Making it to the plotted plant, she threw up violently. She retched hard and deep with every inch of its power trying to deny the truth. Only when her stomach emptied did she roll onto her side, pulling her legs up to her chest, hugging herself, holding on tight to survive the moment.
“Stop. You fools,” Lazarus roared. “Don’t kill him. I need him.”
Nexi forced herself to open her eyes and she found the wolves had backed away, and Kyden lay beaten and moaning on the ground. Scrambling forward, she tried to reach him, to try and touch him. Even though she knew this was only vision, she didn’t care.
By the time she got there, Kyden vanished. “No,” she cried, staring at the floor where he’d been. “Lazarus didn’t want him. He wanted me.”
Firm hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her up. “Kyden’s not dead.” Finn embraced her, and the tension in his body mirrored her own. “We’re lucky they allowed him to live.”
Finn’s arms were warming her, but she still was so cold. She pressed her cheek against his chest, so consumed in her own pain she couldn’t feel Haven’s, even if she saw Haven sobbing. “Why would Lazarus take him?”
“No idea, but I’m glad he wants something.” Finn’s voice sounded tight through a constricted throat, his body trembling against hers. “It gives us time to find Kyden.” He pulled her away, gave a firm look, even if his eyes were dark with despair. “Believe me, we’ll find him.”
A low moan came from behind Nexi and she turned to find Talon was on his knees, head bowed.
Releasing Finn, she collided with Talon, and threw her arms around him. Who knew if he wanted this, but it didn’t matter, not to her. She needed to feel the closest connection to Kyden, and that was his father.
“My son.” Talon lowered his head into Nexi’s neck and trembled, only making her tears fall faster. “He shouldn’t have made this personal. He shouldn’t have fought him. He should’ve run.”
All things she’d thought herself, yet guilt burned wicked inside of her. She had caused so many deaths—so many lives taken—all to get to her. Now Kyden was gone… “I’m sorry, Talon.”
Leaning away from her, he cupped her face. “Don’t do that to yourself. You’re worth protecting, but he’s a damn fool for taking Lazarus on alone. That rests solely on Kyden.”
“No.” She could barely get her voice out. “All this rests on me.”
Compassion sped through Talon’s eyes, warming the green. “We must stay focused, not get lost in guilt.” He rose to his feet, pulling her with him. “We need to call a meeting to discuss strategy to find him. The sooner we act, the more hope we have.” Turning to Zia, he said, “Get wolves here to track them. I have no doubt Lazarus is smart enough to somehow lose the trail, but it’s a chance we can’t overlook.”
Zia nodded, staring at Nexi with warm sympathy, then she said, “Haven, with me.”
Sadness swept through their bond and Nexi felt Haven’s reluctance to leave her. But then both witches vanished through the portal.
Talon kept an arm around Nexi’s waist, and they teleported into the foyer, with Finn next to her. Nexi caught sight of Zia and Haven rushing into the Council’s Hall before Talon turned her into him.
“Go home,” he said to her, as if she even had the ability to move. “You’ll be called when the meeting has been arranged.” He released his hold on her and she wobbled as he strode into the Council’s Hall.
Before her legs gaze out, Finn gathered her in his arms. She sank into his embrace and wanted him to tell her that this was another terrible nightmare. He only said, “We’ll find him, Nexi. Trust in that.”
With that he, just as Talon had, left her alone when all she needed was someone to hold her and never let go.
She gasped as the pain of Kyden’s departure sank deep into her gut. The agony of realizing he was lost ripped her soul apart. Emptiness spread through her, strong enough that she had to force herself to keep breathing. Her legs buckled and she dropped to her knees, weeping.
All the things she wished she done—wished she’d said.
He’d put himself in danger for her.
Kyden…
Chapter Seventeen
Half an hour later, the gathering was called to order.
Nexi entered the Council’s Hall and Haven came barreling toward her. The sadness in Haven’s soul equaled her own. It became all consuming, but Nexi fought against Haven’s raw emotions. Now she needed to think straight, not crumble to pieces, and she’d wept until all that remained was emptiness.
Haven gripped Nexi with everything she had. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Nexi couldn’t believe it either, but there was no denying the danger Kyden had landed himself in, and there was no running from it. When she backed away from Haven, Finn took her hand, and Nexi looked up into his warm eyes knowing she wasn’t the only one suffering.
Finn and Kyden were close, and the torment he suffered showed in his expression. She squeezed his hand tight and he responded with a hold as strong, clenching her hand for all the same reasons she did his—survival.
Drawing in a long breath, she scanned the crowd in the Council’s Hall, which was overrun with supernaturals, most of them werewolves. “What’s with the wolves?”
Finn tucked Haven against his side. “It’s the Texas pack. Holten contacted them immediately after Kyden’s disappearance. They’re here to battle Lazarus.”
One of the werewolves stood out among the bunch. His importance showed, since the other wolves surrounded him in a protective manner. Gesturing toward the wolf with a jerk of her chin, she asked Finn, “Who’s that one?”
He followed her direction. “Thor, the Texas alpha.”
Nexi examined him and she sensed a powerful presence. She spotted an arrogant light in his eyes she couldn’t find in any of the wolves around him, which she suspected was his alpha status.
She turned her attention to Talon when he stepped out into the center of the Council’s Hall. He raised his hand, silencing the crowd. “The reason why Lazarus has Kyden has yet to be discovered, but that doesn’t mean we won’t rip the cities apart to find him. Hunt New York and Salt Lake City for any remaining Texas wolves. Go out in pairs to be safe, as anything less will likely get you killed. These wolves have proved to be brutal and fierce. Do what you must to find Kyden and show no mercy in the face of what has happened tonight.”
The wolf known as Thor stepped in next to him, his blue eyes surveying the crowd. “As alpha of Texas, you have my authority to destroy any of my wolves who’ve assisted in this treason. If you have the ability to bring any back to me, then do so, so I can deliver their punishment personally.”
A nudge on Nexi’s elbow had her glancing to the left and she discovered a grief-stricken Briggs next to her. Without thought, acting on pure instinct, she threw herself into his arms and he caught her, holding her close.
Somehow being near the supernaturals dearest to Kyden relieved her. “We’ll find him, darlin’,” Briggs whispered into her neck. “We’ve got many to help with this. The wolves, and Lazarus, will have nowhere to hide.”
Nexi leaned away from Briggs and his wolfish scent remained fixed in her nostrils, as Zia told the crowd, “I’ll send a witch along with each group to assist in casting wards. Boundaries, so if Lazarus crosses them, we’ll be instantly notified.”
She turned to Briggs. “How did you know what happened?”
“We were contacted by Thor immediately after the news broke. I came right away hoping I could offer my aid in the search.”
The news…
We’ll find him…
The wolves, and Lazarus, will have nowhere to hide…
Her thoughts spun with the realization of her reality. So lost in her anguish over Kyden, she hadn’t really considered all the reasons this situation troubled her. Not only was Kyden gone. Lazarus had taken him. The vampire had already taken so much from her. How dare he take more? The torment that had nearly crippled her now melte
d into pure rage.
Briggs brushed his finger over her arm, and concern dripped off his voice at whatever had crossed her expression. “You all right, darlin’?”
“No. I’m. Not,” she said through clenched teeth.
She couldn’t stand in one place, shifting her weight and pacing in front of their group. How had this happened? Who was this vampire so intent on destroying her life? How dare he take so much from her? What gave him that right?
Scanning the room as she continued to pace, she noticed someone was absent. To Finn, she asked, “Where’s Drake?” He should’ve been here. He would’ve known she needed him.
Finn scanned the crowd then shrugged. “Don’t see him.”
Talon continued to set out rules, offered instruction on the best way to deal with the wolves, and any co-conspirators that might be involved. Nexi couldn’t hear it. She couldn’t get past the red-hot fury burning in the depths of her soul.
Inhaling and attempting to control her rage, she was overwhelmed with the scent of so many werewolves, reminding her of the werewolves that attempted to kill Kyden…and the ones at her parents’ home.
Right when her anger threatened to detonate, a deep growl, followed by many more, sounded from the entrance of the Council’s Hall. She turned to discover that Trefan—Finn’s younger brother and fellow guardian—dragged a man by the throat.
She’d met Trefan only once when she first arrived to the Otherworld, and after that, she saw him every now and again. He looked much like Finn, with blond hair, blue eyes, and had an easygoing way about him, but being in his early twenties, he ran with a younger crowd.
Trefan threw the man at Thor’s feet. “He’s one of yours. I hope you get more out of him than I did.”
Talon grasped the man’s throat and lifted him an inch off the ground. “What’s your name?”
He groaned. “Bayne.”
“You’ll answer me truthfully, Bayne.” Talon brought the wolf close to his face. “Why has Lazarus taken the guardian Kyden?”
“I don’t know.” Bayne gasped, his voice sounding strangled. “Lazarus never told me anything. I already told the other guardian that, but he wouldn’t listen.”
“He’s not lying to you,” Thor stated. “As his alpha, I know him well enough to detect such a thing.”
Nexi’s fingernails bit into her palms, and she stayed that way for the next ten minutes as she endured time-wasting questions. Her patience fled with each passing second. They needed to find Kyden and they were asking all the wrong things.
Her frustration built to the extreme and the thin line holding her control together snapped when Talon asked, “How many wolves are with you?”
Yet again, not thinking but simply acting on instinct, Nexi shot forward. Finn reached out to grab her, as did Briggs. Spinning away from their attempts, she also dodged more hands as they tried to stop her. A foot away from Bayne, she kicked out and hit his chest, hard. Talon lost his grip, sending Bayne and her tumbling to the floor.
“Where do the others stay?” she shouted, getting in his face. “Where is Lazarus?” There would be hell to pay for interrupting Talon’s questioning, for that she was sure. She didn’t care. Her only concern was finding Kyden. She belonged to him, as he belonged to her. Nothing else mattered.
Bayne didn’t say a word.
Grasping his head, she smashed it against the ground, sending a loud crack echoing off the walls as blood oozed beneath him. “Tell me.”
The determination in his expression shifted to fear. “You need to find Efren. He’s the wolf that knows Lazarus’s whereabouts. But there are many wolves joined to Lazarus now—more rogues than I could even count.”
She didn’t care how many where there, only where they were, and Kyden’s condition. “Have you seen, Kyden? Is he alive?”
Bayne winced, his blood drenching the floor beneath his head. “As far as I know, Lazarus is healing him enough to keep him alive.”
Relief rushed through her so fast she now realized she hadn’t been breathing easily. But what he said also confused her. Glancing up to Talon, she noted he didn’t look angry that she had intervened. “How can Lazarus heal him?”
“Vampire blood has healing properties,” he said softly.
Before she could issue another blow to Bayne’s head to gather more information, a firm hand yanked her to her feet. Then she found herself staring up at a tall, buff werewolf who was the definition of GQ, as mummers came from the crowd.
The arrogant twinkle she’d spotted in Thor’s gaze looked weak compared to what she discovered in this man’s chocolate brown eyes. His whole demeanor screamed power. He gripped her chin, turning her head from side to side, examining her with his cocoa-colored hair falling over his brow. “I don’t know you who you are.”
It seemed more like a statement than a question, but she didn’t get a chance to answer anyway, since Briggs interjected, “Nexi Jones.” Stepping in next to her, Briggs laid a reassuring hand on her arm. “Nexi, meet the Patriarch of the Wolves, Valor.”
Not quite prepared to talk yet, she inclined her head at the introduction.
Valor studied her a moment before he turned to Talon. “Is this the new one I’ve been hearing about?” At Talon’s nod, Valor said to Nexi, “You’re strong willed, I see. Are you Kyden’s mate?”
Her mouth parted, but again, nothing came out.
“She will be,” Talon stated.
Nexi did not want to cry in front of his crowd, nor did she want to break down in front of this incredibly powerful stranger. However, the determination in Talon’s voice, and the meaning of his words, sent tears streaming down her cheeks.
Shocking her, fatherly warmth touched Valor’s expression, making her feel oddly protected, then he wiped the tears off her cheeks in a gentle move seeming so contradictory to his tough nature. It also seemed to surprise Briggs, since his eyebrows rose.
Valor lowered his hand from her chin, stepping away from her. “We’ll deal with this wolf, Bayne. Then I’ll do what I can to help you.”
“The Otherworld thanks you.” Talon sighed, cupping Valor’s shoulder. “I thank you.” At Valor’s soft nod, Talon turned to leave the area and his eyes met Nexi’s, appearing almost grateful.
Not exactly the reaction she expected, since she still thought he’d be mad about the whole kicking Bayne out of his arms incident. Perhaps, though, right now none of it mattered, and that she understood. What she didn’t understand was why he seemed so grateful to her. What in the heck had she done?
Her attention shifted to Valor as he pointed to Bayne on the ground. “Thor, this member of your pack has betrayed us, make an example of him.”
Briggs took Nexi’s hand and pulled her off to the side of the crowd. She turned to him and whispered, “What was that all about?”
“Valor appears to like you.” Briggs tilted his head, his amber eyes in line with hers. “He doesn’t offer his help to many, and normally stays clear of dealing with Otherworld business. This is a great honor, giving you his help.”
“I’m grateful for it.” The more powerful supernaturals searching for Kyden, the better.
She looked at the commotion in front of her, as Thor knelt beside the wolf, and said, “You’ve disgraced your pack and endangered not only humans, but also your family. Your poor mother is heartbroken over what you’ve done, and the other young wolves have cast out your little sisters because of your treachery. Nothing will forgive what you’ve started here, and you’re lucky I show mercy to your family by not destroying them. Not all alphas would be so generous.”
“Calder,” Bayne shouted in a desperate plea. “Brother. Do something.”
That name Nexi recognized, and she remembered Kyden mentioned it the night they discovered Lazarus’s plan. Calder had been the werewolf from the Texas pack whom Briggs had found.
She looked to Calder as he stood near the corner of the cathedral, and his eyelids were lowered, head bowed. “I told you we had to leave,” Calder implored.
“That you had to stop this, but you didn’t listen and now…there’s nothing I can do for you, brother.”
Thor shifted into a golden-brown wolf with deep silver eyes. He growled loudly and it rumbled through the Council’s Hall to send vibrations under Nexi’s feet. As if on cue, the other wolves shifted, including Bayne.
Nexi’s gasped as she caught sight of Valor. She’d thought Foley had been a big wolf, but nope, Valor’s wolf-form stole her breath. His cinnamon-colored fur had black-frosted tips and he was almost twice the size of Thor, closer in size to a pony than to a wolf.
His eyes stayed trained on hers, penetrating all her defenses. Being watched by him, she’d never felt so exposed, as if he could read her mind and discover all there was to know about her. The strangest part was she didn’t mind him doing it. It didn’t feel intrusive. He wasn’t judging or prying, he was simply curious about her.
Thor’s deep growl forced her attention to the battle. He stalked Bayne, circling him as Bayne scrambled back. The other wolves growled low, making every hair on her arms rise, almost as if they were encouraging Thor.
A second later, Bayne lay dead on the ground. Talon stepped forward, slammed his sword into the wolf’s side, and Bayne vanished.
In the same moment, Thor shifted and called, “Let this be an example to those who have shamed us and what will happen to anyone who joins those who betray us.”
The other wolves howled in response.
A soft choking noise came through the midst of the loud growls. Nexi looked to the corner again and found Calder’s face streaked with tears. Her heart reached for him, as she couldn’t imagine how hard that must’ve been to watch the death of his brother.
Troubling her more, no one went to Calder and offered him comfort. He’d done so much to help them, regardless that he’d left his pack. He hadn’t killed any mortals. He told them of Lazarus’s plan, and who knew what could’ve happened if he hadn’t. Tonight, he’d come to help, and that made him a friend.
Leaving Briggs’ side, she approached Calder, and once in front of him, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I’m sorry you lost him.”
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