Electric Moon (31 page)

“You can select one or two mated male to hold the bonds of
the pack for you. It’s dangerous. The bonds aren’t nearly as strong as in other
packs. You’ll have to periodically take blood from them to keep the connections
stable. If anything happens to these males, you could lose your pack.”

“Why the hell did no one tell me sooner?” Betrayal frosted
along her skin, the cold burrowing into her soul. She stared at the fresh wound
on his chest, horrified what she’d done. And no matter how hard she battled
herself, the creature was pleased at the turn of events.

Jackson would be forever hers.

He ran a hand through his hair, never once taking his eyes
from hers. “Because I’m a selfish bastard. Also, because the pack will be
stronger if you claim the best of us directly.”

“Then why tell me now?”

“So no one can take advantage of you.”

Another horrible thought crossed her mind. “Do the others
know?”

“Doubtful. Female alphas aren’t known for sharing their
secrets. Vivian did extensive research, but she never developed enough ability
to hold a pack. Once she realized that, she settled on Kevin as second best. I
was able to access her research.”

“Why would you take this choice away from me?” She couldn’t
remain in the same room with her hurt so close to bubbling over.

“I did what I had to do.”

“Did you?” Raven stopped with her hand on the knob, her
shoulders straight and brittle. One more betrayal and she would crack.

“The mating bond was the only thing that would tie us
together permanently. I wouldn’t survive another separation from you.”

Raven shook her head, surprised that she could sense the
truth to his words. Another reminder that the benefits of the mating bond went
both ways. He honestly believed what he said. She glanced at him over her
shoulder. “You could have tried asking.”

With that, she escaped outside. Jamie, Randolph, Taggert and
Neil stood off to the side. Scotts and his two members were waiting ten feet
away. She didn’t say a word to Scotts on his choice of men, not when she had
her own army.

All three men appeared older, dressed in plain clothes. From
the way they held themselves, experienced in combat and knew how to protect
themselves. They were also armed to the gills. She could see no less than five
weapons on them, so she would guess there were at least that amount still
hidden.  

The shifters were a stark contrast. No one was armed.

They
were
the weapons.

And better equipped than the humans could ever be.

No one spoke, the tension enough to drown a person. Too much
time has been wasted already. “Let’s head out.”

Taggert and Neil took the lead. As they neared the forest, a
roar reverberated in the air. One of the cops whirled, pulling his gun, staring
at the darkness around the house. “What the hell was that?”

Raven gave a little smile. “That would be our send off.”

She could tell the instant the soldier spotted London in his
animal form. The man stared blankly down at his gun then holstered it when he
realized a bullet would only piss the animal off. “A fucking bear.”

 Chapter Thirty-two

O
nce
Neil led them to the small clearing, everyone milled about waiting for Taggert
to pick up the scent. He stood next to a tree, his body perfectly still as only
a shifter could. He closed his eyes, sorting through the many trails. Shadows
danced across the forest floor in the moonlight. If it wasn’t for the absolute
silence around them, the area would be almost peaceful.

One of the officers spoke, mirroring her thoughts. “Why
isn’t there any sound?”

Jackson answered, not looking at the officer as he searched
the area for any hint of trouble. “You’re in an area where large predators hunt.
Everything has either been killed or moved to safer territory.”

“You’re just lucky we haven’t decided to run as a pack and
hunt more challenging game.” Jamie smiled, his teeth gleaming in the pale
light, making his meaning clear.

The officer swallowed, but Raven would give him credit for
not flinching. Scotts picked his men well, one’s who wouldn’t be spooked into
reacting first. She just hoped it didn’t get them killed.

When she turned, it was to find Randolph studying her. He was
too quiet, his silent presence freaking her out. The only good thing about the
situation was if he decided to take her down, he would take a direct approach.

He’d want the challenge of a fair fight.

“Do you ever wonder why the rogues chose this area?”

“What do you mean?”

Randolph tsked and gave her a pitying look. “Haven’t you
even suspected that they were drawn here because of you? Your gift is a magnet for
paranormals.”

Raven clamped her jaw tight until her muscles ached. She
would not let him goad her into giving away any information.

“I mean no harm.” Randolph immediately backed down and
lifted his hands to show he was harmless.

Her lack of response seemed to disappoint him, and she
realized that he was trying to engage her in conversation.

Trying to befriend her.

The thought frightened the crap out of her.

“Why did you really come tonight?”

Randolph appeared surprised by the question, like the answer
was obvious. “You intrigue me.”

His curiosity was so not a good thing.

“Your gift is almost the opposite of mine. You can give all
that wonderful energy you absorb to help others survive, while I must take. I
wonder what would happen if we joined our energy. What more we could become.”

Raven knew and the results had nearly killed her. He could
never find out that their combined power could bring the dead back to life.
Even if she somehow survived the procedure, which was doubtful, the damage
would be extensive and irreversible.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to test that
theory. I doubt that either one of us would fare well if our gifts were
destroyed.”

“I found something.”

Raven nearly sagged in relief at Taggert’s words. Although
Randolph accepted her summation at face value, she didn’t make the mistake to
think the subject had been dropped.

“They went this way.”

“They?”

“You’re sure?”

Scotts and Raven spoke together.

“There is a main path where more than one scent leads off in
the same direction.”

They took off, Taggert leading a leisurely pace. Well, for a
shifter anyway. She wasn’t in too bad of shape, clumsy in comparison to the
shifters...nearly human. Until you saw how far the police force lagged behind.

A vicious snarl echoed in the trees. A slither of fear snaked
down her spine, sending icy chills through her body. The enraged sound did not
come from any animal remotely sane.

The shifters halted instantly, crouched and ready to spring
into action, while the cops pulled their guns.

Then she heard links of chain, metal clanging against metal.

“There.” She smelled the blood first, sensed him more than
saw him.

Jackson grabbed her arm. “That’s close enough. An injured
animal can inflict a lot of harm without being aware of what they’re doing.”

But she stopped hearing him when she got a look at the big
black wolf that barreled toward her. She straightened abruptly, something about
his shape so familiar that her breath caught.

The wolf didn’t slow his charge. If anything, he picked up
speed. The thick chain clamped around his neck pulled his feet right out from
under him. He slammed into the ground with a thud that reverberated under her
feet. He laid stunned, his chest bellowed for air of one completely exhausted.
“Dominic?”

The world dropped out from around her to see her friend so cruelly
captured and left tied to a tree to die. She had no doubt that he wasn’t meant
to survive, three partial bodies that weren’t quite hidden in the foliage
around the base of the tree were proof.

A rustling came from one of the still forms. She stared, her
mouth agape, as a naked form pushed up from the ground. Muscles rippled across
the lean male back. Dirt and leaves rolled off his body to reveal deeply etched
wounds scored down his spine.

Chains, clamped around his throat, clanked as the man moved.

Horror darkened her mind when Raven realized the two chains
could overlap just enough that they could tear into each other if they worked
at it.

When the man turned, the wolf lunged. Even though he was out
of reach, the man flinched and fell on his ass.

That’s when she got a good look at his face. “Griffin?”

Bloodshot eyes met hers as he lifted his head. He slowly
wrapped the chain around his fists, preparing to defend himself.

In the trees above their heads were two bright red bows. The
bastard had left Dominic and Griffin like presents for her to find.

“Raven, don’t. They’re drugged.”

Raven rounded on Jackson and shoved at his chest, nearly
sending him sprawling. “I can’t just leave them here. Damn it to hell, anyway.
I ordered them out here.”

Jackson wrapped her in his grip, and she hit him again. It did
nothing to alleviate the guilt. “They’ve been here the whole of last night,
killing to survive, and I didn’t even know it.”

“You have to focus on what’s important.” Jackson bent until
they were eye-level. “They’re still alive.”

The words were a balm to the nerves simmering so close to
the surface that her skin felt ready to crack.

“Get me out of these fucking chains.”

Raven whirled at the raspy voice to see Griffin leaned
heavily against a tree as he fought the effects of the drugs.

“No way in hell.” Scotts strode forward as if to put a stop
to her thoughts. “Look at those bodies. We can’t just let them free to come
after us or someone else.”

“The drugs are wearing off.” Then Griffin stared down
Scotts. “And human, you have much more to worry about than just us.”

He stopped any further conversation by turning toward her,
sensing she had the command to do what he wanted. “I’ll be a liability to you
right now, but I can take Dominic and Jamie with me to prevent more of the
weaker rogues from getting slaughtered. We can cover your back.”

“Release him.” Randolph spoke, his voice bored. “We need to
keep moving.”

Raven didn’t believe Randolph’s indifference for a second. A
fire heated his cold green eyes as he recognized Griffin. Randolph saw him as a
challenge, a branded rogue strong enough to escape death for years. Griffin was
the closest thing to a prince that the shifter kingdom could boast.

A prize to be hunt.

“Head toward the ranger station. Five miles northwest.” He
lifted a hand to touch the collar, frowned and dropped his arm. “Circle the
ridge. If you head too far north, you will run across his little playground.

“He’s managed to put the drug in dart form. If you’re
tagged, it will drop you on the spot. Most don’t survive the increased dosage.”
He curled his hand into the chain that dangled from his neck. “Be careful. This
man honestly believes that all shifters should be freed from the oppression of
the pack. Nothing will change his mind. If you get in his way, he will have you
eliminated and completely believe it was the best decision.”

 Chapter Thirty-three

T
he
moon had crested in the sky, the pale rays making those around her glow. If it
was silent before, it was more so now. From one step to the next, the sound
just shut off.

With each tree she passed, she expected to see the station
house take shape out of the darkness. Taggert stopped as if he slammed into a
wall.

“I lost the scent.”

“What do you mean? How can you just lose the scent?” Scotts
marched ahead, slightly out of breath at the pace they’d maintained.

“I can’t smell anything over the dead bodies.”

That shut down Scott’s outrage. “Where?”

Taggert pointed north. “From the stench, I would guess more
than one, and they’ve been there for a while.”

They climbed the ridge single file. When they reached the
summit, a gaping hole revealed a mass grave spread out below them, like the
earth couldn’t contain the horror and spit out the bodies. Raven peeked over
the edge and a gust of air slammed the perfume of death right in her face. Her
stomach lurched.

There were at least thirty bodies in various stages of decay,
tossed over the ledge and left them to tumble the twenty feet into the pit
below.

“God help us all.” A slight tremor shook Scotts’ voice. One
of the cops backed away without looking, and she couldn’t blame him.

A sound came from behind.

Raven whirled, but too late. She took the hit low to her hip
that launched her and her attacker into the air over the chasm.

Gravity took hold.

She twisted to land on top, but the grip on her was too
strong to escape. She plowed into the pile of decomposed corpses. The bodies
shifted beneath her weight. Bone snapped, the shards scraping her body. With
each move, splinters pierced her skin like a swarm of bees. For a panicked
moment, she feared she’d brought the corpses back to life. Cold flesh clawed at
her like the dead were trying to pull her in the grave.

Raven stumbled to her feet to escape the gasping hands. And
found a large bone had pierced her thigh, sticking out at an odd angle. It
wasn’t her own. She carefully pulled on it, gritting her teeth to keep from
screaming. The large bone slurped from the wound as it finally slid free.

A slim man stood in the more dominant position on top the
pile of bodies watching her. There was an ungroomed quality to him. A rogue,
the missing alpha, if the power he threw off was any indication.

Wild shots rained down on them.

The rogue didn’t even flinch.

“Stop or you’ll hit her. It’s too dark to get an adequate
shot.” A small scuffle from above ensured, but she trusted Jackson to keep her
safe.

Training took over.

Raven shifted to take a defensive position. The rogue bared
his teeth in a maniacal smile, reveling in the thrill of the battle to come,
and charged.

His movements were much faster than she’d expected.

Seconds before he slammed into her, she smelled what was
becoming a familiar odor.

Overdose.

The man was hyped on the drug.

Then he was on her.

Her mind shut off as he launched her into the air. She
slammed into the side of the pit. The black dirt softened the impact. Musty
earth spilled over her head, invading her eyes and mouth.

A bright burst of pain slashed her side, and she glanced down
to see a large femur had torn the flesh along her ribs.

“Raven, hold on. We’ll be right down.” Jackson’s reassuring
voice called down to her.

Raven struggled to keep her feet under her as bones crunched
and bodies collapsed. She spit the dirt out of her mouth. “No. You’ll only get
in the way. He’ll use us against each other.”

She pulled herself free of the bone pinning her to the wall
like some insect on a board, and clutched the bloodied spear in her fist.

“If you don’t join us, you’ll enjoy the special show of me
ripping your girlfriend apart, piece by lovely piece.” The rogue didn’t twitch,
didn’t move, salivating as he stared at her.

But she didn’t need help. The last blow might have knocked the
stuffing out of her, but it also gave a jolt to her creature. It slowly
uncoiled and calmly observed the rogue through her eyes.

The cold encasing vanished.

When he moved, she countered and the grace and speed of her
creature took over. She was almost clumsy, not used to having her body respond
so swiftly.

“You should have minded your own business.” The rogue
hunched over, arms dangling loosely at his side. His fingers twitched, those
sharp nails of his clicking in excitement.

Half insane by the drug, there was no reasoning with him. But
maybe she could use that to her advantage. “What did you expect would happen
when you started killing people for money?”

“We’re saving lives.”

She noted his word choice and instantly knew he wasn’t the
one behind the whole scheme. He said the words, but he wasn’t a true believer.
He might like the money, but revenge motivated him more.

Revenge on the pack that had rejected him and forced him
rogue.

“What? Weren’t you good enough? Do you think this drug will
really change anything?” The taunt had the desired effect.

He charged.

He moved so incredibly fast she had no way to evade him.
Raven threw herself to the left, protecting her injured side. She took a hit to
her hip that sent her crashing to her knees. A half decomposed face of a kid no
more than fifteen peered up at her.

Something was off about the boy, but she couldn’t place what
bothered her. She rose to her feet, careful to keep her grip on her only weapon.

The rogue watched her, showing no rush in finishing her off.

He’d been sent to delay them.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you slowly.”

Raven snorted. “Yeah. Good luck with that.”

Raven had a habit of not staying dead. There was only a
small problem with that. With her power currently on the fritz, she wasn’t sure
there was enough juice left to bring her back if she lost this fight.

She nodded to the bodies. “He’s using you as a cleanup crew.”

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.” A sly smile curled
his lips. He circled her, having no trouble traversing the field of corpses. “Nothing
you can do will push me over the edge like these fools.”

That’s when she realized what was wrong with the bodies.

More than half of them were whole.

“These people didn’t die from overdosing, did they? Too many
bodies remained whole. They didn’t disintegrate like those under the influence.
They died fighting for their lives.”

The man shrugged. “Dominance is the way of pack life.”

“And you’re still weak, still taking orders, pretending that
you’re important. We both know that’s a lie. You’re just like them.”

The cheerfulness drained from his expression. “My pack—”

Raven laughed. “Do you mean the rogues? Where are your
people now? They’re supposed to be here, aren’t they?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He glared at
her, pacing in agitation.

Raven tightened her grip on the bone, slowly lowering it at
her side. “Did you know that Griffin didn’t die? That Jamie didn’t die? You
wanted them both removed, didn’t you? They were challenging you and you knew
you wouldn’t be able to fight either of them and win.”

“Shut up.” His pacing increased.

Raven shifted over to stand in a two-foot section of earth
and firmly planted her feet. Blood trickled down her ribs. Her shirt stuck to
her torso. The wound in her leg wasn’t in much better condition, her thigh having
long since gone numb.

What the hell happened to her creature? The damned thing
wasn’t content to steal her animals and power. No, it wanted everything,
sitting back on its haunches and observed while her life hung in the balance.

Looked like she was on her own on this one.

“You know where they are now, don’t you?”

“No.” The man repeatedly scratched the back of his head as
if bugs were crawling inside of his skull.

“Why your pack isn’t here? Because they found someone else
to follow. Someone stronger.”

“No.” The man roared and launched himself at her.

Raven dropped to her knees, and brought up the bone shard.

The rogue looked startled and began to flail. There was
nothing to grab but air as momentum propelled him forward.

Directly onto the bone of one of his victims.

He gaped at her, shock written all over his face.

Warm blood poured down over her hands as his own weight was
used to slowly impale himself.

He grabbed for her, his nails digging grooves along her
forearm. “Bitch.”

Blood bubbled out of his mouth as air rattled in his chest.

Hatred darkened his face as the last of the life drained
from him.

“Raven?” Jackson’s voice came out as a frustrated shout.

“Get me the hell out of here.”

* * *

The soft sides of the pit made extraction difficult. Jackson
had eventually dropped down into the pit. She took a running start, stepped on
Jackson’s waiting hand, using him as a springboard to launch her up into the
air.

Taggert easily caught her wrist and hauled her up.

The injuries on her side screamed in agony, but she refused
to let out a sound. She needed to find the real killer, and that wouldn’t
happen if they found out the severity of her injuries.

“I’ll get a crew out here—”

Raven shook her head. “This was too easy. He was a decoy.
The person who created the drug wouldn’t risk his life by taking it until he
had a chance to perfect it. That man doesn’t have the brains to organize this
operation.”

Scott’s ran a shaky hand over his face, taking in her
bloodied clothes. “That was easy?”

“We need to keep searching.”

“If that was the damage one shifter could do, we’ll need the
SWAT. We are too unmanned to continue further.”

“No.” Raven whirled on Scotts, ignoring the pale hue to his
normal cocoa complexion. “The noise alone probably alerted the real killer. We
need to push toward the cabin now if it’s not too late already.”

Scotts stormed toward her, standing toe-to-toe. She waved
away Jackson when he would’ve intervened. “I will not risk my men. Some of
those people in that pit were in pieces. We don’t stand a chance against that.”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you, but you wouldn’t
listen. You’re treating them as human, applying human laws to them. If we wait,
more lives will be lost. This is our only lead. Even now, they could be
eradicating every trace.”

“What you say may be true, but we need to apprehend them
using the right tools. We just don’t have the manpower.”

Raven reached into her pocket and pulled out the badge she’d
only just received. It seemed like such a long time ago.

She fingered the cold metal, the symbol of all the hope and
promise between two races, and held out her arm. It felt like she was choosing
sides and handing over her humanity. She just hoped she made the right decision,
one that would keep her pack safe. “I can’t accept that.”

Scotts made no move to accept the badge. “You said the laws
need to be changed. We need people like you to do that.”

“Not at the cost of lives.” She nodded toward the graveyard
a few yards away. “When you saw the bodies, you saw tortured people first, not
shifters. For the first time, you saw them as people, not monsters.”

Scotts glanced away. “We’re too vulnerable.”

“Not all of us.”

A fierce frown marred his face. “We need you here.”

Raven reached out, turned over his hand and placed the badge
in his palm. “I can’t be your Region, your symbol of justice, and be restricted
by the laws. I can be of more help on the inside.” She held up her hand when he
would’ve spoken. “You even said it yourself. I was more valuable to you as a
consultant.

“But we both know someone who would make the perfect
candidate. He has no allegiances. You’ve worked with him before. He’s devoted
to saving shifters. The job will keep him safe. He’s handsome enough for the
humans to forget about his background and has enough control that he would
never slip. He’ll have my nomination and yours. Push Griffin through the system.”