by Kim Faulks
The slow nod took an eternity. The bed shifted as she rose. Her hands were steady and sure, pulling at the edges, releasing me from the binds. My cheek itched as the cloth slipped free, cool air tickled my skin.
My eye refused to budge, eyelashes stuck with something. I fought my body, lifting my brow, trying to force my lid to open. The soft scrape and splash of water echoed in the room. “It’s been a few days. The swelling is still red, but there’s no infection…not that I can see. There’s nothing that can heal it child. Nothing that can make the wound anything other than what it is. The flesh…the flesh…”
“Show me.”
I flinched at the cold compress against my eye. Her hands were slow and soft, yet they triggered a stampede. My body shook with the thunder as cool water sluiced down my cheek. My lashes stuck, thick and wet they cracked. Light rushed in, blinding light, blurring light.
A whimper slipped free.
“Careful now. Easy does it. You still have sight, yes?”
Dark shapes bled into one. I couldn’t see… I lifted my hand, darkness moved, shapes and shadows waited for me. I eased my fingers closer, my forefinger pressed against my swollen brow, my middle against the slippery skin of my lid. They were still there, still intact.
I slipped, skirting the edges until I felt the raised, thick mound. Crusted bits of something peppered my cheek. I dragged my fingers away, slick liquid glistened. My vision sharpened fragments at a time. “I can see… I can see.”
I didn’t feel the rush as a sudden exhale filled the room. I blinked, tendons strained, sending an ache through my eye. Her dark gaze shimmered, then sharpened.
Crow’s feet blended with fissures across her cheek to sweep under the sagging skin at her jaw. Her tiny tremble sent a quake through the mattress. I saw my wounds—saw them as clear as a summer’s day reflected back at me in the sheen of tears.
Her old skin felt like dandelion under my fingers. I skimmed the edges, pulling taut the cracks and the lines. I’d never seen anything so beautiful, so pure, so sweet. I’d never known pain like I did in that moment.
I flinched at the sudden creak of a hinge and jerked my hand back. The room was filled with mewling and frantic steps. I blinked, my hazy world sharpened. Bedsprings groaned as the old woman rose. “Maddy?”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have barged in like that.”
I caught the brittle sound in the wolf’s voice and forced a smile. “Don’t be silly.”
My swollen cheek pulled taut at the edges. Pain slashed like lightning through the gouged flesh. My face…she was staring at my face.
My stomach turned to stone. I turned my head away. The whisper of cloth brushed my nose.
“Hold still, I’ll get you covered up. It’s good you have a visitor.”
I nodded and tried to swallow.
“You got nothing to be ashamed of child. Don’t turn away. This here lass has bought the babe to see you.”
“We love you, Odessa. We don’t care what you look like. I’m sorry…this is all my fault. I should’ve knocked. What was I thinking, barging in like that? I should go clean up with the others and come back later.”
I flinched and halted her with a wave of my hand. “Please, stay.”
The old woman worked quickly, winding the cloth around my head to smother my lashes. “Don’t need no infection. Just try not to pick at it, okay?”
I forced a smile as she stepped away. “I’ll try.”
“I’ll leave you two then, be back later to clean if the dragon doesn’t beat me to it. He’d make a fine wet-nurse with all his fussing and moaning.”
The harsh bark of laughter ripped through the room as Maddy stepped closer to the end of the bed. “I dunno about that, seems he throws a punch as good as the rest of them.”
I shifted my gaze toward Maddy. “What do you mean?”
The silence lasted a heartbeat too long. “This was all because of Marcus.”
I looked to the ground. I knew better. “And me.”
Maddy dropped her gaze seeking out the old woman. The scowl reflected back at her turned her skin ashen. The young shifter’s voice was soft, like creaking floorboards. “Yes, you could say Victor made a stand when it came to you. Who knew there was an underground river running through the mountain, huh? Gives new meaning for bringing the outside in, that’s for sure.”
The door closed with a thud. I scanned the room; the old woman was gone. He fought his brother for me. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the pillows.
“There’s talk, you can help them find their brother, is that true?”
I opened my eyes at her timid voice.
“You’re their only hope. They say there’s no other way. All you have to do is stop your heart for a second and Rowen can do the rest.”
Stop my heart, and also my mind.
“They asked you to come talk to me, didn’t they?”
“Yes, but I wanted to come, anyway…” She was quiet for a second, then her voice turned somber. “I’ve upset you, haven’t I?”
I shook my head and reached out, patting her hand. “No, of course not.”
“There’s more…so much more. I can’t explain it, there are others.”
Her eyes were wide, excitement tightly bound within each word. I gripped the mattress and slid one foot over the edge. “Show me.”
“No. You need to stay here and get some rest. Victor…he’ll be angry.”
I wanted to smile, my water dragon all fired up over something so silly. But this was his family—this was his life. I didn’t come here to see him fight, not for me.
What did you think was going to happen, Odessa?
The shadowed wolf snarled.
Let me out. Let me out and he’ll never have to fight for you again.
“Odessa, are you okay?”
I lifted my gaze. Concern washed over me from beautiful brown eyes. Tiny feet came into view over Maddy’s arm, toes curled, then flexed. I forced a smile. “I’m fine, just trying to find my feet. How is she?”
A howl tore from the shifter’s arms. Footsteps came closer. Maddy sat beside me, holding me in a stony gaze. My belly twisted and turned. I waited for what felt like forever as she muttered. “She’s a bloody nightmare. The kid doesn’t sleep, like ever, always laughing and giggling. Kicking all the damn time. I’m exhausted.”
I searched her face, finding shadows under her eyes and a dazed look of defeat that wasn’t there seconds ago. My lips stretched, curling at the edges. My chest was so light I could almost float away. “I told you she’d bring you much happiness, I never said anything about sleep.”
Maddy chuckled. “You’ve got that right. She’s beautiful though, isn’t she? My Storm.”
I held out my arms. The bundle of wriggling arms and legs pressed against my chest. Her perfect lips were pursed. Her wide-open blue eyes were hypnotic. They were darker than my dragon’s. Yellow sunbursts around her dark pupils reminded me of the vibrant yellow rays of the sun amongst a thunderstorm. I could see her now—warm, loving, caring. Her mother laughing…the sound carried, filling my ears. Laughter…so much laughter…until that laughter turned to screams.
Odessa NO!
Please, don’t hurt my baby.
Odessa… Odessa…why? Why!
Odessa…
Odessa…
Od…
I jerked from the sound and shoved the babe into Maddy’s arms. Her hands didn’t close quick enough.
Please…please…take her.
My hands trembled, shuddering the wriggling bundle.
She gripped her little girl. “Odessa, is something wrong?”
I couldn’t lift my head, couldn’t look her in the eyes. My hair scattered around my face, brushing my cheek as I shook my head. My words were razors, shredding my throat as I wheezed. “I’m fine. I’m just weaker than I thought.”
“Maybe you should—”
I stilled her with a shake of my head and rocked myself upward. “Nope, let’s go and se
e what all the fuss is about.”
My feet dragged across the floor like boulders. Maddy slowed in front of me, allowing me to grip her shoulder. “I love you, you know.”
The fist around my heart squeezed tight as I whispered. “I love you too, Maddy.”
Those alien words lingered as I followed her out the door and made my way along the hallway. The journey was slow, stopping to gather my strength. But it wasn’t the muscles of my legs that needed rest. I could hear the others, laughing, talking. The scent of familiar and strange was like a rag rammed down my throat. I tried to swallow the edges, taking in one thing at a time.
The bitter scent of smoke mingled with thick sweet grass, old and young filled the dragons’ house. The heady scent of female blood hit me like a fist. The roar of voices crammed the hallway. Maddy slowed at the edge of the foyer. I reached out, gripping hold of what was left of the timber banister and eased forward.
Strange shifters filled the house and spilled out into the courtyard. Most were busy, scrubbing and cleaning; some were singing, laughing…playing.
Maddy stepped to the side and I felt the cleaver find its mark. They didn’t need me…didn’t want me. It was the same no matter which pack I followed, no matter how hard I tried to set right the many wrongs.
I was the perfect lone wolf—neither wanted, nor needed. I caught the glint of black amongst worn, dark brown furs and smoky green clothing. She lifted her head. Dark eyes found me. Hate spilled from her biting gaze. Rowen straightened, pushing her shoulders back. The hard curve of her lips said it all…I won.
Heads turned toward me. I readied myself for the impact. Abrial smiled and laughed, slow to catch on as around her the room fell silent.
She was the center of attention. Women fussed, touching her hair, rubbing her shoulders. The men stood back, dividing their attention between the woman they’d journeyed to see and the dragon at her side. Marcus looked dumbstruck. He stared at the mob consuming his home and rubbed the back of his neck.
“It’s great isn’t it? They all came for her. We thought it was the Echo pack. Isaiah was the first one to meet them, damn stubborn male. He made me stay in the car like a fragile human.”
I turned my head. The sparkle was vibrant.
Anyone else would see chaos—they’d see disjointed packs and trouble brewing. But all I saw was the future. Abrial was the Alpha they’d all been waiting for, and this pack was the one they’d been searching for. One who’d band together—one who’d protect.
One I’d been searching for all my life.
Family.
The word wedged in my throat like a splintered bone.
Rowen closed ranks, stepping in to obscure my view. Red hair fluttered behind her as Abrial stepped to the side. Hope flooded me as she lifted her gaze and we connected. I wanted to cry, and fall to my knees.
Please, let me explain, I said, yet the words were trapped inside my head.
Vibrant green eyes darkened to moss. Her smile faded. The look of betrayal was a spear to my chest. My palms burned as I gripped the bannister. Maddy’s voice pierced the void.
“They’re going to host an initiation. They’re electing Abrial as the Alpha. A female Alpha, can you believe that?”
I could believe it…for I’d already seen it. With the Bloodletter at her side, there’d be no stopping her and no end to her fierce determination. She’d be the warrior, the sister…and the mother. She would be mighty.
I dropped my gaze. A little one gripped her jeans. The girl was frightened, closing her eyes, only to open them and stare at the others in the room. Her small whimpers clung to the air and fought its way through the raucous din. Her hands never left the new Alpha…an orphan. Her pain echoed within me. It was a hunger—a deep welling ache that never went away. The need to belong made the weakest stand and fight—it forced us to abandon the little we had left to find another.
Family…blood of our blood.
It could make a wolf forget her past.
It could make her understand.
I am not what happened to me.
I am what I choose to become.
9
Victor
Bruised heart. Violent ego.
I stared at the skeletal remains of the mountain. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking, no matter how many breaths I took or how many seconds passed. I could hear them down there, cleaning after my anger, mopping up what I’d done.
I could’ve hurt the wolves.
I could’ve hurt my family.
I could’ve hurt my brother.
The wolf is mine to protect. Why didn’t Marcus understand that? Wasn’t he the one who turned his back on us to keep Abrial safe? Wasn’t he the one who started this war to begin with?
Save one, only to kill another?
I could take her away from all this. Take her and run.
But where? My arms were heavy, laden with the memory of how Odessa slumped in my arms. There had to be another way—a better way—to find Zadoc. There had to be something I wasn’t seeing.
But there was only one person who knew these demons. Only one person who knew how to track them, and how they moved between worlds. And only one person who seemed a little too eager with the idea of killing the lone wolf—Rowen.
I shoved my palm against the ground, my ass slid over the mass of spindled roots as I rose. The trees were screaming, bare and exposed, but they’d spear their roots in deeper. They’d survive by holding on tighter, no matter what lay in their path.
I stepped over the wide mouth of the crevice. Down there a river raged, ripping, shredding, carving through dirt, rocks, wearing away mountains. I felt its power in the deepest reaches of my soul.
I slipped and slid, making my way toward the echo of happiness. Fallen pines corralled me toward the patio now covered with dirt and muck and people. The bitter scent of smoke filled my lungs and stung my eyes.
Shifters looked up from their campfires, suspicion and fear crowded their dark gaze. Nostrils flared, taking in my scent before they nodded. Tight little groups stood to the edge of the woods, kids played, oblivious to their surrounds.
So this was why my brother needed to leave in a hurry. More shifters, more problems. I was starting to feel like a stranger in my own home. I skirted those who milled around the shattered opening, stepping inside, bypassing the sounds of laughter and deafening chatter.
The smell of wolf was suffocating. I searched for the familiar, finding the steely gaze of Byron. He stood at the edge of the room like a statue, studying everyone as though there was a pattern to all this he had to find. Laughter and happiness filled the space. I followed his gaze to Marcus standing next to the new Alpha.
My older brother turned his head, catching my gaze, and for the first time in forever, I saw a flicker of fear.
A hand slapped against my arm, calloused fingers gripped tight and the anxious voice of the Deputy stuttered and hissed in my ear. “You… You, just stand right here, and don’t move, okay? I want some damn answers for Christ’s sake. I need to understand this. I need to know what’s going on!”
His smooth face beguiled the shadow that now clung to his eyes. I’d seen the look before. He’d seen too much—and knew too little. It was a burning look, one incensed with need to understand what we were and how we fit into this tiny world of his.
“Get your hand off me, Deputy.”
His blonde hair trembled and pale skin turned ashen. He jerked his hand from my arm, clenching his fingers tight.
“I’m sorry…sorry. I just…”
His khaki uniform had seen better days. The pocket was ripped, stitching exposed. Brown mud darkened his slacks, molding the fabric to his thighs. He shifted uncomfortably, grabbing the crotch of his trousers to pinch and pull before sliding his hand to his ass.
I winced.
“You lied to me, you and your damn brother.”
Gone was his innocence. His brown eyes hardened, turning to slate. He dragged his hand up, waving the thin brown leather
wallet covered with muck in front of my face.
Clumps of mud fell and smacked against my shirt.
“The dog found this before it bolted like a damn lunatic, howling and whimpering. Know who’s this is?”
The brown leather flopped open in his hand. Inside, the bulbous face of the Sheriff stared back at me.
My heart was thundering, drowning out the shouts and chatter inside the room. This kid—he was a damn disease.
“What do you want, Deputy?”
Goulding stared at me. His voice was so soft I had to strain to listen. “I want what I’ve been asking for all along. The fucking truth.”
“The truth won’t win you any favors and it sure as hell won’t save you, or find your damn sister. The truth will get you killed. You want that? You want your mother grieving another child? Go home. Pick a headstone, lay some flowers. She’s gone, Goulding. Just let her go.”
The roar inside the room swallowed this…kid. He was just a boy, wading in the muck of beasts. He was stupid and brave, and so fucking alive like he lived his entire life on the edge. I liked him. I really liked him, but this was no place for a human.
He stilled—no breath, no sound—until he shook his head so hard I thought he’d rattle. “No.”
“Don’t you get it? This isn’t a game. Look around you. These aren’t people, we’re not people. We’re animals. Animals preparing to go to war.”
His eyes widened. His chest ballooned and sank, inch by inch he craned his head, taking in the stink of wolf. This room breathed animal, the sound, the smell as though combined it created one animal, one monster—the pack was already forming, already pulsing with the conception of life.
“Turn me into one of you. Make me stronger, faster. I don’t care what happens to me. I just want her back. Wouldn’t you do the same?”
Fingers gouged in the center of my chest, spearing though my ribs to find the most vulnerable part of me. Goulding scanned the crowd and I followed, finding Xael farther back in the room.
Young wolves danced around her, sticking out fat little tongues as she swiped the air near their heads.