the stairs and yanking open the front doors.
Chaos stepped out of the abandoned Hunting Ground and walked across the pavement as the unmarked sedan braked to a stop.
She opened the back door in silence and climbed in, never once looking back. Not to her Wolf, not to her past. A tremor moved through me as she yanked the door closed behind her. It’s alright, she whispered in my head. I know what we have to do now.
And I’d never been so scared in all my life.
Let me out, I yelled in my head. But that dark Unseelie bitch had her claws deep into me…
And she wasn’t letting go.
23
Phantom
I opened my hand, letting the severed head of the Wolf drop to the ground and roll away. Vacant eyes stared up at me from what was left of the beast as I shifted my gaze to the darkness. “You come for what’s mine…and this is how you’ll end. Your Alpha is dead, your pack is weak. Leave now and I’ll let you. But chose to stay, and this is your fate. You harm another,” I snarled, clenching my fist. “You go after another in this city, and the next thing you’ll see is me.”
Silence drifted from the empty buildings, but I knew what was left of the rival pack heard me loud and clear. I turned my back, letting that sickening rush sweep over me. One last glance at the gray Wolf’s head, and I made my way back along the street to where I'd parked the Jeep.
The Alpha wasn’t who I wanted.
I wanted the black Wolf.
The one I was sure was Finis.
But no matter how hard I hunted, keeping to the shadows and the back streets and far away from any cop or FBI agent, I just couldn’t find him. My phone let out a beep. I plucked it from my pocket and stared at the screen. He’s still in Cathedral City. E.
Even though I saw the words, I knew they were a lie. I pressed the button and listened to the phone barely ring before it was answered.
“Short of a DNA test, how solid is that information?”
“As solid as you can get. They say he’s still there, still attending the Inner Circle meetings, still going back to his home…alone.”
“Alone,” I forced the word through gritted teeth.
“We don’t even know if she’s alive, Phantom.”
I caught my breath at the words, my steps faltering. Only the Vampire would dare to say such a thing. “And we don’t know she’s dead, either.”
“I’m coming back to Crown. We’ll be there within the hour,” Elithien murmured. “I want you and the others to stay with us. The mortals won’t come through the fog, you’ll be safe.”
First Caedes and now Finis. How much more could our three packs handle? Still, the thought of the Vampire coven coming back sent a surge of determination through me.
“Have you seen her?”
My breath caught for a second before I exhaled and answered. “Tried to, but she has a number of sitters. Ones who don’t care for my kind.”
My pack was scattered to the wind; Arran was carefully watching the FBI building, Church the Hunting Ground, and Vitold prowling the streets, keeping an eye on the rogue packs who'd decided the woman they loved was fair fucking game.
“We’re pulling every string we know,” Elithien assured. “Putting pressure from the top down. We’ll get her back, Wolf. Don’t you worry about that.”
I knew he would. He’d be using every source of power at his disposal. “Thank, you…brother.”
“You stood by me, even when you weren’t sure I deserved it. This is the least I can do.”
“And Ruth, what’s happening with her and the Circle?” I knew the battle for her didn’t just stop at Caedes. The woman carried the strength of a thousand Vampires in her blood. They’d be after her, hunting her, just like those damn mortals hunted Carina. They wouldn’t stop. They’d never stop. Not until we made them.
“She’s safe, she’s protected. That’s all she needs to worry about. We’re stronger when we fight together.”
Stronger when we fight together…the memory of the warehouse flooded back to me. I hadn’t thought we’d get out alive. But we did. “We are. I’ll be looking for you, Vampire,” I growled into the phone, and ended the call.
I strode toward the Jeep and pressed the button to unlock it before climbing in. My cell vibrated again, this time with a call…from Church.
I started the engine and swiped the screen, putting it on speaker. “What is