Page 54 of Scars of the Sun
The Leader clarified, “You’re demanding that we do this. Not proposing. There is no benefit to us or our territory, yet we are the ones that stand to face the consequences.”
I kept my face neutral while I imagined how my penthouse bedroom would look with a Wolf-skin rug. With a small smile, I countered, “Our more… human-facing business will add revenue to this town’s economy, as well as providing employment and benefits to all who may work with us. This side of our affairs, should you agree, will never need to affect you at all.”
The Wolves behind him stood tall, committed to their roles as backup and muscle, just as Xo was to me. They obviously deferred to him, so I didn’t spare them a second glance as their Leader thought this over. Though I could appreciate it, I was unaffected by the dense smell of Pack Leader that wafted off of him, rolling with wild power.
“And just what will you be moving through here? Will you not eventually demand that we not only allow this venture but directly support it with our labor and protection, as you’ve done to the River Fall Pack in Georgia?” His voice remained dry, blank, and he pressed on, “Or overrun our community with drugs, ripping our pack apart from the inside out with chaos? To the point that the humans nearly catch wind? I’d assume that this outcome isn’t solely reserved for what used to be the Howl’s Fury Pack.”
Cold. It settled so easily. “Unfortunate outliers. And any additional involvement on you or your pack members’ parts is entirely your choice. Any and all would be compensated significantly?—”
“At the cost of honor and lives. My refusal stands. Was this all?” He took another glance around and looked at me expectantly.
Was this all? No, I was wishing I could rip open his stomach and make him watch me decorate our new space with his entrails. Which would be a mercy compared to what would happen when I reported back.
I crossed my arms, let the shifting of my jacket reveal the twin Glock’s that I much preferred to use than my own claws or fangs. “That is all, Leader Orion.”
One of the Wolves’ eyes flickered, showing their uncertainty, before they schooled their expression once again. That aside, for a pack, they were surprisingly stoic.
“Oh, one more thing!” Xo gleefully added and ran to one of our soldiers.
I watched the Wolves, bracing for what was coming, and tracked the wariness with which they watched, what they assumed, my right hand skipping with his hands behind his back.
“Don’t forget this!” Xo’s smile was sunny, bright, and a beat of confusion coursed through the little group at the meaty thud before them.
One of them screamed. Another turned green, another began trembling. The last took one look at the severed head and shot their eyes to the ceiling, tears falling.
The Leader, though, tilted his head for a beat and then crouched. He sniffed the air, gave a long exhale, and took the head in his steady hands. And when he straightened, he stood tall with what was left of the sandy-blond Wolf they’d sent to spy on us.
“You and your brother have made your point. We won’t forget this.” Though his eye contact had been fleeting during our brief parley, it was unflinching, now. A decade or so ago, I may have been moved by the steely determination in the hard edge of his jaw, but he knew as well as I that if they attempted to retaliate now, they’d never leave here alive. While all of us would. I had also been doing this long enough to know that Wolves were far too proud to take something like this lying down.
Xo and that damned katana had probably just started a war.
The Leader turned around with the felled Wolf’s head held close and led his pack members back out the way they came. Our soldiers watched with disinterested attention, having seen far worse displays than this, and returned to their rounds once the pack had officially left.
I pulled my phone from my back pocket and put it on camera mode to check my makeup. I set to reapplying my lipgloss. “You said that you had a surprise for me, Xo?”
“Hmm?”
I rolled my eyes at my reflection and pursed and puckered my lips to make sure the tinted sheen was to my liking. “Sua mente é um lugar podre.”
“Vai se fuder, Cata.” But Xo’s grousing only lasted long enough for a maniacal grin to spread. “Guess whose scent I picked up on after I caught that little weasel.”
I put my phone and lipgloss back in my pockets and crossed my arms. Xo kept nodding, waiting for me to guess, but I really wasn’t in the mood. We stared at each other, the only sounds being the music still blaring from Xo’s headphones, the shifting of our soldiers near the perimeter, and the buzzing of the fluorescent lights above.
Tone dry as the Sahara, I gave in, “You finally found Benny?” The little shithead had gone and disappeared on us when I’d given him the most simplest of tasks that wasn’t even really that necessary. If Pai hadn’t been on our asses about it, I would’ve been perfectly fine to let him just fuck off or rot wherever he was.
Xo’s eyes sparkled, and two giant hands interlocked to tuck under a dimpled chin with a dreamy shine in black eyes that matched mine, “Better. Nosso irmãozinho querido.”
PART TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
RÍO
Someone pounded on the door, jolting me awake. I blinked up at the ceiling and reached for the bedside table where I could’ve sworn I put my spare glasses. With my propensity to have unplanned shifts to release the tension that would build from being in my human form too long, I’d learned to carry them with me pretty much everywhere I went. After a few seconds and more irritating knocking, I managed to snag the frames and put them on without jostling Ramona too much.
She was stirring a little from the noise but hadn’t fully woken up yet. I was going to kill Brody for disturbing her.
Carefully, I slid out from under her and settled the covers over her chest and arms. After taking a second to make sure she was covered and still asleep, I silently stomped to the door.