Read Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1) Online

Authors: Keri Lake

Tags: #paranormal romance, #revenge, #werewolves, #demons, #vengeance, #adult fiction, #brotherhood, #steamy, #lycans

Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1) (7 page)

BOOK: Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1)
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The Alexi
won’t find me.

If they did,
though?

God help her,
she’d be subjected to the most grotesque mutilations.

Going AWOL was
a serious crime against the Alexi and Ayden would be made an
example of.

 

***

 

Kane watched
the house from the copse of trees across the street. It was a
peaceful block, a quiet suburb teeming with young families. The
scent of pine mingled with the aroma of savory meat cooked
rare.

His eyes
focused on the house with black shutters and opened blinds. A young
couple sat at the dining room table.The mother stretched across
feeding a toddler child in its high chair, her long brown hair
cascading over her shoulder and hiding her face.

The sight made
Kane’s stomach growl. He’d been stalking them for the last
hour.

The woman rose
from the table, grabbing dishes that she piled into one hand. Her
fingertips gently brushed the baby’s face and tickled beneath its
chin. A silent giggle followed.

Kane squeezed
his eyes shut. He couldn’t wait anymore. The hunger was
unrelenting, gnawing and churning with no relief.

He lurched
across the street, careful to stay in the shadows. Had the front
porch light been on, he might not have been inclined to pick this
particular house. But the darkness on the front stoop guaranteed
obscurity. Beyond the window, the woman disappeared into the
kitchen, leaving the father and baby to play at the table.

Now.

He slinked
through the front door and moved along the walls toward the dining
room.

The child’s
giggles taunted him.

His lip curled
into a snarl as he stepped into view.

The father’s
eyes grew wide with horror. “Jesus!” He reached for a steak knife
lying on the table.

In one fluid
move, Kane’s arm swiped at the man, leaving three gaping scratches
across his face.

The man
grabbed his cheek with one hand and swung the knife through the
air.

The baby
screamed in her highchair and a clamor of broken dishes rang from
the kitchen.

Kane reached
out for the fighting father’s head, gripped his skull firm in his
grasp, and sank his teeth into his neck.

“No!” Kane
bolted up in bed.

Beads of sweat
trickled down his temple. His body trembled. A tacky sensation
itched at his chin.

He glanced
down.

The tip of a
dagger poked his skin.

He froze.

A woman stood
on the other end of the knife, a raging—almost palpable—storm
emanating from her gunmetal eyes as she held him captive with no
more than the weapon in her hand.

In spite of
the blade at his throat, his breathing slowed, heart calmed.
So
beautiful.
He slowly fell back against his pillow as she held
tight to the hilt.

Hand steady,
she seemed unmoved by him—a relief after the nightmare he’d had.
She didn’t speak a word as she lowered her weapon and retreated to
the chaise beside him.

He wanted to
watch her for longer. Wanted to study the lines of impassiveness in
her face.

Sleep dragged
her from his view.

 

~

CHAPTER FOUR

 

The crest of
the Alexi glistened gold from the shoulder patch of Jackson Wade’s
black leather jacket. Gray hair rested perfectly against his head
without a single stray strand, five o’clock stubble shadowing his
cheeks and chin. His gloved fingertips swept over the deep grooves
in the snow—tire tracks.

“They left
last night. Fresh snow’s covered up most of the tracks, sir,” said
Daniel, a younger soldier, who stood behind Wade.

Wade rose and
struck Daniel across the face with the back of his hand, jerking
the boy’s head to the side.

Daniel, no
more than nineteen, touched his cheek, his embarrassment showing in
the redness that already colored his skin.

“No shit,
Sherlock.” Wade strolled away from the boy and stepped through the
building, where dust and grime coated the floor. Bodies, some
already in stages of decay, littered every corner of the first
level—half-ravaged carcasses strewn everywhere.

A blood
bath.

Fucking
savages.

“General
Wade!” A voice echoed through the wreckage “One is still
alive!”.

With his hands
crossed behind his back, Wade strode toward the voice, stepping
over bodies and pools of blood.

An older man,
a junky-type, perhaps in his fifties, dressed in tattered clothes
and smelling of bourbon, shook in the arms of a soldier crouched
beside him. In spite of the gaping wound where his chest had been
chewed wide open, the junky’s turning had held off.

Wade cocked
his head to the side, examining the poor bastard. The strong stench
of ammonia burned Wade’s nose; the man must have pissed himself
sometime in the night. “Kill him.”

The soldier
beside the man glanced up, his brows knitted together. “But … sir.
He … carries the antibody.”

Wade’s eyes
bore into the soldier’s, his jaw tight. “I gave you an order. Kill
him.”

“No! I want to
live!” A choking fit left the man heaving for breath, a gurgle of
fluid—possibly blood—trapped in his throat. “Please help me!”

Hands still
crossed behind his back, Wade walked away.

A single shot
rang out and the pleading ceased.

Footsteps
approached from behind, the cadence and weight of them identifying
Draven, Wade’s second-in-command. Not bothering to turn and face
him, Wade peered out to the open road and the mishmash of ruined
buildings that made up the block.

Disgusting.

Sulfur carried
through the air, only adding to the stench—enough to make a weaker
man retch.

“She’s not
working alone.” Wade drew in a long breath. “I want this entire
block scoured. Every building. And if you find her,”—he glanced
back at Draven—“bring her directly to me. Anyone with her—kill on
sight. Is that clear, soldier?”

Draven
stiffened, his heels locked together. “Yessir.”

Wade’s
cellphone rang a monotonous beep. He flipped it open. “Nothing.” He
lowered his voice. “We’re going to search the city for her.”
Rubbing his eyes with one hand, he used the other to close the
phone and tuck it back into his pocket. “Find me a lycan.
Alive.”

Ten minutes
passed before a man was presented.

A young Alexi
soldier dragged the vagrant beneath his arm and threw the lycan to
the ground. The male had taken his human form, lying completely
naked, and the way he’d flopped when thrown indicated he’d feasted
most of the night on druggies. Eyes closed, he squirmed and winced,
a good indication that the crack still lingered in his veins.

“For fucksakes
get some pants on the son of a bitch!” Wade snapped.

Daniel, the
soldier he’d slapped earlier, approached with a pair of ratty pants
from one of the dead bums.

“Well, don’t
just stand there.” Wade motioned toward the boy. “Put the goddamn
pants on him.”

Daniel
hustled, kneeling beside the male’s naked body and slid the pants
up over his legs.

The lycan
startled, scooting back against the ground. “Hey, what the fuck
man? Get off my junk.” He spoke in a garbled voice and fell back,
his eyes full of confusion..

A growl
rumbled in Daniel’s chest. Eyes golden, he released the pants and
backed away from the derelict.

Wade chuckled.
“That’s more like it, soldier.” He patted Daniel’s back. “How would
you like to interrogate our little wolf friend here?”

Daniel nodded,
eyebrows forming a tight line, his eyes locked on the man who’d
begun to moan as he writhed on the ground.

“Anybody got
some water?” The male covered his face with the back of his hand.
“Tastes like someone shit in my mouth.”

“You.” Wade
pointed to a young blonde in a crowd of observing Alexi. “Fetch my
tools.”

The girl gave
a sharp nod and broke from the group, returning with items she’d
gathered from the back of a black SUV parked outside the
building.

“Well, then.
Let’s begin.” Wade handed the boy a spear, the tip of which was
pure silver with an intimidating drag hook. “See …” Wade smoothed
his finger against the metal. “… ‘bout the best thing that came out
of all those years of torturing assholes like you”—his lip turned
upward to a half smile—“was learning how to git ya to talk.”

The lycan
backed up onto his elbows, eyes wide and focused on the spear, as
though it’d suddenly occurred to him some shit was about to go
down. “What the hell is this?”

In his wolf
form, the spear would be ineffective. Stab wounds healed almost
instantly, though the silver might slow him down. Even his human
form could withstand a little injury thanks to the strengthened
antibodies from the lycan venom. Changing into the wolf early in
the day could prove challenging, though, since their bodies had
become accustomed to a nocturnal hunt. Still, it was possible with
a bit of effort.

Wade opened a
silver case, revealing three syringes embedded in foam. He pulled
one out and tapped it. A miniscule dose of the Lywa antibody would
ensure that the lycan wouldn’t force his turn during
questioning.

Daniel gripped
the spear, knuckles white, poised for the signal.

Wade jabbed
the needle into the lycan male’s arm.

The male
flinched but didn’t fight the assault. He looked around at the
other Alexi as if confirming that whatever was in the syringe
wouldn’t hurt him.

Most human
weapons
couldn’t
hurt a lycan.

“What’s your
name?” Wade passed the needle over his shoulder and a young female
soldier grabbed it from him.

“James.” The
lycan examined his arm where he’d received the shot. “What’s this
shit? It burns.”

“Do you
recognize this crest, James?” Wade turned to the side to give a
good look at the golden seal on his jacket.

“I’ll tell you
anything you want, man. Please, don’t fucking kill me.”

Wade grinned.
“And I thought I’d have to work to get you to talk. Shame.” He
swiped at his nose with his thumb and sniffed. “What makes you
think I’m going to kill you, James?” Wade motioned toward Daniel.
“This young man here just wants to ask you some questions.” Wade
stood and backed away, his gaze never leaving James’s.

Standing next
to Daniel, Wade placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Daniel, do
you remember what these lycan bastards did to your younger
brother?”

“I … I
didn’t.” James shook his head, his gaze passing over each of the
surrounding Alexi soldiers. He strained, exposing an attempt to
change into wolf, the veins bulging as his face turned red with the
effort. His wide, panicked eyes revealed the confusion that must’ve
swirled in his head.

Wade smiled
and turned to Daniel.

A flash of
gold burned the outer rims of Daniel’s eyes until the innocent
brown of his irises became consumed by flames. “I remember, sir.”
The boy’s fingers curled tighter around the base of the spear.

Wade leaned
into the boy. “And remember that anger and helplessness you felt,
watching this wolf prick fuck your mother as he gnawed her spine
from her body?”

“What?” James
jolted up onto his elbows. “Kid, I don’t even know you. I
didn’t—”

Daniel ground
his teeth, chest heaving. Without direction, he stabbed James with
the spear, pushing his weight at the end of it as he twisted it in
the lycan’s gut.

Tortured
screams filled the air.”Fuck!” James coiled in on himself and
trembled.

Daniel removed
the spear, the hook at the edge of it ripping through James’s flesh
as he dislodged the weapon from the lycan’s gut, and the lycan
screamed out again, his face twisted in pain.

“Now that
we’ve gotten that out of the way, let me ask you something, James.”
Wade tipped his head up, his jaw clenched. “Did you see a girl last
night? Wearing our crest, perhaps? A sweet”–he motioned the shape
of Ayden’s curves—“fuck-me body? Ring any bells?”

James choked
for breath. “I … didn’t—”

Wade nodded at
Daniel, and he thrust the spear again, twisting it with a smile as
James howled in agony. Daniel tore the lance from James’ abdomen,
this time hooking a small piece of flesh that Daniel tapped onto
the dirty ground.

“No, no.
Please.” James threw a bloody palm in the air. “She was here …” His
breaths grew ragged; the Lywa antibody would be neutralizing his
wolf powers of healing already.

At the same
time, the tiny dose did nothing to help him either.

“Was she here
with
someone?” Wade asked.

James nodded.
“According to my brothers”—he wheezed through the words—“she left
with three demons.”

Wade’s eyes
narrowed. “Demons?”

“Yeah.” James
coughed blood and spat onto the ground beside him. “Our alpha
thought they might’ve been … Wrath Demons.”

“Is that
right?” Wade gnawed on his inner lip for a moment and raised an
eyebrow. “Resourceful girl.” He pursed his lips then said with an
unnerving calm, “Any idea where we might find these Wrath
Demons?”

James
whimpered again but quickly composed himself. “No one knows where
they live.” He shifted on his elbow, leaning to the side. “They’re
like fucking ghosts. My brothers tried to keep up last night and
lost them.”

“Your
brothers, huh?” Wade circled James and crouched beside the lycan’s
head. He tipped his head, resting it on his fist. The pungent aroma
of sex, a gamy scent, wafted from the lycan, filling Wade’s
nostrils, and damn near made him choke. “And where were
you
last night when your brothers were busy chasing these demons?”

James gulped.
“I was … feeding. I hadn’t eaten in three days. Alpha’s
orders.”

“So
you’re
the weak link, then?” Wade glanced around the
abandoned building. His boot ground into the gravel as he twisted
in his crouch. “Funny, I don’t see any of your brothers
anywhere.”

BOOK: Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1)
12.05Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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