thousands of years. And I know the Ring somehow still has access to Dragonsteel.”
“And as long as they do, they won’t stop wielding it. That’s what the Ring does, Archer. They take. Whether it’s witch magic, or shifter strength. My God. They’ve been using more than Dragonsteel against your kind. I know about the camps before the shifter attacks even started. It’s not just witches they steal from. I know they would force matings between the Alphas they controlled and women who couldn’t fight back.”
He let out a roar that shook the trees. I took a step back. Archer snarled, half man, half wolf. His anger fueled me.
“So help me,” I said.
“What the hell are you planning?” he asked.
“I can do it. I’m strong enough. You’re afraid for me. You want to protect me. Well, the best way to do that is to help me take J.C. down.”
He got control of himself. “You’re out of your mind.”
“Are you scared?” I asked, taunting him.
“I could rip him in half,” he spat.
“Good. Because I might need you to. Are you in?”
He started to pace. “You’re not going to leave, are you? Christ. You’re planning to double down on this.”
I held out my hand. “I’m strong. But I know I’ll need help.”
“He’ll kill you,” he said. “He’ll kill us both.”
“Maybe so,” I said. “Or maybe we can cut the Ring off at the knees and take back some of what they’ve stolen. I feel it in you, Archer. I’m not the only one keeping secrets. He did something to you too. Is that it? I know you’re not here for the money.”
His eyes flashed, and I knew I’d guessed right. Saliva dripped from his fangs, and I could almost taste his own need for vengeance. Whatever the cause, it poured through him. Raw. Primal. Deadly.
“Son of a bitch,” he said. But he took my hand. I smiled. Then together, we headed back to the Golden Taurus.
11
Archer
On the third night of the full moon, J.C. altered the dancefloor. It happened just a few seconds before Phaedra went on. When the curtain went up, he’d placed her in the center of the floor, three feet lower than normal.
Had I known he’d do it, I wouldn’t have allowed her to go on. When the purple spotlight hit her, Phaedra froze.
This was wrong. All wrong.
“They’re too close, J.C.,” I growled into my headset.
He’d given her a hit of his weak-ass fire magic just before showtime. Phaedra played it for all it was worth, letting tiny sparks dance between her fingers. I could see J.C.’s beady little eyes glinting from the suite above us.
“Too close!” I shouted. I gestured to Topher and three of the other bouncers. I needed everyone off their sections and headed for the floor.
The driving beat of the music drowned out my voice. Phaedra stole a glance over her shoulder. I lowered my chin and locked eyes with her.
“I got you,” I mouthed. Nodding, she found a smile and turned back to the crowd.
They were everywhere. Pawing, clawing, wanting to get to her. Their eyes. Damn their eyes. It was as if J.C. had unleashed a pack of zombies. They reached for the cage, mindless, needy, dangerous.
The cage rocked. I looked up at the cables suspending it from the ceiling. Even those were an illusion J.C. could take away at any moment.
“J.C.!” I shouted. “The girl’s no good to you if they tear her up.”
“Relax,” he finally answered back, though his voice broke over the com. “She can handle it.”
Phaedra spun in time to the music. The hands got closer. Shit. J.C. had moved the cage again when I looked away.
Phaedra took a wrong step. Fingers closed around her ankle. Another grabbed her shoe and ripped it clean off. She grabbed the bars to keep from falling. I was on the move.
I let just enough of my wolf out to let loose a growl that cut through the music.
“Get back!” I snarled.
Some did. Some didn’t.
“I’ll draw blood,” I said to J.C. “I swear to God I will. I’ll kill the next one who touches her.”
J.C.’s thick laughter in my ear enraged me even further.
“Fuck this shit,” I said, ripping off my headset. I pulled open the back of the cage and got in with Phaedra. I put a protective arm around her and bared my fangs.
Those closest to the cage froze.
“It’s okay,” she whispered in my ear. “Archer. I’m okay.”
“Bullshit,” I said. “I’m calling it. Your set’s over.”
I pulled on the cable. I waited.