by C. Larsen
Hands and arms coated in drying blood up to her elbows, Caroline’s pale blue eyes search the crowd. When she finds the witch she seeks, she flips the dagger around with practiced ease, holding the hilt out toward Ethan.
"Blood for blood. Life for life. The debt is yours to repay."
Ethan swallows, gaze fixed on the athame in front of him. He grabs it with a shaking hand, his gaze lifting to Arianna's.
"Don't do it," she chants to herself, as if a prayer. "Don't do it, don't do it, please don't do it."
Ethan steps up to Grant. His eyes harden as he stares at him. Lifting the knife, he rests it on Grant's neck.
Grant doesn't flinch. He meets Ethan's gaze calmly. "I'm sorry," he says to Ethan. "If I could bring her back, I would."
Ethan presses the blade harder against Grant's throat, right below his jaw line. A thin trickle of red appears. He grips the knife so tightly the tendons in his hand stand out.
With everyone's attention on Ethan, I desperately dive back into Gray, frantically undoing the last of the bonds.
I'm not going to make it. There's no way. There are still too many tendrils tying him down. I debate giving up, just attacking by myself. With my hands free I could throw Ethan back, away from Grant. But I know as soon as I do that, Leanne will be on me and I'll lose my chance at freeing the pack.
My palms itch, begging to release the blast of power that will stop Ethan. A half second before I act, Ethan lifts the blade from Grant's neck.
"I can't do it."
"He killed Lydia! He confessed to it! Blood for blood. Lydia will never be at rest until the debt is paid!"
Ethan takes in Grant's bloodied form, then Max, who's staring up at him with wide, terrified eyes. "The debt has been paid. Killing him won't bring Lydia back. It'll just cause more pain."
His shoulders droop and he steps back. The knife clatters to the floor.
The crowd shifts uneasily. Half mutter with anger, the rest avert their eyes, as if ashamed.
Richard marches forward, his own athame raised. "You're too weak to do what must be done."
"No!" Max screams. "It was me! I did it!" Sobs garble his words. "It wasn't my daddy! I did it! I lost control!"
An image up of Max straddling the rogue’s savaged body, ripping into it over and over, his eyes wild, body splattered with blood and gore flashes before me.
I lost control. Daddy and Nikolay won't let me go to school yet.
It wasn't a tiny lapse of control like I thought. Max killed someone. He killed Lydia. Part of me is horrified. He killed my friend. Lost control the way he did with that man in the forest. But the bigger part of me feels sympathy and pain for what he must have gone through. To carry the death of an innocent person at so young an age. How that must weigh on him.
That poor kid.
The rest of the room seems to be torn emotionally as well. Their looks of horror and pity mirror my thoughts exactly.
But Richard doesn't share that sentiment. With one quick slash, he lays Grant's throat open, a river of blood gushing out, splashing down his chest, hitting the floor with the sound of a burst water pipe.
"Nooooooo!" Max screams.
Everything is frozen for one horrified moment, then the world springs back into action.
With a vicious snarl, I thrust out one hand, throwing Richard backwards into the brick wall. In the same movement, I lunge, eyes locked on the back of Leanne's head. I feel my form shift without any conscious thought on my part. My head narrows, jaws lengthening, fangs exploding in my mouth.
With claws fully extended, I sink them deep into Leanne’s shoulders. I notice briefly that my arms have shifted into more wolf-like limbs. They’re thicker now and covered in a short coat of white fur.
I yank Leanne backwards into my waiting jaws, clamping down on the vulnerable spot just below her ear, I sink my fangs deep.
Tangy warmth explodes on my tongue. Snarls rumble up my throat and I yank my head back, tearing away a jawful of flesh.
Without missing a beat, I fling the hunk of meat away and thrust forward again, this time catching the front of her neck. Clamping down tight, I rip her throat out in a spray of hot blood.
Her lifeless body falls to the floor with a thud. I throw my head back in a triumphant howl. Movement to my left has me ducking into a protective crouch. Though my limbs and face have shifted into a more wolf-like form, my basic body shape has remained human except for the short layer of white fur covering me from head to toe.
I move a bit awkwardly at first, not used to the way my limbs bend in this strange half-form. Witches all around me shriek, backing away in horror.
Lifting my head, I meet Caiden's gaze. He stares at me with a mixture of disgust and horror. Strings of blood and gore stripe his face and clothing, the large hunk of flesh I tore from Leanne's neck rests by his feet.
I freeze under his horrified stare, acutely aware of the grotesque figure I must make. Half-human, half-wolf, bright red blood splattered throughout the white fur covering my body.
A dark form plows into me from the side, knocking me onto my back. Isabel bears down on me. I lift one arm to block my face and her jaws lock onto my forearm, threatening to snap bone. With my free hand, I punch upward, catching her in the throat. I rip my arm from her loosened grip and kick up with my hind legs, knocking her back.
I leap to my feet in a half couch, preparing for another attack. With Gabriella still in control of the other wolves, I won’t stand a chance. I need to finish freeing Gray so he can take her out.
Isabel lunges again and I move to block her, narrowly avoiding her snapping jaws. She twists, catching me off guard, pinning me down to the cement floor, her fangs inches from my face.
"Stop!" Caroline yells, grabbing Gabriella’s shoulders. "Don't kill her. Call it off."
"She killed Leanne!" Gabriella shrieks, her face a mask of rage. "Look at her! She's a monster! She deserves death! Blood for blood!"
"Not her blood!" Caroline says. "She has to be kept alive!"
The distraction is the moment I need to work on the last of Gray's restraints. I dive back into his mind, but he's still bound too tightly. I'll never be able to free him in time.
Gabriella’s face sets. "Then I'll kill all the other beasts."
As Gabriella bears down on Gray, brandishing a wickedly sharp athame, something inside me snaps, like a dam breaking. Blinding, golden energy explodes outward, racing down the pack bonds toward Gray, disintegrating the rest of his binds all at once.
Gray's wolf bursts free in a rage unlike anything I've ever seen.
Gabriella gasps, realization dawning in her eyes. She whips around, hands flying out to subdue Gray, but she's too late. He's already airborne, flying straight for her. His jaws clamp around her thin neck, claws ripping into her chest.
Gabriela lets out a gurgling scream, drowning in her own blood.
Rolling suddenly, I surprise Isabel, slipping out from underneath her. Miles barrels towards us, then slows, shaking his head. Horrible choking sounds are still coming from Gabriella. Her control over the wolves might be slipping, but it's not completely broken, because after a moment Miles lunges, taking a swipe out of my shoulder. Throwing myself to the left, I manage to avoid taking the full brunt of the attack.
All around the room, witches are running for the door, shrieking and shoving. With Gabriella dying, the wolves will soon be outside their control. Caroline yells at them to stop. Tells them to stand their ground and fight, but they're too terrified to hear her.
A small band, led by Richard, huddle together and prepare to launch an attack. In the center of the room, Grant's body is still chained to the metal chair, blood oozing sluggishly from his rent throat.
Max has partially shifted, his snout elongated to accommodate his two-inch fangs. He fights the restraints, his tiny body struggling so fiercely it looks like he's having a seizure. Thankfully, most of the witches have fled to the opposite side of the room, towards the door, but if Richard and his gro
up realize Max is helpless he could be in big trouble.
Claws slash down my back, a reward for my inattention. Isabel backs up, confusion in her eyes. Miles growls for another moment before his eyes blink, rage clearing from them.
Still connected to Gray through the pack bonds, I feel Caroline attempt to bind Gray’s wolf to herself, but the bands of dark magic fall away harmlessly. She can’t get a hold. Fear enters her eyes for the first time as she looks around at the wolves shaking off the last of Gabriella’s hold.
Without waiting to see what she’ll do, I leap over the fallen witches near me, heading for Caroline. She joins Richard and the others in mounting an offense. She sees me barreling in her direction. One of her hands flies out to freeze me in place, but I drop to the ground, out of her line of sight. Without being able to see me, she won’t able to take control of my limbs.
*Head to the left and stay hidden behind that counter,* Gray's voice projects across the pack bonds. *I'll come up from behind.*
*I'll take the right* Isabel says, voice seething with rage.
*You're sure you have control?* I ask.
*Yes. And these bitches will pay.*
*Watch out for Caroline,* I warn. *She absorbed Gabriella’s power. Though she doesn’t seem as skilled at it as Gabriella was, she can control your wolf if you aren’t careful.*
I feel, rather than hear, their rage.
A commotion sounds near the door, more shrieking and running feet. I peek around the corner of the counter. Some of the witches are now running back into the room, slamming the door closed, faces full of fear.
"They're here! The pack is here! What are we going to do? There are so many of them!"
Caroline lets out a curse. "Barricade the door. We have the child. They won't attack if they know we have him."
She's talking about Max. She's going to use him as leverage.
The door gives a mighty shudder, then crashes in. Wolves flood into the room amidst screams of fear and pain. I barely register a few of the familiar scents when Caroline's head whips around, searching the room.
Her gaze lands on me, and the next thing I know she's right next to me, materializing from thin air. My body locks tight, making it impossible to move.
Caroline grips my arm, nails digging into my skin. "You're coming with me."
And then we're outside, the trees swaying in the gusting breeze. I blink at the sudden brightness. How did we get out here?
Right, Messenger Class. She can teleport. I glance around in a panic, wondering how far away we are. Through the trees, I can just make out the outline of the warehouse we came from. It takes more energy the further you teleport, and carrying someone is even more difficult.
I feel Caroline gather energy to her, preparing to make another leap. I buck away from her, fighting for all I’m worth. She tries another full body bind on me again, but I'm prepared for it this time. I throw up a shield, blocking it, then twist my body away from her.
But instead of running away, like she expects, I duck down and clamp my jaws onto her calf. My fangs pierce deep into the muscle. She shrieks, hands trying to bat me away, but my jaw is locked tight. She tries to throw me off using magic, but I feel it slide past me, ineffective.
Her screams draw others from the surrounding woods. I hear the telltale rustle of leaves. The scents of several different werewolves drifts by on the breeze. Caroline must notice them closing in too, because her movements become more frantic.
She jerks her leg, hands tearing at my hair, trying to get me to loosen my grip.
I sink my fangs even further. She's not getting away this time.
With a mighty heave, she wrenches her leg away. Then she's gone, leaving behind a chunk of bloody meat between my teeth.
Chapter 50
I stare around the filthy warehouse, gaze tracing the blood stains where Leanne's body was. Tracks of smeared blood on the concrete reveal where they dragged her outside.
The smell of wood smoke and burning flesh drifts in from the bonfire in the yard. Aside from Leanne and Gabriella, eight other witches died in the battle. Madelyn insisted on burning their corpses. Something about not allowing their magic to linger on this plane. Grant's body will be transported back to Ashwood, where they'll give him a proper funeral.
Almost a third of the witches escaped, including Caroline, Landon and Richard. They managed to flee into the woods while the pack was rounding up the others. I'm not sure what will happen to the rest of them, the ones who worked with Caroline and Gabriella to plan this attack. I know some of them are still a danger to us. Nikolay can't just let them walk free. But some of the witches seem to have finally realized what they did. How wrong they've been. Like Ethan.
I watch him across the room, his expression full of guilt and remorse as he begs Arianna's forgiveness. Tears run down her pale cheeks, but she shakes her head at him, mouth set in a firm line. He grabs for her hand and she yanks it away. He stares after her, his expression shell-shocked.
Olivia squeezes my shoulder, drawing my attention.
"I have to say, Em. That shift of yours was pretty impressive. I've never seen such an extensive partial change. It's usually only teeth and claws, but you were a real-life wolf-man. Or wolf-woman, I should say. When I first came through that door and saw you, I almost went running back out."
I smile halfheartedly, glancing at Caiden across the room. "Yeah, I bet I looked pretty terrifying."
"I hear you took out one of the witches."
"Leanne."
"Yeah. And you freed Gray. Because of you, he was able to take out that other one." Her voice lowers, anger creeping in.
"Gabriella," I supply.
"Yeah. The one who attacked Sebastian." Her voice darkens even more, eyes flashing gold.
"I have the same ability as her," I confess. "I'm able to do what she does. It's how I freed Gray."
I expect her to recoil. After all, I just admitted to being from one of the most hated witch lineages in werewolf history. But she just hugs me tighter with her arm.
"Thank God for that. If we had gotten here before Gabriella was taken out, a lot more of us would have been killed."
"Grant still died."
"I know." She sighs. "I'm sorry."
"I should have known what Richard was going to do. I should have acted sooner. I hesitated. I didn't want to hurt Ethan. I didn't think he'd go through with it."
"Ethan didn't."
"I know. But I should have anticipated what Richard would do. I was watching Caroline, expecting her to make a move. I could have stopped him, if I saw it in time."
"You aren't responsible for everyone," she says firmly. "What's done is done."
"Poor Max..." I say, tears stinging the backs of my eyes.
Vasily has already loaded him up in the car to bring him back home. After Caroline yanked me outside, Olivia said Max lost it. He shifted fully, breaking out of his cuffs the way I did, then stood guard over his father's body, attacking anyone within reach. Some of the witches fleeing from the pack got too close.
Caiden has been busy healing the injured witches for the past two hours. Healing so many severe wounds is draining him. I can see the strain in his eyes. I've spent the last hour patching up the minor cuts and injuries the wolves sustained, but rather than feeling drained, I'm still buzzing with energy. I should go over there to help him, but I don't think he'd welcome it. The look in his eyes every time he glances at me...
I swallow around the lump in my throat and look away, searching for Gray. I've only caught a few glimpses of him since everything ended. After assuring himself that I was relatively unharmed, he's been helping Nikolay, James, and Mirowski deal with the rest of the renegade coven.
At least one good thing came from all of this: it looks like James and Mirowski just might work out that truce after all. All the witches who opposed it have already left his coven, joining Caroline and Richard, so he should be able to work something out with the pack.
I know I should
be feeling relieved that the war we all feared won't be coming to pass—at least, not yet—but all I feel is numb. It's like I'm standing in the eye of hurricane, everyone and everything crashing around me, and I'm just standing still in the center of it, untouched, a bubble of solitude surrounding me.
"Well, I'd better check in with Seb and Josh. Will you be okay?"
"I'm fine, Liv. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Oh, and Liv?"
“Yeah?”
“How did you guys find us so fast? How did you know where we were?”
Olivia nods her head toward the brunette witch from earlier. Bridget is hovering off to the side, watching me expectantly. “She told us. Well, she told Madelyn, who told us where to find you.”
As Olivia wanders off to find Josh, Bridget moves closer, as if waiting for me to approach her.
“Why did you do it?” I ask her. “Why go against Gabriella to help us?”
She studies me cautious eyes. “I didn’t do it for them, though I’m glad no one else was killed. I did it to save you.”
“Why me? A few months ago you were working with Gabriella to kidnap and beat me. Why do you care what happens to me now?”
“Because She does,” she says.
“Who?” I eye her up and down, wondering if she’s really all there. She’s not making any sense.
“Morrigan,” she clarifies. “I was there that night. The night of the blood bond. I knew you were a true-born daughter of Morrigan, but I had no idea how loved you were by her. Not until that night.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She saved you. Didn’t you see her? Morrigan was there that night. She saved you from Caroline’s blade.”
It all comes flooding back: the terror and helplessness of being tied to that stone altar while Caroline stood above me brandishing a knife. But when our daggers clashed, a flash of light engulfed us, an image of a dark haired woman appearing in front of me. Caroline’s knife was destroyed and my bindings inexplicitly vanished. At the time I assumed I had caused it through some inadvertent energy outburst. But could Bridget be right? Did Morrigan really save me?