THE IMMORTAL: A Novel of the Breedline series

by Shana Congrove

  When Angie opened her eyes and looked down, she found herself standing on all fours. Her hands were now enormous paws, and she could see her hind feet were no longer human, but instead those of a wolf. She saw that her skin was no longer visible, completely hidden beneath thick brown fur. It was amazing how fast it grew. Every particle of her body electrified with an overwhelming sensation. At that moment, she knew instinctively what to do. Time was of the essence. While Angie’s mind focused on one thing, to get to the Salem Cemetery before it was too late, the wooded path that led her there would provide enough coverage to keep her hidden from prying eyes. Every muscle in her body sang with ever-increasing strength. She had never felt so compelled, so driven. It was as though she’d been reborn with a newfound purpose. The impulse and desire to howl rose in her, although she clenched the muscles in her powerful jaws and kept it at bay. With the full power of her hind legs, she sprang forward and darted through the woods, running at such speed the trees blurred as she passed by them.

  * * *

  As Jena finally made her way into the Salem Cemetery, she walked among the rows of ornate headstones that marked all the gravesites. It seemed different than she remembered. The time she’d been here before, in her human form, she never noticed the twin statues of angels perched over the wrought-iron gate’s entrance. It was as though they were watching over all the dead. She could tell the years of exposure had slowly aged them by all the cracks and bits of chipped stone.

  While she searched for the mausoleum, the same one which housed Carla’s empty coffin, a memory flashed through her mind: she and Angie sharing a heart-to-heart talk, and the seriousness of her best friend’s voice. “You’re the only thing this creature wants,” Angie had told her, “and you’re the only one who can destroy it.”

  Do I have the strength to kill him? Jena thought, second-guessing herself. Please God, she silently prayed, give me strength.

  With all the courage she could muster, she continued onward. Jena didn’t make it far before a whispering voice called out to her.

  “The night is ours, Jena,” his alluring voice traveled in an echo. “Come, my beloved... share it with me.”

  Jena stopped in her tracks and whirled around, her eyes darting over the dark and desolate graveyard. Although she couldn’t see anyone, she could feel his presence near, and she could sense his eyes upon her... watching... waiting.

  Her first instinct was to flee, but she fought it with all her strength. She had to do this. Everyone depended on her. Ashton wasn’t going away no matter how hard she wished it.

  “Aren’t you going to show yourself,” she called out in a guttural voice, turning in a slow, deliberate circle.

  She stood still and waited with uncertainty. After a few minutes had passed of what seemed to last for eternity, she became impatient and said, “Ashton, I’m waiting.” Her eyes widened, the silence rubbing her nerves raw. “Show yourself.”

  The rustle of footsteps moving closer, coming from the dark shadows, caught her attention. As she turned to look, her heart leapt into her throat at the sight of a pair of amber eyes that glowed. They stared at her from a face that was all too familiar.

  His features were that of a man and a wolf, covered in black matted fur and a muzzle for a mouth that made her cringe because Jena knew that she looked the same. It was the only similarity between them, other than their lust for human blood. While her humanity remained intact, he was nothing but a black pit of darkness.

  “Tell me,” he demanded as he came forward. There was a hint of aggravation and resentment in his tone. “Did you really think I wouldn’t find out about your and Nicolas’s plans?”

  For an endless moment, Jena stood frozen in place like a stone statue, staring at him until the sound of approaching footsteps made her look away.

  Out of the darkness came a huge, hulking wolf.

  Jena involuntarily gasped and stepped back. The ferocious animal was dark brown and as big as a horse, if not bigger. It had its eyes pinned on Ashton’s beastly form, glaring at him with a baleful stare.

  Jena watched the four-legged canine with amazed disbelief as it took a few steps closer, moving with feline grace, and lowered its head. With its lips drawn back, it snarled at Ashton with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.

  As Jena turned to look at Ashton, his eyes met hers, and they were furious. He was fuming with so much fury that she could hear a low, rumbling growl in the back of his throat.

  At first, Jena had thought his anger targeted toward her, but then he looked away and spoke to the enormous animal. Ashton seemed to weigh each word before he spoke it. “Heed... my... warning... dog.” His upper lip curled back over his teeth. “Leave now while you have a chance.”

  The mysterious wolfish creature went silent for a moment, its eyes flickering between the two until finally they zeroed in on Ashton. Then abruptly, it leaned forward with its teeth gritted and growled low in its throat as if it was preparing to attack.

  Ashton narrowed his eyes in a final warning with his clawed hands wound into tight fists. Then he crouched into a fight stance and released a wild growl as though daring the unwelcome animal to make a move.

  Suddenly, Jena remembered Angie’s description of her Breedline wolf. Without a doubt, she then realized what it was, and for some reason, it appeared as though it was trying to protect her. But who was the person beneath the mystical wolf? Surely, whoever it was knew she was the only one that held the power to destroy the creature. As she pondered the Breedline’s identity, and how it knew to come here, the answer to her questions instantly rang clear.

  No, Jena thought. Please, God, no...

  At the sound of something pawing at the ground, Jena quickly averted her eyes from Ashton and refocused them on the giant wolf. It looked ready to spring forward.

  “Please, Angie,” she pleaded, praying that her best friend would come to reason. “Don’t do this.”

  For a split second, the enormous Breedline wolf took its eyes off Ashton and glanced in Jena’s direction. It looked at her in a strange way. She could see that there was a conflicting confusion in the wolf’s eyes. During that short blink in time, everything seemed to move in slow motion. It was as if the wolf was trying to relay some kind of message to Jena.

  In that moment, Ashton used it to his advantage and lunged at the wolf with his claws reaching out in front of him.

  Before Jena could react, or even jump in between them, Ashton had her friend on the ground. Time seemed to stand still as the creature and the Breedline wolf tore at one another. Then the sickening sounds of flesh tearing and bones cracking nearly brought Jena to her knees.

  “No...” she yelled, her deep voice traveling through the cemetery in a distant echo.

  As Jena brought her clawed hands close to her face, they were trembling. The curse was giving her more than heightened senses and a lust for blood. An unleashed anger... a murderous rage...

  She felt stronger now. More courageous. Enough to save Angie. All of her conflicting emotions and fears melted away, replaced with the task to destroy him and preserve innocent lives.

  * * *

  There was a tense conversation, mostly between Tessa, Tim, the Fury, and the battle angels as they discussed the current situation dealing with Jena. As everyone else took their seats and listened in hushed silence, Bull’s thoughts had drifted to Angie, worried that she’d taken off after Jena. He couldn’t believe she would have done something this foolish as to go by herself. He couldn’t stop thinking of the worst. Then, out of nowhere, a prickle of unease snaked down his spine, and he knew it had something to do with Angie. The bond they shared told him without a doubt she was in trouble, or worse. He could sense it within every fiber of his body.

  When Lena glanced over at Bull, she knew something was wrong going by the grim expression on his face. She’d recognize that look anywhere. Each time they were assigned to a mission, either one that involved a rescue or a takedown, he’d always bottle up his emotions on the
inside, but on the outside, it was obvious his nerves were stretched thin.

  “Brother,” she said, keeping her voice low. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Angie,” he mouthed. “Something’s not right.”

  Lena got out of her chair and bent low next to Bull. “What’s not right, brother?” She continued to keep her voice down.

  Justice noticed something was off as he shifted in his seat and looked at Bull, whose face turned as white as a sheet in two seconds flat. His breaths seemed to be coming out in short gasps.

  “Talk to us, buddy,” Justice said, as he leaned in close to Bull, straining to hear everything he had to say.

  “Angie went after Jena,” he said, fear nearly choking him. “And she’s hurt... bad.”

  “Oh shit,” Justice declared, raising his voice. “How bad?”

  Everyone at the table, including the battle angels and the Fury, immediately turned their full attention to Justice’s outburst, looking at him oddly.

  Annoyed by the interruption, Tim eyed Justice sharply. “What’s going on?”

  Bull sucked in a deep breath. “Angie went after Jena,” he said grimly. “I have this strong feeling that she’s been hurt. I can’t...” He shook his head. “I can’t lose her.”

  Cronus walked over and put his giant hand on Bull’s shoulder. “You aren’t going to lose her.”

  Bull lifted his chin and looked squarely at Cronus. “How can you be sure?”

  “It’s not her time,” he simply said.

  Bull turned to the others knowing that Angie’s fate now rested in the hands of his supernatural companions. “We have to go after her.”

  Lena rested her hand over Bull’s and then looked up at Cronus. “Please tell me you have a plan.”

  Cronus nodded. “We’re going to the Salem Cemetery.”

  “And kill whatever the hell gets in our way,” Apollyon added.

  Jace abruptly pounded his fist on top of the table. “I second that,” he said, his eyes going from Apollyon to his fraternal twin sisters and back again. “Before we go kick some ass, I’ve got one question that’s been driving me crazy.”

  Tessa glared into Jace’s stubborn blue eyes and grumbled. “Come on, Jace. This is not the time.”

  “Now hang on a minute,” he said, and there was a sort of bitter humor in his voice. “I think I deserve to know. The three of them did try to kill us once.”

  “Okay, Jace,” Tessa said, releasing a heavy sigh. “Go ahead, but make it fast.”

  “Answer me one thing.” Jace pointed to the signet ring on Apollyon’s hand. “What’s up with that symbol? I’ve noticed all three of you have one,” he said, averting his eyes from Apollyon and focusing them on Callisto’s necklace and then to Electra’s bracelet, noticing all three pieces of jewelry had the same particular shape of a trefoil knot. “What does it mean? Is that where you get your powers from?”

  Apollyon smirked. “We were born with our powers,” he said, looking down at the ring on his hand. Then, as he looked back up, his hard expression softened a little. “They were gifts from our mother. While our biological father kept her prisoner, they were the only things he allowed her to give us. The symbol represents the Holy Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Then he went on to say, “My mother has always had a strong Christian faith.”

  “Well, hell,” Jace huffed out, shrugging. “Okay, then. I guess that answers my question.” He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “So, let’s go kick some ass.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I call first dibs.”

  “You may go in first,” Cronus said to Jace. “Your Beast, along with everyone else, has the strength to fight the creature. You will all serve as a distraction. Jena is the only one who has the power to destroy it.”

  “What about all of you?” Tessa asked, her eyes going from Cronus to the other four angels and back again. “Aren’t you going to help us fight this creature?”

  Cronus looked at Tessa wearily. “Our Creator sent us here to help Jena, although we are also here for another reason. There is something evil coming, and we are chosen to destroy it.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Without further delay, Jena moved in quickly and knocked Ashton off the Breedline wolf with a powerful swipe of her clawed hand. He struck the ground with a blinding force and rolled along the gravesites, the impact smashing several concrete headstones into bits and pieces.

  Throughout all his immortal years, the creature had never faced anyone or anything that had come close to his power and strength. Tonight, Jena had vowed, that would all change.

  Angie watched, in her Breedline form, as Jena went after the creature. She had to help, but when she struggled to stand on all fours, she was still too weak from the injuries inflicted by the creature’s sharp claws to be of much help. Blood was seeping from her thick hide, and there were gaping wounds in a few places—although she could feel the beginnings of the Breedline healing doing its work.

  When Jena came upon the creature, she stopped in her tracks as he slowly took to his feet. Covered in flakes of dirt, he was bleeding from his shoulder and other places on his torso where Angie’s wolf had used her teeth. As Jena prepared herself to fight against him, she knew it was time to wipe the creature’s evil existence from the earth. She had to succeed. Innocent lives, including Nicolas, depended on her.

  Then, before her eyes, his body began to reshape, and spasms of pain contorted his face as though something inside of him was clawing its way out. Within seconds, the creature stood in front of her in his human form, wearing only the torn remnants of his pants.

  A look of self-assurance came over his face as he said, “You kill me, and Nicolas dies.”

  Jena shook her head, realizing Ashton was trying to confuse her, but she remained strong and pushed his words aside. “You’re lying,” she said through gritted teeth.

  Ashton’s voice was calm, but his eyes blazed. “It’s true, my beloved.”

  Jena growled and took a single step forward. “Don’t call me that! I am not your beloved!” The words came out of Jena’s mouth before she could stop them. It was as though she had no control over what she was saying. “Your powers—they no longer have a hold on me.”

  Ashton was looking at her, stunned, his mouth open. Jena imagined that no one had ever spoken to him like that.

  “No, it cannot be,” he uttered, warily stepping back. Then an expression of disappointment showed in his eyes. It was only there for a moment before it shifted into something harsh and resentful. “I am your creator.” His voice became angry. “You. Will. Obey. Me.”

  His words took her by surprise and she found that her power of resistance began to fade. “N-no,” she muttered as her body suddenly began to shrink. It was as if the impending changes took on a will of their own. No matter how hard she fought it, her body continued to transform itself. She could feel every pore in her skin absorbing all the hair that had blanketed her body until her creature was no more and she was just a human again.

  Naked and exposed, Jena quickly wrapped her arms around herself. “Why did you do this to me?” she demanded. “Why did you curse me?”

  Ashton’s lips twisted slightly, although it was not a smile, more like a conceited smug. “Don’t you see, Jena,” he said, his words mocking. “You are my true beloved. My blood flows through your veins, and so does my dearest Isabella’s.”

  Jena thought back to the words in Nicolas’s journal as he told the story of Isabella Westfield and how she broke Ashton’s heart, not only once, but twice, and what her rejections had done to him. So far, she couldn’t figure out how Isabella was linked to her. She was almost positive there was no one by the name of Westfield on either side of her parents’ ancestry.

  “I don’t understand,” she said, her eyes brimming with tears. “What does that have to do with me?”

  “Not only are you a descendant of Isabella,” he began to explain, “you have the blood of my Master in you. You were not born entirely h
uman, nor just the creature I created. You are something extraordinary, something entirely other. A Necromancer,” he said with a calculated grin. “How else did you think it was possible for you to speak with the dead?”

  Jena’s heart sank. “B-but, God gave me that gift,” she said, her expression hopeless. “The angels said—”

  “They lied,” he interjected with an acidic flash of bitterness. “Your true father gave you this special gift, and I’m not talking about the one up above.” He made a show of mockery by rolling his eyes.

  “My father?” Jena looked at him in question. “What are you saying?”

  “Your parents kept a secret from you,” he told her. “They are not your biological family. You were adopted.”

  Jena opened her mouth and then closed it again, until finally, she built up the courage to speak. “Who is...” she said, choosing her words carefully, “my real father?”

  Ashton stood there silent for a moment, his eyes shining in the moonlight. He seemed hesitant to give her an answer, the stillness unraveling Jena’s already stretched nerves. Then he simply said, “Lucifer.”

  Jena drew in a breath, and for a moment, everything went dizzy. Ashton’s words seemed so convincing, and yet—

  “No,” she said breathlessly. The ground beneath Jena began to sway, tipping from one side to the other. Her legs trembled, and her body shook with the horror of his revelation. It all seemed like a nightmare, trapping her in a state of torment and misery.

  With her arms wrapped around herself, she dropped to her knees and let out a scream that sounded like shattering glass.

  Ashton crossed the short distance to where Jena was and knelt down with his hand out. “Come, my beloved. Let me take the pain away.”

  When she looked up at him, tears streamed down her face like from an endless river.

  “Take my hand,” he said softly, “and share this precious moment with me. Together, our powers will be limitless. We will start a new race. It will be a powerful race that will dominate the human species and destroy all supernatural beings on earth.”