AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The scene was almost comical in its ridiculousness. Werewolves, now only five of them, staggered around the room with outstretched arms, tripping on furniture and over one another. They were swearing and barking out orders that got lost in the din of so many simultaneous shouts.
“Jesus, Simon! What’s taking so long?” the main guard bellowed from the far back corner of the room. He was freakishly tall, close to seven feet, and as broad across the chest as my torso was long.
It wasn’t the size of him that worried me the most, though. It was how calm he sounded—unhappy but not alarmed. He would be my biggest obstacle between this room and Marcus, but all the other guards stood between me and him, and he wasn’t budging from his position.
I safetied my gun and put it back in my waistband. In this kind of darkness a gun would only work against me, and until I took out a majority of the guards I couldn’t use it. The flash of the bullet exiting the chamber would illuminate my position and give me away. Plus, if I was smart about this, I might not have to use it at all.
The first two were easy. They fell as quickly as Simon had in the hallway, each subdued with a basic chokehold before they could cry
out. I was going to have to thank Keaty for teaching me that particular move. Most of my training was lethal, but the sleeper was proving to be a great silent, non-fatal alternative to a broken neck.
With two of the remaining five guards down, I no longer had the cacophony of raised voices to mask my approach. I moved silently through the darkness towards the two guards by the locked door—James and Hollis. James went down quick, like the others, but when I grabbed for Hollis my arms came up empty. He had feinted out of my grip with surprising speed and grace. He swung at me, not able to see me but aware of my general position, and his punch landed squarely on my collarbone.
This hit was more painful than the one landed by Simon, and I couldn’t stop the cry of pain that escaped my throat. The femininity of the sound must have taken him by surprise, because Hollis’s next swing hesitated and glanced off my shoulder.
“A girl?” Hollis sounded worried.
“I don’t care if it’s a baby, you morons. Pay attention! A girl is just as capable of killing you. Think of the queen. ”
Now that they knew I was here I didn’t see a point in playing it subtle anymore. I grabbed Hollis’s head again. He was staring right into my face, but his eyes were unfocused, not seeing what was right in front of him until I snarled.
The sound was ragged and frightening even to me. It was the snarl of an animal that had no natural sense of fear, a hollow, almost rabid noise of warning. His eyes widened and his mouth went slack. He tried to pull away, but my grip was firm and unyielding. He would not escape me again. Hollis grabbed my arms, scratching at the skin in desperation. I growled deeper. The big guard was moving out of the back corner now, and I twisted Hollis in my grip, using one arm to hold him by the neck as I pulled out a gun and flicked off the safety. I aimed it at the main guard who was only a few feet from us.
Hollis went limp and I let him fall to the floor. Now it was just me and Andre the Giant. I’d been lucky to find the breaker switch, so I guess it was asking too much to make the biggest, scariest bastard in the room an easy target. If I’d been able to take him out first thing, I’d be waltzing into Marcus’s room right now.
Instead I was leveling my gun across a two-foot gap and pointing it at his abdomen. Geez, this guy was massive.
His eyes had adjusted to the darkness, because he was staring straight at me.
“I know you,” he said, no fear in his voice in spite of the incapacitated figures littering the ground around us. “You’re Lucas’s new mate. You’re the girl all this trouble is about. ”
“I hardly think I’m the reason Marcus and Alexandre Peyton are trying to take control of this city. ”
“Oh, no?”
I was hoping my flicker of uncertainty went unnoticed, because I was getting more and more unnerved by how calm he was with my gun pointed at him. He inched forward, and I loaded another bullet into the chamber.
“What do you think you’ll accomplish by killing Marcus? Do you think he’s the only one who threatens you and your king? Take my advice, princess”—never had the word sounded so condescending—“stay out of Lucas’s life. Stay away from the big dogs. ”
“I’m not here for Marcus. He’s just a bonus. ”
“Ha. ” The sound was humorless. “You’re here because Peyton wants you here. ”
“You expect me to believe that someone like you knows a damn thing about Alexandre Peyton’s plan?” I stepped backwards, but he kept coming. He was advancing slowly, but there was no mistaking the minute movements. I steadied my hands and raised my gun a few inches so it was even with his sternum.
“I know more than you can imagine. ” His voice told me otherwise. The bravado was gone, replaced with wavering uncertainty. I’d hit the nail on the head. He had no clue about Peyton’s plans.
“You don’t know anything,” I said.
He snarled and moved to close the small space between us.
I shot him.
I might have wanted to hear him out if he’d claimed to be privy to what Marcus’s plan of action was, because it was feasible the alpha could have trusted him. But I didn’t believe for one second Peyton would let a werewolf, even the leader of the guards, be privy to his real agenda. I doubted Marcus himself knew the details of what Peyton had in mind.
If this had really been the plan, the vampire would have wanted me here at night when he could kill me on his own. He was such a ham he’d want it to be showy and over the top, and he wouldn’t want to miss it. Opening the doors to Marcus’s bedchamber in the middle of the afternoon would not be a part of anyone’s plan but my own.
Alone at last, I gave a hard tug on the door they’d been guarding. “Little pig, little pig, let me in. ” The door was locked from the inside, and through the wood I heard someone scrambling. Then the door swung open abruptly and I staggered backwards, almost tripping over one of the still forms on the floor.
