The Lion's Den (36 page)

“
What did she say?”

“
She’s on your side, but she has to play it safe. She agrees with me when I say the S.U.I.T. could benefit from employing more supernaturals. For now, stay incommunicado, and I’ll keep you all up to date.”

“
Thanks for looking out for us,” Matthew said, grateful to have a friend still within the S.U.I.T.

“
You’re two of the best cops and men I’ve ever met, you don’t deserve what’s happening anymore than Gabe and Barry deserved what happened to them. Something needs to be done about this ridiculous policy, maybe now is our window of opportunity.” Galen said. “I have to go, but I’ll keep in touch.”

“
Thanks.” Matthew ended the call. “You all heard what he said.”

The others nodded.

“
This is the last thing we need right now,” Brian said.

“
Or maybe not,” Justin began. “If we can take out Marcus and his coven, it’ll look good in your favor.”

“
If
we can. We don’t even know where to look,” Devin said, sinking back against the cushions.

“
We stick to the plan, let them make the next move and take it from there,” Xander said.

“
We should go to Darian’s mansion and stay together. Our plan to remain separate in preparation for his attack is proving to be fruitless,” Danielle suggested.

“
That’s a good idea. I miss the others anyway,” Devin said, gathering his coat. They checked out of the hotel and headed toward Darian’s mansion.

C
hapter
N
ineteen

“
Master, how long are we going to let the night slip away? Please tell me we’re going to have some fun tonight?” Raven asked.

Marcus chuckled. “Yes. Tonight we will have fun. I want Darian and his coven. Tonight, I’ll get what I want.”

“
You said they were separated, what do you want us to do?” Mikhail asked.

“
They are no longer separated. Earlier today, they rejoined the others at Darian’s mansion.” Marcus sat in his chair while Kiren sat on the floor beside him. The Master ran his fingers through the shifter’s hair lovingly, lightly stroking the strands.

“
Why did they pull that stunt anyway is what I want to know? You’d think it’d be smarter for them to stay together,” Alicia commented.

“
It was a smart plan, had it worked,” Raven said.

“
What do you mean?” Alicia asked.

“
Well, they were probably hoping that Marcus and Kiren attacked them during the day,” Raven answered. “Especially since these circumstances are different. We haven’t run into a vampire coven willing to help Adan and his Pride before.”

“
The coven has a powerful Master and to attack while the vampire is resting, would be a smart plan … if that’s your plan, anyway,” Mikhail said.

Marcus continued, “Exactly. It’s something I would have done in their position. I would have tried to tempt my enemy away from his hiding place by offering him something I knew he wanted. Then I would have my people gang up on him, allowing myself to have a second attack planned to take him out when he was alone, or at the very least, without his full arsenal.”

“
That’s why you left them alone?” Mikhail asked. “I don’t mean any disrespect, Master, but

”

“
I already know what you’re going to ask me and the answer is ‘no’,” Marcus interjected. “They couldn’t have prevented me from killing Adan and his entire Pride if I wanted to. Understand, I want them off their guard. I want them guessing and wondering what we’re going to do next? Or even if we’re still interested in hurting them.”

“
I want a piece of Darian myself,” Kiren growled.

Raven laughed. “Yeah, I bet. I heard about what happened to you. Seems to me you brought it on yourself.”

“
Fuck you. Still doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m going to make him pay!” Kiren spat back.

“
No, you won’t. I’ve told you this before, Darian’s mine. Deal with what happened to you, get over it,” Marcus said, giving his lover a stern stare.

Kiren lowered his head, nodding slightly, dejected.

“
How are we going to go about doing this tonight?” Raven asked.

“
I’m sure they’re expecting something calculated, stealthy.” Marcus laughed. “On the contrary, I’m in the mood for a ‘snatch n’ grab’ tonight. Kill whomever you wish, take whomever you want.”

“
Just so I know what’s what … Darian is off limits, anyone else?” Mikhail asked.

“
Yes. Xavier, Christopher and John are also to be taken. Don’t care if you harm them in the process, they’ll heal.”

“
I want Adan,” Kiren said. “And Richard, at least he’ll pay for setting me up.”

“
Very well. I have my eye on Miko, Nagesa, Sergio, Adrian, Ignacio and Miranda,” Alicia said.

“
Child’s play. I’m taking the remaining leaders and I’m going to make them humble. That would be Tatiana, Elise, Danielle and Xander,” Raven stated.

“
Yeah, but the ones I’m going after are born warriors, their birthright is to fight to the death and kill anyone in their way. Politics isn’t their fort
é
. You point in the direction of a battle and that’s where they excel. I want to bring them to their knees,” Alicia explained.

“
Ah, I see why you chose them,” Raven said, smiling.

“
I don’t know who I want. They’re all so … I don’t know, what’s the word … Powerful, independent, headstrong? Any one of them is a treat,” Mikhail said. “I suppose the one who puts up the strongest fight against me will be my pick for the evening.”

“
Are we done yet?” Marcus asked, slightly annoyed. “This conversation is closely resembling what one would have at thanksgiving dinner and who gets which parts of the holiday turkey.”

Mikhail chuckled. “Just pour some gravy on mine and we’re all good.” His smile widened when he noticed Marcus turning away, smiling.

“
Let’s go,” Marcus said. “I’ll fly, you four drive.”

“
Wouldn’t we get their faster if we all flew?” Mikhail asked.

“
We would, but then were would we put our bounty?” Marcus asked, sarcastically, being slightly annoyed b and younger vampire’s question.

“
I’m sorry, Master. I get it now.” Mikhail refrained from asking any more questions as they headed toward the door.

***

Darian returned home, sitting in his chair. At sunset, he had gone out searching the city for their enemy. After a few hours of hunting and being unsuccessful, he decided to called it a night. He looked at the two newest shifters in his home. Both men seemed to be in complete awe of him. They had seen him once before when he was held in lock-up at the S.U.I.T. precinct a few years ago, but never up close. They could feel his aura and they knew he was strong.

“
I do hope you take Adan seriously when he says you need training,” Darian said.

Gabriel swallowed hard. He felt as though he’d choke on Darian’s aura if he hadn’t. Never in all his years on the S.U.I.T. had he felt power so intense. So absolute. He nodded. “Yeah, after what happened earlier, we’d be crazy not to.”

Darian smiled slightly. “Good. Wise decision.” He looked at Adan. “If this coven hasn’t attacked by now, maybe we should start looking at other cities to see if they’ve chosen another target.”

“
I wanted to do that earlier today when I went into the precinct, but I had to get out of there fast because of the tests,” Matthew said.

“
Ahh, that’s right.” John nodded. “Perfect timing, the S.U.I.T. resources could have really come in handy right about now.”

“
When all else fails, we can use the internet to look up that information,” Natasha said.

“
I did that, already,” Ignacio said. “There’s nothing that resembles what happened here. There were some bombings overseas. A few rapes, gang-related violence, other random murders that have always plagued the news and a shape-shifter was killed on the spot at a murder scene, but nothing more. There wasn’t even a mention about what’s going on with the S.U.I.T. right now.”

“
I’m sure the S.U.I.T. is using all it’s political pull to keep it under wraps as much as they can at this point,” Warren said.

“
Yeah, if that got out, it would be more chaos than it already is,” Matthew agreed.

“
Back to the point, where the fuck are they?” Sergio asked to no one in particular.

Xavier stepped forward, addressing Darian. “I don’t think they’ve left. Perhaps we need to

”

The sudden shattering of glass from four windows interrupted Xavier. Using his quick reflexes, he raced to Natasha, protecting her from the shards of glass that flew inward. Others took cover to avoid getting slashed by the countless shards of glass that sprayed the room. The front door imploded with a force that shook the mansion, sending wood splinters shooting into the parlor and down the hallway. Kiren stood in the doorway, in half beast form. His animalistic eyes focused on his prey and he revealed a mouth full of razor sharp teeth in a menacing grin.

“
Shit!” Sergio cursed as he began changing forms himself.

The others who could followed suit, changing into their half-beast forms as fast as they could. Darian was on his feet instantly advancing on Mikhail. Marcus saw him. He knew if Darian were to land a hand on his coven member, it would take less than a second for him to kill him. He advanced on Darian, grabbing him from behind, tossing him sideways, sending his body airborne through the brick, plaster and drywall into the next room.

Xavier turned and gasped at the site, shocked to see his lover and Master flying over his head. He turned when he saw Natasha holding their son, hiding under the table behind the sofa where he had put her. Tears streamed down her face as she cuddled their child. Not wanting to waste another second, he ran to her.

“
Natasha, come with me!” He grabbed her hand, knowing she and their children were his priority as Darian had instructed. She climbed out from underneath the table with Xavier’s assistance. As she cleared the edge, rising to her feet, Sergio’s body landed on the table, smashing the wood into splinters. He groaned as he struggled to rise from the debris. Once he climbed to his feet, he rushed back into the battle, his claws slashing Alicia down her back, preventing her from attacking Elise. The female vampire turned, punching Sergio, knocking him into Elise, sending both crashing to the floor.

Xavier watched what happened to his two friends. “We need to get all of the younger ones out of here,” he told Natasha.

“
The children, they aren’t protected!” she said, panicking.

Xavier mentally contacted Gary and Sebastian along with their human servants, ordering them to gather the children and follow him. In the mist of the chaos, the supernaturals managed to gather the children and younger members as Xavier had commanded. They were all following him when Mikhail attacked Xavier.

The stronger vampire wrapped his hand around Xavier’s throat. “Where do you think your ass is going? The party’s just started.” He smiled.

“
Yeah, but it’s a dud,” Xavier shot back.

“
Oh, trust me, it’s getting better each second. Besides, I don’t want you to go.”

Xavier looked past Mikhail to see his lover rising. “Life’s full of disappointments,” he managed to say through gasps.

Darian climbed to his feet, shaking the mental cobwebs from his mind when he noticed Mikhail’s fingers were locked around Xavier’s throat. He advanced quickly, grabbing Mikhail from behind, plunging his fangs deeply into the vampire’s artery. Viciously, he pulled back, ripping away the vampire’s throat, splattering blood on both Natasha and Xavier. Mikhail released Xavier, giving the vampire a chance to escape with the others. Darian began to change forms taking on his full demon visage, while at the same time he drove his claws through the vampire neck. With a powerful pull, he severed the vampire’s head from his body, killing Mikhail instantly.

Tatiana and Elise were both busy healing the shifters who were gravely wounded. They ran from one body to the next, opening their veins for whomever needed help. Marcus saw Tatiana healing Xander. He ran toward them, at that point, yanking Tatiana to her feet. Holding her by the back of her neck with one hand, he stabbed his clawed hand through her back, shattering her ribs, piercing her lungs. Tatiana screamed as Marcus pulled his hand from her torso. Again he moved to attack her. Xander struggled to rise, fighting against his own weakness and pain. Before Marcus could stab her again, he lunged forward, pushing Tatiana against the Master vampire, preventing him from plunging his arm through her chest. Marcus tossed Tatiana away from him, sending her body crashing through Darian’s seventy-five gallon fish tank, shattering the glass into tiny shards. Dozens of exotic fish spilled with the flow of water splashing on Tatiana as she lay there struggling to live.