Some of my determination must have shown in my gaze. Calista nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She knew I was ready.
My dominants exited the vehicle first, looking left and right before indicating it was safe for me to leave the car. I took a deep breath, preparing for what was to come. The moment I entered that vortex there was no going back. I would be in the Summit, and there was a very real chance I could die. The first few rounds tested intelligence and power, but the final round was a fight to the death. I needed to be focused, no distractions.
The eight of us wasted no time crossing the concrete parking lot of the warehouse which hid the vortex. It seemed unusually quiet out, and I sent my alpha senses across the area, trying to find the guards.
I reached out and halted Monica, the most dominant of my female guards. “Were there shifters on the front gate when we crossed into this property?” I hadn’t been paying attention when we drove in.
She nodded. “Yes, all the security was accounted for on the borderline.”
That was good, but I still could not sense the guards who should have been in this inner courtyard area. As an heir I was stronger and faster than even my most powerful dominants, and my nose was better than anyone’s, second only to our late queen and Finn. And I could scent no patrol nearby.
“Be on high alert,” I warned my people as we slowed our movements, creeping along and making our way to the double doors that housed the vortex.
A bird chirped nearby, and even though it was pitch black the sound of a distant garbage truck echoed through the city street. No one worked harder than New York City waste management—twelve-hour shifts, seven days a week. I wasn’t human, and didn’t have any real control over them, but I still thought of them as part of my people. I kept my Bronx pack in line and the humans who resided here safe.
Speaking of safe … there should definitely be guards on the main doors, but even in the dark I knew there were none. Maybe grief over the queen’s death had driven them from their post.
My wolves closed in around me, and as we stepped into the dark opening, magic surrounded us with a huge rush, like it had been hidden until we crossed the threshold of the room. We were now awash in the scent of spilled blood and death.
“It’s a trap!” I shouted. I knew, without having to see inside, that most of my guards who’d been protecting the vortex were dead.
Before we could retreat and gather more dominants, two women dropped from the second floor right above me. They looked and smelled human, but I could tell immediately from the way they moved that this was a disguise. Only in death would their true form show—bear, I assumed—my own people would never turn against me. Violet would have been able to see past this ruse. Dammit! I was missing my magic-born best friend even more now. Finn was closing in, but I sensed he wouldn’t make it in time.
One of the “humans” lunged at me then, and without thought I landed a solid punch on her throat. She folded forward, gasping. I could see Blaine out of the corner of my eye, pounding the other female with heavy blows. In my world it was all about equality, so if a woman tried to hit a man, the man hit her right back. Women weren’t delicate little flowers here. I didn’t know about the bears, but only females were true alphas of our packs. So … I guess it wasn’t really equal. Women would always lead. Males could be dominant, but they never ruled.
Half a dozen more attackers dropped to the ground around us, and as much as I wanted to stay and see how this played out, the tug on my arm from Calista got me moving. I had faith in my six dominants, they could handle most situations. But there was a real worry that since these bears were magically disguised as humans, there was a magic-born shifter in the vicinity, and like Violet, they were powerful and unpredictable. Most shifters had very little defense against magic. It was actually a good thing that there were minimal magic-born shifters. If they ever teamed up, they could dominate us.
Calista was shouting and pulling me along. “Come on, Arianna, they’ll be fine. You have to reach the Summit.”
Sucking in a deep breath, I shoved fear for my people down and started sprinting toward the vortex. Duty called.
Deeper into the building I stumbled through the entryway of the vortex chamber, tripping over something. Glancing down, I saw that it was two fallen guards. Tears sprang to my eyes – Damian and Marco, slashes bright across their throats, their blood spilling everywhere, sightless eyes staring up at me. A screaming howl built in my chest. While these dominants were not in my innermost circle, they had been protecting me for years. They were my friends. Family even. And they had been needlessly cut down. I knew this was to be my life now, one of death and loss. A queen learned to deal with that as part of her duty to her people. I had to become accustomed to the fact that others would die for me so that I could have a chance to rule.
I already hated it, and despite knowing my responsibilities, I decided right then that responsibility should never trump honor in death.
I stooped and dipped my finger in the blood on both of my guards’ chests. I dabbed their foreheads and then my own, leaving a dot right between my eyes.
“I will avenge thee,” I said, my voice thrumming with conviction. Those four words had been drilled into me since birth. A death must never go unpunished. I now carried these two shifters’ blood on my hands, and I would make it right.
Calista looked harried but proud as she again ushered me toward the ornate disc that harnessed the Bronx power of the mecca. As I stepped on top, one of the female attackers broke free of my dominants and rushed toward us. Ignoring her, I focused my thoughts. The vortexes were one of my favorite parts of the mecca. I had no idea where the large bronze discs – engraved with a slew of unreadable script – had come from, but they were definitely not Earth-made. Shifters long ago had discovered that they were all connected, and by placing one in each territory we were able to use the energy of the mecca as a form of instant transmission.