The Filthy Claws: Out for Blood (Exiled Book 2) Read online

  Copyright © May 22, 2021 J.K. Jones

  All rights reserved

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  ISBN: 9798500576224

  Imprint: Independently published

  Cover design by: Millie Millar

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309

  Printed in the Canada Toronto Ontario

  Disclaimer: This is a self-published work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This book contains harsh language, scenes of violence, sexuality, sensuality, human trafficking, rape, and other mature subject matter. It isn’t intended for a younger audience. No part of this book may be reproduced in any or electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval system. Furthermore, it is a work of fiction. We do not condone any form of racism, sexual harassment, incitement, religious hatred, misogyny, child pornography or make light of such grave matters. Extreme warnings: implied rape, sexual assault.

  Table of Contents

  Characters & Clans

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Author’s Note

  Characters & Clans

  The Midnight Stalkers

  Location: Kawasaki Kanagawa

  Motto: Perseverance conquers all

  Luger

  Chandler

  Shamus

  Berriston

  The Filthy Claws

  Location: Fujisawa Kanagawa

  Motto: Light in the darkness

  Flint

  Kenyon

  Marissa

  Ryu Suzuki

  The Blackfang Hounds

  Location: Yokosuka Kanagawa

  Motto: Progress through wisdom

  Rovell

  Thorin

  Wulfrun

  Haru Yamamoto

  The Impure Canines

  Location: Kyoto Kanagawa

  Motto: By sword and shield

  Caine

  Fermin

  Aarbrok

  Forrester

  The Thunder Hunters

  Location: Kyoto Kanagawa

  Motto: Prepared for all

  Rohan

  Ricky

  Reed

  Kazan

  Weiss

  The Silvercrest Howlers

  Location: Hiratsuka Kanagawa

  Motto: Steadfast and loyal

  Trmon

  Deryn

  Randolph

  Rocky

  Zy

  Micah

  Michael

  Outlands

  Location: Yokohama Kanagawa

  Mount Horai

  Location: Yamato Kanagawa

  Gods

  Ehros, god of nature

  Uarus, god of the wind

  Qharuer, god of the sky

  Qartyx, god of magic

  Haveus, god of the stars

  Qitdum, god of love

  Thogues, god of virtue

  Goddesses

  Oslene, goddess of torture

  Vuneas, goddess of the sky

  Volena, goddess of envy

  Chapter 1

  The Outlands

  Yokohama, Japan, ‘21

  Present day…

  Ryu vaults through the maze of buildings. He darts left, narrowly missing the sharp bend as the sky rumbles, and heavy rain bounces off the cobblestones. Ominous clouds blot out the sun. The graying world around him is hazy with fog. Ryu grunts, his feet pushing him faster than ever before. No time to stop.

  He sprints, rounding the corner, nearly blending into the darkness. Drops of rain hammer against his skin. He’s caked in mud and shit from being trapped earlier.

  Those fucking bastards got the drop on them.

  His lungs burn, and his feet feel like anvils. No time to rest. They’re gaining on them. Ryu breezes down the street, his katana in hand, ready to cut down anything in his path. He turns right, his feet pounding against the concrete as he thinks of a way out of here. He doesn’t know this area; it’s foreign to him. Every turn he makes takes him deeper into the Outlands. A knot ties in his stomach as he drives himself forward and finally reaches the alleyway.

  They’re herding him.

  There’s no point in running. Ryu pivots, swiping his sword just in time to cut the head off a vicious Lycan leaping toward him. Five more take their place. Hikari glows brightly, momentarily blinding them all before it shoots off like a boomerang.

  The Lycans move swiftly, crawling on the walls like cockroaches, inching toward their prey. Yet Hikari travels like lightning, shredding the ones closest to Ryu and spinning like a rotator back into his hand.

  Why did he have to piss off a Bloodhound Prince?

  Ryu groans. These creatures multiply like cancer. When one dies, three more spring up. It’s a fucking nightmare. Not only that. They’re evolving. The Lycans he first fought no longer exist. These can think for themselves; they’ve even strategically separated him from his pack.

  They don’t have time for this shit. Ryu gathers his strength and splits Hikari in two, unleashing one and clutching the other. The Lycans inch back, cowering from the white light that shines brighter than the sun. Ryu lunges and cleaves one Lycan in two while Hikari spins like mad around him. He ducks, weaves, and slices, hacking them to pieces. The wolfsbane causes them to sizzle, giving off a horrible greenish glow.

  Lycans roar, their teeth sharp like swords as they dash toward him. Their contorted figures eclipse the moon. They stand over eight feet tall, with demonic red eyes. Ryu chops one of their arms off and bobs just in time to avoid the wide swipe of their claws. He pants wildly, muscles
aching from fighting these creatures all night.

  They’ve been on the run for days.

  Since they left Fermin’s safe house in the Outlands, these monsters have been hunting them left, right, and center. It’s revolting. Hours ago, he got separated from the others. He can only hope Micah can hold them all off before they can reconvene later.

  A Lycan crashes into him, sending them both flying into the side of a car. Ryu grunts, and his body judders violently from the impact. Another Lycan scratches and shreds his skin. It’s agony. Ryu nearly screams as it rakes its razor-like claws down his chest.

  He shoves his sword into its mouth, down the monster’s throat. The beast doesn’t pause, doesn’t even wince. Ryu watches in horror as it continues to scratch wildly at his arms and chest. What the fuck? Blood spurts from the wounds, and his vision nearly whites out from the pain. He calls Hikari to him. The sword slams into his hand, merging into one. Ryu grits his teeth. The Lycan screams as Hikari burns like fire, slicing its head clean off.

  Shoving the creature away, Ryu breathlessly staggers to his feet. Rain continues to fall, washing away the blood and dirt that coats his skin. Corpses lie everywhere, severed bodies, with limbs scattered around the alleyway.

  It’s pure carnage. Ryu stumbles, his katana nearly slipping from his grasp. Fuck. His arm is messed up, and his body is weak from fatigue. Micah. He must inform him.

  Ryu reaches out through the link, calling to his Alpha.

  Micah responds immediately and sends him their location.

  -

  They all look like shit.

  Ryu meets them in the forest, just beyond the Outlands. Their clothes are torn, riddled with holes and bite marks, stained with dirt and grime. They’ve been running for days—weeks—trying to make it through the Outlands with the Lycans hot on their heels. They are out of time. Amaya is dying. The clans are gearing up to rise against them, and the Bloodhound Prince wants them all dead.

  And it’s only Monday.

  Fucking hell. Ryu walks slowly toward them. His wounds are taking longer to heal than he expected. The Lycans are getting stronger, evolving in ways that no longer make any sense. How is the Bloodhound Prince controlling them? Where did they come from? Is there a second vessel? The thoughts make his stomach turn. How many more could be out there? Worst of all, how do they keep finding their location? There might be a spy in their group. It wouldn’t be unusual. How else can Randolph keep tabs on them? The question right now is who.

  The wolves gather around Micah, each of them haggard and breathless. They barely escaped with their lives. “Byakuren.” Trmon bows, then winces and straightens quickly. “We can make camp here tonight.”

  “The area is too open,” Shamus interjects. “Lycans can attack us from all angles.”

  “Then what should we do? We are too far away to find shelter,” Fermin says.

  “We go back to the Outlands, see if we can find another house.”

  “Go back to the place that nearly spit us out? The Lycans swarmed the area like cockroaches. If we go back there, we’re all as good as dead.” Deryn barks.

  “You don’t know that,” Shamus says passionately. “You don’t know—”

  “There's no need to repeat yourself. I ignored you just fine the first time," Deryn snarls. “We don’t have time for foolishness. We set up camp here, alternate watch and sleep with one eye open.”

  “Do you have to be such an ass?” Weiss asks. “We are all in this fight together. The Midnight Stalkers would never show their brothers such disrespect.”

  “If you have a problem with me, then cry me a river and drown yourself in it." Deryn steps forward menacingly.

  “Deryn, shut up.” Trmon sighs. “Byakuren?”

  Everyone turns to Micah. A strange silence settles over the group, reverend, as if any sound would pierce it. “We make camp here.”

  His word is final. The wolves get to work, setting up a small makeshift camp around the area, while Trmon decides who must keep watch. As Micah scouts out the treeline, making sure that the area is protected with his scent in case other wolves come near, Deryn starts a campfire. They eat whatever they can find, which happens to be a few cottontails.

  “We won’t actually have to work with the Filthy Claws, will we?” Alhazred plops down beside the fire and spreads his short legs out in front of him. “I think I’ll die if I have to watch them all bathe in the mud.”

  “Shut up,” Weiss hisses, looking around cautiously. “Byakuren.”

  “What?” Alhazred asks. “I’m just asking. They do bathe in shit. Don’t they, Ryu?”

  Everyone goes eerily quiet. Nobody moves or says anything for a long time. Ryu isn’t surprised at all. It’s always been like this. Even after he saved Alhazred’s life, he still sees him as nothing more than dirt under his fingernails. Goddamn him. Ryu should’ve left him to die. “How about I cut you up into tiny pieces and feed you to—”

  “What’s going on?” Micah comes back, interrupting their conversation. The rest of the wolves pretend to be busy preparing for the night, while Ryu seethes in silence. Fucking bastards. Didn’t he save them all? Now when it comes down to it, they all treat him like shit again? It’s unbelievable. And Micah is completely and utterly clueless as usual. Ryu sets up his tent, irritation simmering in his veins. When he’s finished, he sits down.

  Micah’s black eyes catch his over the fire, and they hold with a fierceness that rocks him to his core. With one look, he beckons him into the sea, into the unknown.

  Chapter 2

  Forbidden fruit often grows in constellations, tender branches in autumn's sweet summer glow. Then it turns and morphs into something else. Over time, it becomes sodden with bacteria and mold. Addiction, obsession, all things depraved.

  He can’t stop. He won’t stop, not until his everlasting thirst is quenched. Like all rotten things, he is brown, fungal. They say he is an Omega of the lowest level. They aren’t wrong. He is forever tainted, forever marked by death and decay.

  Ryu craves something he can’t reach. He needs something unattainable, like a man in the desert, chancing upon an illusion of spring water.

  Lips crash together heatedly. He moans, allowing Micah to push his tongue deeper into his mouth. He is like a rock against him, solid and warm. His hands are rough and ruthless as they grip his waist. Micah kisses him as if he is dying of thirst, and Ryu happens to be a moist fruit.

  The Māku tingles, causing sparks to fly across his vision. This is bad. Very bad. Ryu takes a stuttering breath, watching in rapture as Micah unbuttons his ruined vest and takes one of his pink pebbled nipples into his mouth. The wounds from earlier have healed, but he still feels a twinge of pain.

  It’s too much and not enough. Ryu can’t think like this, not with Micah abusing the bud, flicking and licking it like mad. It hurts. He whimpers when Micah switches over to the other one.

  This shouldn’t be happening. Yet more often than not, it does.

  Micah will continue to seek him out, and Ryu will continue to relish it. This love isn’t something to celebrate; it's fraught with lies and betrayal. Ryu will never trust Micah ever again. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t fuck him. Sex between them was always easy, like breathing. Love isn’t in his heart to give.

  Ryu loses himself.

  Fisting Micah’s black hair, he groans as pleasure tears through him. They’ve been on the road for days, avoiding the wayward Lycans and trying to reach the Filthy Claws clan in time. This is the first night they are able to rest.

  Micah pulls back, his face carved out of caramel jade, angelic and peaceful. Oh no. Ryu’s stomach flips with anticipation. Not now. He’s hard. His body is thrumming with energy. Why can’t they just have fun? Micah straightens and cradles his face in his hands.

  “Ryu.”

  No.

  “I love you.”

  Then why can’t you defend me? Ryu wants to scream. Irritation ignites like fire, and suddenly he’s seething. After all he did for them
, they still treat him like shit. As if working with the Filthy Claws is something so inconceivable and degrading, they can’t even wrap their heads around an alliance.

  Why does he have to ruin everything? Ryu drops his arms. As he steps away, the air turns cold between them. Earlier, Micah trapped him, backed him up against a large tree, and devoured him whole. Before, it would have been easy. Ryu never minded being bent over the nearest object and being fucked into oblivion. Things are different now. Micah makes it a point to fucking declare his feelings everywhere they go. It doesn’t matter, though; the pack will never accept him.

  Right now, Ryu doesn’t want feelings; he wants teeth and skin. He wants to fuck. Not think about how the man before him can crush his heart in the palm of his hand or how Micah has already done that. He doesn’t think about the lies and betrayal between them, the sick stench of hatred and love all mixed into one.

  Of course, he loves Micah, but he hates him just the same.

  “Why do you have to ruin everything?” Ryu asks, bitterness gnawing at his core. What’s the point in bringing up the past? Why do they need to talk about it? Once all this is over, they’ll go their separate ways. Ryu can’t stomach anything else. So what if he has his fun in the meantime? It’s been weeks since they fucked. With the wars brewing and the Bloodhound Prince out for blood, their relationship has taken a back seat.

  “Ryu.”

  “Don’t touch me.” Ryu frantically buttons up his vest. “Why can’t you just shut up and fuck me? Why does it have to be…I don’t want anything with you.”

  Micah goes quiet, and his features turn cloudy.