Vice (Fireborn Wolves Book 1) Read online

  He straightened his bow tie. “Just keeping my equipment in good working order for when it is needed.”

  She rolled her eyes. Cameron raised his glass again and the room went silent.

  “We’ve come here tonight to honor Silas Flynn and the royal family of Fireborn pack. Just weeks ago there was a mortal threat on every life in this ballroom. Because of Silas, Alex Ravien Bloodright is dead and the dragon scale amulet has been returned to the dragon fae, restoring amicable relations between our communities. Please raise your glasses, and help me toast leader, alpha, and all-around hero, Silas Flynn.”

  Applause broke out in the expansive room, and Laina caught Jason wrinkling his nose as if he’d stepped in dog shit. All-around hero? he mouthed to her, left eyebrow raised. She stifled a giggle.

  It wasn’t easy living in Silas’s shadow. No wonder her little brother was such a manwhore and she was a workaholic with no discernable personal life. At times like this, it was impossible not to feel like a pawn in a game she couldn’t win.

  “How long do you think we have to stay?” she whispered to Jason.

  He chuckled. “Just long enough for Silas to have his ego properly stroked. And for me to find a woman who will properly stroke me.”

  She snorted despite herself.

  “And now,” Cameron continued, “Silas has given me the honor of kicking off the evening by joining his stunning sister, Laina, in a traditional folk dance.”

  Laina almost fell out of her shoes. In fact, she wobbled so violently that Jason had to steady her. Her glass tipped, spilling champagne.

  Cameron approached and took what was left of the drink from her hand, passing it to one of the servants for safekeeping. “Are you okay?” he whispered. “You look like you might be ill.”

  “I’m fine. Silas neglected to tell me we were opening the show. You caught me off guard.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re nervous. We’ve been doing this dance since we were children.”

  “I remember.”

  “Please, Laina. You’re the only partner I’m comfortable with.” He lowered his lips to the back of her hand. They were warm and soft, too soft. Cameron was attractive. He had the long, lean physique that was typical of a werewolf and a face that belonged in a Hollywood blockbuster. But he was also gay. Blazingly gay with shooting rainbow stars that followed him everywhere. Gay enough that even his wolf had gay tendencies. He’d come out to her when they were both seventeen, trusting that their tight friendship could endure the shared secret. Of course, she’d accepted him fully and supported him throughout their young adulthood. Still, now that he was one of the society’s most eligible bachelors, the steward of Rivergate Manor, and alpha of Rivergate pack, it was harder than ever for him to avoid suspicion. She was the only partner he could dance with because she was safe, a genuine and true pillar of support.

  “I’d never turn down a dance with you. Lead the way.” She collected herself, raising her chin and straightening her back. She hated Silas for forcing this on her, but she wouldn’t take it out on her friend.

  Cameron grasped her hand and led her to the center of the dance floor, where he pulled her against his body, free hand landing in the groove of her back. A string quartet in the corner of the room broke into a traditional folk song called the “Rose and Her Thorn.” The dance they would perform was unique to their kind, similar to a tango but more violent. The movements told the story of star-crossed lovers entangled in a volatile affair, constantly teetering between the heat of passion and the fire of rage.

  Cameron bent over her, dragging his teeth up the skin of her neck. Laina snaked her leg around his and shoved against his chest, following his big, dramatic steps backward across the floor. They’d practiced this dance hundreds of times as teens; she could do it in her sleep. Still, Cameron caught her twice when the height of her new heels caused her to miss a step. Despite the errors, when they ended with her dramatically sagging into his chest, a move that represented her death in the arms of her lover, the room erupted in applause.

  “I’m glad you came tonight, Laina. You don’t come to Rivergate Manor often enough,” Cameron whispered in her ear as he helped her to her feet again.

  “I was just here a few days ago for the shift. I’m here once a month for the full moon.”

  “But I miss your nonfurry friendship.”

  “I’m only as far as my animal hospital in Carlton City. Come in any time. I’ll stick a thermometer up your ass and check you for fleas.”

  He chuckled. “It’s nice to have you around. You don’t know how dark things have been around here because of Alex.”

  “You’re too close to the politics. You need to find a vocation outside the pack. It’s important to self-protect.”

  “Hard to do when you’re the alpha responsible for maintaining safe shifting grounds.” When she paused to think about it, Cameron’s position was more limiting than her own. As alpha of Rivergate Manor, he was ultimately responsible for the mansion and its surrounding acres of protected woods—the perfect place to exercise their monthly curse without interfering with humans. Cameron had become alpha the same way Silas had: his parents had been murdered at the same time and place, shot to death in a crowded theater by a madman they would later learn was Alex Ravien Bloodright. And, just like Silas, he’d been thrust into the position far too young.

  “Your parents would be proud of you,” Laina said.

  He smiled weakly. “Come on. I’ll show you what I’ve done in the garden.” He led her, arm in arm, through the halls and out the glass doors to the protected grounds behind the manse. They strolled along a stone walkway that snaked between newly planted flowering trees and shrubs.

  “It smells amazing,” she said.

  “I did that on purpose. Once we’ve shifted, we’ll always know where home is by the scent.”

  “It’s brilliant, Cameron.” She ran her fingers over the plate-sized bloom of a potted hibiscus.

  “Are you cold?” He offered her his jacket.

  The early evening held a late-September chill, but she wasn’t uncomfortable. She shook her head.

  “I have a confession to make. I didn’t bring you out here to show you the flowers.”

  “No?”

  “I want to ask you something, and I hope you will take my question in the spirit in which it is offered.” He placed a hand on her elbow, and she stopped to give him her full attention.

  “What are you asking?”

  “Will you marry me?”

  She almost swallowed her tongue. A fit of coughing overtook her and she held her chest as she tried to catch her breath. He thumped her back until she regained her composure.

  “Are you joking?”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but it would solve both our problems. You could do whatever you wanted to do, whenever you wanted to do it. You could run your veterinary hospital. If you didn’t want children, I’d lie and say we were trying. No one would know the difference. If you wanted kids, we could make that happen too. It wouldn’t be easy for me.” He glanced away from her and pointed his fingers at his lower torso. “I’ve never been with a woman. But I hear there are ways. Medical ways.”

  “And, I take it, part of your plan is pursuing your personal desires on the side as well?”

  He nodded. “His name is Byron. He’s an accountant. Human. I can’t help myself.”

  “I… Cameron, this is so unexpected.”

  “I know. There was no easy way for me to broach the subject, but we’re both twenty-nine. The society isn’t going to be patient much longer.”

  “The society has never pressured males to marry. You can sire pups into your senior years.”

  “Maybe. But if they marry off my best girl, there will be no female left I’d ever share my life with.”

  No female who understood his secret. Eyes burning, Laina took an interest in the half moon above her. Empathy was one thing, but martyrdom was another. “Cameron… I…”

  Cameron rested hi
s hands on her shoulders. “It’s a beautiful night. I’m sorry to ruin it for you.”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head. “You haven’t. What you propose isn’t crazy or unheard of. It’s an amicable solution.”

  “But…”

  “But…” She narrowed her eyes at the moon. “Since the day I was born, my life has been dictated by my curse. My brother has the power to control my every move. Thank God he doesn’t exercise it often, but the fact that he can sometimes make me feel like I want to chew off my own arm to escape his hold over me. When it comes to this one thing—deciding who I will marry—I want my freedom. I want to find someone or not find someone of my own volition.” She faced him, begging for his understanding. “Isn’t determining who we love the most basic, intimate, and personal choice? Why should either of us have to pretend anything?”

  He frowned. “The pack is made up of human animals. Maybe it’s in their nature to be cruel.”

  “Last I checked, the human part of me was in control.” She smoothed her hair and wiped under her eyes. “You were kind and brave to propose to me.”

  He snorted. “Not bravery but desperation. You’d be an answer to my prayers.”

  “Does your proposal come with a time limit? Can I think about it?”

  He smirked. “Fifty years. If you don’t decide before we’re eighty, all bets are off.”

  “Come here.” She embraced her friend, kissing his cheek. The happy moment was short-lived.

  A high-pitched scream blew them apart.

  Three

  Breaking from Cameron’s embrace, Laina rushed toward the scream, cursing her stilettos as she shuffled to a stop at the ring of pack members assembling inside the ballroom. Once she’d excuse-me’d through the crowd, she stopped short, hand over her mouth. The dance floor where she’d performed with Cameron only moments before had become the stage for a bloody murder. A white wolf lay butchered, the white-on-white décor now marred with grisly streaks of crimson.

  A grunt of disgust came from Laina’s throat. Her stomach turned. Strong hands gripped her shoulders from behind. Silas. “Don’t get any closer. There’s nothing you can do and you could contaminate the scene.” He edged past her, shouting instructions to the others to stand back.

  He’d call for help. The supernatural department of the Carlton City PD would be on this in a heartbeat. But she couldn’t look away. Within the circle of horrified faces, the white wolf was positioned on its back, limbs stretched unnaturally as if drawn by invisible cords. The bones and muscles were locked in a painfully strained position. Rigor mortis. She quickly determined the victim was an animal, not a shifted werewolf, by the number of bones forming the pelvis. Still, whoever did this meant it as a personal threat. Wolves were family.

  The snowy fur of the abdomen had been split open. Dissected, Laina thought, wiping away a tear. Whatever atrocity was inflicted on the poor creature, the murder must have occurred before transporting her here, enough time for rigor mortis to set in. Nothing secured the limbs now, but they were frozen in the horrid position, a morbid memento of the torture she’d endured. Still, the abdomen appeared soft, and there was only the smell of blood, not decay. She’d seen joints stiffen within ten minutes of death in certain animals, although one to three hours was more common. The color of the blood suggested a recent death. She’d have to tell Silas she estimated the murder anywhere between an hour to two hours ago.

  Laina pressed her knuckles to her lips, her chest aching for the ill-fated wolf.

  “What does that say?” Cameron asked from behind her as if he were using her body as a shield against the horror. He was squinting at the smudges of blood on the floor.

  “I can’t make it out from this angle,” Laina said.

  “Maybe we should go to my room and sit down. Let Silas do his job. It might not be safe here.” He tugged her elbow.

  She squeezed his forearm. “If you think I’m running and hiding, you don’t know me.”

  “And if you think I can stand to look at this a moment longer, you don’t know me,” Cameron said. “Fuck, I need a drink.”

  “Go,” she whispered. “There’s nothing you can do here.”

  He did as she suggested.

  She rounded the scene and stood at the tail end of the tortured animal. “By blood, we rightfully ascend,” she read aloud.

  “Looks like someone isn’t happy about Alex’s death,” Silas said. He’d arrived beside her, snapping pictures with his phone.

  “You think a remnant of Bloodright pack is out for revenge? I thought they all submitted to you as their new alpha?”

  “Me too. Except we never found Alex’s Zafka, Jonah. He’s missing. I assumed he had gone into hiding. Looks like he chose another path.”

  Normally, when one alpha killed another, the dominated pack would metaphysically be bound to the victor. Submission was almost inevitable. Almost. It was possible under the right circumstances—extreme emotional stress or suppressed alpha tendencies—for a wolf to go rogue, break off and form its own pack. Any Zafka eventually took on characteristics of the wolf they protected. Clearly, Jonah didn’t just serve as Alex’s doppelgänger; he was cut from the same power-hungry cloth.

  “The heart is missing,” Laina said.

  “How can you tell?”

  “The way the corpse is mutilated makes it difficult, but what you are seeing behind the rib cage is actually the liver. It looks like they took all the organs out and shoved them back in wherever they would fit. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  Silas growled. “I don’t like this, Laina. Something like this appears in a crowded room and no one saw a thing? Whoever did this has friends in the magical community.”

  “You think a witch is helping Jonah?”

  “Or a fairy. Go home and lock your doors.”

  “Silas—”

  “That’s an order.” He took her hands in his large, rough ones. “I’m sorry to pull alpha on you again, but if Jonah did this, he isn’t going to stop at terrorizing us. I’m responsible for Alex’s death, and like it or not, we are royalty. He’ll want to hurt me. He’ll want me dead. He’ll come for you or Jason to get to me. Or he’ll come for me and you’ll end up getting hurt.”

  “I could help you. The state of the body suggests the death occurred around an hour or more ago. If I could do a necropsy, I might find more clues.”

  “No, Laina. It’s too dangerous. Home. Locked door. Go.”

  It was an alpha command. She tried to stand her ground, eye to eye with her brother. “Silas…” She grabbed his wrists and and held on, determined not to obey. Every moment she fought it grew more uncomfortable. Her head buzzed and the inside of her skin prickled as if her veins were filled with acid. The muscles in her legs began to tremble.

  “Don’t fight it, Laina. You’ll be sore tomorrow.”

  In a huff, she gave in and yanked her sweating hands from his wrists, striding toward the exit.

  Her Zafka met her on the veranda. Stephanie wasn’t her exact twin but she was close enough to be her stunt double. Close enough that someone who didn’t know her intimately would easily be convinced she was Laina. Most importantly, she was deadly, trained in mixed martial arts and never without the gun she kept holstered to her thigh.

  “Please take the back roads, Princess. I’ll take the highway,” Stephanie said, bowing at the waist. “That will give me time to sweep your apartment before you get there.”

  With a deep breath, Laina nodded reluctantly. “You don’t need to bow. And please be careful. I’ll see you at home.”

  Stephanie bowed again, ignoring Laina’s request, and jogged toward her car. Laina tried to take a shortcut across the lawn to the place her car was parked, only to have her heels sink through the grass and into the mud. She kicked them off and continued barefoot to her silver Audi R8, tossing her muddy shoes and purse onto the floor of the passenger’s side. She slid behind the wheel and fired up the engine.

  “Fucking Silas.” If she didn’t
feel like an egg being hard-boiled every time she disobeyed an alpha command, she’d enjoy kicking his ass.

  Halfway home, she paused at a stop sign. No one behind her. Nothing but road ahead. If she turned right, she’d be on course for her condo. Left was Four Paws Animal Hospital. Silas said to go home. He never said to go straight home. With a smug grin, she sped in the direction of her veterinary hospital. She’d check on Milo before heading home, maybe call and give Kyle an update and an apology.

  As she pulled into her usual parking space, she noticed the light above the front door was still lit. Her assistant should have gone home hours ago, although it wasn’t completely unheard of for Becca to forget to turn the light off. Still, given the night’s events, Laina glanced over her shoulder as she slid her key into the lock. She was defiant but not stupid. If any of the Bloodright supporters wanted to challenge her, she’d be ready.

  The scent of blood filled her nostrils as she slipped inside, and a chorus of barking came from the kennels. What the fuck? All the file cabinets behind the front desk were hanging open. Papers littered the floor around the toppled chair. Quickly, she rounded the desk and grabbed a pair of scissors from the drawer.

  The tile floor felt cold under her bare feet as she hiked up her dress and crept deeper into the room, scissors squeezed in her fist and poised to strike over her right shoulder. She swung open the door to the kennels.

  She’d designed the room to be accessible from both the front office and the surgical suite, each dog with its own climate-controlled den connected to an accessible, private outdoor run. Reinforced glass doors and mounted cameras allowed her and her staff to easily monitor patients indoors or out. The setup was ideal and unique to her practice.

  But as she passed through the door, the hair on the back of her neck stood at attention. The monitors mounted behind the workstation were turned off and a cursory inspection found the server was unplugged. She plugged it back in, continuing around the corner to the kennels while the system came online. Milo was fine, as was the spaniel she’d operated on that morning. But what she found in the third kennel made her drop the scissors and race to its locked gate.