Authors: Shannan Albright
He gritted his
teeth against the rise of excitement as the beast inside him rose to the
surface, anxious to begin this night’s slaughter. The fragile thread tethering
his humanity snapped
,
leaving the beast in charge as
Cody drowned in the red haze filling his mind.
****
Dressed in the
clothes
Ja’mel
had brought him that morning, Zeke
scanned the large atrium with a cautious eye, and his skin prickled as the air
around him thrummed with impending violence. The atmosphere clashed with the
Zen-like décor of the room done in soft pastels of blues and greens. Several
large overstuffed chairs and bamboo end tables all faced a wall of
plexiglass
filled with fish moving among the rocks and
plastic greenery. Their coloring was an exotic mix of vivid reds, yellows and
blues.
Zeke’s attention
locked onto the men waiting for him. Tegan leaned up against the wall nearest
the arched doorway with
Ryes’s
massive form looming
behind. Christophe reclined in a chair, his long lean body tense. His tortured
eyes turned in Zeke’s direction, and his gut twisted with sympathy for what he
must be going
through.Adrian’s
brow rose in a silent
question, studying
Laris
and
Ja’mel
,
who stood on either side of him.
Navar
, the newest
recruit, stood off from the others looking capable enough, but only seeing him
in battle would tell if he could fully integrate with the team.
“Where’re Marcus
and
Tambra
?” Zeke’s question hung in the air as all
eyes turned to the new arrivals.
Temple Fox
strolled in, Leola on his arm. She looked stunning in a simple tailored suit of
deep aqua, the pencil skirt enhancing the long lean length of her legs encased
in simple low heeled pumps. Her dark skin glowed with vitality, the ebony of
her hair pulled away from a delicate oval face to fall in a riot of curls down
her back. The air thickened with sudden tension as Lucien, Temple’s ever
present shadow, followed behind the two.
Tegan sprang for
the man’s throat with a low savage growl, throwing Lucien against the wall, one
taloned
hand pressing relentlessly against his
throat. “I owe you for what you did to Kyra, and I promise it will be long,
slow, and very, very painful.”
With a curse
Temple tried to shove Tegan away from Lucien, who clawed at the hand cutting
off his air supply, his scar showing stark white against the reddening of his
face. “Whatever Lucien did, he was under
my
orders.”
“Then I’ll get
to you
after
I’m though with this
asshole,” Tegan gritted out between clenched teeth.
“Enough! What
the hell is going on here?” Marcus’s voice cracked like a clap of thunder
stopping everyone in their tracks. As one every head swung toward their
leader’s towering form, as anger pulsed off him in waves of stinging energy.
“Oh, I am going
to love hearing this.”
Tambra
snorted derisively at
Marcus’s side. She looked no less formidable with her hair whipping around her
in agitation. Even heavy with the twins only weeks from birth, she carried an
aura of danger for anyone who would dare cross her.
Tegan leaned
close to Lucien’s ear. “You just got real lucky, bastard.” He hissed before
shoving away from him, turning his back on the man who struggled to regain his
breath. “Are you going to tell me why the hell he’s here?” Tegan demanded
jabbing a finger in Lucien’s direction.
“He’s here
because we need every seasoned fighter we can get.” Zeke moved forward standing
before Temple, Lucien, and Leola. “This is my call, so if you have a problem with
it, you deal with me.”Adrian, his face a mask of calm hiding all emotion,
studied the group assembled. “It was only a matter of time before this clash
came. Tegan has every right to be angry for what was done to his mate, but now
is not the time to address such grievances. If we are to win this battle we
must stand as one.”
Laris
chuckled. “Nice
way to state the obvious,
Sidhe
.”
“I do what I
must.” Adrian gave her a small smile.
“I had hoped to
avoid the confrontation until the summit was concluded,” Marcus ruefully
continued. “Now, you have Tam and me here, and the leaders are safely tucked
away at HQ.
When the fighting starts
Tambra
and Leola will make good their escape through the tunnels.”
“And you?” Zeke
demanded. “With all due respect, you are going with them.”
“I am still the
leader of this team, and my place is here fighting with my men.”Adrian sighed.
“Unfortunately, you are thinking like a warrior instead of a politician. You
are too valuable to risk in this fight.”
“Unfortunately?”
Marcus repeated,
eyes widening with disbelief. “I’ve been a warrior for over two thousand
years.”
“When you took
the mantle of leader for all dark breeds with this summit, you changed all
that,” Tegan reminded him pointedly. “You seem to have a problem understanding how
important you are as the figurehead of all of the breeds, not to mention that
you have a family on the way. What if something happened to you? Your babies
would grow up without a father. Here’s a newsflash for you, buddy, you are not
the leader of the Enforcers anymore, and you damn well know it. You need to
hand over those reins to someone else.”
The room held
its breath, waiting for their leader’s reaction to Tegan’s harsh but true
assessment of the situation. The tension left Marcus’s body as he shook his
head. “You’re right, but until I do hand over the reins you
will
keep me informed. Tegan, for now
you have to put away your vendetta against Lucien and work with him. Am I
making myself clear?”
“While you are
cloistered away in talks be assured we will see to the
ferals
’
problem. As for Amari, she is my responsibility to attend to,”
Ja’mel
said.
“No, she is
ours
.” Hard and implacable, Zeke’s voice
rang through the room. “We will give you the kill if we can, but I refuse to
risk anyone in this venture for the sake of vengeance alone.”
Challenge
glittered from
Ja’mel’s
dark eyes. “Then it looks
like I will have to be sure not to miss any opening to take her out.”
Zeke felt
Laris’s
small hand in his, squeezing his reassuringly. He
looked at each man, knowing their strengths and weaknesses, and prayed to
Poseidon it would be enough to stop Amari, for if they failed the world hung in
the balance.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Amari couldn’t
help the smile spreading over her lips as she watched Marcus and
Tambra
pass her hiding place. Obscured by a large potted
palm she hunched in the tight corner of the alcove. The Enforcers’ destruction
was at hand, and the thought left her giddy with exhilaration. Soon, no one
would stand between her and absolute control.
Getting her army
of
ferals
inside the tight security had seemed almost
too easy, and what with the help of dear sweet Edwin and the psychotic Doctor
Haub
, her forces had swelled to more than a thousand. Even
now they mixed with the media crews in the main room where the leaders would
met after the summit. A summit doomed to fail. Marcus would be discredited in
front of the world, and she would step in and make order out of chaos, no one
the wiser of her duplicity.
In a matter of
hours the world would be handed to her on a silver platter, albeit a bloody
one, but she wouldn’t be picky about how it came about.
Would she allow
Marcus to live?
And what of
Ja’mel
and
Laris
?
So many choices
to make.
The Enforcers of course would have to go. She couldn’t give
anyone even the slightest thread of hope. Her rule needed to be absolute. No,
Marcus and his pregnant whore would have to be sacrificed for the greater good,
along with
Ja’mel
and
Laris
.
She waited for
any stab of regret to form within her, but none seemed to be forthcoming, Oh
well, no surprise there. Time and again she watched others less deserving be
rewarded for her efforts.
Never
again.
After tonight
everything would change. She would hold the world by the balls and squeeze
until every slight, harsh word, and misdeed was put to rights. She alone would
be judge, jury, and executioner.
Life couldn’t be
sweeter.
****
Ja’mel
gritted his
teeth, irritation coming off his tense body in waves. “
I
will have my vengeance. Her crimes against her own blood cannot
stand.
Our law, our right.”
“I don’t give a
fuck about your laws right now,
Ja’mel
,” Zeke bit
out, his patience fraying. “I’m more concerned with keeping from being
slaughtered in the battle waiting for us in the other room.”
“To die in
battle for a good cause is considered an honor. I don’t fear death.”
Ja’mel
let his disdain seep from his words.
“Well, I kind of
like the idea of breathing,” Tegan growled, eyes narrowed on the Mer.
“We
all
do,” Zeke snapped. “We all watch
each other’s backs, as we always do. There is a large force of highly trained
warriors waiting for our signal to move in and surround the feral army. We got
this.”
Navar
, who’d held his
tongue up to this moment, stepped forward, away from his consort Mari’s side.
“I have spent thousands of years in battle to protect innocents. I know the
warrior edict of dying well. Every civilization from ancient to modern times
lived by that motto. I, for one, have found something which gives all of the
blood and battle meaning.”
Navar’s
intense blue eyes
slid to
Ja’mel
. “Knowing the love of a mate is worth
fighting for. To keep her safe I would lay down my life.”
“As
I would for
Navar
.”
Mari spoke up,
her voice strong and clear. The petite, curvy Egyptian, hair in long braids
decorated with beads, smiled up at her mate. “This fight is for something far
more precious than protecting the weak and innocent. It’s protecting a way of
life, of love and a future for our children that is not filled with fears or
prejudice.”
Mari caressed
the swell of her belly, a soft smile playing on her full lips as her gaze swept
the room around her. “I am here today, not to fight with
Navar
,
even though I would if he would let me. I’m here to support what you all are
here for.
To protect our future, not for vengeance,
Ja’mel
.
There is so much more to this battle than
that. We are fighting for our right to exist, to love and build our future in a
world free of tyranny. And from what I’ve seen of Amari’s handiwork, if she
ever succeeded with her plans the entire world would be enslaved.”
“Enough talk
about reasons. Vengeance, love, and future I don’t give a gods’ damn,”
Christophe snapped. “Just one thing matters to me. Cody. If anyone sees Cody,
you restrain him and nothing more. Cody is not to be touched.”
Marcus gave him
a hard stare, and Zeke knew he was searching for the right words to say. “I
understand how hard this is for you. The sire bond is not to be treated
lightly. You must remember, though, Cody has been forced to feed dead blood. We
have no idea how much damage this has done to him and if it even can be
reversed.”
“I am not a
fool. I am well aware of the unknowns.” Christophe rose from the chair and
glared at each person in the room. “If Cody cannot be saved, then I will be the
one to take him down.”
No one spoke as
they watched Christophe leave the room with determined strides. Silence hung
like a heavy pall as everyone clearly struggled with the reality of the odds
Cody could ever come back from what was done to him.
Zeke turned to
Laris
, pulling her into his arms. Gods, she felt so right
pressed up against him, and for just one moment he reveled in the sense of
peace she brought to him, even with the upcoming battle looming like a black
cloud on their horizon and their future uncertain.
“I want you to
go with Marcus.”
“No
way.
My place is by your side.” She refused with a stubborn tilt of her chin.
“I could use
your skills to keep
Tambra
and Leola safe.” Marcus
let out
an
oof
of air as
Tambra’s
elbow contacted solidly with his stomach.
“I am quite
capable of taking care of a few
ferals
, and you know
it. I am not now, nor ever will be, helpless.”
Tambra
sniffed.
“I also know a
thing or two when it comes to self-defense,” Leola chimed in.
“They both seem
more than capable of handling things.”
Laris
straightened her spine, determination in every tense line of her body, her gaze
never leaving his face. “Like I just said, my place is by your side. I have
been trained to fight even if I haven’t seen combat.”