Chapter 37
Heading with Heath over to the community meeting room where the enforcers and volunteers were waiting, Tristan’s mind went back to Oracle and the gift the goddess of the moon supposedly gave him. It was hard to believe such a thing existed, especially since his mother never brought it up in her lessons about shifters. Stopping suddenly, he looked at Heath and asked, “Do you know anything about gifts shifters can get from the gods?”
“Just what I learned from my parents…why?”
“So, they are real?”
“Uh…I guess so, though I never met anyone who was blessed with one of their gifts”
“How can you tell? Is there a sign, like they get a tattoo…or…I don’t know…like they glow or something?”
Bursting out in laughter, Heath said, “Is that what your mother told you?”
“No…that’s why I’m asking you,” Tristan growled.
Clamping his mouth shut, Heath stared at Tristan, surprised at his tone. “Oh shit…you’re serious.”
“Of course, I am.”
“Right…well, as far as I can remember, there aren’t any outward signs a shifter has gotten a gift,” Heath replied. “But I may be wrong since I usually only listened with half an ear. I think my lack of attention was the first clue my father had that I wasn’t cut out to follow in his footsteps.” Then seeing the disappointment on Tristan’s face, he said, “If you want, I can ask my father when I ca ll him. Is there a particular gift you want to know about?”
The last thing Tristan wanted was for his mate’s father to learn how ignorant he was about shifters and gifts. He’d just have to figure it out himself. Giving his mate a quick smile, he said, “Nah, that’s okay…it’s not important.” Walking away, Tristan chastised himself for bringing up the subject and hoped Heath would let it drop.
His mate had just lied to him and Heath couldn’t figure out why. Slowly following Tristan, he went over the conversation in his mind, trying to pinpoint what was so odd about it. Every shifter knew about the rare gifts the gods and goddess could give to someone who was particularly worthy of receiving them, but… No. Fucking. Way! Hurrying to catch up to his mate, Heath called out, “What did you get?”
Tristan stopped and quickly glanced around, relieved that no one was nearby. Then, turning to his mate, he murmured, “Will you keep your fucking voice down?”
“Tell me…what gift did the gods give you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I mean,” Heath said. “Why won’t you answer my question? Why are you hiding your gift from me…your mate?”
After glaring at Heath for several moments, Tristan realized his mate wasn’t going to let it go. Sighing, he shifted his gaze to the woods surrounding the pack buildings. Any thoughts he might have had that Oracle was part of a prank had disappeared when Heath confirmed the existence of gifts, but he still didn’t know if his was one of them. Deciding there was only one way to find out if it was an actual gift, he looked back at Heath and muttered, “Absolute Courage.”
Stunned, Heath just stood there, staring at Tristan. He suddenly remembered his father saying that of all the gifts the gods could give, it was one of the rarest. Shaking his head, he said, “You’re joking.”
Raising an eyebrow, Tristan asked, “Does it sound as if I’m joking?”
“No…but…really…are you sure?”
Rolling his eyes, Tristan muttered, “How the hell do I know?”
“Oh…OH, so that’s why you asked about…”
“Yes…an oracle told me some fanciful tale about the Fates demanding the goddess of the moon give a gift to the ‘Chosen One’…which, as it turns out, is apparently me…at least according to the oracle.”
“Holy. Fucking. Shit!” Heath muttered, staring at his mate in awe. “I can’t believe…”
“Neither do I,” scoffed Tristan. “Absolute Courage…what bullshit.”
Shaking his head slowly, Heath murmured, “Don’t say that.”
“Why? Isn’t it what you were going to say.”
“No, you’re wrong,” Heath replied. “Absolute Courage is one of the rarest gifts shifters can receive because it bestows unlimited power on them. And in the wrong hands, it can be a weapon of destruction.”
“How? Oracle told me I can only remove courage from someone who poses an immediate threat to me. ”
“That’s true, but I bet there were no restrictions on giving courage to someone.”
Tristan thought for a moment, before saying, “None that I can recall.”
“So…that would mean you could…what?”
“I don’t know,” snapped Tristan, now confused.
Heath looked intently at his frustrated mate before saying, “Courage helps to override fear, but too much courage can become a drug, triggering recklessness that can prevent rational thought about a situation. So it could give you the power to build an undefeatable army that would not only fight in the face of great odds, but even when faced with certain death. Think about it, Tris…an army with so much courage they would do anything you ask—even if it meant killing those they loved—just to get more of the high the drug of excess courage gives them.”
Appalled at the imagery his mate had painted, Tristan said, so softly his voice was barely above a whisper, “No…you’re wrong…that’s not courage, not at all.”
“Really? Then what is it?”
“Courage is putting yourself between danger and others who can’t protect themselves…it’s thinking of others before you think of yourself…it’s laying your life on the line to save another…that’s what courage means to me. Not a tool to be used against people but to be used for them.”
Nodding slowly, Heath smiled at his mate. “And that’s why the goddess of the moon gave you this gift. She knew you would use it for good…not to give yourself power but to give power to those who lack it…to give stre ngth to the weak…to give faith to those who need it most.
“The bestowing of this gift on you shows the trust the goddess has in you and now I understand why your pack has been so quick to support and accept you as their new Alpha. Their wolves could sense her approval and because of that, they bonded quickly with your wolf. Those ties that bind your pack to you are strong and unbreakable. And that’s why so many of your members refused to leave, but instead, willingly risked their lives to stand by your side.”
“I didn’t want them to do that,” protested Tristan. “I don’t want anyone to die for me.”
“I know that, Tris, but to them, it’s an honor to fight for their Alpha…the one who cares so much for them he’s willing to die for them. It’s been a long time since this pack had an Alpha they could look up to and who put them first.” Grasping his mate’s shoulders, Heath murmured, “I haven’t met anyone who’s more worthy of this gift than you…and I’m truly humbled to be your mate.”
So touched was he by Heath’s declaration, Tristan could only stand there in silence. Any doubts he may have had that his mate really felt that way were erased by the love shining in Heath’s eyes. A love so bright and pure that it filled the many cracks in his heart that had formed when his mother died. Leaning forward until their lips touched, Tristan whispered, “Thank you, my love.” Then, he kissed Heath, lightly at first but soon the need for more had him increasing its intensity until everything faded away and there were only the two of them in their own private world.
~/~/~/~/ ~
Standing in the shadows, Bruno studied four of the surrounding buildings overlooking the location of the meeting Rudy had set up with Yuri. Quickly eliminating three of them as unsuitable, he settled on the fourth which had a clear view of the street corner. It wasn’t as high as he’d have liked, but it would do.
Leaving the alleyway, Bruno pulled his hood forward, concealing as much of his face he could from any security cameras humans liked to used. Little did they know how useless they were against the likes of shifters. In a split second, he could shift and tear out the throat of any human who dared to challenge him and by the time someone noticed the corpse lying in the street, he’d be long gone.
Grinning to himself at the thought of a taste of Yuri’s blood on his tongue, Bruno hesitated for a moment, then decided it wasn’t worth the risk of pissing Rudy off. Ignoring the urge, he walked down the alleyway leading to the back of the building he’d selected. Gripping his equipment case tightly, he stayed in the shadows while surveying the area. When he was satisfied that it was deserted, he hurried to the backdoor and grabbed the locked doorknob. Using his shifter strength, he twisted it until it gave way, allowing him to open the door, slip inside, and flick off the night lights in the staircase leading up to the roof.
The darkness didn’t faze him; his wolf vision would spot anyone coming down the stairs and his keen sense of hearing would pick up their footsteps. A sudden whiff of rotting garbage and stale urine spurred him on to begin his ascent.
It took Bruno a good fifteen minutes before he reached the last step, but at least the five flights of stairs had been deserted. Opening the door, he took a deep breath, glad to be rid of the lingering smell of days-old piss. He paused for a moment, his eyes scanning the roof top, but when he found it deserted, he stepped onto it.
Walking over to the middle of the roof, he crouched down and made his way to a spot that gave him a clean line of sight to his intended target. Once there, Bruno raised his head slightly and peered over the edge of the roof, grunting with satisfaction. It was perfect. Rolling to his side, he clicked open his case and slowly removed the different parts of his rifle, assembling them quickly before resting his weapon on its bipod to stabilize it. Then, rolling onto his belly, he positioned the gun to give himself a clear shot at Yuri. Satisfied, Bruno stretched out and slowed his breathing before placing his cheek against the gun stock and looking through the scope. Now it was just a matter of time until his prey arrived. He was ready.
~/~/~/~/~
It was a whistle that first penetrated the sexual haze Tristan was in after Heath’s tongue had taken possession of his mouth, but he ignored it, too aroused to stop. Only when the catcalls became insistent, along with a voice asking if they should come back later, did he finally, and reluctantly, pull back. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Remy and a large number of shifters standing in front of him and Heath. Dropping his arms, he took a step back. “Uhm…Remy…this is unexpected.”
Smirking, Remy glanced at Heath before turning his eyes back to Tristan. “Sorry for the interruption. Jackson sent some of his enforcers to help you take down Rudy and his men. He also wants you to know Frank has been found and is safe. ”
Surprised, Tristan glanced at the men, spying a face he knew. “Groose, good to see you.”
Tilting his head, Groose said, “You, too, Alpha.”
Turning back to Remy, Tristan said, “Give my thanks to Jackson, please.”
“I will,” Remy said and then, giving Tristan and Heath a knowing smile, he vanished.
Tristan’s cheeks grew rosy with embarrassment and knew he was in for a lot of teasing when he saw Jackson next time. Pushing aside that thought, he said to Groose, “My enforcers and the pack members who volunteered to stay and fight are waiting for me in the community meeting room to go over my plan. Since I didn’t know Jackson was sending you, I’m afraid it doesn’t include you. But we can talk afterward and figure out the best place for you and your men.”
“The Alpha has made it clear we are to follow your orders,” Groose replied.
“I appreciate that, but I also know you have plenty of experience in battle whereas I don’t, so I welcome your input and ideas. My goal is to capture Rudy and his men while ensuring my pack members and enforcers remain safe.”
Titling his head, Groose replied, “It will be our honor to assist you, Alpha.” Then giving a signal to his men, they fell back, creating a pathway for Tristan and Heath. “After you, sir.”
~/~/~/~/~
Bruno had no warning except for the hair rising on the back of his neck that he was no longer alone on the roof. Whoever was now walking toward him, had certainly been well trained in stealth approaches—and he should know, since it was that kind of training that made him so valuable to Rudy. His military record attested to his excellence; he’d had no casualties in his unit despite the many dangerous missions assigned to him. But now, it looked like his luck was running out.
When Bruno didn’t turn around, Yuri said, “I knew I couldn’t trust that piece of shit.”
Finally taking his eye off the scope, Bruno glanced over his shoulder at the man pointing a gun at him. Quickly sizing up Yuri, he saw the slight shake of his hand holding the weapon and the fear on his face. While the man had been able sneak up on him, Bruno knew Yuri wasn’t trained to be a killer. Quickly sorting through his options, he held his hands up and rolled onto his back, noting that Yuri had lowered his weapon slightly. “What do you want from me?” he asked.
“The money I was promised,” Yuri replied. “I did my part and now I want my payment as Rudy promised.”
Nodding, Bruno said, “I hear you, man. I don’t have it, but I can take you to Rudy…he has it.”
“No…you call him and tell him if I don’t get the money in the next hour, I’m gonna kill you and then send proof of what he did to the Council.”
“Hey…that’s not gonna help you,” Bruno said. “They’ll come after you if you do that.”
“No, they won’t,” Yuri smirked. “I’ve made sure of that.”
“How didja do that?”
“Fuck off…now call him,” Yuri growled.
“Okay…okay. I gotta get my phone,” Bruno said, pointing to his jacket with his right hand .
“Go ahead, but don’t try any funny stuff,” Yuri snapped, waving his gun around.
“I won’t.” Slowly reaching beneath the left side of his jacket, Bruno’s fingers closed around what he sought. Then keeping his movements slow, he removed his hand which now held a Luger, pointed it at Yuri and pulled the trigger. “You fucking piece of shit,” he muttered.
The first bullet hit Yuri in the left arm and it took him a moment to realize what was happening. Crying out in pain, he raised his gun and fired off a shot until Bruno’s next bullet found the center of his forehead, killing him.
It wasn’t the way Rudy may have wanted it done, but in the end it wouldn’t matter, Yuri was dead and no longer a threat to any of them. Sitting up, Bruno looked around to make sure there weren’t any witnesses. Satisfied, he turned back to his rifle and that’s when a wave of dizziness hit him. Grabbing his head, he groaned when a trickle of warm blood ran down between his fingers. The fucker had gotten lucky.
Then everything went black.