Tito had been the one Ace had most expected to receive pushback from. Right at the start of this summit, he’d shown himself to be confrontational and resistant to do anything that Ace had suggested. At some points, suspicion had fallen on the old wolf about collusion with Leif and his group. But now it seemed he was using all of this as some form of life lesson. Had Ace been wrong about him this whole time?
“And will you join us in the hunt?” Ace asked, eager to have everyone together.
Tito smiled broadly. “It would be my pleasure.”
Richard and Orion returned with Leif and Nikita in chains that bound their arms and legs together, limiting their ability to run. The accused were marched through the crowd as they were brought before Ace.
Neither one of them looked repentant. Rather than guilty, Nikita looked angry. Leif as always looked as if he were somehow going to get out of trouble.
No one escaped a hunt like this with their life, however. It had never been done. The pack moved too swiftly, fueled by the desire for retribution.
“You two have been found guilty of crimes too numerous to recount, and because I simply do not care to hear you speak, I will not ask how you plead.” Ace held his anger back with the promise of sating it in the next few moments. As the Alpha of the territory, he had to follow protocol.
With a deep breath, he looked to the assembled crowd. “I am invoking the ancient rite of the apex predator. For their crimes, Leif and Nikita Chevalier are hereby stripped of all titles and rights and shall be branded as criminals. They will receive no protection from any pack in our borders. As outsiders and dangerous predators threatening our territory, it is the right of all wolves among our joint packs to destroy them on sight. However, because we are merciful, they will be released into the wild with a head start to give them a sporting chance to run.”
Leif let out a noise that sounded as if he were trying to laugh. Ace ignored it as he continued with the proper wording of this official sentencing.
“Those who have suffered at the hands of these criminals are invited to take to their wolves tonight. Our aim is to sweep the forest and hunt down and destroy dangerous predators who threaten our way of life.”
Nikita reached out as far as the chains would allow. “Mercy, please. Give me a quick death.”
Ace snarled, nearly unable to hold back his desire to rip her outstretched arms from her body. “How long did Regina suffer from your drugs before she finally died? Was her death a merciful one?”
“I was only doing as I was told. I’m a victim in this too. Leif–”
“I don’t want to hear either of you speak,” Ace answered. “You lost that privilege when you went after me with your special little concoction.”
He turned away and looked to the crowd.
“Our people will be leaderless.” Leif lifted his voice high enough to overcome his mate’s sobbing.
Ace ground his teeth in frustration.
It was Aiden, however, who responded. “Your people will be given the same deal that our Midwest territories have chosen.”
Ace had almost forgotten about them. Another problem for another day. His wolf clawed at him from the inside, begging for the hunt to begin.
“You who are standing before me represent the packs whom these criminals have taken from. They will be released and allowed to run as far as the tree line. Once they pass it, the hunt will begin.”
Murmurs of excitement buzzed around the crowd as they all began to prepare themselves to transform and call their wolves forward.
Ace kept his back to the accused as he worked to unbutton his shirt. Fur had already begun to sprout along his arms and chest as his wolf inched ever closer to the surface. “Let them go.” He lifted his hand to signal Orion and Richard.
Chains rattled as the two took off running.
The packs began to shift, first Aiden, then his brother and their mates. Tito and Yanira, followed by the Silverman family, were all morphing into their other forms. Yips and howls filled the air as they watched their prey running in the distance.
Ace walked toward the only one among them who had not taken her other form. Emma stood smiling as if in on some joke he hadn’t been told.
“Are you not planning to hunt with us?” he asked.
“I am,” she said.”
“Then why haven’t you shifted? Afraid I might watch?” He waggled an eyebrow at her.
“Just wondering if you knew what time it was?”
Watches weren’t really his thing. He shrugged. “No.”
“You could have taken me anywhere tonight. We could have gone out to some fancy restaurant or taken in a movie on the couch. After the ordeal we went through, I would have been thrilled just to spend some time with you.”
The way she spoke made it sound like he’d disappointed her, but the smile on her face said otherwise. “But I don’t think anything you could have chosen would be able to top the excitement you’ve planned tonight.”
A bit slow on the uptake, he realized it was eight o’clock. Date time. She’d told him not to be late. She’d warned him not to screw this up. It was his one last chance with her. In all his anger and need for vengeance, he’d forgotten the one thing he’d been looking forward to.
But, as he opened his mouth to speak, she shut him up with a kiss that promised more than just the thrill of the hunt.
Wild passion sat just below the surface of Emma’s protective emotional wall. And Ace sensed that this was only a small taste. She communicated desires effortlessly without the need of words, making him question whether or not vengeance would be worth the time it would take him away from the delicious warmth of her body. She nipped at his bottom lip before pulling back and finding his eyes.
“I can’t wait to see what you have planned for our next date. But to earn that, you’ll have to catch me first.”
She shifted down into her wolf before he’d regained the brainpower to speak. But where words failed, body language spoke volumes. She circled around, wagging her tail playfully, telling him to chase her.
Even his wolf who’d been thirsty for blood had calmed, opting for a different and more exciting kind of sport for the evening’s entertainment.
The guilty would be caught. No one had ever escaped from a hunting pack. He could rest easy, knowing that justice would be done even if he did not participate in taking the throat of his enemy himself.
Emma yipped again and wagged her tail before taking off into the trees.
He would regret, however, letting her get away.
Ace called up his wolf and gave chase, determined that once he caught his prey, he’d never let her go.
Other Books By Katie Salidas
Be sure to stop by KatieSalidas.com and sign up to the Paranormal Posse Newsletter.
All new subscribers will be sent a FREE ebook.
Autographed Editions of all Katie Salidas books may be purchased at
www.KatieSalidas.com
The Immortalis Series
Becoming a vampire is easy. Living with the condition... that's the hard part. Join Alyssa as she stumbles through the world of the "Unnatural."
Carpe Noctem
Newbie vampire Alyssa never asked for this life, but now it's all she has. Rescued from death by Lysander, the aloof and sexy leader of the Peregrinus vampire clan, she's barely cut her teeth before she becomes a target. Kallisto, an ancient and vindictive vampire queen – and Lysander's old mate - wants nothing less than final death for her former lover and his new toy. She's not above letting the Acta Sanctorum, and its greatest vampire hunter, Santino, know exactly where the clan can be found. With no time to mourn her old life, Alyssa's survival depends on her new family. She will have to stand alongside Lysander and fight against two enemies who will stop at nothing to destroy them.
Hunters & Prey
Rule number one: humans and vampires don't co-exist. One is the hunter and one is the prey. Simple, right? Not for newly turned vampire Alyssa. A surprise confrontation
with Santino Vitale, the Acta Sanctorum's most fearsome hunter, sends her fleeing back to the world she once knew, and Fallon, the human friend she's missed more than anything. Now she has some explaining to do. However, that will have to wait. With the Acta Sanctorum hot on their heels, staying alive is more important than educating a human on the finer points of bloodlust.
Pandora's Box
After a few months as a vampire, Alyssa thought she'd learned all she needed to know about the supernatural world. But her confidence is shattered by the delivery of a mysterious package - a Pandora's Box. Seemingly innocuous, the box is in reality an ancient prison, generated by a magic more powerful than anyone in her clan has ever known. But what manner of evil could need such force to contain it? When the box is opened, the sinister creature within is released, and only supernatural blood will satiate its thirst. The clan soon learns how it feels when the hunter becomes the hunted.
Soulstone
It’s a desperate time for rookie vampire Alyssa, and her sanity is hanging by a slender thread. Her clan is still reeling from the monumental battle with Aniketos; a battle that claimed the body of Lysander, her sire and lover, and trapped his spirit in a mysterious crystal. A Soulstone. Unfortunately, no amount of magic has been able to release Lysander’s spirit, and the stone is starting to fade. Weeks of effort have proved futile. Her clan, the Peregrinus, have all but given up hope. Only Alyssa still believes her lover can be released. In despair, Alyssa begs the help of the local witch coven, and unwittingly exposes the supernaturals of Boston to unwanted attention from the Acta Sanctorum. The Saints converge on the city and begin their cleansing crusade to rid the world of all things “Unnatural.” In the middle of an all-out war, but no closer to a solution to the dying stone, Alyssa is left with an unenviable choice: save her mate, or save her clan.
Dark Salvation
A gathering storm of violence is on the horizon. Whispered threats of the Acta Sanctorum’s return have the supernatural world abuzz. Only recently aware of the other world hidden behind our own, Kitara Vanders has barely scratched the surface of what being supernatural truly means. A special woman in her own right, she possesses unique telepathic abilities, gifts that have recently come under the scrutiny of the Acta Sanctorum, a fanatical organization whose mission is to cleanse the world of anything supernatural. Targeted, and marked for death, Kitara’s only hope lies with the lethally seductive yet emotionally scarred warrior, Nicholas.
Knowing full well the atrocities the Acta Sanctorum is capable of, Nicholas is all too eager for the battle to begin. Fueled by pain and rage from the loss of his mate, he’s itching for a fight, but one thing stands in his way, Kitara: a beautiful dark-haired woman with unique psychic abilities and an unusual link to the Saints. Despite his resolve to remain focused on his mission, a purely physical relationship binds them together in a way neither of them expected. And when her life hangs in the balance, Nicholas finds his own is teetering on the edge too.
Little Werewolf series
Pretty Little Werewolf
All Giselle ever wanted was a family... who can accept her for what she is, a werewolf.
In a world where supernatural creatures are not out and proud, this has been a problem for 16 year old Giselle. A child of the system, she's been bounced from home to home for as long as she can remember. As soon as the moon calls out her inner wolf, it's back into the system she goes.
Against the odds, a new family is found for Giselle. One that may prove the answer to all her dreams and wishes. But this family comes with a deadly secret that could send Giselle six feet under instead of back into the system.
Amid factions of warring witches and werewolves, and deadly curses with no hope for a cure, the way will not be an easy one, but if Giselle can call upon her skills as a lone wolf, she may just be able to unearth the truth keeping her from the one thing she's ever wanted... family.
Curious Little Werewolf
Things would be perfect if supernatural disasters would quit creeping up and ruining Giselle’s happy new life. After finally finding the fur-ever home she’s always wanted a witch blows into town promising to reveal the bloody past of Giselle’s birth, and the circumstances that led the little werewolf to end up in the foster care system to begin with.
Hot on the witch’s trail, another pack of wolves is on the hunt for revenge, and will accept nothing less than her death in retribution for the havoc she’s wrought on them.
Caught in the crossfire, Giselle desires only the truth, and if the witch is who she claims to be, the little werewolf must protect her at any cost. If she’s lying, though, Giselle risks her own kind seeing her as a traitor. Neither her new pack nor her hottie witch boyfriend Damien can offer any help. Giselle is on her own again. And if she makes the wrong decision, she’ll lose the only link she has to her own past.
Fearless Little Werewolf
The death of the Regional Alpha exposes Giselle to the deadly game of werewolf politics where friends are liabilities, boyfriends are weaknesses, and family are pawns strategically played against her.
Finding her fur-ever family, after years lost in the foster care system, brought more drama than little werewolf Giselle had bargained for, especially when it’s discovered she’s the long lost daughter of the former Regional Alpha, Orion Silverman.
After the current Alpha’s death, Giselle is suddenly thrust into the brutal arena to prove herself. Her veins might run with the blood of Alphas, but all her enemies can see is a legacy of human weakness, and they’ll do anything to prevent this feral pup from taking leadership.
In the game of Alphas, claiming the title is the greatest prize, one which most would kill to achieve. But for Giselle to win, she’ll have to risk her pack, her family... and her life.
About the Author
Las Vegas native, Katie Salidas is a Jill of all trades. Mother to three, Wife to one, and slave to the craft of writing, she tries to do it all, often causing sleep deprivation and many nights passed out at the computer. Author of the Immortalis series, Chronicles of the Uprising, and various other paranormal works; writing is her passion, and she hopes that her passion will bring you hours of entertainment.
Find Katie Salidas online at:
[email protected]
Be sure to stop by KatieSalidas.com and sign up to the Paranormal Posse Newsletter.
All new subscribers will be sent a FREE ebook.
Autographed Editions of all Katie Salidas books may be purchased at
www.KatieSalidas.com
http://www.katiesalidas.com/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/katiesalidas/
Twitter
http://twitter.com/QuixoticKatie
Being Alpha_Olde Town Pack Page 20
