by A L Fogerty
“What?” Jagger asked, confused. “I thought you healed that.”
“I healed the physical infection, but this was an infection of the soul.”
“It was something like a possession, but it wasn’t by an entity. It was by an energy,” Kayla explained, finding her strength. “The energy of evil and darkness.”
“You were possessed by darkness for nine months?” Jagger asked, aghast.
“Yes.” She looked at her hands. She couldn’t bear the look on his face.
“What does this all mean?”
Quinn took a breath. “It means that Kayla’s personality was altered. I was the only one who knew, other than the witches. She was blatantly cruel to them on more than one occasion, to the point where they’d even considered leaving.”
“I’d wondered what was going on with them.”
“Yes,” Kayla said. “I was horrible.”
Jagger frowned. “But what happened? Kayla is obviously back to her normal self.”
“I am. I’m back. The experience was something I would not wish on my worst enemy. In fact. I became my worst enemy.”
“What changed? Why is the evil gone?”
Quinn inspected his brother. “Mackenzie and Willa performed a spell. A ritual. Working together, we tried to drive the evil from Kayla’s soul.”
“And it worked,” Jagger said.
“It did work. But Kayla went into labor, and we weren’t able to fully complete the ritual.”
Jagger’s eyes went to the baby then to Kayla and Quinn. “What happened?” he demanded.
“During the birth, the darkness was expelled from Kayla’s soul. But it was driven deep into the child,” Quinn said.
Jagger slumped, and all of the color drained from his face. “This can’t be true.”
Kayla reached for his hand. “I wish that it weren’t, my love. I wish with all my heart and soul that it were not true. But I know it is.”
“What about the spell. Can’t you perform it on the child?”
“The darkness was driven more deeply inside her than it had been inside of Kayla. The soul’s grasp on the body is weak at such a young and tender age. We attempted it soon after the birth, but it was unsuccessful. Oksana barely survived.”
Kayla began to sob. Jagger gathered her in his arms, kissing her head. “There has to be another way.”
“There is another way,” Quinn said
“What is it?” Jagger demanded.
“The witches and I discussed this a great deal during our return trip from Smoke Mountain. We’ve concluded that if we close the rift into hell, it will cleanse our daughter’s soul of evil.”
“Oh. That’s all?” Jagger asked.
“This was what we have been called to do,” Quinn said. “It is the reason we were all brought together. We must bring balance back to this world.”
“I will bring light to my daughter’s soul,” Kayla said. “I will confront the king of darkness himself if I have to. Nothing will stop me.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Blackfangs, witches, and Kayla sat around the kitchen table, discussing how they could possibly close the rift. Oksana slept peacefully upstairs in her room, and Kayla had wrapped herself in warm blankets, shivering even in the heat of the late summer.
“Malik and the others have been working on this very thing for the last year.”
There was a knock at the door, and Quinn stood to open it.
“There’s a raven circling above the pack lodge,” said one of the village council.
“I’ll get it,” Willa said, standing from the table. A moment later, she returned with a scroll. She sat down and scanned the message. Her mouth dropped open, and she looked up at the people around the table. “I should have known she would do this.”
“What is it?” Jagger asked.
“My sister, Veronica, left Dark Haven several years ago, headed west. Her goal was to meet the Dark Lord himself and be imbued with his black magic. She’s been looking for witch recruits for over a year. It appears that she has emerged from hell, leading an army of demons. They are gathering forces at the rift. Malik and the others are traveling west to set up a new coven. He says he will contact us as soon as they find a permanent location. If we could meet up with them, then together, we might find a way.”
“We have a standing army of shifters ready for a fight,” Jagger said. “We might have a chance.”
“We will have to move soon,” Kayla said. “If Veronica moves east, we will all be lost.”
“But Oksana,” Riddick said.
“Melody Roan has just lost a child. Her milk has not yet dried. She can care for the child,” Quinn said.
Kayla shook her head. “No. I can’t leave my daughter to be cared for by another woman.”
“We can’t take her,” Jagger said. “She will be safer here.”
“I can’t leave her.” Kayla covered her face and began to sob, but she knew that her tears were pointless. She knew that her destiny and her daughter’s soul depended on her strength. She would have to leave her daughter if she wanted to save her.
Willa reached across the table to pat her arm. “Kayla, I’m sorry.”
Riddick crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not leaving my daughter.”
“But I need you by my side,” Kayla said.
“You’ll be all right without me. You have the others. One of us needs to stay in Mist Valley.”
“All right.” Kayla let out a long sigh. “We need to start sending ravens to the packs and clans. As soon as the armies have gathered here in Mist Valley, we will move.”
“This late in the season?” Jagger asked reluctantly.
“The sooner we go, the sooner we save our daughter’s soul.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Over the next several days, ravens arrived from packs and clans around the region and beyond, promising their support and loyalty. With each new message of fidelity, trepidation grew in Kayla’s chest. Soon, she would have to fulfill her destiny, and she felt the weight of the choice to leave her child looming over her.
But with each passing day, as her baby grew, the truth of her daughter’s nature became more apparent. Oksana was so young that it was impossible to observe behavior that could be considered evil. But there was an emptiness in her daughter’s eyes that was unmistakable. She recognized it because she’d seen it in herself. By the time the final letter arrived, Kayla had come to terms with her decision. She sat in her room that night with tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Jagger asked, walking through the door.
“I’m so torn.” A tear slipped down her cheek, but Kayla felt as cold and still as steal.
Jagger crossed the room and took her in his arms. “We’re doing the right thing.”
“I wish I felt it was. But I don’t. I feel like it’s all wrong.”
“If I could take all the pain away and give you and Oksana a safe, happy life, I would spend the rest of my life doing that. I feel like a failure knowing that I can’t.” His voice shuddered.
“It’s not your responsibility to give me a safe, happy life.”
“It is my responsibility, and I will never believe otherwise. I can’t give you a safe place to raise our daughter in peace. I often wonder what kind of man I am that I need you, a new mother, to lead an army into the mouth of darkness.” He held her face in his hands but looked away.
“Jagger, no.” She pulled his gaze back to meet her own.
“If I were a stronger man, Kayla, if I were a better man, things would be different.”
“You are a good man.”
“But I can’t save you from this. The armies won’t follow me. You are our standard bearer. You are the reason. Without you, it’s impossible. I know this no matter how much I wish I could change it. I can’t take your place. I feel like an impotent fool.”
“Jagger, please. Don’t.”
He stood and turned away. “What man wants to see his mate, the mother of h
is child, forced out of her home, leaving her daughter behind because she has no choice? I’ve failed you, Kayla. I’ve failed to protect you. I told you I always would, but I can’t.”
She stood and placed her hand on his arm. “Don’t you know, Jagger Blackfang, I’m the strongest alpha alive?”
He turned to her, holding her hand. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I am your man, and I should be able to protect you. You shouldn’t have to always be the strong one. It’s just not right.”
“You can’t feel like a failure because of my fears and insecurities. I won’t allow it.”
“You deserve more. You deserve better from me.” He turned away, but she stopped him.
“You have given me so much more than I ever imagined. Your love holds me up when I am weakest. Without that, I don’t know what I would do. I would not be the woman I am today without you.”
“It’s me who needs you, Kayla. I’m man enough to recognize it. You saved my pack. You’ve done things for me and for Mist Valley that I never could have done myself. I’ll never forget the sacrifices you had no reason to make.”
“And if I hadn’t done all that, I wouldn’t have the most important things in life: you, Quinn, Riddick, Oksana, Felix, and Sid. Maybe I could have avoided the pain and the sorrow, but I would have missed all the love too. It is a trade-off I was willing to make. And I will make it again and again and again for the rest of my life.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Tanglewood pack was the first to arrive. Jagger’s old friend Aaron Windspear had sent a message of loyalty as soon as Kayla’s raven landed. And when she’d sent them news of their change of plans, they were just as quick to agree to the new campaign.
Jagger went to meet them when they came to the edge of the Mist Valley territory. Aaron led two dozen warriors on horseback. Jagger waved in greeting when he saw his face through the trees. Aaron waved back, his lips in a tight line. Jagger knew Aaron still regretted not fostering Jenny Blue when Jagger had asked him to the year before. Aaron rejecting his request had come as a blow to Jagger’s confidence in his friend and in himself. He’d been livid at the time, but those feelings had faded.
Since Reginald Redclaw and Colton Irontooth were dead, the fear that Aaron once had allowed to steer his choices no longer mattered. With Kayla amassing an army in Mist Valley and her recent support of her cousin’s succession, it was clear where the true power in the region lay.
“Jagger Blackfang,” Aaron said, “it is so good to see you.”
“And you, old friend,” Jagger said, reaching out to clasp his hand.
“Your mate makes a compelling argument,” Aaron said as they approached the village.
“Kayla Redclaw is a compelling woman. Her power grows by the day.”
“And we proudly join the Mist Valley pack in this endeavor. It is about time someone took a stand for what matters in this world. No more bickering and jockeying for territory. Banding together to march west is a bold move.”
“And you don’t feel concerned?” Jagger asked, surprised that Aaron was so willing to take such risks.
“Kayla is undisputedly the strongest alpha in our region and possibly in the world. Some call her the queen of the shifters. If the queen calls her people to action, we are compelled to answer the call.”
Jagger examined Aaron, wondering if the darkness inside Kayla during her pregnancy was somehow responsible for the presence of his old friend. Even if it was, Jagger didn’t know if it mattered. The packs and clans were coming, and they were willing to march under Kayla’s flag. They would help her fulfill the prophecy his mother had instilled in him and his brothers since their youth. Perhaps Kayla’s possession by darkness had all been in service of her destiny, as Quinn had said.
Jagger had never been a superstitious man or one given to flights of fantasy—he left that to Quinn—but after spending the last year and a half with Kayla, he believed that the prophecy was the truest thing in the world. He’d had proof of it on more than one occasion.
He escorted Aaron and the Tanglewood pack into the village as Kayla stepped out onto the porch of the pack lodge. She smiled slowly and gave the troops a confident salute.
“Greetings, Tanglewood pack,” Kayla said in a strong voice. He could feel her alpha power wash over him. They all needed to feel that from her. They needed to know her power was true.
Aaron’s smile spread over his lips as he dropped from his mount and took her hand in both of his. “I am glad we are meeting on better circumstances than the last time,” he said.
Kayla’s face fell. If he only knew how wrong he was. Kayla’s world was upside down and inside out, but she quickly recovered her composure and agreed with him. They walked into the pack lodge, sat around the council table, and began to discuss the plans for the march west.
“We plan to take the highway to the south then travel west. We probably won’t beat the winter before making it to the ocean. But if we travel south, we won’t have to climb the mountains in the snow.”
“This is a solid plan. How long will it take?”
“Felix has estimated the march will take four months. We should make it to the coast by November.”
“That isn’t ideal,” Aaron said.
“We know it isn’t, but we also can’t wait to march. Time is of the essence. We’ve learned that a powerful witch is gathering forces at the portal, poised to march east. We want to head her off before she can move on the innocent people of the world.”
“And you really believe that defeating this army will bring the shifters’ powers back?”
“Without a doubt. When we close the rift, balance will be restored to the world, and so will our abilities.”
The next to arrive was the Palomino bear clan from South Carolina. They had promised their allegiance after Willa had cast a shield for them. The bears had sent their strongest warriors, but the alpha had stayed home to look after his clan.
As more and more troops arrived, Jagger could tell that Kayla was growing apprehensive. The pregnancy had taken a great deal of her strength, but over the last several months of preparing for war, she had regained some of her previous vigor. She still stole away as often as she could to hunt with Bane in the forest. It was like meditation for her, something that she needed to maintain her peace of mind.
When she had finally come to terms with leaving Oksana, her resolve had fortified, and she had become much more content with her life. Jagger still felt a searing sense of pain that he couldn’t protect her from any of it, but she reminded him daily that she was the one who was supposed to be strong. She was the great alpha queen, and it was up to her to make the hard choices. He hated that it made him both proud and feel emasculated.
It was her destiny to lead the packs and clans to war. If he could, he would have taken her place in a heartbeat, but it simply wasn’t possible. And as much as it made him feel like a coward and a fool, he could no longer burden Kayla with his feelings of weakness.
Riddick had insisted on staying, and while Kayla wanted him to join the war party, Jagger knew that she was also relieved that one of her daughter’s parents would be staying behind. She had been sharing feeding duties with Melody Roan, a woman who had lost her own child. Jagger could see the pain and torment in Kayla’s eyes every time Melody nursed her baby. But he also knew it was a great relief to her to know Oksana would be well-fed while she was gone.
When the last of the packs and clans arrived, it was time for them to leave Mist Valley. It couldn’t happen soon enough. The forests were becoming overhunted hosting so many troops. If it continued, there would be no food for the pack.
The day of their departure, Kayla and the Blackfangs mounted their horses and led the army out of Mist Valley.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The next morning, Kayla felt tired and sore, her breasts painful from the milk she hadn’t given to her daughter. Jagger nudged her awake, but she shrugged him off, groaning and not ready to get out of her furs.
“Quinn’s getting your tea,” he said.
All she could do was grunt. Jagger wasn’t the only one who felt impotent and weak. She felt as though everything she had done up until that point had been a waste of time. And as much as she wanted to be worthy of the trust that everyone had given her, she simply wanted to curl up in bed and stay there forever. Her powers were growing, and the army of shifters believed they could win a war against Veronica. Maybe they could. But her emotions were so raw and dark, it felt as if there was no way to lift herself out of it. Everyone needed her. Her daughter needed her. But she was tired, so very tired of fighting, so very tired of the relentless pressure of her destiny.
She finally dragged herself out of bed, hearing the army of men and women outside packing up their tents and preparing their breakfasts. She had to make an appearance to keep up morale. So far, she had been able to maintain the pretense of enthusiasm and strength, but it had all been an act. She felt as weak as a baby, and her belief in herself and their mission was just as weak.
Quinn stepped into her tent, holding a steaming cup of tea in his hands. He sat beside her and looked into her face with a questioning expression. She thanked him, wanting him to get up and go away. But he lingered beside her, watching her drink her tea.
“You’re troubled,” he said.
“I’m fine,” she replied.
She knew that of all the brothers, Quinn depended on her strength the most, and he also depended on her resolve and her goodness. It had saved her and had seen her through more than once, but she genuinely feared she would not be able to live up to the greatness that she saw reflected in his eyes. “I miss my baby.”
“That’s perfectly understandable,” he replied.
“My breasts hurt from not nursing,” she whispered. “That part of my life is over, and I may never see her again.”
“You have to believe that we will win.”