Page 6 of Frenzy
I touched her cheek. She was the younger sibling I’d never gotten to have; they all were. Dominic felt the same. We’d created a family from nothing, from the worst circumstances, and while my father had believed blood was everything, I’d learned that blood had little to do with it. I looked at Dominic, who ruffled Rosa’s dark hair on the way out the door, even though she snarled at him.
In the foyer were my men. Twelve men I trusted more than any. They were all supernaturals, though their breeds varied dramatically. Loren was a witch. Federico and his brother Alvaro were both wolf shifters, but they sat below Dominic in ranking. Still powerful, though. Antonio was something else; given his proclivity for death, I thought maybe some variation of Djinn.
All outcasts, all criminals. Brothers in arms, not in blood.
“Let’s roll out,” I said softly, and they jumped at my words. I ruled them with an iron fist, all except Dominic. The rest feared and respected me in equal measures, and I’d shed blood and lost pieces of my soul to ensure that I could control them. If they got away from me, as a unit, they could raze the world in the way only dangerous men with no morality could. They were my muscle, and I was their soul. May the Goddess have mercy on our enemies.
We didn’t go over the plan again, because it was deceptively simple. We would go in, fangs bared. We would kill anyone who resisted.
Once we’d cleared the building, we’d have twelve minutes until reinforcements came. We’d save as many as we could, and that would just have to appease my guilt. We were traveling in three vans so we’d have space to transport survivors. It was the best I could do in the short amount of time available to me.
The compound was three hours from my home. Such evilness on my doorstep. Well, maybe I was the evil on their doorstep; it really depended on your perspective. We were silent on the drive, since Dominic was in the car behind us, and he was the only one who was comfortable enough with me to chat. I wasn’t a talker, Dom was just persistent.
Finally, I could see the chainlink fencing glinting in the moonlight. I indicated to Loren to pull over. We would go the rest of the way on foot. Only the drivers would be left.
I climbed out of the van, removing my tactical gear. My body came with its own tactical gear. I could feel the eyes of my men on me as I shifted from man to Manix. My body got larger, broader, until I was giant-sized. Hard plates spread across my flesh, impenetrable to most bullets. Fangs and claws slid out, and fluffy ears sprouted from my head.
I could hear Dominic laughing behind me. “The ears get me every fucking time, man.” I bared my fangs at him, but he just gave me a shit-eating grin. Only Dominic could get away with that level of disrespect; no one else would even try. Not even my longest-serving men. I put my gun holster back on, now stretched to its widest setting.
Shooting a gun was always an interesting experience with claws, but sometimes, shooting someone from ten feet away was easier than tearing out their throat. Cleaner, anyway.
Everyone peeled away in their pairs, each knowing their entrance and their role. Dominic stepped up to my side. He’d stay in his human form for as long as possible, because he might be a wolf, but he was also a damn fine marksman.
Everyone had a partner. I paid them as a pair. If your pair died in battle, his family got both his half and your half. If you intentionally killed your pair on the job, I feasted on your liver. It only took one real world example of this for everyone to adopt the partner rule. Your pair would take care of your family if you died, and they’d have your back.
It was always good to have someone watching your back in this business.
While everyone else was going through side entrances and the loading dock, I was walking through the front doors. I half-shifted, which made me harder to see, my fur naturally camouflaging me against the hot sand. Dominic stepped behind my back and he’d stay there until the time for stealth was gone. I melted into the shadows; there were plenty of them, because they didn’t want anyone to know this place existed. There weren't any big spotlights or signs to avoid. It was as unobtrusive as it could be, while still being nearly impenetrable.
Impenetrable to humans, anyway. I was no human.
I could see a guard up ahead, prowling the perimeter, and I felt Dominic peel from my back, then heard the telltale gurgle of someone having their throat slit. I continued toward the front door, smashing my fist through the plate glass. Oh, was that meant to be bulletproof? I wasn’t a bullet.
I was Manix.
I smiled at the wild eyes of the guard as he went for his gun, but he was too slow. They all would be. I tore out his throat before he even managed to draw his gun, and he flopped to the ground with a nearly noiseless sound.
A scent drifted through the open door, wrapping itself around my body like a vine. An Omega. A Manix Omega. My whole body froze as the scent permeated my every sense, my Beast intent on discovering the direction of its prey.
Another guard came out of the door, jarring me from my Alpha fugue. A knife flew by my head and lodged in the guard's eyeball.
Dominic.
“Even I can smell that, Alpha. Let’s go.” He appeared in front of me. “Control yourself,” he growled. “If you die because your Manix smells a pretty Omega, I’m going to be fucking pissed.”
I gave him a feral grin and let my Beast loose. He’d scented his prize, and now it was time to hunt.
4
Pryce
Icould hear the dull thud of bodies hitting the floor. It was probably disturbing that I knew the sound so well, but I’d been in this facility for more than half my life. I’d seen more dead bodies than I cared to remember. The sound of a body hitting the floor was never soundless, especially when your hearing was better than most. Being Manix had its upsides, even if it was the reason I was here.
I moved to the infants in the corner of the room. I hadn’t named them. They rarely lasted longer than twelve weeks in here, and I’d learned the hard way that naming them just resulted in more suffering. But they always lasted longer than their mothers, who inevitably died during childbirth. It had only been three or so years since they’d started putting the offspring in here with me. It usually increased their lifespan slightly, but never enough.
I swaddled them tighter, hoping they would sleep through whatever was happening outside these perspex rooms. None of the lights had gone on, but I could see the small, flashing blue light that meant the wards had been tripped and someone had breached the perimeter of the building.
Good. I hope they burned this place to the ground. So much suffering had happened in these walls that they were soaked with the screams of the innocent.
