Chapter Six — Ethan POV
1492 Words
Ethan’s POV
“Are we going in?” Daniel, my right hand, asks.
I lower the binoculars and glance at my crew.
Daniel Arin, consigliere’s son, soon to inherit his father’s place, hands me a gold-plated 9mm. I check the mag before sliding it into the holster under my jacket. Kai Lucian, son of the Underboss and the sharpest shooter in the Tanorra Mafia, positions his M4 Hellfire rifle at the window, finger resting on the trigger, waiting for my signal.
“I can take them all out from here,” Kai mutters, snapping his gum.
“Not yet,” I tell him. “We wait for our soldiers to clear the entry. Then we move in. The bastard has a gun to Rose’s head. Nobody kills him until I’ve had my hands on him, until I show him what happens when you touch what belongs to an Alpha.”
My fist tightens, adrenaline coursing through me, screaming for violence. In our world, war isn’t new. Someone blows up a club, kills a soldier, we answer with blood. But when they dare to lay hands on our women, especially one with blood like Rose’s, ancient and volatile, it’s not war anymore. It’s damnation. They just bought themselves a seat in hell.
“When Niger finds out what they did to Rose,” Kai says, lighting a cigarette, “he’ll want to wipe Boston off the map.”
“What did Valentine offer you?” Daniel asks, suspicion in his eyes. “You don’t take missions from other Capos. You only follow Andrew’s word, or your own.”
The Monster Quartet, me, Daniel, Kai, and Niger, only moves under my command. I don’t take jobs for others unless it serves my goals. Or unless instinct demands it. This time, it’s both. I have my own army within the mafia, separate from Andrew’s. When the moment comes, I’ll take everything.
“I’ll tell you later,” I say.
I’ll respect Bartolomeu’s wish to keep the engagement quiet, for now. He swore it in blood over the phone, and every word was recorded. Breaking that vow is suicide in our pack. I take oaths seriously. I am the next Boss of the Tanorra Mafia, and a man of honor. I’m only steps away from everything I’ve planned. Rose will be mine. I’ll bring her back alive. And when word spreads of our marriage, every bastard will tremble at my wrath.
“Time?” Daniel asks as the signal comes in, our soldiers have swept the entry.
“Time,” I answer.
With a black 12-gauge CBC, two 9mms strapped under my jacket, and my lieutenants at my sides, we move out from the house we’d used as cover. Without Niger, it feels off-balance. We’re four when we’re whole, dangerous, efficient, unstoppable. I just hope he isn’t dead. Rose will mourn her brother. And I’ll mourn the friend I trust at my back.
“Is that it?” a seventy-five-year-old woman whispers as we pass her living room. Her frail arms clutch a boy of maybe seventeen against her chest. “You’ll go and nothing happens to us? Please…”
I crouch in front of her, set my gun on the coffee table, meet her eyes.
“Thank you for lending us your house.” I pull out my wallet. “You’ll hear gunfire. Like the other neighbors, do not call the cops, if you want to live. Stay low.” I drop a thick roll of cash on the table. “Good day to you both.”
“Y-yes, sir.” Her head bobs too many times.
“Stay in school, kid.” I tap the boy’s arm. He curls tighter into her. I chuckle and stand, leaving a soldier behind to ensure no one dials the police once the gunfire starts.
We cross the street with weapons raised. Shots erupt inside the house where Rose is held. I brace at the doorframe, Daniel and Kai taking the other sides. A soldier signals, clear to enter.
We storm the stairs. At the top, a soldier moves, one shot from me drops him before his gun clears the holster. Another comes from a room, Kai cuts him down. Daniel takes the one charging the stairs. I kick open the first door. The wood splinters, crashing into a woman clutching a dead man on the floor.
“Get them out,” I order one of my men. “That balcony connects to the next room?” I ask her.
She trembles, dragging the body tighter.
“No time.” I shove the window open. Half a meter between balconies. “Daniel, take the flank. Kai, with me.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“You and you” I point at two soldiers. “Stay outside. Keep anyone else away.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And don’t kill him. I want answers before the day’s done.”
I chamber a round, blow the lock clean off the door, kick it open. Inside—Rose.
She’s on her feet, wrists bound behind her, a gag cutting into her lips, blood trailing her chin. A gun presses to her temple. Her green eyes lock on mine, terrified, relieved. My wolf howls inside me, stirred by the scent beneath the fear. Pure blood. Untamed.
The bastard hides behind her, one arm hooked tight around her waist, the other shoving the gun against her skull.
“Who’s the rat hiding behind my girl?” I sling the shotgun over my shoulder, strolling forward. He shuffles back, panicked. “Not gonna show your face? I even kept my teeth in.”
Kai snickers. Behind him, Daniel slips through the window, unseen. The bastard has no clue he’s surrounded.
“We killed all your men,” I say coldly. “You’ve got ten seconds to step away and I’ll give you a quick death.”
“I’m dead either way!” he shouts. I can barely see his face over Rose’s shoulder. “But I’ll take this b***h with me first!”
“Hey!” I slam a chair to the floor. “Show some f*****g respect. You know who you’re talking to?”
“He deserves his tongue ripped out,” Kai growls, rifle leveled.
We close in, step by step. I lay the shotgun on the bed, extend my hands toward Rose.
“Rose. Remember when you and Niger used to hide under the table? Count to three before searching?” My hands move subtly, signaling her.
“What the f**k are you babbling about?” the bastard snarls, shaking her.
Rose blinks twice. She understands. On three, she’ll drop. Daniel will strike.
“Five,” I start counting.
“This isn’t what we”
“Four.”
“You know why he wants her?”
“I’ll find out myself.”
“Three.”
Daniel moves like a panther. He wrenches the bastard’s arm back, c***k of bone. Rose drops, and I grab her, spinning her into my arms. She groans against me, her back slick under my palm. Blood. Hot. My wolf catches the scent, ancestral, pure. Just as I suspected.
She’s a Pure Wolf. A ticking bomb.
I cradle her against me. Her gag muffles her words, but her eyes say enough, fear, exhaustion, defiance. My chest tightens with something I didn’t expect. I want to protect her. To keep her. To claim her.
“You’re safe,” I whisper in her ear. She exhales shakily, nodding.
Behind me, Paul, the Boston soldier, is slammed to the ground, cuffed. He spits blood, glares at me.
“If she dies, Samuel doesn’t get what he wants. Give me a quick death and I’ll talk.”
“You’ll beg the devil before I’m done with you.”
I don’t wait for his answer. I carry Rose downstairs, set her on the couch. Her ankle’s bruised, her lips split. I ease the gag off, thumb brushing away blood. She winces. I kiss her temple, surprising myself. I’ve never wanted to care for anyone. But for her, it feels primal. Natural.
I cut her bindings, strip off my jacket, tie it around her waist to slow the bleeding.
“Where to?” Daniel asks. “She needs a doctor.”
“Green River. Call one there. Nevada’s off the table.”
“Boston’s sending more men,” Kai warns, scanning his phone.
“Why are they chasing me?” Rose’s voice is hoarse but sharp.
I pull her against me, her head fitting into the curve of my neck.
“We don’t know yet,” I murmur. “But when I find out, they’ll never see your face again.”
Once, I only wanted the forbidden girl as a trophy. Now I’m certain, Rose Valentine will be my wife. Not just for power. Not just for the throne.
But because my wolf has chosen.
And no man will ever touch what’s mine.
- Writer
