Blood Sacrifice (The Astral Chronicles #1)

Chapter SixSalvator

Chapter Six

Salvator

My fist slammed into the pillow and I groaned as I rolled onto my back.

I should never have touched her in the marketplace. All I had wanted to do was get close enough for my wolf to catch her scent since he was driving me crazy. It took all the strength I possessed to walk away from her again because I needed to assess what was happening, and to do that I needed to remain in the shadows.

“Fuck!” Her scent lingered on me, the taste of her on my tongue. Dire wolves were unique among the lycans, with abilities that we tended to keep hidden. Our vision quests were as real as a physical experience, and although Luna had not been in this room with me, our souls had reached out to each other to form a connection. Another few seconds and we would have been mated, my canines in her flesh and my aching, hard dick buried deep inside her warmth.

That same dick tented my boxer shorts in a painful reminder of what had just happened. Luna’s response had my wolf howling in my head. All that mattered to him was getting to our mate and claiming her. There was a reason we didn’t have one mind, and it ensured that we were more controlled that the average dog on the street.

I fisted my dick, slowly pumping from the base, my thumb massaging over the head. I remembered the sensation of Luna under me, her legs wrapped around my waist, and her mouth clinging to mine. My canines ached as they had almost pierced the skin at her throat in a mating mark. My hand moved faster and faster, my dick trying to reach her in her hotel room. A flame of intense need sparked down my spine and tightened my balls before I shot my load groaning her name.

I should have had four hundred years with her, travelled the globe with her, and watched our great-grandchildren have their own family. How had I fucked this up so badly? How had Aisha felt the death of her sister when she was very much alive and unmated?

My office was located beside my room, and I returned to my task of tracking Luna across the world. She reverted to a different name in New York, where she had arrived on a flight from London. She had become an expert in covering her trail, zig-zagging in her travels to make her difficult to trace.

Some of the other priestesses had changed their physical appearance, but Luna had kept her long, black hair and natural features. She wore her beauty that began inside her heart and radiated out.

Her tour was leaving in the morning, and Jethro and Paulo would be tailing them, but I needed to be close to Luna now that I had discovered she was alive. The only reason Balor had dared to set a foot in my territory was that woman, and I had no intention of letting him anywhere near her.

I prowled through the streets outside to help settle my wolf, stopping beside the hotel she was staying in. My lycan eyesight and hearing allowed me to pick out her room, the window open as she spoke to someone on the phone. My claws dug into the wall as I climbed up, craving her nearness.

“Honestly? I don’t know. This place is playing with my head, and I’m seeing ghosts from the past,” she said, hanging up a few moments later after saying goodbye to someone called Maia.

Her sigh echoed inside me, and I clung to the wall even as she stood staring out the window, close enough for me to reach out and touch. The quartz at my neck heated as it responded to its original owner. The fingers of my right hand stretched toward the window instinctively and I saw the shadow of Luna moving forward.

“What the hell am I supposed to do?” she muttered, and I scented an increase in her unique aroma, which meant she had moved her long hair. “Get a grip, Luna! Salvator died a long time ago or he would have found you. A dream doesn’t mean that he’s alive.”

That was exactly what that dream meant. We wouldn’t have been able to find one another in the dream state if we weren’t mates and both alive.

I listened to her moving around her room, my wolf calmed by the fact that she was affected by this situation as much as we were. It didn’t sit well with me that both of us had thought the other was dead. When I eventually climbed back down the wall, I returned to our building and took my frustrations out on the punching bag hanging from the ceiling.

An hour later, I had worked through my anger, my game face in place to the outside world. Tarrack had set up a conference call with other key members of my team, and last night before I went in search of Luna, I had made amendments that I doubted anyone would notice.

I logged in and was met by the sea of faces of key members of our team. Tarrack was already starting to bring them up to date with what we knew so far about the incursion into our territory.

“Balor hasn’t broken the treaty and entered our lands in a long time,” Paulo said. “That worries me. He seems to be prepared to start a war over whatever it is he is searching for.”

“Is it one of our lost priestesses?” Aisha asked, and I could feel her trying to influence those in the group to seek truthful answers. It had never bothered me in the past as she had a vested interest in finding her sister priestesses.

“Hard to know,” I replied. “None of us have detected any magic from any of the group. Jethro was staying in the hotel last night.”

His face appeared on the conference call, and he sat in a chair. “I detected some wolf activity around the hotel,” he replied. “No magic being used.”

My face remained neutral. “Did you have time to look through those on the tour?” I asked, knowing that I hadn’t released the information until just before the meeting.

“No.” Aisha smiled, tilting her head to the side. “I don’t believe that information was available.”

I nodded to indicate Tarrack share the files. Jethro was an excellent poker player, his face not changing when the image of Luna appeared. The photograph of the woman I had added in her place was similar, but definitely a different woman.

“Do you recognise anyone?” I asked.

“No.” Aisha shook her head. “Although it has been a very long time and witches are capable of changing their appearance. Maybe I should get a flight to Cusco and observe the people?”

“We can’t have a priestess visit this territory,” Jethro said easily. “It’s bad enough we have something that has piqued Balor’s interest, we do not need to add to his excitement.”

I carefully watched the reaction of everyone on the call. Tarrack and Jethro were the only ones who knew I had changed the photographs of one of the people on the tour. It sent a message to them that I knew who was the real target and we were protecting her.

“I think it’s best that we have more than just lycans on this mission,” Aisha continued. “There is no offence intended, but there are many magical creatures in this world and Balor has only ever remained interested in the missing priestesses. We have ways of detecting a null shield.”

“If you’re correct, then Jethro is right. We cannot have two priestesses here at the same time,” I replied. “If we need to, we’ll bring the entire tour back to one of our bases to interrogate them.”

Aisha’s jaw tightened, but she forced herself to relax and smile. She didn’t agree, but didn’t want to argue further since two of us had vetoed her idea. “Thank you, I’m still concerned for my sister priestesses after all these years.”

“We’ll keep you informed,” I replied, rubbing above my eye. “At this moment in time, I want all teams brought in and ready for redeployment. Jethro, Paulo, and I will remain here and monitor the situation. Tarrack, ensure evacuation teams are at our closest location and ready to mobilise.”

I treated this like any other mission that involved Balor, taking the normal precautions.

Phoebe’s phone pinged and she glanced down, bringing her head up a few moments later. “I could travel to Cusco to help. I’m not a priestess, and I possess the gift of clairvoyance, so I should be able to help.”

I had never noticed how pushy Aisha was before, but I had no doubt she’d just messaged Phoebe.

“Fine,” I agreed. “Tarrack will organise your travel arrangements.”

My phone was on the desk in front of me, and I typed my own message to Tarrack.

Me: Arrange travel for Phoebe to the main facility. Have her stay there until we need her.

In other words, keep her out of the way.

“That seems a wise decision,” Aisha said. “Thank you for volunteering, Phoebe.”

Jethro: Well, that was awkward. Should we expect an accidental visitation?

Me: I wouldn’t be surprised after watching that.

“We’ll keep everyone up to date,” I said, terminating the meeting. “The tour is leaving soon, and we need to get on the road to keep them under surveillance. Tarrack will remain central contact for anything to do with this mission.”

Instead of waiting for goodbyes from everyone, I terminated the call for everyone at once, glaring at the blank screen. I had worked with all of these people a long time, and I trusted them, but today I realised some of them were holding onto secrets that had the potential to destroy everything we had built.

A knock sounded on my door and I glanced up.

“Do you have a minute?” Jethro asked, wandering in and closing the door. “I thought I recognised her. That woman on the tour is Luna, isn’t she?”

I continued to stare at him without speaking.

“I knew she was your mate all those years ago, and you disappeared the night of the massacre. There is no way that girl would have made it a mile on her own. She was innocent and lacking in every type of life experience.” He leaned against the wall and watched me.

“What do you want me to say?” I asked.

“I have questions,” Jethro said. “She is listed as one of the dead priestesses. Did you not sense her?”

“We were never mated because, as you pointed out, she was innocent. Balor would have killed her. We both know what happened the last time a priestess and dire wolf mated.” The wolf had been executed, the priestess killed, and the baby never found.

Jethro glanced away, his jaw tightening at the memory. “There are some sins that are unforgiveable, some sacrifices that should have been forbidden. A baby is an innocent soul that should be protected by the pack.” He returned his dark gaze to me. “And Aisha?”

I shrugged. “Who knows? Protecting her little sister? If no one was looking for her, and she kept her head down, she could stay hidden forever.”

His phone pinged a notification, and Jethro swiped it open. “It’s my contact at the hotel. The group is heading out.”

“You and Tarrack are the only ones who know I swapped the photographs in the files.” Jethro had fought at my side for longer than either of us cared to remember.

“I get it, your fated mate is a blessing from the great goddess,” he replied. “I’ve thought about this a lot over the years after Balor executed Max. What if the fated mate of the dire wolves were the women they chose as priestesses? It would make sense if magic needed to evolve.”

“Considering the priestesses have been hunted into near extinction, then we’re all fucked if your theory is correct,” I said.

“You’re not,” Jethro pointed out. “Luna is alive and technically five minutes down the street. Maybe you should consider bringing her in instead of climbing the walls of hotels.” He gave me one of his eyebrow lowered looks that said more than any words.

“I should have known you were lurking about somewhere,” I muttered.

“The entire reason for me being there was to lurk. If it makes you feel any better, I never once sensed her magic, so whatever she is using to conceal herself, it’s powerful.” He pushed himself off the wall. “I’ll go find Paulo and head out. If you need anything, let me know.”

I sat in silence for several minutes since it would take the tour a while to get on the road, and contemplated everything that had happened. If Jethro couldn’t detect Luna’s magic, then how did Balor know she was in Peru? She had obviously been practicing and honing her magic over the years, yet not one of our clairvoyants had detected her. Luna was an enigma, and now that I had tasted those pouty lips, I wanted her even more than I had all those years ago, and I didn’t think that was possible.

I packed my belongings in a bag with some snacks and drinks and headed to my car in the basement. The van was parked in the corner close to where the incinerator was, and I knew the evidence of the death of those two wolves was long gone, their presence irradicated from existence forever.

Music blared around me to quiet my thoughts, my fingers drumming on the steering wheel as I manoeuvred through the countryside. Towns and pockets of civilisation had popped up over the years, but there were still vast areas of untouched landscape that my wolf could run in under the moonlight.

I’d been driving for about an hour when my phone rang.

“Yeah,” I answered by hitting the button on my steering wheel.

“I’ve been monitoring different private wavelengths, and there’s chatter about a tour in Peru. There are operatives in the area and ready to move into position,” Tarrack said.

My foot pressed the accelerator down as I sped up. “Do we have eyes on any of these?” I asked, pulling out to overtake a car.

“No. I happened upon this channel since I have been monitoring everything around where you are.” I heard tapping in the background. “I can get one of our tech guys to try and triangulate where the signals are coming from.”

“Do it,” I said. “Mobilise our units. I want anyone in our territory without our permission exterminated.”

I hung up and dialled Jethro.

“What’s up?” he answered.

“We have incoming. Keep your eyes peeled,” I snapped.

“Roger that. We have the bus in our sights.”

“Any unfamiliar traffic?” I asked, panic blooming in my chest.

“Not at the moment, but we’ll keep you informed.”

“I’m going to pick up some speed and be with you shortly,” I replied.

“Roger that. See you soon.” Jethro hung up and I tried to breathe deeply, but it didn’t stop the terror that was seeping into my bloodstream. They had already tried to kill my mate, and the knowledge that there was another team here willing to take her from me sent rage pulsing deep in my chest.

I was just veering around a corner when I saw the ambush ahead of the bus. It was too late to phone Jethro, and all I could do was watch as the wheels of the bus were shredded by the device laid across the road. The bus swerved wildly on the road, and I was thankful it wasn’t one of the narrow, winding mountain roads that would have led to the death of every passenger.

My heart was in my mouth as the bus toppled onto its side and slid down the road before crashing into a rockface.

I sped forward, knowing Jethro and Paulo would be armed and ready to attack as soon as their vehicle stopped.

Smoke billowed from the engine region of the bus, vital fluids leaking across the road. Enemies slowly emerged from their hiding places dressed in dark clothes and wearing masks. Suitcases lay on the road since the side door had been torn off in the crash.

“Get those people to safety,” I called to Paulo. “Jethro, keep those fuckers back!”

There was only three of us, but there was a reason we had survived this many years. We were a deadly team who didn’t stop to ask questions or try to ascertain the circumstances of a situation.

I stalked forward, my wolf merging with me to strengthen my muscles, my bones trying to shift into my hybrid form. My fingers elongated, claws emerging at the same time my canines lengthened and filled my mouth.

One of the men tried to step in front of me, and I sliced across his throat with my claws, kicking him out of the way while arterial spurts of blood painted the ground.

My focus was set on the bus, and the safety of the woman on it. Paulo had ripped the back door off and was trying to help people climb out. I didn’t look away from the bus, my gun moving in the direction of the noise behind me, and my finger on the trigger to eliminate whoever was trying to sneak up behind me.

Jethro had taken the high ground, standing on a rock formation to fire at anything that moved toward the bus. I bent down at the front of the bus to tear the front door open, and climb in to kick the windscreen out and make a bigger door to get people out quicker.

One of the masked men tried to grab someone exiting the bus and received my gun in his face. “I would back up,” I suggested. “This is not your territory and right now I’m within my right to blow your braincells out.”

He stumbled back a step, fumbling to retrieve a machete from his belt, making huge circular movements in front of him. I pulled the trigger that was still aimed at his head.

“Asshole,” I muttered as he fell backward with a surprised expression on his face.

“Never bring a knife to a gunfight,” a guy who had crawled out of the bus said. I recognised him as the man who had been with the lady chatting to Luna.

My eyebrows flew up but I didn’t comment.

“This way,” Paulo said, leading him away from me.

“Step aside,” a voice said, gaining my attention. “This has nothing to do with you.” He aimed a gun at me. That was his first mistake as I didn’t appreciate people threatening me.

I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him until I saw him swallow. “Do you know who owns this territory?” I asked in a calm voice.

He nodded once, his eyes darting to the side. “I do, but we’ll be gone before he discovers what happened here.”

I pursed my lips together and tilted my head to the side. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Last I heard, he was in Cusco.”

“Step aside,” he said again, directing me with his gun.

Instead, I took a step forward. “And if I don’t?”

He met my eyes and that was his second mistake. There had been an alpha wolf to control us as Balor brought us all into the military. I killed him, which made me the alpha to our pack. Dire wolves possessed their own brand of magic, but those who ruled the pack were able to exert power over others of their kind. I could see inside him, feel his fear. More than that, I could mess with his emotions and inflame that fear into a very real all-consuming terror.

The problem with the wolves currently working with our enemies was that they had leaders but not an alpha. I stepped forward again and he blinked, trying to break my control over him.

“You have somewhere else to be,” I said in a low voice, sensing his indecision.

He was young, and I sensed a light inside him that hadn’t been corrupted yet.

“Get out of this place, and don’t go back to whoever your master is,” I commanded.

He struggled for a moment before dropping his gun and sprinting off in the opposite direction.

I turned in time to see Luna crawling out of the bus on her hands and knees, her backpack still strapped across her body. My mouth dried, and my feet felt as if they were filled with lead. There was blood on the side of her face and she looked confused. She touched the side of her head, blood transferring to her fingertips. She stared at it for a moment with her brow furrowed in confusion.

I was beside her in a heartbeat, lifting her up by her arms.

“My bag,” Luna muttered, trying to look around her. “I need to find it.”

No one needed to point it out to me as it had her scent on it. There was no way I was leaving her with the other tourists at the side of the road while she was injured. Paulo was on the phone with Tarrack to mobilise police to our location.

“Come with me,” I said in a low voice, my hand at Luna’s back as I made our way to my car. Every cell in my body fought against the instinct to lift and carry her, but I didn’t want to bring attention in case anyone was watching us from a distance.

I stopped for a moment to lift her case and kept walking.

Paulo had everyone sitting on the ground behind the protective barrier of their car, so I continued without stopping.

“I should be with the others,” Luna said. “We are supposed to stay together.”

She needed that head injury checked and somewhere safe to stay. I couldn’t trust myself to speak or I would start shouting right now. She leaned against my car with her eyes closed while I tossed her suitcase in the boot, her face pale and her lips trembling.

“I don’t feel well,” she muttered, her knees buckling.

I caught her before she collapsed onto the ground, pulling her against me, my arms holding her. There was no way I was leaving her on this crazy chessboard any longer for whoever was stalking her to target.

I opened the front door and carefully manoeuvred her onto the seat, pulling the seatbelt in place.

“Whoever is looking for her took some risk today,” Jethro said, appearing beside me.

“There’s a lot of fatalities here,” I replied. “It wouldn’t take too much effort for there to be another.”

He nodded once. “Tarrack has spoken to our police contacts and they’re on their way here. I’ll ask him to find a Jane Doe and make sure she’s at the mortuary with the others.”

It was an unfortunate fact of life that people died every day without anyone claiming them. There was someone hiding in the shadows who were several steps ahead of us. It was time we changed the rules and showed them that we were the harbingers of death.