Eighteen

 

 

 

Molten gold in a sea of black. It was all Luna could see at first, eyes the colour of liquid gold surrounded by a sea of dark mist, but as she inhaled the fog cleared away from her eyes, and she could focus again.

Encased in black, from his thick jacket to jeans that accented long lean legs, to heavy boots studded with metal, the emerging figure leaned back on the wreckage that was once Michael’s car and just stared at her. Somewhere in his late forties or early fifties, with hair the colour of raven’s wings and cheekbones that could cut bread with, he was indeed handsome enough, but it was those golden eyes that filled her with dread. Never had she seen anyone’s eyes stand out from their face so much – even Chase’s wolf eyes had never burned that bright. Deep-set and exotically tilted at the corners, they drew her in and threatened never to let her go.

The pounding in her veins refused to subside.

“So, you’re the one.” Another wave of terror snaked down her spine as his words floated across the air, but those golden eyes refused to let her glance away. “You’re my queen.” There was a tone of inquisitiveness in his voice, as his eyes scanned her, as if trying to assess whether she met with his approval or not.

“Non, I’m not your queen,” she told him, fear making her words tremble.

Thin lips pressed into a grim smile. “Oh yes, you are. Your parents may have thought to hide you from me, but you cannot escape destiny. Trust me on that.”

“You will never have her, trust me on that.” Chase’s words spat on a raspy growl, coated in pain.

Suddenly, Chase’s head rolled back, followed by a sickening snapping sound that resounded through the clearing. Luna watched as the golden-eyed man slowly brought his left leg back to his side. Chase collapsed back on the ground.

“Permit me to introduce myself,” he continued as though nothing had happened, dropping his r’s. His accent indicated he wasn’t local, although Luna hadn’t been in America long enough to pinpoint where he was from. “My name is Dean Russo, and I am the alpha of the Crescent Moon pack.” Although she had known who he was, the confirmation caused the bottom of her stomach to drop. Golden eyes narrowed in her direction. “I don’t know what you were taught, but it’s impolite not to introduce yourself.”

Swallowing around the lump forming in the back of her throat, Luna took a breath. “Luna England.”

One side of his mouth curled up, and those eyes flashed dangerously. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss England. Hmm, but since you’re mine, I think I’ll call you Luna. You can call me Dean. After all, it is the name you’re going to scream while you’re beneath me.”

Chills ran down her spine as it dawned on her exactly what he meant. This was the man who had raped Misty, butchered and tortured so many others, had ordered her family’s execution, and now planned to rape her.

Russo leaned back into the car, arms crossed over his chest, paying no attention to the glass that lay shattered on the hood. Glancing back at the shifter pinning her arms behind her back, Luna gasped as she suddenly realised her feet were several inches off the ground. She glanced back at Russo. Those golden eyes roamed over her body. “Yeah, I think I’m going to have a lot of fun with you, Luna. The first time I take you, I want you looking at me with those sparkling green eyes. Each time I thrust inside you, they’re going to fill with pain and fear. Your fear will drive me into your delectable little body harder and harder until I fill you with my seed. Each night I’m going to fuck you and each time you’re going to scream my name. I’m going to be the only thing on your mind, day and night, darling, and I’m going to be the only one to fuck you for the rest of your miserable life.” His voice remained calm, as if he was simply handing out instructions to a junior employee. 

For an extended second, his eyes remained steady and unblinking on her face. Heat burned in those predatory eyes, but all Luna could feel was ice. Panic washed over her, drowning her, her pulse threatening to drown out everything but his words repeating over and over in her head. Luna barely noticed when Russo nodded to the shifter behind her, but then found herself plummeting to the ground, the snow barely cushioning her hands from the gravel floor underneath. At least this time she didn’t have her arms bound again. Sucking in a breath, she attempted to calm the pulse raging inside her as she watched Russo glancing around. 

“So, this is the Silver Moon pack?” he asked, his words layered in a coat of distaste. “Such a small pack, such a pitiful territory, and yet one that gives me so much trouble.” Russo nodded towards one of his men, a smaller man with ash blonde hair and narrow eyes. Luna likened him to a snake. “Go bring Misty out; I can smell the bitch from here.” A sneer painted his face, disgust coated his voice.

Inhaling, Snake Goon bounded off towards the guesthouse, the flames inching closer towards the building. “Leave her alone,” Luna croaked, tears burning her eyes, a contrast to the ice that flowed throughout her body. “Haven’t you done enough to her?”

“What’s that?” Russo moved away from the car, suddenly appearing in front of Luna so fast she didn’t even have time to blink. Hot breath covered her face. “What did you say to me?”

“Leave her alone,” she repeated, forcing herself to meet those eyes. “Please.”

Without hesitation, Russo’s hand struck her face. Hissing with the sudden pain, Luna sucked in air like it had suddenly become thick and almost too hard to draw in. Hot hands forced her chin up, and that handsome face grew hard and ugly with rage. “You do not tell me what to do. No one tells me what to do. The bitch should not have defied me. She’s mine to do with as I like. Just. Like. You.”

Luna swallowed as she gazed at her reflection in his eyes. Why weren’t his eyes changing back to human?

“Do you like my eyes, Luna?” he asked, his voice low and husky. “Do you find them mesmerising? Beautifully horrifying? They don’t turn back, you know. Spent almost two years in wolf form; everything transformed back except for my eyes.” A tendril of fear robbed Luna of her ability to speak as Russo’s hand gently slid from her chin down her neck, lightly gliding over the top of her breasts before standing up.

Misty’s screams reached Luna’s ears before she could even turn her head. The raven-haired werewolf struggled frantically to get out of her captor’s grasp but to no avail. The bottomless pit feeling resurfaced in Luna’s stomach as Misty was dragged over the snow then thrown at her former alpha’s feet. Splatters of blood covered the side of Snake Goon’s face. Evidently, she hadn’t gone without a fight.

But that fight had died now she was staring up at Russo.

“Please, please, please,” Misty whispered, her eyes wide in a primitive state of sheer and utter terror.

Russo glanced down at the woman begging at his feet. “Please what, Misty? What is it that you’re pleading for? Could it be for my forgiveness after running away? For failing to complete your mission and kill the alphas of this pathetic little pack? What exactly are you sorry for?” He tilted his head and pursed his lips. His gold eyes seemed larger than what they should have been, enormous pools of dazzling molten metal.

A visible shudder ran through Misty’s body, her skin paling beneath the heat of his gaze. Fear gripped Luna for the other girl and another knot formed in her throat. “Leave her alone, connard,” Luna spat out, her tone stronger and harsher than what she expected.

Golden eyes narrowed in her direction. “Connard?” he repeated, the word coming out in a growl. “I suppose that’s French for something not very ladylike. While you’re under my care, I’ll have to teach you how I like my females to behave.”

“Why are you doing this?” Luna cried, her words etched in pain and terror. “Why can’t you just leave us alone?”

Russo’s eyes gleamed bright, tendrils of smoke from the burning woods trailing overhead. “Because you’re mine, little girl. You were born to be mine. If your father had simply handed you over to me when you were young, all this death could have been avoided. But no, the bastard had to go and send you out of my reach, somewhere I couldn’t touch you. Do you know how angry that made me? So much blood was spilled, so much fun I had …” Russo’s head rolled back, his thin lips curled into a sadistic smile, his body shuddering under the intensity of the memory before those eyes bore down at Misty. “I have some fun planned for this one. Won’t be quite the same fun I have planned for you, Luna. My little bitch here is now spent, but I have other uses for her. A few nights in my pleasure room might show her the error of her ways.”

A cry tore from Misty’s throat, tears spilling over her cheeks, a river of despair. Luna had no idea what horrors would be waiting for the poor girl in his so-called pleasure room, but fear for her crawled up her spine.

Without warning, Russo lashed out, his fist connecting with the top of Misty’s head, sending her crashing to the floor hard. “I don’t tolerate those who disobey me, Misty. You know this. When you get home, I’m going to give you another lesson on the subject.”

Russo let out a sigh and turned back to Luna. “Let this be a lesson for you, little girl. If I say jump, you’d better jump. If I say bleed, you’d fucking better have a knife slashing your skin because if I have to do it, it’ll be more painful. Do you understand?”

Luna felt tears spill over the corners of her eyes, and anger and frustration bubbled over. “Why can’t you just leave us all alone? The demons will kill us all if you open the gate. Don’t you understand that?”

Shaking his head, Russo gave her a smug smile. “No. No, no, no, no, no. You see, I’ve made a deal with them. Did you know a few demons are already in our world? Oh yes, little one. When the portals to the other worlds were sealed, not all the demons went back. A few stayed in this world. And out of those few, one or two were able to flit back and forth, relaying messages from the demon world to ours. Demons have had their paws in human politics and businesses for centuries, playing with human lives for fun. Well, when I was younger, I came across one of these demons. At first, I was going to have some fun with it – it was so tiny I could’ve swallowed it in one gulp – but when it realised what I was, it offered me a deal.”

“What did it offer you?” Luna whispered.

“Power,” Russo whispered, fire burning in those horrifying eyes. “More power than I could’ve dreamt of. Find the human daughter of a werewolf alpha, fuck her, and get her fat with a child. Then on its first birthday, spill its blood on the site where the portal is hidden. The demons come out and play and do what they want. I get a fucking huge part of America to rule over.”

Disgust rose in Luna’s throat. “You would rape me and kill your own child just for power?”

Russo kneeled before her, allowing her to see just how far the flames of his sickness burned. “Oh yes, my sweet one. I’ll spill everyone’s blood for power. I’ll let the demons fuck you and every other bitch in this world as long as I sit on my throne. And I’ll watch them do it.”

For a second, the world stretched into a horrified silence save the crackling of the fire that ate at her family’s beloved forest. When would this nightmare end? Then a sound filtered through the smoky air. It took another few seconds but then she realised what it was.

Michael groaned, this one louder. Suddenly, Chase’s moans accompanied it. Two voices filled with pain, a song of agony.

They were still alive.

But for how long?

“Michael,” she whispered. “Chase.”

Russo stood up and wandered slowly to where Michael and Chase laid. Their eyes were still closed, their breathing laboured, but they were alive. “So, this is the new alpha of the Silver Moon pack, huh? This isn’t an alpha; it’s a pup. It’s a pathetic little pup and his runt that should’ve been drowned at birth. Should I do that to you, pup? Drown you, put you out of your misery? But where’s the fun in that? I like having fun.” Russo kicked out, sending Michael flying back onto his back. More groans filled the air.

“Leave him alone, connard!” Luna spat.

“There’s that word again,” the older werewolf said, pointing his finger at her, his voice low and growling. “I don’t think I like it very much. Don’t use it again otherwise I will hurt your brother. While I like the idea of a knife to his throat, I don’t think you would, so mind your fucking manners with me.”

Luna glanced at her brother and Chase, wishing she could crawl over to where they lay and pull them into her lap. But she knew she’d never get that far. Instead, she sank further into the snow, the feelings of hopeless and despair crashing over her, pulling her under, threatening to drown her in their murky depths.

“Are you ready to come home with me, Luna?” Russo asked, his fingers trailing over her brother’s throat. “Say the word, and I’ll leave your brother and his pack alone.”

Luna’s breathing started to come in short bursts as panic rose. Desperation flowed through her mind, and she clenched her fists in the snow as Cassandra’s voice suddenly sounded in Luna’s brain.

“You cannot go with this man. You can’t even say you’ll go with him, even if it is just to placate him. If you do, it means all life on Earth as we know it will be destroyed. It doesn’t matter if you’re willing to go with him or not – as soon as he has you, the demons have us. They will devour humanity, reduce it to ash and embers. This vial is the only way to escape that fate. I wish there were something else I could give you, but this is all I have. I’m sorry, but for the world to live, you may have to die.”

Cassandra had been right. Her death would end all this madness, would save Chase and Michael. Would save the world. How could she not end this now while there was a chance?

The tears continued to fall as she glanced upwards. Chase’s eyes were finally open, fixating on her face. A small, sad smile tugged at the corners of her trembling mouth. She would never see those beautiful brown eyes again, never see that cocky grin light up his gorgeous face. Those hands would never touch her body again, never hold her tight. She’d never get to experience those butterflies fluttering against the confines of her stomach when he glanced in her direction again. She’d never have the chance to tell him that she loved him.

Pain crashed into her at the realisation. Damn it. It had taken her right until seconds before her death to realise how much she loved him. The pain clawed at her heart, and another wave of desperation crashed over her again, pulling her under.

Michael’s eyes drew her attention. The sea-blue eyes flecked with amber were swimming with pain and anguish as they flickered to her hand as it moved towards her jacket pocket. It was then that Luna could see realisation dawning in them. Michael’s mouth opened, his face etched in horror as Russo’s fingers started to squeeze, but not with his own impending death.

Luna’s fingers curled around the vial, and she opened her mouth, ready to say the words that would sculpt her fate.