Chapter Eighteen – Jack

Their plan was simple—watch each other’s backs, find Eva, retrieve the Dragon’s Tear. Jack’s experience told him that executing that plan was never going to be easy. They were going in blind. No idea what, or how many people, they were facing.

And there was the first hiccup. They weren’t facing humans.

Their arrival must have triggered an intruder alarm. No sooner had Lucas and Helena blown the first door, when there was a howling, whooping kind of a noise, that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The noise was unnatural, which, coming from a man who had dealt with creatures from the Underworld, was saying something.

“What the hell is that?” Lucas asked. The druid had fear in his eyes. The kid wasn’t as confident in his own powers as he would have everyone believe.

Great, Jack thought. He’d better not fall apart on us. Time for a rousing speech. “Whatever it is, we stick together. Lads, I think we might be better fighting tooth and claw.”

“Agreed,” Liam said, and the three brothers shifted simultaneously.

Jack cursed. They should have brought Roman with them. His extra claws would be welcome against the creatures that were spilling out of the back of a truck, which was parked in the corner of the warehouse.

“What the hell are those?” Lucas asked, backing behind the bears. Hell, he was backing behind Helena too, so much for chivalry. What did Jack expect from a druid?

“Monsters,” Helena said, her hand going to her forehead. “I can hear them. Their voices are all jumbled up, as if they don’t know who they are, or what they are.” She stumbled backwards. “They want to die.”

“What?” Jack asked.

“They want to die, to end what they are. But they are slaves to a master who wants them to kill.”

Helena looked bad, as if she had the world’s worst migraine, but she sucked it up and raised her hands, gathering her magic, ready to fight. The grim determination on her face gave Jack confidence: she planned to put these mutts out of their misery.

The monsters, walking on two legs, but clothed in fur, with claws on the end of fingers, drew closer, trying to surround the squad. Then, just as they were about to attack, the howling began. It was full of pain and dread, full of death. And then Jack heard something worse—above all the howling, the sound of his mate calling his name.

Let’s end this, he said to his bear, and then they lunged forward, their teeth sinking into the flesh of one of the monsters. Wolves. There was no doubt that was what they were as he tasted their flesh. These creatures were some kind of hybrid wolf. But on two legs! Who would dare breed such creatures?

Jack could only guess at what the Dragon’s Tear was to be used for. If someone could create a wolven army, just think if they could create a dragonian army.

The wolf he was fighting slashed at him with its claws, and was rewarded with a firebomb from Helena. Jack used the slight reprieve as a chance to look around. The bears were holding their own, with the help of Helena. And Lucas?

No sign. What the hell!

He turned to take on the wolf creatures once more, and this time got lucky. A slash with his claws across the wolf’s throat sent blood spurting out, and Jack moved in for the kill. As the light went out of the creature’s eyes, he saw the human within. Wolves crossed with men. Not shifters, more like the werewolves of myths and fables.

Abominations. Now he sounded like the Night Hunters.

Checking that the others had things under control, he followed his sense to where he knew his mate was. There was a door, toward the back of the warehouse. This was where she was. He knew it with every ounce of his being.

Jack shouldered the door open; it was no match for his bear. Inside he expected to find a guard, but the corridor was empty. He stood for a second, four paws planted on the bare concrete floor, trying to work out where she was. That was when he heard something shatter, and a scream came to him from the end of the corridor.

Not Eva. That was all he had time to think before his bear propelled himself forward, his claws scraping the ground. For a second, he hovered, the smooth concrete giving him no grip, then he was racing toward his mate. He would rescue her. He had to.

Skidding to a halt, he smelled the wolf. Its scent mingled with that of his mate and he was scared, terrified these Templars had experimented on Eva. How would he live if she had turned into one of those abominations?

“It’s all right, Mom.” He heard her voice and he sagged, brought down to his knees with relief. Jack soon recovered. There was no time to waste, he had to get Eva, had to get her away from the wolf.

Jack’s bear backed up, and then he charged the door, his shoulder hitting it, and the wood splintered. Backing up, he charged again, bursting through, to find Eva, and her mom—and a man.

Jack approached carefully, his hackles up, a low growl emanating from his throat.

“Wait, Jack. He isn’t here to hurt us. He is a prisoner too,” Eva said, approaching him with her hands out, soothing him with her voice.

Jack stalked up to the man, head down, jaws snapping. A wolf. Jack sniffed him, needing to know he did not have the ability to turn into one of those creatures. Lifting his head, he looked at the man and saw the sorrow in his eyes. What his pained expression hid, Jack didn’t want to know.

Swiftly, Jack shifted into his human form. In two strides he was by Eva’s side, and he gathered her into his arms, checking that she was OK.

“Jack,” she said, her voice insistent. “We have to go. Crosshead said there are more Templars coming.”

“Crosshead,” he growled. “Come, follow me. We may need to fight our way out. I’ll get you to Helena, and then we have to track down this Templar and finish him.”

“We’ll follow you. Won’t we, Mom?” Eva took hold of her mom’s hand and they moved toward the door. The man stayed put. “Come with us,” Eva said. “You can’t stay here.”

“And I can’t go out there.” The pain deepened, and Jack knew what it meant.

“You must. To avenge your mate. You must.”

“Your mate?” Eva asked. “She’s out there. Can we rescue her?”

The man shook his head. “She is beyond rescue.”

Eva took his hand and pulled him forward. “Come with us. Don’t die here. Don’t let Crosshead win.”

“The fight is nearly over. We have to leave, or they will get away with the Dragon’s Tear,” Jack said.

“Crosshead has it. I know what they intend to do with it,” Eva said. “We have to stop them.”

“Come with us or stay,” Jack said to the man. “The choice is yours, but we are leaving.” He shifted into his bear, and edged out of the room, checking the corridor before moving forward. Eva followed, her mom by her side, and the man behind. Jack could see how hard it was for him to walk. He was a broken man. A shifter who had lost his true mate.

Jack could not think of the pain the wolf was in. Not yet. Not here. His job was to help the living; the dead were beyond any of their reach.

He reached the door into the main warehouse. The bears had cornered the last of the wolves. It lashed out, the bears taking it in turns to snap at it. Behind them, Helena approached, her hands holding a fireball. She was weak, Jack could tell by the size of the flaming ball that it was too small, but she closed her eyes and summoned the last of her strength, making it bigger.

The bears did their job, keeping her safe while she summoned her attack. Then she let the fireball go, and the wolf erupted in flames, its cries echoing around the warehouse. Then there was silence.

“They are all dead?” the stranger asked.

“All those that attacked.” Liam answered, shifting back to his human form. “We should go and check the truck. That’s where they come from. Whatever they are.”

“They are my pack.” The stranger went to the burned remains of the wolf, and knelt down. “I can’t even tell who this is.” His voice broke. “They were my brothers, my family. My mate.”

“I’m sorry.” Helena walked over to him and knelt down. “I am truly sorry.”

“You killed them.”

“They wanted to die,” Helena answered.

“I know. Their voices have been in my head for days. The terrible…”

Helena put her arm around him and helped him up. “Don’t dwell on the past. They are gone now. When we have finished here we can burn the bodies. Give them a warriors’ burial.”

“Warriors,” he sobbed once and then regained his composure. “They were peaceful. My brother was a baker. My mate was a hairdresser.” He shook his head and his sadness turned to rage. “Where are they? Where are the men who did this?”

“That’s what we need to find out,” Jack said, looking around the warehouse. “Where is Lucas?”

“I haven’t seen him since we came in. I bet he’s hiding in the Land Rover,” Liam said with disgust. “Damn druid.”

“Or maybe he chased down the Dragon’s Tear, while you grunts were all playing with dogs.”

The squad turned as one, to where Lucas stood in the doorway, throwing the stone in the air and catching it with one hand. “You have it?” Eva asked.

“I do.” Lucas held it up. “He didn’t want to give it up. But he had no choice when I choked the life from him.”

“Crosshead?” Eva asked.

“Tattoo on his cheek?” Lucas asked, pointing to his left cheek.

“Yes,” Eva nodded.

“His body is in the next warehouse. Along with another. I’ve burned them beyond recognition.”

“Only one other?” Eva asked.

“Yes.”

“There is still at least one on the loose,” Eva said.

“We should hunt him, or at least wait for him to return,” Kurt said, his voice choked. “There should be no loose threads. This operation has to be stopped. No more wolves should be allowed to suffer in this way. Or bears. What if they could turn any shifter into these abominations?”

“No,” Eva’s mom said. “We need to burn the bodies and leave.”

“There are more Templars coming,” Eva said quickly.

“Then we wait and take them out too,” Liam said hotly.

“No,” Jack shook his head. “We need to leave. The Dragon’s Tear is too important.”

“And the Templars are too many,” Eva’s mom said. “They will come in force, I’m sure.”

“OK. Get the bodies back in that truck. And the two Templars. Then we set fire to it.” His squad started to move. “Helena, Eva, I have a job for you.”

“We could help with the bodies,” Eva said.

“This is more important. I want you to go through the warehouse. Fast. Look for any information on what they may be up to.”

“Come, Eva.” Helena headed toward the truck. “We’ll search there.”

“There is an office too. It’s where I was brought in.” Eva went with Helena.

“I’ll help,” Eva’s mom offered.

“No,” Jack tried not to snap, but he did not trust this woman. The same as he did not trust the wolf. “Look after him.” Jack pointed to the wolf.

“No,” the wolf said harshly. “I will help with the bodies.”

“Then you can find anything flammable. We need to make sure this burns hot.” Jack looked up at the warehouse roof. “This place will be like an oven. We need to destroy all trace of the … wolves.”

“And what should I do?” Lucas asked. “I refuse to touch anything dead.”

Jack looked over his shoulder as he and the stranger lifted the first burned body. “Go and watch for anyone coming. Use your magic to cast a wide net around the warehouse, something that will warn us if the Templars arrive. Can you do that?”

“Of course.” Lucas turned on his heel and left the warehouse, his nose wrinkled at the smell of burned flesh.

“Keep that stone safe,” Jack called.

“I’ll guard it with my life,” Lucas replied.

“Do you trust a druid?” the stranger asked.

“Not always. But right now, I have little choice,” Jack looked up at the stranger. “Are you sure you are OK to do this?”

“Yes.” He nodded, his face grim.

“I’m Jack Loveson.” He lifted the arms of the fallen wolf, and the stranger took his feet.

“Locke.”

“I’m sorry. About all this,” Jack said. “I don’t know what I’d do if someone did this to my brothers. Or my mate.” He looked up, locating Eva instantly. She was climbing out of the truck; she stopped briefly to help her mom haul some wooden crates into the back of the truck, and then walked across the warehouse and through a door, where he lost sight of her.

“She’ll be OK,” Locke said.

“I know.” But his fear was real. He had a feeling this was not over. Not by a long shot.