“Arranged a little coup under the Hunter banner. I needed a fall guy if things didn’t work out, and just as well. The Regency Pack knows about the coup. That fucker Logan leaving us was unexpected, and I almost thought I’d have to abandon my plans, but you pulling this stunt has given me the perfect opportunity to fix things. You see, Grayson thinks you’re the mastermind behind the coup, and if you die, then he’ll stop digging, and I can finish what I’ve started in peace.”
Die? He planned to kill Hunter. My limbs tingled with the need for action.
“You can’t take me in a fight, Larson,” Hunter said calmly. “You know it.”
Larson gave him a closed-lipped smile. “Oh, I’m not going to fight you.”
He stepped back, and two hulking males entered the kitchen space. Two Loup.
“Meet a tiny faction of my coup,” Larson said. “Members of one of the new rogue packs under my control. I gave them this territory, you know, and you killed several of their pack members.” His lips turned down, faux sad. “They’re not happy about that.”
“We get to keep the female,” the Loup on the left said.
Hunter reached back and tugged me to him. I braced my palm on his ribcage as he pressed his mouth to my ear. “61582.”
What?
“I’m afraid I can’t let her live, either,” Larson said apologetically. “She knows too much, but feel free to have some fun before you break her pretty neck.”
The Loup closed in, and a low rumbling growl reverberated in Hunter’s chest. The vibration tingled through my palm. He shoved me toward the fridge and fell into a defensive stance.
What was he doing? We could take these two. But then two more Loup became visible in the hallway beyond.
Crap.
“Fee, the numbers,” Hunter rasped, his jaw elongating as he morphed to half shift.
The numbers…The combination to the safe! The car keys and my daggers were in there.
The Loup hadn’t considered the side door hidden behind the fridge.
Hunter was telling me to run.
To take the car and go.
But I couldn’t leave him to fend for himself in the woods, and I definitely couldn’t do it now. The guy was troubled, damaged. He needed help. Help he wouldn’t be able to get if he was dead.
I reached down to my Loup power, but the surge didn’t come. I guess there was a limit to how long and how often I could go half shift.
Daggers it was.
The Loup attacked, and I ran.
I burst through the side door and into the dining room before sprinting into the hallway, careening to the left and into the lounge, boots skidding on the laminate flooring. There was a growl behind me, and I made it to the painting, managing to knock it off the wall just before hands grabbed me and hauled me back.
I landed on the sofa and rolled to avoid the Loup lunging for me. He snagged the back of my shirt, and I elbowed him in the face, relishing in his howl of pain. Fuck this. I might not be able to shift, but I was preternaturally strong.
I could take this fucker because my Loup had no attachment to him.
Azazel had trained me for this.
Before the Loup could recover, I punched him in the nose. Blood squirted everywhere, and I followed up with a kick to his knee that had him howling and hitting the ground. I grabbed the first ornament that came to hand, a pretty vase on the mantelpiece, and smashed that over his head.
Fuck, I’d always wanted to try that, and it was just as satisfying as I’d thought it would be.
He went down with a groan. Not unconscious but close to it.
The sound of boots headed this way had me scrabbling for the safe. I punched in the numbers and yanked the thing open.
“You bitch!”
My hands closed over my weapons, and a grin painted my face. “Sorry? What did you call me?”
I spun around, daggers in hand, to face the new Loup. The one on the ground stood slowly, cupping his nose, a lethal look in his eyes.
“Put the knives down,” the Loup without the broken nose said. “Put them down, and we’ll make sure you have a good time before we kill you.”
“My idea of a good time isn’t getting raped by rogues.” I spun the daggers in my hand the way Azazel had taught me and fell into a fighting stance. “I prefer to dance.”
The Loup sneered, and then their mouths dropped open in shock.
Hell, yes. Be afraid, motherfuc—
“What is that?” The one with the intact nose pointed.
For fucksake, really? “Do you think I’m stupid?”
The other one backed up, and then I sensed it, a cold presence skimming up my back as if someone was running an icy finger up my spine.
“Fuck. Fuck this shit.” They both backed up and ran.
My breath came faster. There was something behind me.
A crash resounded from the kitchen.
Hunter.
I had to get to Hunter, but I couldn’t move. My limbs were paralyzed. And then fingers curled around my nape.
“Seraphina Dawn, we seeee you.” The voice was jagged slivers of glass and the deathly bite of frost. It was emptiness and oblivion.
Terror expanded in my chest like a helium balloon, and then it was gone. I staggered forward and spun to face the spot where the thing had been. Nothing. Shit, what the hell?
Hunter’s bellow of pain shook the final residue of confusion from my mind. I hurried back to the safe and grabbed my dagger belt and car keys, then leapt over the sofa and ran for the kitchen, ready to kill.
Chapter Eight
Cora
I’ve had so much coffee my hands are bloody shaking. Where the hell is Jasper. I’m tempted to call him again, but when it comes to threats, the malevolent bastard follows through, and the idea of spending any more time in bed with him than I already have to makes my stomach clench.
Dean joins me at the table and takes the seat next to me. Surprisingly, his presence is an instant comfort. But then anxiety edges in. What if he asks me about Jasper again?
“Are you all right?” he asks.
I look up at him, thrown off guard by the question. He’s the first person to ask me how I’m feeling. To give a shit about what I’m going through.
My throat pinches. “I’ll be better once we get Fee back.”
Dean fiddles with the arm of his coffee mug. “Hunter won’t hurt her.”
I make a sound of disbelief.
But Dean’s expression is serious. “He won’t hurt her because his instinct will be to protect her.”
“Forcing this mating on her will hurt her. Maybe not physically but emotionally.”
“I know,” Dean says with a sigh. “But it won’t come to that.”
He looks over at Grayson, who’s deep in conversation with Azazel. Everyone is on standby. Vehicles prepped to go as soon as we have a location from Jasper. Vi sits alone in a corner, looking lost. I should go and speak to her, but right now, I just can’t summon the benevolence required to be nice to her. She’s the reason Fee’s been taken, the reason why, for the first time in forever, I can’t sense my friend. There’s a strange emptiness inside me, a disconnect as if I’ll float away at any moment, and it’s freaking me out. She’s my anchor, and I need her back.
Dean slips his hand over mine on the table. His palm is warm and his grip reassuring. I exhale and nod to let him know I’m cool.
“It’ll be all right,” he says with conviction.
I look up and give him the smile he needs to see in order to believe I’m okay.
He leans in slightly. “Hey, do you like Italian food?”
Food? Once again, I’m thrown, but this time by the change in topic. “I love food in general.”
“There’s this little place I know that does the best Italian food. When Fee’s back and mated to Grayson, we should go there.”
“Fee would love that.”
He blinks slowly, and a small smile lifts the corners of his mouth. “No, Cora. Not Fee, just you and me.”
I stare at him for a long beat, allowing the implication of what he just said to sink in, and despite my anxiety over Fee, I can’t help but feel a zing in my blood. There’s an attraction between us, no denying that, but I’ve just been so caught up in worrying about Fee and finding the hooded bastards that I haven’t bothered to pursue this.
He’s looking at me, waiting for a response, and I see the doubt creeping across his face. Oops, I guess I’ve taken too long to answer.
I give him a coquettish smile. “You mean like on a date?”
There’s an edge of relief to his grin. “Yes, on a date.”
“I’d like that.”
A chill tightens my skin into gooseflesh. I don’t even need to turn my head to know that Jasper is standing behind me.
“We have a location,” he says tightly. “One hundred miles east of Necro, a small village called Stoneshire. There’s a cabin twenty miles out from there. Bloodshed is in progress. Several Loup in the cabin.” He steps to the side so he’s beside me and holds out his hand. “Shall we go assist?”
Hell, yes. I shove back my stool, but Dean grabs my arm to stop me.
“You can’t go alone,” he says.
Spiky rage beats off Jasper, its sting a palpable force that makes me wince.
“Get your hand off her.” Jasper’s voice is like a knife’s edge, ready to slice, but Dean ignores him, speaking only to me.
“Are you sure you’re up to this, Cora?” His eyes are warm with concern. “You jumped an awful lot today.”
He isn’t questioning my ability, just whether I’m recharged enough to kick ass. “I’m fine. I can do this.”
Azazel and Mal are already out the door, and Grayson nods at me before heading after them.
Dean looks torn, his gaze flitting from Jasper to me, and then he nods curtly. “I’ll see you there.”
Dean releases me, and I take Jasper’s hand. His grip is brutal, almost punishing.
“Cora.” Vi throws something to me. “The key.”