Grover and Nancy fell in step behind the brothers as they approached the front door. The smell of blood and terror hit them first. The bear thrashed. It made Archer’s head ache and, beside him, Gage growled. His brother’s hands curled into fists at his sides. He knew he would have to watch out for Cohen, but he wondered if he would have to pull his younger brother back, too.
Before they reached the front door, Archer put a hand on Gage’s shoulder. He let his eyes flick to Cohen, a silent message sent. Gage followed and, after a long moment, nodded. His fists opened and he flexed his fingers, as if testing his control before they went in.
Archer turned toward the door. He let a smile widen and raised his hand to knock on the door. Killian was expecting a bloody fight, but Archer knew there were members of Joanna’s pack inside the house. He wouldn’t risk their lives. Joanna had risked everything to protect them.
The sound confused the shifters inside. It took them a moment to realize, once the brothers didn’t burst through, that they could answer the door. Archer steadied his wild heart and kept his feet planted on the ground. He wanted to force his way inside and find Killian. He wanted to feel the man whimper beneath his hands.
Archer sucked in a deep breath. All in good time, he reminded himself. He had to focus on what was important first.
Finally, the door swung open. A confused shifter looked up at them. Archer smiled down at him before shoving his way inside. Gage and Cohen followed, their glares daring the shifters to argue. Killian stood between the living room and the hall, leaning casually against the wall with one ankle crossed over the other.
The smell of blood and fear grew sharp. Archer glanced to his left to find a group of shifters forced onto their knees. One shifter, a vaguely familiar face that was probably part of Joanna’s pack, had rivulets of blood running over his face. It covered the shifter’s eye and Archer couldn’t tell if they’d blinded the man.
The bear growled, but Archer pushed it down. Get the pack out, then deal with Killian.
“I have to say,” Killian began, uncrossing his ankles. “I didn’t think you’d come in through the front door. I expected a more… how would you say it? A grand entrance? You are bears, aren’t you?” Killian pretended to look them up and down with disappointment.
“I came to offer a trade,” Archer announced.
“What kind of trade do you think I would accept from an outcast? You have nothing to offer me that I would take.”
“We are the heirs of the Bear of the East Coast. Do you think we wouldn’t return home to claim what was always ours?”
“Well, no. But, I did expect you to take it by force.” Killian growled the last word, as if in reverence of it. As if it was the word he lived by, a mantra that got him out of bed each morning. He stalked toward the brothers with fury rising from him. In response to his movement, the feral shifters inched closer to the submissives of Joanna’s pack.
“Release Joanna and her pack, and I will gladly hand over the Vancourt territory.”
The words made Gage gasp. He started to say something, foul as he could manage, when Cohen hushed him. They would have to trust Archer. There hadn’t been time to fill them in on his plan, something he’d only thought of on the way to the Bart residence.
Killian’s face betrayed his surprise. That was not a trade he’d expected. To be fair, it was not one he was going to get. Archer only wanted the man to believe it.
“What do you say? A few weaklings in exchange for all of our land?”
Killian made a hand motion and Archer’s stomach clenched. He prepared for the worst, but Killian’s shifters stared at him with blatant confusion.
He huffed and rolled his eyes. “What did I just say?”
They burst into motion, kicking the submissives until they stood on their own feet. Some of them weren’t as submissive as Archer previously thought. One man snarled at the shifter that came near the shifter with blood dripping down his face.
“Take them. They’re just dead weight.”
“And Joanna?”
Killian laughed, a bark of a sound. Archer still didn’t know what kind of shifter rested beneath the man’s skin. Archer didn’t think it was any kind of canine. “Do you really think I’d give up my mate that easily? I already told you she will stand beside me. Forever and always. I won’t be like you and leave her at the drop of a hat.”
The words were barbed, but Archer knew better. His heart warmed. Even though he’d left and he’d forgotten what it felt like to love, Joanna had been waiting for him. They’d walked the wrong path only to find each other once again.
Behind him, Joanna’s pack rushed out the doors. The man who snarled placed himself alongside Gage, a promise of vengeance settling across his face. Archer wanted to tell him to go, to protect his own pack, but he didn’t have the time.
Instead, Archer took the opportunity to close the space between him and Killian. He pressed in on the man, owning the room. No matter what kind of animal lurked inside Killian, Archer knew he was the bigger beast. His bear dominated.
Behind Killian, Archer saw a flicker of movement. It drew his attention away for a split second. Killian saw it. He used the moment to strike.
Chapter Seventeen
A scream escaped Joanna. She watched the knife enter Archer’s stomach. He looked down at it with a blank expression. The pain, the truth of it, hadn’t quite set in. No, she’d just gotten him back. Her hands shook, and rage flared through her, hot and demanding. It forced her forward while Archer staggered.
Killian spun around. His eyes fell on her and the way her own voice betrayed her. It was too late. Killian already knew where her heart lay. There was no denying it anymore. There was no lying to the monster she’d lived with.
Archer’s hand wrapped around the hilt of the knife. His gaze rose and met hers, held it while he pulled the blade free of his stomach. She cringed. It had to hurt, but he bore it. His body bent, and the bear emerged. The shift would heal some of the damage, she told herself. Archer wouldn’t die of the wound.
She repeated it over and over, trying to convince herself of the truth of the statement. Archer was there. He’d come to help her, just as he’d promised. It was hard for her to process. Archer hadn’t let her down this time. As their gazes connected, moments before his bear emerged, she saw the promise in them. He would do anything for her. Killian, seeing his opportunity for leverage, jumped for her. He reached to grab her, but she slid back. Her shoulder hit the wall, but she managed to evade his hands.
Archer’s bear roared through the room, barely able to contain the beast, and everything burst into motion. Feral shifters snarled and pounced on the brothers. With human hands, they tried to wrestle Cohen and Gage to the ground. But, the feral shifters were no match for the brothers. Cohen swung one shifter off his feet and into the one on Gage. The two feral shifters fell into a heap.
Killian pressed her back into the hall. She knew he wanted to use her like a shield. The glimmer in his eyes said he saw her as little more than a tool. She was his way into the Bart Pack. She was his property.
Joanna refused to be anyone’s property. Behind him, Archer’s bear forced his way into the hallway. The bear’s shoulders barely fit, but he swung with his claws at Killian’s back. Killian hissed at the impact, his back arching.
Her back against a wall, Joanna smiled. Killian didn’t notice, thinking he’d won, until Joanna jumped at him. She shoved him, and he fumbled back. It was just enough to put him back into Archer’s reach. The bear grabbed Killian and dragged him back out into the open. The room was filled with chaos. The roars and cries of shifters filled the room.
Joanna saw it for what it was, a war. She’d invited this into her home. This was her fault. It was up to her to finish it. While Killian struggled against the grip of the bear, she scanned the room. Her eyes fell on the blade Archer pulled from his own wound. She lifted it, unsure of what she was about to do.
But, it had to end. Killian stumbled away fr
om Archer. His back was dripping with blood and his chest heaved with the start of a shift. Before the jaguar could find it’s way out, Joanna leapt at him. She thrust the knife forward. It sank into flesh, and she thought she’d won. Then, the tip of the blade hit bone and ricocheted. Her arm vibrated with the impact.
Killian looked over his shoulder at her. The blade was only a couple inches deep. She’d missed entirely. Joanna stumbled back, surprised. The change rippled over him while she was stunned. She knew she should summon her own animal, but fear gripped her. It made her useless, caught in the moment.
The jaguar snarled at her, a visceral sound. He leapt at her, but Archer caught him by his leg. She thought Killian would fall short, but his teeth still sank into her skin. Her feet left the ground as Archer pulled. Pain flared through her. The room went white for a moment.
Killian’s jaguar form threw her back. She hit the floor and the air fled her lungs. This was going to end badly. He easily overpowered her, just as he always had. Archer could have won, but from where she lay, she could see blood dripping from the fur on his stomach. It hadn’t healed before the fight. She didn’t know what made her think she could best him. All she’d wanted was freedom for her Pack, to fix the mistakes she’d once made.
Was that too much to ask?
Yet, she’d done it on her own and that cost her the fight. Archer wanted to help. He’d had his own plans, but she hadn’t thought to trust him. She’d been afraid he would leave her again. He’d even said as much when part of her knew there was potential for a mate bond between them. It drew them together over and over.
She wished she’d grasped onto it, held onto him for dear life. She wished she could have asked for help. The thought struck her. Help. Pack. Killian had stolen from her the power of a Pack, but there was a chance she could get it back.
She lay on the floor, unable to draw a breath. As she struggled to breathe, she reached out. Her Pack huddled in the doorway, the last of the dominants making a feeble wall between the war and the submissives. Killian had ordered them to stay out of the fight. The wording of his order kept them from fighting on the side they wanted to choose. She’d done it once before. The power was there, inside her.
All she had to do was summon it.
Swallowing, she closed her eyes and focused. Her hand reached out to them, caressed the energy surrounding them. It was the same color as hers. It crackled with vibrant, green life. Pack. This was her Pack. She grasped the energy and bound it to herself.
Her eyes snapped open as she heard Killian gasp. A smile of satisfaction curled over her lips. She drew a deep breath and shot up. Aches and pains burst across her body from the fight, but she did her best to ignore them. This fight was not over.
Archer’s paw crashed down into Killian, but his gaze was on her. His lithe, cat body twisted away from Archer and slipped through his grasp. He bolted for her. She’d taken back part of what he thought was his.
They’d never been his. This was her Pack and she wasn’t going to let anyone try to take it from her again.
Her lynx pressed forward, even though she was no size match for Killian, but another form flew over her. It crashed into Killian’s cat body and they tumbled to the ground together. It was a shape she hadn’t seen in a long while and her heart filled with pride. Her lynx pressed and this time, she let it surge forward. She wouldn’t be left out of this fight.
Especially not when her Pack was fighting for her. Jax’s wolf was massive. His sharp teeth bit down on Killian’s shoulder. Joanna leapt into the fight, her claws grazing Killian’s opposite shoulder. His legs buckled, and he dropped beneath their weight. Victory felt near until a coyote bit her flank. It grasped onto her and pulled. Another mouth joined the fight. They were going to pull her off Killian before they tore her to pieces. Her lynx roared with fury and swiped at the small coyote.
A bear lumbered toward them. His roar shook the floor beneath them. A couple of the coyote shifters turned and ran, their tails between their legs. Archer swiped at the rest of them and Coyote bodies tumbled away and crashed into a wall. His paw fell onto Killian once more. Archer’s massive form forced the cat into obedience.
Her Pack joined her, circling Killian with growls and snarls that kept the coyotes at bay. The war had been won, but she knew what she had to do. Joanna wanted to kill him, to end his life, but she knew that wasn’t right, even if that was what tradition told her she had to do.
She couldn’t stoop to his level. She would never be the bloodthirsty monster he’d been. Archer pressed Killian further into the floor. The cat’s legs were splayed out on either side of him and, no matter how he moved, he could not free himself of Archer’s grip. The bear wanted to end it, too. He growled at Killian, a deep and rumbling sound she’d never heard before.
She swiped at Archer. His head swung up and his eyes fixed on her. She could read them as if they were her own. He would kill Killian and face the wrath of his shifters. They would place a bounty on his head in the name of revenge and no one would be able to stop the swarm once they fell upon him.
Her heart skipped a beat. That was what he meant about not being able to stick around. Archer had orchestrated the end of this war, knowing it would be the end of his time here on earth. He’d chosen to sacrifice his own life for her Pack.
Her lips curled away from her teeth in a snarl at the thought of losing him. Archer was hers and no one else’s. He was her mate and she wouldn’t let anyone touch him. Her lynx pulled back and her body slowly shifted back to a form that could speak. It was exhausting, but she had to do it. There was no other way around this.
Archer would not sacrifice his life for Killian’s sins.
Joanna stood before them all, her Pack, the Vancourt pack, and the feral shifters, naked as the day she was born. She hid nothing as she raised her chin.
“No one will kill you tonight, Killian.” She bent to put her face on level with his. He snarled and snapped at her face, but Archer was quick. He slammed his giant paw down and made Killian bite his own tongue. Blood ran from between the jaguar’s teeth. “I’m not a monster like you. Neither is my mate. What will happen is a chase. The Bart Pack and the Vancourt pack will chase you to the end of our territories. Once you leave, you will never return.”
Killian’s growl told her he wasn’t impressed. A coyote leapt for her human form, but a wolf the size of a small golf cart intercepted the shifter. They hit the ground, the coyote whining with pain. The Bart Pack’s numbers were few, but they’d lived through hell together. Jax looked at her with more pride than she’d seen in a long time.
“If you think about turning around and coming back, I will see to it that you lose a paw for every time you come crawling back.” She was thankful he could not hear the lie in her voice. She didn’t want to stoop to that level and hoped the simple threat would suffice.
***
She was his. This Alpha. His Alpha. Archer always thought his marriage to Joanna would pull her into the Vancourt Pack. She’d had a brother waiting to take the position of Alpha back then. Now, Joanna was Alpha, and he knew there was nowhere else for him to be. He would join her pack as her mate.
He knew she would not want to follow through on her threat, but he would gladly do it on her behalf. He hated Killian for everything he’d put his mate through. She was a strong creature, unbroken even after this long, but no one deserved what he’d put her through. So, Archer reached forward with his empty paw and grasped Killian’s paw. The big cat tried to unsheathe his claws, but they could barely breathe through his thick coat of fur.
The snap was audible, ringing out through the room before Killian’s cries could drown it out. Archer broke the shifter’s hand. It would reset when he shifted, but Archer didn’t give him the chance. He let go of the jaguar and stepped back, a look of hunger on his face.
Joanna stood upright. She towered over the jaguar, trying to present herself as an Alpha. She was his Alpha. Archer was proud of her.
“Run,” she wh
ispered.
Archer swiped at the jaguar and the beast sped out the door. Her Pack gave chase. The wolf bounded after Killian. Gage followed, his gait making the house shake around them. Archer moved closer to her.
His body ached. The wound in his stomach was slowly healing, but he worried it wouldn’t be fast enough. There was blood splattered across the floor, and as he sank beside her, his consciousness drifted off.
If this was how he died, Archer almost could have been happy. He was only saddened that he could not spend a few years beside his mate.
Chapter Eighteen
Joanna couldn’t bear to look at the house any longer. No matter how much the Pack helped, scrubbing Archer’s blood and sanding the scratches from the floors, she could still hear Killian’s voice. She could hear the grating sound of claws on hardwood. Every second spent inside her old home filled her with sadness and regret. There was so much she could have done differently. She could have changed everything.
Yet, the proof of what happened hovered over her head like a storm cloud. Lightning had struck and left her hurting. She could not change it. There was no going back. She had to live with it, no matter how badly it hurt.
A pair of hands fell on her shoulders. She looked up and her heart skipped a beat. At least something good came from it all, a sense of joy washing over her as a true smile brightened her face. She placed her hand over Archer’s as if she could anchor him to the earth. She could see that he’d learned a lot about himself and his view of love, but she still worried his feet might not sit still.
She turned back to watch the realtor hammer the For Sale sign into the earth. A small thrill went through her. The house and the nightmare she’d lived through would be gone once and for all.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Joanna nodded. The age of the Bart Pack was over. Killian was gone. The house held too much for her to be able to move on if she stayed. Selling it meant starting fresh, as the Alpha of her own Pack. She’d already paid the security deposit on a smaller cottage with what little money she had. Sure, she might be eating instant noodles for a while, but it was well worth it. Plus, the money from the sale of the house would help get her in the right direction.
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