“But you didn’t know about Trevor taking the stone from Albemarle?”
“No, but I knew enough about berserkers to know there was a connection between what was happening in the city and the berserkers in Devon.”
“You experimented on your own pack after knowing one had already died?”
“Two now, if you include the one who escaped to the lobby.” Romeo shrugged his broad shoulders. “I didn’t see a better way. Not all wolves were affected. I wanted to know why.” He paused thoughtfully. “Still do.”
One who escaped to the lobby? That was the one the elderly lady mentioned.
My head swiveled. Victoria had mentioned missing werewolves. Had Romeo been kidnapping them and bringing them to his flat to test the stone on them?
Bile rose in my throat. “You used me.”
“I hired you. I wanted to use you, too, but you kept saying no.”
Well, at least my romantic instincts were spot on.
An image of Callan surfaced in my mind.
Okay, maybe not.
A question nagged at me. “Why kill Antonia Birch? Is it because she knew too much about the stone?”
His face went blank. “Who’s Antonia Birch?”
I didn’t know whether to believe him. Until now I wouldn’t have pegged Romeo as the kind of werewolf who’d sacrifice members of his own pack, yet here we were.
“The museum curator. You had someone follow me to her office. They killed her and stole a book but left me alive.”
Romeo tried to look concerned but finally burst into laughter. “Of course I had to leave you alive. You’re doing all that legwork for me.” He patted my shoulder. “And very fine legs they are.”
“You made it look like a vampire attack.”
He made a dismissive sound at the back of his throat. “They deserve it.”
“Antonia didn’t deserve that.”
“Collateral damage, London. She couldn’t be trusted to keep her mouth shut. Next thing you know there’d be academic symposiums about powerful stones and everybody and their grandmother would be searching for them. I had to keep this quiet.”
“I really wanted you to be one of the good guys.” I didn’t know how to define that term anymore. Every time I thought I knew, someone like Romeo made me think again. If you’d have told me two months ago about a group trying to bring back the sun and overthrow vampires, I would’ve said sign me up. But that was before understanding the lengths that people like Dashiell were willing to go to. Before meeting sweet Davina.
And before Callan.
Romeo seemed pained by the statement. “I am one of the good guys.” His jaw clicked. “I want to take control of the pack and make us stronger. With an army of berserkers, we’d be strong enough to take on House Lewis. With this whole tribunal setup, my hands are tied unless Jervis and Nicolette agree.” His scowled. “I can’t stand Jervis and Nicolette. They’re not leaders. They’re glorified bureaucrats.”
“Oh, please. This isn’t about the pack. You want to use the stone for your own selfish purposes.” He was no better than Dashiell.
“I wish things had been different, London. Truly.” He strode to the wall and pressed a button. A hidden door slid aside. Howls and screeches emanated from the gaping hole.
A soundproof room?
Romeo ducked into the room and emerged two seconds later with a satchel.
“You want to show off the stone?”
“No. I want to show off what I can do with it.”
A werewolf shot out of the room snarling and snapping his jaws. He was stuck between forms, but his face was human enough that I recognized him.
I backed away. “Rafe?” I shook my head. “No. Rafe was better. I saw him.”
Romeo patted the satchel. “He was, but I wanted to see what would happen if I put him closer to the stone again. All in the name of progress.”
Rafe’s eyes locked on me and he started to salivate.
Romeo sauntered to the elevator. “Good luck, London,” he said, pressing the button. “I regret that I didn’t get to have sex with you before I let them kill you, but we all have sacrifices to make.”
The elevator doors closed as three more berserkers bolted into the living room.
I couldn’t take on four berserkers without significant damage. What if the elderly lady lived below Romeo? I didn’t want a crazed wolf dropping down from the ceiling. No hand weight on earth would be powerful enough to help her.
I darted past them and scrambled up the spiral staircase to the rooftop. There’d be less chance of injuring any residents up there and the spiral staircase would slow their pursuit of me.
Once outside I spotted Barnaby swooping overhead. The raven must’ve sensed my distress. No surprise given what I was feeling.
He landed on the rooftop and I waved him away. “Follow Romeo! Big, burly werewolf with a satchel. I need to know where he goes.”
The raven spread his wings and flew away.
I sprinted across the rooftop.
Romeo was right. The view from here was incredible. Too bad I couldn’t take time to enjoy it.
The wolves fanned out into a semi-circle in the middle of the rooftop, effectively cutting me off from the only exit. For berserkers they were surprisingly coordinated. I had no doubt that with more time, Romeo would’ve been able to develop the werewolf pack of his dreams.
And my nightmares.
My energy levels began to rise and silver light filtered from my pores. Fear and adrenaline seemed to be triggering a surge of magic.
Creeping toward me, they snapped their jaws in unison.
My body hummed with energy.
Kraken on a cracker. I was going to erupt like a supervolcano. I’d put the whole building in danger if I wasn’t careful. I had to maintain control. If I used too much magic, I’d become a force much, much worse than the berserkers. I wanted to stop them without killing them. It wasn’t their fault they were trying to hurt me.
Rafe stepped a large paw forward and the others followed suit.
My mind raced through the options. I’d faced off against the berserkers at The Crown and lived to tell the tale. Romeo didn’t know about that particular trick up my sleeve. If I could make three more versions of me, then it would be a fair fight.
Rafe lunged.
Too late.
I jumped aside without realizing how close I was to the edge. I wobbled slightly before regaining my balance. Unfortunately, Rafe was also regaining his. Growling, the wolf skidded to a stop and turned to face me. Rafe snarled again and displayed a set of very sharp teeth. Shockwaves of fear pulsed through me and magic flooded my system, seeping into every available pore.
All four berserkers launched themselves at the same time. Five seconds seemed to stretch into five minutes as the world slowed. I watched their giant maws open and their claws slash at the empty air between us. I counted each drop of saliva that sprayed from their eager tongues.
I let the magic go.
Silver light exploded from me. The brightness forced my eyes closed and sharp howls of pain pierced my ears. For a moment, I lost control over my limbs. My arms and legs stretched and stiffened so that I resembled a starfish.
The light faded and I dropped to the floor.
I opened my eyes. Four bodies lay sprawled on the rooftop.