by Jami Gray
“I’m trying,” Warrick answered.
Xander frowned. His lips hadn’t moved.
“Warrick!” With Ryuu’s sharp cry, it clicked. The mate bond was allowing her to listen in on their conversation through the pack ties.
There was a sharp wrench, as if something was being torn from her. Her vision whited out then she was back on the psychic plane next to Warrick. The black bands had turned into a writhing mass, swarming over Warrick’s hands as he held onto Zeke’s thin strand, moving toward the thick thread that belonged to their pack. Evil permeated the strands. They rapidly worked their way up Warrick’s arms, around his waist and up his chest. Blood ran in rivulets where each dark strand touched.
“Warrick!” she screamed as terror filled her.
In a flurry of teeth and claws, she and her wolf attacked the shapeless mass, trying to drive it away from the thicker band. It was like fighting greasy smoke. There was nothing to dig their claws into, nothing to tear into with their teeth, but she tried. Forcing it back from the pack, she and her wolf stood between the dark mass and Warrick and Ryuu. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but there was no doubt in her mind if she didn’t keep this thing back, she’d lose everyone—Warrick, Zeke, Ryuu, and the pack.
She could feel Warrick and Ryuu doing something behind her, but she didn’t dare take her gaze off the threat in front of her. Her wolf stood stiff-legged next to Warrick’s, guarding War-rick’s body and harrying the writhing mass of the spell. She was grateful that here on this plane she and her wolf could act as two separate beings because it gave her a chance to study the spell.
It took her valuable moments to finally see where the spell was anchored. Remembering Cheveyo’s earlier observation that the spell would need to use an existing connection, she located Warrick’s link to Sebastian. When she found it, uncertainty and dread left her limbs trembling. She looked back and saw that the threads seem to be thicker now, and Warrick’s chest and arms were painted red. Grim resolution solidified.
Reaching through the surrounding threads of the spell, she ignored the sting of their touch against her skin and the dull agony of her broken wrist. Gritting her teeth, she wrapped her hands around the spell. Stomach churning, the sense of sickening wrongness sent her to her knees, but she didn’t let go. Not understanding why or how, she called on the bond she and Warrick shared and began to tear apart the thread holding Sebastian to the rest of the pack.
It was like trying to tear apart a thick length of silver, but somehow she knew if she let go, it would be disastrous. The searing burn seeped through her skin and nerve endings. By the time it hit bone, she was screaming.
Fury and desperation lent her additional strength and she dug deep, calling on everything she had. When the strand finally snapped under the pressure, she was thrown back, as if some huge fist had punched her in the stomach. She landed on her back, trying to relearn how to breathe. Her hands were numb from the pain overload and her body felt as if it had been pounded with a meat tenderizer.
“Xander?” Warrick’s voice finally penetrated the abnormal white silence in her head.
“Fine,” she muttered. “I’m fine.” She rolled over to her hands and knees, the pressure on her battered palms and broken wrist reawakening her nerve endings. Yanking her hands up, she rocked back on her heels, swaying slightly as she crouched in place. It took a moment to find the strength to get to her mental feet and turn around.
Her heart sank. The whirling mass of the spell was nothing but a gray pile of broken threads, but the light that was Zeke was almost translucent. Warrick sat bloodied but unbowed between their two wolves, his face a mask of determined concentration. She was able to make out a faint outline of Ryuu kneeling in front of him. Together, the two men worked with quiet desperation over the fragile thread.
On the psychic plane, she stumbled forward and dropped to her knees next to Ryuu. She wanted to reach out and help, but was worried her touch might do more harm than good. Under Warrick and Ryuu’s hands, Zeke’s light began to flicker.
Her mouth went dry as fear filled her and her pulse began to race.
“He’s convulsing.” That was Ryuu’s voice. “Xander, you’re going to have to hold him down. We can’t leave him here.”
She didn’t answer, just forced herself out of the psychic plane and back into the physical world. She blinked her eyes open. The feel of Zeke’s body jerking under her touch had her moving before her vision cleared. She threw herself across his chest, trying to hold him in place so he wouldn’t fall to the floor. She buried her face against the faint pulse in his neck and whispered reassurances to him.
His body arched violently, almost throwing her off. She lifted her head and readjusted her hold, dismissing the flare of pain in her broken wrist. His spine bowed and his eyes flew open, meeting hers briefly. Bones shifted with brutal intensity and Zeke screamed until it warped and changed into an agonized howl. The sound chilled her soul. His body slammed back down on the couch and she scrambled to cradle his face in her hands, ignoring the horrific spasms of bone and muscles beneath her palms. “Stay with me, Zeke. Please!” she cried, her voice choked with tears. “Please!”
His eyes opened and found hers again. His mouth moved but no sound came out.
“I’m right here, Zeke. You have to fight,” she whispered. “You can’t leave us.”
He lifted a hand with an effort and touched a tear rolling down her face. “Hurts.”
“I know,” her voice shook. “Just a little longer, Zeke. Give Warrick a chance to help you.”
Before she could finish, another violent convulsion wracked Zeke. This time, his howl was accompanied by the sound of bones snapping. Under her hands, his face began to change in sections. But when the seizure passed, he was no longer recognizable as wolf or human.
“Zeke?”
His eyes fluttered open and met hers. “Sorry,” he slurred.
“No! No, dammit! You hold on.” Frantic, she watched the light in his eyes dull. “No, Zeke!” she cried, but it was too late.
One last breath of air passed his lips then the tension seeped from his twisted body. Zeke was gone.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Zeke’s death reverberated through the pack and the resonating wave of sorrow and loss rocked Warrick. He needed to be able to function, so he released his draw on the ties, letting his wolves drop away, one by one. Opening his eyes, he found Xander kneeling by his side, her head resting on Zeke’s chest. A wash of tangled emotions flowed over him and he slid to the floor behind her, gently pulling her away from the still form on the couch.
For a moment, she struggled then turned in his arms and buried her face against his chest, one arm wrapping around his waist. Settling on the floor, he rested his chin against the silky strands of her short hair as the heat of her tears dampened his chest. What was left of Zeke was a horrific amalgam of human and wolf. Warrick tamped down on the soul-deep rage trying to rise.
He kept one hand on the back of Xander’s head, holding her next to his heart, while the other stroked down her spine. She didn’t make a sound, which somehow made her sorrow worse. He blinked away the burning pressure in his eyes and fought to think beyond the cresting wave of grief and rage at his lost wolf.
He could feel Ryuu behind him, waging his own internal battle. Tonight, the pack had lost two wolves, Zeke and Sebastian. Whatever Xander had done, and he’d try to remember to find out exactly what it was later, had severed the ties of his Third to the pack. For all intents and purposes, Sebastian no longer existed within the Motoki Pack. Normally, Zeke would have stepped in and picked up the slack as he was next in line.
He tested the strength of his pack and was shocked when the expected gap from Sebastian and Zeke’s absences wasn’t there. Instead, a new presence sat in its place, helping to maintain the strength and security of the pack. He took a closer look and when he identified the wolf sitting in place of Third, he tightened his arms around Xander. Dropping his head to bury his face i
n her hair, he breathed out a soft sigh of relief. Briefly, he wondered how she’d handle having her brother, Ethan, as his acting Third.
“What happened?” Xander’s question was muffled against his chest.
“The combination of the spell and the drug was too much,” Warrick said.
When she made a slight move against him, he raised his head and dropped his arms. She didn’t move away, but turned until she was once again facing Zeke. He watched as she traced Zeke’s unrecognizable features then her hand dropped into her lap.
“How did you know how to destroy the spell?”
Ryuu’s question had Warrick looking behind him. Ryuu sat on the floor with his back against the couch, his hands resting on his knees, staring across the room.
Xander didn’t turn. “Something Cheveyo said about the spell having to be tied to one of the pack.” She paused. “I thought only an alpha could break the pack ties.”
Her comment sparked the answer Warrick was looking for at her unexpected action. He brushed a hand over the back of her head in an effort to offer comfort. “For all intents and purposes, you’re my mate, which means you can act in my place.”
She gave a small nod.
On the couch, Zeke’s body shuddered. Ryuu sprung to his feet, Xander and Warrick following his example. Like some invisible wave, the grotesque changes that left Zeke broken melted away. When the strange energy finally faded, the outward signs of his forced change were gone, leaving a deceptively peaceful mask in its place.
Xander reached out, her hand visibly shaking, to touch the heartbreakingly young face. “I want blood,” she said, nothing fragile in her cold voice.
“Answers first.” Ryuu had moved to stand next to them.
“Answers first,” Warrick agreed, and he knew just where to start.
As if reading his mind, Xander finally faced him. “No. You’ll kill him.”
He dropped his gaze pointedly to the wrist she was cradling close to her stomach. He knew it was broken. He could feel every ache and pain she bore through the bond, and the only reason she wasn’t feeling his was because he was holding it back. She had enough to deal with.
“It’ll heal,” she snapped. “He’s bound in silver and Gavin’s out there, so I’ll be fine.”
“We’re going with you,” Ryuu growled.
She turned her glared on him. “If you go, you two are going to stay the hell back. If either of you get in his face, he’ll bite his tongue off before saying anything to you. He knows neither one of you will listen, so death would be an easy out.”
Ryuu got in her face. “And just why would he talk to you?”
Going toe to toe with Ryuu, her answer was a study in cold control. “Because he thinks women are stupid creatures and no matter how beaten he is, he believes he’s smarter than me.”
Ryuu shook his head. “You think he’s going to spill his guts to you because you’re a female?”
“No,” she answered, backing away. “He’ll tell me because he believes this is all my fault.”
Warrick caught the edge of her soul-deep guilt and knew she believed it, too. He shot Ryuu a look to back off and reached out to pull her back into his arms. Tugging her close, he dropped his head until his lips were next to her ear. “It’s not.”
When she went to close her end of the bond, he growled a warning. She stopped and tilted her head until she could meet his gaze. He’d let her search for whatever answers she needed. He didn’t blame her. Sebastian’s decisions were his own. If anything, had he been paying closer attention to his wolves, maybe he could have stopped all of this.
She lifted her hand and brushed a gently stroke along his jaw. “I guess we could all play the blame game.” Dropping her hand, she pulled away and faced Ryuu. “I know you don’t want to, but you have to stay quiet and let me do this. We have to stop whatever the hell is going on before it kills anyone else.”
Ryuu’s hands curled into fists and he shot a rage-filled look at Warrick. Understanding his Second’s need to spill blood all too well, he put his trust in his mate’s judgment. He knew himself well enough to know it wouldn’t take much for him to tear out Sebastian’s throat right now. He gave Ryuu a small nod.
Taking a deep breath, Ryuu touched Xander’s cheek. Warrick walked up behind her, dropped a kiss to the top of her head. Ryuu held the door open for her, Warrick at his side. She forced her feet away from Zeke and out the door.
The rain from earlier left the grass between the barn and the house glistening with droplets. Xander came to a halt where the light from inside the barn met the night as it poured through what was left of the barn door, Ryuu and Warrick silent shadows behind her. Her wolf was so close, almost too close, wanting to rend the flesh from Sebastian’s bones, one strip at an agonizing time, and she was okay with that. Hell, she could almost taste his blood in her mouth, so real, she could feel the sharpness of her canines heralding a change.
Gods, how had she managed to fool Ryuu and Warrick that she could do this without killing Sebastian? Staring at the splintered wooden planks in front of her, she fought for control. Her wolf objected, strenuously, fighting her every inch of the way, but in the end, Xander prevailed, backing her wolf down. When her mind cleared, she considered her approach.
Sebastian was a misogynistic bastard, so drawing his resentment and anger wouldn’t be hard. Her mere presence would set him off. The trick was getting him to reveal who he was working with on that damn spell and what he hoped to accomplish. That would require some serious manipulation.
Based on the bits of conversation she had caught earlier, she’d bet good money that Sebastian hadn’t wanted Zeke harmed. Since he was no longer connected to the pack, she wasn’t sure how much he knew of what had happened. Self-centered ass that he was, he’d find someway to pin Zeke’s death on her, though. The sharp pain in her chest reminded her that, no matter how much she masked it with edgy fury, her guilt was alive and well, gnawing at her heart.
Enough! Her lip curled in a silent self-directed snarl. Time to grow a pair and get some answers. Straightening her shoulders, she pushed her own battered emotions into a little corner of her heart, with a firm reminder to shut the hell up, then locked the proverbial door, and focused on the task in front of her.
Lifting her chin, she stepped into the barn. As she made her way to Gavin, who stood over Sebastian, she could feel Warrick and Ryuu slip into the heavier shadows draping the edges of the barn. Sebastian lay in an unmoving silver-covered heap, his face battered and bloody, his eyes closed. Above him, Gavin watched her approach and arched one eyebrow in question, a silent inquiry on Zeke. She gave a short shake of her head. His jaw tightened, his mouth thinning, and she swore the air around him darkened. Then again, maybe it was just the crappy lighting in the barn.
She stopped and nudged Sebastian in the ribs with the toe of her boot. All it produced was a low groan. Her thigh was one throbbing ache so crouching down was going to be a bitch, but she could deal. Besides, she’d be able to hide her damaged wrist that way.
It wasn’t graceful, but she managed it for all of ten seconds. When her leg vigorously voiced its objections to her position, she shifted until she was sitting cross-legged on the dirt. Resting her wrist in her lap, she reached out with her left hand and grabbed a handful of Sebastian’s short hair, using it as a handle to lift his head.
“Wakey, wakey.” She gave his head a sharp shake.
He groaned again, but this time his eyes fluttered open. He stared at her with a dazed blankness.
Needing him awake and aware, she reached out and pulled on Warrick’s power, hoping it would still work even though Sebastian’s link to the pack was cut. “Open your eyes, Sebastian.”
The surge of strength behind her command was breathtaking. What was better was the fact that Sebastian was now very aware of her, if the level of fury evident in his eyes was anything to go by. He lunged for her, obviously forgetting the massive amount of chain wrapped around him like some silver boa constric
tor. His movement dug the chain in deeper, burning its way through his skin. The combination of anger and pain sent him writhing in a jerky dance.
She watched him for a minute or two, taking pleasure in his evident agony. Unfortunately, she knew if she was going to get the answers she needed, she would have to cut his little temper tantrum short. She reached out, keeping clear of his snapping jaws, and pressed a gentle finger against his sweat and blood-streaked forehead.
“Stop.” And thanks to her ability to draw on her mate’s position, Sebastian did exactly that. She dropped her hand.
For a moment, the temptation offered by the unexpected strength of the alpha’s mantle and dominance spun through her head. A whisper of caution crept in, not belonging to her, but to Warrick. Heeding his warning, she dropped her dark line of thought and contemplated the man before her.
Amber replaced Sebastian’s normal brown eye color, his irises rounding, a clear indicator that his wolf was rising to the fore. They couldn’t afford to have the man hide behind the wolf. The longer she could keep him riled up, the longer it would take for him to realize nothing tied him to the pack or Warrick.
She held his gaze. “Either pull your wolf back or I will. Your choice.”
“You don’t control my wolf!”
She leaned forward, her answer all the more threatening for its softness. “I’m the alpha’s mate, and you answer to us.”
Under the bruises and cuts decorating his face, he flushed white then red. “I don’t answer to you, bitch.”
She sat back and let a small smile curl her lips. “Would you rather I let Ryuu talk to you?” Wariness flickered as his gaze darted around. “Or maybe Warrick?” she added.
This time, she caught the sharp spike of acrid fear before he hid it behind his anger. “Vidis’s head isn’t in the game.”
“Considering he just kicked your ass quite nicely, I’d say his head is completely in the game.”