The Beta and the Jewel Thief - book 6

Chapter 4 – Impossible

LYRIC

I rub my temples, my eyes straining on the blueprints that were laid out in front of me. How Miko got a hold of these blueprints was another question. They should have helped me map out my plan to retrieve the crown, but they were useless.

This job was impossible.

For a second, I wondered if it was too late to run. To grab my son and Aunt Lizzy and just run. Just like she and I did five years ago on my sixteenth birthday.

I close my eyes and dig the heels of my palms into them. A poor attempt at trying to block out the memories of that night. The screams, the blood, the c*****e. The annihilation of my pack.

Tears gather in my eyes, and I pull at the skin around them willing the tears to stay where they are.

No help came for us. We were a small pack on the outskirts of the Kingdom, independent from the King's rule. Therefore, we had no backup. By the time my father would have been able to call for backup from our allies - it was too late.

The rogue king and his men were quick and effective at destroying my home and everyone I knew. He killed my parents, and they took my sister.

I remember Lizzy holding me tightly, her hand covering my mouth to stifle the screams as they beheaded my father, but not before r****g my mother in front of our pack. I watched as my sister screamed, the fight leaving her body as they hauled her and the other girls away. The screams that came when they brutally murdered any mature male with a wolf and took the younger men and women.

They set fire to our pack - burning every building they could. Reducing my home to nothing but ashes and cinder.

The sound of rustling outside the hotel room had my head jerking up. The keypad beeped and the door opened revealing Bram. Miko had decided to send him with me as an insurance policy.

What’s the saying? Better the devil you know?

At first, Miko was going to send one of his second-level guys, but at the last minute, he decided to send Bram. At least I knew Bram and how he worked. Tomorrow we were meant to meet up with one of the client's men. An unknown that I was nervous to work with.

I really hated working with anyone, especially those I didn’t know. And most especially those who worked for him.

Bram offers me a tight smile but holds up a bag that reeks of greasy food and two cups of what smelled of hot chocolate.

“Got anything stronger?” I somehow mustered up a half-joke. In all honesty, I could do with a stiff drink.

“Sorry, Swift.” He sets the food and drinks down on the counter “Left the flask behind. Miko wants us at our best. We’re all at stake for this job.”

Didn’t I know it.

“Why Bram? Why the crown?” He takes a seat across from me. His eyes scanned the blueprints I had been memorizing for the last couple of hours. It didn’t matter, it wasn’t getting into the palace that was the problem. It was getting into the inner vault and then getting out again.

Bram leans back in his chair, swiping a hand over his face and blowing out a harsh breath, his honey eyes landing on mine. “I won't bullshit you, Swift. I like you.” He says, his eyes shifting over my face and further down, sending a chill through me. Bram was good-looking, I would even go as far as to describe him as hot. But even with all those good looks and boyish charm, I knew how dark and dangerous he could be. “I don’t know why Shadow wants the crown. All I know is if we don’t deliver… he comes for all of us.”

I knew who Shadow was, not like Bram and the rest of the underground knew who he was. I knew exactly what he was. Calling Shadow, a monster would be putting it lightly. I had seen what he could do firsthand. The lives he has and could destroy. They called him a witch – the dark witch – He who hid in the shadows and bent those dark places to his will.

I thankfully had never crossed paths with him, but If he knew about my son there would be no doubt in my mind that he would come for me. And I would do anything to protect him. Hence why I’m sitting here planning on breaking into the most secure vault in the realm there was.

“That’s why Miko wanted you on the job. He needs the best and you are the best Swift.” I narrowed my eyes at him, unable to contain my distaste.

Miko knew about my boy, I’m unsure how much he heard but he knew who he was and was using that as leverage to blackmail me into doing ‘just one more job’ for him and his mob.

Bram folds up the papers and starts to unload the bags of food. Unwrapping his first burger he starts to tuck into it. I look at the food he placed in front of me, and my stomach turns. I can't eat. I’m too nervous to eat.

Bram notices my lack of enthusiasm for his gesture, “Eat. You gotta keep up your energy Swift. It’s a long drive tomorrow.”

I pick up a fry and nibble it, the grease making my stomach churn even more. But I shove it in my mouth and gulp it down anyway.

After that night, when Lizzy and I ran, we made it to Lonely City. I didn’t shift that night, maybe because of the trauma, and Lizzy was too old and her wolf too small to carry me on her back. It took us days before we made it to the city.

We had no money, no possessions, and had found ourselves on the wrong side of the border. Except the Kodiak Kingdom was closer to us than the New Moon border.

I had always been good at finding things and had a knack for getting in and out of places I shouldn’t be. Couple that with my natural skill in electronics and I was able to secure us a room in one of the hotels. I pickpocketed and stole for weeks so we had some money. As soon as we had enough, we left the bear kingdom and found ourselves in a village in one of the boroughs.

That’s where I met Miko. I stole from the wrong guy. Instead of cutting off my hands, he offered me a job. I was small and quick and smart, so he stuck me on the payroll. I got his men in and out of places undetected. I was useful.

I could track down objects that would be valuable on the black market. Things like lost items such as art, jewelry, historical objects, or anything else of value.

I worked with Miko for two years, until my son came along. Then I only did the odd job here and there for him.

I had saved enough money over the years to get as far away from the dark witch, Shadow, as possible. After this job I intended to leave, maybe even catch a boat across to the second continent. Find a place we could settle, where my boy could grow up in peace. Where Lizzy could live out her last days in a real home. Not some run-down borough in no man's land. Somewhere where we wouldn’t be looking over our shoulder twenty-four-seven

“Are you worried Swift?” Bram asks me.

I looked up at him, not realizing I had drifted off into my own head again. My face scrunches up slightly, “The job…” I shake my head, “It doesn’t feel right.” I have a really bad feeling about this job, but I’m hesitant to say too much to Bram. I don’t want to spook him and then he turns around and tells Miko. The risk of Miko telling Shadow about my son is too great.

So instead, I fake a slight smile, “I get nervous with every job. You know this, Bram. There's just a lot riding on this one. Ya’ know?”

Bram wipes his greasy fingers on his jeans, then reaches for his drink, slurping the warm liquid down. “I know. It’s not just you Swift. He’s got Miko by the balls too. That’s why he needed you.” Bram pauses, thinking, choosing his next words carefully. “Get the crown and Miko will let you go. Both of you.”

I give him a smirk, wanting to believe his words. But I had heard that song and dance before. The only way anyone would let us go is by us disappearing from around here for good.

We go over the blueprints together. I show and tell Bram exactly my plan of entry and exit. The only thing and the biggest hurdle is figuring out the nine-digit code to the inner vault, where they are keeping the crown.

“How does Miko know where the crown is being kept?” I asked Bram.

“Shadow,” Is his one-word answer.

I raise a brow and peer at him across the table, “So we are just trusting what that sick maniac says?”

“Yep,” He replies popping the P, at the end.

“Great,” I grumble. Not loving the idea of trusting a madman with Alchemy powers and a sick mind.

A little while later Bram leaves me, going back to his adjoining room. He knows I won't bale on him. He knows I wouldn’t, couldn’t, risk it.

Alone in the dark, I reach out to my wolf. Being the daughter of an Alpha I should have been able to communicate with my wolf better, sometimes I can. Most times she is content to watch from the inside.

‘Note,’ I reach out, needing her reassurance, wanting her reaction. I feel her stir in the depths of my mind. ‘Are we doing the right thing? I have a bad feeling.’

It takes her a moment to form her thoughts and I feel her hesitation before she speaks. ‘We must go to New Moon. Complete our task.’

She retreats, giving me a cryptic answer as usual. Even if she doesn’t communicate with me as much as I would like, I know she has my back – that she is with me. The only time she has ever let me down was the night our pack was massacred. I understand that. It wasn’t just me, but she too lost her family.

I lay awake in the darkness of the motel room listening to the surrounding sounds from outside. The odd car trundling down the broken road. The human a few rooms down, drunk and arguing with himself. The dog that’s barking somewhere in the distance. And the annoying snores that come from Bram’s room.

In the morning Bram and I will drive towards the New Moon Kingdom, where we will meet up with one of Shadow's men at another motel. From there they will accompany me to New Moon and the Palace.

Once the task is done, and the crown handed over, I am free to go. At least that’s what Miko and Bram said. The uneasiness I feel regarding the endeavor doesn’t subside, however.

I know I’m going to have to watch my back. As much as Bram says he likes me, I can't trust him. And I sure as s**t don’t and won't trust this guy Shadow is sending.

Instead of drifting off to sleep like my accomplice next door has so easily done, I find myself running through every possible scenario. Everything that could go wrong and how to rectify each problem.

It’s not something you can really plan for. Nevertheless, it’s the only thing I can do to prepare myself for any possible outcome. Good or bad.

*****

The black sky is filled with thick smoke, hiding the stars from my packs crying eyes, as the flames lick up reaching high into the night.

Females scream and cry, as the males growl and yell out to the moon goddess to give them strength.

“Close your eyes, close them tight, and do not look, my child,” Lizzy whispers in my ear. Her hand clamped down over my mouth where we hid in the bushes, helpless to our pack.

But I can’t. I can’t close my eyes and I watch as the Rogue King calls out to one of his men.

“Oliver, bring me the Luna!” He shouts over my pack's screams and protests.

I see my sister, forced to kneel next to my father, tears streaming down her cheeks. My father kneels, head bent as a younger wolf with blonde hair leads my mother and delivers her into the hands of the Rogue King. The young wolf looks up and his eyes meet mine, they flash from hazel to amber as we lock gazes.

I still. waiting for him to notify the other rogues of our location. Instead, he looks at my sister and back to me. He bows his head and steps back from the Rogue King.

Powerless to tear my eyes from the scene unfolding before me, I watch with horror as the Rogue King strips my mother of her dress. She says nothing but I see the look she shares with my father. I don’t know what she says to him through their mental link but I’m close enough to see the lone tear fall from father's eye and the resolve in mother.

She holds her head up high in defiance to the Rogue King before she is shoved to the ground and one by one the rogues mount her. I can't see what they do, the Rogues figures shielding me from that. But I can hear them laughing, jeering, cheering each other on as they r**e the Luna of the Swift Paws Pack.

Time has no bearing, only when the buildings collapse to ruble do the Rogues part and I see my mother's body lying lifeless on the ground.

I want to scream; I need to scream. But my throat is clogged, and no sound comes out. My wolf howls at the loss of our mother. Before my young mind can comprehend what is happening the Rogue king hauls my father over his Luna’s body.

“Your Alpha is weak!” The Rogue King announces to my pack “A weak Alpha, means a weak pack. You will find no mercy from me!” He laughs, full-bellied laughs as he raises his sword and cuts clean into my father's neck. I bite my lip and stifle whatever sound rears up inside me as his head falls onto my mother's body and rolls off into the dirt.

“Bring all mature males to me. The rest we take with us. Senko can have his pick, the remaining ones will be reborn.”

One by one they line the males up as the Rogue King’s sword slices through the air severing each male's neck one at a time. The sardonic grin of the Rogue King, as he takes each life - is a haunting image I will never forget.

“Swift! Swift!”

I wake with a start to Bram shaking me. My eyes open wide and I bare my teeth, claws lashing out at the person touching me.

“Swift!” I hear Bram shout my name again.

The fog in my mind and the haze from my eyes clear and I look up at the wolf, who eyes me from above with concern etched on his face.

“You were screaming in your sleep,” Bram explains as he approaches me again.

Feeling calmer, my wolf's teeth and claws retract, and I shake off the reoccurring memory that invades my subconscious whenever I sleep.

“Bad dream,” I say rubbing my eyes and swinging my legs off the side of the bed. Bram stands there looking at me with that same concern. Skepticism brews in his dark eyes, slowly being replaced with a look of lust when he takes me in. His eyes travel the length of my body that is only clad in a pair of shorts and tank, and back up.

“I’m fine. You can go now.” I hiss at him feeling uncomfortable in my current state of dress. I don’t like the way he’s looking at me. If he’s looking to wet his d**k, well it's not happening with me. Ever.

“All right.” Bram holds his hands up and begins to back away to the adjoining door “I just heard you screaming and wanted to make sure you were ok, is all.” He reaches the door and pauses before he turns around. “We leave in an hour, Swift.”

Thankful that Bram didn’t ask any more questions, I drop onto the bed and huff out. Whenever I have that dream it seems to zap me of all my energy. It’s as if I relive the whole night once again.

My wolf, Note, stirs uneasily, her mood matching mine. ‘We go home to pup, soon.’ She says to me, and I hum my response. Letting my wolf know I too want to go home to our pup.

After taking a quick shower and packing up my gear, I meet Bram outside and climb into the passenger seat as we head on the last but one leg of our journey to the New Moon Kingdom.