Surrender (The Tribe MC: Chase of Prey Book 2) (4 page)

CHAPTER 5

Cara was beyond nervous. She paced her room in long strides, trying to pay attention to Jaelle as she explained to her again how the ritual would work. The Tribe would be gathering tomorrow evening.

Tomorrow night, someone would be the new Queen of the Tribe. Was her father right? Could a rogue eat the flesh of the Tribe Queen and become stronger because of it?

“What’s bothering you?” Jaelle asked.

“Nothing.”

“You shouldn’t lie; you know you’re horrible at it.”

“I keep telling you, that’s why I do it.”

This was an old joke between the two of them, but at the moment, it fell flat. Cara didn’t want to joke; she didn’t want to hear about tomorrow night’s ceremony, she didn’t want to begin all of the rituals she would have to undergo to get ready for that dance.

She didn’t want the henna painted on her body; her vision was too close to her at the moment.

Was there a spy in their midst? There had to be! But who could it be? Who would betray their own Tribe?

Maybe it was somebody who didn’t know they were betraying the Tribe. Maybe it was somebody who would simply been talking and didn’t realize that their words had power, or were heard accidentally by outsiders.

It had to be something like that. Cara could not bring herself to believe that any of her family members would betray their own kind. The Tribe had been persecuted, chased down and murdered throughout the centuries. They’d been misunderstood and they’d had to flee from their own homeland in order to protect themselves and others. That was the bargain that they had made and they had always sworn that they never regretted it.

But maybe some did regret it.

What could anyone hope to gain from betraying the Tribe? Treason meant getting thrown out, exiled and sent out on the road on their own.

Of course, things were not like they had been back when that was such a horrible punishment. Most of the families now had gadjo in their midst, in their family. At one time, having to live among the gadjo had been the punishment — being cut off from tradition, and the close-knit bonds that came as part of being Tribe, had been the worst thing that could happen.

But even now, in many families, there were divisions and splits. There were some who had walked away from the Tribe and had never looked back. They were lost in the land of the gadjo… and they liked it that way.

What could someone gain from forming an alliance with the wolves? That was the real question.  She knew that if she could figure out that riddle, then she would be able to figure out who had done this.

“Don’t worry, Cara. They’ll find that nest of rabid bastards.”

Cara knew that Jaelle had meant to be soothing, but it was hardly comforting. Would Sebastian be there when her father and the others found their lair? What would happen to him? Would it be Ion who takes his life?

Could Ion even take Sebastian’s life? To be honest, she doubted it. Ion was tough, but he was tough in the cocky kind of way that came from always having an advantage over others. He had a whole crew of tough motorcycle-riding gangsters at his back and magic on his side. Going up against crazy meth addict humans, looking for a quick payoff was not the same as facing against a werewolf with his own team of hardcases behind him.

Or maybe it was. From what she’d seen of crystal meth addicts, they could be almost as ravenous and rabid as a rogue Wolf.

Unable to contain herself anymore, Cara turned to Jaelle and blurted out, “Shit! I just remembered, I have to go to a major, major exam! I’ll be back later, okay?”

“No, it’s not okay. You know this takes precedence over everything else — where are you going? Get back here before I tell your father!”

Jaelle’s words fell on deaf ears. Cara had to go see that Queen! She knew it was forbidden and she knew that just by going there, she could be putting the Queen in danger, but she had to. She ran down the stairs and out to her sporty little red sedan. She climbed in and wheeled out of the driveway before anyone could stop her.

New Orleans spread out around her as she drove. She cranked her windows down, enjoying the fresh, cool air. Mardi Gras was right around the corner, and everywhere she looked, there were huge masks and decorations being set up.

Her thoughts were still swirling around in her head too fast for her to make sense of them. Maybe the Queen could help her with this and maybe she couldn’t, but either way, Cara had to go. She had to see that the old woman was okay and that her vision had not come true.

As she pulled into the driveway, she let out a sigh of relief. She never thought she would be happy to see Ion, but the sight of his bike sitting in the driveway reassured her. Of course her father had already sent Ion to take care of the Queen.

Cara was so busy being grateful for Ion’s presence that at first, she almost didn’t even notice the other two bikes. They were parked a distance away, in the driveway of another house. If she’d not been paying attention, she would have simply assumed that bikes belonged to the residents of that house.

But that house was empty! The blinds were drawn and the neat lawn had an air of desertion hanging around it. Empty houses always gave off their own aura, a sort of sad soft gray mist, and it was rising from that house in long thin streamers.

Her heart clenched in her chest. Ion was fast and dangerous but he’d only ever gone up against mortals — not Wolves. It had been far too long since the Tribe had had to battle those creatures.

Earlier she’d been thinking that Sebastian could kick Ion’s ass, but now she was faced with the fact that most Wolves could kick his ass — and hers too, if it came right down to it.

It would be easier to run away and call her father and ask for help, but it would probably be too late by the time help arrived. Frowning, she drew closer to the house. She was scared but she knew she had to go inside. There was somebody in there with Ion; it might be two of the Fallen who were not rogue. Maybe they’d been ordered to take the Queen out, and maybe her vision had shown the Queen dead at the fangs of a rogue only because that was what the entire Tribe feared the most.

Either way, none of this was good.

She crept a little closer, her legs shaking, hardly daring to breathe as she approached the door. While she doubted Ion would be happy to see her at any other time, especially given the condition of his face and jacket, she was pretty sure that if he was being attacked by two of the Fallen, he might forgive her for torching his eyebrow.

The house was large and old. Over its dusty, damp smell hung the scent of incense and peppermints. The Queen had been in failing health for the last few months, and they had all known it, but she’d refused to have any help in the house other than her granddaughter and grandson.

Cara spotted their bodies almost immediately. Sorrow welled up in her throat.

The granddaughter had been a beautiful girl with shining black hair and a voice like an angel. Now most of her throat was gone. She lay tossed and bloody against the wall near the windows.

The grandson was also dead; he’d suffered far worse damage. It was obvious from the condition of both that they had been partially eaten.

Nausea rose up in Cara’s throat. She wanted to run but she knew she couldn’t. She had to take care of these people, no matter what was happening right now. Her eyes darted towards the stairs. What if the Queen was being attacked right now? She couldn’t hear anything but that didn’t mean anything. If these two were dead then perhaps the Queen was as well and the only thing she could do was stop these two from rising again. They would be rogues if they rose!

A hand fell on Cara’s shoulder and a shriek started in her throat as she spun around. Her hand went up and a spell flashed into her mind, a spell that was cut off by warm lips pressed against hers.

Sebastian!

Anger slammed into her — one moment Sebastian was pressed against her, kissing her, and the next, he was flung clear across the room, his body hitting the sideboard then tumbling off of it. The silver that had been sitting on the sideboard clattered loudly to the floor, but Sebastian was back on his feet almost instantaneously.

He looked at her and raised a finger to his lips in a gesture that meant quiet. She wanted to be anything but quiet. She wanted to tell him that he was an asshole, that he’d lied to her. She was kind of wondering what he would look like with only one eyebrow, and if she could duplicate whatever the hell that spell had been that she had used on Ion earlier.

The intense concentration on his face kept her from doing anything, including setting him on fire. He pointed toward the second floor and moved his shoulders up and down in a gesture that was unmistakable. He was asking her what was up there.

Cara knew she shouldn’t answer, but she didn’t have much choice. She mouthed one word: Queen.

Sebastian felt all the blood drain from his face. The Tribe’s Queen was upstairs with two rogues and a traitor! Judging by the look on Cara’s face she hadn’t quite figured out yet that there was a traitor in the mix, or who it might be. He hated to tell her and he decided not to; she would find out soon enough. In the meantime…

He went to the first body, his heart aching with pity. He withdrew the long silver knife and with one deft, quick move, severed the young woman’s head from her shoulders.

Cara made a low retching sound in her throat and he didn’t look at her. These people had probably been friends or her family; he didn’t expect her to participate in their resting, so it surprised him when she walked up to the young man’s body, pointed two fingers down and allowed a stream of blue light pour from her fingers. The blue light severed the young man’s head cleanly. He had to admit, it was a lot neater than the blade.

Cara pointed upstairs and Sebastian nodded.

Cara didn’t know how he’d gotten there, or why, but his aura was glowing a beautiful, spotless white. How was that possible? How could a Wolf be so pure? He was, though, and whatever chance they had to face the two Wolves upstairs, they had to take it now. She started up the stairs, trying to walk as quietly as possible. Sebastian passed her, turning his head slightly to wink at her.

She followed him, irritation mingling with fascination as she stared at his firm butt moving below his tight jeans.  How could she possibly be staring at his ass at a time like this? There was a low pulse in her belly and another even lower. Her feelings for him were conflicted: she should hate him, but she couldn’t. He was one of the Fallen, and she was one of the Tribe, he’d lied to her — maybe not outright, but he’d certainly never corrected her assumption that he was a Hunter.

As she followed him up the stairs, she knew that there would have been no way for him to be honest with her, at least not at first. How would she have reacted if she had known he was Fallen? She never would have even given him a chance; the two of them never would’ve gotten to know each other, and they never would have made love or anything else.

But that was the issue, wasn’t it? There was no way she would’ve bedded a Wolf if she’d known that’s what he was!

As they reached the second floor, Sebastian became aware of a heavy odor. It smelled a lot like lightning that had struck an old tree. The air fairly crackled with that scent and all of his nerves tightened. It was a smell he was completely unfamiliar with, and that in itself was unusual.

Cara was at his back, and he knew that should make him nervous. Having one of the Tribe behind him was dangerous, but right now, he had no choice but to trust her, and she had no choice but to trust him. All he could do was hope that she understood, and that she would forgive him.

Cara’s forehead wrinkled as they neared a closed door. She could hear voices raised in some sort of chant. It sounded like a spell… but since when did the Fallen use spells? One voice rose above the others and she recognized it immediately. It was Ion! Perhaps he was casting a spell in order to protect himself and the Queen.

Sebastian swung the door open with Cara right behind him, her fingers already moving, creating runes in the air that would throw up protective walls around her and Sebastian.