2
Then the dogs exploded into motion. Meatball launched himself at the first man’s legs while Atlas went high, his massive paws slamming into the second man’s chest. Jimbo and Princess Consuela darted between them, creating chaos as the men stumbled and cursed.
Darcy didn’t wait to see the outcome. He sprinted down the sidewalk, his phone already in his hand, dialing Luca’s number as his feet pounded the pavement.
“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” he panted into the phone.
“Hey, mi amor ,” Luca’s voice came through, warm and familiar.
“Hyenas!” Darcy gasped out between breaths. “They want to use me as bait. The dogs are—”
He glanced back to see the two men fighting to untangle themselves from four furious dogs.
A low, dangerous growl rumbled through the phone. “Where are you?”
“Maple Street, near the park. The dogs are—” Darcy risked another look back and saw the men had managed to separate themselves from the dogs, who were now circling warily.
“I’m on my way,” Luca snarled. “Get somewhere public. Now.”
“The dogs—”
“Will be fine. They’re tougher than they look. Just run, mi amor .”
Darcy’s lungs burned as he pushed himself harder, his sneakers slapping against the concrete. Behind him, he could hear the men giving chase, their footsteps heavy and determined.
The park came into view—and with it, a group of morning joggers and a woman pushing a stroller. Darcy had never been so happy to see random strangers in his life.
He burst into the open space, gasping. “Help! Those men are chasing me!”
The joggers turned, their faces shifting from confusion to alarm as they saw the two men pursuing him. One of them, a woman in her forties, immediately pulled out her phone.
“I’m calling the police,” she announced loudly.
The hyenas skidded to a halt at the edge of the park, their expressions shifting from predatory to frustrated. They couldn’t make a move with so many witnesses around.
The first man caught Darcy’s eye and smiled that cold, razor-edged smile again. Then he pointed two fingers at his own eyes before pointing them at Darcy—a clear message.
We’re watching you.
Then both men melted back into the surrounding streets, disappearing as quickly as they’d appeared.
Darcy sank onto a nearby bench, his whole body shaking with adrenaline. The woman with the phone sat beside him, her expression kind but concerned.
“Are you okay, honey? Do you know those men?”
“No,” Darcy said, which was technically true. “Just... wrong place, wrong time, I guess.”
The distant roar of a motorcycle engine made his head snap up. Relief flooded through him as he spotted Luca’s familiar red Harley tearing through the street, followed by three other bikes.
His wolf had brought backup.
Luca was off his bike before it had fully stopped, his eyes wild as he scanned Darcy for injuries. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m okay.” Darcy stood on unsteady legs, letting Luca pull him into a fierce embrace. “The dogs—we have to get the dogs.”
“Raphael and Chopper are already on it,” Luca murmured against his hair. “They’ll be fine.”
“I’m sorry,” Darcy whispered. “I should have stayed close to the shop like you asked.”
“No.” Luca pulled back, his hands cupping Darcy’s face. “You did exactly what you should have done. You fought back, you got away, and you called for help. I’m so fucking proud of you.”
The words hit Darcy like a warm wave. Proud. Luca was proud of him.
“But this changes things,” Luca continued, his expression growing serious. “They know about you now. They’ll use you to get to me.”
“So what do we do?”
Luca’s eyes hardened, amber bleeding into the gray. “We end this. Once and for all.”
* * * *
Darkness had settled over the countryside like a heavy blanket, carrying the scent of pine and decay.
Fifty yards ahead, light spilled from the windows of a rundown farmhouse where the hyenas had been holed up.
Music thumped from inside, bass vibrating through the walls.
The acrid stench of drugs mixing with cigarette smoke permeated the air while colored lights flashed against grimy windows.
Alejandro crept along the left flank while Chopper took position on the right. Raphael and Suero took position by the side door. There were a dozen more wolves scattered throughout the pine trees.
Branches creaked overhead in the night breeze, and somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted its mournful call. Grass whispered against their boots as the pack moved in perfect synchronization, years of hunting together allowing them to flow through the shadows like liquid violence.
Matias raised his fist, signaling the pack to halt.
Luca crouched behind a cluster of oak trees, his wolf prowling restlessly beneath his skin, hungry for blood after what those bastards had tried to do to Darcy. That crossed every line that mattered.
Matias gestured with quick, precise hand signals. Luca read them easily—surround the house, wait for his signal, no survivors.
Good. Luca wanted them all dead.
His wolf snarled low in his chest, hungry for blood.
Movement on the front porch caught his attention.
A brawny guy in a tight tank top pushed through the screen door, already reaching for a cigarette.
He flicked his lighter, the flame illuminating soulless eyes.
One deep drag then he exhaled slowly, scanning the darkness like he sensed something was wrong.
He did. Just not fast enough.
Luca moved, closing the distance in three silent steps. His hands found the man’s neck. One quick twist and the guy dropped like a stone, cigarette tumbling from slack lips. Luca caught the body, lowered the corpse to the wooden boards, then dragged it behind a stack of empty beer crates.
One down.
Moving as one unit, the pack surrounded the house. Luca watched Santiago slip around the corner while Chopper scaled the back fence. Within minutes, every exit was covered. No one would escape this time.
Matias held up three fingers, then two, then one.
All hell broke loose.
Luca kicked in the front door, his Glock steady in his grip. Windows exploded inward as wolves poured through every opening. Screams erupted from inside, followed by the sharp crack of gunfire. Muzzle flashes lit up the interior like deadly fireworks as hyenas scrambled for weapons.
A hyena rounded the corner, weapon raised, but Luca put two bullets in his chest before the bastard could squeeze the trigger. Blood sprayed across faded wallpaper as the body crumpled.
Luca rolled behind a moth-eaten couch, splinters exploding from the wooden frame as bullets tore through fabric and stuffing.
His wolf wanted to shift, to tear throats with fang and claw, but the confined space made it impossible. Instead, he relied on human weapons and experience. Three hyenas rushed him from the hallway. He put them down before they could get off a shot.
Then, as suddenly as the chaos had started, silence fell. Only the music kept playing, some mindless rap song that seemed obscene in the sudden quiet.
Luca headed back outside, the cool night air washing away the stench of death and drugs.
Chopper emerged from the house, wiping blood from his knuckles before pulling out a cigarette. “Damn, that felt good,” he said, lighting up with steady hands.
Luca nodded, but his mind was already elsewhere. They’d eliminated the immediate threat, but this wasn’t over. Too many loose ends remained, and the biggest one wore a deputy’s badge.
Gilmore was working with the hyenas.
How deep did the corruption go? Was Sheriff Mahoney involved, or was Gilmore operating independently? Either way, the deputy represented a problem that wouldn't go away on its own.
After hearing the terror in Darcy’s voice when he’d called, after imagining what those hyenas would’ve done to his mate, there was no mercy in Luca’s heart.
But tonight wasn’t about Gilmore or corrupt law enforcement. Tonight was about getting back to Darcy, to his mate who’d shown more courage in one morning than most people managed in a lifetime.
Chopper took a long drag then glanced at him sideways. “You thinking about your mate?”
“Always.” The word came out rougher than he intended, but it was true. Every breath, every heartbeat, every moment since they’d bonded—Darcy was there in his thoughts. “Can’t wait to get back to him.”
His elegido . Just thinking about those green eyes made something warm unfurl in his chest.
Amazing how a week ago, Luca had been a bachelor mechanic with no attachments, no complications. Then a pit bull had gotten his teeth into Jared’s tire, and everything changed.
All because of the sweetest dog walker who couldn’t control a pack of house pets to save his life.
Now Darcy was his whole world, and Luca would burn down anything that threatened him.
THE END