HARMONY UNCURLED
from her
ball when she heard the cars startup and drive away. She knew she wasn’t alone. Tyson may not care too much for her, but he wouldn’t have left her alone.
“I know you aren’t in pain, Hafiz.”
The voice that greeted her was deep, but soft, almost soothing. She turned to find a fiercely carved man dressed in all black with a branded emblem Lykil’s emblem on his forearm.
“Torin, umm…”
“Lie to someone else. Not that they would believe you either. Tyson knows you aren’t physically in pain, by the way.”
She huffed. “He would have said something if he knew.”
“He didn’t feel like being bothered, but trust me, he knows. It doesn’t take much, but little pisses him off more than being lied to. It’s a Rocky trait I think.”
“It doesn’t matter. Tyson is the least of my problems.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. I wasn’t going back there. Besides, they don’t need my help anyway.”
“You should have told him the truth.”
“Who? Tyson? Yes, because he’s so understanding. Or maybe it’s his Rocky tolerance for weakness that I should have appealed to. No, thanks. I’ve had nightmares more comforting than Tyson.”
“Mortals,” Torin said with a shake of his head. “The honesty isn’t for your sake, but for his.”
“Meaning?”
“Beyond the Rockys, Tyson trusts no one. You are pregnant with his child. Is that how you want to start your relationship? With lies?”
“You do realize that Hafiz don’t generally stay together?”
“You do realize that the way things used to be won’t last, right?” He sighed, annoyance lingering in the exhale of air. “The leaders among you will be more involved in your life after this group of Lycans is handled. Your Asim will—if he knows what’s good for him—be paying more attention to the movements of his people.”
“Well, in that case, I’m safe. He’s one male with over seven hundred thousand Hafiz to care for.”
Torin laughed. “You’re more naive than I thought, female.”
“How so?”
“Delegate. That’s what leaders do. Why do you think I’m here with you?”
“Lykil isn’t your boss.”
“Next to Nivar, he’s the closest to one I have. I may give him a hard time, but I obey him so long as it’s within reason.”
She sighed. The last thing she wanted was Tyson popping up in her life.
“What do I need to do to keep him away from me?”
Torin let out a bark of laughter. “You want me to help you hide from Tyson? To deny him access to you and his child?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Why not? It can’t be that hard for you to help me.”
“You’re right, it isn’t, but what is the purpose of you disappearing? Tyson isn’t abusive. Neglectful, yes, but he wouldn’t purposefully offer you or anyone else harm. Besides, helping you disappear isn’t in my job description. I wouldn’t recommend trying to hide from him. Rockys are possessive bastards. Denying him not bode well for you.”
“
He’s
not good for me, Torin.”
Torin glanced away for a moment as if to consider what she hadn’t exactly implied.
“Do you fear for your safety?”
She thought about lying to him despite knowing he would recognize the lie. Truth won out.
“No.”
“Do you think he’d intentionally cause you harm?”
She knew Tyson wouldn’t hurt her on purpose. Sure, he saw himself as a villain, but despite his selfish streak, he wouldn’t willfully cause her harm.
Harmony looked at Torin and shook her head. “No, he wouldn’t hurt me on purpose.”
“Then there is nothing I can do for you.”
“What would you have done if he was capable of harming me?”
“Turned him over to Mikko Wayne and the rest of the Order. An abusive Rocky deserves and receives one punishment.”
She made an impatient noise when he paused long enough to let her know that he wasn’t going to tell her what the punishment was.
“What’s the punishment?”
“Death. Rockys are powerful in their own right, but those who abuse their guiding principles don’t live long.” His gaze traveled over her in silent rebuke. “Trying to get him killed, Harm?”
“No.”
“Good to know. Now I’m going to watch a movie. You can go back to pretending to be hurt.”
He left her alone to think about what she wanted from the life she would soon be living. Tyson was an irritant, but the thought of him no longer being in existence caused a riot in her stomach.
Harmony would just have to come up with another solution to keep the Shadow-Souled male away from her. Living with a one-sided mating was going to be hard enough. She could do without his presence in her daily life.
She relaxed against the headboard and started to lay plans for her future. A future that included a lot of running and avoiding the male who was perfect for her soul.
* * *
The house Omar directed them was an understated fortress. The surrounding areas closest to the main building were clear of all elements that they could use as cover. The smaller buildings nearby were likewise barren of potential cover and located far enough away from the main building to be ineffective cover for storming the main building.
“Ideas?’ Trent asked. His tone said he had a few, but he’d stepped back into his supportive role after finding out about the Rut situation with Harmony.
“Nightfall would be best. We’re too easily detected right now,” Omar said.
“Security at night is more hands on. They depend highly on patrols,” Lykil offered. “Their guards report in at five minute intervals. Anything longer and the place goes on lockdown and this place becomes a fucking swarm of flood lights and Lycans.”
“Anything else?” Tyson asked.
“Not really.” Lykil paused. “Yeah, one more thing. They have twelve in captivity. One is in her Rut as we speak. They haven’t given her anything nor have they sent a male to her.”
An audible hiss went through the group.
“Lycan group?” Stella asked.
Lykil turned a grim smile to Tyson. “Hafiz.”
“No,” Tyson responded to the unspoken suggestion.
“That’s cold, Asim,” Lykil said, but his tone held a hint of understanding.
“This is a rescue mission and I’m not a whore. Have Ronan give her some meds.”
“The clinic, which is directly in front of their kennels.”
“What the fuck did you just say?”
“Kennels?” Lykil nodded. “Yeah, those sick fucks keep them in kennels.”
“Can you help us get in there before dark?” Linda asked, her normally soft demeanor hardened by the harsher Rocky mannerisms.
She was now coiled aggression, primed for the cowardly targets who held her people captive under disgraceful conditions.
“Out of my hands.” Lykil handed Trent a roll of papers. “This is the most I can help. Sorry.”
“You couldn’t give this to us earlier?” Trent asked as he glanced over the blueprints.
“I could have, but things had to play out this way. Again, my hands were tied.”
“For our Champion, you are woefully limited.”
“Trent,” Omar said in warning.
“It’s fine, Tor.” Lykil stepped up to Trent, pushing aside the blueprints so that he had the boy’s full attention. “One day you’ll understand that the gods can and often do interfere to the point that it can ruin your entire existence. Some gods won’t care or even see their interference as an issue. I mean, we are gods and all. Trust me, kid, one day you’ll be glad I’m so woefully limited. Some choices, triumphs, and failures should belong solely to you mortals.” He turned to the others. “You should enter in another forty-five minutes. They’ll be in the middle of a rotation. You’ll have less than ten minutes to get in place before patrols resume.”
Everyone nodded and turned to the blueprints. Tyson assigned Omar and Stella to the outbuildings. Ronan and Linda would go to the clinic once they made it inside. Luke would be his backup in securing the building. Trent would remain with the vehicles and ready them for transporting the victims.
On Tyson’s signal, everyone moved swiftly to their positions. Omar and Stella entered one of the outbuildings just as the front door to the main building cracked open. Tyson waited until the guards rounded the corner before he grabbed one. Luke grabbed and dispatched the other. Ronan made a motion. Two more were coming from the far corner.
Luke, sneaky fucker that he was, slipped low to the ground and released two darts from his hands as the guards came around the corner. The darts landed in the eyes of the guards.
“Contact darts?” Tyson asked.
Contact darts contained barbs that expanded once they hit a target to make extraction difficult. The technology had been stolen from the Hunters, but anything that helped neutralize a target was a boon in Tyson’s book.
Luke flashed a small evil smile before nodding. “Go. They’re going to make some noise before the poison takes effect. I’ll have Omar and Stella back me up if I need it.”
Tyson nodded and guided Ronan and Linda into the main building. Once they cleared the first floor, Ronan and Linda went to the clinic.
Moving slower due to the lack of backup, Tyson ventured up the stairs. He found Lykil in an office, standing next to an arrogant-looking male Hafiz.
“Sorry, Asim,” Lykil said as he reached out and grabbed the male, disappearing.
“The fuck?”
A scroll appeared on the desk. He grabbed it and cleared the rest of the upper floor before stopping to read the missive.
Seriously, sorry. You’ll understand at some point. It depends on this fucker.—Lykil
With the house clear and the obvious leader in Lykil’s hands, Tyson went to assist Ronan. His foot had just touched the last step when Ronan appeared carrying an unconscious Shapa male.
“The kid isn’t here.”
“Fuck.”
He ran out of the door searching for the vehicle. He found it just outside of the area they’d left it parked with the others.
Blood tinged the air, and a small trail led from the open door of the running SUV.
Fuck, fuck, fuck…
Clearing his mind of all negativity, Tyson carefully followed the trail to find Trent bound, gagged, and propped against a tree. A jagged cut lined Trent’s forearm, an obvious claw mark.
Two males, a Bao and Aleser, stood over Trent, debating what to do with him. They were oblivious to Tyson as he crouched low and caught Trent’s attention. Trent blinked three times to convey the amount of guards in the area.
Tyson flinched as a soft click and a gun shot went off right behind him right after he shot the two Lycans standing over Trent.
Surprised, Tyson checked himself for injuries before he made it to the male and punched a hole through the gunman’s chest and ripped out his heart. As an added measure, he broke the male’s neck before he dropped the disgraced Shiriki to the ground.
He turned see Trent’s head hanging low. “Trent, look at me.”
Slowly, the kid turned his head upwards. His usually bright, odd-colored eyes were quickly dulling.
“Fuck.” Tyson picked up his phone. “Ronan, get to the fucking cars. Trent’s been shot.”
“Location?”
“Torso.”
“Shit. On my way.”
While he waited, he unbound Trent and removed his gag. He ripped off his shirt and used it to clear away some of the dirt around the wound on his arm. The wound would heal on its on, but would scar badly without stitches.
“Trent, what happened?”
The boy’s breathing was labored and his focus was off. When he met Tyson’s gaze, the telling sign of death lingered in the corners of the kid’s eyes.
“Trent talk to me. What happened?”
“Ambushed. From barn. Didn’t hear them come up.”
Tyson cursed to himself. They’d assumed that they were far enough from the barn that they didn’t need to worry about it too much. They didn’t have enough people to cover the barn, but they figured the main forces would be in the house.
“Anything else?”
“No. Tired.”
“I know.”
“Sleep.”
“No, the fuck you don’t.” He looked around for Ronan.
“Asim, I’m fucking tired.”
“And I don’t fucking care, kid. Stay awake or I’ll make you stay awake.”
“I’m fucking tired, Asim. Back the fuck off.”
“Kid—”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Trent, shut the fuck up and listen to me.”
“No, you listen. I’ve killed since I was four—birth if you count my mother. Death has been in my life longer than I remember. I know I’m dying. Stop trying to baby me. And I’m not a kid. I never was.”
“You done? Good. Now shut up because I’m going to tell you something that all Rockys know. The day you start embracing your death is the day you may as well roll over and die. We are mighty. We usher others into Death’s arms, but she must find us in battle and fight us for our lives if she wants them. We don’t just give into her whims. As a Rocky, we don’t know how to exist any other way. I see you, and you are scared. Scared to die, but you also want it, crave it even. You may have always been around death, but as its giver. Don’t start thinking any different now. I expect to see your name in the Histories. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Asim.”
Ronan stepped up and clapped Tyson on the shoulder. “Are you ladies done sharing your feelings? Good, because we’re leaving.”
“How?” Trent asked.
Lykil suddenly appeared. Though he appeared outwardly calm, he seemed a bit twitchy. “I’ll take them back and return here.”
“Mikko Wayne wants to debrief you later. More importantly, I’ll have access to a clinic capable of taking care of your wounds.” Ronan checked Trent’s wound on his torso. “Through and through, and the bleeding has slowed. Looks like Death has to wait, Trent.”
Ronan carefully picked him up and made his way to the truck where Lykil stood.
“Trent,” Tyson called over his shoulder.
“Yes?”
“Drop the attitude. I understand it better than most, but keep it up, and I’ll show you how bad ass you aren’t. Understand?”
“Yes, Asim.”
“Good. Be mighty, Prince.”
Trent flashed a small smile. “I am legendary.”