“Let’s just say that I don’t trust him, especially when it comes to you,” Castro said cryptically. “But that’s not why I called.”
“Then, why did you call?” Mason hissed.
“Ah.” Castro’s voice oozed from the speaker like a snake’s hiss. “I’ve left you a little gift outside your parents’ home. You should go get it.”
The line went dead, and I stared at the phone in disbelief. Blood rushed in my ears, drowning out the sudden burst of frantic conversation around me.
“Shit,” Mason said, his face pale. “How did he get past our security?”
I rushed to the front porch, with Ty and my family right behind me, adrenaline dumping into my bloodstream. The dread that twisted through my gut was like a rope threatening to strangle me.
“Careful,” Ty said as we reached the door. He opened it slowly, revealing a small, unassuming package wrapped in brown paper sitting innocently on the doorstep. “I smell blood. That doesn’t bode well.”
I was nervous when I bent to pick it up. In fact, I was terrified. There was no way of telling what it held until I unwrapped it, and with Castro, anything was possible. My family gathered around me, their expressions filled with a combination of fear and anger.
“We should check out what Castro left us.” I tried to keep myself steady as I tore away the paper. My stomach clenched at the bloodstained cloth. With a shaky breath, I unfolded the cloth to reveal the horrifying gift within.
A man’s severed head stared back at us, his lifeless eyes wide and mouth open in a silent scream. It was the man Liam had hired to abduct me. The man who had hurt my mother. The one who had caused so much pain to our family.
“Jesus Christ,” Michael said, his face pale as he stepped back from the gruesome sight.
“Castro is trying to send a message,” Dad said. “He wants us to know he can get to us, to anyone.”
“Enough,” I snarled, my wolf surging to the surface, desperate for vengeance. “This ends now. We find him, and we make him pay,”
As my emotions spiraled out of control, the ground quaked. The house moved on its foundations, with pictures falling from the walls as my family braced themselves against the sudden quake.
“Easy,” Ty said soothingly, placing his hand on my arm. His touch sent a calming wave through me, helping to quell the storm raging inside. “Breathe. You need to get your wolf under control.”
“Focus on us.” Despite her own scare, my mom was clearly filled with concern. “Don’t let Castro win by losing yourself.”
I closed myself off to the room, forcing myself to take deep, steadying breaths as I worked to push my wolf down, reassuring her we were safe, suppressing the urge to shift and hunt down the man who had hurt so many people I loved. Slowly, the tremors subsided, leaving only our ragged breathing.
“We can’t let him do this to us,” I said when I opened my eyes. “We have to stay strong. That’s how we’ll beat him.”
“Damn right,” Ty said, his hand still gripping my arm reassuringly. “We’re all here for each other, no matter what.”
“Castro wants to play?” Mason growled, his eyes dark with anger. “Well, two can play that game. We won’t stop until he’s brought to justice.”
“Agreed.” Dad picked up some of the broken pictures in the room where we were standing. “He’s made a terrible mistake in thinking he can tear our family apart. We will find him, and we will make him pay for everything he’s done.”
I couldn’t stand to look at the gruesome sight any longer. Taking in my mother’s pale and shocked face, I knew she’d seen as much as she needed to. Ty, my father, and my brothers dealt with the mess Castro had left on our doorstep. It was a sick reminder of the danger we were all in.
“Come on, let’s go inside.” I tugged my mom toward the door. She nodded, still too shaken to speak. As soon as we were inside, I grabbed the phone and dialed Liam’s number. We needed answers.
“Hello?” Liam picked up after two rings.
“Get over to my parents’ house, now,” I said, unable to keep the fury down. “Castro left us a... a gift.”
“Fuck,” Liam said. “I’m on my way.”
Mom and I waited in tense silence for Liam to arrive. When he did, his face was carefully schooled to reveal nothing. His presence made everything even more intense. But Liam was on our side, and right now, we needed him.
“What the hell is going on, Liam?” I said as soon as he stepped through the door. “I believed you’d already killed the bastard who hurt my mom,”
“Wait, what?” Liam looked genuinely confused, and it only fueled my anger. “I never said I killed him. I taught him a lesson, then I dismissed him from my services.”
“Dismissed him?” I asked incredulously. “You should have ripped his throat out.”
