Authors: Cynthia Eden

Never Cry Wolf (25 page)

BOOK: Never Cry Wolf

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Now this she could do.
Try
to do. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Piers repeated. “Hell, man, I was hoping for more of an I-swear-on-my-life—”

“I won’t push, I won’t try to—” Sarah stopped talking because, quite suddenly, the wolves weren’t focused on her anymore. They’d turned as one toward the main house, faces intent, noses—twitching?

“Vampire,”
Jordan breathed and there was hate in the word. Yeah, with his particular history, who could blame the guy?

But wait,
vampire.
Sarah’s mouth got very dry, very fast. Vamps were her least favorite of all the supernaturals. They liked to play with their food way too much for her taste.

“Sulfur,” Piers muttered. “It’s in the air . . .
shit.
It’s them.”

“Camellia?” Jordan asked, and he lunged forward, racing toward the house.

Wait, Camellia . . . that name was familiar. It clicked in her mind. When Jordan had been taken by the vamps, he hadn’t been their only prisoner, they’d also taken a girl. A shifter. Of course, Sarah had thought some of the rumors about the girl were bullshit because those stories had said the girl wasn’t your run-of-the-mill two-spirit shifter.

The stories claimed she was a dragon.

Lucas ran after Jordan, roaring his name. The other wolves followed, quickly closing rank, and Sarah, well, she wasn’t about to be left behind.

After all, pack stayed together.

She rushed after them, wishing she had a weapon. It was daytime, and any vamp would be a fool to attack now. All vamps were at their weakest during the day, even those born to the blood.

Lucas tackled Jordan. “
She’s not with them.
Her scent’s on him, but she’s not here.”

Sarah saw the woman then. A small, dark-haired woman vaulted over the outer wall and began to stalk toward them. A man was at her side, tall, his blond hair gleaming. His body stayed close to the woman’s as their steps shadowed each other.

“Thanks for that open invitation, wolf,” the woman called out, her voice carrying easily. “It was nice not to have to fight my way past that new security of yours.”

Security Sarah knew he’d put out to protect them from Rafe.

The woman didn’t really look like a vamp. Other than the paleness. She looked . . . pretty. Actually, the chick was freaking beautiful. High cheeks. Heart-shaped face. Not a blemish, wrinkle, or scar anywhere on her.

Vampire? Really?

Then Sarah caught sight of her fangs.

Vampire.

“Maya.” Lucas rose slowly and she noticed that he kept his body in front of Jordan’s. And she also noticed the way he said the woman’s name. With affection.

So those tales were true, too. Lucas did have a soft spot for the vamp who’d hauled his brother out of hell one night. Sarah knew that hard kick in her gut was jealousy.

Maya lifted her right hand. Her fingers were curled in a fist.

“Easy,” the man next to Maya said, his shoulder brushing hers.

“Wanna tell me . . .” Maya bit out. “Why your scent was all over Marie Dusean?”

Lucas just shrugged.

The vamp lunged forward.

But her man was faster. He grabbed her arms, yanking her back. Maya’s hand opened, though, and she threw something at Lucas. Something small and hard, something that hit him in the chest and fell to the ground.

“You shouldn’t be out when you’re weak, Maya,” Lucas said mildly.

She growled at him. Pretty good growl for a vamp.

Sarah’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the ground near his feet. What was—

A ring.

Not just any ring.

She hurried forward.

“Sarah!” Lucas caught her arm. But it was too late. She was in front of him, scooping up the familiar ring. Marie’s ring.

Now it was time for her fingers to curl around the precious ruby. “Why do you have this?” she asked, meeting the vampire’s stare. Right then, they were a perfect fighting match. Almost human-to-human. She didn’t need to be scared of Maya Black.

No matter what the whispers on the streets said.

One tough bitch to stake.

“You know that ring?” Maya’s attention sharpened on her.

Sarah nodded. “Did she send you?” And her palm was sweating around the ring. “Is it time for me to—”

The laughter stopped her. The hard, rolling laughter. Laughter edged with a fine coat of rage. “Marie didn’t send me,” Maya said. “Marie can’t do anything right now.”

The blond beside her dropped his hold.

Maya stepped forward. “The
mambo
’s dead. I found her less than thirty minutes ago.” Her gaze drifted past Sarah. “Her throat had been slashed. That ring—she wore it on her neck,
always.
But the bastard who killed her, his claws were so strong he cut through the gold chain, through the flesh, and he took her life away.”

Another step forward. The man came with her, and the same rage was reflected on his face.

“She sent for me, but I got to her too late,” Maya said, and there was pain in her voice. “All these years, and I got there too late.”

The ring seemed heavy in Sarah’s hand.

“I found her dead, lying in a pool of blood, and the stench of wolf was all around her.” Maya shook her head. “We all know there’s only one alpha in LA. One alpha, a bastard that I know saw Marie last night. And now she’s gone, killed by a wolf’s claws.”

Sarah braced her body in front of Lucas. “It wasn’t him.” Maya smiled at her with a flash of vampire fangs. “Of course. Let me guess, he was screwing you last night, right, human? Screwing you . . . so he couldn’t have been killing her.”

Half-right. The sex hadn’t started until morning, and it hadn’t been screwing. “Marie helped us last night. I owe her.” She opened her hand and glanced down at the ring. “Lucas wasn’t in any condition to deal a killing blow when we were at her place.”

More laughter, only this time, it came from the big blond and the scent in the air—yeah, it did kinda smell like sulfur—deepened. “Lady, trust me,” he said, “Lucas Simone is always up for a killing blow.”

Maybe. “He didn’t kill her,” she said, her own voice fierce.

Maya’s gaze darted to the men who’d gathered. When she looked at Jordan, her stare seemed to warm a bit. Only semi-arctic. “Then which of these wolves,” she wanted to know, “is the one who’s gonna bleed for attacking my
mambo?
”

Chapter 14

“Y
ou’re looking at the wrong wolves,” Sarah said.

Maya’s gaze turned measuring. “Sorry if I don’t believe you, but his scent . . .” Her index finger pointed at Lucas. “Is all over you. So I’m guessing that makes you not exactly unbiased when it comes to the pack.”

Sarah’s back teeth clenched. “They aren’t the only wolves in town.”

“Oh?” One black brow rose. “Got a Lone on the loose? Then how come I haven’t heard about him?” Her legs braced apart, and, quick as a flash, she drew out a gun, one that was aimed right at Sarah. “Silver bullets kill humans and wolf shifters real easy.”

Sarah stared at the gun and didn’t blink.

“Get that fucking weapon off her!” Lucas snarled.

But Maya shook her head. “Like I said before, your scent’s all over her.” Her gaze tracked to the alpha. “That means you give a shit what happens to her, right?”

“You don’t want me as your enemy, Maya,” he told her quietly. “You truly don’t.”

The blond’s fingers touched Maya’s shoulder. “You were supposed to go easy,” he murmured.

“And Marie was supposed to be damn well alive! She wasn’t supposed to get slashed up by some mangy wolf!”

At that, Lucas flew forward and shoved Sarah to the side. Dane instantly covered her, using his body to shield her.

Sarah twisted, glanced back, and saw that Lucas stood right in front of Maya. The gun pressed into his chest.

“You think I killed her?” His arms were up, his claws out. “Then shoot. But then you . . . and the winged asshole . . . had better get the hell out of LA because my pack will be out for your blood.”

She didn’t squeeze the trigger. “Why was your scent on Marie?”

“Because she saved my life last night.” A pause, then . . . “And that’s probably why she’s dead today.”

That gun shoved harder against his chest. “Wolf . . .” “There’s another alpha in town. One who’s gunning for me.”

“I think he’s telling the truth,” the vamp’s guy said, head cocked.

“He is.” Jordan stepped forward. Maya’s attention swung to him. Sarah saw the vamp’s eyes narrow. “Lucas isn’t lying to you. A bastard named Rafael Santiago is here, hunting him.”

“Hunting
us,”
Piers added.

Jordan took another slow, gliding step toward the vampire. “Believe me if you believe no one else, Maya. It’s not us you’re after. It’s him.”

But the gun wasn’t dropping. “I’d like to believe you,” Maya said and almost sounded like she did. “But no one would have crept up on Marie. She saw
everything
.” Was that an echo of pain in her voice? “She wouldn’t have let a wolf she didn’t know get to her, she wouldn’t—”

“Then she knew him,” Sarah yelled out the obvious, still covered by Dane. “She knew Rafe, and if she’s as strong as I think, she knew he’d be the one to kill her.”

Maya’s hold on the gun finally eased, and in that second, Lucas’s hand flew up and snatched the weapon away. Maya didn’t spare him a glance. Her focus was fully on Sarah. “Who are you?”

Lucas moved again, a gliding step, and blocked Maya’s view of Sarah. “Consider your entrance pass to my place revoked.”

The blond man’s shoulders tensed. “I think she’s
Other.
”

“She smells human,” the vamp muttered.

Dane lifted Sarah back to her feet, but he stayed close.

“Not a witch,” the man said. “Not a shifter . . .”

“Brody, you don’t need to know a damn thing about her!” Lucas glared at the vamp’s companion.

The guy, Brody, kept talking. “Demon? I can never smell them and if she’s using glamour . . .”

She wasn’t.

“Get off my land,” Lucas ordered, voice flat. “And don’t come back.” Then he turned away and strode to Sarah’s side.

“You owe me, wolf.” Brody’s hands were on his hips when he threw this out.

Sarah caught the narrowing of Lucas’s eyes. Saw his lips move when he growled out, “Shifter bastard.”

“If you didn’t kill Marie,” this came from Maya, “if there’s really another wolf in town . . .”

He glanced back over his shoulder. “There is.”

Maya edged forward. “Then I want him.”

“Get in line.
I’m
taking that bastard out.”

“If he killed her, then I’m—”

“I think he’s killed some of her followers.” Dane was the one who dropped this bombshell. “He knew the
mambo
, and he’s killed at least two of her people.”

Sarah’s eyes widened. Why hadn’t Dane said something sooner?

“We saw ’em last night.” Now it was Piers who spoke up.

“A woman from the South, and a Haitian male. Their throats had been ripped open.” His lips tightened. “I know a wolf’s work when I see it.”

The Haitian? But . . . he’d been with her, he’d talked to her. “When?” Sarah asked. “Did he kill them while we were inside—”

Dane shook his head. “No, they were dead long before that.” His dark eyes met hers. “
Long
before that.”

Two ways.
The memory of the
mambo’s
voice drifted through her mind.
Stop him before Death comes.

Oh, damn.

Or bring him back after.

Maxime.

“She had ’em under some kind of spell,” Dane said. “She let ’em go right before we found the two of you on that table.”

Sarah didn’t remember that part of the night. She didn’t remember anything after the slash of the knife and Marie’s dark promise.

He dies . . .

Then you die.

With those words, everything had gone straight to black. Sarah glanced at her arm. The wound was gone now. She didn’t have any enhanced healing powers, but the wound had vanished far too quickly.

“Marie said she didn’t ‘raise them’ but that she was letting them go free.” The words had Sarah’s eyes lifting back to Dane. His jaw locked. “One minute, they were walking around, talking, the next—we were staring at corpses that had been dead for days.”

“Fucking zombies,” Piers growled. “Hell, of all the
Other . . .
the dead belong in the ground.”

Brody’s hands fisted. “
Watch it
.”

Ah, right. Technically, Maya was dead. Well, undead. She would have died briefly before she was reborn as a vamp.

“Marie never raised the dead. She didn’t like to touch that power,” Maya spoke softly, as if mostly to herself. “She said you never knew what you’d bring back if you tried to raise the bodies of humans.”

Lucas didn’t seem fazed to hear that zombies had been around them the night before.

Piers ran a quick hand over his face. “There’s another who can raise them.”

Maya’s chin jerked up a notch. “No.”

“She can do it. You know she can.”

“Just because you
can
do something, it doesn’t mean you will. Josette doesn’t use the power, she doesn’t—”

Piers started laughing then, but there was no humor in that hard, mocking sound. “Maya, you been playing house with your shifter too long, staying gone out of LA . . . you’re missing some news, baby.” He put his hands on his hips. “Guess life in . . . where is it—Maine?—has made you soft.”

The woman just looked angrier. “Nothing makes me soft. Don’t make that mistake.”

A faint grin still rode his lips. “Little Josie . . . she’s been playing with power. Not keeping those hands of hers clean anymore.”

Brody swore and Maya gave a hard shake of her head. “You’re wrong.”

“Am I?”

Maya spun away, her hand automatically reaching for Brody’s. “We have to go.”

Now she was running away?

No, not away. Running
to
something.

Probably to wherever this Josette/Josie was.

“The wolf is mine!” Lucas shouted after them. “Do you hear me, Maya? That kill is mine!”

It was Brody who stopped and looked back. “I let you have the last kill.” Suddenly, his teeth looked longer, the skin on his arms darker. “This one’s for Maya.”

“Not if I get to him first!”

But Brody had spun away. He and the vamp disappeared, no, not disappeared, they just moved
fast
.

“Shit.” Lucas’s eyes fixed on Sarah. “You okay?”

She nodded. Other than an aching knee from where she’d plowed into the ground, yes, she was fine.

She also still had Marie’s ring. Sarah’s fingers unfurled. The red of the ruby seemed so dark.

“Josette.” Lucas repeated the name, as if tasting it. “She’s Marie’s granddaughter. How the hell do you know anything about her and her power, Piers?”

“Cause the lady is sexy as sin, and she’s also taken to hanging out in the darker part of town.” Piers flashed a wolf’s grin. Too many teeth. Too sharp. Too much challenge. “How wouldn’t I know her?”

But Lucas stared at him and didn’t seem to buy that grin.

“You’re the one who knew where Marie was last night,” Dane spoke slowly, as if thinking his way through something.

Piers slanted him a measuring glance. “Because Lucas wants us to keep tabs on her. I do what the alpha wants.”

“You’re not looking into the Dark, are you, Piers?” The question was Lucas’s.

The Dark—dark magic.

But Piers just lifted one shoulder. “The Dark’s been looking at me for years. We all know it.” His grin faded. “There’s only so much time until it takes over.”

Because he thought he’d be one of the wolf shifters who crossed the line and became psychotic. She’d touched his mind, she knew the potential was there. But, then again, it was always there.

With man and beast.

“You been looking for a magic cure?” Lucas pressed.

There was no cure. Not unless . . .

“I’ve just been looking at a pretty lady. Where’s the crime in that?”

But Sarah was sure he was lying then, and she knew the others realized it, too.

Piers’s spine straightened. “Do you want me to take you to Josie or do you want to let the vamp get to her first?”

“Josette isn’t my prey. Her fight isn’t mine.”

The ring seemed heavier in Sarah’s hands. “I promised a trade to Marie.”

Was this the debt she’d pay? Marie had saved Lucas, now...

“Someone gave Caleb the Angel Dust.” Piers huffed out a hard breath. “And Josie . . . hell, if anyone knows how to make it in this town, it would be her.”

Sarah saw Lucas’s claws burst from his skin. “Why the hell didn’t you say so sooner?”

“Cause I didn’t want her marked for death.” Lines bracketed his mouth. “Cause I’m a selfish bastard, and, hell, yeah, I was hoping to use her.” Pain hollowed his eyes. “Every time I shift, I want the blood, I want it so bad . . .”

Lucas grabbed his shirt front and hauled Piers closer. “Then, from here on out, you don’t shift without me by your side, got it? Because I’m not losing another packmate.”

Piers’s gaze fell.

“Where is she?” Lucas barked. “Shit, if Maya and her man get to her first, they’ll take her away and we won’t find out a damn thing about the Dust.”

“They won’t get there first.” Piers swallowed. “Maya doesn’t know how far the angel fell, not yet.”

Lucas’s stare bored into him. “But you do?”

“Let’s just say I know what it’s like to fall, and I know where the Fallen go.”

Yes, Sarah bet he did.

At a little past noon, the bar on Brinks Street should have been empty. And if it had been a regular joint, the place probably would have been closed up tight.

But it wasn’t your typical hole-in-the-wall bar. Not by a long shot.

Lucas eyed the entrance, noting the two men who slouched just outside the doors. He’d bet those guys were a lot more aware than they pretended to be.

“You sure she’s here?” he asked.

From what he remembered about Josette, the lady was pure class. She owned an art gallery, a real fancy place that he’d never even gotten within a mile of—except for the few times he’d been tracking her.

Josette had cut off contact with Marie a while back. It had looked like the woman had gone no-magic and hadn’t looked back.

So he’d stopped watching her.

And hadn’t seen her fall.

“She’s there.” Piers was certain. “She comes here for the blood.”

“Uh, the blood?” Sarah repeated, and there wasn’t really any fear in her voice. No, it sounded more like morbid curiosity.

BOOK: Never Cry Wolf

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