34. Steff

THIRTY-FOUR

STEFF

The exterior guards went down easily. They never even heard us approach. Blayne's panther took most of them out in complete silence. Instead of going through one of the exterior doors, Tate shifted and flew both Blayne and me up to the roof. He'd seen a door hatch and ladder there that we all thought looked like a quiet way to sneak in.

I lifted the hatch and glanced inside. I could see a few patches of light, but most of the building was shrouded in darkness. Exactly what we needed. I sniffed the air and caught April's scent. She was definitely there. I forced myself to stay calm and not rush in.

Tate patted my shoulder and whispered, "You ready?"

I nodded tightly. "Let's do this."

We climbed down the ladder, and I could hear someone talking in the distance. Even with my enhanced hearing, I couldn't make out what was being said, but I did recognize the voice. Ryland. I bared my teeth to the darkness and finished my climb. The three of us spread out into the shadows. I crept along a row of empty shelves, getting closer to the biggest patch of light.

The scent of blood hit me, and I hurried along, desperate to set eyes on April. At the end of one row, I found a spot that gave me a full view. There was a corpse lying off to the side. Ryland stood over April, and as much as I wanted to rip his throat out, I stayed put. The information I could get from listening could be more important than my vengeance.

I sat down on my haunches and took in everything he said. It became clear that the hunters were some sort of brainwashed cult. That wasn't the typical MO of hunter groups. They were usually people who'd been wronged by a shifter in some way. Usually a feral shifter had killed a family member or loved one. This was new and more disturbing. Religion was a great motivator. It sounded like they were being run by some big money douchebag.

Our plan was to watch until they moved April. Once they were out in the open, we were going to take them down and get more answers. It was a good plan. But that plan went to hell the moment Ryland slapped April. Anger exploded inside of me, and the bear took over. My body morphed and changed automatically. A roar ripped out of my throat, echoing across the warehouse, and I charged out of the shadows straight at him.

Ryland had time to turn and see me before I swung one of my massive paws and caught him in the chest. I sent him flying across the room, and he slammed into one of the metal shelves. He landed with a grunt on a pile of rotten cardboard boxes.

I'd hoped he'd get knocked out by the fall, but he was already groaning and trying to get up. Making sure I blocked April with my body, I hunched and bared my teeth at him as he stood. Ryland stumbled through the boxes, holding a hand to the back of his head. The fingers came away red with blood. He grimaced and wiped his hand on his jeans.

"I'm going to enjoy skinning you, Steff. In fact, I plan on making a nice, lush rug out of your hide. I'll put it on my bedroom floor. I'll tell my kids about how I killed and skinned a monster. And every few months, I'll lay my new wife April down on it and fuck her brains out."

The thought of him touching April filled me with a rage I didn't know I had. The rage inside me was multiplied by what my bear felt. I roared at Ryland, strings of spittle flying off my massive teeth, and my eyes glowed with blazing light. Ryland's mask of calm derision faded, and the fear shone through.

Beyond us, I heard gunshots and screams. Ryland turned and glanced behind him. The echoes of Blayne and Tate taking down the rest of the hunters sounded like a warzone. I had nothing to worry about from the rest of Ryland's crew. This would be him and me. A fight to the finish.

Ryland waved a hand at me. "Get rid of that abomination. Be a man and face me like one. Or whatever semblance of humanity you can muster."

Without hesitation, I shifted back to human form. I didn't fear anything Ryland could do to me. Even without my bear form, he was no match for me. I took a single step toward Ryland, but he shoved a hand into his back pocket and pulled a small metal box out and held it up. I stopped in my tracks.

"Stay right there, asshole," Ryland called, a smile reappearing on his lips. "You move one more step, and I blow the whole fucking place."

April gasped behind me. I glanced back at her and saw horror on her face. She looked at me and shook her head. "He's serious, Steff. They wired the place with explosives. It was part of the plan to kill you all."

Slowly, I swung my head back to Ryland. His thumb sat on top of a small blinking red button. All he had to do was press it. I couldn't see how I could get to him before he detonated it.

"I don't fear death," Ryland said, a smug smile plastered on his face. "I know that what I do is in service of God. If I die, I'll walk through the gate of Heaven as a warrior hero. I'll sit at the right hand of the Lord with my brothers for eternity. All while you filthy beasts roast in the fiery pits of Hell. Sometimes, the price for fighting evil is a life. Even my own."

"Tate. Blayne. Get the hell out of here," I screamed, hoping they might have the time to get clear.

"No," Ryland snarled, shaking the box at me. "Tell them to come out, or I blow it right now."

They didn't have time. They wouldn't get free before he hit the button. If we could keep Ryland talking, there might be an opening. We might have a chance. One percent was better than zero. I gritted my teeth. "Guys. The place is rigged to blow. Come on out. Come here or we all die."

My voice echoed through the dark warehouse. After a moment of silence, both Tate and Blayne stepped out of the shadows. I could see the wary looks in their eyes, but they glared at Ryland as they stepped up next to me.

"Did you kill all my men?" Ryland asked.

Tate shook his head. "We aren't cold-blooded murderers like some people. They'll all have some pretty severe headaches when they wake up." He shrugged. "Some broken bones, but they'll be fine."

"Morals don't matter when you're damned to Hell for existing."

I had to fight not to roll my eyes. This guy was deep down the rabbit hole. I wondered what it took for someone to get this crazy, this driven. Something had to have happened to cause the guy to crack like this. That, or he was mentally weak and whoever this leader was had twisted Ryland into this weapon.

Ryland frowned. "Where's the fourth one? The wolf?"

"Not here," Blayne said.

"Shit," Ryland kicked a box in anger. "No matter. The boss will find a way to finish him off." He pointed at Tate. "He'll be upset if I take you out, Mr. Mills. Very upset indeed. The very last Alpha dragon in North America."

Tate stiffened, and Ryland grinned, seeing his reaction. "Oh, yes. That's right. He's been busy. He likes taking down the dragons himself. It seems you didn't realize there were so few of you left. This new iteration of the hunter brotherhood started with dragons. My leader had a beautiful, loving wife. A dragon Alpha corrupted her. Poisoned her mind into thinking she wanted to lie with a beast. Forced her to leave her husband, forced her to spread her legs for him. He filled her with his putrid seed. So, we wiped them all out. The wife, too. For her betrayal."

Tate stared at him but didn't react. His jaw was set, fists clenched, but other than that, he showed no emotion. That seemed to piss Ryland off more.

"Did you hear what I said? I've killed your kind. Butchered them like cattle. You have nothing to say to that?" Getting no response, he turned to Blayne next. "And you? One of the few panther shifters left in the whole world. It must burn to be so alone. Would you like me to tell you how many I've killed with my own hands?"

Blayne crossed his arms and glared back at him. Ryland looked frantic. He kept talking, throwing insults at us, telling us all the awful things he'd done to shifters and the few people who protected our kind. I saw what he was doing. He wanted us angry, wanted us to attack. For all his bravado about not being afraid to die, he didn't have the guts to push the button. Not without fear fueling him. He wanted us to attack to give him a reason to end his own life. It looked like he was both psychotic and a coward.

He was so consumed with trying to goad us into a fight that he had totally forgotten April. I watched her inching toward a massive breaker panel behind us. I could barely see her silhouette moving in the periphery of my vision. I didn't know what her plan was, but I hoped to fuck she'd seen a way to escape. If I had to die, that was fine, as long as she made it out alive.

Then I heard her speak. April whispered so low that only a shifter could hear. "I'm going to shut the power off. Before he pushes the button. It might give you a chance."

Tate and Blayne tilted their heads, letting me know they'd heard. We had to keep Ryland busy and preoccupied to give her enough time to get to the panel. We only had one chance for this to work.

"Okay, Ryland," I said. "You keep talking about this big boss man. Who is he?"

Almost like a flip had been switched, Ryland's face broke into a smile. "He is a great man. A visionary, a genius, a warrior of God. The Lord has blessed him with many gifts. He owns businesses all over the country. He has billions of dollars to invest in the cause. One of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the country."

"Who is he, then? What's his name?"

"His name? We only call him the Master. Nothing more."

I sighed in frustration. "If he's that rich and famous, then you must know his name."

Ryland shook his head. "The name he uses in public is the name his earthly parents gave him. God revealed his true name. I'm not worthy to utter that name to filth such as you."

This guy was not going to give me the information I wanted. That was obvious. April was still inching closer to the panel. Ryland must have seen a bit of movement, because his eyes flicked in her direction. Panicked, I tried to get him to focus on us again.

"What evidence do you have on us? You said if anything happened to you, the cops would find out that we'd killed all the people you and your hunters killed. What evidence do you have on us?"

His eyes refocused on me. "Oh, that? I have a whole file. It's in my office at home in a hidden safe in the basement. The cops searched my house, but they never found that stash. It's got doctored photos, fake text records—I even fabricated emails from Steff to the rest of you about how he was going to kidnap, rape, and murder April. All of it was done perfectly. A billion dollars can make any evidence look legitimate. If I die, the other hunters know to retrieve it and release it to the press. So you see, even though your friend Miles isn't here, he's done one way or another. Either we get him, or the cops get him."

Tate surprised me by pulling his cell phone out of his front pocket. He held it up and grinned. "Did you get all that, Miles?"

My eyes widened when my friend's voice came through the phone's speaker. "Got it. On the way to the house now. I should have those files in less than thirty minutes."

Ryland's jaw fell open. "What? No. No, goddamn it."

Before any of us knew what was happening, April slammed the massive breaker off. The warehouse descended into pitch black. Ryland gasped. Our night vision gave us the upper hand. Ryland was startled and glanced around for an instant, trying to figure out what had happened. It was the opening we needed. Blayne shifted, and in one massive twenty-foot leap, he sprung at Ryland. His panther jaws clamped onto Ryland's wrist. Blayne bit down with all the strength of his powerful jaws. There was a crackling sound that reverberated through the warehouse. The box flew from Ryland's fingers and a howl of agony erupted from the hunter's throat.

I sprinted to the man. Death and vengeance the only thing on my mind. Ryland fell to his knees, cradling his mangled hand to his chest. He swept his hand across the floor, looking for the detonator. The moment his fingers brushed it, Tate's taloned claws snatched it from the floor and his dragon flew deeper into the warehouse, carrying it away. Ryland bellowed in rage.

Ryland was seething when I stood above him. April hit the breaker and flooded the room with light again. The hunter flinched, seeing me towering above him. He smiled grimly. "When… when one head is severed, another will take its place."

The man couldn't be allowed to live. It was something I'd come to terms with days ago. Now that the moment had come, I was surprised that I felt no hesitation, no qualms about it. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" I asked.

Ryland struggled to his feet. His hand hung limply, almost totally severed by Blayne's jaws. Blood spurted onto his shirt. He shook his head. "Even in death, another is already on his way. Where I failed, another will succeed."

The look of conviction on his face, the lack of regret or empathy toward the ones he'd killed, was all that I needed. I screamed, bellowing a call of retribution and justice as I swung my arm toward his chest. Allowing my arm to shift, I slammed the massive grizzly paw and claws into Ryland's torso. The claws pierced his body, and the power of the swing shattered his ribs and sent him flying into the cinderblock wall behind him.

He hit the wall, cracking it and sliding to the ground. The look of surprise on his face would have made me laugh if it hadn't been so awful. Ryland lay in a broken bloody heap on the floor. He somehow still had the strength to look up at me and smile. He actually smiled through the agony of death. Blood poured from his lips as he spoke his last words. "Mark… your days… they… are your… last." Without another word, his head slumped to the side, and he gazed at me with cold, lifeless eyes.

I didn't take the time to contemplate what I'd done. I left his body lying there and ran to April. She was on her knees, crying and hugging herself. I scooped her up and began to run. Blayne jogged behind me. We sprinted back toward the truck, and Tate flew above us, landing and shifting in the parking lot where we'd left the vehicle.

Tate held up the box. "Now?"

I nodded. "The other hunters? Are they still in there?"

He shook his head. "I flew over and it looked like they all came to and got the hell out of dodge."

Blayne said. "Even if not, some people are too dangerous to be left alive."

I nodded at Tate. He clicked the button on top of the box. A half-second later, the night was ripped apart by the explosion. A mushroom cloud of fire and smoke rose into the air where the warehouse had been seconds before.

"Holy shit," Blayne said. "Overkill much? That were enough explosives to blow a building three times that size."

"Steff, oh, God." April was gripping and yanking on my shirt. "Kellan. Ryland blackmailed him. Made him help the hunters. Ryland was going to kill Aiden if he didn't help." She buried her face in my chest and sobbed.

I ran my fingers through her hair. "I know. I know. Kellan told me."

Her head jerked up, and she looked at me in surprise. "What do you mean? He's dead, Steff." Her face crumpled into tears again. "My brother is dead. When did he tell you?"

"He's not dead. At least, he wasn't when the ambulance took him. We found the van and got him help. All he cared about was keeping you safe. He told us about the watch. That's how we found you so fast."

She looked at me, her face frozen in disbelief. When she saw that I was telling the truth, the relief on her face was like nothing I'd seen before. She collapsed against me. This time the sobs were of comfort and happiness instead of sadness and terror. In the distance, the first siren wails were audible. I nodded to Tate and Blayne, and without speaking, we all climbed into the truck and headed back to Lilly Valley.