At once, Nassor was on alert. How had the African First learned his identity? "My name is Nathan Allen," he replied, using his adopted name. Being a shifter, Zaire would be able to smell the lie if Nassor had used a cover.
"Nonsense," Akinyi chuckled. The rest of Nassor's team stopped what they were doing and listened intently to the conversation. "You are the image of your father. He's not a man I'm likely to forget. I knew who you were the moment I set eyes on you during our first meeting." Zaire's laughter sent chills through Nassor. "By the time the full moon rises, I will have your life as well."
With a flick of the wrist, the back door of the second sedan opened. A bound and gagged Ife was pulled through. That's when it occurred to Nassor that the fear he felt through the bond hadn't been for him. It'd been his mate's. Akinyi's delay in checking over the weapons now made sense. He'd needed the added time to kidnap Nassor's mate and bring her to the airstrip.
Ife was a thing of beauty, fighting and hissing at the men who guarded her. Although her hands were cuffed behind her, she hit the shifters holding her with her head and shoulders. She kicked at them with her feet. They were having a hard time keeping her subdued.
There was blood on her shirt, which was torn at the midriff. Nassor didn't know what had transpired before she'd been captured. His mind imagined the worst. A part of it whispered not to be too hasty, but it was drowned out by the pounding rage in his ears. He knew men like Akinyi and what their subordinates were capable of doing to those they viewed as weaker. He'd avenge his mate, then help her deal with what they'd done to her.
One of her guards had enough. A meaty fist quickly subdued Ife. Nassor took a step in her direction, but as she slumped in the brute's arms, Akinyi's words stalled him. "Once you are dead, I'll take your woman," the African First announced triumphantly.
It would be a repeat of what happened to Nassor's parents. Cursing, he silently vowed he wouldn't let that happen. He'd break the sick cycle Akinyi seemed to be caught in.
Turning back to the crazy son-of-a-bitch, Nassor swore to himself he'd avenge his mate. He'd begin with this man who'd taken so much from them both. Calling his beast to the fore, he started changing into his half-form. It was the most he could achieve with the full moon not yet risen. Over the sound of his bones rearranging themselves, he heard Jaeger command him to stand down.
With a mental shake of his head, Nassor decided to disregard his commander's order. As soon as Akinyi announced he knew his true identity, the only possible outcome to this meeting was guaranteed. It meant death for one or the other. This time Nassor made a vow to the ghosts of his parents, it was Zaire who would die.
Akinyi drew on his links to all the African prides. The bastard was the first to achieve his half-form. A clawed hand swiped at Nassor while he was in mid-transformation. With his joints messed up, it was hard to deflect. Four, long and stinging cuts formed on his upper chest, running from left to right. Nassor roared his feelings at the African First as he clumsily danced back on the pads of his feet.
The doors of the first sedan opened and four, large men exited. They too began to shift as the ones holding Ife waited for their turn. A handful of Akinyi's men who were nearer followed their leader in calling forth their beasts. They and those too far off to lend much aid looked to be the only shifters on the First's side.
Behind him, Nassor heard the werewolves on his team's joints pop as they dislocated to make room for the larger half-man, half-beast form. They'd meet their enemy in their more powerful builds. They were still outnumbered, but their change meant the odds would be more evened.
"Verdammt," Jaeger swore somewhere behind Nassor. Then more popping was heard as the commander transformed. Under the cacophony of shifting weres, the sound of chanting shaman joined the fray. A quick look over his shoulder showed Nassor Mills and Owen were heading for Ife and the six shifters guarding her. It chafed, allowing Walker to rescue his mate, but his age-old enemy was keeping him too busy to do it himself.
The humans in Zaire's employ panicked when they saw the monsters amongst them. They started shooting anything with claws and fur, including their own men. A few bullets hit Nassor before they were subdued by the opposing shifters. Their guns were silenced.
Ignoring the painful sting – the bullets would have to be surgically removed later as the wounds were already closing – Nassor swiped a clawed hand at Akinyi's neck. The sharp nails didn't go as deep as Nassor wanted. Zaire dodged the attack. When his nails came loose, blood sprayed in an outward arc and spurted from the First's neck.
The gruesome wound wasn't enough to kill the First. As with Nassor's bullet wounds, Akinyi's superficial ones were already closing. He'd have to virtually decapitate the madman before he could kill him. Mythical silver bullets wouldn't do the job either. About the only thing to see that a shifter was well and truly dead would be to take off his or her head or rip out their heart.
Before Nassor could try again, Zaire went on the attack. The First swiped low, nearly disemboweling him. Nassor jumped back not a moment too soon. The tattered, white dress shirt bled as the First's stinging claws dug deep. Red-stained strips fell to the ground.
"You can't defeat me," Zaire taunted. "I'm happy my previous attack didn't kill Dr. Bayo. With you dead, I will be able to add her to my collection."
A lip lifted on Nassor's muzzle. "That won't happen. I'll happily rid the world of you first."
With a mighty roar, Zaire went back on the attack. Nassor blocked the swipe that was meant to take off his head. Shifting slightly to the side, he kicked the African First in the solar plexus. It wasn't nearly as impactful as he would have liked. His dress shoes were split at the toes to make room for his larger feet and claws. They were still mostly on, making it a clumsy blow. Nassor wanted to follow the kick with a swipe from the nails on his feet, open the bastard up and make him suffer before he was finally put down like the rabid animal he was. When he had a few seconds, he toed off cumbersome the wing-tips. He would not let another opportunity go to waste.
Nassor's kick did send the First's ever-present sunglasses flying. When the madman looked up at him, it wasn't only the promise of painful death he saw in Akinyi's eyes. They were mirror black, not the amber of his beast. Evil seemed to seep from their boundless depths.
It wasn't something Nassor was expecting to see. Truth be told, he'd never witnessed its like before. The sight caused him to miss the blow Zaire threw in an upward motion. It felt as if the First were trying to tunnel his fist into Nassor's heart via his diaphragm.
Fighting to regain his breath, Nassor stumbled backward. Akinyi followed, those black eyes leering. Their gazes locked. Unbidden, a shudder of revulsion made its way through him.
"Are you even a shifter?" Nassor couldn't help but gasp as he tried to regain the lost breath from Akinyi's previous blow.
The only response Nassor received was that evil grin. It was eerie, seeming to come from the depths of hell itself. Whatever Zaire was now, it wasn't what he had once been. The man was a shifter no more.
Dancing back, Nassor kept his distance. He knew Zaire viewed this as a death match. It was what he wanted as well. The world didn't need the likes of Akinyi in it any longer. It needed a chance to heal, and only peace would give it time to do so. The former werelion would only continue to war and create strife. It was written there, in those dark, unholy eyes.
Breath caught, Nassor attacked with a mighty roar. The beast within was unleashed, and it wanted blood. Both men were solely focused on their opponent. They were bloodied and weakened from blows and swipes that hit home. Still, the will to be the victor was strong within each.
It wasn't until she was on them that either noticed Ife was free. "Kuma nina," the werelioness swore as she struck Zaire from behind. She was in her half-form and took out the First's right knee with one clawed hand. Ife hamstrung him with the other and watched him fall with pitiless golden eyes.
"Mapenzi," Nassor gasped as the werelion fell to his uninjured knee. The shock of what Ife said stayed his hand from delivering the death blow. She'd called Zaire a mother fucker, yet it was much worse in Swahili.
"Stand down, Allen," Jaeger ordered, catching a hissing and spitting Ife by the arms. The First's men were either dead or subdued.
"My name," he panted, "is Nassor Jelani." It felt good to publicly claim his birth name.
"Listen to me," Ife roared gaining Wolf's attention. "Zaire Akinyi must die," she stated once the werewolf looked at her. "He is evil. He perverted Andrew to his cause. I had to-" whatever she was going to say stopped as she clamped her mouth shut. Nassor could only guess. His mate had suffered so much at the First's hands. Akinyi had nearly killed her. The nightmares were lessening, yet they still crept into her sleep. Whatever Stevens had done at Zaire's behest would only add to her trauma.
Looking back at the African First, Nassor was torn. He knew it would be cathartic for him to kill the bastard kneeling before him. It would help Ife to see the man dead as well. Yet, his Lieutenant had ordered him to stand down. If he did not follow through, he risked being labeled a traitor.
"We need to interrogate him," Jaeger appealed, attempting to reason with Nassor and trying to salvage his operation. The werewolf must have sensed how torn he was between mate and country. "Stand down," Wolf repeated. "That's an order," he tacked on as if Nassor didn't already know.
"The bastard won't give you anything," Ife spat. "He knows all your plans. Andrew-" again, she clamped her mouth shut. Nassor was beginning to really worry about what Stevens might have done to his mate. His eyes narrowed as he took in her bared midriff peeking through her bloodied, cut shirt.
Akinyi threw back his head and laughed. "The bitch is right."
Taking a step toward Zaire, Nassor was stopped by Everett's hand on his chest.
Eyeing the conflict between the American military men, the African First bragged, "I do know everything."
Jaeger handed a still-struggling Ife off to Doc of all people. Nassor's look promised the shaman pain and a slow death if he touched her inappropriately. Walking over to Akinyi, the commander asked, "What do you mean by 'everything'?"
The African First only smiled, unwilling to say more.
"I told you that bastard wouldn't give you anything," Nassor's mate raged. "Zaire is feral; look at his eyes if you don't believe me. He needs to be put down." With those words, she elbowed Owen in the stomach in a bid for freedom. The shaman said something low in Ife's ear and Nassor's woman calmed. It set his teeth on edge, having magic used against his mate.
Jaeger's attention turned toward Ife. "No one here can put the African First down. We are American military and cannot take his place. Those green eyes pinned Nassor. "The mission must come first, Allen. You need to put this man's past actions behind you."
It rankled that Jaeger wouldn't recognize him by his real name. Added to that, the commander was wrong. Nassor's passport said his country was the U.S. but Africa was the land of his birth. Looking at the thing that had once been a shifter, he decided he would happily suffer the consequences that came with ridding the world of this particular evil.
Before anyone could stop him, Nassor lunged past Brice. This time, his aim was true. He took out the son-of-a-bitch's throat, cutting so deep his opponent was nearly decapitated. Gripping the bastard's head with bloodied claws, he finished the job with a mighty jerk, roaring his victory. Finally, the evil that'd been a plague in his life from the time Nassor was nine years old was dead.
A misty black smoke rose out of the hole in Akinyi's torso.
"No!" Jaeger bellowed before Nassor could comprehend what he'd just seen. Then, the commander lunged toward him. A meaty fist hit his jaw, causing him to spin. Blood flooded his mouth. Spitting out the iron-tinged liquid did no good. More soon flooded forth. Turning his head, Nassor glared at the First Lieutenant. His fist clenched, wanting to deliver a similar blow.
"Arrest him," the commander ordered. Brice and Anderson came up to flank Nassor, each grabbing a wrist. "I'll see you tried for treason and court-martialed," Jaeger finished.
It wasn't a surprise to Nassor. He knew he'd be labeled a traitor and tried in a military court accordingly. Still, it was worth it to have Zaire Akinyi no longer plaguing this world.
Ife freed herself from Walker. Demeanor calm and head held high, she walked regally toward Nassor. "You will not touch the First of Africa," she commanded.
With a start, Nassor realized she was correct. Because he'd killed Akinyi, he became the African First. The American shifters were on his soil. Technically, he now outranked Wolfrick Jaeger. Brice and Anderson realized it and released him, then backed away.
"Zaire Akinyi was feral and had been for decades," Nassor began. "He needed to be put down."
"He needed to be interrogated," the commander reiterated, controlled violence thickening his voice. "We don't know if he knew about the trackers."
Nassor lifted an arm, caught Ife when she drew near and pulled her to his side. The two other shifters came to stand beside their First Lieutenant. They didn't want to risk misstepping and start an unnecessary war with the new alpha of alphas in Africa.
Suddenly, the weight of responsibility settled on Nassor's shoulders. He realized what being First meant. Once things were resolved here, he would need to meet with the prides. It would take time to gain their trust. Eventually, he vowed, he'd broker peace between them where Akinyi had created strife.
Nassor took in a deep breath to center himself and his raging thoughts. Head bending, he nuzzled his mate's neck. Ife's summer scent washed over him, settling his rioting emotions. "You know he wouldn't have told you anything," he murmured.
Looking up, Nassor caught Wolf's gaze. "The weapons will be delivered, I'll see to that," he promised. "I'll also find out who they are going to. Your mission was a success, Jaeger. Take the win."
Wolf spat out a curse as he eyed the werelion pair. He was apparently unwilling to call his mission a success with the dead lead's sightless eyes staring up at him. "You're nothing but a pussy whipped traitor," Jaeger vented. "I can't trust you."
Shoulders stiffening at the insult, Nassor intoned, "Still, I'll see that you track them to our enemies. I'll also give you his men to question."
Grunting, Jaeger accepted the concession and signaled for his subordinates to round up the prisoners. "You better hope I never see you outside of Africa," he warned.
"What I hope," Nassor shot back, his temper flaring back to life, "is that your mate puts you through hell. And I hope I'm there to witness it." Maybe then Wolf would understand why Nassor had done what he did.
Before Jaeger could speak, Nassor continued, "I'll give you two days to leave Africa. If you come back," his eyes narrowed at his former First Lieutenant, "I will view it as a challenge."
The man who'd once been his commander left without another word. Nassor's stomach did a sickening flip as he watched his former team drive off with Zaire's men. How had everything gone so wrong, he wondered? A man he'd come to admire was now an enemy.
"He'll forgive you one day." Ife reached up and placed her hand over Nassor's aching heart. With a kiss to her temple, he accepted her message of hope. It would take fifty years for her prediction to come true, but eventually, Wolfrick Jaeger would forgive him.
Tired of the scenery, Nassor said, "Let's get out of here." Turning, he steered his mate toward one of Akinyi's abandoned vehicles. Time, they said, healed all wounds. However, some were so deep that the scars still had the power to hurt, even decades later.
I hope you liked this chapter. If you want to point out mistakes or want to leave a comment, I'd appreciate that! Also, if you enjoyed reading this chapter, please consider voting for it. Thank you!