Page 21 of Midnight Mate
Kitchen sounds—drawers yanked open, metal scraping. Someone looking for knives. Zeppelin moved in that direction, ducking under a thrown bottle that exploded against the wall behind him. Cheap vodka fumes burned his nostrils.
His claws extended without conscious thought, that familiar burn running from fingertips to forearm. Around him, the house erupted into controlled chaos. His pack knew their jobs.
Around him, the house turned into controlled work—bodies pinned, drawers opened, mouths made useful. Subdue, search, interrogate.
A skinny guy, maybe early twenties, bolted for the back door. He made it three steps before Wade dragged him down, pinning him with a knee between his shoulder blades. The guy wheezed against dirty linoleum, his hands scrabbling uselessly at the floor.
From upstairs, wood splintered. Someone had tried barricading themselves in. It wouldn’t help. His wolves could tear through walls if needed.
In the living room, two men grappled with Sloane and Liam. One threw wild haymakers that never connected. The other had some training and managed to land a solid hit to Sloane’s jaw before Liam grabbed him from behind and slammed his face into the coffee table. Blood sprayed across scattered playing cards and empty beer cans.
Where was Bayne?
Zeppelin scanned each room as he moved through the house, checking faces, searching for that familiar build and dark hair.
Nothing.
Just strangers with dilated pupils and the telltale twitch of users coming down from their highs.
A metallic click froze everyone for half a second.
Gun.
The stranger by the stairs had it aimed at Wade’s head, hands shaking but finger on the trigger. Before Zeppelin could move, Vaughn ripped the weapon away, crushing the man’s wrist in the process. Bones gave way with a loud snap. The guy screamed, dropping to his knees.
“Anyone else armed?” Vaughn called out, disassembling the gun and tossing the pieces.
Silence except for groaning and the generator’s hum outside.
Three bodies lay motionless. Two more had tried for the windows, only to find pack members waiting. They’d been dragged back inside and were now kneeling with hands behind their heads while Liam secured their wrists with some zip-ties he’d found.
The house reeked of unwashed bodies, old food, and something chemical that made Zeppelin’s nose twitch.
His pack had cleared every room in under two minutes, but still no sign of Bayne.
Anger coiled tighter in his gut. If these bastards had hurt him, had sold him something that put him back on that dark path...
“Zep.” Vaughn nodded toward the hallway, where one man stood differently than the others. Not cowering. Not high. Just watching with narrowed eyes. His scent reached Zeppelin.
Coyote shifter. He had to be the one running this operation since preternatural couldn’t get high off of human drugs. Why else would he be there?
Zeppelin crossed the distance in three strides, grabbed the coyote by the throat, and slammed him against peeling wallpaper. Picture frames rattled. One fell, glass shattering across warped hardwood.
“Where is he?” The words came out more growl than speech. With a coyote running shit, he would’ve known Bayne wasn’t there to score.
The coyote’s hands came up, not fighting, just resting against Zeppelin’s wrist. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Zeppelin’s claws pressed harder, breaking skin. Thin lines of blood trickled down the coyote’s neck, soaking into his collar. “Wolf shifter. Dark hair. Would’ve come through two nights ago looking to score.”
“Nobody like that came here.” The coyote’s voice stayed steady despite the pressure on his windpipe. “We don’t sell to shifters anyway. They can’t get high off our product.”
They could if the coyote was selling more than human drugs. The whole operation stank of preternatural involvement, and Zeppelin had the culprit against the wall.
From the living room, Liam’s voice cut through the tension. “Found something.”
Still holding the coyote, Zeppelin turned his head enough to see Liam prying up a loose floorboard near the fireplace. Wood groaned as it came free, revealing a metal lockbox underneath.
Liam grabbed it, used his claws to pop the cheap lock, and flipped it open.
