Seeing Zeth and Nick head for the cages, I went for the dark passage ahead, the one that screamed, “The boss hangs out here!” He’d have some of the answers I needed.
A flicker of satisfaction sparked low in my chest as I watched the others move together, efficient and deadly. My crew. My—fuck.I’d just wanted to call themmates.
Admitting it felt like a punch to the ribs, but the warmth that filled the space was nice and calming. My head dipped, and there it was, the tattoo winding up my arm. The inked vines shimmered, the buds at their tips glowing soft as they pulsed. I couldfeelthem, like their roots were reaching inside of me, knocking against the locked door where I’d kept my heart buried. All they needed was permission to come in.
I clenched my fist.No. Not now.
There was still a bastard to find, a bastard who knew things. I didn’t have time to waste on glowing vines and soul-bonded men. Maybethatwas the reason Ezra had pushed for the tattoo in the first place—to keep us from being distracted.
My heart thudded harder despite knowing that. My wolf stirred restlessly, prowling just beneath the skin. She wanted this done, fast, so she could get back tothem.
The same wolf that had slept for years, waking only for blood and battle, now panted at the thought of her mates. Who knew she would be like this? I didn’t.
Snarling under my breath, I told her to get her head on straight, squared my shoulders, and pressed on. The faster I tore through this boss and got what we needed, the faster I could figure out what the hell this bond meant… for all of us.
Just as the rockface veered left, a cry split the air, sharp and desperate. It was followed by the wet sound of flesh parting under a blade and a rhythmic chant that made my skin crawl.What the fuck is that?
I pressed my back to the wall, inching forward until I could peer around the bend.
The space beyond opened into a crude excuse for an office. A desk cobbled together from crates was off to the side. Atop it, a lantern burned low, and papers were scattered like fallen leaves all over the ground. In the center stood a bulky turned werewolf in human form, his eyes an unnatural green that glowed like chemical fire.
I knew every pack in my territory, every scent that drifted through my streets, and his smell didn’t belong to any of them. He was a ghost in my domain… one who’d been hiding right under my fucking nose.
“No looze endz,” he said, voice flat and accented. I thought it was Russian since the s’s turned into z’s. The knife in his hand pulsed faintly as he said that chant again. Threads of magic lifted offthe corpse at his feet, drawing into the blade until it flared violet then settled.
Pain tugged at my thigh, sharp and sudden. That knife. The one Frank had sliced me with. How the hell did this bastard havethatknife?
He lifted his head slightly, nostrils flaring as he stared into the black space around him. “I can smell you, Syndicate,” he said, almost amused. “Your kind always holds the stench of power.”
So much for stealth.
I straightened and stepped out into the open. “You know,” I said back, my voice edged with a grin, “that’s the first time anyone’s used ‘power’ and ‘stench’ in the same sentence. Pretty sure that’s not the compliment you think it is.”
His head tipped back as laughter boomed through the cave, bouncing off stone until it sounded less human and more monster—low, cold, and far too pleased with himself.
He lazily waved the knife, the blade catching the dim light as his smile curved sharp.
“You know,” he said almost playfully, “I told them we should justtakeyou. Change you. Watch that confidence in your eyes fade the moment real power sinks its claws into you. The moment youunderstandwhat it feels like to know you’re inferior.”
I made a show of kicking at the ground and pouting my lips. “Aw, shucks,” I said. “Guess I’ll have to stay like this, then. Just plain old, awesome me.”
A chuckle escaped him before his body began to tremble. Muscles ballooned beneath his skin, and dark veins begancrawling up his neck. Saliva pooled at the corners of his mouth, dripping onto the floor, hissing when it hit the stone.
I shifted on my feet as his ears stretched into points, fur cutting through the flesh around them. He wasn’t a wolf—not exactly. He looked like he was something that had gottenstuckhalfway, a monster built out of bad magic and arrogance. His eyes burned neon green, bright enough to stain the air around him.
“I’ll let youtasteit,” he snarled, jamming the knife deep into the rock wall. The blade hummed, alive. “One hit to the chest would kill you, so I’ll make sure you get the full demonstration.”
I blinked, and he vanished.
Instinct told me to move, so I ducked and jumped to the side. My eyes landed on the space my head was, hearing the loud crack as the rock crumbled underneath his fist. He turned slowly, grinning, those neon eyes looking like a Halloween decoration, before he came at me again.
This time, my wolf snapped to the surface, bones and fur shifting so quickly that as soon as my back paws met the ground, I launched forward. My fangs found his thigh and sank deep, tearing into the engorged muscle, making it into roast beef.
His roar shook the cave, a sound too big for the space. He swung for me, but I was smaller, faster,hungrier, so I slipped out from under the blow. In fluid motion, I launched myself at the rock wall, pushed off on all fours, and twisted to land on his back. My claws tore into his massive flesh, slicing it to ribbons and tearing out chunks with my teeth. Flesh gave way in a wet, satisfying tear.
Blood slammed into my fur, boiling and metallic, thick as rot in the air. It spattered against the stone behind me, a brutal cadence that set my pulse dancing in time.
Adrenaline burned through me, flooding every nerve. My hearing sharpened until I could catch every ragged inhale, every crack of muscle beneath his skin.
