Crystal Lake Pack: The Complete Series: A Reverse Harem Shifter Romance

by Candace Wondrak

  And then, like magic, my throat opened up, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, I inhaled a lungful, simultaneously cursing myself for the bodily need to breathe. I was underwater. The last thing I should be doing was breathing—or trying to.

  Still, it’s what my body wanted, and my body got a lot more than it bargained for in the form of a rush of water flooding my lungs in a heavy, sweeping move I could not deny. My muscles froze, no longer working. My eyes fluttered shut.

  This was it, huh? I was going to drown? This was how I was going to die?

  Seemed wrong.

  Chapter Nineteen – Addie

  Did you think my order a request? A chilling, haunting voice spoke to my unconsciousness. So I wasn’t dead quite yet—I had a bit more time, but not much. Did you dismiss me as no longer a threat?

  I could not answer, because I was so close to the cold embrace of death.

  Or, because of your youth and your impetuousness, did you simply forget about me, girl? What a disappointment you are. Here I was excited, here I thought I had a somewhat worthy opponent, but you’re nothing, aren’t you? Just a girl.

  My own words haunted me, echoing in the blackness of my mind.

  Just a useless girl with power she doesn’t understand. Too bad daddy wasn’t around to teach you how to use it. Maybe then you would’ve been some fun. Alas, I’m afraid our time has come to an end. You and I will meet again very soon, and this time, the only way I’ll let you go is six feet underground.

  Clay wanted to kill me. That much had been obvious, since he was a death priest and seemed to enjoy the act of killing a tad too much—and he knew about my father. How? I was dying, wasn’t I? Drowning.

  I’ll see you very soon, Clay’s voice entered my head, irritating my brain with its sick timbre.

  Something hard tugged on me, but beyond that, I couldn’t feel a thing. Was I moving? Was Clay swimming toward me, ready to take me right here and now? Would he drag me to the depths of hell itself and crack me open, body, bones and all, to discover whatever it was his master wanted to find?

  Was this the end for me?

  I didn’t want to die. I wasn’t ready. There were so many things I still had to do…

  My thoughts began drifting away, about to shut off completely, but a hard rhythm stopped them from fading entirely. Something warm on my face, tickling my nose and my chin. My lips? More hardness against my chest, pressing on me, a bit too rough for my liking, not that I had any say in the matter.

  This was it. I was dying, I knew it.

  And yet…yet something bubbled inside of me: water. But instead of going down, it was coming up. My eyes struggled to open as I coughed, water spilling out of my mouth. A strong hand turned me to the side, and up came some stomach bile. I couldn’t catch my breath, even though I was no longer in the water.

  My body felt like stone, my clothes and my hair dripping wet. My head pounded, and it took every bit of strength I had to look at the shifter near me. His hand was on my back, his other gripping my arm to stop me from collapsing again. A pair of concerned blue eyes stared at me, and I nearly fell into his chest when I looked at him.

  “Forest,” I whispered, my voice bare, trembling, “I made a mistake.”

  Yeah, no shit. I kept the whole come to the clearing before nightfall thing to myself, like the biggest idiot that ever walked this earth.

  Newsflash for me: getting distracted by boys and ignoring my problems did not make them go away and vanish into thin air. Oh, and it was nightfall, so there was that. My time was officially up.

  He shushed me, not wanting to hear me, not understanding the grimness of the situation—the situation that came about purely because I was an idiot of epic proportions. “Can you walk?” Forest asked.

  I nodded once, and as I tried to get to my feet, my knees gave out, unable to hold my own weight, still feeling the aftershocks of drowning and being brought back. The rhythm on my chest had been compressions, the tickling on my face Forest’s fingers blocking my nose and his lips on mine, pushing air inside of my water-clogged lungs.

  I didn’t fall to the dock. Forest caught me, easily lifting me in his arms. I would’ve said something along the lines of needing to be in his arms less often, but I didn’t have the energy. It had been sapped away in the water. I could barely hold my eyelids up.

  I was so useless. Why did I think I could take on Clay? One mind link later, and I was half dead and unable to walk. No amount of practicing in two days would make up for the lifetime he had.

  “I’ll take you home,” Forest said, not even bothering to ask me about it. He must’ve thought I was just a stupid girl, like I’d said before, a stupid girl in way over her head. He took two steps toward the shore, and the twins appeared, Landon not far behind, though he looked about as shitty as I felt.

  Maze was the first to speak, shouting, “What happened?” He ran up to us, eyebrows creased. “Did she fall in?”

  No, I just decided to take a midnight swim with my alpha, I wanted to say, once again reverting to a sarcastic quip, much like Maze would, but my head pounded, my muscles hardly working. It took everything from me to keep conscious and to think.

  “I don’t know what happened, but I’m going to take her home, get some answers,” Forest said. “Stay here, make sure nothing else happens. Don’t let anyone wander off on their own.” His words were an order, from an alpha to a lowly packmate. Plus, there was the whole talking about me like I wasn’t even there thing happening, but again, I could say nothing.

  I was only a bystander of the conversation, not a participant.

  “Something’s not right in the air,” Forest whispered, to which the three wolves watching nodded along. My mates. “Be on guard.” That was all he said as he carried me off the docks, around the still-burning pyre, and through the crowd of shifters.

  They all stopped in their conversation, watching with morbid curiosity.

  What happened to the newcomer? Where was Forest taking her? I heard these questions and more, and I wished I could answer them myself, but I hardly had a clue. Clay had a hold on me, somehow, even though he was nowhere nearby.

  “Forest,” I whispered his name, trying to tell him that it was Clay, but I could speak no other words. Who knew drowning was so tiring? Who knew almost dying was so exhausting? I didn’t, but then I never did either before, even in the murder cabin. This was a new feeling, the tiredness rattling through my bones and taking my voice with it.

  “Hush,” Forest said. “You’ll explain it to me when you can. Don’t push yourself.” He brought us through the park, carrying me as if I weighed nothing. To those muscles, I was probably as light as a feather.

  “Forest!” a male’s voice shouted.

  He stopped, standing in the middle of the road, turning to face the shifter who he’d stationed to watch Jack during the funeral. I tried to move my head to see, but I couldn’t. It was nothing more than dead weight on Forest’s shoulder.

  “That wolf just started going nuts,” the voice said, a tough and burly wolf standing on Forest’s front porch. “Something’s happening.”

  “That much is clear,” Forest said, too soft for anyone but me to hear. Louder, he said, “Keep watch. No matter what happens, don’t let him out. If that means you have to kill him, do it.” He waited until the man nodded and disappeared back into the house before resuming his pace.

  Forest reached the house I shared with the brothers, footsteps heavy on the front porch. My mom must have heard, for she flung open the door, eyes wide as she studied me in Forest’s arms. No time for small talk, she instantly said, “What happened?” She held the door open for us, and Forest walked in.

  “She passed out, into the lake,” he explained.

  I wanted to scream. That wasn’t why I passed out—everyone was missing the point that was currently hovering inches away from their faces. It should be obvious what happened, shouldn’t it? Why could I not form the words to explain? I blamed my pounding head, and the nauseou
s feeling in my gut.

  Sarah nodded once, as if this sort of thing happened all the time. “Bring her upstairs, I’ll get her a change of clothes—”

  Just as Forest set his foot on the first step, a howl rung out in the distance, and the alpha froze. His lips thinned, his expression turning dark. “Something’s happening near the lake. I have to go. Take her.”

  I exchanged hands, although at least Sarah let me walk on my own two feet. Granted, it was only with a lot of help, but I didn’t feel like a baby leaning on Sarah. An improvement, though not much of one. As the alpha rushed out, I called for him, “Forest, wait!” Wait for what, exactly? Wait for me to change, to feel better so I could join him?

  No.

  Wait for me to explain it all, because I was such an utter boob. The boobiest of boobs who might’ve just made the worst decision ever by keeping the nightmare Clay had induced into my mind to myself.

  Forest glanced back at me, hardly paying any attention to Sarah. “Rest now. Whatever it is, I’ll handle it.” He was out the door and gone from my sight within the next moment, and I felt my shoulders slump.

  It didn’t take a fortune teller or tarot cards to know this wasn’t good.

  Sarah helped me up the stairs, taking most of my weight as she practically dragged me along. I was weak, but with each step, forced as they were, I felt my strength seeping back into my body, slowly but surely. My mom took me to the bathroom, sitting me on the toilet seat.

  “Take off your clothes while I find you a dry set,” Sarah said, hurrying to the bedroom across the hall.

  I stared down at my hands. Fingers trembling, I could not keep them steady. It still felt like a gallon of water lingered in my lungs. If Forest wouldn’t have been there, if he wouldn’t have saved me, would Clay have let me die? Was he done with the whole nature of the beast thing? What use was I to him if I was dead?

  Sarah reappeared just as I finally began to shrug off my soaking jacket. “What on earth happened to you? You’ve never passed out before.”

  She was right, of course. Not once in my entire life had I ever lost consciousness, unless I was sleeping. But sleep didn’t really count here. Clay was breaking all the rules, it seemed.

  “I’m so stupid,” I muttered.

  Sarah set the clothes on the sink, helping me with my water-logged garments. “You are not. Don’t say that, Addie. You know you’re not. Now tell me, what happened?” Her voice grew stronger, her parental tone making me flinch.

  “I had a dream, a nightmare, really. Clay told me to go to the clearing before nightfall, and I didn’t. He came to me again, when I passed out. I think I passed out because of him. He’s able to get inside my head, Mom. I can’t stop him.”

  Sarah’s eyes were like stone, hard and cold as she demanded, “And you didn’t think to tell anyone? Why didn’t you come to me? To Forest? To Maze and the others? Why did you keep this to yourself?” Shaking her head, she muttered, “You are not stupid, but you made a bad decision. One you’ll have to live with.” She turned around as I stripped to my underwear.

  Once I was clothed, I stood, my legs straining but holding their weight, and walked to the sink, turning on the faucet. A few swishes of water later, my mouth was decently fresh. At least I didn’t smell the bile anymore. I should really brush my teeth, but whatever was happening near the lake was undoubtedly happening because of me. I had to get there, ASAP.

  I turned to move past Sarah, but she blocked my way. “Where do you think you’re going? Back there? I don’t think—” She paused, cocking her head, listening to something even I could not hear.

  I strained to listen, to focus on the sounds in the far distance, outside of the house, but still, my senses were not as good as Sarah’s. “What is it?”

  She swallowed. “Screaming.”

  “I have to go,” I said, ducking below her outstretched arm. Sarah trailed me down the stairs, playing the logical one. Funny, because until I learned I was part shifter and part witch, I’d always been logical and smart. Now my life was a parade of bad decision after bad decision.

  “Why would you go back? If Clay can get in your mind, Addie, you’re useless to the pack, at least until the link is severed,” Sarah said, following me out of the house even though she was barefoot. “I wish you would’ve told me sooner, honey, because I—”

  “You could’ve what, Mom? You can’t cast any spells. What would you have done besides try to take me away?” I would’ve whirled on her, because this was important—Sarah had to understand this pack was my life now. I would not run; I’d help them until I couldn’t. And Clay…Clay would get his comeuppance—but, alas, I was too tired.

  Sarah stopped at the edge of the yard. “Then I guess you leave me no choice. I’m coming with you.”

  The last thing I wanted was my mom in danger. Clay would surely use everything he could against me, including my future mates and my mom. He would toy with the lives of the pack. But I knew Sarah was as stubborn as I was, and arguing with her would be pointless and a waste of time.

  So I said the only thing I could, “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Twenty – Addie

  The scene surrounding the lake was pure and utter chaos. The air was thick with a heaviness, anxiety and fright buzzing around, creating a disjointed atmosphere that rose the short, thin hairs on my arms and prickled the back of my neck. That wasn’t even mentioning the smell. The air…there was something wrong with it. Something awful.

  It smelled like death.

  A large shifter was corralling the others, keeping them away from the lake, pushing them back towards the park as he shouted, “Go to your homes and lock the doors. We will come around once we know it’s safe—”

  The women. The elders. Those who could not fight and those who were not expected to. It was clear they didn’t want to leave, evident by the looks on their faces, but fright won out, and they started hustling away, some walking hurriedly and others sprinting at a mad pace.

  I felt like shit after making the walk back here, but I would swallow the pain and face whatever this was. It was, after all, my fault entirely. If any shifter lost their life tonight, the loss would weigh on my shoulders alone.

  Why did I keep it to myself? Why didn’t I go to someone, anyone, and tell them what Clay said in my nightmare, his demand? Why had I been so stupid? So much for being smart and logical. This was the very opposite of that, and now it was too late to change it.

  Through the exiting masse of shifters, I spotted my mates. With Sarah behind me, I ran up to them, about to ask them what was going on, but Maze was the first to turn to me. His chocolate gaze was full to the brim of worry, worry for me, I realized. The thought would be comforting, but now wasn’t the time to focus on it.

  “Addie,” Maze said, “Forest wants all the females out of here—”

  Behind me, Sarah scoffed.

  I shook my head as I said, “I’m not going anywhere.” I ignored the look Maze exchanged with Dylan and Landon, marching through the crowd, coming upon the pyre within a minute. My legs froze, my stomach churning. I wanted to throw up again, and this time, not because I’d drowned.

  The pyre burned with a flaming red fire, no longer a natural orange and yellow. It was the color of Clay’s eyes when he cast his death magic, the hue that would haunt my dreams. Alas, it was not the fire nor its color which caught my eye.

  It was the skeleton facing Forest.

  Held up by nothing more than magic, no skin, no eyes, no cartilage or veins. Its bones were singed and burnt, its jaw hanging halfway off—though it rectified itself by reaching toward its face and snapping its jawbone up. Magic kept it there.

  Forest stood tall, glaring at the skeleton. Around him, a pack of wolves clawed at the ground, growls escaping their wide, strong chests. The skeleton was unimpressed, as much as a skeleton without a face could be.

  I pushed past my mates, moving toward Forest, but the alpha turned his head, his eyes glimmering as if he were starting to shift. “Ge
t her out of here,” he ordered, and Maze and the others were going to listen to him. He was their alpha; he gave them an order, and they followed it.

  Not me.

  I sidestepped them all, and Sarah dashed between me and my mates, letting out a growl of her own. Maze, Dylan, and Landon glanced between Sarah and me, probably not understanding why I wanted to stay.

  I didn’t want to. I had to. Key difference there.

  “I’m not leaving,” I said, taking a step toward Forest and away from the others. The masse of fleeing shifters were mostly gone by now. It was just me, my mom, my mates, Forest, and the few burly wolves standing above their torn clothes as they circled the skeleton.

  Forest turned to face me, to yell at me or something equally as infuriating, but he shouldn’t have, for the instant he gave his back to the skeleton, it let out an inhuman, high-pitched screech and lunged for him. By the time Forest returned his focus to the creature, it had already raked its skeletal fingers down his back. Blood oozed from the claw marks, four long, straight slashes traveling diagonally across his back.

  The alpha barely winced, which would have been impressive, if he didn’t retaliate. But he did, and with a smack of the skeleton’s hand, Forest went flying, landing on his back ten feet away.

  I called out to him. I didn’t like seeing anyone hurt because of me, and just because I knew Forest was tough didn’t make the situation any better. Dylan was already beside his alpha, helping him back to his feet. Forest did his best not to let the pain show. A series of growls echoed from the shifted wolves, and they advanced on the skeleton.

  “Tell your friends that if they attack me, I will rip their heads from their bodies and permanently stain your lake with red,” a light, feminine voice came from the skeleton’s head, its body alighting with a similar red flame, like the pyre behind it. It was a voice I had never heard before, but the others had, for it froze each and every one of them in their tracks. Even Forest.

  And suddenly, though I’d never heard it before, I knew: it was Hannah’s voice. The only voice that could make their alpha widen his blue eyes in shock and despair.