Page 3 of Depraved
Two huge men grunt and nod, though Poseidon’s disappointment at pulling babysitting duty is palpable in his expression. Every single alpha’s eyes are glowing a brilliant gold right now, and their scents are almost overpowering the smell of the fire and the melted plastic haze wafting out from inside the rubble. Their fury is even thicker than the ash in the air—it’s clear they want blood.
That bloodlust doesn’t frighten me right now, the way it normally would. No, right now, my chest swells along with theirs. Because I want revenge too. My imagination flashes through the trees and plays out the impossible scenario of me chasing down Thomas Stone and feeding his belly full of silver bullets—gut wounds are supposed to be one of the most painful ways to go. Inside of my head, I stand over him and watch as he curls up into fetal position just before the light in his eyes winks out.
“Dopey, you’ve got the best nose. Search the rubble for survivors.”
A guy with salt and pepper hair and a short beard turns and immediately marches back over to the smoldering wreckage. He shucks off his clothing and shifts into a big gray wolf, setting his nose to the broken logs.
“The rest of you, pair up. We’re going hunting.”
“Are you sure I can’t help?” I ask. “I’m fast.”
The elites’ eyes all widen. Black jerks his head to the side, telling them to give us some space. He steps forward and gently cups my cheek in his hand, smearing away the ash coating my skin. “No, little wolf.”
“But—”
“Don’t argue, Elena.”
I grind my teeth because the last thing that I want to do is stand around here feeling useless. “Keep an eye on our guys, nurse.” Black nods toward Pluto and Jonah in turn, calling up my intended profession and using it as a weapon against me. Damn him. Healing doesn’t seem nearly as satisfying as vengeance right now.
I stare up into his deep brown eyes, which are currently ringed in gold as he fights to control his wolf. “Help with the rescue. Keep everyone calm. Got it, Luna?”
I inhale sharply at that term, which I do not want or deserve. But he’s already glancing over at the shifting alphas and so I swallow any argument. Now isn’t the time. And people here do need calming. I can hear the shrieks of sorrow and disbelief as more pack members step out of their cars and find out that our little shifter world has imploded. They need me to help them find that serenity as they face this atrocity and the potential fallout. I give a single, sharp nod.
“Good girl.” He purrs lightly and my chest lights up at the sound, though I keep my face neutral.
He gives me a weak smile, just the barest up-tilt of his lips. “When I come back, I’ll bring you a present.”
My brow furrows.
“I’m going to drop that fucker’s warm heart right into your hands.”
Black’s eyes glitter with malice as he lets them turn completely golden and, for the first time since he claimed me, I feel a delighted shiver travel down my spine at the fact that I’m marked by him because I know, with vicious certainty, that Black won’t stop until he makes good on that promise. And I find myself looking forward to it.
2
ELENA
As I watchBlack stride off, his upper half shifts as his arms lengthen and grow fur, massive claws taking the place of his once-human hands. His dark curls turn to pure white wolf hair as his head becomes an animal’s and he takes on his monster form. A monster hunting a monster.
The magnitude of what’s happening finally hits me when he and the other alphas disappear between the trees with furious howls echoing behind them.
We are officially at war with another pack.
The Dark Nights aren’t accepting Black as their leader even though he won the fight against Thomas’s father. Their rejection and attack on us make the future as muddied and unclear as the smoky sky right now. The only sure thing is that a lot of blood will be shed before this matter is settled.
Hopefully, it will be theirs.
When a hand touches my shoulder, I nearly jump out of my skin because I’ve been so absorbed in my thoughts. But instead of making the newcomer back off, both of the elites that have been forced to babysit me just raise their eyebrows. The one named Warcraft tries to smile as he meticulously tucks his straight brown hair back behind his ear. Normally, he’s the friendly type but tonight his eyes can’t quite meet mine and his lips waver out of the smile just as soon as it’s formed. Of course, tonight isn’t a normal night.
“Sorry, Luna. Someone wants to talk to you,” he tells me.
I open my mouth to argue with him about that term. It’s one thing for me to save the fight with Black for another time, but I really don’t want people getting the wrong idea about me. Black biting me doesn’t give me any actual authority or qualify me in any way to be a luna.
Lunas are supposed to be nice, docile, smiley.
“I’m not …” Whatever I’m saying withers inside my throat when a woman steps around Warcraft. She’s tall and lanky, like me, with pitch-black hair, just like I have, and I’m certain we’re both wearing the same disbelieving expression right now because, with the exception of my moon-colored eyes, I’m the spitting image of her.
“Mom?” I question what I’m seeing, mostly because she’s the last person I want to deal with right now.
