Hyena Moon (27 page)

"How many?" This came from Griff. He and Alaric looked like they were communicating just with their eyes.

"Probably two, three at most. Mom wouldn't spare too many of us from the main group. Plus the locked door that only Teresa has the key to."

"We need to get Lenore out before Kess meets Samara," Finn said, his hand resting on Cormac's shoulder. "She'd have no leverage against Kess."

Rafe cleared his throat. "I know my mother. She'll probably have Teresa bring Lenore to the meeting point and kill her in front of you." He couldn't look at Alaric and Emmeline.

"So we get her during the move." Mebis beckoned Rafe to him. "Come here. I want to see if I have this right."

Rafe stood up, skirting Wyatt who glared at him. He saw the paper Mebis had been scribbling on sitting on the blotter. It was a map of the tunnels as Rafe had described them. The werejackal handed him the pencil. "Sketch the tunnels out."

Rafe closed his eyes, envisioning the tunnels where he and Teresa once played. He knew all of the exits, but there was one way in particular that would work best, both for tunnel size and location. Kess and her extraction team could park right at the grate and shuttle Lenore to safety. But first there was the problem of getting her out of the room. He sketched out the layout quickly while Mebis looked over his shoulder.

Debate raged around him. There was a question of who would go, who would stay with Kess, who would handle the guards, and when was the best time to strike. Rafe listened for a beat or two, then interjected, wondering if he was insane. "You still have the problem of my sister. She's the strongest of the pack outside of my mother and she won't be easy to take down. She's the only one with the key."

He felt Mebis staring at him and looked over at the werejackal. Mebis' brown eyes bored into his, a serious look on his face. Rafe saw his life being weighed and measured in that dark gaze and knew that he would come up wanting. And just as suddenly, he knew he was the only one who could get Lenore out.

"I'll go," Rafe said into the stillness. "I'll make sure I go with Teresa when they go to get Lenore. I'll handle my sister and get Lenore through the tunnels."

Utter quiet greeted his statement. Then Cormac roared, "Absolutely not!"

Finn held his cousin back, Burke moving to join him. Griff and Alaric conferred, with Emmeline listening close by. Rafe felt someone beside him and saw Kess had come back to the desk and was regarding him with a measured stare. Finally she spoke. "He's the best choice for the job. No one else will be able to get in that close."

"You trust him?" Cormac subsided against the restraining hands of his family. The look he gave Kess was deadly. "After everything he's done?"

Kess met her boyfriend's gaze with an icy one of her own. Now Rafe could believe she was the leader of her clan. Her presence intensified; she exuded deadly strength and power of will. "Yes."

Alaric was beside Cormac, whispering in his ear. The younger werewolf listened, some of the tension leaking out of him. Burke was also listening intently. Rafe had the feeling the Alpha was giving some commands.

Mebis tapped the map, getting Rafe and Kess' attention. He began to outline a very simple plan for Rafe while Kess nodded. "You'll go in with your sister and free Lenore. You'll need to disable or kill Teresa." Mebis met Rafe's eyes. "Can you do that?"

Rafe nodded slowly. He wouldn't be able to get the upper hand on Teresa in a fair fight, but there was going to be nothing fair about this. Lenore was his number one priority. "Yeah. Who's going with me?"

Mebis smiled grimly. "I think that's on a need to know basis. And you don't need to know." Rafe understood that they were hedging their bets. If he broke or was a spy, he wouldn't be able to give away the number or names of those planning the escape. "Your job is to take out Teresa and get Lenore. Got it?"

"Yes." He looked at Kess. "I can do this."

"A lot is riding on you, Rafe," she said, eyes serious. He nodded again. He knew what was at stake.

"I'm going to take our boy here and see if I don't have something that can give him an advantage when dealing with his sister." Mebis draped his arm over Rafe's shoulder and the werehyena tried not to shudder away. "And there's the problem of your face."

Rafe jerked his head around to glare at the Keeper. "What's wrong with my face?"

"Not enough blood on it, for one." Mebis spoke to Kess. "They won't believe you let him go unscathed. He'll need something to show his pack."

Kess looked at Rafe, carefully taking stock of him. Before she could answer, Rafe said, "Fine. Do it." He'd probably had worse beatings from Teresa. Probably.

Mebis led him away, whispering, "Don't worry. I'll be gentle." He smiled wickedly. "Sort of."

**********

Rafe walked with Teresa, trying to act as natural as he could. He was nervous now that he was actually here with his sister, positive that she would grok to his plan and kill him where he stood. He tried to put those kind of negative thoughts out of his head. He had deliberately worn the jacket their mother had given him--Samara had presented the leather motocross jacket to him when he returned from Miami—as a way to piss her off, make her unstable. Teresa had always done the same thing to him when she got a gift from Samara. She'd done it to rub his nose in the fact that Samara cared for her more. He'd done it tonight to hide the tire iron Mebis had given him that he had up his sleeve.

It was damned hot though. He was glad they were going into the water tunnels below the city. It would be marginally cooler there. He hoped that Cormac and Wyatt and Alaric would be able to finish off the guards outside quickly. They wouldn’t hear the struggle all the way down here, so he would have no way of knowing if they were successful.

"You really believe Kess fell for the switch? And she bought that you were going to help?" Teresa's voice was hard and it echoed off the walls.

Rafe nodded, smiling grimly. He had to act the part or she'd never take him to Lenore. "Yeah, she's pretty easy to manipulate once you know how." He tried to sound just as cold as she did.

His sister laughed, a weird barking sound that echoed off the walls of the tunnel they were in. This was the access tunnel; as you went farther into the bowels of the city, they got smaller and tighter. He and Teresa could stand upright in this one with room to spare.

"We've only got a few minutes before we have to leave." Rafe nodded at her. "Too bad you couldn't find out more in Miami." Teresa was suspicious, but then again, she always was.

Rafe pretended a regret he didn't feel. "I couldn't push it too far or they'd get wise. The werewolves were already wigging out over her. Still, they weren't happy to see me at first." He rubbed at one of the bruises on his face. Mebis had worked him over some to make the tale of him being attacked ring true. It was a ruse, but Teresa wouldn't know that. And by the time she could do anything about it, they'd be long gone. He hoped.

Teresa shrugged, trying to look nonchalant and failing. It must be killing her to know that she wasn't the favored one anymore. Rafe realized now that his favored position would never last long. His sister would always find a way to bring him down. Even if she had to kill him to do it. He'd never had any doubt that she was capable of it.

"Kess is stupid if she ever thought we'd return Little Miss Sunshine in anything other than a body bag," Teresa snarled, picking up the pace. "Mom would never have cut a deal like that."

"Kess had to," he scoffed, trying to sound disdainful and hoping he got it right. "What's she going to tell her werewolves? Sorry, no dice? I don't think so."

"We're going to wipe them all out," Teresa said, a feral smile on her face. "Every last one of them."

Rafe didn't say anything. They were nearing the room where Lenore would be, so he dropped behind his sister. She had the key out and in the lock, but hadn't twisted it yet. Rafe dropped the tire iron down his sleeve and into his hand. Teresa was just turning to say something to him when he slammed her in the side of the head with it.

His sister went down like a sack of bricks and Rafe was pulling the door to the cell open. Lenore was already at the door waiting for him. "Come on," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her deeper into the tunnels. He still held the tire iron. He hoped he'd hit Teresa hard enough. He thought about dragging her into the cell but she wasn't completely out and he didn't want to risk Lenore's one chance at escape. Best to be quick.

"Where are we going?" Lenore gasped, gripping his hand like it was a lifeline.

"Your parents are waiting for us by a drain a ways from here. But we've got to get a move on." Rafe led them unerringly through the tunnels, hoping that the water they were running through would throw Teresa off their trail. The only problem was that she had played in these tunnels too when they were younger. She knew them as well as he did so evading her was going to be tricky.

He pushed on. The tunnels were shrinking, so that he had to hunch to get through. He went as fast as he dared and Lenore kept up without complaint, her breathing rapid at his back. He led them through the dim tunnels, taking them left, then right. Lenore had to crouch down now and their pace slowed even more. He would be able to race through these tunnels a lot faster if he was in hyena form, but Lenore couldn't. Rafe wasn't leaving her behind.

They were coming up to a place where four tunnels met. They were almost there. But at the same time, he heard a splashing not that far behind them. He turned and made out glowing eyes, gaining on them. Teresa. He knew he should have knocked her again with the damn tire iron.

Rafe pulled Lenore in front of him, urging her to move faster. As they stagger ran through the tunnel, he told her, "When we get to the next junction, take the tunnel immediately to your right. Then take the second tunnel on the left that you come to. Follow that one until you see light. Your dad and brother should have the grate off and they'll be waiting for you."

"What about you?" Her voice was high, like she was fighting off panic.

"I've got to take care of Teresa. Just go as fast as you can and don't stop until you see your brother. I'll be right behind you." He hoped.

He could hear Teresa doing that hyena barking that was so damn unnerving. It bounced off of the walls, echoing eerily as they ran. She was gaining. Rafe hoped they made it to the junction before she closed on them; in the tunnel he didn't have room to swing the tire iron.

They surged out of the tunnel into the larger join and Rafe flung Lenore into the correct tunnel. "Go," he urged. She looked at him, eyes pleading but he waved her on. She took one more look at him and disappeared.

Rafe knew he only had a few seconds. He hoped his sister was more interested in getting payback for the tire iron than chasing after Lenore. He thought if Teresa saw him trying to make his escape, she'd be too enraged to stop herself. He saw her snout coming out of the tunnel and threw himself down a completely different one than Lenore.

She was hot after him, leaping like a bullet shot from a gun. He put on as much speed as he could, but this tunnel was a short one and he wound up coming out in another junction. He was racing through it when he felt jaws close around his lower leg, biting deep and he fell on his face, yelling in pain. He swung the tire iron and connected with her head and she let go.

Rafe watched her as she circled. She hadn't crushed the bones in his ankle, which was a small miracle, but he doubted he'd get far on it. The bottom of his jean leg was already turning red from the blood. Teresa licked his blood from her lips and did that crazy hyena laugh. God, she was such a bitch.

She feinted at him and he swung the tire iron again, driving her back. She was wary of it now, not wanting to get within striking range. Smart. He tried to climb to his feet, putting most of his weight on his good leg. He kept his eyes on her as he backed away towards one of the tunnels. He needed to lead her farther away from Lenore. Teresa prowled before him and he could tell she wasn't going to give him the opportunity to slip down a tunnel; every time he tried, she nipped at him, driving him away from his escape route. Not that he'd get far. She was just having fun playing with him.

He might be able to make it out as a hyena, if he could change fast enough. He would still have the bum leg, but even if he couldn't run as fast, he would be able to fight her better in that form. He waited until she was in mid-turn of her prowl and chucked the tire iron at her. He was already changing, but he saw it glance off her skull. It clanged as it hit the ground, but he was almost done, ready to move when Teresa plowed into him with all of the finesse of a semi.

He scrambled, trying to get away, turning to snap at her before she could sink her jaws into him anywhere. She was close, her jaws near enough to his face that spittle hit his snout. Awesome. He grabbed at the first thing he saw--her ear--and sank his teeth into it. She yipped and tried to bite him, but he had her good.

Rafe wasn't expecting her to wrench her head around, leaving him holding part of her ear in his teeth. Of course Teresa would do that. He spat out the piece he had in his mouth. She was shaking her head, but then she looked at him, her black eyes dead. He knew then that she was going to kill him.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Cormac waited at the end of the drainage tunnel. He and Alaric had pried the metal grate off of it and now they stood there, listening for any sound that might indicate Rafe and Lenore were close. He had wanted to go in, but his father had ordered him to stay. He'd said that there was no point in Cormac getting lost in there. The plan was to wait. Cormac grudgingly agreed. He had no idea what the tunnels were like and, as much as he wanted to be doing something--anything--he knew it wouldn't help anyone if he wound up wandering around in there for hours. He'd just have to trust Rafe.

That galled him. Rafe had already betrayed them once. To put their trust in him again was worse than stupid. He'd told Kess as much. She'd listened but then did what she wanted anyway. He was torn between wishing he was with her out in the glades and wanting to be here to see that Lenore was safe. Kess hadn't even asked him to go with her. She'd just said it was better if he stayed with Alaric and Emmeline and Wyatt. He could join her once they had his sister safely back.