Once Upon a Shifter (59 page)

Roel slowly stood from his chair and glared down at Phoenix. "What did you do?"

Phoenix shrugged. "Mena's blood was on the towel Lea cleaned her wound with after she was bitten. It was added to Meridia's spell, and now we are all linked together. If something happens to one of us, it happens to all of us."

"You had the witches put a nexus spell on us because you were afraid the wolf would kill you?" Roel asked in disbelief.

Phoenix leaned forward, letting his elbows rest on his knees as he looked up at Roel. "No, Mena made me promise that I would kill her if the wolf ever attempted to kill me. I had to find a way to keep the wolf from ever trying."

"So, if Mena dies…"

Phoenix nodded. "We all die."

Roel's shoulders slumped as he stared at the stupidest person he had ever met in his entire life. "I'm not even going to ask if you're joking, because I can see by the dumb look on your face that you aren't. Is it reversible?"

The High Vampire pursed his lips and slowly shook his head. "That was one thing Meridia warned me about before she did it. We're immortal, Roel. How was I supposed to know something like this would happen?"

"Maybe it would have been a good idea to ask one of us werewolves to explain a little about the way we are before you go linking us all together, asshole!" Roel shouted, and then slapped the glass tumbler out of Phoenix's hand. He'd hoped that would have outraged the vampire enough to make him hit him, because he really, really wanted to hit him back. Unfortunately, Phoenix didn't even stand up. Roel took a step back and turned toward the door, so he could possibly think clearly again. "What else will this affect? Is it just if one of us dies that we all die or—"

"Anything that any of us experience will affect all of us in some way."

"So I can't kick your ass without feeling every blow I deliver?"

"That's right," Phoenix replied, "and when you get laid, we'll all know about that, too."

Roel gave a short, derisive laugh. "You did this so you would know when the wolf is fucking Rhodes, didn't you?"

"Actually, that's not something I care to be aware about at all, Roel. I know it will happen; the wolf is adamant about making him hers. Agreeing to that was the only way Mena and I could be together."

"But you thought, if there was no way she could kill you without killing herself that you would get Mena all to yourself."

"The thought did cross my mind."

"You are so selfish—"

"Tell me what you would have done differently!" Phoenix demanded.

"As a werewolf, I damn sure wouldn't have a vampire as my girlfriend! If she even nips your lip while kissing you, we're all as good as dead. You aren't going to have to worry about the wolf keeping you from her; there's no way Mena's pack is going to let you get anywhere near her from now on, and the only reason I'm not kicking your ass is because it would hurt her!"

"A bite won't hurt me if she isn't at least half shifted, Roel; you know that, and as soon as that bitch wolf knows that, you know she will be extra careful where she puts her canines. Nobody is going to keep me from her; you'd be dumb to try it."

"What are you going to do, kill me? We've already established how that's all going to end for the six of us involved—"

Simultaneously, Roel and Phoenix's heads jerked back, and they both covered their noses as crimson stained their skin.

With wide eyes, Phoenix looked at his blood-soaked fingers. "Where is Mena?"

"Interrogating Dana," Roel said, but before he even got the words out of his mouth, Phoenix was running for the door.

v''''v

Phoenix

Mena was going to be pissed! Phoenix thought as he and Roel ran for the others. Why Mena was bleeding quickly surpassed his worry of the ass-chewing he was bound to get from her later.

An invisible hand punched him in the gut, and Roel grunted from behind him.

"Yeah, this was a fucking brilliant idea, Phoenix," Roel growled. "I don't think you're going to have to worry about any of us or the wolf killing you. I'm pretty sure Mena's going to do it herself."

"This could have all been prevented if her pack had told her to name the damn wolf, so don't blame me for everything when your hands aren't even clean, Pup. I won't be the only one who has disappointed her by the end of the day."

Roel threw out his hand to keep the door closed when Phoenix grabbed the doorknob of the cell room. "We can't tell her about the wolf's name, not until we figure out what it is—"

Phoenix glared at him. "Why the hell not?"

"When the wolf finds out we are trying to figure out her name, she'll take over Mena and run away so we can't find them."

Phoenix's eyes narrowed as he thought about that. "She's going to leave me for this anyway."

Roel shook his head. "I'll make you a deal; if you keep this a secret and help us figure out the wolf's name, we will help you make this shit plan of yours sound good to Mena later."

Phoenix hissed and quickly looked at his forearm as a long gash appeared and blood poured freely from the wound. He didn't bother giving Roel's arm a look before he jerked the door open and stormed through it. "Deal," he growled over his shoulder.

Blood was everywhere, and Phoenix had to slow his pace and stop breathing altogether to keep from getting overwhelmed by it.

Lea's eyes were wide as she stared at him in horror from her hunkered position in the corner. He motioned with his hand toward the door, and she jumped to her feet and ran as fast as her mortal legs would allow. She didn't need to see this.

Brad and Heath were standing as close to the silver bars of the cage as they could, without actually touching it, shouting at Mena to open the cage door, blood pouring from their nostrils and arms just as it was Roel and him. It was obvious from their terrified expressions that they had figured out something was terribly off with the scene playing out before them.

Roel was right; linking them all together was a horrible idea—no, he'd said it was a shit plan. It was that, too.

Shit plan or not, he had to focus on the problem at hand. Mena and the traitor were circling each other in the ten-by-ten cage, and by the vertical burn marks on Dana's face, it was clear Mena had shoved the girl's face into the silver bars more than once. He wanted to take the time to have a proud moment, but he really needed to stop this before the girl got a lucky stab in with that silver-coated blade she had gripped in her right hand.

"She's got the only key!" Heath shouted to Phoenix.

"She won't listen to us!" Brad said. "You gotta get her out of there!"

Phoenix dug in his pocket and retrieved a ring of keys then quickly opened the cage door and rushed inside. Dodging one of Dana's wild swings, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around until her back was up against his chest, her arm bent at an odd angle between them. Still gripping that wrist tight, he jerked until her arm dislocated from her shoulder and she screamed in agony. The silver blade slipped from her fingers and clattered to the cement flooring.

Glaring at the silver eyes of Mena's wolf over Dana's shoulder, Phoenix said in a low and dangerous voice, "What the hell are you trying to do, get yourself killed?"

Mena shrugged nonchalantly. "I was giving her the challenge she asked for. It's not exactly fair for her or fun for me if she's tied to a chair when she dies." Her expression turned confused when she saw the blood on his face and arm. "Did you get into a fight?"

His gaze shifted to Roel as he answered her. "Not exactly."

She looked at Roel and then to Heath and Brad, immediately noticing their injuries. "What happened to the four of you?" Her eyes darted back to Phoenix and she scowled as her fists came up to rest on her hips. "Have you been fighting with my pack—?"

Phoenix shoved Dana down on the chair and began shackling her to it. The girl didn't resist. Guess she was smarter than he thought she was. After he finished, he pointed at her as he glared at Mena. "You are going to do this the unfair and unfun way, because we are getting tired of you letting her get jabs in!"

She raised an eyebrow as she studied him. "Are you suggesting that I had anything to do with the reason why all of you look like you've been in a bar fight? I've been locked in this cage with that tramp for the last ten minutes."

"Look at yourself, Mena," Roel said. "Our injuries are the same as—" Roel's sentence was cut short when Dana began cackling.

They all turned their heads and watched her as she brayed.

"The bitch has lost her damn mind," Heath said.

"Will you make her stop that, Mena?" Brad said. "I can't hit a girl. I'd kill one in wolf form, but I can't hit one, not like this."

Mena punched Dana in the mouth, knocking her head back, but she only laughed harder. "What's so funny?"

"You are!" Dana said, and burst out with laughter again.

"The fact that I'm about to torture you until your immortal shell is lifeless is funny to you? I find that hilarious, too, but I'll save my titters for later, after I've poured your ashes into the Alabama River."

Dana became quiet and looked up at Mena through her lashes. "You're supposed to be an Alpha and you don't even know what your own pack and this vampire have done to you. That is what is so
fucking
funny, Pack Leader," she sneered.

Mena blinked in confusion, but she didn't risk a glance at Phoenix who uncomfortably shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "What are you talking about, girl?"

Dana sighed. "Look at them," she said, and Mena did. "I bet if you picked that dagger up and shoved it through your heart, you'd all die. Looks to me like you're all linked together by a nexus spell, and he will only have to kill the weakest link in order to kill you all. I wonder whose bright idea that was," she said, and grinned as she turned her head to look at Phoenix.

"He will?" Brad said. "Don't you mean she will? As in Jessica?"

Phoenix swallowed as he made eye contact with her. Brad's question seemed important to him, but Mena—or her wolf, rather—wasn't hearing anything right now. Shit! "Mena, we need to talk—"

Mena's eyes flashed silver and she growled, low and menacingly.

He held his palms out toward her. "Hear me out—"

There was no slow shifting this time as she gave Phoenix a murderous glare. Mena dropped to her hands and knees and a massive silver wolf burst from her human body, crouched low and ready to pounce on him.

His eyes widened in fear, and then he was swiftly jerked from the cage by Roel.

"Talk later, dummy," Roel said. "She's not going to listen to you right now."

Heath slammed the cage door, locked it, then jerked the key free just as the wolf's claws came through the bars, barely missing his arm.

The wolf snarled at the four men, baring her razor sharp teeth.

"You can't kill him, Mena," Roel said, and silver eyes fell on him. "Dana is right. If any of us die, we all die, including you. We did it to protect you, because we would all die to protect our Alpha. He pointed to Dana and the girl's smile faltered. "She's the enemy, not us!"

After a long, agonizing moment, the wolf finally turned and stalked toward Dana.

Dana's eyes grew wide, but she barely had time to open her mouth to scream before Mena's claws were sinking deep into her flesh and her teeth into her throat.

To Phoenix, it looked more like the wolf was showing them what would happen to them once they unlocked the door. Maybe leaving her in there until they figured out the wolf's name wasn't a bad idea, he thought. Meridia had said there was no going back after the nexus spell took effect, but the witch had lied to him before; she could do anything if the money bag was heavy enough.

"She's not going to be satisfied with that kill," Roel muttered under his breath to Phoenix. "I pray she values her own life more than she does ours."

"Amen," Phoenix said as he watched Mena rip Dana apart, one limb at a time.

"Are you going to let her out?" Heath said.

Phoenix's phone vibrated in his pocket and he took it out to read the text message.

I'm still at the law firm but Mena isn't answering her phone. I fell asleep and woke up feeling sick. Should I go inside and look for her?

Phoenix knew very well why Rhodes felt sick, and he huffed as he glanced up at the wolf. Dana was in pieces, scattered all over the cell and the wolf was staring at him with a blood-red face and rage in those silver eyes.

"Your boyfriend wants to know if he should go inside the law firm building and look for you. Should I take a picture of you like this and tell him what you are or are you going to cooperate with us?"

After a moment, the wolf's eyes turned to a pale green and her body began to shift back to human form.

Mena stood upright and walked to the cage door, naked. "I need a shower, and then I would like to go home. We're not staying here any longer."

"Mena, it's not safe to stay at your house. Jessica knows…" Brad said, but her calm gaze settled on him and he stopped talking.

"Then I will stay with Alex. Tell him to come pick me up now. I don't trust any of you anymore."

Phoenix let out an exasperated sigh. "Don't be angry with them. This was all my doing. They didn't even know—"

Mena turned around to look at the floor, then went to retrieve her shredded jeans. She reached inside the pocket, pulled out her cell phone and began typing out a text to Rhodes.

"Wait—Mena, don't text him," Phoenix pleaded as he reached through the bars and placed a hand over her bloody ones. "Meridia requested that we bring you with us tonight. Maybe she can do something to reverse the nexus spell. Rhodes is coming, too. You can leave with him after we meet with the witches. I won't stop you."

Mena pressed her lips together then nodded. "Fine. Let me out."

Phoenix eyed her stony expression, and let the regret he was feeling show in his own features as he unlocked the cage door and let her out.