Chapter 27

He whipped out a gun from behind him.

“You’re acting like I bit off your arm,” I muttered. “Stop being dramatic.”

He sputtered.

“Anyway, I’m an Unnatural, what’s a gunshot going to do?”

“You’re Lucian’s niece. A dragon. This is loaded with gold bullets.”

I sighed and folded my arms. “You’re missing some vital information there, buddy.” I stepped forward.

The blast exploded through the room, making my ears ring. A burn seared my bicep. I should have shifted; it would have bounced off.

“Ouch.” The bullet slowly inched out of my skin. The edges of flesh that had been ripped apart knitted together, leaving behind a thinning trail of black blood. “I’ve traumatized you enough, so I tried to avoid having to make it worse, but that hurt.” I tsked and allowed the shift to roll forward. My nostrils burned, and my eyes turned grainy.

Don’t kill him yet. Don’t . I chanted internally to drive it into my subconscious.

A peppery scent invaded my senses. My morals ran away from me, but I had a bit more control of my bloodthirsty side now that I’d embraced it.

My jeans tightened from my tail. I reached behind me and sliced the fabric where it was stuck.

The male wilted. Weakling.

The few resemblances to Beckett were not enough to save this disgusting werewolf.

“Hey, we’re twins.” I tore my glove off and wiggled my hand at him. His attention fixated on my lack of pinky. Without warning, his body thumped to the ground. I tilted my head.

Wood crashed and the room flooded with my favorite scents. I grinned and whirled.

Mates!

I shuffled over to the closest one. My wolf. I hummed, pleased, as I rubbed my cheek against his arm. They were gone too long.

Tanner, my fae, stared at the male on the ground and then at me.

“He lost consciousness,” I huffed, offended at the lifted eyebrow. I wiggled Beckett’s arm, and he swayed in my grip.

“Gentle, Runt,” he mumbled. I smiled and softened my touch. I had to be careful.

Elliot dipped and picked up the smushed bullet covered in black blood.

“You did well, ma petite monstre .” He patted my head, and I leaned into his touch, releasing the wolf.

I nestled into my vampire’s chest and buried my nose into his throat. Grazing the ends of my blunted teeth against his neck, I made him shiver.

I liked that.

“Bobby,” Beckett called. The sound of a smack resounded a split-second later. I released the tight hold on my mate and watched Beckett shake the weak one. He roused on the second slap and focused on Beckett.

“Kid,” he mumbled, then his eyes widened. “Where is it?” He jerked back so fast that he smacked the back of his head against the desk.

“Want me to kill him?” I asked.

“How can she ask that like she’s begging for a candy?” Bobby cried.

“Not right now, love.” Tanner stepped in front of the male to block my sight.

I pouted up at Elliot. He smirked and rubbed the top of my head.

“Where’s Osmodus?” Beckett’s voice echoed.

“Who?”

“So he knows nothing,” Tanner said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I did say he might know something,” Beckett snapped. “It was better than sitting around doing nothing.”

Ooo, my wolf seemed like he wanted to attack.

“Fine, point made.” Tanner rubbed his forehead with his thumb and pointer finger. “How culpable is this one?”

“He followed Myron’s decrees. Enjoyed degradation, but he helped me out a few times.”

Bobby whipped his head back and forth.

“Everyone is unconscious in the side room,” Enzo announced, striding in.

I flounced over to him and rubbed my cheek against his sternum.

“What did you do to my pack?” Bobby growled and for the first time, I sensed steel in his words.

I released Enzo and leaned into the weak wolf’s face within seconds. I clasped his chin and squeezed. “Do not yell at my mate,” I hissed. My nails sliced into his cheeks and blood leaked from his face.

“Okay,” he whimpered.

“That’s my girl.” Enzo crowed from behind me, and I smiled.

I was his girl. I released the ingrate and returned to cuddling up to my dragon.

Bobby dropped his gaze from Beckett. “Are you here to challenge me for the pack, Alpha?”

Beckett scoffed. “Fuck no. It’s all yours. When did you take over?”

“When Myron didn’t turn up, I took charge. I figured the bullshit he’d involved us all in with the fucking dragons had done both of you in.”

Tanner paced, rubbing his chin. “He knows nothing of use.”

I was going to ask him something . . . what was it?

Pushing back my shift, the hard, red skin melted into my body. Enzo’s arms were fastened behind my back, squishing me to his chest. I hadn’t noticed how tightly he’d been holding me. I wiggled, and he loosened enough for me to slide free.

Bobby brushed his fingertips along the blood on his cheek. His eyes widened as I approached.

“Lukas told me this place had women here against their will.”

“Fucking Moretti lineage.” His eyes flashed behind me, and he cleared his throat. “I want nothing to do with that clan. I changed shit up around here as soon as I could. Anyone who didn’t want to be here, was welcome to leave.” He flicked blue eyes over all of us and then dropped them.

I didn’t know what to believe. I peeked at Beckett and furrowed my eyebrows. He watched his cousin for a few seconds more and nodded.

“The UB needs to question everyone and keep their eye on this place.” They should already be contacted based off the plan. I turned back to Bobby and narrowed my eyes on him. “If you step out of line, I’ll come after you.”

“Bobby!” The girl who had rushed by me earlier waltzed in looking perplexed.

Bobby shoved off the desk and rushed over to position himself in front of her. “Go to the house. I’ll be there when everything is handled here.”

“Jay’s unconscious?—”

“Please, Martha. Go! I’ll explain when I get home.”

She slowly nodded and backed up.

“We don’t want any problems.” Bobby lost the bravado and cleared his throat. “Beckett, you went through some shit too young. I should have been able to protect you, but I was powerless.”

“We all had our hands tied.” Beckett’s neck strained with tension.

Beckett had told me a bit of the forceful nature Myron had when he’d brought Beckett here. Disgusting how he’d exposed a child to such depravity.

Agent Woo entered with a slim, tall blonde.

“Volkov, we are here upon your request. I hope you have useful information.”

Tanner’s cheek twitched. Wrong words to say to him. “I would not have called you otherwise.”

Agent Woo nodded tersely. “This is Agent Andi Sims.” He waved a hand at the blonde. “Other agents are casing the place for any illegal collars or drugs.”

“I’ll begin questioning to see if anyone knows of any more warehouses.” The woman claimed as she backed out of the room.

“I’ll go with you.” I started after her.

She eyed me and turned to Agent Woo. After a beat, he tilted his head, and I followed her out of the door.

I quirked an eyebrow as Enzo trailed on my heels.

“You’re not going alone.”

I turned back around.

“In there,” Enzo said, tipping his head toward a door where two werewolves were sprawled against the wall with a pole bent around their throats. He propped himself beside them, not following us into the room.

Tables were flipped, and the tops of heads peeked over the edges.

“Ladies. We’re with the UB,” Agent Sims said.

When no one moved, I approached and leaned over the table. “We’re not here to harm anyone.” I grabbed the edge to scoot the table toward me. The girl closest to me gawked. There were more than a dozen women crouched. “Is everyone here of their own will?”

The girls exchanged glances and slowly stood. The various bejeweled outfits glittered with their movements. Cautious nods came from a few of them. There were two humans in the mix, but Unnatural energy exuded from the rest of them.

I pulled the table out the rest of the way and flipped it upright with ease. Sims helped me drag it to the edge of the room.

“Feathers girl and bejeweled bralette girl are still human,” I murmured to Sims. Her reaction consisted of a nod. I didn’t know how to determine whether they were full human or just hadn’t matured.

One of the women approached. Pink frills fluttered around her hips, not leaving anything to the imagination. “Can we go?”

“We need to question all of you.”

“You don’t have the authority to hold us here.”

“But I do.” Sims stepped forward and flashed her UB badge. “We’re conducting a trafficking ring investigation, and your cooperation is mandatory. If you do not comply, you will be arrested and processed. If you are deemed to be aiding and abetting illegal activities, you will be placed before the council.”

That was all she said as she dragged a chair over and sat. A swell of chatter bounced off the walls.

“One at a time,” I called and waved over the first girl who had spoken. Defiance marred her brow, but she approached the other side of the table.

Sims pulled out a stylus and opened her cell phone to a white screen. “Name?”

“Sireena Van.”

“When did you first arrive at this establishment?”

“Three years ago.”

“Were you brought in against your will?”

“No, but a few weeks ago, Alpha O’Reilly offered to release whoever wanted to leave. I stayed.”

So, he hadn’t lied.

The chatter settled to a low murmur, and Sims called the girls over one by one. It was much of the same sort of talk. Many remembered being taken and drugged. They’d all decided to stay at The Den because it offered safety, and they had no one out there to protect them. The two humans were homeless when they’d been brought into this, but according to them, they would be Unnatural.

We couldn’t expose Unnaturals to humans, but there was no way to check the validity of that statement other than biding time. I peeked at the note Sims wrote. She would run a background check on those two.

As she questioned the last one, the door creaked open. “All good, pretty girl?” Enzo called from where he leaned against the frame.

The chatter went quiet.

I cleared my throat and nodded. “Almost done.”

He retreated and shut the door. The women burst into soft murmurs.

“That is all.” I missed the final question, and Sims waved the girl off. “We’re getting somewhere with this case.” She scribbled on her phone. “You have a knack for this. Think about joining us.” She held out a card, and I took it. Her contact information was embossed in the cardstock.

I blinked, and she exited the room. Joining the Unnatural Bureau? Investigation, crime, and beating bad guys . . . that sounded too enticing.