Chapter Thirty
Den of Death
Soroyan tore his gaze away and started Tierney’s car.
“So, what do they call these things anyway?” Raven asked, running her fingers along the interior of the door before turning to look into the back seat.
Soroyan frowned as he navigated his way down the driveway. “A vehicle, or … car,” he finally said, then braked at the bottom of the hill.
Seeing no one coming toward them, he turned onto the highway headed for Spokane. “You aren’t from Earth.” It was a statement, not a question as he didn’t want to sound too curious.
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Raven shake her head. “No, my first time here. I’ve ridden in similar contraptions. The ones I am familiar with are called Transpos and are a little more advanced than these.”
“On Yara?” he asked and caught her surprised glance.
“Yes, you’ve been there?” she asked.
“No, but I knew someone who had, he told me a little about Yara.”
“Yeah, it’s similar to Earth, though a bit more advanced. You ever been off-world?” she asked.
“No,” he answered. “Never felt the need to leave this world.”
Raven changed the subject. “You drive pretty good for someone who has only driven a few times,” she said and he could hear the unasked question.
“I pick up things quickly.” He gave a slight shrug.
Then Raven changed topics again. “Tierney says someone recently tried to make you their pet.” Again, it wasn’t a question, but he could hear the curiosity in her voice and anger set his blood boiling at the reminder. Without a word, he kept his eyes trained on the road.
He could feel Raven’s eyes studying him and along with the anger, the burning need continued to simmer, slowly consuming him. Why did she have to come with him? Was it just to irritate him? Because he was well aware that she was the type to push until she got what she wanted.
“His name is Val Jean. He’s a Daywalker,” he finally bit out.
“Val Jean …” she repeated with a frown on her face.
“Do you know him?”
“I’ve never heard of a Val Jean,” she answered, but she seemed to be thinking pretty hard about something and didn’t sound so positive.
Then she turned and gazed out the front windshield. “I knew someone once, but it can’t be him … Anyway, I have heard of Val Dagan, the destroyer,” she said.
“I’ve also heard of him, but the destroyer?” he said. All Okami wolves knew of Val Dagan since he was the Nightwalker king who had imprisoned the Raizarch wolves. Though he’d never heard the prick called the destroyer. Although, the pack had retained very little contact with anyone from the other worlds, mostly keeping to themselves, keeping a low profile and trying to stay away from the Ilyium hunting them.
Raven nodded and when she met his gaze for a moment, he caught the flash of horror in her eyes. She turned to stare back out the windshield and it was a moment before she answered. “Yes, he’s a nasty piece of work. He’s destroyed a few worlds already. He rounds up humans and anyone he finds to use for their blood and slaughters any who resist. By the time he leaves, the planet is a charred ruin.”
A shiver of premonition swept through him, cooling his ardor momentarily as he thought about what she said. He knew that Hellfire and Brimstone’s sister had recently set Val Dagan’s wolves free and it wasn’t hard to imagine he’d want some sort of revenge.
“What’s this do?” Raven asked and pressed a button on the dash between them.
“That’s music,” Soroyan said as sudden noise blared through the car, making them both jump. Soroyan pressed the button like he’d seen Mark do the last time they were in the car, and sighed when the volume lowered.
“Sorry,” Raven said, then she leaned back and closed her eyes. “Wake me when we get there.”
Soroyan glanced at her in surprise, not sure how she could sleep with the kind of music that was playing, it sure wasn’t soothing. In fact, it frazzled his nerves even more, but at least it no longer hurt his ears.
He couldn’t help stealing glances at her. She really was beautiful and once again heat rushed through him at the thought of touching her, running his fingers over her smooth skin, trailing his tongue over—Stop!
Turning his eyes back to the road, he tried to concentrate, but her alluring scent wouldn’t let him be.
Soroyan pulled up in front of the building where the Were-wolves used to live, but didn’t have to wake Raven. As soon as he shut off the car, she sat up and peered out the window. “This is it?”
“Yes.” He wondered where the Were-cat was who was supposed to be watching the place.
“There is death here,” she said as they climbed from the car.
“How can you tell?” he asked, wondering how she sensed things. Did she smell it, or was it intuition?
Raven didn’t answer and a shiver of dread ran through him.
Not sure what they’d find, he didn’t want Raven to go in first, but when she pulled two daggers from where they were sheathed on her hips, he couldn’t help but stare. “How did I not see those?”
Raven grinned. “Obfuscation spell. You guys don’t use them?”
“We don’t normally carry weapons.” He stepped through the door.
Although he’d already seen the destruction in the living room, Soroyan pulled up at the sight in front of him. Raven stepped around him and stopped. He could almost feel her anger.
Enyowas, the Were-cat who Sami had brought home to help the female who bit Thaniel, and the one Soroyan had caught a whiff of the other day, nodded at them from where he was crouched beside the mangled body of a young male, also a Were-cat, judging from the scent.
His face and hands were cut and bruised, and his shirt was torn and bloody. Pain-filled eyes met theirs, letting them know this had been someone he cared about.
“You are hurt, are you all right?” Raven asked even though she didn’t know the guy.
Enyowas ignored her question and turned to stare back down at the dead Were-cat. “I was too late.”
Soroyan pursed his lips, knowing all too well the pain of losing friends or family. He turned his gaze on the other three bodies, all Were-wolves.
Raven started toward Enyowas then stopped and, turning away, she circled the room with a scowl on her face. Then she sheathed her weapons and crouched down to search the closest Were’s pockets. Soroyan stepped over a pile of debris and began to search one of the other guys’ pockets.
Having regained his composure, Enyowas looked over at them. “Anything?”
Soroyan reached the third guy. “Phones and wallets,” he said, then frowned. “Were there more of them?” he asked.
Enyowas sighed. “Yeah, three. They got away. Chi put up a good fight, wounded two of them.”
Good, Soroyan thought, anger filling him.
“He was the one watching the place?” Raven asked, nodding at the young male who appeared to have been in his early twenties, lying motionless in front of Enyowas.
The Were-cat swallowed deeply and stood up. “Yeah, he saw one of them come in and called me, so I called Jax. Chi called me again when he saw five more show up and drag a kid in here. I told him to wait, but he didn’t listen.” With a deep sigh, Enyowas took in the room. “Haven’t seen any kid yet though.”
Still scowling, Raven stilled.
Soroyan started to draw on his power, only for nothing to happen and remembered the hated collar around his neck. Still, if the wolves had another prisoner, he knew where they’d keep him. With a low grumble, he started for the kitchen when he noticed a furious blaze in Raven’s violet eyes. “Downstairs,” she said.
Enyowas followed them down the stairs and through the basement. Light shone from the small window in the door of the sound-proof room Thaniel had been held in not so long ago. Growling, Soroyan swung the door open and entered the room, fury pulsing through him at the sight of the body hanging from the meat hook
in the middle of the room.
Raven hissed and rushed forward.
“Fuck,” Enyowas said at the sight of the long black-haired teenaged boy. “Were-wolf,” he said absently.
Soroyan’s heart clenched as he unhooked the boy, remembering another young boy with long black hair so very long ago. His son, who’d been gone for a long time.
“Give him to me,” Raven said. With no expression on her face, and body tense, she sat on the mattress. Soroyan gently lowered the body into Raven’s waiting arms. Not sure what to do, he watched as she held the boy and closed her eyes.
He reached out for her when she tensed up and a cry of pain escaped her lips. Then, even though her eyes were closed, she waved him away. “No,” she whispered, and although everything in him demanded he care for her, he backed off.
“What’s she doing?” Enyowas asked beside him as a tremble ran through her. Soroyan caught the pain in Raven’s eyes right as the house shook. He and Enyowas shared a look. Soroyan had no idea what that was, or what Raven was doing, but whatever it was, it obviously hurt her and for some reason, he hated that.
A minute later, she opened her eyes and he could feel her sadness as she stared at the boy in her arms. Then she glanced up at him and he caught the moisture in her eyes.
She gently lay the young Were-wolf on the mattress, stood up, and turned in a circle, inspecting the room. A frown marred her features. “Why do I feel Thaniel’s spirit in here?” she asked.
“This is where Tierney, Jax, and Sami found him,” he said, though he found her choice of words strange.
Without a word, Raven turned and walked out. They followed her back upstairs where she settled down on the floor beside the body of Chi. “He belonged to your clan?” she asked Enyowas.
He nodded and Raven sighed. “Wait for me outside.” She indicated the front door.
“Why?” Soroyan asked. Even though she was covered in weapons, her sword sheathed at her back, he found he disliked the idea of leaving her with the bodies.
As if she knew what he was thinking, Raven snorted. “Please, it’s not like they’re going to wake up and try to eat me, and even if they did, I can take care of myself.” Soroyan scowled at her and she smirked. “Go. Leave me alone, I need to—” she said, staring at the dead wolves.
“What are you going to do?” Enyowas asked, the need to protect his friend even though the male was dead.
Raven’s features tightened and for a moment he didn’t think she was going to answer, then she shrugged her shoulders. “No one has come for them yet.”
Enyowas scowled and took a step forward. Soroyan growled at him and the Were-cat stopped.
Raven shook her head. “Both of you, stop it. Their souls are still here, I just need to ferry them to their final resting place, and you both watching me is distracting as shit.”
Soroyan stared at her in surprise, finally understanding what she’d been doing with the boy in the basement.
“Like … to heaven and hell?” Enyowas asked, caught off guard.
Raven nodded. “The boy went to heaven, and I am sure your young clan mate here will as well, but those three …” She didn’t need to say more. They understood. The three Were-wolves who’d killed the boy would be going to hell.
They stepped outside and Enyowas pull his cell phone from his pocket. Then he listened as the Were-cat made a call, reported the bodies and made arrangements for the boy and his clan mate to be buried.
When he hung up, Enyowas didn’t say a word and Soroyan wondered how often he’d made such a call. They both jumped when a bolt of lightning struck the house with a loud crack.
His adrenaline pumping, Soroyan was about to go back inside, when Enyowas grabbed his arm.
“Leave her be,” he said.
Soroyan was about to argue, when Raven stepped outside and made her way over to them. “Chi is up in the heavens,” she said, looking at Enyowas.
“Thank you,” he said, looking at the building. “I’ll stay here, until the clean-up crew arrives.
“Clean-up crew?” Raven asked.
Enyowas nodded. “I am part of an organization that patrols preternatural beings. They have crews all over that takes care of stuff like this.”
Soroyan had never heard of such a thing.
Raven snorted and Enyowas gave a wry grin. “Can’t have the humans finding the bodies and doing autopsies, now can we?”
No one answered.
Soroyan pushed away from the wall and together, he and Raven walked back to the car in silence.
He unlocked the passenger side door and then opened it and waited. “What are you doing?” Raven asked, scowling at him.
“Holding the door for you,” he said.
Raven grumbled and slid into the seat. Soroyan hid his smile, closed the door and went around to the driver’s side and climbed in.
“Where to?” Raven asked as he started the car.
“Back to your brother’s,” he said, heading down the street.
“Why?” she asked.
He wasn’t sure what she was asking. “Why what?”
“I thought you had the key to the apartment. Why would we go all the way back to my brother’s place?”
Soroyan tensed up. The last thing he wanted was to spend the night in the same place with her.
“You aren’t afraid of me, are you?” she asked. At the hint of teasing in her tone, sudden heat consumed him and he wanted to groan. Instead, he scowled.
“Afraid? No, of course not.”
“Tierney thought you knew where it was, but she gave me an address in case you forgot,” Raven said, staring at him.
Soroyan frowned. “Of course I remember, I’m a wolf. We don’t forget how to get anywhere.”
“Great,” Raven said with a grin that didn’t reach her eyes and, satisfied it had been settled, she turned the stereo back on.
Soroyan drove them to the apartment, feeling more and more uncomfortable as he tried not to think of all the things he’d like to do to the woman sitting beside him.
Chapter Thirty-One
Under The Skin
Raven sat back and listened to the music while Soroyan drove. She didn’t know what it was about the guy, but he got under her skin in a way no one else ever had. She thought of the way he’d cradled that dead boy earlier, as if he’d been thinking of someone else, and wondered who that might be.
She’d also seen the pain in his eyes and had to refrain from asking. She had enough of her own pain, she didn’t need to pile anyone else’s on top of what she already had.
As they waited for the elevator, she noticed Soroyan looking a little agitated, and it only became worse when the elevator doors slid open. “Why don’t we take the stairs?” she said, sensing his reluctance to step into the box, and really, it didn’t surprise her. Her big wolf was a wild man. Then she wanted to curse at herself for calling him hers.
“Why?” he asked in challenge and she held back her smirk. He was so surly! Even though it was so obvious to her, she knew better than to mention that she was aware of his dislike of enclosed spaces.
“I could use the exercise,” she said instead and without waiting to see if he followed, she yanked open the door for the stairs.
A moment later, she heard the big guy behind her and grinned.
When they stepped into the apartment a few minutes later, Raven smiled at how comfortable it was. She wouldn’t have expected anything less of her brother.
“You ever been here before?” Raven asked as Soroyan closed the door behind them.
“No, I stayed down with Jax’s car when they brought Thaniel here to clean up,” he said, looking startled at having said so much. Raven refrained from chuckling.
“Don’t like being inside, do you?” Raven asked instead, as she walked into the large living area.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Fucked At Club Purgatori
Soroyan didn’t reply to her comment. Raven grinned at him before walking around the large roo
m. She trailed her fingers over the furniture and he found himself wondering what they’d feel like on his skin.
“That’s fine, I don’t much like it either,” she said staring out the patio doors into the night.
Then she swung around and looked him straight in the eye. “Hungry? Thirsty?”
Soroyan tried to quiet the blood pumping furiously in his veins. He had to clear his throat before he could speak because he was famished. Just not for food. “No,” he lied.
With a little smirk, Raven walked into the kitchen and opened cupboards. When she found a glass, she filled it under the tap and, turning to him, she raised it to her lips and drank.
Soroyan swallowed hard as she tilted her head back, showing the smooth column of her neck as she drained the whole thing.
Uncomfortable, he turned away and made his way down the hallway to the bedrooms. The first one was obviously Tierney’s. He stepped inside the one across the hall and caught Sami’s scent.
Thinking he’d use this room, he turned around in time to see Raven walk into Tierney’s room. He watched as she removed the sword at her back, then flopped back on the bed with her long legs hanging off the end.
With a silent groan, he left Sami’s room and continued down the hall, knowing there was no way he could stay in the room directly across from her. He passed a large bathroom and Zander’s room before entering a room of navy blue. Jax’s room.
Soroyan sat down on the bed. Each room, just like in their home, had a large walk-in closet and its own bathroom. Taking a deep breath, he struggled to bring himself back under control. Then he heard the sound of a shower running and groaned out loud.
Standing up, he paced. He was so hard with need, imagining what Raven looked like, imagining how she’d feel under him, that it was painful.
After the water shut off, he found himself walking down the hall. He slowed as he neared her door. She’d left it open as if she didn’t care who saw her, and maybe she didn’t.
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