Marked

by Dean Murray

  "Fine, but if this all goes wrong and she goes off the rails then I'm coming for you personally. And not even your boyfriend can protect you while he's sleeping."

  "If Lori 'goes off the rails' then I rather doubt either of us will be around to worry about anything, but your threat has been noted."

  I hung up on Tiffany and pulled up the call queue, but Donovan cleared his throat before I could patch the next call through.

  "What are your plans with regards to the Del Rio girl, Mistress Paige?"

  "I'm not honestly sure, Donovan, but it's like you said, if things go badly I'm going to need someone higher up the food chain to back my play. Lori may or may not be that person, but it feels right to start positioning myself as her white knight."

  "And if she 'goes off the rails' as it were?"

  "Then we'd better hope that Alec survives this, because he may be the only person in the world capable of stopping her again."

  "Part of me wishes I could attribute that statement to the kind of hyperbole your generation seems so fond of, Mistress Paige, but I'm afraid you may be all too correct there."

  "Yeah, I know. Here's to hoping that I read her correctly."

  "What are your other plans?"

  "I'm not sure; so far I've just been fighting fires."

  Donovan paused, needle held only inches from Alec's chest. I looked down at Alec's bloody skin for only the briefest of moments and then looked away again. You would think that spending so long in the same room while Donovan operated on Alec would have inured me to all of the blood, but it hadn't. Maybe it would have been different if it had been someone else lying there on the bed, but it wasn't someone else. It was Alec and not only did I love him, the survival of a lot of other people who were important to me depended on Donovan saving him.

  "Given everything that has happened in the last day, it is entirely understandable for you to be in crisis mode still, Mistress Paige, but that is a dangerous mindset for a leader to be in. You need to be thinking further ahead than that or you'll find yourself boxed in and unhappy with the options that remain open to you."

  "I'm open to ideas, Donovan."

  "Call James and ask him to come back here. You need a bodyguard you can trust. I saw Vik's response when Master Alec was shot. Vik is a passable fighter, but you need someone who will interpose themselves between you and danger rather than ducking for cover themselves."

  "You don't think that will cause more problems? Vik isn't going to like being demoted and James isn't always a prime example of dependability and restraint. If he knows that Alec is injured then isn't there a chance that he'll try to take over? Besides, if I bring James and Dominic back here that means I'll be putting Addison, Andrew and Alec's mom in danger with us."

  "It's a possibility that having James here will cause more problems than he will solve, but I think he's started maturing enough that he understands the real stakes for everyone involved. As far as your other concern goes, the truth is that our entire pack is already in an incredible amount of danger regardless of where they happen to be right now. Telling ourselves anything else is nothing more than wishful thinking."

  "Even Rachel?"

  "Especially Rachel. I don't understand what has happened to her, but I certainly hope that you're right and she can see the future. She's out there all alone in a world full of people who would prey on her simply because of her link to Master Alec. Her odds are not very good."

  The thought of Rachel brought back memories of the last night that any of us had heard anything from her. That was the night that the Coun'hij had razed the mansion to the ground…the night that Dominic had healed Donovan's leg.

  I suddenly felt like such a fool.

  "Donovan, bringing James back means that we'll have Dominic back here too. There's a chance that she could heal Alec and have him back on his feet in hours rather than days."

  I'd expected Donovan to greet my idea with relief. I didn't expect him to all but collapse against the wall behind him.

  "I've failed Master Alec, the entire pack and the rebellion as a whole. How could I have been so blind? Even as I walk around on a limb that was made whole by Mistress Sanchez, I still somehow forgot that there was a much better way to save Master Alec than my feeble skills."

  I found myself at Donovan's side without remembering standing and crossing the distance between us. I grabbed his arm and stopped him from sliding down the wall.

  "This is not your fault, Donovan. You've worked a miracle in keeping Alec alive and you can't be blamed for not thinking of Dominic's gift after so many decades where your skills were the best solution—the only solution—for any hurt suffered by the pack. Alec isn't dead, this isn't about saving his life anymore, it's about getting him back up on his feet as quickly as possible."

  "But it could have been the difference between Master Alec living or dying and it never even crossed my mind. What else have I failed to consider, what other mistakes am I making even now?"

  "You're going to make mistakes, just like I'm going to make mistakes, Donovan, but we have to just do the best we can. Everything you said about me is just as true about you. There isn't anyone else who can fill your shoes; if you try to step down people are going to die. I can't do this on my own, Donovan—I need you."

  I shouldn't have been able to hold him up. I was the least athletic person in the world and lately I'd started losing weight again much like I had done right after Cindi and my dad had died. I was the last person who should be able to hold up a grown man by his arms, but I was doing it and that worried me almost as much as Alec's injury.

  Only a few hours ago I'd been thinking just how fit and wiry Donovan looked. Somehow Alec's condition had hit the old butler so hard that he'd shrunk in on himself to the point where he looked like a stiff wind would carry him away.

  It took several seconds for my words to cut through the despair-filled haze that had overcome Donovan, but he finally shook himself and regained his feet. "You're right, of course, Mistress Adriana. We must all soldier on regardless of our failings. Knowing that Master Alec isn't there to catch my mistakes is harder to deal with than I realized it was going to be. I had much of the privilege of teaching him, but even at a young age he displayed incredible insights."

  "I know I'm no Alec, but with any luck Dominic will have him back on his feet in no time flat. They can't be more than a few hours' drive away from us, not if we change direction and meet them halfway."

  "I wish I could share your optimism, Mistress Paige. Mistress Dominic has accomplished some truly incredible things, but so far her gift does not seem to be under conscious control."

  "You're right, but there's still a hope. How long before you can finish closing Alec up? I want you to get some food in yourself sooner rather than later."

  "If I may be so bold, Mistress Paige, you are in dire need of some sustenance as well."

  "Yeah, I kind of missed breakfast, but I'm going to call Dom before I go, so if you finish up first I hereby order you to go eat and I'll stay here with Alec until after you're done."

  "Very well, Mistress Paige. I won't contest your orders so soon after having convinced you to assume command."

  "That's right, otherwise I might disappear with Alec never to be heard from again."

  "A quote about the unwise nature of making threats which one is unwilling to fulfill comes to mind."

  That drew a chuckle out of me which was interrupted by a yawn as I realized just how exhausted I was. Considering that I'd woken up feeling like I hadn't gotten much sleep, it was nothing short of a miracle that I was still functioning at all considering everything we'd been through since dawn.

  I punched up Dominic's number and waited as the phone rang.

  "Hello?"

  "Dom, it's me, Adri."

  "Hello, Adri. I thought you were going to try and avoid calling us."

  "Yeah, but then I realized just how much we need you and James here. We are in Northern Utah right now. Where would be the best place
to meet you?"

  "I'm not sure. Something unusual just happened and it might not be the best idea for us to be driving right now."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Andrew got a call from Isaac earlier. Shortly after he got off of the phone he lost consciousness. We've been unable to wake him since then."

  I wanted to start pulling my hair out by the roots. Every time I thought I had a handle on things and knew what we were up against another issue jumped out of the bushes and ambushed me.

  "Does Andrew seem to be in any kind of immediate danger?"

  "No, but…"

  "In that case, I need you to pack up and get on the road within the next hour. I've got people here who might not make it if we can't meet up very soon. I'm sorry to hear about Andrew's condition, but this has to take precedence. I'd say that we would call and tell Isaac what was going on, but I've been trying to get through to Isaac, or Ash or even Kristin all day. I can't believe he called Andrew but blew me off. What did they talk about?"

  "I'm not sure. Jess, I think, but beyond that I couldn't say."

  "Okay, where should we meet you?"

  "Adri, there are other considerations that you aren't giving me a chance to tell you about. Andrew isn't the only one who's unconscious. I went in to check on Alec's mom a little while ago and she's completely unresponsive."

  "You don't have any idea what happened to either of them?"

  "No…well, there's one thing. Addison says that she was walking past Samantha's room earlier and she saw flickering lights. Addison thought at the time that Samantha was just watching television, but James said that when we checked in the manager gave us a discount because the television in Samantha's room wasn't working."

  "Dom, why didn't you call and tell me this was going on?"

  "Because you told me we were supposed to be keeping a low profile. James and I thought it would be best to wait a day or two and see if they woke up on their own."

  Dominic sounded hurt, but I couldn't entirely blame her. Some of my frustration had bled through into my voice despite my best efforts. She had no way of knowing what I was dealing with or how things that were happening to her and the people she was watching over might impact all of the rest of our people.

  "I'm sorry, Dom. Please just get everyone in the car. I think the Coun'hij might have just unveiled another weapon and we need to know as soon as possible if it's something that Alec's power can counteract. If not, and the Coun'hij can just pick us off one at a time by sending us into comas, then we're in even hotter water than any of us realized."

  Chapter 7

  Adriana Paige

  Interstate 15

  Northern Utah

  Donovan finished sewing up Alec about the time I finished up with Dominic. In the end he convinced me to go get something to eat while he washed up. I exited the bedroom to find that the only people sharing the RV with us were Ruby, Vik, and a driver who was so focused on the road that he didn't even seem to notice me.

  The fact that Mallory was in the other RV bought me some time given that Ruby and the guys weren't going to push me about Alec's exact status. They asked, but I told them something reassuring and vague and then focused on microwaving some food for Donovan and me.

  Once we'd both eaten, Donovan and I slept in shifts in one of the bunks outside of the bedroom. I tried to convince Donovan to go first based on the fact that he was obviously exhausted, but he pointed out that the next couple of hours were especially important when it came to monitoring Alec's blood pressure.

  In the end, I gave in and went to sleep and enjoyed a few blissful hours where I didn't dream even once.

  I woke up to my phone ringing, which really threw me for a loop. Not only was I waking up somewhere other than where I'd expected to, my phone wasn't next to my head like it normally was. I finally managed to fish it out of the waistband of my shorts about the time it rang for the fourth time.

  "Yeah?"

  "Adri, what is going on there?"

  I recognized the voice—it was Jaclyn Annikov. I closed my eyes and focused on controlling my breathing. This might be the most important conversation I would ever have. I needed Jaclyn—we needed Jaclyn.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I've been trying to call Alec for the last fifteen minutes and getting nothing, it's not even going through to voicemail. It's a good thing Alec entered your number into my phone before I left or I would still be sitting here wondering whether to stick around the Bishop Compound or get back to my main mission. Can you please hand your phone to Alec?"

  I rolled out of my bunk and slipped into Alec's room. Donovan started to get to his feet, but I waved him back down as I closed the door and turned the privacy box back on.

  "I can't hand you to Alec. This stays between you and me, but he was hurt in our last fight with Coun'hij forces."

  "How?"

  "They must have figured out beforehand where we were going to ambush them. They had a sniper waiting up on the lip of the amphitheater. He got two bullets into Alec and killed Alec's bodyguard before Donovan put him down."

  "Alec's still alive though?"

  "Yes…"

  "You're obviously worried he won't make it though or you wouldn't be asking me to keep his injury quiet. Why are you telling me of all people?"

  "I need you back here. If Alec doesn't survive then I'm going to need help keeping the wheels on."

  Jaclyn swore. "It would go down like this. I finally come out in full rebellion against the Coun'hij and Alec has to go get himself shot. You realize none of us have any kind of chance without him, don't you?"

  "I wouldn't go that far. There are other resources out there that I'm currently in negotiations with. We lost a lot of people today, but the Coun'hij lost nearly as many and they have more demands on their personnel than we do. It's entirely possible they'll blink first and if that happens we'll have the neutral packs joining us left and right."

  "Well, you certainly don't lack for ambition."

  "It's not ambition, it's loyalty. I'm not going to just stand by and let everything Alec has been building come crashing back down. Are you with me? Will you come meet up with us and help me?"

  "Those two things aren't mutually exclusive. I can be 'with' you and not meet back up to hold your hand. Please give my regards to Alec when he wakes up and let him know that I've continued on with the mission he originally gave me. As things stand, that's the most important thing I can be doing."

  For a split second I considered trying to force the issue with her, but I had very little in the way of leverage to work with.

  "Fine, I wish you the best of luck in your search, but before you go I'll need you to report your findings."

  It was a small first step along the road towards her reporting to me for real, but it was a step and we both knew it.

  "I don't think so."

  "You swore an oath to serve my fiancé, Jaclyn. I'd hate to have to tell him when he wakes up that you've been remiss in your duties."

  She was silent for several seconds before she finally responded. "Very well, I'll play along for now, but when he wakes up I'll expect you to tell him that I cooperated with you."

  "I'll be telling Alec everything that happens while he's out of commission. I'm sure he will reward everyone commensurate with their level of…cooperation."

  If she chose to read the slightest of veiled threats into that comment then that was just fine with me.

  "You're on a phone with data capabilities, right?"

  "Yeah, how come?"

  "Hold on just a second and I'll send you a video feed request."

  A second later my phone chimed and once I accepted her request I was greeted with a scene of desolation the likes of which I'd never seen before. The aerial view had been bad enough, but it was nothing compared to what Jaclyn was showing me.

  The grand old house that I'd last seen when Shawn had taken me back to face off against Agony was completely leveled…only leveled wasn't the right word for it.
The compound had been built on top of a large underground structure that had contained, among other things, the challenge arena for the Chicago pack.

  That subbasement was visible now, more than visible in fact. It was as though someone had set off a massive bomb underneath the house. Pieces of concrete had been hurled into the air and returned to the ground dozens upon dozens of yards away from where they'd started.

  The Bishops had a significant amount of ground—especially for a place like Chicago—but even so the wreckage from the house had still shattered several of the closest houses. A fire had started at some point as well and spread to the east, taking out at least three of the neighboring mansions before the local fire department had been able to get it under control.

  Up until that moment I hadn't realized just how much security I'd derived from the knowledge that we had the Chicago pack waiting backstage to help out if it became necessary. We'd never depended on them other than to use Shawn's ability to know when someone truly meant their promises, but even so I'd always known that we had an incredible tide of hybrids and wolves who could be sent our way if Alec could convince Ulrich it was time to come out openly in support of Alec's claim to the throne.

  "How many dead?"

  Jaclyn shrugged, jostling the video feed. "I don't know. I suspect that the authorities are still trying to arrive at a final number. By the time I arrived they'd already started moving the bodies. I waited until they finished loading up the body bags and then I snuck in through the back way. I had to shock a couple of cops unconscious to get this far, and I can hear them moving rubble around just on the other side of that hill, so I'm not going to be able to case out any more of the wreckage than this, but it's bad. It wouldn't surprise me if they lost as much as half of the pack depending on what was going on here when the bomb went off."

  "Is there any sign of where they might have gone?"

  "No, none."

  "What about any evidence as to who did it?"