Page 54 of The Red Room
It lands. The arrow finds home in his large shoulder, and more horrible shrieks resonate throughout Club Völk. Black liquid spews from the wound in spurts, and each of his tendons strain around the gaping hole.
“Careful, Viktor,” I say scornfully, digging the arrow as deep as I can. “You are no use to me if you can’t stand!”
The large man falters, doubling over as his knees splash in the bloody floors. I pull out the arrow and take aim once again, this time making sure I won’t miss his heart, if Viktor Vostik does indeed have one. I steady my arm, fighting against the exhaustion setting in. One well-placed strike and this will allbe over. One final plunge. I pant and lift the arrow high, ready to send this beast back to the hell he crawled out of.
Thick vibrations hum in the red room.
Each set of chains in the walls clank together, adding an eerie chime of metal to the background. There’s something sinister building, and as I glance down at Viktor, prepared to drive this arrow through him, I feel every drop of blood drain from my face.No.
The sound, the vibrations … are coming from him.
Baring his teeth, they grow sharp and jagged. His once-pained expression turns fatal. Deadly. Something isn’t right. Fleshy canyons trail up Viktor’s nose when he snarls, leading to his low and furious brow. The flesh of his body begins to melt away, leaving only dark tufts of black fur beneath it. He’s—God, no.There’s no full moon tonight. There’s no way he can be transforming. But … he is. If I hadn’t seen a shift happen already, I wouldn’t think this is possible. Then, I remember Nik. How his limbs cracked and twisted. How his human body practically dissolved like he was dipped in acid. Viktor’s turning.
He’s turning into a werewolf.
Before I can stab the arrow into him again, the man shifting into a monstrosity knocks me back. The air rips from my lungs, and I land at the far corner of the room. My head bashes against the wall, dimming everything around me but Viktor taking his true, horrifying form. The lights above us sway as he slashes off what remains of his human self, the last ounce of skin splashing in Courtney’s blood.
It howls. A deafening sound plaguing what must be the entire city. A roar loud enough to throb in my rib cage. And as I inch backward, fighting the panic seizing my chest, two murderous eyes fix on me.
One.
Two.
Three merciless stomps in my direction.
The ground shudders beneath its clawed feet. A low snarl. Saliva oozing down each side of its jaw. Long, pointed ears nearly scraping the fifteen-foot ceiling. This creature stalks toward me, fur as black as charcoal. Gnarled hands unclenching to reveal razor-sharp nails on each human-like finger. The worst thing I see are those large, soulless eyes reflecting my own unimaginable horror. A small image of me cradling my knees to my chest in the fetal position.
This is it. Just how I imagined it to end the moment I took those fucking car keys. No one is coming. Not Dimitri. Not Nik. Here I am, staring up at death in its purest form. The real monster of the Vostik pack. And all I can manage to do is watch with fresh tears staining my cheeks.
Then the monster reaches for my throat.
TWENTY-NINE
Nik
I never thoughtthis is where I’d end up. Not in the passenger seat of a Citation six-eighty jet bound for Russia, but going to the homeland to get someone taken from Völk back. The pilots were less than enthused about being dragged out of bed for such a long trip in the middle of the night. Nothing a few extra thousand can’t fix. What do I care? It’s not my money. It’s the pack’s funds fueling the whirling engines during the pre-flight checklist. A pack I will probably not be welcome in after tonight.
While Viktor doing something demented should be expected by now, I’d be lying if I say it didn’t take me by surprise. He’s nipped at my heels since we were kids, desperate to show his worth in any way he could. It didn’t matter, though. Tradition is tradition. I was to be my father’s successor. The next alpha of the largest pack known to exist. The Vostik bloodline. And the day my dad named me heir, I stood next to Vlad Vostik in a room full of wolves kneeling in commitment to the pack.Viktor, however, only glared with contempt. It was the first fucking day I have ever seen jealousy in my brother’s eyes.
Three transport houses around Los Angeles, and not a single sign of Natalia’s friend, Courtney. I tried to get answers from the guards posted out front, and when none were of use, their throats decorated my sharp nails a horrible shade of red. The captives inside were thankful for my unexpected arrival, even if they never let me within a foot of them while running for their lives. I’m sure my intimidating stature and tattoo matching the rest of Club Völk didn’t help much, either. The thing that unsettles me the most, the one thing gnawing at my insides, is that they are innocent. None from the list I myself made and gave strict orders for the stateside pack to follow. These people were different. Wrong place at the wrong time, if I had to guess. And it seems now my brother has forgone any kind of list all together and preys on the easiest targets who stumble into our club.
I pull the chains on the seat around my torso, locking them in place. Doesn’t matter if there’s a full moon or not. The company my father hired has a strict policy no wolf shall be unshackled at any point during the flight. I don’t blame them. What pilot would want their cabin door clawed open while thirty-thousand-feet in the air? I can’t imagine there’d be a line around the corner ready to sign up for that suicide mission.
The steel lock clicks, and in an instant, I’m more confined than the humans I set free tonight.Do you get used to them?Natalia asked me once, peering up at me in the way I find so fucking irresistible. No, I can’t say I ever will. There’s something about being chained up that says you are nothing more than a rabid animal incapable of control. Maybe it’s why I’ve fought like hell to find it. So far, I’m no closer to gaining control over the curse than leaving this fucking pack. But that all changes tonight.
There’s no way I could have predictedhercoming into my club. Even through the stench of sweat and enough perfume to drive a wolf’s senses mad, there was something else. I’m not sure what desire smells like, but I knew in an instant this was as close to it as I’d get. Soft skin kissed with the scent of lavender. Beautiful brown hair draping down her shoulders. Curves in all the places I find mouthwatering. My cock throbbed at the sight of her, and even though I tried to look away, to save myself from this terrible ache settling low in my stomach, something kept bringing my gaze back to my newfound prey.
But she wasn’t onlymyprey. Someone else found her first.Veronica.
Veronica Tate, still out on bail after a night of boozing ended with her totaled Mercedez and a husband never seeing his wife and daughter again. Amazing how easily money thrown on a set of burning cars can put out the fire. I couldn’t help but watch their exchange unfold from a distance. Observing mydobychawith every intent on removing Veronica from this world sooner if I had to. The blond monster gave snide remarks wrapped in some petty, Louboutin bow. I expected it. I heard Veronica’s heartbeat the moment she saw her. It didn’t thump. It pulsed like a predator before they lunge in for the kill. But my little wolf didn’t falter. No, she stood her ground, strong and poised the entire time. Never letting the words I’m guessing she wanted to scream at her escape that gorgeous fucking mouth. While Veronica may have imagined Natalia was no better than the Völk floors she strutted on, I saw something else. A beautiful creature that didn’t give in to fear.
She’s the most intoxicating thing I’ve ever tasted, and while I may be drunk on her, I only thirst for my next drink. The hair I wish to wrap around my fist. The neck I can’t manage to keep my teeth off. Those hazel eyes I see clearly even in the darkest recesses of my mind. God, it’s all I’ve ever been able tothink about. Even chained now to this fucking seat, it’s Natalia I see when I close my eyes. And if there’s any reason I’m doing what I am now, it’s her, and I’d do it a hundred times over.
I managed to keep her safe for as long as I could, but Viktor had other plans. If I didn’t knock that drunken man into her, spilling the shot of vodka laced with sedatives, well, I might’ve carried Natalia and Courtney both out of Völk that night. I knew what he was doing when he told Alek to bring down the drink reserved for our VIP.Very important prey.I had to stop Viktor somehow without alerting the entire club what we were up to, and unfortunately for the man I slammed into the bar, I needed a scapegoat.
Maybe this is why Viktor saw his opportunity. His opening to finally gain my father’s favor and takemybirthright. I have to hand it to him. He’s more conniving than I give him credit for. What he lacks in humanity, he more than makes up for in reveling in this curse. We were both born with it, but only one of us was truly bornfor it.
And while I may be ashamed to be a Vostik, of the blood filling my veins, I know deep down it’s the only thing Viktor loves more than the delicious taste of fear. The power. The strength. The animalistic wrath that comes with it. I’ve seen this quality once before. The insatiable look of hunger. Glowing eyes always plotting. It’s the soulless glare of another monster. My father, Vlad Vostik.