Death of a Succubus Read online

  “Keep it together, Jerry. You are no good to her like that,” came the stern voice of Mark, the only one keeping his head.

  She couldn’t die, it wasn’t possible. Logan’s heart refused to acknowledge the scene in front of him.

  “She needs a hospital,” Mark stated. Looking outside, he turned back to Logan. “I’m going to get the car, and we are going to get her help.”

  The numbness was creeping down Logan’s legs, causing him pain. “Go.” He charged the word with an unspoken order.

  Mark shifted and was gone, loping out of the glass doors, shredding clothing as he went.

  “Don’t die, don’t die,” Jerry chanted, salty tears slipping down his chocolate skin.

  Logan silently added his own chant, exactly the same as Jerry’s.

  The SUV crashed into the glass windows. Logan moved to cover his dying mate, glass shards cutting his skin. He looked at Jerry, who nodded silently before Logan scooped Olivia up. Jerry kept his hands at Olivia’s temples, stumbling over his own feet and the debris.

  “Move!” Logan yelled. Sophie threw the back door open before getting into the passenger seat herself.

  “Drive!” she yelled, as soon as Logan had laid Olivia’s bloodstained body across the seat. Jerry’s hands wavered but never left, the light dimming but constant.

  Sophie continued to bark directions and before Logan could grasp what was happening, Olie was being pulled away from him. He bellowed, his lion pressing against his skin, fur rippling down his arms.

  Mark pressed against him, forcing him back. “Let them work! Let them work!” Logan’s mate was moving farther away from him. Logan tried to dislodge Mark again. He succeeded in pushing him along the hospital tile, his bare feet squealing. Somewhere he had found gray sweats.

  Jerry was still at her head, chanting, before they turned the corner and Logan lost sight of them. His knees gave out. The only reason he didn’t fall was his leverage against Mark. Mark changed his forward push to support for Logan instead.

  Logan couldn’t help anymore here, but he could find the fucker responsible.

  “Get us back to the courthouse,” he barked, pulling away from Mark. He was not weak. He was the leader of the entire US Shifter Nation; falling apart was not an option. Olivia wouldn’t have allowed it.

  Mark blinked, confused, and Logan turned his full Alpha stare at him. Mark was quick to obey, even if he didn’t understand. Logan supposed that Mark expected him to harass the nurses, demand to be by Olivia’s side for the next hours or days.

  He couldn’t be idle. He couldn’t watch helplessly, but he could kill.

  Casting a glance at Sophie, he commanded, “Stay with her.”

  Sophie raised an eyebrow, but said nothing of Logan’s order before she nodded.

  Mark cast careful glances at his Alpha as they climbed back into the SUV. The scent of Olivia’s blood clenched his stomach and his jaw.

  Thanks to Olivia’s impressive guards, Logan was able to block himself off from the rest of the pack, because he knew. He knew in his soul what the numbness creeping up his back and into his arms was.

  Olivia was dying.

  Clenching his jaw, he slammed the door shut, breaking the handle. He looked down disdainfully at the piece of plastic before tossing it into the back.

  “Where do you want to go first?” Mark asked.

  “We need the bullets. From there we need to figure out where the shots were fired from. I have no delusions about being able to catch the person still there.”

  Mark nodded, maneuvering the large SUV impressively around traffic, red lights, and a police barricade.

  The police officer guarding said barricade waved his hands, yelling demands.

  “Who do you think you are?” one of them yelled as Logan stepped out of the car.

  Logan turned his fierce gaze onto the small human, pulling himself up to his full height and glaring down at him. With an audible gulp, the officer stepped back. Logan scented his fear and his lion enjoyed it.

  Mercer came around from the driver’s side with Mark and a host of uniformed officers hot on his heels.

  Logan inclined his head, making no move to hide or explain the blood coating his hands and expensive dress shirt.

  Mercer wasn’t stupid. He took one look at the Alpha and averted his gaze.

  “Everyone get lost,” Mercer ordered. The officers around him opened their mouths to voice their shock and disapproval of the order. “NOW!” Mercer repeated, charging the word with urgency.

  Logan took a step closer to Mercer. That action had the officers scattering. Mercer stood his ground, his eyes flicking up to Logan’s before they moved to a spot behind his head.

  “How is she?” Mercer asked, braving the angry shifter.

  Logan’s beast bellowed in his chest, wanting to tear down every building, destroy every living thing. Nothing was worth it as his mate lay dying.

  Ginny, the soft whisper of her name gave him sanity and he clung to it.

  “She’s in surgery. I just got off the phone with Jerry,” Mark answered.

  Mercer nodded, but Logan hadn’t moved.

  “She will be okay,” Mercer tried to reassure Logan, who could scent the lie.

  “Have you recovered the bullets?” Logan asked, his stone face revealing nothing, at least that’s what he hoped.

  Mercer blinked at him. Logan wasn’t about to repeat himself.

  “I have them,” a voice called out behind Logan.

  He turned, his hand outstretched. Blue placed the thick plastic bag in it. Logan looked at the three bloody bullets that had torn through his mate.

  His lion beat against his control, but with a shake of his head, Logan refocused on the bullets in front of him. He opened the bag, inhaling deeply before passing it to Mark.

  “What do you scent?” Blue asked, unafraid to meet the Alpha’s gaze.

  “Blood, but not only Olivia’s, wood, and salt. Mark?” Logan asked.

  Mark took another long inhale. “There’s something else, something faint.” He inhaled again, holding the breath. “Jerry uses it sometimes, but I can’t, I can’t place it.”

  Mark looked lost and worried. Olivia had been a constant companion to him. She had risked everything to visit The Oracle and find Jerry.

  Mark handed the bag back to Logan, not meeting his gaze for an entirely different reason this time. It was selfish to think only of himself. If Olivia died, … he shut down that train of thought.

  Even Olivia injured would be felt across the packs. It probably already was, but Logan couldn’t bring himself to connect with them. The Council would be lost without her, he had no doubt. Despite her best efforts and plans for it to function at the same level without her, it never could.

  Logan reached out, taking the bag with his left hand as his right extended to Mark’s upper arm, gripping it reassuringly. Mark’s gaze jerked up to Logan’s own before he nodded and looked away.

  Logan turned back to Blue. “Do you have a plan?”

  Blue nodded. “I’m taking those to Gunner for him to examine.”

  Mercer cleared his throat, coming to stand near the aggravated lion. “We have labs that can help with that.”

  Logan raised an eyebrow. “Whose lab?”

  “The St. Ann Police Department. This case has been given priority,” Mercer replied.

  “When did you start working for the police department again?” Logan asked suspiciously.

  “After The Conferences. It seemed they needed someone on the force to handle the occasional Supernatural since the other guy got himself killed,” Mercer answered with a shrug.

  Logan sealed the bag shut, pressing the plastic together with unnecessary force before he handed it to Blue.

  “Blue, take those now,” Logan commanded. “If we find anything else we need analyzed, we will let you know.”

  Blue nodded and headed away without another word.

  Logan turned to Mercer. “Do you know where the shots originated
from?”

  Mercer’s mouth was turned down as he ran a hand over his blond hair, cropped short again. “Not yet; we are looking. There are four possible roofs we have identified. Olivia—” His voice cracked. “Olivia could have determined it faster. She’s taken out snipers from these rooftops before.”

  Logan nodded. He had heard of that. When the shifters and vampires came out of the metaphorical closet, Olivia had run the first meeting with Hash. She had literally captured, hog tied, and locked up the snipers Hash had set up on the rooftops before they knew what hit them.

  She was fearless and selfless. He wasn’t going to lose her.

  “I want to see all the possibilities,” Logan demanded.

  Mercer nodded, “Let’s go.”

  …

  They started out on foot, Mercer, Logan and Mark. While the use of their vehicles would have made the process faster, the roads had been shut down and cars blocked their way.

  Logan’s phone rang. Without breaking stride or looking at caller ID, he pulled it out of this pocket.

  “What?” he barked.

  “Is it true?” Tommy whispered.

  Shit.

  “Olivia was shot, she’s in surgery right now,” Logan relayed, feeling badly about forgetting the kids.

  “What hospital? I’m going,” Tommy demanded, sniffling.

  Logan paused. He had no idea what to do, how to handle this, nor any clue as to how Olivia would have handled it.

  “No, you are to stay in school until transport arrives. Just because someone injured her, that doesn’t mean they won’t be coming after the you and the kids as well.”

  “I’m not a child!” Tommy yelled. “I can help!”

  Shit.

  “You’re right, Tommy, you can. Your first priority is to be sure no one else attempts to leave early. The second is, I need you to monitor police communications for any reports, calls, anything that mentions the shooting and Olivia.”

  Tommy gave a small laugh and the tightness eased in Logan’s chest. “How do you think I found out about the shooting?” Tommy asked.

  “Oh. Well, keep it up, document it all and let me know if anything strange pops up. I want a full report tonight.”

  “You got it, boss. Can we see Olivia after?”

  “Yes, we will see her after.”

  “Okay,” Tommy agreed.

  Logan hung up with a heavy sigh. He hoped he had done the right thing. Olivia utilized Tommy’s skills without hesitation, but he was still a teenager and depending on him sat wrong with Logan. Still, he needed all the trustworthy help he could get.

  Olivia would also beef up security.

  Logan dialed on his phone. “Hudson,” his cousin answered.

  “Wake up, and get your shit in order. You are needed in St. Ann,” Logan commanded.

  “Fucking hell man, what is going on? I can sense the pack threads are upset.”

  Logan hesitated, hating that he had to go back into this.

  “Olivia has been shot, she’s in surgery.”

  Hudson dropped something. “WHAT?” he screamed. “Who DARED to harm the Mate?!”

  Logan nodded, glad he had thought to call. He needed to not be the only riled up animal in the city. “I don’t know and I’m trying to find out. I need you here to help me protect the mansion. I have no idea what else we can expect.”

  “Do you want the rest of the Compass Alphas? Not that you have assigned an Alpha for the North yet.”

  Logan growled, he didn’t need that reminder. “No, just get yourself down here, now.”

  With that he ended the call, hanging up only to dial again.

  “About time,” Becky answered, chomping on her gum. Logan didn’t bother asking if Tommy had told her the news, or if she was also monitoring the police reports. It didn’t matter.

  “Increase security at the mansion. I want shifters and the Council taking turns protecting the children.”

  “Done, what else you got for me?”

  “Nothing right now.”

  “Kay, then I’m also going to continue monitoring bank transfers in case this was a paid-for hit.”

  “Good thinking.” Logan hung up.

  He needed to call Alec, but they had just arrived at the first of the four buildings. It would have to wait.

  Steel and glass met his stare, reflecting his locked jaw and twitching lip. What it failed to capture was the beast inside Logan, demanding blood, thirsting for retribution, and climbing the walls inside of him. The numbness had stopped spreading, but it remained locked around his heart. He rubbed his chest, feeling Olivia’s blood drying on his shirt.

  “Do you want to change?” Mark asked him, paying close attention to his actions.

  “No, not now,” he answered, turning from his thoughts to follow Mercer through the glass doors.

  Inside, uniformed police officers were guarding the stairs and elevators. Annoyed business men and women were waiting impatiently.

  “What does it matter that a Supernatural got shot? She’s not one of us.” Logan picked up on the whisper.

  “I heard it’s the bitch leader of The Council. The whore deserved it,” another whispered.

  Logan didn’t realize he had stopped following Mercer. He stalked toward the soft human in the brown suit who was whispering about his mate being a whore.

  “You should mind your tongue, before I remove it from your head,” Logan stated.

  Mercer hung back, but Mark was right at Logan’s side.

  “In case you missed it, shifters have exceptional hearing, and that whore who deserved to be shot is his mate. I’d suggest groveling for your life.”

  The soft human’s face lost all its color.

  “I — I — what I meant was —“

  “Grovel,” Mark repeated, stepping forward.

  The human’s knees hit the ground. “I’m so sorry, please forgive me.”

  Logan stepped back, looking at the scene he had caused.

  The humans weren’t worth it. He rationally knew that, but he wasn’t operating on rationality right now. He was driven solely by primal instincts. Instincts that were craving blood.

  Logan gave thought to spilling the humans on the highly polished floors, but a warming sensation in his chest stopped him.

  He turned to Mark. “Call Jerry,” he demanded.

  Mark pulled his phone out and put the ringing call on speakerphone. As a group, Logan, Mark and Mercer carefully moved into the elevator. Here’s hoping Mark’s service doesn’t crap out, Logan thought.

  “Is she awake?” Logan asked when Jerry picked up.

  “No, but her brain waves just came back on line, or are registering again. I don’t know the terminology. I just know she isn’t brain dead.”

  Logan listened carefully to the silence. “She’s on a breathing machine?” he asked.

  “And a feeding tube,” Jerry confirmed.

  “But she’s not brain dead. She’s alive.” Mark covered his face, drawing a ragged breath. His other hand held the phone, shaking.

  “She’s alive, the bleeding is stopped. We are just waiting for her to wake up.” Jerry’s voice was ragged with emotion.

  “She’s going to wake up. I can feel it,” Logan said, his confidence in the statement sewn into his bones.

  “That’s great news,” Jerry whispered.

  The elevator ding announced they had hit the 15th floor. Logan moved out, following another uniformed officer to the stairwell marked, “Rooftop.”

  Mark finished up his conversation with Jerry and they cleared the three levels of stairs easily.

  “Don’t wait for us,” Mercer called from below, winded.

  Mark gave Logan a small smile. “I hadn’t planned on it.”

  “I heard that,” Mercer muttered.

  Logan pushed open the door to the roof, sunlight blinding him for a moment.

  Chapter 2

  The red moon overhead cast everything in shades of maroon, reminding me of thick, dark rivulets of blood.
I turned a full circle, finding it was all the same wine color. The monochromatic landscape played strange games with my mind.

  Where was I?

  I looked down at myself. My dress pants and blouse were gone, replaced by a black, skintight dress that flared out at my knees.

  “What the fuck?” I muttered, running my hands over the unfamiliar material.

  I’d have to say it was a kickass dress, although if I had to do any actual ass kicking, I couldn’t see it as an asset. Tumbling rocks behind me had me spinning. As another maroon rock skittered at my feet, I could see no source for the displaced object.

  Maybe I was dreaming. This sure as shit didn’t feel real. What was the last thing I remembered? I searched my brain, chewing thoughtfully on my lip, tapping my foot against the flat slate rock at my feet. I was in my own little valley, surrounded by sharp edges leading up into who knew what.

  What was the last thing I remembered? I searched my mind again. I was with Sophie and Logan; we had finally signed the documents with Grams. I jumped in front of Logan and — pain bubbled at my chest and I put a hand to it, expecting it to come away with blood.

  Nothing. Only the smooth feel of my skin and the silk of the dress. I knew that feeling, though, I had been shot. Ugh, how lax was I getting, that I didn’t check for snipers on the rooftops anymore? Hadn’t that been Hash’s go-to the first time around?

  Idiot!

  Whatever, I’d do better next time. You know, pending getting the hell out of here, wherever here was. I sighed, no time like the present to slice and dice my hands and legs. I wished for my leathers.

  To my surprise, the first jagged rock I clutched didn’t hurt me, didn’t cause me pain. I looked down at my skin, finding it unmarred, so I slammed my hand against the rock. Still nothing. Well, if this was a dream world, I liked it. I traversed easily out of the pit. As I looked down, it almost reminded me of a lotus flower. A pissed off lotus flower.

  Shading my eyes, I turned, at first seeing nothing but flat red slate. Then, far in the distance, I made out the barest outline of a building. I set my sights on it and started walking.

  …

  Logan blinked the sting of the midday sun from his eyes, moving to the left to allow Mark room to stand also.