One Hundred and Seven
Graham watched the sunrise over the harbor with disinterest. His gut twisted again and he chalked it up to the excitement of finally getting his hands on Dominic DeAngelo. Toma received intel that he was hiding out only four hours away from Blackmoore in a town known for rogue wolves. He glanced around the docks, pinching his nose at the lingering stench.
Graham questioned Toma’s informant himself the moment he arrived. It was the most difficult task in his life to keep the informant alive. Theo convinced him the mutt was still useful, even if just as a stress relief if things didn’t go their way. Graham wouldn’t entertain the idea. It would go their way, even if he had to kill a hundred and seven rogues to make it so.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell her,” Theo chuckled.
Graham glared back at him through the rearview mirror. “Shut up.”
“You’re telling me you told Nat?” Lucas asked.
His head was leaned back in his chair and his eyes were closed but Graham knew he would be ready in less than a second if needed. Graham kept his gaze focused on the supposedly empty warehouses.
“I tell my mate everything,” Theo bragged.
“Well let’s hope she doesn’t do the same for Catherine,” Lucas snickered.
Graham’s eyes shot to the mirror to sear into Theo’s skull. “Relax, Beta. She knows her place. She wouldn’t do that.”
“She better not,” Graham warned.
“You’re going to have to tell her eventually,” Theo rationalized.
Graham looked back at the warehouse. “I will tell her when she opens the gift-wrapped box containing Dominic’s heart.”
“How sweet,” Theo cooed.
“Would you all shut the fuck up?!” Toma barked. Lucas’ head fell forward and he raised a brow at Graham. The wolf hadn’t spoken since they’d left Blackmoore. “Goddess, just fucking focus.”
Lucas chuckled and went back to his reclined position. “Chill out, Wolfie. We’re ready to go.”
“Yeah, you sure are rowdy for a man who was seconds away from rejecting his witchy mate,” Theo agreed.
“I… I wasn’t going to reject her,” Toma argued though his face gave away his true intent.
“Right,” Lucas said. “No, of course not. Your motives haven’t been dripping with guilt from the moment we left Sterling.”
“Shut up!”
“Hey, keep it down,” Graham warned them all. “It doesn’t matter what he was going to do. We all have baggage. Right now our intentions are all the same. Get Dominic, get Chloe. Period.”
“Sure thing, Boss,” Lucas responded, sending Graham a salute.
“Movement,” Toma said, his eyes laser-focused on the car that pulled up to the warehouse.
All at once the energy in the car shifted. Lucas’ eyes glazed over as he mindlinked the other warriors lying in wait. Graham stiffened. His skin shivered and his vision tunneled as he watched a figure step out of the car. The man looked around himself as if to make sure he wasn’t being followed. The car beeped three times when he locked it. Graham narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The mystery figure stuck his hands in his pockets and casually walked toward the warehouse they’d been tipped on. He glanced over his shoulder one last time before disappearing inside.
“Do we recognize him?” Graham asked.
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“There is something itching my memory,” Lucas pondered.
“Stick to the plan,” Graham warned.
One of the backdoors opened and Theo cursed as Toma slipped through his fingers and into the brightening morning air.
“Fuck,” Graham hissed, shoving his own door open.
Lucas and Theo followed suit. They stuck low to the ground as they stalked toward the warehouse. Toma entered ahead of them and Graham made a mental note to pummel him into the pavement when this was all over. He tried to think of Catherine and how he would be reacting if it were her inside the warehouse in danger rather than Chloe.
Shouts and gunfire brought them up from their crouch. The three of them shifted all at once and raced inside. He heard growls and the thundering of feet behind him, telling him his reinforcements were falling in step. Blood and gunpowder hit his nose all at once. Smoke clouded the air around them. He spotted a singular form in the center of the chaos. He was naked, his chest heaved with effort. He was standing over someone with his foot pressed against the man’s temple.
Graham shifted back and walked up to Toma. He glanced down at the man he’d pinned to the ground. It was the mystery man from outside. Snarls and growls were still sounding around them but he could tell his men would be finished with the stragglers in a matter of seconds. Sure enough, silence fell almost immediately.
“Who do we have here?” Graham asked.
Toma’s skin shivered and his canines slid over his teeth. “He’s not here.”
“What?” Theo asked, coming to stand beside them.
“It was meant to be a trap,” Toma explained. “Wasn’t it?”
He ground his foot against the rogue’s head. The rogue cried out and gurgled as blood seeped from his mouth.
Graham squatted down and tilted his head so he could look the rogue in the eyes. “I know you,” Graham whispered. Graham searched his memory for the face staring back at him and then it hit him. “You were there when we killed Esme. You were one of her guards.”
The rogue growled and then whimpered when Toma applied more pressure.
“I see he got demoted to sacrificial lamb,” Mark observed. He stood beside them while gripping the hair of another unconscious rogue he’d pulled over for Graham to interrogate.
“Where is he?” Graham asked, knowing for certain he wouldn’t get a response.
Instead the rogue surprised him by smiling. His teeth were painted red but his eyes remained wild and defiant. “He’s gone… to claim… our queen,” the rogue answered. Graham’s blood went cold. “You shouldn’t… have left… her all… alone. Sacrificial lamb?” the rogue gurgled but Graham suspected it was meant to be a laugh. “I’m honored to die for my alpha king.”
“Then let me help,” Toma growled.
Toma stomped his foot, turning the rogue’s head into a split open pinata. Brain matter splattered across Graham’s face, but he didn’t move to wipe it away. The men around them groaned. Theo laughed and Mark stifled a gag. Graham slowly stood to his full height. He turned to the only other man not interested in the horrific scene before them. His phone was already up against his ear and he was listening intently. Lucas’ eyes locked with Graham’s.
Graham rushed from the warehouse. He knew full well there would be nothing left inside to indicate where Dominic truly was. How could he be so stupid? Why didn’t he look into Toma’s investigation before high-tailing it out of Blackmoore and leaving Catherine exposed? Graham got to the jeep and started rifling around for his phone which they all shut off during lie and wait missions. His heart felt like it would rip from his chest at any given moment. He couldn’t breathe. His ribcage constricted like a vice, preventing him from sucking in more than a small gasp at a time. He found his phone and waited for it
to start up.
“Grey,” Lucas said, tapping his shoulder. Graham waved him off. “Grey, listen to me.”
“No!”
He dialed Catherine’s number and waited. He closed his eyes and slid down the side of the car. The call went to voicemail. He hung up and tried again. He
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gripped his hair in his free hand, nearly tearing the hair out from the roots. Lucas lowered himself down in front of him.
“Grey, listen to me,” Lucas whispered, fully aware of how close Graham was to completely losing control.
“She’s not answering,” Graham choked. He looked up at Lucas who was blurry around the edges. Only then did Graham realize he had begun to cry.
“Breathe, Man. I spoke with the guards at the gate,” Lucas said.
“He made it in, didn’t he? He took her. He took my Catherine,” Graham growled, angry at Dominic, angry at himself.
Lucas shook his head. “No, no, Man. They said no one has come in. I checked with the patrol. They saw some suspicious markings in all three quadrants. They searched the town though and no one was spotted. I have men going to your house now, okay? They’ll call as soon as they get there and let you talk to her.”
Graham nodded and let out a shaky breath. Lucas’ phone rang and he stood up to take the call. He walked a few feet away and Graham let his head fall back against the cold metal. He heard agonized screams coming from the warehouse and knew his men had begun the interrogation process.
Graham’s phone pinged, indicating a new voicemail. He picked it up and saw Catherine’s name. He let out a puff of air and his thumb hovered over the missed call. Then another ping came… and another. His brow furrowed as his phone continued to update him with missed call after missed call from when it had been shut off. His heart slammed in time with each ping.
“What do you mean she’s not there?” Lucas hissed in a whisper. “Well fucking find her then or you won’t just have me to answer to!”
By the time Lucas turned around, Graham’s fear was already a gaping hole in his abdomen. He stood up and the two long time friends just watched each other.
“Where is my mate, Lucas?” Graham asked, his voice low and dangerous.
Lucas swallowed. “I don’t know.”
Graham’s world spun and swallowed him alive.
Surrendering to Destiny
