Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Spade
Monkey and Coms made strangled noises as they watched Riker strip, their eyes wide as if they couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing. The air in the room seemed to tighten, charged with something electric and uneasy.
“Jesus,” Prez clipped, clearly unimpressed by his man standing mostly naked in front of everyone.
I looked away, and Coms and Monkey quickly followed suit—more out of instinct than modesty. If Razor’s clenched jaw was any indication, he was seconds from losing his shit.
Until I heard it.
Bones cracking.
The sound was wet, wrong, and unnatural in a way that made my gut twist and drew my attention back. Riker’s body folded in on itself, limbs reshaping, spine bending as fur burst through skin. It should’ve been horrifying.
Admittedly, it was.
And yet it was something amazing too.
“What the fuck?” Coms shouted, whipping his head back around despite himself.
“Holy shit,” Monkey breathed, as though he couldn’t decide if he should run or get closer.
Where a man had stood seconds ago, a fox now shook itself out, sleek and alert, eyes bright with intelligence that didn’t normally belong to any animal. Riker let out a sharp little yip, almost playful, before darting in a tight circle around Razor.
Prez’s expression softened, making it clear he thought Riker was cute. Hell, he was, but I’d heard he was deadly in this form too. Razor crouched, reaching out to pet the fox between the ears. “Be careful,” he ordered.
Riker yipped again, softer this time, like reassurance.
Prez gave a short nod. “I’ll be fine.”
Another bang echoed through the space, louder and closer this time.
Should I call Soren?
No, there was no point. I was already feeling his fear mixing with my own inside our bond. He knew something was happening. He’d be on his way. Calling would be useless and just make him worry even more. I was sure the shifters had already considered this too.
We just had to take control of whatever the fuck this was and stay safe. I didn’t want him to walk in on…. Christ. What the fuck’s gonna happen?
Then came the heavy and purposeful footsteps. Too many to know how many were about to ambush us. Christ, I hoped whoever was on guard outside was all right.
The door burst open hard enough to slam against the wall, and ten men and women, all with fangs bared, flooded in, spreading out with practiced precision. They didn’t hesitate. Didn’t falter. Predators who knew exactly what they were doing.
“Well, well,” a voice drawled, thick with mockery. “The little human pet is here.” Patrick stepped forward from the line, that same twisted, satisfied smile stretching across his face like he’d already won.
I’d bared my teeth before I even realized it. “You’ve got balls showin’ up here.”
He sneered, dragging his gaze over the room like everything in it disgusted him. “I go where I please.” His lip curled. “Though I must say, stepping inside these horrid walls is a sacrifice.”
“What do you want?” I asked, even though I was sure I already knew.
The fucker was a jealous prick.
He must have heard of our bond.
Patrick’s expression shifted, something ugly tightening his features. “Destruction,” he said simply. Then his eyes lit with something unhinged. “Because he can have no one but me.”
My stomach twisted, fury and worry mixing together.
“You know Soren and I are fated,” I said, forcing steel into my voice even as dread coiled in my chest. “If you kill me, he’ll never forgive you. He’ll never want you. And he’ll come after you.” I took a step forward despite the danger. “Leave now, and we won’t have to tell him.”
Because if he found out like this—if he walked into the aftermath to find me dead… it would destroy him.
I knew it with absolute certainty because if the roles were reversed, I’d burn the world to ash.
Patrick scoffed, like the idea amused him. “Eventually he’ll understand I acted for his own good. He didn’t know what he was doing, tying himself to a human.” His smile sharpened. “And until he sees reason, I’ll simply… disappear.”
“You’re delusional,” Razor said flatly.
Crouched beside Razor, a low growl rumbled from Riker, his small body was tense, front paws pressed to the ground like he was seconds from launching.
Patrick’s gaze snapped to him, hatred flaring.
Until I drew his attention back to me, saying, “Let everyone go, and I’ll—”
“No,” Deacon snarled, the word cutting through whatever I’d been about to say.
Patrick’s smirk widened. “You’ve surrounded yourself with interesting company.” His eyes flicked to the shifters. “But they won’t save you.”
The men behind him tensed.
The air snapped.
“Attack,” Patrick barked, the single word cracking through the room like a gunshot.
Deacon roared.
It wasn’t human—not even close. One second, he was standing there, and in the next, there was an explosion of fur, muscle, and sheer mass as his bear tore free, charging forward with a force that shook the ground beneath us.
The room erupted.
I barely registered the shocked curses from my brothers as chaos slammed into us. My guns were already in my hands, instinct taking over as I aimed and fired.
“Shoot them!” I yelled, stepping around the bar, heart hammering.
Patrick’s men moved fast—too fast. They spread out, meeting claws and fangs head-on as the shifters crashed into them. Nox moved like a shadow, precise and deadly, but even with them holding the line, a few slipped through.
Straight toward us.
We fired again and again. Bullets cut through the air, but it was like trying to hit smoke. They dodged, twisted, and blurred past shots that should’ve landed.
“Fuck,” Razor snapped. “Spade, go.”
“Like hell—”
I didn’t get the rest out.
Patrick was suddenly there.
One second, he was across the room, and the next, right in front of me.
His hand came up… and the impact hit like a truck.
Pain exploded across my face as his backhand sent me flying. My body slammed into tables and chairs that splintered beneath me as I crashed into them, the force knocking the air from my lungs.
Something cracked.
I couldn’t tell if it was some part of me or the furniture.
Everything spun. My chest refused to pull in air. Panic clawed at my throat.
“Spade,” Monkey bellowed.
“Riker!” Prez shouted, distant and warped.
A bear roared, shaking the windows.
Nox’s voice cut through the chaos, sharp and urgent. “I’m calling Dashiel!”
Who?
Wait, that was Soren’s other friend.
The fae.
Pointy ears and all.
I laughed, until it ended in a groan when I tried to push myself up. My vision swam and head pounded like it might split open. My arm trembled under my weight—and then I was slammed back down.
Beneath a boot, or a hand, I couldn’t tell. Just crushing pressure against my chest.
Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision.
Patrick moved into view above me, his grin slow and satisfied. “He will be mine,” he said.
“No,” I rasped, the word barely more than a breath.
He wouldn’t get him.
Soren wouldn’t go with him.
He couldn’t.
He was mine.
Mine the same way I was his.
I fumbled blindly over the floor, searching for anything, a weapon, leverage, something—
My fingers brushed metal.
A gun.
Hope flared.
I grabbed it, lifting—
Patrick flicked his wrist.
The gun tore from my grasp like it weighed nothing, clattering uselessly across the floor.
“It’s time to die,” he said.
A snarl ripped through the air.
It was somewhere close.
There was a flash of red and white—Riker.
The fox launched, jaw snapping shut around the back of Patrick’s neck with vicious precision.
Patrick jerked, more startled than hurt, his focus breaking.
I blinked, vision blurring from the pain radiating through every inch of me, my head ached the worst. The sounds of fighting echoed around me—roars, gunfire, shouts—but they felt far away now.
Muffled.
Distant.
My eyelids grew heavy.
Just for a second, I told myself.
I just needed a second to breathe.
To rest.
Sorry, Soren.
I didn’t even get the chance to tell him I loved him.
My heart clenched at the thought of Soren’s sorrow.
Darkness edged closer. I went to close my eyes, but there was a sudden burst of light that was soft and warm against my skin.
I blinked.
A man knelt over me. He was another otherworldly creation. Had to be.
He had long black hair, golden eyes, and sharp beauty.
“Stay with me,” he murmured.
“Dashiel,” Riker said urgently. “Fix him!”
“P-Patrick?”
“The shifters have him subdued. Relax. Let me help.”
Hands pressed against my chest.
Heat and light poured into me. I arched off the floor, groaning, burning up until there was nothing.
The pain vanished.
Air rushed back into my lungs, and I sucked in a breath like I’d been underwater.
“You are not dying today,” Dashiel said softly.
Good.
Because I had someone I needed to tell I love them.