Twice Cursed

by Marianne Morea

  “Oh my God, Sean! I can hear you! Is Jack with you? He’s been blocking me the whole time.”

  “Yeah he’s here. I’m in the bunker. Are you anywhere near here, or have I just walked into a trap?”

  “No, I’m here, somewhere. Edward has a secret lab here as well. He’s behind the whole thing…the virus, the vamps, everything. If Jack’s not blocking me anymore, then he must be hoping you’ll follow my lead. Maybe you should pretend you still can’t hear me.”

  “I picked up your scent up top. Has Edward changed location?”

  “No. He blindfolded me, then led me around. Said it was for my own protection. He thinks I’m his daughter.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah. The crazy bastard. Somewhere in all this he crossed that line between genius and insanity, so don’t underestimate him. I’ll tell you all about it later, right now just get me the hell out of here.”

  “I’m coming. Hang tight.”

  “Yeah, yeah…The last time you said that, I ended up half hogtied in an old barn!”

  “I love you, Lily.”

  “Kiss, Kiss…I love you, too.”

  Jack looked at Sean, his eyes suspicious despite the hopeful trill in his voice. “What? Did you reach her?”

  Sean shook his head. “Nope. Not a peep.”

  Confusion washed over Jack’s face, and he coughed tilting his head away. “Do you want me to try?”

  Sean shrugged. “Be my guest. It’s gotta be me. I’m just too tense for telepathy right now.”

  Jack squinted, staring off into space. Sean knew he was bluffing; the only way he could possibly reach Lily was through the common Were path since she didn’t have access to the Hunter’s pathway.

  “Anything?” Sean asked, trying to sound hopeful.

  “Yeah,” Jack nodded. “Not much though. I think you’re right. You are too tense, but the frequency seems jammed down here. I have a definite trace. Follow me.”

  Jack led him through a long tunnel to a back stairwell, and then up one level. The temperature evened out, so they must have surfaced somewhere on the property. Pausing by the inside door, Jack hesitated. “Do you want to try Lily again? The trace I’m following is starting to peter out.”

  Sean shook his head. “No I’ve been trying all along, and still nothing. Let’s just go with what we’ve got.”

  “Lily, get to Stephanie. Tell her to tell Mitch to hurry. I’m almost to you.”

  “Okay. I’m in one of the hospital rooms overlooking the woods. Careful, there’s a barbed wire fence around the place.”

  “I think we’re coming in via the underground. Get something you can swing, because you might need it once I go for Jack’s throat. Parr is a ’puss in suits’ so you won’t have to worry about him—but our vampire friends will most likely prefer him intact, if you get my drift, so it would be nice if he didn’t get away.”

  “Loud and clear.”

  Jack shoved at Sean’s shoulder. “Come on, we’re close. I picked up her trace again.”

  “Good. Just a little farther, right?”

  “Yeah. Whew…her scent. Can’t you smell it? Even with what she’s been through, she still smells amazing.”

  “That she is.”

  They walked at a fast clip down the hall. Sean quietly unclipped Lily’s 9mm from behind his back and palmed it at his side. He’d never felt the need to carry a firearm before, leaving that strictly up to her, but in this situation it felt justified.

  “Sean!” Martinez called in a harsh whisper from the entrance to the hallway.

  “What are you doing here?” Sean said, shock and annoyance dripping from his voice. “Who sent you?” Immediately suspicious, his hand closed over the gun’s safety, ready to hit the release if necessary.

  “Mitch sent me. I got to the Compound and he knew exactly who I was. I guess you must have filled him in pretty well. I had my Harley, so I made it here before everyone else. They’re on their way.” He gave Sean a sheepish smile. “This Were shit is pretty cool, now that I’m learning how to work it.”

  “Glad you’re here, considering,” he whispered, flashing a conspiratorial smile.

  Martinez sniffed the air. “Hey, Lily’s close. I can smell her,” he said, obviously proud of himself.

  Jack stalked back up the hall. “Yeah, no shit dickhead. We don’t need you here, cop. So just scurry on back to your hole in the city. You’ve been a Were for what, two days? Take a hike before you get yourself hurt,” Jack sniped. “Sean, we need to move before Parr alerts his men that we’ve infiltrated.”

  Martinez snorted. “Oh, please. Don’t use words you don’t understand. In case you haven’t noticed, smart ass, there’s no one around, which means it’s a trap and you’re going to need all the manpower you can get.”

  Jack gave Martinez a hard glare, then turned on his heel. Sean winked at Ryan, clapping him on the arm for playing along. “Let’s go get our girl.”

  The three of them stopped outside the last door. The plaque on the outside frame said ‘Recovery Suite’. Sean backed up to kick the door wide, when at that moment, Parr pulled it open.

  “We’ve been expecting you,” he said. “Haven’t we my dear?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder to Lily.

  Sean’s eyes tracked Parr’s, and it was all he could do not to charge into the room, but he wasn’t going to put Lily in any more danger, not knowing what was waiting for him inside.

  Jack walked in like he owned the place, all pretense of helping Sean fading with each step. Sean surreptitiously stuck the gun back in its holster, while Martinez walked in ahead of him.

  Lily’s eyes widened when she saw Ryan. She glanced at Sean, and shook her head almost imperceptibly, alarm rising in her scent.

  It’s okay, Ryan’s in on it. He’s backup.

  When her expression didn’t change Parr picked up on the little exchange. “And who is this, my pet?” he asked Lily, circling Ryan like he was an oddity. He sniffed the detective, and his eyes widened. “A Were Cougar! How delightful! And obviously a friend of yours…oh, don’t you see my darling, its fate.” He beamed at her, clasping Ryan on the shoulder.

  With a too wide smile, he leaned his head toward Ryan. “You’ll have to forgive us, my friend, but there is still a little business I must take care of before my darling daughter can make the proper introductions.”

  “Daughter?” Jack replied. “Wait a minute, Edward. You never said anything about Lily being your daughter. And what about your promise? You said she was mine after we got rid of Sean.”

  Sean snarled, every muscle bulging with restrained anger, but the guttural noise that came from Edward was even more alarming.

  Parr’s expression turned ugly. “You aren’t fit to lick her paws. I destroyed any claim you had on her, and that goes for you too, dog,” he said, looking down his nose at Sean. “Lily is as much a Werecat now, as she was the day she was born. She just needs a little help finding her genetic way, and that’s where I come in.”

  Gripping Ryan’s shoulder even tighter, Parr grinned at Lily. “Now that you’ve found yourself a proper playmate, I see no further use for either of them.” Parr let go of Ryan, and sipping his wine, waved them all off imperiously.

  Ryan raised one eyebrow at Lily, then slid a sideways glance at Sean for help.

  “Playmate!” Jack shouted at Parr. “Are you for real?” Glaring, he turned toward Ryan. “You fucking pig cop. You waltz in here and ruin weeks of planning! She’s mine!”

  “Watch out!” Lily called, jumping up from the side of the bed, but it was too late.

  Sean lunged for Jack, his eyes yellow and his muscles rippling beneath his skin. Jack pivoted away and grabbed Ryan by the shoulders, tossing him into the window. The cop’s head snapped back against the thick tempered glass. He was out cold, his head slumping over onto to his shoulder. Lily ran to the hospital tray for a wad of tissues to clean some of the blood trickling from his forehead to his face.

  Jack planted himself in front of
Lily, his arms folded across his chest, his face a picture of smug satisfaction. “Looks like your daughter’s new playmate can’t keep up with a real Were. Maybe you’d better think twice about your choices for your little girl, Edward.”

  “Sean growled. You’re a coward Jack. You think I’m a pussy because I won’t put Lily in danger. But at least I don’t hide behind a woman’s skirts, or a woman’s proximity. You’re a dead man once I get my hands on you. At least Edward can plead insanity. You knowingly set up your friends and loved ones, people who trusted you. You’re a disgrace, and it will be a pleasure to rip your heart out.”

  Lily’s eyes were like daggers as she stared Jack down, as well. “That’s if I don’t get to him first.”

  Sean wasn’t one for idle threats and Jack’s eyes narrowed. He laughed it off, though, turning his attention to Lily. “Don’t be too sure, sweetheart. “I’ve always admired your fire, Lily,” he said, moving closer to where she stood between the bed and the window. “And when daddy dearest gives you to me, we’re going to strike quite a match together.”

  Sean growled, but bit back on his urge to kill. The man was just too close to Lily, and he had no doubt Jack would use her in a heartbeat to protect himself. Lily was smart and skilled, but a threatened wolf at full strength would be no match for her.

  “Ryan, are you all right? Can you hear me?” she asked, ignoring Jack and squatting down next to Ryan’s unmoving body, watching his eyes twitch behind closed lids. “He’s probably going to need stitches, thank you very much, and of course I’m the one who’s going to have to answer for this.” Carefully, she lifted his hair away from his forehead, surprised to find the wound was almost completely healed.

  “Dearest, it’s not your fault you’re so desirable that men fight over you. You take after me,” Edward said with a laugh.

  Lily’s eyes narrowed, as she drew herself up to standing. “Listen to me you half crazed fuck, I am not your daughter! Teresa did get away from you, and she did give birth to your children, but she died in childbirth. I know, because I saw it. Your daughter was my friend, Terry, the one that Jerard killed. I saw everything the day I helped her adopted mother clean out her attic. I held Terry’s baby blanket, the one they took from the hospital the day she was born. “YOU killed your own daughter, by starting this whole crazy mess. Your biological weapon is at the root of why your child is dead. As to her twin—he’s lying right there unconscious. Ryan is Terry’s twin brother, and he knows you for the power hungry madman that you are. Your dream of a dynasty is over Edward, face it.”

  Parr’s face contorted, and his mouth opened wide. Large canines, as thick as a man’s finger descended, and he lunged at Lily. “You bitch!”

  Sean jumped forward, swinging the butt of Lily’s gun down on the back of Parr’s head, knocking him out cold. He slumped to the ground, a tiny trickle of blood dripping across his temple.

  “Is he dead?” Lily asked.

  “Nope. Just out.”

  Jack backed up, his body half turned to make a run for it, but he didn’t get far. Mitch and the other hunters had arrived, blocking doorway.

  “Looks like we missed all the fun,” Mitch said with a chuckle, looking at the two unconscious cats and Jack sandwiched in the middle between him and Sean.

  Sean shook his head. “No. You’re just in time for the finale. It’s gonna be a rat killing.”

  Jack snarled menacingly, his eyes flashing yellow as he dropped to all fours, but before he had a chance to snap, crackle or pop a single muscle, Sean splintered his nose with one punch.

  The young hunter’s head snapped back, and on the rebound Sean grabbed his skull, crushing his head like a walnut. With a quick flick of his wrist and a muffled crack, the alpha snapped the younger wolf’s neck as well, just to be sure.

  Jack’s body slid to the ground, and Sean stepped over him without as much as a backwards glance, gathering Lily in his arms.

  It was over.

  Ryan’s eyes fluttered open. He moved his head slightly from side to side, wincing with the effort. “Lily?” he mumbled, taking a moment to breathe before bracing his palms on the floor and slowly pushing himself up to sit with his back pressed against the window. “What happened?” he muttered to no one in particular.

  Lily let go of Sean, but he held onto her arm with one hand, while the other reached behind his back for her gun. He pressed the weapon into her hand, patting her on the butt before gently pushing her toward the window.

  “Ryan? Look at me, can you hear me?” Lily asked. She tucked the gun into her waistband, but kept her hand on it just in case. Concern was one thing, but Martinez was a trained cop who’d just been punked. He was more likely to shoot first and ask questions later.

  “My ears are ringing, but yeah, I can hear you,” he said, lifting his hand to his forehead. “My head feels a little spongy, though.”

  Lily reached down and hooked her arm under the detective’s armpit. “A little help here?” she said, looking across her shoulder at the others.

  Sean gestured for two of the hunters to help Ryan onto the bed. “I think he’s going to be fine,” he said, his eyes never leaving Lily. “I think we’re all going to be just fine.

  “Yeah,” she nodded, her eyes misting over as her gaze locked with his. “Me too.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  ***

  They loaded Parr’s unconscious body into the back of the SUV, his ankles and wrists cuffed for good measure. Turning him over to lie face up on the backseat, Sean’s eyes narrowed at the tiny dart sticking out of the man’s neck. He lifted a questioning gaze toward Mitch on the opposite side of the seat.

  His second-in-command looked up, nearly bashing his head on the open door frame. “What?”

  “That,” Sean replied pointing at the dart.

  Mitch shrugged. “God bless Dr. Volkmann and his toys.” He grinned, pushing his jacket back, revealing the grip of a tranquilizer gun stashed on his hip. “It’s the same make he used on us the day we went ape shit in his lab. If the drug worked on us, I knew it would work on this puss in suits.”

  Sean chuckled. “That’s my line.”

  “Yeah,” Mitch said, slamming the car door shut. “I know, and I plan to use it whenever possible.”

  The alpha snorted. “I always knew you were a poser.”

  Grinning wider, Mitch opened the rear hatch to stow his rifle bag in the floor compartment. “The doc said this sedative has a non-phasing agent that blocks our animal DNA from taking over. If you’re tranqued with this stuff, you won’t be able to phase even if you wake up. The drug is experimental, so Volkmann wasn’t sure how long the effects last, but he promised at least twenty-four hours. The doc’s been working on this in secret, just in case the virus got even more out of control.”

  Sean shook his head. “Scary, these scientist types. Are we going to have to keep an eye on him to?”

  Mitch laughed. “Nah. He’s a good guy. Definitely the king of the geek squad, and believe me he’s happy in his little realm.”

  “Are you two just going to stand there gabbing? Personally I’d like to go home,” Lily interjected with a smirk on her face and her hand on her hip. Ryan stood next to her holding an ice pack to his head.

  “That headache from kissing the window with your skull, or from listening to her sass?” Mitch asked Ryan, with a chuckle.

  Martinez grumbled. “It’s a toss-up.”

  “Hey!” Lily complained, but smirked at Mitch’s answering wink.

  “You okay to travel? It’s a long drive,” Sean asked the detective.

  “I’m good as long as one of you has room for my Harley. There’s no way I’m leaving it here.”

  Lily perked up. “How about I drive it home?” She fluttered her lashes at both Ryan and Sean.

  Sean laughed. “In your dreams, wolfgirl. You’ve given me enough grey hair to last a lifetime. You ride with me.”

  Lily walked up to him and rubbed her hand up and down his chest. “What a great id
ea, as long as I get to ride with you between my legs and my arms wrapped around your waist. It might be fun to have all that horsepower rumbling beneath us.”

  Sean groaned, his groin thickening. “You’re such a tease.”

  She shook her head. “Nope. I’m a promise,” she told him, lifting onto her toes and pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

  He cleared his throat. “Hey, Cougar, you have more than one helmet for that death machine of yours?”

  “Yes!” Lily pumped her arm back and forth.

  Ryan chuckled. “Yeah. In the saddle compartment. “Just be careful. I want them both back in one piece, and by both, I mean Lily as well as my bike.”

  Sean smirked. “Watch it, buddy. She’s claimed.”

  Ryan climbed into the passenger seat of the SUV next to Mitch. “I know, but you can’t blame a guy for trying. Hey, remind Miss Leather and Lace she’s got reports that need to be filled out. I may be her partner, but I’m not doing her paperwork for her,” he said with a wave, before closing the car door.”

  Mitch started the engine and rolled down the passenger window. “Meet you at home?”

  Sean closed the hard saddlebag and handed Lily the spare helmet. “Yup.”

  “No detours, Sean. We have damage control to do back at the Compound, specifically with council members who backed the asshole passed out on my backseat. What do you think? Meet you in the war room in two hours?”

  Sean glanced at Lily straddling the motorcycle and his cock throbbed, its head ready to burst. “Make it three.”

  ***

  Lily stood on the front porch of the manor house, her eyes watching the three-quarter moon at its zenith. She and Sean finally had a proper homecoming, and they would still be at it, if Mitch hadn’t banged on the door for Sean to get his ass out of bed and to the war room. He’d been sequestered with the hunters and the defunct council for hours. The last time she’d caught sight of him was from the window in their bedroom, as he and two hunters carried Jack’s body into the Great Hall.