Scarlet Night (Limited Edition) by Megan Parker

he cried out in rage and pain; his own voice already shifting and sounding foreign to him.
    “ N-n-nnn nNO!” he grabbed his head and pressed against his temples, “N-nnot here !” He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he tried to stop the beast. He couldn’t allow it to come out here; not within the clan’s walls. Not with all his unsuspecting comrades within range!
    For once, the monster seemed to listen and the chaos beneath his flesh stopped trying to rip through the surface.
    His tattoos had just shifted back to their black hue when his cell phone began to ring and he snarled at the sudden noise’s assault against his still-sensitive hearing and he struggled to suppress the urge to smash the iPhone into a fine powder like he had with so many phones before it. Though he was able to keep from crumbling the device into pieces upon snatching it up, the force was enough to start a network of spider web-like cracks that formed along the screen from the force of his grip.
    He glanced down at the fragmented caller-ID and forced his eyes to see through the distortion of broken glass and rage to read “ Unknown caller ”. Growling again, slammed a twitching thumb against the “talk” button.
    “Who the fuck is this?” he roared into the receiver.
    The phone was silent for a moment and Zane felt his anger rise with every second he was forced to endure the silence. Finally a cold and calculated voice picked up:
    “I’m calling on behalf of my masters to suggest that you and the others of the Vail Clan adhere to the laws of our people, or we will be forced to step in and handle the situation. You have failed to follow proper protocol concerning the passing of your leader and if you do not comply with these laws you and your comrades will be considered rogues to The Council and persecuted as such. Our records show that Council-member Keith Vailean is Gregori’s successor, and we’re well aware that no attempt has been made to contact him concerning these matters. I feel it’s only fair to warn you that Keith is not known within our ranks as having patience for—”
    “You and Keith can go fist-fuck yourselves! Our clan—with or without Gregori—is strong enough to deal with you pussy-footed boot-lickers, and we are not about to hand ourselves over to some spoiled scab-eater who was lucky enough to get a seat with The Council! I’m well-aware of Keith’s reputation and have been requested by Gregori, himself , not to give him control. I have it on good faith that you’re his leech and that means your authority amounts to jack-shit without a unanimous ruling from the other Council chairs! So unless you’ve got all the signatures from those that matter I suggest you and your leash-holder either silence your empty threats or bring them to our front door and see how long it takes us to rip you to pieces! You tell him that Daddy knew better and those who are loyal to his memory will not be going down without a fight!” He screamed, his voice warping into a full growl.
    There was a long silence on the other end as his words registered. Finally, the speaker cleared his throat and began to speak with a wavering voice ; “I will trust that wiser minds exist amongst you to speak on the clan’s behalf. It would be wise to pass along this message to somebody willing to take the situation into greater consideration, lest a great number of your people be forced to suffer solely as a consequence of your arrogance.”
    The line went dead then and Zane, unable to control himself any longer, snarled and gripped the phone tighter and tighter until it fell from his palm in pieces. He watched as the remains of the device scattered across the floor.
    So much for all the anger management Gregori had been putting him through.
    But he didn’t care about the phone or the cost to replace it and however many more he’d certainly destroy in the future. Only one thing was clear in his mind at that point…
    He wanted… no,