Werewolves Be Damned

Chapter Twenty


The moment Nexi teleported into in the Council’s Foyer, she wrapped her hand around the portal’s door and opened it, thinking of the one place that had always been special and safe. Right before the portal took her, she could’ve sworn she heard the sounds of fighting around her, but maybe she’d imagined that.

Revenge seethed inside of her. Anger burned, urging her on.

If Lazarus wanted a fight, she’d rip his damn fangs out.

Once the bright flash from the portal dimmed, and her feet touched hard ground, she opened her eyes, scanning the dark forest. Above her, in the night sky, stars twinkled, and her willow rested behind her. She drew in a deep breath, inhaling the warm air infused with the scents of nature.

She’d come to her willow for one reason: to look at her house from a distance. She knew the wolves at her home with Lazarus would scent her arrival, but the last thing she needed was to land directly in the center of trouble without a plan, or any idea where exactly her attackers were stationed.

After a final look at her willow—in its stunning beauty—she turned on her heel and jogged along the Tahoe Rim Trail, as she had so many times. Of course, that was back when life hadn’t been so complicated. The warm breeze raised goose bumps across her skin, as she pushed forward.

Within minutes she broke free from the path and positioned herself at the edge of the forest to look upon her family’s farm home. Drake had told her a couple weeks ago the farm hadn’t been sold yet because of Nexi’s missing status.

Right now, she was only too glad. The idea of another family being injured in this house was unthinkable, especially considering she knew that’s exactly what would’ve happened. To her happiness, she had found Lazarus’s location.

The two men—wolves—standing on her wraparound porch were evidence the bastard had brought Kyden to the place her old life ended and her new life began. Nexi watched as the wolves stared in her direction, their noses high, sniffing her out.

She had hoped once Valor and Briggs discovered Lazarus’s house in New York was empty they’d come to her family’s home, because help would be good right about now. In fact, it surprised her they hadn’t beaten her there, since she’d spent some time with Drake and came to the location from her willow. But maybe Lazarus had made this move on purpose, and Valor and Briggs had a world of trouble waiting for them, too.

Now staring at her childhood home, she knew one thing for certain: Lazarus made a big mistake coming to her parents’ house. Returning there reminded her of all she’d lost—a life with the people who loved her unconditionally—but her present had been forged there as well.

Lazarus had brutally stolen her past away. He damned well wouldn’t take her future, too.

No more lives would be lost.

Not on her watch.

Shutting her eyes, she inhaled deeply to settle her nerves. The danger ahead loomed over her, and she accepted she might not leave this house alive. But how dare this vampire think she’d idly sit by and watch him destroy the world around her.

He apparently didn’t know her at all.

After a long exhale, she sucked the air sharply into her lungs, then approached the house. On her way, she scanned the wraparound porch where she used to spend hours reading with her mother on Sunday afternoon.

Nearing the wolves, she shoved the thoughts of her family aside, and she called the guards forward. “Come on, boys. Let’s play.”

Both men exchanged a look before the shorter one said, “It’s you.”

“You know,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’m getting really sick of hearing that.” The moment the words passed her lips, the wolves shifted, and as they lunged forward, so did she.

When the first wolf reached her, she plowed her thumbs deep into his eyes sockets, and he dropped like dead weight near the porch steps. His howls cut through the silent night, and Nexi turned to the other wolf.

He came at her with teeth snarling and spit flying everywhere. As he flew through the air, he shifted into his human form. Nexi gasped as they collided, which turned into a groan as her back scrapped against the paved walkway.

The man jumped off, threw a punch, but she blocked his move and slammed her fist into his gut, followed up by a hard knee to his groin. He dropped to the ground, his hands bracing himself. “F-f-f*ck.”

Men always had a disadvantage.

Without hesitation, she reached for her sword, then slammed the blade deep into his heart. Blood pooled from the wound as the man gargled. With a quick twist of her sword, the man went silent and she withdrew her blade.

A low whimper had her twirling around, and she discovered the other wolf, rubbing his paws over his bleeding eyes. While she always was an animal lover and seeing such a sight probably would have upset her before, this was no furry sweetheart. These werewolves were damned.

Once she reached him, she plunged her sword deep into his chest, then pulled it out just as fast. Surely, anyone in or around the house had heard the commotion she’d caused, but no one came out to join her.

She hesitated, listening hard, and she heard voices carrying on from the backyard. Keeping her sword tight in her hand, she strode around the side of the house when suddenly she realized she wasn’t alone.

A ridiculously large werewolf waited near the raspberry bushes with a crowbar in his hands. Raspberry bushes that she planted with her father—bushes that wolf shouldn’t be anywhere near. Before she had a chance to step forward to ensure he realized his mistake in coming to her house, he ran at her yelling like some beast out of the Amazon. She couldn’t withhold her snort of laughter. “What’s this, the Hulk?”

The man attempted to swing the bar at her head, but she slipped under his arm and positioned herself behind him. Kyden had been right—this was a vulnerable position for the werewolf to find himself in.

Raising her sword, she turned sideways, then she shoved her blade straight through his back and twisted. The Hulk went down with a heavy thud, dead as a doornail.

Without a hitch to her step, she yanked her sword from his back and continued on, walking around the side of the house. In a few short steps, she rounded the corner to enter the backyard. She inhaled the scent of rich, lush flowers from the garden that had been her mother’s passion, when suddenly her boots slipped on the grass.

Bending down, she ran her finger along it, and noticed the ground was drenched with blood. A long path of shiny, dark liquid trailed ahead. She hurried forward, following the path of red, when a soft whimper drew her gaze up.

She spotted the figure chained to the tree, and her heart sank.

Forgetting everything around her, she rushed to Kyden’s side, and dropped to her knees in front of him. The bloody grass below soaked her legs. Raising her hand, she instantly brought it back to her lap, her throat tightening. Her chest hurt with a pain she could barely endure, as tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn’t even want to touch him, not wanting to cause him more pain, and the ghastly scene stole the warmth from her veins.

Metal chains held Kyden caged to the tall oak tree—a tree Nexi used to sit under to watch her mother garden. Now, perversely, he was bound to the tree by his wrists so that he hung limply.

She scanned him from head to toe, and the almost unrecognizable sight of him sickened her. She tried to deny the horrendous truth staring her dead in the face. He’d been beaten so badly, with two large gashes cut deep into his stomach and hundreds of lashes spread over his body. His skin wasn’t its normal tanned color, but was mottled with the dark red of his blood.

“Oh, god…” she breathed.

Kyden lifted his face, but his eyes were swollen shut, black and blue. “N…e…xi,” he moaned.

“Yes, Kyden.” She reached out for him again, but even his legs had so many cuts on them she suspected that if she touched him, he’d scream out in agony. “I’m here.” Doing the only thing she could do, she rubbed a toe.

Seeing someone die horrified her, but this…was worse.

Kyden suffered. He’d endured such pain that the guardian who had been so strong looked as if he’d beg for his death.

A sob broke free from her throat in the same moment a sudden tsk came over her shoulder, cutting through the silence around her. “All alone, Nexi. Didn’t the Council train you better than that?”

The low, smooth tones of the voice radiated danger, but now she wasn’t afraid. As she stared at Kyden’s beaten face, fury burned in her blood, making it difficult to breath. Her emotions were raw and vengeance, finally, was hers for the taking.

Pushing herself off the grass, she noticed her hands and legs were covered in Kyden’s blood. Once on her feet, she slid her sword into her scabbard. She craved to pummel Lazarus into a fine pulp, not give him any easy death.

She backed away from Kyden, keeping her focus on the dark, cruel eyes set in a thin pale face. “You’ve taken everyone I’ve ever loved. Of course, I’d come.”

Lazarus slithered by and kicked Kyden in the leg as he passed, eliciting a deep, pained moan. “I planned on making Talon an offer he couldn’t refuse.” Lazarus glanced at her with an arched brow. “His son for you. Now it looks as if this one is no longer needed.”

Her muscles tightened, as she continued to put distance between her and Kyden, anger pulsating in her veins. “Don’t touch him.” Her voice did not even sound like her own, it was so consumed with abhorrence.

Lazarus matched her steps, moving into the center of the yard. His grin was nearly as wicked as the evil in his eyes. “Ah, what will you do to stop me?”

Hatred for him burst through her veins. “Let’s find out.”

Charging forward with all the strength she had, she landed a right hook to his jaw. His head whipped to the side, but as she’d expected, he recovered instantly. Angered, he reciprocated with a lightning-quick blow to her shoulder, sending her flying across the yard.

She crashed into a tree trunk and cried out as her bare back scrapped against the bark, but she fought the pain. “What are you after?”

Lazarus ran a hand over his dark hair, as he continued to circle her. “It’s time to bring the darkness out of the shadows.”

Nexi rose to her feet, ignoring the ache of her back, unsure of his cryptic statement. But only one truth mattered. “The Council will never allow you to succeed. You failed before. You will fail again.”

A slow smile spread over his sleazy face. “That was then, and this is now. Your powers will fulfill my destiny to lead the vampires in a new world. One where we don’t kneel at humans’ feet—but they kneel at ours.”

Nexi glared at him in disgust. Her fists tightened and profound revulsion filled her as he continued, “With what your blood will give me, the Council will be left with little choice other than to comply with my demands, or they shall all die.”

Perhaps she hadn’t allowed herself to believe that all of this was because he desired the power in her blood, because right now she wanted to gut this vampire for his stupidity. All the deaths up to this moment, and even Kyden’s broken condition, were for nothing.

Somehow what she would say next was the sweetest revenge. Lazarus had spent all this time anticipating this moment. He’d gone to unthinkable measures for power. And she was about to send his entire plan crashing down around him.

“Prepare yourself for bad news.” At his slow tilt of his head and inquisitive look, she added, “I don’t have any magic.”

One second he stood a few feet away and the next his hand was wrapped around her neck. He had her pinned up against the tree trunk, her feet dangling. Her body heated as the air oddly seemed to increase around her.

“Are you lying to me?” He almost cooed the words at her, as though luring a kitten.

“No,” she managed.

His cruel eyes diminished as darkness swept across her vision, then he released her and her butt hit the ground with a heavy thud. Her head pounded and she struggled to her feet, only to have him grab her throat again, lifting her inches off the ground.

Rage stormed in the pinpoints of his eyes and his grip tightened. “You’re a lying little bitch,” he screamed into her face. “All witches have powers.”

“Not…this…one…”