by Kim Faulks
“Well?” Xael snapped. Her dark eyes roamed across the room, stopping on mine.
I caught the spark of fear. My sister—the scorpion was afraid.
Abrial kept her voice low to the room full of shifters. “They’re not Bloodstone, and they’re not Echo.”
“Then who are they?” Xael snapped.
Abrial shook her head. “I don’t know.”
The room fell silent.
“We don’t know if it’s friend or foe?” Marcus whispered, earning a shake of Abrial’s head. He rubbed his chin and kept going. “Do you know how many at least?”
“Not many, five, six at most. But they could be scouts. They could be part of a much bigger pack. We could be dealing with a superpack. Now that Sol is gone, what’s left of his pack could’ve joined another in retribution.”
“They’ll do that? Join just for revenge?” North muttered.
Abrial swept the room with her gaze, but she stopped at Marcus. “Yes. They’ll see us as a threat now. We’re stronger with you by our side and none of the packs will like that. They’ll seek to destroy us—and destroy you too—by any means necessary.”
Stronger together. Those inside the room flinched, a gasp followed. I thought somehow I could save Odessa from all of this. I thought somehow I’d find a way to get my brother back in time. But time wasn’t something we had—not now.
“Victor.”
I lifted my head to Marcus’s brooding gaze. Tiny plumes drifted from my brother’s lips. Teeth chattered. The cold air filtered into my lungs. I exhaled and let go of the tension and the temperature in the room rose.
“You okay, brother?” North took a step toward me. “If we stick together, we’ll get through this.”
My Capricorn brother. He always knew what to say and what I was thinking. “Go on, Abrial.”
“We need to figure out who they’re following. It could be me. It could be any of us. So, I guess the only way we’re going to find out is if one of us leaves the house. I can leave, go into town and see if I can pick up their scent.”
The shifter cradled her baby and took a small step forward. “I’ll do it.”
“No way,” Abrial snapped and shook her head. “I’m not putting you in harm’s way, Maddy. I’ll do it.”
I caught her jaw muscles flare before Maddy snarled. “I’m doing this, Abrial. You’re needed here, you’re too important to the pack to be used as bait. I want to fight. I want to find the dragon brother. Let me do this.”
We all struggled to find our place, but none more than the wolves. The wolves needed hierarchy, they needed purpose and for a minute, I was filled with the need to be powerful once more. We once had purpose; we once had a reason to live. I glanced to Marcus—and some of us were finding that reason once more.
“I’ll go with her. I’ll protect her.”
I turned my head toward the sound. Isaiah stepped forward, scanning the others until he stopped at Maddy. “If you’ll do me the honor of allowing me to escort you, that is?”
His shaggy blond mane tumbled over his eyes. One swipe of his hand cast the strands aside. Maddy’s eyes widened. I listened to the steady throb of her heart quicken.
“No one will harm you. I give you my word.”
The lion stepped closer to the wolf. Maddy’s breath caught. Her cheeks flushed red as she nodded. “That would be lovely, thank you.”
“Then it’s settled.” Isaiah’s voice turned to a throaty growl.
The room was rendered silent. My anger might’ve dropped the temperature, but these two made it rise. I caught Abrial’s smirk as Maddy cleared her throat and looked toward the floor.
But Isaiah couldn’t look away. His amber eyes sparked. I shifted from one foot to the other and in my mind I retreated to my room where Odessa waited, fighting a battle I could neither see, nor hear.
I stepped away, leaving the others to gape open-mouthed at Isaiah and Maddy. They didn’t need me, not like Odessa needed me. I lengthened my stride. The door was closed. I tensed as I gripped the handle and twisted. Would she be awake? Was she waiting for me?
A voice filtered out as I opened the door, and for a second hope filled me until I felt the heavy, sickening power in the room. Rowen was bent over the bed. Her low mumble filled the room like a brewing storm. Fear ripped through me with a shudder. Whimpers from the bed stole my breath. I forced a wheeze.
“What are you doing?”
The mage straightened, ending the spell. Power hung like a heavy cloud that sank lower to the ground with a chill. I took a step closer, rounding the bottom of the bed, unable to stop the ripple of power filling the air. I wasn’t a witch, not like Rowen, but I had powers of my own—and they were just as deadly.
“Answer me.”
She turned her head to stare at the bottom of the bed. “I’m not hurting her. I’m just testing something.”
A sheen of sweat glistened on Odessa’s face. The edges of the white bandage stuck to her skin. “I think you’ve seen enough. Get out.”
The mage flinched, but didn’t move. “She betrayed me. Did I tell you that? We were friends and she…she… I thought she was dead. I’d hoped…”
My top lip trembled and a growl slipped through. “I said, get out.”
“Marcus…”
I waited for her to finish, instead she took one last look at Odessa and turned away. The door slammed shut behind me. My legs shook as I crossed the room. I’ll never leave you…never leave you again.
I snatched the cloth from the edge of the chair and ran it across her forehead. “I’m sorry. I’m so damn sorry.”
You going to stay by her side at all times, dragon?
The old woman’s voice filled my head. I’d said yes. I’d said yes and I…I still failed her. I clenched the cloth. Did the old woman know this would happen?
She betrayed me. Did I tell you that?
I traced the curve of her jaw, glided the cloth across one cheek, and remembered the fierce look in her eyes as she lunged at the demon. I dropped the rag to tangle my fingers in her hair and skimmed raised bumps. I lowered myself toward her head and stared at her scalp.
Her lips parted. The rush of air formed words. “Please, don’t make me.”
The sound tore me away. The little girl at the deserted wolf camp filled my mind. She was happy now, mothered by the female wolves. But for a second I imagined the pup was Odessa. My voice cracked, but there was no one else here but us. No one to hear me. “I don’t believe her. Don’t ask me how, but I know you and I know you’d never hurt your friends. So that leaves one question. What the hell did they do to you?”
Her soft, steady breaths gave me nothing. I walked over to the door and twisted the lock, then strode back. The chair groaned as I dragged it across the floor and stopped at the foot of the bed. From here, I’d be the first thing she’d see when she woke, and from here I’d get a running start at whoever came through that door.
The seconds were mapped by her breaths, the hours by the dryness of her lips. I carried the plastic tub into the bathroom and refilled it with clean water. These mundane actions filled me with purpose. I carried the basin to the bed, found my mind wandering, and somehow my voice seemed to tag along.
“I’ve never had much to do with wolves before. I’ve killed plenty, but I guess you didn’t need to know that. If I had known Odessa, if I had known about you…”
I dipped in the rag and squeezed the water until the drips were slow. Her parted lips were dry. I ran the cloth across her skin and squeezed the water into her mouth. The liquid spilled under her tongue. I opened myself to the water in her body and guided the drips along her throat and into her belly.
“Parlor tricks and children’s games. That’s all I’m good for now—nothing like I once was, nothing like—”
The Tormentor.
And with the thought of his name the dragon appeared. The snarl echoed inside my head, pushing out the feel of her lips against my knuckles and the earth scent of her hair. Blue cut thr
ough my mind. The harsh sound of a sniff filled my ears. I dropped the cloth into the basin and cupped her hand.
Her thin fingers fell into the cracks of mine. Tiny bones, so damn fragile. Raised, thickened flesh peeked out from the sleeve of her shirt. I shoved the fabric to stare at her scarred skin. I eased her collared blue shirt higher, higher, and the thick scars climbed.
Goddess above.
I scanned her body, where else? Raised bumps came back to me. I shifted my gaze toward her head and reached for her hair.
Blonde strands parted under my shuddering fingers, there were more. My fingers traveled where my eyes couldn’t, probing the curve of her skull and with every gnarled and knotted bump cold rage filled me.
Her hand trembled under my grasp. I forced my grip to ease and lowered my lips to graze her knuckles. My damn heart was thundering and the dragon came closer, drawing her deep into my lungs.
Who did this? Who did this to her?
Power flowed. The water dripped, smacking against the bathroom sink. I tracked the sound as clearly as I tracked her breaths.
Drip, drip, drip, dripdripdrip…
The water in the basin rippled, white crystals formed on the surface, freezing the tremor. The plastic moaned, sides buckled, bowing out as the water turned to ice and I couldn’t help but smile. “You know. I think he likes you.”
The snarl ended, a huff of air followed before his power waned and still my smirk stayed. He liked her. I opened her hand and placed it against my cheek. Her skin was warm. I turned my head and kissed the skin over her wrist. The steady throb of life pulsed against my lips.
“Water,” she whispered. “So much water.”
6
Odessa
The creak of a door filled me with fear. The warrior’s steps slowed. I shoved against his back and twisted at the waist, trying to see. I caught a silver gleam and stilled as a deep voice snarled, “Is this her?”
“Yes.”
The crunch of gravel sounded. A deep draw of breath followed. “Kinda scrawny, isn’t she?”
“She’s who the mage said. I’m just following orders.”
“And the Alpha…he sanctioned this?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck, that’s…that’s messed up. Go on. I’ll man the door. I don’t want no part of this. She’s just a kid for fuck’s sake…she’s just a scrawny fucking kid.”
My heart thundered. My arms buckled, slamming me against his back once more. I kicked, throwing everything I had into one leg. His grip slipped, cold air snaked its way between my thighs. I balled my fists and punched. “Let me go. Let me go.”
His grip tightened, cruel hands clenched tight, bruising muscle. “Hush now. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
“Please.” I squirmed. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Bring her in,” a woman snapped from inside the barn.
I knew that voice. My hair flew, lashing the warrior’s back as he swung. I raked my nails, gouging skin as I thrashed. “You don’t have to do this. I’ll be good. I’ll be good!”
He never made a sound, only shrugged his shoulder. I slid in slow motion, curling my head to hit the ground. Pain ripped through my back and into my hips. I was slow climbing to my knees. The ground swayed as I climbed to my feet.
“Over here,” the woman snapped.
I blinked, seeking familiar faces and stared at her blonde hair framed by the fire.
No.
Green eyes held no compassion—they were cold, unfeeling, and cruel. I buckled, my knees grazed the ground as I grasped her long black dress and begged Rowen’s mother. “Please…please don’t do this. I’ll be good.”
She raised her hand toward me. Her long fingers extended, brushing through my hair as she’d done so many times before. But this wasn’t the same woman, something was wrong—something had changed. I found no love in her eyes, no compassion—only the hard glint I’d seen from the silver-haired wolf who set out to claim me night after night.
“Stop.” A blunt voice echoed from the shadows.
Through the eyes of my wolf, I traced his outline, but I didn’t need to see this man to know who he was.
The Alpha’s musky scent spilled from the darkness to fill the air. I cowered under his power—but there was something different about his marking—something hauntingly familiar.
Rowen’s mother turned her head. Her words were bitter. “Why? You already know what’s going to happen.”
“There has to be another way. A way where she—”
Green eyes found me. “Where she doesn’t what, Ivan?”
His answer was a choking whisper. “Where she doesn’t become…that.”
Power lashed my skin with an unseen whip. I wrapped my arms around my chest and hung on.
“Any other Alpha would be proud.”
The comment hung in the air, until at last the leader whispered. “But not a father.”
I flinched with the words.
My mind raced to catch up.
Father?
My thoughts returned to the man who raised me. The man who’d given me up without so much as an argument. His amber eyes and flat nose looked nothing like mine. Still, I thought… I’d hoped…
Stop calling me that. I’m not your Papa.
Those words cut like a knife. It was a killing blow—a fatal wound. I turned toward the outline in the darkness—the man who called himself father.
“You don’t have to do this. I’ll do anything you need… I’ll do anything.”
“Go on then, Ivan. You’ve always been weak when it comes to your children. I’ll stay behind and do what must be done. This child will join the darkness in all of us. She will be the one who will lead us in the war against the humans. We’ll smother this land with their dead. We’ll rid ourselves of these binds and be free. Can’t you feel her, Ivan? Can’t you feel the power inside your own blood?”
The scent of the Alpha invaded me, soft, sultry, blending with the undertones of power and dominance. The flash of silver hit me like the headlights on a car, before he turned away. Footsteps echoed in stereo to surround me. The thick, heady scent of the Beta wolves twisted my stomach.
This man who called himself father turned. But, I couldn’t let him leave without asking the one question which haunted me. “Why?”
The crunch of his steps fell silent, yet the answer came behind me.
“Because, Odessa. You’re more than any of us. You’ve got something inside you…something we’ll need if we’re going to win the war.”
I stared at the still shadow of the man who called himself my father and whispered. “But we’re not at war.”
The Betas snarled. The air trembled with the vicious sound as Rowen’s mother answered. “Aren’t we?”
Movement came from the edges of my vision. Wolves cornered me on all sides. They moved as one, gliding forward. I spun as one leapt. My thin arm slid through his grasp. I shot forward, springing like I’d done all those times we played, except I didn’t want them to catch me—I fought to get free.
Something hard grazed my head and tangled in my hair. My head wrenched back, exposing my throat. I hit the ground hard—grit and dust coated my lips and grazed the inside of my mouth.
Cruel hands gripped my legs and arms, grinding, bending, bowing as they dragged me. “What do you want us to do?”
Her power stung as I sucked in the air, scorching my lips and my nose. I thrashed, and pushed my barriers out. My feeble powers flared. Her energy punched holes through my defenses, until they collapsed.
“Tell me, Odessa. What’s it going to take to break that spirit of yours, hmm? Claws, knives…how about these men? What do you think they’d do to someone so weak? And you are weak…but you won’t be weak forever.”
A whimper slipped free. She was everywhere. Her power stung like needles as she stabbed her way inside. Dark images of pain and torture invaded my mind.
“Your precious Papa never wanted you, did you know that? He hated
you…his own brother’s child. But he never laid a hand on you, did he? He was scared of you, wasn’t he, Odessa? Scared not of what you were…of what you could become. Fight me, fight! Show me the darkness inside you. Show me how dangerous you can be!”
I slapped my hands over my ears. Still her vile words closed in. “You weren’t even wanted by your own parents. Abandoned…forgotten. Didn’t you ask yourself why?”
A growl quaked my mind. The ripples started small then grew. They were the birth of something far greater, something hovering just under the skin—the power that would be mine. A Tsunami to swallow the world.
The dangerous sound grew louder, until it was all I could hear, all I could feel.
“Abandoned and forgotten. But it was to make you strong, to make you powerful. Show me that power, Odessa. Show me the dark wolf inside you.”
I pulsed with the beat as the growl thickened, splitting into two sounds, one danger…and the other fear.
The warrior moved like a blur, slamming me to the ground. Pain flared in my hip before my head followed, grinding against the ground. Straw and dirt smothered my face.
Get up…get up!
The wolf inside snarled. I tried to gather my thoughts. Tried to find my feet as his heavy scent closed in.
He was a mountain in the dark. Black on black, like the shadow of death. The mountain crumbled, swallowing me in an avalanche of agony. Something popped, a sickening crunch followed.
My shoulder. My shoulder.
I opened my mouth; air lingered at my lips, teasing as pain moved in like a predator, stealing the breath from my lungs, and the thoughts from my mind. Shadows blurred, my head bounced. The mountain snatched me from the ground as though I weighed nothing at all. Air hacked and clawed its way through my throat, swelling my lungs. But it was too little…too late.
Breathe! Fight!
The howls in my head were deafening. Agony gutted my belly. I couldn’t look, couldn’t see.
The merciless sound of tearing flesh smothered me. I knew the tempo. I’d made it once myself. The hunt was over. My kill—warm, rich, and fresh.