Wolf's Wager (Northbane Shifters)

by Isabella Hunt

  “There is nothing wrong with me!” Cassidy blasted, and knotted her fists at her sides. Roo spooked, and I gripped her reins, glaring at my sister. “God, Reagan, you have no idea—”

  She broke off, and I wondered if I should tell her I did have an idea. That I was Riftborn.

  But I couldn’t find the words.

  Instead, I said, “Cassidy, I know that. I know you didn’t ask for this. But we’re here so you can…” Again, I struggled to find words. I might have been Riftborn, but I wasn’t a shifter. I didn’t know what she was going through. Fallon, or hell, even Luke, would’ve been better at this. “But there are people here who do…”

  This isn’t like the cities or towns where you’re a commodity or a curse, I wanted to say. You’re just you. You’re free.

  “I’m not like them,” Cassidy said. “I don’t give in to it.”

  “Give in to it?” I echoed.

  “The animal,” she said with a sneer, though her eyes were frightened. “I fight it. I’m normal.”

  "Cassidy, there is nothing for you in Seattle," I said. “They were rounding up shifters. And shifters were fighting back. It was becoming a war zone. Don’t you remember that?"

  “Remember Grandpa?” Cassidy snarled. “Or did you stop caring about him, too?”

  I went very still. Never had I been so close to hitting my little sister before.

  My fingers squeezed the soft leather of Roo’s reins in time with the thunder of my pulse. Every breath was uneven and loud in my ears. Forcing myself to look away, tears pricking my eyes, I tried to take a deep breath and failed. I thought I might throw up.

  By some twisted coincidence, we’d been safe in the country, and he’d been in the city when hell had broken loose. He’d stayed to try and find answers about the rest of our family, urging us to go on ahead. The man who’d taught me the skills that had all but guaranteed our survival.

  The night before I found out about Winfyre, I’d had a dream where he’d said goodbye.

  It was so real, I knew my worst fear had come true. Deep, deep in my soul, too, I knew he was gone. He’d left us behind, hopefully for a better world.

  “Reagan,” Cassidy said, and I jerked back, bumping into Roo. “I’m going back.”

  “We just got here,” I hissed, rage and pain bubbling over. I’d been the one to believe Grandpa when he’d said he could handle things alone. “We all risked our lives getting here. We wanted you to be safe. Why do you have to throw that in our faces? What is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing! But this isn’t what I want!” Cassidy shouted.

  “Oh, and I do? This is my big dream?” I asked. “I was supposed to be an NP in neurology.”

  “I was gonna be a doctor.” Cassidy turned, and her shoulders shook. “Now I’m nothing.” Her body trembled with emotion. “Nothing but a girl with a monster inside. But I have a fiancé who will love me anyway. And family back home. Anything would be better than this.”

  “Then go,” I said, the words cutting my mouth and throat like broken glass.

  Cassidy whipped around. “What?”

  “Go,” I screamed, my temper completely gone and tears in my eyes. “If we’re all so horrible, and you’re so misunderstood, if William is so much better, then go. I’m sick of you and your selfish, bratty stupidity.”

  Between her talking about Grandpa and screaming at me like this was my fault, I could barely breathe. Like I hadn't tolerated her stupid desire to not shift and keep us safe. Like I hadn’t willingly taken the entire burden of safety onto my shoulders and gotten us here…

  “You don’t—” Cassidy started to say.

  I cut her off. “Leave.”

  My sister gaped at me as I struggled to climb back onto Roo. “You’re serious?”

  "I'll tell mom and dad.” My voice was harsh, and Cassidy flinched. I stopped and glared at her, stepping away from the poor horse. “I’ll tell them you ran back to find salvation, even though you already had it. Even though you already have everything and anything you could ask for. But you’re so blind, selfish, and small, you refuse to acknowledge it.”

  “I…” Cassidy pushed her wispy hairs back. “I don’t know what else to do.”

  “You could suck it up for once,” I said, and Cassidy hugged herself, glaring at the ground.

  “Reagan, you don’t get it—”

  “Hate to break it to you, Cass, but you’re not the only one that the Rift affected.”

  “I know that,” she mumbled. “But you’re not a shifter.”

  “No, I might be something worse,” I said.

  We stared at each other, and my sister blinked rapidly, frowning slowly. She went to open her mouth, and suddenly a prickle of alarm shot through me. Dizziness pulled the ground from under my feet, and I fell to my knees.

  At the same time, Roo began to snort and stamp, eyes rolling. Cassidy moved forward to grab the horse, and the animal let out a whinny of terror. The sound raked across my skin and startled my sister, the reins flying through her fingers.

  We both gasped as the horse turned and ran, leaving us alone.

  “Reagan?” Cassidy asked, and she rushed forward, grabbing my arm. “What is it?”

  I couldn’t get up off the ground. Fear was rising up, and the warnings were a cacophony in the back of my head.

  “Shit,” I murmured and tried to stand. “Cass, you gotta run for it. Leave me.”

  Suddenly, I thought of Luke, and my stomach wrenched. Our last encounter had been so terrible, and I hadn't gotten a chance to apologize.

  Or get an apology in return, if I was being honest.

  I could see his scruffy face, his glinting blue-green eyes, and his smirks. The play of concerns across his brow and the steady light in his eyes as he thought deeply.

  Always thinking about others, though, and not himself.

  “Someone has to make sure Luke gets his arm looked at,” I said. “Remember that, Cass.”

  “What?” Cassidy gasped out and looked around. Her eyes dilated, and I knew some blunted shifter sense had to be clawing free and warning her of danger. “Reagan, come on.”

  “I can’t,” I said, and a wave of cold sweat went over me. “I didn’t eat breakfast.”

  “You what? But you have blood sugar issues,” Cassidy snapped, sounding like her old self, the know-it-all baby sister. “That’s why you always had snacks on the trip here. Why would you stop carrying them?”

  “I’m not going to make it,” I said. “I’m sorry for what I said.” Gold danced in her eyes, and I gripped her wrist. “Please don’t leave Winfyre.”

  “Reagan,” Cassidy said as my hands fell.

  “Go,” I snarled. “Now.”

  A scent of anger and blood wafted through the air, staining the sky darker, and I shoved at Cassidy’s legs. But she was frozen in place, whipping her head from side to side.

  “We’re surrounded,” she whispered.

  A crack of a branch under a heavy foot confirmed this, and the scene spun. With enormous effort, I got to my feet and tugged on her arm. “Go. Shift and run—you can make it.”

  Cassidy didn’t answer.

  She screamed.

  Chapter Twelve

  Luke

  One hour earlier

  Kal, Rett, Tristan, and I were leaving the woods, with several shifters trailing behind. All of us were laughing, loud and punchy after our victory. We’d chased the Bounts and Skrors almost a hundred miles south and had had some fun with them along the way.

  The Northbane had made sure they wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

  Striding into Cobalt, dirty, muddy, and a little bloody, I grinned. Shifting had gone fine today, too. In fact, there was an urgent sense to shift back, to keep running and dive into the woods.

  Walking through town, I tried to ignore that itch pricking in my skin and making me impatient. In my preoccupation, I didn't notice the air buzzing about town.

  “What’s going on?” Rett asked and sniffed the air. “Tens
ion. Why?”

  “We should find Xander,” I said and went to head off, but then he was there.

  The change in my friend still arrested me. I’d seen it in all of them, but, of all of us, it had affected Xander the most. Even now, I could sense the cold purpose of the beast coiled inside of him, its need to protect, defend, and also destroy. If anyone understood fearing and respecting the power we wielded, it was Xander. He’d been HC of Winfyre before we even staked our territory.

  With a slight nod of his head, we Alphas clustered around Xander, while the other shifters fell back. It should have been a normal and happy midday. Blue sky overhead, food grilling, and happy kids. Only there were no kids in the street.

  Reagan.

  Her name was a punch to the gut, and my own fists clenched, as though ready for a fight. Without meaning to, I looked towards home, and my entire body seemed to tense up. But no, she was home. Bo, Rosie, and Timber leaned into my legs and nudged my hands, sensing my disquiet.

  “We have a breach,” Xander said in a soft voice.

  For a moment, none of us spoke. This had never happened before.

  Then Rett let out a loud exhale. “Shit.” And the rest of us let out an uneasy laugh.

  It had been bound to happen—nothing was perfect, not even Xander’s wards, but still.

  “Where?” Kal asked.

  “Farline Pass, maybe twenty miles north of here.” Xander let out a slow breath. “Rotted.”

  Of all the horrors of the Rift, these Excris had left an indelible mark on Winfyre.

  Excris were creatures of darkness and hell who’d created the Bloodlust rumors. Whatever had cracked open in the Rift, it had let them out, too. Demons, monsters, and nightmares of all different kinds and shapes.

  The Rotted were the worst of the Excris. They had the faces of men, the claws of animals, and a bastardized ability to shapeshift. Tireless runners and cunning hunters.

  We all began talking at once.

  “How many?” I asked. “Who reported this? When?”

  “We have to go,” Tristan said at the same time. “And Veda needs to be alerted.”

  “Everyone needs to shelter until they’re gone,” Rett said loudly. “Complete lockdown.”

  “We’ll handle this,” Kal said grimly. “First and last time it’ll ever happen.”

  Xander’s eyes flicked around us, and he glanced back at the town. “There’s more.”

  “More?” I croaked, and my alarm increased.

  Something was wrong.

  I mean, of course there was. Rotted had gotten in. But why were my instincts screaming?

  “Cassidy Grace ran away from home this morning,” Xander said, and his eyes went to me. “Reagan went after her. When it was reported, it was too late.”

  A hollow sensation scraped against the inside of my chest and into my bones.

  “Where did they go?” Rett demanded, speaking for me. I’d never been more grateful.

  “North,” he answered. I knew he would say that, and yet it gutted me.

  “Maybe they made it to Veda,” Tristan spoke up quickly.

  “They’re not in Veda,” Xander replied. “They never made it. Not long after we realized Reagan went after her, a shifter squad came in and reported signs of Rotted.” He took a deep breath. “Luke, we have to prepare ourselves for the worst. I think you should stay—”

  “No.”

  Every pulse of my heart tore through me. I shook my head and tried to laugh. This didn’t make sense. I’d left Reagan sleeping and safe.

  And I’d told her. “I told her the northern pass was closed. She—I’m gonna kill her. I told her not to run off or pull any more stupid shit.” I was having trouble standing upright. “No. No. No.”

  Horror palpitated my heart and warped my vision. Rett was gazing at me like he didn’t recognize me, Xander and Tristan were frowning with deep concern, and even Kal looked sympathetic.

  Rea.

  The last thing I’d said to her was to get the hell out. A coppery acid bubbled in my skin.

  For a moment, I thought I could smell her, and agony cracked through me.

  She’d be easy prey for the Rotted.

  Instinct took over, and I threw myself into shifting, tearing off as a giant wolf, off to the north. Xander shouted something after me, but his words were lost on the wind. In fact, I ran even faster.

  I could find her before the Excris did. Somehow.

  I have to.

  The miles vanished under my paws. I’d never run so fast in my life. Yet every moment was torture. Every turn made my heart explode a little more.

  I kept expecting to come across Reagan, safe and sound.

  Or find her staring up at the sky, her eyes empty and her throat torn open.

  Since her sister was a shifter, the Rotted would drag Cassidy off. My stomach churned at the thought. Oh, God, no. No one deserved that fate. Not even Skrors.

  I ran even faster, breath tearing through my chest, and I even cast out for the Farthing Wolves. Anything, anyone, to help.

  Tongue lolling and a sharp stitch up my side, I crested a hill and came to the Geshalt Grass. The field of waving grass led to a small, knobbly wood. Then I paused and inhaled, my nose catching the faintest scent of a horse, Reagan, and, with a lurch of horror, the Rotted.

  I was about to bolt when I heard the thunder of hooves in the distance, and I saw a Cobalt horse emerge from the trees. Adrenaline kicked in from depths I didn’t know existed.

  I flew past the beast, urging her to continue home.

  As I entered the wood, a scream shattered the air.

  Darting and weaving through the trees, I rounded a corner, where I saw them. A growling snarl exploded out of me, and the horrors stopped, their necks slewing around. The Rotted were gray, mottled creatures, tall and cobbled together, like men made out of lumpy clay, with black-veined faces, sharp teeth, and dragging claws.

  The scent of hell and death clung to them.

  Unlike other Excris, these had no fear of shifters. They feasted on stasis and shifter alike.

  Somehow, I made myself look beyond them, and relief swam through me.

  Reagan was alive, clinging to Cassidy and staring at me. I couldn’t repress a shudder. She was seeing me as the wolf for the first time. Huge, furred, and vicious.

  Yet the look on her face was not one of fear, but relief.

  Hell, Reagan met my eyes and smiled.

  Then she promptly passed out.

  Reagan!

  A Rotted came at me, a short sickle flashing through the air and coated with black bloodstains. Wherever these things came from, the Rift, hell, or some other foul dimension, they could also return. When we killed them, they vanished, and Tristan had a theory they regenerated.

  I couldn’t worry about that idea now, when I had more weapons coming at me. Always crude, sharp implements with an ugly kind of purpose. They could fell a shifter with one blow.

  Dodging the sickle, then a jagged blade and spear, I crashed my shoulder into one of their chests, and it caved in. The creature fell back on the ground, gibbering and with black blood oozing from its mouth. It crumpled and vanished. More came at me, leaving the girls, and I gladly took them out.

  All that mattered was keeping those two safe.

  More emerged from the woods. Dammit, this was Xander’s worst fear, that the Rotted would figure out a way to enter Winfyre. There were only so many threats he could guard against. The man was only one—

  A roar echoed through the trees, and, for a second, I thought he’d come.

  But instead, a white bear came charging up next to me, knocking Rotted left and right. Then a tiger pounced, fluid and fast, tossing the creatures left and right. Finally, a massive black bear, growling and purposeful. It grappled with the Rotted.

  Even when the Excris morphed into beasts, they were merely knocked aside.

  I’d no idea the Alphas had kept up with me. Tristan was fast like me, but Rett and Kal were not. Unless Xander had f
igured out a way to portal them across Winfyre, finally.

  I shook that thought away, focusing on the fight at hand.

  One after another, we crushed whatever animated these horrors out of them. They weren’t alive in the sense we knew. It was more like dead puppets being jerked around on a string. Whoever or whatever was the puppet master, I didn’t know and didn’t want to. I was good on that point.

  Finally, we had it under control, and Tristan was crushing the last of the Rotted. Only then did I allow myself to shift back and race to where Cassidy was trying to wake up her sister.

  “What’s wrong with her?” I asked and forced myself not to push Cassidy aside. But damn, she was irritating. Always acting like a bratty sixteen-year-old, not a twenty-three-year-old shifter.

  “I don’t know—she didn’t eat anything or something,” Cassidy said, and she was trying to pull in calming breaths. But her eyes were dilated, and her body was shaking. “Ugh.”

  “You’re suppressing the shift,” I said, distracted for a moment, and Cassidy’s gold-green eyes darted to mine. “I know. I used to do that.”

  “We all did,” Kal said from above me. “It can kill you.”

  “Kal,” I said and glared at him.

  He shrugged. “Okay, it could.”

  “Um, okay,” Cassidy said. “Reagan has blood sugar issues—that’s probably it.”

  My hand shook as I touched Reagan’s cheek. Clammy and cool. “Rea. Can you hear me?”

  “I’ve been trying to wake her up,” Cassidy snapped. “What makes you think she’ll wake up for you, wolf?”

  “Easy, panther girl,” I said, and Cassidy went pale. “And forgive me, but you’ve been kind of a pain in the ass for Reagan. I think she might prefer to see me.” I glanced down at her. “If only to tell me off for last night.”

  “Oh, what happened last night?” Tristan sang out.

  “I let my temper get the better of me,” I said and brushed my knuckles on Reagan’s forehead. “I know, you’re all shocked.”

  Rett came over, panting and rolling his shoulders. “What’d I miss? What’s wrong with her?”

  “Later. We should go,” Kal said.

  Nodding, I bent down and went to pick Reagan up, when she groaned and opened her eyes.