Page 34

CHAPTER 33

T hat fucking prick.

I storm from his office, his laughter chasing me.

His fucking smirk haunts me as I stomp down the corridor, only to jerk to a stop as Ronan pops into view before me. “Fucking ghosts,” I mutter as I march through him.

“What happened?” Ronan chuckles, completely unbothered by my anger. “You look like you got fucked or tried to kill each other—or maybe both.”

“Shut it,” I warn.

I know I’m being unreasonable, but I’m annoyed at myself. I would have fucked him if he hadn’t stopped us. Why did he? Shit, I’m a mess, and I need to focus on the hunt ahead, not my annoyance at that smirking asshole sitting behind his desk.

Black is all that matters.

“Ronan,” I warn as he appears in front of me again, and I come to a stop.

“Tate, listen to me.” His serious tone makes me swallow my next rant. “Whatever Shamus did or said, you should know he’s not the kind of man to do something without thinking through every angle of it. He chose you for a reason. You can trust him.”

“You trust him blindly?—”

“Not blindly. He earned it,” he replies. “He earned it with every battle and year spent by my side, and when I died . . . he was lost. He brought us back, fighting death itself for it. He’s the strongest and most trustworthy person I have ever met. He does everything for other people. His entire life is for someone else, so if he took something for himself, know that it took something major to make him. I’m not saying he’s perfect, but he’s a good man, Tate.”

I hold his gaze, relaxing a little at his words. “Are you angry you died?”

“I used to be,” he admits. “Not anymore. It was nobody’s fault. It was just a matter of life. We all die eventually. My time was simply a lot earlier than some, but I’m lucky. Shamus gave me a second chance, and most do not get that.” He’s as serious as I’ve ever seen him.

I shrug. “You’re loyal to him.”

“I am, but I’m also loyal to you,” he says. “You’ve earned it. I spent years watching you, Tate, and reporting to him. You may not like it, but we know you. We trust you. I’m loyal to Shamus, yes, but to you as well. You are the only two people in his world I care about. I’m with you.”

“Until he orders you not to be,” I snap as I walk past him, and something about Ronan leaving causes me to feel a sense of unease. I didn’t know he was there before, but knowing I wasn’t alone, even in my darkest times, it’s . . . comforting. There is no embarrassment between us, but maybe there should be. He’s seen me at my worst, my most vulnerable, but there’s just this bond I can’t explain.

He stops before me, suddenly turning solid, and grips my arm to stop me. “Not even then. I’m loyal to him, yes, but he cannot order me away from you. Nobody can, not even you. I will not go.”

“Not even if I order you to?” I challenge.

“Not even then. You’re stuck with me, Tate.” He grins. “I’ve seen everything about your life. There are no secrets between us, and there never will be. The others will be jealous of our connection.”

I snort at that before something clicks.

“Wait.” My eyes narrow. “Did you watch me shower?”

His eyes widen, and he suddenly goes back to being incorporeal.

“Ronan!” I roar as he ducks and floats away. “You fucking pervy ghost! Get back here now!”

I chase him down the corridor, but he’s gone, the floating invisible fuck. When I get my hands on him, I’m going to make him wish he were never brought back.

I’m all packed for the hunt. Shamus provided us with transport, so we’ll drive the truck through the portal. We are all ready. The others didn’t need much prep, and they all know what we are doing now.

They are joining me on my journey for revenge.

As I stare at myself in the mirror of the safe room, wearing my hunter leathers, I realise I look wrong. Something is missing, and I know what it is. The wire is before me, the one I usually keep in my hair. It’s silly, but I feel naked without it.

I stare at my hair in annoyance. I can’t plait it back into my usual hunting braid, and I finger the short strands in a bit of irritation and shame. It’s just hair, but they did this to me, and I don’t feel like I can hunt them like this, as if they have a hold over me. I need to make this weakness a strength.

“I could grow it for you,” the fae offers, reading my expression.

“No.” Even if it wouldn’t cost me, I wouldn’t do it. “I refuse to show weakness. It’s just hair, but I do need to change it from what they did to something of my choosing.”

I pluck a small dagger from my waist and carefully grab a chunk of my hair on the left, putting the sharp edge under and slicing through. The red strands fall to the floor, leaving short, rough ends behind, and I frown, wishing I had a razor. One appears before me, and I glance back to see the warlock nodding at me.

“Whatever happened, your body should always be your own.”

“Thank you,” I say as I pick up the portable razor and buzz the left side of my hair above my ear and push the other side over so it falls jaggedly. It looks better. The fae appears, and without a word, he clicks his fingers and a small braid appears at the top of the left side, flopping over to the right, and he weaves the wire through it before stepping back.

“That one was for free.” He winks.

I turn and face them. Fang is sitting on the bonnet of the truck, waiting, and she gives me two thumbs up when I catch her eyes. “It looks hot.”

I wink and carry on looking them over. “If anyone wants to back out, now is the time. This is my revenge, not yours.”

“We’re a team,” Tem says. “Aren’t we?”

“Yes, we are all going with you,” Addeus confirms.

Jarek simply grins as Ronan smiles from a safe distance.

“Okay then.” Taking a deep breath, I grab my bag, throw it in the back of the truck, and toss the keys to Fang. “You drive, hot stuff.”

She blinks but grins as she slips down from the bonnet, and as I pass her to head to the passenger side, she smacks my ass and kisses my cheek. “Let’s kick some ass. By the way, speaking of ass, yours looks great in those pants.”

I gawk as she whistles and heads to the driver’s seat.

Ronan nods. “She’s right.”

“I can’t see it well enough.” Tem crouches and eyes me, and I storm away, embarrassed but smiling as the others join in, talking about my ass until my face is bright red.

Once everyone piles into the car, with Tem sitting on Addeus’s knees and Ronan floating in the boot with Jarek, I glance at Fang. “Let’s do this.”

I show them the location, and a portal big enough for the car opens. She drives through with a confident look, and then we are on the other side, the portal closing behind us. We are on a wide road with trees surrounding us on either side.

“Where are we?” she asks.

“Wild country,” I reply. “Be careful. Wolves call this place home, and they won’t be too happy seeing hunters. The hunters are holed up at a local two-storey building, and that’s where Black will be, at HQ. Head that way, but stay off the road at the end. We need to scout it first.”

“Got it.” She blows a bubble with her gum, and we drive for a little while before she pulls off, hiding the truck in the trees.

I grab my bag and glance back. “We are on foot from here. Fang, you’re with me. Ronan, scout ahead. The rest of you will stay here. I’ll call if I need you.”

Tem pouts. “Aww.”

“Just for now,” I promise, “until we know what we are dealing with.” I turn forward, refusing to admit I don’t trust them not to storm in and slaughter everyone. I want to speak to Black first. I want him to see me coming.

Fang and I climb out while Ronan disappears into the forest.

Keeping my eyes peeled and a gun out, I glance at Fang as she moves silently at my side. “Do you want a weapon?”

“Nah, I’m good. I am a weapon.” She winks.

Snorting, I look forward before crouching.

“What is it?” she murmurs, glancing over my shoulder.

“You see that?” I nod at the print. “That’s a wolf paw.”

“Shit, we might be too late,” she says.

“I hope not.” Standing, we tread farther into the forest, but it feels strange.

“There are more tracks—not just wolves, but many others. See that? Something big trampled through here,” I whisper. “It’s . . . weird. This many monsters near hunters?” A bad feeling builds within me.

A few days ago, there was a blood moon, and I swear I woke with something hammering in my chest, and that feeling comes back now, like a call.

Ronan suddenly appears, his eyes wide. “You are going to want to see this,” he says.

I lift my gun, and he shakes his head. “You won’t need it. Let’s head back to the car.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, but he ignores me.

Following Ronan’s advice, we go back to the car. I hate going in uncovered, but he asked me to trust him, so we drive slowly down the road. Every one of us is on edge in case hunters jump out at us, but when we pull into a parking lot before the two-storey building, I get my first glimpse of what he saw, and I understand what he meant.

It’s a battlefield filled with bodies and death. Wild animals eat the corpses, until gravel crunches under our tires and they scatter. The front doors are blown open, and there are bullet holes everywhere.

More shell casings cover every inch of the ground.

Fang stops the car, and we get out. I step over limbs, puddles of blood, and rotting bodies, searching every face for someone I recognise, but they are all too badly destroyed. I don’t see Black or the others, nor do I see any monsters, only hunters.

“What the fuck happened here?” Jarek asks.

“I don’t know,” I say as I glance at the busted door. Lifting my gun, I head that way, ducking inside in case anyone fires, but no one does.

There’s more blood here, more bodies and bullets too, and I follow them to a door that leads down. I tap my side and gesture for Ronan. He heads down and calls up a moment later.

“All dead here.”

Following after him, I keep my gun raised just in case, but he’s right. There’s nothing living here, just more blood and bodies—all hunters. We pass through the room and follow a narrow corridor marred with claw marks, finding rooms holding more bodies.

Wolves. It seems the hunters picked a fight with the wrong people.

There’s a cage in the back room that draws my attention. It’s empty, the door hanging off its hinges with claw marks and blood leading away from it. Clearly, it held a wolf.

Turning around, I scan the room. “There was a big battle here, and the hunters lost.” From the smell, I know it has to be a few days old, maybe even weeks.

“I smell wolves, a lot of them,” Addeus remarks, and I nod. I see the signs as well, even if my senses are not as good as his.

“It seems they picked a fight with someone they couldn’t win against,” I murmur.

I stand in the midst of what was once a hunter HQ. All that is left is death and destruction. I wonder where and how Black fits in when my eyes land on the computer room, and I walk inside. A video is loaded on the screens, so I hit play.

A determined, grim-faced woman starts to speak. There’s something about her eyes . . . She’s a wolf.

“Last night, my pack and I killed every hunter in this area. We didn’t do it unprovoked. Hunters came into my home, burnt my family alive, and chopped my father’s head off before my eyes. They killed so many, the blood cannot be washed away, even today. They also went after children, innocents who had never done anything wrong. Along with this email, which I am sending to every hunter whose email address is in this laptop, I will attach the videos I found that show their crimes—not just against wolves, but against every beast, as you call us. You vowed to protect human life and innocents, but you are just using it to cover your sick tendencies, like rape and torture. You aren’t soldiers, you are serial killers, and this is your warning. We will rise. We will not accept this anymore. Every monster will be made aware. You have two choices—die for your crimes or clean house. Stop the madness. Kill those who hurt innocents, not those who are innocent. I know from my mates, who were hunters, that you did not start this to be evil, but to help, so do that. If you don’t, and if this doesn’t stop, mark my words—I will hunt every single one of you down and rip out your hearts.”

The date is from a week ago. What does this mean?

Is Black dead?

I didn’t see his body outside, nor the others’, but that doesn’t mean anything. He could have been ripped apart, eaten, or simply be somewhere else.

Is my revenge gone?

It’s a bitter pill to swallow.

“Tate?” Ronan murmurs. “I think we should leave.”

I nod, knowing he’s right, but as I look around, I know I cannot leave without answers. Pulling off my glove, I press my hand to the closest bloodstained wall and watch. Agony, pain, and death ricochet around my chest. A female . . . A wolf . . . It’s her memories. She’s angry and so very strong.

Love fills her every action, and respect fills me as I wander through and up the building, touching every surface I can, searching for Black and my old team.

At the front door, I finally see what I need to.

Black’s voice rings through my head, igniting my fury. I wish I were here that night to end him—not just for me, but for all the wolves huddled around, scared and tired of fighting. I can feel this she-wolf’s need for peace.

She never wanted this, just like me.

I follow the trail outside and lay my hand on the ground, closing my eyes as I watch what went down. I see my team fall, and then Black.

Standing, I slide my glove back on and turn around to find them all watching me.

“They are dead. It’s over,” I announce.

I hate those words so much, but it’s the truth.

Black and my team are gone, and so is my revenge.

It’s a good thing they have been stopped, but I can’t help feeling like it was stolen from me.