by M. L. Briers
He wrenched her face back around. His fingers biting into the skin of her jaw as he glared down, wide eyed and as mad as hell at her.
“You are an Alpha’s mate.” It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t even really a statement. It was as though he needed to say those words, because they were just so unbelievable to him. It felt like shock to her.
“Surprise.” She spat out with all of the venom she could muster into her voice. She might not be as strong as him physically, but she wasn’t going to go down without landing a few verbal blows of her own.
“But you are Fae.” That was an accusation. An accusation laced with disgust. To this Alpha, Fae were beneath contempt, she got that. But still it didn’t stop her irk gene from responding.
“And it would appear we are both destined to die here tonight, Alpha.” She might as well get all of her points in at once. She didn’t know how much longer she had left. Would he kill and then run? She would if it were her. Well actually, she would probably leave the mate alive in the hopes that might buy her some brownie points with the Alpha. But she didn’t think that was a logical step for this man to take.
“Then I have failed. I have broken the law that binds us. I will not fight your mate. I am the one who will die here tonight.” He released her hands and moved back away from her. Resting back on his heels with his knees digging into the snow, he bowed his head and regarded the ground in front of him.
Cassidy caught a breath and dragged her battered body up to a sitting position. It was the best she could manage. She didn’t have the strength to even drag herself up onto her knees. She was bone cold and as tired as she had been that first night with Chase on the mountain.
Cassidy absently rubbed at the point on her wrist where he had held her. The blood circulating back into her hands made them itch. She watched him kneeling there, as still as a statue. A long shiver ran through her body as she realised just how cold she was.
Her meagre outfit consisted of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, both of which were wet through from being held down in the snow. Her head was still throbbing, albeit not as violently as it had been, and she just felt the need to curl up and sleep for a week. Probably not a good idea considering.
“Why wouldn’t you fight him?” Cassidy had to know. She knew deep within her that she should try to pull herself to her feet. Try to get the hell out of there while he was allowing her the chance. But she just didn’t have it in her.
“Leave.” The deep growl of his beast was still there in his voice. He was still that beast. She should cut her losses and yet…
“I don’t have the energy.” It was an honest answer. If he wanted rid of her he was going to have to be the one to move on.
When his head came up and his eyes met hers, he held her in his gaze for a long moment, before he swept his eyes over her broken body. The shiver that ran through her wasn’t through fear. She was getting colder by the moment, bone cold.
“You will die if you stay.” She guessed he had judged her condition and found her wanting.
“That makes two of us.” She really did want to leave. She wanted Chase with all of her heart and her soul, but even that couldn’t fire her body enough to make it move.
“As you wish.” He dropped his eyes to the ground again. Settled to his fate. Settled to hers. The sound of her chortle brought his eyes back up to hers.
“I wish to be with my mate. I wish to be in his arms. I wish to love and be loved. You took that from me.”
“As the Fae did to me.” There was little emotion within his tone. An air of something that was so slight that she couldn’t quite place it.
“I don’t understand Alpha.”
“No you don’t.” He dropped his eyes again. He wasn’t exactly the chatty type, she mused. But damn it, she wanted to know the reasons behind all of this.
“Well then enlighten me. You came for me. Why?”
“In the hope that you were the one.” Did he have to be so damn cryptic? She knew he was rogue, and that he spent most of his time in wolf form, and that it meant there wasn’t a lot of chance for conversation, except with himself, but still…
“The one? What one?”
“The one who could break the spell. Cast by the Fae upon me.” He looked up at her then and she saw the brief flicker of hope that swept across his face, before it disappeared back into a blank expression that he wore so well.
“No Witch can break another’s spell.” It was the truth of the matter. It would be akin to trying to force a square peg into a round hole. No matter how hard you pushed, it would never fit. She could work for a lifetime trying to break a spell, but it would be in vain.
“There is one who can help me. One who lives with wolves. I thought maybe that one was you.”
“I don’t understand. Who told you this?” She had never heard of it before. There were no writings that she knew about to tell her any different. It had been that way forever. Only the witch who cast the spell could break it. Only the witch that placed a curse could lift it.
“The Fae who cast against me. Before I killed her.” The darkness in his eyes was back. The anger that was raging through him. Whatever the spell was that she had cast, had cost her dearly. And from the look of this Lycan, it had cost him too.
“What was the spell?”
“I may walk as a man only on the night before, during, and after the full moon every month. My beast takes the rest of the days and nights from me. You see, I lost my pack, my mate, and my life to this curse. I searched for the one…” He closed his eyes and bowed his head again. Cassidy felt remorse for what her kindred had done. For what this Alpha had lost. But there was nothing she could do to help him, even if she had a mind too.
He had taken her from her mate. He was going to take her life before he knew she was bonded to Chase. Could she really have sympathy for this man?
“What did you expect me to do Alpha? I have no magic cure for you. No Fae does. A Witches curse cannot be broken…” Her words died on the violent shiver that ran through her. She tried to hug her arms around herself for the little warmth they may provide, but it wouldn’t be enough.
“Blood. The one who can break the curse holds the cure within her blood.” He didn’t seem interested in anything even resembling an apology for what he had intended to do to her. He would have bled her. Taken her blood. No, she shouldn’t have any sympathy for him. And yet…
“So you would kill me to cure yourself?”
“I could say you are Fae. It should be the only explanation needed in this case. But I would not have killed you unless you used your magic on me.”
“It didn’t feel that way when you came after me yesterday. Your beast was…” His head shot up and he glared at her.
“When my beast scents a Fae he is eager for the kill. But you were a hope, a chance, and a way to be with our mate again.”
“So take my blood. You still have a chance it might work. You still have the chance you can escape the pack…” She wasn’t just poking the damn bear, she was kicking it. But her body was now shaking so hard that her teeth were practically chipping a bit out of each other. If she didn’t talk she would just lie down and die. Her whole body would probably shake itself to death.
“No…” The deep, hard growl that rumbled through that one word with the anger that burned within him, seemed to warm her with fear, but it was fleeting. Her body was starting to become painful with the ice beneath her that burned into her lower body.
“How much blood do you need Alpha? All of it? A bite’s worth?”
“I will not bite one who is bonded, even if she is Fae…” His words were silenced when his head whipped around to the left. His eyes narrowed as he used his superior hearing to listen to something that she couldn’t make out.
“What is…?” She asked. The chattering of her teeth was the loudest sound in her ears.
“They come for you. Three of them.”
Sasha heard the faint voice in the distance. She scented the Alpha�
�s mate as clearly as if she had been standing beside her. A curl of her lips, as the rogues scent reached her and she knew that she had them.
‘She is here Chase. Alive.’ She breathed out the victory into the collective mind. She knew the sense of relief her Alpha would take from her words.
‘Do not attack unless he threatens her life.’ Chase snarled out. His heart was pumping a steady beat into his mind. His rage was fuelled with the scent he had just picked up in the coldness of the air.
He knew exactly where Connor was. To his left and closing in on their prey. But it would be his kill. Neither Connor nor Sasha would dare to intervene now. She was his mate and he would finish this.
‘Careful brother. She is still alive, let’s not force his hand.’ Connor offered the one thing that his Alpha did not possess right now. Clarity. He knew Chase’s action and reactions would be fuelled by rage. Hate. The desire to rip out the other Alpha’s throat. That was not always the best way to face an opponent.
Chase heard his brother’s words of wisdom. He knew what he was telling him, he understood what anger could do, how it could be a disadvantage, but he was almost lost to the bloodlust. His beast wanted vengeance. That was something that human and wolf agreed upon.
He didn’t need to tell the others to protect his mate. It would be their natural reaction. Chase needed to worry about only one thing. Ending the white wolf.
The sudden rush of relief washed through Cassidy. Chase was here. She could feel her body responding to his presence almost as soon as the words had left the other Alpha’s lips.
But there was something else. She knew that they had come for her, but they had also come to kill the rogue. But he wasn’t a rogue by choice. He had been cursed by a Fae to living in his beasts form. Although she wasn’t the Fae who had cursed him, she still felt in some way responsible.
Even after everything that had happened she could still empathise with this Lycan. Maybe because of everything that had happened. The fact she had been taken away from Chase, and the thought of never seeing him again. She could understand this man’s logic, even if she didn’t agree with his tactics.
“Leave. Go. Run.” Cassidy tried to find the energy within her to move towards him, to urge him on. But she had less than zero left.
“Be still woman.” He growled towards her.
“Like I have a choice. But you do. Go.”
Chase heard her words and the sound of her voice warmed him to his very core. His heart sung at her sweet voice.
“I will not leave this place.” The Alpha shot back, resigned to his fate. His words caused her sadness. His death would serve no purpose.
Chase felt the sadness roll from his mate and wondered at it. Was she giving up? Did she believe that he would allow her to die at the hands of the rogue now that he was here?
He stepped out into the clearing where his mate sat shivering the way her body had the first night on the mountain, maybe even more, and he felt the rise of panic within him. He needed to end this fight quickly. She needed to be warmed. He would finish this and…
“Chase don’t.” Cassidy called out, her words slightly distorted by the chattering of her teeth. He hesitated in his approach. What could she be trying to warn him about? Was she just worried that he would be hurt?
“Stay quiet woman.” The growl of the Rogues tone sent Chase’s wolf into a fury. The snarl echoed through the clearing around her as Chase’s wolf pulled his lips back and bared his fangs to the other Alpha.
“How much blood to break the curse?” She demanded her eyes leaving him for an instant as a second wolf appeared. This one seemed to be skirting the Rogue and making its way towards her.
“Be still.” The rogue almost snarled at her. Chase responded with a growl, taking another step towards the Lycan, who still hadn’t moved from his position on the ground opposite her.
“Please Chase. Wait…” The second wolf was beside her then, a third flanked her on the other side, and she felt the urgency deep within her. If there was a chance to end his well, she had to take it didn’t she?
Chase hesitated in his step. The Rogue had not shifted to his beast. He sat motionless except for when he spoke to Cassidy. His head was down and he was making no move against his mate or the pack. What was he missing here?
Cassidy seemed almost desperate in her attempt to get answers. He could feel the anxiety coming from her, sadness, and remorse mixed in with fear. But she didn’t seem to fear the rogue, just what was happening here.
Connor heard the chattering of his sister’s teeth and moved in closer, gently pressing his body to her side to try to offer her some warmth.
‘Sasha, warm her with your body. Chase what the hell is going on here?’ Connor demanded with the urgency that was running through him. His sister wasn’t just injured, she was freezing her backside off in the snow, and yet she was begging this rogue for answers. Delaying the inevitable death of the beast that had taken her. Had she lost her mind?
‘Not a damn clue brother.’ Chase growled back. His beast was getting antsy. He wanted to finish this, but his mate’s plea rung in his ears.
“How much blood do you need Alpha? It’s a simple question. Please. Answer me.”
“It doesn’t matter now.” He lifted his head and looked back at her. Infuriating though she was, his eyes met with the compassion that was running through her and it softened his stance just a little.
“It matters to me.”
“A bite. A taste. Not all.” He wanted to drop his eyes back to the ground. To dismiss her questions and to be done with it. He wanted this over with. He had failed his mate. But he couldn’t do any of that, she held his gaze with her own as surely as if she had a lock on his face and held him in place. Her will was strong. If she were Lycan she would surely be an Alpha.
“Then take that bite. Have that taste of my blood and see if the curse is lifted.”
The roar that came from Chase echoed through the clearing and far into the night. A warning. He took a step forward, placing himself between the Rogue and his mate. He had no idea what the hell she was doing, but she didn’t know pack justice when she ran into it head on.
‘Chase what the hell is going on?’ Connor demanded a moment before his attention was taken by a crunching of feet in the snow. Human feet.
Nathaniel walked out into the clearing. Clouds of vapour stretched out in front of him, as he huffed and puffed his way through the night. A thick coat clutched in his hands as he made his way towards Cassidy. His steps more urgent after seeing her shivering and wedged firmly between the two wolves.
“You’re freezing my dear.”
‘Has the world gone mad?’ Connor spat out in disbelief. A slow rumble of a growl to show his annoyance at Nathaniel, as the old man nudged Connor over with his knee so he could wrap the coat around Cassidy’s shoulders.
“Nathaniel… I get it now.” Cassidy felt the tight wrap of the fabric around her and was grateful for it. Nathaniel’s eyes spoke volumes as he smiled down at her.
“Good.” He turned then. He acknowledged the Alpha on his knees before them. The man was still starring at Cassidy, he seemed enthralled by her and Nathaniel knew it was a good sign, for all of them.
“Akhlut. It is an honour to meet you.” Nathaniel saw the man’s eyes slowly move from Cassidy to his own. The acknowledgement in his manner that he was known by this old man.
“Elder, you know me?”
“Of you.” Nathaniel informed him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Chase shift uneasily on his paws.
‘The beast of the northern territories.’ Connors words were said with reverence. No wonder he couldn’t track the damn beast. He was a ghost. He was a legend. Older than any other Lycan was known to be. He was unrivalled as an Alpha, or as a man. The Alpha of all Alphas’.
‘What the hell is he doing here?’ Sasha gasped. She was caught somewhere between showing her reverence to the man, and her need to protect her pack mates.
Chase felt his
wolf hesitate within him. He would fight him, the blood lust was still there burning deep within, and yet there was a deep respect for the man before him that he couldn’t push away. Is this why Cassidy had stopped him? Did she know who this Lycan was? Did she know how powerful he was? Was she trying to save Chase’s life?
Chase shifted into human form. Pulling his body up to his full height, he planted his feet firmly in the snow and his eyes never left the man on the ground, as he demanded answers from his mate.
“What the hell is going on here Cassidy?” The wolf rumbled within Chase’s voice and dragged Cassidy’s attention away from the rogue to her mate. The anger rippled over the surface of Chase’s very being.
“He was cursed by a Fae. Locked inside his wolf except for three nights during the full moon. He was searching for the blood of a Fae that was said to unlock the curse…” A growl went up from her mate and she sent out a calming wave towards him. Her love for him, her compassion for the man, and her need for him to understand.
“He lost his mate to the curse Chase. He just wanted to be human again. To be with his mate…”
“He attacked you. He attacked the pack, he must pay for…”
“Your Alpha is right. He seeks vengeance for my transgressions…” Akhlut stated, bringing Cassidy’s eyes back to him. Holding him there.
“What wouldn’t we do for our mate Akhlut? What wouldn’t we risk? Who wouldn’t we kill? My mate can feel that within him now. I felt it when you took me from him. You did what you had to do. I am sorry my kind did this to you, to your mate. I wish you to take my blood…”
“Cassidy!” Chase roared out. His hands fisted at his sides with the anger that tore through him. No Lycan would drink from his mate. No man would touch her.
“Chase. My Alpha. It is just a bite. A taste of my blood that may break the curse. How can I not help him?”
“It is pointless to lift the curse when my end is now.” Akhlut responded rationally.
Cassidy didn’t take her eyes from Chase. She was using them to almost plead with him for clemency for the white wolf.