by Lee Savino
“You’ll never take her.” I was losing my grip on the beast, sliding into the Berserker bloodlust. My vision blurred red.
Wulgar’s hand closed on my arm. Beta. Something’s wrong.
I knew he was right. Maddox and the warriors waited for us to attack. They were waiting…
I leaped back and started running, as if in retreat. It all made sense now. The invitation to the Thing, Maddox sniffing around the mountain, his imprisonment and escape. It was all planned, from the first moment. Maddox was a spy, sent to confirm the rumor of our secrets. This meeting was a diversion, meant to draw our strongest forces away from the vulnerable center, the one person we tried to protect and hide.
Back, back. I ordered. To the mountain. Samuel is under attack.
Trees blurred as I ran. The beast came over me and I let it, using the superhuman power to speed along. A hint of red fur flashed ahead of me--Fergus, running ahead of the pack. The little wolf was the fastest of us.
Then another figure came close—a flash of blue on my right. Maddox.
“If we all can’t have her, no one will.”
I swiped at him, but didn’t let him slow me down. If he tried to stop me, I’d rip his limbs off and not break a sweat.
Stupid, stupid. I should’ve left the thing at the first sight of Maddox. I prayed I wasn’t too late.
As I grew closer to home, the voices in the pack bonds grew stronger.
A wave of Berserkers, storming the mountain. From the South. Guards taken by surprise. The main path is blocked.
Samuel, I’m here. I send a message along our private bond.
Daegan, what happened?
Ragnvald planned this. The Thing was a trap. Where are you?
Escaping the mountain by a private tunnel. Brenna’s with me—she’s safe.
I felt relief at that.
Stay hidden. We arrive by sundown.
I put on another burst of speed, and the pack responded. Berserker rage took over, heightening our sense for one another, as well as our need for violence. The mountain reared up out of the horizon. Pain shot through my limbs, not from exertion, but from pack bonds. Our warrior brothers were fighting, dying. I reached out to Wulfgar.
Split in two. One group flank the attackers. The other to head off our followers.
As the mountain grew closer, I felt him obey me. Fergus and I and two others pressed on, while Wulfgar and the rest stopped to guard our flank. The little red wolf ran before me, tearing up the ground in his angry beast form. I followed him all the way onto our lands, then outran him to reach the foot of the mountain
The first of Ragnvald’s men met his death before he even saw me. The giant blond head rolled past me as I turned, claws tipped with blood, to attack the men on the main trail up to the cave. From the howls behind me, Wulfgar and the rest were fighting their own battles.
Samuel? Where?
I tried to reach the Alpha while the beast in me tore into more Berserker flesh. After years holding back, pretending to be just a man, it was a relief to let the monster rule. The enemy was strong, but slow, as if dulled. I wondered how close Ragnvald’s pack was to madness, and whether their Alpha was here. Maddox was right—Ragnvald would have to be desperate, insane, to attack us here.
I’m here, Samuel sent the image of the tunnel that would bring him and Brenna to the foot of the mountain.
Stay there. We’ll fight them off.
Daegan, he choked out, sending more images, too fast for me to see. Ragnvald’s Berserkers, attacking, Samuel secreting Brenna back into the caves. The beast in him tried to break free to deal with the threat. His vision was starting to go red.
Stay hidden, I sent my panicked plea to him. More of Ragnvald’s Berserkers poured down the mountain, fighting me. I ducked and parried, taking their blows and returning my own. My skin crisscrossed with a hundred cuts, but I felt nothing except when I hacked down another enemy and lusted for more.
We’re at the mouth of the tunnel. Samuel sent me the image. Brenna is safe.
Do not attempt to fight, Alpha. It will incite the beast.
A flash of blue went by me, and I dispatched the slavering monster in front of me to follow. Maddox was the most dangerous of our enemies, full of trickery. Behind me, Ragnvald’s Berserkers fell to our warriors, except for those who turned and sprinted after their tattooed Beta.
I ran after them, rounding the mountain, intent on catching Maddox until I realized where he was headed. The pit.
“Samuel,” Maddox’s roar shook the mountain. “Come face me. Coward—you left me to die. Face me like a warrior.”
No, Samuel! I felt the beast within my Alpha raise its monstrous head. It was too late. In the heat of the attack, the beast responded to a challenge. The presence of our enemies, the battle brought to our home, the threat to our beloved was enough to snap Samuel’s careful control, and send his bloodlust roaring through him, and the entire pack. Before sanity was lost, I sent a final, desperate message. Leave Brenna, run!
A roar shook the mountain. Maddox stopped in his tracks and his warriors stopped with him. I rushed him, hoping to tear my claws into his flesh. He turned, a crazy light in his eyes.
“It’s over, Beta. You lose.”
Before I could touch him, he dodged. I stopped, refusing to chase him. Brenna was in the tunnel with a raging Samuel. I had to protect her.
Before I could race to her, another roar rang out, tinged with tainted magic. I dropped flat on my belly, shivering. The beast within struggled, wild to break away from my control. Tainted magic rushed through the pack bonds, dragging many of the pack under. I felt them succumb, turn into slavering beasts with no thought but destruction.
That was when the tide of the battle turned, and Maddox’s forces retreated, or lost their lives. Not all of them were fast enough to escape the raging beast that used to be Samuel. Gold fur covered his misshapen body, his eyes turned red with the beast bloodlust, he savaged the few straggling enemies.
I dragged myself over the grass until I could sneak into the tunnel. Brenna sat there, curled into a ball, quivering.
“It’s all right, lass,” I hissed when she shied away from me. I knew I looked like a monster, my body half man, half wolf. But the beast hadn’t quite taken hold. I shuttered my mind against the madness swirling down the pack bonds. “We have to go. It’s over. Samuel has lost control. He’ll rage until he’s dead.” I grabbed her arm, swinging her up. I carried her into the clearing, wondering where I would run. The bodies of dead Berserkers lay where they died, marking where Samuel had been. Brenna gasped and hung onto me.
We’d almost gotten to the forest when a wind washed over us, bringing the stench of blood and tainted magic.
“Run, lass,” I cried, pushing Brenna forward and turning to face the disfigured Samuel. Claws the size of knives hung down from his fur covered arms. He roared a challenge and I ran, darting away from Brenna, trying to lead him off.
It worked. The beast that had once been Samuel followed me, clawing the ground in its haste to catch me. I feinted one way, and then did it again, hoping to fool it into giving chase.
My efforts only angered the beast. The next time I darted away, it lunged and caught me. I roared in pain, the beast within me rising, turning the world red. But I couldn’t go under. Brenna would be alone.
“Samuel, please,” I called to the creature who had once been my friend. There was no recognition in the feral eyes.
I heard a noise behind me, soft and frightened, and turned. “Brenna, no!”
Samuel’s beast raced towards the woman. She’d stepped into the clearing, exposed and unprotected. I cursed as I ran, shouting for her to hide herself. She stood her ground as the beast raced towards her—
And fell, scant feet away from catching her. The clever, foolish girl had dragged leaf covered branches over the mouth of the pit. The beast hadn’t noticed until they snapped under its weight.
Samuel fell, clawing at the sides of the pits, roaring as he w
ent. The clearing shook when he landed—the psychic force whipping the trees as if in a storm wind.
I rushed to Brenna. “Damned silly lass, ye could’ve been killed.” I clasped her to me and kissed her hair. Samuel’s beast scrabbled at the bottom of the pit, letting out a pathetic roar. With reluctance, I pulled Brenna away. “Come, lass, we must leave.”
After a few steps, Brenna fought me, pulling my arm until I stopped and turned. My heart broke at the thought of leaving my friend, my one time Alpha, there to die like a rat in a trap, but I knew it was for the best. Brenna turned her beautiful, stubborn face to mine. Her hands flew as she motioned her words.
Samuel. Trapped.
“I’m sorry. We must leave him.”
The pit. Save him.
“Listen to me.” I cupped her face in both hands. “The beast has him in its grasp. Even if we could pull him out, he would not survive. He would kill us, and die anyway. Samuel is gone.”
No. She motioned. Save him.
“We cannae save him. Don’t you think I would if I could?”
Her hands dropped. I took her arm to pull her away, and she fought me, silently, kicking and wrestling until I took her down to the grass. I could easily carry her off, but my beast was close to the surface, and I didn’t want it to rouse and hurt her. I gripped her wrists to the point of pain—she winced—and snarled. “We must leave, now. And never return.”
No. No.
“I’m sorry. Weep for him, when we are far away and you are safe.”
Let me go. She spoke with her hands.
“What will ye do? Waste away, weeping for him? He was my friend, too. We honor him by leaving to live our lives.”
I waited until she nodded. Tears glimmered in her eyes. My fingers wrapped around her wrist as we rose and set our backs to the pit.
A mistake. As soon as my grip relaxed, Brenna tugged her arm away.
“No, lass—No!” I called after her, too late. She raced ahead of me, pausing on the rim of the dark hole, and let herself fall. Without pause, I leapt after her.
We dropped into the darkness together, and I caught her in my arms, wrapping my limbs around her to be sure I hit the ground before she did. Roots and rocks scraped my skin and the force of the fall drove the breath from my lungs, but Brenna landed on me. We rolled together, and I ended up curled around her, trying my best to cushion her fall. I felt a few of my bones snap, but magic surged through me with the pain, knitting my bones and healing my wounds. I lay twitching in breathless agony, holding my woman’s weight against my bruised body and praying she wasn’t hurt.
My prayers were answered when Brenna stirred. She stood up, shielding her eyes against the fine beam of sunlight. The light silhouetted her beautiful form. The fall had knocked her out, but she was unharmed. Stronger than she looks, as Samuel had said.
I remembered Samuel then. Brenna took a step towards the deep shadows on the far side of the pit, and I shackled her ankle with my fingers to stop her from going to him.
“No, lass. It’s too dangerous.”
Brenna knelt, checking my body. Her hair brushed my bare chest and my cock stirred to life as if we were back in our chambers, on our dais bed, and not in a godforsaken pit built to trap an insane Alpha.
There was magic down here, potent and thick as fog, swirling through my head, taking away all good sense. I needed my wits about me to fight my beast and Samuel’s, to protect my beloved as long as I could.
“Why did ye do it, lass?” I wheezed, as the magic healed my broken ribs and back.
Yours. She motioned. Forever.
She rose again, eluding my grasp and stepping into the thick stream of light that was our last remaining connection to the outside world.
She stopped in her tracks when Samuel growled. The sound reverberated around our closed space, making my hair stand on end. I fought my way up to my side, grimacing.
Please, Samuel. I begged my former Alpha using our brother bond, but the path to his mind was severed, the splintered ends painful when they once gave comfort. Samuel was gone, and only the beast remained.
It was a mercy that the fall had probably broken him also. At least, that is why I thought he did not attack right away.
I took a moment to glance around the earthy place that would be our tomb. The dirt was littered here and there with the tiny skulls of rats and voles—the little creatures the last prisoner probably lured into the pit to eat. I looked around for Siebold’s spears, but they were missing. That was probably how Maddox had escaped, using his Berserker strength to drive the spears into the walls of the pit and climb out, hand over hand. I spared a second to curse Siebold.
Maddox had widened the bottom of the pit, also, scratching and clawing a trench around the edge. That was where Samuel lurked, a beast of shadow and magic, just the thin sunlight that dared venture this far into the earth.
It was probably for the best the three of us were trapped together, though from the set of Brenna’s chin, she had no intention of dying here. Indeed, she stood in the circle of light staring towards the beast in the darkness.
When she stepped towards him again, the growl sounded and I found enough strength to rise and stagger between her and the mad Alpha.
“Samuel. We are here, brother.”
His roar came with a blast of magic. I fell to my knees, fighting the change as my beast came forward. For a brief moment I wondered how the pack had fared. Had they run away, guided by Wulfgar’s strength and calm? Was his Alpha presence enough to save them from madness? My thoughts scattered as the red haze of the beast claimed my vision. I saw Brenna’s pale form wavering at my elbow. Beyond her, the dark stain of Samuel’s blood colored aura.
Cool hands touched my skin, and I came back to myself.
“Samuel,” I choked, “she’s here. Our mate is here. She wouldnae leave ye.” For she was our mate, truly. Neither man nor wolf could deny it. “Ye might fight the beast, for her. For our mate.”
Another growl, a savage sound. The beast did not recognize any mate.
I hugged Brenna to my chest, wondering how quickly we would die.
I heard an echo though, a sound, a sweet voice. It came from very far away, an echo in my mind. A woman calling Samuel’s name. It wasn’t audible, just a psychic longing. A lullaby of loss and redemption, an invitation to come home. I could almost see it, a silvery strand issuing from where we stood to the darkness where Samuel crouched, ashamed.
Come out, Samuel. The humming song said. Come into the light.
My hold weakened on our woman, and she left my arms to walk forward. Brenna seemed to be the only one untouched by the eerie music.
Samuel’s beast roared again.
I fell to my knees, fighting the change. This is what I dreaded, our fragile beloved, caught between two evil things. But I was powerless to fight my former Alpha’s call. My hands turned to claws. My back arched and spine snapped as I shifted. The ache ran through me, a burst of energy that would allow me to kill.
It would be so easy to end everything, put Brenna out of the misery of being mated to rutting beasts. It would be better this way, and quick, just a snap of a fragile neck.
No, Brenna…Our mate. I fought to remember her, her sweet, soft skin, sighs in sleep, her lying naked between us.
Come out, my love, come into the light.
As the beast took hold, my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I saw my beloved and, beyond her, Samuel cringing in the shadows. The magic was eating him alive. He was hurt, hiding himself, his savagery was the bluff of a wounded animal. I sniffed the air and scented his weakness. Fear. Longing. Like a pup for its mother. An old man for his rest.
My fingers gripped the edge of my seax—a long, wicked knife. With a grunt, I tossed it beside Brenna. She glanced down. The lullaby never ceased its silvery hum.
I wanted to lay down and die in the beautiful sound.
Brenna would be safe if I died. She had the seax. She could kill Samuel. It would be so easy.
“Brenna,” I croaked, it came out more a growl. “Kill…him…”
Brenna ignored the massive knife by her feet. Instead, she took a step forward.
She knelt, facing Samuel. Her head tilted to offer her own throat in the gesture of submission we’d taught her.
Watching her, I hated myself. We’d beaten her down into a plaything for us. We’d taught her to kneel to bow and beg when we should have taught her to fight.
She stretched out her hand. The magical song increased.
A growl in the dark, a curious sound.
I bowed my head, wanting to rip out my eyes, for I could not bear to see my beloved’s death. In my mind’s eye, I still saw her, a woman on her knees, her arms reaching for a beast of shadows and rage.
When I opened my eyes, the beast, the monstrous shape between man and wolf, had moved into the light. Brenna had not moved.
Samuel, Samuel. Came the psychic echo. Be at peace.
I felt a shift within my own breast. The beast still reigned, but it was quiet, controlled. The pieces of me joined together by perfect magic, as if the poisonous taint had melted away.
Samuel Changed, like a wolf commanded by its Alpha. The wolf pushed against Brenna’s hand, harmless.
Some strength comes come from axes or swords, or claws and teeth. Or magic.
Some strength comes from within. A lover’s love. Brenna saw the beast, and she did not run. She faced it. We’d shown her who we really were, and she’d accepted it.
I rose to my knees on the cool, dry soil. Samuel shifted again, this time into a man. The beast looked out of his eyes but when he spoke, he was all Samuel.
He bent and cupped Brenna’s chin where she knelt. “You have conquered us.”
*
As the moon rose over the dark earth, I reached out to the pack, calling them back from where they’d scattered. In the morning, they’d return to rescue Samuel, Brenna and I from the pit, but this night, this one magical night, was ours and ours alone.
Brenna stood in Samuel’s arms, caressing his face in wonder. He pulled her up against him, and I stepped close enough to press myself against her back. She sighed and quivered between us and our questing hands. We couldn’t stop touching her, running our hands down her smooth flesh, unharmed.