Page 3 of Prey

It made me fucking angry.

Kadi obviously felt something too. Which is even more confusing, but as far as I’m concerned he can have her. I just don’t want him to keep her. The last thing I need is a witch hanging around the Clubhouse. Or my life.

We didn’t find the human we were tracking. It was like he vanished into thin air. We had his scent one minute and then the next, gone. I was already angry when we had to stop in the witch's shop, but now I’m even more angry that we lost him.

We should’ve had no problem tracking him, which means that someone helped him escape using magic. Now, we’ll end up having to deal with a bunch of witches and warlocks trying to figure out what might be going on in their community.

Because something is.

Gods damned fucking witches.

When I was eight, a rogue Coven practicing black magic busted into our home and killed my parents for their fur and eyes. I watched, unable to do a thing, as they skinned them and tore out their eyes. My parents hid me under the floor and told me not to make a single sound, no matter what I heard.

Shifter body parts are used in a lot of black magic rituals, and as such it is highly illegal for anyone to hunt shifters. Black magic is strictly forbidden. The sentence is immediate death. There’s no trial. It’s the one law the humans and supes agreed on when we all came out twenty years ago. It’s the one thing both of us will not tolerate.

Black magic rituals have been used on humans for years. They’ve always called them satanic rituals and ruled themgruesome murders. Once we all came out, they found out the truth behind them.

Throwing my leg over my bike, we put our helmets on, start them up, and head out. My Honda CBR is a beast. Kadi is a little more bougie on his Ducati SuperSport 950. Both bikes are black and faster than the wind. There’s nothing in the world like the freedom you feel when you’re riding.

That’s why we started the club so long ago. Well, that and to fight the Society, the group of dark magic users that killed my parents and many others. The bane of the supe community and the world in general.

After my parents were killed by the Society, I went to live with Kadi and his parents. There aren’t a lot of lion shifters left. We have many different types of supes in the club though, and everyone has a different role to play. We formed it to offset the idiocy of the Enforcers.

They constantly fight with the human police and do nothing for the supernatural community at all. It’s just a bunch of idiots on a power trip. So Kadi and I formed the Club to be the ones you call when you need protection.

We are Wrath. We are the boogeymen that go bump in the night when you mess with anyone in the supe community. Though we aren’t officially recognized by the Convocation, they do send jobs our way on the low when they don’t want to get their hands dirty.

Technically this makes us criminals. The boogeymen. A vigilante justice group for the most part. We don’t have any issues gettingourhands dirty. In fact, a lot of us think it’s a great time. We also sell black market weapons as our main hustle. Human weapons don’t work against us for the most part. There are a few exceptions. Obviously being bombed, shot in the head, or having your head cut off. Vampires can be staked. The bitabout silver killing a shifter is false. It does make us pretty sick though.

The issue is, we have more problems with humans than each other. So, we steal weapons from the human military and sell them to supe communities for protection. Even though the humans know about us and there is a semblance of order, there are still human factions out there that would like to eradicate us. They kill what they fear. It’s human nature. If we kill them using our powers it’s much harder to hide.

There have been a few reports of supe businesses being targeted. Break-ins, destruction of property, thefts, and several kidnappings and assaults. All of these have been directly targeting witch and warlock businesses. It’s been kept under wraps for the most part because we’re trying to investigate them without causing a panic.

Every business we’ve been to has had that same rotten smell afterwards. The same smell that the human had at the witch’s shop. I can only conclude that her shop is going to be the next target.

Finally, we are a step ahead of them. Losing the human was not a good thing but we should be able to stake out her shop to try to catch them now. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to go talk to her again to get her cooperation. Which I don’t want to do. I’d be happy to never see her again.

Logically, I know that not all witches are bad. But the hate in my heart has burrowed deep inside and I can’t let it go. Kadi doesn't have those prejudices. He’s one of the most happy-go-lucky people I have ever met in my life. Unless we’re on a job, then he can be one of the most ruthless people I’ve ever seen. He will always protect people to the fullest. I’m the same way. That’s why we make such a good team.

Pulling up to the clubhouse, we park and get off the bikes, pull off our helmets and set them on the back of our bikes. I shakeout my long hair and see Kadi do the same, though he gathers his back up in its usual bun.

I know he’s going to have something to say about my attitude at the shop, so I just brush past him and head inside, making my way to my office. Joaquin is there waiting for me. The Convocation must have sent a message. He is the emissary between them and Wrath MC as well as being a board member for the vampire community. He is also one of my enforcers, along with his boyfriend and blood mate, Laken.

Each different species in the supernatural community has an elected board member that sits on the Convocation. This changes every twenty years unless otherwise needed. Since most supes live a lot longer than humans there really isn’t a need to change them out more often.

Joaquin eyes me as I sit down at my desk. “Bad day?” he asks with a smirk.

Flipping him the bird, I lean back in my chair with a sigh. I wish he couldn’t read people's emotions. It makes things very difficult when I’m trying to hide something. Though it does come in handy sometimes.

“We lost the human. Someone used magic to get him out of there so the trail is dry, but we did manage to track him to what we think may be their next targeted witch business. The Cauldron.”

“Oh yes, I go there often. They have a nice selection of books and a great vibe,” he says thoughtfully. “Shasta’s a real sweetheart too, though she can be feisty, so if you think you’re gonna go in with your usual witch attitude you better check it at the door, or she’ll put you out on your ass. Literally. She’s very powerful.”

Rubbing my hand down my face, I sigh again, just as Kadi makes his way into the office. “Oh, it’s a little too late for that,” he says with a smirk.

Damn shifter hearing.

“Of course, it is,” Joaquin says. “We really can’t let you out anywhere without pissing someone off, can we? I get why the Convocation wanted us to take this, but you’re going to have to get a handle on your issues with the witches. Not all of them are dark and you can’t treat them like the ones that killed your family, Ethan.”

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