“Jessica!” Tyler screamed. “If you don’t get out of there right now, I’m coming to get you.”
I looked up, startled. He took a step into the clearing. I was happy to see he was up, but I didn’t want him coming after me. “No!” I yelled. “Tyler, stop! Look what’s happening. They’re dying.” I pointed to the ground as another one fell. This one rolled a few times and gave a little primal shriek before it died. “My blood must be toxic to them. I have to let them keep feeding. If I can kill them all, we can move forward. If not, we’re trapped here.” Another one took a nosedive off my shoulder. Once it was on the ground it stumbled in a circle before falling over with a high-pitched squeal. It sounded like a mini pterodactyl.
Tyler stopped advancing, his eyes blazing amber. “Holy shit,” he said. “You’re right. It’s working.” The side of his face was caked with dried blood, his hair matted with it. The boulder the Mahrac had thrown had hit him hard, and because of that trauma he might not survive a venom attack from these things. I had to make sure he didn’t come near me.
“Don’t come any closer,” I ordered. “You either, Daniel Walker.”
Danny grinned from where he stood next to my brother. “Wouldn’t dream of it. You’re doing a bang-up job all on your own.” He waved his hand in the air so I could see what he was holding. “Just in case you need it, I have a spell dart loaded, at the ready.” He flipped the dart in his hands. “If you’re in too much pain, I’ll stab you with it and put you out of your misery for a few hours.”
“Save it. We’ll need it later,” I ordered as I took a slow step forward. My body fought the venom from the beasties efficiently, but all the effort it took made me stiff and drowsy. “I have to make sure they all get their fill, but it’s exhausting me. I’m going to walk toward the boundary, but if I lose consciousness, don’t you dare come out here until they’re all dead and gone. My body will heal from this. I can feel it.” I took another step closer and my wolf flooded me with more endorphins. Power tingled through me in a delicious current.
I took another step.
With each movement, more of the devils dropped, shrieking their high-pitched squeals as they died. The ground was littered with thick, black smears.
My brother growled from the trees, “They’re not dropping fast enough.”
“Don’t you dare come out here, Tyler. This is working,” I answered. The strum of my brother’s anxiety hit me in waves. He was on the verge of charging out here.
“Yeah, it looks like it’s working perfectly,” Tyler said, his voice laced with bitter undertones. “They’re gobbling you up, and when they’re done there’s going to be nothing left.”
“I’m going to be fine,” I replied as a group of them plummeted to their deaths, leaving a patch of my arm free for the first time. I glanced down. For the first time I understood why their bites weren’t hurting me. “Look at my arm!” I waved it around and more beasties flew off me, leaving it completely clear. “I’m healing instantly from their bites.” My blood seared the poison as my body closed the wounds the moment their teeth left my skin. I was fixing myself as fast as I could.
But it was taking too much energy.
Some of the devils started disintegrating on me, leaving black goo stuck to my body. That was lovely. I can’t really complain, because gone is gone. My wolf barked in agreement and sent more adrenaline racing through my system, but I was sleepy even with the extra dose. It’s taking too much from us. I’m tapped out, especially after the Mahrac. I feel like I could sleep for a week. My wolf laid down in my mind. She was tired too. When was the last time we slept?
“Jess, wake up! Your eyes just slid shut,” Tyler yelled. “You need to come closer. It’s almost over.” I heard him moving. “Fuck it. I’m coming to get you.”
“No,” I mumbled as I snapped my eyes back open and took a few more steps. “I got this. I’m just sleepy. I don’t want you to be hurt—” The motion of falling downward jolted my senses awake and my eyes opened. But I didn’t hit the ground. Instead I was being lifted.
“I have you.” Tyler smiled down on me, his dimples showing in earnest. “It’s all over, Jess. Those bastards are all dead.”
“Good,” I said. “Now we can get moving.” I rested my head on my brother’s shoulder and everything went dark.
I woke with a start, running my hands over my body before I was fully awake. “Wha?” I shot up and glanced around. But there was no danger. The air was calm and stable. It was twilight, the sun gone, black creeping along the sky. My gaze landed on the only person around. “How long have I been asleep?”
Ray sat on the metal cooler staring at me. “I thought you might be dead,” he retorted. “Even though they told me you were alive, I didn’t believe them. You haven’t moved a muscle all day. You’ve been out maybe fifteen hours.”
“My body must have been in healing mode,” I answered. At least I think that was the reason I’d been out. “All my available energy went to fixing the damage.” I hadn’t even dreamed.
I checked down the length of my body just to make sure I was, in fact, healed, and this wasn’t some cruel joke and Ray and I were actually having this particular chat in hell and I just didn’t know it yet. I lifted my hands in front of me and wiggled my fingers. Very pale, slim pink scars covered my skin everywhere and I was wearing a new outfit. I was glad they’d picked spandex again. I looked around. “Where is everyone?” Danny and Tyler wouldn’t leave me unguarded unless we’d been attacked again and they had no choice. “Did the Mahrac come back?” I dusted myself off and strode forward.
“Nope,” Ray answered. “The wolf boys ran down to the truck to get more supplies. They said the vampires would be here within a few minutes because the sun just set. Seems we might have to stay here for a bit, depending on what the bloodsuckers have to say.” He paused for a moment. “What exactly are you, Hannon?” His voice echoed a wary tone, but it’d been delivered in a resigned cadence I’d never heard before. “You’re not like them. If supernaturals, like the wolves and the vamps, are considered normal in your world, you don’t fit in. You’re not the same.”
I paced closer to him, crossing my arms in front of my body. “How can you possibly know something like that? You can’t even begin to imagine the scope of what’s out there, Ray. You’ve known about us for exactly three days. We should all look equally scary to you.” There was no way Ray knew anything about the Prophecy or what skill level any supe should or shouldn’t have.
His lips formed a thin line. “I know, because I have two eyes in my head and I still think like a cop. You screamed ‘different’ to me on the police force and it’s the same here,” he said in a smug tone. “You don’t fit in.”
“I’m a supernatural just like everyone else.”
“Bullshit.”
I arched an eyebrow at him.
“You cured the girl vampire, right? Then you changed something in the monster’s brain so it left us alone rather than crushing us to dust. You’re the only one who figured out why the varmints could cross over, except that asshole vamp after he tried for an hour. Then you annihilated the bats from hell with your blood. According to what I see, you’re at the top of the food chain.”
“You know, he’s right,” Naomi said, coming silently through the trees in front of me. “Your blood is completely different from any I’ve ever sampled. And I’ve tasted a good many, both human and some very powerful supernaturals. But that doesn’t matter, because killing all the winged devils would have been impossible for any other supernatural. You have a gift that marks you different.”
“Well,” I said, clearing my throat. I couldn’t exactly argue, because all those things had happened. But going into the Prophecy with a human and a vamp wasn’t an option. “It seems I do have some power, but since I’ve been a supe for only a few weeks, I’m still figuring out… all the logistics. I don’t know what my special gift is yet, but there’s a good chance it has something to do with my blood.”
&nb
sp; Before Naomi could from a rebuttal there was a loud buzz coming from the top of an old tree stump.
“That’s been going off on the hour, every hour, since you came across the boundary,” Ray said.
I knew why. I walked over and powered it on as I brought it to my ear. “I’m here,” I said.
“Jessica.” My father blew out a relieved breath. “Thank gods you’re finally awake. Tyler has been keeping me informed. Are you fully healed now?”
I brought my arm up and examined the back of my hand. “Yes. But things seem to be changing quickly. Did Tyler tell you everything?” My father obviously knew about the devils, but explaining to him that I’d fed a vamp and cured her wasn’t top on my list. If Tyler hadn’t shared, I was going to wait on that one.
“Tyler told me about the rock spirit and the Camazotz, which I have only vague knowledge of, but they shouldn’t be on this plane at all. As in, there isn’t anything powerful enough to get them here except a Demon Lord, which spells trouble for your journey on the highest possible level.”
I paused and held my breath. I knew that tone and I knew what was coming.
“Jessica, if Selene is wrapped up in the Underworld, this is too big for you to handle on your own. You need to leave there now. I will conclude my business here in a few days. We will leave the fracture group alone for now, and then I will amass wolves and we will meet you in Canada. In light of the Prophecy and the current events involving the Underworld, this is no longer a journey to obtain your mate. This is a war.”
I closed my eyes and brought my fingers up to pinch the bridge of my nose. “Dad, I can’t wait that long. I’m sorry.” I tensed, knowing that once again I was defying my father and my Pack Alpha. I hated every second of it, but I had no choice. “Please listen. I can’t wait because Rourke doesn’t have that kind of time. I’m a hundred percent certain Selene knows we’re here. We just battled two of her best defenses. She’s not going to wait much longer to play her games. She wants us now. If I leave and abandon the journey, Rourke dies. I can’t let that happen. There is no time left.”
He quieted. I could almost feel him processing. There was nothing ideal about this situation. Having Selene working with the Underworld was dire on every level; we both knew it. I had to keep explaining until he understood. “Dad, something happened inside me just before I set the rock monster free.” It was difficult to describe, because I barely understood it myself. “Something opened up inside me. My wolf showed it to me in a way I could finally grasp. I’m fairly certain it’s been there since my shift, but it seems I’m not as quick on the uptake as she is, which, from my viewpoint, is completely understandable. But whatever power I unlocked allowed me to break Selene’s hold over the monster, and when I came across the line with the devils on me… I seemed to have killed them with power from my blood alone.” I glanced at Ray and Naomi, who both watched me. I walked farther away. “If what we read on the computer is the truth, my powers are manifesting and they are… significant. It’s going to have to be enough to defeat Selene on my own. Whatever’s inside me has to be enough to save Rourke.”
“Jessica—”
I cut him off before he could forbid it, because if he did, I was out of Pack before I even had a chance to start. “Dad!” My voice held a plea. “There’s no other way. You have to understand. I have to go on. I can’t leave him. We’re connected on a level I can’t explain to you. There’s no way to sever that bond. If he dies… I don’t think I will be able to continue on.”
The line went quiet for a long minute.
“Okay.” His voice was resigned. “But you may continue under one condition. And one condition only.”
“Anything,” I said as relief flooded over me. “I will do anything you ask.”
“Tyler and Danny have to submit to you as their Alpha.”
“What?” I held the phone away from my ear and looked at it like it had sprouted fur and fangs. I slowly brought it back to my ear. “I don’t think I heard you correctly. I’m not an Alpha. We’ve already covered this. I don’t even feel Alpha-inclined. I don’t understand what you’re saying. It won’t work.” Panic welled in my throat as my wolf growled and paced, her eyes sparking violet in my mind.
“It’s only a temporary Alpha placement,” he said calmly. “I need you to relax. It will be remedied once you all return home.” If we returned home is what he really meant. This decision to make me acting Alpha meant he wasn’t giving us good odds. “In the Old Country, wolves built their own hierarchy on extended journeys. There was always a lead wolf, and he functioned as the working Alpha. He could talk to the other wolves internally when they were in their true forms and unite them and infuse power when needed. It was a necessary precaution to ensure survival of our race. We had many of them back then. A temporary Alpha doesn’t have to be the most dominant wolf in the entire Pack. He just has to be the most dominant in the group.” He exhaled. “Jessica, I’m unable to get through to you in your Lycan form. I can’t help you, and I can’t give you my power. I’ve tried. This is the only way. It’s also the only way around the oath Tyler and Danny swore as Selectives. As of now, if they don’t submit, they can’t shift to protect you.” Or to save themselves. “If they swear to you, all their previous oaths will be broken. This is the only way I will give this journey my blessing. If you intend to face creatures of the Underworld, you need an army. Two wolves is all I have to give.”
My stomach thundered and I felt dizzy. This was too much. “Um, that might work for Danny”—he’d already submitted to me in rank—“but not Tyler.” I swallowed. Hierarchy and Pack status was all a wolf cared about. “He’s not… I can’t ask him to do it. Tyler should be the working Alpha, not me. I’ve been a wolf for only a week. His status is clearly above mine in Pack.”
“It’s not that cut-and-dried,” my father said firmly, growling in my ear. “Tyler’s wolf might have status above yours in a working Pack, but you and he share a bond that goes beyond anything I’ve ever seen in siblings—something unexplainable and utterly unique. If you are the one the Prophecy speaks of, it’s you who has the power. Tyler will know. He should feel it too. This isn’t about status or ruling wolves; it’s about something we don’t completely understand. I’m certain this will work and once it happens they will be bound to you.”
My voice quavered. I could defeat Underworld beasties, but asking my brother to submit to me made me queasy. “How… do I do it?” I knew there was a ritual and once it was done it was binding—until the wolf swore a new one.
“It’s similar to a Blood Oath. Tyler will help you.”
“They have to take my blood?” Interference started in earnest on the line. I talked loudly over the buzzing. “Dad, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Listen, my blood is unpredictable. Remember the Blood Oath for us didn’t work and I think there might be a problem—”
“Jessica, I’ve made my decision,” he shouted thought the static. “This is the only way. It’s the only chance you have to succeed. Once it’s over I will know. My connection to Danny and Tyler will be severed. We will not speak until then.”
“But I still don’t think—”
The line went dead.
I had no idea if he’d hung up on me or if the phone had stopped working.
“Dad?”
There was nothing but dead air.
14
I threw the phone down in frustration right as Danny and Tyler trotted back into the area carrying more supplies. My father had known that if he’d stayed on the line he risked my complete cooperation. I’d somehow talk him out of it. So he’d left me no room for further discussion, which had been his sole intent. If I tried to call him back he wouldn’t answer.
Shit. My wolf growled and showed us as the Alpha. That’s not helping! We aren’t the Alpha. I don’t even feel like an Alpha. She flashed me the box and showed us glowing with power. I know. I get it. I felt it. She barked and showed me the picture again. I squinted in my mind’s eye, but what she
showed me wasn’t the Alpha; it was something else. I could feel what she was projecting, but there were no words behind it. Before I had a chance to examine it better, Tyler rushed up to me.
He grasped me by the shoulders. “Glad to see you’re awake. That was crazy and awesome at the same time. But don’t scare me like that again. Seeing you in those situations is like watching someone murder a puppy. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”
I stared at him intently, unable to talk just yet. He wasn’t going to be happy and I didn’t want to ruin our relationship. I loved my brother.
“What?” He glanced at me, reading my face, and then noticed the phone lying in the dirt. “Did you talk to Dad?” He dropped his hands. When I didn’t answer, he asked in my mind. What is it? Are you hurt? Are there complications with the venom? Is it still in your body? They were all over you. I wasn’t sure you were going to make it even though you said you had it handled.
I’m fine. There’s no venom, but we have a situation. I couldn’t beat around the bush with this one. It was too big. I cleared my throat and addressed both Danny and Tyler out loud. “It seems, in order to move forward with the blessing of our father, in light of the added Underworld component, Dad has issued a new order for us.”
“What is it then?” Danny asked. “I’m all for scouting ahead without you. If we encounter any other beasts, as we surely will, we can have at them first. Even if we don’t make it, we will have cleared the road a little better for you.”
“No.” I shook my head. “That’s not it.”
“Spill it,” Tyler said, narrowing his gaze. He knew he wasn’t going to like it. “The anticipation isn’t necessary.”
“Um, apparently”—I cleared my throat again; it felt like I had a grapefruit lodged in there—“he wants you… to be able to shift and have your full powers back. He thinks it’s necessary if we’re going to try and win a combined battle with the Underworld and Selene.”
Hot Blooded Page 14