I came upon a massive oak, its presence striking amid the galley of pines, and I was no longer alone. Someone was at its base.
Shay was blindfolded, his head bowed, hands tied behind his back, and he’d been left in a kneeling position beneath the gigantic tree. My throat closed up.
He lifted his chin, breathing deeply. “Calla? Calla, is that you?”
Air rushed back into my lungs. He knows my scent too.
I hurried forward, almost tripping over my skirts, and dropped to the ground beside him.
“Shay, what are you doing here?” I tore the blindfold from his eyes, cupping his face in my hands. “What happened?”
“She brought me here. I think I know why.” The color leached from his face. “I just can’t believe it.”
“Can’t believe what? Who did this to you?”
“That word in the prophecy.” His voice shook. “The one I was having trouble with.”
“You mean ‘gift’? What does that have to do with anything?” Why on earth is he talking about the book when he’s tied up in a forest?
When I said “gift,” he shuddered.
“Yeah, that one.” His face turned greenish, and I worried he would vomit. “It doesn’t mean ‘gift,’ Calla.”
“What does it mean?” I tugged the knots binding his wrists loose, wincing when I saw the rawness of his skin beneath the rope.
“It means ‘sacrifice.’”
THIRTY-TWO
THE WORLD BLURRED AND I THOUGHT I might pass out.
“Calla.” Shay was holding my arms, keeping me upright. “Did you hear me?”
“Sacrifice?” I repeated, feeling nothing but the cold, black chasm of night that wanted to swallow me whole. “Who did this to you?”
“Flynn,” he said. “She came to the house after you left. Knocked me out. Ether, I think it was ether.”
“Yes.” A smoky voice came from behind the tree trunk a moment before Lana Flynn stepped partly into view, still half cloaked by darkness. A wicked smile split her face, her teeth gleaming fluorescent in the pale wash of moonlight. “And now you’ve ruined the surprise, Calla. Don’t you know it’s bad luck for the bride to see her prey before the kill? Oh, wait, that’s Ren seeing your dress, isn’t it? Silly me.”
Sacrifice. Our sacrifice.
“No.” I shuddered, pushing Shay behind me, shielding him. “It can’t be him. They wouldn’t.”
Her smile curved like a hooked dagger. “Well, well. It seems there is much more going on here than I first imagined. What a treat.”
Flynn’s eyes gleamed with pleasure as she absorbed my stricken expression.
“I warned you about straying from your path, Calla. Perhaps now you’ll see how things really are. Renier clearly wants you. If you’re willing to make the sacrifice with him, he might forgive the error of your ways.”
“You’re making the sacrifice?” Shay scrambled away, staring at Flynn and me, horror creeping over his face. “You and Ren?”
“Of course,” Flynn said. “What do you think the fuss over this union is all about? You’re the featured entertainment.”
When I took a step toward Shay, he bared his fangs at me. “Stay where you are.”
“I swear I didn’t know,” I whispered, the forest murmuring dark secrets that filled my ears, making me dizzy. My parents’ conversation, my mother’s insistence about the need for secrecy about what our prey would be, the way she’d paled when I said I knew Shay.
“I didn’t know,” I repeated, dropping to my hands and knees, head spinning. It’s Shay. The sacrifice isn’t going to happen away from the union. It’s part of the union. He’s our prey.
“Courage, little one,” Flynn purred. “You won’t have to bear this much longer. Be a good girl and go to the grove. They’re waiting for you. I’ll bring Shay along shortly. Right after Ren kisses his bride.”
As if bidden by her words, the air swelled with a chorus of wolves’ howls, calling for their alpha. My mother had been right—I couldn’t mistake the meaning of the pack’s cries. I was being summoned. But the sound didn’t beckon me; it was only frightening, deadly. I am no longer one of you . I will not let this happen.
“No!” I drew a hissing breath and struggled to my feet. “We’re leaving. Now.”
Shay shrank from me, flattening himself against a pine tree. I caught the scent of his wolf form and knew he was struggling not to change, trapped between fear and fury.
“I would never hurt you,” I said. “You have to trust me.”
Please believe me, Shay. You have to know how much I care about you.
He scanned the forest, desperate, searching for an escape route.
“Shay, please,” I whispered, stretching my hand toward him. “I love you.”
He went completely still. I didn’t know what frightened me most—what I’d said, what he would say, what was happening all around us. A minute passed where I couldn’t breathe.
“I know,” he finally said, reaching for me. “Let’s get out of here.”
A sound spilled from Nurse Flynn’s throat, something between a shout and a hiss, like splintering bones. “You aren’t going anywhere.”
The shadows at her back began to move and my skin went icy. If wraiths were with her, we didn’t stand a chance. But as I watched, I realized that the dark shapes moved with her, as if they were attached to her very limbs. Her shoulders shuddered when she stepped into full view, immense leathery appendages stretching out around her. Wings.
Shay’s eyes bulged. “What the—”
I dropped to the ground, an angry white wolf, stalking around the succubus. She laughed and flicked her wrist. A long whip appeared from thin air and snaked from her hand. The length of the cord undulated as if it were made of shadows rather than leather.
I leapt out of the way as the whip cracked toward me. It struck my flank, making me yelp. The cut of the leather was nothing compared to the wave of despair that hit me along with the blow.
I was paralyzed by a vision of Ren attacking Shay. I heard my own screams and Efron’s laughter. Sticky, tar-like emotions caught in my mind as they emanated from the gash that the whip had made. She laughed again, narrowed eyes moving to Shay.
“I may not be permitted to kill you, Scion, but we can still play.”
She tilted her head back and I barked a warning. Shay rolled out of the way as a stream of fire shot out from her mouth, scorching the tree where he’d been standing.
My eyes fixed on the whip and its shadow aura. I crouched down and then lunged at her. She shrieked with agony as my jaw clamped down on her wrist, crunching through bone. I jerked to the side, ripping her hand away from her arm. Blood poured onto the ground. I rushed around her, smelling my singed fur as her spouting fire chased me. Flynn screamed in a language I’d never heard, and I was grateful for the deafening howls that filled the air; without them the sounds of our struggle would have led Guardians and Keepers straight to us.
I barked at Shay again, wishing I could shout at him. Why isn’t he shifting into wolf form? I needed help in this fight.
Shay’s gaze locked on the severed hand that I’d dropped from my jaws. He darted forward and grabbed the shadow whip. He pivoted, the long cord swirling in the air and then lashing across Flynn’s chest. She screamed again. Her eyes bulged as she turned toward her unexpected assailant.
His cool, determined stare seemed to unnerve her even more than his skill with the filched weapon. The whip’s length snaked back toward him and then flew out again, this time wrapping around her upper arm above the still-bleeding stump where her hand had been. She shrieked, clawing at the coiled shadow that latched leech-like onto her biceps.
Shay clenched his jaw, giving the whip a sharp jerk. Flynn lost her balance and tumbled to the ground. I flew at her. My fangs sank into her neck, tearing through soft flesh. There was a brief gurgling in her throat, a wisp of smoke rose from her parted lips, and then she was still. I backed off and shifted forms.
Shay stood in silence, staring at the corpse. I hurried to his side and gripped his arm.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded. “What was she?”
“That’s a succubus, but a real one, not one of your uncle’s statues. She’s a netherworld creature that can be summoned by the Keepers, like wraiths.
But incubi and succubi are more closely related to mortals—we can still kill them.” I glanced at Flynn’s unmoving form. “Obviously.”
I shuddered in disgust. “They feed on emotion; that’s why she was always so eager to make us squirm. I should have known.”
Shay uncoiled the end of the whip from her arm. “And what do wraiths feed on?”
“Pain,” I replied, glancing at the whip in his hand. “Indiana Jones, huh?”
He smiled, nodding as he coiled up its length.
“Good role model. Bring that with you; I’m afraid we might need it.”
I touched his face, relieved that he hadn’t been hurt. “Why didn’t you change form?”
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to,” he said.
“I didn’t realize I needed to point out that if we are attacked by a fire-breathing bitch, you can change forms.” I punched him on the arm.
“Check, fire-breathing bitches make Shay a wolf boy.” He shook the whip at me. “I have more practice using these than my teeth anyway.”
“Right.” The Guardians’ cries still floated toward the moon. How long would they call before they came looking for me? “We have to get out of here.
Before they realize what’s happened.”
“But we can’t outrun them, can we? Even as wolves?” He followed my glance toward the flickering torches.
“We have to try,” I said, starting to walk away.
“Wait.” Shay clasped my arm, turning me toward him. “Calla, you know, right?”
“Know what?” I asked, caught in the mystery of his eyes.
“That I love you too.”
With tears stinging the corners of my eyes, I shifted into wolf form, licking Shay’s fingers once before I darted into the woods.
THIRTY-THREE
WE WOVE THROUGH THE MAZE OF PINE TREES. The woods thinned; spears of moonlight created columns of ghostly light that split the darkness.
Shay ran so close his fur brushed against mine. Where are we going?
Where is Haldis? And the book? My ears flicked back and forth. The chorus of howls had stopped, allowing a terrifying quiet to settle upon the forest.
My house. I heard the fear in his reply. We have to get them, don’t we?
They’re the only clues we have left. I wished the forest would come back to life, reassuring me with its usual sounds. But there was nothing, just emptiness. Plus the Keepers want them, which means we need to take them as far away as we can.
Far away where? he asked. Where will we go?
I don’t know. The world had turned upside down; I had no answers. Anywhere but here.
I can live with that. Here isn’t working out so well for me.
I nipped his flank playfully, grateful for his attempt at humor. Even after facing tonight’s horror, he was still trying to lighten my heart.
Did we lose them? Shay leapt over a fallen log. I don’t hear the howling anymore.
My inner smile faded at his reminder that the night forest remained silent, sending a chill scurrying beneath my fur.
Just keep running.
Out of the corner of my eye I caught a brief, shadowy movement. Uncertain of what I’d seen, I put on a fresh burst of speed. Snow churned up around me as I raced toward the opening in the trees ahead.
Calla! Shay’s cry of alarm sounded in my mind as a massive shape loomed from the forest, crashing into me.
All breath was forced from my lungs as I tumbled through the deep powder. My attacker and I rolled over and over until I found myself on my back, pinned down. In the next moment Ren’s human face hovered over me.
Startled and utterly bewildered by the sight of the alpha, still dressed in his tuxedo, tie hanging loose and shirt rumpled, I shifted into human form and stared back at him.
His fingers dug into my shoulders as he continued to hold me down. His words tumbled out, broken and fearful.
“I’ve been sent to kill you, Calla. To kill you and bring Shay back. Why am I here to kill you?”
“Ren.” My own voice quaked. “Let me explain. I can explain.”
Before I could speak again, a low growl sounded nearby. In his wolf form, Shay stalked toward us, his pale green eyes locked on Ren, baring razorsharp fangs. Ren’s brow furrowed as he stared at the wolf. His eyes widened and his face paled. I tensed, expecting him to shift instantly and fall on Shay.
But he didn’t. Instead he jumped to his feet, backing away from me. His eyes moved from my face to the new wolf.
“You turned him.” Ren’s voice cracked.
He stumbled backward as if he’d been blinded and fell against the thick trunk of a pine tree, his fingers tearing at the bark.
Shay hunched low, ready to strike. I rolled onto my feet and darted in front of him, blocking his path to Ren.
“No, Shay! Don’t!” I said. “I need to talk to Ren alone. Please.”
Then a boy stood before me again. “No way.” Shay was still looking past me, eyes locked on Ren, fangs catching the pale moonlight as he glared at the alpha.
“It will be all right. Just a few minutes, I promise.” I pointed in the direction I wanted him to run. “Now go.”
“Are you insane?” he snarled. “He’s one of them, Calla.”
“No. He’s not,” I said. “He won’t hurt me.”
And I knew it was true.
“Run. I’ll catch you.” He started to protest, but I cut him off. “Now, Shay. The others can’t be far behind him.”
He hesitated before slinking into the thick woods.
I stumbled through the deep snow toward Ren. His eyes were closed; his hands bled where the sharp bark of the tree had ripped away the skin of his fingers.
“Ren, look at me, please.” But his eyes remained shut.
“I knew it. This is what you want. You want him.” His eyes slowly opened; the pain reflected in his dark irises made my heart falter. “That scent—he was with you in the cave. He’s the lone wolf.”
“Ren, they’re going to make us kill him!” I blurted. “The Keepers were going to sacrifice Shay tonight. He’s our kill.”
He was silent for a moment, and I knew at least a part of Ren wanted to kill Shay. All his instincts as an alpha would push him toward that conclusion, to possess me and destroy the usurper, especially now that Shay was one of us. But another part of him, and I hoped it was the stronger part, had to know that killing Shay was wrong.
“That’s impossible,” Ren said at last, shaking his head. “There’s no way, after all they’ve asked of us. We’ve taken care of him; it’s sick.”
“It’s true,” I said, waves of relief coursing through me. “Shay went with me to the cave and he did kill the spider. But it bit me and I had to turn him. I would have died without pack blood. We had no choice.”
I didn’t want to think about how much it would hurt Ren now that he knew how long I’d kept secrets from him. How much I loved having Shay in his wolf form, running at my side. All these secrets and lies, rising from the dark unknown, circling like vultures.
“Calla, what the hell are you talking about? Why did you go to the cave with him in the first place?” Ren snapped. “None of this makes sense. Why would the Keepers ask us to kill him?”
“Shay isn’t just a human boy. He’s special.” Ren winced at the word, but I pressed on. “He’s the Scion, someone the Keepers see as a threat. He fulfills a prophecy they’re afraid of.”
“What prophecy? Calla, if our masters say he’s a threat, then why are you helping him?” he roared. “We follow the Keepers’ orders. We protect the sites.”
“No, we don’t. At least we shouldn’t. We’ve been lied to.” I tightened
my hold on his arms. “I’ve read the War of All Against All, Ren. Shay found it in his uncle’s library and I read it.”
Ren’s eyes went wide with fear and fascination. “You read the Keeper’s text?”
“They lied to us, to all of us,” I said. “They’re not who they claim to be, and we’re not their loyal soldiers. We’re their slaves. Guardians have fought back in the past, resisted. Our ancestors tried to take another path, and the Keepers killed them for revolting. It’s all there, all in the history we’ve been forbidden to learn.
“I can’t live like this anymore.” My angry tears came faster. “I hate what they can do to us. What Efron does to Sabine. What could happen to Mason, to
Ansel, to Bryn . . . to any of us or all of us. I don’t want to submit, Ren. I’m an alpha.”
And then I was clinging to Ren, sobbing, even as I drove my fists into his chest.
“Calla,” Ren whispered hoarsely. “If this is about what happened on the mountain, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I don’t want to rule you. You’re my mate and I respect your strength. I always have.”
He paused, taking a deep breath. “I’m not my father.”
Not yet. I couldn’t hide from my own fears about Emile and my mother’s words about the Bane alpha. Could Ren be so different?
“That doesn’t matter now,” I said. “None of it does. I’m leaving. I have to help Shay get out of here. I won’t let him die.”
“Why?” Ren hissed. “What about him is worth risking your own life?”
“He’s the Scion,” I whispered. “He might be the only one who can save us. All of us. What if our lives only belonged to us? What if we didn’t serve the
Keepers?”
Ren’s arms wrapped around me, pulling my body tight against him. “I don’t know how to believe you. Any of this. What else is there? This is who we are.
”
“That doesn’t make it right. You know I wouldn’t abandon my pack unless I had to,” I said quietly. “Unless it was the only way to help them.”
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