36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

T he tracks led Cain to the woods near the hotel. He didn't stop to think as his beast crossed the road and stalked through the packed car park, bigger than any car parked there. Rage blinded him. There was nothing but red in his vision, nothing but bloodshed on his mind.

The sun had set, but anyone leaving the hotel would see him. Cain was too big to be mistaken for the wolves that roamed the forest. But none of that shit mattered anymore. They had his mate. They had Layla, and they would all pay for that.

He approached the hidden side door and sniffed again. The scent of dead Hunter's blood lingered in the air, but they had cleaned everything up. Before or after any human saw them, he couldn't be sure. Hunters were very good at hiding their activities and getting rid of witnesses. Humans would never know just by looking at the pavement that something happened there that morning. The lack of police vehicles suggested a cover-up by both the Hunters and his security team.

Cain's growl rumbled through the quiet car park as he lifted his head and looked at the hotel. Traitors. Fucking traitors. He would deal with all of them, too, the second he got his mate back.

Even though the bond was intact, he couldn't sense Layla anywhere near him. Like his bond with Faith and the scouts. They'd taken her inside but had already moved her. Still, he needed to go in and check. He had to find any clues about the direction the Hunters took. His team back at the packhouse could follow the Hunter trucks on the traffic cameras.

He shifted to open the hidden panel and walked in once the door opened. There were no other scents in the room, so they hadn't yet found his secret access to the hotel. But they knew it was there; it was only a matter of time until they found everything. Confirming a werewolf hideout was a big thing for the Hunters. They'd be back to do the job properly. His guess was they'd left in a hurry after grabbing Layla.

Another growl ripped through him as he rushed to the stairs and headed down to the underground parking lot. The almost non-existent scent of the Hunters hit him the moment he opened the door, but he'd already known they were long gone. Their trucks were gone and nothing looked out of the ordinary. No other cars parked there as if they planned it that way with Ambrose.

Just thinking that name made him slam his palm against the security panel to shut the door again before he started going back up the stairs, two at a time. Rage still held him, controlling his every thought as the urge to go hunting filled him.

And he would. He wouldn't stop until Layla was beside him again.

The Hunters had superior reflexes, but Ambrose was just human. How could he even dare to fuck with him? Just because he put Ambrose in charge didn't mean he handed over the key to his kingdom.

The door opened on the penthouse floor, and he immediately caught the human scents nearby. Familiar scents. They were people he hired himself after a thorough background check. Either they were curious about what the Hunters did or were in on it with Ambrose. He assumed they were in on it. He couldn't take any chances when Layla's life was on the line.

The moment he walked out into the hallway, the secret door closed behind him. Two human men were feeling along the wall near the elevators, obviously looking at all the blind spots for the hidden door.

"I don't think there's anything here," one of them said, straightening as he looked at his colleague. "I think they were just trying to get us out of the way. They're not even here, so why the fuck are we doing this? I was supposed to be home an hour ago."

"We should just do what he told us to. Those assholes looked like bad news. Someone said it was some sort of military sting."

"Bullshit. It was all dodgy as fuck. Something wasn't right with them, but they weren't military."

"Well, Mr Ambrose said—"

The second man stopped speaking when he looked up and saw him standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Mr King," he said, straightening as he lowered his head as all hotel employees were required to do.

"What are you..." the other man started as he turned around.

"Shit. We apologise, sir. There was a disturbance on this floor that we were asked to check out. We'll be on our way now."

He cocked his head to the side. Their earlier conversation indicated that these men didn't know what was happening, but he refused to believe that Ambrose pulled all of this off alone.

"Where's Ambrose?"

His voice was deeper, more beastly than human. The men flinched but still dared to look up to answer him. Such was the folly of humans. They could always sense when they were in danger but were too foolish to think about self-preservation. He didn't know if his eyes were still glowing, but he was well aware he was not himself anymore.

"He was in the main security room. He sent us up about an hour ago," one answered. His name badge read ‘Thomas', the one who believed something dodgy was going on.

And, of course, he'd just confirmed it for them because he'd come out of nowhere and was stark naked. Bigger than what he usually was and fighting not to partially shift. His fists balled at his sides, but his claws dug into him. He could smell his blood as it dripped from the puncture wounds. Thomas' gaze lowered to his hands, and his eyes widened before he looked back down.

"Go home to your families," he growled before he walked past them to his door.

The door unlocked with his fingerprint and he marched in. The scent of Hunters immediately assaulted his nose. They'd been in his suite.

They'd toppled over his furniture and strewn his belongings all over the floor. They would not have found anything incriminating, he wasn't that stupid to leave evidence lying around, but they would have known that. Vandalising other people's property wasn't the Hunters' style. Only someone with heightened emotions could do something like that, and Hunters were the most emotionless bastards on earth.

At least, they used to be. Things had obviously changed. He didn't know what the fuck he was dealing with.

He walked over the mess to the bedroom, which was in the same state. His clothes were on the floor, wet and covered in suspicious substances that he didn't want to touch. The door to his dressing room was open, and more clothes were piled there. But a few seemed to have escaped the carnage. A T-shirt and a pair of trousers. He pulled the trousers on quickly and headed out the door while he pulled the T-shirt on.

Thomas and the other man were still waiting for the staff elevator, and both widened their eyes when they saw his mismatched clothes.

"Tell me what happened here," he demanded as the doors opened, and they all walked in.

"Well... Uh, Mr Ambrose had an important meeting this morning, after which we were all told to go for a break while they did a security exercise here," the quieter man said. His badge said he was Terry. "We speculated they were being considered as part of the security team."

"No, we didn't," Thomas grumbled. "They didn't look like military or security officials. More like mercenaries."

Terry nudged Thomas, who immediately shut his mouth. But the man was more astute than the others.

"And then what happened?"

"We were called back a couple of hours ago but the visitors were all gone. Mr Ambrose just told us to sweep every floor and look for secret doorways but didn't explain anything."

"Did he keep a few of the security team with him?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to need names. Go home; I'll be in touch," he growled just as the doors opened in the staff hallway.

There were indeed fewer employees in the hotel. Did Ambrose send even the other departments home so that he could do this search? Who the fuck did he think he was to mess with his business?

Still, it worked out better this way. Because Ambrose wasn't leaving this building in one piece.

When he shoved the doors to the main security room open, he found Ambrose standing over two men who were reviewing the security footage.

"Delete everything. There shouldn't be a trace of them left on the system," Ambrose hissed.

His rage boiled over. Without wasting a second, he crossed the room and shoved Ambrose aside before he grabbed both men's throats. They slumped forward before they could scream, and the metallic scent of their blood filled the room as it gushed from their throats.

When he turned to face Ambrose, he was looking right down the barrel of a gun.

"How did you get back in here," Ambrose whispered.

The gun shook in his hands as he stepped back. And his fear... His fear called on the darkness that lived inside him.

"They said they'd taken care of you!" Ambrose added, his voice rising as his panic set in.

He stepped forward, and Ambrose stumbled back.

"Stay back! I'll shoot!" he shouted.

His face tightened. His jaws stretched as his teeth lengthened. Ambrose's fear turned to terror, and the gun cluttered from his fingers.

"You and I are going to have a little chat, Mr Ambrose," he growled.

Ambrose's eyes widened, and he fell to his knees as he reached for the gun. It went off, knocking him back a step as a bullet lodged in his shoulder—silver, by the smell of it. Ambrose smiled as he aimed the gun again.

Someone spilt all the beans on werewolves. Was it another situation like Andrea, who'd been desperate to join the Hunters? Was there some sort of memo out there alerting humans of things they had no business knowing?

"In a few seconds, you'll be in crippling pain. The poison has already started working into your organs. They'll shut down slowly, and mine will be the last face you see," Ambrose grinned.

He had big balls for a dead man.

Without responding to the bullshit, he dug his claws into the bullet wound until he grasped the bit of silver. When he pulled it out and held it up to inspect it, Ambrose lost his cockiness. His terror returned as he stepped back, firing again and again.

He didn't feel the pain. No. There was a more significant pain inside him that couldn't be matched. When Ambrose fired his last bullet, he'd backed himself against the wall. His Head of Security's breathing was harsh as he kept pressing the trigger on the useless gun. His eyes went to his dead comrades and then back to him as if he was only just realising that he'd played a stupid game.

"As I said," he growled, grabbing the human by the throat and lifting him. "You and I are going to have a little chat."