Last Wolf Standing (#7, The Mystic Wolves)

by Belinda Boring

  “We need to get going. People are worried.”

  Wiping away the last of his tears, he nodded. “I just—” He was still too choked up to speak.

  “They love you. When you hurt, we all do,” I added softly.

  With his emotions finally under control, he spoke. “I don’t ever doubt that. I’m just so used to being the strong one for everyone.” Mason thumped the place over his heart. “It’s who I am . . . not just as an Alpha, but as me.”

  Staring at him, knowing that I was blessed to call him my mate, everything about this man moved me. “And that’s why they pledge their loyalty to you without hesitation. They know you will always be there for them. That’s why it’s important for you to remember they will always do the same for you.”

  “It’s humbling,” Mason admitted quietly. “I don’t ever want to let them down. With my last breath, they are mine to protect.”

  Praise for Last Wolf Standing

  "Belinda Boring has done it again with the next book in her Mystic Wolves series, Last Wolf Standing. Each book gets better and better. This one is EPIC and you won’t be able to put it down. Can't wait to see what's next. BRAVO, well played!" ~ Lisa Markson, I Pimp My Authors.

  “Last Wolf Standing is a roller coaster of emotion. I laughed. I cried. But in the end, I knew that Belinda Boring had done it yet again - she told her tale in the way that only she can so that it leaves us begging for more.”

  ~ Raquel Auriemma, Roc n’ Read.

  "Last Wolf Standing is Belinda's most gut wrenching book in the Mystic Wolves Series. Completely epic in every way and leaves you shocked and shaken, waiting with baited breath for the next book."

  ~ Julia Wood, Diary of a Lunitic.

  “The complete and utter destruction of my perceived world is how I felt when reading Last Wolf Standing. Belinda Boring is the only author to invoke such a reaction from me. Readers and lovers of The Mystic Wolves will curse and cry.”

  ~ Cindy Mucha Barton, Amazon Customer.

  “To say that Belinda Boring has done it again is an understatement. Last Wolf Standing is simply AMAZING!!!”

  ~ Caren Davis, Book Minion Book Blog.

  “Last Wolf Standing is another amazing addition to the series.”

  ~ Chrissy Mackey, Amazon Customer.

  “The queen of swoon has done it yet again. She made me laugh, love, cry, hate, and want to throw my kindle across the room. All in the span of 18 hours.”

  ~ Jeanine Palinkas, Goodreads Reader.

  “I loved it! Belinda knows how to write! If there is a series out there that you want to read, The Mystic Wolves is that series.”

  ~ Chelsea Ingham, Amazon Customer.

  “My mind is blown, my soul is crushed, my heart is shattered . . . and yet, I can not wait for the next book! Belinda Boring has me begging for more!”

  ~ Christina Silcox, Literary Redemption.

  Last Wolf Standing

  #7 in the Mystic Wolves series

  Copyright 2014 Belinda Boring

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Published by Blushing Heart Press

  Edited by Kim Swain, Red Line Editing & Writing

  Cover Design by Lacey Weatherford, Moonstruck Media Graphics

  Kindle Edition

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to www.amazon.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Dedication

  To the AH-MAZING members of my street team,

  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU.

  I appreciate everything you do to help spread the swoon!

  You guys are INCREDIBLE.

  Wolfy hugs and kisses to each of you!

  Prologue

  Darcy

  It’s funny how everything can change in the microsecond it takes to inhale and exhale. Your world can one moment make sense—even when surrounded by uncertainty—and then BAM . . . the axis tilts and everything begins to spin out of control.

  Mason didn’t have to say a word. I knew he was exhausted, but there was an unrelenting spirit that resided within my mate. He would never give up. He would always fight against those who threatened those he cared for.

  While he might not always have the answers, he would keep on going until he found them. It was why he was so well respected. It was why I so deeply loved him.

  We’d gone through so much together—an ex-girlfriend who, when she couldn’t break us apart with magic, used darker enchantments to possess my body. We’d faced a powerful warlock determined to not only destroy my uncle, Devlin, but to harness me as some kind of weapon. When that failed, burning out my witch nature, it had left us two choices—accept that I would die or replace the void with another nature . . . one that required permission from Zane, the vampire king. Placing two predators—my inherent werewolf nature and a new vampiric nature—within one body was a sure-fire recipe for disaster. The few who had attempted to comingle the two ended up losing their minds and had to be mercifully killed.

  I knew that fear of the same outcome had weighed heavily on Mason, but we’d chosen to try and beat the odds. I survived; and except for the blood lust that still raged beneath the surface, we’d all breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  That was until dissension emerged.

  Until the Master had stepped forward, using Helena, a trusted friend, as his mouthpiece. She’d brutally tortured Mason, carving into his body, leaving scars as a reminder he wasn’t invincible.

  We could live with scars. We could handle nightmares. Even the challenges from defiant allies and other Alphas, whom we’d once considered friends, couldn’t sway Mason from his duty.

  He was honor bound to protect those in his care.

  He was unmovable.

  Until the last person he’d ever expected to throw down the gauntlet, challenged him.

  In the space between breaths, Mason’s world forever altered and my heart broke for him. Once again, he was being called to face the refiner’s fire.

  Only time would tell if he’d survive it, this time, unscathed.

  Chapter One

  Mason

  I’d heard wrong.

  Blinking, everything stilled as the chaotic noise fell away. While all around me, Michael’s supporters retaliated the loss of their Alpha to me; there was little time to catch my breath before the next challenge came. It didn’t matter that I’d killed Michael on the heels of another Fight-to-the-Death challenge with Paxton, the Alpha of the Shaw Buttes pack, or that the wolves I would now claim as my own set my home on fire in bitter vengeance.

  There were so many things wrong with the madness that erupted around me.

  Even the hurried yells of Darcy to Devlin—her desperate pleas to make sure there was no one trapped in the house, fell away.

  My mate.

  She was in danger.

  All my Pack members, even those who had settled in for the night in other areas of Pack property were in danger.

  Yet, the person standing in front of me held all my attention.

  Nothing made sense; and as I stared into the cold, mocking face of my best friend—there was no other explanation. There couldn’t be.

  It was either accept that the person I trusted my very life with had just announced he was the Master, or acknowledge that somehow I’d been dropped into some bizarre alternative universe where the impossible became reality.

  There w
as no way it was true. It had to be a joke.

  Unfortunately, the sneer that crossed Daniel’s features was as real as the fire that engulfed my home, threatening to burn the surrounding trees to cinder.

  “You sound surprised?” he jeered, taking a step toward me, his gaze never leaving mine.

  “How?” I demanded, my mind scrambling to piece together everything I knew about the Master. Memory after memory played over, flashes of moments I’d shared with Daniel. Normal conversations, friendly banter, concern and a whole myriad of emotions that not once triggered a warning that something wasn’t right.

  “Trying to figure out when it all changed?” Spreading his arms out as though he believed himself a brilliant magician who’d fooled his audience, my best friend and brother smirked even wider.

  Power rippled over my tender skin and my body braced itself for another rapid shift into my wolf form. While he’d offered a challenge, it was definitely one I was reluctant to execute without the reasoning of my humanity. Everything inside screamed to find even a scrap of understanding to this madness.

  In this one act, Daniel had stepped forward to supplant me as the Alpha to the Mystic Wolves as well as the two newly claimed Shaw Buttes and Silver Canyon packs. But that wasn’t the blow that left me slightly winded.

  It was in whose name he’d done it in that sent me reeling.

  “If you’re being possessed, we can reverse it. There are spells—magic—rituals we can perform to exorcise the intruder. We saved Darcy. We can save you, too.” Stretching forth my hand, I willed Daniel to concede, to slacken the aggressive stance he had adopted. “We can beat this . . . together. You and me. Like we’ve done throughout our entire lives.”

  “You really are an arrogant asshole,” Daniel spat angrily, hatred twisting his lips into a snarl. “Immediately you assume that this is something that was done to me. That I would never hold courage enough to finally step forward and claim what should rightfully be mine.”

  “Yours?” His aggressive retort confused me. “This Pack has never been yours to govern. It has been yours to protect—both as member and my chosen second-in-command. The role of Alpha? No, I won that right each time I’ve defended that position throughout the years . . . winning each challenge issued.”

  Daniel’s fingers curled into fists, his face reddening in anger as a large vein throbbed at his temple. Taking another step closer, I held my ground, not letting him intimidate me with his hostility. “I am the Master. You will bow before me.”

  “I bow to no one, Daniel. You know that.” My toes dug into the soil, ready to spring forward at a moment’s notice. “I warn you. You’re treading on very dangerous ground. Yield. Withdraw your challenge so we can fight against the power riding inside you.”

  “Always with your words.” He shook his head, his eyes narrowing in on me with disgust. “Time after time I’ve stood by your side and watched you act cowardly—extending mercy in the name of fairness, demeaning your station as Alpha, man, and wolf. No more, Mason.”

  “Daniel—” I interjected sharply.

  “The others were weak. They were obviously no match for you, but I am. I am your equal in every way. I know you like no other, aside from that bitch you mated. As the Master, I have untold power and resources at my disposal. Once I’ve crushed you and removed you from this world, it will be my pleasure to reduce everything you’ve worked for, so foolishly, into the ground . . . burning it until it is nothing but ash and rubble, like your home behind us.”

  A deep sadness flooded through me. Daniel had become a stranger—completely foreign except for the boyish face I’d loved all my life. “Then you shall have your fight,” I conceded, beginning my slow and deliberate steps around him. “But you won’t be victorious. If you continue on this path, you will die. I will kill you. I won’t let you harm those I love. Not even you.”

  “Mason!” Darcy’s voice interrupted. She’d been silently watching, equally shocked at the events unfolding around us. I could feel her horror pulsating through our link; her desperate need to stop the inevitable. She knew what this challenge could cost me—would cost me.

  It would mean sacrificing a part of myself. Daniel had always been a constant in my life—a brother, a confidant. People joked that there were only two things in life that were sure things—death and taxes. But each time I heard it; I always added that there were two extra for me.

  My wife.

  And my best friend.

  And now, I would have to kill him, unless, by some miracle, he surrendered.

  With the billows of smoke and flames casting his body in a hellacious glowing backdrop, the likelihood of that happening grew slimmer by the second.

  “Sweetheart,” I called out, anxious for her to remain safe throughout this crazy turn of events. “Go help Devlin and Wade. Stay close to your uncle.”

  “No, you need me,” she replied, and I could hear tears threatening to spill in her voice.

  “What I need is for you to survive. I need to know that everyone is safe.”

  “Be a good girl and do what you’re told,” Daniel snidely added, his hands shooing her away dismissively. “I have plans for you.” A possessive growl slipped from my lips at the gross and lewd way he glanced at my mate.

  “Your plans end with me,” I thundered, the precarious grip on my emotions fraying around the edges. While he was someone extremely important to me, it was galling to see the disrespect now oozing from him. Daniel was nothing like himself, and everything evil that the Master represented.

  Darcy reluctantly backed away, rushing over to where Devlin stood, just beyond the burning building. With a loud crack and rushing sound, the walls finally gave way—the roof caving in, ensuring my home was a lost cause.

  My only hope was that they’d managed to evacuate anyone who’d been inside before the inferno had taken over.

  Be careful. Darcy’s panicked plea brushed across my mind.

  Always, I replied.

  He’s in there somewhere. Daniel’s not lost to us. Save him, if you can.

  Her thoughts echoed my own. I wasn’t in the habit of giving up so easily; and while the Master thought he had won by possessing my best friend, he’d greatly underestimated me.

  Turning my attention fully toward my opponent, I steeled my emotions. “I’m going to take great pleasure in evicting you from that body.”

  “There’s nothing to remove, fool. Daniel is the Master and I am Daniel. We are one. It may be easier for you to digest your spin on it; but in the end, it is still the same. You are merely the stepping-stone in my plan for ultimate power and supremacy. Everything you hold dear will become mine to control and bend to my will.”

  “Then prove it,” I snapped, tired of talking. “I’m assuming we’re fighting in human form? For all your threats and grandiose posturing, I know you haven’t been able to harness the spirit of Daniel’s wolf.”

  “It’ll make my triumph even sweeter knowing I conquered the mighty Mason O’Connor with my bare hands. That it was me who finally stifled the life from your eyes.”

  His comment made me laugh. “Here’s a little advice . . . if you truly want to convince me you’re Daniel, my Daniel, the man I have grown up with, you might want to act a little more like him. For all his joking around, when it comes down to a fight, he never gets this chatty.” And with that final comment, I acted, claiming the first strike in one of the greatest fights I would ever face, with a brutal punch to his head.

  There was no time to stalk about and size up my opponent. There was no need to evaluate his strengths and weaknesses. I knew them already, just as he knew mine. We’d trained and sparred for years—our technique meshing well, making us well-matched.

  Brute strength wouldn’t win this challenge. It would take cunning and endurance. I would need to constantly be on guard whilst looking for that telltale sign or slip that would give me an advantage.

  Chaos continued to explode around us. In the distance, the faint howl of sirens filled
the air as each second brought help closer and closer. There was no way humans could handle the scene they’d find. While they would be equipped to battle the fire that still raged on with no signs of slowing, they would be out of their depth in subduing the violence and bloodshed happening.

  Fighting the urge to look for Darcy, I zeroed in on the task in front of me. Devlin would make sure my mate was kept safe. It was time to trust in the friends currently surrounding me, in spite of the painful reminder that I’d been horribly betrayed by my very best friend and successor.

  Moses, Alpha to the White Rock Pack, was a true friend and would do everything in his power to protect me and mine. I needed to rest in the fact that I'd trained my members for intense combat, as well. It was time to put my faith in those now fighting alongside me.

  On my order, they stood down, anxious to defend their Alpha. But they couldn’t answer this challenge for me. No matter how much they wanted to help, it was something I needed to do on my own.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” Daniel taunted, wiping away the small trickle of blood from the side of his mouth. “One would think your heart wasn’t in it.”

  I didn’t answer. I refused to let him distract me. Slamming my fist forward, I clipped his forearm as Daniel blocked my strike and countered with one of his own. Back and forth we punched, some connecting while others were deflected—none of them slowing us down.

  Settling myself into a stance that had become a habit over the years, I kept my weight evenly distributed, allowing myself to dodge his attempts to knock me down. One swift kick to his gut left him winded but it wasn’t enough to throw him off balance.

  Neither of us were going for the kill—the realization giving me hope that somehow, if I could subdue him, I could still save him. Each blow I delivered was for the sole purpose of wearing him out, of turning the energetic spring in his step into slow, labored stumbles. While we were evenly matched, I outclassed him in stamina and I was determined to use that to my advantage.