66. Tanner

My smile brimmed with grim satisfaction as I surveyed the carnage. Blood, bodies, and a few severed limbs. The makeshift fight rings Carlos's men had erected were slippery with gore. Once we removed all the bodies, we'd burn the fight rings to remove DNA evidence.

If I had my way, the whole place would soon be a raging inferno, but Rufus was reluctant to do that because it would likely attract too much attention. Right now, it was merely a spooky landmark, notable only for the fact the local kids sometimes broke in during warmer weather. If it burned down, the cops would soon be all over the place, which none of us wanted.

Lily, Jessa, and the two other shifter females were safe, on their way back to the pack house with Rufus and the Misty Falls Alpha. The rest of us were busy cleaning up the trash. And by trash, I meant Carlos's guards and any other idiot who thought it was a good idea to fight back against us.

We'd taken them all by surprise. The guards at the exit had run the moment we shifted, most of them not even bothering to fire their weapons. Those that fought back didn't last long.

Once we got inside the old winery, all hell broke loose. Humans fled like rabbits, inadvertently triggering our powerful prey response. Not gonna lie. Some of them died because they were too stupid to stop running.

Frankly, I had no sympathy for the idiots. If they were happy to pay money to watch kids get beaten up by grown-ass men, they deserved it.

It didn't take long for most of Carlos's men to surrender. The few that didn't, died. The guards still alive were in a locked room, all tied up and waiting to be moved. I wasn't about to murder men in cold blood.

Rufus knew a guy who worked for the FBI. He was on his way with a team to assist with the mess, off the books. The guy was a shifter. He understood the circumstances and had promised to deal with all the assholes we'd found.

He mentioned something about a drugs bust in the works, where a load of extra suspects wouldn't look amiss if found at the scene, all wrapped up tidily like cute little Christmas gifts. The fact they'd be mixed in with a bunch of cartel members would be enough to see them thrown into prison for a while.

I'd been here long enough. Most of the guys who'd come with us were preparing to leave. In truth, there was nothing stopping me from doing the same. Rufus had things all sorted. He'd told me to go already, but as much as I wanted to see Eva, part of me was worried she'd blame me for everything.

We hadn't spoken since the Full Moon Party, when I'd stupidly stormed off in a rage. I knew deep down she didn't think I was a murderer. Not the kind of guy who killed his girlfriend in a fit of rage, anyway.

Both Silas and Cole had encouraged me to make things right, to talk to her like an adult, but I was no good at expressing my feelings. Never had been. I preferred actions, not words. The thought of seeing Eva, feeling her hurt, slayed me.

At least she had Cole and Silas to protect her. They were far better mates than me.

My phone buzzed.

Cole: Eva's asking for you. How long are you going to be?

I stared at the screen for a few minutes.

"Get back, son. Your mate needs you," Rufus said. He clapped his hand on my shoulder. "She's been through a lot. You all have."

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right.

Me: On my way.

Me: Is she OK?

Cole: Yes.

Listening to Rufus went against the grain, but for once I did as he suggested.

A small hurricane flew at me the moment I stepped inside the pack house.

"Tanner!" Lily shrieked like a banshee. I'd seen her when we stormed into the winery, but Rufus reached her first and spirited her and the other females away as quickly as possible, so they didn't have to witness all the bloodshed. Not that Lily would have cared. For a 16-year-old, she was surprisingly vicious.

"Hey, short-stuff, are you happy to be home?"

From the scowl, I judged not, but I could understand why. She'd always been a wild child, which was why she clashed so hard with her father. Hamish was overprotective and believed females should be seen and not heard. Not surprisingly, Lily had never been that kind of docile female. And never would be.

"I have a plan!" She bounced up and down on the spot, completely unaffected by her kidnapping ordeal.

"Yeah?"

"A shifter fight club, where we can take part in legit fights against other shifters and humans."

It wasn't a bad idea.

"Females too!" she continued.

"Hmm, not sure Hamish will go for that," I warned her.

"Dad can do—"

"Lily!" Cilla didn't look happy. "Leave Tanner be. He wants to see Eva, not be pestered by you!"

Lily looked remorseful for a few beats, then grinned. "Eva's cool. She saved me."

"She did?" My eyebrows shot up.

Her eyes narrowed. "She's stronger than you think."

"I know," I replied. Pride swept through me. My mate might be human, but she was a fucking lioness.

"Lily, now!" The small female grumbled but allowed Cilla to pull her away, leaving me standing at the bottom of the wide staircase. There was nothing stopping me from heading up there to see Eva now. I gritted my teeth and took the first step.

If she forgave me for being a stupid male, I'd tell her everything about Jessie-Lynn and then beg for forgiveness. And if she couldn't, well, I'd spend the rest of my long life trying to make amends.