Beast Within (Loup-Garou Series Book 3)

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  The anger in her heart toward them was strong and it burned in her belly. She glared, and when they raised their guns to kill her, Katey found the will to move.

  Against her better judgment and beliefs that violence was unnecessary, she dashed toward them, ready to disarm by any means necessary.

  A flash of black blurred into the parlor. The hunters turned, but it was too late to fire. Logan’s eyes were seething gold, and he looked to be on the border of changing with his claws thick and teeth razor sharp.

  He grabbed the nearest hunter and let out another deafening roar. In a movement, nearly too quick for Katey to see, Logan tore into the hunter in a flurry of teeth, claws, and blood.

  The other hunter hustled away and fired shot after shot, narrowly missing his target as Logan thrashed his intended kill. Katey dodged behind the sofa whose stuffing and fabric had been shredded away by the seemingly endless showers of gunfire.

  She waited, afraid to look at what kind of horrors Logan was committing upon the hunter. When she saw the complete human spine fly across the room and land on the hearth, Katey peeked around the corner at the carnage.

  When flesh and bone had been scattered across the room, Logan turned to his next victim and roared with fury.

  The hunter pulled the trigger on his gun, but it only responded with a pathetic click. He was out of bullets.

  Logan stalked closer, his clothes and skin splattered with the blood of his kill.

  The human dropped his gun and fished out a small pellet from his vest pocket. Before he could raise it to his lips, Ben managed to stumble to his feet and tackled the hunter even though the silver bullets still impeded in his body slowed his movements.

  Logan came to a halt as Darren and Gregory entered the room. Without question, they helped wrestle the hunter to the ground and pinned him there. Gregory twisted the pellet out of the hunter’s hand and sniffed it.

  “He was going to kill himself,” he announced and tossed it into the fireplace.

  Katey stayed crouched behind the sofa until Darren’s eyes snagged on her when he turned to attend to Logan. Her alpha was bleeding as well, the evidence caked along his shoulder and torso, but it must have healed already.

  The alpha offered out his hand to help her up, and it was then Katey realized how badly she was shaking. Now that the proverbial dust had cleared and the adrenaline high sent her crashing back to the present, Katey could hardly stand at all and merely moved around to sit on the obliterated cushion of the sofa she had been hiding behind.

  Logan turned to her with golden eyes still luminous in the dimming light of the parlor. All menace and bloodlust were gone from his expression, but there was a noticeable tremor in his blood-soaked hands.

  Darren stooped down to Forrest’s side and rolled him onto his back. He was still breathing but had suffered more bullet wounds than Ben, both dripping with their own blood.

  Loup-garou blood mixed with the humans’.

  The alpha lifted Forrest onto a lounging bench on the far side of the room, where the battle hadn’t touched yet. Then he set to helping Gregory detain the hunter.

  “Go see to Forrest,” Darren ordered Ben.

  The omega nodded and stumbled to a chair where he proceeded to slide off his shirt. Katey watched Ben extend his wolfish claws and, with aggressive force, jab them into his open bullet wounds to extract the silver. He couldn’t help anyone if he was still injured too and she marveled at how he could even function through the insufferable pain. It was hard to tell, but Katey guessed he had been shot over a dozen times.

  She looked away to the window and saw the streak of blood Dustin had left moments earlier. “Dustin,” she mumbled.

  Logan, having regained a little of his humanity again, sprang into action and left the parlor to take a look. Through the window, she saw him bend over and then pull Dustin to his feet. He was alive but weak from the loss of blood that wasn’t replenishing itself fast enough.

  Katey’s hands gripped the edge of the sofa, realizing how helpless and useless she was just sitting idly by while the others recovered from the attack. They could have all been killed; some were nearly dead already and what had she done to help? Nothing.

  A sickness rose in the back of her throat, and her head swam with nausea.

  Gregory and Darren managed to strap the hunter to an armchair using shreds of upholstery from one of the destroyed sofas across from Katey. Ben plucked out the last of his bullets and went to Forrest to operate. Logan brought Dustin inside and stretched him out on the sofa the others had stolen fabric from, letting him rest and heal from his gunshot wound. From the smell of it, Katey thought the bullet must have pierced his intestines or stomach.

  Logan’s eyes locked with Katey’s as he straightened, but once again, neither of them made a move. She could sense the unrest in him and the blasting emotions that vied for attention in his soul, but there was no putting order to any of it. Not for either of them.

  Katey opened her mouth to speak, but Logan shook his head and left the room, his face twisted with despair for what he had done. If only her legs had the strength, she would have run after him. They needed one another, now more than ever.

  “Talk!” Gregory bellowed, making Katey jump.

  She turned her attention to the interrogation. Darren slipped the hunter’s mask off, and Katey looked up at the face of their enemy. He wasn’t a terrible looking man, but at that moment, Katey regarded him as the filthiest thing on the planet, second only to Yaverik, but equal in their adamant passion to see loups-garous dead at their feet.

  The man sneered at the ground, his lips pressed tight together. Waves of anger hit Katey, adding to her own personal grudge against the hunter. Inside, her spirit rebuked her for such feelings, but it didn’t lessen her disgust for the man. She was supposed to be a peaceful mediator, but where did justice fall in her destiny? Could she dispense it as she saw fit, no matter the punishment? Or would non-violence and forgiveness be the foundation of her mission, no matter if it meant murderers would go free?

  Darren stepped up and grabbed the man by the throat with revenge in his eyes, as if this hunter were the one who killed his family centuries ago. “Unless you want to end up like your partner, I suggest you tell us why you’re here.”

  A gurgle slipped out of the hunter’s mouth, his words stolen by Darren’s tight grip.

  Gregory tapped against Darren’s arm with the back of his hand to call him off and then stepped in front of the hunter. “You can’t threaten death on him if he was ready to kill himself,” he said. Gregory gripped the arms of the chair and leaned in close. “You have to offer him something worse than death.”

  Katey saw Gregory’s head duck down, and jaws latch around the hunter’s shoulder. The human screamed, the anger turned into unrestrained fear as he cried and blubbered for mercy.

  For a moment, Katey really thought Gregory was going to change the man. His fangs were latched into the human’s flesh for a couple of minutes of intense flailing and pleading.

  The malicious alpha pulled back, blood caked on his lips and teeth. He spat the blood out to the floor and looked to the human. “I didn’t turn you,” he growled. “But if you don’t tell us what we need to know, I swear I will, and you can come join my pack. How does that sound?”

  Tears streamed down the hunter’s face, and he nodded. “I’ll tell you whatever you want. Just don’t turn me,” he implored.

  Just then, Logan returned to the room smelling clean and wearing a fresh shirt. Katey found her strength and all but ran to his side, but he held her back at arm’s length.

  Her eyes were solely secured on Logan, a subdued cry for love and affection ready on her tongue. They couldn’t just distance themselves from one another. He could have killed a thousand hunters – whether they deserved it or not – and she would still have loved him the same. The tortured expression on his face rejected her just as harshly as any words could have.

  In the background, Katey heard the interrog
ation.

  “How many more are here tonight?” Darren asked.

  “Just three. You took care of the others,” the hunter sniveled out.

  “Why are you here?” Gregory questioned.

  “We were after the one who fulfilled the prophecy,” the hunter replied. Every pair of eyes in the parlor able to open, turned on the human and waited. “We know he appeared last month, and our scouts confirmed he was in Crestucky, Florida. We followed him here.”

  The hunter looked straight at Logan. “My clan leader told us to bring him back to the headquarters alive.”

  Katey moved in front of Logan as if to protect him from the intent of the hunter. Her mate’s hand gripped her shoulder and moved her out of the way so he would have a clear path to the human. His shoes sloshed through the puddles of blood that pooled on the hardwood floor, some of it seeping through the cracks already.

  “If you wanted to take me alive,” Logan snarled, “then you should have brought more men. Clearly, you didn’t know who you were dealing with.”

  Katey slinked back and let him play the ruse out. He did it so they wouldn’t suspect the one they had been looking for all along was Katey. If they released the hunter so he could return to his headquarters, they needed to continue to believe they knew exactly who their target was. Logan had to protect Katey in the end, but she hated the idea. She would no sooner sacrifice Logan than any of her other pack, or even herself.

  The hunter shook in his bonds as Logan treaded closer. Darren brought Logan to a stop, slamming his hand against his chest to hold his charge back from tearing the hunter apart.

  “Tell us where your headquarters are,” Darren commanded.

  Despite the threat of Logan’s wrath and Gregory’s promise to turn him if he didn’t cooperate, the hunter only swallowed hard and shook his head. “I’ll never betray my clan. Just like none of you would betray your pack.”

  Gregory growled, baring his fangs to encourage the hunter one more time. “If you don’t betray your pack, you’ll become part of ours. Pick your side.”

  The hunter looked to Logan, the request plain in his eyes. The human would have rather died and the only one willing to do it was the loup-garou staring at him with the angry golden eyes.

  “Their headquarters are ten miles south of New Orleans,” a voice from behind them said. Katey turned and watched Michael and Anton step through the doorway.

  Michael’s sweeping gaze took in the destruction of his parlor, while Anton came forward, unbothered by the carnage he treaded on. Katey hardly noticed the sun had gone down, but as she listened, she could hear the vampires rising from their sleep.

  Darren stepped away from the hunter, while Gregory and Logan didn’t move. Her alpha hadn’t the chance to meet the infamous Anton in person yet. He didn’t know as Katey, and the rest did, that he was on their side.

  “I’ve seen it in his memories,” he proclaimed in his thick Russian accent. “There is no need to keep him here.”

  The hunter looked at the vampire with wide eyes. “We didn’t know vamps were here,” he exclaimed incredulously.

  “You also didn’t know we were going to kill you anyway,” Gregory said just before slashing his claws through the hunter’s throat. The human’s dark eyes stared wide as the blood spilled over his chest and into his lap.

  Anton's lips turned up into a scowl. “Was that necessary?” he reprimanded Gregory.

  The alpha wiped the fresh blood off his hands and onto his already soiled pant legs. “It was unless we wanted him running back to his superiors to tell them everything.”

  “They would have come back in greater numbers,” Logan offered.

  “And now they will know they are missing three operatives,” Anton said with a tone of agitation. “They will still return when they realize what might have happened.”

  Michael made a sound of disgust. “Couldn’t you have taken this battle outside?”

  Darren turned to the elder vamp and coiled his fingers into fists. “Why did you think this would have been a safe place? The hunters followed us here. They followed Logan here, and you’re the one who told us to come,” he fumed. “Was this your plan all along? To let the hunters know we were here so they could come during the day when you had an alibi?”

  Katey closed her eyes, the room filling with the noxious fumes of hate and prejudice. “Darren, stop.”

  Michael looked to Darren with indignation. “Do you think I would allow my own granddaughter to be put in danger? We didn’t realize what wolf they were tracking. How could we have known when their own men hardly knew? Their leader has been keeping secrets from them.”

  “Just as you’re keeping secrets from us?” Darren asked, his eyes burning gold in the dim light of the parlor.

  “I have kept no secrets,” Michael corrected, folding his hands behind his back. “If I had known they were tracking your pack, I would have never insisted you come here.”

  “How can I know you’re telling the truth?” Darren challenged, baring his teeth in a low growl.

  Katey had enough and stomped her foot, scattering droplets of blood on her pant hem like she had just stepped in a rain puddle. “Stop it! Both of you!”

  She looked to Darren. “Michael is telling the truth. I don’t read any deception in him. I know you’re my alpha and I need to respect you, but I’m the arbitrator between the races, and I’m going to arbitrate now. Michael truly had no idea about the hunters targeting Logan, and he means what he says.”

  Darren looked at her, his lips closing over his clenched jowls. After a hard moment, he nodded his consent to trust, even though Katey knew it would take more than one reproof to convince him.

  “What we need to do now,” Gregory addressed Michael, “is make sure Katey and the others are sent away. We will cover their flank and make sure that none follow. We won’t repeat the same mistake.”

  “What?” Katey shrilled. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m tired of running.”

  “This is for your own safety,” Anton told her.

  She shook her head, her wolf giving her the confidence she needed to face down such dominant men. “No. I’m not leaving again,” she repeated, wrapping her arms around her churning stomach.

  Logan came to her side. “Katey, they’re right. We can’t stay here while we know the hunters will keep coming back. We don’t know why they want you.”

  “Then why don’t we find out?” she asked, looking between their faces for any sign of approval. “I’ll go to the headquarters . . . alone, so that I don’t put anyone in danger, and I’ll just straight out ask what they want with Logan. They obviously don’t know it’s me they really want, and that guy probably didn’t have a clue I was loup-garou too.”

  Darren sliced through the air with his hand. “Out of the question.”

  “I’m inclined to agree, Katey,” said Michael.

  Gregory nodded with the others. Looking to Logan, she knew he would not be on her side. When she turned to Anton, he appeared a little more than thoughtful. He was the strategist, from all they said about him earlier that day. He planned operations like this and Anton knew Katey was talking some sense at least. No one else was willing to see it.

  “It’s what I was born to do? Isn’t it?” Katey tried one last time. “I’m trying to make peace. Is the peace between loups-garous and vampires the only thing I’m supposed to do? Or can I make peace between all three races?”

  Michael nearly looked convinced, but still shook his head. “You’re too valuable to be allowed to go alone, Katey. If something happened to you, if you were taken hostage or they discovered what you are, we wouldn’t be able to protect you. It’s far too risky, and that’s my final word on it.”

  Katey’s brows lowered over her eyes and taking one last furious look at her mentors, she stormed out of the parlor and up to her room, leaving a footprint trail of blood up the stairs.

  With great stealth and agility, Anton made his way onto the second story balcony facing toward th
e back of the mansion. From his vantage point in the shadows, he looked down on the field of slave shacks dotted across the lawn. The inactive shift of guards ambled about, talking about how inconvenient it was to clean up the mess the wolves had made in the parlor an hour or so before.

  They all said if it were them in the heat of the battle, they would have had enough sense to take it outside. Vampire hunters were entirely different than werewolf hunters, Anton understood that much. Their hunters knew only how to kill vampires who were sensitive to light and garlic, two things that could have been cleaned up easily as compared to bullet casings and the kind of slaughter Logan had committed.

  Though, he admired Logan’s warrior spirit. Primitive as it was, Anton saw the makings of a great combatant. He saw the same in Katey if only those who were too preoccupied with her safety would open their eyes to her potential.

  He slunk through the darkness like a formless shadow until he reached Katey’s room. She was alone now since her human friend had left with the other wolves earlier in the day.

  Darren and Gregory had briefed them on the situation with the hunters, and the two bodies of the wolves that were killed on their perimeter were disposed of since the wolves were unable to get anywhere near the body. The wolfsbane was too potent in the corpses.

  The shutters on the French doors had been unlocked, permitting entrance into the bed chamber. Without a sound, he pulled open the door and looked inside to see Katey lying in bed, though she was far from asleep.

  She was still preoccupied with the disturbing things she had witnessed that night. Beneath the layers of trauma and fear for the future, Anton could sense a chord of force in her. In humans, he recognized it as a determination to see things through. In vampires, he knew it as resilience to keep on fighting until there was nothing left of them. In werewolves, it was the tenacity for freedom and a wildness incomparable to any other living thing on earth. Knowing Katey had the genes of both supernatural races and the upbringing of humans, it wasn’t surprising to see in such a young person. He admired her all the more for it.