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Those weren’t the claws of a wolf. They were something more. And her arms? They were covered in a brawny-colored fur while the rest of her body remained humanoid. I remembered smelling something different about her. Something old.
What was she?
“And I told you that you’d have to kill me first.”
The elder man in the suit smirked darkly.
“That won’t be a problem, half-breed,” he sneered. “We don’t mind getting our hands dirty for the cause. And you? The Collective will be singing my praises when I bring them back your head.”
Granny chuckled darkly. “Your boss has been trying to get his hands on what I have for centuries.” She shook her head dismissively. “Does he honestly believe it’s going to change for him now?”
“He didn’t have us,” the younger suit piped up. “And there aren’t any guardians left but you, Lizzie. And look how old you’ve gotten. The years really haven’t done you any service.”
“At least I aged without sacrificing innocent men and women, Jonah.”
She knew about the Ritual of Youth?
And what the ever-loving fuck was a guardian?
It felt like I’d just been dropped into one of those dramas Granny watched during our downtime. Soap operas, I believed she called them. A bit overdramatic for my taste. In the few weeks I’d been staying with her, I thought I had started to get to know who she was. Funny, amicable, easy to laugh with, but now…I felt as if it had all been a façade. Just like the compound.
“Yes, we’re well aware of your ridiculous morals,” Jonah snorted. “And look where that has gotten you. Your friends are dead. You have no family left. There is no one to stand by your side.”
Granny’s lips quirked. She knew something they didn’t. A secret. Why was she so confident? If she truly was a half-breed, she didn’t stand a chance against two fully blooded shifters. While half-breeds carried the same types of abilities as fully blooded wolves, they were limited, their strength not as strong, their claws not as sharp.
“There are always those willing to take up the fight,” Granny assured him smugly. She reached out a fur-covered clawed hand and wiped the blood from my brow before standing. “And I’ve learned a few things over the centuries that might just surprise you.”
Muttered words fell upon the air, cutting through the thick tension. She rolled my blood between her thumb and forefinger. Light flashed, and I watched my blood form into a bright red ball. And then…it was gone.
Jonah laughed cruelly.
“Is that all you got, old lady?” he jeered. “Some half-assed shaman trick?”
“Still got my claws.” Granny lunged forward, claws bared, and struck out at Jonah’s chest. The wolf stumbled back with a snarl, his white shirt ruined, blood seeping through the wounds Granny had created.
“It didn’t have to be like this.” The elder shifter shook his head almost sadly. “But you leave us no choice.”
“Bring it, Jediah.”
Recognition flashed through my mind at the sudden utterance of his name. Jediah Banecroft. Father of the late Curtis Banecroft…the one I’d…Jediah was a member of the High Council. I’d never seen his face before, but the smell of sour milk now made sense. He’d been at the ritual, the same as the others. His son had killed Susan after viciously raping her.
Jonah must have been there, too, but I didn’t recognize his name.
Anger and grief warred within me. Susan had been such a sweet wolf. Caring and nurturing. She’d been studying to be a teacher at the school when she was chosen by Curtis. Her screams still haunted me in my sleep. She’d begged him to stop. Pleaded with him. And he’d just laughed at her pain. They all had.
No…not again…
I could feel my muscles tensing within me, my heart pumping as oil slicked through my mind.Shewanted control. It felt like a hot iron was branding itself to my insides, lava slipping through my veins as the darkness struggled to the surface.
Please…don’t…
There was something inside me that wanted out.
A monster.
A killer.
It was clawing its way to the surface. My heart stampeded in my chest, my lungs burning as I struggled to hold it back with everything I had.
