Cursed To Death

“They did,” Dak-Ho said quietly. “And they should not have… This was not a human fight.”

Shogun nodded and looked away, his expression pained. “No, this was not a human fight. They should not have died so that we could live.”

“Humans do that all the time-I am so fucking tired of hearing about the way of the wolf! So the next time you guys start talking shit about what humans are or are not, remember that,” Woods said, spitting on the ground, and motioning back toward the carnage behind them. “I’ve about had it with the familiar bullshit. You saw pure grade-A 100 percent US-military-issue soldier from me, Fish, and Sasha back there. That,” he added, motioning over his shoulder with his thumb, “is what we do. It’s what me and my platoon used to do… God rest Rod Butler’s soul.”

Sasha nodded. “God rest Rod Butler’s soul.” Then she moved toward her man, who was clearly reeling from the gunflght and the residual effects of dark magick. “But stand down, soldier,” she said quietly, laying a hand on his shoulder. “The moon is high and so are emotions, and you’re standing in the middle of a pack of post-battle- hyped wolves.” Her eyes met Woods’s. “I’m telling you because I love you like a brother,” she said in an even quieter voice as the two alpha males behind them slowly began to snarl.

Woods let out a hard breath and relaxed. “It’s just a crying shame what happened to those officers back there… One was no older than Winters. That’s what fucks me up.”

Hunter nodded and relaxed. “Humans are honorable. It hurts when you lose any member of your pack, or an innocent.” His gaze went around the group. “No more low remarks cast against humans in our families-no aspersions made against those with more human blood than wolf in their veins. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Crow Shadow said, gaining nods all around.

“Agreed,” Shogun said, staring at Hunter and then offering Woods a slight bow.

Sasha picked up the cell phone. “ ’Rissa… I don’t know how, but you guys have to get out of there. Gunshots were fired, and… What?”

Silence surrounded Sasha, save the hum of bullfrogs and crickets. Background sirens dulled as her mind exploded. “Hold on a sec.” She pressed the cell phone to her chest again and stared at Woods. “Two civilian girls are in the B &B in tears-no, make that hysterics-because they saw creatures they cannot explain, are waaaay freaked out, and saw Doc unload a silver, hallowed-earth- packed hollow-tip to explode one… Oh, did I mention that Bradley and Doc had to duct-tape them to a chair for their own safety so they wouldn’t run out screaming into the streets to get bitten? Wanna talk to me, soldier?”

“Oh, shit…” Woods ran his palms over his hair while Fisher began to walk in a tight circle.

“Jesus frickin’ Christ,” Fisher said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. “I forgot about the girls!”

“Yo, Cap, we just jumped up, went into battle mode, you know… hit the steps locked and loaded… hit the jeep, ready to roll… Holy shit!” Woods paced back and forth.

“Clarissa,” Sasha said calmly. “Ask Doc if he has some Valium on hand.” She waited a beat. “You’re sure?” Sasha shook her head and looked at Woods and Fisher as the rest of the men swallowed smirks. “Doc doesn’t happen to have any meds on him.”

“What about in the ambulance, Sasha?” Hunter offered in an amused tone.

For a second she just looked at him and then let out a long breath. She turned her attention to the cell phone again. “Much as I hate to do this to a person… maybe if they can get to the ambulance, find something in there to knock them out without hurting them… Drive the ambulance to the hospital and bring them in as maybe having gotten something spiked in their drink at the bar… When they wake up in the morning, it can all be played off as a bad dream. I don’t know if we can get to you soon enough to provide you with a security escort, though… That’s the only thing. We’re pinned down in the swamp.”

Sasha let her breath out hard again. “I know drugging them is bogus and manipulative and screwed up-but it’s either that or have those poor women mentally jacked up for life. Also, if you guys go to the hospital, which, with all the local heat on things now, puts you out of suspicion’s eye… It also puts you guys somewhere the Vamps aren’t likely to go after you again tonight; at least you’ll be somewhere kinda safe.

“I know, I know, we’ll be there as soon as we can,” Sasha said in a weary tone as Clarissa’s voice became shrill. “Call in our markers at Tulane with Doctors Williams, Lutz, and Sanders from before. At least they’re cool and know the supernatural drill. And when those girls wake up-tell Doc to be there with Silver Hawk as the older men who found them and helped them get to the hospital unmolested,” she added, giving Woods and Fisher the evil eye, “with you, Bradley, and Winters. Maybe they’ll wake up like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.”

Woods let out a hard sigh as Sasha ended the call. “Sounds like a plan, Cap… Only one question, though-how do we get out of the bayou?”

CHAPTER 16

Woods was right. There was still enough of the Buchanan Broussard clan that had retreated into the swamps to make an ambush a deadly possibility. If Vampires were on the offensive, then out here away from the eyes of human authority, they were sitting ducks. Her hope was that the Vamp killed back at the B &B had backed them off long enough for them to think twice about going after her human team, especially if NOPD was on the way.

The one thing she was sure of was that, after their exposure and involvement with the death of a human general, the Vamps would want to stay concealed from human military types right about now. Vampires were many things, but openly foolish wasn’t one of them.

And despite how badly the situation rankled her nerves, now was certainly not the time to get into it with Fisher and Woods about why they’d brought civilian females back to what was essentially base. Half of her was truly pissed off, the other half glad her men had been at the B &B and not AWOL at some chick’s apartment somewhere. They had been there when needed, they had responded immediately to the call to arms, so she really couldn’t dress them down about that. Nobody was on top of their game.

Shogun couldn’t even meet her gaze now. As the rush of battle ebbed, understanding gained a foothold in her brain, along with a very irrational spike of jealousy that made her cry out safe haven in her soul.

Hunter lifted his head, breaking the silence. “Blood-hounds.”

“This is the South, six cops are dead; I’d expect no less,” Sasha said.

The order to move out was given with a nod. They all took a wolf’s pace in a hard jog, heading deeper into the bayou. Every now and then Sasha circled back to be sure her men with the least wolf in them could keep pace-she refused to leave Fisher and Woods… She’d go to prison with them, if it came to that, but leave them? Never. They seemed to know that as they pushed themselves to the edge of their mostly human endurance.

“You go ahead,” Shogun said, dropping back. “I can throw off the dogs-I’ll split the scent trail.”

Hunter stopped and turned. “We stay together.”

“We stay together,” Sasha said, giving Woods and Fisher a chance to stop and gasp in deep breaths. “Shogun, I know how the human military and Homeland Security systems work over here. You’re a foreign national. You’ll be pinned as a drug dealer who triggered the violence by bringing in opiates from Asia with your men… and will disappear into a CIA interrogation black site.”

“Under the circumstances, would that be so bad an option?” he said quietly, staring into her eyes.

She looked away. “Unacceptable.”

“But honorable.”

Hunter threw a punch that felled a tree and began circling. “Don’t go there, brother.”

Confusion tore through the ranks for a moment, but a hail of silver-tipped arrows made everyone jump back. Weapons raised with hair-trigger reflexes.

“Hold your fire!” a heavily accented voice called out from above.

All eyes quickly scanned the tree limbs above.

“Friend, not foe!”

“It’s Fae archers,” Sasha called out. “Hold your fire!”