by R L Medina
My heart raced as I scanned the theater. Flashlights jerked all around, highlighting terrified faces. Where was Drew? Becca?
More screams drew my attention. Why was Diego attacking and not capturing the humans instead? I pressed myself against the edge of the wall and crouched out of line of the bullets. I fumbled in the dark, heading for the safety of the concession stand.
Why did they choose a theater of all places? There wasn’t much shelter and before long Diego’s pack would overrun their camp.
Something was burning. I turned to see flames licking the floor near the front entrance. Dread coiled in my gut.
Was he was trying to smoke them out?
More flames appeared along the carpet. They lit up the theater in a hellish glow. Screams echoed around me, striking my nerves.
Get out. My wolf urged me.
I couldn’t leave without Drew and Becca.
The crowd poured out of the screen rooms in a wave of panic, their shouts bounced off the walls. Smoke followed them. My heart sank. More fire.
En masse, they raced for the back exit. But what would they find out there? It was a trap.
“Valeria!” Drew’s voice called from behind me.
I stood and ran to him.
“We have to get out of here,” he insisted.
Becca was by his side, gripping two guns and staring at the rising flames.
“Is there another way out? We have to get everyone out, but not that way. Diego’s pack is waiting out there.”
Drew swore and glanced at the horde of people running for the exit.
“They have both the exits blocked,” Becca answered.
“Is there any other way?” I asked.
“There should be a fire escape in one of the rooms.”
Becca shook her head. “The one we tried was blocked which means they probably all are.”
Fear rushed through me. We were trapped.
“We’ll just have to get through with the others. Maybe he’ll be distracted…” Drew trailed off.
“We’ll be walking right into a trap,” Becca argued.
“There’s no other way?” I asked again.
Dread coiled in my gut. I didn’t want to surrender to Diego, but we couldn’t stay in the building.
Get out, my wolf agreed.
“Let’s try another fire exit. Maybe they missed one,” Becca suggested.
“It’s too late. We’ll get stuck with the fire,” I shouted over the noise.
Outside, the wolves were howling. Gunshots rang out and for a second, I was back with Elijah and my pack racing out of the city as the mobs swept through.
But this time it wasn’t the humans attacking. The wolves were exacting their revenge, and I knew Diego wouldn’t stop until he had them all—either dead or alive.
“Then we try to escape Diego. Later. And take as many as we can with us,” Drew agreed.
Smoke filled our eyes as we headed for the exit along with the last of the humans. Had they all made it out?
Sunlight welcomed us as we streamed out. I blinked, my eyes watery from the smoke. Coughs echoed around me.
“Valeria.” Diego’s voice made me flinch.
His eyes narrowed on me. “What are you doing here?”
I lifted my chin. “What are you?”
“You’re siding with the humans over your own pack? Against us?”
I snarled at him. “You are not my pack.”
He strode forward. “Wake up, Valeria. There is only one pack now. It’s us against them.” He glanced at Drew and back to me. “Don’t be stupid. Make the right choice.”
My fists clenched as I fought the urge to unleash my wolf on him. She desperately wanted to be loosed, but I couldn’t afford her recklessness right now.
“They were going to help me get Elijah. Get him back from the witches.”
Diego frowned at me. “You went to the humans for help? Why didn’t you ask me?”
“Why didn’t you offer?” I scowled at him.
Everyone fell quiet. Tension ran high as the humans huddled together, surrounded by Diego’s wolves.
“You know I would have helped you if you asked, Valeria. Now your pack is alpha-less. I guess it’s a good thing I’m here to help them.”
My wolf pushed, begging to be set free. To tear into Diego.
“My pack would never submit to you. You’re a monster. You should be ashamed to call yourself a wolf. Turning on another wolf?”
Diego’s lips pulled back in a tight smile. “Isn’t that what you’ve done, Valeria? Turning on me? I was never your enemy. Until now.”
I tensed. I didn’t want to fight him, but my wolf was ready. We couldn’t back out of this challenge. Before I could shift, something happened.
One by one, the wolves staggered back, pushed by an invisible force. Magic? I whipped around to find the source.
Shouts echoed in the street. Fire leapt higher from the theater roof, filling the air with the smell of smoke and burning wood. Flames jumped for the line of werewolves. My eyes widened as it fell on one’s arm. He yelped in pain, shifting to wolf.
“Run!” someone shouted as a break appeared between the other shifting wolves.
Everyone tore through at once. I raced along with Drew and Becca. My heart drummed loudly in my ears as my wolf urged me forward.
Were the witches helping? Where were they?
My boots pounded against the stones as we fled the area. Drew ran ahead of me, leading the others down the street. Howls and screams sounded behind us. I shuddered.
We made it, but what about the others?
I turned to see Diego watching us. Fear ran up my spine. I would take him on if I had to, but to my surprise, he held his wolves back. I returned his glare before turning back and leading the others away. My head pounded as we made it out of the smoke.
Dread unfurled inside me. It couldn’t be that easy. They would come after us again.
I picked up pace, helping Drew and Becca lead the others through a side street. We didn’t stop until an invisible barrier knocked us back mid-step.
“Why aren’t they letting us in?” A girl asked, wide-eyed. She glanced back at the direction we’d come and flinched.
Becca slammed a fist into the air, frowning as it connected with something unseen.
“Lower the ward!” she growled.
Two guys appeared in the doorway of an old townhouse. They flung their arms toward us and chanted something. The barrier dissolved and we ran forward. My heart was still racing as they reset their ward and turned to us.
“The others. Diego’s pack has them. We have to get them.” Drew spoke first.
I shook my head at him. His desperation, I could understand, but I doubted the witches appreciated his command.
They exchanged looks and motioned us inside.
Drew’s brow furrowed. “Did you hear me? He has the others. We—”
“Just shut up, Drew,” his sister snapped.
She followed the others after the witches, leaving him standing in the street alone. My chest tightened at the lost expression on his face.
I pulled his arm, urging him to follow. My wolf bristled at the touch.
His big, brown eyes met mine and I could barely stand the sorrow I saw in his pained gaze.
“Come on. Maybe the witches can help,” I urged.
Though I suspected they’d already done as much as they were willing. We stumbled after the others.
Candle wax and burning sage assaulted my nose as we entered the old townhouse. Sunlight poured in from the open window in the small kitchen. Becca and the rest of the humans stood together, taking up most of the room. The two witches were nowhere to be seen.
“They said we can stay for the night. Once the wolves are out of the area, they want us gone,” Becca informed us.
I growled in frustration. My chance to speak to the rogue witches about the woods and they’d disappeared before I could ask them anything.
One of the girls, who c
ouldn’t be much older than thirteen was sobbing. An older girl hugged her tightly, and the scene pulled at my heart. Anger replaced my sorrow. How could Diego do this to them? And the threat he made to me—I couldn’t forget that.
He had to be stopped.
Drew sighed. “What about the others?”
Becca shook her head at him. “They’re not going to help us, Drew. We’re on our own. You know that.”
His jaw hardened. “We have to go to the queen. She’s the only one powerful enough to stop Diego.”
Becca grunted. “What’s going to make her do it now? She could have stopped him any time.”
“Where else can we go?” The defeat in his voice stung me.
“You can come back with me. To my camp. For now. Then we’ll talk to the queen about this… alliance.”
Everyone stared at me. Drew’s eyes widened, a spark returning in his gaze.
“You’ll unite your pack with us?” he asked.
I sighed. “We’ll talk to the queen and get Elijah freed first. Then we’ll go from there.”
Becca scoffed. “Yeah. We’ll see. I’m going to see if the wolves have left yet.”
Without waiting for a response, she stormed back outside and slammed the door. The others sank into the chairs around the small kitchen table.
I walked up to stand beside Drew. “Your sister is… fierce.”
His face fell. “She pretends to be.”
“But she’s not afraid to shoot, to kill.”
He shuddered. “I know. She wasn’t always like that. She was anti-gun believe it or not.”
My eyes widened. “I don’t believe it.”
His lips twisted in a bitter smile. “When Ruby died, something snapped inside of her. It’s like a part of her died too. She… couldn’t kill the vampire to save her girlfriend. Now, she’s killed”—he blew out a breath—“I don’t even know how many vampires. And wolves.”
Ruby? Was that the name he’d mentioned before when she hit him?
I didn’t know what to say to all that, so I just nodded as if I understood. The grief of losing a loved one and the need for justice were things I could relate to, but constantly living in a cycle of violence? I didn’t ever want to get used to that. Did that make me a weak alpha?
Drew sighed heavily, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I wish she didn’t have to. I know she thinks I’m a coward for not killing. But… I feel like if I lose that part of myself, I’ll lose my humanity. There has to be a way for us to make things better. Without killing.”
The passion in his voice startled me. I shared the same sentiments, but were we wrong? After everything that had happened, were we only fooling ourselves in believing we could have peace again?
“The alliance will change things. Change everything.”
I looked away and bit my lip. “How do you know?”
He splayed his hand over mine, warmth spreading through me. My wolf growled. I pushed her back before she made me lash out at his touch.
His eyes met mine. “It has to, Valeria. It just has to.”
I looked around at the small group. Only five. Five counting Becca and Drew, but Diego wasn’t going to give them up like that.
He will come for them, my wolf agreed.
Yeah and when he did, I’d be ready.
For now, they’d have to return to my camp, but I couldn’t keep them there forever. Drew was right—we needed the queen.
15
McKenzie
Prince Ryn leaned over the glowing grimoire, the light from the huge, floating book and the surrounding candles highlighting his striking features. Honey eyes, strong jawline, and full lips.
I swallowed hard, averting my eyes from his handsome face. Even his furrowed brow was sexy and that was just ridiculous.
The spell book was open, golden script crowded the cream pages and the magic I sensed guarding it made me pause. How did a rogue witch get enough power to ward it so permanently?
“I’ve tried to move it, but it won’t budge. Maybe you can?” Ryn asked.
A heavy sigh escaped me. “No. It’s warded well. She didn’t want it removed. I could try copying the words. Do you know which page has the spell to break the barrier?”
Ryn pointed at the grimoire. “This is what she was working on, but I can’t tell if it’s complete. I’m not a witch.” He gave me a rueful smile.
My gaze returned to the flourishing, gold words and inked symbols. Arimar. The language of souls. “It’s… beautiful.”
“Isn’t it? I like to come up and look at it sometimes. Not that I understand what any of it means…” Ryn trailed off, his face flushing.
I looked away from him and moved closer to inspect the words. Try as I might, I couldn’t find a single fault in her written instructions. Who was this witch that she knew more than I did? A rogue witch wouldn’t have access to the old spell books or supplies.
“Is it about the barrier?” The prince’s hopeful voice broke my concentration.
“No. Actually it’s a spell for… raising the dead.”
His eyebrows lifted. “What?” He came around and stood beside me, his body dwarfing me.
My skin prickled with awareness as he leaned closer. He smelled like warm spices and the burning candles around us. There was also a hint of cinnamon lingering on him. The cinnamon rolls? His eyes met mine, and I flushed.
“Maybe she was trying to reverse the curse.” He looked back at the grimoire.
Happy to have somewhere to focus besides his lips, I turned and reread the spell.
“No. This is only for witches. Maybe she was trying to bring back someone she knew.”
My heart twisted at the thought. I’d tried that too, but wherever our loved ones went when the curse took them, it wasn’t the spirit world.
“Well, you can make more sense of it than I ever could. She told me she was working on the barrier spell.”
Disappointment wormed inside of me. Was it just a lie or had she really discovered a way to break the barrier spell?
“It will take me some time to go through her spells and notes. I’ll copy down everything important.”
“Of course. Take as much time as you need.” His eyes bore into me and though he moved back to a respectable distance, his presence was still overpowering. Overwhelming.
“Call the others in here. Please.” I blushed at the realization I was ordering him—the prince of darkness, and in his own palace too.
His eyebrow arched and an amused smile spread on his face. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had the pleasure of entertaining a queen.”
“Well, you were in a box for two years.”
The smile vanished and his eyes darkened at my words. “Yes. I haven’t forgotten. My imprisonment. I thought I was going to go mad in there. The silence and utter darkness. Though I admit it’s nothing compared to what I did to those humans.” He looked away.
I stood, gaping at him. His regret seemed genuine, but what if it was a trick?
“Why did you do it?” My words came harsher than I meant.
Ryn looked up at me with a pained expression. “Bloodlust. My father used the humans as a tool to teach me self-control. I failed.”
With that, he left the room. I turned back to the grimoire and flipped through the pages, but my mind was still racing, trying to make sense of what he’d admitted.
Kohl, Deepa, and Blake were ushered into the room by a vampire I didn’t recognize. Prince Ryn didn’t reappear, and though I could admit I was a little disappointed at his absence, I knew it was probably for the better.
I didn’t need any distractions.
“How do they have a grimoire?” Deepa broke the silence.
She circled the floating book with a frown. Blake waved his hand in front of it, testing the magic that surrounded it.
Kohl came up to me. Worry swam in his eyes. “Are you okay? They wouldn’t let me check on you. You were gone for a while.”
I smiled at him. “I’m fine.”
“I haven’t found anything about breaking the barrier. It’s going to take a while to go through it and it’s warded. We can’t move it.”
“We could copy it,” Kohl suggested.
“I have a feeling it’s warded against that too, but try it.”
His face scrunched up in concentration as he waved a hand above the grimoire. He shook his head with a sigh. “Yup. Can’t copy it.”
“Do you think it’s worth trying to copy it the old-fashioned way? Paper and pen?” Deepa asked.
Blake scoffed. “That would take forever.”
She frowned at him. “We wouldn’t have to do it all. Just the sections we need.”
“No, this spell is strong. Permanent. Unless we break the ward around it, we’re not going to be able to copy it or move it.”
I stifled a groan. “Guess that means we’re going to be here a while.”
An hour later and we were nowhere closer to breaking the dead witch’s spell. I didn’t know how she’d been able to perform something so strong and permanent. And by herself? It should have been impossible. There had to be a part we were missing.
Watching as Kohl tried for the umpteenth time to break the ward, I needed a break.
“Do you think they have any real food around here?” Blake muttered.
“Or water.” Deepa added with a wistful look.
“I’ll find out. Ask Ryn to bring us something.”
Kohl frowned. “You don’t have to do that, My Queen. Send Blake.”
Blake scowled. “Thanks.”
“It’s fine. I need to talk to Prince Ryn, anyway. About the witch they drained,” I added quickly.
“Julia.” Deepa’s dark brows furrowed.
I nodded. “Yes. Julia.”
“I’ll come with you then,” Kohl offered.
“That’s not necessary, Kohl. Stay here and help the others. I’ll be back shortly.” The words tumbled out of me.