Chapter 79

(**Unknown POV**)
*Four months ago*

The rank smell of death clings to the walls, floors, and ceilings of the entire compound. Low cries despair and high-pitched wails of pain only make the atmosphere darker. The further someone walks down the halls, the more they wish to turn around and walk right back out.

Not me.

Every scream of pain, whimper of fear, and the looks of despair in all my captive’s eyes gives me an electric thrill. I have always been this way. Though I learned to hide it from others as I got older. The speculative looks I would get from adults made me smile, but when my parents put me in therapy, I learned how to only show what they wanted to see.

Then one day in my early twenties, a man in a suit approached me while I was in the park. He claimed he knew what I was doing in secret. He knew about my small collection of animals in my backyard. How he knew I never found out. It was what he hinted at that got my attention.

Gerald Finkman hinted that there were things in this world that pretended to be human but were far more dangerous than us. Monsters playing at being human. That piqued my curiosity instantly. He didn’t need to come right out and say the words. I have always been interested in the paranormal stories I read in books.

When I learned years later that they were all real, I was giddy with excitement. The day Finkman brought me to his compound in Chicago, I was apprehensive at first because I thought he was bringing be there for his own nefarious purposes. What he showed me opened my eyes to the world as it really is.

Full of dirty, smelly, vermin that pretended to be human. Werewolves exist along with all kinds of other wereanimal species. Vampires are real. So many of the supernatural creatures that I always thought were made up works of fiction are real.

Finkman showed me all the vermin locked in cells as we walked through his compound. I wanted to kill them all, hurt them for thinking they were good enough to walk among humankind. However, he explained why he hunts them. Not to kill them, but to break them, and to use them for money.

The Collectors are a vast organization of men and one woman who have teams that hunt supernaturals. All to show off their prizes for money. Rich people all over the world pay exorbitant fees to see things out of their wildest dreams.

I am a member of The Collectors, but I don’t just show off my collection. I use my collection of these beasts for the most depraved and dark members of society. It didn’t surprise me at all when I first offered a guest to have sex with one of my werepanthers. When he asked if he could cause her pain, I agreed, but raised the price.

What he left behind when he was done made me laugh. I had found my true calling. The bitched healed and an extremely lucrative business was formed. I learned so much about the physiology of each creature I added to my collection.

I tested each of them to their limits. Then I pushed them harder to see their breaking points. Now I am pleased with how they all bow to my every whim.

Now, as I reach the door at the end of the hall, I shake my head, then open the door. The metallic scent of blood hits my nose as I step into the room. The once great Vicktor Treadstone is on a gurney in my infirmary. Harvey, my doctor, is attempting to sew Vicktor’s arm back together.

When Vicktor called me a few days ago, it intrigued me. To him, I am a fledgling member of our society. I am not important enough for him to associate with. So, when he called me, I answered. He asked me for help. That made me laugh harder than anything had in years.

He begged for my help when I told him no. Then he offered me a grand prize if I do. A child. One who isn’t just a werewolf. This child has gifts that could be used to hunt more of her kind. I took the bait. So, I flew to France, brought him to my lair, and now Harvey is doing his best to save Vicktor’s life.

If the man dies, my prize is lost, and I wasted my time.

I doubt this child exists. Vicktor is at death’s door. He would have said anything to have me help him. If he dies, then I am only out the cost of jet fuel and a few days of my time. If he lives, then I will use him to get what he promised me.

A little girl who has a photographic memory. Not only that, but he suggests that this girl has the gift of foresight. That is worth my time. I can do anything with her if I get her. Keep her for my own uses or sell her to another Collector.

“Do everything you can to save his life.”

“He is in terrible shape, Banecroft. I may not have all I need.”

“Make a list. If it is another set of hands, then I will make that happen, too. Just do what you can for now to make him stable. I need him lucid enough to talk.”

Harvey wipes sweat off his brow, smearing Vicktor’s blood on his forehead in the process. “Get me another set of hands and I will be able to do that.”

“Done. I will return in a few hours.”

With one last look of disgust towards Vicktor, I turn around and leave the room. I will make sure he lives long enough to tell me what he knows. Then, if he dies after he tells me everything, then that isn’t my problem.

Vicktor Treadstone made mistakes that came back to haunt him. This is the price he must pay for those mistakes. I will reap the rewards of his downfall.

A dark laugh escapes my lips as I get on the elevator that will take me to the surface. So many people pass by the building above every day. None of them are aware of the nightmares that take place deep below the surface. All they see is a self-storage facility that is mostly empty all the time. It is beautiful.

People are naïve when it comes to the darker side of humanity. I absolutely love their naivety. My world thrives on it. I thank the sick minds of all my guests monthly after each party I throw. Without them, I wouldn’t have the ability to keep my own darkness hidden from the world.

When I reach the surface, I swiftly exit the storage room that hides the elevator. The security guard that is posted outside the small office building gives me a nod as I exit the building. I nod back, then head to my car. I have a doctor to find. One that will do what I say without asking questions.

I know the perfect place to go.

The meat-packing district is a sordid place that does all kinds of business that most people are unaware of. The Russian mafia is fucked up, but they know how to get information from people. They use methods that make my dark heart happy.

There is a doctor that works in the back of a butcher shop. He will do anything for the right price. What I am going to offer him is more than money. I will allow him to embrace the other side of his true nature and I have just the right werelion in mind for him.

*Four months later*
(**Vicktor**)

Anger spikes through me as I look at the scars all over my once perfectly toned body. The puckered scar that runs from my collarbone to my shoulder blade reminds me of how close I came to losing my arm. That fucking bitch tore into me with a violence that I thought I had beaten out of her.

I swear if I ever find her again, I will kill her. I will kill every single one of them. All those who helped destroy my collection will die. However, my first order of business is to kill Sebastion Drakos and that whore Irina Belova.

When I sent her in to seduce him, it never occurred to me that she would turn on me. That little bitch is responsible for the destruction of my collection in Portland. The message I received when I logged into my surveillance system made me see red.

They hacked my system. All my exotic creatures stolen. The message Sebastion sent was loud and clear. He knows who I am and what I do. He knows that more than he should, and that knowledge will cost him his life. What he and Irina took from me runs deeper than just my collection of monsters.

They took my daughter from me. Zasha may not be my flesh and blood, hell she isn’t even human, but she is my fucking daughter. I will have her back with me at all costs.

Even if that means using that little sadistic freak, Banecroft, to get what I want. I promised to give him Zasha if he helps me get revenge on Sebastion Drakos. I have no intention of fulfilling that promise. I have an ace up my sleeve that will come into play later.

For now, I wait. I have been making plans for the assault on Drakos. What awaits him will take him and that little whore by surprise. I can’t wait to see the look on both their faces when my plan falls into place. More so for the look on Irina’s face. I want to watch her eyes as her entire world burns down around her for the second time in her life.

“I see you are getting up and about better.”

Banecroft’s voice makes me spin around to look at him. He is standing in the doorway to my room. I suppress the sneer I would normally give him, instead I give him a fake smile to show the gratitude he thinks he deserves. I am thankful that he helped me, but that is as far as my gratitude goes. He has plans of his own.

I know he was planning to go after Drakos on his own after I have him what he needed to know. Unfortunately for him, I was in a comma for three and a half months. Him not killing me shocked me. However, I know why he didn’t.

He wants Zasha and her mother. I heard him talking to himself about how her blood will look on her pure white fur. However, what he doesn’t know is that Drakos isn’t alone. He has allies. Those allies I am interested in learning about.

Who is helping him?

“Yes. I am feeling better. Less pain today.”

I move slowly back to my bed. It makes me look weak to him and that is what I want. I have been gaining weight again and my strength is returning each day. If he thinks I am weak, then I have the element of surprise later.

“Good. It is time you talk about where the child and her mother are. Winter will be here soon, and I hate the cold. We have the element of surprise. They think you are dead. Now is the time to attack.”

He has a very valid point.

The longer we wait, the harder an attack will be. Combat in the redwood forest during winter is not something I want to do. I hated every minute of the assault on Irina’s pack. Well, not every minute. Killing her parents was fun. Killing her mate was the highlight of that day.

The cold was not fun.

“They are somewhere in Oregon. Drakos’s pack is somewhere in the redwood forest. Irina was supposed to give me their location, but she turned traitor. I should have put a bullet in her head a long time ago. Something I will rectify when we attack.”

Rage flows across Banecroft’s face before he quickly controls himself. “You don’t know their exact location? There is a vast forest in southern Oregon. They could be anywhere.”

“I know their general vicinity. It won’t take more than a few days to pinpoint their location. There is a town a few miles outside the forest we can stay in while my men and yours do some reconnaissance.”

“Your men? Where are your men and why haven’t they come for you?”

“Because they are in Portland waiting for my orders.”

I have twelve men waiting for me. All are elite soldiers who have been trained by The Collectors to fight supernaturals. I put them into place after I lost contact with my eyes and ears in Portland.

Since Westly stopped answering my calls while I was in France, I can only assume he went underground after my Portland collection was liberated. Eric has been MIA since right after I left for France. I have a feeling that he was part of my downfall.

That fucking hybrid has always been volatile. He tried many times to run from me or to kill himself. Irina turned on me and I shouldn’t be surprised if he saw that as his way out. I should have killed him when I learned he was a hybrid.

Eric is a freak of nature. His death will give me immense pleasure. However, it will cause me some sadness. He was a skilled hunter. His loss will set me back. Unless I can capture him again and break him to my will.

“Fine. We will leave for Oregon in a few days. Call your men and tell them you are coming. I will prepare my mine.”

Banecroft turns to leave but stops, then turns back to face me. There is that look in his eyes that I have come to know well over the last few days. Calculating. He is thinking, and I don’t blame him at all. There is a reason The Collectors don’t work together.

We don’t share.

“I promise you this, Treadstone. If I have gone through all this effort to get what you promised me, and you stab me in the back, I will kill you.”

“Noted.”

I plan to stab him in the back anyway. He is a blight to our organization. We all have known what kind of dealings he has done. What he and his clients to his collection. I have used some females in my collection for sex, but I have never hurt them the way Banecroft has with his.

Finkman made a mistake bringing him into the fold. It is time to rectify that mistake. Even if it puts me on Finkman’s bad side. Banecroft won’t make it out of Oregon alive, and his collection will become mine. They will all me better off for it.

Sebastion Drakos, I am coming for you.