Midnight Reckoning

“I don’t have a lot of other options right now,” Jaden replied, and saw Damien’s blue eyes flash.



“Flattering. But honest. All right. Think about it, Jaden. Think back on the lazy, scheming Ptolemy as they were when you served them, most wanting to be waited on hand and foot all the time because damn it, they deserved it. Now imagine all the servants’ chambers, the cages, the dungeons, empty, with nothing but sad piles of empty collars to remind the highblood pricks of how marvelous they once had it. What good is being one of the glorious Ptolemy if you don’t have anyone to kick around? They’re still persona non grata with the Council, and the other dynasties are steering very clear at the moment. Won’t last forever, but it could be a few centuries before people get over it.”



“So she’s humiliated. We knew that. It’s why she’d been picking off some of the Cait Sith who come into Tipton to join the Lilim. I assumed she was trying to rebuild a little of what she’d lost in the slave labor department.”



Damien shook his head. “No. Arsinöe is never going to get all of you back, and she knows it, her little revenge hunts aside. She’s killing most of the cats she catches anyway.” He paused, winced. “In some creative ways, too, from what I understand. I think it’s safe to say she’s looking for new blood. And with the rest of our kind, lowblood and highblood alike, casting a wary eye on them, what is a despot in need for cheap muscle to do?”



Jaden watched Damien for some sign that he was joking, or going somewhere other than the obvious with this, but he could see none. “Wolves? They’re seriously going to start on the wolves?”



Damien shrugged. “I’m not sure she would have thought of it herself. She hates wolves as much as anyone, at least in theory. Who sees them anymore? But that’s the problem. The packs have been flying under the radar for a long time, Jaden. They’ve rebuilt since we used to fight them so long ago. Look around. They’re more disciplined, stronger. Brighter, shockingly. A force to be reckoned with, too, if they pulled together a bit more. If you think about it, it was only a matter of time before a wolf with a little power and a big inferiority complex headed in our direction.”



Jaden made a disgusted noise. “Our? This is why you were here a couple of weeks ago. What, is one of the Thorn working for you?”



Bloody Shades, he thought. They seemed to have their fingers everywhere, and they never caused anything but problems. Damien, as usual, looked unperturbed.



“One came to us. Drake was intrigued, naturally. Can’t beat a wolf for raw muscle. But the apprenticeship didn’t work out. I tried to warn him that any wolf who would come to us probably liked killing a little too much. We require finesse, you know. Anyway, didn’t last. But he did a job that brought him some attention from the Ptolemy, and it got someone thinking. Unfortunately. And the packs are so loosely knit, not to mention none of them like one another all that much, that it isn’t like anyone will rush to the Thorn’s defense when they vanish and the Ptolemy suddenly have a bunch of pet wolves.”



“So they’ll just swoop in and, what, round them up?” Jaden asked, feeling slightly ill at the thought. All he had been through with the Ptolemy for so many years… no one else should have to experience that.



“I doubt it,” Damien said. “Arsinöe operates with charm before force, and I’m sure she’d prefer a period of buttering them up to inspire loyalty before she really has to crack down on these new… pets. Something is in the works, though. With the number of Ptolemy just beyond the borders of Thorn territory, that’s obvious. Beyond that, the Shades, unfortunately, are in the dark as much as you are.”



“Who sold them out?” Jaden asked. But the moment he asked the question, he knew. It had to be Eric Black.



Damien pinned Jaden with a cool stare. “You know, you’re very interested in these wolves, Jaden. It’s disturbing. Now do you really need more information to get you to go? This is a death trap. I didn’t think you liked those.”



“Have you told Ty about this? The Dracul?”



Damien hissed out an irritable little breath through his nose. “Yes and yes. Both instructed me to come and get your ass out of here before all hell breaks loose. And by the way, Ty also mentioned that if you ever turned off your phone for two weeks again, he was going to shove it up a certain orifice from which it would be difficult to extract.” His expression quickly went from irritated to confused. “And just out of curiosity, what are you still doing here, Jaden? I heard something about a she-wolf and a necklace, but this isn’t exactly a vacation spot…” He trailed off, and Jaden remained silent, but something in his expression must have given him away. Damien wrinkled up his nose as though he’d smelled something foul.



“Oh, for the love of—you know what? I don’t want to know. Really? I just—really?”



“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jaden snapped.



“Good, because I’d rather not discuss it. The thought of the wolf stink alone…” Damien shuddered. “Whoever she is, forget her. You aren’t going to want to be here when the queen arrives to start buttering up the befurred masses. She’ll take her time, I imagine, but it’ll all end the same. And I’m sure your presence will not be appreciated.”



“I’m not going anywhere,” Jaden said flatly. “I’ll tell Dorien, the Alpha, what’s going on. This can all be taken care of before anything actually happens.”



Damien stared at Jaden as though he thought he’d lost his mind. “He’s not going to believe some vampire.”



“Yes, he will. He likes me. And I work for him… after a fashion.” Jaden explained the situation as quickly as he could to Damien, whose expressions ranged from disbelief to disgust. When he’d finished, the Shade simply stared at him for a long moment.



“You’ve completely lost it, haven’t you?”



“Why, because I’m doing something decent for a change?” Jaden asked.



“No,” Damien replied, glowering. “Because getting involved with wolf politics is madness. Even a worse idea than getting involved in dynasty politics.”



“That’s what you do for a living,” Jaden pointed out, his blood starting to simmer.



“Yes, but I’m an expert at meddling, and I’m paid very well for the trouble. I wouldn’t touch this mess with a ten-foot pole, though. Does Ty know that’s what you’ve been up to?”



“Ty isn’t my keeper,” Jaden shot back. “No one is. If you want to run off and tattle, Damien, go right ahead. I’ve got things I need to take care of.”



Damien’s brows shot up. “Oh? In a hurry to get yourself killed, I guess. If one side doesn’t destroy you, the other one will, Jaden. These wolves are hardly worth your time. They’re all miserable beasts, one’s the same as another… pretty twist of tail or not.”



Jaden’s hand shot out, fisted in Damien’s shirt, and he had him dangling above the ground in seconds. Damien looked more irritated than intimidated.



“Oh, this helps. You’re welcome for the information. Jackass.”



“Thank you,” Jaden gritted out. “Really. Now stay out of my way.” He let go, turned on one heel, and was out the door before Damien hit the ground. Damien watched him go, an expression that was a mixture of pity and amusement on his handsome face. He looked sharply at the clerk, ascertained that she was still oblivious, and pulled out his cell phone.



“Ty? Damien. Yes, I found him. No… no.” He looked toward the door, where Jaden had just slammed out into the night thinking he was going to save the day.



“It’s complicated, naturally. And if you want him, you’re going to have to come down here and haul his ass home yourself. I’ve done my good deed for the decade.” He ended the call, then cocked his head at the start of a strange sound outside. Then he closed his eyes with a resigned sigh when he realized the source of the racket.



The distant but unmistakable sound of a full-blown werewolf fight. And he’d bet money it had something to do with Jaden.



The poor bastard should never have killed that patrol, Damien thought. Should never have presumed to come here in the first place.



Whether Jaden liked it or not, the end of the Pack of the Thorn had already begun.



“I need a bloody vacation,” Damien growled, and vanished out the back of the store and into the night.



Chapter TWENTY



JADEN DUCKED out the door of the shop and headed down the street, his body on autopilot, instinctively heading in the right direction while his mind whirled with the information he’d just been given. He needed to get to Dorien, and to Lyra, before Eric and the Ptolemy could do anything. Hopefully nothing was planned until after the Proving, but he could take no chances.



He strode down the sidewalk, so focused he didn’t notice the men walking straight toward him until it was far too late to do anything but try and absorb the blow.



A huge, thick male body slammed into him, the force sending Jaden stumbling to the side as he tried to stay on his feet. Not often taken by surprise, it took him precious seconds to figure out what was even going on. By the time he got his bearings, two other wolves had gotten him by the arms.



One of the first rules of combat with a wolf had always been don’t ever let them get a hold of you. But it was far too late for that now. Grips like iron vices encircled his upper arms. Immediately he began to thrash, hiss, and spit, but it did no good. He was being dragged backward, toward the green at the center of the square. He could hear a deep voice bellowing.



“Wolves! Wolves!”



Howls began to rise around him. Jaden tried to shift into a cat, but they had him sequestered too well. He dangled helplessly for a moment, his legs caught just as effectively by his captors as his arms had been, before giving up and shifting back. Finally, the men dragging him stopped, and he heard a soft laugh.