Page 99 of Scars of the Sun
My heart felt like it was being torn in two as we followed Tyler back to his car. His small hand in Delaney’s was something else to ponder, but my main, terrifying concerns were for my mate, my brother, and my niece and nephew.
When we all stuffed into Tyler’s car, I tried calling Mom, only to have the phone ring until it got sent to voicemail. I tried twice more, and nothing. “Mom’s not answering the phone.” I glanced out of the window, where the city lights were dwindling and giving way to the more open road.
Sylvie’s eyes were also set on the world outside of the car. “I told him the directions to take us to the cabin. Like hell are we not helping.” She turned back to me and bit at her lip. “I’m sorry I almost killed your mate.”
My Wolf grumbled, and it came out of my mouth as a weaker, human-stained version. “I would’ve killed you if it’d gotten any closer to that. Just put that scary shit to good use on the actual bad guys.” My sister didn’t fight back, and I watched steely determination settle over her face in the form of a small smile. She nodded.
“I’m scared,” Delaney whispered from up front, and I saw the searching, desperate look he gave Tyler who kept his eyes on the road, more than breaking the speed limit.
The vampire sighed as we raced down the road that connected Antler Pointe to my brother’s land. “I’ve never willingly gotten involved in shifter bullshit, but I agree with the witch. And I’ll keep you safe, boy.” Without turning his head, Tyler wove his fingers into Delaney’s blond locks, drawing out atiny mewl from my friend who was a full foot and a half taller than him.
“Okay.” I ran my hands over my face while Sylvie was quietly reciting her fucking elf words to herself. “Once we’re done with this bullshit, there aremanyexplanations that need to be shared.”
Tyler just chuckled, continuing to pet Delaney who, from where I could see, appeared to be in heaven with Tyler’s hands on him. Thoughts of the dynamic that Tyler once admitted he preferred tried to step into the forefront of my racing mind, but I just shoved it back as the smooth road gave way to gravel.
The car slowed as we went through the trees, and my body vibrated. Even encased in the metal shield of the car, the scent of too many shifters made my mouth go dry and my heart beat even faster. There were Wolves, but also a smattering of other species, and?—
The sound of gunfire startled all of us but Tyler. Delaney yelped and covered his ears, and the light up ahead wasn’t just from the cabin. Multiple unknown vehicles were parked on the edge of the yard, and when I looked to the front porch, across the moonlit distance, I saw Mom.
She was half-shifted, gray fur winding down her bare arms and her fangs out with her snarl. A few other Wolves, fully shifted, stood beside her, as they faced a fucking line of people in suits with guns.
“Stop!” I shouted at Tyler who obeyed, just as one of the attackers turned their head, and my heart dropped.
They… looked like Río. At least, from the side. Their more feminine features, cheekbones and chin slightly softer slopes, were so startlingly like my mate’s that I knew exactly who had just had a gun drawn on my mother. The black eyes weren’t bottomless safety like Río’s but all-knowing.
“Aside from the height difference, you’d know Cata from her sharpness and Mara from her smile. Both are fucking deadly in their own way.”
Delaney started to release a stream of “No no no no no no no,” hands holding his ears and eyes clenched shut as if he could will everything to stop.
Catalina, I identified, waved her gun at us. “Get out of the car.” The soft command was heard by us all, but it wasn’t until she shot one of the headlights of Tyler’s car, glass smashing, that we moved to comply.
Tyler was hissing, though whether his anger was about the car or Delaney turning into a sobbing mess, I didn’t know.
As I closed the black car door, my own anger was eclipsing everything. Finally, I was faced with one of my mate’s torturers. When would I get this chance again? My Wolf paced within my chest, wanting to exact revenge, but my more logical mind tried to remind us both that my niece and nephew were certainly inside and in danger. And where were Río and Orion?
Howls from the woods reached my ears, as well as a grating, sawing roar, just as I began to worry. How had we beat them?
The four of us stood beside Tyler’s car, but it wasn’t enough to make the Serafim goons lose their attention on Mom and the Wolves from the pack that’d probably been sent here to escort her and the babies to Tina’s.
I sniffed the air, trying to get my bearings on who I was facing, but, who was I kidding? Even with the four of us—well, three, since Delaney was a trembling mass hunched into Tyler’s side—how were we to take down a Shifter with a gun?
“And Cata is like my father. She can shift into pretty much any animal. I’m the only sibling that’s limited to just one other form.”
Catalina Serafim, my… sister-in-law, crossed her arms while still holding her gun. Her white silk blouse was tucked elegantlyinto her black trousers, her hair slicked into a neat bun at the base of her skull. “Well,” her brows rose. “Now, this is interesting.”
Tyler and I both growled, and I cracked my knuckles down at my sides. Sylvie had gone quiet, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her expression taking on that eerie, witchy vacancy. The one that filled with darkness as she’d tried to go for Río. Here’s hoping her grandparents truly taught her a thing or two.
“Now, how did the whore of Howl’s Fury team up with the mate of the arrogant Pack Leader here?And,” Catalina zeroed in on me, “why in the hell do you smell like my brother?”
I felt the presence of Wolves around me, scented blood that I prayed wasn’t theirs, and straightened my spine. Stretching my senses, I felt my mate not too far away, his calm heartbeat influencing mine to not be afraid. At least enough to speak when I had no weapon of my own but my fists.
“I’m his mate.”
Sylvie’s featherlight whispers reached my ears, but I kept my attention forward, facing Catalina’s scrutiny. Hopefully it would buy Orion and the others time to get the babies out.
Río’s sister tilted her head, appraising me like I was an abstract painting. Trying to understand what the appeal was when she just saw a bunch of paint splatters. “Hm. And the sister of the Pack Leader, if my scenting is to be believed.” She continued to search, mind practically buzzing with calculations. She turned to Delaney, “And did you sleep with this entire pack too, Wolf whore? I guess anything to ingratiate yourself, right?” Tyler gave a louder, more grating hiss and stepped in front of my friend who was barely conscious at this point. My guess was that the Serafim Group had been brutally responsible for his old pack’s demise.
“Mommy!” A scream sounded from inside the house, and it seemed to startle even Catalina. The Wolves on the porch,including Mom, growled at the guns trained on them, ramped up by Dahlia’s call of distress.