Rogue Wolf Read online

  Reece stepped into view from behind the black pickup truck at the same time that Flynn emerged from the door behind us.

  “Drop the knife, or I’ll splatter your brains all over the wall,” Reece ordered as he moved closer.

  The rogue weighed up his options and I knew he wasn’t going to just give himself up when he coiled for violence. “If I can’t have you, then no one can,” he breathed into my ear.

  The tip of his knife pierced my skin and I reacted before he could drive it home. Grabbing his thumb, I bent it back sharply. A bone snapped and he swore viciously. With his thumb momentarily out of commission, he didn’t have the dexterity to stab me. Instead, he dragged the blade across my throat.

  I hissed in pain as blood sheeted down my neck to stain my t-shirt. Reece snarled in fury and leaped forward. Pulling the shifter’s arm away from me, he tore the knife out of his hand and pushed me out of harm’s way. I stumbled into Flynn and he caught me before I could fall. My wound was deep, but it would heal quickly. The flow of blood was already beginning to slow.

  “Are you alright?” Flynn asked as he shifted me to safety.

  Aware of how close I’d just come to dying, I nodded, desperately pretending I wasn’t on the verge of throwing up. My legs were shaky and I was glad he was there to hold me up.

  Roughly the same height and build, the two wolves sized each other up. Reece was slightly taller and more muscular, but his opponent was insane and therefore unpredictable. Balling his hands into fists and peering up at Reece from beneath his cap, the rogue gestured for him to attack. His mouth was smiling, but it was hard and humorless. His eyes were too shadowed for me to see their color.

  Accepting the silent challenge, Reece tossed the knife aside and slid his gun back into the holster beneath his jacket. Moving with the shocking speed that all shifters shared, a fist came hurtling towards him. He shifted just enough for it to slide past his face then retaliated with a hard, fast jab. Blood spurted from his adversary’s mouth as his lip split open.

  Teeth bared in a bloody grin, the rogue exploded into action. While his punches were wild and unskilled, they were also powerful. It was clear that Reece was far better trained in combat, but his opponent was desperate and ruthless. He also didn’t fight fair. His foot lashed out and Reece barely avoided a kick to his groin. It was followed by an uppercut that rocked his head back.

  Seizing the advantage, the rogue threw a rapid series of punches into Reece’s body. He grunted in pain when a couple of his ribs snapped. The thin control he had over his rage broke and he unleashed his fury.

  If I hadn’t despised the target with every fiber of my being, I would have felt almost sorry for him for the pain he was about to receive. Reece kicked the rogue in the stomach, which made him gasp for air and double over. He brought his knee up, smashing it into the shifter’s face and knocking his cap off. His dark brown hair was cut almost military short.

  He was already dazed, but Reece punched him in the jaw, sending him crashing to his knees. At the next blow, his nose broke and blood gushed. After half a dozen more punches, he was reeling and barely conscious.

  Putting one hand on the ground to steady himself, he cringed away and lifted his other hand in capitulation. Both men were bleeding, but their cuts, bruises and broken bones were already healing. “You win,” he grated. “I give up.” His shoulders were slumped and his head was lowered.

  “Put your hands behind your back,” Reece ordered and pulled a pair of handcuffs from his pocket. Far stronger than ordinary steel, the restraints had been designed to hold our kind captive.

  The rogue waited for Reece to move in close before it became clear how truly treacherous he was. His hand whipped forward and drove the knife he’d presumably kept concealed in his boot into Reece’s stomach. He yanked the knife upwards, causing as much damage as he could.

  Reece made a sound of pain through clenched teeth and grabbed the smaller man’s wrist in both hands. His legs tried to buckle, but his force of will kept him on his feet.

  “Reece!” I screamed as Flynn shouted for Kala. I pulled my gun, but the shifter surged to his feet. He spun them around so he was shielded from me, ruining my chance of having a clear shot to take him out.

  Struggling to keep the knife from carving any deeper into his body, I felt Reece’s recognition and crawling horror as he stared directly into the eyes of our enemy. He could no longer deny how he knew him. Not when the evidence was so clear.

  Flynn and I went on the move just as the door that led to the mall burst open. Kala emerged with her gun in her hand and murder in her tawny eyes. Our shopping bags lay scattered in the hallway behind her. She’d discarded them in favor of coming to the rescue.

  Neither Flynn nor I would reach the pair in time to stop the target from taking Reece’s gun and using it against him. Taking in the situation, Kala realized she was the only one who had a clear shot. A tiny smile formed as she focused on her quarry. She fired twice and both of her bullets thudded home.

  Reeling back, the rogue dropped the gun that he’d pulled from Reece’s holster and clutched his bleeding arm in agony.

  “I hear silver bullets hurt like a bitch,” Kala smirked. “This is for what you tried to do to Lexi, you sick freak.” Kicking his legs out from beneath him, she planted a boot on his throat and levelled her gun at his head.

  He looked up at her with hatred shining from light brown eyes that were disturbingly familiar. Seeing him clearly for the first time, her finger froze on the trigger. Flynn moved to Reece’s side and offered him his shoulder to lean on. He muttered beneath his breath when he saw our enemy, but he didn’t seem to be surprised. My feet moved of their own accord, carrying me over to stand beside Kala.

  “Are you really going to allow her to murder your baby brother, Garrett?” he rasped.

  There were a few subtle differences, but the family resemblance was undeniable. “That can’t be true,” she said, but her tone reflected her uncertainty. “Reece was injected with the werewolf virus. Wasn’t he?” The question was probably directed at Mark, but she didn’t receive a reply.

  Reece pulled the knife out of his sternum and looked down at the slowly healing wound in disbelief. His own brother had just tried to kill him and he couldn’t sense any remorse at all coming from his sibling. His mind was a roiling muddle of lust for me and loathing for the rest of us. Most of his hatred was directed at Reece.

  “He’s telling the truth,” Flynn said reluctantly. “They share the same blood. I can tell by their scent.”

  Kala shrugged dismissively. “So what if they are related? He’s eaten humans while in wolf form. He’s gone rogue and he has to be put down.”

  “If I’m going to die, then I want my brother to be the one to pull the trigger,” our target said. His smile was twisted and mocking.

  I didn’t need to see Reece’s face to know he was torn with indecision. His wounds would heal, but the mental scars would remain. Some part of him had known exactly who we’d been hunting all along. He just hadn’t been able to admit to us, or to himself, that he was related to a murderous psychopath.

  I couldn’t really blame him for wanting to deny the truth. God only knew how many people my mother had drained to death since she’d become a vampire. It seemed we had more in common than we’d realized. We both had relatives that we were going to have to eradicate.

  Watching from on high, Mark took the decision out of our hands. “Cuff him and put him in the van. We need to get out of here before the police arrive.” Muffled screams had come from inside the mall when Kala had fired her gun. Someone would have called the police and they would already be on their way.

  Flynn picked up the handcuffs that Reece had dropped. Kala and I kept our guns trained on the rogue wolf’s face as he was cuffed and roughly shoved into the back of the van.

  We’d finally caught our target, but our mission had just taken an unexpected twist. Even shielding himself from me, I felt Reece’s overwhelming pain. His brother
had broken the rules and he had to be put down. It was our job and we didn’t have a choice, but that wouldn’t make it any easier for him to bear. He was about to lose something that he’d been longing for, a true born family member rather than a poor substitute like our motley squad.

  I was very tempted to ignore Mark’s order. I wanted nothing more than to pump a full clip of the silver bullets that I’d loaded into my gun into the rogue wolf right here and now. He’d caused us enough pain and misery already, but I had a feeling that things were about to get a lot worse.

  Titles by J.C. Diem:

  (Mortis Series)

  Death Beckons

  Death Embraces

  Death Deceives

  Death Devours

  Death Betrays

  Death Banishes

  Death Returns

  Death Conquers

  Death Reigns

  (Shifter Squad Series)

  Seven Psychics

  Zombie King

  Dark Coven

  Rogue Wolf

  If you would like to be advised of any new releases, please visit my website: www.jcdiem.com and sign up to receive my newsletter.

  Coming in July 2015

  Corpse Thieves – Shifter Squad: Book Five

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four