I guess he is loyal, after all. Just not to me. Not to anyone who deserves it.
“This is crazy,” Albien mutters, grabbing my hand. He starts to run and pulls me with him, but as soon as his foot passes over the threshold of the flower circle, he’s thrown back. I land a few feet away from him.
“Albien!” I cry as I see him knocked unconscious.
“Leave him,” Aedan orders when Mace starts to move. “He doesn’t need to be conscious. Only her.”
I swallow hard, sitting up on my knees. Maybe it’s better this way. Mace offers his hand to me and I cast one last glance at my brother before I take it and let him lead me over to the rock.
There’s a knife with a golden handle waiting, and it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to guess what it’s for. Mace picks up the blade and studies the long edge thoughtfully.
“The moon has risen,” says Aedan, his voice lurching with impatience. “Let us begin.”
I feel disconnected from my body as the vampire approaches, his red eyes gleaming in the moonlight. He waves his hand and the flowers catch flame, forming a hellish barrier around us that rivals the moonlight.
“The sacrifice must be given freely,” he says, touching the stone with two fingers. Every crack in its surface is filled with a ray of beaming red light that seems to come from the underworld itself. The lines shift and become an unmistakable symbol. Aedan’s crest. My throat tightens as his eyes settle on me, expectant. “Unless of course you would rather allow your brother the chance to take your place.”
I’m sure he’s bluffing. I doubt Aedan wants to spend the next hundred years in a female omega’s body, but I don’t want to give him the chance to remember all the other things he has to threaten me with. Aspen. Christopher. James. Rowan.
I close my eyes and picture their faces. My heart aches over all the words I failed to find to tell them how much they mean to me. Now, I can only hope they already know.
I can only hope my sacrifice is enough to protect them.
“I give myself,” I say quietly.
Albien groans, lifting his head. His forehead is bloody from the rock he struck it on, and his eyes are glazed as they meet mine. “No…” he murmurs, reaching for me.
I turn away, unable to look at him. “Just get on with it,” I plead, looking at Mace, who still has the blade in his hand. If he’s going to go through with it, he can look me in the eye. It’s only right.
His gaze fills with something like hesitation, but I’m sure that’s just my imagination. He looks down at the blade, like he’s forgotten he’s the one who has to use it. Finally, he raises it to my throat and his left hand settles on the other side of my head.
Flashes of the last time James and I made love divert me from the present moment. The thrill of his fangs at my neck, the surge of desire for something forbidden. Why is this coming back now?
No… just the feeling. The surge of heat when Mace’s skin brushes against mine, his fingers trailing down the column of my throat with deceptive tenderness, for someone who plans to slit it.
I resent him for doing this, for lying to me all these years, but not half as much as I resent myself for responding to his touch this way. Even more for the bittersweet longing it stirs within me.
I hate him. He’s everything I despise, and always has been. So why is there part of me that’s held out hope, until this very moment, that he’s not all gone? That there’s part of the man I shared a home with for months that remains, underneath the cold exterior and apathy. That my heart couldn’t be so wrong, so traitorous, so foolish.
“Get on with it,” Aedan snaps. “She offered herself.”
“You heard the man,” I murmur, holding my head a little higher in defiance, giving him better access. “Get on with it.”
Mace’s brow furrows and his sharp gaze pierces deep, like he’s searching for something. Maybe not inside of me, but in himself. What it is, I can’t begin to guess. Soon, it won’t matter.
He presses the blade in and I freeze, save for the breath escaping my lungs. My eyes flutter shut, but even though I feel the warm trickle of blood down the blade, it doesn’t cut any deeper.
When I open my eyes, the blood is running in a stream down his fingers, but he’s the one who looks like he’s been cut. His teeth are gritted and his eyes bloodshot in an expression of pure agony that makes no damn sense whatsoever.
And then, I see it. The faint glow in his eyes, so subtle I almost missed it. Maybe it’s always been there, and the moonlight is the only thing that makes it possible to see. The light spreads through his irises like the cracks in the stone, and the red veins in the whites make the unnatural green look brighter in contrast.
Aedan’s magic. My heart pounds as I recognize it for what it is. It’s not as obvious as the change that came over Jenna, but it’s there.
He’s being controlled. The only question is, is this new or has it always been this way? Has he ever taken a single step that wasn’t predetermined by his master, or has he been fighting it all this time?
“No,” he whispers, his grip on the back of my head tightening. His muscles are tense, as if he’s fighting against himself. “I can’t.”
The trees bow with a sudden gust of violent wind and Aedan’s eyes flash with rage as he stalks toward us. “I gave you an order,” he seethes as Mace’s blade falls from my neck.
“There has to be another way,” Mace says, turning to face him. “There are others. We have time —”
Before he can finish, Aedan waves his hand and sends Mace flying back into the wall of flame. He cries out in pain as the fire surges up the left side of his face before he can free himself from it. He doubles over, clutching his wounded eye.
I stare at him in shock. What just happened? Did he actually defy Aedan’s order, for me?
“You ungrateful dog,” Aedan seethes, stalking toward him. “Have you forgotten your place? All that I’ve done for you?”
“No, my Lord,” Mace chokes, his voice filled with pain.
Aedan stomps him into the earth, moving with strength and agility he didn’t have a moment ago. He brings his boot down on Mace’s chest hard enough to break his sternum and looks down at him in disgust. “You were a half-dead waif when I found you. An unwanted mutt abandoned by his own pack, cast aside to die, and I made you someone. I gave purpose to your meaningless life.”
“She’s different,” Mace chokes with the vampire’s boot pressing into his throat. “We can use her power. It would be a waste.”
“Silence!” Aedan snarls, calling what seems like every shadow in the forest to descend on Mace, wrapping around his body like chains. He’s lifted from the earth, suspended a few feet off the ground as a shadow hand grips him by the throat. “I should have known better than to repurpose an alpha. Some doe-eyed bitch comes your way, and you betray your own master.”
“No!” I cry as the shadow flings Mace across the woods and far beyond the reach of the flames. I can’t see him through the fire, but I see Aedan coming at me, the knife in his hand.
Albien is struggling to get up and more than my own life flashes before my eyes as the vampire approaches. My wolf is ready to come out whether I want it or not, but before I have the chance, Aedan pins me against the stone altar, his hand wrapped around my throat with surprising force.
“I’ve waited long enough,” he spits, forcing my head to the side as he drags the blade down the side of my throat, a wicked smile on his grotesquely dry mouth. “But I think I’ll enjoy watching you bleed.”
I groan, straining against him as the blood spills down the side of my neck and pools in the stone below. Aedan’s eyes light with madness and sinister amusement as my blood fills the cracks, but it gradually becomes dismay.
“No,” he cries, looking down as the blood slowly spreads and extinguishes the light. Judging from the sharpness in his voice, I’m guessing that isn’t the reaction he expected. “No! This cannot be.” He turns to me, his eyes burning with betrayal. “Death…
”
Before I can make sense of his words, Mace flies through the blazing wall and attacks Aedan. The vampire isn’t expecting it, and his head cracks against the stone. He drops and the flame disappears with his consciousness, leaving me to stare at Mace in disbelief. Most of the left half of his face is badly burned, and what I can see of his eye is swollen shut behind his bloody hair.
“Go,” he seethes, pulling me to my feet. “Run. He’ll wake up soon and I can’t hold him for long.”
“Mace,” I say, struggling to understand what just happened. He saved me, but all I can think to ask is, “Why?”
He frowns and seems like he doesn’t quite know the answer himself, for a moment. He looks at something behind me and I see Albien stumbling toward us, still disoriented from his concussion.
“Sister,” he cries, holding his hand out for me. “Come on! We have to get out of here.”
I hesitate, looking back at Mace, then at the blade on the ground behind him. One look in his eyes and I can tell he knows what I’m thinking. He might be willing to spare my life, but he’ll never let me kill his master.
I should leave. It’s insanity to linger here, even for a second, but I feel like I’m leaving a part of myself behind. As inexplicable as it is, I have to try. “You told me once that everything you’ve done has been for me,” I say in a trembling voice. “I didn’t believe you then, but now I know the truth. It was for him.”
“He is the only father I have ever known.” His tone is somber, but I know that look. It’s the look of an alpha who is devoted with every fiber of his being, and even if Aedan is controlling him to a degree, I know in this moment that his loyalty is genuine. “I owe him my life.”
“Is it worth your soul?” I challenge, daring to reach up to touch his face. Surprise turns his eyes greener, but he doesn’t push me away. “It’s not too late, Mace. You can live for yourself. You don’t have to die for someone who sees you as worthless.”
My words strike a chord, but not the one I was hoping for. He takes my wrist and pushes my hand away. “Go,” he growls through clenched teeth. “Before I change my mind.”
“Sister!” Albien pleads, grabbing my arm. I hesitate only a moment before letting him lead me away. As we run, I turn back to see Mace bent down at his master’s side, his hand outstretched in tender hopefulness.
My heart tears within me, and every step that brings me closer to freedom breaks off another piece. The pain is as crushing as it is irrational, but I force it down and focus on getting Albien out of here. We both shift and put our faith in our wolves to carry us as far away from here as possible, knowing it may still not be enough.
If Aedan has to sacrifice us on the solstice, then supposedly, our salvation lies within making it to sunrise.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Albien and I run until I can no longer feel my paws, but it’s still not far enough. I know that, and yet when he stumbles, I have no choice but to stop.
I whimper, wandering over to nudge him back to his feet. It’s no use. He tries, but his legs wobble and he collapses. We’re close to a cave, which won’t provide much shelter, but it will have to do.
Reassured by the fact that rest is just a little bit further, we manage to get to the mouth of the cave before Albien collapses again. I nuzzle him for comfort and he whines, pressing his snout into my wounded neck. It comes away pink with blood.
I chuff to assure him that I’m fine, even if I’m not sure. I feel faint, but it’s hard to tell if it’s from exhaustion or blood loss. All I know is how to survive in this moment. Anything beyond that seems impossible and unknowable.
We curl up next to each other for warmth and I close my eyes, because I’m convinced that every shadow in the cave will come to life and drag me back into that awful circle of charred earth. Somehow, I manage to fall asleep, but my dreams are filled with confusing and conflicting images of Mace. My betrayer. My savior.
Where does the truth lie? What will become of him now that he’s betrayed his master?
Aedan’s harsh words come back to haunt me over and over again. The strange glow in Mace’s eyes. How much of that was him, and how much is the result of Aedan’s control? If he’s been under the vampire’s spell for as long as I think, then there may not be much left of him outside of it.
These are all the questions that should keep me awake, but instead, they make my sleep fitful and unproductive. When the sunlight dances in through the entrance of the cave, making shapes of light on the stone walls, I realize we made it.
We survived the sunrise. Now we just have to find a way home.
Albien is still asleep, so I nudge him awake and urge him back to his feet. He follows me out of the cave and I glance both ways, taking in the unexpected beauty of the territory. It’s bizarre to think that creatures of such darkness rule this place of light and openness.
We walk for what feels like hours and the sunlight becomes as much of an enemy as a comfort. I know Aedan never comes out during the day, but still. If he’s capable of everything I know him to be, can a little sunlight really stop him? What if Mace changes his mind and comes after us? I’m sure that’s part of the reason the vampire chose a wolf as his servant.
These questions plague me as we travel along the side of the road, as close to it as we can without drawing attention. There are signs for a town up ahead, but that comes with its own risks. Every vampire on this side of the territory will be loyal to Aedan, but we’ll have to stop eventually. Albien is already so weak.
I stop walking suddenly as a strange sense overwhelms me. The feeling that I’m not alone, even in my own thoughts. At first, I panic, convinced that Aedan has found his way into my mind, but then I realize this energy is familiar.
Christopher.
My heart recognizes his power, as faint and distant as it is. It feels the same as the last time he controlled me, only this time, it’s relief rather than anger that washes over me.
Albien looks at me in confusion as I run faster, even though I have no idea where Christopher is. I just know that somehow, he found me again. I know everything is going to be okay.
When I hear the sound of tires tearing down the highway, I’m filled with joy even though Albien looks petrified. I wish I could explain to him, but before I have the chance, I see the car stopping through the trees and two familiar scents hit my nose.
I’ve never been so relieved. I run toward the car as James leaps out of the driver’s seat, followed by Rowan. Christopher isn’t with them, and his energy is gone, but I know he’s the one who led them to me.
I shift back into my human form and run into James’ arms, squeezing him tight, but not as tightly as he’s crushing me to his chest.
“Danica,” he breathes, his fingers digging into my hair as he strokes me, rubbing his cheek against mine to scent me. My heart fills with joy at the gesture. He’s usually far more in touch with his vampire side, as much as it pains him, but I relish being claimed by him this way.
When he finally pulls away to look me over, his eyes are bloodshot and his hand rests against my bloody neck. Even though the wound has healed and the blood is dry, it’s probably hard for him. Nonetheless, it’s rage rather than thirst I see in his eyes. “Who?” he snarled.
“Aedan,” I tell him, touching his face. “But it’s over now. I’m okay.”
There was a long while there when I wasn’t sure, but now I know it. I turn to see Rowan, who’s just as livid, only at least some of that anger is understandably directed at me. “You,” he seethes, taking me into his arms. If I thought James’ hug was tight, it has nothing on the crushing force of Rowan’s burly arms. “You are never stepping foot outside the castle again, you hear me?”
I relax into his embrace, breathing in his scent. We can argue about my confinement later, but for now, I’m just too relieved to see them both to care. “I’m sorry,” I murmur. “But I got Albien.”
“I can see that,” James says, running over to my twin, who’s staggerin
g out onto the roadside, still in his wolf form. James drops to his knees, looking the smaller wolf over in concern. “Is he hurt?”
“He hit his head and he’s exhausted, but we’re both alright,” I promise, looking down the road. It’s deserted, but there’s no guarantee it will stay that way for much longer. “I know you both probably want to kill me, but can we get out of here before the lecture I know I have coming?”
Rowan and James exchange a frustrated look before they both nod. James helps Albien into the car as Rowan opens the door for me. “I can do that,” I protest when he starts fastening my seatbelt.
The look he gives me makes me think twice of continuing the argument. “You’re already on thin ice.”
“I get that,” I sigh, leaning back against the seat. Now that I don’t have to keep moving, the exhaustion has finally set in and I don’t think I could walk another step if my life depended on it. Fortunately, it’s no longer in my hands. “I know you’re mad at me, and you have every right to be, but there’s something I need to tell you.”
He sets his jaw but he waits expectantly. I’m sure he thinks I’m going to make an excuse, but when I was sure I was going to die, one of my biggest regrets was the fact that I missed my chance to say the only words that really seem to matter anymore.
“I love you.”
The shock on his face confirms that was the last thing he expected. He narrows his eyes skeptically. “If you’re just trying to get out of trouble…”
“I’m not,” I promise, leaning up to kiss him. Something else I never thought I’d have the chance to do again. “I just needed you to know that.”
Rowan looks a bit stunned, and the red coloring his face makes him seem endearingly bashful. He mumbles something that sounds like, “Love you, too,” before getting into the back seat.
Once we’re on the road with Albien still in his wolf form, squished between Rowan and the door, I finally allow myself to take a deep breath and ask the prominent question on my mind.
Court of Alphas: A WhyChoose Shifter Romance Page 15