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

I dropped the note from my hands, as if it were poison. Samantha and Gerald stared down at it, their minds turning over. Processing.

“Trophies?” I said, my voice full of dramatic horror. “What the hell was Silas keeping in here?” A visible shiver erupted over my skin. “This is going to start a war.”

I turned around and walked out of the room. I’d given them plenty to think about. Sprinkle a little water on those seeds.

Eventually, the rest of the pack returned to Fire Ridge. The damage caused an uproar that many of them hadn't felt in a long time. They were used to being the dominant species in Rouen.

While we waited for Dominic in the living room, the pack grew restless. There were several mentions of revenge, escalating the already tense situation. Several fights broke out.

But as soon as Dominic came home and walked inside, he blanketed everyone's aggressiveness with a layer of power that rivaled all in the room put together. Even I cowered at his commanding presence.

He would be hard to take down.

His gaze surveyed the damage, his eyes lingered up the stairs. His face remained impassive, but the air felt like it was being sucked from the room. It was enough to let everyone know how he felt.

He was pissed.

"Are you sure it was Greybacks who did this?" he asked, his voice cold and hard.

Gerald stepped forward. "Yes, sir. We caught their scent all over the forest. In the house, too. Upstairs there’s more damage, specifically to Silas’ room. And another,” he hesitated, “room. It’s behind a bookcase." Gerald cleared his throat, afraid to use the word ‘secret’. "It's empty. Whatever was in there is gone."

For the first time, Dominic's expression changed. Just a crack, but enough to give me a glimpse into his thoughts. He was worried. Could it be he knew about the room? Or maybe he didn’t, and it was Silas’ betrayal he was sensing.

Luke and Silas walked in just then. Luke cursed under his breath and, without a word, followed the trail of destruction around the room and up the stairs.

Silas, however, remained still, his body beginning to shake. Where Dominic kept his face smooth, Silas’ wrath was visible to everyone—an angry storm smashing against a cliff's face.

"Clean this mess up now!” he shouted. He stomped after Luke upstairs. Gerald and a few others went with him.

The whole house shuddered when Silas yelled and screamed. He must've discovered all of his treasures gone. Or maybe it was the mess that bothered him. Whatever the reason, he went on a tirade, destroying anything left.

Dominic's eyes were fixated upstairs, the muscles on the side of his tight jaw flexing. Heavy steps stomped toward us from above, and Silas’ head appeared over the balcony. "They took the briefcase." He hesitated, then added, "And everything else."

Dominic’s expression further darkened. “Then we have a problem. Round everyone up. We go to the Greybacks at sunrise."

Everyone scattered in different directions to obey the Alpha. The aggression in the room changed to excitement. It didn't matter some of them might die, they loved to fight too much.

My uncle, who had returned just before Dominic, pulled me outside. I motioned Ryder to come with us. Ryder was aware that I had grown to trust Vincent, but I never told him it was because Vincent was my uncle, only that I had discovered Vincent’s true feelings toward the Alpha and thought we could align ourselves with him. Having always respected Vincent, Ryder felt good about having one more on team “Take-Down-Silver-Claws”.

We walked several feet from the house and out of view from anyone who might see us through a window. My uncle turned around suddenly. "Did you have anything to do with this?"

"Yes?" I stuttered, unsure if I was about to be reprimanded or complimented.

He drew closer to me until I could see his face. He was grinning and laughter escaped his parted lips. He slapped me on the back. "I don't think that even your father could've come up with a better plan. Blaming the Greybacks for stealing the briefcase? Brilliant! But how did you pull it off?"

"With Ryder's help." I told him everything we had done, including sharing with the both of them what I had discovered in Silas’ room.

Ryder shook his head, his face pale in the darkness. "I didn't think anyone could surpass my father's cruelty."

"Do you think Dominic knows?" I asked my uncle.

"That's a good question. I'll see what I can find out. No one pays an old man much attention.” He glanced over his shoulder back to the mansion where shifters had begun to spill out the front door. “You two better get ready. There's going to be a nasty fight soon."

Ryder and I glanced at each other.

My uncle noticed the silent communication. "What else did you two do?"

"There's not going to be a fight," I said.

"And how do you know that?"

I lifted my chin. "Because the Greybacks are gone."

Chapter 37

As soon as bright oranges and pinks kissed the morning sky, Dominic ordered everyone to drive to Dreilinger Swamps to confront the Greybacks. It had taken almost all night to prepare and round up every member of the Silver Claws, old and young. We all piled into dozens of cars waiting outside. I had never seen the full pack in one place before, so it wasn’t until now that I realized how big it was. There were probably about three hundred members, the largest pack I’d ever seen.

I was about to get into Lynx’s car, when someone grabbed my arm. I spun around and came face-to-face with Silas. My wolf broke to the surface, growling low, and I gripped the side of the door until I thought the metal would dent. "What can I do for you?"

The fire in his eyes mirrored the sun’s rays peeking over the horizon, betraying his excitement. “I know you can fight, better than most of these apes. And I also know you crave blood.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up his finger, stopping me.

“I don’t think you realize it yourself, but I feel it inside you. The anger. The rage. Call it a gift." His gaze burned into mine, and I caught my reflection in his eye’s glossy surface. "When we get there, I want you to show no mercy. Give in to your anger, unleash it, and kill those bitches. And if you do, I will make sure you're rewarded in return. Do you understand?"

I shifted my gaze over his shoulder to where Dominic was getting into the back of a black SUV. "Does Dominic know you’re promising this?"

He touched me lightly on my arm, chilling my skin. "This is between you and me.” With that, he backed away, but still stared after me, waiting for my answer. I nodded once, just to appease him. Satisfied, he turned and walked to Dominic’s SUV.

I jumped into the car and shivered. "I really hate that guy."

Ryder, who had been waiting for me behind the steering wheel, brought the engine to life; the rumbling of metal vibrated my insides. “He’ll get what’s coming.”

The Silver Claws drove fast, led by Dominic at the front. There were at least forty cars following each other all in a line. We could have been mistaken for a funeral procession, but honoring the dead was not our goal this morning. We were reapers riding on iron stallions, preparing to take blood.

Funeral processions would come later.

Like I expected and planned, the Greybacks’ ranch had been abandoned. This development, however, shocked the rest of the pack. Where could a whole pack just disappear to?

Dominic exited the main house, his brows drawn together and fists balled tight. Like every other building, it, too, had been abandoned. Even a lot of the furniture was missing. To the crowd of Silver Claws who watched on expectantly, he ordered, “Destroy everything. Look for hidden rooms or secret bunkers. Search for anything that might tell us where they’ve gone.” He turned to a group of shifters at his side. “You all search the woods and the swamps. A whole pack can’t just disappear. Find them!”

He wanted answers, and he expected them ten minutes ago. Dominic turned to Luke and gave him his last order. “If they’re not here, divide up the pack. We will find and kill them, and anyone else who is found harboring them. Is that understood?"

Luke nodded. "Yes, Sir.”

Silas kicked a bucket next to the barn, cursing a string of profanities.

With new orders, I left them and ran to the barn, Ryder on my heels. This place I definitely wanted to burn down, and by the way Ryder was passing me, he felt