Shadow Soldier (18 page)

“Jesus Christ!”

She jerked her leg away and scrambled for her blade, slipping and sliding through the growing puddle of blood. Gritting her teeth against the white-hot pain that seared through her ripped flesh, she crawled back to barely moving Ravager, poised the blade just below his sternum, and stabbed upward to pierce his heart.

With the beast dead, Roux turned her attention to bandaging her own wounds, cutting off one leg of her jeans and shredding it into strips to tie around her calf. Then she hauled herself to her feet, wincing at the throb that ran from ankle to knee, and limped out into the Square.

The gunfire had ceased, replaced with the primal sounds of snarls, growls, and cat-like screams. A sable-colored cougar leapt off the fountain, landing on the back of a naked Ravager. Across the street, a white tiger the size of a fucking pony dragged another monster through the door of Peter’s bakery by his throat.

In front of the pharmacy, three of their uninvited guests gathered around a prone body on the ground. Nearby, Zerrik used his superior strength and agility—along with a wicked-looking dagger—to cut a path toward them through the Square. A werewolf guard Roux only knew by appearance fought with his bare hands, laughing and dancing around a lone Ravager as he threw punches. At least someone was having fun.

All manner of wild cats prowled the Square, all except the panther she most wanted to find. Another wave of petrified screams rose up over the sounds of the battle, coming from the direction of the Bastille. A deafening, guttural roar followed, echoing off the stone buildings, and Roux jerked toward it as if she’d been summoned.

“Deke.”

Ducking away from a Ravager’s reaching arms, she drove her blade into his right flank and ripped it free, barely slowing as she did so. She skirted around the rest of the fighting, cutting through the alley that ran between Moon Pie and the barbershop. Pain lanced through her calf, and a cut over her eyebrow began to sting, but Roux ignored the discomfort, running as fast as her injured leg would allow to the Bastille.

She emerged at the edge of the forest bordering the main building and ducked into the trees. Pressing flat against one of the large trunks, she fought to catch her breath while she assessed the situation. Bodies littered the ground, some moving, some not, but it seemed most of the residents had made it inside the Bastille.

A black jaguar with glowing blue eyes swiped his massive paw at a Ravager, creating deep gouges down the creature’s chest. Then he bounded into the nearest tree, twisted his sleek body, and soared through the air to land on the savage’s back, dropping him to the ground and snapping his neck.

Deke’s fellow guard—another werewolf covered in blood, dirt, and sweat—dispatched his own opponent, but neither of them noticed the Ravager leaping from the top of the building.

“On the roof!” Roux shouted, shoving away from the tree, staggering as she tried to make her swelling leg cooperate. “Deke, watch out!”

The Ravager landed next to Deke with a heavy thud, unsettling the dirt at his feet. Before anyone could react, he tackled the big cat to the ground, sinking his claws into both flanks as he went for the throat with his fangs. Deke screeched and flailed, batting at the beast with his paws, but he couldn’t get the leverage to do much damage.

A scream built in Roux’s throat, but she choked it back and jogged forward. Unlocking her white-knuckled grip from the hilt of her blade, she tossed the knife to the ground and climbed onto the Ravager’s bare back. Fear and rage vied for dominance as she sunk her fingers into the feral wolf’s shaggy hair and pulled roughly.

He roared and twisted his upper body, trying to shake her loose, but Roux locked her knees around his waist and grabbed his chin in a steely grip. With one hard twist, the bones in his spine snapped, and the Ravager slump sideways, his coal-black eyes wide and unseeing.

Then all was quiet.

With shaking hands, Roux stroked Deke’s furry side, swallowing down a sob when her palm came away coated in his blood. “Hey,” she whispered when he lifted his head to nuzzle against her thigh. “I’m okay. You’re okay. It’s over now.”

Deke nudged his nose against her shin and chuffed.

“No, really, I’m okay.” The tears she’d been fighting fell hot and fast, but she wiped them away roughly and smiled. “Just a scratch. No big deal.”

“I’m going to guess you’re the female who’s had the captain all tied in knots lately.” The other guard, a werewolf with caramel skin and bright green eyes, knelt down beside her. “Those were some nice moves.”

His hand landed on her shoulder to steady her when she began to sway, earning him a low growl from Deke.

“Knock it off.” Roux sniffled as she scratched behind his ears. “And thank you,” she added to the werewolf. “I’m Roux, by the way. Roux Jennings.”

“Sergeant Gabriel Riccelli.” The sun had already begun to set, but he still squinted as he ran a hand through his short, dark hair. “This is a fucking mess. I’ve never seen a pack that big before, especially not here.”

“Pack? They’re the wolves, aren’t they? The ones that went feral?” She continued stroking Deke’s side, comforted by the steady rise and fall of his chest.

Gabriel nodded. “They hunt in the woods a couple of miles from here sometimes, but they don’t ever come into the city.” He glanced over his shoulder at the Ravager she’d killed. “And I’ve never seen this many of them together.”

Roux jerked when a shudder rippled through Deke, and a rumbling yowl escaped his black lips. “What is it? What’s wrong? Is he going to be okay?”

“Easy, relax.” Gabriel chuckled as he pushed to his feet. “He’s just changing. I’ll grab him some clothes from the dorm.”

The guard disappeared into the building, leaving her alone with her mate. The shift was painful to watch, and she could only imagine what it would be like to go through it. Deke’s bones cracked and realigned, the thick fur receded from his skin, and his muscles bunched, flexed, then bunched again as he panted through the transformation.

The entire process took less than a minute, but it seemed like much longer to Roux. When it was over, Deke laid curled on his side, naked, pale, and shaking. The bleeding had stopped, and his wounds had begun to heal as his supernatural abilities repaired the mangled flesh.

“Hey, kitten,” he whispered, inching closer to her.

Stretching out beside him in the dirt, she pushed the damp hair back from his forehead and smiled. “Hey back. Gabriel went to get you some clothes.”

“You’re hurt.”

“A little.”

“What happened? You were supposed to stay in the registration office.” Pressing his palms against the ground, he pushed into a sitting position with a grunt. “Let me see it.”

“Yes, well, I was actually in the office when this happened.” She stuck her injured leg out, propping it up in his lap. “One of those things broke down the door. I sent Abby and that chick with the baby to the library, killed the Ravager, and came to find you.”

Carefully, he peeled away the makeshift bandage and examined the gashes in her calf. “Roux,” he sighed. “What am I going to do with you?”

She shrugged and decided not to point out the fact that she’d just saved his life. “I wouldn’t say no to some painkillers.” She’d finished her antibiotics, but she still had half a bottle of prescription-strength Ibuprofen back at the house. “And a hot shower. Food could be an option. A nap, too. Not necessarily all in that order.”

Chuckling, he slipped a knuckle under her chin and tilted her head up to brush their lips together. “Don’t worry, kitten. I’ll take care of you.”

It had never crossed her mind that he wouldn’t, but not because she felt entitled. After everything that had happened in the past couple of months, even the smallest everyday things, she couldn’t deny that he cared for her, and not because of some mating bond, either. She knew because she saw the same emotions swirling inside her mirrored in Deke’s eyes.

Reaching up, she cupped his cheek and pressed their lips together again. “We’ll take care of each other.”

Dressed in borrowed clothes, Deke stuck around the Bastille just long enough to issue orders to the guards before setting off to see how much damage had been done to the Square. He’d mostly healed by the time they reached the fountain, but with the adrenaline wearing off, Roux’s limp had worsened. Keeping an arm around her waist, he supported as much of her weight as she’d allow.

Given his way, he’d have carried her home and put her ass to bed. Of course, as soon as he’d mentioned that he needed to assess the situation in the city center, she’d stubbornly refused to return to the house. As a compromise—after a fairly heated argument—she had agreed to let the doctor in the infirmary examine her leg.

Because of the vaccination she’d received when she’d been registered, she wouldn’t need an antibiotic, but the gashes in her calf had needed thirteen stitches to close. At his request, the doctor had also given her something for the pain, though Deke had been forced to restrain her while she received the injection.

It some ways, it amused the hell out of him. She’d fought and killed two Ravagers without blinking, yet she fell into hysterics at the sight of a needle.

“Gabriel said he’s never seen a pack of Ravagers this big before,” Roux mused. “How many were there?”

“Nine here,” Zerrik answered, joining them in front of the fountain. Healing claw marks marred his face, and his uniform shirt hung off him in shreds, but he appeared otherwise unscathed. “We stacked the bodies in front of the bakery.”

“Peter will love that,” Roux mumbled.

Deke laughed and kissed the top of her head. “Grab a couple of SUVs and the other three Ravagers from the Bastille,” he told the lieutenant. “Burn them out by the edge of town.”

“Did you get the one inside the registration office?” Roux asked.

Zerrik nodded, his pale eyebrows lifting toward his hairline. “You did that?”

“I did what I had to,” Roux answered evenly. “Have you seen Abby?”

“Yeah.” Zerrik angled to the left and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “She was with Peter at the bakery. I’m pretty sure they’re still there.”

She dipped her head once and started toward the bakery, but Deke caught her around the upper arm, pulling her back. “What are you doing?”

“Going to find Abby.” Roux looked at the hand on her arm and then back up to meet his gaze. “What are
you
doing?”

She’d more than proven she could take care of herself, but Deke couldn’t let her go. He’d told her to stay in that office, and in doing so, he’d inadvertently put her in danger. He should have been there, should have protected her.

“You shouldn’t be walking around on that leg. You’ll pull the stitches.”

Rolling her eyes, she tangled her fingers in the front of his shirt and pulled him down to kiss his cheek. “I’ll be across the street.”

Watching her limp down the cobblestone street to Sunrise Bakery, Deke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists at his sides. It took everything in him not to call her back, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good. Aside from tossing her over his shoulder and wrestling her back to his house, he couldn’t make her leave until she was ready.

“She’s tough, Captain.”

He acknowledged Zerrik with a grunt but continued watching Roux through the window of the bakery. She greeted Abby with a brief hug and scrutinized her for a moment before launching into a full-scale interrogation. Deke had to laugh.

“There was a redhead?”

Zerrik shook his head, but he didn’t bother to ask why Deke was eavesdropping on his mate. “Kate Rogers, human female, arrived in town a couple of months before Roux. Just had her baby about three weeks ago and moved into one of those apartments off Kramer Street.”

“The father?”

“Killed by raiders in the Deadlands. That’s all she’d say about him.”

Most newcomers didn’t volunteer any more information than necessary, so it didn’t surprise Deke that she wouldn’t discuss her baby’s father. What did surprise him was why he cared so much about this woman he’d never met. He blamed Roux.

“Was she hurt?”

“Shook up, but otherwise okay. Mendez walked her and the baby to the clinic on her way to get the SUV.” Scratching at a patch of dried blood on his wrist, Zerrik jerked his head toward the smashed door of the registration office. “Kate said Roux saved their lives, sent her and Abby out the back while she held off the Ravager.”

While proud of his mate’s tenacity and courage, Deke recognized that tone, and he doubted he’d like what the vampire had to say next.

“She could be an asset, Deke.”

“No.”

“Why not? She’s smart, intuitive, and with a little training, she’d make a hell of a fighter. Not to mention, she’s a born leader.” Zerrik glanced over his shoulder toward the bakery and snorted. “Have you ever known Abby to take orders from anyone?”

“Abby left Roux in that office do die while she saved her own ass.”

“Abby and Roux worked together to save a young mother and her newborn baby. There’s a difference, and you damn well know it.”

Yeah, he did, but that didn’t change his feelings on the matter. “The answer is still no. I’m not dragging her into this.”

“She’s your mate,” Zerrik reminded him. “She’s already in this.”

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Deke bit back his retort and turned to face the newcomer. He’d expected another guard, but not a royal guard, especially not the one striding toward him.

“Foster,” Deke greeted the Warden with a slight inclination of his head.

“Collins.” The shifter turned to Zerrik with a curl of his upper lip. “Leave.”

Lieutenant Lynk Foster hadn’t earned his position as head of the elite group of guards who protected the Diavolos family by mincing words. At six-foot-three, Deke didn’t look up to many people, but Lynk towered over him by an impressive six inches, maybe more. With a chest the size of a tree trunk, and biceps that strained the fabric of his black T-shirt, the shifter presented a truly imposing figure.

He wore his white hair—not gray or silver or light blond, but pure white hair—in a long curtain that brushed against his shoulder blades. His eyes—pale gray eyes the color of moonlight—were always watchful, gleaming with an intensity that most found disconcerting, if not outright intimidating.