The Lightning Prophecy (The Lightning Witch Trilogy Book 1) (21 page)

DUE TO INCLEMENT
weather, it took me nearly a day just to get back to Savannah. Tonight was the full moon and I had to find Delaney. I tried calling her no less than three thousand times, but every time it went to her voicemail. Of course I tried to call Mitch, but he didn’t answer. No shocker there, considering he’s the one who’s been killing all of these witches. I punched the steering wheel in frustration.

No wonder I couldn't smell anyone on the bodies or at the scenes, the fucking killer had been there the whole time. His smell was all over everything. I didn’t think twice about his scent being on the victims or anywhere because he was with me. I was so stupid. I couldn’t see past our friendship. And now Delaney was caught up in my stupidity. I had to find her.

I raced through Savannah, through traffic and tight turns. I broke no less than thirty traffic laws. It only took me thirty minutes to get from the airport to Delaney’s parking lot. I parked the car and ran up to her door.

As I got close to her door I saw a piece of paper taped to the wood, flapping in the slight breeze. I could smell Mitch from here. Cold washed over my body and made my hackles rise. I took a second to look around and survey. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I returned my attention to the flapping note. I tore it free of the tape and opened it.

Reid,

I’m sure by now you know who I am. I am also sure you know who I have. She sure is pretty. Who knows the things I will do to her. I will send you a text message at 7 p.m. Go to the address I provide and maybe there will be some scraps left for you.

Mitch

I crumpled the paper in my hand. I would kill him. I would rip him apart. This couldn’t just be him though. He had to have involved his whole pack. There was no way that Mitch had to skills to pull off some of the shit that has gone down. Looping a video feed? Breaking into the inner circle’s building in the middle of a reservation? No way. But the act of killing these women, that was all Mitch. So, this was a trap then? I had no choice but to go and risk it. How had he gotten Delaney? He had to have subdued her because she would never have gone willingly.
Shit!
Why hadn’t she had her phone on?

I sat down with my back resting on Delaney’s door. What else could I do at this point? I had a fight coming and I needed to prepare myself for it. There would be only one way to fight Mitch if his pack was truly involved: I had to challenge him as alpha.

I could call other wolves. I did have a few hours. But, who would I call? I had spent my whole life as a werewolf shunning others and isolating myself. I had no other friends to call. I had no one that would aid me. And Mitch knew it.

I had so many questions. Why? What was the point of this? I banged my head against the door. Maybe that would settle the wolf a bit. I closed my eyes and pictured the wolf I’d called friend and partner. I never trusted him 100%. I should have questioned that, but I didn’t trust anyone. Except for Delaney. I would get her out of this, I would save her, even if that meant ripping that entire pack apart.

I pushed all thoughts away and focused on blanking my mind. I had to keep my thoughts clear. I wanted nothing in my way.

MY PHONE JOLTED
me out of my meditation. It was a text from Mitch. I got up and walked to the car. He gave me such a narrow window there would be next to no time to get to Delaney. I put the address in to my GPS and it was just as I thought. It was about an hour southwest of Savannah and I was only given until 8:10 P.M. to get there. I got in the car and turned the engine over. I was going to kill him. There would be no doubt about it.

It only took me about fifty minutes to get to the location. The sun was almost set and it cast a dark, purple hue on everything. I drove down along a dirt road and honestly thought there would be just an empty lot. But, once the dust settled down, I was able to see a small building about a quarter of a mile in front of me. As soon as the building was visible I parked the car and got out and paused to scent the air. The smell of dirt and dry brush seemed to mask several of the underlying scents. I got Mitch’s scent. I caught scents of a number of other weres. I took a deeper breath and that’s when I caught the slight scent of gardenias. It was Delaney. The wolf inside me riled and began to fight for control.
Calm down. Soon.

With all of the other wolves here, I would have no choice but to challenge him. Now the real question would be, could I beat him? He and I had never fought, as we were both a little too dominant for that, but I have seen him fight and he was particularly ruthless. I have fought my fair share, but had hoped to never have to fight Mitch.

As I walked, the building came into view. It looked to be a long building made of red brick, a forgotten police station. The mortar between the bricks had all been eaten away from the ivy and moss growing on it. Half the building was covered in the green parasites. Speaking of parasites, Mitch stood outside in front of the entrance.

“Reid, I see you made it,” Mitch called. His voice filled the distance between us, nearly causing me to charge him and rip at him with every bit of the beast inside me.

“Mitch, where is she?” I really did not want to beat around the bush about this. I stopped about fifty feet in front on him. Now, I couldn’t see the others from his pack, but I could hear them.

“She’s here. Still asleep, I think. We had a big date last night. She wore this tiny little white dress. She looked so good I could have just eaten her up.” He smiled through each word.

I choose to ignore the fact he was trying to play my emotions.

“Why are you doing this? Because you think some prophecy is going to come true? How deluded can you be?”

“I AM NOT DELUDED!” His voice thundered over the grass and reverberated off the walls of the building. “The Coven has been hiding our true origins and this prophecy for a long time. It is time to take them out of the equation. The prophecy is real. Just think of the power we will have once she’s changed! A wolf with a witch’s power?” Holy shit, he really believed this could happen.

“It is impossible to change a witch! Look at the witches you have already killed!” He was out of his mind.

“They were necessary losses. They led me to the one witch who could survive the change.”

“I challenge you for rule of your pack.” I was done talking to this man. I was incensed; I needed to rip him apart.

His face honestly looked shocked. What did he think, I would come here and lay down my life without a fight? He really had lost his mind if that were the case. Even from here I could see his jaw tighten. This forced him to abide by the rules of a challenge. This took his pack out of the equation.

“Accepted.” He turned and stepped in the building.

I knew what he was doing. He was shifting. Anytime a position like alpha was challenged, it must be done in wolf form. I pulled off my shirt and I kicked off my shoes, then I shifted out of pants and boxer-briefs. I closed my eyes and started the shift, setting my humanity aside and pulling the wolf to the forefront. Pain lit across my skin and deep in my bones. The shift only took about three minutes because of the full moon, but it was always incredibly painful shifting that fast. I shook my head and body to try to elevate some to the long-lasting tingles and aches.

After a shift everything is more vivid. Colors are brighter, shadows aren’t as dark, noises are crisp, and scents are more distinguished. That’s how I knew I was in more shit than I realized. Because just about every member of Mitch’s pack was here. I scented no less than twenty werewolves, not including myself. Rules of challenge state that there should be no interference of fight, or there will be justice dispensed by the alpha. When it was a fight with the alpha, another alpha should be present to act as a reminder to others not to cheat or interfere. There were no such guarantees now. I just had to be smarter than him.

In my wolf form I was a tawny blond color. Mitch, however, was solid black. I was both bigger and taller than Mitch in wolf form, but the bastard was fast as a rat. Mitch stepped out of the doorway with his second in command trailing behind him. His second in command stood about five foot ten inches. His name was Matthew Gingham, and he reminded me of a used car salesman. One look at the guy with his bald head and his craggy face and you would think sleezeball. I told Mitch a number of times he needed to send that guy to another pack. He just oozed disgusting. Guess he and Mitch were cut from the same cloth.

“You have challenged our alpha. He has accepted your challenge. This is not a fight to the death. There will be an option to submit. Just before the killing blow you will have the option to yield. If you do not submit you forfeit your life. Do you agree to these terms?” His voice seemed to boom across the fifty or so feet that separated us. I gave a short howl. Then Mitch followed with a short yip.

Unlike our brother wolves, other pack members are forbidden to interfere with a fight. I, however, did not think anything was out of the realm of possibilities today. I bared my teeth and snarled. I would not tap out of this fight. He would have to kill me.

I made the first move and charged him. So much of a fight between weres was spent controlling our beast and thinking tactically like a human. We were not human. You can dress us up in pretty clothes and put us in a job with the rest of humanity, but when it came down to it, we were not human. I have no need to dance with my beast when it comes to this fight and this form. I set him free.

I was met with snarling teeth and a snapping jaw. We both met standing on our hind legs, reaching for each other’s faces with paws. My jaws caught nothing but air and the occasional clump of fur. But, he wasn’t landing any blows either. I backed away, turning my back to him. But, just as fast, I turned around and met his charge with my open jaws. I bit down, hard, and heard Mitch yelp. I had the meat at his front right shoulder in between my teeth. I bit even harder, feeling his skin give way and the taste of blood filling my mouth.

The taste ratcheted my thundering heart up a notch. I began to shake my head to cause a greater injury. While I was thrashing I felt Mitch rip at my right ear. I yelped in pain. Just that second of pain caused me to lose the advantage. I backed away, as did Mitch. I couldn’t see the blood on him, but I could smell it. Well, all I could smell was blood. I licked my nose, trying to clear it a bit. My ear throbbed with the pain from his bite. I shook my head, trying to gauge the damage. It was minimal. By this point about seventeen of his pack had formed a circle around us.

It was Mitch who charged first this time. I thought he would go for my throat, but he shifted at the last moment and charged my side, sending me sprawling. He was on me before I had time to right myself. He had the full advantage to end it right then. But, he was too slow. Right as he went for my throat I managed to get my right paw in the way. He clamped down on my paw, crushing the bone. Pain exploded in liquid heat from his bite. I used my hind legs to thrash and kick at him. Finally, after what seemed like far too long, my right hind paw connected with his face and my nails dug into his eye. It was a lucky as hell shot. He howled in pain and I didn’t waste time.

I scrambled to get up and press my advantage on him, charging past his snapping fangs. Past his flying claws. Past the rage I felt for him. Past the fur. Past the white-hot pain shooting through every bite and puncture. I sank my teeth into his throat and felt a sharp sting in my back, but it was a bee sting compared to the other bite wounds. I clamped down as hard as I could. I felt the rush of his pulse begin to slow under my teeth. I clamped down even harder. I would rip his head clear off. I felt his body began to grow limp. Just as I started shaking my head my skin was set on fire. Frantically, I released Mitch and ran backward. I had to be on fire. I rolled over in the dirt, trying desperately to relieve the burning covering my entire body. My wolf form was slipping. This had never happened before.