Wolf's Hunger (Mafia Monsters #5) - Atlas Rose Page 0,11

from the shattered window of the car. My throat tightened as the memory returned.

The nightclub.

Their home.

Their safety.

“They lost everything.” For what? “Me, dipshit. They threw it all away for me.”

A moan ripped free as the icy wind howled right through the cavern. The bitter stench of ozone followed. A storm was coming, bearing down on me hard and fast. I lifted the bottle and drank. I couldn’t escape this storm. Couldn’t bargain and plead my way out of it.

Because it wasn’t just me now, was it?

Now I was part of a pack.

Orange lights from the lanterns splashed against the jagged edges of the rock walls. I took the Scotch and followed the glow into a darker part of the cavern. Shadows waited for me there, crouching in corners and clinging to the walls. The wind didn’t howl as loud here. There were no openings in these walls that led outside.

My hand trembling as I took a swallow and looked around. “Not the Five Seasons,” my words slurred. “But I’ve stayed in worse. Hell, I lived in worse.”

In an instant, it all came rushing back. The hate. The rage. The wasted years hunting down a family for revenge, only for my father to throw it all back in my face. You brought that thing to my home? You brought that filthy fucking dog to MY house?”

I lifted the bottle and swallowed once more. That line of loyalty inside me was shifting, blowing away grain by grain. Maybe it’d been just sand all along? Maybe I’d built my entire fucking world on sand…and now it was crumbling, falling into the water, only to disappear.

The faint trickling of water came from the far end of the space. I grabbed the nearest lantern and lifted it high, illuminating the shine of the water as it cascaded down the rock wall and fell, splashing the stone floor.

An old cupboard rested against the wall. I watched my step and moved closer, until I curled my fingers around the handle and yanked. There were piles of clothes, neatly folded. A few heavy jackets and jeans, some sweats and t-shirts, all separated into sections.

I knew whose they were without looking. Phantom’s on top, Church’s underneath, Vitold’s and Arran’s. You’ll need to use our clothes. Wear their clothes, like I wore their scents.

My breath caught as the memory of their hands returned, running down my spine, a face pressed to my hair, a cheek pressed to mine, rubbing me…more like rubbing them on me. Like a marking, a warning to any other Wolf. I swallowed hard and lowered the lantern, taking another gulp of the Scotch before I set it down. “Wear their clothes. I can do that, if that’s what it takes.”

One glance around the darkened space and I turned back toward the tiny waterfall. Hot shower, my ass. Those Wolves ran like a damn furnace, leaving the rest of us pathetic mortal creatures to fucking freeze. I hurried to step on the backs of my heels and yank my boots off. My shirt was covered with blood splatters, my pants filthy and torn from fighting Murphy.

Murphy.

I yanked my shirt over my head and stumbled, then righted myself before I reached around and unhooked my bra. My nipples hardened instantly in the icy air. I shoved my pants and panties down all together, grabbed a towel and soap, and hurried over to the water.

The small stream of water was brutal. Cold splashed onto my arms as I shivered and stepped into the waterfall. I hurried, throwing soap and water across my stomach and torso and down my legs as my teeth chattered and gnashed until I could take no more. I washed my face, grabbed the soap, and stepped free. “G-god-d-damn.” My feet slipped on the wet rock floor, pitching me forward. I windmilled my arms, catching the fall at the last second, and stumbled toward the cupboard.

I snatched the towel and hurried to dry, then yanked on everything I could, not caring about whose clothes they were, socks, sweats, t-shirts, and jackets, but still I shivered and shook. There wasn’t a lick of warmth in this place. Cold, stony. Alone. “I’m ali-ive, if that c-counts.”

I grabbed the lantern and pushed deeper, heading for the darkened room with the faint glow. The moment I stepped through the doorway, the chill cut to the bone. “Jesus, is there no damn fireplace here?”

I waited for an answer, but there was none, just a faint howl from somewhere far away…I turned