Alpha Unleashed (29 page)

“Everyone outside. Move it. Now.”

Ordering wolves around was bad. Ordering an alpha was pretty damned stupid. And ordering Alphas like Donovan and Lucas while pointing guns at them and their mates…

Their power rose, brushing against my hair.

Help me.
I called to Dastien.
We can't hurt the cops.

“Move!” The cop yelled, shoving a gun in Claudia's face.

Lucas' power rose, and Dastien finally started to realize what I'd known all along.
Take what you need.

“We're going with the cops.” I put everything Dastien and I had behind the words—commanding them to start moving. Lucas and Donovan turned their power toward me. I had to grit my teeth against the massive force of alpha energy, but I wasn't backing down. “We have to do this or we'll just prove we're the monsters they fear.”

Meredith's lips were pressed tight as she stared down her mate. From the look on her face, she was giving him a solid dressing-down.

“She's right. Let's go,” Meredith said. She raised her hands as she moved slowly toward the cops with me.

The cops moved quickly, cuffing Meredith and me before moving on to the rest. I kept my eyes on the Weres. If anyone was going to act out, I had to stop it. We couldn't afford to open a rift between the supernaturals and humans. Not if we had any chance at peacefully coexisting.

I expected the most trouble from Van, but he'd disappeared without ever being seen by the cops. That was probably for the better. As it was, Cosette had done some Jedi mind trick on them, holding her wrists together so they seemed to think she was already cuffed.

I knew we could get out of this, but that was what worried me. All it took was one slip—one lost temper—and humans would get hurt. Then we'd have to run. And if we ran now, we'd be running for the rest of our lives. Anger burned inside me.

There was no way the cops would've known to come to a random church in the desert. The demon was just to keep us busy. Luciana must've called the cops as soon as we crossed the wards. If we went with them quietly, no one would be able to stop her.

So either way, Luciana won.

I took in the scene. All the dead bodies. Their skin gray and shriveled. I didn't need to see their eyes to know what they looked like. Shane lay on the ground. Blood seeped through the leg of Adrian's pants. We were a mess.

And now Luciana had more than enough power to do what she wanted. She'd wiped out two covens and gotten us out of her way. If they threw us in jail for the night there'd be more than enough time for Luciana—mistress—or whatever the hell she was now to open her portal.

Sirens rose in the distance as the ambulance approached. First we had to make sure Shane and Adrian were okay. Then we'd deal with Luciana.

Hopefully for the last time.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The scent of stale, cheap coffee wafted through the station. The process of getting booked took forever. Like multiple hours. Especially since only a couple of us had any form of ID.

Good thing Van hadn't stuck around. Who knew what the officers would've made of him?

Cosette was bad enough on her own. The cops had been giving her a hell of a time, which I didn't really blame them for, given the whole pulling swords out of thin air thing. Then she'd charmed one of the police dogs somehow. Now she sat in the corner with a German shepherd curled up at her feet, and it growled at anyone who came close, including its handler.

Knowing Cosette, it could've been worse. I was just glad she was making a show of cooperating instead of trying to magic this away like she so obviously wanted to. It was way too late to undo the situation.

Our big problem was that the cops wanted answers. None of us had anything to say that they were willing to believe. It left us at a stalemate, but at some point they were either going to have to trust we were the good guys or decide we were the monsters.

The cop who seemed to be in charge—Wilson—had left us in a room with one officer—Yeats. She was a heavy-set lady with hair in an unflattering pixie cut. She watched us as we sat quietly in our chairs like good little citizens.

The room's white walls and gray-speckled linoleum floor were clean enough, but the smells of blood, sweat, and vomit were ingrained underneath the scent of cleaning products. A table took up space in the middle of the room, but none of us were using it.

A blinking red light flashed on the camera in the corner. Someone, somewhere was watching us. I wondered what they were thinking. Which side would the coin were we going to land on? Friends? Or not?

As we sat in silence, waiting for what felt like forever for something to happen—one way or the other—the only sound in the room came from the large clock on the wall as the hands ticked. It was driving me mad, constantly reminding me that time was slipping away.

At least Adrian and Shane weren't dealing with any of this. They were at the hospital. Under guard, but still, they weren't getting interrogated. Shane hadn't looked good. I'd heard Adrian convincing the EMT to treat him with holy water before we were hauled off, but I was still worried. Adrian seemed much better off than Shane, and I didn't think it was just our speedy healing time. Maybe the reason Dastien and I hadn't been affected by our demon-inflicted wounds like Raphael had been because we were Weres. What if witches were easier to possess?

I had a feeling Shane was going to need more healing than just holy water. Something more like what Claudia did to Raphael. Only we were stuck at the police station, and we hadn't heard a word about them in hours.

Cosette sighed as she scratched her police dog behind its ears. “Anyone else ready to walk out of here? Because I am. At any moment.”

“No.” It was the first time Donovan had spoken since we'd gotten to the station. “I wasn't thinking straight. The sight of a gun pointed at Meredith set me off—”

“Same here,” Lucas said. “Don't beat yourself up about it.”

“Aye. But it was short sighted. Teresa here was the only one who kept her head, apart from the witches. If we'd done what we'd wanted, the humans never would've trusted us. We'd be hunted. Our children would be hunted.” He stared at the wall in front of us. “No. This was the only way.”

“I kept my head,” Cosette muttered before turning to me. “If we're not breaking out, can I at least summon my Kindle? This is dead boring.”

“No summoning.” I was too wound up to get bored, but it was still taking too long. I had to do something to move the process along.

“Can I have my phone call, please?” I asked Officer Yeats. “It's my right. And we haven't been charged with anything. I should get a call.”

A wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows as she considered my question. “I'm not sure werewolves have rights.”

It didn't sound like she was trying to be rude, but instead was trying to reason out whether I should be able to make a call. That was the only reason I was able to maintain my cool. Thanks to Dad's coaching over the years, I already knew how to argue my case.

“I was born in Los Angeles eighteen years ago. My parents are human. I have a valid US birth certificate, and you saw my valid driver's license when you booked me. By not allowing me my phone call, you're violating my rights as a US citizen.”

She sighed. “Fine.”

Thank you, Dad, for making sure I know my rights
. I smiled at her. “Is there any way you can get my wallet? There's a business card inside. I just need the number.”

She crossed her arms as she stared me down. Then she let out a huff and turned on her heel. When she came back, she had my sparkly silver wallet in her hand.

Maybe wasn't so bad after all. “Thank you.”

She handed me a portable phone, and I started dialing. Seconds later, the phone was ringing.
Answer. Please answer.
If this was really my one call, I didn't want to waste it on a voicemail. I wasn't sure I'd get another call if no one picked up.

“Special Agent Ramirez here.”

A sigh of relief escaped me before I could stop it. “Hi. It's Teresa McCaide.”

“Teresa.” He drew out my name, his voice a degree—or ten—colder than our last meeting. “I've been expecting your call.”

“Well, I'm calling.” I cleared my throat. “I'm at the fine police offices of Santa Fe.”

“What a coincidence. I just got off a plane in in Santa Fe. I thought we discussed you calling me
before
the fact?”

I winced at his annoyed tone. “We didn't know what we'd find here. Now that we did find something, I'm calling.”

“Next time, you call me first.”

“I'm sorry. Next time, I promise I'll call first.” Maybe. If I could.

“Good thing I've already been appraised of the situation and why you're being held or else I'd be really annoyed.”

I never thought I'd ever be in a position where the FBI would be pissed at me. Yet here I was. Special Agent Ramirez was definitely ticked off. “The thing is… I need to get out of here. Luciana is going to do something very bad, and if we're not there to stop her, well, it's going to be worse than what she did last time. Much, much worse. A little help would be very appreciated. If there's anything you can do to speed this along?”

Officer Yeats cleared her throat and tapped her watch.

I nodded. Time was almost up.

“You're going to have to sit tight. I'll see what I can do once I'm there, but they're officially holding you for questioning. They could keep you there for up to twenty-four hours. Unless they get a judge to sign off for more time.”

No. That wasn't going to happen. Even twenty-four hours was way too freaking long. We needed to get out of here like yesterday.

“But I'm sure I can do something about it once I get there, provided you fill me in on what's going on.”

“Absolutely.” I looked at the clock on the wall. “How far away are you?”

“I'll be there in less than an hour.”

That put him here after midnight. Much too late.

The line went dead before I could argue with him. I handed the phone back to Officer Yeats. “Thanks.”

He seemed pissed,
Dastien said through the bond.

I know, right? It feels like no matter how hard I try, I'm messing it up.
My knee bounced as I thought.

Hey. You're doing a good job.

But even you disagreed with me about going with the cops, and—

And I was wrong.

I tried to take solace in that, but as I sat there, listening to seconds tick by on the clock, it was hard not to question my decisions.

We had to get out of here. Soon.

I was sitting with my eyes closed, waiting for the Special Agent Ramirez to make his appearance, when magic brushed along my skin. It felt dirtier than the cell and motel room put together. My chest tightened as I slowly sat up.

“Claudia?”

“I feel it, too,” she whispered.

Luciana's magic. It had a certain flavor of disgusting that I'd become familiar with.

I glanced at the clock. Ramirez should be here any minute, but it wasn't going to be soon enough. Not anymore.

It was starting, and the humans were so not equipped to handle anything like this. The Weres in the room were tense, barely hanging on to their human forms, and the twins had turned a shade of green.

I started pacing the room. It was another fifteen minutes before I heard faint gunshots in the distance.

“Do you hear that?” Meredith asked.

I nodded.

“What do you think Luciana's doing?”

“I don't know, but magic's crackling along my skin.” I cracked my knuckles. “We might have to break out of here.”

“Midnight seems too early for this much black magic,” Raphael said. “It would be much stronger after three. Why would she jump the gun?”

“Maybe timing doesn't matter as much if you have two covens worth of magic.” Now she had enough power to open her portal and then some. My anxiety level went through the roof. My skin itched to change, but I kept pacing. Hoping that the movement would help maintain my form.

This was it. Luciana's endgame was starting. Everything I feared could come true…

We were trying to be good little werewolves, but if Ramirez didn't show soon, we were going to have to make a run for it.

If a hell portal opened and no one stopped it, none of us would have to worry about the long-term anyway.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Footsteps thundered down the hallway, stopping at our door. Special Agents Ramirez and Morgan stepped into the room.

Morgan scanned the room before fixing her gaze on me. “What's going on out there?”

Dastien rose from his chair, but I grabbed him before he could move.
Stay calm.
“I can't say that I know what you're talking about.”

“Officers were called to a church. The neighbors reported weird chanting and something that smelled like a broken sewer line.” Ramirez looked pale.

“Demons.”

Special Agent Morgan nodded. “These little raccoon-sized monsters are spewing out of the church, and the police are doing everything they can to stop them—but apparently bullets only slow them down a little. Shotgun shells work okay, but they're having some serious trouble containing the problem.”

“Raccoon-sized?” That was new kind of demon to me. Even the minor ones were much bigger than that. But the fact that shotguns were working on them was seriously good news.

“You have to let us help you,” Donovan said. “Luciana Alvarez is very dangerous. She's not going to stop with these little demons. The minor and major demons that we've seen… Even if you slow them, they can't be killed by human weapons. They have to be decapitated or burned to ash with potions or magic.”

“Jesus,” Officer Yeats said. “It's not like we go around carrying swords these days.”