The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) (23 page)

            “His teeth shattered my
shoulder as his paws sliced through my neck. I’ve never felt pain like that in
my life. It was indescribable. The hurt mixed with fear must have triggered
something within me. I myself blacked out, thinking for sure that I was going
to die. When I awoke however, it was my father who lay lifeless beside me, and
I, covered in his blood, half alive. If my own body didn’t trigger the change,
I would have died. It took me three days to heal.”

            I frown at his story.
There was no way that he should have survived that. Not when his father was
already attacking him while he was still in human form.

            He knows what I’m thinking
and continues to explain, “I like that think that my father regained enough of
his senses to allow me to change and protect myself. What’s more likely is that
the man who did that to him killed my father before he could finish me off.
Yet, my brain will not allow me to remember. I searched for the man he talked
to that night for years, all the while being challenged over and over by pack
mates that wanted to best the former Alpha’s son. I learned how to be a deadly
fighter as I fought for my life every day. Ruthless and cunning. I became Alpha
at a young age, probably one of the youngest in the U.S.”

            “Then, I found the man
again. Or rather, he found me. Once I started running my father’s business, he
came to me with the same proposition that he had given my father. Use my pack
to conduct his experiments, be loyal to him, murder his opposition, and
anything else he might need. In return, he claimed we would live like the kings
of old with more power and more terroritory. Unlike my father, I didn’t refuse,
all the while gathering information on the man, biding my time. I did small
things for him to gain his trust. Then, he had another proposition; he wanted
me to be one of his lieutenants in the organization he was building. He knew I
was special. I thought it was a good opportunity to get close to him, to make
my move.”

            “The bastard knew my plan
all along; he had no intention of letting me get close. He let me get close
enough to let me see why I wouldn’t be able to kill him, then, he had my mate
murdered. I was restrained by his powerful magic that smelled of death and rot,
fighting to reach her.  My mate was pregnant with my unborn child and all I
could do was watch as he had one of his demons destroy her.”

            Demon? It was definitely
the same man.

            “When I asked him why he
didn’t just kill me he said that he was
going to kill me one day, but
that my suffering would be like the sweetest wine he’s ever tasted. He said
he’d make me fear him, use me, then take my life. The man is too skilled, too
well guarded, and absolutely insane. For the first year, he had me followed by
a demon. I was constantly looking over my shoulder, going crazy over how to
protect my pack from any fallout. There’s a reason why he chose my father and
then me, but I’ve never been able to figure it out. What I do know is that I
can’t get close and it’s been a quiet year. I want it to stay that way. I’m not
in a hurry to cut my life short,” Anubis finishes, sounding slightly shaken.

             “Well, this man thinks
that I died along with my family. I can get close to him,” I explain.

            “Is that so? Do you
honestly think he’s not watching you? He always finishes his job. Unless you’ve
fallen off the face of the earth, then he knows where you are.”

            “What if I told you I
haven’t been on Earth?” I smile.

            “Then I’d say that you
have some explaining to do,” he responds, interested, hands folded on the
table.

            The song changes to a slow
number.

            “I will, but first, I need
his name.”

            “You just won’t give up
will you?”

            I just stare at him with
my arms crossed, determined.

            “He’s a witch. His name is
Namen Young,” he tells me, not defeated, but seemingly believing in me.

            I don’t know how to feel
right now. I’ve been trying to get a name for so long, to be able to speak the
name of the man responsible and now that I have it, I don’t even know how I
feel. I say his name softly to myself, letting it roll off of my tongue. It’s
such a nonthreatening name, but I know the truth. I reach in my pocket and pull
out one thousand more dollars. I would have paid a million for it, but since he
didn’t ask, I figured he’d be happy with what he got. At least he knows that
I’m serious about the information.

            “Thank you Anubis. You’ve
done more than you know tonight,” I tell him gratefully.

            “If you were truly
grateful, then you’d value your own life and listen to what I just told you.
When he comes for me I won’t be able to stop him. If you are free of him, then
why even make yourself a target?”

            “Because I have been
un-made. I wear the mark of the Immortals and I have thought of nothing else for
nearly two years but finding this man. He murdered my mother, father, and my
little sister. They deserve justice. Your family deserves justice and I will be
the one to deliver it,” I answer.

            “Well, those are beautiful
words, but I’m telling you the reality. Namen Young is a force. He has powers
that are greater than any witch in this time. He has aligned himself with
demons and may even be stealing powers from other awakeneds somehow. He also
has people protecting him at all times. I think he is up to something that is
far greater than we could know. You are just one human. I am just one wolf. I
could offer you the protection of my pack, but it would only go so far. Namen
will find you first and when he does, your protection is out the window. I will
not put my family in any more danger where he’s concerned,” he advises me, eyes
tinting yellow again before blinking it away.

            “Then, that is all the
more reason to stop him. You just said it. This is greater than the two of us
Anubis. I will at the very least find out just what it is that he is up to and
then I will take it from there. Can I at least ask this of you? If you hear
word of any of his dealings, let me know?”

            “You are asking a lot of
me human. What will I get from you?”

            “The truth is, I don’t know
what to offer. I may not have anything that you want,” I say honestly.

            “Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure
I will come up with something,” Anubis answers. “Here, take my card. I hesitate
to give this to you, but my curiosity about you has gotten the better of me.
Call me if you need anything else.” Without another word, Anubis leaves me at
my table, alone, with much to consider.

            Selene finally comes over
to me looking slightly wary. I stand up and meet her before she comes
completely to the table. “What’s wrong?” I ask her, concerned.

            “I don’t know for sure,
but I think it’s time for us to leave. We’ll talk about what we learned when we
get back home. Don’t go straight to your bike if you think you’re being
followed. Loop around to the car and wait. I’ll be right behind you after I
handle something.” Before I can ask her what she needs to handle, she walks
away, her dress hugging her like a lover’s embrace.

            I look around and try to
see if someone is watching me, but with this many people, I can no longer tell as
the crowd seems to close in on me. I get to the door and Jaxson tries to
whisper something to me, but he’s clocked hard in his head and hits the ground
with a thud. Before I can react, there is a rush of magic and I am knocked
through the door, skidding to a stop on the hard pavement. Not even a second
after I hit the ground, numerous hands grab me and soon the same blow that
caused Jaxson to be knocked out hits me too.

            They couldn’t have gotten
far because once the world stops spinning and my vision returns, I can still
hear the music from club Obsession in the distance. From the smell, they’ve
dragged me in an alley. Gee, how cliché; bad guys and alleys.

            Whoever it is that’s
dragging me hasn’t even realized that I’ve woken up. Clearly they didn’t think
that I’d be conscious so quickly. They’re probably trying to take me to a car
so they can drive to a second location. Not going to happen. I slam my feet
hard into the dirt and cause my kidnappers to stumble. It’s just enough for me
to pull my arms free and roll away. It doesn’t take them long to recover from
the shock and come after me. I pretend to take a step back as if I’m prepared
to run, but I come at them full speed, much quicker than they expected from a
human. I use this surprise to my advantage as well.

            I clothesline the guy
closest to me and his head slams against the ground hard, but not hard enough
to keep him down. He’s bald with a thick brown goatee and white skin. The other
one is a pale vamp that smiles at me with deadly teeth, poised to strike. His
hair is cut short. In this dark alley, he’ll have the advantage of the shadows.

            Vampires are able to
become one with the shadows for a short period of time which was why they are
the greatest hunters the night has to offer. Right now, he’s probably listening
to the thump of my heart. Then, I hear footsteps behind me and curse my luck.
This one is wearing a bandana on his head and on his arm giving him the look of
an old school biker.

            They have me pretty much
surrounded; all of them are dressed in black from head to toe. I don’t know if
I can count on Selene to back me up. Still, I’m not too worried that I’ll lose
this fight; I’m just worried about what they want with me.

Chapter Nineteen

      
 
“S
o,
is there a reason that you needed me out cold to come with you? Don’t you know
the proper way to ask for a date?” I wipe the dirt from my leather jacket and
try to look as though I’m the one in control of the situation. While doing
that, I try to turn my body so that I can see every single one of their moves.

            No response, great I’m not
among the talkative group. Then, I look at the one that I knocked down. He’s
pointing at his mouth. When he opens it, there’s no tongue. Shit. None of them
could speak even if they wanted to. Who would want that kind of job? Psychos,
that’s who. That means that they were chosen specifically for jobs like this. I
wasn’t even back two whole days yet. How in the world am I already a target?

            “Well, let’s just move
this along then,” I say.

            As the one behind me
shifts to his left, I track his movement right before I’m hit with an electric
shock from the one I knocked down. Baldy. It brings me to my knees as the surge
courses through my body. He’s a witch, just great. I need to take him out
first.

            It isn’t hard to analyze their
plan. He will attack from a distance and while I’m trying to dodge those, the
other two will come for me. I still don’t know what biker dude is, so I’ll have
to watch him closely. I can’t wait for Selene. The chances are that there is
some type of commotion in the club that caused her to not be able to get back
to me. That, or they are spelling this area making it hard to follow my trail.

            He shifts again and
another blow of magic hits me. They’re communicating. The third time, they will
attack. I’m right. Once the witch shoots again, I use the wall for leverage and
deliver a swift kick to the vampire’s head. I don’t hesitate since the bandana
wearing one has come into the fray with hands that are on fire. I try to dodge
all his blows, but one connects, causing a hole to be burned through my
clothes. The heat coming off of him is unreal and I sweat drips from my brow
into my eyes. Quickly, I wipe it away.

             He’s a half fire demon
and I’m unarmed. I can’t block his blows with my hands or feet and I definitely
can’t keep much distance between us because every time I do, the witch attempts
an attack. As I long as I stay close to these two, the witch won’t risk it.

            The demon’s job is to
create enough fear of him to cause me to keep that distance where the witch
would incapacitate me and if need be, if I become too much trouble, the vamp
will finish me off by draining enough of my blood that I can’t fight back. It’s
in my best interest to not let that happen either. Once a vamp locks onto you
and starts pumping pheromones into your body, it can sometimes be damn near
impossible to force them to break from a feeding alone.

            It wasn’t hard for me to
figure out their plans and see through it. I was praised for my vision in
battle from Diana and Lawrence. It was apparently one of the things that I
inherited when I’d been un-made. My analytical skills had increased
tremendously since it had been one of my strong points before. Now, what I need
is a way to draw the witch’s fire to hit one of his own. I have to let the demon
think that I am afraid of him. I have to let him get close. It hurts my heart
profoundly to know that I’ll have to sacrifice my beautiful red jacket.

            The vampire isn’t that strong.
It is obvious that he’s a young vamp that had been turned recently. Thank God
he isn’t a pureblood. I know I can end him at anytime, but before I do that, I
need the witch to play into my plan. The demon’s next punch comes uncomfortably
close to my face. The heat beats against my skin, scorching it. I feign fear
and the half demon’s face reveals smugness. He thinks he has me beat.