Wolf slayer must die.
Mayhem came at him, fangs sinking into his arm, then he felt more fangs at his back. Dy and Mayhem were thumping him but doing nothing more than acting as annoying flies, buzzing but not stopping him. He shook them off, ripping Dy from his back and tossing him across the grass, then whipped Mayhem in the other direction. Too easy. Nothing could keep him away from his Huntress. She needed to be punished. She needed to be extinguished.
Jay took a step toward the portal, which was now closing, watched as his mate stumbled through, a bolt of magic hitting her, knocking her to the ground. He wanted to claim her like this. To mark her with his beast so that she would feel his wrath. So she would come to obey, be ruled by her master, pay for what she’d done before he killed her. He moved, felt the burn of something snaking up his leg. When he looked down, he saw a blue pulse coming from the arrow wound. He frowned, not understanding as he dropped to one knee.
Mayhem dove onto his back, digging fangs in, trying to claim his loyalty.
“No!” he growled as he grabbed Mayhem by the head, ready to snap his neck.
An arrow embedded in his chest, and he looked down in shock. Eyes wide, he raised them to see Hannah, bow at the ready, aiming to take another shot. Jay released Mayhem, clenching his chest as he ripped the arrow out. Her Huntress poison licked up from the wound and a fire like the bowels of hell exploded through his body. Death would be better than this.
* * * * *
Jay was not dead. He couldn’t be dead. Aubrey stumbled to his side, skidding the last foot as her hip gave way completely, the burn of Darcy’s magic eating at her flesh, making her weep silent tears of pain and fear. Jay’s body was contorting, muscles spasming, magic pulsing.
“He’s poisoned.” Aubrey assessed the damage, pushing back her own agony. It wasn’t a fatal shot. Whether intentional or not, Hannah had not hit true. Jay would live as long as Aubrey got the poison out in time. Not something she’d had a lot of success with.
“Let him change,” Summer said as she came up behind Aubrey. “Give him a chance to come back to his wolf.”
But Aubrey couldn’t wait. No. She yanked out Hannah’s arrow, then regretted it immediately as her mate howled in agony.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…” She mumbled a cycle of curse words, her fingers pressed into the wound, eyes closed as she blasted him with her healing magic. It wasn’t going to be enough. It hadn’t been with Dy when she’d accidentally shot him. She wasn’t as strong as the poison.
“We can heal that,” said a female voice.
Aubrey opened her eyes to find Ariana and Lance standing over her, concern written all over their faces.
“We can mend wounds,” Lance offered.
Summer knelt down next to Aubrey. “I can battle the poison. Let us help you.”
Aubrey frowned, nodded. Yes, she needed help. When she closed her eyes again and entered her magic, stoking it, she felt the combined efforts of Summer and Ariana, intertwined, melding together to heal her mate.
Please don’t let him die. Please don’t let the poison take him, change him, corrupt him.
They worked for what felt like hours, until one by one the others fell away, taking their magic, and leaving her to sooth Jay as he burned and burned. A cool hand touched her arm and when she opened her eyes, she was surprised to find a strange kind of peace had settled around her.
“Aubrey, it’s time to rest. Jay is healing,” Summer said quietly.
“The poison is still at work,” she argued, yanking her arm away. “He’s still hurting.”
Summer nodded. “You need to let me look at your hip. Your injury is bad.”
“It’ll heal. My powers—” She tried to shift her leg, winced with fresh pain.
“No, not this time. It’s a magic wound. You need to let me take a look.” Summer motioned for her to let Jay go.
Aubrey looked down at him. He was back in his wolf form, breathing labored, a sweaty sheen on his fur, eyes closed, flickering under the lids. He was in pain, she knew—the poison intolerable from what she had felt as she sent in her healing magic.
“I’ve done what I can for now. Ariana mended his wound.” Summer nodded toward the house. “Lance and Greer have gone to make a stretcher so we can carry him inside. You need to come with me so I can take care of you.”
Aubrey couldn’t make sense of Summer’s words, her thoughts cycling through what had happened. “I killed Raven. I lost Darcy.” She didn’t say this with remorse. It came out as a hard, blunt fact. Her feelings numb, her brain on repeat. Revving too high for any emotion to seep in.
A long mournful howl rent the air, making her skin pucker with a chill. She looked to the source, saw Mayhem off in the distance, making that horrid, heartbreaking noise with Dy following closely behind.
“He’ll think I betrayed the pack,” Aubrey said.
“You did what you had to do. Any one of us would have taken that shot.” Summer motioned for her to move to the side so she could see her wound.
“No, not the way I did,” Aubrey whispered, ignoring Summer’s attempts to heal her. Pain was good for her. She deserved it. She was a wolf slayer. She’d enjoyed taking the beast out, had made no distinction between Raven and some other monster. It had thrilled her, just as it had every other time. Mayhem would know, pack mate or not, she’d seen Raven as a pure beast, evil incarnate and she had wanted to take him out. She hadn’t even hesitated.
Summer didn’t speak. What could she say?
“Whatever happens after this is my fault,” Aubrey said, feeling detached, remote. “If Mayhem decides to outcast me, that’s what should happen. I caused Darcy to lose her shit.” And for that, she did feel guilty. Darcy was her friend. She loved Darcy and now she was responsible for killing her mate. An unforgivable act.
And one she would do again if put in the same position.
Summer opened her mouth as if to argue, her words cut off suddenly.
“That’s unfortunately true.” A redhead approached, her face filled with sorrow. “I’d hoped I was wrong or that things could be changed.”
Hannah came up from behind. “Kelly.”
The redhead smiled. “Arrived a little too late it seems.”
Kelly, the mystical clairvoyant with all the answers, if you could decipher riddles. And standing just behind her on either side were two people, a tall, dark-haired woman and well-built man with short dark hair. Aubrey recognized them. Legends now among the Order. A partnership her sister had talked about endlessly.
“Caleb and Morgan,” she whispered, unable to help the note of awe tingeing her tone.
“Speaking on behalf of Mayhem,” Hannah said with a glance toward the tree line. “Welcome to our home.”
Aubrey looked up at Hannah, who’d shot Jay, and kind of wanted to punch her in the face. She knew it was a pointless flash of anger directed at Hannah and ironically disturbing considering what she’d done to Darcy. All the same, Aubrey pushed herself a little closer to Jay, positioning her body so that Hannah would have to go through her to get to him.
She looked up at Kelly again, envisioning cracking her head open to see some of what she saw. Prophecies were tricky, Aubrey knew, but also fascinating and eerie.
Kelly nodded. “Wish it was under better circumstances. We seem to have a knack for unpleasant meetings.”
Hannah gave a tight smile but didn’t respond. About a year earlier, Hannah had been kidnapped by her Hunter and taken to the Order headquarters where Kelly was in charge. According to Hannah, Kelly had tried to convince her to leave Mayhem and bond with her Hunter. Hannah had obviously refused but it had taken a special kind of magic to get her back into Mayhem’s arms. Wasn’t a good scene and this reunion was amping things up all around. Aubrey felt the tension like a fog surrounding them.
Greer moved to Kelly, breaking up the awkward silen
ce with action. She folded Kelly into a tight embrace. “It’s good to see you again.”
“And you.” Kelly smiled briefly as she released her friend then motioned to Caleb and Morgan. “I had a bad feeling my prediction wouldn’t alter, despite my meddling,” Kelly said with a frown. “Sometimes I can tweak it just at the right moment to create change. Not this time though. I made a detour, brought reinforcements.”
“Does that mean what I think it means?” Ariana asked as she came out of the house and caught sight of Kelly.
Lance followed closely behind her, both carrying a stretcher they’d made. They put the contraption down next to Jay and each took turns hugging Kelly.
“I’m afraid so.” Kelly sighed.
“Yeah, nice to meet y’all. Hate that’s it under these circumstances,” Morgan said. “If only that motherfucking prick would stay dead.”
“You mean Lazarus, right?” Aubrey croaked, dread poking through her indifference. “What I did, it means Lazarus comes back, right?”
Morgan speared her with a hard look, no nonsense in her stare. “Yeah, that’s right and I’m going to have to kill the bastard again.”
“What happened here today was the catalyst—the death of a beloved mate is going to send a Huntress into a spin down a dark, dark path. And because of that, Saska will get her way. She’ll release Lazarus from Tartarus,” Kelly said, her tone resigned.
“You’re talking about Darcy, right? She’s going to help Saska release Lazarus.” Aubrey gulped down a lump of bile, feeling the burden of it all and attempted to suppress it once again, to lock her walls up tight. “I killed Raven. I killed her mate. I made her go down that dark path.”
“Yeah, you did,” Kelly said. “But that’s not the worst of it.”
“How can it get worse than that?” Morgan blurted. “Lazarus coming back—that’s pretty fucking bad.”
“Saska is going to get that portal opened and she’s not going to close it back up.”
“So what does that mean?”
Ariana’s face looked ashen all of a sudden, a hardened warrior faced with chewing a bitter pill. “That means thousands of dead beasts are going to be coming through that fucking hole looking for revenge.”
Chapter Twenty
After Kelly dropped that whooper, it was decided to hold any further discussion until nightfall, when Mayhem was in his human form again. Aubrey attempted to help get Jay into the house on the stretcher, but only made it a few staggering steps before her own wound got the better of her and she hit the ground hard.
Lance and Cal carried Jay up to their room and then came back for her. She wasn’t happy as they heaved her up the stairs.
“I’m sure I can walk with a little help, that’s all,” Aubrey complained once again.
“Hey, I get it, you’re a strong warrior, no need for help, right?” Cal said with a glance over his shoulder. “Except, I can smell that magic burning through your flesh. You try to walk it off and you might lose a leg.”
Aubrey shook her head but didn’t bother arguing any further. She was outnumbered, not only with the two carrying her but with Summer and Ariana coming up from behind. They were going to work on her whether she liked it or not.
“Lay her next to Jay on the bed,” Summer said as she bypassed them in the hall and opened the bedroom door. “We can tag team them both.”
Aubrey’s heart did a flip-flop when she saw Jay there, lying on his side, his breathing seemingly peaceful. Once Cal and Lance lowered the stretcher, she eased herself off and then curled into Jay’s back, nuzzling the fur on his neck and breathing in his wolfie scent.
Summer came around the other side of him and met Aubrey’s eyes. “I’m going to dose him again, make sure the poison is weakening.”
“And I’m going to help out here too.” Morgan walked into the room, indicating with her thumb for the men to leave. “This is women’s work. Fellas, get out.”
Aubrey felt a sense of relief when the guys left. There was enough Huntress poison potential in the room with Morgan, Summer, and Ariana, but she felt safer among them—or at least more comfortable. “I think I need help getting my pants off.”
Ariana cringed as she took a closer look at Aubrey’s hip. Her jeans had melted into her flesh, making the burn look all the worse. “That looks bad. It must hurt like a motherfucker.”
“Okay, I’ve got something.” Morgan moved to Aubrey’s side, her fingers posed. “I’ve got this spell that works to get stuck things unstuck.”
Summer glanced up, her eyes wide. “You etch spells too?”
Morgan nodded. “Sure do. That your specialty as well?”
“Yeah, it is. I’m not that great at it—just use my gut mostly.” Summer shrugged, her cheeks going pink.
“Well, if we have some time, I’ll give you a few pointers,” Morgan said with a smile. “Now, you.” Her smile faded when she looked down at Aubrey. “Need to stay still. I’m guessing this is going to hurt.”
“I can help with that,” Ariana said. “Lance has been teaching me how to give a dose of pain killer with my mending.” She got onto her knees before reaching over to gently touch just above Aubrey’s wound.
Within seconds, Aubrey felt a tingle of sweet relief, like a cool wash covering her wound, taking the pain away immediately. Muscles she hadn’t even known were tense slipped into total relaxation and she felt like she was melting into the bed.
“I think it’s working,” Morgan said with a snicker. “I’m going to take these pants off. Ready, Aubrey?”
Aubrey cranked her eyes open with a lot of effort and nodded. “Do it.” She fought to keep them open…for about two seconds then let them slide shut, sighing as her world dissolved into darkness and peace.
* * * * *
“Aubrey.” Summer’s voice was like an elastic snap to the brain.
“I’m awake,” Aubrey mumbled before drifting back to wherever she’d just been.
“Aubrey, it’s time to wake up.” Summer was shaking her now.
“Ugh.” Aubrey cracked her lids. “I was having a great sleep.” With no dreams. No reality.
“Jay is doing good,” Summer said. “But he won’t wake up.”
That got Aubrey to snap awake. She sat up like a bolt, her hands flying to touch Jay, who was no longer a wolf. “Is the poison gone?”
“Yeah, pretty much. Just a few more doses will get rid of the last of it,” Summer said. “The sun set about thirty minutes ago and Mayhem wants to talk to us.”
Aubrey touched Jay’s face, leaning quickly to give him a kiss on the cheek before turning to face Summer once again. “How bad is it?”
Summer looked worn out. Knowing her, she’d probably spent hours taking care of Jay while Aubrey had just lain there asleep.
“Pretty bad. I’ve never seen May so…” Summer’s eyes welled. “So messed up.”
Aubrey nodded. Her emotions were there, conflicting and making her head hurt. She didn’t like that Mayhem was hurting. Didn’t like that she was responsible for that hurt. But she also felt like a warrior should. Raven had become her enemy. He’d had to die. Aubrey knew that Mayhem wouldn’t see it that way.
“He told me to let you sleep,” Summer said. “But I think you need to be at the meeting.”
Aubrey flinched. She was being excluded from the meeting? No longer fit to hear the plans? “Damn right I need to be there.” She shifted to the side, noting that her hip no longer hurt. She flipped the sheet and looked at her skin, surprised that there was nothing—not even a mark from Darcy’s spell.
“Morgan and Ariana are skilled Huntresses,” Summer said, her voice full of awe. “They patched you up in thirty minutes, tops. Then they helped me with Jay.”
“They could teach us a lot,” Aubrey said as she pushed herself off the bed. “Give me five minutes. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“Dining room. Get there quick,” Summer said before leaving.
* * * * *
For the first time in her time as a member of the pack, Aubrey was nervous. More than nervous—she was downright scared. Not because she thought Mayhem would hurt her but because she knew that what she had done was a violation of everything he stood for. Everything he was.
She’d killed a member of his pack, a friend, and a brother, and she was the reason why they’d lost Darcy to Saska’s wicked plans. No matter how many times she played that in her head, she couldn’t form the words I’m sorry. She wasn’t sorry. Not really. So she wouldn’t say it.
She did feel the weight of everything resting on her shoulders, though. If Mayhem didn’t cast her out because of this, well, she just couldn’t see why he wouldn’t.
“Fuck,” Aubrey muttered as she sucked in a deep breath, then let it out. “Better get this over with.”
Everyone else was already seated. More chairs had been brought in to accommodate the extra people. Mayhem was at the head of the table, his usual spot. To his left was Hannah, whom he was head to head with, her hand up cradling his face for the briefest of moments. Aubrey noted that her own seat, the one at his right, had been taken by Greer. She’d been demoted. How could a security chief kill one of the people she was meant to protect?
Aubrey accepted her fate and moved to the last available seat, way down at the other end of the table, next to Lance.
Everyone looked wary, emotionally bagged. Exhausted.
She laid her hands on her knees, wiping at the sweat beading on her palms. Her stomach in knots. Her heart thudding hard and fast. What she wouldn’t give to have Jay at her side.
“We need to debrief,” Mayhem started, scanning the table. “We need to discuss what the fuck happened out there.”
His gaze landed on hers, and though the contact was brief, Aubrey flinched all the same. She’d never seen sorrow like that before. She frowned, lifted her hand to rub her chest where it constricted a bit.
“Let’s start with a timeline—” Summer was taking notes on her laptop, recording the minutes.
Beast Rising: The Order of the Wolf, Book 7 Page 16