Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Eli again walked slightly in front of Casey as they tracked the two males. The scents took them out of the lodge and into the surrounding woods. Usually, he’d hear birds chirping and animals moving around in the underbrush. But right then, the only sounds were that of leaves rustling and the tree branches creaking in the breeze. It was almost eerie.
The smells of pine, moss, and wild mint were heavy in the forest, but Eli didn’t let them distract his senses from the scents of Cain and Ignacio. Dead leaves and pine needles littered the ground, but he and Casey moved soundlessly through the woods, thanks to their enforcer training. Their targets’ scents took them deeper and deeper into the maze of tall trees.
Eli’s step faltered as another strong smell slammed into him. Blood. He hastened his pace as he followed the thick coppery scent, aware that Casey was close behind him and—
He halted as the two males finally came into view. Eli sucked in a shocked breath, and his wolf stopped pacing. Ignacio was sprawled on the ground and … shit, there was so much blood. It looked like he’d been attacked by Jack the fucking Ripper. Deep gouges crisscrossed his body. Organs were spilling out. His face had been smashed to a pulp. The meaty parts of his thighs and arms lay beside him.
And Cain, well, he was standing over the body, holding what looked like a heart. He wasn’t panting with rage or glaring at the remains of Ignacio with hatred. He was just … looking.
“I guess I don’t need to ask if he’s dead,” said Eli.
Cain’s gaze sliced to him, utterly devoid of emotion. “I know you wanted the pleasure of ending him, but I won’t apologize for stealing that pleasure from you. He coveted your mate, but he tried to have mine killed. He would have killed her tonight if I hadn’t been here. I had more of a right to execute him than you did.”
Execute? Eli wouldn’t have used that word to describe what Cain had done to Ignacio. No, it was more like the guy had butchered him. Not that Eli had any complaints about it. Yeah, he’d longed to tear Ignacio into tiny little pieces, and he wished he’d had the satisfaction of watching him die. But Eli couldn’t regret that Cain had taken care of the matter—not when he’d made the cougar suffer in such a spectacularly brutal, albeit slightly sickening, fashion. His wolf very much approved.
Also, Eli couldn’t deny that Cain had the right to wipe Ignacio from the Earth—he’d avenged his mate, just as any shifter would. “Did you chase him out here?”
“No,” replied Cain, sliding his gaze back to Ignacio. “He tracked the pups to the basement; he was going after them. I didn’t want to kill him in the lodge, so I brought him out here.”
“You knew he’d go after the pups, didn’t you?”
Cain shrugged. “I know Ignacio’s brand of logic.” He tossed the heart on the ground as if it was a ball that he was bored of playing with. “Is the battle over?”
“Probably. Only one way to find out.” Eli headed back to the clearing with Casey. His pack mates and the Phoenix Pack members were all stood aside in their human form, staring open-mouthed at the cougar-littered field, watching the minks in sheer fascination. Eli felt his brows fly up in surprise.
Nick spared him a brief glance and said, “Um … I’m not really sure what’s happening.”
“That looks … wrong,” said Trey.
Shaya nodded. “I mean, the minks are so small and yet they’re actually dragging dead bodies along the ground. Bodies that are a lot bigger than they are. And they don’t even seem to be struggling.”
“It’s the whole piling-the-bodies-on-top-of-each-other thing that has my attention,” said Zander. “The minks are also lining other carcasses neatly in a row.”
Derren rubbed his nape. “For me, what’s even weirder is that they’re rolling the severed heads over to the stacks of corpses.”
“At least they’re tidying up after themselves,” said Mila.
“They’re not tidying up, they’re gathering their kills together so they can gloat over their successes.” Bracken nudged Madisyn. “Can you honestly tell me you still think those furry little beasts aren’t stone-cold trophy killers?”
Kathy heaved a sigh of exasperation. “Honestly, Bracken, you can be so dramatic.”
The wolf gaped at her. “You’re the one that called minks the psychopaths of the shifter kingdom.”
Kathy put her hands on her hips. “Why are you bringing up old crap?”
“Wait, is it just me or is their number shrinking before my eyes?” asked Harley. “It’s like they’re just … melting out of sight.”
“Damn, that’s eerie,” said Gwen.
Eli suspected they were all disappearing through whatever burrows in the ground they’d used as an entrance. Minks could easily fit through tiny nooks and crannies, including mouse holes. He looked down at his mate. “Am I right in thinking they probably would have taken some of the carcasses home if the cougars weren’t too big to fit through the burrows?”