Page 38 of Property of Mako (Kings of Anarchy MC: Louisiana #1)

The Reckoning

Lyra

The clubhouse felt too quiet.

The Kings were out checking the city. All I was told was that they had a shipment coming in and essentially needed to make sure the coast was clear. They had all been somber after they came back the other night. Niner had been conspicuously absent.

Tonight, Crypt had been left behind to “keep an eye” on me, though I knew that meant Calix had told him to keep me under lock and key if I so much as twitched wrong.

Lily sat at the table with Dexter and Bugsy, picking at a deck of cards and pretending she wasn’t still shaken.

She’d been jumpy since the plantation. Since Thane. Since everything.

I understood. I was jumpy too.

“I want to go home,” Lily whispered suddenly, voice barely audible. “Not the house—just… somewhere that doesn’t smell like oil and cigarettes.”

I smiled faintly, brushing her hair back from her face. “Soon. Calix and the guys are just tying up a few loose ends.”

Crypt’s wolf-yellow eyes flicked up from where he leaned against the wall. He didn’t say anything, but I felt the weight of his stare. Watching. Measuring. Like he wasn’t sure if he was guarding me… or guarding the world from me.

I was about to tell him off when the air shifted.

Cold. Heavy. A creeping chill slid beneath my skin and set my teeth on edge.

Then he was there.

Thane stepped through the shadows as if the night itself had opened a door for him. His smile was too sharp, his presence wrong in a way that made my stomach twist.

How the fuck did he get in? He was a vampire, not an elite demon. Calix had explained to me that only the top few demons had the abilities that Haidyn had. Vampires couldn’t just pop in and out of places like they could.

“Well, isn’t this cozy,” he drawled, voice like silk over broken glass. His eyes lingered on me before cutting to Lily. “Two little songbirds in a gilded cage. Or should I say a rusty cage?” His lip curled as he glanced around the clubhouse with disdain.

Crypt was already shifting, bones snapping as the wolf surged forward. But Thane didn’t even flinch. He looked past him, straight at me. Dexter and Bugsy were still, but I could tell they were ready to spring.

“You should know,” he said casually to Bugsy, Crypt, and Dexter, “your little traitor? Niner? He was mine from the start. An easily manipulated fool. I’d planned to sacrifice him anyway. Everything played out just as I wanted.”

My stomach dropped.

He was gloating. Because he could.

His gaze sharpened as it swept over me, taking in every line of my body, every breath I took. “I see Mako couldn’t resist changing you.” His mouth curved into a sneer. “Pity. You might still prove useful, though. Besides, I still have your sister.”

Lily froze beside me. “What?”

He lifted his hand and in a blink of fire, a brand glowed across her wrist—dark, ugly, twisting. My breath caught.

“Do you know what this means, little one?” he asked her softly. “It means you are mine.”

His eyes cut back to me, glowing with malicious satisfaction.

“That mark was branded with a drop of my blood. Imagine it as my personal little beacon. I can always find her. Even if I hadn’t won the auction that you and your friends interrupted, I would’ve found her and taken her.

And the treats you were fed during your captivity?

Do you remember those, Lily?” He paused and glanced at her trembling form.

Lily whimpered, tears brimming in her eyes.

He grinned maliciously before returning his attention to me. “Those were blackened fragments of a dead vampire’s flesh. A delicacy, but also a type of binding. She may not be an actual vampire , but she’ll live forever—ensuring that her blood will always be harvestable.”

I felt sick. My nails dug into the table hard enough to splinter wood.

But then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement.

Bugsy was tapping something out on his phone as he hid it under the table.

Then Dexter’s hand brushed Lily’s shoulder, his lips moving in silent words.

A shimmer spread like heat waves, cloaking them both until they blurred and disappeared from sight.

Thane froze, tilted his head, and frowned at me. “Where did my little pet go?” His voice dropped to a hiss.

“I’ll never let you touch her again,” I spat, shoving to my feet.

He moved faster than light, a blur of shadow and teeth, grabbing my arm hard enough to bruise. His breath was hot against my ear. “You couldn’t save your parents. You couldn’t save her before. You won’t save her now. You’ll fail again—just like her father failed her when he disappeared.”

The words were knives. My body trembled with fury.

And then the doors slammed open.

“Mako! Watch out!” I shouted.

Calix’s voice was a roar as he stormed in, eyes burning silver, fangs bared. But he wasn’t fast enough.

Thane chuckled darkly, yanking me closer. “Perfect timing. Watch your mate break just like your sister did.”

Crypt launched himself forward in full wolf form, massive and snarling, and sank his teeth into the back of Thane’s leg. Thane howled, spinning, slamming his hand against Crypt’s skull and throwing him into the wall with bone-shaking force.

It gave Calix the opening he needed. He tore me from Thane’s grip, shoving me behind him.

“Get her out,” he ordered.

Bugsy jumped to his feet and approached me.

But I couldn’t move. Not when Crypt lay limp. Not when Thane’s laughter echoed through the clubhouse like a curse.

Thane shot at Bugsy and punched him so hard he flew over the bar and into the liquor bottles. Glass shattered, and I heard Bugsy’s body land with a thud and then silence from behind the bar.

The next moment, Calix and Thane were at each other. Fists swung, teeth gnashed, and they tore at each other with a long-standing vengeance. I knew this was hundreds of years in the making, but it didn’t lessen my worry for Calix’s safety.

I rushed over to Crypt Keeper to see if he was still alive.

I would check Bugsy next. When I placed a hand on his thick fur, his golden eyes slowly opened.

The agony in them brought tears to my eyes.

If only Dexter were here. But he had gotten Lily out, and at the moment, that was more important to me.

A loud crash brought my head up with a quickness. Thane had slammed Calix onto a table, shattering it and sending Calix to the floor amidst the rubble. Calix slowly rolled over and got to his knees. As he kept a watchful eye on Thane as he circled, he tried to catch his breath.

In a flash, he pounced and slammed full force into Thane. They collided and it propelled them through the front doors in a storm of fists, claws, and teeth. Wood splintered. Metal groaned.

Outside, I could hear the battle continue.

Unable to shift due to what seemed to be a broken shoulder, Crypt couldn’t speak to me.

Still, I stroked his soft head and asked, “What do I do?”

In my head, I heard his voice. Go help Calix. Thane is old. Powerful. He will kill him .

My jaw dropped in shock. “How did I just understand you?”

You’re his mate. He’s your sire. When you changed, you took on his characteristics and abilities.

Then I remembered. I wasn’t a weak human any longer.

Resolute, I got to my feet. Nails biting into my palms, I stormed through the gaping hole that had once been a door.

I saw Thane choking Calix from behind as he bared his fangs and prepared to end Calix.

And I snapped.

The taste of blood filled my mouth before I even realized I’d moved. I slammed into Thane with every ounce of strength my new body carried, rage howling through my veins. His eyes went wide just as my hands wrenched his head back.

Then I sank my teeth into his throat, feeling them slip through muscle and tendons, and ripped.

Hot, foul blood sprayed across my tongue, burning like fire. Before I could process what I’d done, I had his neck in my mouth again. Viciously, I tore at it. His body convulsed, shadow and flesh seeming to decay beneath my grasp.

When it was over, he hit the dirt in silence.

I was shaking, covered in his blood, staring at my hands like I didn’t know who—or what—I was anymore.

Calix’s arms came around me from behind, pulling me back against his chest. His voice was rough, ragged.

“Jesus fucking Christ, baby. You saved me,” he whispered, his tone carrying an awe I’d never heard from him before.

But all I could think was: What did I just become?

He spun me in his arms and held me tightly.

“Crypt. Bugsy,” I choked out as a sob burst from my lips. My face was tingling, and I trembled from head to toe.

“You’re okay,” Calix soothed. “I’ve got you. We’ll go check on them. Where’s Lily and Dexter?”

I didn’t get a chance to answer. The faint roar of motorcycles grew louder. Two by two, they came around the corner of the clubhouse. When they saw the grisly mess around us, they poured off their bikes and came running.

“We’re fine,” Calix coarsely barked. “Inside. Crypt. Bugsy.”

“Christ, not Bugsy again,” I heard Bait mutter as he was rushing off toward the opening in the side of the clubhouse. He was followed by several others that I didn’t catch. I think shock was starting to set in.

Calix scooped me up and brought me inside. He stepped over the splintered wood and glass and set me on the couch. “Dexter took Lily and disappeared.”

Calix’s head jerked back as his gaze widened. “What do you mean disappeared? Where did they go?”

“When Thane showed up, he was bragging about everything he’d made happen. He was distracted with his self-importance, and Dexter touched Lily and they… disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” Killswitch asked with a pinch in his brow and confusion in his tone.

“Call him,” Boomslang ordered. “Now.”

Killswitch already had his phone in his hand. After a few rings, I could hear Dexter’s voice on the other end of the line.

“Brother, where the fuck are you? Are you and Lily okay?” Killswitch asked before switching his phone to speaker.

“Yeah, I’ve got the kid. Shit went down at the clubhouse, and I knew I needed to get her out of there,” Dexter replied.

“Everything’s under control. Get back here as soon as you can. We have things to discuss,” Boomslang spoke up.

“Roger that, Prez. Heading back there now. But umm, could someone come and get us?” he sounded confused.

“Where are you?” Boomslang asked.

“So that’s what I don’t understand…” he hesitantly said. “According to my GPS, we’re in the middle of Fontainebleau State Park.”

“What?” Zeus squawked. “How the fuck did you get there, then?”

“I… I honestly don’t know,” Dexter admitted.

Boomslang was already motioning for Zeus and a prospect. “You two, take the armored SUV and go get them.”

Zeus firmly nodded, then grabbed the keys from the key box behind the bar.

“Zeus and Thing Three are on the way. He’ll be calling you soon to get your location,” Killswitch informed him.

They took off, and everyone sat there slightly stunned.