The two males flanking me move in sync, their rolling gaits resembling a choreographed dance. I slide my gaze from Vlad, officially known as the top dominant of the Winchester pack, to Xander, the established alpha of the Winchester pack as recognized by the Shifter Council, then shake my head. No matter their titles, they’re both alphas. The truth radiates from the cautious but calm wolves who share my body and soul. I’m in the presence of power, true power. Vlad and Xander are the ultimate warriors, and they have a curvy, sweet human female to thank for their godlike statuses.
“Eli protected your true mate.” I don’t direct my comment to either male. Gwen belongs to both. They also share a similar desire to save Elijah Winchester, Eli to his friends. Sure, Vlad’s and Xander’s motives might be different, but neither wants to lose the male who kept their true mate safe until they could claim her. It’s that motivation that’s drawn them from their mate’s arms to trek with me through the darkened snowy woods to the isolated cabin deep in the heart of Winchester pack lands.
“My younger brother would’ve died for Gwen if that’s what had been needed to keep other males from hurting her. Just as he almost died while freeing Corey from those who thought to kidnap her all those years ago.” Xander delivers his statement without taking his attention off the small cabin in the clearing ahead of us. “Those are not the actions of a feral male.”
The unprompted qualifier Xander tagged on draws me to a stop. I never asked their opinions of Eli’s mental state. The fact that Xander feels the need to try to influence me before I even lay eyes on Eli doesn’t bode well for the male.
Both alphas turn their heads to look at me. I glance between them and debate who to address. Such is the problem the alphas of the Winchester pack pose to visiting Royals. I can only hold one male’s gaze at a time. I settle on Xander. It is his brother locked away in the cabin ahead of us. “I’m no social worker. I’m not a therapist either. I can’t help Eli deal with the horrors he’s endured.”
Vlad cuts his partner, or whatever he considers the other male soul-bonded to Gwen, a sharp look, then meets my eyes. “Eli is in no condition to deal with the memories of his captivity, and you’re not the right male to counsel him.”
“Then why am I here?”
“I remember what you did for Dante, reining in the self-destructive immature male we weren’t sure was going to live long enough for his immortality to kick in. None of us could get through to him. Our attempts set him off, pushing Dante to take even more risks with his life.”
Dante hadn’t been self-destructive, nor did he intentionally risk his life. He sought his enemies with a vehemence I’ve never seen before. Anyone who even remotely threatened a woman or child died by his hands in a slow, torturous execution that almost made Dante as wickedly cruel as those he killed. It wasn’t just their deaths he wanted. He craved their screams, their pain, their pleas for mercy. Their suffering did it for him, simple as that. Had I not intervened in Dante’s life, he likely would’ve become an assassin’s mark. Maybe even mine.
“I was looking for a student, and Dante fit my needs, so I lured him into the darkness. There was nothing honorable about what I did. I turned Dante into an assassin.”
“I hear the Host has put out a call to its angels. They want all members to actively recruit new mentees.” Xander motions to the cabin. “Eli will make a dedicated student.”
Teaching someone to control their emotions is a lot different from honing the instincts that turns a man into a heartless hunter. “You want me to turn your baby brother into a killer?”
Xander doesn’t wither under my stare. Instead, coldness slithers into his expression, turning Xander into the walking predator who just so happens to have the power of three wolves at his fingertips. The beasts he was born with won’t fight to be in charge of this moment. They’ll funnel their instincts, their strength, their everything into the man.
I have the potential to reach the same level of power. All it’ll take is tying myself to Sara irrevocably, ensuring we soar or die together. With her, I can meet the threat coming for me head-on, but if I fail…
“The cowards who captured my brother already turned him into a killer. And I refuse to lose him to what they turned him into.” The energy rolling from Xander’s body lashes me, raising the hairs on my arms and stirring my wolves. I tighten the metaphysical leashes to the animals I house. The alpha of the Winchester pack is no threat to me. I hold the life of his brother in my hands.
Vlad steps forward. “We’re prepared to seek out other assassins, including your mentor.”
“But we trust you.” Xander fists his hands, cutting the outburst of power. “And if you can help Eli, I’ll be in your debt.”
The magnitude of Xander’s vow doesn’t encourage me to continue with this meeting. I’m not a shaman or some two-bit magician who can accomplish the impossible, but I’m not a fool either. With the knowledge Xander potentially has of my alpha, I have to pull off a miracle here tonight. My pack is counting on me. Sara’s counting on me.
I sweep my hand out in front of me in a move-along gesture. “Then let’s get this over with.”
Xander inclines his head, then strides forward, leaving Vlad and me to follow behind. Before Xander steps onto the porch, he pulls out his phone and taps the screen a few times. The porch light turns on.
“The interior walls are lined with an industrial electrification system.” Vlad supplies the reason for Xander’s actions.
“So Eli doesn’t escape.”
Vlad shakes his head. “So he doesn’t destroy the cabin. Again.”
Something hits Xander the moment he opens the door. He shoves hard against whatever’s in front of him. Eli is my guess. His snarls carry from the open door. Xander’s body blocks my view of the inside of the place, however. After a moment, he disappears inside. Vlad crosses the space between us and the open door and slips inside.
With my black wolf, the one with the keenest instincts where people are concerned, close to my psyche, I cross the threshold, then close the door behind me.
Complete darkness surrounds us for a moment before Vlad turns a table lamp on. The light is convenient but unnecessary. Eli’s growls and the pulse of his anger, a display to rival his older brother, alerts me to Eli’s location. Held to the wall with Xander’s clawed hand around his throat, he’s not getting to me unless Eli’s willing to attack his alpha. Eli’s balled fists hanging loosely at his sides tells me he has enough restraint to resist killing his brother.
That’s a good sign. It’s not one that would stop the label “feral” from being tacked on to him. But it’s something. I’ll take it.
Eli whips his head to Xander. “You brought death to me?”
Vlad steps next to them and grabs a fistful of Eli’s red hair, then jerks his head forward so he’s staring at me. “Do you remember what I told you about angels, Elijah?”
More snarls fall from Eli’s fang-filled mouth. He pushes against the two males restraining him, bucking against their bodies and forcing Xander and Vlad to shove Eli harder against the wall. It’s his eyes that tell more than the aggressive posture Eli’s taking toward my presence.
Insanity looks back at me. My wolf supplies the assessment through a series of images and emotions it feeds me. Eli’s a lost cause. His wolves have had too much control over the man for too long. Their instincts don’t simply enhance the man’s fighting skills. They’ve transformed him into a honed killer, exactly as Dante described.
Death is the safest solution. Restrained the way he is, Eli’s execution will be quick. He won’t suffer. One twist and yank, and his head will separate from his body.
I accept the assessment my wolf supplies as truth, then push it aside and meet Eli’s crazed gaze. “Answer your pack mate, Killer.”
More snarls, more growls. Eli’s expression twists, rage bleeding through. Sharpened nails extend from his fingers. He curls them, piercing his own palms.
Vlad cracks Eli’s head off the wall, then leans close, nose to nose. “I asked you a question. What did I tell you about angels?”
“That when you look one in the eye…” Eli strains his head to the side and meets my gaze. “Death passes over you.”
“That day,” I add. “It means death won’t claim your life. That day, Killer. Tomorrow’s another day, though.”
“Then let me have a go with you.” The crazed glint to Eli’s green eyes fades. His voice lowers, hardens. “I’ll make sure you won’t come back tomorrow.”
Chuckling, I turn to the door. “There are other angels. If you want to make sure they don’t come for you, meet me outside. Alone.”
“I can’t go outside alone.” Eli’s voice trails after me.
I stop but don’t look back at him. “Why? Are you afraid of the dark?”
“No.” The harsh word drops between us.
With quick, practiced motions, I undress, leaving my clothes and boots in the middle of the clearing. Finally, I turn and face the open door. I can’t see where Eli’s being held against the wall from this spot, but sight isn’t the only way to see. I hear him, smell him, feel the fury simmering within him. I want to own it, to force this crazed male to kneel before me.
Oh yeah, this is what I’ve missed: the power. Dante made me work for the right to own his future. Eli will too. I don’t doubt it. Once he does, however, he’ll make a deadly protégé.
“Then hunt me, Killer, and I’ll show you what it’s like to own the night.” With that, I shift into my white wolf and lope into the woods. Once the darkness swallows me, I run, pushing my wolf’s body. I want to reach the creek before Eli catches me.
The scent of water in the air directs my wolf’s feet, leading us to the small waterfall I heard in the distance during the walk to Eli’s cabin. The fall isn’t as high as I’d like, but the rocks at the bottom, causing the water to churn and twist, fits my needs.
Once I reach the top of the waterfall, the soft crunch of a twig alerts me to the shifter closing in on me. I step into the icy water, the chill bleeding into my wolf’s paws. I stand there as numbness spreads up my legs, and a gasp shudders in my wolf’s chest, the cold bone-deep, then drop to my belly.
Water flows over me, lifting my white fur as the current rushes to the edge of the creek bed. My body temperature drops. I don’t counter it. I wait for my heart to race. After a moment, the beat picks up, my heart attempting to escape my chest. My blood pressure spikes next, building pressure in my head and leaving my mind foggy and my muscles leaden. Then I crouch lower until only my nose is above the water and embrace the frigid conditions.
As a shifter, there’s literally no need to feel the effects of the cold shock. My body responds to my will. As a Royal, neither hypothermia nor drowning will end my life. I’ll suffer, though. I already am. The icy pain is a part of me. I welcome it and the benefit of it that will save Eli’s life.
Blood doesn’t flow as well in the cold.
Eli’s black wolf approaches the creek. Lips raised on a silent snarl and saliva dripping from its mouth, the beast looks as deadly and vicious as the images my wolf painted to describe Eli’s mental state. The crazed look in the black wolf’s green eyes mimics what met me when I stepped into his cabin. Like this, Eli will fight with every primal instinct he possesses, the last beat of my heart on his wolf’s tongue its only goal.
Oh yes. This male will kill me in a heartbeat. One screwup and I’ll lose, betraying my vow to Sara before I can even face the assassin coming for me. Good thing I have no intention of failing Sara or Eli. The black wolf’s hot breath fogging the air around him is almost as good as a guarantee.
Years of training preps my body and wolves for the moment Eli steps into the water. I tug on the tether tying me to my gray wolf, the strongest of the three, and draw him close. My white wolf’s body fades, and my werewolf form emerges, gray hair covering my knuckles and hunched shoulders.
Quicker than Eli can act, I dig clawed hands into the black wolf’s flank and tumble us over the edge of the waterfall.
Water engulfs us. Eli’s muzzle opens, the cold shock gripping him and filling his black wolf’s lungs with icy water. I pull us deeper so reaching the water’s surface becomes an impossible goal. My leaden muscles move, responding to my commands exactly as I’ve trained them to do, and I curl my clawed hands into Eli. His wolf’s body jerks as I rip him open and tear his organs to shreds. Blood darkens the water. Eli’s blood.
Finally, Eli reacts, the initial effects of the cold water fading. He raises his core temperature, keeping it higher than the water around us. Inwardly, I smile at the response most shifters would have when forced to endure these conditions. My new protégé has much to learn. This first lesson will be the hardest, though. Whether he survives it or not is up to him.
Energy coils his muscles, and he lashes out at me. His fanged mouth connects with my shoulder while his rear legs push against my chest, trying to break my hold. Had my muscles not already been rigid, I might’ve released him. My curled fingers are locked, however. Only breaking them will free him.
Eli shifts from wolf to man. He grabs my wrist and yanks one hand from where it’s dug into his side. I let him squeeze harder, my bones crunching.
Then I move.
Rolling our bodies, I slam my fist into Eli’s chest, breaking ribs, and dig deep until my claw-tipped fingers find my prize. The pulsating organ in my grasp beats strongly. I curl my fingers, my sharpened nails piercing Eli’s heart, then I meet Eli’s green eyes even as he claws at my body, trying to reach inside and seize my heart. I don’t stop his attempts to defeat me. I don’t take his life either. I hold it in the palm of my hand. And wait, giving Eli the choice.
He exhales, the last of his air escaping in a few bubbles to the surface, and the clawed hands dug into my sides slip free. Within moments, the damage he’s inflicted into my body heals. A few moments later, so do his injuries, all except for the hole in his chest where my arm is impaled.
His body’s temperature falls, and his racing heart slows. It doesn’t stop. The beat turns rhythmic, matching mine in a slow, echoing pulse I feel in my veins.
I smile, a few air bubbles escaping my mouth, and wrap my free arm under his body, locking it to mine, then kick, forcing our bodies to the surface.
Eli’s head lolls back once we break the top, firm kicks from my legs keeping us there. His aware gaze meets mine, but he makes no attempt to purge the water from his lungs or break free of my death grip. He stares at me, not in anger or in defeat. He waits on me.
“Well, Killer?” I lean closer, digging my claws a little deeper into Eli’s heart, causing it to stutter. “Do you want to own the night or die a failure?”
Eli turns his head, water trickling out of his mouth. I tighten my arm around his chest, compressing his lungs. More water pours from his nose and mouth. I ease my hold on his heart as coughing shakes his body, but I don’t pull my hand free. Eli hasn’t given his answer yet.
He breathes harshly for a moment before turning his head to look into my eyes. “I can’t fail her.”
The words send trepidation into me. “A woman?”
“Mine.” Eli growls the word. “She’s mine, even if she doesn’t want to be.”
“Then you can prove it to her after you own the night. Give me your blood vow, and I will teach you to be one with the dark.”
“You’re the one who turned Dante into an angel.”
“And I’ll turn you into one. A true killer, not the beast the cage fights turned you into. One vow, Elijah Winchester. That’s all I need.” And once I have his blood vow, his life is mine until I release him as I did with Dante when I sent him out on his own. The ancient vow, one of the few reminders of our shamanic origins, will compel Eli to follow my commands or suffer excruciating pain.
Eli exhales, then nods. “My blood is yours. My life is yours. When you call, I will kneel, my will yours to command.”
Power flows between us, completing the blood vow. I yank my hand from his chest and drag him to the creek’s edge. Once there, I crouch over my new protégé. “I will call on you in a few days with your next lesson. In the meantime, I have some stuff to deal with.”
“What kind of stuff?”
I wipe my bloody fingers over his cheek. It’s Eli’s blood, but it’s fitting. He is his own enemy. “Death is coming for me.”
“An assassin is coming for you?” Eli’s brows pinch.
“Yes, but I won’t fail my woman. Gave her my vow.” I stand just as Xander breaks the tree line. “And now I need to call in another vow.”
Xander glances from Eli to me. “Thank you for—”
“What does the Hunter know of my alpha?”
“Nothing, but if you’re lucky, Gabriel will talk to you.”
I close the distance between us and step into Xander’s personal space. “What are you talking about?”
“Their souls are tied together. Not exactly a soul bonding. More like the bond alphas share with their pack’s spirit.”
“Gabriel’s not dead.” I would’ve felt his death.
“No, no, he’s not, but he needs to die. Or the Hunter does. They both have one foot in the grave now.”
I curl my hand around Xander’s throat. “No games, Alpha. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I’ll take you to the Hunter, then you can see for yourself.”