by T. S. Joyce
“Kill them,” Slade demanded through a smile that made no sense to Ashlyn. Didn’t he see the mother-fucking storm named Asher coming for him? Didn’t he see his death coming? Didn’t he care?
The wolves around her took off at a dead sprint toward the wall of power. No…toward Gentry and Roman, who were now charging toward them with the promise of death in their eyes. Seven wolves on two, but the Striker brothers weren’t normal werewolves. They were nearly twice the size of the others, with long strides and big, powerful barrel chests.
They clashed in a mess of brutality. The animals spun and ripped and snarled and were hurled from the battle. Some got up and returned, while some stayed broken in the snow.
“Let go of me,” Ashlyn screeched, yanking out of Brayah’s grasp. Her nails tore her skin, but so what? She couldn’t stand here and not help! She bent as fast as she could, but the woman was on her. Ashlyn picked up a heavy branch and swung it upward, caught Brayah in the side of the face. She’d thought it would only buy her a second, but the woman went hurling toward a tree, slammed into the trunk with a horrible crack of bone, then slid down into the snow and didn’t get up. Chest heaving, Ashlyn looked down at the stick, but it was covered in dark blue fog. Asher was somehow bolstering her strength, giving her the ability to protect herself. When she looked up, something awful was happening in the woods. Ghosts were gathering by the hundreds, closing in on them, all transparent and dead-eyed.
“What the fuck?” Slade said on a breath as he scanned the haunted forest. “Carver, you can see this too…right?”
The other giant, the one who was almost as big as Slade, nodded his head once. “I see ’em.”
“Asher’s power is bringing in the dead,” Ashlyn said desperately. “Run now and live.” Run now so Asher can live!
Slade lunged for her, but Ashlyn had seen it coming and lurched out of his way, took off running, tossing her stick at him as she bolted. He was on her fast, though, and his grip was painful around her arm as he yanked her to a stop and slammed her back against a tree so hard her head snapped back and smashed into the rough bark. With a gasp at the pain, Ashlyn shook her head to try to clear her vision.
Slade slid an evil smile to Asher, who was running toward her now. The black wolf exploded from his body in a smattering of popping bones and reshaping flesh. The fog seeping out of him darkened and thickened as he sprinted for them, his eyes white as the snow. Something bad was happening but she couldn’t think straight. Hell, she couldn’t even see straight. There were two of Slade now. She blinked hard as she struggled against him with all her strength. It was like she’d fallen into the back of a cement truck, cement had dried all over her body, and now she was trying to break free of it.
Don’t let him bite you, Ashlyn! Asher’s scream was so loud in her head she jumped, but his warning came too late. Slade’s face morphed into a horrid gray wolf as he shifted right there against her. And then the flash of white teeth was so fast she had no time to react. His fangs pierced her neck one second before Asher’s Dark Wolf barreled into Slade’s gray one. Ashlyn was ripped to the ground with the force of their collision. Carver Changed into a dark brown wolf, a massive one, and leapt onto the frenzied battle Asher was fighting with Slade. Two more wolves bolted out of the woods and joined them, and now it was four on one.
Ashlyn was helpless as she watched her mate fight for his life. For hers. She would’ve given anything to save him, but her body wasn’t working right anymore. Her neck was on fire, as if she’d lit a blow torch and swallowed the flame. Warmth streamed down her neck, and in shock, she lifted her hand to the bite to try to staunch the bleeding. Why did it hurt this bad? Fire crackled down her neck to her chest and settled there for a few moments like dragon’s fire as she watched Asher in horror. He was a pitch-colored, rip-roaring, murder machine. He spun and engaged and bit and ripped like he’d been born to end life.
Her legs stopped working, and Ashlyn couldn’t get up out of the cold snow. Crimson on white. It would’ve been kind of beautiful if she wasn’t dying. And oh, she was dying. She could feel it. No one could endure pain like this for long and survive.
The soft murmured chanting of a witch filled her senses, and now she could see her—Odine. She was standing near a tree Asher had devoured and felled, her hands out, palms up, eyes rolled back in her head. Snow lifted from the ground and whipped around the chaos in the woods. The navy fog rolled from Asher in a massive wave, and the wolves he fought stopped moving. They just dropped and withered to gray corpses in moments. Blaire and Mila’s wolves streaked through the trees and barreled into the fight Gentry and Roman were still waging, and with the flick of her fingers, Odine tossed one of the wolves from the pile. His body pitched high into the air, and a sharp death whine sounded when he pummeled back to earth again.. Gentry was lying motionless in the snow, chest rising raggedly, while Blaire placed her massive, white-furred, snarling body over her mate and glared at the gray wolf stalking him. Roman and Mila were at war with two of the Bone-Rippers, while ghosts converged on the clearing. Ashlyn could barely see through the phantoms now. They surrounded her and blocked out everything, and now she was alone, facing a transparent man with eyes like Asher’s. He knelt slowly in front of her as the dark blue fog filled up all the extra space and covered up the ghosts around them. The Taker didn’t touch her, though. He didn’t touch Asher’s father either.
The ghost smiled sadly and parted his lips. “You’re going to be okay. My boy will fix you. He was meant to fix you, Ashlyn. His whole life, everything that happened, everything I did, every decision he made, has led him to you. You gave him light. You made my son happy.”
“It’s not enough time,” she sobbed, her hair whipping around her shoulders. “I didn’t have him long enough.” Over the roaring wind, she yelled, “It’s not fair!”
“Some lives aren’t fair, Ashlyn. He loves you, though, like I love my Odine. Never forget his gift. Never forget the sacrifice, but always remember, to him, you’re worth it.” He smiled, and the lines around his blue eyes deepened. “Tell Asher I always loved him. Roman, too. I just didn’t want today to come. I fought it, and they paid for my fear by feeling unloved. My boys and their mother were my whole world. Even in my afterlife, they’re my world.”
The ghost stood slowly and backed away, disappearing into the fog. “Tell him,” the ghost’s words echoed in her head.
The pain was unbearable now, wrecking every cell in her body. Blaire had described this when she’d told Ashlyn about being bitten. It was so much more excruciating than she could’ve ever imagined.
Ashlyn pitched forward, but two strong arms caught her right before she hit the snow. Asher was here, looking down at her with panic in his silver eyes. “No, no, no. Ashlyn, stay with me.” He looked up into the chaos. “Odine!”
“Why don’t you call her Mom?” Ashlyn asked in a whisper. She’d always wondered that.
Asher dragged his gaze back to her. “Because I was angry with her for a long time.”
“I’m supposed to tell you something important, Asher.”
“No, no, don’t say goodbyes, baby. You aren’t going anywhere. Odine!”
“Your dad told me to tell you he loves you. He always did. He was just scared of today. He loves you, Asher.”
Asher shook his head over and over. When he looked back at her, his eyes were rimmed with moisture, and he looked heartbroken. “I’m going to fix this. I’m going to heal you, okay, Ashlyn? Just like when you cut your hand, but bigger. I’m going to raise your wolf.”
“Will it hurt you?” she asked.
Asher gave her the saddest smile and shook his head. “I asked Odine that once, a long time ago, when she was gonna try to fix me. I’ll tell you the same thing she told me. It’ll hurt how it has to, but I would do anything for you.”
“Asher,” she whispered.
“This is how it’s supposed to be. Shhhh.” He cradled her head in his lap and rocked her as she sobbed. “You are light and good
, and you’re supposed to stay in this world, Ashlyn. It’s not done with you yet.”
The blue fog swirled faster and began to gather above them in a churning storm cloud. A ghost close to them whispered, “A storm is coming.”
And another one answered, “The storm is here.”
And then the massive cloud that had once dwelled inside of the man she loved—The Taker—plummeted to earth and blasted through her body. It hurt. Oh, it hurt, and she couldn’t draw a breath.
“Shhh, listen to my voice,” Asher said in a pained tone as he held her, rocking gently. “We’re running together as wolves. We’re living here, in ten-ten. Every Friday night I take you out to dinner, and for coffee after, the kind you like. And every night I wrap you up in my arms and talk to you until you go to sleep. And when the wolf needs out, we Change together. We run together, Ashlyn. I’ll always be with you.” His voice grew weaker as she felt something other ripping out of her. “I’m not running. I’ll be waiting for the world to be done with you.”
And then Asher’s voice faded to nothing, his touch disappeared, and the thing inside of her escaped.
The woods dipped to silence in the span of a moment. There was no more war, no more chaos. There were no bodies, only ash and a lightened sky. The snow settled over the destroyed landscape, and around them, not a single tree remained upright.
Ashlyn looked down at a body that didn’t work right. Her paws were black as pitch. Demon black like the wolf who had sacrificed his life for hers. She huffed a broken sob as she looked at Asher lying in the snow. He wasn’t breathing, and she felt no life from him. Her heart shattering completely. She did the only thing this body knew how to do. She sang for him, lifting her howl higher and higher, closing her eyes against the world, because she knew without a shadow of a doubt she would never be okay again. She would never be whole.
The other Wolves of Winter’s Edge were broken and bloodied but standing. Blaire tossed her head back and howled with Ashlyn, and one by one, the others joined. It was the saddest song ever sung.
Odine limped to Asher’s body and fell onto the snow beside him. Her hair was nearly white, and she was crying. “I waited for so long for him to choose a side of the fence. Good or evil. I could never guess where he would end up, and look what he’s done. My good boy wasn’t The Taker in the end, was he?” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cradled his body to her. “He was The Giver.” She smiled at Ashlyn, dislodging two more tears. “You did that for him, and for that, I’m going to give you a gift. I’m going to give him a gift, too. I’m going to give you that future you both wanted. I couldn’t see it before, but I can see it so clearly now. Promise me you’ll always keep him on the good side of the fence, Ashlyn. Keep him steady. You’re the only one who can.”
Odine offered her a sad smile, then placed her hand on Asher’s chest and closed her eyes, then began chanting something under her breath. The other wolves came and stood in a half circle behind Odine, and soft white mist began to pour from them and into Asher. When Ashlyn looked down at her own body, the same was happening with her blue. And from Odine, clouds of thick black poured from her and into her son.
And in the exact moment Asher dragged a ragged breath into his lungs, Odine’s body turned to ash and floated gently away in the breeze.
Ashlyn’s body collapsed in on itself with blinding pain as her wolf tucked itself away. She didn’t know if the Change took moments or hours, but as soon as she was able, she pushed up on her hands and knees and opened her eyes, searching for Asher. He sat just a few yards away, looking pale as the ghosts that had been drawn to his dark magic. He was shaking, but it was his exhausted smile that told her everything was going to be okay.
“Asher,” she whispered. She tackled him, sobbing so hard her shoulders shook.
“It’s okay. It’s over,” he murmured, hugging her tightly against him, petting her hair and rubbing his jaw against her cheek.
It wasn’t all okay, though. “Asher, your mom…”
He eased back and cupped her cheeks, searched her eyes, and then twitched his chin toward the woods. “She’s okay. She’s where she wants to be.”
Ashlyn turned on his lap. Odine’s ghost stood straight and tall, looking decades younger, her black hair whipping around her shoulders in a strong wind that Ashlyn didn’t feel. She was smiling slightly, her dark eyes dancing with joy as she held the hand of Asher’s father.
They both looked so happy.
“Great, now we get to be haunted by both of them,” Roman said testily from where he stood butt naked with his hands on his hips.
Mila laughed emotionally from beside him where she clutched onto his arm affectionately. “Come on, Roman. It’s romantic. They’re finally back together again, and look how sweet they are.”
Gentry was torn all to hell, bleeding from a dozen places, and was sitting in the snow looking like death warmed over. Blaire was kneeling behind him with her arms around his neck, propping him up, as they watched the ghosts.
“I’m not supposed to be able to see them,” Gentry said gruffly.
“Welcome to the club, Favorite,” Roman said softly. “Asher probably made us all into demons with that crazy shit he just pulled. Now we’re all probably a little bit evil. Thanks for that, Asherhole.”
Asher didn’t respond. In fact, none of them did. They all dipped into a heavy silence to match the woods around them. No one spoke, or moved to leave. Maybe everyone was too drained, or perhaps they just needed this time to accept what had happened here. In the span of half an hour, everything had changed.
Ashlyn clung to her mate, inhaling his scent and memorizing it with her new heightened senses, while around them, ashes kicked up with every movement of the cold breeze.
At last, Asher said, “Let’s go home,” and struggled to his feet with Ashlyn’s help. He kissed the side of her head, draped an arm over her shoulder, and began to make his way slowly back toward the inn.
When Ashlyn looked behind her, Roman and Mila and Gentry and Blaire were following right behind.
“I’m a werewolf now,” Ashlyn muttered in shock. “Today was super-fuckin’ weird.”
Blaire giggled behind her, and Mila joined in too. Gentry and Roman chuckled softly and just like that, the heavy moment was lightened.
“At least you’re a pretty werewolf,” Blaire said unhelpfully.
“The prettiest one I’ve ever seen,” Asher said low as he smiled down at her.
Ashlyn snorted. “Cheeseball. You can’t say that about a wolf that looks identical to yours.”
“Yeah, man, way to be really conceited,” Roman offered.
Asher sighed tiredly, but he was still smiling.
“So, when are we going to stop calling ourselves rogues?” Blaire asked. “Because Asher is definitely our alpha.”
“Now’s good with me,” Gentry said.
“Fuck it, we’re in,” Roman muttered, hugging Mila tight against his side.
And at that moment, the sun decided to peek out from behind the clouds, casting the ash-covered Winter’s Edge woods in rays of light. In rays of hope.
“Are you happy?” Asher asked softly. He was looking down at her lips with the softest expression in his eyes.
“I’m relieved that I get to keep you,” she whispered emotionally. She blinked hard to keep her tears to herself, and then twitched her head behind them. “And that I get to keep them, too. Today could’ve gone so differently.” She could’ve lost everything back there. It had been so damn close.
Asher pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “Today went exactly how it was supposed to.”
“What now?” she asked.
“Now, we get some clothes on.”
Ashlyn looked down and huffed a laugh. “Yeah, we’re mega-naked right now.”
“Nudity is natural,” Roman pointed out.
“And then we’re going to clean up and eat,” Asher said.
“And then sleep,” Blaire said helpfully. “I could sl
eep for three days.”
“Okay, selfish,” Roman muttered. “Asherhole was the only one here who actually died. I mean, he was flatlined for at least a minute. But Blaire thinks she’s the one who needs a nap—”
Ashlyn giggled and turned around in time to see Blaire blast him in the back of the head with a snowball.
“I’m not selfish. Odine drained us all to save him, Roman,” Blaire admonished him.
“Technically,” Mila offered, “she probably drained Blaire more than you, Roman. She’s the White Wolf, all pure and goodness. Odine could probably only use about half of your tainted mojo.”
“Whose side are you on, mate?” he growled, nipping at his mate’s ear as she giggled. “You owe me thirty BJs now.”
“And then what?” Ashlyn asked Asher quietly as the banter behind them continued.
“And then I’m going to ask you stay here, with me, in ten-ten. And we’re going to finally open up Winter’s Edge and get this place running again. All of us. Together. And after that, you and I are going to get started living that future we talked about.”
She smiled up at her mate, and then she uttered the words of her heart—the ones he’d told her he longed for all the time. The ones that fed his soul and gave her good smiles. “I love you.”
Asher eased them to a stop and allowed the others to pass, and then he cupped her neck and kissed her gently. When at last he eased back, he told her, “I’ll never run, Ashlyn. I love you more than anything.”
And she knew it was true, because he’d used that love to save her life. For a moment, she was overwhelmed because, now, their future stretched on and on. A future she’d never even dreamed she could have. They were both safe, and a part of something bigger, together. They were a part of a pack, part of the inn, and a part of the bar his father had left as a legacy for his sons.
Before they’d met, they had both been rogues in their own way—lonely, both believing they were destined to walk this earth alone, both afraid to trust, or love deeply. But somehow, against all odds, they’d found each other, and then they’d fought for each other.