CORRIGAN
FIRE
By Helen Harper
Copyright © 2014 Helen Harper
All rights reserved.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
FOR KATRINA, SUZY, AUDRA, JULIE AND JENNY WHO WERE FANS RIGHT FROM THE START
Chapter One
The supplicant limped up, battle scars glaringly obvious. It must have been a hell of a fight for the werewolf to have sustained such long-lasting damage. Despite her obvious bravery at seeing off not one but two harpies, the Lord Alpha looked unimpressed. She obviously sensed this and kept her shoulders low and head bowed. Frankly, if she’d been in shifter form, her tail would have been firmly between her legs. Even with all the mingling scents in the room, the reek of her fear was overpowering.
He gazed down at her, looking for all the world like he was bored by her presence. ‘State your name.’
‘Camilia Waite.’ Her voice was tiny and there was a distinct waver to it. I growled under my breath. The Lord Alpha responded to brash confidence. Act like a terrified mouse and he’d treat you like prey.
‘Of?’
‘The West Yorkshire pack.’
‘What?’
‘The West Yorkshire pack,’ she repeated nervously.
His face grew stonier. ‘What?’
She swallowed. ‘The West Yorkshire pack, my Lord Alpha.’
He leaned back, seemingly satisfied. Registering my growing rage, Staines put a hand on my arm. I shrugged him off.
‘So Camilia, tell me what happened that caused you to break Directive 19.’
She tilted up her chin and looked him straight in the eye. Good girl. ‘It was late at night. I was walking along the riverside when I heard a screech. At first I thought it was just an owl but when I heard it again, I realised it was actually a harpy.’
‘And you went to investigate.’
‘Yes, my Lord. There were two of them. They were attacking a man, using their claws to scratch him. It was obvious they were after blood.’
The Lord Alpha raised his eyebrows. ‘How so?’
She seemed nonplussed, blinking rapidly. ‘He fell to the ground. They wouldn’t quit. He had his hands up to try and protect himself but they kept on swooping down towards him. Every time he tried to call out or defend himself, they took a chunk out of him. They were going to kill him.’
He stared at her, unblinking.
‘My Lord,’ she hastily added. ‘They were going to kill him, my Lord.’
‘So you got involved.’ His voice was deceptively silky. I could hear the underlying current in his tone, however. He was planning something. ‘You took on two harpies and in the process allowed a CCTV camera to capture you.’
Camilia looked alarmed. ‘I didn’t shift! I knew there were cameras there. Besides, the harpies…’
‘I don’t give a shit what the harpies were doing. I’m concerned with what you were doing. Is it normal for a human woman to rescue a man from an attack? From an attack, in fact, by two giant, bird-like creatures? What is it that you weigh exactly?’
‘Er,’ she shifted her weight, ‘about nine stone?’
‘Are you asking me or telling me?’
Her voice dulled. Camilia, much like everyone else in the room, was starting to get an idea about where this conversation was heading. ‘I’m nine stone.’
‘What is Way Directive 19?’
‘No shifter is to draw undue attention to their human form by displaying unhuman-like qualities.’
The Lord Alpha smiled. It wasn’t pleasant. ‘Just so.’ He looked up at the assembly, his eyes flitting over everyone. For a moment his gaze halted at me, then continued to slide over the rest. ‘The law in this matter is clear. Camilia Waite is sentenced to three months’ detention and twenty lashes.’
The crowd sucked in a collective breath. I balled up my fists.
You appear unhappy, Corrigan. Is there a problem?
He didn’t even have the stones to confront me publicly. He was using the Voice to show his displeasure at my open disgust at his actions. Only pack alphas and the Lord Alpha himself could initiate telepathic, mind-to-mind contact. Once the conversation had begun, however, any contacted shifter could answer. It made it easier to keep control of us when we were in animal form. Or to keep veiled threats private.
I kept my expression blank. I think perhaps you are being too harsh, Lord Alpha.
The only sign he heard me was his dark eyes narrowing. Then he swept from the room, leaving the poor werewolf to her fate.
‘You’re treading in dangerous waters, Corrigan,’ Staines said matter-of-factly. ‘He’s within the law.’
I snorted. ‘Perhaps. He does have a rather unimaginative take on it, however. The human would have died if she hadn’t intervened.’
‘We have to be careful about exposure…’
‘That’s what the goddamn mages are for,’ I answered shortly. ‘The harpies’ attack had already created that exposure. What our Lord Alpha is doing to her is unnecessary.’
‘Examples need to be made.’
I turned to him. ‘Do they?’
He didn’t answer. Slowly, I released the tension in my hands, flexing my fingers one by one. I adhered to the pack hierarchy. In fact, I believed in it wholeheartedly. Shifters need to be kept in line; too many of them are hot-headed and impulsive. I was not being derogatory to my own kind; it's merely a matter of nature. But Xander Brady, Lord Alpha of the Brethren, went too far too often – and abuses of power were becoming commonplace.
Entirely impotent, I watched in frustration as Camilia was dragged out of the hall, her feet scuffing on the floor. She didn't say a word but the taut white lines around her mouth made her feelings clear. All she'd done was play the part of Good Samaritan and now she was going to reap starkly painful punishment in return. Perhaps it was finally time for a change. The Brethren was packed to the gunnels with a whole host of powerful shifters who would make better leaders than Brady. They just needed the opportunity to step up.
‘Corrigan, your eyes are glowing. You’re not going to do anything rash, are you?’
I forced my mouth to form the semblance of a smile, although there was little humour in it. ‘Oh, believe me, this won’t be rash. I’ve thought it through very, very carefully.’
***
I waited until the keep was quiet. Most of the other shifters were either eating or napping until it was dark enough to venture outside and get some freedom to shift properly. I had the sneaking suspicion, however, that our esteemed Lord Alpha had other plans in mind. When he passed by the door to the library, walking with what seemed to be strident purpose, I was fairly certain it was time. I carefully put down the book I’d been reading and stood up, stretching. Then I followed. When he began descending the narrow spiral staircase to the basement, I knew my instincts had been right.
Up until the 1940s, the Brethren had benefited from the numerous small rooms in the bowels of the keep where they housed those they deemed to be criminal or in need of punishment. After the war, however, they were converted into more usable spaces. The previous Lord Alpha had made little use of them other than for storage.
Brady used them far too often. Poor Miss Waite was cowering in one right now and he was on his way to see her. I tried not to dwell too deeply on what exactly his plans were. Treading lightly, I padded to the top of the stairs and peered down. When I was fairly certain he’d reached the bottom, I began my own descent. I’d barely gone a few feet, however, when I heard a rustle behind me.
Glancing round, I spotted the worried faces of both Lucy and Boyne.
‘We know what he’s doing too,’ Lucy whispered.
I growled softly. ‘Then you know you need to stay away.’
Boyne shook his head. ‘We’ll back you up.’
‘No.’ I wasn’t about to brook any argument. ‘If things go pear-shaped, then you need deniability. He’s still the Lord Alpha.’
‘All he needs to do is compel you…’
I narrowed my eyes at the pair of them. Both bowed their heads in capitulation and backed away. Good.
Staying on the balls of my feet, I continued downwards. It wasn’t long before I could hear the Lord Alpha.
‘You’ve been a bad, bad werewolf,’ he was saying, with an audible trace of delight in his voice. ‘I think it’s about time I took you down a peg or two.’
My mouth twisted. Not if I had anything to say about it. There was a sudden loud smacking sound of skin against skin, followed by a heavy thump and a whimper. That was all I needed. I launched myself downwards, no longer bothering to keep quiet. The door to the makeshift cell was open as if to broadcast the fact that the Lord Alpha couldn’t give a rat’s arse whether anyone heard him or not. From the threshold, he half-turned in my direction, his body stiffening as he realised what I was about to do but, before he could fully react, I slammed into him, knocking him to his knees.
‘What the fuck are you doing, Corrigan?’
I ignored his words and glanced over at Camilia Waite. She was cuffed and bleeding, slumped into an almost foetal-like ball in the corner. ‘It’s easy to beat up a woman when she’s tied up, isn’t it?’
His eyes narrowed. ‘You go too far. Challenge me now and it’ll be the last thing you’ll ever do, you jumped-up pussy cat.’
The grim smile on my face was answer enough for him. He bared his teeth, his skin darkening where the fur was starting to take over.
Get on your knees.
I felt the compulsion. My legs started to buckle as I was forced downwards by a pressure I was powerless to prevent. The Lord Alpha began to straighten up, an arrogant smile spreading. ‘You’ve always been too damn uppity for your own good. I’m going to enjoy this.’
I stopped myself before my knees hit the ground, no longer allowing myself to be pushed downwards. Unfortunately, however, I was frozen in place, unable to rise either.
A guttural sound ripped from his throat. On your knees.
Sweat broke out on my brow. My muscles were starting to tremble and it was taking everything I could muster not to submit to the order. His eyes widened as he registered my open defiance and, involuntarily, he took a step backwards. The act of submission was all I needed. As soon as his heel touched the floor, I was able to pull myself back upright, freed from the need to surrender to his will. I snarled and snapped out a hand, grabbing him by the throat.
‘You’re done, my Lord Alpha.’
He kicked upwards, connecting painfully with my knee. ‘Not yet I’m fucking not.’
Maintaining my balance, I tightened my grip and lifted him upwards until his feet dangled in the air. His eyes bulged but the hatred reflected in his irises was spitting proverbial darts in my direction.
‘I’ve broken your compulsion,’ I hissed. Then I threw him up and back, and his body slammed loudly into the wall.
He pushed himself upwards before barrelling towards me, his head down and his fists lashing out. A decade ago he might have managed to hit me but now he’d spent far too long resting on his laurels and allowing others to do his dirty work. I sidestepped him easily. He feinted towards me, his clothes ripping as he began to shift. I pulled back my fist and launched it towards his face with every ounce of muscle I could muster. There was a sickening crack of breaking bone as I connected with his nose and his head snapped backwards. He groaned and held up his palms, the claws that had been emerging there melting back into his human form.
‘Enough,’ he grunted, spitting out blood onto the floor.
I took a step back and folded my arms. ‘There’s no place in the Brethren for a Lord Alpha who acts as if he’s bosom buddies with the Marquis de Sade.’
‘And you’re just snapping at the bit to take my place, aren’t you? Tell me, Corrigan, how do you plan to keep the Brethren and the rural packs in line without a little force from time to time?’
I laughed, genuinely amused. ‘I don’t want to be Lord Alpha. I just want to make sure that you’re not. It’s about time the Brethren realised we’re in the twenty-first century, not the thirteenth.’
Brady stood up. ‘Right. If we’re all touchy-feely and in touch with our inner selves, then we’ll be better people.’ He snorted. ‘That’s weak. You’re weak. And I’m going to prove it to you.’ He twisted left, lunging towards the cowering Camilia Waite and dragging her upright by her hair before I could stop him. ‘Back down or I’ll break her neck.’
Her eyes were filled with terror, pleading with me. I jerked forward but he pulled away, tightening his grip on her and raising his eyebrows. ‘Try that again and she’s dead.’
I gritted my teeth. ‘You’re making a fool of yourself,’ I told him quietly. ‘All three of us know that it’s time you gave in. Let her go and I’ll allow you to walk out of here.’
‘You’ll allow me?’ he scoffed. ‘Catch a grip. I’m still Lord Alpha around here.’
‘No.’ I shook my head. ‘You ceased to be Lord Alpha the second I didn’t fall to my knees. If you were still top dog, you’d have used the Voice to get others down here to come to your aid.’ I gave him a cold smile. ‘The Voice doesn’t work for you any more, does it, Xander? The power's gone.’
His mouth twisted in mean malevolence. ‘Make a choice, Corrigan.’ He shook Camilia. ‘Submit or she’s dead.’
There was a good reason why he was doing this. Xander Brady was a canny bastard and he wanted me to save her life. His natural status as Lord Alpha was shattered as a result of my defiance but if I succumbed now in order to rescue her, there was every possibility he’d re-take that position. The cold shadows in his eyes made his intentions clear. He’d casually kill her, slaughter me and do whatever he could to ensure his prominence at the top of the Brethren for the next generations to come. There was a lot of strength in the senior Brethren members. He’d rid himself of them all to avoid anyone else breaking his authority. This wasn’t just about Camilia. It was about the fate of every shifter in the British Isles.
She moaned slightly. I looked into her face, attempting to convey the truth to her. Her pain-filled eyes flickered and she gave a tiny nod, her body sagging in resignation.
‘You can’t do it, can you? You can't bear to let her suffer,’ he taunted. ‘You’ll do whatever you can to save this pathetic excuse for a werewolf. That’s why I’m Lord Alpha and you’re not.’
‘I told you already,’ I said calmly, ‘you’re not Lord Alpha any more.’ Then I leapt towards him, aiming for his right flank to try and knock him off balance and give Camilia a fighting chance. Even before I could reach him, however, his huge hands twisted her head sharply to the side. Her body flip-flopped to the floor at the same moment as I slammed into him and knocked him down yet again.
‘Well, who’d have thought it?’ He choked out a laugh. ‘You’ve got more cojones than I gave you credit for.’
Rage ripped through me and I could feel the beast within taking over. My skin stretched and tightened, and my bones cracked. I was dimly aware of my clothes exploding into shreds of fabric as I shifted. Power surged. From all fours, I pounced, lethal claws outstretched and ready. I was going to end Xander Brady once and for all. Then there was a fl
ash of something flying towards me and I instinctively jerked backwards in mid air, somersaulting to meet this new threat head-on.
It was Staines, standing in the doorway and still in full human form. Brady’s body was slumped and unmoving, a knife embedded in his back.
‘You don’t want to start your new career with blood on your hands,’ he told me softly. ‘There’ll be time enough for that later.’
I glanced involuntarily at the equally dead body of Camilia Waite, her eyes already clouding over and staring emptily towards me.
It’s too late for that, I said. The Voice filled my head, reverberating around my skull.
Staines smiled slightly, seemingly unsurprised, and bowed. My Lord Alpha.
Chapter Two
‘We’ve put it about that Brady has retired, my Lord Alpha. The Othernet channels have already picked it up.’
My eyes narrowed. ‘Why not tell the truth? That you killed him?’
‘This is a time for unity. We don’t need to muddy the waters.’ Staines’ tone was even and calm.
‘You mean by suggesting you should be the one to be Lord Alpha.’
‘If I was meant to be Lord Alpha, I’d be able to use the Voice.’
I grimaced. ‘Challenge me.’
He didn’t even blink. ‘It would be pointless.’
‘Get others to challenge me.’
‘Nobody is willing to take you on, my Lord.’
‘Don’t call me that,’ I ground out. ‘I didn’t approach Brady because I wanted to be the boss.’
‘And that’s why you should be. Anyone who craves power should not be in power.’
I could feel lines of tension across my back. ‘Brady needed to go.’
‘Indeed.’
‘I don’t want to be the Lord Alpha.’
‘There are thirty-seven rural packs. They require the Brethren, as their de-facto leaders, to be strong. Everyone has already accepted the change.’
‘I’ve not.’
Staines reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. ‘It’s natural to feel nervous,’ he said. ‘I am confident that you are the right shifter for the job. Nobody else would have confronted Brady.’ He turned his laptop in my direction and I glanced down at the screen.