Never Cry Wolf (Night Watch #4)(75)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“Neither am I.” She raised the gun. “It’s loaded with silver bullets, and I took backup ammo from the van. If Rafe’s men don’t shift, then I can still take them out.” Wasting time. “I’m a good shot, better than good, I—”

“Yeah, I know you are, lady.”

“Then why are we just standing here?” Now she was the one nearly growling. He’d left me. “Lucas needs us.”

The struggle was clear on his face. “He told me to keep you safe.”

Fine. “Then stay by my side. Stay with me every step of the way, but come on!” Her gut was twisting, her knees shaking, and she knew that this battle wasn’t going to end easily. Rafe wasn’t this sloppy. He wouldn’t have let the other wolves track him—or even track his demon—unless he’d wanted to be found.

Because he had a backup plan already in place. Yes, she knew him well. Better than Lucas did. And if Lucas had just stayed and given her the chance to explain . . .

“You don’t leave my sight,” Jordan snapped. “You stay within a foot of me at all times.”

Sarah jerked her head in agreement and ripped open the door. “Just don’t get between my gun and a target.” Weak. Not hardly. It was time to show the wolves how strong their prey could really be.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jordan agreed, “but you can’t get between my claws and the ass**les I’m planning to rip apart.”

Fair enough.

Hold on, Lucas. Because from now on, he wouldn’t be leaving her behind. In the wolf pack, mates hunted together.

Time for the man to realize he was mated.

Chapter 19

The house at 208 Mythlin hadn’t changed much. The sprawling two-story brick house still hid behind the twisting trees at the end of the long, pothole-filled road. The wraparound porch showed no signs of neglect. Unlike the other dumps on the street, this house was perfect . . . because it was hers.

The first time he’d been there, he’d been tracking Maya Black. He’d been so desperate to find his brother, he hadn’t cared that he’d courted the mambo’s wrath by bringing blood and death right to her door. No, he hadn’t cared, not until later.

Then he’d had to bleed for the mambo. Blood for blood. But he’d set his debt to rights.

“It sure is quiet,” came Piers’s whisper. “I’ve been watching the place for the last twenty minutes . . . not a peep.”

And he couldn’t smell a thing. Literally, not a damn thing. No wolf scent. No telltale ash. Not even sweat. “I thought you followed Marley’s scent here.”

Dane’s eyes were on the house. “I did, but it’s—hell, it’s different now.”

“Magic?” Piers barely breathed the word.

At Marie’s? Hell, yeah, magic was a definite possibility. “Time to shift.” Because he wasn’t gonna waste those precious moments later. Better to shift now, go in strong and take the bastards out. He knew Rafe likely had his coyote dogs and some wolves around. Lucas was ready for the blood and battle. This war was ending tonight.

“We should be able to smell ’em,” Piers growled and his bones began to snap. “Should still be able to . . .” Fur covered his flesh.

He was right. Lucas stared at the windows of Marie’s house. He could see light flickering. Bright light.

No, not just light. Fire.

But he couldn’t smell the smoke. What the f**k? “Be ready for anything,” he ordered, and the burn of the shift swept through him. His bones broke, stretched, his hands vanished and his claws dug into the dirt.

Rafael, I’m coming for you, ass**le.

Then he heard it. The faintest sound of laughter drifting in the air.

“About time you showed up, Simone!” Rafe shouted from the recesses of the house. “I was getting bored waiting on you . . . so I had to go ahead and start my party.”

Shit.

Then a woman screamed, loud, long, full of pain and fear. Marley? It figured that Rafe would turn on her. He seemed to turn on everyone.

“And before you go guessing . . .” Came that damn, mocking voice. “Marley’s not the one screaming.” The laughter filled the night again. “Come and see what I’ve got in here!”

Not what. Who.

Lucas glanced to the left, then the right. Dane and Piers had shifted, and their eyes were on him. He threw back his head and howled. Forget going in softly. Rafe knew he was there. So Lucas would go in fast—

His legs pumped as he flew over the earth.

—and he’d go in hard—

He dove right through the window, barely feeling the glass slice into his pelt.

—and he’d take that bastard out.

Jordan’s motorcycle braked and Sarah jumped off the bike—just in time to see a big, black wolf hurtle through a pane of glass.

Lucas.

A slightly smaller black wolf and a white wolf dove after him.

“Smoke.” Jordan climbed off after her. “That demon’s burning again!”

Sarah’s gun was already out and in her hands. She and Jordan ran together, rushing for the house.

They’d taken about ten steps when the first two coyotes appeared. The coyotes stalked from the bushes, their heads low to the ground, their ears up, and damn if it didn’t look like they were smiling.

“Dammit, I could have used a heads-up here!” Sarah said, her shoulders bumping into Jordan’s. She lifted her gun, aimed, and got ready to fire. “When you smell them, Jordan, you’re supposed to let me know!”

“I don’t smell them.”

Her gaze flashed to his for just a second, but her gun didn’t waver. Those coyotes kept closing in. “What?”

“They’re right in front of me, and I don’t f**king smell them. I can’t smell anything—just that fire. Only the fire.”

Oh, hell. Not good.

Two more coyotes jumped from the darkness. Saliva dripped from their sharp teeth.

Sarah braced her legs. “I think now might be a good time for you to think about shifting.”

“No.” But from the corner of her eye, she saw his claws burst from his fingertips. “If I try a full shift, I’ll be dead before the wolf comes out.”

Right. Because the coyotes liked to attack when prey was weak. “Then I guess it’s my turn.” Sarah took a deep breath.

The coyotes attacked.

Blood dripped from Josette Dusean’s throat. A long, steady line of blood that trickled down her neck.