jail. The judge can decide what to do with you tomorrow.” He reached for his cell phone, and Heath pulled the hammer back on the gun he was holding.
“Don’t shoot him, Heath,” I said, and he growled at me, knowing he couldn’t pull the trigger now, since I had given him a direct order.
And that’s when it hit me. Even though the shifters who had receded from my pack were rogue, I was still their Alpha, and since one of them bit Alex, that made me his Alpha, too. Any command of mine had to be followed.
“Put the gun down, Alex!” I shouted, and his arm instantly dropped, like it was full of lead. His gun sprung from his fingers and clattered to the concrete.
He stared at it for a moment, confused, and then he slowly raised his eyes to look at me. “Did you do that?”
I sighed as I nodded. “Yes, and now we are all going in the house so this can be explained to you.”
I’m not sure if it was the Alpha in me that he sensed and obeyed or if he just realized that he wasn’t going to leave Phoenix’s residence with a pulse, but he turned on his heel and walked to the open garage door.
Chapter 50
Alex
One hour! They had one damn hour to convince him they shouldn’t all go to jail or he was calling in SWAT. He had enough sense to know that the city police wouldn’t be able to take them all in without someone dying, and even though Mena had said she’d been the one to murder Marc, he didn’t want her to get hurt.
He’d meant what he’d said about loving her. It would kill him to put her in handcuffs, but he couldn’t just let her walk. Could he?
The others kept their distance behind him as he made his way down the stairs to Phoenix’s massive basement.
He’d wondered why the guy lived under the house the one other time he’d been here, but too much had been going on at the time to ponder it for too long.
As he walked down the long corridor, he noticed there was a door open to a room on the left. The light was on within. It must have been closed off the last time he was here, for he hadn’t noticed it at all then.
He hadn’t planned to be nosy, but after one glance in the room, his feet damn near tripped over themselves trying to stop. His jaw unhinged as he took a step inside what could only be identified as an artillery room. Over half the stuff was illegal to carry in the United States and the rest was illegal to have period.
Row after row after row of automatic handguns, semi-automatics, high-powered rifles, weird-looking shotguns, three cabinets labeled WMD, with smaller lettering of CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL and NUCLEAR written at the top of each one.
As he let his gaze move to the other side of the room, he felt the eyes of the others on his back, but he couldn’t seem to stop looking at all the weapons or thinking what on earth the owner of a dance club would need them for. One thing was certain, Phoenix Mahoney was going to prison for a very long time.
His eyes roamed over a wall full of throwing knives, swords, shurikens, nunchuks, and he froze when a familiar, shiny six-inch dagger caught his attention.
He pointed at it. “The girl at Hellhound—”
“I didn’t kill her, Rhodes,” Phoenix replied. “The people who killed Katie were trying to frame Mena and me. Both our prints were on the missing dagger. I gave it to Mena for protection, and she lost it a few nights before that girl was murdered.”
Alex pulled his hand back, but his mind was still reeling with scenarios. “But the murder weapon came up missing after the medical examiner left with the body.”
“I sent Jaxon and a few others to get the knife before you could dust it for prints, but some others had the same idea. There was a scuffle and the murder weapon was taken by them. They still have it. If you haven’t heard, the medical examiner has also come up missing. He is one of the people trying to hurt Mena.”
“Why should I believe you?” Alex said.
“It doesn’t matter to me if you do or not, but if your plan is to put any of us in prison, I can promise you that it’s not going to happen; Brad wasn’t lying to you; we’re not human and neither are you… anymore. I’ll be in my chamber when you’re ready to discuss it,” Phoenix said, then left him standing there.
There is no way any of this is true or even happening at all, for that matter. It has to be a dream, a nightmare, rather. Yeah, the dogs attacked me, and I am now unconscious in a hospital bed. The pain medicine they’re giving me through the IV is what’s causing this morbid dream. If it’s not a dream, then it is definitely a prank. “This is a joke, right? Am I being punked?”
Mena slowly shook her head. “Come talk to us, Alex,” she said, and then followed the rest of them.
“This is a mistake,” he muttered to himself. “I should leave. I should transfer to another department and move away from here.” He stared at the door a moment, then his feet began to move forward. “Guess it’s a night for shouldn’t haves.”
They’d left the door of Phoenix’s chamber open for him. Guess they didn’t think he was going to leave after hearing what they’d told him thus far. If this wasn’t some kind of sick joke, how the hell could he leave? They had told him he wasn’t freakin’ human anymore. When had that transition happened? Better yet, how had it happened?
“Have a seat, Rhodes,” Phoenix said, his back to him as he poured Scotch into two glasses. “Want a drink? I’m pretty sure you’re going to need it.”
He noticed most of the others were standing. “No. I’m fine. And I think I’ll stand. I’m ready to get to the bottom of this and get the hell out of here.”
Phoenix shrugged as he walked to a chair closest to the fireplace and sat down. He looked at Mena. “Would you like me to tell him?”
Her eyes were on the floor as she shook her head, but, after a moment, she glanced up to meet Alex’s curious stare. “No. I think it would mean more to him if it came from me.”
“The floor is yours then, Lupacchiotto,” Phoenix said.
Alex’s fingers curled into fists as he glared at Phoenix. He had a pet name for her? Lupacchiotto? What the hell did that even mean? The guy had been lying to him all along about his relationship with Mena. Friends? No, and it pissed him off that he hadn’t trusted his gut instinct before. If what Phoenix had said in his driveway was correct, she had been with the asshole only hours before screwing him. There was no happy ending to this story for him, and it made him sick to his stomach to admit that to himself. He somehow knew hearing the rest of what she had to say would only make everything worse, but he couldn’t make himself leave.
Mena blew out a huge breath and took a step toward Alex. He took a step back. She stopped, the hurt in her eyes evident. “There is so much you don’t know, Alex. I know you won’t understand it, but I would like you to keep an open mind and try to. Can you do that?”
“I’m listening,” Alex said.
She wrung her hands together in front of her as she spoke. “I’m not sure if telling you what you are first would be better or if I should start at the beginning, and tell you what I am.”
Alex crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. “Start at the beginning. We’ll get to what you think I am later… if I stay that long.”
She nodded. “Do you remember at the restaurant when I told you that Marc struck me and I left him?”
“Was that a lie, too?”
“No, it wasn’t. I have never lied to you.”
“You said you weren’t seeing Phoenix.”
“I didn’t tell you that. She did.”
“Just get to the point, Mena.”
“All right. After Marc and I fought, I left him. I was going to my brother’s house across town, but I couldn’t see well through the storm, and I nearly hit a pack of wolves as they crossed the highway.”
“Wolves? In Montgomery?” Alex rolled his eyes, but didn’t comment further.
“I pulled into a motel parking lot, intending to check into a room for the night. I had no business driving in the condition Marc put me in. I ran into Jaxon there. At first I thought he was trying to kidnap me, but after I saw the wolves closing in on us, I realized he was trying to save me. And he did… try.”
“There haven’t been any reports of wolves being spotted in Montgomery, Mena. You need to get—”
“Will you shut up and let her talk, Cop?” Heath said.
“I’m tired of being lied to. You’ve all made me look like a fool—” Alex’s words were cut short when Brad stepped forward and started taking his shirt off. “What are you doing?” Brad took his boots off then unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans.
Brad shrugged. “Heather gets pissed when I shift in my clothes. It rips them to shreds.”
Alex’s brow lifted, silently questioning what he’d just heard the guy say. “Shift?”
Brad winked at him as a grin spread across his face. “Yeah. I’m a werewolf, dude.” And before Alex could even comprehend what he’d said, Brad dropped his boxers and fell to his hands and knees.
Alex stared in horror as the muscles under Brad’s flesh began to move unnaturally and, from one blink to another, a massive wolf leapt toward him, its teeth bared and snapping at Alex’s neck.
It took him a full five seconds to realize that he was lying on his back on the floor and that a real live wolf was about to kill him. His hands were pushed against its chest. The gray fur was real; he could feel it on his fingers. The growl was real; he could feel it vibrating through his palms and up his arms. The wolf’s breath was real; he could feel the heat of it on his face as the wolf snarled at him.
“That’s enough, Brad. Let him up,” Mena said.
Alex could have sworn the wolf chuckled as it stepped away.
Using his heels and elbows, Alex crab-walked backward about ten feet, his eyes wide with terror.
“That’s one way of getting to the point,” Roel said on a chuckle.
Alex blinked a few times. “A were—werewolf?” he stuttered.
The blond girl huffed as she picked up the clothes Brad took off before he’d turned into a huge dog. “C’mon, honey. You nearly gave him a heart attack.” She walked to the bathroom, with the massive wolf following behind her, wagging its tail as it went.
“Did he just—”
“He’s not very patient,” Heath said. “He hates waiting for the punch-line of a story, even if he already knows it.”
“He just turned into a dog!” Alex shouted after he got to his feet.
“We aren’t of the canis lupus species,” Mena said. “We’re shifters. We are lycanthrope shifters.”
“We? You’re like him?” Alex said, aghast.
“As are you… now,” Heath said.
“Actually, Mena is the Alpha Lycanthrope shifter of Montgomery,” Phoenix said. “She is their pack leader. And she is your pack leader, too, Rhodes.”
Alex bent at the waist and put his hands on his knees as he tried to figure out if this was a nightmare or not. Waking up would be nice.
“Those weren’t dogs that attacked you,” Mena said. “The gun you shot one with didn’t kill it because your bullets aren’t silver. However, the bullet that pierced Marc’s heart was. The whole time I was married to him, I didn’t know his secret. He was the Alpha. He showed up at the motel with a dozen of his pack to get me. After Jaxon fled with me, Marc shifted and chased us down. He bit me, and then I shot him. That’s why I’m their Alpha now, because I took his life. Jaxon brought me here, so Phoenix could tell me what I am.”
Doing a whole lot of heavy breathing, Alex raised up to look at the guy she’d just mentioned. “Are you one of them, too?”
“Who me? No, I’m something much better.” Phoenix’s grin was devilish as he flashed his teeth, and then something happened that Alex thought couldn’t be possible; the guy’s canines lengthened behind his lower lip. He opened his mouth and put a finger to one of the pointy fangs, toying with it. “I’m what the humans call a night-crawler, the undead, a kindred, a cainite, a sire, a sect, a prince… a master.” Phoenix leaned forward in his chair, placing one elbow on a knee. “I am the High Vampire of Montgomery, Detective. Tell your Chief that and see if you don’t earn yourself a pretty new straitjacket.”
“I’m dreaming. This is all a big nightmare, right?”
Phoenix smiled as his fangs slowly retracted. “I’m afraid not, but now that you’re one of them, there are some things you need to know.”
“One very important thing,” Mena said, and Alex turned to look at her. She had crossed the room, to where Phoenix’s bed was, and she was looking at a small purple bottle in her hand. She twisted off the top.
“Mena,” Phoenix said as he stood, “what are you doing? We only have one—”
She brought the lip of the bottle to her lips and turned it up, downing all its contents.
“No!” Phoenix shouted.
“What was that?” Roel said as Mena placed a hand to her stomach, an ill look on her face.
“Damn it!” Phoenix yelled as he picked up a vase and hurled it across the room where it shattered into a million, tiny blue pieces of crystal all over the stone floor. “Why did you do that?” he screamed at her.
“I can’t sense her,” Mena said. “She’s asleep now. You need to lock me up, Phoenix. I don’t know how much time the elixir will give us, but you have to tell Alex about the rest. She can’t know that we know what he needs to do now. He has less than forty-eight hours before we will have two moonrising wolves to deal with. She’ll know after he names his. I think that was her plan, for them to take over the world together. If you don’t lock me up, she will grab him and run.”
Phoenix brought his hands up to place them on his hips as he shook his head, the angry scowl still in place on his face. “I’m not locking you in a cage until the next full moon, Mena.”
Alex watched her as she went to him and held out her hand. “Give me the key. I’ll do it myself. You need to tell Alex what to do, because I’m running out of time. She can’t know about what we’re doing unless she’s locked up where she can’t get to any of you or run away.”
“She won’t kill me, Mena. She’s linked to us.”
“She will run, though. And she’ll make sure you don’t find her until after it’s too late. Lock me up. Find another Alpha and, if for some reason you can’t do it in time, you know what has to be done. It will be easier to take my life if she can’t get away from you.”
“What?” the brunette girl said. “Nobody is killing you, Mena. You’re linked to my husband!”
“If I don’t say her name in time, everyone else on the planet will become what she is; you know that, Tracy.”
What the hell did she say? It didn’t make any damn sense! “Wait…” Alex said, “…what?”
“Give me the key, Phoenix.”
He sighed. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“I’m sure it’s the only way.” Mena held out her hand. “I’ll toss it out of my reach once the door is locked. Come and get it later when you bring me something to eat,” she said, a small smile playing across her lips.
“The key is silver. You can’t touch it without it burning you. I’ll do it. The others can fill Alex in about naming his wolf while we’re gone.”
She turned her head to look at Alex, and then she walked to him, taking his hands in hers. “I’m really sorry she pulled you into all this mess, Alex. I never wanted you to get hurt or become like me. It’s too late now. You need to listen to them. Do what they say. I’ll understand if you don’t want anything to do with me after all this—I won’t force you to stay—but naming your wolf is important. Promise me that you will.”
“Mena, I don’t understand. I still don’t believe any of this.”
She gave him a soft smile. “I know you don’t, but that doe
sn’t make it any less real or dangerous. Promise me that you will listen to them and do as they say.”
He stared in her pleading eyes, scared for her and afraid for himself for what was still to come. His hands came up to frame her face, then he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. He frowned when she didn’t respond to the gesture. Was she really telling the truth? Was there another woman—wolf—inside her that had been controlling her and dating him? He didn’t want to believe it, but this didn’t feel like a joke anymore. He huffed. “I will do whatever you need me to do.”
“Help them find the rogue wolves. Make sure they pay for what they’ve done to Katie and to you.”
“And to you,” Alex said. “I promise.”
“She is going to wake up soon, Mena. Meridia said the potion would only last long enough for you to do what needed to be done to save yourself.”
Mena nodded as she backed away from Alex then took Phoenix’s hand. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed the words again as he led her out of the room.
Chapter 51
Roel
Roel clapped his hands as Brad and Heather emerged from the bathroom, startling Alex. “Time for business. Sit down, Rhodes.”
To his surprise, the detective did as he was told. Roel guessed Alex realized it was only a matter of time before his knees buckled beneath him and his ass landed on the floor, anyway.
“This isn’t real,” Alex said. “Werewolves and vampires are just myths used to scare children.”
“Humans aren’t that creative, Cop,” Heath said. “The stories had to come from somewhere.”
“I know you will have a million questions, but you have to name that bastard in you first.”
“Are you even sure I’m a were—a were—”
Brad wrapped his hand in a handkerchief and picked something up from the low table beside the couch. He tossed it to Alex. Alex’s reflexes kicked in, and he reached out to catch it, then hissed and immediately dropped it to the floor, shaking his hand in the air then looking at his blistered fingers and palm.
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