Nocturne 040 – Scions 02 - Patrice Michelle - Insurrection (5 page)

“Are you out of your effin’ mind,” Caine shouted the second Landon closed his cell phone. “Our Musk form was our best ‘surprise’ defense against the Sanguinas if it ever came down to an all-out war, Landon.”

Landon narrowed his gaze and growled. “Watch it.”

When Caine took a couple of calming breaths, Landon said, “We can still shift to Musk mode, but right now there’s something out there. It’s just as strong, if not stronger than Lupreda and possibly stronger than the Sanguinas. One thing’s for certain…it’s very cunning.”

“Why are you putting so much belief in a prophecy, especially one espoused by the very creatures who created us for hunting stock?”

Caine asked with a snarl.

Landon understood Caine’s cynicism. He’d felt the same way until he’d heard Jachin’s ideals on peace.

Pinching the bridge of his nose briefly, Landon started from the beginning. “I’m sure you’re probably wondering how I ended up having a tentative truce with a vampire in the first place.”

“I figured you’d get around to telling me at some point,” Caine snorted. The one thing Landon had always appreciated about Caine was that the younger werewolf maintained his unwavering faith and loyalty.

“Jachin and I ran into each other one night at a bar. By the time we saw each other, we were both wasted.” We were each living in our own personal hells at the time, Landon mentally added. “We went out back in the alley and almost killed each other. In the end we were so damned tired and worn out from our fight that we found ourselves propped up against the back wall of the pub, bleeding and talking. Jachin started rambling on about some prophecy he hoped to fulfill. The idea of peace between our races appealed to me, just as it did to Jachin. We forged a kind of truce that night.

“Jachin truly believes in this prophecy, and so far the beginning of it has come true with his human mate, Ariel.”

Landon thought about the final lines of the prophecy and the last sentence struck a chord within him. For three to become one and peace to prevail. What did that mean? “I don’t know if the ‘three to become one’ part is referring to the vampires, weres and humans all learning to get along or not. I seriously doubt the general human population would welcome vampires and werewolves with open arms. Hell, they’ve had a hard enough time getting their minds around the vampires’ existence. Can you imagine if they learned about us?”

Caine nodded. “True enough. If you really believe this prophecy has something to do with us, maybe the number ‘three’ refers to something else…like what’s going on with our zerkers. Is there another race out there stronger than the Lupreda or the Sanguinas? A race that doesn’t leave a scent behind? Who or what would want to pit the Lupreda and the Sanguinas against each other?”

“Not the human government.” Landon shook his head.

“They had to have learned their lesson once their Scions project fell apart and left vampires terrorizing the city.”

Landon’s wolf pack had endured a lot from the vampires in the past, yet the Lupreda weren’t lily-white, either. They had their own mistakes to bear. As far as Landon knew, there was only one other unique “race”

beyond the vampires and weres. But…they hadn’t survived. Had they? He pushed the thought to the back of his mind at the sheer implausibility and met Caine’s curious gaze.

“Good theory about the zerkers’ attackers being the ‘third’ mentioned in the prophecy. At least now you might understand how this prophecy could lead you down a path for answers. The prophecy allowed Jachin and me to find common ground, a place where we could talk without killing each other. Those few words, the power and promise they conveyed, were the only thing that kept Jachin going. He’d been kicked out of his clan for a few years when I met him. Can you imagine being a vampire and forced to live among humans, their poisoned blood constantly tempting you?”

“It’s no more than a vampire deserves,” Caine sneered.

“Peace takes cooperation, Caine,” Landon reminded him.

Caine expelled a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ll bite. I know Jachin took over the Sanguinas with hopes of changing their future, but I had no idea true peace was his goal. How do you think the prophecy plays into all this?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Landon stood up from the couch. “For now, don’t report anything to the Omega. If pushed for answers, just tell them I’m working on it. We need to find the other zerker first.”

“Understood.” Caine followed Landon’s lead and walked with him to his front door. He stared at the partially crushed silver bullet on the chain around Landon’s neck. “What are you going to do about McKinney’s daughter?”

Not what I want to do with her. “I’m going to pay her a visit.”

Caine’s eyebrows rose. “To find out if she’s going to leave the zerker thing alone?”

“To see if she can help.”

“Involving a human?” Caine smirked. “And you say I like to play with fire

—”

“She won’t know we exist,” Landon said in a final tone.

When Landon opened his front door, Caine walked through the entrance, then turned to face him. “Sometimes I swear I still feel the vampires’

damned silver collar around my throat.” He tapped the silver chain around Landon’s neck. “With something out there strong enough to bring down a zerker, you might want to take that off in case your Musk form is necessary.”

When Landon didn’t comment, concern and regret flickered in Caine’s gaze. “Landon—”

“Good night.” Landon shut the door, cutting off any more discussion. As he headed upstairs to his bedroom, he fisted his hand around the bullet—a constant reminder of how important it was to control his savage urges.

Landon’s pulse raced as he ran through the dark woods after Isabel. Free of clothes, her fair skin seemed to glow in the pale moonlight. She dodged around a tree, sexy laughter following in her wake.

“Come on, Landon. Show me your Musk form.” Isabel cast a quick, teasing gaze over her shoulder. Her long blond hair trailed behind her as she faced forward once more, doubling her speed. She was one of the few female weres who drew his attention.

His chest tightened and his body shook with the need to shift. The chase always made him ready to take her while she screamed in sheer pleasure.

“I’ll bet Caine’s already in his Musk form for Margarete. Shift for me. It turns me on.” Her provocative voice bounced through the air, enticing him, seducing him…stirring his primal needs to irresistible levels. The seduction of the hunt, the cool fall wind blowing across his face…. He wanted to feel it against his entire body, to experience her soft skin under his hands, his chest, her curved rear pushing back against his hips.

His skin began to itch even as his breastbone started to crack and pop. Landon’s jaw and nostrils burned and ached while his facial structure morphed and stretched, and his legs shifted and bent midstride. He vaguely heard his clothes rip. Growling, he tugged the rest of the material off with his clawed fingers.

Wind brushed against him, lifting the light fur that coated his body, like a promising whisper of pleasure to come. His vision grew sharper, switching to a heat-seeking mode. He saw Isabel in colors, red heat radiating off her body as she jumped over a stump, like an agile gazelle. She dodged around a tree and stopped, throwing herself against it, breathing heavily. The wind blew harder, bringing with it the scent of rain. He felt the moisture in the air.

His jaws widened in a predatory grin. He closed the distance between them, the impending rain notching his excitement higher.

When he rounded the tree and slammed his claws into the trunk, blocking Isabel in, she gave a husky growl. Margarete’s excited screams reached them from somewhere in the forest.

Isabel raised a blond eyebrow, amusement and desire glittering in her gaze. “Tell me you don’t want—”

A loud boom echoed through the woods, jerking Landon’s attention. He let out a battle howl. Pulling his claws from the tree, he took off, dodging around trees as he headed toward the noise. The need to protect his pack members beat a thrumming pulse in his brain. As he neared the edge of the woods, he saw a human. The man stood on the playground at the edge of the forest, holding a gun. More shots exploded from his weapon.

Landon’s gaze followed the direction the bullets had taken. Caine stumbled into the forest’s edge while Margarete darted farther into the woods, calling Caine’s name, her voice full of fear.

The rain started then, falling in heavy sheets. Landon returned his line of sight to their human attacker. He wore a determined look on his face as he raised his gun to fire again and mumbled, “I won’t let you hurt her.”

The Alpha need to protect his own rose up inside Landon, building in his chest like a bomb ticking toward detonation. He howled his anger and exploded from the woods, rushing toward the man.

The human turned to see Landon in full Musk bearing down on him. He got off one shot before Landon reached him.

The bullet connected and fire lanced through Landon’s shoulder, making him see red. He roared and swiped his clawed hand at the man, sending his puny human body flying toward the playground equipment. The human hit the monkey bars with a dull thud, then fell to the ground, slumping over.

Landon’s whole body shook from the intense fire burning from his wound. Never had he felt such vicious, excruciating pain. Gritting his teeth, he jammed his claws into his wound, digging at the muscle and sinew. Blood coated his claws as he sought the offending bullet that felt as if it was searing him in two.

With a pained groan, he ripped the bullet from his shoulder and snarled his fury at the unconscious human before he rushed to Caine’s side. Fear gripped Landon’s gut when he saw Caine lying on his back, writhing and shaking all over. When the young were began to convulse, his eyes rolling back in his head, Landon scanned his injuries. Blood poured from three wounds, one on Caine’s thigh, another on his chest and the third near his stomach. Landon moved quickly, ripping muscle and tissue first on Caine’s shoulder to remove the bullet. Then he moved to the were’s left thigh to dig out the next bullet.

Caine moaned as Landon attacked the gaping hole in his abdomen, searching for the last remaining bullet. The rain didn’t make his job any easier.

Once he’d removed all three bullets, tension eased from Landon’s shoulders and back. He let out a sigh of relief to see the young were’s features settle before he passed out.

Caine would survive.

At Landon’s mental call, Margarete and Isabel rushed forward and he instructed them to take Caine back with them to Lupreda land. Once his pack members were gone, Landon shifted back to human form and sloshed through the wet woods, collecting their clothes and the bullets he’d pulled from Caine’s body. He knew their blood couldn’t be deciphered since it broke down in sunlight exposure, but the bullets might carry bits of their skin or muscle. He wasn’t certain what, if anything, lab experts might glean from a Lupreda tissue sample. Better not to leave it behind. Steam rose off his body as he made his way over to the unconscious man.

When he didn’t hear a heartbeat or sense a pulse, Landon’s chest constricted with regret. He squatted next to the human, noting his own bloody claw marks across the man’s thick barrel chest. Rain had washed away some of the blood. He knew his Musk mode made it harder to control his savage urges, but the wound he’d inflicted didn’t look deep enough to have killed the human.

That’s when he saw the pool of blood soaking the pebbles underneath the man’s head. His gaze traveled up the play equipment to see a bloody smear along one of the metal poles.

Nausea roiled in Landon’s belly. Guilt crept through his chest like a black vine quickly veining through his lungs, choking his breath. He hadn’t intended to kill the man, but he was responsible for his death, nonetheless. After he’d collected the bullet he’d pulled from his own body, he glanced over the man’s clothes—his jeans, button-down shirt and windbreaker—looking for anything that would give him the human’s name.

His gaze settled on a brown wallet a few feet away from the body. Nudging the wallet open with the side of his foot, Landon’s heart jerked and he softly murmured, “Son of a bitch.”

On one side of the wallet, a silver shield flashed accusingly at him. The other side identified the man. He’d killed a police officer named James McKinney.

“Landon?”

His heart skipped several beats at the sound of Kaitlyn’s voice. She approached from the parking lot, carrying an umbrella to shield her from the rain, an “all business” detective’s look on her heart-shaped face. “I just got a call from dispatch. What do we have?”

Landon jerked awake to a sitting position, his lungs burning with each breath he took. Sweat rolled down his naked chest and his hands were fisted at his sides.

He kicked the tangled, soaked sheets off his legs and put his feet on the floor. Settling his elbows on his knees, he jammed the heels of his hands against his eyes and took deep, steadying breaths.

After a few seconds, the gentle sway of his necklace drew his attention. The night after he’d accidentally killed Kaitlyn’s father, he’d attached the bullet he’d pulled from his body to a silver chain and placed the chain around his neck.

Landon stared at the chain, hating how it made him feel—trapped. Once the vampires had started dying from the sickness and they’d gone into hiding, he’d vowed he would never allow silver to be placed on his body again. He squeezed his eyes shut, his chest burning over his guilt—he’d never expected he’d kill a human with his Musk strength. The irony that he was the one who clasped the silver chain around his neck in a form of punishment didn’t escape him.

Crossing paths with the police officer that fateful night eighteen years ago had passed on some invaluable information Landon wouldn’t have known otherwise. The bullets McKinney had used were specially made—