Page 62 of Heron's Flame

The dogs grew restless, snapping their jaws. A couple tried to jump up the side of the pit, but they couldn’t get far before sliding back down. This was a cruelty I could hardly stomach. Paul was a monster.

“Snake Eyes has betrayed my trust and disobeyed an order from his president,” Paul announced. “There’s only one choice for his crimes. Vote now.”

Each member of the club raised their hand, flipped up their thumb, and then turned it down.

Guilty. Not a soul dared to go against the majority. I imagined anyone who did would meet the same fate.

Paul smiled. “Get in the pit, Snake Eyes.”

He seemed to accept his death without hesitation. Snake Eyes jumped down and landed on his feet, bending his legs to absorb some of the impact. His body rolled to the right as the first dog pounced, and he swung his fist.

I couldn’t watch and snapped my eyes shut. My hands covered my ears. I didn’t want to hear his death or the animals being hurt. They didn’t deserve what was happening to them. This was barbaric.

When it was over, I finally uncovered my ears and opened my eyes, refusing to look into the pit. I heard the metal grating slam shut, and I knew the dogs that had survived returned to their underground confinement. There must have been tunnels dug underneath that led to a holding cell. Somehow, I planned to help them escape and receive help.

Paul stared at me, a grin on his face that twisted into a cruel, hungry leer. I steeled myself against it, refusing to show fear or quake because he wanted to dominate me.

Above, circling our heads, a murder of crows flew in. Loud caws and rattles left their throats as they dove toward us, mobbing the Grave Robbers MC members. Well, everyone but Paul. He rushed toward me but didn’t get close because I heard a deep growl. I knew that sound.

Nothing human could ever sound so sinister and animalistic.

Wolves. As in, wolfshifters. And more than one.

The first, I recognized as Nightstalker, Brax’s wolf. The second, larger by not by much, belonged to Alpha Caden’s wolf. I never learned his name.

They prowled from the tree line, closing in as more joined them. I’d never seen anything quite so terrifying yet so welcome at the same time. I spun around, looking in every direction for a glimpse of Heron. He had to be here.

“Rebel!”

His voice cut through the chaos, snarls, screams, and gunfire as the wolves and crows attacked. My heart nearly stuttered as I found him, threatening to beat from my chest with relief and excitement. He found me.

I rushed in his direction, momentarily taking my focus off Paul. Stupid. A man like him never accepted defeat. Didn’t I learn that lesson years ago?

Before I could reach him, a shot fired from a nearby gun and struck with deadly accuracy. The bullet hit Heron in the chest, directly in his heart. I watched with horror as his body flung backward, hitting the base of a tree before he collapsed.

No! No, no, NO!

“Heron!” I screamed, rushing to his side as I sank to my knees. This couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t lose him. Not now.Not after all I’d been through. He was my lifeline. My anchor. The greatest love I’d ever known.

“My Spark,” he choked as I dropped to my knees. My hands pressed to his wound, trying to stop the steady flow of blood leaking from his chest.

“Don’t you dare leave me,” I shouted, choking on the words as tears streamed down my cheeks. “Don’t go away. I can’t live without you, Heron. I love you!”

“Love you more.” Blood bubbled at his lips and trickled from his mouth.

I swiped it away, refusing to believe that he could die. I wouldn’t allow it.

His eyes looked glassy and unfocused. “I can’t,” he paused, “see you, baby.”

“You’ve got to fight for me. Fight to stay here. Please! Heron!”

His body went limp, and I swear I felt his warmth begin to fade. His eyes clouded over, and the life leaked right out. The man I knew and loved wasgone.

A cry left my throat full of such agony and suffering that I couldn’t contain it. It overflowed in a river of heartbreak that broke free of my chest as I wailed my sorrow, clutching him to me. My lifeblood, my heartbeat, had left me.

I’d never be the same.

Chapter 20 Heron

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