Withers laughs at the mere mention of it. “I don’t think Allistair Carnell will do anything of the sort. I’m very useful, you know? So talented in many, many ways,” he says and makes the hand gesture again. “Come along. I want to avoid the big guy who left here earlier. This shirt is new.”
Nix takes a step back, out of Withers’s reach.
Withers raises an eyebrow and turns his full attention to Nix. His gaze is heavy and invasive, sending a tingle deep into thecenter of Nix’s brain. It feels similar to when Jamie used his Alpha Voice, and it only works to piss his wolf off even further.
“No,” Nix says with a growl, baring his teeth in warning.
He can see when it occurs to Withers that there is an easier way to gain Nix’s cooperation. Turning his attention to Luca, he speaks low words, and suddenly, Luca’s nose is bleeding.
“Stop! Okay. Okay…just stop. I’ll go with you, just leave him here.”
“I don’t think so. I’m sure Rhodes is extra fond of your omega, plus the things Carnell has planned for him…I can’t possibly pass up the opportunity. You know the saying, A bird in the hand? Well, now I have two little birds in hand. Come along. Tweet-tweet, lovebirds.”
BigAndStupid throws the unconscious Luca over his shoulder with little care and fanfare, and it’s all Nix can do to follow them out with his wolf riding shotgun—snarling for Withers’s blood. But it’s only Luca’s blood smearing on the back of BigAndStupid’s shirt that keeps Nix from taking his chances.
Withers leads them out of the apartment and down the stairs to a waiting white van. Clichéd or not, it does the job. BigAndStupid drops Luca on a pile of cardboard in the back before pushing Nix in as well.
Nix pulls Luca’s head gently onto his lap before tearing a piece of his t-shirt off so he can wipe his mate’s nose and lip. Withers watches, amused—like he’s studying a specimen pinned to a board.
“Fascinating,” he observes, head tilted as if he’s witnessing one of life’s biggest mysteries, before sliding the door closed. Right before it latches, Nix throws the piece of fabric out the small slit in the door, hoping the others will find it. They’re microchipped, sure (there’s anI told you socoming from Gideon), but who knows if Withers’s magic can mess with that?
It’s not the first time Nix has been blocked from his mates’ detection with magic—and isn’t that the most frightening thing he’s thought since Withers showed up?
They’re on the road for about thirty minutes before Nix can smell the ocean more clearly, and still, Luca is asleep. At least his nose has stopped bleeding, and his bond is as strong as his heartbeat under Nix’s hand. There’s no doubt in his mind that they’re going to Carnell’s hideout, and while this isn’t the plan Nix would have chosen, he isn’t going to pass up the opportunity for a little one-on-one face time with his father-in-law for ruining his Happily Ever After with his stupid world domination delusions.
He’s willing to deal with Gideon’s disappointment about delivering the final blows, as Nix has very recently come to terms with his role as the executioner of threats to his family—and this time, he’s looking forward to it.
Nix allows himself a small smile at the thought before closing his eyes to check on the bonds of his mates and calling to Finn along the glowing blue bond. He thinks something gets through on the third try, but the feeling is followed almost immediately by a blindingly sharp pain in his chest as Jamie’s red bond blinks out.
In a wave of horror and grief, and with Withers’s surprised, hoarse cry echoing in his ears, Nix blinks out, too.
8
Born Beneath the Hunter’s Moon (Gideon)
Even with his rage strong enough to overrun his scent blocker patch, it’s still not enough to hide the scent of decay coming from Jay’s sire. Gideon had never had the dubious pleasure of meeting him face-to-face before, but Jay had remarked once that he used to smell like gasoline fresh from the pump. That scent had long burned away, replaced by something much worse—nauseating decay, pure evil personified.
He’d been spewing filth—and what Gideon wished were lies—for the past five minutes, and Gideon had reached his limit. One more word, and he might just rip the bastard’s throat out.
Then he started in on Nix. On how Hayes (his half-brother, for fuck’s sake) had tortured Gideon’s sweet Kitten for fun—just to keep Jay in a state of perpetual agony. Well…he nearly put Rhodes down right then, like he’d wanted to last fall.
The final straw was when his mouth twisted into a horrible facsimile of a grin, spittle flying from blackened lips.
“Fuck, I wish I was sticking around long enough to see your face when Carnell breaks your pack apart into tiny pieces, boy.”
No one threatens Jay’s pack.
Time slowed. A sharp prickle raced down Gideon’s spine, the hair on his neck standing on end as his wolf snarled a warning. A half-second later, the deafening crack rang out from the top of the WRBY building—just as Jay pulled back his arm to give his dad a well-deserved punch to the jaw.
Gideon’s brain put two and two together as everything snapped into terrifying focus. Then—Rhodes’s face crumpled, the maniacal light fading from his gaze.
Staggering back a single step, Gideon’s beloved alpha jerked with the impact of the through-shot, the bullet still moving with enough power to blow out the car window beside them. The scent of pine-scentedblood had Gideon tackling him to the ground between the cars—hopefully out of range of the sniper’s second shot.
“Jay! Don’t you fucking move. Goddess, please,” he prays, knowing that if They hear him, They will understand what he means.Please save him. Please don’t let him die.
He’s right to be worried, because there is a hole the size of Gideon’s palm in Jay’s right shoulder where it meets his chest—and a bigger one straight through, out the other side. There’s so much blood.
Gideon wants to roar with fear and grief,but yanks his shirt off to try to stop the bleeding, palming his phone to dial 010—the Were equivalent of emergency services worldwide.
