Snake Charmer (Shifter Squad Book 6)

by J. C. Diem

  “Actually we’re in Texas as well,” I said. “Why do you need to see me? Can’t you just tell me whatever I need to know over the phone?”

  “It’s private,” he replied, knowing the others could hear him as well. “I really need to see you in person. It’s urgent,” he added.

  Closing my eyes, I swallowed my dread. “I’ll come to you, but I’m too tired to drive right now. I’ll leave first thing in the morning. I should be there by midday.”

  He let out a quiet breath. “Thanks, honey. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He hung up and I handed the phone back to Mark. “It looks like we’ll have to postpone our visit to New Orleans again,” I said.

  “You look like hell. Why don’t you get an early night?” he suggested.

  It was several hours before my usual bedtime, but I was exhausted. Nodding, I headed upstairs, leaving Zeus behind for once. He’d need to visit the bathroom before turning in later. I didn’t want to have to drag myself out of bed once I collapsed.

  Collapse I did and I fell into a deep sleep. A dream formed and I found myself standing on a field surrounded by grass that was long enough to brush my fingertips. Turning around, I saw a hill and headed towards it. Someone was standing at the top next to a cliff that overlooked an ocean. It was a woman and she was dressed in a hooded black garment that covered her from head to toe. Almost against my will, I was drawn to her.

  “You have already suffered more than most people could hope to handle, but you will face some dark times ahead,” she told me when I reached her side. Her voice was hollow and sounded like it was coming from the far end of a long tunnel. We were the same height and build. It was almost like looking into a hazy mirror.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  She turned and I almost took a step back. Her face was hidden in shadows that almost seemed to be alive. Long black hair billowed gently even though there was no breeze. A strand reached out to me and I instinctively recoiled away before it could touch me. “Who I am is not important,” she said.

  This dream wasn’t just strange, it was also incredibly lucid and far more vivid than any I could remember having before. “What do you want with me?”

  “I have a task for you and I need you to be worthy of it. This will require great sacrifice on your part.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “All will be revealed, in time.”

  Goosebumps rose on my arms and I rubbed them for warmth. I felt a sense of doom coming from her and I suspected the doom was intended for me. “You have to give me more than that.”

  Her response was stark and foreboding. “The choices that you make will have grave consequences. I suggest you choose wisely.”

  “What exactly do you expect me to do? I’m just an eighteen year old girl!”

  “You are far more than that, Alexis Levine,” she said knowingly. “If you make the right choices, you will soon evolve into the warrior that I need you to be.”

  I shook my head in denial and confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re not making any sense.”

  “All will soon become clear,” she said again and began to fade. “I will leave you with this warning; if you choose poorly, everyone you love will die and humankind itself will be doomed to annihilation.”

  “Wow, that’s really comforting,” I complained and heard hollow laughter just before she disappeared completely.

  Looking up, I started when I saw a door hanging over the edge of the cliff. I was certain it hadn’t been there a moment ago. I approached it and gingerly leaned out to grasp the door handle. I pulled it open and stared in dismay at the sight of dozens of cities that lay in ruins. Fleshless human skeletons lay in the streets. Most had been torn apart, but I couldn’t tell what had caused their deaths.

  I couldn’t tell what had destroyed the cities either, but at least several years had passed judging by the state of the buildings and the corpses. Catching sight of something moving, I leaned forward to peer at one of the cities. A doe was standing in the street, munching on grass that was growing in a wide crack. Behind her was a vast herd of her kin. In each city, animals could be seen living together in harmony. Apparently, there were no people left to kill them.

  Now that I was aware of it, I could see signs of encroaching greenery everywhere. With the humans gone, plants and animals were returning to the areas where they’d previously been banished from.

  A gust of wind that almost felt like a hand on my back propelled me forward until I was teetering on the edge of the cliff. Losing my balance, I fell. The ocean and rocks rushed up at me and I screamed as I hit the water.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  I woke with my heart thumping and my alarm blaring. Staring around wildly, I realized I was safe in my bed and gave a shaky laugh. “It was just a dream,” I reassured myself. It had been more vivid and unusual than any dream I’d had before, but it hadn’t been real.

  Shutting the alarm off, I stood and had to steady myself when my head swam with dizziness. I took a long shower, dressed in my usual outfit of a plain white tank top and jeans then dragged myself downstairs. Flynn was standing in the kitchen. He looked a lot better already. He smiled and offered me a freshly made mug of coffee.

  “Thanks,” I said and filled a bowl with cereal.

  “It’s the least I can do for the girl who saved my life.”

  “Hey,” Kala protested around a mouthful of toast. “I saved your life, too.” She gestured a little too hard and a piece of toast spun off into the air. Zeus leapt up from beneath the table to catch it before it could hit the floor. He was her personal vacuum cleaner.

  “Thanks, Kala,” he said with great sincerity. “What would I do without you both?”

  “You’d have starved, withered and died,” she said honestly.

  “What do you remember about your capture?” I asked him casually. The barrage I’d received from him had been so mixed up with the images coming from Reece that it had been impossible to sort through them. I’d seen a cage that was psychic rather than physical. He’d been trapped inside, screaming for freedom. I’d also seen the hydra and legions of snakes. The images had been mixed up with pictures of Nina Carter’s pack and Gloria, the blond bimbo that Reece had been promised to as a child. I’d witnessed images from both of their childhoods and the missions they’d been on. Little of it had made any sense.

  “I don’t remember anything,” he shrugged. “The last thing I can recall is going into the barn with Kala then nothing until I woke up in the cell.”

  Mark emerged from his room and descended the stairs to join us. “You’re looking better,” he said to me when he took the seat at the head of the table. “Do you think you’re up to the drive to your father’s house?”

  “I think so. If I get tired, I’ll stop for coffee.”

  “Do you want to take Zeus with you?”

  I looked down at my guardian who was watching Kala like a hawk. “No,” I said with a smile. “I trust you guys to look after him while I’m gone. Whatever my Dad has to say shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back tonight.”

  “Stay the night,” Mark urged. “I’m sure you’ll be able to fight off the vampirism for a couple more days.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that, but I didn’t argue with him. I had no idea what my father wanted to talk to me about, but it was becoming clear that Mark did. His gaze slid away from me almost guiltily. They’d both sworn that they’d told me all of the secrets they’d kept from me. It was now obvious that they’d been lying to me again. I thought of asking him to tell me what he knew, but decided against it. Whatever it was had to be important for my father to take the time out to see me. I owed it to him to let him tell me himself.

  Hugging the team goodbye, I bent to pat Zeus. “Be a good boy while I’m gone and protect the pack, okay? Don’t eat anyone’s shoes.” I sent the message directly to his brain and he woofed in agreement. I was dubious about his promise
not to eat any more shoes. Some impulses were almost impossible to suppress.

  “We’ll see you soon,” Mark said as I headed to the garage. I turned to wave to them then let myself out. Entering the garage, I sagged against the door for a few seconds. My exhaustion hadn’t left me yet. I was feeling just as tired as I had before I’d gone to bed. I hoped I could make the journey without needing to pull over for a nap.

  Leaving the compound behind, I’d only driven a few miles down the road when I felt Reece trying to reach me through our bond. Alarmed at the sense of urgency that was coming from him, I pulled over and closed my eyes so I could concentrate. What’s wrong?

  Again, I received a jumbled series of thoughts and images, none of which made any sense. His mind was chaotic and confused. What have you done? It didn’t sound like him at all, not that our thoughts had an actual voice.

  What do you mean?

  He flashed an image of darkness swelling inside him. The taint is spreading faster now.

  His tone was accusing and my anger flared. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t pulled away when I needed you the most. I sent him a short replay of how Kala, Zeus and I had saved Flynn after he’d abandoned us at the most crucial moment.

  He went silent inside my head and I couldn’t penetrate the barrier he’d set in place. Just when I thought he was gone for good, he spoke again. You need to let me go, Alexis.

  What are you talking about?

  You need to let go of our bond. You’re holding me back from bonding with my true mate.

  So that was why he hadn’t bonded with her yet. I had some mysterious power over him. A small part of me felt petty satisfaction that his greatest wish was being denied. Why should he be happy when I was so miserable?

  He picked up on my thoughts and I felt his contempt come through loud and clear. You’re a spoiled, silly little girl. That’s why I could never love you. I need someone like Gloria, a true born wolf who can give me pure blood sons. You’re just an inferior copy of the woman who I was meant to be with.

  Hearing what he really thought of me hit me like a punch to the face. I’m not stopping you from bonding with the bimbo, I thought back viciously. Go ahead and do whatever you want with her. I can’t exactly stop you.

  You don’t get it, he said flatly. You’re so wrapped up in yourself that you can’t see what you’ve done to me.

  What I’ve done to you? My thought was incredulous. All I’d done was fall in love with him. He was the one who had turned me, bonded me and had made me his until death.

  You’re killing me, he accused. The taint your mother gave me can be reversed if I bond with a pure blood werewolf. But you’re too selfish to do the right thing and let me go. You’d rather see me dead than let me have the happiness I deserve.

  Hearing that was a much harder blow and it was my turn to go silent. Sitting alone in the SUV, my hands were wrapped around the steering wheel tightly. Reece had once felt at least some affection for me, but now I felt only hatred coming from him. Once my mother was dead, we should both be safe, but he didn’t want to wait that long. He wanted me to release him from the mental shackles that I was apparently holding him by. So much for Aiden’s theory about us being soulmates. Thankfully, I managed to keep that thought to myself. What do I need to do, I asked him dully.

  He breathed a mental sigh of relief. Gloria and I are going to mark each other. When we do, you’ll feel a strain on our bond. I need you to sever it from your end. He let me think it over for a few moments then hit me with a final guilt trip. If you ever cared about me at all, you’ll do this for me.

  Swallowing back tears, I gave him a mental nod. He wasn’t even gone yet and I already felt desolate. Fine. You can have the freedom you so desperately crave, Garrett. I was only torturing myself by holding onto something that I’d never really had anyway. Maybe it would be for the best if I just let him go.

  Get ready, he said. He lifted his shield and I momentarily saw through his eyes. He and Gloria were naked and they were surrounded by their pack. Nina Carter stood beside them with her hand on each of their shoulders. She wore a look of fierce concentration.

  Reece and his new mate embraced and lowered their heads in preparation to bite each other. Gloria’s mouth hovered over the mark that I’d left on him so many months ago. Black hatred pulsed inside me, but I was powerless to stop her from sinking her teeth into him.

  He bit her in return and my back arched as pain flooded through me. The bond wasn’t just in my mind, it was inside my entire body. I felt it being drawn out inch by painful inch and scrabbled with mental hands to hold onto it.

  You promised you’d let me go, Reece accused as he drank the blood of his chosen bride. I don’t want you, Lexi. I want Gloria. You were convenient for a while, but now I have someone I can truly love.

  Realizing that I meant nothing to him at all, I sagged back in my seat and surrendered to the agony. The bond withdrew from me until it was tethered by a single fragile thread. I could still feel Reece in my mind, but the link was now tenuous. He’d never pretended to love me and it was now starkly obvious that he never would. I was just a lowly cur and he no longer wanted to be chained to me.

  Bitterness that I’d never felt before welled up inside me. You know what? Screw you. I deserve better than this. I might not be pure born like you, but I deserve to be loved. You can rot in hell for all I care. With that pronouncement, I mentally tore the bond free. A moment before our link was severed, I felt an overwhelming sense of anguish and loss coming from him. Then it was gone and I was alone.

  For a moment that lasted for an eternity, I was suspended in agony unlike anything I’d ever felt before. It was psychological as well as physical. My mouth opened in a soundless scream that went on forever, yet only lasted for a second.

  When the pain receded, I fell into a semi-faint. Eventually, reality returned. I stared through the windshield, seeing nothing, feeling nothing. I was empty inside, a mere husk that had once been a human girl and then a werewolf. I was now hollow.

  An hour passed and I made no move to continue the drive to see my father. Destroying the bond had given me a clarity I’d never had before. Deep down, I’d always known that there was something wrong with me. I could no longer pretend that I was in any way normal. Not even the darkness that was rising inside me could hide that other sense of strangeness.

  There was a reason why I hadn’t died when my mother had drained me as a baby. It was tied to the death magic that permeated my entire body. I hadn’t been tainted by her when she’d bitten me. The death magic had already existed. I could raise the dead because I was the most feared and hated of all beings. I was a true born necromancer who had the power to raise undead armies and wreak unspeakable damage.

  Now that I’d finally admitted my true nature to myself, I knew what I had to do. Turning the SUV around, I headed back to the base.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Possessed with a frantic sort of madness, I parked out of sight of the cameras that were mounted on the fence of our compound. I couldn’t open the gate and drive inside without alerting Mark that I was back. I’d have to use another tactic to get the item I needed.

  Closing my eyes, I reached out and touched Zeus’ mind. He was lying on the carpet beside Mark in the coms room. He started and looked around hopefully, expecting to see me in person. Disappointed when I didn’t appear, he whined softly. I took control of his mind and body and made him climb to his feet.

  Engrossed in the report that he was reading on the monitor, Mark didn’t notice the Rottweiler heading down the hall towards the bedrooms. Kala and Flynn were downstairs and the coast was clear. It wasn’t easy controlling a four legged animal, but I managed to get Zeus to reach up with a paw and depress the door handle to my bedroom. The door clicked open and he nudged it open further with his nose.

  Everything looked different from his much lower perspective. I moved him over to the dresser then made him stand up on
his hind legs. He grasped the knob of the top drawer with his mouth and pulled. It slid open a few inches and he nosed around inside. Taking out a small white box, he nudged the drawer shut again.

  Hiding the box in his mouth, Zeus left my room and headed downstairs. Flynn and Kala were in the living room, watching TV. Kala looked over when Zeus scratched at the door then heaved herself to her feet. “There you go, fleabag,” she said as she let him out. “Don’t say I never do anything for you.”

  As soon as the door closed behind him, he broke into a run. Reaching the fence directly across from where I was standing, he dropped the object. “Good boy,” I said out loud. I love you, Zeus. Never forget that. He whined in response, but he couldn’t shake me from his mind. He knew I was planning something and he wanted to come with me. He shouldn’t have to suffer just because I was a broken shell. Reece had accused me of being childish and selfish. To prove him wrong, I sent Zeus back to the base and wiped what I’d just done from his memory.

  Keeping out of sight of the cameras, I moved as close to the fence as I could get without being zapped. The box was only a few yards away, but it might as well have been on the moon. How was I going to reach it without alerting the others that I was here?

  Desperation had me contemplating an idea that was repugnant, yet necessary. Concentrating on the dark part of me that could control the dead, I searched the area. In moments, I detected dozens of skeletons buried beneath a few inches of dirt nearby. Most were small animals or birds that had probably been killed by the fence that had been created to keep us safe.

  I only needed one minion and chose the largest of the nearby skeletons. I bit into my wrist and blood splattered the ground directly over the corpse. “Rise,” I commanded in a voice that sounded as hollow as I felt.

  The undead animal was forced to obey me. Beneath the ground, fleshless bones came together. The corpse of a coyote rose through the dirt and stood at attention. Its eyes were milky and most of its flesh was missing. I’d only used enough blood to bring it partially to life, but that was all I required.