Chapter One

Ethney pulled her rented SUV to a stop at the end of the drive. Her gaze drifted to the water crashing against the beach, sending a salty spray into the air. She breathed in the smell of the ocean; it was indescribable, but she loved it. If the group she was tracking didn’t expect her to come at them from the water she would have swam out instead, but she wanted to catch them off guard.

Her eyes went to the moon and she ground her teeth—two weeks until it was full. It would have to be enough time or the quaint, touristy town of Savannah would become a bloody mess. She couldn’t allow that to happen.

The lycanthropes were rapidly growing in number. If they continued the momentum, keeping the supernatural a secret was going to be challenging. The media was already having a field day with the massacres, as they called them, happening on the full moons.

Last month, seventy-three people were slaughtered like animals in the Florida Keys and just as many were missing. They most likely survived the bite from the lycanthrope and would be turning into the beasts on the upcoming full moon; all the more reason she had to find them and their hideout. The sooner she took them out the better and fewer lives would be lost.

The Intel she obtained suggested a small group of ten or so was holed up here. The leader of the lycanthrope was breaking them into groups and sending them all throughout the South in an effort to inflict as much damage as possible. If she cleaned up this group, she would be off to some other coastal town to wipe out another group; it never ended. Ethney did not mind the chase as it gave her a productive way to spend her immortality and she enjoyed her job.

She shut off the SUV and climbed out, grabbing her bag from the back. The sweltering July air made her wish she could dive into the ocean and cool off. If she was successful tonight, she might do just that. She would never understand why anyone would purposefully live someplace so humid. Ethney shook her head to clear her thoughts—it was time to concentrate.

She walked to the grass and crept along the edge until she reached the abandoned marina warehouse. There was a window about twenty yards to her right. She inched along the building until she reached it. A chuckle bubbled up her throat, but she quickly suppressed it; instead, she silently thanked Astraea for the window was also right next to the electrical box leading into the building.

The putrid, coppery scent of lycanthrope filled the air—she had the right place.  Crouching down, she set her bag on the ground to rummage through it for her supplies. It had taken quite a bit of flirting on her part, but she managed to steal enough C4 from the overzealous construction worker who thought she was into that type of thing. Maybe some women did like explosives, but for her, it was a means to an end. She pulled out the first pack and placed it near the wiring into the house.

Footsteps crunched behind her and she froze. Turning slowly, she clenched her jaw tightly. Six men with their hands on their hips and a nasty gleam in their eyes stood about fifty yards from her. Lycanthrope.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Mermaid. You almost fooled us, but thankfully, we had enough sense to watch the road, too,” one of them said, taking a step forward as he drew a gun from the holster at the back of his pants. “Now be a good girl and step away from the C4.”

Ethney huffed; she did not set the charge on the C4 yet, not that it mattered since one wouldn’t be enough to take out the lycanthrope in the building. She eyed the gun knowing it wouldn’t kill an immortal, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt like hell, not to mention she really didn’t fancy getting shot tonight. The question was, was she quicker than him?

The other men drew weapons, too. It looked like they were going to do this the hard way. She pumped her hands at her sides, assessing them while they lurked closer to her. Just come a wee bit closer. Guns couldn’t kill her, but they could kill them.

Once the first man was within reaching distance, she struck out. She chopped her hand down on his, hard enough to make him drop his weapon. Her fingers grasped his wrist and jerked him to her to use as a shield as gunshots boomed. The man groaned and thrashed as the bullets pummeled his torso.

“Stop!” one of the men cried.

Ethney shoved the dead man at the group. Two tried to catch him and dropped their weapons. Amateurs. She latched her hand onto the closest man’s wrist and yanked him forward while lifting her foot to kick out, roundhousing him across the jaw. Then she snapped her foot back, hitting him again in the same spot on the other side. The gun fumbled in his hands and she used her free hand to grab it. Aiming it at the man, she pulled the trigger. The bullet hit him right between the eyes; his orbs widening as he sank to his knees and pitched forward. Ethney pointed the weapon at the other men, shooting in quick succession until they were all dying at her feet.

Voices hollered and footsteps crunched against the gravel as more people came outside. Three men stomped in her direction, but she lifted the gun to fire. Squeezing the trigger, nothing happened—she was out of bullets. Well crap. It looked like she’d have to take them out the hard way, not that she minded a good old-fashioned fist fight every once in a while.

Ethney hurled the gun at the closest man and it connected with his head. He cried out and keeled over, clutching at the side of his face. She drew in a breath and let it out slowly as she turned in a circle. The lycanthrope filed out of the warehouse and completely surrounded her. There were more than she first assumed—a lot more. She took a step back realizing her original estimate of ten lycanthropes was more like one hundred. Oh crap! She was strong and one hell of a fighter, but she couldn’t take on that many lycanthrope at once. Though she couldn’t die, they could capture her and torture her, making her life hell.

Her eyes darted over the crowd looking for a break—a way out. The ocean was so close; she could hear the waves crashing into the sand as if they were calling out to her, urging her to jump in. If she could make it there she’d be away from the crowd. Then she’d have to regroup, call in reinforcements, and come up with a new game plan. First, she had to get to the water.

The group closed in on her, tightening their circle with each step. She had to act immediately. Lunging forward, she sprinted toward a group of women and teens, hoping she could plow through them when a gunshot crackled in the air. Pain exploded across her back. Ethney gasped, white-hot pain scorching through her body. Her gaze drifted down to the red stain seeping through her tank top at an alarming rate. The bullet went straight through her, but she had to keep running.

Screaming, she barreled into the crowd. Arms wrapped around her, grabbing her and yanking her down. Ethney kicked and thrashed in a desperate attempt to get free, but the hands wouldn’t release her.

She closed her eyes, focusing on the water, calling for it though it was too far for her magic to really work. She manifested a few bubbles from the ocean, drifting them toward her location. Her focus waivered as painful blows racked her body; she squeezed her eyes shut harder, blocking the agony her body felt. The water bubbles drifted toward the crowd; Ethney pushed them toward the ones clawing directly at her, letting the water douse their faces and infiltrate their lungs.

Several began gasping and wheezing, releasing their grip on her and dropping her back onto the ground. She opened her eyes as cries of terror filtered through the air. Some of the lycanthrope backed away from her, the newly turned ones whom lacked the opportunity to face a guardian yet.

If she could get them closer to the ocean, she could take even more of them out and show them why the lycanthrope feared the guardians. One thing at a time.

She pushed to her feet, fighting against the searing pain ricocheting through her back. Her targets floundered on the ground, their fingers clawing at the bubbles encasing their heads, but it was too late for them.  She stumbled forward, glad when the people moved away from her.

“Stop her!” a man’s voice hollered, one she knew all too well.

Trent Brockwell, the group’s leader, was intentionally murdering innocent men, women, and children and turning them into more and more lycanthrope each full moon. He had to be stopped.

She had to get out of there. Ethney broke into a steady jog. The ocean was in sight; she just had to make it there. Each step sent pinpricks of pain shooting through her body. Her lungs struggled to draw in breath and they burned in agony.

Just keep moving.

She pushed forward. Two more cracks resounded in the air and more pain sliced through her belly and her left shoulder. Her knees gave out and she toppled to the ground. More footsteps crunched toward her. She chanced a glance over her shoulder only to see the group crowding in on her again. Her legs trembled as she tried to stand, but she quickly fell back onto her knees.

The gravel bit into her palms and knees, jabbing her exposed flesh. She grunted when her vision began to waiver. Fight! Don’t give up now!

She wasn’t fast enough. Large hands gripped her shoulders and a foot went to her back, shoving her further down to the ground. She landed with a painful thump. Blinking rapidly, she forced her eyes to stay open, unwilling to let herself lose consciousness.

“What do you think of my new army, Mermaid?” Trent asked.

His slow, deliberate footsteps approached her. Someone grabbed her and hauled her back to her feet.

Trent held out his arms. “Do you like it?”

Ethney followed his movements with her eyes. Her earlier estimate was right—he had close to a hundred lycanthrope.

Trent took a few more steps closer, stopping right in front of her. “Well?” he prodded.

Ethney scrunched up her face and spat at him, “They’ll look even better when I’ve finished with them.”

Trent threw his head back and laughed out loud. “I don’t think so, Mermaid. You see, I think we’ve grown outside of your control. Maybe we can’t kill you, but that doesn’t mean we can’t contain you to keep you from interfering with our plans.”

“Yeah? And what are those?” Ethney asked.

“I think it’s better to wait and let you see, don’t you?”

Well damn. She hoped the arrogant bastard would’ve told her something.

“But I will tell you this,” Trent held up one finger, a smug smile spreading over his face, “there’s a reason you were given false Intel on how many men I have here. I did it on purpose, specifically to capture you. But fret not; you are not the only guardian being betrayed. By now we should have at least two of you in captivity.”

Ethney grimaced as questions tumbled through her mind. What does he mean? Did the lycanthrope really capture two guardians? Was he insinuating there was a mole? That ‘s impossible; Astraea, the Goddess of the Zodiac, and the twelve guardians were the only ones in the operation. They were all working for the same thing.

“I see those wheels spinning in your head, little Mermaid,” Trent continued, “and, yes, someone has betrayed you. The question is who? Which one of your comrades was it?”

Ethney drew in a deep breath and then whimpered when her lungs burned from the simple action. Did someone in the circle betray them? She met all the guardians; she worked better with some more than others, but she didn’t think anyone could do this.

A loud crackle boomed in the air causing everyone to freeze. It took her a moment to realize what the sound was—gunfire. Bullets zinged through the air. She winced and closed her eyes, bracing for the pain, but nothing happened. Maybe she was numb from her enduring pain?

The booming echoed in rapid succession. It took her a minute to realize no side arm could fire that rapidly. Something else was cutting through the night sky. Yelps filled the air as she was shoved forward. Her feet didn’t want to cooperate though and she ended up face first on the ground again.

“Take cover!” Trent yelled.

He went to grab her, but a bullet zinged through his shoulder sending a spray of blood onto Ethney’s face. His eyes widened in horror and he swore before taking off. Ethney lifted her head to glance around, but she made no effort to stand; it was probably safer on the ground, at least until the bullets stopped.

The lycanthropes were running, shrieking into the woods. A man stood at the end of the gravel drive with a semiautomatic weapon in his hands. Once the lycanthrope scattered, he started toward her.

Ethney stared at him, fighting the darkness threatening to pull her under as she pushed herself to her feet. She wobbled and took a few steps forward. As appreciative as she was to her savior, she couldn’t stick around to chat. Humans weren’t allowed to know about the guardians or lycanthrope. As soon as she healed, she would return to clean up the bodies.

She took a few steps toward the water and pitched forward again. She tried to catch herself with her hands, but they didn’t seem to be working properly. Her cheek crunched against the ground. The breath whooshed out of her lungs and the darkness clawed at her vision making it blurry.

The man kneeled down next to her and picked her up to cradle her broken body in his arms. He was tall and muscular with sky blue eyes. His cocoa brown hair was cut short, like he was in the military. Maybe he was. That would explain the gun. But what was he they doing here?

She drew in a ragged breath, catching his scent—lycanthrope. What the hell?

Ethney struggled to free herself, but it was too late. The abyss reached up and pulled her under.