by Tami Lund
“What are you doing here?”
“Olivia wasn’t feeling well, so Tanner sent me to seek out Dane, while he went to retrieve Alexa. Dane and Lisa and I were making our way back to the beach house when we came upon a terribly grisly scene.” He shuddered and closed his eyes. The king of the Lightbearers did not tolerate violence well.
“Seven dead Lightbearers,” Lisa said, stepping up behind the king. “We followed the trail of blood to here. What the hell did they do to my pack master?” she demanded, glaring at Cecilia.
“How would I know?” Cecilia protested.
Finn stepped between them. “Leave her alone, Lisa,” he growled. “We’re all on the same side, remember?”
Lisa frowned and fell silent. Cecilia dropped to her knees next to Dane and whispered, “Is he—”
Dane pursed his lips and shook his head. His hands cupped Tanner’s face, which was covered with bruises and various bleeding cuts. He wore a sweater that had been half torn from his body. What was left was soaked with blood. There was a gash across his chest, another on one arm that was gaping and profusely bleeding. His hair was matted and soaked with blood. The knuckles on both hands were torn and bleeding.
“Cedric did this,” Cecilia murmured. Of course, Lisa and Finn, with their enhanced shifter senses, heard her.
“What do you mean?” Finn asked. He stepped up behind her, staring down at the unmoving, badly beaten body of his pack master.
“Who?” Lisa asked.
“Cedric?” the king repeated, frowning. “Cedric who?”
“My brother.”
The king shook his head. “Cecilia dear, you must not be feeling well. Cedric is dead. Twelve years ago. It could not be—”
“He didn’t die,” Finn said, cutting him off. “He faked his death. He’s been living in his parents’ basement for the past twelve years.”
“But how…? Lacey and Gerard, they need to…”
“They know. They’re involved.”
“That’s screwed up,” Lisa added her two cents. Then she frowned. “Don’t Lightbearers need light to live? Like, a lot of light? How the hell has he been living in a basement?”
“Artificial sunlight,” Finn explained. “He’s the Chosen One, the bastard who’s been causing all the trouble these past few months. And he’s been trying to kill Cecilia.”
“He said he was only trying to warn me,” Cecilia added.
“Yeah, the same damn way they claimed they were trying to warn you when they almost killed you by locking you in the basement? Don’t you dare feel any sympathy for them. It doesn’t fucking matter that they’re your family. They’ve been trying to kill you for twelve goddamn years. Thank the fates you’re too damn stubborn to die.”
His speech was so impassioned, the entire group, with the exception of Tanner, who was still unconscious, stared at him. Finn turned away from their inquisitive looks.
“I found a list,” he said. “All of us are on it. Even you, Dane. Which I suppose makes sense, since Lisa and her pups are living with you.”
“I’ll kill every last one of the bastards,” Lisa growled.
“They’ve already poisoned Olivia,” Cecilia said. “Cedric did it, to lure Tanner away from the beach house, so he could attack.”
Dane gasped and released his hold on Tanner’s face and sat back on his haunches, breathing heavily. Tanner’s body gave a small jerk, and then his eyes fluttered open. They were clouded with confusion, until he spotted Finn.
“What the…?”
Finn crouched down and helped him into a seated position. “We’re hoping you can tell us.”
Tanner lifted his hand to his head and winced. “I was ambushed. There were a dozen or so, I think. I took a bunch of them down, but they finally figured out to attack me all at once, and then they overpowered me. Used our own damn fighting techniques against me. I think one of them hit me on the head with the butt of his sword. That’s all I remember until right now.” He gingerly touched the side of his head and grimaced when his fingers came away coated in blood.
“Why were you out here by yourself?” Finn asked.
Tanner furrowed his brow. “Olivia. She was sick. I was looking for Alexa.” His eyes widened and his gaze flew to Cecilia’s face. He abruptly began struggling to his feet.
“Olivia. They’re going to kill Olivia!”
While Finn and Dane helped him stand, Cecilia couldn’t help but wonder if they were not too late.
Chapter 24
“Mother, I’m fine, honestly.”
Olivia worked hard to convince her mother it was true, but the reality was, she was frightened as well. The nausea she developed shortly after eating dinner had eventually become bad enough that she found herself kneeling in front of the commode, expelling the contents of her stomach, again and again, until there was nothing left but bile. And still, her body continued to heave and convulse, continued to try to rid itself of something that just did not agree with her.
While this might be normal for pregnant women, Olivia knew her mother worried because of her own difficult pregnancy. Besides, Olivia had not experienced nausea quite this debilitating prior in the pregnancy, and according to Alexa, she should be beyond that point by now. So why was it starting shortly after the four-month mark, and why so severe? She was so weak, she couldn’t even be bothered to leave the bath chamber.
“You don’t look fine,” the queen clucked. She placed a cool, wet washcloth on Olivia’s forehead.
“Thank you,” Olivia murmured, her eyes closed, her head leaning against the bath chamber wall. For the moment, her stomach was calm, but to she was afraid to move from the floor, in case the movement caused the nausea to return.
“Where is your mate?” the queen wondered. “I would have expected Tanner to be back by now, with five healers in tow.”
That elicited a brief smile, but then she quickly frowned. “You’re right. He has been gone for a very long time. And where is father?”
“Tanner sent him after Dane. You know how your mate worries.” The queen did not sound upset at all by the fact that Tanner was overly concerned for her daughter’s health.
“Between you and Tanner, I’m surprised the two of you have not figured out how to form a bubble around me, to protect me from the world until I birth this pup.”
“That is not a terrible idea,” the queen replied thoughtfully. “I am constantly amazed by how much of your magic Tanner is able to use. Perhaps he can…”
“Don’t you dare,” Olivia warned her, but she could say no more, as she was once again overcome with the urge to vomit, although nothing at all came out this time. When the spasm was over, she collapsed back against the wall, breathing heavily, clutching her stomach. “I really wish Tanner was here,” she murmured weakly.
“Me too,” the queen said, as she cast a nervous glance at the closed bath chamber door.
“What is it?”
The queen shook her head. “Just … a feeling, I suppose. As though … as though something terrible is about to happen.”
Olivia used the wall as leverage to pull herself to her feet. “I feel exactly the same way,” she pronounced. “Tanner should have been back by now. And father. Something is wrong. Help me.”
Her mother obligingly slipped her arm around Olivia’s waist and led her to the door. “What are we going to do?”
Olivia opened the door and listened. The beach house was quiet, far too quiet. It was never entirely quiet in this house. There was always someone about, whether guards or a servant or someone in the kitchens or even her father’s snoring, which could be heard throughout half the house. Wait a minute…
“I hear snoring,” she said. “Actually, it sounds as though several people are snoring.” She glanced at her mother, who shrugged.
“I have often wondered if the guards did not sleep through the overnight shift. I suppose this just proves it.”
Olivia frowned. “Tanner would have their hides. Especially right now, with the threa
ts against Cecilia, and my pregnancy. Come on, let’s go see what’s going on.”
Getting from the bath chamber in Olivia and Tanner’s suite to the first level where the sound of snoring was significantly louder, was a long process, mostly because of Olivia’s weakened state. But she perked up immediately when they discovered five sleeping guards, all lined up in a row, propped against a wall in the hall leading to the kitchen area.
“What in the world?” She bent and touched her hand to the face of one of the sleeping guards, pulling on the tiny reserve of magic she still possessed. “Sleeping draught,” she confirmed as she straightened and sagged against her mother.
“I don’t understand.”
“It means you are right to be suspicious. Something strange is happening, and you and I are quite literally sitting ducks. Come, let’s get back upstairs. We have no choice but to hide.”
“Hide? Hide from what?” the queen demanded, although she obligingly guided her daughter back down the hall, up the stairs, and toward her private wing of the home.
“I wish I knew,” Olivia responded. “I wish I knew.”
Chapter 25
Finn ensured Cecilia, Dane, and the king made it safely to the top of the stairs built into the wall of the cliff. He insisted they hide in a cluster of bushes, made Dane summon his sword, and then he shifted into the form of a hawk and swooped to the bottom, where Lisa stood guard over Tanner, who was still losing blood at an alarming rate. But he refused to let Dane heal him any more, because he wanted the healer to preserve his strength so he could heal Olivia. Tanner wouldn’t even consider the idea that she might already be dead.
Finn could understand.
“Let’s go,” he said, commanding his pack master, which felt weird, to say the least. But Tanner was barely conscious, holding on only by the need to get to his mate. “Shift. You’ll heal faster. A bird,” he added, in case Tanner wasn’t lucid enough to realize they needed to make it to the top of the cliff.
It took three tries before Tanner was finally able to pull on his magic and shift, and then he flapped around madly, disoriented, and Finn was half-afraid he would fly into the cliff wall and render himself unconscious again.
Then they were at the top, shifting back into human form. While he still looked deathly pale and weak, at least Tanner’s wounds had begun to heal and he no longer swayed on his feet. The spark was back in his eye, the glow, in fact, that occurred when all shifters felt strong emotions. Finn knew his own eyes were glowing when Cecilia burst from the bushes and rushed toward him as if he’d been gone for weeks, instead of a few minutes.
“We saw someone,” she whispered as she clung to him. “They’re at the house. Finn, if Olivia is still alive, you have to save her.”
“She’s still alive,” Tanner muttered, and he began stalking toward the house. Finn grabbed the back of his sweater and pulled him to a stop.
“Maybe we can be a little more stealthy about this?” he suggested.
Tanner glowered, but obediently returned to the cover of the cluster of bushes.
“I’m going to scope it out,” Lisa said. “See what we’re up against.” Before anyone could protest or argue, she shifted into the form of a fox and disappeared into the night.
“Be careful,” Dane called after her. If the circumstances weren’t so dire, Finn might have laughed at the ludicrousness of the situation. Dane telling Lisa to be careful was like Finn telling Cecilia not to ever leave the coterie again.
“Pole barn,” Finn said, nodding at the large structure standing out in contrast to the snow-covered landscape. He guided the group along the edge of the cliff, holding tightly to Cecilia’s hand as they walked. The memory of her going over that cliff a few days ago was still fresh in his mind.
Lisa caught up with them just as Finn ushered everyone inside the building. “It’s a good number,” she gave her report without preamble. “Looks like they’re scouring the house looking for something.”
“Or someone,” Finn amended. Probably the royal family, considering the list he’d found in Cecilia’s parents’ basement. He squeezed Cecilia’s hand tighter and hoped that meant they still believed Olivia was alive.
Tanner cracked his knuckles and looked as if he was about to charge toward the house. Finn released Cecilia’s hand and splayed his palm on Tanner’s chest. “We need a plan. How many are there, Lisa?”
“I counted upward of twenty, but that was just on the main level. They aren’t very organized, though. You and I could probably pick off a fair number, one by one, before the rest got wind.”
“That makes the most sense. There aren’t enough of us to go into full-on battle.”
“Yeah, and your girlfriend and the king are pretty much useless.”
Quick as a blink, Finn flung around, grabbed Lisa, and slammed her against the pole barn, his arm pressing into her windpipe. She struggled and gasped for air and cursed him, and he did not let her go. Finally, she stopped struggling and dropped her arms and her angry gaze, an act of submission.
He pulled his arm away, and she dropped to her knees, gasping for breath.
“Don’t fucking insult her again, Lisa.”
Dane helped her to her feet, pushed his healing magic into her until she was as good as new. She shook out her mane of dark hair and glared at Finn, but she didn’t say another word.
“Actually, your plan won’t work,” Cecilia interjected. “When a Lightbearer dies, there’s a great explosion of light. You’ll alert practically the entire coterie.”
Finn’s heart swelled with pride, and he didn’t bother to resist smirking at Lisa.
“Fine,” Lisa said grudgingly. “We knock them out, one by one. Which means we have to act quickly, if we want to find the princess and the queen and get them out alive.”
“Where is Tanner’s mother?” Cecilia wondered out loud.
“With my pups. At our house,” Lisa replied, her gaze sliding to Dane before shifting back to Finn, clearly waiting for instructions. For the moment, he was in charge, and they all knew it.
So he began issuing orders.
“Dane, you’re in charge of the king, Cecilia, and Tanner.” He desperately wanted to keep Cecilia with him, so he could personally ensure her safety, but he was smart enough to realize that would only drop her right smack in the middle of the danger.
“Hide inside one of the trucks. If they figure out you’re in here, just drive through the goddamn garage door and don’t stop until you’re past the wards, got it? That’s about the only place I can think you’re safe right now.” He knew hiding and running went against every fiber of Tanner’s being, and it was a mark of how badly he was injured that the pack master didn’t protest.
“These bastards want to kill anyone who’s sympathetic to shifters, and the king is target number one,” he added, even though he now understood that Cecilia was the primary target. Her brother had become obsessed with either killing her or pulling her to his side. Finn wasn’t entirely sure, although he suspected the ultimate goal was to turn her away from shifters and humans alike. Otherwise, Cedric surely would have killed her by now. For twelve years he’d been toying with her, tormenting her. Hell, he’d probably been doing it for her entire life. His torture was very likely the reason she’d slipped from the coterie that very first time.
How would Cedric react if he knew that?
“I’m going with you,” Tanner said, a look of sheer determination in his eyes. Apparently he’d been wrong about Tanner’s willingness to hide instead of fight.
“Me too,” Cecilia announced.
Finn ground his teeth and muttered several choice curse words. “You protect them,” he said to Tanner, stabbing his finger at Cecilia and the king. He deliberately did not include Dane, hoping that Lightbearer would realize he was actually the one who would need to protect the rest. Tanner was still far too weak to stave off much more than a pitiful excuse of a Lightbearer with little or no battle training. Not that he would ever say as much to the man
.
“And you are staying as far away from your brother and the rest of those psychos as you can get. In fact, I’m half tempted to send you outside the coterie right now, because I know they won’t follow you.” He glared at Cecilia, practically challenging her to argue.
Which he should have known was a bad idea.
“I know them better than you do. And I know where Olivia would likely be hiding.” She crossed her arms and glared right back at him.
“No.”
“It will be faster.”
“No.”
“I’ll listen to everything you tell me to do.”
“Fat chance. And no.”
“I can summon a sword.” She proved her words correct by doing just that, except she could hardly control the weapon once it was in her hands. Finn plucked it away before she accidentally hurt someone.
“Let me put it to you this way: even if you were proficient with that sword, I wouldn’t take you with me.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want you to get hurt. Now stay here. Tanner?”
Tanner clamped his hand down on Cecilia’s shoulder. She pouted and glared. Finn wanted to kiss her, but he refrained. Later, he promised himself. When this is over, I’ll kiss every centimeter of her body. By the time I’m done, she won’t be able to resist mating with me.
He and Lisa shifted into the form of arctic foxes and took off at a run. He knew they disappeared into the snowy, dark backdrop within seconds.
* * * *
“This is stupid,” Cecilia muttered. She sat in the backseat of a truck, inside the pole barn, with Uncle Sander fidgeting next to her, Tanner lightly dozing in the passenger seat, and Dane sitting at attention in the driver’s seat. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly, his knuckles were white.
“You don’t even know how to drive,” she pointed out.
Finn and Lisa had been gone for less than twenty minutes. They could hear nothing from their vantage point, so she had no earthly idea what was happening, whether they were winning or losing the fight.
“Lisa has been giving me lessons,” Dane replied.