by Morse, Jody
She locked eyes with her mate long enough to know that he still didn’t like the idea before turning back to one of the wolves and going straight for his throat, constricting his airway—the easiest way to kill another wolf during an attack.
The gray wolf’s breathing became labored. He struggled against her, trying to loosen her grip. That only encouraged her to clamp her teeth down harder. He fought even more for air. He kicked his paw into her side, trying to roll her off of him. After a moment, he stopped struggling completely.
Emma darted her eyes away from him, not wanting to see what he would look like when he changed back into his human form. It was going to be hard to live knowing that she’d killed him, but she knew that she would do whatever it took to make sure her mate made it out of there alive and ensure that Davenport stayed with his family.
If that meant that they needed to kill four wolves who were, to the best of their knowledge, innocent, then so be it. But Emma’s ultimate goal was still to kill Troy.
Even though her life hadn’t turned out bad, she still hated him with a passion. She would get revenge for what he’d done to her and, more importantly, she would make sure that he didn’t use his power to hurt anyone she knew and loved again. Even if they killed four members of the Ariel tonight, she knew that the issue of which pack Davenport really belonged to would arise again unless Troy was dead.
When she looked up, it seemed like completed chaos. Wolves were pinned to the ground, seemingly by nothing, while the wolves who weren’t being attacked by the Trusted Ones tried to help.
There was also a human body a few feet away from her on the ground. So much for not wanting to see. At least it isn’t Colby, she reminded herself. She was glad that her mate had managed to get rid of the other wolf that attacked him.
On the edge, near the trees, a wolf with dark brown fur sat, watching the whole thing and not bothering to help his pack. He seemed on the smaller side. She knew it was wrong to go after the weak, but she also knew he’d be an easy kill.
Before she did anything else, she made sure that Colby didn’t need her help. She scanned the field for him, finding him just as he leapt onto a wolf’s back.
She focused her attention back on the weak wolf. It looked like he was shaking as he watched everything that was going on in front of him.
Her original plan was to go through the woods and sneak up on him from behind. But she owed him a fair fight.
She had taken a few step toward him when he snarled, striding towards her.
He broke out into a run, leaping on top of her and pinning her down to the ground. He sunk his teeth into her back, which made a sharp pain shoot down her leg. She yelped.
That would be the last time she underestimated anyone.
Colby pulled the wolf off of her, but he still clung to her back. Colby let go of him for a moment before biting into his neck, roughly shaking it back and forth. Finally, that made him let go.
She pulled herself back onto all fours, limping a bit. It hurt, but she knew that she would heal. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the other wolves as they began to surround them.
One of the wolves near the end yelped loudly, even though there weren’t any other wolves near them. Then, more yelps came from the other wolves in line.
Ha. The Trusted Ones were in action.
Emma, she heard Colby call to her through mind-speak.
She focused her attention back on her mate and the brown wolf. Oh no. Somehow he had managed to get out of Colby’s grasp. He was now the one digging his teeth into her mate’s neck as he put all his weight on his body.
Without even thinking twice, she moved forward and jumped straight into his side, making sure to leave a nasty scratch on his ribs. The force of her body sent his tumbling off of Colby. He whirled around, a look of fury in his silvery eyes. Good.
I’m sorry, the brown wolf told her as he lunged at her. I don’t want to do this, but I don’t have a choice.
W-what? She asked. The confusion she felt had stopped her in her tracks. As she hit the ground hard, she cursed at herself. An apology? That’s your tactic?! She shouted at him. She was angry with herself for falling for it. She pulled herself back up, as they paced around each other in a circle.
It’s not a tactic. The kid belongs with his family.
Colby, what do I do? She asked him. When he didn’t answer her, she shouted at him in her mind. What do I do? She could feel the tears coming to her eyes, because the brown wolf’s voice in her mind hadn’t been in that annoying, nasally, high-pitched tone that she heard when someone was lying. He was telling her the truth, and she didn’t know what to do.
He didn’t give her an option, though.
He jumped at her, snapping his teeth near her neck tauntingly. You just don’t have it in you, do you?
She snarled back, diving straight for his neck, biting down with all of the strength she had. He struggled against her, but she wouldn’t let go.
Once he took his last breath, she pushed her shoulders back, proud of herself. That’s three kills in what? Like, five minutes? I think that’s record-breaking, she announced to Colby through mind-speak.
When he didn’t say anything back, she scanned the area for him.
She spotted his brown, heart-shaped patch of fur as he lay beneath the strongest-looking wolf in the area.
Troy.
Chapter 29: Colby
Troy pinned him to the ground, staring menacingly into his eyes. You really think I would have let you take him back? I’m going to end this whole thing right now, he told him before sinking his teeth into Colby’s chest.
Pain tore through him as Troy ripped a chunk of skin and fur from his body.
Colby fought against Troy, but it didn’t make a difference. His weight pushed down on him, forcing him to remain on the ground and under the stronger wolf’s attack.
You should have just given Davenport up, Colby Jack. It wasn’t worth ending your life over . . . was it? Troy questioned.
Anger washed over Colby, giving him the strength he needed to push Troy off of him. For a split second, Colby had the upper hand, with Troy pinned beneath him. It didn’t last for long.
Before he knew it, Troy had flung him off of him and was attacking him again, this time harder and angrier than before, and going straight for his neck.
When he felt Troy’s teeth biting into his throat, he knew that was it. The other wolves he’d been fighting had been a piece of cake. But Troy was a whole different ballgame. It wasn’t just that he was stronger than him. It was that nothing slowed Troy down—not even the bite he’d given him on his front leg.
The pain Colby felt was unbearable. His vision was blurred and his breaths were coming out in ragged gasps. His whole life began to flash through his eyes, though he struggled to hang on.
Luke appeared in front of him, a look of urgency in his eyes. “Colby, you need to fight back. You need to stay alive. Davenport needs you. Emma needs you. Samara needs you. You can’t die on them now.”
“But it’s a losing battle,” Colby said. Somehow, in his dream-like state, he was in his human form again. “Troy is going to kill me. I don’t stand a chance.”
“Hold on, Colby. Just hold on.”
Colby hesitated for a few moments. “Okay. I’ll try.” He frowned. “What are you? A spirit?”
“Something like that,” Luke replied. “I haven’t gotten the hang of appearing in front of everyone yet, but you need to know that I’m watching over you all. I need to go now.”
“But I want you to stay,” Colby insisted.
“If you don’t stop talking to me right now, you’re going to die, Colby. You need to wake up and fight back. Everyone’s counting on you—including me. It’s the only way.”
“Okay. Goodbye, Luke,” Colby murmured, even though he could feel himself growing weaker.
His eyes fluttered open . . . or did they flutter shut? He didn’t even know.
Chapter 30: Emma
E
mma ran faster than the wolves that bit at her heels. She hoped the Trusted Ones would continue to hold back the rest as she raced forward, biting Troy hard on his hip.
It made him snarl, but he didn’t let go of Colby’s throat.
Holy shit. If she didn’t do something else—something worse, her mate was going to die. And it would be all her fault.
She flung herself onto Troy again, this time biting down hard on his back.
It seemed to infuriate him long enough to tear him away from Colby. She breathed a tiny sigh of relief, even though she knew that this wasn’t over yet. Now, she had an angry wolf that was ready to focus his attacks on her . . . and her mate didn’t seem to be moving from his place on the ground.
Was he dead? No. She’d witnessed enough werewolf deaths to know that if Colby was dead, he would have already changed into his human form. But why wasn’t he moving? Oh god, oh god.
Do you know how easy it’ll be for me to kill you? Troy asked, snorting amusedly. You’re such a weak wolf. It’s not only because you’re a girl. You were just as weak when you were human.
Emma let out a low, defensive growl. I was never weak. The only weak one I see here is you. You were so weak and desperate for power that you had to change me just to trade me for a stupid talisman! Well, guess what, Troy? It didn’t help you. You never got to use its powers. What you did—changing me? It was all for nothing, she spat at him.
His nostrils flared angrily. You’re right. It was all for nothing. Your life as a wolf is just as worthless as it was when you were human. I had the honor of bringing you into this world, so I’m more than honored to be the one to end you.
Just as he threw himself on top to her, sinking his teeth into her throat, he was quickly pulled away and lifted into the air.
Emma knew it was the Trusted Ones who were dangling him off the ground by his hind legs, but she couldn’t exactly bite his throat unless she wanted to risk him biting her eyes. That meant that there was only one other way to kill him.
She had to pierce his heart.
Emma, now, a voice told her. She knew it was Meagan. She really had visited her.
She swallowed hard. She’d never pierced another wolf’s heart before. How was she going to pull this one off?
One of the Trusted Ones must have been able to read her mind, because a sharp stick—which looked more like something she should use on a vampire—was pushed in front of her. She realized what she needed to do.
She picked the stick up with her teeth, turning to the side so that the end was level with Troy’s heart.
She took a few steps back before she stopped. It seemed so much worse than killing with her bare teeth. Tentatively, just to test it out first, she stepped forward, touching the stick to his chest. She tried to memorize the exact spot where she needed to stab him. Now that she was closer to him, she was fairly sure that the Trusted Ones were holding his head in place. Any wolf would’ve taken that chance to defend themselves.
He laughed. If you’re going for my heart, you should know that you’re way off, honey. God, this is so amusing.
Angrily, she rammed the stick into his chest where she thought his heart was.
He howled in pain. He sucked in breaths as he fell to the ground whimpering.
Good job, Emma, one of the spirits said.
To her astonishment, he pushed himself to his feet.
I wonder what your Alpha is going to think of you after all this. You know I’ve always been very cooperative with your pack, Troy said.
Maybe everyone else sees you as cooperative, but I see you as an asshole, Emma replied before pouncing on him.
Their shoulders hit at the same time. She sensed his mouth near her back, but she was faster than him. She dodged away from and latched onto his throat.
He was already so weak, he barely fought. Within seconds, he slumped to the ground.
Emma watched until his human body appeared, feeling pleased by the fact that he was gone for good.
She turned to the rest of his pack members, who all stared back at her in shock. I just killed the strongest member of your pack. If you think I won’t be able to kill you just because I’m a girl, then think again.
None of them argued with her.
And, since I just killed your Alpha, that means that I’m your new Alpha. You will do as I say, unless you wish to have the same fate as Troy, Emma continued.
When none of the other Ariel pack members said anything and it seemed obvious that they weren’t going to attack, she rushed over to Colby’s side. It didn’t look like he was breathing.
Colby? You need to wake up, Emma whispered. When she got no response, she nudged against him with her head. Colby, please wake up.
She was beginning to think that maybe he really was gone, lost to her forever, when he cracked one eye open.
Emma?
You’re alive! She nuzzled her head against his chest as joy and relief flooded her body.
I am. He sat up. Did we win? Is Davenport still able to be a Tala?
I don’t know, she replied, shaking her head. She turned to the Ariel pack members, who were still watching them. As Alpha, I ask that you allow Davenport to remain with his parents and be a member of the Tala. If you can agree to this, I will give you back your pack.
One of the girls from the pack morphed back into her human form and then asked, “What do you mean you’ll give us back your pack?”
The other pack members changed back into their human forms, too. Emma and Colby both followed suit.
“I mean, if you let us have Davenport, I’ll step away from this pack. I won’t be your Alpha anymore,” Emma explained. “However, if you don’t agree to these terms, then you’ll all be members of the Tala pack.”
“I want to stay an Ariel,” Rocco announced. “And maybe we could even go back to being the Shomecossee now that Troy’s gone. I know this might sound surprising to you, but I’m actually sort of relieved you killed my cousin. He was on a major power trip.” He grinned at Emma sheepishly. “And it’s okay with me if you want to keep that baby. Babies annoy the hell out of me.”
She smiled at him. “If it’s okay with everyone, I’ll appoint Rocco to be the Alpha of this pack when I go. If I go, that is. Why don’t we all take a vote? If you’re willing to let us have Davenport, then please step forward.” She thought that fate would’ve chosen him anyway. He seemed much more mature now.
Simultaneously, all of the members of the Ariel pack took a step towards her.
She breathed a sigh of relief, happy that the rest of the pack didn’t seem to care about having a McKinley be a part of their pack as much as Troy did. “It’s all settled, then. Rocco is your new Alpha.”
“And we’re now the Shomecossee again,” he chimed in, grinning at her.
Chapter 31: Colby
Samara and Declan came back home a few days later. They both looked really sunburnt, but they were glowing with newlywed happiness. Colby couldn’t help but notice that they looked happier and happier every time he saw them. It made him smile.
“How was he?” Samara asked as she took Davenport from Emma.
Emma glanced over at Colby with a sly grin. “He was wonderful, as always.”
“Yeah, we really can’t wait to babysit him again,” Colby piped up. And he was being completely honest about that, too. Ever since Davenport had become a part of their pack again and the symptoms of the virus had left his body, he’d been so much fun to have around. That wasn’t even to mention the fact that he seemed to be warming up to Colby, too, which made him feel relieved. He wanted to be able to tell him, one day, about some of the fun times he’d shared with Luke.
“I’m glad you guys had fun,” Declan replied, beaming. “I hate to cut this short and we have some souvenirs to give you later, but I think right now we’re just ready to be home.”
Samara laughed. “Yeah, and I bet the two of you are ready to get rid of him by now. You probably need to rest. Chasing after this this little man can be
exhausting,” she said, bouncing Davenport in her arms. He squealed with laughter.
You know she would probably be so pissed off if she knew how much sleeping he did this week, since he’s always hyper for her, Colby told Emma through mind-speak.
She burst into laughter and grinned at him.
“There you two go keeping your secrets again.” Declan chuckled.
“Yeah. You know it’s not polite to keep secrets, right? Especially from the Alpha of your pack,” Samara said playfully.
“Oh, please. You can’t tell me that the two of you don’t have some secrets of your own,” Emma said pointedly.
Samara and Declan exchanged a glance. “You’ll never know,” they said in unison.
“Actually, there is one secret we really need to tell you about,” Colby said, exchanging glances with Emma. We have to tell them about what happened. They’re going to find out Troy died on their own, anyway.
I thought we said we were going to keep it between just the two of us, Emma protested, glaring at him.
We did, but . . . I think they deserve to know. We would want to know if one of our future children gets kidnapped by another pack.
True, Emma agreed.
He glanced over at Samara and Declan again. “When you were gone, Davenport developed this really rare virus that caused him to be a member of the Ariel—which was the new name of the Shomecossee pack before they went back to being the Shomecossee again. So, to win him back, Emma and I, with the help of the Trusted Ones, went there and fought their whole twenty-seven member pack. Emma ended up conquering Troy and made Rocco in charge of the pack again. He seems to have grown up a little since the last time we saw him. Oh, and the most important part is that Daven is going to remain a member of the Tala, and he doesn’t have the virus anymore,” Colby blurted.
Samara laughed loudly. “Did you tell Daven a lot of stories while we were gone? Your imagination is getting really vivid,” she said.
“Yeah, maybe you should become an author one day,” Declan joked, patting Colby on the back. “That would make for an awesome movie or something.”