Wolf's Fall (Alpha Pack #6)(51)

Shaking his head, Nick brought himself back to the present and watched the train wreck unfold. Graham had stumbled backward and was staring at the creature who definitely wasn’t a human named Scott Morgan.

“Wh-who are you?” Graham stammered.

“Don’t you mean what?” Jinn’s smile was terrifying, his eyes cold.

The vampire shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t care as long as I get my cut for doing my part.”

“Prince Tarron and Princess Calla dead, and control of his coven, correct?” His tone was cool.

“Yes, that was the deal.” Graham gained back a bit of nerve, standing straighter. “And I have done my part. I let you know that Calla was going for a walk to the waterfall so your men could move in and take her as bait. I let myself get stabbed, for f*ck’s sake. All your hunters had to do was wait for Tarron and Westfall to come, and wipe them out, and your leader and his morons managed to f*ck it up.”

That f*cking traitor. Nick shot Tarron a glance, and the prince appeared ready to rip out Graham’s throat.

“You worthless piece of bloodsucking shit,” one of the hunters yelled, surging for him. He was stopped by a flick of Jinn’s wrist, frozen in place, blinking angrily.

“So far, your contribution has been abysmally small compared to your demand,” the creature observed. “What you do not understand is that Prince Ivan’s power and motivation is much greater than yours. What do you have that he can actually use?”

Ivan . . . Cardenas? Nick looked to Tarron again, who mouthed, “Cardenas is their mysterious leader?”

The light dawned. Cardenas had attended the planning meeting for the alliance of covens. “Maybe,” Nick whispered back. But what the hell was Cardenas’s motive for vengeance that Jinn referred to?

Graham tried to humble himself, backing off a bit. He seemed to be reminded of the slippery slope he was treading as he removed a small device from his jacket pocket. A mini tablet, it appeared. “I have something he’ll want. I assure you it will help achieve his aims.”

Tapping quickly on a couple of apps, Graham brought up something for his cohorts to see. Some sort of document, perhaps. Whatever it was couldn’t be seen from a distance, but the hunters began to chortle with glee.

“Fuckin’ A,” one hooted.

“No shit.”

“You’ve come through,” Jinn purred. “Send that to Prince Ivan’s e-mail right now, and copy me.”

Oh, Graham can’t be that stupid. But he was, and he completely missed the sly smirk Jinn exchanged with the hunters while his head was down, doing as Jinn ordered. When the e-mail was sent, the vampire raised his head.

“There. I’ve done as you asked. When will Ivan get this done so I can gain control of the coven? I have plans for the world alliance, as well.” Graham’s eyes gleamed at the prospect.

Jinn smiled. “Do you? That’s too bad, because unfortunately, your plans and my master’s are at complete odds.”

“What do you mean? We had a deal!”

“That’s what you believed.” Jinn laughed. “He was never going to give you control of the coven. He’s going to take it and destroy every man, woman, and child as revenge for the murder of his mate. You are no longer of use to him at all.”

Beside Nick, Tarron’s expression was thunderous.

“What?” Graham moved back, eyes widening. “I am of use! Haven’t I proven that?”

Without answering, Jinn held out a hand. A wisp of smoke floated from his upturned palm, thickening as it floated toward Graham.

“What are you doing?” the vampire choked out.

Those were his last words. The smoke coiled like rope around his throat and tightened. He clawed without effect as he fell to the ground, his fingers merely slipping through the horrible mist that was strangling the life out of him. His face turned red, then purple. His arms went limp at his sides and his eyes stared heavenward as his body shook violently. Then the shakes subsided to an occasional twitch.

And then nothing.

Jinn sauntered over and knelt by the body. Nick wondered what the bastard was doing as he grasped Graham’s shirt and ripped it open down the front. When Jinn held up a hand, claws lengthening to lethal razors, he was afraid he knew.

The creature plunged his talons into Graham’s chest, splitting his breastbone in two as though slicing butter. He then dug downward, and even from his position Nick could hear the awful slurping sounds the dead vampire’s flesh made as Jinn ripped Graham’s heart from his chest.

Eagerly, Jinn tore into the organ with his fangs and closed his eyes in ecstasy. The hunters had backed away all the way to their vehicle, revulsion on their faces, and as much as Nick hated them, he couldn’t blame them. Jinn ate every last bite of his snack, then wiped his mouth and hands on the tattered remains of the dead vampire’s shirt.

“Heart of the fallen,” he said in bliss. “Nothing on this plane or the next tastes better.”

Beside him, Micah made a soft gagging noise. His hand was over his mouth and he looked about two seconds from hurling all over the grass. Nick placed a hand on his shoulder to steady the wolf. The last thing they needed was to be discovered by a creature whose power quite possibly equaled Kalen’s.

Jinn scooped up Graham’s mini tablet and walked back to the vehicle. In seconds, they were driving away and had disappeared.