Inked Fury

by Sarah Makela

  Connor wouldn’t come to her rescue again. He may still be at work for all she knew.

  As much as she wanted to use the slivers of training she’d gained from Ravenna and escape from there, she was scared. There was something binding about fear, something she hadn’t anticipated. Fear choked her powers, making her unable to concentrate. Nothing she tried made her will focus as sharply as before. It was as if despair overwhelmed her abilities. The oddest part was some of the fear came from a source outside of her. Connor?

  “Give me your pet. If you don’t, I’ll finish what I started last time until you beg me to stop. I’ll start at the scar and work my way around your body.” He leaned into her face, the resolute look in his eyes successfully intimidating her.

  She wanted away from here, but nothing she did would break her free from the binding ropes. Her first thought was to scream, but she was afraid what he might do. Besides, with Ravenna wailing in the corner, even if she yelled, he likely had some spell yet again blocking out the sound.

  She couldn’t believe the pressing fear, boiling within her. She’d been so sure the name of the game would be finding Ravenna, but now she’d been taken, only to be robbed of her gift.

  Angelique couldn’t even imagine how much pain Ravenna had been through these past couple of days. The werewolves had been searching everywhere, trying their very best to find her. Yet they had little success. Who knew what the madman had done to her while they were looking for her.

  “Don’t hurt me,” she finally whimpered. “Please. I don’t want to be hurt.”

  Mahon brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you. I’m upset how things went last time, but I’m not a mean person, merely practical. Give me your pet, and I’ll free you. No hard feelings and no more tears.”

  Offer up Kira and be done with him forever? While she really liked the thought of not looking over her shoulder constantly, she couldn’t bear the thought of life without Kira. Her familiar had been there for her when no one else had. Giving her up would be like dropping her best friend in the desert with no way home. She didn’t like the idea at all.

  Yet knowing just how far Mahon would take the torturing made her squeamish. Hadn’t she gone through enough already? The idea of being tortured again tugged at her bond with Kira, and she didn’t know which would win her internal conflict.

  Something in Mahon’s eyes told her he knew she couldn’t decide. He pulled away from her, straightening his spine. At least when he was hovering right above her face, he couldn’t pull out any weapons.

  “Wha—? What are you doing?” she asked. Panic surged through her. She bucked, struggling to move again, but the bonds were tight and expertly tied.

  “You’ll see.” Mahon walked to the motel room’s table where a big black backpack rested. His broad back blocked her view, but he turned around with a wrapped case in his hands. She vaguely remembered something similar. Her heart slammed against her chest. No, no…not his tools.

  “Don’t do this.” Angelique wrestled with the ropes, trying desperately to get out of them, then an idea hit her. Yes, she should’ve thought that sooner. Kira, cut the ropes.

  Her familiar moved sluggishly at first, slowly climbing her arm to the first rope.

  Please. Go faster, or we won’t make it much longer. We need out of here.

  Kira strained to quicken her pace, and Angelique felt terrible for her. Whatever he was doing affected the black panther.

  “You know what your options are.” Mahon unwrapped the case on the nightstand beside her head. Some of the tools looked exotic, but what caught her attention were the half-hidden items he intentionally placed out of her line of sight.

  The druid hummed a tune, the melody hauntingly familiar, yet she couldn’t recall the name of the song. After a moment of lining things up just right, he pulled his knife from the sheath on his belt. He leaned in again, slipping the serrated blade beneath her T-shirt. The thin material split under the sharp edge. One moment she had a shirt, the next minute it was rags dangling from her chest. He brushed his fingers against the scars at along her side. The effect it had on her was immediate, as she squirmed to get away from the warmth of his hands on her skin.

  “No worries. I’m simply examining my handiwork. Deciding on the right tool to finish the job, if you will. My former instruments are lost to me due to your boyfriend,” he said, rolling back his sleeves.

  Hurry, Kira. I know it’s difficult, but I need you.

  On Mahon’s forearm sat a large raven. It cocked its head at her. Angelique’s concentration on urging Kira on vanished. The bird struggled, trying to go up the Mahon’s arm, but it stayed in place, beating its wings. Ravenna made a loud wailing sob. Her eyes got wide with horror. She knew that raven.

  The druid screamed in pain, clenching his opposite hand on his wrist out of reach from the raven’s claw. “Shite, you bloody raven.” His breath came in pants, and his face was bright red. Bran didn’t want to follow whatever it is Mahon was telling him to do. “Yes, I will get what I ask for. Cooperate, bird!” Mahon yelled as he forced the raven to dig its talons to her side. Bran struck once before retreating up his arm.

  Her vision went momentarily white from the pain. Her muscles cramped on her hip, yet the raven hadn’t ripped her shorts. She saw only small puncture holes and little blood. The wounds were clean, yet the bird had struck its claws into her nerves.

  “If you don’t relinquish your cat, I’ll let the raven play with your entrails like tales of old. Think about the agony. You’re better off like her.” Mahon waved a hand in Ravenna’s direction, but the look in his eye said differently. Pity crossed his gaze for the briefest of moments.

  “You only have to give up your pet. Is the cat worth that kind of pain? Are you willing to die for her? Just a few words and it will be all over,” he continued, picking up something from the table.

  To her horror, he held a hammer in his hands and went to the edge of the bed. “They say losing a limb makes people afraid in torture. To permanently lose function or ability. They’re wrong. People are afraid of pain.” He pointed the hammer at her. “You’re no exception. If there aren’t toes, then those toes can no longer feel pain. However, if one injures them correctly, they can be used over, and over, and over again to torture their victims.”

  Her heart pumped blood through her veins, and she tried to move her legs away from him, but the ropes were too tight for that. “You have ten toes. Each has two joints that are very, very sensitive. You can stop me at any time, by just saying the words both of us know you will say eventually anyway.”

  She curled her toes, trying to keep them away from him, but he grabbed her foot, bending her pinky toe back. The cold metal of the hammer kissed her skin, then he drew his arm back. Instinctively, she sucked in a breath, fearing for the worst. After a few moments of him standing there staring at her, she released it.

  Mahon swung the hammer down.

  Pain overloaded her every muscle. Something felt wrong with her toe. It had to be dislocated. She gasped for air but couldn’t get enough into her lungs as if she was suffocating. When she could finally breathe again, she was in too much pain, shock, and horror to scream.

  “Done yet?” He flipped the hammer a couple times, and she winced each time. “No? Hmm… I guess I should change tactics. I know what you’ve been waiting for. You want to bleed for your pet.” Mahon stomped to the nightstand, shaking his head. “Pathetic.”

  “Please, please. Don’t—” The sensation of Kira’s claws breaking through her fingers forced a scream from her throat. She stayed still, moving only her fingers to help Kira break them free.

  “Tsk, I haven’t even done anything to you yet. Stop screaming. No one will hear you.” He didn’t even bother looking at her. Maybe things were looking up. At least a little. The knife blade shone in his hands when he finally returned to her. He bent once again, slicing her open with the precision of an aging surgeon.

  She screamed again, ree
ling at the pain coursing through her as the knife slid across her skin. Her hope of being rescued slid away. Connor and she had come so far only to be separated like this. She’d be dead before they arrived.

  A vicious feline snarl erupted from her opposite wrist, and Kira’s claws skewered her fingers and sliced through the rope. Maybe she was wrong. Whatever was going on, Mahon’s toxic hold on her familiar lessened as well as her fear, giving her a chance to breathe again.

  She grabbed the hammer from the nightstand, smacking Mahon square in the upper arm with it. His hand jerked, carving deeper into her flesh. She shrieked as pain seized her to the core.

  * * *

  The scent Connor had been praying to smell again hit his senses. Angelique. Thank God. This was the eight hotel they’d checked in the area around the airport. Jo was off talking to the manager, trying to get specifics before they started breaking down doors, and Ted was behind him on the phone with Dave.

  The faintest of sounds—a soft scream—led him to a sidewalk that reeked of druidic magic. A tugging sensation filled his chest, pushing him to the closed door. This was it. The mate bond.

  Thankfully, Mahon hadn’t made another thorny mess like the last time. It had hurt so much to rip through the door, yet the fear of losing her far outweighed mere pain. From the other side of the door, he sensed Angelique’s sadness and thought of giving in. The thought staggered him.

  “Connor, we should wait for Jo.” Ted put a gentle hand on his shoulder, but he brushed it off. As the most dominant Pack member there, he needed to take charge.

  “We’ve waited far too long already. Who knows what condition the girls are in.” He kicked open the door, then he scoured the room. Angelique sat on the bed, struggling against Mahon. He held a bloody knife in his hand, inching it toward her face. Blood dripped down her chest, staining her formerly white lace bra.

  A flash of black on her wrist caught his attention a moment before she swung her hand at him, scoring his face with long claws. Mahon cursed, touching his face with one hand. Angelique used that momentary distraction to put more space between them. From the rope still dangling from her wrist, she’d been tied down, but she’d managed to escape.

  Good girl. Pride swelled within his chest, and he dove at the druid, snatching the knife from him and tossing it aside. Wailing followed by soft whimpering caught his attention. That wasn’t her. Who…? He locked his gaze on Ravenna, but she only stared blankly, rocking herself back and forth as if that were the only thing she could do.

  His fury rose within him. He grabbed Mahon by the shoulders and slammed the other man into the wall beyond the bed. The druid bounced to the floor with a groan.

  The urge to kill overtook him, and his beast slammed to the surface. Any semblance of him was a distant dream.

  He leapt at Mahon, but the other man dodged out of the way. Mahon swung his gaze to the doorway. “Fucking hell. More werewolves. You people multiply by the minute, don’t you?”

  There was no way Mahon would get out of this one alive or, at the very least, without going directly into the Pack’s custody. This jerk shouldn’t get off easy with death. Not after all he’d done. Now they almost needed him to figure out what was wrong with Ravenna. He savagely growled, making a fierce sound no human could.

  Dave shoved past Ted at the door. Ted grabbed the submissive wolf, shoving him behind him. Dave started to protest, but Connor narrowed his eyes, staring him down. He wouldn’t be disobeyed.

  Mahon took advantage of the dominance display, diving toward the bed to grab Angelique who was nearly free of the ropes. However, blood poured from her side, making her movements jerky and her skin pale. “Give me your familiar, Angelique. Do it, or I’ll kill your boyfriend.”

  “I doubt that. You wouldn’t be able to hurt him if you tried.” She swung Kira’s claws at him, missing by an inch.

  He grabbed Mahon by the arms before he could much more than that. Last time, he’d unleashed his bear by twisting something on his belt. He didn’t want that to happen again. “If anyone would be taken out, it would most definitely be you. You’re not going to hurt me. Not with all of the other werewolves around. There’s a reason we’re called a Pack.”

  He shoved Mahon toward Dave, Ted, and a couple other trackers Dave had searching with. Ted held a pair of reinforced handcuffs in one hand. The man came prepared. Jo still wasn’t back, but hopefully she’d keep the management busy while they finished up here. “Be careful with him. He’s very dangerous, and we’ll need to speak with him.”

  “He took Ravenna’s gift,” Angelique said, her voice hoarse. She pressed both hands against the bloody wound on her side. Her bindings were all off now, and Kira paced on his mate’s torso, her tail twitching wildly.

  Dave frowned, his hands clenched in fists. He stepped around Mahon, Ted and the other werewolves to venture further into the room, trying to find Ravenna. A soft sob sounded from the corner of the room, and his friend jogged to her side. She was curled up in a ball, holding her knees to her chest.

  He tilted her head up for a better look, but regret sagged Dave’s shoulders. Ravenna’s eyes were sorrowful but blank. “Ravenna? What did he do to you?”

  Ravenna stared into space, not meeting his gaze and sobbed more. She settled her face back to her knees and continued to rock there in the corner as if she wasn’t all there.

  Connor patted Dave on the shoulder, then moved away, going to Angelique’s side. She pushed herself shakily to her feet, but her knees gave out dumping her back to the bed. He laid his jacket over her almost naked torso. Bruises darkened her features, and blood stained them. She barely resembled the woman he loved.

  “Are you okay?” He couldn’t imagine what she’d been through. Part of him wondered how she’d managed to break free from Mahon and not have her familiar taken from her like Ravenna had. Then again, Ravenna had been with Mahon a lot longer. He cradled her softly in his arms.

  “I don’t feel so good, but Ravenna… He stole her familiar.” She looked up at him, tears streaking her cheeks. “I almost lost hope, but Kira helped me to break free from the ropes. A-and now you’re here.” The ghost of a smile touched her lips. “I was so scared. I’d hoped you would come, but you were at work. I thought you wouldn’t find me until it was too late.”

  “I was scared too. I left work when I sensed your fear through our bond.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so afraid in my life. The bond helped lead me to you.”

  She buried her face into his chest. “Maybe that’s why I felt so much fear. I think I sensed both of our fear together.” Her smiled died on her lips as she looked behind him. “Mahon has to give back her familiar. If not, she won’t last much longer. She’ll die. Even if she does get her pet back before dying, if it’s been too long, she’ll remain that way no matter what.”

  Dave stood beside them with Ravenna limply struggling in his arms. “Where did you hear this? Do you know for sure it’s true?”

  She nodded. “The person who gave me my tattoo warned me about keeping my familiar outside of me for too long. This is different. It’s more severe, but I would imagine it holds true.” She shook her head. “However, I can’t say for sure. I’m surprised she’s not already dead, but if he dies, the raven will die, and then all is hopeless for her. She’ll never get her life back again.”

  Dave clenched his jaw, making the muscles tick in his cheek. “I see. Thank you for the information.” He turned his gaze to Connor. “I’ll make sure he gets to the Pack’s containment area without harm. Will you make sure Woman is okay? I don’t want to leave her side, but I need to make sure the druid safely arrives to holding.”

  He nodded. “I’ll make sure she’s okay. We’ll bring her along. If he gives her familiar back, she’ll be there too.”

  From the doorway, the druid laughed. “That’s highly unlikely. Now that I have a pet, I can’t imagine why I’d release it again. The power it I’d rather die than give up this perfect ability. Yo
u don’t realize, but I’ve been waiting over a century for this.”

  Angelique jerked in Connor’s arms, and he held her that much tighter. The fact the druid wouldn’t give back Ravenna’s power infuriated him, but the real shocker was Mahon’s age. How was that even possible? Werewolves outlived humans, but they eventually died. What was going on here? He wasn’t catching something.

  “We’ll see about that. The Pack knows how to deal with despicable fiends like you.” He nodded his head at the werewolves holding him.

  They pulled him away from the door, out to the parking lot and the car the other trackers had taken. If Ravenna weren’t made whole, he’d make sure Mahon wasn’t whole either. The druid would suffer for his crimes. Not just for this time and harming both Angelique and Ravenna, but also for what he’d done to her before, when she’d been more vulnerable.

  He shook away the memory of fighting the incredibly big bear in her hotel room. This was pretty tame, as if he’d allowed himself to be captured. What if Mahon wasn’t working alone? What if he’d had help? It might explain a few things.

  Connor carried her to the car while Dave brought Ravenna who had stopped struggling against Dave. His friend had covered Ravenna’s naked body with one of the motel’s sheets. She sat in the backseat with her friend, wrapping his jacket around herself that much tighter.

  Mahon was in the backseat of the other car. The two trackers sat on either side of him while Ted was in the driver’s seat waiting with the engine running.

  Jo reappeared, jogging in their direction. She cocked an eyebrow at them. “Looks like everything’s taken care of then?” Her smile faltered at the backseat’s occupants. “Shit. I’ll call Dr. Easton.”

  Connor nodded. “Good call. Tell him to meet us at the Pack’s compound.”