Eternal Mourning

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  Though because they were the Talon Pack in this new world, something was always wrong. Even if it only felt that way.

  A wave of peace slid over him, and Walker raised a brow at Brandon. His brother was the Omega of the Pack, meaning he could help soothe the emotional strain within the Pack bonds and settle the intense anger or insecurities that sometimes filled the room so thickly that Walker could practically taste it. While Walker Healed the body, Brandon healed the soul.

  Though Walker put his whole heart and energy into what he did for his patients, he knew their gifts took an even greater toll on Brandon. Now that his brother had two mates to lean on, however, he’d been able to use his gifts a lot easier. Hence why he was able to help now, even when one of those mates was back at the clinic with Leah, resting.

  Walker watched as some of the tension in Kameron’s shoulders released, and the Enforcer paused his pacing before glaring at Brandon. The three of them were triplets among the large family of siblings and shared a connection beyond the many others they had with the rest of the family, hierarchy, and Pack, and none of them liked when they used their gifts on each other. Kameron, in particular, shoved off any type of energy that came through the bonds that might interfere with how he wanted to feel or think.

  “Cut it out, Brandon,” Kameron growled.

  Gideon raised a brow at the two before shaking his head. “Emotions are running high, and we’ll make mistakes if we don’t step back and think, Kameron. Let Brandon do his job. He’s not manipulating any of us, he’s just letting us focus as a group rather than ratchet up each other’s anger until we go to war without going through all of our options.”

  Kameron glared before stalking to an empty seat on the couch. “I’m fine,” he snapped, and they all knew it was a lie. There was nothing fine about what had happened to Parker, and nothing would be fine until they figured out if the magic was indeed connected to the fire witch and, therefore, Blade and the Aspen Pack.

  Gideon gave Kameron a look before he went to stand in front of the fireplace.

  “We all knew that Blade would do something when he found a way to hurt us without getting caught,” Gideon began. “And while we don’t have clear evidence it was him, the magic was that of a fire witch.”

  “There is more than one fire witch in the world,” Brie, Gideon’s mate said softly. “Our Pack has two, and the Redwoods even have one as their Enforcer. Just because the attack on the field was attempted by a fire witch, doesn’t mean it was performed by the fire witch we have in mind.”

  “That’s all true,” Kameron said with a growl. “But there is only one fire witch who has already taken a member of this Pack and killed one of the Centrals. And that witch is Blade’s. She scarred and hurt our Pack members before, and I have a feeling she won’t stop anytime soon.

  Max, who sat beside Kameron, stiffened, bringing the attention of the room to him. The witch may not have scarred him, but his body and soul still bore the marks from their last war. None of them wanted to be put in the middle of another one—Max, least of all.

  Walker cleared his throat, and the others looked at him. He hated being the center of attention, but he also didn’t want Max to be the one under scrutiny.

  “What’s the plan?” Walker asked. “Because while we know Blade is up to something, we don’t know if it’s the whole Pack. Their Beta, Audrey, seems to be on our side, though she’s under a gag order thanks to the Alpha’s edict. So what do we do? Attack the Aspens for attacking one of ours? Go covertly and take out Blade? I’m not sure what would cause the least amount of bloodshed.”

  Avery stood up suddenly from Brandon’s side. Her eyes went glassy, and she blinked a few times before Brandon stood up and brought her to his chest. The fact that she was here with them and not sitting by Parker’s side told Walker that their foreseer had known she needed to be in this meeting and this was the reason why.

  “This won’t be the end,” she said quietly, her voice hollow. “He’s waiting. He didn’t get what he wanted. So he will strike again. This time, closer to home.”

  She fell back against her mate’s chest, and Walker immediately went to them both so he could check her vitals. Sometimes, seeing parts of the future took its toll on her body even more than it did her mind and soul. Thankfully, she only looked tired and confused and nothing worse. There were no nosebleeds or broken capillaries in her eyes. This vision must have only been a small one compared to others she’d had in the past.

  “That wasn’t too helpful,” Avery said, her voice scratchy.

  Walker moved out of the way as Brie slid between them with a glass of water held out for Avery. Brie was the Alpha female and a submissive wolf, and she was always first in line when it came to caring for others.

  “It’s better than nothing,” Walker said softly, meeting Brandon’s gaze. His triplet nodded before moving to the side, Avery in his arms.

  “I’m taking her to the clinic,” Brandon said at once.

  Avery waved him off though she didn’t move to get down from his arms. “I’m fine. I don’t need the clinic. Walker’s right here.”

  “I know he’s right here, and I know you’re fine. But we’re going to let you lie down next to Parker where I can watch both of you heal up.” Brandon wasn’t usually the forceful one of the triad, or even amongst the Brentwoods in their entirety, but when it came to protecting his mates, he tended to act more dominant.

  Walker stood by and watched them walk away, a seed of jealousy in his gut. He wanted that, had wanted something like that for years, but he hadn’t been able to find his mate even though he was looking. He’d been in search of the one person to complete his soul since before the mating bonds changed a couple of years ago, and now it seemed like he might have his chance.

  To say he was overwhelmed was an understatement.

  Gideon ran a hand over his face as Brandon and Avery left before looking back at the rest of the occupants of the room.

  “It’s got to be Blade,” his Alpha said with a sigh. “But I don’t know what we’re going to do about it. Yet.”

  “We can’t go to war,” Ryder said quietly. “Not again. Not so soon after the Unveiling.”

  “The Aspens are stronger than we are,” Kameron growled. “That’s a fact.”

  “Because they haven’t had two wars in as many decades,” Walker put in. “They’ve been in hiding without demons or demented Alphas—beyond the one they have now. They’ve had to remain hidden to keep their cats and whatever the heck else they have behind their wards secret. Because, come on, there might just be something more out there at this point. But in doing that, they’ve been able to grow stronger.”

  Parker had helped them all rank each and every Pack that he’d been able to visit, and while the Talons and Redwoods were the most visible at the moment, the Aspens had the most power. If the Talons and their allies went up against them right then, they’d lose, and everyone in this room knew it. And even if they somehow found a way to survive an all-out battle, they’d be out to the public and susceptible to whatever punishment the humans had for them for breaking the tender truce they had salvaged.

  Walker wasn’t sure what would happen next, but he knew their steps needed to be confident and careful or they could lose everything they’d fought so hard to keep over the past few years.

  “We’re going to figure this out,” Gideon said slowly, a promise in his words. “We’re not going to act rashly and get our innocents killed because we want revenge. That’s not who we are, and I’ll be damned if we become our fathers.”

  Walker nodded and listened as they planned their reconnaissance and decided what the next steps would be. He wouldn’t be joining them on these trips, however. His place was back in the den, keeping his people healthy and safe. It should probably bother him more that he wasn’t on the front lines, but that wasn’t who he was, wasn’t who his wolf was.

  He wasn’t a soldier, he was a Healer.

  Always.

  Chapter Eig
ht

  The next day, Aimee wasn’t sure where she stood, but she was thankful she at least still had her small apartment to sit in and formulate a plan. A strategy that consisted of figuring out what to do with her life and future, but it was something.

  After Dawn and Mitchell had shown up the previous day at her home, she’d tried to figure out what exactly had happened and soon realized that since she wasn’t Pack, there wasn’t a lot they could tell her. And while she understood, she’d also felt in the way. So, since she’d been feeling better after her passing-out incident at her now-former job, she’d eventually decided to leave the house and head back to her apartment so she could sleep in her own bed.

  Walker hadn’t contacted her in the interim, however, and she wasn’t sure how she should take that. He had her number since he’d gotten all the girls’ numbers after the attack outside Dawn’s former café when they all found out that Dawn was a shifter, but he hadn’t used it. Not once.

  And because that made her sound like a petulant teenager instead of a woman who had far bigger things on her plate than whether a boy would call her or not, she shoved that thought aside and went about updating her resume.

  She might not have the higher education needed for many jobs, and frankly, she wasn’t sure she had enough time left on this plane of existence to make use of her resume or the skills she did have—a thought that sent shivers through her system—but she wasn’t about to stand by and let the world pass her by while she sat around feeling sorry for herself.

  So she would find a job so she could pay for groceries and her tiny apartment, and perhaps once again set some aside to help her family who was constantly in even direr straits than she was. And while she did all of that, she’d find a way to cure whatever the hell was wrong with her because she wasn’t about to give up without a fight. And in so doing, if she ended up near Walker more often than not…then it would set her up to do the other thing on her list.

  Live in the moment.

  Living in the moment right then meant holding a man close that made her feel something more than just casual pity and being invisible. He listened to her as she spoke and clearly wanted her from how their conversations had gone.

  If she was his mate? Well then, that was something they’d both have to deal with. Because while she wanted him with every breath she took, she was truly afraid what would happen to him if he couldn’t break her curse and ended up losing her not as a friend, but as a mate.

  While she didn’t know all the details of Mitchell and Dawn’s mating, she knew enough to understand that Mitchell had lost a mate years ago and that it had broken him to the point where he’d almost lost out on Dawn.

  Could she do that to Walker?

  Before she could bury herself farther down into her never-ending cycle of thoughts, there was a light knock on her door. She frowned.

  Who on earth could that be?

  But as soon as she neared the door, she knew. There was only one person in the world that made her body ache and the hairs on her arms stand on end in anticipation just from his mere presence. And the fact that he could do that through the solid wood of the door just reminded her of how potent he truly was.

  Quiet Walker Brentwood with that casual drawl and soft smile made her burn like no other.

  Knowing she was stalling, she quickly opened the door so he stood right in front of her—this towering wolf who said he wasn’t as dominant as others. She didn’t know what he was talking about because the man dominated the room and he wasn’t even standing in it yet.

  “Walker,” she said, then cleared her throat because she sounded far too breathy.

  His gaze traveled over her body and ended on her face with a look of stark hunger that she had a feeling mirrored her own. There was something about Walker that pulled her toward him, and if she weren’t careful, she knew she could fully lose herself with him without bothering to wonder who she had been before she met him.

  “You weren’t at Dawn and Mitchell’s when I got out of the meeting, so I figured you needed some time to breathe and perhaps think about everything that happened. I should have called before I came over, but I wanted to see you.”

  She swallowed hard, ignoring the way her heart beat rapidly at his words. Walker, however, narrowed his eyes at her pulse, and she had a feeling he knew what he did to her, shifter senses and all that.

  “I figured they not only needed some time alone since they’re newly mated, but they also needed time to talk about Pack things that would be easier done without a human around to make things more complicated.”

  She stepped back and let him in because she was only now aware that she’d left him on her tiny porch where anyone could probably hear her talking about Packs and humans. Her walls were not only thin, but her neighbors also constantly left their doors open for ventilation. It wasn’t the safest way to live, but it wasn’t as if she were one of the ones doing that. She closed the door behind her and tried to suck in air, but being near Walker didn’t make that easy.

  “That makes sense,” Walker said. “By the way, your neighbors aren’t home if that’s what you’re worried about. I assume they’re all at work or school, given the hour of the day.”

  “Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Sorry, I try not to blurt out that I know what I do about the Packs in case random people find out who don’t need to know.” She could feel her cheeks heat at her words. “I guess I watch too many spy movies or something.”

  Walker reached out and cupped her face, the action settling her as it heated her body. “Considering what Dawn and some of the others have gone through over the past few years, I think you being cautious is a good thing.” He frowned as he looked over her small apartment, and it got her back up, though she knew she shouldn’t be ashamed of what she could afford. “I don’t know if I feel comfortable with you being out like this with so little protection.”

  “I’ve been just fine on my own for a long time.” Too long, considering her age, but she didn’t need to tell him about her family’s issues. “This is what I have, and nothing truly awful has happened to me. Except for the curse. Have any leads on that yet?” She had no idea who had possessed her body right then and made her sound like Cheyenne or Dhani, but she could have rightly put her hand over her mouth in shock.

  Walker didn’t look annoyed, though; instead, he let out a sigh and seemed to take the words to heart. “I don’t have any yet, but I’m researching and talking to our local Coven.”

  Aimee quickly went to him and put her hand on his arm. “I didn’t mean to take my own issues with my apartment out on you. I know you’re working on what’s wrong with me even with all the other things you have to deal with. Don’t think I’m unaware of that fact, and I truly appreciate it. I’m sorry I got a little short.”

  His brows rose, and he pulled his arm away so he could tangle their fingers together. She shouldn’t have let her heart beat faster once again at the touch, but she couldn’t help it.

  “I’m lost,” Walker said. “Explain to me. Slowly.”

  She winced but didn’t let go of his hand. “I thought when you looked around my place you were finding it lacking, and I got my back up. I’m not usually one to get snippy like that since I generally leave it to my friends who have better comebacks.”

  He shook his head before reaching out to cup her face. “That’s not why I looked around your place. I like it. It suits you, and I like the way you decorated. I was only glowering like I did because, as a wolf, I’m always looking for holes in defense and protection. My brother Kameron is worse because of his job. My wolf wants to make sure you’re safe and practically wrapped in bubble wrap. The man knows that’s not how things work in the human world—not even in the shifter world to be honest—and finding that balance is difficult when all I want to do is strip you down and mark you as mine.”

  His eyes had gone gold as he spoke, yet she felt no fear, only eagerness.

  “Oh,” she said softly, not sure she could formulate any other
words at that point.

  “Oh,” he repeated. “Oh just about covers it, don’t you think?” He let out a ragged breath but, thankfully, didn’t pull away. “I came here to talk to you, to get to know you so my wolf would be somewhat satisfied, and you and I could go through things slowly, but I don’t think I know how to do that.”

  Aimee knew there were smart things to say just then. Things like how they should talk about Parker, her curse, the ramifications of mating and what it would mean if she were brought into the Pack with or without a mating bond. All of those things had been brought up recently in front of her, and they were constantly playing in a loop in the back of her mind.

  Yet all she could do was lean forward and kiss the bottom of his scruffy chin.

  Today, she could be the Aimee she’d wanted to be for so long, the woman who felt and lived in the now. Soon, she could and would deal with the consequences of her actions and decide what would be the next course for her life—as well as Walker’s. But for now, she would do what she’d wanted to do before, what she’d needed to do, and just be.

  “We can get to know each other and talk about all the important things. After.”

  His eyes, if possible, went even brighter. “After.” Not a question, a growl.

  “After.”

  Then he was on her, his lips demanding, his hands searching, and Aimee knew she was lost and had no desire to find her way out of this passion until perhaps it was too late.

  His hands slid through her hair, the pencil she’d used to hold her loose bun in place dropping to the linoleum tile, the sound of its echo blunt and unadorned in the silence of her apartment.

  She trailed her hands up the soft cotton of his button-down shirt before gripping the fabric in her fists. She was only human and had nowhere near the strength he did, but she had a feeling if she tugged hard enough, she’d tear his shirt right off. Lust did that to a woman—human or no.