by M H Soars
I don’t have a particular destination in my mind, just let my feet take me wherever they want to. Lost in my troubling thoughts, I don’t realize I have wandered off into a seedy part of town until I reach Hell’s Hole, a bar managed by a half troll where Sam and his bandmates like to hang out. I’ve only been inside the place once when he dragged me here. I don’t get the appeal. It’s a disgusting establishment frequented by the shadiest people in town. It’s definitely not my scene, but I stop in front of the building just the same and debate going in. If the foreboding cloud over my head is actually a premonition, this will be the spot to gain intel.
Mind made up, I take a step forward, but the sound of fighting catches my attention. It’s coming from the alleyway between the bar and another building. Letting my wolf senses expand, I pick up the scent of sulfur. Fuck. What are demons doing here in Crimson Hollow? The odor is faint, which means the demons nearby are at the bottom of the hellish food chain, but even so, their presence here is alarming to say the least.
“You’ve been a hard imp to track, Zeke,” a male voice taunts before the distinct sound of a fist meeting flesh echoes in the distance.
Fuck. Of course Zeke Rogers had to be involved. There isn’t such a thing as a harmless agent of Hell. I trust the guy as far as I can throw him, but like it or not, he is a member of Crimson Hollow’s supe community. Cursing, I stride toward the putrid alleyway, stopping at the entrance.
Three beefy demons in human form are taking turns kicking and beating the shit out of the imp, who’s on the ground, curled in a fetal position. My wolf stirs awake, and a growl comes from deep in my throat.
The demons stop their assault to turn in my direction.
“Ah, great, a wolf shifter,” one of them mutters. “Walk away, mutt. This doesn’t concern you.”
I take a step forward, letting my wild essence roll off me in waves. “You’re in my town, attacking a member of my community. This does concern me.”
They forget Zeke completely and turn to me. Red eyes glow in the dark, and the guttural sounds of beasts echo around me.
“You asked for this, bitch.”
One of them charges and whips a dark-clawed hand at me. I leap out of the way with ease, and not even bothering to finalize my shift, I slash my own sharp nails across the demon’s neck. The gurgling sound of the creature drowning in his own blood follows.
I whirl toward the other two, ready to dispatch them back to Hell, but they seem frozen. “Who’s next?”
“Fuck. You’re an alpha,” the demon on the right says.
“I didn’t sign up to fight an alpha,” the second demon replies before pivoting around and running in the opposite direction.
His companion shuffles backward, and the stench of his fear reaches me. He’s going to bolt too, but before he can, a pointy object protrudes from his chest. He glances down for a brief moment, and then his legs give out from under him. He collapses into a heap and doesn’t move.
Zeke is standing there with a bloody athame in hand. “Thanks for the assist, Tristan.”
“If you were armed, why did you let those fuckers beat you up?” I ask.
“They caught me by surprise.” Zeke wipes his blade on the back of the slain demon’s jacket before the weapon disappears from view.
“Why were they after you anyway?”
The imp shakes his head. “Let’s just say I pissed off the wrong demon lord. But it doesn’t matter. I’m glad you found me. I was actually on my way to see you.”
My spine goes taut. I’ve never had any business with Zeke, and the fact that he wanted to talk to me doesn’t comfort me.
“Why?”
He looks over his shoulder in a cagey manner before moving closer. “Where did you wake up tonight?”
“What kind of question is that? I was in my apartment.”
“Alone?”
“Why?” I narrow my eyes as suspicion licks the back of my neck.
“Just answer the question, Tristan. It’s important.”
“Lyria was there.”
The imp’s face blanches, and his eyes turn as round as saucers. “Holy fuck. I can’t believe they went there.”
“Who? What are you talking about?”
“Yes, Zeke. What the hell are you talking about?” Lyria asks from the other side of the alleyway.
Zeke faces her, immediately tense.
“Lyria? Did you follow me?” I ask, not hiding the irritation in my voice.
“I was worried about you, Tristan.” She sashays toward us, but there’s something wrong with her aura.
Zeke, in a surprising move, steps in front of me. “Stay back, bitch.” The athame reappears in his hand.
Lyria is my girlfriend. I shouldn’t allow Zeke to speak to her in that manner, but I don’t say a word. The closer she gets to us, the warier I become. I take a deep breath and catch every single smell in the near vicinity, but what I can’t sense is Lyria’s wolf scent.
She laughs derisively. “And you plan to stop me with that puny weapon of yours?”
“You’re not Lyria,” I growl.
She turns her attention to me, then tsks before she morphs into another person, a woman with long red hair and eyes cruel and cold.
“No, but I thought it would be fun to seduce you while wearing the form of the shifter who betrayed your pack.”
“What?” I raise my voice.
“Lyria was a two-faced bitch who sold you out to the Shadow Creek pack. Red, your mate, killed her,” Zeke supplies. “You can’t remember a thing because that motherfucker over there messed with your head.”
Red. That name stirs something in my chest, a longing that’s almost painful.
“I don’t know why you’re immune to my powers, vermin,” she tells Zeke, “but this is the last time you’ll get in my way.” She pulls her arm back, and a fire spear forms in her hand.
Holy shit. What the hell is she?
Zeke acts fast and tosses his weapon in her direction. It pierces the woman straight in her chest. She lets out an enraged scream while staring at the hilt of the weapon stuck to her body. Her fire spear fizzles into nothing. Lifting her deranged eyes to Zeke, she asks, “How?”
“Oh, that puny weapon of mine? It was made with one of the sacred power stones, bitch. So that means bye-bye.” Zeke wiggles his fingers a second before the woman explodes into ashes.
“What the fuck! Did you kill her?” I ask.
Zeke snorts. “I wish. Megaera is one of the Furies. I think only Zeus can kill her, but it’s unlikely he will.”
I blink fast while my brain tries to process what Zeke just told me. “Come again? Are you talking about Greek mythology here?”
“No, we’re discussing Chinese legends.” Zeke gives me a droll stare. “Now, come on. I don’t know how long it’ll take for Megaera to recover her form and return to Crimson Hollow.” Zeke heads toward the beginning of the alley.
“Where are we going?” I follow after him.
“We need to get your brothers and then find Red.”
Once again the pain fills my heart. Damn. Is what Zeke said true, then? “Is Red really my mate?”
“Yes.”
“Why would a Fury make me forget my mate? What did I do to piss off a Greek deity?”
“You didn’t do anything. Artemis did.”
Zeke veers straight to his business vehicle, a van painted in all colors of the rainbow, which is parked right in front of Hell’s Hole. I can’t believe I missed it.
It’s not until we’re both inside and Zeke puts the car in Reverse that I continue. “You need to start telling me the whole story from the beginning.”
Zeke throws a pitiful look in my direction and then sighs. “Fine. Here I go again. Let’s hope we avoid another reset.”
“Come again?”
“This the second time the Furies rearranged your memories. And if I’m to guess, every time they do so, it’ll be a worse scenario.”
I rub my face and look out the window
. “I knew something was off.”
“I think that’s what the Furies weren’t counting on. No matter how many different memories they give you, they can’t make you forget your mate completely.”
“Does their spell only affect me?”
“Oh no. It affected the entire town.”
“Then how come you remember?” I watch the imp intensely.
“Beats me. It also didn’t affect Kenya—oh shit. I have to check on her.”
“Why?”
“Because the last time I saw her, Tisy turned her into a miniature figurine.”
Cursing under my breath, I run a hand through my hair. “Are you sure this isn’t a nightmare?”
“Dude, I wish it was.”
From the corner of my eye, I catch a brown wolf running toward the road. It’s coming fast without any indication that it’s going to slow down. “Zeke, watch out!”
He presses on the brakes and the van screeches to a halt. The brown wolf zaps through in front of the vehicle, missing getting hit by it thanks to a miracle.
But another wolf was following him.
Son of a bitch. It’s Sam in wolf form. The idiot simply stops on the road right in the vehicle’s path and stands there, almost begging to be turned into road pizza.
“What the hell!” Zeke yells.
“It’s Sam.” I reach for the door handle.
“I know it’s him. What’s up with your brothers attempting suicide by Zeke Mobile?”
Zeke’s comment flies right over my head. But it doesn’t matter. I’m out of the car in a flash, and when I get a whiff of Sam’s scent in the air, I catch the smell of blood as well. Moving closer, I see his pelt is covered in it.
It’s not his blood though, which begs the question: Whose blood is it?
Chapter 13
Samuel
Someone lets out a howl and jars me back to the here and now. At least that’s what it feels like. I look around my living room, which is filled with random people, most of them strangers. When did I decide to invite half the bar back to my place? My head is pounding, and I’m a little dizzy. There’s a beer bottle in my hand, and I’m sandwiched between two couples making out. Jared is sticking his tongue so far inside his chick's mouth that I'm afraid he'll end up swallowing her tonsils.
I bring the bottle to my lips, but it's fucking empty. Great. I stand on unsteady legs and amble toward the kitchen. Behind the counter, I find Billy, the pack's omega, doing Jell-O shots with a group of girls. What the hell! He's only nineteen, and we have a strict rule to abide by human laws. Before I can say anything, he tosses another shot down his throat, throws his hand up in the air, and howls again.
"Billy, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" I ask.
The kid looks at me with glassy red eyes. Son of a bitch. He's toast.
"What? This is a party, isn't it?"
"Apparently, but what are you doing here?"
His eyebrows shoot up to the heavens. "You invited me."
An arm gets tossed around my shoulders, and Armand leans closer. "Loosen up a little, Sammy. The party was your idea."
"I don't remember inviting anyone," I grumble while my head throbs. Shit, the evening isn’t even over yet and I'm already hungover.
"I don't think it was his idea." Leo appears to my right with a glass of water in his hand.
"Whose idea was it, then?" I ask.
"Hers." He points at a gorgeous young thing wearing a tight leather dress that leaves nothing to the imagination. Her hair is white blonde and cascades down her back in luscious waves.
Damn, now I understand the poor judgment on my part. She's just the type of woman I'd bend backward to impress. Interestingly enough, looking at her does nothing for my libido. Not even a stir in my pants. It must be the alcohol.
Perhaps sensing my stare, she turns to me. Her eyes are a peculiar light gray, but it's not that detail that gives me goose bumps—and not the good kind. Her eyes are empty, soulless.
"I don't like her," Leo announces.
"You don't like any of the girls I pick up at bars,” I say just to be contradictory. He’s right about her though. What was I thinking?
"True, but if this"—Leo gestures wildly toward the scene—"isn’t proof enough that you have the worst taste in women, I don't know what is."
"Ah, loosen up, Leo. Shake that fox tail of yours." Armand laughs.
"Bite me," he retorts.
"Don't tease me. Speaking of biting shit, I'm hungry." Armand drops his arm from my shoulders and sweeps the room. "So many tasty treats."
He’s a half vampire, the only bloodsucker who lives in Crimson Hollow. He jokes all the time about snacking on people, but he doesn't really drink from humans. We wouldn't be friends if he did. But for the first time ever since I met him, I'm sensing the predator in him as he scopes out the crowd. I grab his arm, ready to take him someplace quiet to have a word, when Billy lets out a loud curse and I smell blood in the air.
Armand tenses immediately, his nostrils flaring as he trains his eyes on Billy, who’s now covered in vampire dinner. Somehow, the stupid kid found one of Armand's blood bags in the fridge and managed to get it all over him. Faster than lightning, Armand breaks free from my hold and jumps on the omega with fangs bared, sending both of them to the ground.
Panic spreads. The humans scream and run for the door while the supernaturals simply get out of the way and watch the chaos. Jared and Leo immediately jump in to try to dislodge Armand from Billy. I'm about to do the same when I sense a malevolent energy to my left. I turn and find the blonde woman smiling wickedly at the scene. Somehow, I know she's responsible for it.
A wolf's snarl forces me to look away from her. Billy has shifted and is going berserk on Armand's ass. Fuck. If I don't stop them, someone will get seriously hurt.
There's only one way I can make Billy stop. I have to shift. It takes only a few seconds before the sound of my bones cracking mixes with the tearing of my clothes.
Damn. There goes my favorite leather jacket.
Jared and Leo have finally managed to drag Armand away from Billy. He thrashes violently against their hold, but it's Billy who I need to control now.
"Billy! Stop." I blast the command telepathically.
The smaller wolf is still growling in Armand's direction, and for whatever reason, he's not listening to me. Instead, he advances fast, ready to jump on my friends.
For fuck's sake. I have no choice.
I block the kid by hitting him on the side. He slides across the kitchen floor thanks to the blood he spilled all over it. He smashes against the far wall with a whine but jumps back onto his paws quickly and shakes his head.
Growling and with the fur on his back standing on end, he glances over my head. Hell and damn. He's still riding on the rage of a provoked wolf. I stand in front of him, projecting my alpha stance to the max. From behind, the sounds of struggle tell me Jared and Leo are still having trouble controlling Armand, but I can't worry about them now. Billy should be yielding to me. I'm his alpha, even if I don't exert my position very often.
"Billy, for the last time, chill the fuck out," I say to his mind, but I’m not sure he’s even hearing me.
A wicked laugh sounds to my left. It's that damn woman I picked up at the bar. "Poor Samuel. Can't even control his own wolves." She stops next to Billy and touches his head without fear. "Go on, my darling. I command you to challenge your alpha."
Billy's eyes glow yellow before he charges. I attempt to avoid his frontal attack, but I slip on the wet floor. He manages to get a bite on my shoulder, drawing blood. Pure instinct takes over. I'm bigger and stronger than he is. With him still attached to me, I jump to the side, shoving Billy against the cabinet door. He releases his grip on me and falls on his back, exposing his neck. My wolf wants to pin him down and slash his throat. It's what nature demands. But I know this isn’t his doing.
My internal debate costs me. Billy slips out from under me and bolts out the door, which is wide o
pen. I don't need to guess who did the favor.
I spare one final glimpse at my roommates. Jared and Leo have somehow rendered Armand unconscious.
"We got this. Go after Billy," Jared urges.
The blonde woman has vanished. How convenient.
I spring after the kid, having no trouble knowing which direction he went. I’m glad it’s snowing tonight and the streets are deserted. We’re surrounded by forest, but the sight of two wolves running down the streets of Crimson Hollow would for sure freak out the human folks.
It doesn’t take long for me to catch up with Billy. He dashes across the street at the same time headlights illuminate the pavement. I stop running, sensing Tristan is in that car. A moronic thing to do since the vehicle is coming fast. It screeches to a halt just a few inches from me. Damn. I wonder if that fucking woman is nearby, controlling my actions like she did with Billy.
Tristan jumps out of the car, quickly glancing at me before looking into the distance. He curses a moment later.
“What is it?” Zeke Rogers, Crimson Hollow’s very own Hell spawn, joins Tristan.
“It’s Billy. Something’s wrong. I have to shift and go after him.”
Fuck. I have to shift back to two legs and tell Tristan what’s going on.
“Can’t you just howl or something? We don’t have time for you to chase after one of your crazy wolves,” Zeke retorts.
I return to human form, and immediately the freezing cold makes me curse winter. Hugging myself to keep warm, I approach Tristan and Zeke. “Billy is under some kind of spell. He won’t listen to me.” Tristan peels off his jacket and drapes it over my shoulder. “Thank you.”
“It must have been one of the Furies,” Zeke mutters.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“I’ll explain in the car. We have to get out of here,” he replies.
“We can’t simply leave Billy behind. He’s not himself. What if he attacks someone?” I argue. Tristan clenches his jaw tight and glances at me. “What? You’re siding with the imp? You can’t be serious.”
