A Shifter's Curse, Raven Steele [the top 100 crime novels of all time .TXT] 📗
- Author: Raven Steele
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“That’s the thing. They didn’t make me. I had a choice, but I chose the pack. I chose to hurt someone I genuinely care about because of my obsession with revenge. It’s messed up.” I lowered my head back against the side of the house and stared up into the dark sky. Stars littered the sky baring witness to my shame. “I think I should just kill Silas and Dominic and be done with it. Leave town. Move on with my life.”
He was quiet for a minute, staring at the sky with me. “That’s what I thought when I first joined.”
I huffed. How many years had he been with them? That couldn’t be me.
“Look.” He shuffled in the chair to face me. “It’s not easy to kill them. Not if you want to keep on living. And if you kill one of them, the other one will kill you before you get a chance to kill them both. You must stay smart about this. Remember, it’s not just your family Dominic has hurt. I lost count of his victims a long time ago. Until you came along, I’d stopped trying to find ways to thwart Dominic. It always got me into trouble. If it weren’t for my money, he would’ve killed me by now. But now that you’re here, hope has returned. Together, we have a real chance to stop him. Not just him, but his whole network. Two Morettis against the world.” He chuckled. “Your father and I used to say that as children.”
I sat forward, running my hands over my face even though it hurt. “But how do I reconcile the person I’m going to have to become to accomplish what we want? I don’t want to hurt innocent people.”
He placed his hand over mine. “I understand better than most. People will suffer, whether by your hand or the pack’s. At least under yours, there is an end in sight. Once the pack is destroyed, all those controlled by Dominic will be free.”
“True.” I ground my teeth together, thinking of how I had hurt Lynx. The images would give me nightmares the rest of my life. But how many nightmares had Dominic given to others? The boogeyman had to be stopped. He held too much power.
Silence settled between us. A thin layer of fog worked its way through the trees, slowly smothering the forest. Frogs and crickets, hidden within, croaked a haunting tune.
“Briar, what changed you that night?”
I turned toward my uncle. I knew exactly what ‘night’ he was talking about.
“There used to be a sparkle in your eyes,” he continued. “I remember chasing you through the apple orchards. You were always so fast and agile. I could never catch you.”
“It didn’t matter in the end, though. I was captured,” I said. “And it wasn’t just my family’s deaths that had changed me, but also the crushing darkness that had come after.”
“When you were in the well?”
“I should’ve died in there.” I shivered, remembering. “But I turned my sorrow into rage. That is what saved me. That is what changed me.”
I jumped to my feet, needing to pace and to release the tightening sensation around my chest.
“I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.” He stood and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Together, I promise you, we will destroy Dominic and anyone who stands with him.”
I spun around and searched his brown eyes. The rage behind their glossy surface mirrored my own. I nodded my head as I remembered how I had broken every fingernail to the quick as I had tried to climb the well’s stone walls.
“Whatever it takes. I’m all in.”
Lynx healed quickly, thanks to Samira. I might not fully understand or relate to the number-loving vampire, but I was glad she was around. She helped right my terrible wrong, though it would be a while before things were right between Lynx and me.
The next day, I became one of three security guards for Silas. Some of the pack tossed me some heat because they resented the fact I had already been given a high position, but Gerald made sure no one messed with me. It was Silas’ actions that bothered me the most. He watched me all of the time as if I was a new species he hadn’t seen before.
It was nauseating to be so close to the man who had watched as Dominic had dropped me into a grave to die. It took every ounce of strength I had not to rip him apart every time I was around him. If it wasn’t for my uncle always tempering my anger, I would’ve killed him ten times over.
But if I did that, I’d never get a shot at Dominic. The two were never together without several others with them.
Silas was a brutal and sadistic man, more so than I ever could’ve imagined. He loved inflicting pain and watching it even more. There seemed to be no reason to his madness, which I found more frightening than Dominic’s quiet need to control everyone around him.
I tried to figure out what made him tick, but the only time I got him to say something personal about himself was when he mentioned how he had stabbed his father to death when he had taken away the keys to Dominic’s brand-new Mustang. He had laughed after that horrible story. I couldn’t tell if he had been joking or not.
At first, being Silas’ bodyguard wasn’t all that bad. If anything, it was good. I gained a lot of information about the inner workings of the pack. He would attend different meetings with city officials or police, mostly to buy them off for either damage the pack had caused or, damage they were going to cause in the future.
I also learned the pack had a lot of money, something Samira confirmed. But Dominic was never satisfied; he always had new ideas on expansion, which required more money. Money came in from their side ventures; from the funds they collected from local businesses; and, a good portion came from my uncle, especially when they needed a lump sum. My uncle was never given a chance to say no. They demanded, he gave.
And just like that, I watched my father’s fortune slowly dwindle to fund their illegal pack activity.
I thought today would be like every other day, but Silas surprised us by saying it was time to visit the Greybacks, the wolf pack who used to run Rouen. When they were taken over by the Silver Claws, part of their surrender was to pay ten percent of everything they made to us. Payment was due three days ago, and Silas was absolutely giddy about going to collect. His excitement worried me.
I leaned against a sleek, silver Cadillac and waited for everyone to arrive before we left. Silas limped up to the car, leaning on his cane more than usual. Lilith had one arm linked through his other one, while her free hand played with her long blond hair. She was one of the witch sisters and also Lynx’s cousin.
“Briar, you’re driving,” he said.
“Alright.” I straightened. “Where’s Toby?” Normally Toby drove.
“Dominic’s got him running an errand.” Silas allowed Lilith to open the front passenger door for him.
“Perfect,” I mumbled and climbed behind the steering wheel. This meant we were short on security. I hoped that wouldn’t bite us in the ass later. From everything Ryder had told me, the Greybacks were impulsive and violent. Not a good combo.
Lilith sat in the back seat and pulled out a nail file. I’d only met two of the three witches. Lilith seemed to be the more relaxed one, always acting like she didn’t care about anyone or anything, but this likewise made her cruel and uncaring. She was also Dominic’s favorite to take to bed, so she pretty much got anything she asked for.
“Gerald,” Silas barked from the passenger seat of the car. The tone of his voice, shrill and volatile, hurt my ears.
Gerald rose from filling the front tire with air. “Whatcha need, boss?”
“Grab Ryder. I want him with us.”
I turned to Silas in shock, my pulse racing.
“But Ryder’s never done security before,” Gerald said.
“I don’t care. Bring him.”
“Alright, bossman.” Gerald walked away.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to bring Ryder,” I said, keeping my voice even and gentle. “His father is the Alpha. They might get pissed to see him there.”
Silas lowered the visor in front of him and opened his mouth to inspect his teeth. “I need a toothpick.”
“I’m serious. Ryder should stay.”
“I’m bored.” Lilith slid the nail board over her nails again. “Let’s get this over with.”
Silas opened the glovebox and pushed aside its various contents until he found what he wanted. He lifted his upper lip
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