Rouen Chronicles Box Set

by Raven Steele

  “I don’t want to die,” I gasped, finally finding my voice.

  “You won’t. The silver is gone. Rest now because you’re going to need all the strength you have for what comes next. I promise you though, Briar, you won’t be alone. You can trust me to get you out of this.”

  Comforted by his words and the feel of his gentle touch against my skin, my breathing slowed. He was right. What came next could be my greatest battle yet. Silas was dead and Dominic would want revenge.

  For now, I had to trust Luke would take care of me. There was nothing else I could do, especially with darkness threatening to overtake me again.

  And so I gave into it.

  For I was a Moretti, daughter to Apollo, the great Alpha of the Silver Moon pack, and Morettis never go quietly into the night.

  As soon as I wake and have gathered my strength, I will be the dawn that destroys the darkness of Rouen.

  It is my destiny.

  A Shifter’s Rage

  A Rouen Urban Fantasy 2

  Quote

  “Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves

  him less than he had been before - it takes something from him.”

  * * *

  ~ Louis L'Amour

  Chapter 1

  Blood stained my hands like rust flaking off old metal. The scent of it was finally fading, but my wolf could still smell the muted tang of the dried blood, coppery and sweet.

  Well, as sweet as revenge can smell.

  Two names had been burned in my memory for years, my own personal to-kill list. I’d killed Number Two, and now, I was imprisoned by Number One.

  I looked around me, barely able to focus on the dirty, putrid concrete walls that held me. Iron bars lined the front of the room, painted with vervain and coated with chunks of skin from the palms of my hands.

  Maybe I should’ve learned to let things go. Then I wouldn’t be starving, lying on the cold ground in the basement dungeon of a serious, psychotic Alpha.

  But who was I kidding? I could never forget what Dominic did to me. Killing an entire family along with their pack was not something one could ever forgive or forget. Only the addition of his blood on my hands would make my revenge even sweeter. More complete.

  And a double cheeseburger. I could go for that about right now.

  Hell, I’d go for a sip of water. I’d lost track of how many days it had been since I’d last eaten. Time was about impossible to keep track of down here. No light was allowed unless Dominic came to visit me, which he’d done several times. Sometimes he’d come to stare at me, but most times he’d yell and scream. On his last visit, he actually threw scraps of rotten meat at my head.

  I admit, I ate some of it until I vomited.

  I’d managed to make it to the corner before it spewed back out, making my shrunken stomach clench in agony. Now it sat, puddled in the corner. At least it had hardened to the point it no longer stank anymore.

  The sound of the elevator creaked and groaned as it descended to the basement. As weak as I was, I managed to gather enough strength to slide to the back of the cell.

  That would be Dominic. He was the only one who used the elevator anymore.

  The door from the hallway opened, spilling bright light inside and making me flinch. Blinking my eyes, I held my shaking hand out, trying to capture a bit of the light’s warmth, but it didn’t quite reach my cell. And then, Dominic stood before me, inches from the thick metal bars imprisoning me.

  Normally, he was the perfect image of refinement, just the way an Alpha should look to a pack of powerful wolf shifters, but all that propriety had left him the moment he heard Silas had been killed.

  Now he was wild and feral, revealing the beast he kept hidden from the others.

  “I don’t believe what you or the others say.” His disheveled hair fell further over his dark eyes. “Silas would never betray me.”

  He spoke as if we had been having a conversation moments before. He did this sometimes.

  “But he did.” I kept my voice soft, trying to calm the monster I could feel raging inside him, just roaring to be released. It also hurt to speak from going without water for so long.

  His hot, spirited eyes darted around my cell, as if trying to find a way inside. They were desperate and angry and, for the first time, I was glad that there were bars between us. Thank goodness Luke had taken the keys with him when he’d left me.

  Luke. A wave of warmth washed over me, and I clung to the feeling. I still remembered when he’d closed the door behind me, his expression raw and determined. I wished he was here.

  “You’re a liar!” Dominic lunged at me, gripping the bars between us tightly, even when vervain began to burn his flesh. “The first chance I get, I will smash your brains in that pretty skull of yours. I’ll take the shards and shred your body until you’re a pile of fragments no bigger than my pinky.”

  “You think my skull is pretty?” I forced a small smile, even as my hands trembled. I moved them behind my back. I couldn’t let him see that I was afraid, which was becoming increasingly difficult. I gathered my courage, focusing on the never-ending rage that simmered just beneath the surface ever since Dominic killed my family. “You should leave. I can’t give you what you want.”

  He released the bars, his chest heaving. “One way or another, you will die.”

  “Not if I’m innocent.”

  “You’re not.”

  I wasn’t. And my murdering spree wasn’t over. He had no idea that he was next. I would kill him, if it was the last thing I did.

  If I could just survive this.

  “I am.” I stared at him straight-faced.

  He spat on the floor just inside the bars. “Soon.”

  He didn’t say any more than that. He just smoothed his greasy hair into place and straightened his wrinkled shirt. Then he turned around and left me staring after him, flicking the lights off behind him.

  As soon as I was alone, I slumped further into the wall, wishing there was still light. But there was nothing. Not even a single sound, except for my stifled breathing. What I wouldn’t give to hear the hum of an air conditioner, the rumble of an engine, anything to let me know that life still existed outside these bars. That I wasn’t alone with that monster.

  My only hope was Luke.

  I wasn’t sure what he would be able to do, but he said to stick to my story no matter what. So far, I’d managed to do it.

  The concrete wall was cold against my back; parts of it were stained red. That was the first thing I’d noticed when I’d been thrown in here. Would they shoot me? Would my blood be mixed with the others for years to come, a testament of the pack’s brutality?

  After a while, I stopped worrying less about the blood and more about when I was getting out of here. My fear had my wolf taking over my body. She was driven to protect me. Over and over, she crashed into the bars, snarling and snapping at them to find a way past. She dug at the concrete floor, jumped towards the ceiling. Anything to get me out. But even she couldn’t bust out of here. Eventually, I became too weak to do anything. Lack of food and water was not something I could battle.

  So I lay here. My muscles wasted. My tongue swollen. If I could pee, I'd consider drinking it. I looked to the corner where my waste lay, but the concrete had long since absorbed any moisture. It’s all I thought about for days. Water … the way it slipped down my throat, cool and refreshing. The taste of chocolate melting in my mouth. A double cheeseburger …

  And sometimes, when I was feeling particularly weak, I thought about the drug Silas had given me. It would be a good distraction from my pain. It had made me feel powerful. Strong. But nothing was left of it in my system. At least I had another distraction—Silas’s blood on my fingertips and the bottom of my combat boots. I’d stare at it for hours until I could no longer feel hunger chewing at my stomach.

  I slowly stretched out on the floor, the tips of my long hair brushing the concrete as I rested my head against my
crumpled up leather jacket. I inhaled and wondered how much longer Dominic would keep me here. Much longer, and I’d die from starvation. The air in the cell smelled of moldy dust tinged by blood. I focused on the aroma and closed my eyes.

  If it wasn’t for my special powers, Silas would’ve killed me. I still didn’t understand them, but they’d saved me. They’d been bestowed to me when I was a kid, trapped in a well, the one Silas and Dominic had thrown me into.

  My mind drifted to that place, where I had wallowed in swampy water, smelling the stench of my family’s blood that’d stained my white dress. For the first twenty-four hours, they were all I could think about. My sister-in-law's terrified face as she lay gasping for her last breaths. My father’s gargled voice telling me to run as he choked on blood. My mother’s mangled face, her eyes frozen open in terror.

  But by morning, a deep-seated hate had begun to swallow my grief. I latched onto the lifeline and let it spread until it filled my determined little heart. I also prayed. I prayed to the great Kushin, the first supernatural, and begged him for help with every fiber of my being. Something had cracked within me, and in the chasm that opened, ancient strength as powerful as the ocean began to fill it. I had gripped just a tendril of it and begun to climb those slimy rocks, my tiny fingers ripping and bleeding as I sought handholds.

  I moaned as a wave of helplessness rolled over me. Where were my friends? Where was Luke? My roommates. Were they trying to help me? My lips trembled as I held back my sobs, trying to keep the demons at bay, and covered my head. I couldn’t think about it anymore. It would drive me crazy, if I hadn’t gone mad already.

  Being alone with only an occasional visit from Dominic had my mind playing tricks on me. My shoulders trembled and my breathing hitched.

  I had failed. I was weak. Thirsty. Hungry. Maybe I never had any friends. It’s not like I had treated them the best. Forgetting about me would be easy.

  The ceiling stared down at me, and I used my night vision to count the tiny veins on its concrete face. My shallow breaths made my lips tingle. Dark stains, maybe shadows, shifted above me, forming eyes and a mouth. It parted and whispered words that crawled inside me, rooting themselves into my heart. Murderer. Liar. Monster.

  The face drifted closer, and I knew why.

  Death had come for me.

  Chapter 2

  Death said my name. “Briar."

  I struggled to open my eyes.

  “Wake up.”

  Cool liquid touched my cracked lips. My tongue barely moved to greet it.

  “Drink.”

  Water poured into my throat until I gagged. I rolled onto my side, spitting up. As soon as my lungs had cleared, I opened my eyes, grabbed the cup and pressed it to my lips, gulping down the rest. Nothing had ever tasted so good.

  “Take it easy.”

  I shoved the cup back. “More.”

  “Soon.”

  “Am I dead?”

  “Not yet.”

  I looked up into Ryder’s fearful green eyes.

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t get here sooner. Dominic wouldn’t let anyone in. He even had guards posted.” He slid his arm behind my shoulders and helped me to sit up. “I thought I’d find you dead.”

  “How long?” My voice was raspy, the words a mere breath across my lips.

  “Almost three weeks. Dominic would’ve let you die in here, but the pack has been up in arms about the way you’ve been treated. They finally convinced him to hold a trial. I’ve never seen such a divided pack.”

  He helped me to my feet, but when my legs gave out, he gripped under my arm and practically carried me out. Light hit my face, and I scrunched my eyes, blinking against it. We passed the room where the drugged human had been kept, but it was empty. I clenched my jaw and looked away; I didn’t want to know what’d happened to him.

  Ryder helped me down the hallway towards the elevator. “I wish there was time to get you something to eat, but there isn’t. Water only. As soon as the evidence is presented and you’re cleared, I’ll feed you a whole cow, if you want it.”

  “Evidence?”

  Ryder pressed the elevator button. Shit. I couldn’t go in there. Not now, not like this. It was too small, too enclosed. The water in my stomach threatened to come back up. I hesitated, swallowing it down several times, and glanced towards the stairs. The doors slid open, and Ryder looked at me.

  “Ready?”

  Normally, I’d insist on taking the stairs, but I couldn’t make it on my own. Ryder would have to carry me up them and that wasn’t happening. I needed to appear as strong as possible. So I took in a deep breath and stepped inside.

  “Luke found some stuff that belonged to the Greybacks inside that secret bunker of Silas’.” Ryder faced the door, still supporting me but oblivious to the fact that I’d stopped breathing. My chest had tightened, and my head begin to spin.

  The elevator jerked upward, making my stomach lurch. I stared stonily at the doors and dug my dry, cracked nails into the palms of my hands to keep from clawing my way out.

  “The pack thinks the Greybacks hid there after they broke into Silas’ room, and that’s why we couldn’t find them. That’s the story going around anyway, but you and I know the real truth.” He paused. “What I don’t know is what happened between you and Silas. Why did you kill him?”

  Ryder was my closest friend in the pack. Like me, he was considered an outsider because of who his father was. He was also the son of Jackson, Alpha wolf to the Greybacks. The Greybacks used to be in control of Rouen before Dominic showed up around seven years ago and took over. Ryder didn’t agree with his father’s cruel methods, so he left the pack and joined the Silver Claws. He wasn’t impressed with Dominic’s methods either, but now he was stuck. The Greybacks wanted to kill Ryder for switching, so really being a member of the Silver Claws was the only thing keeping him alive.

  When I didn’t answer, he glanced at me and frowned. “Briar?”

  The elevator doors opened. I stumbled out of them, sucking in as much air as I could. “Later. I’ll tell you later.”

  Ryder didn’t press for more, which I was grateful for.

  As soon as the room stopped spinning, I asked, “If Luke provided evidence, why was Dominic still holding me?"

  "Because it wasn't enough for him. He wants more proof. Honestly, I think only Silas’ ghost confessing to the crime could convince him of your innocence.”

  "Then I'm screwed." The words hurt my dry mouth.

  "I wouldn't say that just yet. Luke’s been working on something else with Vincent. So have your roommates. I just hope one of them gets here in time." The way he said it, his voice shaky, made me feel like I was lying on a wooden slab with a sharpened guillotine above my head. My only comfort was knowing my friends hadn’t given up on me. If I was going to die, at least I would go with the knowledge that someone on this earth cared for me.

  We walked into a darkened hallway and past a grandfather clock. It was nearly eleven o’clock at night. The mansion was unusually quiet for this time of night. Even the living room with its many chairs and sofas was empty when it would normally be crowded with wild, drunken pack members.

  I stumbled over an empty chair. Ryder tightened his grip on me. I looked up and sucked in air through my teeth at the sight of the front door. Ryder followed my gaze.

  As if reading my mind, he turned me that direction. We would run. It was my only hope. I might not find another way to get close enough to kill Dominic, but at least I'd have my life.

  Before we could get there, the door flew open. In walked three shifters, Dominic's faithful followers and most ruthless shifters. There was Heather, who I was told had been with him for over ten years. I'd seen very little of her as she frequently ran out-of-state errands for Dominic. I had heard through Gerald that the only thing she cared about was the leather jacket on her back, and the way her cold eyes sharpened when she saw me seemed proof enough of that.

  The other two were Terrence and Tubby, the
shifters who had caught me spying on the pack covered in horse shit when this whole thing started. Their noses were browner than their assholes. They’d never question an order from Dominic.

  "Perfect timing," Heather said lazily. “I was afraid I’d miss your execution.”

  I had a feeling Dominic brought her in just for my trial.

  Her gaze shifted to Ryder. “I assume you’re taking her out back as ordered?”

  “I know what I’m supposed to do.” He turned the other direction and had to practically carry me back through the living room and to the sliding glass doors leading out to the veranda. He squeezed my arm in desperation and whispered in my ear. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “It’s okay.” We both knew I was lying, but neither of us dared say it. If only I had even half my strength! I would shift and run far away from here.

  As soon as we stepped outside, I gasped in a breath as the crisp winter air chilled my face. Fall had turned into winter in my absence. Because Rouen was so far south, there was no snow, but winter still held bite.

  Tubby held up a bag of marshmallows. "I got the mellows!"

  Several pack members laughed. They stood around a huge fire, tall flames reaching for the night sky. Speckled and crackling embers broke free and floated toward that eternal darkness. If only I could hitch a ride until all of this was over.

  But not everyone shared their laughter, I noted. Others stood somberly by, their dark silhouettes illuminated by the fire. At our approach, they parted to let us through. A few spat at me as I passed, but others met my gaze with shame. They knew pack rules, and this went against them.

  The raging flames were warm against my skin, a much welcomed feeling after being in that cold, dark cell for several weeks. I searched for Luke among the crowd, but didn't see him. My heart lurched. I wanted to see him before I died.