Page 145 of Contested Crown

Inside the door, there were more people, but they didn’t have a chance because now we had space, and one thing packs knew was how to pick at enemies when space was on their side.

I chose someone close, taking him down fast, faster than I’d thought possible, just a tackle and teeth at his throat. Then, I joined Heather.

She’d surrounded two men with the wolves under her, and they fired randomly at her. One bullet ricocheted, hitting the leg of one of the wolves, and it distracted them enough that the circle gave way. The men were going to escape, but dark lines covered them, binding them to the floor, and that was all we needed. Heather and her wolves jumped, biting and tearing, and I moved further in, searching for the scent that made me think of vengeance.

I wouldn’t let him win, not when I was this close, not with a pack at my back. He couldn’t win. Hecouldn’t.

Coral and Theo were with me, their panting breaths right at my side, and Nia appeared out of the darkness, and we crept forward like predators toward the door. It splintered apart in front of us, dark lines of tattoo shattering the wood, and when we were in, he was there.

He had a gun raised and fired it straight at me, right at my head, but a blackberry bramble rose in front of me, absorbing the bullet, and then I was on him. My teeth tore through his clothes, the taste foreign and odd on my tongue. I was going to kill Declan Monroe.

My teeth closed around his throat, and he clawed at me, digging fingers into my eyes and mouth, fishhooking my lips, but I was too driven, too strong. He could tear the fur from my flesh, but I was going to kill him first.

My mate was at my side, and he was talking, low and urgent. Words came in fragments.

“…need him… Leon… drugs… Thorn. There has to be… antidote.”

Irritated, I pulled back, releasing Declan’s throat. I stayed on him, pressing him down to the ground. Then I shifted back into human form, not even caring that I was naked, pressing Declan into the wood floor.

“Declan,” I growled. “I have defeated you. Yield, or I willend you.”

Declan exhaled, half a snort, half frustration. “Christ, Miles. You got me, okay. I yield.”

ChapterForty-Seven

Declan smirked as I stared at him with narrowed eyes. Cade stepped forward, his dark tattoos pinning Declan to the floor, and I finally stood, moving a half step back. Cade handed me my clothes and said, “I have him. Get dressed.”

I nodded, my mind still spinning out, still caught as a wolf, still caught in the rush of a blood hunt, in the pack that surrounded me. Nia bumped her head to my hip, and the rest of the pack pulled me down, clothes forgotten as we cuddled close, dried blood ignored in favor of affection.

Then Rhys came through the door, panting, eyes wide. They searched through the sprawl of wolves until they found Nia. When they dropped to their knees, grabbing her in a tight hug, I realized something was wrong. Pulling on my pants, I asked, “What?”

The abrupt question was all my brain had space for, my wolf still looming large in my mind, growling in my ear, the rumble of its snarl putting me on edge.

“Youdisappeared. You justvanished. I almost had a heart attack! I thought you’d been killed, and then I ran up five flights of stairs! This outfit was not meant for running up stairs!” Rhys gestured to their clothing, including the kitty-heeled boots.

I pulled on my shirt, frowning in surprise. “Wait, this should have been shredded when I shifted.”

“Should have but wasn’t, because who’s amazing?Moi.” Rhys gestured to themself.

Shaking my head, I let Heather pin me on one side, Evelyn on the other, Gabe leaning against my back. The pressure of their bodies, their fur rubbing against my skin, let me relax muscle by muscle, my brain coming back slowly.

“What do you mean that we disappeared?” I asked.

“You all justdisappeared. Poof! Gone! I couldn’t feel you anymore.” Rhys gestured around the room. “And now I know why!”

“Miles, I tried to tell you,” Cade said from across the room. “I tried to tell you that there was magic on the last door, but everything happened so fast. It appears that Declan was tied more closely to Leon than we realized. This is the House Bartlett building.”

My eyes went wide, and I looked toward the massive window, which revealed an expanse of ocean, the city sprawled out underneath. Shaking my head, I stood. Declan’s office was twice the size of Rhys’s showroom and had his trademark desk but also a large conference table and a few seats under reading lamps. A closed door led somewhere else, and I saw a hallway through an open door on the perpendicular wall.

When I approached, Cade was holding out the radio to Declan. “Tell them to stand down.”

Cade looked at me in frustration, and I raised an eyebrow. Shaking his head, Cade said, “We have two floors locked down, but I don’t want to let the mages open the doors until we’re sure that any of Declan’s people inside won’t come right back and attack us. He refuses to admit defeat.”

“‘Refuses’ is such a strong word,” Declan said. “You have to give a man some dignity.”

Even on the ground, Declan looked as though he didn’t care about the outcome. He’d won in some way I wouldn’t understand yet, and I was going to stumble into his trap soon.

“Give me the radio,” I said.