Return to Kadenburg (7 page)

“That sounds sort of gross,” Rutley frowned
as he eyed the knife. “I don’t know…..”

“Oh come on,” Liam rolled his eyes,
stepping closer to the shorter male as he held out his own hand and pressed the
tip of the blade against his palm. His brows knitted together in concentration
as he released a grunt of pain. The bright red blood bubbled to the surface as
he glanced in Rutley’s direction again. “You’re my best friend, Rut. I want
to be your blood brother.”

Rutley’s nose crinkled as he stared at the
cut on his friend’s palm, but he wasn’t going to be a chicken about it. He’d
always wanted a brother, hadn’t he?

“Okay, fine. But don’t make the cut too
deep,” he finally said, offering his hand to the other male as he squeezed his
eyes shut. “Do it quick.”

Rutley’s head fell back against
the door as he stared at that tiny scar again. Sometimes he forgot it was even
there, but at the moment he was realizing exactly why he’d agreed to stay in
Kadenburg. He remembered why all of this was suddenly so important to him; and
why he had to save Lorcan.

He blinked back the moisture collecting in his eyes as
he glanced up at Dimitri again. Any traces of the wolf were gone, and only a
man stood before him now; a very sad man that had seemingly lost everything.
Maybe it was in that moment that Rutley finally realized the connection Dimitri
had once shared with Liam, and it definitely made his heart ache in a way he
couldn’t explain.

“Liam was my best friend,” Rutley finally said, in a
broken voice, after a few seconds of silence. “He was like a brother to me.”

He watched as Dimitri’s face contorted in agony, and
the large male quickly turned away from him and lowered his head. Rutley had
no idea what was going through his mind, but he had to wonder if the wolf was
experiencing some sort of nostalgia.

That was the thing about death. Even if the person was
long gone, their memories remained; haunting the people they’d grown to know
during their short time on this earth. In Rutley’s case, however, he was
grateful for every laugh and conversation he could remember. He regretted
leaving Kadenburg sometimes.

Maybe Liam would still be alive if I’d been here,
he frowned.

It could’ve been minutes or hours that passed by as
Rutley kept his back pressed against the door, watching the wolf as he paced
back and forth on the other side of the bed. What he wouldn’t give to be able
to read minds.

Dimitri had gone from angry and ready to kill him, to
broken and devastated within seconds; how was he supposed to deal with that?
Furthermore, how was he supposed to bring up the subject of Liam again if it
was going to cause meltdowns like this?

Hell, it would probably cause him plenty of meltdowns in
the future, truth be told. The wound was still fresh in his soul over the news
of his best friend’s death. If Dimitri was still suffering so badly after
nearly a month, what hope did Rutley have?

He was jarred from his thoughts when he realized
Dimitri was grabbing him up from the floor, hoisting him into the air and
pushing him aside. He stumbled backwards.

“Hey, wait…what do you think you’re doing?”

Dimitri grabbed the door knob, but stopped long enough
to gaze at him. “I have to go back for Lorcan and Presley,” he stated softly.
“I can’t leave them there.”

“Leave them where?” Rutley asked, following after him
as the wolf stalked outside. “Where are they?”

“He’s going to kill them,” Dimitri called over his
shoulder as he walked briskly across the parking lot. “I have to stop him.”

“Who?!” Rutley called after him, muttering beneath his
breath. “Hold on just a damn second, dude. I’m coming with you!”

Eight

S
he had made many mistakes in her life, but now
was not the time to have regrets. Tonight was the night she would finally make
everything right, and she would start by ensuring her niece’s safety.

Natalie Carroll had a long list of sins she’d committed
against her family. She was a traitor to her kind, and she was more than aware
that she would never be welcomed back into Kadenburg with open arms. Arnold
Goult would rather have her executed before Urseth than be involved in
Presley’s life. She would just have to make sure Presley had a life to live,
even if she couldn’t be in it.

As she carefully pulled the door to a close and made
her way down the hallway, she tried to prepare herself for how the rest of the
evening would play out. Lorcan would take Presley back to Arnold, and then
Breslin would eventually realize his prized possession was gone. He would
question her first, of course; she was the one in charge of keeping them
drugged, after all.

As messed up as it sounded, she’d agreed to keep her
niece, Lorcan, and Dimitri doped up for as long as it took for Breslin’s plan
to come into play; but that was before she’d heard the additional heartbeat.

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” Breslin grinned as he
entered the long since abandoned hospital that had once thrived with doctors
and nurses. He sauntered up behind her, his hands falling to her waist as he
kissed her jaw. “I think you’re going to like it.”

“So you’ve finally got what you wanted,”
Natalie speculated, turning in his arms to gaze up at him. “I got the drugs
you asked for.”

His large, warm palms cupped her cheeks as
he smirked. “And that’s why you’re my only favorable ursi-shit, Honeycomb,” he
mumbled, his lips gently touching hers.

Natalie’s eyes closed as she returned his
kiss, losing herself in the moment. Breslin was the only family she’d had
since that fateful night many years ago. It was kill or be killed, and she
wasn’t a fan of dying. Her brother made the wrong choice; she wouldn’t make
the same mistake.

Living among the werewolves wasn’t entirely
bad. Sometimes it was a lot of fun. It was very easy to be seduced by the
lifestyle of a lycanthrope; to be drawn into the allure of sex and animalistic
urges. There weren’t any laws to honor, or rules to abide by. Werewolves had
it made.

Breslin’s lips traced over her neck,
nipping at her sensitive flesh as his hands roamed beneath her shirt.

“I did find what I was looking for,” he
whispered huskily, lifting her onto the old receptionist’s desk before he
pulled her shirt upwards. “She is very pretty.”

“Mmm,” Natalie laughed softly. She gasped
as his mouth descended, kissing between her breasts. “She looks like her
aunt. Of course she’s pretty.”

“She’s almost as pretty as you,” Breslin
grunted, pushing her thighs apart.

She bit her lower lip in anticipation,
purring like a kitten as his hand slid between her legs.

“If this works,” he whispered against her
stomach. “I’m going to make you my queen.”

Natalie’s heavily lidded eyes finally
closed as his tongue dipped into her belly button. She wiggled her hips,
panting like a dog in heat. “I want to be your queen,” she whimpered.

“Then you better hope this works,” Breslin
responded as he straightened back up and stared at her. “The last time a woman
disappointed me, I killed her.”

Natalie cowered beneath the weight of his
gaze. It was terrifying how quickly Breslin could turn pleasure into fear. He
had complete control over her emotions and they both knew it.

“Let go of me!”

Natalie jerked her shirt back down into
place, turning her head to see the unfortunate ursithrope the werewolves were
dragging inside. He was beaten and bloody. A huge gash on the left side of his
face was attempting to heal, but she knew the werewolves wouldn’t allow that to
happen.

“What is that?” Breslin asked as the young
ursithrope was thrown to the floor at his feet.

“He followed us here,” Georgie, a young
werewolf, said. “What do you want us to do with him, Boss?”

Natalie stayed put on the counter, watching
the massive alpha as he crouched down and grabbed the ursithrope by the hair of
his head. The ursithrope, who was considerably young, cried out in protest as
he struggled onto his hands and knees.

“Now, now,” Breslin cocked his head to the
side. “What’s your name, little bear?”

The seconds ticked by, and Natalie wondered
if the boy was going to speak or not.

You better say something,
she
thought.
He’ll kill you if you don’t. Speak, boy!

“Greg,” he finally
managed to say as he clutched his side. “Greg Kress.”

Oh no,
Natalie
frowned. She’d grown up with Greg’s parents. She’d been in his mother’s
bridal party for goodness’ sake. Guilt pooled in her stomach as she dropped her
gaze to the floor.
He is just a boy…..

“Greg Kress,” Breslin repeated,
clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He released the grip he had
on the boy’s hair, straightening up to face the small group of werewolves that
had gathered around them.

“Look closely,” he instructed as he
motioned towards Greg. “A young, brave ursithrope who followed after wolves to
save his friends; how admirable,” he smirked.

Breslin’s eyes darkened as he lifted his
hand into the air, his claws immediately extending past his fingertips as he
frowned.

“Young, brave ursithropes grow up to become
strong, fierce warriors that like to kill werewolves.”

Various growls sounded from around the
room. Natalie felt nauseous as she slid down from the counter and made her way
towards the stairwell. She didn’t get very far before Greg’s screams stabbed
her soul. She picked up the pace, hurrying down to the basement. She needed
to escape those agonized noises. She couldn’t bear it.

“Oh, forgive me,” she whispered, blinking
back the tears that wanted to fall. Did she really feel so bad? Even if she
did not, she knew her inner bear did. The beast was furious with her, as it
often seemed to be.

You have left a cub to die!
Her bear
roared.
You have betrayed Urseth again!

“Do not talk to me about
Urseth,” Natalie stated bitterly, wiping at her eyes. “He is the one who
thought he could rule my life. No one rules my life.”

Yet you have no qualms with that monster
telling you what to do. Look what you are about to do for him! You are a
coward.

Natalie chose to tune
her bear out as she rounded the corner and approached the two werewolves
guarding the door. They were some of Breslin’s best ‘bodyguards’, as she liked
to call them. They were there for Breslin’s every beck and call, and tonight their
job was watch over the unconscious ursithropes being held captive on this
floor.

“Out of my way,” she stated, staring up at
the first wolf. “Breslin wants me to distribute the Etorphine before they wake
up.”

The wolf smirked, staring at her with a
cold gaze as he crossed his massive arms over his chest. “What’s the magic
word?”

Natalie narrowed her eyes at him as she
tilted her head to the side. “The magic word is ‘move’,” she replied.

“So feisty,” he commented, quirking a brow.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing what all the hype is about sometime, you know? I’d
like to know why Breslin likes taking you to his bed every night.”

Natalie rolled her eyes, shoving past him
as she reached for the doorknob. “Just stay out of my way while I do this,”
she muttered.

“Yes, ma’am,” the wolf chuckled.

She was somewhat relieved to shut the door,
putting some space between herself and the crude wolf before turning to stare
into complete darkness. Why was it so damn dark? She fumbled around, her
fingers moving gently against the wall until she found the switch and flicked
it. A low hum sounded overhead as two small lights finally came on. Like that
helped.

She gave her eyes a few seconds to adjust,
and it wasn’t long before they found the three unconscious bodies resting on
the floor. The first male, the one she understood to be a traitor to Breslin,
was lying face down against the concrete. His auburn hair was really all she
could see besides the mountains of muscles he possessed. His breathing was
deep and even, so she knew he was still knocked out.

Thank goodness,
she
thought as she moved to her left, approaching the table with the medical bag
she’d placed there earlier. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to drug a livid
werewolf. Hell, sometimes she struggled with drugging small animals at the
clinic and if they gave her a hard time, who knew what a werewolf would be
capable of?

You can do this,
she
told herself as she opened the bag and pulled out the first syringe. Her
fingers trembled as she tried to get the correct dosage for his large frame.
Etorphine, an extremely dangerous street drug, could kill a human instantly.
It was just as strong –if not stronger-than heroine. She’d heard that it was
so potent that only a small amount could be used to sedate an elephant. It was
perfect.

When her first injection was over, Natalie
then approached the second male. His scent was most certainly that of an
ursithrope. As she crouched down beside of him and gripped his arm, she took a
few seconds to study him. He was a handsome man with kind features. He
reminded her of someone she’d known in the past…..

I don’t have time for this,
she
chided herself. She shook her head, biting at her lower lip as she completed
the second injection. At least neither of them would be giving her any
trouble, right? Now she could focus on the third unconscious person in the
room.

Kneeling down beside of the niece she’d
never known, Natalie reached out with trembling fingers to grip Presley’s arm.
She took a few minutes to find a vein as her heart hammered against her
ribcage. She felt so nervous about this one in particular, and that didn’t
make sense. She’d never known this girl. She did not love this girl. Presley
was a stranger to her.

Despite the time she was taking to convince
herself she was doing the right thing, Natalie couldn’t get her heart rate to
slow down. It was too fast and it was making her even more nervous than
before. She licked her lips, grabbing for the needle as she kept her gaze on
the vein. One last stick and she would be done. She wouldn’t have to see any
of them again for several hours, and hopefully by then, she’d have herself in
check.

You can’t be weak right now,
she
reminded herself.
Breslin won’t hesitate to kill you, too.

She pursed her lips
together, gradually pressing her thumb against the syringe as she watched the
drug disappear into Presley’s system. There. It was done. It was over.
She’d done exactly as Breslin asked.

She tossed the needle into the trashcan and
allowed herself to take a moment near her niece’s unconscious form. With her
palms pressed against the floor behind her, she let her eyes roam over the
girl’s sleeping form.

She really had grown up to be very pretty.
She looked a lot like Caroline, but she could see Pierce’s features, too.
Another jab of pain attacked her chest as she frowned.

Don’t you dare try to think about it,
she told herself.
They’re your enemies now. They brought this on
themselves, Natalie. You’re on the winning team, remember?

She was quite all right
with that affirmation, but it did nothing for her rapid heartbeat. The
sporadic rhythm of the blood pumping muscle was driving her insane as she
leaned forward to press her palms against the floor in front of herself,
prepared to get up.

But then she stopped.

She listened.

That wasn’t her heartbeat at all.

With a frown, Natalie leaned down to rest
her ear against Presley’s chest, listening to the steady rhythm of the girl’s
heartbeat as she took in another deep breath and released it. Calm as a
cucumber. Huh.

The beating was still there. It sounded
like someone energetically pounding on a drum. It wasn’t her heartbeat though.
It wasn’t Presley’s heartbeat.

And that’s when her heart fell into her
stomach, bubbling in the guilt she still felt over the young Kress boy.

Very slowly, and with baited breath, Natalie
lowered her ear to hover above Presley’s stomach. It was then that she
realized where the heartbeat was coming from, and for the first time in her
entire life, she began to question who her loyalty belonged to.