Authors: Raven Monet
Chapter Two
ELIAS
I knew my kind when I saw them. The girl talking to Deacon, the one that resembled him, was a lion too. Or at least was somewhat a lion. There was more to her than met the eye and that intrigued me. I could smell her from across the room and she smelled – delicious.
“Who's that talking to Deacon?” I asked one of the guys. “Does he have a daughter?”
He never mentioned a daughter, but she was a spitting image of our respected leader.
“Not that I'm aware of,” the guy said and shrugged. “But she does look like him, doesn't she?”
“Yes, she does,” I said, licking my lips.
Deacon and I were close – almost as close as a father and son. I looked up to him, told him everything, and I thought he'd done the same for me over the last few months. But there was something he'd been hiding from me and she sat across the room this very moment.
And I had to meet her.
“I'll be right back,” I said, walking over to the table.
Not many men could do this, just interrupt a private meeting with Deacon and someone else, but I wasn't just anyone. I was the Chosen One. I was the one who'd be taking over here shortly. And more than that, Deacon loved and respected me. My life was never in danger where he was concerned.
No one stopped me. Maybe because they knew what I knew or maybe because they feared me – though I doubted the latter. Most of them didn't even know me that well, and those that did discount my strength based on my appearances alone. The few tattoos I had weren't enough for them, made them think I was weak, but I didn't have to look a certain way to gain their respect.
I had to show them I was worthy and that would come in time.
Deacon's eyes turned to me, but he didn't stop me from coming over. In fact, he stood when I approached the table, pulling me into a hug.
“Elias,” he said, pulling away and motioned toward the woman sitting next to him. “Meet Ava, she's my niece.”
I stared down at her, the petite little woman and saw something in her eyes. There was something beneath that sweet looking exterior, an anger that raged through her.
“I didn't know you had a niece, Deacon,” I said, smiling and reaching for her hand. “It's nice to meet you, Ava.”
“Likewise,” she said, shaking my hand with more strength than most women her size would have.
Neither one asked me to join them, but I sat down anyway.
“I didn't mention her for a reason, Elias,” Deacon said, glancing behind me at the men a short distance away. “But I trust you. I don't like people to know I have a family. It's for their – her – safety.”
“Understood,” I said. “Your secret is safe with me, Deacon. As always.”
“I know that, Elias,” he said, his eyes looking even more tired than before. “Thank you. But if you wouldn't mind, Ava and I were just talking about something personal and I'm not so sure she's comfortable with company.”
“No, Deacon, it's fine,” Ava said. “My parents were killed in a car accident and Deacon and I were just talking about it.”
Looking back over at Ava, the rage inside of her made sense now. She wasn't hurt by whatever happened, she was angry. I could see it in the way her jaw clenched up at the words “car accident”.
“I'm sorry to hear that, Ava,” I said softly. “I lost my parents not that long ago too. It's why Deacon took me under his wing.”
“What happened to your parents?” she asked me, her eyes softening a bit. “If you don't mind me asking.”
I looked at Deacon who nodded his approval – not that I needed it. It was my story to tell. There were certain risks associated with talking about how Deacon found me, but I knew Ava was good. I knew it because she was with Deacon and they were blood. Anyone related to him couldn't be evil, I knew that now.
“They were killed,” I said, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. Like her, I was angry. “Murdered by rivals of theirs.”
“Were they part of the gang?” she asked, tilting her head to the side like an adorable little puppy dog.
“No,” I said. “They didn't believe in this kind of life.”
“Then what do you mean by rivals?” she asked me.
“Ava, whether we care to admit to it or not, there are those who don't take too kindly to what we are. As I'm sure you know,” I said with a shrug.
“What we are?” she asked, looking over at Deacon.
“I assume you're a lion, like your uncle?”
“Not exactly,” she muttered. “My father didn't join in the family tradition. He chose to become a bear, instead.”
“So you're a bear?” I asked, eyes wide. She didn't look like a bear, nor did she feel like one. Instead, she felt like a lion.
“Sort of,” Ava said, adjusting in her seat. “It's complicated, Elias.”
“I understand complicated,” I said, leaning back and relaxing. “Trust me, we're all a bit more complicated than we look.”
“Let's just say – I take after both sides of my family. My father and my uncle.” She'd lowered her voice.
“Wait,” Deacon said, looking as if this was news to him too. “How is that possible? Why didn't I know this?”
“Because I only recently found out myself, Deacon,” she said. “I didn't know it was possible either.”
Raising an eyebrow, I gave Ava a look. We needed to talk, but not around anyone else. Even Deacon didn't know everything about me, but mainly for his own safety. Not that I'd be so open with Ava either, but she was the only one like me I'd ever heard of – a hybrid shifter. And I wanted to learn more.
Because maybe she could offer me some answers to my own past. And more importantly, to my own parent's demise as well.
Chapter Three
AVA
Elias was, even more, stunning up close. His eyes were greener, more vibrant. His hairless black and more chocolate brown, just a few shades darker than his skin, which looked like a nice, deep tan. Now that I saw him up close, I wondered if he wasn't part Native American.
He had a few tattoos that peeked out from underneath his shirt – tribal symbols, from the looks of them. Unlike most of the men in Deacon's group, he wasn't covered in tats. While he looked gentler in the face than most, there was something about him that came off as intimidating. Maybe it was his height. Maybe it was his cockiness and arrogance. Or the fact that he came right over and sat down like he had – without being invited. That took some balls. And from the looks of it, Elias didn't seem to care at all.
“So what happened to your parents, Elias?” I asked. “Who killed them?”
I asked for purely selfish reasons. There was part of me that hoped his story might help me solve my own. I needed answers and if there was someone out there killing unaffiliated shifters, well, maybe Elias knew who it was. Or at least, maybe have an idea.
“The cartels,” Elias said nonchalantly. “You see, they don't just go after those who've wronged them, they go after their families as well. They know killing a man is one thing, but killing off his family – that hurts a lot more. My grandfather was once part of your uncle's gang here before the cartels came after him as well.”
I looked over at Deacon. “Is this true?”
“We've heard rumors, but nothing has been verified, Ava – ”
Raising my fists, I pounded them into the table with everything I had inside of me. The resulting crash sounded like a cannon shot and everyone in the bar turned and looked at us, but I didn't care.
“Goddammit, Deacon! So you knew this was a possibility and still denied that my parents could have been murdered? Really? And you didn't think to warn me? Your niece?”
“Listen, Ava – ”
“No, you listen to me, Deacon,” I said, feeling my face flushing a bright red as I spoke. I pointed a finger in his face. “You tell me everything you know. Everything. Because I'm going to kill those assholes or at least make them wish they were dead. I will find out who killed my parents, Deacon.”
Deacon sighed. “Your parents were in a car accident. Elias' family was brutally attacked. The scenes were totally different. Elias himself was shot and left for dead. If they'd wanted to come after you, Ava – you'd be dead already. They would have got you the day your parents died, but what happened was a fluke. They were killed in a car accident.”
“Like you would know,” I said. “You weren't even there afterward.”
“Ava, I'm sorry – ”
Elias stared at me. From underneath the table, I felt his hand touch my leg. My first instinct was to pull away, assuming he was getting handsy. My second thought was what a terrible time to be getting handsy with me. But then I felt it. A slip of paper.
Reaching down, I took it from him and unobtrusively slipped it into my pants pocket, trying not to give anything away to Deacon. Obviously, Elias didn't want him seeing whatever it was he'd handed me, so I tried to keep it hidden as well.
“I trusted you, Deacon. I always trusted you. And you didn't warn us about a potential threat? You didn't even care to warn me about it?”
“Because I didn't think you were in danger. What happened with Elias didn't appear to be related to what happened to you. As far as I knew, I wasn't on the cartel's radar. I hadn't pissed them off.”
“But his parents did?”
“His grandfather did, yes. There were some issues outside of our gang with the cartels, a drug deal gone wrong. Nothing I was involved in.”
“Then who the hell was that man who showed up at my door the day my parents died?” I asked, feeling the tears burning in my eyes.
“I don't know,” Deacon said at last. “Or rather, I do know – but I don't know why he was looking for me.”
“Who showed up at her door?” Elias asked, looking between me and my uncle.
When Deacon didn't answer, I did. “A Hispanic man with El Monstruo tattooed on his chest.”
Elias' eyes grew wide as he grabbed onto the table and appeared to stop breathing for a moment. His entire body grew rigid. He pulled his shirt to the side, exposing a scar above his heart and pointed to it.
“That's the man,” he said quietly, meeting my gaze, “who tried to cut out my heart before Deacon stepped in and saved me.”
“I was too late for his parents and grandfather,” Deacon said. “I had no idea they were in danger or I would have been there sooner.”
Chapter Four
“Well then,” I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest, “it appears I have my answer.”
“What's that?” Elias asked me.
“My parents were killed by this El Monstruo because he was looking to get back at Deacon.”
“Then why didn't he kill you, Ava?” Deacon asked. But this time, it didn't sound like he was fighting with me, more like he was trying to understand it himself.
“That's a mystery,” I said, gritting my teeth. “But I guess we'll never know unless we ask him ourselves.”
“No, Ava,” Deacon said. “We can't do that. Or rather, you can't do that. I don't want you anywhere near that guy. I do not want you on his radar.”
“I can do whatever the hell I want,” I said.
Elias chuckled slightly but covered it up after I glared at him.
“I'm not the little girl you remember me to be,” I said.
“But you're still not a fighter, Ava. Let me handle it,” Deacon said.
Looking at my aging uncle, I doubted his ability to take on the drug cartel alone. Maybe with the gang at his back – but even then, it was iffy. At best.
“Will they still follow you?” I asked, motioning toward the men in the bar.
“They'd follow me to hell and back,” he said confidently. “But this isn't a war for them to fight.”
“I agree,” Elias said. “It's too dangerous. We need to be in and out. Get the leader out and take out anyone who knows about us. We can't take down the whole cartel and those other men have families – unlike us.”
“We don't have anyone else to lose,” I said. “But they do.”
“Exactly,” Elias said. “They took my entire family from me, so it should be me. I have nothing left to lose.”
“Elias – ” Deacon said, reaching out for the other man's arm.
“No, Deacon,” he said, giving me a knowing look. “You have done enough for me already, and besides, you have Ava. For whatever reason, they didn't kill her. If you continue after them, they may come back for her and she's an innocent in all of this.”
“So are you,” Deacon said. “You were just a boy, Elias.”
“But now I'm a man,” he said calmly. “And to know that this guy is still out there, killing people and tearing apart families – I won't rest until I tear out his heart like he tried to do mine. Like I said, I have nothing else left to lose. But you do, Deacon. Protect what you hold dear while you still have it to protect.”
Elias' words touched me. His strength, his need for revenge – I understood it all so well because I felt it too. I knew the desire to kill the person who'd taken everything away from you. I still had Deacon, but he was already on the hit list. My involvement wouldn't cause him any more pain or suffering. I had no one else. Nothing else to lose.
But I couldn't agree to help Elias. At least, not with Deacon at the table.
“I agree, Deacon,” I said, reaching for my uncle's arm. “You need to sit this one out. Retire, head for the mountains or somewhere safe where no one knows your name.”
“You'll come with me, Ava?” he asked me.
“No,” I said, unable to lie. “But I'll promise to be careful. I'll go somewhere, trust me. And no one will know who I am.”
That last part wasn't a lie. I'd make sure to keep myself hidden and I'd be careful. But I wouldn't be hiding from the danger. I'd be walking head first into it. But Deacon didn't need to know that.
He was the only family I had left and I wanted to protect him. Yes, he may have brought this down on us, but I couldn't blame him. All I could do was right the wrongs and find out who killed my family.
And of course, battle it out with Elias over who got to rip that bastard’s heart out once we found him.