Page 68 of Fate Awakened

“Do not pretend you can order me to do anything. You will release her first,” Dante counters, remaining calm, but I can almost feel the power radiating from him.

“No deal. Do you think I’m stupid? I give you the girl you take off with him.” Tony spits back at him, causing my eyes to look back up and follow the back and forth.

“The girl doesn’t have the ability to outrun your guards. Once unbound, Kole could shif…,” he stops himself, his eyes widening as they flash to me briefly, releasing an irritated grunt before he continues, “find a way to escape in ways she cannot.”

I may not be athletically superior, but Icanrun. The insinuation that I’m weak crawls under my skin and burrows into the darkest, most broken parts of me.

I’m strong. I’m capable. I’m worthy.

Chanting the mantra to myself, I push away the fear that brings to life my doubt. When I refocus on the trade before me, Big Tony turns around, excusing himself. He grabs the putrid-smelling guy on my right and speaks into his ear, causing him to take off back toward the car. Before he turns back to Dante, Big Tony’s eyes meet mine, and the vile sneer he gives me sends chills up my spine and has me wanting to retreat.

Oh no! That look can’t be good.

What the fuck did I just miss?

“My apologies. My Alpha has found time in his schedule to join us, and as that’s who you wanted to speak with in the first place,” Big Tony says. A newfound confidence fills his voice, and I start to panic because whoever is joining us is obviously beneficial to the side I’m rooting against.

Shit!

My attention goes back to Dante as he responds, still unfazed by the announcement of a new guest.

“Oh, I wasn’t aware you needed Daddy to finish your deal. Absolutely, we can wait for him, but I do have a flight to catch, so if we could get these two sorted out while we wait,” Dante says, pointing between the guy in the cuff and myself. His comment makes Tony clench his jaw and drop a little of the bravado he just had.

Another shot to the ego. Smart Dante.

Before I can smile at him and his tactical negotiation skills, a commotion behind me pulls my attention to the clearing area where we entered just a few minutes ago. An older man carrying a bag in his right hand, flanked by two more dogs, enters the clearing.

Where are they breeding these things? Is there like a bad guy dog breeding program on the black market? Do they come this well-trained?

By my count, we now have eight of these damn things. Not one of them has so much as snarled at the other. No barking. No running to play or fight. They aren’t even on leashes!

The man locks eyes with Dante as he approaches, and the evil I feel in his presence is something I haven’t felt in almost a decade. It’s not just that his face is hard, filled with lines etched into his tanned skin, but none of them are from laughing or smiling.

Hatred pours out of him as he moves toward the two groups. No emotion reaches his eyes which appear almost black as he takes in the scene before him. The hairs on my arms stand straight up with the electricity dancing along my skin, and I have the sudden urge to run for safety.

The man speaks to his dog in what sounds like Spanish or Italian, and before I can even process what’s happening, the dog on his left transforms before my eyes. One second, the black and brown wolf dog is striding toward us, and the next, a completely naked man stands in his place—a man I now recognize as the disgusting-smelling man who stood next to me a few minutes ago.

My jaw drops, leaving my mouth hanging open as I try to rationalize where the dog went and where the man came from. My stomach clenches, and I feel like I’m going to be sick. Nausea rolls through me, causing my saliva to change its taste as my body prepares to heave up anything it can from my stomach. I wrap my arms around myself in order to hold it back.

What the actual fuck was that?

Werewolves? You’ve got to be kidding me.

Closing my mouth, I bite down on the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming. I can’t take my eyes off of the man? Wolf? Werewolf? As he dresses quickly and walks back over toward me. I straighten my spine, gripping the hoodie at my waist with all my strength to keep myself standing. My legs threaten to give out beneath me as the evil man reaches the group and stands next to Big Tony on the opposite side, thankfully away from me.

“Apologies for my late arrival, gentlemen. I was traveling and didn't hear about this little trade until recently.” He speaks with a heavy foreign accent that carries his words smoothly as if he’s serenading the group.

He turns his head toward me, but his eyes land on Big Tony in almost feigned disapproval, and Big Tony drops his gaze apologetically while hiding a sinister smile from Dante’s view.

“Now, what did I miss?” the evil man asks, a sick excitement dances in his eyes.

My stare slides back to the creature beside me, who stands casually as if turning from an animal to a human is no big deal.

Oh, it’s a big goddamn deal!

Realization hits me as I scan the other seven dogs.

Oh my God. None of them are dogs. The fucking dogs aren’t even dogs?!?!?