Conquest

by A L Fogerty

  When it was time to sleep, she shared her tent with Riddick. She dreamed of the battle before her—legions of demons spilled from the fissure and attacked at Veronica’s command. They overwhelmed her forces, destroying her troops until there was nothing left. She woke with a start. It was still dark outside. Cold consumed her, and she sat up in bed.

  “What’s wrong?” Riddick asked, waking at the sound of her stirring.

  “It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”

  She stood and hurried out into the night, wrapping her cloak around her shoulders. The moon was high and bright overhead. There was one person who could give her what she needed. She found Quinn’s tent and slipped inside, but he wasn’t there. She stepped back into the night and followed their connection to the edge of Willa’s barrier. She found him seated beside a fire, praying to the night sky.

  “Quinn?”

  He turned to her and beckoned her into the circle. She knelt beside him, and he offered her a cup of tea. She knew what it would do and where it would take her—she would join him in the in-between space where Wolf Mother could become visible. She drank the tea and waited while Quinn sent his prayers to the moon.

  Out of the darkness came Wolf Mother, dressed in black and carrying a sword. The sword was so familiar to Kayla that she could not believe she was seeing it again.

  “You know what this is,” Wolf Mother said.

  “I’ve seen it in my dreams,” Kayla said. Her voice sounded as if it was coming from underwater.

  “This is your rightful weapon. This is the sword of light and truth, the sword you should wield in this battle.”

  “Have you brought it to me?”

  “You are not ready,” Wolf Mother said. “You have not fulfilled the prophecy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Kayla has done all that she could,” Quinn said.

  “You have yet to join all five Blackfang brothers into your blood. Until they are all part of you, you cannot wield the sword.”

  “What is it you ask of her?”

  “She must mate with all five brothers. How can you win this war without Felix bonded to your soul?”

  Wolf Mother stepped back and disappeared into the darkness. Kayla knelt in silence beside Quinn for a long moment. He lifted his eyes to her. She shook her head, her confusion so deep and wide that she could barely think. The world wavered like the waves of a deep lake in a storm.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Kayla hurried along the path through the aisles of her troops’ tents. Her heart slammed in anticipation of what she had to do. Wolf Mother’s words echoed in her mind. She had not fulfilled the prophecy. She had not taken all five Blackfang brothers into her soul. Without Felix, she was incomplete and unprepared to lead the shifters into battle. But she was not prepared for what needed to happen.

  She slipped into the tent that Sid and Felix shared and woke Felix. He blinked awake, confused and questioning what was wrong. She gulped deeply, searching her mind for words to explain what was happening. Heat rose in her cheeks, pricking her skin like a sparking fire.

  “I’ve received a message from Wolf Mother,” she said tentatively.

  “Oh?” Felix asked, leaning up on his elbow.

  “I had a dream that we lost the battle. And I went to speak to Quinn as he prayed to Wolf Mother. She came to me, and she told me the meaning of my dream and a way to remedy the loss.”

  “You need something from us?” Sid asked, waking and grabbing his hammer.

  “I do,” she said with a whisper. “From Felix. We have become so close. Such good friends. It is hard for me to form the words I must now say.”

  “I will do whatever needs to be done,” Felix said.

  She took a deep breath and let it out, squeezing her eyes tightly closed. “Wolf Mother said I must be bonded with all five Blackfang brothers, or my power cannot be awakened, and I will not win this battle.”

  “I’ll give you some privacy,” Sid said, patting Felix’s back before he climbed out of the tent.

  Felix sat silently for some time. Kayla’s heart thrummed as a bead of sweat trickled down her brow. She wiped it away and inhaled sharply through her teeth. “Are you that repulsed by me?” She laughed nervously.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Felix asked, inspecting her face. “I have consistently observed that that crease in your brow indicates anxiety.”

  Kayla growled and shot forward. Gripping Felix, she pulled him close. She planted a kiss on his lips, consuming his mouth and the words on his hot breath. He stiffened at first in confusion, but soon, he melted into her embrace, wrapping his arms around her neck and running his fingers through her hair. He drew her into his bed, and she lay down with him, hooking her leg over his hip as he pulled her under the blankets and against his hardening body.

  “I’ve been studying shifter sexuality in my spare time.” His tone was matter-of-fact as he kissed her neck.

  Kayla laughed, her body vibrating with mirth. She rolled over on top of Felix and pinned his hands to the bed, staring into his eyes. “I can tell,” she said with a smirk on her lips. She never would have imagined he would touch her so tenderly. “Now it’s time to put all that study into practice.” She flicked her tongue between his lips, sliding her heat over his length.

  “That would be most appropriate at this point in time.”

  Kayla bit and nibbled his lip, the fierceness of her inner wolf glowing through her eyes. She ran her sharp teeth over his neck and pulled her nightdress up over her head. It dropped on the floor behind her. She slid over Felix, the firelight flickering in his eyes. Felix slid inside her, and Kayla sucked in a sharp breath.

  She growled as she took him, writhing harder and faster on his lap. He thrust into her core, meeting each flick of her hips with his own. Her mind shattered as the climax descended with frantic momentum. Groaning, she leaned forward and slid her sharp teeth over his neck. His teeth grazed her skin. In the throes of their shared passion, they bit down together, their sharp fangs breaking flesh. Blood poured over her tongue. She felt Felix in his totality, not only in her body but in her soul. All of his genius, his passion for knowledge, his thirst for understanding, his inner strength and resolve permeated her every cell. It filled her like water pouring into a cup. She overflowed with the essence of him.

  She gasped as she let go of his neck, and his teeth released her. Their bodies were still bound together, sweaty and wet and throbbing in the afterglow of their passion. She held Felix close. She hadn’t known until that very moment how much she depended on him.

  Kayla cupped his face as she gazed into his eyes. A tear slid down her cheek, and she blinked it away. Her love for Felix overwhelmed her with emotion. She hadn’t understood how much she loved him with her conscious mind, but it had always been in her heart.

  They lay together, staring at the ceiling of the tent. The flickering candlelight danced on the tarp, and she knew that nothing could ever stand in her way again. All the places where she had been weak before were now strong.

  All her hesitance had become confidence. All her ignorance had become intelligence. All her doubt had become faith. She was fortified, rectified, and transformed. She had become her true self.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  The day broke cool over the barren landscape. Kayla stepped out of her tent a new woman and looked out at the yellow dawn. There was a glimmer of hope on the horizon even as the gray clouds gathered in the west. She found Quinn at her campfire, pouring her a cup of tea. She accepted it gratefully, cupping it in both hands. The warmth radiated through her skin, and she inhaled the scent.

  “Are you ready?”

  “We march on my command.” She nodded, her voice low. “Tell Jagger to gather the alphas.”

  Quinn stood and turned to go, walking down aisles of tents. Jagger emerged from his tent, yawning and stretching in the light of the new day. Quinn spoke to him, his words muffled by the distance. Jagger looked at her and nodded once, his face reso
lute.

  The connection to all her men roiled in her blood. Kayla now knew she was truly the alpha queen they’d all been waiting for. She had never quite felt it until that day. It was as if mating with Felix had added the final missing piece of the puzzle of herself.

  What lay ahead was far too much for any single person. All six of them, bonded as one, were meant to face the coming battle. She finished her tea in several deep sips and poured the dregs onto the sand by the fire. Felix emerged from the tent they’d shared the night before, looking at her with a mix of admiration and a slight hint of embarrassment. Kayla was beyond feeling such things. She had gone too far and still had so far yet to go.

  It was her moment of reckoning.

  The brothers came to her and gathered at her fire. She strapped her quiver to her back and her sword to her waist. “We march within the hour. Have Lightning saddled and brought to the head of the line,” she said to Sid. “Felix, gather the witches and go over the spell sequences one more time. Report back to me when you’ve done this.”

  The men turned to go about their various tasks, and Kayla threw a piece of dried meat in her mouth as she strode through the camp, observing the activity of the troops as they prepared to move out.

  She found Lightning ready and waiting for her, and Bane trotted at her side. She looked down at her small red wolf, concerned for an instant that the beast could be hurt in the battle. But if Kayla knew anything about her familiar, it was her resilience. She would not send her best friend back to the tent to sit idly while everyone marched out to war. Kayla nodded at the small wolf and lifted her foot into a stirrup, sliding over Lightning’s back. The troops came into formation around her as Felix returned with his report from the witches.

  “Everything is coordinated and prepared,” he said.

  “Very good. Prepare your horse, and join the witches’ regiment.”

  Felix nodded and hurried to join the witches at the back of the line. The energy of the troops was like a coiled spring. With their enchanted armor and weapons, they stood a chance.

  When the battalions had all moved into formation, Kayla drew her sword and thrust it toward the sky. “Ready!” she yelled. She pointed her sword forward. “Move out!”

  Willa’s shields covered the army as they moved, keeping them hidden from view. They were only three miles from the fissure, and they traversed that distance in less than an hour.

  They faced the army of sleeping demons. Malik rode toward her, a mirror in his hand. “You should see this,” he said, showing her the mirror. A scene of Veronica holding her child played on repeat.

  She gritted her teeth and scrunched her eyebrows together.

  “The child is in a tent at the back of the camp, the one with the red banners and flags flowing from it.”

  “Get me Riddick,” she said.

  “Right away.”

  Riddick rode over quickly, a questioning look in his eyes.

  “Do you see that tent at the back of the camp?” Kayla asked, pointing at the tent.

  “Yes.”

  “Oksana is in there. I want you to use every rogue skill you have to get our daughter back.”

  “You can count on me. I will not fail you.”

  Kayla nodded at him once, and he rode back into position.

  “Listen here, now,” Kayla said. Sitting tall astride Lightning, she moved back and forth across the front line. “This is the moment when we fulfill both our destinies as individuals and as a people. We have gathered this army to fight the scourge that has destroyed our land and stolen our future. Today, we stand prepared to take back what is ours. For ourselves, our children, and our future. I beseech you, brothers and sisters, find every ounce of strength in your heart. You are the light that will free the world from darkness.”

  “Kay-la! Kay-la! Kay-la!” the troops shouted, lifting their swords and bashing them against their shields.

  “We fight for you, Alpha Queen!”

  “If you love me, follow me.” She turned Lightning toward the army of darkness, raising her sword to the air. “Attack!” she shouted.

  The army barreled forward over the barren rocks and charred stones, screaming and growling. The horses’ hooves thunderously beat the ground as they moved on their foe. As the first line of troops met with the demons, Willa allowed her shield to disperse. The grunt demons still slept on their rocky beds as the shifters overtook them. Kayla ran her sword through the body of a demon whose eyes were as red as fire and brimstone. She kicked him away, and his blood flowed on the ground. She held back as her troops surged forward, nocking three arrows in her bow.

  Her arrows flew straight and true, carrying her power with them as they sliced through the hearts of three demons. The monsters sprawled like swine in the mud, their blood mingling with the oily ground.

  The witches prepared their first spell. Felix conducted the timing. She nocked more arrows and shot. Kelvyn’s telekinesis allowed Gloria to quickly place five portals at both the front and back of the line. The second line of shifters surged through the portals, overtaking the demons deeper inside the camp. The sound of steel hitting steel filled the air, and the smell of blood filled Kayla’s lungs. Kayla was surrounded by darkness and death, but she did not shrink away.

  She nocked more arrows, shooting as quickly as she could. She spotted Veronica yelling orders from the back of the line. She reached out with her mind, scanning the witch’s body to find her heart. If she could dispose of their enemy’s leader, it would be over. She searched for the beating heart of the woman who led the demon army, but she was quickly propelled out and forced away.

  Kayla didn’t realize what she had done until it was too late. As the fire mages threw firebombs through the portals, incinerating the demons’ camp, Veronica reached out and found a pathway into Kayla’s heart.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Kayla felt a sharp shock in her center. She was being pulled downward, under deep, dark water. She was submerged in a place with no light, beyond all hope and all clarity. She blinked, trying to gather information through her senses, but nothing came. Her mouth opened, but no scream emerged. Her heart raced, and her breaths came in panicked gasps.

  She had allowed Veronica inside her. She’d been overconfident, and it had cost her everything. She screamed again, wishing she could hear the sound. Seconds spread into eternity. She was lost in the thick darkness, falling deeper and deeper into the pit of her own mind.

  Every trial, every excuse, and every explanation she’d offered in her journey to that moment came into view before her. The worst moments of her life played out like a theater production: her mother’s death, the murder of her fox, Daisy, the tournament of alphas, the first time she’d killed. Every fear, every weakness, every moment of doubt and judgment, every time she’d let even a hint of superiority flow through her, it all replayed before her into sharp relief. The slow agony was closer than her own heartbeat.

  The scenes of her past became her true reality. The present moment disappeared. Her triumphs, her courage, her growth was all gone. The dark truth of her soul absorbed her consciousness.

  Kayla was a coward, weak, and deferential. She had let Jagger lead when she should have. She left her child because she couldn’t bear to care for her. She had denied love at every turn. She was not the woman they all believed they admired. She was little better than the dark witches, the vampires, or the demons who relentlessly poured from the bowels of the earth. She couldn’t bring a resurgence of life to the world—she had nothing to offer. It had been pure hubris. The worst moments of her life played on a loop, filling every sense and emotion. All she’d gained slowly disappeared into the mire of hopelessness.

  Out of the void walked a slim figure with a mass of curly black hair and big green eyes that flashed as she smiled. Kayla took her in, recognizing her immediately.

  “You and I are not so different,” Veronica said, stroking Oksana’s head. “You revel in your power, whether you admit it or not. The darkness wa
s only able to infest you because there was a part of you that welcomed it. How do you think it got so deep?”

  “I didn’t know what was happening,” Kayla said, trying to come up with an excuse. She looked at her baby. She didn’t deserve her. She had rejected her child and left her defenseless.

  “You know the darkness made you more powerful. It made you sure of yourself. Before it entered you, you were nothing but a scared girl. But with the darkness, you gathered the packs and clans under your banner. They were willing to fight and die for you.”

  Kayla knew that it was true. She couldn’t deny it. Her evil twin did things Kayla wouldn’t have attempted. “Perhaps you’re right,” she said. “Perhaps the darkness is stronger than the light.”

  Veronica nodded. “Yes, Kayla. Come with me, and we will rule this world. The Dark Lord has power beyond any you could imagine. You have only tasted the smallest morsel of what the darkness has in store. You were transformed by it, made stronger by it. You inspired armies with it. All you have to do is open your soul and accept it inside you.”

  “Let me hold her,” Kayla said, reaching out for her baby.

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that. Until you have accepted the darkness, you and I are not allies. But I want to give you this child and let you love her exactly how she is, without having to change a thing. Doesn’t that sound good to you?”

  “I do love her.”

  “Don’t fool yourself, Alpha Queen. Your entire conquest is only to change this babe and make her into something else. Is it really a loving mother who would wage war to change a child’s nature?”

  “Oksana is not evil,” Kayla said.

  “You’re fooling yourself, wolf. The child was born in darkness and should be raised in it. The very essence of evil consumes her to the core.”