Dire Wants

by Stephanie Tyler

  If I go down, you go down.

  When he nodded, the monumentality of that hit her, probably for the first time since she’d met Stray and discovered what she was.

  “Let’s do this,” Killian interrupted them. “You can deal with your personal issues later.”

  Neither argued. She threaded her arms through the big wolves’ arms and let them lead her into the mob.

  *

  Stray had wondered if this would be too much, if Kill’s skinwalking curse would interfere with their abilities.

  If anything, it made their bond stronger, more effective. Kill had been right—Stray could see the difference between a permanent memory and a suggestion, as Kill had demonstrated to him when they picked their first human to fix.

  A dark gift turned darker by default, and Stray listened in to the humans’ minds and told Killian what he needed to say to quell their confusion and fear and turn them calm and docile.

  An army of docile humans. He was sure this wasn’t what the Elders had in mind, and he also knew this was nothing compared to the battles to come.

  “Concentrate, brother,” Killian muttered now, his hand in the air as he and Stray pulled Kate along through the relentless crowd. Kate had her head down, her hand gripped both his and Kill’s biceps tightly and he tasted her worry.

  Stray couldn’t delve into her thoughts at the moment and risk Killian getting to them, and so he hoped she was doing as she promised, staying out of it. He continued to read minds and make sure the suggestions were implanted.

  “He’s resisting.” Stray pointed to a man in overalls walking away from the crowds.

  “Trapper,” Killian said, baring his canines ever so slightly. He closed his eyes and his body shook from the effort—and Kate and Stray’s by default.

  In seconds, the trapper turned, slowly, dazed and disoriented. “He’s Shimmin’s bitch,” Stray caught Liam and told him. “Leave his memory intact and take him alive. Bring him to Vice to interrogate later.”

  Liam sent Cain over to collect the confused man, and Stray and Kill continued, even as the crowd began to surge again, like Seb was starting new with his violent attempts at control.

  Chapter 37

  Some of Kill’s attempts were too aggressive. These powers had never been used and trying to hone them among the masses of humanity wasn’t working well. Time after time, he’d bend a group’s brains too hard, take them too far, erase too much until they collapsed like husks on the floor, bags of bones encased in skin.

  Weak. Mortal. And still he pressed on to help them because he’d promised the Dires and the Elders he would. Because not doing so wouldn’t gain him death. Because Stray believed in him, guided him, as he’d promised. Told him when to rein it in. Killian put all his trust into his brother and together they worked their brand of magic on the crowd.

  He fisted his hands as thirty more rushed at him, watched them drop to their knees. Only then did he ease the pressure, remind them, It’s an earthquake—we should be inside, helping one another.

  Like lemmings, they stood, shakily, as the earth still shook under their feet, and made their way toward buildings and homes and cars.

  *

  Jinx and Jez stayed along the outskirts of the fighting, watching to make sure that the humans and Weres who came their way were nonviolent.

  Jinx was clawing to get into the fight—Brother Wolf as well, although he knew that staying out of it was the best thing he could do.

  He hated being helpless, now more than ever, and he could only imagine how Stray felt at points in his life. Even now, watching the power he and Killian had over these people—it was both reassuring and frightening as hell.

  “I should be out there,” he muttered.

  “I’m sure Rifter and the others feel the same way. You can do more good when this is over. Your Dire brothers have it under control,” Jez pointed out.

  Jez was right. Kill and Stray moved through the crowds, Kate between them, subduing herds of humans. Kill was changing the crowd’s memories so that they’d always remember this as merely Mother Nature, a small earthquake, and nothing to get violent about, while Liam’s Weres were acting as crowd control under his leadership, stopping fights and keeping themselves calm, pushing the humans back to their homes and businesses.

  The Weres appeared unaffected by the mob violence, but Jinx would bet anything that all of them would shift if pushed just slightly further.

  And that would truly be madness.

  “It’s not only happening here,” Jez said as he checked his iPhone. “CNN and other affiliates reported riots all across New York State. Reports of an earthquake are unconfirmed.”

  “At least what Kill’s doing is working,” Jinx muttered.

  As he watched, Killian stood in the middle of the empty street, still holding Kate, who clung to him and Stray like her life depended on it. Killian closed his eyes and for a long, tense minute, Jinx wondered what the wolf was doing.

  “Skinwalker,” the ghost who floated in front of the partially opened window whispered, and Jinx jerked his head toward it, as did Jez.

  “Is he right?” Jinx asked Jez.

  “Do I have encyclopedia of the damned stamped across my forehead?” Jez demanded. “What the hell did you wolves do before I got involved?”

  “Looks like you’ve always been involved.”

  *

  What Kill and Stray were doing was working, but not fast enough. The crowd swirled around her, and Kate felt choked by the thickness of the hatred. All of that was directed at her.

  Defying Stray wasn’t first in her mind, but she needed to help, to stop being powerless.

  Maybe she was strong enough to do this. If Kill could gain control as she watched, why couldn’t she do the same?

  She opened her mind and focused her thoughts. Seb, please, stop this.

  Stray jerked his head to stare at her. Yelled something, but she’d already made the decision to stop this on her own.

  Come to me and I’ll stop this, Seb told her.

  She suddenly had more strength than before, extricated herself from the wolves and began to walk through the crowds that seemed to part for her.

  “Kate!” Stray’s voice was behind her, but she ignored him, walked faster even as she felt the heat from his body behind him.

  If you run, I will catch you, Stray warned.

  Tell your pet to follow, Seb instructed.

  She was helpless to resist, and had realized too late that Seb was far more insidious than she’d have thought. “Stray? Please?”

  If she was doing it for Stray or Seb, she didn’t know, wasn’t sure it even mattered.

  If you come to me, I’ll end all of this. Keep walking.

  “Bullshit. Kate, don’t believe him.”

  Keep coming, Kate—just a little farther.

  She listened to Seb’s voice, since the riot seemed to be calming, or maybe it wasn’t, but she couldn’t stop now. She was in too deep.

  *

  Kate was leaving, against orders, and hell, he was being dragged along with her. Helplessly, because of their bond. Stray would never let that happen again. Not for anyone.

  He tore his mind away from Kate’s and called, “Help me, Killian.”

  He felt his brother reaching into his mind. It hurt like a headache from hell as he allowed his brother to manipulate his mind. He felt a tearing inside, like the bond with Kate was ripping apart, and no, he didn’t want that, not completely.

  He stared at his brother as the realization of what Killian could do to him—for him—in this regard dawned on him. And then he shook his head no.

  Kill understood, eased up so the bond was stretched, not broken. It was enough to stop him from walking behind Kate, although she continued along.

  Stray turned to see Killian. His brother looked … different, like he was morphing into something other than himself. But then his entire body shook and Stray heard him tell Kate, Turn around and go back to Stray.

  She st
opped and dropped to her knees and he knew Killian was inside her mind as well. She cried out, “I can’t. This is the only way—”

  “He’ll kill you, Kate. Look straight ahead at what’s waiting for you,” Kill told her even as she struggled to her feet.

  Stray made the mistake of looking and saw Shimmin, waiting at the edge of the woods, holding a semiautomatic by his side … and a hypodermic needle tucked into his free fist.

  Kate gasped and then she turned, hard, right into Stray. He grabbed her and ran with her, back into the crowd, toward Killian, as the humans around them began to close them in.

  And the shaking began again.

  *

  Kate had closed her mind against Stray—and Stray only. He dropped away from following her; in essence, she was saving him.

  But he’s bonded to you forever.

  When she looked up again, she saw a man with dark hair and a fierce expression. Seb.

  She stopped in front of him. “I’m here.”

  “Good. Shut your mind to me—now.”

  She did, and the silence was deafening. Wonderful. She waited to be taken away, to see Leo Shimmin, but none of that happened. Instead, Stray was tugging her and when she looked back, it wasn’t Seb who stood there, but Kill.

  “How did he do that?” she asked.

  “This isn’t the time or place to talk about any of this,” Stray told her. “Don’t do it again.”

  But nothing had changed—nothing stopped. The earth still shook hard and people were screaming. Shots rang out and it felt like the world was ending.

  I’m so much stronger than any of them. Don’t worry about Shimmin. I won’t let him hurt you. Go to him now.

  Kate believed him because she had to stop this. And so she broke away from Stray’s grasp when he was distracted and she ran toward Shimmin, like Seb had directed. Stray’s voice came from behind her just as shots rang past her head.

  “No!” she shouted, broke the contact with Seb at that moment when she realized everything had gone so very wrong.

  In retrospect, it was the stupidest move ever. But her instinctive need to protect Stray and his kind overtook her. She’d never had anyone to care about that deeply, and now.

  And now she’d killed him. And it didn’t matter that he couldn’t die, because she watched him collapse to the side, blood streaming from his chest. She opened her mouth in a silent scream. Tried to sink to her knees toward him, but someone pulled her up from behind.

  Friend? Foe?

  “Stray? Stray!” she called. And he opened his eyes, but they were cold. And for the first time, she totally understood the consequences of Stray being bound to her. “I’m so sorry. I just couldn’t be helpless anymore.”

  “Don’t talk.” Don’t think. Do nothing until I have you in a safe place.

  It was fair, and maybe more than she deserved.

  Chapter 38

  After he’d managed to give Kate an order, Stray went unconscious, although it wasn’t for long. Maybe he even died, but he never knew exactly what happened during that time. All he knew was that, for those brief moments, there was no pain, no nothing, except Brother Wolf’s short whine in his ear, because Brother did not want to end things this way.

  Brother Wolf liked immortality. He’d found his mate and he wasn’t letting go. Stray wasn’t either.

  It hurt like a motherfucker. Stray groaned inwardly as his inability to just lie down and die propelled him upright, despite the sucking chest wound.

  At least he had all his limbs, because regeneration took a while and that was a real bitch and a half.

  And, just like the last time he’d died, he saw his brother standing over him, watching with that look in his eyes.

  Unlike last time, Stray now knew he meant no further harm. “I don’t want you to ever erase my memory of the familiar bond between me and Kate.”

  Kill stared at him intensely. “You’re sure? I can fix it so even if she calls, you’ll never remember a thing about it. Your wolf will never be vulnerable to her again.”

  “No. Leave my memory intact.” Stray took the knife strapped to his ankle and cut his palm. “Blood oath.”

  “She tried to save you, no matter how badly it turned out. She’s good in my book.” Kill took the knife and did the same, grasped his brother’s hand so their blood mingled. “Blood oath. On my honor.”

  “Thank you. Now get me back in there,” he growled.

  “At least now you’ve got some fucking bite behind that bark,” Killian told him as he helped him stagger into the middle of the crowd. “Don’t worry about her. She’s out of here, safe and sound. Just worry about this.”

  And for the next two hours, Stray did.

  He and Kill took out dirty cops, weretrappers, outlaw Weres, and it was like blowing ash off a ledge. His conscience didn’t ache this time; his body and mind weren’t on autopilot, but rather, focused with the purpose of saving innocents, like he’d been charged with from birth.

  *

  Jinx didn’t need to hear or see the shot to know what happened. He doubled over as he felt a pain in his own chest, which always happened when one of the immortal Dires was mortally wounded. It was all he could do to not drop to the ground the way Stray had.

  All the Dires would be affected and he hoped they were well protected, as he was.

  For the first time, he realized he needed to be grateful to a goddamned vampire, even as Brother Wolf bucked that thought away.

  It’s time to allow for new alliances, Brother. The future’s not pretty.

  Brother Wolf howled and Jinx stumbled from the pain. Gasped for breath as Stray died and was reborn. It took only seconds—maybe a full minute, if that, but it wasn’t fun.

  “Jinx, you all right?”

  “Fine. Help me up.”

  “Kill’s still going,” Jez said.

  “Fucking skinwalker,” Jinx managed as the deadhead dragged him to his feet.

  “Stray’s up too.”

  Jinx looked out in the crowd that was starting to calm again. “Get the witch out of there before she hurts someone.”

  “The twins have her. They’re bringing her this way.”

  “That’s going to work out well. Tell them to take her to Vice,” Jinx said, taking his hold off Jez and holding on to the building instead.

  Jez did as he asked but not before telling him, “I’ll meet you at the cemetery later.”

  “Which one?”

  “Pinewood,” Jez said as he left. Jinx waited to leave until he saw Kate safely with Vice. He didn’t allow a shift, and Brother Wolf calmed the farther they got from the violence.

  The twins found him about an hour later outside Pinewood, Cain bounding up to him like nothing had happened, Cyd lagging behind him, watching both their sixes.

  Dusk was coming. Jinx had come to despise the night as much as he loved it.

  “Jinx, you all right?” Cain asked.

  “I should be asking you that.”

  Cyd sniffed the air. “I smell vamp.”

  “I smell it too. He’s close.” Cain moved closer to Jinx as if protecting him and then stilled. “What the fuck, Jinx?”

  Jinx ran a hand through his hair, his frustration peaking. He didn’t want to take it out on the twin—never did—but this was all bullshit. “I’ve been staying with Jez.”

  “You got kicked out because you defied Rifter and you’re living with a vamp,” Cain mused. “How long was I out for?”

  “Was the witch right about what’s happening with you?” Cyd asked.

  “No. And yes. But mainly, no.”

  “That’s reassuring,” Cyd said with a small frown marring his handsome face.

  He ignored the wolf, instead tipped Cain’s chin to look his wolf in the eyes. “You all right? Seriously?”

  “Shouldn’t have had the water at the station, but yeah, I’m all right. Angus saved my damned hide this time.”

  “You don’t owe him shit,” Jinx told him.

  “Let’s j
ust run and hunt for the ghost army, all right?” Cain said in response.

  “You start. I’ll join you in a minute,” he said, ignoring Brother Wolf’s aching need to shift and run immediately. He watched the twins strip and shift and bound away, and he ached inside, managed to call, “Don’t approach them—recon only.”

  “Hey.” Vice clapped a hand on his shoulder, and Jinx whipped around, baring his canines.

  “Who the fuck are you posturing for?” Vice shook his head. “The twins are going through a lot of shit. Don’t lock them out, hear?”

  Jinx’s aggression waned. “I hear,” he echoed. “Where’s Kate?”

  “Safe with Jez, coming up with some kind of spell. I guess he knows about that shit. He told me you needed help.”

  Fucker. “I don’t. What do you think of Kill?”

  “He’s kind of a dick.” Vice shrugged. “I think I like him.”

  “His powers are intense.” Jinx stared at Vice. “If we didn’t trust Stray—”

  “But we do,” Vice emphasized. “He’s brought Killian here to fight all this shit.”

  Jinx flicked his eyes toward Vice’s. “Or to make the prophecy come true.”

  “I know you’ve always been a suspicious son of a bitch—”

  “But this time, I’m wrong?” Jinx prompted.

  “What’s Kate talking about?” Vice asked instead. “Do you feel evil? You can’t stay possessed for long, so what the hell?”

  “I’m not possessed.”

  “Then what? You were in the cemetery all alone. I know you’re never supposed to do that, even if you are a big, bad wolf.”

  “Just stay focused on keeping Rifter and Harm safe and alive.”

  “I bet you never thought you’d say that about Harm.”

  “Vice—”

  “I know, you’re handling things. But you’re supposed to work Kate through this witch thing.”

  “No more spells for me,” Jinx said, and Vice cocked a brow. “That’s all I’m saying.”

  “Jinx—”

  “I’m here to help, any way I can. But it’s better if I don’t get too close. Kate’s powers know what to do—she needs to be receptive to them.”