Traitor (Shifters Unlimited: Clan Black Book 3) Page 4

  “Evidently, she was a well-kept secret,” Deacon said with a dead tone. “She’s being held at their clan stronghold. I received a call from Vendrick. You should expect trouble. Gauthier’s team has a reputation as violent and undisciplined. Their request, Rayven’s delivery to us, and the publicity this will cause are likely part of a larger plan.”

  “I’ll look forward to trouble.” It would be a good way to dole out his aggression. He didn’t fool himself it would diminish his fury, but the enforcers had killed his father, allowing Gauthier to steal across the territory border during Deacon’s father’s reign as alpha. If he had an opportunity, he’d kill them all, regardless of the consequences.

  His cat growled, bucking inside him. Killing a few of the alpha’s guard wouldn’t siphon off any of Breslin’s venom. Instead, he could vent it on the greedy, power-hungry daughter who’d stolen his life mission.

  Breslin had never killed a woman, based on a promise he’d made himself decades ago. One he now considered breaking and defensible. In order to have taken out Gauthier, she had to be harder and colder than her old man, making her a worthy opponent. One who didn’t need him to hold back his skills. Ridding the world of Gauthier’s bloodline seemed an appropriate final gesture.

  Of course, Deacon would be pissed.

  “What will happen after she’s found guilty by the tribunal?”

  Deacon’s eyes never wavered from their midnight pitch, and a strange gold sparkled there instead of the red Breslin associated with irritation. His alpha was plotting again. An uneasy shiver slithered down Breslin’s spine.

  “She’ll be put to death by alpha challenge.”

  “Only by an alpha?” Breslin growled, finding the end of his patience. All these years and the bastard had slipped through his grasp with the help of his demon spawn. He’d gladly offer himself as the executioner. At this point, one Karndottir was as rotten as the next.

  “All the alphas. There’s no chance of survival.” Deacon’s brows lifted slowly. “However, first, she needs to be proven guilty.”

  Was his alpha plying him with sarcasm? Breslin shrugged and headed for the door. “That won’t take long. Apple. Tree.”

  “I don’t think he even saw me on his way out,” Lena said, entering the room again. “I’m not insulted or anything, but he’s the most frighteningly focused person I know, and he looked…zoned out.”

  “Be glad he was distracted. It means he’s thinking instead of allowing his creature to take control.” Deacon wasn’t quite certain what to make of Breslin’s emotional state. He’d anticipated a violent surge. Instead, the shock of Gauthier’s death had broken through the ice Breslin kept around his emotions of late, resulting in close to a total meltdown. He’d need a little time for what was happening to sink in. The fact that a Karndottir heir existed might prove a godsend. With any luck, the cold logic Breslin usually wore like a second skin would have a chance to resurface during the long drive to the Karndottir clan stronghold.

  “Are you sure he’s the right choice for this pickup? I thought you told me Gauthier killed Breslin’s family in front of him.”

  “He’s the best person to send. She will be all he can think about.”

  Lena’s brow pulled together. “Not in a good way.”

  “Once he brings her back across my border, I can put her into someone else’s custody.”

  “Nope.” She tapped him on his chest. “There’s more to your reasoning. Spill it.”

  “It’s time Breslin acknowledges that vengeance, not justice, rules him. From the little intelligence I’ve received, Rayven Karndottir has a bull’s-eye on her back. A ticking clock set by her father’s followers. On the slim chance that she’s innocent, she’ll need him. He’s not only one of the cleverest fighters in our clan, he’s also instinctual in battle. But at his core, he is one of the most honorable men I’ve ever known.”

  “He appeared anything but clearheaded. That was also a hard blow to have the object of his hate disappear.” Her lips twisted in thought in a way that tempted him, yet the focused look in her eyes held him back. “You suspect she didn’t kill her father?”

  “Hosting the tribunal assigns me with the role of finding evidence for the accused. But I doubt whether she’s guilty or not matters as much as what is really going on in the Karndottir clan. Another alpha will see this as an opportunity.”

  Lena’s eyes widened for a moment. “That sounds a bit Machiavellian for this day and age.”

  “Nothing’s more primal than men and women with great power and the opportunity to possess more.” Deacon frowned and then ran a finger across her lower lip. “I have no designs on the Karndottir territory.”

  “Never thought you did,” she said with a hint of laughter. “So, back to Breslin.”

  “If someone attempts to kill Rayven before she reaches this compound, he will stop them. Right now, he’s convinced himself he wants to be the one to end her life.”

  “Not if she’s innocent.” Her muscles tensed beneath his hands as she examined his expression with worry. She’d taken to his team. Whether he wanted it or not, Breslin had fallen beneath her umbrella of protection—making him one of those special people she looked out for personally. Losing any member of their team was not an option. “He could barely restrain his growl. Hate will cloud his judgment.”

  “He will bring her here, unharmed.”

  “Pretty sure of yourself.” She remained stiff in his arms as he brought her soft body tight against his and tugged playfully on her long braid. “I hope so, for his sake. Have you met her?”

  “I didn’t know she existed until I received the tribunal request.” At her scoff, he pulled back to look at her with an incredulous expression. “What? I’m not omniscient.”

  But he did have suspicions. The unusual energy he’d felt flow from across the border and the current situation with Rayven set his instincts flaring. However, revealing his thoughts at this point would only muddle both his and Lena’s thinking once they assessed Rayven for guilt or innocence.

  Unfortunately, his mate’s rigid stance and crossed arms intimated he wouldn’t get a second more of her attention until he gave a little ground. He’d give her a tidbit. “Gauthier was a bastard. Even Vendrick gave him a wide berth, though he dropped into that territory every now and then to remind him that he wasn’t immortal.”

  “I’m surprised he didn’t take Gauthier out.” She tilted her head. “Vendrick would have known about a daughter.”

  Good point. Why hadn’t Vendrick told him? He’d had Breslin as his ward and disciple for decades before the cougar submitted to pledge to his alpha, and he obviously hadn’t told him either.

  “Will Vendrick be here for the trial?”

  Deacon nodded.

  Lips pursed and head cocked, she examined him as if she could see into his brain. “The tribunal would be the ideal opportunity for a spy to sneak into your pack. Given Gauthier’s reputation, this will draw a crowd to see what happens.”

  “My thought as well. A distraction intended to keep us off guard. Gauthier was more than unpopular. He bedded an untold number of females in his clan in order to produce a son.” He noticed Lena’s nose wrinkle as one eyebrow rose. “Rumors were that Gauthier discarded those who bore him no children and killed all who bore him daughters—and their infants.”

  “His pack let him kill his mates?”

  “Not mates. Breeders,” Deacon said with disgust. “He ran his pack like a medieval fiefdom. He took other men’s daughters, wives, and pledged mates.”

  “Creating a long line of enemies,” she added with a hard look.

  “Silent ones. No one who questioned his actions survived. His clan members earned few collective and no individual rights. Their family units—at least as far as my sources tell me—existed at his whim.”

  “Why was no tribunal called for his actions?” Disdain colored her voice. He didn’t blame her.

  “Alphas tend to stay out of each other’s business, though I
accepted a number of people from his clan into mine.” He reached for her hand, and she held herself just out of reach. “But Breslin’s point is valid. For the clan officially to charge Rayven using the surname Karndottir, they’d have to claim her, legitimizing her as a child of Gauthier’s mate. It would explain why she survived while others died.”

  Lena was silent for a moment and then said slowly, “With so many out there with anger like Breslin’s, Rayven Karndottir will likely have more enemies who hate her because of her name.”

  “Or she could be a coldhearted killer.” With a harsh exhale, Deacon pulled his mate against him and sank back into the couch, considering the options.

  “When you claimed me in front of the clan, you and I agreed to an equal exchange. I believe you still know more than you’re telling.” Lena laid her hand on his chest and glanced up with a primal seductive gleam in her eye. He opened his mouth slightly and inhaled, searching for a sign of arousal. He growled with pleasure as the sweet scent of lemon and jasmine teased his taste buds.

  Her fingers slipped between the buttons of his shirt and brushed with liquid heat against his skin. “I’m tempted to use my wiles to make you talk.”

  “By all means, please torture me. But if I reveal all my secrets, we’ll have no mystery left between us.” This time she melted into his arms with a soft laugh that made parts of his anatomy forget about clan business and tribunals.

  “I think our near-death challenge on the mountain—which wasn’t that long ago—is all the excitement we need for a while. I’ll make you a deal. Bring me up to speed on the tribunal details, and I won’t go off and dig up information on my own.”

  He smoothed his thumb over her skin until she relaxed in his hold and lifted her fingers for a kiss. “Remind me why I didn’t choose a docile mate.”

  “Because you need a strong woman at your side and would have been bored to tears.”

  “True.” He kissed the top of her head and breathed her scent deep into his lungs.

  A perfunctory knock at the door saved him from more questions. To be fair, he had too many questions himself. Ones he needed help from his allies to answer. “Come in.”

  He held Lena as Shanae Philmont popped her head inside.

  “Alarico is waiting for you to call him. Whitman is scheduled to call you at two this afternoon. Alpha Ping has confirmed a private meeting with you. She and her mate land six days from now.” She wiggled her fingers to fend off his question. “She doesn’t trust having the conversation over the phone, so she’s arriving early.”

  With a nod, he retrieved his cell phone and waited for the closing door. Then he pressed a kiss to Lena’s temple. “First, let’s see what our allies can add to clear up this mess.”

  “I’m gathering not all the shifter alphas on the international board are your fans.”

  “They don’t need to like me to abide by the rules we’ve agreed to in blood. You up for this?”

  She slid off his lap, onto the couch cushion beside him. “Please. I never expected making a life with you would be easy. Let’s get started.”

  3

  Karndottir Stronghold

  Kootenay National Park, Canada

  Rayven stumbled and gasped as she crashed onto one knee on the packed dirt floor. Her shoulder slamming against the concrete wall stopped her from actually falling on her face, but the jarring impact shot pain from her rotator cuff down to her midsection.

  Pulled tendons, bruised muscles, and broken ribs she could tolerate—as long as she didn’t move. Unfortunately, keeping her balance was tough with her hands tied behind her back.

  But her guards didn’t want to kill her. Merely torment her and incite her to fight back because they knew she couldn’t. They’d tried to provoke her over the last several days, ever since she’d woken from a drugged stupor. But there was only so much they could do in the small shack where they’d kept her chained to an iron ring in the wall. A brief visit from Alpha Karndottir’s second, Jacob, ensured they didn’t fatally injure her.

  Lot of good that did her, and why he bothered, she didn’t know. Now, she sat caged in the clan sanctuary. What a joke. The land offered only nightmares for those unlucky enough to stumble across it, but for her, a shifter born on these grounds, it delivered tiny electrical shocks along her skin. Whether stemming from her own fear or the alpha’s power leaching out to torment her, she hoped she wouldn’t spend eternity in a cell in the basement of her father’s house.

  She eyed her prison. Not even an upgrade from her previous jail, though she couldn’t remember much of the last few days except for fading in and out of consciousness. At least the cot, toilet, and sink here were all in one open space. Her captors would love that. She twisted her arms behind her back with no more success in getting free. But she was more worried about what they’d done with Nathan than her own predicament. The van holding him hadn’t been anywhere in sight by the time she’d been relocated. She hoped he’d survived.

  At a loud whine of rusted metal on metal, she raised her head. Jacob stood in the doorway to her cell with his arms crossed over his barrel chest, staring at her. Goddess, how she hated every last enforcer on the alpha’s team. If she had the power of her beast, she’d end them all. However, Jacob was taller, with muscles like a bull, and faster than she was—if only because he had the luxury of embracing his beast anytime he wanted. On the other hand, God had shortchanged him in the brains department.

  No matter how many times he’d challenged her to shift in order to claim her as his mate he’d failed. Not because she’d physically beaten him, but because she’d refused to give in. Not for him or any of the other men in the Karndottir clan who pressed to land their mark and possess her. She’d survived through sheer stubbornness, preferring death in her human form before she gave any of them the pleasure of claiming the alpha’s daughter for their mate.

  That was the law by the alpha’s mandate. They had to possess her animal to claim her.

  A bitter pill to swallow since Karndottir gained as much joy from her misery as his men did from their sadistic pursuit.

  However, the glint in Jacob’s eyes indicated he planned to try one more time. Spare me.

  He didn’t bother closing the door behind him. It was humiliating that he knew her strength wouldn’t sustain her getting past him, much less running down the hall, up a flight of stairs, and across the compound to freedom.

  “You know this is getting boring, Rayven. Seeing you bruised, bloodied, and defeated. Again.”

  “And yet it took six men,” she spat out. “Five barely capable humans and one shifter to bring me in. What, don’t any of you own a phone? Haven’t any of you learned the social nuances of issuing an invitation and waiting for an answer? Most women don’t consider being beaten and dragged by their hair a mating ritual.”

  His jaw clenched, and the hard darkness she knew too well froze in his features. “So fucking cocky.”

  She knew better than to reply. Having watched Jacob claw his way up through Karndottir’s ranks, she’d seen him at his worst. For a wolf shifter who beat the clan children and seduced other men’s wives, he delved pretty low. But the icky stink of satisfaction swirling around him made her want to gag. For all his grand position as second-in-command, he held no authority to speak of. Karndottir’s ego didn’t accommodate for sharing even an infinitesimal portion of his power with others.

  “Or are you coldhearted enough that murdering our alpha didn’t give you a moment’s pause?” Jacob tilted his head, his lips pulled back to reflect his gleaming white teeth.

  What? “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she forced past the shock squeezing her chest. No way was Karndottir dead. He was too mean-spirited to die, though she’d spent sleepless nights wishing for just such an outcome. But even as self-interested as Jacob was, he wouldn’t joke about the death of his alpha.

  “You can drop the guileless, innocent act.” The words tripped off his tongue, smooth and surprisingly practiced. She s
crutinized his expression for a hint of the disbelief she felt. Instead, a slight curl at the corners of his lips hinted at satisfaction. Had he been involved somehow? “Everyone knows there was no love lost between you and your father. You’ve made that very clear for years now.”

  “Everyone also knows I’d never stand a chance surviving a battle against the alpha.”

  Neither would Jacob. But perhaps five to ten of Jacob’s team would if they joined together. However, only if they bribed appropriately with money and promises of positions and power—and it was a full moon powered by gypsy magic. So like, never.

  “Probably why you used a knife inlaid with silver and a gun with silver bullets. Overkill. Cowardly too, don’t you think? But then, since you can’t shift, what else would you use?”

  “You know very well I didn’t kill anybody, much less leave evidence behind.”

  With an affable smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We caught you trying to escape over the territory line into Sheridan’s lands.”

  The oily stink of lies wavered around him as he stalked toward her. She didn’t cower. One good strike from his fist would knock her unconscious, but she’d never give him the satisfaction of a reaction.

  He squatted where she still knelt on the floor, braced against the wall. “I’ll make you one last offer, Rayven. Shift and accept me as your mate, or I will turn you over to the alpha tribunal.”

  If the alpha truly was dead, then why was Jacob still adhering to the old law and waiting to claim her in animal form? Ah yes. Either Jacob wasn’t that quick at catching on or he had another reason. Either way, she now thanked the supposedly departed alpha for one blessing. “Hell, no.”

  His open-handed slap slammed her away from the wall and into the cot frame. Even with every muscle tensed against the pain, it hurt like hell, but she didn’t cry out. Don’t let them see what they do to you. Right, Mom. She owed her steel backbone to her long-departed mother.