Never Cry Wolf (Night Watch #4)(32)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“I’m not gonna sit back and wait for the bastards to come at me again.” His jaw clenched. “And they’ve got Dane,” he gritted.

Her heart seemed to stop. “What?”

“We found his blood at Jess’s, but he wasn’t among the dead. They’ve got him.”

And Lucas wouldn’t leave a packmate to die. Rafe would be counting on that.

He’d walk right into a trap. “No, you can’t go after him.”

“The hell I can’t.” Fury had never sounded so cold. “According to you, Rafe’s gunning for me. That means he’ll do anything he can to take me down, including hurting my pack.”

No, Rafe wouldn’t hesitate to kill.

Lucas pulled away and began stalking toward the SUV. “Do you know why he wants you dead so badly?” She called out. Tell him.

Lucas froze.

“It’s not just about territory.” Not just about wolves being possessive bastards who wanted to control as many people and as much land as possible. She took a deep breath. “When you came back to LA, you had to fight to reclaim your pack, didn’t you?”

“There wasn’t a whole f**king lot left of my pack,” he said, throwing a hard glare over his shoulder. The sunlight caught the savaged edge of his ear. “But I didn’t come back just for the pack.”

No, he’d come back for vengeance. She knew the story, thanks to Rafe. “You came back and killed Kaber.” Kaber Gentry, the lone wolf who’d come into the pack—and killed Lucas’s father. Then attacked a ten-year-old boy. She knew exactly how Lucas had gotten that torn ear. Kaber had bit off part of Lucas’s ear when the two fought. Kaber hadn’t exactly believed in showing mercy to a child.

To anyone.

Lucas growled, “The f**king bastard deserved everything he got.”

And Kaber had gotten a lot of pain. The final battle between Kaber and Lucas had lasted for hours and ended with Kaber missing more than just half an ear. Lucas had taken his head.

“You went after him because he killed your father.” She sucked in a quick breath. “That’s why Rafe is coming after you.”

His expression didn’t change. Not by so much as a flicker of his eyelashes. “Kaber Gentry had no sons. No daughters. He was Lone, a wolf that had been kicked out of his pack because he was f**king psychotic.”

She was aware of the door opening behind her. Sarah looked back and found Piers gazing at them with a shuttered stare. She remembered the touch of his mind. The chaos inside. Psychotic. She cleared her throat. “Lone or not, he took the pack from your father.”

“He destroyed the damn pack!” Lucas came back to her, fast. “He turned ’em into killers. They hunted humans, attacked at will, made a bloodbath—”

“He mated with a human, and they had a son. Kaber didn’t think the boy could shift, so he left them behind.” His mistake. His hybrid son could definitely shift into the form of a wolf.

“What the f**k are you saying? That Rafe is coming after me—”

“Because he wants your land, and your pack, just like his father did.” She lifted her chin. “But more than that, he wants revenge, and he’s not going to stop until he gets his pound of flesh from you.”

His broad shoulders seemed to block the light. “I’m not giving his family any more flesh.”

She didn’t let her gaze drift to his ear. She never had. “If you give him the chance, he’ll take it. He’s going after everything you care about. Everyone.”

He caught her arms and yanked her against his chest. “The whole time, you knew it was personal.” His breath feathered over her face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s always personal,” she said sadly. “Don’t you know that?” No kill in the Other world was ever just business.

“Is there anything you don’t know about me?” he muttered, gaze hard on her face.

She knew the big details . . .

The battle when he’d been a child.

The fight to take his pack back.

The hunt for the vampires.

But there was still so much she didn’t know. Sure, she knew the blood and gore parts. Nothing about the man. “A lot,” she managed to whisper, but she was trying to know everything, struggling to learn as much as she could.

“Lucas!” Caleb’s voice cut through the air.

They glanced back. He stood just behind Piers.

“Dane’s on the line.” He shook his head. “Sounds damn weak . . . and he said—he said he had to talk to you.”

Dane. Sarah’s shoulders sagged. If he was calling back to base, then he was safe.

They rushed back toward the house. Caleb tossed Lucas the cell phone.

“Dane, where the hell are—” Lucas began, but he broke off, eyes narrowing. “Who the f**k is this?”

Goosebumps rose on her arms and she knew even before Lucas snarled, “Rafe.”

Chapter 9

Low laughter filled Lucas’s ears. “I’ve got something you want.”

He almost shattered the cell phone. “Put Dane on the line.”

“Sorry, no can do. But your boy heard him—he knows I’ve got the lost wolf.”

Fuck.

“I’ve got something you want,” Rafe said again, his voice light, mocking, “but . . .” And now his voice changed. Grew harder. Angrier. “You’ve got something I f**king need.”

Lucas’s stare jumped to Sarah. She watched him with wide eyes, biting her lower lip.

“Pretty isn’t she?” Rafe murmured. “But be careful, her looks are deceiving.”

“You’re dead.” His promise.

More laughter. “No, but unless I get what I need, Dane will be.”

“I’m not making a trade with you.” Pale flesh scarred with clawmarks. “So f**k off.”

“I know how Dane got all those marks on his body.”

Lucas’s back teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached.

“I’ll be adding a few more,” Rafe told him. “You have an hour to make the trade.”

“How do I even know where you are?”

“Because I know you. You made the coyotes talk before you killed them.” A brief pause. “It’s what I would’ve done.”

Shit. Now the bastard thought Lucas was like him? “You’re not getting her.”

“Don’t be a dumbass.” Disdain now, no, disgust. “You don’t know her, and you’d be a fool to trust her.”