Wolf's Strength

by Kirk, Ambrielle

  A maid burst into the double doors with a torn and dirty piece of cloth. “Alpha!” She threw the fabric on the table in front of him. “Your sister! She’s been taken. The guards have been murdered.”

  There was blood on the maid’s hand.

  A growl so feral erupted from Devin’s throat that it shook the walls around them.

  Chapter Eighteen

  There were at least a hundred wolves under the full hunter’s moon. Some in true forms while others remained standing as humans. Blake stood as human, just as his Alpha did.

  Twilight illuminated the field of lupinus perennis that stretched for a mile in all directions, providing enough light to take in all his brethren as they stood with him. A band full of Pack members crowded around the center of the makeshift podium where two men stood.

  Caedmon. Arnou. They were all in attendance. There were subtle differences but no one cared about those tonight. This night marked a momentous occasion. Not since the Great Fallout had both Packs united on common ground.

  Blake DeLuca was honored to be a part of this event. He stood on the front line, a few feet from the podium. Naomi stood next to him, and she squeezed his hand in quiet reassurance.

  “Words cannot express how happy I am,” Naomi said.

  “I’m not sure words would do any of this justice. I didn’t think I would live to see this,” Blake replied. “The day when two rival Packs would come together.”

  Naomi smiled. “Knowing we have the sanction of both Alphas makes our upcoming ceremony much easier.”

  Finally Blake could communicate with his mate without either of them having to worry about who was watching them. They could talk freely about Pack politics without having to worry about hurting their Packs. But this time Blake wouldn’t have to refer to Naomi’s Pack as a separate governing body. Once they were bonded and all had witnessed the mating ceremony, she would be an official member of the Caedmon Pack.

  Blake cocked his head toward the podium where Devin and Tristan were speaking. “What do you think they’re talking about?”

  “Whatever it is, it must be private. No one else has stepped foot on that podium. If they can reach agreement tonight, there’s a chance we can find Elisa and bring her back before harm takes her.”

  “Yes.”

  Blake looked to the podium, wondering how much longer the two Alphas would go back and forth.

  ***

  “It’s been confirmed.” Devin drew in a deep breath, hoping he could maintain his composure despite his failures in protecting his sister. “Elisa was taken. I had a wolf trace the scent from the cave to a hut just south of the train station.”

  Tristan frowned. “To Shanhah, you think?”

  “My messenger said the men guarding the hut showed marks similar to the guy we interrogated a few days ago.”

  “Then Shanhah must have wanted you to follow her,” Tristan said. “She’s left no open trails until now. She knows what’s coming to her, and I believe she’s using your younger sister as bait.”

  “Not only that. Elisa is twice as powerful as Roman. My sister might be the only one who can contend with Shanhah Osborne.”

  Tristan’s gaze gleamed. “But will she?”

  Devin diverted his gaze. “That’s the thing. She hasn’t been the same since Roman’s death. All this time she’s been living in a cave. She refused to say much of anything to anyone. Dawson got her to talk a couple days ago. I know she’ll come around, but she’s upset about what she did to save our people—what Roman instructed her to do.”

  Tristan arched an eyebrow. “And that is?”

  “My half sister aided Roman in passing. She stripped his Spirit before it diminished. She had enough abilities as it was. She saw glimpses of the past and these things haunted her. She told me they did. When Roman gifted her with everything he had…I can only imagine how confused she is.”

  “I would be too. It’s probably why she wants to be alone. There’s no way she can process that information with all this shit going down.”

  Devin ran his hands through his hair. “If Shanhah discovers Elisa’s true abilities…”

  “We’re not dealing with a lowly witch.” Tristan’s lips spread thinly across his teeth as he gave emphasis to each word. “I’m certain Shanhah didn’t kidnap her because she wanted to play dress up with her.”

  Devin’s irritation rolled up his shoulders in waves. “Your sarcasm is uncalled for at this time.”

  “Who said I was being sarcastic. I want this bitch dead as much as you do.”

  “Certainly.” Devin nodded. “But we can’t keep fighting with each other.”

  “It’s why you and I are here together with our Pack members. A treaty of peace will ensure we build armies to grow our numbers to what they were in the past. Without a treaty no one will care and everyone will act as rivals. That’s no good when you have forces like Shanhah trying to pit us against each other so she can loop around at the most inopportune time.”

  “A treaty of peace. There will be rules but if the rules are broken…”

  The edges of Tristan’s lips twitched upward. “There will be a punishment severe enough for the rule breaker to regret his actions. Banishment from both Packs would ensure the shit never happens twice. You get one straw and that’s it. You’re out.”

  “Sometimes I like your way of thinking,” Devin said.

  Tristan shrugged. “And sometimes you don’t. We’ll have to work on that.”

  Devin called his transcriber to the stage and requested a pen and a scroll of vellum paper. It took fifteen minutes for the transcriber to draft the treaty. It was quite simple. There would be peace and unity between the two Packs, and the punishment for disobeying this order would be banishment from both sides, period.

  There was a dotted line drawn for each signature. Devin signed first, followed by Tristan.

  The transcriber took the contract to the front of the stage and raised it to the twilight sky. “A treaty of peace!” he yelled.

  Men and women echoed the same, cheering and rejoicing in the decision.

  “Hmm…” Tristan grunted, looking out over the crowd. “No objection.”

  “Yet,” Devin offered. “From experience I change a law and usually it takes days before the naysayers come forward. I’m a man of my word, so nothing pleasant ever comes from those meetings with them.”

  “Shall we make it official like in the old days?” Tristan asked.

  Devin tilted his head to the side.

  “By blood, Devin. By blood union.”

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

  “I’ll still have my title. You still have yours. This alliance will be extremely beneficial to both of us.” Tristan unsheathed a dagger and held the sharp blade against his palm. He cut deep and the blood pooled immediately.

  Devin took the blade and did the same. He let his blood collect in his palm. Some of it escaped through his fingers and dripped on the podium near their feet.

  The crowd was silent. Tristan held out his open palm and Devin accepted it.

  A jolt of pressure dashed up his arm and heated him from the inside out. Tristan’s Wolf Spirit stirred with his. The Spirits recognized and accepted one another.

  Devin took their hands, still joined together, and thrust them into the air and moved to the edge of the podium so all could see. The crowd roared in approval and applauded wildly as the blood leaked down their forearms, through the cracks in the wood on the stage, and onto the soil where two wolf Packs joined in strong union. Their union was forbidden before, but now the possibilities were boundless.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Blake didn’t know who snapped the branch. His wolf ears were on high alert and the rest of his senses were in full gear, ready to strike when necessary. Nick signaled, giving the order to the men in the trees above them. Just seconds later, a pounding of footsteps rushed through the clearing.

  The men in the trees dropped the net to the ground. The trap measured twenty feet
by twenty feet so dozens of men were captured under it. As they thrashed against the ropes, the first set of wolves rushed out full speed.

  Next came the yelps of surprise as arrows pierced through the flesh of many of the wolves. Blake bit back a curse as the stench of fresh blood carried on the wind. They were being hunted with bow and arrows like animals. A swarm of arrows could kill many wolves at once. Whoever was behind Shanhah knew how to keep an animal at bay. That told Blake they feared coming closer and would try to prevent it in any way they could.

  Now that they knew what they were up against, the second and third attack group moved onto the fields, rushing at top speed, darting left and right in attempts to miss the arrows. The more who made it across the field to the hut where Shanhah was said to be, the better chance they had to rescue Elisa.

  Blake’s heart rattled as he rushed toward his first opponent, tackled him to ground, and tore into his throat. When the wolf was unleashed, there was no going back. He only knew survival. He would kill to survive.

  He came upon a lanky opponent. This one carried a machete, instead of a bow and arrow. It made sense. Inevitably, the weapons would change to those that could kill a wolf at point blank range as they got closer to the target.

  The lanky man took a blind swipe that missed Blake’s front leg by centimeters. Blake’s body lurched with each rabid bark, backing his opponent into a bush. When Lanky realized Blake could counter his strikes, he reached under his coat.

  Blake gave him no chance, ripping the arm from his body only to see a gun fall to the ground. Not only did his rage swell, but also his worry. Wolves of all ages and with all levels of combat training had joined the fight. He feared for many of their lives. From the way things reeked, he could tell some had already lost their lives.

  As he ran for the target, his paws smashed into chunks of flesh from the carnage. The stench of blood and death on the battlefield surround him. He figured it would be quick. The intention was never to kill in the first place. They just wanted what was theirs. A teenage girl was stuck in hut of a greedy witch. Uniting the Packs was the first step to ensuring they had significant wolf power against Shanhah’s threats and artillery.

  Seeing that most of their side had reached more than halfway across the clearing, Blake shifted. Many Caedmon and Arnou had done the same. A dirty path led up to the hut and on the orders of his Alpha, he marched to it.

  He threw a direct blow to the face of a man who got in his way. A dropkick to the neck paralyzed the man, and Blake dove over him and carried on.

  Another tried him to attack him with a few slashes of a machete. They engaged in hand-to-hand combat until Blake gripped the handle of the weapon and snatched it from his opponent. Without thought he swung, cutting clean through the man’s neck. The head fell backward and the body dropped to the ground.

  Blake ran straight toward the hut. Two of Arnou’s Enforcers barreled through the door. This wasn’t too surprising. Tristan had these men trained to complete missions such as this. Whether it called for rescuing, capturing, detaining or killing, they were taught never to fail.

  As soon as they opened the door, a ball of fire blasted them and knocked them backward. They regrouped and staggered to their feet. He’d landed facedown in the dirt from the force of the blast. Blake spit some dirt and dry grass from his mouth.

  A second group of wolves rushed toward the door again only the strong ray of fire met them once more. Several of them caught fire and were engulfed in flames. Blake nearly vomited as the men hollered in pain.

  Those standing nearby managed to put out one of the fires, but the other three men did not make it.

  “Fuck!” Devin exclaimed. “I would burn this entire motherfucker down if my sister wasn’t in there.”

  “We can burn it down and then get your sister.” Tristan hissed.

  “Heck no! I want Elisa out of there without a scratch.”

  Tristan motioned toward two of his Elites. “Go around the back. If one of you can cover the roof, do it. Be careful, keep quiet. There’s a witch inside. She doesn’t need to see you to know you’re there.”

  They ran off and Tristan called two others. “Once we have the position of the witch, we’ll snipe that bitch. SR twenty-five. Crew seventeen. E2. Post north.” He pointed his finger, and his Elite ran north with a sniper rifle. “Crew two. E1. Post south. Cover the rear.”

  As the snipers were setting up, more of their opponents came out of the back end of the forest.

  Blake groaned. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” He felt his bones crack and snap as his wolf yearned to break free and attack.

  “Save your energy. We’ve lost too many,” Devin commanded. “Get one of those guns and mow them down.”

  They fired on the Alpha’s command and bodies fell. There was complete silence and then two additional shots aimed toward the house.

  “Man down!” The Enforcer on the roof yelled. “The witch is down!”

  The hut was small enough that only a dozen of them fit inside the room. When Blake got inside along with Devin, Tristan and most of the Council and a couple of Arnou Enforcers, sure enough, a tall woman with ice-blond hair shrank back against the wall. Her eyes were stark purple.

  She screamed and they doubled over from the high-pitched sound.

  Elisa was in one corner of the room, roped to one of the beams holding the hut upright. Another man lie dead on the floor. He had a deep gash at his throat. His eyes were still open and a hands poised in rigor mortis at his neck.

  “Priestess Shanhah?” An Enforcer approached the delicate but deadly woman. “I have orders to kill you.” He didn’t get another word out as he fell to the floor, clutching his throat.

  “Don’t underestimate her! She’s trying to eliminate everyone.” Elisa yelled from the center of the room. She pointed at the dead man with the gash to his neck. “She killed Jonathan Ellis.”

  “I killed that stupid prick because he let the journal be stolen right out from under his nose. He was a weak link and I disposed of him…and his useless father.” Priestess Shanhah started chanting what sounded like gibberish. Elisa pressed her hand to her ears and shook her head.

  “She needs to be detained,” Tristan mumbled.

  “Kill her! It’s a spell,” Elisa urged. “She can’t be detained.”

  “You can stop her, Elisa!” Devin yelled.

  “Why kill me?” Shanhah laughed. “Why do that when I have the power to save all of you?”

  “Save us?” Devin spat.

  “You don’t want to be animals all your life, do you?”

  “We’re Caedmon and we plan to keep our spirit alive,” Devin replied.

  The door was ripped from the outside of the hut by some strong force and gust after gust air burst inside. The air formed a quick funnel. It spun from one corner of the room to the next, knocking out everything in its path. Even some of the men were caught off guard, the funnel knocking them to the ground.

  “I can’t!” Elisa cried. “She’s bound my Spirit with hers.”

  “Take it back. You know how, Elisa,” Dawson pleaded.

  “Concentrate,” Devin yelled.

  Moments passed and Elisa battled with the witch. Shanhah’s heart might have been pierced with an arrow, but her Spirit was fighting for dear life. When the witch stumbled, gasping for breath and clutching her chest, Elisa’s ropes popped free.

  She rose above Shanhah Osborne, chanting in an exotic language Blake didn’t understand. Shanhah froze and her eyes bulged until she crumbled to the ground. Her body convulsed and dozens of gleaming orbs floated out of her body.

  “Caedmon Spirits, I release you. Arnou Spirits, I release you. I release the Spirit that did not enter you as a result of your birth,” Elisa chanted.

  When the witch was dead, the breath Blake was holding rushed from him. Finally, his tense muscles relaxed.

  “Dingdong, that witch is dead,” Dawson declared solemnly.

  “Finally, but who’s to say her fol
lowers won’t pick up after her.” Devin stabbed his thumb in the direction of the fields. “She had a mass army attacking us.”

  “Well, the main instigator is gone, that’s for sure,” Blake offered.

  “I have to hand it to Tristan,” Devin said. “The men did well in paralyzing the witch in the beginning.”

  Tristan had said nothing since the witch fell.

  “Tristan?” Devin called.

  For once, Tristan remained silent.

  “Tristan?”

  Blake turned around to see why Tristan was so preoccupied he couldn’t speak. His head jerked when he processed the scene in front of him.

  Elisa stood there with her sky-blue dress in shambles, and Tristan stood unmoving in front of her. Inches separated them, and then only centimeters were keeping them apart until they both appeared to close the gap. Elisa held up her palm and pressed it to Tristan’s cheek over the deep wolf gash. When she lifted it again, the scar was gone and the skin was pristine. Tristan’s mouth dropped open and he swayed on his feet.

  Tristan wasn’t swaying for long. Right before their eyes, the Alpha of the Arnou Pack dropped to his knees in front of Elisa Caedmon.

  Blake couldn’t believe what he saw. He peered around and everyone was in a state of shock.

  “You exist…” Tristan took Elisa’s hand and pressed a single kiss to the top of it. “My Queen. Mate.”

  “Tristan.” Elisa blushed as Tristan held her hand. “What a surprise.”

  “I’ve waited. I’ve waited for you so long.” Tristan’s voice shook as he spoke.

  Elisa brought him to stand so they were eye to eye. Tristan slid his palm up along her neck and his fingers slid against her throat. Elisa’s eyelids closed and she tipped her chin. Tristan’s canines shot past his bottom lip.

  A rapid growl erupted from Dawson, and he snatched Elisa to his side.

  “You’ll be waiting a little longer.” Dawson bared his teeth. “She’s only fifteen.”

  Tristan retracted his fangs. “I understand yet she is mine. I would never hurt my Queen.” He held out his palm. “Give her to me.”