“In a heartbeat,” Jinx said through clenched teeth as the battle raged on around them. “But I didn’t do it the first time. You were responsible for what happened. Rifter’s a good king. Under his leadership, the Dires would’ve stayed alive and prospered.”
“You and your twin are unnatural. Your mother should’ve let me kill you and Rogue when I had the chance,” his father said.
“I’m not going to waste that opportunity and have the same regrets.” Jinx lunged, the blade successfully embedding itself in the man’s neck. The look of surprise on the apparition’s face made Jinx pause for a second. His father hadn’t believed Jinx could be a warrior.
“You were wrong again, Father,” he whispered as he drew the blade out and sliced through the head, watching the ghost’s corpse fall into separate pieces on the ground.
“Jinx, watch!”
Jinx turned in time to see Jez bear down on the ghost aiming for Jinx’s back, the blade going clean through from back to chest before slumping to the ground.
“You owe me, wolf,” the vamp called as he wheeled around and headed back into the confusion. “Good kill, though.”
And there were still so many more. Jinx took the blade and began swinging as the body count—dead and living—began to rise.
Chapter 49
The battle raged on for so long, Vice lost track of time and space, his mind only on vanquishing anything dead that came across his path. And still, the Dire ghost army kept coming, marching, not caring that for most of them, it was to their final death. Cain was able to protect Liam and Cyd as they fought and his prowess as an omega would spread to the other Weres. It would go far in cementing Liam’s backup.
But first they needed to win this battle.
Jameson had floated frustratingly too far above for them to get him, directing the ghost army, no doubt with Seb helping from the sidelines. That bastard witch would die if Vice had anything to say about it. He’d kill him every single day for eternity if that’s what it took.
Vice took down two Dires he used to spar with back in the day, saw the hatred in their eyes and wondered if it had been there all along and he’d been too stupid to notice it.
Everyone had always known about his abilities. He couldn’t hide them if he tried. To his knowledge, no one had ever thought he was dangerous or problematic. He’d always been picked for battle. But now he wondered if maybe they did that in hopes he would be killed faster. After all, the Elders had been mortal Dires once, killed for their abilities. And even though the Elders told the Dires to be protective of those with abilities, not fearful of them, Vice realized they’d never listened.
He sliced the first and then the second, taking both heads off with the same clean motion and whirled around to see Jameson coming down and headed straight for Rifter and Harm.
“We’ve got this, Vice,” Harm told him, and although Vice wanted to buck that order, the look in Rifter’s eyes told him he wanted this kill himself.
Only for him would Vice stand down, but it hurt. Man, it hurt like fucking hell running through his veins.
The warriors circled. For someone who no doubt hadn’t picked up a weapon in centuries, Harm swung the blade like nobody’s business. And when they had Jameson between them, Harm kept the blade level to the top of the apparition’s head, the iron keeping the old king from rising up and away from them.
“Why didn’t you take us out on our Running?” Rifter asked. “Or were you scared we were too powerful, so you went after innocents instead?”
That enraged the Dire ghost. He lunged for Rifter, who moved back and repeated the question.
To watch the wolves work together after all the adversity, the anger, all the time apart, made Vice think they actually had a shot in hell to make this work.
He’d said his own prayer to the Elders, one in particular, not because he thought she gave a shit, but because he didn’t know what else to do.
“For the innocents you killed, for not listening to the Elders and sparing their lives, for all the injustices you’ve wrought in this life and beyond, you will die,” Rifter said and then there was nothing but a flash of silver and iron blades.
*
The earth shook as the women waited in the attic with Rogue.
“It’s happening,” Gwen said, and Kate saw the silver gun tucked into the side of her jeans. “Rogue told me I’m both healer and destroyer. Right now, every bone in my body is telling me to destroy.”
Kate knew how badly Gwen wished to be out fighting with her family. But the women had agreed to wait here alone with Rogue. The protection spell Kate wove would save them as long as Seb didn’t lure Kate outside.
Letting Stray out of her sight had been hard, but necessary. He and Kill needed to work in tandem.
She and Gwen would form their own coven and do their best to distract Seb from pulling the puppet strings of the Dire ghost army.
Kate stared the mare down several times, reveling in the fact that the bitch never won the eye contact contest.
She wouldn’t touch Rogue’s hand though—not yet. She had to do it at the most crucial time to distract Seb, who would be pulling the strings for the Dire battle. Until Rifter and Harm killed Jameson, it could never be over.
The floor rocked again.
“The battle,” Gwen whispered, hugging her arms around herself. “This has to work.”
“You’ll know when they kill Jameson?”
“Yes, I’ll know,” Gwen said. “You will too.”
“You realize that you can reach Rogue on your own?” Kate asked her.
The wolf doctor shook her head. “It only happens with Rifter.”
“No, Rifter can only do it with you,” Kate explained. “That’s what Rogue says.”
“When did you talk to him again?”
“I realized he was layering his thoughts.”
The mare was distracted, anxious, because Seb no doubt was. She was cutting into Rogue deeply now, her fingers scoring the skin. Gwen stared at the bright red blood running off his arms.
“I can only see her during the dreamwalk.”
“Lucky you.” Kate watched Gwen pat the blood away, even though they both knew it was a losing battle. “It’s time.”
“I’m here, Kate. You do what you need to,” Gwen told her.
Kate concentrated on bringing the wall between her and Seb down. It would also bring the wall down between her and Stray, which would leave him vulnerable. But Killian was with Stray—and that was Kate’s comfort.
Almost immediately, Seb called to her.
You picked the wrong side, Kate.
“I’m happy with the side I’m on.” She spoke out loud so Gwen could hear.
When your Dires lose, we’re coming for Gwen. She’ll get to watch her blood poison them. But we’ll keep her alive, like a pet.
How could Seb be the same man Lila had professed to love so deeply? Her witch hadn’t been stupid or blind—so either Seb had changed so much he was beyond help … or he was lying to her.
“You’re white as a sheet. What’s he telling you?” Gwen asked, tugging at her. Making sure Kate was still with her and not ready to walk outside and find Seb.
Gwen had promised Stray in front of Kate she wouldn’t let that happen. Whatever it took, Kate wouldn’t go to Seb, even if it meant chaining her down.
The chains lay in the far corner of the room. Kate had avoided looking at them, because they signaled her potential weakness. She wouldn’t admit to any for the moment. Couldn’t.
“Shimmin wants you, Gwen,” Kate whispered, not wanting to give the words more power than they had.
“He can’t have me,” Gwen said, her voice fiercer than Kate had ever heard it to this point. It looked like Gwen was trying to halt a shift as the anger coursed through her, but she closed her eyes and held firm.
When she opened them, she had wolf’s eyes, but she was still very much ready to help Kate and Rogue. “I’m ready. Let’s take away his power.”
&n
bsp; “Lila would want it this way,” Kate said with a certainty she hadn’t felt until then.
Kate grasped Rogue’s hand in hers and Gwen took the other. Rogue was silent, but Seb wasn’t.
You’ve all miscalculated badly. Weres are dying.
Kate’s pulse pounded in her ears. Anger and grief balled up inside of her, and still she managed to say, “Seb, you’ve got to get out of there. You need to escape now, or else it will be too late for you.”
It wasn’t her voice coming out of her mouth—in her heart, it was Lila’s. And suddenly Kate wasn’t scared any longer.
She’d drawn up a spell earlier, a combination of finding a lost witch spell and a binding one, but she hadn’t tried it until this moment, not wanting to risk giving away her plan.
Lila, how can that really be you?
“It is me.” Kate knew for certain it was, because she had no control over her words at the moment. Letting Lila borrow her body was odd, but if it worked, she’d be forever grateful. Her body felt … lighter. Invaded, but she wasn’t uncomfortable. It was like she was having an out-of-body experience without actually leaving her body, standing aside to watch Lila talking with the man she’d loved.
The man she still loved. Kate could feel how strong the feelings that remained were, even as Lila said, “I’ve missed you, Sebastian. So much.”
Dammit, Lila. If you’d only stayed … none of this would’ve happened. We could’ve run away, like we’d planned. Our secret was safe with Rifter.
“We were never safe, and it wasn’t Rifter’s fault. It was our destiny as witches. We always knew our time was limited. Should be.”
It didn’t have to be.
“It shouldn’t have come to this. You knew it would and you didn’t take precautions. You could’ve prevented it.”
Like you did? You ran. You took the easy way out.
“I died to save you,” Lila said and Kate started. “If I hadn’t passed my powers on to Kate, she wouldn’t be able to help you now.”
I’m trapped. The decisions I’ve made, it’s too late, Seb said. For the first time, Kate caught the edge of desperation in his voice.
“You always have a choice, even if you don’t like it,” Lila said through her.
I was a coward.
“Never, Sebastian. Not until right now, if you don’t do what you know to be right.”
I can’t take back my spells.
“Then simply turn away and don’t look back,” Lila offered.
And then there was nothing from either of them. Whether or not Seb had taken the advice or simply stopped talking to her, Kate had no idea. Not until she saw Gwen staring at the corner of the room and turned to see Lila there, in full form, a revenant, not a spirit.
“Lila,” she breathed.
“I let you down. I stayed away.” Lila looked contrite. Her cheeks were wet with tears.
Kate stared at Lila. “I don’t know what to do. I have all this power and I still feel powerless. How’s that possible?”
“Do what’s in your heart. That will always steer you in the right direction.”
“Like you did with Seb?”
“There’s always sacrifice involved with love, Kate. You know that better than anyone. When I left Sebastian, he felt as though he lost everything. He didn’t understand my sacrifice. He thought it meant I didn’t trust him enough. The Dires were the only ones holding him together,” she explained. “He’d been with them a long time, made sure they didn’t know about me, for my sake and theirs.”
“You never got to say good-bye.”
“I just did. Now it’s your turn to carry on with the powers. Godspeed, Kate. Save your family.”
With that, Lila was gone. When she turned back to Gwen, the half Dire appeared to be in a trancelike state of her own.
“Gwen? Are you all right?”
“Rifter and Harm are fighting Jameson,” Gwen said softly. She clutched Rogue’s hand and then Kate’s extended one across Rogue’s chest—and, together, right under the mare’s face, they waited.
Chapter 50
As Rifter and Harm both sliced Jameson with their blades, the Dire armies, both dead and alive, went completely silent.
Rifter and Harm withdrew their blades almost reverently. Although Jameson was a bastard, he was also a Dire king and, in the eyes of the Elders, disrespect at this stage wouldn’t be tolerated.
They placed the killing swords on the ground next to the body of the ghost that wasn’t dissipating, but rather, bleeding out, the coloring fading by degrees.
“Is it over?” Vice asked finally. His voice was low and he was acting as second in command, watching over his king and the wolf who’d given up the throne, whirled around to see if the Dire ghost army would fight back.
They weren’t.
“Kill them all!” Rifter roared, and his side moved forward without hesitation. All except Stray and his brother.
Come to me, Stray. Bring Killian. Kate’s voice.
“We’ve got to get back to Rogue—it’s our only shot.”
Killian looked to Rifter, who’d zeroed in on his brother. Rifter nodded his assent before slicing a Dire ghost’s head off with a different silver blade than the one used to kill Jameson.
None of this concerned him—this wasn’t his past or Killian’s, but somehow, it was. And he’d been lucky enough to be a part of it. He bowed his head for a moment and gave thanks to the Elders for letting the Dires find him, for his brother, for Kate.
“Stray, we have to go now.” Killian tugged him and they bounded back to the car with the weapons still clanking on their bodies.
Stray drove like the truck was on fire, listening for Kate again and hearing nothing. He called to her but again, no response. And if she’d blocked him out, whatever the reason, it couldn’t be good.
When he pulled into the garage, Kill was out of the truck before it even stopped moving. Stray slammed it into park, locked the house back down and followed, coming into Rogue’s room behind his brother.
Rogue lay in his familiar position, with Gwen holding one hand and Kate the other.
Seb’s gone—left behind his spells and disappeared. Trick the mare, Kate told him.
He turned to Kill. “Need your best witch impression again—that mare bitch needs to be called off.”
“Now, Killian. Right now. Stray, block him.”
Stray turned to stand in front of his brother, and Killian morphed then, right in front of his eyes. It looked painful as hell, far more so than a shift to Brother Wolf, and Stray swore he heard Killian’s cries in his head.
He’d never seen his brother cry.
When the man stood, it wasn’t his brother any longer—it was Seb who stood before him and Stray’s Brother Wolf reacted violently.
Seb put his hands out to stop Stray. Closed his eyes and Stray heard Seb’s voice in his head.
Come to me, now.
To whom he spoke, Stray couldn’t be sure. He could only hope it was directed at the right source.
*
As Kate watched, the mare shifted hard and turned to stare at Kill, who’d morphed into Seb, thanks to his skinwalking abilities.
Come to me now.
Seb’s voice, except he wasn’t talking to Kate.
Now. I’m calling you off him. Release the wolf.
Slowly, the mare began to climb off of Rogue.
Come to me, Seb ordered, and the mare seemed powerless to do anything else. She walked across the room, directly into the devil’s trap on the floor under the rug that had been there for centuries, thanks to Seb’s spell.
As the mare sensed the trap, she heard, Now, Kate—now!
Stray’s voice. She grabbed Gwen’s hand and they began to chant the banishing spell for the mare. Now that her bond with Rogue had been broken, they weren’t in danger of hurting the wolf.
The mare screeched, held her hands over her ears and tried to get out of the circle. But she was slammed backward and Gwen took that opportunity. She moved
forward, in front of Kate as both Seb and Stray moved out of the way, held the gun steady in front of her—and she shot.
The iron passed through the mare and she crumbled into dust on the rug. Gwen collected it into the jar Kate gave her and closed the lid, effectively trapping the mare inside for eternity.
“We need to bury this in concrete,” Gwen said, and then they all turned to Rogue, who simply lay there. The women rushed back to him, put his palms in theirs and waited.
“He’s so quiet,” Gwen said finally.
“Peaceful,” Kate agreed.
“He’s alive,” Stray confirmed. “I’d know if he wasn’t.”
But whether or not he’d wake up was anyone’s guess.
Killian was still in Seb’s form. When Stray touched his shoulder, his brother began the painful task of shifting back into his own form.
It left him panting on the floor, weak and shaky.
“You can’t do that again,” Stray told him.
“I’ll do what I have to do to save my kind. My family,” Kill told him, his voice sounding as weak as he looked. Stray helped him up and they formed a circle around Rogue as Kate began to chant a protective spell to stop any other evil spirits the trappers might have up their sleeves.
“And the real Seb just left the trappers?” Stray asked when she stopped.
“Yes, when Lila asked him to. She really loved him, enough to walk away knowing it most likely meant he would die. He loved her enough to listen.”
“Sometimes the love of a good woman is all any man needs to save him,” Stray said quietly. “But I’m guessing the Dire ghost army stopped fighting when Seb left.”
Kate came over to him and hugged him and, in that moment, he felt like he could finally rest. But no matter what, it still wasn’t over—not completely.
Chapter 51
There was one more step Killian and Stray needed to take together. As the Dires and Weres cleaned up the cemetery and Jinx sealed the graves with Jez’s help, Stray and Killian went to the weretrappers’ facility several towns over.
Shimmin hadn’t been heard from since the battle. Rogue remained asleep and Stray hadn’t wanted to leave Kate’s side.
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