Page 13 of His to Claim

It had been even longer since I’d known the protection of a pack. I didn’t mind being a lone wolf the majority of the time and this was one of them.

While tonight would sate my desire for the chase, there would be no opportunity to feast, something that pissed me off. However, the requirement was one I’d agreed to, the assignment dicey even in human form.

I was paid well as an assassin, never remaining in the same city twice. It had been months since I’d dared enter the hallowed grounds of the Wolfen. No one who hired me knew what I truly was, with the exception of the person responsible for this ‘special’ mission, as it had been called. It had been one of the reasons I’d accepted the job, against my ingrained instincts. However, this particular assignment was much more personal, in a sense killing two birds with one stone. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought. I was about to right a wrong from years ago to boot. Maybe that would save my soul from the devil’s claws.

Naw. I doubted it.

While I knew the wolves would be unable to detect my scent, I was risking one or both of the intended victims being able to turn prior to their death. A chance I would have to take.

The bar was packed with bikers and transients, the dingy space reeking of stale cigarettes, sweat, and sex. I’d long since become accustomed to the possible intoxication from my exaggerated senses, but this time, I was disgusted by the stench. Even in the darkness, I was able to see the man in question, his dark eyes constantly scanning the rowdy crowd. It would see the bar’s owner was working serving booze.

I could wait until the shithole closed in a little less than an hour, but what fun was there in doing the easy thing? I snickered as I pushed my way through the crowd, prepared for one of the drunk assholes to dare shove me out of the way. It would seem they were either all too inebriated or had other things on their minds, including the half dozen babes hanging all over several of the guys.

While at least two of them had pretty eyes and voluptuous bodies, neither were my type. I preferred my women more sophisticated and savvier, hungry to taste the beast. When I managed to clear a spot directly in front of the bar, I simply waited my turn. There was no reason to lose my patience at this point. Points would be deducted if I made a scene, my payment lowered.

A smile curled on my lip as I scanned the room. There was no one in the joint who could possibility challenge me.

As the owner finally managed to walk closer, I stared directly into his eyes, perhaps daring him to uncover the secret. I was a horrible fuck, a man who deserved his reputation.

Obviously exhausted, he simply glanced up and down, taking a single whiff before deciding I was no threat. “Whatdya have?”

“Budweiser. That and a tequila chaser.”

The owner nodded, giving me another onceover before yanking a shot glass from behind the bar.

I studied him as he poured. He reeked of the kind of danger the lore suggested, a monster capable of ripping apart a human within seconds. What the poor unsuspecting humans didn’t understand was that tall tales told to children were actually true.

He slid the drinks across the bar at the same time I pushed a twenty-dollar bill in his direction. “Will that do it?”

“That’ll do it,” he answered in passing, snarling when he heard the sound of breaking glass. Within seconds, I could tell fists had been tossed. “God fucking damn it. I’ll have to get your change later.”

“No need.” I lifted an eyebrow, watching as he jumped over the bar with ease, storming toward the assholes who’d started the fight. Like any drunk crowd, a cheering section developed, several of the men crowding around whatever melee had ensued.

I remained where I was, enjoying the cold brew and the way the tequila burned as it slid down the back of my throat. Goddamn, I was itching to turn, perfecting the kill in the manner only a wolf could handle. I dragged my tongue across my aching canines, their sharp points the only indication of how close I was to losing control.

The damn stench seemed to be getting worse or maybe I was just on edge. I did enjoy the floor show as the owner wasted no time in breaking up the fight, forced to toss one of the burly men out the door himself. No one in close proximity seemed to think it was odd the owner had been able to lift a three-hundred-fifty-pound man off the floor with ease. I admired the dude. He was living large and pushing boundaries.

Just like every wolf in existence was. I polished off the beer as the owner took a few minutes to clean up the broken bottles before heading back to the bar. I could almost read his mind. I slipped out the front door with no one paying a damn bit of attention, shoving my hands into my jeans as I headed around the corner. This particular area of Denver was a real shithole, the houses run down and dozens of businesses boarded up. At least the single bar in the neighborhood seemed to be thriving.

I could hear the rustle of trashcans as I shifted around the corner. I could only hope the owner had prepared a will, maybe leaving the place to one of his relatives. I wasn’t here to ask questions or give a shit about the consequences of what I’d been hired to do.

I was here to perform a job.

I eased the weapon from under my jacket, the cold steel having pushed hard against my spine all night long. There was no sound as I approached yet the owner’s hearing was as good if not better than mine.

He snapped his head in my direction, immediately issuing a husky growl as a warning. I could already see by the change in his eyes he was prepared to transform if necessary. “I suggest you leave.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen.”

“What do you want?” He was prepared to lunge, allowing me to easily see the change in his eyes. His beast was dangerously close. What the hell? I didn’t mind toying with him.

“What do I want? Vindication.”

I walked closer, allowing him to see the luminescent golden flecks encircling my irises the second before I pulled the trigger not once but twice.

I’d been told the kill was foolproof, but I wasn’t a trusting man. I stood over him as he slumped to the ground, waiting for his beast to claw its way toward the surface, healing his human form.

I waited for a full thirty seconds as I peered down at him. The vacancy in his open eyes was telling. One down, several to go.

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