The Beast Within (18 page)

Matthew took the van on a circuitous route through the city, hoping to lose any tails they may have picked up from Kapre. No doubt the agents had alerted the local police about the van. They would have to ditch it quickly.

No sooner had Aaron thought this than the vehicle pulled up to a battered garage.

“Everyone out, quickly,” Carlos said.

They tumbled out into downtrodden gloom.

“Over here,” Matthew called. They followed the beta to another vehicle, this one a dated minivan. “Betty, you drive.”

Matthew tossed the keys to the older woman, who settled behind the wheel looking for all the world like a soccer grandma running to pick up the kids instead of a lethal shapeshifter.

“Everyone else onto the floorboards until we get to the safe house,” Carlos ordered.

Fortunately, the cramped ride lasted less than fifteen minutes. Instead of heading farther out of town Betty circled back into the city center. She pulled up to a battered building not far from the Laundromat Tony and he had visited two days prior.

Two days
.

Was that all it had been since he had started his first day at Kapre Maryland? Two days since his world had turned upside down once again? Two days since he had met and fallen… His thoughts crumbled. Did he actually…? It couldn’t be. They barely knew each other. Tony had abused his trust—

And is now facing a firing squad to save me.

“You coming,
mi hombre
?”

Aaron hadn’t realized the van had stopped at a narrow alleyway. He sheepishly met Carlos’ inquisitive expression and climbed out of the van. The rest of the shifters were filing down the alley into a door propped open with a broken palette. A burly were, one he recognized as one of his many babysitters, squeezed up the alley against the stream of passengers, taking the van key from Betty as he did so.

“Nice to see you again, Aaron. Look good,” he said as he passed. He nodded to his alpha. “Carlos.”

“Be careful, Rick,” Carlos said.

“Will do.” Rick nodded and climbed into the van.

“Rick will take the van on a little tour of the city just to be sure we’ve lost any trail,” Carlos explained as the van pulled away. “He’ll leave it near the woods.” At Aaron’s expression he added, “Far away from Six Rivers’ camp. There’s another forest on the southern edge of town. Smaller, but just as hospitable to wolves, and a believable hideout. Kapre can waste some time digging around in there.”

“Can we afford to let Kapre agents wander too far away when we know what’s coming tonight?” he asked as he followed Carlos into the back door of what seemed to be an old office building.

“We have time,” Carlos said.

“What if Cerberus changes them into something like me?” he asked, forgetting where he was. “They’ll be able to shift right now. The attack could be happening as we speak.”

The entirety of Trinity—save for Rick—was inside the building, hunched over battered desks, reading blueprints. Every single one of them looked up as he spoke. There was no need to yell when everyone had super-hearing. There was no reason to try to avoid this any longer.

“One of my co-workers, Spenser Ellison, was behind the Kapre attacks. He summoned Cerberus, either at the request of Six Rivers or on his own whim. You probably know by now that when Six Rivers invaded Kapre California, Cerberus was with them.” A few people nodded in assent. “As you also know I suffered many bites. I have since found out one of them was from Cerberus himself. That bite seemingly overrode any chance of becoming a regular werewolf. I am, in essence, his progeny.”

“What does that mean?” one of the younger weres asked her pack leader.

“You should ask Aaron, as he is the alpha of this territory.”

There was some mumbling at Carlos’ statement.

Aaron couldn’t fault them for being disturbed. “I know it sounds bad. Most of you were with me when I was at my worst. I was dangerous, suicidal and half crazy. But you can believe me that I am focused now. Ellison, Six Rivers and Cerberus killed my friends and turned me into a demon. Not a were, but a demon. They destroyed my mind and my life as it was. And now they threaten someone I very much care for.”

Carlos raised an eyebrow.

“Cerberus’ curse is also a gift. I am faster, sharper and I can shift back and forth as quickly as I want without any weakness at all, and I can do it without the aid of the full moon.”

“The problem is,” Matthew interjected as he abandoned a group of weres and came to stand beside him, “Cerberus might have done the same to all of Six Rivers. We may very well be going into this fight severely outmatched. Aaron is the only one we can hope will bring down Cerberus.”

Some faces reflected distrust, others sympathy. Few showed solidarity.

It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Twenty-One

War

The moon had risen slowly, inching above the horizon, ticking away at the sky like the hand of a clock, only reaching its zenith after a torturous wait. The Trinity clan stripped silently, each focused on the upcoming battle. In another five minutes they would spread out around the building and their perimeter ring would alert the Kapre agents. Aaron knew that, as much as Carlos wanted to avoid this additional complication, the wolves couldn’t hide in the shadows and still defend Kapre from Cerberus and Six Rivers. They would have to make their stand against Six Rivers in the open and in Kapre’s sights, essentially trapping them between two powerful armies. The wolves’ and Aaron’s only hope rested in the slim chance that Tony might be able to convince the director that Trinity was the least of their problems.

Aaron had little faith in this proposal, but no choice remained. He might be alpha of Grange, Maryland, but he had no pack. Carlos held in his control all of the soldiers, as well as the only battle plan they could come up with. After arguing for hours about whether or not to infiltrate the building, he and the weres decided their energy was better spent setting up a defense on the outside and keeping the battle as close to their natural element as possible.

The minutes ticked by. Aaron stripped off his borrowed clothes and folded them neatly on the hood of the van.

“Are you ready
mi hombre
?” Carlos asked as he approached.

Aaron couldn’t help but stare at the form he had not many weeks before been accustomed to seeing walking around naked. With that copper skin, gorgeous black mane, lean fighter’s muscles and a generous cock, Carlos was indeed a sight to linger over. Yet, when Aaron looked all he saw was one of many naked men milling around him. Nothing special.

“And what it is you are thinking?” Carlos questioned with a grin.

“Is this how I look to you?” he asked.

“I don’t know. How do I look?”

“Like anybody else.”

Carlos’ grin widened, but a hint of sadness touched the edges. “Ah, so you have gotten over me, then?”

“I guess so.”

“It is good,
mi hombre
.” Carlos put an arm around his shoulder. “I loved you, but it wasn’t the love I feel for Matthew. You understand a little better now, I think.”

“Yeah.” He turned and enveloped Carlos in a hug. It was the goodbye they deserved, the one they’d never had because of Aaron’s crushed heart and pride. “Yeah, I do.”

“Should we give the order to shift?” Matthew asked from the shadows.

Carlos pulled away, gave Aaron’s face a light touch. “Be careful,
mi hombre
.”

“You, too.”

“I will give the order.” Carlos strode off, his brief moment of sentimentality shuttered and replaced with a shell of unquestionable authority.

Matthew watched his lover walk away, but lingered near Aaron. “Best of luck to you tonight. I wish you and Tony well.”

Aaron studied the platinum Nordic god. Matthew was as breathtaking as Carlos. And just as smart. But beyond the traits that made him the perfect beta for Trinity’s alpha rested the heart of a truly caring man. Aaron was glad for Matthew’s presence, that Carlos had him. He stepped forward and embraced Matthew. The stunned shifter hesitated only a moment before returning the hug with near rib-crushing enthusiasm.

“Take care of him, please,” he said into the tall man’s shoulder. “And yourself.”

“I will.” Matthew pulled back. His eyes were damp. “May we all come through this war without harm.”

Aaron nodded. The sinking sensation in his stomach told him it was unlikely, that at some point in the night he would lose one of them.

Please don’t let it be Tony.

Fortunately he didn’t have time to consider the ramifications, both actual and moral, which might arise from his trying to secure such a deal with the universe. Carlos shouted out the command to shift and fifty bodies toppled to the ground, contorting in agony, their muted vocalizations a mix of human and wolf. It was an eerie sound. Aaron let the transformation come. Under the light of the moon it happened even faster, with less pain. It was like taking a breath, natural and easy—from human to wolf in a heartbeat.

The night was looking up.

A few minutes later, wolves, from gray to tan in color, loped forward and spread out around the perimeter of the building. Alarms wailed inside as the security teams caught their movement. There was little time left.

Where are they?
Although the words were spoken only in Aaron’s head, he could feel them in the tense set of every wolf in the vicinity. They scanned the outlying area—a parking lot with only the front spaces filled, a span of scraggly trees, a snaking drive and a wide veranda.

A wolf yelped in pain. All heads turned in that direction. Several wolves moved to investigate. Aaron shifted back to human form just as they started off.

“Stand your ground!” Aaron yelled.

The wolves stopped, torn between the shouted command and helping their comrade who now bayed frantically with pain. Two broke off to help their pack mate. The others started back to their posts.

Fire flashed just inside the wolves’ periphery. Blackness swallowed the air inside the flames. A stream of wolves galloped out of the interior darkness, fangs bared, eyes flashing. In the center of their midst ran the black demon, his lupine pretense all but dropped. Three slavering heads whipped this way and that, snapping and gnashing. Lava flowed beneath his cracked skin. His mouths opened and horrifying, grating wails arose from them.

Cerberus had arrived.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Fang, Fur and Firepower

Thurisaz sigils erupted all over the grounds, throwing jaundiced light across the seemingly endless stream of wolves. Clearly Cerberus and Six Rivers had collected more than one pack on their journey east. Aaron tried to track their numbers but there were too many. Trinity adjusted their position to face the invaders. The Six Rivers wolves leaped forward, teeth bared, jaws snapping. Deep growls poured from their throats. There were at least a dozen enemies to each Trinity werewolf. Death rested in each of those wolves’ eyes, and yet none wavered. Carlos lifted his head and howled. Matthew, as pale and massive as his human form, joined. One by one the Trinity clan announced their unwillingness to back down.

Aaron’s focus tunneled in. He was dimly aware of shaggy bodies galloping forward, of snarls, yips and growls, but all of that was secondary, the buzz of a television left on in a room and nothing more. His full attention was riveted on the creature now smugly standing in the middle of the chaos watching him. The dark thing responded with curiosity, but the wave of hatred passing through Aaron washed it away. As his legs pushed him forward, he let the shift come yet again. Adapting from bipedal to quadrupedal gait was as easy as the shift itself. Aaron didn’t break stride as the transformation bent his back and pulled his arms to the ground, but ran on, his intent focused only on Cerberus. His lips peeled back from his fangs. His hackles rose. Cerberus greeted his aggression with a look of pure amusement. The demon’s words echoed in Aaron’s mind once more.

Why not?

Aaron sprang. His muscles, filled with the power of the moon, the very power of his target, propelled him with more force than they had ever known. Whatever it was that Cerberus had done to the rest of Six Rivers before this evening had also occurred in his own body. It seemed fitting, the devil dog who indiscriminately tossed around his power taken out by one of its results. This satisfied thought sailed through his mind as he barreled toward Cerberus, mouth open.

Something large and heavy hit him in the back, just below his haunches. He let out a pained yelp as the heavy force ground into his spine and drove him to the ground. Whatever it was landed on top of him. Cerberus made that odd chuckling sound and loped away, his three heads swiveling in search of prey.

“You can be one of us,” a voice grated in his ear. Large hands flipped him and straddled his midsection so his paws jutted out like the legs of an overturned turtle. His growl died in his throat as he looked up into the half lupine, blackened face of what was once a young man.

Shock coursed through him as he recognized the former man beneath the monstrous facade.

“Cerberus blessed me. He can bless you, too. We can be brothers, Aaron.” The mixed being leaned in and grinned. His face cracked with the expression. Magma oozed from beneath the surface.

A drop sizzled onto Aaron’s snout, burning through the hair into his tender flesh. He struggled against the weight, but couldn’t gain any headway in wolf form. Forgoing his wolf form he shifted back to human, leaving only his fangs and heightened vision unchanged. The being holding him didn’t look surprised at the rapidity of his transformation, but only smiled wider. Like drifting continents, the patchwork of skin comprising his face slid farther apart, revealing more churning lava.

“Brandon Wilkes,” Aaron said as the feral amber eyes swept him haughtily

“The new and improved,” Brandon agreed. “Like you.”

Around them the sounds of battle filled the air. Snarling and growling, agonized howls, meaty thuds. Bodies hit the ground all around them. Aaron did not need to look to know it was Trinity failing. Triumph reflected out of Brandon’s inhuman eyes.