Well, look at me. I’d tried my hand at interior decorating.
Licking the blood from my lips, I retracted my wolf, my body knitting back together. Fur vanished, bones forming back into their human form, and in moments I stood naked, covered in blood.
"Okay, this is a challenge then.” So I improvised. I walked over to the bed and grabbed the covers untouched by the splatter and started wiping myself clean. By the time I finished, I felt slightly sticky. I collected the guard’s clothes and my boots that somehow managed to sit by the window unscathed by the massacre, and headed out the door.
The hallway was dead empty, and I breathed easy as I rushed to the next few rooms until I found the bathroom. There I locked myself inside and did the world’s fastest clean. Looking in the mirror, blood covered my face, but I had to get it off me to avoid giving away the strong pungent scent when I arrived at the party.
So much for a quick plan to just get a guard’s outfit. As long as no one went into the other room until the party was over, we’d be fine though.
Clean and blood free, I stepped out of the bathroom as a new man in the guard’s clothing, giving a fresh meaning to a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Running a hand through my partially wet hair, drying it off my face, I strolled quickly toward the party.
A guard came my way, and I gave him a curt nod. He didn't even pay me attention. Good. I hurried faster now. Just then, someone grabbed my arm out of the shadows, an arm locked around my throat.
My heart slammed into my chest.
Hendrix. I smelled his wolf instantly.
“Fuck, Hendrix,” I choked. “It’s me, you bastard, let go.”
He sniffed and released me. I whipped around, a quizzical expression on his face. “River! Shit! What did you do? You smell like a blood massacre.”
I shrugged sheepishly. “It’s all good. Are we getting Syn or what? She’s in the main courtyard. Let our men know we’re going in to attack now. You and Caspian stay close.” No idea where Caspian was, but he’d find us once the sounds of war kicked off.
Hendrix gave me a pointed stare, obviously struggling with me taking charge. But last time I looked, I was in the guard’s clothing, so I made the first move.
“Are you sure you’ve got this?” he asked. “You observe, get as close to her as possible until we arrive, then you take her and the rest of us will distract them.”
“I got this,” I snapped, well aware that Hendrix was emotionally invested and might buckle once he saw Syn. Fuck, I might too, with how much despair had been gnawing at me since she’d been gone. But I’d hold it together. I had to. “Just unleash your monster and destroy them,” I reassured him, knowing he ached for her as much as Caspian and I did. “Now let’s do this.”
I drew quickly away from Hendrix and threw myself back into the hallway. Hastily, I ran my hand through my hair, straightened my jacket which fit me a bit too tightly, and marched with confidence toward the gathering crowd.
Luxurious guests, each one a criminal for the numerous packs around these islands. Most of them would probably know Hendrix in a heartbeat, but I was the brother who avoided these gatherings like the plague, so they wouldn’t recognize my face. Not that I recognized anyone I was passing. They didn’t need to know us to understand that my brothers and I were feared and hated. That most would do anything to steal our power and accumulated wealth. So who gave a shit who they were…end of the day, they were my enemy.
I pushed into the noisy group of guests, following the wave of chatter out the open doors of the ballroom and into a courtyard with a pool where various hedonistic activities were taking place. I scanned the place frantically, searching for her. And it didn’t take long before her bright purplish hair stood out amid the crowd.
Something warm wrapped around my heart at the sight of her, to find she was alive, to lay eyes on the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.
For those few moments, I was locked in place, the floor holding me prisoner. She wore practically nothing–just the tiniest bikini–the pieces of cloth leaving nothing to the imagination. My wolf trembled under my skin the moment I lifted my attention to the metal collar around her neck. The chain was fastened to her and the other end wrapped around Brayden's hand.
A growl rolled over my throat, and I stepped forward, fury punching me in the chest.
Brayden tugged on the chain with a snorting laugh, forcing her to stumble toward him. She snatched a handful of grapes from a bowl on the table and then pushed them one by one into his open mouth. The asshole licked her fingers, then yanked her closer and licked the side of her face.
Fuck. His death was not going to be quick.
Her scornful pinch of her lips showed her disgust, as did the way she moved to stand as far from him as possible.
Fucking pig.
The bastard reached over and slapped her ass, coaxing laughter from the six men sitting at their table. Syn shoved his hand away, her shoulders bunching up, ready to attack him.
My heart leapt with how much I fucking wanted her in that moment. To see her fight back did something to my heart, and I needed more.
The other men nearby laughed, while Brayden snatched her hand, forcing her by his side. I couldn’t hear their heated conversation, but they all seemed to be laughing at her.
Brayden seemed to eventually release her, and she moved to stand away from him, but his death glare promised her pain. Oh, he had no idea that I was going to rip off his dick and make him eat it.
That was when I spotted another woman standing at the other end of their table in a short, black dress, arms covered in golden bangles, her hair pulled off her face. She might appear young, but something about her felt old. She watched over Syn strangely. Everyone stepped around the woman as if knowing she represented danger.
Regardless, I wanted them all dead. They were going to fucking die tonight.
Brayden suddenly tugged on Syn to stand closer to him once more. She caught herself and tossed daggers with her glare. The other woman kept watching Syn carefully. My skin crawled.
Her fighting spirit kept her alive, I was certain of it, and when we got out of this, I was going to teach her myself how to fight. How to destroy an asshole like Brayden in a few simple moves. No one would ever lay a hand on her again.
I stumbled forward of my own accord once more, drawn to Syn, furious to let anyone lay a hand on her that way. To see her being embarrassed publicly murdered me on the inside.
A storm brewed through my chest as I continued to watch the bastard and Syn. I curled my hands into fists, and I couldn’t wait. Not another fucking second to free her. To rip his head off his shoulders.
One of the men from her table stood up, and the room fell silent. “In two days all of our hard work will finally come to fruition. The Khan pack will pay for the servitude they’ve forced on us all these years. Their guns are ours, and soon…their heads will be ours.”
The crowd cheered, while my blood boiled. Fucking cocksuckers.
Then I watched as they dragged crates into the room to add to the others in the room and ripped open the lids to reveal the weapons they stole from us.
Watching these assholes all raising their cups and cheering, “Down with Khan,” only made me more furious.
I held back from going into full war mode just yet and kept hanging out in the shadows of the courtyard, listening to conversations, and keeping an eye on my girl until the right moment.
Suddenly, my gaze clashed with her vibrant green eyes.
Her mouth fell open at seeing me, recognizing me immediately. For those few seconds, I held onto that image with all her beauty. The rest of the party faded away, and it was just us two, alone, finally brought together. She seemed to glow, and I knew that I stared at a woman who’d been fighting her whole life. What the dicks around her didn’t know was that they would never burn her down when she shone so bright. I was going to remind the fucking world how precious she was.
She mouthed my name, followed by help. A flicker of hope danced on her face, her posture straightening.
I nodded quickly, not wanting to give away too much, but I hoped she understood we were there for her.
Voices behind me talked about drugs and arms exchange, about an army of expendable soldiers. All things that perked my ears. Such intelligence impacted our business, but I stood no chance at tearing my gaze from Syn or focusing on anything but her.
Causally, I strolled through the courtyard, pretending to replicate a guard on duty, though I always kept sight of Syn from the corner of my eye.
Someone abruptly grabbed my arm, and I turned to one of the men from Brayden’s table. A younger man with dusty blond curls and an ugly grimace. “We don’t pay you to enjoy the party, you fucker. Go collect the beer kegs from the boats and take them down to the kitchens.”
I stared into his face, holding his stare, contemplating how good it’d feel to break his face with my fist. My spine stiffened when I realized he still had his stick fingers on my arm. I braced myself with a deep inhale to hold my shit together, but I also had no intention of leaving Syn out of my sight.