A Shifter's Curse, Raven Steele [the top 100 crime novels of all time .TXT] 📗

I stretched tall to face him, all six feet seven. My head only came to the top of his shoulders. I swallowed the cannonball in my throat.

“Ryder is a Silver Claw,” I said. “I’m taking him home.”

He glanced around as if he could see through the barn’s walls. "I only sense one of you. So either Dominic wants you as dead as my bastard son here, or, you're doing this all on your own. Brave, but stupid.”

"Well, no one’s ever called me smart before.”

“I can see why.”

“Yeah, well, I'm getting Ryder out of here, and you’re not going to stop me." I forced myself not to look toward the stalls in the back, in case he hadn’t seen me take the humans. I wouldn’t be able to explain that one.

"You can't beat me, little she-wolf. I’m an Alpha, but because of your bravery, I'd like to offer you a deal." He paused for dramatic effect. "Join our pack, and I'll let you live."

I glanced back at Ryder. Blood dripped from a wound on his head. "And what about him?"

"There is no him. He is already dead."

"Then no deal. Pack members stick together.”

He cracked his knuckles and cocked his head side to side. "I'm going to enjoy this."

“Don’t do it,” Ryder coughed. “Just go.”

“Shut up,” I snapped, hoping Ryder was out of it enough that he wouldn’t remember what was about to happen.

Time for my wolf to take over, mostly. She had been itching for it for days.

“Let’s get this over with.” My fangs grew long, and I snapped my hands forward, extracting claws as sharp as razor blades. I grinned. This was the fun part.

I didn't entirely shift, because I needed this to end quickly. My wolf would tear him to shreds, resulting in a lot of noise that would attract attention. As a human, I was able to control precise movements compared to my wolf's brutality. She didn’t care how loud her victims screeched.

Jackson lunged at me, slashing across my face, but I ducked just in time. I kicked him in the side, sending him flying into the wall across from him. The sound was louder than I wanted. He spun around, growling and spitting from his mouth. He attacked me again, but I was much faster. He was all brute strength. I was speed, agility, and strength.

I kicked at his thigh, almost snapping his femur, but he absorbed the blow and stumbled back. We punched at each other, both of us getting in good hits.

"You are extremely powerful for a shifter." He narrowed his eyes as we circled each other. "There's something about the way you fight. Does Dominic know how strong you are?" He laughed. “Probably not. Otherwise he’d have killed you by now.”

I growled, frustrated I couldn't end this quicker than I’d wanted. Time to put this asshole down. I ran at him again, grabbing a discarded pitchfork. Just as we met each other, he swung high, and I ducked beneath his massive fist while also jamming the pitchfork up through his chin and out his prominent cheekbones.

His eyes widened in surprise, and he stumbled back. The blow wouldn't kill him, but it had sealed his mouth shut. He yanked at the wooden handle of the fork, but it didn’t budge.

With him preoccupied, I hurried to Ryder and helped him to his feet. It only took us a few seconds, and he was in the passenger seat. I jumped behind the wheel and slammed my foot onto the gas pedal just as several shifters came running after me.

Fog, trapped within the darkness, parted for us as we drove ninety miles an hour down an old country road. I had to get out of here before they caught up with me. I turned a few random lefts and rights in case I was being followed, but after a few miles, I realized I was alone. The Greybacks probably assumed I was heading back to Fire Ridge and thought to cut me off, but that was not my destination.

When I reached my street, I drove behind the house and parked on the back lawn in case anyone tried to come by. It would take a while for them to figure out where I lived, if they even decided to retaliate. Taking Ryder was one thing, but I didn’t think they’d dare attack another Silver Claw.

I turned off the ignition and checked on the humans. They were still alive but sleeping fitfully, huddled together under the barn blankets. Ryder stirred from the front; he’d fallen asleep on the way home. Then, seeing we’d stopped and I wasn’t in the cab, he jerked up and looked around.

I walked around to his door and pointed to the bed of the truck. ”Keep an eye on them.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll be right back.” I walked inside the house and knocked on Lynx’s bedroom door. “Lynx? Sorry to wake you, but I need help.”

She opened her bedroom door and tied a string around her robe. She yawned and smoothed her hair down. "What's going on?"

"Is Samira here, too?"

"I'm here."

I turned around. Samira wore a long, black jacket with her twin blades crossed on her back. She looked like she was going to war.

I frowned. “Where are you going?”

“Luke called and told me to check on you. If you weren’t at home, I was going to Jackson’s place. I’m glad to see you’re here. I hate fighting those wolves.”

“You were going to help me?”

“You seem surprised.”

“Understatement.” She was the last person I thought would come to help me.

“What’s this about?” Worry filled her eyes.

I tore my gaze away from Samira. I thought I would have to beg for help, especially from her, but maybe not. “The Greybacks took a friend of mine, another pack member. Ryder. Dominic refused to send anyone after him, so I went myself.”

“Where is he?” Lynx asked. She moved back into her room to peer out the window.

“He’s in the car watching over three barely-alive humans.”

“Humans?” Samira’s eyes narrowed. She walked toward the back door.

I followed behind her. “I found them naked and chained up. I think they’ve been drugged. I don’t know what to do with them.”

“I’ll grab some clothes,” Lynx called to us and hurried back into her room.

I followed Samira outside.

“That was dangerous to go there by yourself.” She peeked in the front window at Ryder. Ryder glanced back at her nervously. “You took Jackson’s son?”

“They took him first. Besides, he’s one of the good ones.”

She shook her head as she stepped on top of the rear tire looking into the bed of the truck. “You shouldn’t get involved in family business.”

“And what about the humans?” I countered. “Should I have left them?”

She dropped to the ground next to me. “No. They are innocent and should be saved.”

“I’m so not following your logic, but whatever. What do I do with them now?”

“Ryder should return to Fire Ridge, but I’ll take the humans. Depending upon what drugs or abuse they’ve been subjected to, they may require special rehabilitation. There’s a place in Wildemoor created just for situations like this—humans who have been harmed by supernaturals. They can heal there and be taught that not all supernaturals are bad.”

“And what if that doesn’t work? It’s not like we can have a bunch of pissed off humans roaming the lands hell-bent on revenge. They could expose us all.”

She hesitated. “There are other ways. Compulsion if necessary.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Can vampires do that? Can you do it?”

“It is a rare gift, mostly older vampires or vampires with unpolluted bloodlines. But just because they can, doesn’t mean they do. It’s a violation frowned upon by certain influential groups. In some cases, it could even mean death.”

I noticed she didn’t answer my question as to whether or not she could compel. She probably could. I’d have to be mindful around her.

“What groups are you talking about?” I asked. The only organized group of supernaturals I knew about were the Principes Noctis. They didn’t have the best reputation and believed supernaturals should rule over humans. Twenty years ago, they were mostly ignored among our kind, but I’d heard rumors lately they were growing.

She remained silent, as if she didn’t hear me, but I knew she still didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth. It was a rare person who can use silence like words.

"How long will they have to be at this facility?" Sending the humans somewhere I had never heard of made me nervous. They had been through enough.

"Only as long as they want to be,” she answered.

I glanced back at the rear of the truck where Lynx was clothing the humans and speaking soft words of encouragement. One of the humans whispered for water, and Lynx ran back into the house to retrieve it. She was the best of us three.

Samira motioned her head toward the truck. "Is someone going to be looking for this beast?"

“Probably.”

She watched Lynx give water to the humans, her expression the same as mine had been moments ago. We would never be as good as Lynx. Her gaze returned to mine. “The humans aren’t well enough to travel to Wildemoor. I will deliver the truck to a friend I can