Dark Instincts

“Roni always gets even.”

Eli’s words suddenly rang in his mind, seemingly from nowhere. It was true, Roni always got even. And that was when a thought snuck into his mind. But it wasn’t until that night, when they were alone in his bed, that he was able to address it. Keeping his voice casual, he asked, “What happened to the other humans who attacked you?” She tensed against him, and he brushed the tips of his fingers up and down her arm reassuringly. “After they served their sentences, I mean.”

Without lifting her head from his shoulder, she replied, “As far as I know, they and their families were given new identities.” She hoped he’d let it go, but of course he didn’t.

“You tracked them down, didn’t you?” She went to move, and he tightened his arm around her, keeping her nestled in the cradle of his shoulder. “Shh, I’m not going to judge you, sweetheart. Fuck, if it had been me, I’d have done the exact same thing.” She didn’t relax, but she did stop struggling. “What happened to the other attackers, Roni?” he asked gently. Marcus cupped her face and lifted it, wanting to meet her eyes. “Like I said, I’m not going to judge you. I just want to know.”

He wanted to know what the person he was holding was capable of? Fine. “When I was eighteen, I tracked them down . . . to make them pay. To kill them.” Startling her, he pressed a soft kiss to her hair. It wasn’t until she was confident that he wasn’t about to push her away that she continued. “They were already dead; they’d been dead for three years.”

“You think Nick arranged it from juvie?”

“At first, I thought so. But Nick wouldn’t have had the resources to track them down. Not then.”

“Eli.”

“Eli said he didn’t, but he can be a ruthless motherfucker. He knows a million ways to kill. Can do it without hesitation. And he doesn’t like anyone messing with his family.”

Marcus kissed her forehead. “In his position, it’s what I would have done. If they were alive right now, I’d hunt them down.” She didn’t need to know what else he’d do to them.

“That’s why I’m confident it wasn’t the humans who uploaded the video. I know who it wasn’t, but I don’t know who it was.”

“We’ll find them, Roni. We’ll find them.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

She was an idiot. Everyone knew that going to a donut shop at lunchtime was a mistake unless standing in eternally long lines sounded like fun. But Roni had wanted to pick up some caramel donuts for Shaya. Usually, Roni came early in the morning, but she’d only left Phoenix Pack territory half an hour ago. Marcus had . . . delayed her. She would have thought their night of endless hot sex would have satisfied his libido. But no, Marcus had reached for her the second he woke, just as he had several times through the night—just as he had every night over the past couple of weeks.

For once, Roni didn’t get taunting looks from the pack when she walked into the kitchen that morning with Marcus, despite his leaving a brand-new mark on the soft flesh of her neck—nice and visible for all to see. Bastard. But no one had batted an eyelid. Apparently the extent of his possessiveness was old news.

It had been obvious that Greta, however, had wanted to comment on the brand. She’d skimmed her hostile gaze over Roni, and there had been a dark glint in her eyes that Roni had seen a thousand times before—seen it appear each time Greta attempted to rile Taryn or Jaime.

She had felt Marcus tense beside her, known he’d planned to smoothly step in if Greta said even a cross word to Roni. But as usual, it had been Trey who had warned the woman off. He’d insisted that since Roni had saved his son, he wouldn’t have her treated with anything but respect. As always, he’d turned Greta’s words on her, claiming that they were all in Roni’s debt.

All the other Phoenix wolves had worn expressions of total agreement. Although Greta hadn’t said a word, she’d stared hard at Roni, and Roni had stared right back. If the old heifer thought she could toy with Roni, she was out of her damn mind.

Finally in possession of her order, Roni made her way to the parking lot across the road. It was as she approached her car that it happened: the unmistakable feeling that someone was behind her crawled up her spine. She waited until she knew they were up close before acting. In a swift, fluid movement, Roni swerved on the spot, grabbed a hand holding a syringe, and forced the strange female to stab herself in the neck. Within seconds, the dumb bitch was out cold. Huh. A sedative.

Roni locked her gaze on another female, who was staring at her wide-eyed and looking terribly amused. Even, strangely, a little excited.

“Oh, you are good.” She’d said it like Roni had come recommended or something. “You will be lots of fun for us.”

Roni didn’t recognize either of the females, but she’d smelled scents similar to theirs before, so she knew one thing: these were jackals. That made both Roni and her wolf growl. “I’m tired, I’m pissed, and I’m seriously unhappy that the donuts I waited half an hour for are now splattered on the ground. So make this really, really quick, and really, really sweet.”

“We’re going to need you to come with us.” The jackal gestured to a waiting car that contained two other females, both of who were watching in morbid fascination. They were trying to drug and kidnap Roni in a public area in broad daylight? Really? Quinn was right: the sick freaks just didn’t care.

“And why would I do that?”

“Let’s see . . . there’s four of us, and one of you.”

“Three of you, actually.” She toed the unconscious body at her feet. “This one’s not going to be much use to you for a while.”

“Those still aren’t good odds for you. So be a smart little girl and get in the car.”

Roni pursed her lips. “Nah, I don’t think I’m going to do that.”

The jackal’s face hardened. “It wouldn’t be wise to try to fight us off, wolf.”

“You’re right: willingly getting into a vehicle with a bunch of shifters who intend to kill me makes a lot more sense.”

“Last chance. Get. In. The. Fucking. Car.”

“You can call that ‘Plan B,’ okay?” Roni didn’t wait for the jackal to make the first move—she needed to get this over with quickly and quietly. This wasn’t the time for fancy moves or toying with the bitches’ spleens. So Roni did what she always did when having a good, long fight wasn’t an option. She dealt her opponent a hard blow to the temple. And, yep, down the bitch went.