Another howl froze her in place. The brush parted, and three snarling wolves crept in on her. Soon, the men from the riverbank joined them.
With nowhere to go, she curled into a ball and covered her head with her arms. Someone grasped her by the shoulder and yanked her to her feet.
“I told you this wasn’t over.” Hyde sneered in her face.
Her magic crackled beneath her skin, but it was little more than static with her energy so depleted. She was out of practice, and her reserves took longer to replenish than they had before.
“Not so tough now, are we?” Hyde laughed as he dragged her through the woods.
She didn’t have the strength to resist, but that seemed to make her dead weight enough. Hyde growled and smacked his free hand across her face. Her teeth grazed the inside of her cheek, spilling blood onto her tongue.
“Keep up or I’ll have one of my men carry you. Can’t guarantee they won’t taste you on the way—it being a full moon and all,” he said.
Zelda quickened her pace, swallowing the blood that had collected in her mouth. Her throat was raw and her lungs ached. The werewolf bite in the bend of her elbow throbbed in time with each painful step she took.
When they finally emerged from the woods, Zelda collapsed. Hyde jerked on her arm, and when she refused to stand, he handed her off to one of the mutant wolves. The creature threw her over a shoulder and followed Hyde across a field and up the side of a low hill.
Zelda focused on her breath, trying to calm her mind. The panic had sapped away all reasoning, and she knew grasping for it was not the way. The dressing on her arm sagged, and the silver lining curled outward, catching in the moonlight.
She slowly undid the bandage and twisted it into a rope, turning the silver out. Then she wrapped the ends around both hands. With a deep breath, she pulled her torso up and looped the rope around the mutant wolf’s neck twice. Her knees drew together, digging into his chest as she leaned backward, tightening the noose around his neck.
The wolf’s howl of pain was cut short as he gagged, clawing at his throat. Smoke curled around his head as the silver ate through his flesh. His wolfish nails sliced through the dressing, sending Zelda to the ground. She grunted as her back hit the hard earth.
One of the fully shifted wolves pounced on her chest, snapping and growling in her face. Scraps of the silver dressing were still coiled around her hands, so she placed them on either side of the beast’s muzzle. It yipped and leapt away from her, causing the remaining two wolves to hesitate.
Zelda jumped to her feet and took off across the side of the hill, coming to a dead stop when her eyes fell on a stone altar. Marla cried out, her exposed, pregnant belly trembling in the crimson light of the moon. A familiar face loomed above her.
“So nice of you to join us, Zelda. Welcome to your final ritual,” Sarah said, lifting a dagger over Marla.
Chapter Twenty -three
Logan’s wolf clawed at his insides as he watched Hyde drag Zelda up the hill by her hair. Her eyes scanned the clearing, growing wide when they fell on him.
“Logan!” she screamed, trying to pull away from Hyde. He pulled her back and pushed her to her knees in front of the dark-haired woman. Then he bound her hands behind her back and shoved her face into the ground.
“That’s enough,” the woman snapped. “She needs to be conscious, you half-wit.”
Hyde growled and stalked off toward the van as Devin took his place. Zelda struggled to sit up, pushing herself away from the newcomer as he bent down to look at her.
“So this is the little girl who thought she could tamper with my pack and get away with it.” He sighed and clicked his tongue at her. “How’s that workin’ out for you, honey?”
Zelda spit in his face, and Logan’s wolf whined as Devin slapped her, knocking her back to the ground.
The dark-haired woman’s eyes bulged and her mouth twisted back to expose her teeth. “Don’t you people know the definition of conscious?”
Devin stood and took a step toward her, his eyes glowing yellow. Soon, the pull of the moon would be too much to resist—for all of the wolves.
The woman positioned her dagger over Marla’s belly again. “Don’t test me, alpha. We had a deal.”
Devin’s face relaxed, though his eyes stayed yellow. He straightened and cleared his throat. “Give me the pups, and we’ll be on our way.”
A stiff wind pushed down on the hilltop, and Logan turned his face away from it in time to see the blond woman step out of the woods. A silver chain was coiled around her hand, and she dragged a wolf behind her.
The pale fur looked familiar to Logan, and he sniffed the air, catching Violet’s scent.
“Sarah,” the blond called. “Look what I found.”
Sarah. Logan looked back at the dark-haired woman. Her mouth curved up in a malicious grin. “How perfect.” She turned to Zelda. “It looks like you won’t be our third after all. Now you can witness the entire ritual. Won’t that be nice?”
Sarah lifted her hand. A small flame sprouted in her palm and spiraled around her forearm up to her elbow. It reminded Logan of Zelda’s lightning, and he suddenly realized these women were from her coven. She’d been right. The ritual was too late.
Sarah held her flaming hand near Marla, illuminating the girl’s pained, sweaty face. She panted and struggled against the ropes tied around her wrists and ankles.
The blond woman paused at the edge of the circle and blinked stiffly, looking around the clearing as if for the first time. “Sarah?” she quaked, looking down at the chain in her hand and the wolf at the other end.
Sarah’s head jerked up, worry creasing her face. “Tie it to a tree, Maggie. Then join me in the circle. It’s time to balance the scales.”
The blond regained her composure and pulled Violet over to a tree near Logan, looping the chain around the trunk and tying the ends. Violet collapsed. Dust clouded around her snout as she panted, and the silver chain at her neck made a hissing noise as it seared through her fur and into her skin.
Logan watched helplessly. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, straining against his own bindings. “No. We’re getting out of here. Do you hear me, Violet?” When she didn’t respond, a growl built in the back of his throat. “Look at me.”
Violet’s head shot up at the command and her ears flattened.
Logan lowered his voice again. “We’re getting out of here. But I’m going to need your help.”
The blond wolf licked her muzzle and dipped her head in a quick nod.
Chapter Twenty -four
Zelda could hardly see through her tears. Everything was falling apart. Not only had she ruined her own life, but she’d ruined so many others in the process.
She couldn’t let Theo die, and by saving him, she had scarred herself and the entire coven. Hazel’s burden was the most obvious, spoiling what she held most dear, shattering her vanity. Maggie’s vacant eyes and sudden confusion was a sure sign that her mind was slipping, and if Sarah had been vindictive before, she was downright murderous now, standing over Marla’s pregnant belly, dagger at the ready.
Marla.
She’d told the girl she was safe with her. How wrong she had been. And now Violet and Logan were in danger too. She glanced over to the bonfire, where Logan was tied to a barrel. His face was covered in blood, and his eyes had shifted to a yellow, wolfish hue.
I should have left town, she thought. This is all my fault.
Devin Raymore stood back, watching Sarah and Maggie hover over Marla. Sarah slipped her dagger under the ropes holding down Marla’s ankles, freeing her legs. She passed the dagger to Maggie and took hold of Marla’s ankles, pushing her knees up and spreading them apart. Marla fought her, kicking and screaming.
Sarah’s face twisted with effort and frustration, until she finally let go. As Marla’s legs kicked out straight again, Maggie plunged the dagger into her chest, just below her sternum and right above the swell of her stomach. Marla’s scream was met wi
th Zelda’s.
“You idiot!” Sarah shouted. “We haven’t begun the ritual yet!”
Maggie covered her ears with her hands and sobbed, turning herself in frantic circles. “Idiot. Idiot. Idiot,” she chanted, slapping the sides of her head.
Sarah huffed and ripped the dagger out of Marla’s chest, splattering blood across the ground and Zelda’s legs. Marla had stopped screaming, but her chest still rose and fell as she took slow, rasping breaths.
Zelda pulled her legs back with a sob and scooted away from the altar, turning her head as Sarah lowered the dagger over Marla’s belly. She heard flesh tearing and bile rose in the back of her throat.
The sound of Marla’s breath was replaced by a series of infant cries. Devin Raymore stepped forward and accepted a bloody baby from Sarah’s stained hands. He passed it to Hyde and turned to claim a second baby.
“We’re done here,” he said, nodding to the witch. He glanced down at Zelda and smiled. “Consider your debt paid in full.”
The Raymore wolves loaded into the van with the babies. The engine sputtered to life, flashing headlights across the woods, and then they disappeared over the hill.
Zelda looked back to the altar and gasped. Marla’s empty eyes stared straight through her as her blood spilled down the stone pillars.
Sarah pushed her lifeless body over the edge with a grunt and gave Zelda a tight smile. “Looks like you’ll be our third after all. Maggie!” she shouted, catching the dazed witch’s attention. “Bring me the wolf.”
Zelda pulled herself up on her knees and tried to stand, but Sarah was too quick. Her hand flamed to life, clamping down on Zelda’s shoulder and burning through her shirt and skin.
“Please,” Zelda sobbed. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just let them go.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow. “No. This time, you get to let them go. It’s how the ritual works. We reverse what you did, threefold, and we get our powers back. Hazel was too weak and too soft to go through with the plan, but Maggie and I are more than enough to match you. Even as damaged as you left us.”
“Please,” Zelda begged again.
Sarah’s eyes migrated to her throat, freezing on the charm necklace. She tore it from Zelda’s neck with her free hand before shoving her back to the ground.
“You won’t be needing this anymore.”
Zelda felt the weight of her grief—everything she’d been masking from her past, and everything she felt responsible for in the present—press down on her like a waterfall. She gasped for air and her shoulders shook. The charm necklace had been her lifeline, dragging her through torrents of misery, keeping her head just above water. Now she was a castaway.
Sarah drew a circle around Zelda with her finger, sending up a circle of flames to trap her where she lay, while Maggie unchained Violet from the tree and dragged her up to the altar. The red moon above did little to light their path, and Maggie tripped several times as Violet whimpered and swung her head from side to side, trying to break free.
Sarah pointed her flaming hand at Zelda, issuing a silent threat as her eyes narrowed on Violet. “You’re wasting my time. Up. Now.”
Violet whimpered again, but she stopped struggling and leapt up on the altar. Her paws slipped in Marla’s blood, and she dropped to her belly, staining her pale fur red.
Sweat spread over Zelda’s skin as the circle of fire reached in toward her. Her eyes watered, but she blinked her tears away as she looked up to lock eyes with Violet. Her heart sank as she realized the wolf had a plan, and Zelda had a feeling it didn’t involve surviving.
She tried to sit up again and felt something dig into her bruised hip. With her hands bound, she had to twist her shoulders to reach her pocket. Her fingers curled around the smooth lump of barite Ben had given her that morning, and her breath swooshed out in relief.
It was time for a test drive.
Chapter Twenty -five
Logan waited for Violet to near the altar. As Sarah closed in on the wolf with her dagger held high, he realized his plan was flawed. But it was too late now.
He pushed his back against the barrel and shimmied the rope down as low as he could to the ground. Then he began to shift.
Honey colored fur took over his skin, and his shoulders popped out of place as his body leaned forward, trying to straighten itself into a four-legged stand. The barrel groaned and tilted up over his back, lifting off the ground, and the ties on his hands slacked as his wrists shrunk, just enough that the rope fell under the lip of the barrel. Logan jumped to the side, letting the barrel roll off his back and over the fire, spitting embers into the sky.
Sarah’s face twisted with rage. She screamed and pointed her fiery hand at him, sending an arcing flame in his direction. He dodged away from it, ducking down behind the barrel. Sarah aimed again, but before she could release her wrath on him a second time, a gray wolf soared over the altar, taking her to the ground.
Logan glanced back to the circle of fire where he’d last seen Zelda, but she was gone. Violet whimpered and turned a circle on the altar, as if she were looking for Zelda too.
Maggie moved to help Sarah, but Violet jumped down, blocking her path. The clueless witch stumbled back, clumsily turning in circles before taking off over the hill. Logan let her go. All he wanted to do was find Zelda.
Sarah screamed as the gray wolf latched onto her arm. She swatted at the ground, until her hand clasped around her forgotten dagger. Her fingers wrapped around the handle, and she plunged the blade into the gray wolf’s side.
The wolf’s yelp unnerved Logan, and before he could think on it, he was on top of Sarah, closing his teeth over her throat. The witch gasped her last breath. Then Logan bit down and shook her, making sure the job was done.
The gray wolf took a few steps back. She slumped to the ground and whimpered. Logan could smell Zelda everywhere. When he stood over the gray wolf and her caramel eyes turned up to meet his, he knew why.
Logan tilted his head back and howled, a long pitiful wail. Violet joined him, crying out a miserable echo of his grief, before nudging Zelda with her muzzle and licking at the knife protruding from her side.
She was dying. Logan could feel it. He could feel more than he’d ever felt in his life.
You can stop this. Violet’s voice crept into his head, and he turned to look at her.
She whimpered and dropped low to the ground in submission. Please stop this.
I don’t know how. He howled again, lifting his face up to the blood moon. Tell me how.
Claim the title of alpha.
Logan froze. He’d heard of pack magic, but he knew nothing about how it worked.
I’ll show you. Violet inched closer, her yellow eyes pleading with him.
Logan looked back at Zelda and whimpered. Her belly rose ever so slightly as her breath slowed.
Do it. He turned to Violet.
She had rolled onto her back and exposed her neck to him. The act sparked a memory in Logan, something lost from his youth. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew what to do. He stepped over Violet and ripped the silver chain away with his teeth before gently placing his mouth around her throat. Then he bit down until he felt flesh break, and a trickle of blood found its way into his mouth.
I am alpha to your beta. You will hear my call and heed.
I am beta to your alpha. I will hear your call and heed, Violet echoed back.
Something passed between them—an energy that felt both foreign and familiar—and through Violet, he felt the presence of others: Grant, Kerri, Charlie, Jamie, Pat, Nick.
And Zelda. He felt her link to him. And it was fading fast.
Violet stood and shook out her fur with a soft whimper. You are alpha now. Give her your throat before it’s too late.
Logan pushed his dark muzzle against Zelda’s, and her eyes flickered open and rolled up to meet his.
I’m so sorry. She licked his muzzle and whined softly.
Don’t be sorry. Be alive.
Logan stood o
ver her and tilted his snout down to the earth, wedging her mouth open with his narrow chin.
You are alpha to my alpha. Take of me and be well.
Zelda bit down suddenly, and Logan went still. Blood dripped from his neck and splashed the ground. He hoped some of it would make it into her mouth, and he prayed that Violet was right.
As Zelda pulled back and licked his neck, Violet took hold of the dagger with her teeth and extracted it, causing Zelda to yip and roll onto her stomach.
The shadow over the moon was slipping away, and a sliver of bright light shone down on them. Heat stirred in Logan’s chest, intensifying with every breath.
He was alpha. He had claimed his pack. He had claimed his mate. She couldn’t die on him now.
Distant howls echoed over the hill, and Maggie’s desperate voice urged them on.
Violet turned a panicked circle and growled. What now?
Chapter Twenty -six
Zelda’s body felt strange—not just because she’d shifted into a wolf, but because of what Logan had done to her. Because of what he had said, and how she responded on cue, as if under a spell. His blood had definitely tasted like magic.
Sarah’s dead body lay a few yards away, and while Zelda felt responsible, she could no longer feel guilty, not after watching her dissect Marla and hand her pups over to a psychopath.
Logan’s blood worked its way through her body, and she felt it searching for her wound, where the dagger had pierced her heart. It knit her together from the inside, and as she healed, she began to notice other things.
We’re coming. Grant’s voice cut through her mind.
Hold on. Kerri was there too, and Zelda wondered if maybe she was going mad.
Over the top of the next hill over, where the brightest of the moon’s unfiltered beams fell, a dozen wolves dotted the landscape. The Raymore Clan. A large, dark brown wolf stood at their center, and when he spotted them, a howl rippled up from his throat.
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