Page 90 of His to Possess

He narrowed his eyes, blinking several times in an effort to focus. “Then it’s my fault. Mine.” He started to weep again, the gun slipping from his hand.

Both Gregor and Stone walked closer, Stone sliding the weapon out of Mr. Kelly’s reach. The man didn’t react in any manner.

“What are you talking about, Mr. Kelly?” I asked, still scanning the room. I gathered a scent of her. It had been a solid hour since she’d been in the room. Where the fuck would she have gone?

“He’s going to find her. He’s going to kill her just like he promised. I tried to keep him from her, to give him what he wanted but I didn’t kill those people.”

“Mr. Kelly. You need to calm down and talk to me.” The last thing I wanted to do was to use the wolf, but I would if I had to. “She is in danger.”

“Why?” He jerked his head up, his bloodshot eyes boring into mine. “Do you know what he is? Do you? He’s a freaking monster.”

I glanced from Stone to Gregor, lowering my weapon. “I know exactly what he is, Mr. Kelly, and you need to tell me right now where she is.”

“You don’t know. You can’t know!” he exclaimed.

There was no time to waste. I sensed she was indeed in extreme danger. I closed my eyes, allowing the beast to rise to the surface. After taking several husky breaths, I leaned over the desk, opening my eyes and growling.

To Mr. Kelly’s credit, he didn’t panic, merely sat back with a hard thud, his entire body trembling. “I thought I was hallucinating. You’re one of them.”

I tipped my head from right to left, allowing the beast to remain. One of them, which meant he knew exactly what the killer was. “Yes. Where. Is. She?”

A slight commotion could be heard in the foyer. I threw my gaze in Stone’s direction, yanking back the wolf as he walked out of the room. The sound of a female’s voice was far too disturbing, the tone and inflection almost identical to Kathleen’s. I only yanked back from the transformation the moment she stormed into the room.

“Father. What the hell is going on? Who are these people? They didn’t want to let me in.” While she was younger, the closeness in resemblance brought a pang of anger that I almost couldn’t control.

“Business associates, Celia,” he said, laughing in a cackling manner.

“I don’t like this. First Kathleen’s message and this.” She backed away, only to be stopped by Stone.

“What message?” I demanded, the rasp still in my voice.

“Tell them, Celia,” James commanded.

Her hands were shaking as she yanked out her phone, hitting play. Kathleen’s voice was shaking yet full of anger. “See? What is going on here? She thinks Zane is going to hurt me? That’s crazy.”

“Who is Zane?” I asked, shifting my gaze back to James.

“Not the one you seek,” he said as he reached for his drink.

“Then who is?” When he ignored me, I threw my hand across his desk, tossing everything onto the floor. I leaned over once again as Celia squealed. “I’m the only one who can save your daughter’s life. Tell. Me.”

My father was right. The key was in my memory.

* * *

The house and massive rundown garage had been rented in a location with enough land surrounding that no one would notice any sounds, including screams. There had been no need for the wolf to disguise his true identity and while there was some surprise at his methods, I was beginning to realize that there were true criminals in every walk of life.

Including canine.

We rolled into the compound, realizing the wolf would sense our presence immediately. I moved to the front of the rather dilapidated house, taking a deep whiff. This time, he hadn’t bothered to mask his scent. The place reeked of him along with the blood of his victims. I also gathered Kathleen’s scent and from what I could tell, she was still alive.

I’d instructed the others to leave their weapons in their vehicles. This wasn’t a fight that would be won with weapons. I tipped my head back, letting off a primal howl, the sound echoing into the trees.

Within seconds, the sounds of wolves could be heard coming from every shadowed corner of the forest. I threw out my arm, forcing the others to hold back from transforming. I would face the fucker man to man. We were supposed to be civilized after all.

We were surrounded, a solid two hundred wolves waiting for the command of their leader. None of them were bothering to mask their scent, obviously a trait they were lucky to have. I knew little of this pack, the difference in their appearance almost indistinguishable from the Wolfen.

They were an ancient pack, a group that had been banished thousands of years before, much like the Nightwalkers had been in this century. If what my father had told me was correct, the crimes had been heinous but in a sense, history had repeated itself. What I had no way of knowing was how many there were in and around the city. Simply called the Lycans, they’d fought for power more than once and lost, realizing the Wolfen’s sacred ground was more powerful than any force they could use.

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