Page 64 of Property of Mako
Crypt’s lip curled. “Niner’s gonna hang himself with that silver tongue of his. Only question is when.”
“When doesn’t matter.” My voice dropped, sharp enough to cut. “Once it happens, he’s mine. No trial. No vote. I end it.”
Crypt didn’t argue. He never did when I got that edge in my tone. He just nodded, the wolf in him sensing the hunger in me.
Dexter and Bugsy burst from the door in a riot of laughter. Once the door closed, they sobered and approached us. Spook appeared to my left.
“What if it’s not Niner?” Spook asked, making me wonder how long he’d been in the shadows. Not that I was worried about him being a threat or the rat; he just kind of freaked me out a bit sometimes. For a vampire that had been alive as long as I had and seen the things I’d seen, that said something. I still had no idea exactly what he was.
“I don’t think I’m wrong,” I replied. “But regardless of who it turns out to be, I’m going to flush him out. Then I’m going to make an example of him. I don’t like that he has us all suspecting each other when we should have implicit trust in one another.”
They all agreed.
I turned back toward the clubhouse, hearing laughter inside, the clink of bottles. Brotherhood. Bonded men. And hidden among them… a fucking snake.
It wouldn’t be long now.
And when the truth came out, I’d make damn sure every one of my brothers saw what happened to traitors.
Chapter 30
An End for a Beginning
Lyra
“I need to go check on the horses.”
I blurted the words the second I felt the walls of the clubhouse closing in on me. I loved Lily. I loved knowing she was safe in the next room, but I couldn’t breathe in there anymore. Pacing the same four walls, waiting, knowing danger was always pressing in closer—it was driving me insane.
Calix’s jaw ticked, the muscle flexing as he stared down at me from where he leaned against the wall. “Lyra?—”
“I need to,” I cut him off. My voice cracked, but I didn’t back down. “I can’t sit here another minute without seeing them. Please. Just a quick trip.”
His eyes darkened with the war inside him. Finally, with a sharp exhale, he pushed away from the wall. “Fine. But you don’t leave my side. Not for a second.”
The ride to the farm was silent, the hum of his bike a vibration in my bones. The moment the house came into view, something in my chest loosened—until I climbed off the bike and found the front door was locked.
“That’s weird,” I muttered, looking in the window next to the door. “Abby should be here. She’s always here this time of day.”
Calix glanced at the door, then at me. “Don’t you have a key?”
“Stashed in the barn,” I admitted, already turning toward it. “Maybe she’s down at the barn anyway and accidentally locked the door.”
But before we took a step, the door creaked open. Abby stood there.
Relief shot through me—then faltered. She looked… wrong. Her hands gripped the doorframe too tight, her eyes wide and darting. And she didn’t move to let us in.
“Abby?” I frowned. “Are you okay?”
For a heartbeat, she looked terrified. Then her expression smoothed out too quickly. “I’m fine. Of course I am.” Her gaze flicked to me, then to the barn. “Did you already go check on Snowflake?”
I froze. My horses’ names ran through my mind like beads on a rosary. There was no Snowflake. Never had been.
Next to me, I felt Calix go still. I glanced over to see his nostrils flared, shoulders bunching like a predator sensing prey. And then I saw it—thin, crimson, sliding down Abby’s neck.
Blood.
Before I could process, a figure stepped out of the shadows behind her. Tall, lean muscle, sharp cheekbones, and colder eyes than I’d ever seen. He smirked, fangs flashing as he shoved Abby out of the way like she was nothing more than trash.
