“Do you think I’m a fool? You’re a Shifter.”
“And you’re a *. That’s what this is really about, isn’t it? The only way you can feel less inferior is to cage us like animals and rule us with your money. Fuck your money. I don’t have superpowers, so I’m offering you a chance to fight me as a man. I don’t need my wolf to win my battles, in case you haven’t already noticed. You have the advantage, being that I’m wounded and staining your floor with blood. So here’s your chance to really feel like a man and beat the hell out of one of the best. If you knock me out, then you win your money and get immortality. If I win? Well, I just win.”
Wheeler was tickling a sensitive nerve all weak men like Delgado had: ego. Beneath all the layers of power, money, and intelligence, was a small boy on a playground who wanted to be the toughest kid. None of his possessions would ever truly make him feel superior the way a man feels when he uses his fists to settle an argument.
“How do I know you won’t shift?”
“Jesus Christ,” Wheeler grunted. He flipped a coffee table over and broke off one of the legs. “Here, I’ll give you another advantage, unless you’d rather use one of those fireplace pokers.” He tossed the wooden stick and Delgado caught it.
A second passed before Delgado cautiously set the gun down on a table. He gripped the wooden stake in his hand and twirled it a little to get a feel for it.
Wheeler relaxed and widened his stance. The two men approached each other, and Wheeler instinctively held his left arm in front of him to block any attempts Delgado made to strike. Because Delgado was right-handed, his swings would hit the left side of Wheeler’s body. That meant he had to block and punch with his left hand since the bullet had gone into his right shoulder, weakening the limb.
Delgado crossed his right arm over his left shoulder and suddenly swung at Wheeler, striking him with the stick on the right arm. When he raised his hand again, Wheeler ducked, taking the blow on his back. Wheeler charged forward and tackled him like a football player.
Wheeler roared, shoving Delgado across the room until he stumbled and fell backward. The two men crashed to the floor and Delgado struck him on his left temple.
“You son of a bitch,” Wheeler growled, gripping Delgado’s arm and slamming it against the hard marble. The wood clanked against the surface and tumbled out of reach.
Delgado threw his fist and Wheeler couldn’t raise his right arm to block, so he head-butted him instead. He heard the crunch of bone before he ever saw the first drop of blood. The second time, Wheeler hit him right between the eyes.
Wheeler lifted his head, dazed for a moment. That’s when he saw his butterfly knife displayed on the wall—as if it were a souvenir of a hunt. It had been in his back pocket when they took him. Wheeler liked using that knife for tricks, and when others asked him if he’d ever used it, he always said he was saving it for a special occasion.
It didn’t get more special than this.
Wheeler stood up and jerked it from the mount, pulling free the hooks that held it in place. There were other curious items displayed around it, which had become a trophy wall and metaphorical graveyard.
Wheeler straddled Delgado, pressing the blade to his throat. “You will not destroy my pack. You will not tear apart my family. And you will never have my woman!”
Wheeler’s wolf remained caged, and the only thing unleashed upon Delgado was retribution and blood.
Chapter 24
“Wake up, kitty cat.”
I gazed into Wheeler’s eyes and realized he was holding me on his lap. My left cheek was pressed against his shoulder, and we were in the backseat of a car.
Driving.
At night.
The radio playing “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas.
Austin peered over his shoulder from the driver’s seat and smiled.
God help me, I wept right on Wheeler’s shoulder. He cradled my head and kept smiling down at me. “You knew we were going to make it out of there, right?”
“No,” I said with a laugh of disbelief.
“Yeah, well, I did.”
“Where’s Delgado?”
“I took care of him,” he said, allowing his words to settle. “Put him in the ground on that property where no one will find him.”
“Bastard got off easy,” Austin growled from the front. Lexi’s hand appeared, stroking the back of his neck.
I tried to sit up, but Wheeler lightly shook his head. “Just let me hold on to you.”
“You couldn’t wait to get me in the backseat of a car again, could you?” I teased. “What about the others? We have to go back for them.”
“They’re free. When you didn’t answer your phone, the pack came for you. Austin called the Council and they agreed not to bring in the higher authority. This was Shifter business, and we took care of it.”
“But you killed a human.”