Before Dawn

by Olivia Hutchinson

  His mother leaned her forehead against the bars. "I'm sorry," she whispered after a minute. "I pushed your father for years to go after the Council seat in the hope of making life easier for my children and my nephews. To keep you safe, especially after…after Karen was killed and David died." His mother rarely talked about Kaleb and Gabriel's parents. Her hands trembled as she spoke. "But the only thing that seat ever gave us was the constant need to watch our backs. I'm pretty sure Bowinger went after your sister to get dirt on your dad, and your father is falling apart right now, knowing you're here and knowing he won’t be able to save you. He can’t even come talk to you."

  “He’s angry.”

  "Of course he is. He doesn't understand, but don't worry Declan. I'll make him understand. My mate can be hard-headed and hard-hearted, but he loves you. Don't doubt that. Every choice he's made over the past twenty years has been with you, the boys, and Hannah in mind, and the only thing he ever told me he wanted for all of you was to find happiness. He thought he could give that to you, but it seems you found it on your own, no matter how fleeting."

  “Have you seen her? Heard anything?”

  Paula shook her head. “All I know is that she’s being held somewhere.”

  “Is she okay? Do you know?”

  “No, my dear, I’m sorry. I don’t.”

  Declan's shoulders fell, and he blew out a sigh. "Thanks for coming to see me. You shouldn't be here when the trial starts." He didn't say the words, but he didn't want his mother there when they executed him. She didn't need to see that.

  "I'm not going anywhere. I love you. I was there the moment you were born, and I'll stay with you until the very end." She reached through the bars and squeezed his shoulder once, her jaw trembling. She stood and walked, chin held high, out of the room.

  He didn't know how much time had passed before the officers came to get him. The collar was fixed around his neck, and he was taken from his cell. Zachariah was silent as he watched him go and there was nothing he could think of to say to the old man.

  The Council room was packed, and once more, it was standing room only. His eyes searched the crowd, and his heart leaped when he saw her. Natalie stood, her hands bound in front of her with a pair of metal handcuffs. Jackson stood on one side, and a big male with bright violet eyes stood on her other side. Her face was dry, but she watched him intently.

  She wore his t-shirt and a pair of loose black sweatpants that looked as if they would fall down at any second. A pair of thick gray wool socks were on her feet, and they'd allowed her to pull her hair back into a ponytail. It was probably to make it easier for the Council members to see the bite on her shoulder, not for her comfort.

  His eyes stayed fixed on her until Lucretia cleared her throat and the trial began. He managed to maintain control and kept his face impassive while evidence was presented against him, including the testimony of two vampires who testified that Natalie’s blood was human and didn’t belong to a true witch.

  The final piece of evidence was Natalie herself. Declan had managed to keep his cool up until that point, but when Jackson pulled Natalie in front of the Council and exposed her shoulder to the twenty-one Council members, he snarled.

  Twenty-one pairs of eyes were on him in a second, the guards holding him tightened their grips and charged up the collar, ready to drop him the second he sprang. Even Jackson, when he turned his head to look at him, appeared nervous.

  “No, Declan,” he heard Natalie whisper. “Don’t.”

  His mate wasn't a fool. She knew he would kill someone before they would be able to get him under control again and at that moment, he would condemn both her and himself. Not that it mattered anyway because a few minutes later, each Council member spoke their judgment.

  They needed a unanimous verdict to sentence him to death, and he looked toward his father, waiting to see if he would be the sole reason he would possibly spend the rest of his life wasting away in some jail cell rather than at the end of the hangman's noose. He held his breath, holding onto hope, but he already knew.

  Malcolm hung his head, unable to meet his son’s eyes and his voice broke when he said the one word that sealed Declan’s fate. “Guilty.”

  The gallows would be constructed overnight with Declan's hanging set for an hour before dawn. Natalie was taken back to Henry's, where she waited with Lila, Beth, and Andrea for the time when Jackson and Daegan would bring her back to the Council House. No one questioned Ethan's disappearance, and since Jackson and Daegan maintained their contact with Red Bowinger, no one was the wiser as to where she really was or what they were doing.

  The men stayed in the living room, the coffee table overflowing with maps and notes. Cell phones were constantly ringing and someone – usually either Henry or Cole – was barking an order.

  The werewolves had their hackles up as soon as the warlock stepped inside. Even now, hours later, they continued to watch him as if waiting for him to turn on them. So far though, Cole seemed to be taking it all in stride. He had his own allies and, according to what Andrea told her, had been planning on eliminating Dis – his father – since the murder of his mother.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Andrea told her after Lila and Beth laid down in the double bed in one of the guest rooms. Natalie urged Andrea to go lay down while she had the chance, but her friend stubbornly refused to leave her, knowing there would be no sleep for Natalie.

  “I really hope you’re right.”

  Natalie stared up at the moon from Henry's rooftop deck. Natalie needed some fresh air, but stepping outside the front door had been out of the question. This was the best Henry was able to provide and for her, it was better than the street. The air was heavy with salt from the ocean, exhaust, and the scent of food, but up here when the wind hit her face just right, she could pretend she was far away. Back at Declan's house in Cantor.

  Andrea leaned her head on her shoulder. “I know I’m right. Carey told me.”

  Natalie reared back. “You talked to Carey?”

  “I’ve been talking to Carey since Cole kidnapped me. She comes to me in dreams or visions.”

  There was no way she was hearing her right. “What?”

  “Visions. I had one on the drive here. It scares the crap out of Cole every time she does it because I go unresponsive. She pulls me to her, wherever that may be, and she talks to me.”

  “You sound like a nut job,” Natalie said in disbelief. “What did she say?”

  Andrea smiled. “She said that you’re going to be fine and to tell you to keep your chin up.”

  What generic advice. “That was it?”

  “She also warned me not to mention her name to anyone because I’d get her into a mess, so I told the others.”

  “Ruby told me the Council doesn’t know she’s alive. They ordered her execution when she was a baby.”

  “Ugh. How can you do that to a child?” Andrea asked in disgust. “They need to go and hopefully, after tomorrow, they will.”

  A harsh gust of wind hit her face and forced her to close her eyes and turn her face away. There was a sound of beating wings and the building beneath her shook. When Natalie turned, she jumped to her feet and clutched Andrea's arm.

  There, on the top of Henry's roof in the middle of Boston, sat a massive black dragon the size of a small bus. He stretched his wings and snapped his teeth at them. Natalie wasn't sure if she was going to scream or pee her pants.

  Andrea was shaking next to her, and two seconds later the door to the roof banged open. "Change back. You're scaring them," Lila bit out.

  A plume of smoke erupted from the dragon's mouth just as a familiar giggle caught Natalie's ears. Looking up, she saw her friend Heidi sliding down from the dragon's back. Henry, Jackson, and Daegan came bursting through the door a second later.

  "Hey!" Heidi chirped, waving at them. "We're not too late, are we? Jonah didn't tell us about what was going on until a little bit ago, but we flew out first thing."

  Natalie was b
efuddled. "Who?"

  The dragon vibrated and in seconds, he stood on a man’s two legs. A very naked man. Natalie forced herself to look at Heidi.

  “Here,” Heidi said, slapping a pair of shorts at the dragon and hitting him in the center of his abdomen. “Your dick is distracting.”

  "That's what you always say," he said in an Irish brogue, a wicked grin on his face.

  Gabriel stood by Andrea. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m good,” Andrea squeaked. “Just never seen a dragon before.”

  Natalie shot her a look. “You ain’t the only one.”

  “You’re the McIntyre dragon?” Jackson asked. “Under Collum?”

  “Aye.” He thrust he tree trunk legs into the shorts, one at a time.

  “What does your faction leader have to say about you being here?” Henry asked, sounding timid for the first time since she met him.

  “The bastard can say whatever he likes. I’m here because this is where my mate wants to be. She says we’re going and now here we are.”

  “He doesn’t know you’re in Boston?”

  "I wouldn't set foot in this fecking city if I had another choice and Collum knows it. The commander gives an order now and again, but he doesn't give two shits what any dragon does. I told him I mated a human and he said better a human than a witch.” Liam's eyes narrowed on the doorway, a ferocious growl tearing at him, smoke billowing from his nostrils. "You.”

  Cole stood in the doorway, one brow lifted. Natalie didn’t miss the way his gaze swept over his mate as if to ensure her safety before he met the dragon’s challenge. “We’re on the same side now, dragon.”

  “I’ll never be on your side.” His chest expanded and Natalie took a hurried step back. There were half a dozen people standing between the warlock and the dragon, which was probably the only reason Cole was still standing, based on the murderous rage contorting Liam’s face.

  Heidi patted his shoulder. "Liam, stop it. He mated Andrea. Jonah tried to tell you earlier, but you were raging about having to come here."

  The dragon stared pointedly at his mate, a look of irritation on his face that she didn’t seem at all perplexed the warlock was there. “He came after you.”

  “He came after me too,” Lila chimed in, “but we’re all good now. Well, we’re good enough.”

  Gabriel stood between Liam and Cole. “Sorry. Can’t kill him, McIntyre. He’s mated to Andrea, plus we need him.”

  “See?” Heidi said, grabbing hold of Liam’s forearm. “He’s fine. If I can move past it, so can you.” Liam grunted his displeasure and shot a menacing warning glare at Cole. Heidi was maybe half Liam’s size, but it wasn't hard to see who ruled their relationship. One smile from her was all it took.

  “Let’s continue this inside,” Henry said, ushering everyone through the door.

  They were halfway down the stairs when Natalie heard Daegan ask, "Will Collum support the Resistance?"

  Liam scoffed. "No. Ewan wanted to withdraw from the Netherworld before Collum ever took over. They only reason they didn't was because my uncle Mordecai was murdered by slayers and they were worried about the growing threat. Collum isn't going to support the Resistance any more than he supports the Netherworld."

  “Why not?”

  “Dragons just want to be left alone. Are the shifters here yet?”

  Another hour and Henry's living room was overflowing. A handful of shifters from New Freedom including Maggie and her mate, made the drive after Gabriel called them, alerting them to what was happening with Declan. Lila explained to Natalie that after she and Gabriel had gone to New Freedom to fight against the attacking fae, the shifters were more than happy to help, especially if they were going to be standing against the Council that had refused to assist them in their darkest hours.

  Also, according to Lila, Declan received a call from Gabriel a few days ago requesting werewolf volunteers be sent from Cantor to New Freedom to help, to which he'd agreed. In fact, her mate had done one better and sent some of his own werewolf enforcers with them. The shifters felt gratitude toward not only Gabriel and Lila but to Declan as well.

  Maggie squeezed the crap out of Natalie as soon as she saw her. “Are you okay?”

  Everyone kept asking her that. Of course, she wasn’t okay. “I’m alive.” That was the best she could give them.

  There was a sad frown on Maggie’s face. “You’ll get him back. You have us here now. We won’t allow them to take your mate from you.”

  15

  Declan assumed there would be drums. He didn’t know where he got that idea from, but somehow when he imagined his execution during the night, he thought they’d play drums.

  No one else had come to see him. Not his father and not Hannah. He hadn’t expected to see his dad, but he wanted to see his sister one more time, if only to apologize for being a jerk to her the other day.

  Zachariah was quiet, as if sensing conversation was the last thing Declan wanted. He had been wrong about the sandwich, however. One of the guards brought Declan a twelve-inch hot roast beef and cheese hoagie with all the toppings later that night.

  Unlike the PB&J, he ate this one after the guard said, "Buck up, Declan. You ain't dead yet." It sounded like something Natalie would say even if the words were spoken by a male, so he ate, pretending the words were hers.

  Staring up at the ceiling that night, he didn’t sleep a wink. He spent the hours either imagining his death or thinking about her. He worried about whether or not she was okay. If her guards were treating her well or not. If the mate-claim would kill her as soon as he died or if she would linger for a few days like his uncle David had.

  She had been with Jackson earlier that day, so he had some hope Jackson would at least look after her while she was in his care. He had known Vastag for years. Natalie may not have liked him, and while she was right that he could be a jackass, he was never unnecessarily cruel and never took pleasure in hurting females.

  Ninety minutes before sunrise, he was standing at the bars when two guards came for him. They left the shock collar off, most likely because of how they planned to kill him, but bound his hands with heavy iron chains that wouldn't break even if he changed. They pinched and cut into his skin, but he didn't care. He was alive to feel the discomfort, for now at least.

  Beyond his disappointment about the drums, it was as he expected. Torches were lit around the yard, providing light as if it were a backyard barbeque rather than an execution. The gallows had been hastily constructed out of two-by-fours, most likely purchased from a local hardware store before closing the previous night. There was no platform with an elaborate trap door for him to stand on. Just a step stool.

  It wasn’t going to be a quick death.

  He didn't fight. There was no point. The yard of the Council House was filled was spectators and Council members. He caught sight of his parents and his sister standing toward the front. Malcolm was clutching Paula to his chest and whispering to her. His mother was crying, but she met his eyes at least, as did Hannah.

  Declan searched the crowd for Natalie. He knew they would bring her. How could they not? The majority of the Council members would want to see how a human reacted to the death of her mate, if only out of curiosity. Most probably didn't believe a human could feel a mate-claim like an Other could, but intrinsically he knew they could. She felt it just as he felt it. It tore at him to know that she was suffering for it.

  He was assisted up onto the stool and lifted his chin while one of the guards placed the noose around his neck and tightened the rope. Lucretia stepped up from behind the gallows and addressed him and the crowd.

  While she spoke, repeating Declan’s crimes, his eyes swept over the crowd. Where was she? He needed to see her. Needed her face to be the last thing he saw when they stole his life from him. Panic started to rise as his eyes darted from one face to another.

  Red Bowinger snickered behind him, but Declan ignored the motherfucker. Where was his mate? His parents. Hannah. Celeste.
McLeod. Curtis and his mate. James Southerby. Camila. Cosmo. No Dis, he noticed. Roarke. Tyesha Ross. Robert Iverson. Warren Stone. Jodi Payne. Gabriel.

  Wait.

  Gabriel?

  He hadn’t anticipated seeing his cousin. What was he doing here?

  Baffled, Declan left his face only to see Kaleb not far away. They were both here. Why? They had women they were supposed to be protecting. Gabriel was mated. Why were they here?

  And then he saw her.

  Natalie stood at the back of the crowd, sandwiched between Jackson and the violet-eyed hybrid, but right now they weren’t watching her. They were watching others in the crowd. Jackson didn’t stand as if he was guarding Declan’s mate. He stood as if he was protecting her.

  He saw her face in the darkness. Saw her eyes and the slight curve of her lips. I love you, she mouthed and, at that moment, he knew he could die content.

  The guard to his right, the one who brought him the sub the night before, still held his arm. "And their doom rushes upon them," the male breathed. The grating sound of metal brushing against metal hit his ears.

  Declan tilted his head so he could see the guard’s face, but couldn’t due to the angle. Bowinger growled, as if sensing a change Declan still didn’t understand.

  Click.

  Jackson and Daegan wouldn’t let her get any close to Declan or the gallows, but standing in the back of the yard while her mate had a noose around his neck was about to kill her.

  Natalie pleaded with them. “Take me closer. Closer.”

  “Hush, woman,” Daegan growled. “We can’t.”

  “Please! I can’t…” She couldn’t breathe again. “I need to be closer.”