by Tigris Eden
“And I’m the original bitch.” Olivia laughed. “I hold the Bow, I am the Arrow.”
“It matters not. Your father and I made a deal.”
“My father.” Olivia laughed. “My father is a non-issue. He showed up out of nowhere, and thought because we share the same blood he had a say in my life? I think not. He’s lucky I want to share the same space with him, which actually isn’t true. He’s here because of forces beyond my control. I didn’t bring him here to this realm. Hell, I didn’t bring any of you here. But I was told that I must prove myself. “
“You don’t need to prove yourself to anyone,” Bödvar said, taking her free hand. She looked down at their joined fingers. Roman cursed under his breath, but it was Frankie who began chanting. It was some sort of spell. The words sounded garbled at first, but as she got louder, the sounds became distinguishable. Olivia somehow knew the spell and quickly threw out a counterspell. Blue’s hand tightened on hers, offering her strength.
“You are not stronger than your sister. You lack practice,” Vega said, tossing a grin, his smile so wide she thought he’d crack his face open as he shucked off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. She didn’t know what he planned.
“He plans to attack. Be ready.”
“Always.”
Blue let go of her hand. His bones cracked, and his back bowed as he transformed into his beast. Callum and Colin followed suit, only they didn’t turn into their wolves. They turned into their Warriors. Tall, imposing beasts with the torso of a man but the head of a wolf. Sasha had changed into her brown wolf form, and Chiyoko and her girls had all pulled weapons.
“If it’s a fight you want, it is a fight you will get,” Olivia vowed. Her blood stirred, and her body tightened, readying for the attack. She didn’t know who would make the first move, but she should have known it would be Blue and the others. As her mate charged forward, the ground shook. It rolled and jostled everyone who stood on the hill. It was then that Olivia saw what could only be an entire army approaching behind Roman and the others.
She couldn’t stop chanting the words that would hold her sister in place, but she wasn’t strong enough to stop them all. The army of vampires rushed forward, cutting though the darkness. Their eyes were red, and their fangs were bared for all to see. Bödvar and the others moved forward, snarling and growling as they stood in front of her. The creatures above her screeched as they flew down, plucking the vampires from their ranks, tearing them in half and then dropping the pieces onto the field. With the ranks thinning, it made it easier for the others to cull the herd. When three vampires surrounded her, Olivia took her Bow and aimed true, hitting all three vampires dead center, piercing their hearts. With her axe, she removed their heads from their bodies. Blood splattered against her chest and face, the liquid hot against her skin. They continued to come at her, sometimes one, other times two and three at a time. Each time, she took them down. They kept coming, and always it seemed the vampires’ numbers doubled with each new wave. Olivia looked to her right and saw Blue slashing through bodies. He punched through their chest walls, ripping out their hearts before sinking his jaws into their necks to remove their heads from their bodies.
Everyone held their own—Olivia included.
A horde of vampires approached and attacked, overpowering Olivia. There were just too many. Before she could call for help, Sasha was by her side, attacking with claws and teeth. Callum came to their aid, but it was too late. Four vampires attacked at the same moment that Olivia tried to strike them down with her Arrow, effectively knocking her on her ass. It all happened so fast. One moment, she was standing; the next, she was on her back with a vampire breathing down her neck. The first bite hurt, the second one felt as if her veins were on fire. She could feel it as the blood left her body with each pull. Callum pulled one from her body, then the others. Sasha lay next to her, her breaths labored as the wolf struggled to breathe. They’re eyes locked and Olivia watched horrified as the life left Sasha’s body.
“Olivia, are you all right?”
Her body felt broken, but she still had strength in her legs. She rolled, and although it took some work, she managed to get to her feet…and saw that the others had their own problems. The Bow controlled those of the night, but it controlled them all. If she were to fully evoke the power of the Bow, she would be powerless herself. The Bow and Arrow when activated was blood thirsty. That much she knew. Not just from the memories that were not her own, but from the old woman who’d sacrificed herself. It was the reason Rubana had been killed. Killed by Blue himself. She was not able to control herself while invoking the power of the Bow and Arrow.
The winged creatures suffered from the attacks, as well, and she knew her father had something to do with that. Her side was outnumbered, and they had already lost Sasha. Her body now lay prone on the ground in her human form, bloodied and bruised. The old woman had told Olivia that she’d have to depend on her allies, but there were so few of them, and too many of their enemy.
“We are not going to make it,” one of Chiyoko’s girls cried out. It was Anika, her neck bleeding from a wound. Chiyoko slashed down and took another vampire’s head with her sword, but again, there were too many of them. With no other choice, Olivia called upon the powers of the Bow. Stop. She heard the dismay in Blue’s roar of outrage as all fighting stopped. The creatures landed on the ground, the vampires stopped their feasting, and the wolves in Warrior form—Blue’s beast included—fell to their knees. In her mind, she’d willed them all to stop.
Roman had a smile on his face, and her father and her sister were not affected.
“See the power of the Bow, daughter. We can rule these immoral creatures that are beneath me. I struck a deal with Roman because I knew that, in the end, it would come to this, as foretold by your sister.”
Olivia looked at Frankie. She’d almost put her life in her hands. But that was the old Olivia. The trusting Olivia. Kill them all. Make them all suffer, the voice inside her head sneered. No one will control us. We cannot be controlled. The Bow shook in her hand as it aimed first at her father.
“I will not kill you.”
“Of course not, child, I am your father.”
“You think that matters to me? It doesn’t. I spare your life out of pity.”
Her father threw back his head and laughed.
“I don’t think there is anything funny.”
“The Bow holds no power over me or your sister. We are not creatures of the night. We thrive in the light.”
What her father said was true, but he didn’t realize that the old woman had gifted her not only with her strength but also her knowledge. She had to accept what was true. The truth was evident now, and it gave her a moment to think. Tonight, would not be the end. The end would come much later.
It didn’t mean she couldn’t injure him, though. Without hesitation, she sent an arrow into his chest, sending him to his knees. The arrow for her sister penetrated Frankie’s leg. Roman tried to break free of the Bow’s power; Olivia could see him struggling, but it was of no use. She was in total control. Her Bow burned in her hand, and the silver of the arrows itched beneath her skin. The Bow wanted her to kill them all. It wanted victory.
“Bödvar, Colin, Callum. Come and stand next to me.”
Angry and with no other choice, they did as she asked. “Frankie, if I see you again, I’ll kill you. As for the rest of you…be ready. This is far from over. You wanted this war. Not me. But I will not be a puppet, I will not be controlled. The goddess has shown me the way, and she has promised life to my friends and me. We shall take it.”
Olivia lifted her Bow to the sky. As if she’d asked, it opened on command, taking them all back to the cave of the Elders.
23
When Blue found himself back in the cave, he was relieved. He wasn’t sure what to think, or how Olivia would react once she called on the power of the Bow. Flashbacks of the time when he’d been imprisoned by Roman and his men assaulted his psyche an
d made him fearful of what he might have to do to Olivia. It was true, like Rubana, he’d killed the Olivia of the past. But not in cold blood. He’d done it because she became unhinged. Rubana was nothing like Olivia. They may have shared a past, but that was it. His mate was stronger, wiser, and able to discern the difference between right and wrong. Rubana had been careless, and full of herself.
“Where are the others?” Callum asked, looking around for what Blue assumed was Chiyoko and her team.
“They are with the others. They are all being sent back to their places.”
“What do you mean, ‘their places?’”
“I mean, we were temporarily transported to another realm by your goddess, Selene. They are where they should be now. It just ain’t here.”
Blue took Olivia into his arms, and she went willingly, her breath leaving her body in a great big rush of air. “How long have you been holding that in?”
“Feels like forever,” she said against his bare chest. Her fingers dug into his flesh as she clung to him. She burrowed her head in his bloodied chest, and mumbled words he couldn’t understand.
“What was that?” He asked reaching for her face. She was covered in blood, her hair thick with it.
“I love you. As crazy as this whole thing is, I fucking love you, Bödvar.”
His chest expanded on a rush of air. She loved him. He didn’t think he’d get the words this soon. Especially with the two of them covered from head to toe in blood, him still in his beast form. She didn’t care. How the Gods have blessed me.
“I love you too, beauty. It’s over now.”
Olivia closed her eyes at his words, and Blue watched fascinated as she did a full body shiver before saying. “No, it’s not. There will be much more to come.”
“I can’t speak for the rest of you, but I count this as a win in my book,” Callum stated firmly, wiping the blood from his mouth.
“Can we just go the fuck home now? We need to let my brother know what happened here.”
“What about Sasha?” Olivia asked.
“We’ll bring her body with us, give her a proper burial. She may have been a bitch, but she did help you when it mattered.” Callum lifted Sasha’s lifeless body into his arms, and the four of them made their way out of the cave. The weather hadn’t changed. It was cold, and the men had no choice but to shift into their animal forms. Blue carried Olivia and Sasha’s body on his back and followed the others back to the mountain.
Where is the Bow?” Victor demanded.
They hadn’t been back in the mountain for even an hour, and the Alpha was already throwing his weight around.
“It is not yours to have, Victor,” Olivia said quietly. “I do not follow Pack law, and if Blue and I were to mate, he is not part of Clan Denali. Instead of trying to be the big chief, why not let us rest? We’ve just been in a very bloody and exhausting battle. I smell like shit, and I want to eat and sleep for days.”
“Does she know who she’s talking to?” Victor asked incredulously.
“Vic, pipe down. Olivia is right. They’ve been through an ordeal. Anyone who has to deal with Roman’s shit deserves a day of rest.”
The Alpha and Luna stared one another down, neither of them willing to budge. Blue and the others were naked, their bodies caked with dried blood. Sasha’s body had been taken to her parents. Olivia just wanted to sleep. That was it. Her body was tired, and her mind wired from sifting through all the information she’d been gifted. Information she wasn’t sure she really wanted.
“I will let them rest when Olivia hands over the Bow.”
“Sorry you feel that way, Vic,” Olivia emphasized his name. “The Bow and I are a package deal. Where I go, it does. If you want, I can demonstrate just how packaged, we are.”
Blue gripped her shoulder. “Olivia, be reasonable.”
“No, he needs to be reasonable. He can’t lord over me. It’s not like I’m threatening to bring him to his knees—even though you all know I can do it. I am the Arrow of Power, and I hold the Silver Bow of Artemis. I didn’t ask for it, your goddess gave it to me. A few weeks ago, I didn’t even believe any of this shit was real. But now I know it is. And I’ve accepted it. Embraced it. I won’t be controlled. And I’m no longer ignorant.”
“Liv, Victor only wants what’s best for his people.”
“And I’m open to talks about that. But I won’t be commanded. I will submit to no one. No matter who or what he or she claims to be. Unless I’m being kicked off this mountain, I suggest that they let us sleep, give Callum some clothing, and welcome us all with open arms.”
“Guess she told you, huh, Vic?”
“Woman,” Victor growled, looking over at Nerina, who wore a smirk on her face. She winked in Olivia’s direction before she stood.
“There is a lot we should be thankful for. My father does not have the Bow or the Arrow. My mate, and I will be welcoming the newest addition to the pack.”
“Congrats Nerina, that’s wonderful news.” Olivia smiled. She would have given the other woman a hug, but she was currently covered in vampire guts and blood.
“I’d like to think so, especially since Victor will be fathering two children.”
“How do you know? It’s too soon. You have no scent on you that says you’re having twins.”
“The goddess and I are BFFs, remember? How do you think I know?”
“Two?” Victor’s voice held reverence as he said the word.
“I carry your son and your daughter.”
“But then who is to be the next Silverback?” Victor looked confused. Olivia tried to cover her laughter with a cough. Blue smirked, and everyone in the dining hall stood silent, waiting to hear a response.
“The goddess will decide the next Silverback. Times are changing, Vic. Don’t I share the Alpha strain with you? Am I not the first hybrid—wolf and vampire? Just embrace it. The time of egotistical males is coming to an end.”
This made the women in the hall cheer.
Blue wrapped his arms around Olivia’s midsection and whispered in her ear, “I say we sneak out while we can and get some rest.”
“Sounds good to me.”
As they left the hall, more cheers rang out, congrats were tossed to the expecting couple, and all Olivia could think about was that, soon, she’d be able to share the same news with Blue. She wondered if he would be as happy as Victor. According to Chiyoko, he’d already fathered a child. Half-beast, and half-whatever Chiyoko was. He slept, but what would happen when he woke in a thousand years. Would they even be around to see it?
24
Blue led her down a familiar hall. It was the same hall Cassandra and Elena had taken her to bathe. Instead of going left, they made a right.
“Where are we going?”
“Private baths, meant for mated couples only. It’s to give us some privacy.”
That sounded good, but at the same time, bad. Her muscles protested and all she really wanted to do was sleep. But, Blue was right. They needed to get clean before the could sleep.
“Sounds good.”
Blue gripped her hand tighter, as he led the way. When they reached the end of the corridor, there was something resembling a door, only made of stone. Blue had no problems moving the larger boulder, and when Olivia stepped inside, she was greeted by steam. They didn’t speak to one another as they undressed. But Blue did hold her eyes. His unspoken words, heard clearly through the silence. He wanted to talk. He had concerns. As he should.
They really hadn’t resolved much of anything as far as their relationship was concerned. And for Olivia, she still didn’t know what it truly meant to be mated to Blue. The old woman had gifted her with a vast amount of knowledge, and if Olivia searched hard enough she found, that she was able to locate an answer to her questions. Like mating rituals for wolves, and berserkers were fairly the same. Both, open and public. It was the way the packs acknowledged the mating. There was also the issue of claiming of one’s mate through something called a Kie
van. An old ritual of claiming. No one would be able to refute their mating once the Kievan was completed.
Blue stepped into the water first. His body covered in dried blood still appealed to Olivia. She followed suit, and as the two of them bathed one another, they did so in silence. It was a comfortable silence as Blue positioned her in front of him so he could wash the blood from her hair. She heard him give a few grunts here and there, but it wasn’t until he got to her neck and shoulder that he let out a fierce growl.
“They bit you,” he said against her left shoulder. “Hurt my mate.”
“I’m fine, Bödvar. I’m here with you aren’t I?”
“Yes, but it could have all gone so wrong. I was worried for you.”
She understood why too. The Bow and Arrow had immense power, and if she couldn’t control it, it would control her.
“There’s no need to worry, my love.”
“Call me that again.” He groaned against the shell of her ear.
“My love,” Olivia whispered. She turned to face Blue and reached for his face. Cupping both cheeks, she stood there and marveled at just how interesting life was. She was going to be tied to a Berserker for all her long life. He would be tied to her for the rest of his. What about their child’s life? Would she be long-lived like him? Or would she be like her?
“What is it?” He asked.
“Your life isn’t going to be shortened because of mine.”
“Olivia, I’ve lived a long time. I’m happy to leave this place to follow you when its time.”
“But our children, what about them?”
“Only the Selene knows the fate of our children.”
“What about the son you fathered? You’ll never get to see him, if he’s asleep.”
Blue lowered his lashes briefly before talking a deep breath. “It was not my choice, and I had no say in his upbringing. That was all Chiyoko. She could wake him if she wanted.”
“Maybe you should ask her?” Olivia wondered out loud.