by Mac Flynn
“Disappointed this might not be as crazy a plan as you’d hoped?” Luke teased me.
I rolled my eyes. “No, I’m wondering why they aren’t around.”
“He’s spread his forces throughout the entire city. Even if he had several thousand men he still couldn’t cover everything, so he’s placed them where he thinks we’ll be. Going to Stevens’ mansion is apparently not where he thinks we’ll be,” Luke suggested.
“So he doesn’t think Stacy would rescue her father?” I wondered.
Luke’s gaze stopped on a manhole, and he strode over and knelt beside it. He lifted it up and slid it off to the side to reveal the stinking sewers that led to Stevens’ high-security cell. His plan to accomplish my plan was to sneak inside through there, grab Stevens, and sneak out. What could go wrong?”
“Cranston’s made enough on our plates that even Stacy isn’t suggesting we save her father,” he pointed out. He stuck his legs into the hole and looked up at me. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” he told me.
I crossed my arms and frowned at him. He held up his hands and smiled. “Just thought I’d ask.”
“Don’t think that thought again,” I snapped at him. “I’m no coward, and I’m not going to start now.”
He chuckled. “And that’s one of the reasons why I love you.”
“Less flattering, more climbing,” I replied.
Luke nodded and descended the ladder into the water. I quickly followed and cringed when my bare feet sank into the thick, gelatinous ooze of sewer water. “What I wouldn’t do for a pair of galoshes right now.”
Luke chuckled. “Wait long enough and a pair might go floating by.”
“I’m not willing to wait that long.” I took a step and froze. A large flaw in my plan swept through my mind, and I whipped my head over to Luke. “Um, what if the door to the cell is locked?” I asked him.
He grinned and shrugged. “Then we ask them to open it,” he suggested.
I tilted my head to one side and looked at him with my mouth slightly agape. “You’re not joking, are you?” He shrugged again and sloshed forward. I scowled at his retreating back. “That’s not an answer!” I shouted at him.
“We don’t have time to waste. The sun’ll be up in an hour or two,” he called over his shoulder. I growled, but sloshed after him.
We stumbled and waded through the filthy water until we came to a familiar ladder. Luke looked up it, and then to me. “I’ll go first. Listen for trouble, and get out of here if you hear any.”
“I’m not leaving you,” I firmly replied.
He sighed, but there was a smile on his face. “You can’t blame a guy for wanting to be the hero.”
“Yes, I can, now get up that ladder, Mr. Hero, and check it out,” I commanded him.
Luke swooped his arm in front of him and bowed at the waist. “As you wish, my lady.” He spun around, climbed the ladder, and quietly opened the bent hatch. My mate slipped into the room and out of sight. I listened to his soft footsteps across the floor and heard his attempts to open the door. There silence for a moment, and then I jumped a foot in the air when Luke gave a loud pound against the metal door. That was followed by quiet curse under his breath.
I moved to catch every angle of the room the hatch allowed, but still couldn’t see him. “What the hell are you doing up there?” I hissed.
“Catching their attention, now stay down there,” he whispered.
Luke’s plan worked because the sounds of boots echoed along the ceiling of the sewer. It sounded like a pack of wolves, and I knew Luke couldn’t handle that many. I clamored up the ladder in time to see the door swing open with Luke behind it. Three men charged in with pistols drawn. They saw me and pointed their barrels at my head. Luke jumped out and barreled into them. He punched the closest one in the face, and grabbed him and tossed the guy in my direction. The guy fell head-first into the hole and took me with him. We flew down the ladder and into the dirty drink below. He landed on top of me and I got a face full of the filthy water. I tussled with him until I realized he was out cold. Then I rolled him off and watched him float face-up down the sewer and around the next bend.
Above me came the sounds of battle, so I dragged my wet body up the ladder and peeked over the side. Luke had his hands full with the pair of them. They were disarmed, but they surrounded and paced around him waiting to strike. I pulled myself out of the hole and dove at the closest one whose back was toward me. My hefty weight brought him to the hard floor and he cracked his head hard against the ground.
Luke jumped at the last guard and tossed him against the wall. That guy also counted sheep now, but I noticed Luke cradle one of his hands in the other. I rushed over and saw his hand was smoking. “What’d you do?” I asked him.
He jerked his head toward the door. “Stacy wasn’t kidding when she said there was a silver plating in that door,” he replied.
“Next time don’t hit it so hard,” I advised him.
Luke chuckled. “I’ll have to remember that the next time we’re trapped in this room.”
“Let’s hope there isn’t a next time. Now you stay here and I’ll go find Stevens,” I told him.
He raised an eyebrow. “Do you even know how to find him?”
“I’ll use my sniffer,” I explained.
“And do you know what his scent smells like?”
“Um, I can learn on the way, but you stay here and heal that wound,” I insisted.
He chuckled. “Follow me and learn,” he commanded. He strode out of the room and down the hall.
“Don’t you ever listen to me?” I yelled at him.
“Nope,” came his reply. I growled, but hurried after him.
He led us through the halls to the main passage that stretched from the front door to the rear. I recognized the door to Stevens’ office to our left. Luke paused at the intersection and sniffed the air. “There’s a lot more guards in here, but none on the first floor,” he whispered to me.
“Then let’s hurry up so they stay out of the first floor,” I replied.
Luke nodded and guided me down the hall to Stevens’ office. We slipped inside and found the room dark but for the light from the large windows. It must have been fashionable to have large windows in one’s office. In the chair behind the desk sat Stevens. He was like we’d seen him last, stiff as a board with his eyes staring straight ahead. I wondered if he’d moved at all.
Luke strode around the desk and touched the man’s shoulder. Stevens didn’t move. I walked over to the lord’s other side and looked to Luke. “Any idea how we can snap him out of this?” I whispered to him.
He shrugged. “I don’t even know what snapped him into this,” he pointed out.
“Well, I suppose we’ll fix this like I fix a broken TV,” I suggested.
He raised an eyebrow. “And that’s what?”
I slapped my hand across his face. Stevens’ eyes widened and he sputtered to his feet. “Why the hell did you-” Luke slapped his hand over the other lord’s face and pulled him against himself.
Stevens ripped Luke’s hand off him and glared at Luke. “Don’t you dare-” Luke covered his mouth again and gave Stevens such a warning glare that it shut the old man up.
“Speak again and I’ll tear off your lips,” Luke warned him. Stevens frowned, but didn’t pull his hand off. Luke slipped his hand off himself and separated them. “You’ve been under Cranston’s power for the last few days. We’re here to take you out of here so he can’t use you as his pawn.”
Stevens scowled at him. “I know what’s been going on. I haven’t been blind these past days, just unable to act on my own.”
Luke and I glanced at each other, then back to Stevens. “So you could see what was happening?” I guessed.
Stevens pursed his lips together, but nodded. “Yes, but if you want me to tell you what Cranston is up to then I can’t oblige. He said nothing about his plans in this room.”
“What we want is for you
to follow us so we can get you safely to Stacy, so let’s go,” I ordered him. Stevens opened his mouth to complain, but a noise above us told us the guards were on the move.
“Hurry!” Luke hissed. He grabbed Stevens’ arm and dragged him to the door with me behind them. We sped out of the hall and disappeared down the passage to the cell room, but not in time to miss being seen by a group of guards who came to investigate Stevens’ yells.
“Stop!” the lead one yelled. That only made us go faster. We sprinted down the hall and into the cell room. Luke slammed the door behind us and we stepped over the unconscious guards to climb down the ladder. Luke pushed Stevens ahead of us, but the old lord hesitated at the top of the ladder.
He wrinkled his nose and stepped back. “I know where this leads, and I won’t-” The footsteps of our pursuers grew louder.
I whipped my head from the door to our stubborn and ungrateful rescuee. “You’ll thank me for this later,” I told him. I grabbed his arm and shoved him head-first down the hole. He screamed like a girl before a splash garbled his cry. Luke pushed me down and followed close behind me. He was one step ahead of the door bursting open and the guys rushing inside the room.
27
Down in the sewer Stevens picked himself up and his face was beet red, and not just because he had rotten beet on his face. “Don’t you dare do that to me again,” he warned me.
“You’ll thank me later than this,” I corrected myself.
“Run!” Luke ordered us. He pushed us forward and jumped back.
The three guards crashed down where we just stood. They hunkered down low to the water and growled at us. Luke growled back and jumped them. One of them avoided his grasp and lunged for Stevens. I pushed Stevens to the side and enjoyed watching him fall into the water just before I was myself dunked by the guard. He wrapped his hands around my neck and shoved my face into the filthy water. I struggled to lift my head, but he wouldn’t let me up.
An anger arose inside me. To die in this filthy place by this stupid thug was not my idea of a heroic death. I felt the Beast inside me howl in rage and my body transformed. My neck thickened and my clawed hands reached out from the water to grab his own throat. I pulled him into the water with me and rolled us over so I was on top. My face elongated and a sick grin slipped onto my thick, sharp fangs. The Beast inside me reveled in the feeling of him thrashing beneath me and his pulse weakening.
A hand shot out and grabbed one of my wrists. The person pulled my hand away and the guard floated up to the surface, unconscious but alive. He whipped my face to the interloper and found it was Stevens. “Control the Beast before it controls you,” he ordered me.
My eyes widened and I shook my head. “I-I didn’t know,” I stuttered.
He tossed my wrist to the side and sneered at me. “Now you don’t, so learn from it,” he shot back. He glanced over his shoulder and I followed his gaze. Luke tossed aside the last of the guards and stumbled over to us.
“I think I’ve had enough of the sewers,” he commented.
“And I’ve had enough of this city,” I returned.
Luke noticed my transformation and frowned. “What happened?”
“Could we talk about this in a cleaner spot? Say a soap factory?” I pleaded.
Luke pursed his lips, but nodded. He led the way back to the truck where Rick and Steve still waited for us. They jumped out of the vehicle to greet us, but got a whiff of our stench and stopped short of the welcome hug. Rick noticed Stevens and smiled. “So ya actually got him,” he commented.
Stevens frowned. “Yes, I have been got,” he agreed.
Rick bowed at the waist and gestured to the cab. “There’s just enough room to squeeze yer lordly ass in the cab,” he invited.
“I’m not riding in that,” Stevens argued.
Rick shrugged and jerked his head toward the bed. “Then ya ride back there.”
Stevens shuddered and slipped into the truck. Steve and Rick sat on either side of him, and Luke and I took our spot in the bed. Rick started the truck and glanced over his shoulder at us. “Where to?” he wondered.
“Head south out of the city. We need to get to Scientia to meet up with the others,” Luke told him.
“Got ya.” Rick hit the gas and we zoomed out of there.
A few blocks down Luke turned to me. “So what happened back there?” he wondered.
I looked away and shrugged. “I guess I got carried away.”
“With what?” he persisted.
I cringed. “With almost killing a guy,” I muttered. I expected outrage, shame, and a lot of yelling from him. All I got was silence, so I risked a glance. Luke looked at me with a mix of worry and regret. “Aren’t you going to tell me to control the Beast?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “I think you learned that when you realized what you’d almost done.”
“And will I. . .will I do it again?” I wondered.
“Only if you don’t control it, and if you try to hide your difficulties with it,” he told me.
“So no secrets?” I rephrased.
“No secrets,” he repeated. I narrowed my eyes and leaned toward him. He frowned and leaned back. “What? Do I have sewer on my face?”
“No, but you’ve been keeping secrets,” I told him.
He cringed. “I was meaning to tell you about Lance and me.”
I leaned away and crossed my arms. “Uh-huh, and that time was going to be when? After you killed him?” I guessed.
“When the time was right,” he reassured me. I wasn’t reassured.
“Telling your mate you have a brother that’s trying to kill us both is kind of important,” I persisted. I leaned toward him. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
He sighed. “Would you want to admit to anyone that your brother is insane and causes so much suffering?” he countered.
It was my turn to cringe. “I guess not, but how did he turn out crazy while you’re just crazy handsome?”
“We were born brothers, and were adopted by the previous Lord Laughton. I appreciated the gift our father gave us, but Lance enjoyed the scent of blood. He would start fights to smell it. After several years our father banished him from the estates and the Wildlands region. Lance showed up a few decades later as the adopted son of the Connor pack.” He snarled. “They were always known for their love of blood.”
“So you’re twins?” I guessed.
He nodded. “Yes, alike in scent, but different in everything else.”
I leaned my head against the cab and sighed. “As if all this wasn’t complicated enough.”
“It’ll only get worse if we don’t stop Lance and his intentions,” Luke replied.
I turned my head toward him. “You don’t really intend to kill him, do you?” I asked him.
He sighed and glanced up at the dark sky. The horizon in the west was lighting up with a new sun. The towering skyscrapers of the city became silhouettes in the distance as Rick drove us beyond the borders of the metropolis. Our long night of adventure was over, and more excitement lay in store for us in the south. We had our friends to reunite with, and the de-scenter to find and destroy. It was going to be a hell of a journey, but I had my mate by my side.
“We have to do what needs to be done to save everyone, but I hope not,” he whispered.
I slid against his shoulder and leaned my head in the crux of his neck. “So do I.”
Alpha Resolution
Alpha Blood, Book 3
1
“Are we there yet?”
The whiner was me, Becky, werewolf initiate extraordinaire. Right then I felt like a werewolf shaken and stirred. The place was a dusty road in the middle of nowhere. The vehicle was an old pickup truck just short of being an antique and well on its way to being scrap yard material. The time, some hours past lunch. The company was a few bricks shy of a load, or, to fit my hunger, a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
“This old truck isn’t going to go any faster on these damned roads,�
�� Rick growled at me through the cab window.
He was the driver, an old cantankerous man with a shotgun at his side full of silver bullets. Beside him sat George Stevens, lord of the werewolf region of Manutia and a general pain in the ass. On the other side of Stevens was Steve, a human young man about eighteen who looked like he’d rather be studying at some college than hanging around with a bunch of werewolves and a crazy old man out on a quest to save the werewolf race from self-extermination. At least, I think that’s what we were doing. My brain was so rattled from the rough road that I hadn’t lost the marbles inside my head, but I was pretty sure they were all broken.
“That’s enough,” Luke scolded us. His back was leaned against the side of the pickup bed and his eyes were closed. I don’t know why he even tried to fall asleep on this rough road.
It was a week after our escape from New York, or the werewolf equivalent of it. The city of Bolton was far behind us, and far in front of us, somewhere beyond the small towns and cities of Manutia, lay the region of Scientia. The northern land of Manutia was a heavily populated metropolis, but this southern part was more like a mix between the fields of Agropolis and the wilds of my new home, Wildlands. There were scattered towns and the occasional larger city, but Rick had packed enough supplies in the back of the truck that we were able to skirt civilization for this long week.
I plopped myself down beside Luke and sighed. “Remind me again what we’re doing out here in the middle of the middle of nowhere,” I asked him.
“Our safest route to enter Scientia is to find a hole in the region defenses,” he explained.
“How large is this region? I mean, can they really be patrolling most of it?” I wondered.
“It is quite large, and we have the advantage there,” he told me. “Unfortunately, we do not know how many werewolves they have convinced to join them, so they may have a regular patrol on all parts of the border.”
“I won’t believe so many werewolves would join that madman,” Stevens spoke up.
