by Tigris Eden
“Replacement for what?”
“Think of us as bounty hunters. We go out and clean shit up.”
“Why was Kenzie hostile towards me?”
The Mistress didn’t look her in the eye when she spoke, but Olivia had a knack for reading people. The woman was about to lie to her.
“We lost Raven last year. It was her own fault, really. She went outside my orders and went rogue. She was killed.”
“By whom?”
“Nerina,” Callum interrupted.
“Like I said, she went rogue. Kenzie holds a grudge.”
“I don’t trust you,” Callum growled.
“I do. I say we leave while we can,” Sasha interjected.
“You keep your mouth shut, traitor,” Callum growled.
“I think the most important thing here is to look at your options. Come with my girls and me, and you have your freedom. The only time you’ll be asked to come in is if I have a job that fits your skillset.”
“Basically, it translates to, I leave one cage for another. But I see your point. Callum, I trust you, I don’t trust her. But what if this is our only chance?”
“I’d listen to her, Callum. I know you want to get back to your brother. I can have one of the girls personally escort you back to Will. Roman and Antonio will be occupied here, and I’ll see to it that they stay a bit longer.”
“How?” he growled, his eyes glowing gold.
“By effectively making Olivia’s escape look like a kidnapping. Sasha can accompany her to where the Bow is being held, along with Kenzie and Myieko. Anika can go with you back to New York. Everyone’s happy.”
“No, I’ll go with you now, and once Olivia is safely back with Bödvar, then I’ll leave.”
“Fair enough.”
“Good, shall we leave now?”
They made it out of the building and into a black Escalade. That was too easy, Olivia thought. Too damn easy. But she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth and flip it the bird. She’d take her chances with these women. The Mistress and her clan of merry killers seemed the lesser of the two evils.
Blue watched under the cover of darkness. They’d been following Olivia and the others for what seemed like hours, deep into the wilderness.
“Fuck, man, she’s leading them straight to the cave. How does she even know about it?” Colin growled.
“How the fuck do you know about it?” Blue asked, equally confused.
“I’m my brother’s second in command. I know everything. Victor won’t like that Sasha’s here, or that she’s with traitors. You remember, Sasha led Roman and his men to our town, all because she wanted to be my brother’s mate. And those are the same bitches from the club who were decked out in silver. The ones that wanted to kill Victor.”
True, but Callum was there, as well, and Callum wasn’t a traitor.
“Callum is with them, and if he’s there, it’s because he knows Olivia is mine. He’s protecting her.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t know where the mountain is; otherwise, he’d be leading them elsewhere.”
True. No one should have known about the location of the council except for Victor and Blue. When Victor took the Alpha strain, the council moved. It was the only way to protect the Pack. But Olivia was leading them straight to it as if she’d been privy to the information all along. Had she truly known the entire time as Red had stated? She’s not bait. No, Olivia couldn’t be bait; it would have been too easy. She played you. Blue refused to believe it. There was no way she could have been privy to this knowledge, she’d been played by Roman, just as he had so many times before.
Colin didn’t respond to his last comment. They were getting closer to the opening of the cave. They had to find a way to stop them before they got to the Bow. Once Olivia and the Bow were united, things would take a turn for the worse.
“I have an idea.”
Colin turned to face him, a look of confusion etched across his face as his eyebrows scrunched.
“It’d better be a good one because they’re officially walking into council territory. I doubt the Elders will be happy about that. Sasha alone will be killed on the spot.”
“That’s not our problem.”
Sasha had been exiled from the Pack and Clan for her treachery towards Nerina, leading Roman straight to them. There would be no love lost there. Had it been acceptable to Victor and his father, Thorn, Blue would have dispatched her personally. She had no honor; therefore, she didn’t deserve her life.
“What’s this plan?”
Blue stood, not telling Colin anything. But what he did do, was approach the group and make sure that he was heard as he approached. He could hear Colin cursing under his breath, but he followed Blue anyway.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Blue called out. Olivia stopped walking. Callum turned, the shit-eating grin on his face clear as day as he watched Blue and Colin walk up to the group. The women all drew their weapons until Olivia looked back at them and snarled.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? He’s on our side.”
“He’s not with us,” a woman with blood-red hair said. He couldn’t see her face as her head was bent and the cowl covering her, obscured her face. The only things showing were her hair and her long, pink fingernails.
“He’s my mate.”
That got Blue’s attention. She’d acknowledged him. It was the first time he’d heard the words come out of her mouth. He wanted to grab her hand and kiss her senseless, but he held back. He still didn’t know if he could trust her. Not fully. There were just so many questions that needed to be answered.
“Well, we weren’t expecting you, Bödvar.”
“How do you know my name?”
The woman pulled back the hood of her cloak. Blue was shocked speechless.
“Hello, Blue, long time no speak. Although we never really spoke when we were together, did we?”
Chiyoko stood before him, and it was as if Blue had been transported back in time—to a place where things were harsh, and the world was different. How had she survived all these years? She wasn’t immortal. Her kind was long-lived but, eventually, they would grow old and die, usually during their fourth century. She was a child of a thousand generations.
“How are you even here?”
“Strength and determination. You bit me once, do you remember?”
He did. It had been a night when things had gotten out of hand.
“Yes, but my bite alone should have no effect on you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Your bite had every effect on me, and our unborn child.”
Olivia knew she’d heard right. There was nothing wrong with her hearing. Even as it felt as if a loud, piercing alarm were going off in her head. Warning bells. Yup, had to be warning bells. Her face felt hot, and the confusion in her stomach began to bubble with acid, causing pain. It hurt to hear that Blue had fathered another child. No, hurt was the wrong word. She was devastated. The world, which had once rotated one way then another, was now on dual spin. Each pole fighting for control in a world where nothing made a lick of sense.
“I did not father a child with you. You lie.”
“But you did. Back when we were fucking, there was no birth control.”
“You were not in season. I would have known that. Smelled it.”
“Or maybe you were battle-worn, and filled with so much lust and hunger for me that you were too blind to see it?”
“Where is this child I fathered?”
“None of your concern.”
Blue’s chest expanded as he took a step toward Chiyoko. “You will tell me where my child is.”
“Trust me, your child wants nothing to do with you. Nothing at all, and even if he wanted to meet you, it is an impossibility.”
“Why is that?”
“He sleeps, and will for at least a thousand years before he awakens.”
Who sleeps for a thousand years? Sadly, as Olivia pondered that, another though
t crossed her mind. If Blue’s son did sleep for a thousand years, that would mean minimal baby-momma drama. Maybe.
“You didn’t?” Blue hissed.
“I did, and I would do it again. He was at war with himself. He rests. If you truly wish to meet him, pray that when he wakes, he has forgiven you; otherwise, his wrath will feel like a million daggers all aimed in your direction.”
“Mistress, we must get going,” Kenzie stepped into the conversation. The others were quiet, and Olivia understood why. Had she not been close to the pain, she’d have pulled up a chair herself, then ordered some popcorn and watched as the drama unfolded. Too bad she was on the receiving end of said drama. But what did she expect? Blue was thousands of years old himself, and to go without fathering at least one child would have been nothing short of a miracle. There was something hiding in the dark of everyone’s closet, no matter if they were aware of it or not. She should be more forgiving, and under any other circumstances, she would be. But this was her life they were all fucking with—and possibly the life of her unborn child.
“Kenzie, we leave when I say we leave. Bödvar and his friend will join us, and Olivia will lead the way.”
Blue’s baby-momma spoke as if she were the one running the show. Newsflash, Olivia, she is.
“Olivia, you can’t lead them anywhere.”
“Says who? I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be keeper of a stupid bow and arrow, nor did ask to be taken against my will. My entire life has been nothing but a lie. I think it’s time for me to part ways. With all of you.”
“Olivia,” Blue growled.
“What?”
“Come to me.”
“Like a dog, right? You want me to heel, too? Or maybe you just want me to kiss your feet and, while I’m down there, maybe lick your ass like the good little puppy you think me to be.”
“Olivia,” Blue warned. “I said, come here.”
“And I say, fuck off.”
Callum growled in Blue’s direction, and she didn’t know whether to be thankful or scared.
“I think we all need to talk. But before we do that, we need to dispatch the traitor,” this came from one of Victor’s brothers, she didn’t know which one he was, but the resemblance was hard to ignore
“I’m no fucking traitor. I did what I had to do. It was my right. I should have been by Victor’s side.”
Olivia turned to Sasha and glared. “You are a piece of work. I had you pegged from the moment I met you. You’re only out for one thing…yourself. Do us all a favor and get lost. Callum tolerates you, but I won’t.”
“I am here to claim what is mine,” Sasha insisted.
“And what’s that?” Victor’s brother asked. “You still think to fight Nerina and Victor’s mating? You can’t. She’s his Eros and Luna of Clan Denali as well as the Pack. You’re outnumbered, sweetheart. Turn tail and run before I kill you myself.”
“I am the rightful Luna of the Pack, Colin.” Sasha crossed her arms over her chest and let out a puff of breath that clouded in the cold air. The woman was stubborn. Olivia didn’t know all the ways of Pack law or what it all entailed, but what she did know just from the little time she’d spent with Victor and Nerina was that Sasha didn’t have a chance in hell of staking claim on anything.
“We will deal with Sasha later, Colin. Now, we must deal with what’s in front of us.”
I am here, come and find me. You need me, and I need you.
The words were whispered on the wind, and Olivia looked in the direction it seemed the voice came from. No one else acted as if they heard anything. If they had, they weren’t saying a word. Olivia put a hand on her belly, and Blue’s hand went there before she had a chance to remove it.
“Are you ill?”
“No.”
“Then why are you holding your stomach?”
She’d rather not play the preggers card at all if she could help it. Especially if she wasn’t even sure she was pregnant. She’d wait it out and deal with the consequences later. She needed to figure out how to get herself out of her current situation.
Come now, run to me. Use the trees as cover. I’ll protect you.
There was the voice again. Should she listen to it? Or did she ignore it? Blue had told her that the Bow would call to her, that if she and the Bow connected, only destruction and chaos would follow. Or was that just something he’d said to keep her from finding out the truth? Her truth.
“I have a cramp.”
“You do not know?” Callum spoke up then, his eyes going back and forth between Olivia and Blue.
“Know what?” Blue’s voice came out more like a growl than actual words.
Olivia glared at Callum, and he glared right back.
“Know what? Why is no one speaking?” Blue demanded.
“It’s nothing,” Olivia pushed.
“Yeah, nothing. This whole thing is all fucked up, and as usual, I’m somewhere in the middle. It sucks ass being associated with any of this, but I’m here, Blue, as your friend, regardless of my status with the Packs.” Callum grumped.
An awkward silence descended upon the group. Chiyoko and her girls. Sasha and Callum. Even Colin and Blue were at a loss for words. It was Olivia who found her tongue first.
“I say this with the deepest fuck-you vibe I can muster considering my situation. I think the entire lot of you are liars. Everyone’s holding things in, me included. But I’m the one who will suffer.”
“What are you talking about? What are you holding in?” Blue asked, stepping toward her.
“It doesn’t matter. My lack of communication isn’t going to save or endanger lives. The collective here”—she pointed at Blue before looking at the others—“yours will directly affect my life.” And the life of my child if there even is one. Olivia refused to give up that piece of information, but Callum knew and spoke vaguely.
“Vega would not lie about that. He’s scum of the worst kind, but I know he would not lie about that. I heard Frankie talking about it, too.”
“What are you two going on about? Someone had better start talking,” Blue growled.
“My friend, there is nothing to be done about it now. It is for Olivia to tell. Her choice.”
Olivia was thankful that Callum deferred to her. Otherwise, she’d have released an arrow right into his big-ass mouth.
“Olivia, you know everything I know.” Blue placed a hand on her shoulder, and she shrugged him off.
“No, I don’t. Why does everyone want the Bow and the Arrow? What’s the significance? Your baby-momma wants it, and is offering me a place on her team. My father and Nerina’s father want it because they feel like they can control all of you and possibly bring about the end of the world as we know it. Is that everything, have I left anything out?” Besides your own secret. She about summed it all up in a neat little package and sealed it with a kiss.
“Embrace who you are, or you’ll hang onto what you were. And what you are is powerful. I would never withhold information from you. I share everything with my team,” Chiyoko added.
“Another lie.” Olivia was tired of listening to their tales. She’d weighed and measured each of her outcomes, and all roads led to death in her opinion. Instincts she hadn’t used before became prominent in her reasoning. If she stayed with them, she was headed for certain doom. She loved Blue, knew she did, but she wasn’t sure if he felt the same way about her.
Failing was not an option for her. Ever. She always maintained a level of calm when it came to hard decisions, but lately, she found that her fight or flight mode was being utilized way more than any normal person should have to deal with. Instead of trying to sort through the latest round of bullshit, she turned and bolted towards the Bow. She didn’t know if she was wrong in her choice, but she didn’t plan to stick around and find out. Blue had other things he needed to handle, like Chiyoko. All Olivia wanted was freedom. Time to think and to come up with a plan that worked in her favor. As her feet carried her forward, she hea
rd Blue roar, could even hear the bones of more than one man cracking as they went into their shifts. They were coming for her, she realized. They pursued, and somehow, she had to run faster. If she didn’t, they would catch her.
She ran through the forest, hopped over downed trees, and tried to zig and zag when she could. She even waded into an ice-cold stream. She’d read somewhere that it was hard to track someone if they were in water. She hoped it was true for werewolves, too. There was a clearing up ahead, and she could see that she was coming to what looked like a cliff of some kind. Olivia slowed her pace at the entrance to the cave. Somehow, she knew it to be the cave where the Bow was kept. Her heart rate slowed, and a blanket of calm coated the nerves that not a few moments earlier had threatened to steal her sanity. The opening appeared normal. What’s normal about this? Nothing. Not a damn thing. She was in the middle of the forest once again, running for her life. This time, she wasn’t sure if running had been a good idea or not, but at the time of her rapid departure, Olivia had felt it was her only course of action. She’d assumed that all caves had small to large openings and were hollowed out of the side of a mountain. But in this case, it was the side of a bluff. A very steep bluff with a ragged cliff side. If not navigated properly, a person would plummet to their death.
There were vines of some kind curtaining the mouth of the cave. A poor attempt to hide in plain sight, Olivia thought to herself. But then, she was sure folks didn’t trek up and down a steep cliff often. They probably had no idea there was even a cave up this far—even if it led to an amazing view. She could smell the pine tar and the rain-soaked vegetation. The ground was still wet from the precipitation. Crystal-clear droplets of water gathered inside large leaves and slid down tree limbs as if clinging on for dear life before they fell to be consumed by the muddy floor.
She’d lost Blue and the others earlier on. She wasn’t sure how, but she had a feeling she’d had help.
“You did. The closer you get, the stronger our power becomes.”
“Our power,” Olivia asked out loud. Because, surely, she wasn’t talking to herself. Even while the thought crossed her mind, she knew she wasn’t alone. She could feel something—or someone—there with her. “Who’s there?”