Heartsong

by TJ Klune

  That didn’t help as much as he seemed to think it did. “There’s more to life than just surviving.”

  Kelly looked grim. “Not for us. Not now. Maybe one day, but right now, survival is all we know.”

  * * *

  The motel on the outskirts of Green Creek looked better than I expected. It’d had a recent coat of paint, and the doors had electronic locks. The sign sitting above the motel promised FREE WI-FI AND SOME BAGELS.

  I recognized the man in the office as having been in the diner when I first escaped from the Bennett house. His eyes were wide as he walked toward the vehicles pulling up in the gravel lot.

  “Is it happening again?” he asked as Ox climbed out of the truck. “Are we under attack? Let me go get my gun, and I’ll—”

  “No, Will,” Ox said. “I want you to stay inside until we come back.”

  The man—Will—frowned as he looked out at the rest of us. His gaze settled on me for a few seconds before he turned back to Ox. “You sure about that, Alpha? There’s strength in numbers. You said so yourself.”

  I wondered what Ox had done to inspire such devotion, but I didn’t have to think too hard. I thought he’d done so by simply existing. This town held a great secret and kept it hidden away from the rest of the world, all while turning to the wolves and offering what amounted to their lives.

  It only took me a moment to realize I was doing the same.

  I watched as Ox settled his hands on Will’s shoulders. “I know. But we don’t know what’s happened. It might be nothing.”

  “Or it might be more of those hunters,” Will said. “Or Omegas. Or some other manner of shape-shifters. Or vampires.”

  “Christ,” Rico muttered. “I told you there’s no such thing as vampires. That’s ridiculous.”

  Will rolled his eyes. “Says you. You belong to people who turn into wolves the size of horses, and you want to lecture me on what’s ridiculous?”

  Rico opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Then, “I’ve never thought about it that way. Oh my god, what if there are vampires?” He yelped when Gordo smacked him upside the head. “Asshole.”

  “Go back inside,” Ox told him. “Close the security gates. Don’t leave until you hear from one of us.”

  Will nodded as he took a step back. “You call me if you need me. I may not be as young as I once was, but I know how to take care of things. I’ve got your back, Alpha. All of us do. Don’t forget that.”

  He left Ox staring after him as he went back to the office. He locked the door behind him and then reached up to slide a metal grate over the door. He did the same to all the windows.

  Kelly saw my nose twitching. “The motel rooms have the same safeguards. We made the changes after… well. Long story. Let’s just say Will knows firsthand what wolves can do. I’ll tell you about it later.”

  Before I could respond, wolves came out of the tree line beyond the motel.

  Mark was first, coming at a run, eyes violet, chest rising and falling rapidly. He skidded in front of Gordo, kicking up dust and gravel. He pressed his muzzle against Gordo’s chest, breathing him in.

  Gordo put his hand between his ears. “We’re okay,” he said quietly.

  Mark growled, lips pulling back.

  Gordo sighed. “I hear you. I’ve got this. I’m in control.” He brought up the stump at the end of his arm. The tattoos were swirling, crawling over scar tissue. I felt his magic, enormous and untamed. It caused the air around him to stutter, but he took a deep breath, and the symbols carved into his skin stopped moving. “I’m good. You’re with me, so I’m good.”

  Mark huffed a breath against him before stepping back.

  Elizabeth came next, just as a little car pulled into the parking lot. Jessie jumped out, crowbar in hand. “What happened?” she demanded, looking at Ox. Elizabeth rubbed up against her, and Jessie settled a hand on her back. “It’s the wards, isn’t it? I felt that. God, I’ll never get used to it.”

  Joe came, followed by Carter and the timber wolf. Joe’s eyes were red, and he stopped in front of Ox. Ox reached under his chin, grasping his jaw, and pressed his forehead against Joe’s.

  Carter went to Kelly and sat at his side, head cocked, ears twitching. The timber wolf circled them both slowly, growling low in the back of his throat, his ears flattened against his head. Carter whuffed at him, and the timber wolf nipped at his shoulder.

  I was thunderstruck. I didn’t know why I hadn’t seen it before or why no one had told me. “Holy shit, Carter, is the wolf your—”

  A bright flash of pain rolled through me as Rico kicked me in the shin. “Your friend,” Rico cried. “Is that wolf your friend.” He glared at me as I rubbed my shin. “Isn’t that right, Robbie?”

  Carter looked confused, glancing back and forth between the two of us.

  “Later,” Rico muttered. “Focus, okay? We’ve got bigger things to worry about than Carter’s… friend.”

  As Will closed the grate over the last window, Ox turned toward all of us. He let his eyes fill, and the power that emanated from him settled over me. It almost felt like it’d been with Ezra, dreamlike and peaceful, but I didn’t think Ox was the type to exert his will over others. Not unless he was forced to.

  I had to believe that.

  He said, “We stick together. Always within sight. Listen. Be ready for anything.” He glanced at me. “Robbie, with me. Kelly, behind him. Everyone else, you know what to do.”

  “And here’s where my childhood friends take off their clothes in public,” Rico said with a sigh just as Chris and Tanner began stripping.

  “Don’t be jealous of my rocking werewolf bod,” Chris said.

  “I hope it’s not bad wolves,” Tanner muttered. “I still have PTWD.” He winced and looked at me apologetically. “No offense, Robbie.”

  “Post-Traumatic Werewolf Disorder,” Rico explained at the look on my face. “It happens when things get all bitey.”

  “Chris,” Jessie said, staring up at the sky, “if you could shift so I don’t have to see your junk again, that’d be great.”

  Chris didn’t argue. The muscles and bones underneath his skin began to move, and he grunted as he fell to his knees. His shift was slower than a born wolf’s, as was Tanner’s. But it wasn’t long before two wolves stood before us, eyes orange.

  “Dominique?” Ox asked Jessie.

  “She knows what to do. Don’t worry about her. Focus on what we need to do, Ox. Let’s get this over with.” She tapped the crowbar against her shoulder. “And don’t get in my way.”

  He nodded before looking at Gordo wordlessly.

  Gordo was staring off into the trees, his hand still on Mark. “It’s hurt,” he whispered. “There’s blood. Whatever it is, it’s been injured.”

  “Don’t take any chances,” Ox said.

  Rico cocked his gun. “My kind of alfa. Shoot first, ask questions later. Let’s rock ’n’ roll, motherfuckers.”

  * * *

  There was no shooting.

  There was no fighting.

  But oh, was there blood. I could smell it the closer we got to the wards, heavy and thick and filled with so much anguish, I thought I would drown in it. It was a wolf, but not one of ours. It wasn’t an Omega.

  It was an Alpha.

  Ox stopped, raising his snout, nostrils flaring as he inhaled deeply. Joe stood at his side, a yin and yang of black and white. I was struck then by a ferocious memory of being in Caswell, standing in Michelle’s office, phone ringing, computer beeping, as black-and-white wolves haunted me like ghosts.

  “All right?” Kelly whispered, hand brushing against mine.

  “Yeah,” I muttered. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. “Just… I’ll tell you later. There’s blood. A lot of it.”

  “Do you need to shift?”

  I couldn’t tell him that I was afraid to. That I didn’t want to scare Tanner and Chris. That I thought I could stay more in control as a human. I said, “No. Not yet. Gordo was right. Som
eone has been hurt. Badly.”

  He nodded as Gordo stepped between Ox and Joe, the Alphas pressing against him. Mark came up behind him, bowing his head and pressing it against Gordo’s back. Gordo took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly before he raised his hand and began muttering under his breath.

  My skin prickled as his magic rose and the wards before us lit up. They were familiar, and my gums itched as my fangs threatened to drop. The timber wolf growled at Gordo, but Carter bumped against him to distract him. Gordo paid them no attention as he pressed his hand flat against the ward. There was a pulse of light and the distant chime of what sounded like bells, and then the ward collapsed in on itself—but only the one. It created an opening, and Gordo dropped his hand. He looked back at us. He was sweating, the sheen on his forehead flashing in the sun. “Okay,” he said as he panted. “We should be good. Christ, that takes a lot out of me. Patrice and Aileen put too much into it. Fuck.”

  The stench of blood grew stronger, and Ox shifted back. The muscles in his back rippled as he stood. He said, “It’s Alpha Wells.” He took a step beyond the wards.

  We followed him single file before spreading out on the other side of the barrier.

  Kelly saw it first, a splash of blood against a green bush, the deep red dripping onto the forest floor. He touched the leaf before rubbing his fingers together. “It’s not tacky. She’s got to be close.”

  She was.

  Fifty yards beyond the wards, the trail of blood came to an end. There was a large boulder, and on the other side of it was a woman I’d last seen on a forgotten bridge in Virginia.

  Shannon Wells didn’t open her eyes as we came before her. I didn’t even know if she was conscious. Her chest rose and fell quickly, her breaths shallow and sounding painful. She was naked, as if she’d shifted with the last of her strength.

  Her numerous wounds weren’t healing. I saw the wet white of bone through a gash on her forearm, which hung uselessly at her side. Her chest was a mess of deep slashes. Her face was bloodied and swollen, and her mouth hung open. She looked as if she were missing teeth.

  “Oh no,” Jessie whispered, pushing by me and crouching before her. She reached out but hesitated, like she was unsure of where to touch the wounded Alpha and not hurt her any further. She whipped her own shirt over her head and settled it carefully over the Alpha’s lap as if to preserve her dignity. “Ox, you have to help her.”

  Elizabeth shifted next to Jessie. She was still half-wolf when she reached out and cupped Shannon’s face in her hands. “Shannon. Can you hear me?”

  Shannon groaned but didn’t open her eyes.

  “What happened to her?” Rico asked quietly. “She looks like she’s been ravaged. Why isn’t she healing?”

  “It’s too much for her,” Ox said, crouching down on Shannon’s other side. “Her body is weakened.”

  Shannon Wells opened her eyes.

  They flickered red. Then to her normal green. Then red again.

  And then violet.

  She began to scream.

  It burst out of her, a sound of pure horror, eyes wide but unseeing. She tilted her head back against the boulder and screamed like she was never going to stop. Birds took flight from the trees around us as her voice echoed through the woods. I felt the terrible song of despair down to my bones.

  Jessie fell back as Shannon jerked forward, still screaming. Joe stepped in front of Jessie, allowing her to pick herself up while he stood guard. But Shannon didn’t go for her. She didn’t go for any of us. All she did was scream as her life’s blood dripped from her body onto the forest floor.

  Ox’s eyes filled again, and he half-shifted before roaring in her face.

  Her screams cut off like her throat had closed.

  Clarity leaked back into her eyes.

  And it was horrible.

  She was aware, and I felt the sharp pieces of her breaking off.

  When she spoke, her voice was choked. She said, “I… I… I came. I came. Because. I have nothing. I have no one. It’s all gone. It’s all gone. They….” And, her voice a growl, “Alpha. Alpha, Alpha.”

  Then her eyes rolled back into her head, and Elizabeth caught her before she could fall to the ground. She looked up at us, face pale. “Her eyes. They’re…. Gordo?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t think so. It’s not like the others. It’s….”

  Ox nodded solemnly. “We need to get her back to the house. Make her comfortable.” He looked stricken as he bent over her, putting a hand against her forehead. He grimaced as he closed his eyes. “I don’t…. She doesn’t have much time.” He dropped his hand before leaning forward and kissing her cheek. “I’m so sorry, Shannon.”

  And then he picked her up in one smooth motion. She didn’t make a sound as her head hung back off his arm, her hair like a wet flag slick with blood that splashed onto the ground as Ox moved slowly through the forest.

  We stayed quiet as we followed him back the way we’d come.

  * * *

  Will threw the grate up over the door as we returned to the motel. He burst out, talking a mile a minute, demanding to know if he needed to gather the town to defend Green Creek. He stopped when he saw Ox and who he carried in his arms.

  “Is that one of you?” he whispered. “A shape-shifter?”

  “It is,” Jessie said, going to him as Ox walked to the truck. “Tell everyone who asks that there was no threat. There never was. It was only her. She’s one of the good ones. Gordo’s repairing the wards, so nothing else should be able to get in.”

  Will nodded. “Can do.” Then, “She looks rough. Is she going to make it?”

  No one answered him, which was answer enough.

  Ox climbed carefully into the back of the truck, making sure not to jostle Shannon. She groaned but didn’t open her eyes as he sat with his back against the cab, Shannon bleeding into his lap. Jessie’s shirt was already soaked through. Tanner reached into the truck and pulled out an old towel, handed it over to Ox, who laid it on Shannon. Blood immediately bloomed like roses against it.

  Joe stood on his hind legs, looking at them both, propped up against the side of the truck. Ox’s face was blank, waves of blue, blue, blue pouring off him. He said, “Get to the house. We need to make her comfortable for the time she has left.”

  Joe nodded, stretching his head toward Ox, licking his cheek before he dropped back down on all fours. He growled, and Carter, Elizabeth, and the timber wolf ran after him as he took off toward home.

  Chris and Tanner had already shifted back and were getting dressed. Gone was the bravado they’d felt just a short time before when we’d stood in the parking lot.

  Kelly nodded toward his patrol car. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

  I glanced back at Ox to see him brush a slick strand of hair off Shannon’s face. He whispered, “What have I done?”

  * * *

  The ride back to the house was almost completely silent. It was just me and Kelly, Rico opting to drive Ox’s truck.

  We pulled back onto the dirt road when I said, “What did he mean? Gordo. He said it wasn’t like the others.”

  Kelly was tense. His shoulders were stiff, and his brow was furrowed. “Carter. His wolf. Mark. It was because of the infection. Because of whatever Livingstone tried to do, spread to the wolves. It’s magical. They only have control because of Ox and what he is. Shannon… she’s not like them. But she’s still an Omega.”

  I closed my eyes. “Which means her tether was ripped from her.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Her pack. Are they…?”

  “I think so.”

  “They had kids. Three of them. Brodie. John.” And even though I hated myself for it, it took me a moment to think of the last one. “James. Jimmy.”

  “You remember them?”

  I shook my head. “She told me over the phone. On the bridge. That I’d met them. That I’d been in their house. That I’d sat at their table. That I ate with them. Is this him? Is this Ezra?
” And that was a lie, wasn’t it? All of it.

  Every single piece.

  Every single part.

  The way he’d pretended to care for me.

  The way he’d loved me.

  The way he’d made me feel safe.

  “I don’t—”

  “Fuck!” I cried. “Fuck! Goddammit.” I roared as I smashed my fist into the dashboard again and again. It cracked under the force of it, bones in my fingers breaking.

  Kelly slammed on the brakes, and I threw open the door and stepped out onto the road. I screamed up at the sky, and everything I felt, all the anguish and rage and fear of what had been done to me and all that lay ahead poured out of me. I had known the truth weeks ago, the weight of it heavy on my shoulders. But only now did I let it crack me open and fill me up.

  There was a tree just off the road. An old elm. The trunk was thick and solid.

  Little wolf, little wolf, can’t you see? my mother whispered from somewhere through the fire scorching the earth. She sounded like she was dying.

  Quiet as a mouse.

  I punched the tree again and again and again.

  The branches shook as the trunk split, bark breaking off in large clumps. Leaves fluttered down around me. Sap leaked from the tree, mixing in with my own blood, and I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.

  But there was a voice through the fire, through the storm in my head. It was saying my name, saying “Robbie” and “please” and “don’t do this, please don’t do this,” and wasn’t that just the thing? Because hadn’t Chris or Tanner said the same thing at one point? Hadn’t they begged me to stop?

  They had.

  And I hadn’t stopped.

  A hand fell on my shoulder, trying to pull me away.

  I spun on my heels, snarling, ready to lash out.

  Kelly didn’t move.