The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) (27 page)

            “You then need to take out
some of his lieutenants, and his minions. There’s also a rumor going around
that he has been having a group of demon’s kidnap young children for him to
experiment on. It is said that he has been trying to turn them into
supernaturals through DNA manipulation. The ones that don’t make it, he allows
the demons to eat.”

            “What the hell! You can’t
be serious. It’s the lamia isn’t it?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

            “How’d you?” Jaxson
begins.

            “We were just going to ask
you if you knew anything about that. We heard rumors that kids had gone missing
and were going to take care of it ASAP, but this is different. If Namen
actually is involved, we really have to be careful,” Selene says.

            “But it still needs to be
done,” I say, with finality. We weren’t going to argue this anymore. The lamia
are going to be handled. By me.

            “Then, I guess that is not
up for discussion. Tell me what you know then and I will see if I can add to
it,” Jaxson offers.

            Selene gives him the
information she learned and he adds to it by telling us that he knows the town
where the lamia is keeping the children. But, since he’s been ordered by Anubis
to stay away, he can give us no more than that.

            “I will do my best to
convince Anubis that we need to take action now. Namen Young is a threat and I
think that it’s time to do something about it. I’m ready to stand with you on
this,” Jaxson promises as there’s a knock at the door.

            “You may enter,” he
permits.

            “Mr. Kellog, you’re needed
at the front,” says a short haired female employee. She gives us a friendly
smile and then leaves.

            “Well, duty calls, I’m
afraid. But you are welcome here if you wish to stay, if not, then be careful
and do not make a move until I give you a call. I want to see if I can talk to
Anubis first, then I will come with you. If the lamia’s numbers are that great,
there may be something else there that he’s hiding. You just might need a nose
like mine,” Jaxson tells us.

            “You might be right, but I
really don’t want to have to wait any more nights than one or two. Children are
dying,” I explain.

            “I understand that missy,
but sometimes patience can give you a whole lot more than rushing in blindly.
You don’t want any mistakes when it comes to that witch.”

            “Alright, now you’re
sounding like Selene. I get it, just don’t keep me waiting too long okay,” I
tell him, trying not to sound too much like a demand.

            “I will handle my end human.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see what the issue is downstairs.” With
that, he leaves us to converse among ourselves.

            Selene busts out in a
cute, school girl giggle, covering her mouth as I look at her sideways.

            “What is it?” I inquire.

            “Mr. Kellog. This whole
time I thought his last name was Jaxson.”

            We stand there silently,
staring at each other for a few seconds before we burst out laughing, louder
this time. “Hell, I thought so too,” I admit.

            After that, we decide to
have a couple drinks just to see if Jaxson will come back to speak with us. He
never does, so we take our leave for the night.

Chapter Twenty Two

           
T
he night air brushes against my bare neck and a chill
courses through my body like an electric pulse. When we got here, the street
was fairly quiet, but now, it seems even emptier of life. I try to shake off
the feeling.                       

            “What now?” I ask Selene
as we head down the street to our car.

            “Pay attention Rayne, what
do you sense?” Selene snaps at me quietly. I start to slow up, but she snaps at
me again. “No, don’t slow your pace, just pay attention. What do you sense?”

            I take deep breaths as we
continue our pace and that’s when I feel it, harmful intent. They’re
surrounding us. There is at least six of them, but there’s something else,
someone that I couldn’t sense last time, but now feel her a clearly as if she is
standing two feet in front of me. Maybe it’s because she’s allowed me to. I
find her presence weirdly comforting when I know nothing about her. To make
sure I’m right, I glance up to see a hooded figure crouching on the roof a few
buildings down. For some reason, I don’t think Selene can detect her presence.

            “Are they wolves?” I
whisper, hoping that they can’t hear me if they are.

            “I think so, and clearly
not of Anubis’s pack, which is dangerous in itself for them, since this doesn’t
seem to be their territory to be trying to hunt or kill. My only guess is that
Namen put them up to this,” Selene responds.

            “Your guess is probably
right, which means, not only is it a day from the full moon, but we’re going to
have to deal with at least six of them when they’re nearly at their strongest.
We may have help though.”

            “Yes, if someone hears the
commotion and Jaxson and his pack come to help,” Selene agrees with me, at
least thinking that it’s our werewolf allies that I’m talking about. I was
referring to my mysterious watcher above.

            How did she even know I
was here? There’s no time to think about it now. We have to do something before
they figure out that we are on to them.

            I pretend to find some
money on the ground as I laugh real loud, as if I’m continuing a conversation. 
Then, I whisper, “Selene, do something about these street lights, then try to
make as much noise with these cars as you can. Maybe it will cause them to
hesitate and even back off; if not, then at least it will get someone to
notice.” I speak quickly as I hear the grunts of the change come over some of
the wolves. I lift my head back up and say, “Now.” I pull Katsu from my back as
the pop of the street lights fill the air.

            One by one, they go out in
sparks, just before a chorus of car alarms slice through the peace of the
night. One stupid wolf moves forward anyway, seemingly now unsure of his task.
I’m not unsure of mine, however. I launch myself one handed over a car and
slice through his stomach as he tries to leap at me, me up under him. Then, I
spin back around to face him as he howls in pain. I flick his blood off my
sword as he attacks me again, this time, not alone as another wolf leaps at me from
behind. Selene knocks the second one away, mid leap, shaking on the ground as
if electrocuted as I take the leg of the first wolf.

            I get shivers at the feel
of the lost limb as Katsu slices through it, but I force myself not to think
about it.  He too drops to the ground, the pain causing him to change back to
human, unconscious and bleeding. Werewolves heal better in wolf form. It isn’t
looking good for stumpy. I try to figure out which one is the strongest of the
group as I count my enemies.

            Howls come from the
direction of the club and then the thunder of powerful paws on the pavement
fills my ears. Seconds later, I recognize Jaxson even in his half-wolf form as
he stops in front of me, growling at the shadows.

            Jaxson has the face and
ears of a wolf as well as the lupine structure of back legs. His feet are even
those of a wolf’s, but his arms, hands, and torso is that of man covered in
light fur. Razor sharp claws and massive teeth complete his killer form. He is
a chestnut color with a long black streak going down his chest. His glowing
yellow eyes make him look deadly and alien.

            He is just as massive as I
imagined in his wolf-man form. At least seven feet tall and pretty damn wide.
Other pack members fall in line flanking Jaxson, me, and even Selene who is
still a distance away, fingertips glowing, next spell at the ready. There are
eight of them and they are all different shades of color from red to black and
even multicolored. A few of the stronger wolves are in their half-wolf form,
but the rest are in their full werewolf shift. Amazing. Beautiful and lethal.

            “Our territory. Our pack.
Leave,” he orders the other group, his voice sounding incredibly animal like
and almost too hard to understand. That’s probably why he only used a few
words. It was something else he’d forgot to mention though, that they could
still speak in that form. Other weres couldn’t.

            They refuse to budge, but
try to decide what they are going to do. I guess they take too long to make a
decision for Jaxson, because the next word he snaps is, “KILL,” and his wolves
don’t hesitate. They move with all the precision of a trained military squad.
The enemy wolves that never shifted don’t even stand a chance. It’s actually
horrifying as I watch the wolves tear apart the other pack. Bones crunch,
screams are muffled under bloody snarls. I’m completely frozen in place as my
eyes digest the carnage.

             Before long, there’s
silence. Even the two wolves in front of me are torn apart. I try my best not
to vomit every part of my insides, knowing that if I seem frightened or
vulnerable, these wolves may not even be able to stop themselves from making me
their next prey. Instead, I just back up, find Selene’s hand and squeeze it
tightly, hoping that I’m not shaking too much.

            When Jaxson finally
changes back, he’s standing naked and bloodied, eyes still yellow from the
change and far too wild for my liking. I almost take a step back, but Selene
holds me firm.  A couple of his men and one woman start to collect what’s left
of the bodies after they finish their Change back to human. The rest take to
the streets, probably searching for any other threats. I don’t even want to
know what happens next. I force myself to turn away from the scene and back to
Jaxson.

            “This is the life of the
luna dasa, human. If you are to walk among us, you must not turn away, you must
accept what is. They were given a chance to leave our territory. They all knew
the penalty for breaking pack law and attacking one under our protection,”
Jaxson says simply as fact, not for understanding.

            “Thank you for coming to
our aide,” Selene says. “It would have gotten really ugly without you.”

            “Agreed,” I tell him.

            “If Anubis said protect
you, then we shall. I said to be careful, now can you do that this time?” he
asks, almost amused. His eyes slowly return to their normal dark color.

            “I think we can manage it
from here now. Although, Namen is really trying to stop me isn’t he?”

            “Maybe he’s threatened.
Good. But that also means that Anubis too will have to be careful. It is definitely
time to make a move.”

            “How will you clean up,
this, uh mess?” I ask, slightly afraid to know the answer.

            “We’ve been doing this a
long long time, Rayne, don’t you worry about it. We have our ways,” Jaxson
assures me. “Now, get outta here before something else goes wrong.”

            I nod, then look up at the
building where my watcher had been. She’s no longer there just as I suspected
she wouldn’t be. I have no doubts that I’d be seeing her really soon.

            It turns out soon will be
tonight. We get to the car without incident, but there is a note on the front
window of the driver’s side. Selene picks up the note, reads it quietly, and
hands it to me.

           
You will come alone.
3375 Turner Ln.
One Hour.

            “The hell you will! Cadela
louca,” Selene practically yells into the night as I put the note into my
pocket. “And don’t think for one second that you can convince me otherwise
Rayne; I’m warning you.”

            I put my hands up in
defeat. “Hey, hey. I think we should play it how you want to okay. We’ll both
go and you can watch my back from the outside.”

            Selene gives me the death
stare, then sighs long and hard. “You’ll have five minutes Rayne to figure out
who the hell she is and what she wants before I come in after you. I’m not
playing around on this. This could be a setup from Namen.”

            “It’s not Selene. I saw
her on the rooftop earlier, she was watching, waiting to help if we needed it.
I don’t know why, but I know that’s the truth,” I argue.

            “I said this already, but
I will say it again. I. do. not. like. this. Still, I will allow you to use
your judgment. But if this stalker bitch turns out to be bad news, I will say I
told you so a million times,” Selene promises, clearly perturbed.

            I kiss her on the cheek.
“We make a good team baby, if anything happens, you’ll have my back.”

            “Let’s just hope it
doesn’t come to that, okay,” Selene replies, rolling her eyes at me as we file
in the Jag.

Chapter Twenty Three

           
I
punch in the address into my phone’s GPS and we get
there with about fifteen minutes to spare, not even having to fight traffic.
The streets were fairly empty and we barely got caught by any lights. Selene
pulls up into the driveway of the house which looks pretty much in shambles.
Actually, the entire neighborhood looks that way. Abandoned, run down. There
are some porches that aren’t even together anymore, windows broken out or
boarded, steps that are completely missing, and plenty of overgrowth in every
yard. Hell, even homeless people had to have more pride than to live somewhere
like this.