by Dana Archer
“How is giving our baby up to Vince’s family best?”
“They’ll know best how to raise it and stop it from turning into…”
“What I am.” I step into BJ’s personal space. “A shaman.”
“A devil worshipper. That’s what Asa called you.”
“And you believe him. Don’t you?” I snarl the words at him. “That’s why you’ve been weird lately. That’s why you started hitting the booze and drugs. You think you’re marrying a devil worshipper!”
BJ pushes me away. I stumble, right into Vince’s chest. He settles his hands on my sides, stabilizing me and supporting me. BJ puts more space between us and motions to me. “When you look at me with black flames in your eyes, how can I not believe him? They’re freaking blazing in your eyes right now! You’re a devil worshipper, Zo! Freaking accept it and take the help Vince’s family is offering. They’ll raise our kid. Help you control what you are. Help you not be evil.”
I press the balls of my hands to my eyes, an attempt to smother the flames, but I can’t. They’re a part of me. Thanks to Vince. He awakened me. That’s the only explanation. I was fine until we had sex. Then…then I wasn’t. “I’m not evil.”
“You’re not normal either, and I can’t deal with it anymore. No way do I want to raise a little hell boy!”
“Or love me.”
BJ clamps his jaw. His eyes narrow. But he doesn’t speak.
I shake my head. “I’m not giving my baby up. If you don’t want to be a part of his life, then leave. I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone. I’ll run away if I have to, but I swear to you, nobody will ever take my baby away!”
“Then you leave me with no choice.” BJ pulls a gun from where it must’ve been tucked into the back of his jeans, points it at me, and fires.
Vince knocks me out of the way. I hit the ground, my outstretched arm the only thing stopping me from landing on my belly, then I adjust my weight, supporting my belly, and move to get up. Another shot goes off. The bullet hits the ground next to me, right where I’d originally landed.
“What is wrong with you?” I scream, but my words are drowned out by hits and grunts, Vince and BJ throwing punches meant to kill.
Rage shows on their faces. BJ takes the gun and whacks the butt against Vince’s temple. He stumbles to the side, nearly falling off the edge of the overlook. BJ holds the gun in two hands and points at Vince’s head.
“BJ, no!”
I scramble forward and throw my weight against him at the same time as Vince jumps up. BJ falls and screams, his cry fading, then stopping, but I don’t look. I don’t move. Vince’s gaze traps mine. Fangs fill his mouth, and black flames show in his eyes, but it’s the emptiness of his expression that stops my heart. There’s no recognition, no humanity, no warmth. There’s only death, and it’s focused on claiming me.
Pain lashes my stomach before I can save myself.
I open my mouth. No scream comes out. No squeak. No cry. I can’t manage anything as my lashing agony consumes me. Vince twists his hands and tugs, trying to pull something out of me.
My baby. I mouth the words, my voice gone, and with another wrenching motion, my body jerks. A screech rips from the very depths of my soul. Then I scream, over and over, flailing and hitting Vince, but he keeps digging.
“Zoe!”
Josh’s voice sounds far off, but he’s close. He came for me. I told him I was going up here. I told him BJ and I were fighting. I told Josh not to worry, though. He did, and he came for me. He’d take on the world for me. Kill for me. I know it. That’s what you do when you love someone. You risk everything.
Vince is pulled off me and thrown, landing on the edge of the overlook where BJ fell. Vince catches himself and rolls. Josh is there, kicking and hitting and rolling with him. Blood flies. Vince stumbles toward the edge, teetering. One push and he’ll fall to his death like BJ.
Josh kicks a leg out. Vince leaps, then lands on the ground next to him, his clawed hand raised.
“Look out!” My voice is no stronger than a mumbled grunt. It’s all I can manage.
It’s not enough.
Josh doesn’t move in time. His blood sprays, but despite his injury, Josh groans and punches Vince, knocking him aside, then struggles to his feet, his arm around his gut. And Vince laughs. Then moves in for the kill.
“No!”
Vince turns to me, but it’s not my friend looking at me. Evil is. Red flames replace the black. I’m looking Hell in the eye.
My hand shakes, but I stretch an arm out, imploring the friend who played dolls with me and let me fix his hair and rode the bus with me for years. That’s the man I need to reach not whatever has taken him over. “Vince, please. Hear me. Don’t do it.”
He—it—smirks. “Sorry. Vince isn’t home. Can I take a message?”
Not Vince…this is not Vince, but this thing using his body holds Josh’s life in his hands. “Don’t kill my brother, please.”
“He needs to die. Your boy needs to die.”
“No.” I shake my head as my baby kicks and squirms, fighting to live. “They don’t need to die. They didn’t do anything wrong.”
“If I can’t walk this earth, the goddesses who condemned me to Hell won’t either.” Whatever’s talking to me through Vince points at where Josh is lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. “That golden bitch will not get her vessel. Ever! Your bloodline stops here.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Josh grabs Vince’s—its—ankle and yanks, toppling him.
My brother’s wrath feeds mine, fuel to the fire inside me. I draw it in, letting it strengthen me, and dig my fingers into the earth and drag my body forward. A fresh wave of pain jolts me, my baby kicking harder and my determination giving me power where I had none. Nobody—nothing—will take those I love away from me.
Vince—it—kicks Josh’s bloody stomach. My brother’s face contorts with pain. He rolls, an arm around his gut. In the next instance, he’s lifted. The thing controlling Vince takes a step toward the edge, then another, its intent clear.
Not on my life.
With agony ripping through me, I push to my feet and stretch my arms out to the sides and embrace all those temptations that have teased my mind over the last few months.
Rage pours into me, feeding the part of me I’ve ignored, the part where vengeance rules and hatred thrives. My chest heaves, each breath fueling me. The world turns as red as the blood pouring down my stomach and down my legs. Thunder cracks, and lightning flashes. The very earth under my feet heaves and shakes.
Closing my eyes, I speak the words my soul knows but my mind doesn’t. Gibberish—that’s all I hear. Power heeds the nonsense words, however. It rushes to me, lifting my hair and calling a storm where there had been none. The sky opens—the hard, pelting bands of water stinging my skin. Wind shakes my body. Hail falls, and each icy bullet shoots more pain—more fuel—into me.
I turn my face to the sky and scream the gibberish words I don’t understand while screeches surround me. Vince—the creature inside him—shrieks and cries and begs. But my voice carries through the night, changing the very fabric of the earth, the sky, the heavens. And when I tug on the air in front of me, Vince’s body slides closer, his feet dragging along the ground.
A dark shimmering cloud forms around Vince’s body. I pull harder on the air in front of me. The cloud takes on a rough human shape. Its mouth moves, but instead of Vince’s voice, mine comes out. It’s not me speaking, however. The thing inside Vince is using my voice. “You don’t know what you’re doing! Stop this before it’s too late!”
It’s already too late. I can’t stop the words coming out of my mouth. I can’t prevent my hands from manipulating the air. I can’t change what I am. All I can do is finish this.
Screaming the gibberish my soul understands, I wind the air hand over hand and wrench with every ounce of strength I have left.
A duplicate of me steps out of Vince’s body, but this version isn’t pregna
nt. Or bleeding. But she—it—is hurting, fighting, wailing, and thrashing while Vince is running in the opposite direction, fleeing the hell he left behind.
This alternate version of me takes a step closer, then another and another until I’m face-to-face with this demonic clone. She bares pointed blood-tipped teeth. Red flames burn in her eyes. And animalistic snarls roll off her tongue.
“Kneel.” The command is spoken on my lips, but the power behind it is one I feel in my soul.
She obeys—instantly—and drops to her knees, but then she’s snapping at my legs and clawing at my stomach, trying to finish what she’d started.
I lift my knee, cracking her jaw. She jerks her head, and I wrench her chin higher until we’re staring into each other’s eyes. “You can’t have them. My baby, my brother—you can’t have them.”
“And you can’t save them.” Her mouth twists into a sneer that promises pain. “Both are dying. And you can’t stop it.”
“You can.” I wrench her ponytail, jerking her head. “You can save them.”
Her leer softens into a grin. “For a price.”
“What price?” Because she’s right. My baby’s not moving anymore. Josh isn’t moving either. They’re dying.
“When the moon is high, you’ll release me, and allow me to walk among humans.”
I shake my head, not understanding what she’s asking but knowing this creature has no place on earth.
“Then they die, and I’ll collect on my botched deal with Vince before I return to Hell. His soul will strengthen me for my time there.” She looks down my body and focuses on the blood dripping from my belly. “And of course, I’ll snatch up any recently departed souls I can find. The more the merrier! Hell loves company.”
Cradling my stomach, I step back. This demonic replica of me takes the opportunity I hadn’t meant to give and breaks my hold over her.
Something strong and unseen hits me dead in the chest. I fall backward, landing on my bottom as waves of unbearable agony ripple over my stomach and lower back. The tightening tears a scream from my throat, and more blood flows from my stomach in a pulsing gush.
I’m in labor, and I’m bleeding out.
“And your baby’s heart just stopped.” The demonic version of me motions to Josh with a flick of her hand. “Josh’s heart isn’t far behind. Seconds, if he’s lucky.”
“No.”
“Not my problem.” Turning her back on me, this demonic clone walks away, waving behind her as she disappears into the woods. “See you later, Zoe Jane…on my way back to Hell.”
“NO!”
Her body lurches. This demon creature stops and whips her head to me. There’s shock in her expression. I don’t know why, and I don’t care. I raise a trembling hand. “Anything. I’ll do anything. Promise anything. Don’t let my baby, my brother… Don’t let them die.”
Rubbing her hands together, she smiles and makes her way back to me. “Vow it.”
“What? Vow what?”
“Come the full moon, you’ll release me to walk among humans.”
“I vow it. I vow it. Come the full moon, I’ll release you to walk among humans.”
The earth heaves, rolling my body to her. She digs pointy nails into my shoulders and pulls me close. Then her mouth is on mine. And the world around me darkens until there’s nothing left.
Thirty-Five
Kade
At the sight of Vince running out of the barn, I act, closing the distance between us. The man I present to the world isn’t in charge. Neither is the beast I can become. In this moment, the soul of every alpha before me blends into my psyche. My father lends his strength to me. His father adds his cunning. My great-grandfather instills confidence. I take their gifts, and my pace quickens. My strides lengthen. My steps soften. The air lifts me up, propelling me forward with only one goal in mind.
Save our future.
The newborn in Vince’s arms screams, the ear-piercing screech shaking the world. The ground undulates. Trees sway. Thunder rolls. My steps falter, awed by her power. And the babe Vince carries is a girl. This is Mira’s daughter. The black streak in the blonde fuzz covering her head unmistakable, a trait Josh’s vision of the prophesized ones had revealed.
And stealing her is a sin I can’t forgive.
With my sword raised, I attack, my free hand reaching around Vince to pluck Mira’s daughter from his arms as I bring the blade down, whacking through Vince’s neck before he realizes a threat looms over him.
Red droplets spray over the newborn’s face. Vince’s head falls. I drop the sword, and lift the bloody newborn into my arms as his lifeless body crumbles. Her dark blue eyes lock on to mine, the golden flecks in her orbs glowing. There’s no fear in her expression. No distress tenses her body. She lifts a chubby fist to her mouth and sucks, the horror of what happened moments ago forgotten. I brush my finger over her cheek, leaving a bloody streak, then snatch a section of Vince’s hair and make my way to the barn.
With a hard push, I open the barn door, then step inside. Blood drips on the floor, draining from the severed head in my hand. My gaze zeroes in on where Asa is gripping Zoe’s biceps. My tiger pushes at my chest with a demand I release it, but the shifters from neighboring groups ushering the sobbing, hysterical humans out the back door stops me. The humans’ cries of denial and ignorance follow them out. They don’t know why they’re here. They couldn’t have been the ones who shot anyone. They didn’t mean to. They were sorry.
I block them out and wait.
Once the last human is gone, I fling Vince’s head across the floor to land at Asa’s feet and step into the barn, cradling Mira’s daughter close. Blood coats the newborn as it did when Vince rushed out of the barn with her, but the baby doesn’t struggle in my arms as she did in Vince’s. Her intelligent eyes study me. I hold her a little tighter, showing the babe the only way I can that she’s safe.
A gasp carries over the sounds in the barn, and Asa takes a step to the side, revealing my true mate. With her hand at her throat, Zoe hunches over as she struggles to breathe, but manages to look my way, catching my gaze for the briefest of moments and letting me know she’s fine.
Without taking my attention off Asa, I cross the room and kneel next to Mira and the two healthy and squirming newborns resting against her chest. Jarah takes the girl baby from me, and I stand and face the Yuran alpha, the man intent on hurting those under my protection and the man who’s sealed his fate.
“You killed the next in line to be alpha of the Yuran pride.” Asa throws the accusation at me, assuming I was shamed by what I’d done. “You killed my nephew!”
“I took the head of a male who intended to kidnap a child.” I wipe my hands on my slacks. “And I had every right to do so.”
“My nephew was following my orders.”
“To steal a baby?”
“To save that child!” Asa points to some obscure spot, likely where the shooter had stood. “There were bullets flying everywhere.”
“I had every right to take Vince’s head—as an alpha and a Shifter Affairs agent.” I jerk my chin to where Vince’s head rests. “Vince was no innocent. He had a history of—”
“Saving innocents!” Asa roars. He points at Zoe. “And the not so innocent. He was a good male.”
“Shifter law grants me—”
“Shifter law grants me”—Asa booms over me—“vengeance. A life for a life. The future of a pride for the future of a pride.”
Every instinct within me flares, but there’s no escaping the trap Asa’s sprung, not when alphas from across the country are watching and listening. I tilt my head, a condescending move that narrows Asa’s eyes. “Careful, Asa. Words are powerful.”
“You’re right. They are.” Asa takes a slow survey of those hovering in the shadows and nods. “Which is why I’m challenging you. Let us settle this under the light of the full moon. Tonight.”
“An alpha challenge?”
Asa nods. “Your life for Vince’s. Yo
ur pride for the one he could’ve led.”
Unheard of! Alphas don’t challenge alphas. Yet…there’s nothing stopping them. And there’s no ignoring the path Asa’s forced me to walk. We will fight. One of us will die. “I don’t have a circle cast on my pride lands at the moment.”
“Any will do. Surely one of the honorable alphas who live close to you will offer his circle for such a historic battle.”
Alpha against alpha. Winner takes all and becomes more powerful than anything this world has ever known.
A king among alphas.
An odd sense of calm settles over me. I incline my head. “Then we fight.”
“Tonight.” Asa tips his head to me. “Name the place. I’ll be there.”
“The Kagan pack lands.” It’s the closest to Riley’s Sanctuary, the only shifter hospital in hundreds of miles, and that’s where Megan, Seth, Peyton, and Rey have gone. All but one are expected to be fine. And if both Megan and I die tonight, I want to be the one to lead her to heaven.
Thirty-Six
Zoe
“Are you okay?”
Kade’s question cuts through the shock that’s left me quiet and reflective on the car ride over to Riley’s Sanctuary, a veterinary-turned-shifter hospital not far from the Alexander pack lands. I glance from my true mate to the others in the large SUV with us: Jarah at the wheel, Zach in the passenger seat, and Ezra and Uri, two of Kade’s cousins, in the third row.
Nope. There’s no way I’m bringing up anything that happened tonight.
The mistake I made in allowing a demon into my soul has far greater implications that I’d ever imagined. Yet, I’m not remorseful. The Conway bloodline lives on. Josh didn’t die, and my baby is out there somewhere. Alive.
I want to scream the truth to the world, start a search party, think about what my life is going to be like with a young child, but I can’t.
Our time is almost upon us, my demon and I, and I’m not sure which one of us will win.