Strength Enduring

by Carrie Ann Ryan

Kam wasn’t surprised that he’d been recognized. The world knew who the Talons were, even if his people tried to keep their children and some of the lower-profile wolves hidden for their safety.

  Kameron raised his chin, and the other man didn’t bother meeting his eyes. There was no need when there clearly wasn’t a dominance battle going on.

  The other man continued since Kameron didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. Not yet.

  “I don’t know if you can scent it or not, but I’m all alone here. We’re not working today. We mean you no harm.”

  Kameron barely held back a snort.

  “We just want information. We want to know how you guys came to be, and why you’re here. Since you’re here now, can you talk to me? Can I put you on record and can you tell me more about the paranormals? Because we don’t want to harm you. We just want to understand. We want to know why we’re not allowed on Talon territory. We want to know everything. Because we don’t want to be what those other people were in the past, the ones who came at you with violence. That’s not our goal. We just don’t understand. So can you sit and talk to me?”

  Kameron stood there, listening to this man ramble, and knew that he was in the wrong place. These guys might be problematic and might one day be dangerous if they looked too far into things that they didn’t understand, but they weren’t the ones who set off the bomb. He didn’t think they were smart enough to do that. Maybe they were smart, but just in a bookish way. There was something else going on, and it all had to do with the Pack Alpha of the Aspens.

  He’d known it before, but he’d let that scent at the edge of the compound and the media sway him.

  And he was wrong. So he was going to make sure this man and his people had nothing to do with the bomb before he left. The Talons wouldn’t let this group become a threat, but Kameron needed facts.

  “You weren’t the ones who set off the bomb on Pack territory.”

  It wasn’t a question, but the man answered anyway. He put his hands up in front of him in surrender and shook his head, his face going pale.

  “No, of course not. We aren’t violent. We just think, no…we know we have a right to know what’s going on up there. But that bomb wasn’t us. We would never hurt you guys. I have pamphlets and papers and everything to tell you our goals. There are some on the news that are little more vocal, but even they don’t want violence. They just want peace. They want knowledge. They want to know who you are.”

  Kameron growled and turned on his heel, leaving the other man sputtering behind him. He jumped into the car as Max started driving off. He didn’t need to tell his cousin that he was done with this shit. Because Max probably heard everything, and Kameron needed to get back to his mate. Because they had gone on a wild goose chase for nothing. These humans hadn’t done anything. They were annoying, sure, and might pose a problem soon, but they weren’t the ones who attacked his mate. They hadn’t been the ones to put her parents on live television to try and incite a riot. That had been Blade. That much Kameron knew for sure. And he had left his mate alone. She might be surrounded by two of his best men and her friend, but she was still alone because he wasn’t there.

  He just hoped that he hadn’t made a big fucking mistake.

  He growled, called in an update to Gideon and the others, and tried not to tear into the car as Max drove. As soon as he got off the phone with Gideon, his phone rang, and chills broke out over his skin and ran down his spine.

  He picked up the phone and answered with a growl. “Cheyenne. Where’s Dhani?”

  “I was just calling to ask the same damn thing. Because she’s not here. Where the fuck is she? There’s blood on the ground, and I think…I think Tino is dead.” She let out a curse but Kameron held his in. “He doesn’t have a pulse, but for all I know, you guys can come back from an injury like this. You need to get here. Because Dave isn’t here, and there’s blood everywhere. Dhani isn’t here, Kameron. Where is she?”

  Kameron let out a howl that he knew others would be able to hear from miles away, and Max didn’t even swerve at the noise. His cousin just slammed his foot down on the gas pedal and sped their way to the cabin. Kam knew they would get there, but not in time.

  Tino was dead.

  Dave was missing.

  Dhani was missing.

  And Kameron was going to murder anybody who dared to harm her. No matter the cost.

  Chapter Twenty

  Dhani’s head hurt, and she felt as if she had been submerged underwater, drowned, then knocked upside the head with a rock. Considering that she didn’t really remember how she ended up where she was, that might have been exactly what happened.

  She groaned, forced herself into a seated position, and looked around her. To her right was just a stone wall with water trickling down it, and in front of her was the same, only with a little more space. She seemed to be in a corner of something like a basement, but she still had no idea how she’d gotten there.

  Then she looked to her left and held back a gasp in case anyone was listening. Both Aimee and Dawn were secured to the wall, their chains thick and covered in runes. Dhani figured the bonds had to be made for shifters. Somehow, whoever took Dhani, had taken her two friends also.

  Dhani tried to scoot over to them, then realized that she was chained, as well, only her chains were much thinner than the others. But she was just far enough away from Aimee and Dawn that her very strong shifter friends couldn’t break the links for her.

  Whoever had kidnapped her and her friends knew what they were doing. Dhani was just thankful that Cheyenne hadn’t made it to the cabin before everything happened.

  Her head ached, and bile filled her throat as what had occurred in the cabin before she woke up here slammed into her.

  She had thought she could trust Dave. When Kameron left, she’d been alone with the two soldiers that she thought she could trust. She’d been wrong. So very wrong.

  Tino had been inside with her, going through some things in the cabin since the place hadn’t really been used. She needed to keep busy, and it wasn’t as if she could make up lesson plans at the moment. So she went to work de-cluttering, with Tino’s help. She’d known he was placating her so she wouldn’t be alone, but now she wished he’d have stayed in a safer place. Because after ten minutes of cleaning, Dave had walked inside—though he should have been on patrol—and Tino had turned, his eyes wide, asking why Dave was inside and not out on watch.

  And then there was blood.

  So much blood.

  Tino had knocked her to the side to protect her. The action had her hitting her head against the wall, and she’d gotten slightly dizzy but was still trying to help. Dave and Tino fought, knocking everything to the ground, breaking windows, smashing furniture. And then Dave had slashed into Tino’s belly, gutting him. And then he slashed again. And again.

  Until Tino wasn’t able to fight back.

  Then Dave had come for her.

  Looking down, she was still covered in her friend’s blood, but she didn’t seem hurt. She was pretty sure Dave had knocked her out again, but he hadn’t hurt her beyond that.

  Apparently, the man Dave had been working for all this time wanted to do the hurting himself.

  And they had taken her friends, as well.

  She knew Kameron would come. Just like she knew that Walker and Mitchell would be on their way, too. They would be able to feel the bond between themselves and their mates and know that something was wrong. They would also know that only a Packmate could’ve taken her friends. Because they had been safe inside the den wards.

  Because they had a traitor.

  One they hadn’t even considered could turn.

  But he had.

  And now Dhani knew why she’d felt as if she shouldn’t be in the den. Why she might have been able to keep some people safe, but not everyone. Tino was dead because of her. All because Dave was working for someone else.

  There was nothing she could do to change those facts.

 
; The door opened, and a woman with long, red hair strolled in as if she hadn’t a care in the world. As if there weren’t three women—one covered in blood—chained in a basement with moldy water and rats running around. Of course, the rats were only near Dhani and not the two shifters in the room, but she was doing her best not to think about that.

  “You’re awake. Good. I knocked the others out a little harder than you. Just takes a little magic. I’m good at that. Either way, they’re not going to be a problem for a long while. And if Blade lets me, they won’t be a problem at all soon. You, on the other hand, are exactly who we wanted. And we can’t just let you die like we’re going to do with these girls. You’re going to be special. Very, very special.”

  “I wish you would stop telling them all our plans. Or at least part of them.” A huge man with a buzz cut and a scar on his face pushed his way into the small basement and glared at the woman. Dhani knew exactly where she was now. This had to be Blade, a very dominant wolf and the Aspen Pack Alpha. The woman with the red hair beside him was his fire witch, Scarlett. The Talons had hoped she was dead because her shifter mate had died in a previous bout. Not the case, apparently. Somehow, she’d found her way back, probably doing something dark that Dhani didn’t want to think about. And Dhani was the only one of her friends awake to witness what they were about to do next. She hoped to hell that her mate and the others got there soon. Because Dhani was human, and she was afraid that she wouldn’t be strong enough to fight them. At least, not for long.

  “Well, while you figure out exactly what needs to be done with the two shifters, I’m going to check on the little human who has to die the right way. Because while you say she’s human, there’s something different about her. I can’t quite put my finger on it, though. You’re not a little witch, are you, little girl?”

  Her, a witch? There was no way. Kameron had thought there might be some witch blood in her ancestry. But even as everything that had happened started to come at her again—the dreams, the knowing, the way she reacted to the wards, the way her bond with Kameron felt—she still didn’t think she could be a witch. Because wouldn’t she have powers? Some kind of magic? She had spent time around some of the other witches within the den, and they’d never said anything about her. Of course, when she was with them, she’d been surrounded by tons of magic. Maybe the wards and other things had masked her power? But she still didn’t believe whatever this woman, this Scarlett, said.

  “I’m no witch. But if you hurt me, the Talons will kill you.”

  The fire witch rolled her eyes, and Blade just growled. Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say, but what was she supposed to do? She didn’t have a weapon, and both of her friends who were far stronger than her were knocked out with some sort of magical spell. All she had were her words and her wits. Hopefully, soon, she would have her mate. She just hoped he didn’t get hurt because of her because she would never forgive herself if that happened.

  She was finding it hard to forgive herself for Tino as it was.

  “If she’s a witch, then she’s of no use to us. Figure out exactly what she is. If she’s human, then she’s mine. If she’s a witch? Then she’s all yours.”

  Chills raced down her body at the Alpha’s words. How the hell had her life turned into this?

  Blade shrugged as if Dhani’s life meant nothing, and to him, it didn’t. He was an insane wolf who wanted power and would stop at nothing to get it. No wonder Kameron wanted this man dead.

  Before she could think about what she was going to say next, the fire witch held up her hands, palms out, and chanted something Dhani didn’t understand. Power slammed into her, burning her flesh, searing the magic into her skin.

  She screamed, and then…darkness.

  And then she was there. Right where she started. In a dream that wasn’t a dream.

  “Granddaughter.”

  Dhani should have known all along. She could see her eyes in this woman, the shape, the color, the intensity the same as hers. She could see how the older woman smiled in a way that reminded Dhani of her own mother.

  The old woman, the woman from her dreams, was her grandmother.

  She should have known.

  But she hadn’t.

  She had no idea what she was doing here now. She had no idea where here was.

  “You? It’s been you all this time? Why couldn’t you just tell me what you want me to know? Where are we? Why does it still hurt?”

  “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, my Dhanielle. It hurts because you’re still alive. It hurts because you’re still fighting. Because of the blood that runs in your veins. The blood I tried to protect. And that is what he wants, what you must protect, my child. I’ve met you before, Dhanielle. As a baby. I helped welcome you into this world after your mother, my daughter, gave birth to you. I saw the strength in your eyes, such spirit, such will. I also saw your death. I saw that, one day, you would die for your mate. You would burn in agony, and the world would crumble. Because your death would start it all. You wouldn’t have found the women who became your closest friends. Because you would’ve hidden yourself in the world of magic just like my daughter was forced to do. Just like I was forced to do. You still would’ve found Kameron, fate always has a way. But he wouldn’t have been the same man. You wouldn’t have been the same woman. And when you died for him, and war came—too early, too fast, and too late—the world would’ve ended. And not just my world. I had to stop that. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. But I wasn’t here. I wasn’t there.”

  Dhani didn’t understand, but somehow, parts of it made sense. She knew she didn’t know everything, though, and she couldn’t find the words to speak. It didn’t matter, however, her grandmother wasn’t done.

  “That scar on your side, it’s from the binding. It won’t go away, I’m afraid.”

  Dhani sucked in a breath. That wisp of flame, the mark that she’d always wondered about. The one that Kam had touched that sent her over the edge.

  “I never wanted this world for you. I wanted you to find happiness. But I think I stripped something vital from your life. From my own child’s life. I knew it had to be done. I knew the magic that pulsated in me wouldn’t be enough. You are such a strong woman, my Dhanielle. So strong, so fierce. Your mate will come for you. He will fight. But you will not die for him. Not yet. But you must know that sacrifice does truly beget sacrifice. I had to bind your powers. Had to bind the powers of your mother and father. And in so doing, I had to strip the memories of who they once were so they wouldn’t find out about the magic that pulsated in their veins. I had to hide who you were from so many. The red witch only knows that you possess magic because the binding is starting to fail like I always knew it would one day. Perhaps this is the right time for it to do so. Because you are not the same woman who would’ve died in agony. You are so much stronger. I just hope you understand.”

  She didn’t. But it wasn’t as if she knew where to start. Her parents had been witches? Just like she apparently was? No wonder they’d always felt like something was missing. Because they hadn’t been the people they once were. If Dhani’s death were truly a linchpin in some version of the future where war reigned, maybe it made sense.

  Because this wasn’t just a dream where her inner mind was making things up. Out of everything, this she knew.

  She understood why her grandmother did what she did, but it still hurt to think about. She knew it would take longer than whatever moments they had together now for her to put everything together enough to get over it and move on. Because she was nowhere close.

  She just needed Kameron.

  The fact that that thought even came to her, told her she definitely wasn’t the same person she was even a month ago.

  “What does that all mean? I’m a witch?”

  “You will be. You are. You’re a spirit witch. The rarest of them all. We hide from others because not everyone likes our connection to the other worlds and to things they don’t understand. We have power, my
darling. But never forget, with power comes weakness.”

  Dhani still felt so far behind but knew she couldn’t stop asking questions. How had she gotten to this point in her life? When she thought that things were going too fast for her by moving to the den and mating with Kameron, she’d been wrong. This was moving too fast.

  “What can I do?”

  This woman had called her strong. She sure as hell didn’t feel like it just then.

  “You’ll know what to do when the time is right. Remember my words. My prophecy that is now yours. You stood up. You stood up to Kameron. You stood up to the world around you. You made a choice, to come to the den, to tell Kameron that you were strong. To tell the humans who were against you that you were strong. You stood up and put yourself amongst people, within a den that could truly be yours. You were missing so much in your life because of what I was forced to do, but you stood up.”

  Stand up.

  The first part of the prophecy.

  “Then you opened yourself up. You knew that things could be different, that you might be moving too fast, that you could be going in the wrong direction, but you still opened up for your mate. Without that bond, without that connection, you wouldn’t be who you are today. You wouldn’t be who you need to be today.”

  Open up.

  The second part.

  The only things left were for her to give up…and for a sacrifice. Dhani wasn’t sure she wanted to know what those meant.

  “As for give up, that is something you’ll know soon. Something I know you are finally strong enough to handle. I’m sorry I can’t help. I’m sorry that you only saw visions of my own visions. Because binding the powers of three powerful witches and taking away those memories took too much out of me. I bound and locked away your magic. I locked down all the magic I could, but then I was no more. Because sacrifice begets sacrifice, and it’s not over yet. Be strong, Dhanielle. Be who I couldn’t be. Be who your mother and your father once were before I was forced to change it all. Because they would’ve died long ago if I hadn’t changed everything. And I will never forgive myself for doing what I had to do. But know that I love you. Know that I love them. And know that it’s not over. You are strong, my Dhanielle. So strong. Be strong and wake up. And save the world.”