Punished Read online

  “Our pack will see what a piece of trash he is,” Sebastian said soothingly. “They’ll alert the Elders; changes will finally be made.”

  Mary let out a long breath, as if relieved. Had she met Jeremiah? No, she couldn’t have.

  “Oh, the Elders will know about this,” Sophia promised, her eyes narrowed on her small face. Again, Raphael doubted their strategy. Sebastian would never recover if Sophia were hurt, much less killed.

  But Sebastian was smart as well as strategic, characteristics he’d proven again and again while financing the pack. If he really thought the botos posed a great risk to Sophia, he never would have suggested her involvement. He knew better than anyone what his sister was capable of.

  Soon Sophia was outfitted with enough weapons to outweigh her, including both a handgun and small tranquilizer gun supplied by Mary, but she simply stowed them away in various pockets and loops as if they were nothing. The group agreed to meet at Thump at ten that night, Heath silently frowning as they spoke, his arms crossed over his chest. His phone buzzed for the fourth time since Sophia’s arrival, creating a square of light in his pants pocket.

  “You going to get that, buddy?” Alex asked.

  “No,” Heath ground out.

  Alex held up his hands in defeat. “Sorry I asked.”

  Raphael, Mary, Heath and Alex left the brewery, a solemn silence falling over them. Raphael knew they were all thinking the same thing: What if she’s not as tough as she seems to be?

  Heath was easily the most agitated of the group. He kicked a tree so hard bark went flying. Two blocks before they reached the firehouse, he jerked a one-way sign into a ninety-degree angle. Mary watched him with wide eyes, but she was the first to approach him. She touched him lightly on the back to gain his attention. He turned to snarl at her, his expression forcibly relaxing at Raphael’s furious growl.

  His friend seemed to have calmed down, but Raphael carefully watched every move he made as he interacted with his mate. It was unusual, but Heath was unstable.

  “She will burn that place to the ground, like you and Raphael did to one of their houses,” she threw affectionate, proud glance to Raphael, who’d told her about taking out the terrible place during their date last night, “before she’ll let them so much as touch her, and I bet she can do it without harming a single human.”

  Heath shook his head. “Do you know how impossible that sounds? We’re expecting too much of her.”

  Mary nodded. “I think she expects as much and more of herself,” she said.

  Alex walked backward to face them, his smile turning to a grimace and back as he tripped over a tree root in the cement. “She can do damage.” He raised his eyebrows. “The woman is downright scary.”

  Heath snorted; Alex huffed impatiently. “Believe me or not, asshat, if anyone can hold their own long enough for backup to arrive, it’s Sophia. And that’s if she doesn’t up and take them all out herself.”

  So Sebastian and Alex were in agreement. Good. The two weres who knew her best believed this would work. A small portion of his guilt receded, his concern turning to Mary. What had happened back at the brewery?

  He asked her a few minutes later, back at the firehouse. Heath had made a beeline for the workout room, Alex following him to make sure he wouldn’t break the treadmill he’d just replaced.

  “I don’t want to lose you,” Mary whispered, her eyes filling up. She turned to look at the ceiling, trying to blink away her tears. Raphael wrapped her in his arms, wishing he could protect her even from the act of crying. He hated to see her cry.

  A few minutes later, she met his gaze. “I don’t want someone like Jeremiah to keep you from me,” she said, salty trails marking her delicate features. Even sobbing, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. “I can’t explain it, but I need you, Raphael.” She hiccupped, shook her head. “I’m sorry, I know we agreed you would have to leave.”

  “No.” Raphael’s voice trembled from his own emotion. This was his mate; he couldn’t have her thinking he wouldn’t fight for her. He wouldn’t leave her, no matter the circumstances. In that moment, he refused to believe anything could separate them.

  It was why Jeremiah had to be eradicated.

  He lifted her face to his and kissed her gently. “I’m not going anywhere,” he promised. “No one, not even my lupus dux is going to stand between me and my woman.” He kissed her again, harder. “I want to keep you too,” he said. “I will.”

  Mary started crying again. Still hiccupping, she smiled. Their mouths met in the wettest kiss Raphael had ever experienced.

  As he and Mary alternately pulled each other to his bedroom, Mary laughing and crying at the same time, Raphael absently wondered what Sophia meant to Heath. If anyone ever dared to place Mary in such a perilous situation—no matter what the circumstances—he would rip out their throats with his teeth.

  * * * *

  A content Molly in her arms, Mary watched Cael pace across Wish’s open kitchen and living room, his heavy boots soundless against the polished hardwood. Almost an hour ago, Raphael and Heath had dropped her off before heading to Thump. Raphael flat-out refused to let her go with them, insisting it would throw the entire operation off should the botos or their henchmen try to kidnap her.

  “I’d kill all of them,” he’d told her earnestly.

  She believed his harsh statement, the words wrapping around her like a blanket. She also knew he didn’t want her to see Sophia being taken, as it would haunt her even more for witnessing and allowing it to happen. It would deeply disturb Raphael, no matter how necessary Sophia’s kidnapping was.

  “Go,” Aiyanna said from her perch on the granite countertop, her legs swinging out, punctuating her command. “We don’t need you here.” She threw her car keys at Cael. A strange doll hung from them, an unnatural smile drawn on its face. Cael caught the keys without a glance in their direction, his eyes cast downward.

  “I don’t understand how they can do this to her,” Cael said, his stride continuous.

  “This is the only way they know how to end the botos’ reign of terror,” Mary said softly. “They could probably use your help.” She didn’t move from her spot in a soft armchair. Cael was on edge in a way that warned her away from him.

  Molly didn’t feel the same way. She scooted herself off Mary’s lap, lifting her slight weight to stand. Mary thought she would make a beeline for Wish or Leila, who were poring over Leila’s textbooks they’d spread across a coffee table, but Molly ran up to Cael, taking his hand and keeping speed with his pacing. She jogged for a moment, her dark curls bouncing, until Cael slowed.

  Looking down at the little girl who clasped his hand, Cael asked, “You think I need to go help my pack, don’t you?”

  Molly nodded eagerly. “Go help!” she exclaimed.

  Cael inclined his head to her. Heat seared his gaze as he looked at Aiyanna. “You’re right,” he said. Clutching her keys, he grabbed a salt shaker and walked out the door.

  “I’m always right!” Aiyanna called after him. Molly waved.

  Somewhat relieved Raphael would have more backup if something were to go awry, Mary turned to Aiyanna. “Now we wait,” she murmured irritably. She didn’t like being this powerless, unable to help Raphael.

  “It won’t be long,” Aiyanna said self-assuredly.

  “What?” Mary had expected them to be gone for hours.

  Aiyanna held up her phone, touching a cheerfully colored application. “I can track where my car goes,” she said with a sly smile. “Once they stay in one place for a while, we’ll roll in and help.”

  “I think I can manage Molly and Leila,” Wish said dryly. He’d warded the house against botos, using salt, which he’d found would greatly weaken them and stop humans under their control altogether. “They’re river dwellers,” he’d explained to Raphael and Heath earlier that night. “Their base form can’t tolerate salt.”

  Glad to be in a position where she could do something, Mary sat ba
ck and watched Aiyanna’s car scuttle along a miniature map of New Orleans for a moment before taking out her own phone.

  Unable to stem her curiosity, she used the spare time to Google search the term thysía. She’d hoped to go through Wish’s books to find the answers she needed, but there were so many on his wall-to-wall bookshelves, she didn’t know where to start without asking him. It was a conversation she didn’t want to get into.

  More search results popped up than she expected, but they were all in Greek. Before the translation downloaded, Aiyanna looked down at her phone curiously, and Mary quickly exited her browser before the shapeshifter saw what she was researching.

  With a sigh, she conceded she would find what thysía meant soon enough. Never in her life had she feared a sunrise more.

  * * * *

  The music at Thump felt like a jackhammer against Raphael’s sensitive ears. He couldn’t understand how Sebastian and Alexander actually liked places like this. Like last time, Raphael didn’t bother to dance. He stood, scanning the crowd for men drugging cocktails, or patrons scoping out the women a little too closely. Alexandre, Sebastian and Sophia were doing the same. Heath was preoccupied with keeping humans away from Sophia, something the female did not seem to appreciate.

  “I’m a target, remember?” she jeered.

  Heath ignored her, staring down another human who’d been moving closer to Sophia until he danced in another direction.

  All of a sudden, Heath doubled over, breathing heavily. “Son of a bitch,” he moaned, grabbing himself protectively.

  “I warned you,” she said in a sing-song voice, her gaze constantly moving over the throng.

  “There.” Raphael jerked his head toward the back right corner of the room. Two men sat in a black-lit booth with two blonde women, the latter of whom were sipping pastel-colored drinks, their eyes drooping. The men watched the women stoically, as if waiting for them to pass out. They were obviously under the botos’ control—their eyes were wide, the man on the right jumping when a dancing man accidentally slammed into their table.

  The botos must have learned from Leon.

  The others observed the group, each looking sickened. “You found them,” Alex said morosely. He took a long pull of his amber drink.

  Sebastian faced Sophia, who watched the booth in disgust, horror dawning on her expression. “You don’t have to go through with this.” Sebastian took her hands. “We can find another way.”

  All the men agreed, but Sophia shook her head. “Then what will happen to those women?” She pointed to the blondes. One of them was already passed out, her head falling onto the other woman’s shoulder. “I’m going over there, I’m going to be taken to the botos, and you guys are going to make sure the cavalry comes as soon as they can.”

  She reached up and hugged Sebastian tight. “I love you, bro. I’ll be all right.”

  His expression hard, Sebastian said, “I’m going to hold you to that. Love you too, sis.”

  With his nod, Sophia wound through the dancers until she was in front of the booth. The way she was dressed, in a shining red dress that barely covered what women needed to cover—something a few of the females here seemed to have forgotten—and heeled boots that didn’t add enough to her height, Sophia looked like any other mid-twenties patron at Thump. At first glance, she may even be perceived as weaker than most due to her lack of height.

  Raphael wondered how she could have hidden any weapons.

  She appeared confident as she spoke with the men, waving daintily at one when he left to buy her a drink. It was only because he looked for it that Raphael saw Sophia’s fear. She was breathing rapidly, fidgeting with the edge of the table while she flirted with the remaining henchman. She tried to speak with the two women, but neither responded. The one who clung desperately to consciousness only managed to blink at her slowly.

  “He put something in her drink,” Alex growled, his eyes on the man at the bar. Leaving an excessive tip on the counter, the stocky man made his way back to his colleague and Sophia, handing her the cup.

  Raphael clenched his fists when she threw it back in a few long gulps, wiping her mouth with gusto.

  “No,” Heath roared, surging toward Sophia. It took all three of them to hold him back, the din of the club having covered his cry.

  “See that?” Sebastian forced Heath to look at Sophia while Raphael held his arms. “Look at her, man.”

  Sophia glanced up at the group, her eyebrows rising at Heath’s position. She held up her phone slightly, saluting them.

  “She’s texting Vale and ten soldiers from our pack, telling them what’s happening before her phone’s taken away. They aren’t going to waste any time to get her back. The cavalry is coming,” Sebastian finished.

  He and Sophia knew Vale, who was apparently famous among werewolves for his rare ability to transport himself and others long distances through the air. If the man could eliminate the hours it would otherwise take for Sophia’s pack to travel from Nova Scotia, there was no questioning whether he should be involved.

  Sophia should be captured for less than an hour—longer than any woman should ever be kidnapped, but a much shorter amount of time than Raphael had initially expected.

  One of the men watched as she put her phone back in her small black purse. Sophia’s eyes fluttered closed, then back open. She was feigning the effects of the drug; her breathing was just as quick and fearful as it had been minutes ago, but she obviously wasn’t backing out.

  Sophia’s determination to save the kidnapped women had overcome her fear. She’d earned Raphael’s respect, and he knew the rest of his pack felt the same way.

  Heath’s arms relaxed beneath his grip. “You good now?” Sebastian asked him. Heath nodded, his grimace murderous, but he made no move toward Sophia. He whirled around, drawing Raphael’s gaze to Vale, who was approaching them.

  “What the hell is going on?” Vale asked, his gaze sweeping the room. “The Halifax clan is taking up arms, and from Sophia’s text I can see why—no wonder you haven’t returned any of my calls,” he finished, obviously disgruntled.

  “We need you to take the soldiers from their pack here,” Heath ground out, surprising Raphael. In five hundred years he hadn’t spoken of his brother, and their exchange the day before didn’t indicate any love lost between them. For him ask this of Vale, Heath was truly desperate to help Sophia.

  An image of Mary appeared at the forefront of Raphael’s mind. He understood the absolute need to protect his woman; although, he suspected Heath hadn’t consciously realized that Sophia belonged to him.

  Heath filled Vale in on the botos’ actions in the city, neglecting to tell his brother of Jeremiah’s involvement. No one brought it up. Unlike Sophia, Vale would likely have to see it to believe the lupus dux was capable of such things. As Heath spoke, Vale ground his molars together, his nostrils flaring. The air around them shifted, agitated.

  Vale nodded jerkily, looking from Heath to Raphael. “I’ll bring as many as are willing to come; we can’t just leave those women.” He followed their gazes to Sophia, who was now faking the drug’s full effects. One of the men had her arm over his shoulder, helping her rise from the booth. “Where do you want me to bring them?”

  Raphael told him the coordinates for the botos’ mansion, where he was fairly certain the henchmen would take Sophia.

  Vale blinked out of their vision and immediately came back, causing a few nearby dancers to do a double take. “I’m glad you’re not being executed,” he said sincerely, meeting Raphael and Heath’s eyes. “I never supported it.”

  With that, he was gone.

  Raphael and Heath exchanged a confused look. “I wasn’t aware Jeremiah decided not to kill us,” Heath said warily. “Were you?”

  Raphael shook his head, his mind racing. What did Jeremiah do? Foreboding crawled underneath his skin. He didn’t have time to focus on the possibilities behind Jeremiah’s decision as Sophia and the two women were being taken from the club
. Hardly any strange glances followed them, as if men taking unconscious women away were a regular occurrence.

  Raphael really disliked Thump.

  His pack followed the henchmen until they closed their captives into a black SUV, its tinted windows hiding Sophia from sight.

  When the large sedan drove off, Heath roared again, throwing a punch into a nearby pickup truck. Its alarm went off, sending suspicious looks flying their way.

  Lines of strain framing his mouth, Sebastian pulled out his own car keys. “Let’s go make sure no one touches her.”

  A white convertible came to a screaming stop next to them. Cael was driving Aiyanna’s car. “I can follow them in case they go somewhere new,” he said. “Anyone want to get in?”

  Heath moved toward the two-passenger car, but Sebastian stopped him with a feral look before giving him the keys to his G-Wagon and getting into the convertible.

  Sebastian and Cael sped off at a faster pace than the SUV, both men practically folded in half in order to fit inside the tiny car.

  Ten minutes later, Heath swerved the Mercedes into a spot behind Aiyanna’s car. Sophia had been taken to the mansion they’d watched days ago, when they were unable to touch the botos. Tonight would be different—tonight each one of the river creatures would die, freeing their human captives. It would be a warning to their remaining kin.

  Stay out of New Orleans.

  It was becoming the darkest part of the night. Heavy clouds blended in with the sky, blocking any stars and the waning moon from view. A harsh wind pressed against them, cool from the lake. For a Saturday night, the neighborhood was eerily quiet; there should have been a crawfish boil within the vicinity, with a band playing and beer flowing. Instead, Raphael could only hear the whoosh of cockroaches’ wings as they flew from house to house scavenging.

  A half block closer to their mark, Cael and Sebastian stood with five tough-looking weres, their black clothes bulging with weapons. As Raphael approached the group, Vale brought a sixth and disappeared.