LITMIR.BIZ

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and one of his wolves stepped in, closing the door behind him.

      â€œWhat did you find?” Anthony asked.

      The pack member looked very nervous and cleared his throat. “I stayed behind just like you ordered to see if the priest came back to the church. I wasn’t there long when all hell broke loose at the church and in the graveyard behind it. People were showing up right and left, most of them coming out of nowhere.” He paused and swallowed nervously before adding, “That’s when I noticed Jewel was with them.”

      â€œThen where is she?” Anthony demanded as he closed the distance between them with rapid strides. “Why didn’t you bring her back with you?”

      The wolf backed away with panic in his eyes knowing bringing bad news to their alpha was never a good thing. “I couldn’t,” he shuddered.

      Anthony’s hand abruptly shot out and grabbed the subordinate by the throat, lifting him into the air. “You’re a werewolf. Why didn’t you just take her?”

      â€œShe was surrounded by weres… too many of them,” the wolf explained, lifting his hands to try and alleviate some of the pressure around his throat.

      Anthony’s hand tightened and his eyes changed to an eerie golden color. His brother had finally returned from Italy, he was sure of it. “Did I or did I not teach you how to fight another pack on your own? My brother should have been no match for you.” It was a lie. The wolf would have been lying in a ditch somewhere had he dared to fight Andreas Valachi.

      â€œWasssssn’t wooolvvesssss,” the wolf rasped out while trying to breathe.

      Anthony snapped his attention back to the man he was strangling and jerked his hand away, seeing he’d almost killed him. “Who was it?” he demanded with barely suppressed fury lacing his voice.

      The wolf lay prone on the floor trying to catch his breath. He scrambled up to his hands and knees before dropping his forehead to the cold marble floor. He bared the back of his neck showing submission to his leader and wishing he’d run when he’d had a chance.

      â€œCats… I smelled cats,” he said after a few seconds, “Cougars and jaguars... lots of them.” He lifted his head and saw Anthony’s eyes narrow threateningly. Quickly he added, “There was a cougar shadowing her every step. The place was crawling with vampires as well. Part of the church blew up, then a cop car showed up.”

      Anthony stood there trying to reign in his growing anger. However, the longer he stood there, the more pissed off he became. His plan to retrieve his fugitive mate had been botched repeatedly by either his own actions or the actions of his ignorant subordinates.

      He signaled his personal guards closer. “Take him down to the basement where he can simmer in his failure.”

      The wolf sat up on his knees with a pleading expression on his face. He’d heard stories about the basement and what it contained. Some of the werewolves that survived the torture still had the scars on their bodies to show for it. He whined pitifully when his arms were taken up by the guards and he was pulled to his feet.

      The guards didn’t look at his face nor did they say anything comforting or derogatory. If they had their way, they would have let him run. To them, Miss Jewel had every reason to run away from their Alpha. She was unhappy and, despite Anthony’s best attempts, would never love him. Living like this, thriving off the misfortune of others was not the true werewolf way… it was the Mob way.

      At one time, they had protected mankind from the evil that threatened to overtake the world. Now, with the exception of a few tribes located in across the United States and overseas, they were the evil. It was no wonder humans made movies depicting them like rabid dogs bent on causing death and destruction.

      Anthony followed his guards down to the basement and smirked when the young werewolf whimpered quietly. The mansion basement had been converted into a large, underground torture chamber that covered several thousand square feet. Chains hung from the opposite wall with manacles attached to hold a person upright against the cold stone.

      Off to the right was a table covered with whips and riding crops of various sizes. A cauldron where a fire was burning had a few irons sticking out of it used for branding purposes, which Anthony had rarely used. Finally, on the wall directly across from that was a row of cells that housed a few occupants.

      A few werewolves moved among the shadows readying more devices for a special guest who Anthony had been fortunate enough to obtain a couple weeks ago. They stopped and watched with curiosity when their alpha entered the chamber with his guards and a new wolf to discipline.

      Anthony stood back as his guards shackled the wolf to the wall and waved them out of the way when they were done.

      â€œWhat would you have us do, Lord Anthony?” the oldest werewolf asked.

      â€œI want you to make sure to teach this one a lesson, Boris,” Anthony answered. “He failed to bring back my bride and he must learn that failure is not tolerated.”

      Boris looked over at the boy and inwardly sighed. “He is only a boy.”

      â€œThen he will learn early,” Anthony’s voice lacked emotion.

      Boris lifted a scarred hand and waved two of the other werewolves over. They approached and ripped the back of the young wolf’s shirt open. Boris lifted one of the whips, a cat o’ nine tails, and cracked it in the air. The shackled wolf flinched making Anthony smirk.

      Boris positioned himself about five feet behind the young one and snapped the whip forward. The young wolf screamed at the bite of the whip across his back. The screaming continued as Boris continued to strike the once unmarred skin. Finally, he stopped and another werewolf stepped forward with a large bowl of salt. More agonizing cries followed when the salt was thrown on the bleeding wounds.

      The young wolf slumped against the wall believing the torture was over, only to scream again when the beating began anew… only this time two more whips joined it.

      Anthony lifted his right hand so he could get a better look at it and frowned when he saw he would have to trim his nails again. Shrugging, he turned away from the beating and approached the cell furthest away from everything at the far end of the basement. A smile appeared on his face when the heavy chains rattled.

      The man inside was suddenly on his feet and straining against the bonds trying to reach Anthony.

      Anthony’s bad mood suddenly evaporated seeing the proud male inside. His smile widened as he thought of a way to get Jewel back into his arms and away from the cougars she had sought shelter with.

      â€œI’m glad I only shot you once Micah… I may have a use for you yet.”

      *****

      Tabatha looked around the apartment she shared with Kriss and shivered. Usually she didn’t mind being alone but for many reasons, tonight it was very hard to handle. She looked out the window whenever she heard a noise thinking Kriss had come back. She’d thought she was fine when Envy and Devon dropped her off at home on their way to Chad’s, but now she realized just how much she needed the company.

      Envy had asked her if she’d wanted to go with them just in case Envy needed a tag team effort to handle her brother. But, Tabby had thought maybe Kriss would have come home soon and she wanted to ask him what happened, so she’d turned her down… now she wished she hadn’t.

      Thinking about Kriss led her to thoughts of Dean and how he’d acted at the church. She could still see the look on his face when he’d seen Kane.

      Tabatha shook her head when the picture of Kane popped into her mind in a vain attempt to not think about him. Seeing him laying there dying had pulled at something deep in her heart and soul. She didn’t understand why but, the thought of him

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