I make my way back through the bar, my eyes instantly searching her out. She is sitting beside Drake in the far corner, her eyes red as if she’d been crying. Drake watches me warily, pulling her closer with a sneer on his face. I instantly want to go to her and take her away from him. The invisible bond that draws me to her, demanding I make sure she is alright. Instead, I walk past her and up the stairs. I know this could be my only shot of getting the pills without her knowing. As soon as I reach her room, her scent overloads me, and I breathe in deep, wishing she were here with me. The raging inferno inside me wanting nothing more than to feel her hands on my skin and her body submitting beneath me. I push the thought aside as I rummage through her bedside drawer, finding the pill bottle. Popping the lid, I slip two pills into my pocket. It was time to get some answers.
***
The Warehouse is relatively quiet when I enter. I make my way down to the basement in search of Thane. My eyes instantly hitting the wall where Dani and I first kissed.
“You here to fulfill your debt so soon?” Thane asks behind me as I jump. I turn around, wishing that motherfucker would start to wear a bell around his neck so that I could hear him coming.
“No. That’s not why I’m here,” I say, quickly composing myself. “We have a job on for the next few days, and the pack needs me at full health. Don’t worry, you will have your blood when it’s over.”
“The time is up to Cal, not me, but I will pass on the message.”
“Cal not here?” I enquire, “I thought you guys couldn’t go out through the day?”
“I didn’t say he isn’t here, just preoccupied right now.”
I don’t pry any further. It’s none of my business what the Sun Sinners got up to. “Any news on the shooter?”
“Not yet,” he replies, tapping his blue painted nails against the wall. “But it’s only a matter of time. He attacked on Sun Sinner's property. Cal won’t let it go.”
“Well, we have reason to believe that he may be involved with a new group of hunters that the pack is looking for.”
“Is that so. I take it that these hunters are responsible for the body the other night?”
I nod. “We think so. If the Club finds the shooter first, I will need to interrogate him before you kill him.”
“I can't make any promises,” Thane replies, “but I’ll run it by Cal to consider. Now, why did you want to see me, or is it just to ask about the shooter?”
I pull one of the pills from my pocket. “I need you to test this and let me know the ingredients.”
He takes the pill from my hand, bringing it up to his face for a closer inspection. “Why? What’s it do?” he asks curiously.
“We don’t know yet,” I reply, not wanting to give anything away to the vampire.
“Don’t play games, Lautner. You want me to test this shit you’ve got to give me something?”
I mull over his words. I needed Thane on my side, and I needed these results quickly.
“Fine. I think it has some effect over shifters being able to change at will.”
“Interesting,” he replies, looking at the pill with a lot more interest than before.
“I also need you to have the results by tomorrow.”
“That’s asking a lot, don’t you think?”
“You’re a vampire. It’s not like you need the beauty sleep.”
“Says the talking dog,” he laughs. “You look like shit by the way. Alright, I’ll see what I can do.” He puts the pill in his pocket. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some business to attend.” As Thane walks away, I make my way back to the stairs.
“It’s not right to leave a girl hanging like you did.” I turn around to find Destiny standing naked in a doorway, her arms posed on her hips. I can smell her cheap perfume as she slowly walks towards me.
“It’s not going to happen, Destiny, not today.”
She stands on her tiptoes as she whispers in my ear. “I promise to make you feel good Lautner, just relax.”
“No.” I push her away as she falls, landing hard on her ass in the hallway.
“Big mistake, Lautner,” she hisses as Thane comes around the corner.
I hold up my hands. “I didn’t touch her.”
He looks between the two of us before shaking his head. “Get off the floor, Destiny. Kai is looking for you.” She scrambles off the floor as she storms past me, clearly pissed that Thane didn’t run to her defense.
“What’s the matter with you?” he asks, bewildered. “You seem different today?”
“Nothing,” I mutter, not wanting the vampire to start asking questions. “I’ve got to go.” I make my way outside, heading straight over to my Camaro. By the time I make it back to Stone Valley, it would be time to leave for the stakeout. I’d successfully evaded Dani for most of the day. I should be relieved, yet I can’t shake the dark pit in my stomach that something is about to go wrong.
Chapter 25
Lautner
I keep my eyes firmly on the road ahead, driving down the winding track not far from the bunker. It’s damn near suicide on these roads without any lights. But I’m hoping if the hunters have any spies hiding close by, they might just mistake us for a bunch of idiotic kids with a death wish. Seth had called shotgun, sitting beside me in the passenger seat while Drake and Terry occupied the back.
“What’s the deal with the female? What’s her name, Arianna?” Drake calls out.
“Alianna,” I correct. “What about her?”
“Is she yours?” he enquires. I can feel his eyes boring into my back as I lift my eyes to the rearview mirror, meeting his gaze head-on.
“She’s a friend.”
He snorts at my reply.” Yeah, I bet she is. If she’s not taken, you won’t mind if I fuck her then, will you?”
“You're engaged to Dani. What the hell could you possibly want with Alianna?”
“It's Danika to you,” he snaps, “and I’m not married yet. Besides, after you take their virginity and break them, the fun just sort of stops if you know what I mean. But Alianna, she looks like she could give me a run for my money.”
I slam my foot on the brake, throwing us forward. Before Drake sees me coming, I’m over the back seat, grabbing him by the throat. “In my territory, we don’t disrespect our mates, you piece of shit,” I spit, his hands clawing at mine, where they lay firmly wrapped around his throat.
Seth clears his throat loudly. “Lautner, we’ve got a job to do,” he reminds me. His voice stern, reminding me that no matter how much I despise the man before me, I can’t kill him. Not yet. I hadn’t forgotten, but I wasn’t about to let this asshole talk about Dani like that. Not around me.
“You will keep your goddamn hands and dick to yourself. We clear?”
I wait for him to nod his head before slowly releasing my hands from their death grip.
“Your alpha will be hearing about this,” he replies in between bouts of coughing as he rubs at his reddened throat.
I shrug my shoulders. “My alpha takes the same stand on respecting females as I do, so good luck with that.” I return to my seat. No wonder Dani had been so upset last night, being forced to mate that asshole. I didn’t know much about contract marriages, except that the contract is usually written and controlled by the packs Alpha or the Shifter Council. Only they have the power to terminate it. Since it was all Alpha Cortez’s idea in the first place, I knew he wouldn’t break it, not willingly at least. But I’m betting Cortez has many dark secrets he keeps hidden. Maybe if I ask Daniel, he might be able to find something, so I can help Dani out in the process.
“Lautner,” Seth calls out, pointing to the road ahead, pulling me from my thoughts. I can feel Seth's restlessness beside me. Ever since the meeting when I’d spoken of Tommy and Brandon’s possible involvement with the hunters, he’d been ready. I know more than anything, he is hoping to find Brandon tonight.
Pulling over, I exit the car scanning the area for anything out of place. Satisfied we wer
e alone, Seth and I start forward with Drake and Terry at our backs. Thankfully, Drake keeps his mouth shut the rest of the way there. If he hadn’t of, he might just have had a very nasty accident. There are hunters in our territory, after all.
The door to the bunker is open as we approach. A faint light coming up from the ground as if leading the way. A car is parked close by, the engine still running, as if whoever is here is in a hurry and expects to need a quick getaway. I peer down into the bunker. Closing my eyes, I use my wolf’s hearing, picking up the sound of two heartbeats below. I can instantly tell one of them is a shifter, his heart rate fast, matching that of my own. Inhaling deep, I catch his scent in the air. I can't place it, but we had definitely crossed paths before. I open my eyes, turning to Seth. I hold up two fingers. He nods his head in understanding. Seth backs up, pointing to the cover of the big oak trees behind us, urging Terry and Drake to follow. There’s no point in all of us going down there looking to start trouble over two men. Besides, the bunker is too small to accommodate six of us.
Drake’s hand angrily comes down on my shoulder, “What the hell are we doing?” he hisses, watching Seth’s retreating form.
“Playing a game. It’s called hide and seek,” I grit my teeth, whispering back as I roughly force his hand away. “Now go hide.” I don’t wait for his response. I drop into the bunker’s depths below, landing quietly.
“You heard what Rosa said?” I hear a man frantically explain. “We need to get all this shit moved before they come back.”
“This is a stupid idea,” another male responds, “leaving us to do the grunt work. I want to watch them all burn.”
“You do realize with the number of shifters there is, you’ll get plenty of opportunities.”
Silently I creep forward, hiding behind the door that only earlier today had been filled to the brim with weapons. Now it stood empty. The hunters have been busy. I look around, wondering if they have a silent alarm. It’d only been a few hours ago that we stumbled across this place. Something or someone must have tipped them off.
“Maybe, but Lautner’s the only one I want to see dead.”
“Aw, poor fucking Brady. That’s all you’ve talked about since you joined us. Get over it already and fill them boxes over there. I’m sure Brandon and Lester can handle it.”
Brady motherfucking Henshaw. I should have known. Another stray. He’d tried to join our pack about five years ago. I guess that explains the wall. He was known for his flair for the dramatics. He’d tried against me for pack enforcer once and failed humiliatingly so. I guess he never got over it. We all assumed he was dead. But Lester, I never expected this from him. We had been friends once. We had grown up together amongst the strays.
After a few minutes, the human stalks towards the stairs, a full duffel bag swung over his shoulder. I wait till he reaches the top before advancing towards Brady.
“I hear you’re looking for me?” I ask, stepping into the nearly empty room.
Brady spins around at the sound of my voice. The bag he is holding falling from his hand, scattering papers across the floor.
“Well, well, Lautner, it’s been a long time,” he replies, cracking his knuckles as he composes himself.
“So, this is what it’s come to?” I motion with my hand to the kill wall, “Taking your revenge with a bunch of human hunters,” I sneer. “I always knew you were a traitor.”
“Traitor,” he spits. “I'm no traitor, and neither is Brandon or Lester. We’re doing the strays a favor by getting rid of you lot. Pretending to be something you’re not, and you're the worst of them all. You’ve got more blood on your hands than anyone, even me.”
He’s right, and before the end of the night, I would have his. “Don’t make this any harder,” I start, moving towards him. “You know you’ve got nowhere to run.”
“You’ll never take me alive.”
“I don’t need to. I'm sure the human will give us what we need.” I smile.
I watch as Brady begins to shift. My wolf growling within, approving his request, starting my own. Fully shifted, we circle one another as best we can. I’m the bigger wolf, but in a room this size, it puts me at a disadvantage.
My eyes stalk his movements as he feigns left before diving to my right, trying to catch me off guard. We dance back and forth, parrying for leverage before moving towards one another. My claws are the first to connect, tearing through the flesh of his shoulder as Brady snarls in pain. This wouldn’t be a long fight. Fights to the death were always over quickly. I’d briefly considered taking Brady back alive, but we had the human hunter for information. Besides, next to Brandon and Lester, Brady was a nobody, bottom of the food chain. The human would no doubt hold more useful information. I catch the last second just before Brady’s haunches leave the ground, diving towards me. His teeth clamping down on my foreleg, tearing into my flesh under the pressure of his jaw.
Growling, I use the full force of my body to throw him off me before diving for his throat. The sweet taste of blood enters my mouth as the coppery scent floods the room. Satisfied he is dead, I transition back.
Crouching down beside his body, I place my hand in his warm blood. Going over to their kill wall, I write Better luck next time in Brady’s blood before smearing the walls with the rest of it. I take a step back, taking a minute to revel in my destruction.
“Lautner!” Seth shouts from above, his voice panicked. I head back to the bottom of the stairs looking up through the hole.
“We need to go. Now!”
“Trouble?” I growl.
“The hunters have a new target tonight. Mick’s.”
I scramble up the stairs onehanded, still naked, cradling my left arm tight to my chest.
“You alright?” he asks worriedly, taking in my hand and blood-covered body.
“Not now.” I stride past him, heading towards the hunter’s car. “You’re driving,” I shout to Seth as I jump into the passenger seat, my heart banging heavy in my chest.
Dani’s at Mick's, and she can’t shift. I punch the dash in frustration, turning around to face the hunter in the back seat squashed between Terry and Drake. Drake is watching me closely as I scowl, wondering why he isn’t as concerned for his fiancé as I am.
“You better hope that we get there in time,” I say to the hunter as he looks away. Because if anything happens to Dani, I’ll slaughter you all, I promise silently.
Chapter 26
Dani
Pulling Lautner’s hoodie tighter around myself, I follow the steep track leading down through the woods—the light from the moon above illuminating the path ahead. I know I shouldn’t be out here, but I’m sick of feeling like a prisoner cooped up in there. I’d caught my father sneaking out about an hour ago going god knows where, and with Drake gone to the bunker, I know this is my best shot at freedom. Lautner had been a no show all afternoon, and so had Alianna. So much for the so-called mate bond. Daniel had been wrong. It wasn’t just his mate's touch that he needed to fight the mating heat. After all, hadn’t he been the one to invite her here.
It’s all pointless in any way. This was always destined to be my life, and the worst part of it is, is that it isn’t my life at all; it’s the one my father had forced upon me. I’d often wondered if my life would have been different had I grown up with a mom. My father told me she’d run away after my birth, but I never believed him. The older I got, the more convinced I became that he’d killed her, whoever she was. He never had any respect for women. I’d often see whores come and go from the house, but he never had a real relationship. I don’t think he was capable of it.
I turn around at the sound of a twig snapping behind me, but it’s too dark to see clearly. All I can pick out is the shadows created by the moon. Bears and wolves were not uncommon in these parts, and I’m nowhere near strong enough to take on a wild animal. I break into a jog. It’s probably the worst thing I can do right now, considering if it is a wild animal, they would undoubtedly chase after me. Still
, my own mind wouldn’t listen to common sense; it never did. I throw a glance over my shoulder as my foot hits something hard, taking me down. I cry out, falling to the ground, my knee slamming hard against a rock. Groaning, I push myself up, wincing at the pain radiating at my knee as I start moving again.
I catch a shadow to my right. I back up slowly, taking small steps, afraid to take my eyes away from the darkness in front of me. My back connects with something solid as I put my hands behind me, expecting to meet the rough bark of a tree trunk, but instead, my hands touch something else. Something smooth and warm. I jump, turning around.
“Hello Danika.” The man smiles, but it isn’t a friendly smile. It’s all teeth like that of a predator ready to devour its dinner.
“Who are you?” I ask, backing up. Wanting to put as much space as possible between myself and the naked man before me.
“Lester,” he continues to smile, making me uneasy.
“What are you doing here, Lester?” I stumble once more but quickly regain my footing, refusing to take my eyes of the man in front of me.
“I was hoping to catch up with an old friend, but he hasn’t shown up yet.” He walks towards me until I hit another object. Only this time, I know it's a tree. I can feel the roughness of the bark where it presses against my back.
“Who’s your friend?” I ask, wondering how I’m going to get away from this man. It’s obvious he’s a shifter. Why else would he be running around naked this time of night in the woods?
“A mutual friend by the looks of it,” he says as he comes closer, scenting Lautner’s hoodie. “Tell me, is he fucking you?” he asks with a sly grin.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Of course you do. Why else would you be wearing his clothes? We grew up together, you know. We fought together. We killed together. We even fucked the same woman together on occasion. Then one day, he left, thinking he was better than me.”
Lautner: A Dark Fated Mates Romance Page 11
