“No, because you are Kindred.” I guide her to the edge of the chaise.
Fear wafts around her, melding with her sweet aroma. Back on the road, I had noticed the unfamiliar scent but couldn’t place it. And now I know why.
“Lie down with your head at the foot of the chaise.” Keegan’s voice has a soft timber to it, a tone I’m unaccustomed to. “You can close your eyes if you prefer.”
She shakes her head. “No. I want to see.”
“Very well.” Keegan places a hand on her shoulder and one on her hip. “Then with this mark, I welcome you into the Shoshone clan.” His cobalt blue eyes turn a coppery, golden color. Ushering a low, throaty growl, he exposes his teeth, and his canines grow in length.
“What the fuck?” Sadie squirms on the furniture.
“Ethan. Hold her.” Keegan’s voice has a raspy tone to it that it didn’t have before.
“Wait. Please.” Sadie’s eyes brim with tears. She struggles to sit up.
“Have you changed your mind?” Cole speaks up. “Would you rather take your chances with those outside?”
“Uhm. No. I’m just . . . I need a—”
Ethan kneels on the other side of the chaise. “Look at me. It sounds worse than it is. He’ll make it quick, they both will, I promise.” I stroke her face.
“Okay.” Sadie raises her arms and places them above her head.
With unspoken words, I nod to my brethren to continue.
“Calm yourself.” Cole kneels at the base of the chaise and cups her wrists in the palm of his hands.
“Yeah.” Sadie’s eyes widen. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re doing the biting.”
“Don’t take your eyes off me,” I say, softly. “Just keep them on me.”
Lowering his head, Keegan sinks his right canine into the soft folds of her flesh.
“Holy shit.” Sadie cries out but doesn’t break eye contact with me. “Fuckity, fuck.”
The wolf within feels conflicted. On one hand, it’s pleased she’s going through the marking ceremony, but on the other, anger stirs deep because the process creates pain.
Her fear, now palpable in spades, pulls at me.
“You’re next.” Keegan rises but keeps his hold on Sadie.
Cole kneels next to her. “With this mark, I too, welcome you into the Shoshone clan, sister.” He lowers his head and pierces her flesh.
When Cole stands, Keegan releases Sadie’s arms.
Peering down, Sadie spies two circular marks to the side of her covered breast next to the pink bra strap. Blood pools in the shallow dips.
“I’m bleeding.” She gingerly touches the two pin dot wounds.
“Not for long.” Leaning over her, I gently lick the wounds.
“What are you doing?” Sadie winces and shoves me. “They’ll get infected.”
“Don’t push me away.” I cradle her face. “My saliva will help the skin heal.”
A boom, followed by a thunderous clash outside, rattles the windows.
“What the hell was that?” Sadie jumps, bumping her head into mine.
“Put it on.” Cole picks the Tee-shirt up off the floor and tosses it at Sadie, who pulls it over her head.
“Careful. Don’t touch them, or they’ll scar.” I turn my focus to Keegan. “What the fuck’s going on out there?”
“Don’t know.” Keegan peers out the window. “But we’re about to find out.”
“What do you see?” Sadie glances over a shoulder, straining to peek out the window.
“Nothing for either of you to worry about.” Keegan motions for Cole to approach. “It’s time we took our leave.” He makes his way to the door, then locks eyes with me. “You have until the break of dawn to fulfill the requirements of either the marking ceremony or to claim her as a mate. That’s all I can give you.”
“Understood.” I watch until both men walk out of the door.
“What now?” Fear wafts around her.
Chapter Thirteen
Sadie Reed
BURSTS OF BLUE LIGHT hit the window.
Glass shards fly across the room.
“Get down.” Ethan slides off the furniture, pulling me with him.
Searing heat burns my cheek. I skim a hand across my face and view crimson fluid covering my fingertips. “I’m bleeding.”
Slivers of glass sparkle on the floor, reflecting the beams of lights shooting across the room.
“What the hell?” I kneel and peer out the window. “Where are they coming from?”
A line of cape-wearing men and woman form a line in the front yard. Glowing orbs of energy spin a few inches above their palms.
“Who are they?”
A luminescent ball of energy shoots through the window and across the room, heading in my direction.
“That’d be some of the Order.” Ethan tackles me to the ground. “The Rodeseus coven. They’re fuckin’ fanatics.”
The door blows open, smacks the wall, and then swings, hanging off a single hinge.
“Surrender the Kindred,” a man looms inside the door. “Or I will come and get it.”
“It?” The word floats around in my head. “What the fuck is wrong with you people?”
“Stay down,” Ethan whispers in my ear.
You call a piece of furniture it—or a spider, or insect, I think to myself, not a person.
“I have a name, asshole.” I wiggle under the weight of Ethan’s frame, trying to break free. “Get off me.”
“Give it to me, and we will leave.”
“Can’t do that.” Keegan peers through the shattered window. “The Kindred is under the protection of the Shoshone clan.” He leaps over the sill, landing inside the house. “My protection.”
“You’re not welcome on Cotter land, Samuel Wardwell.” Cole springs through the window, landing next to Keegan. “Little Brother. Sadie. Go, now.”
“Cole and I have each left our mark on the girl.” Keegan keeps his eyes trained on Samuel. “Under the treaty, she has until dawn to accept a final mark from the whelp, Ethan.”
“It has no rights.” Samuel holds his hand out in front of him, palm up. “The Rodeseus cove have come to collect.” A glowing orb materializes. He manipulates it with his fingers, and it grows.
Wind blows through the house, sending Samuel and the orb tumbling across the floor.
A funnel of luminescent smoke swirls, reminding me of a dust devil, but only this one’s indoors and glowing.
“What’s that?” I raise a hand to shield my eyes from the bright lights the tornadic spiral gives off.
“Samuel Wardwall of the Rodeseus coven, you are not welcome here.” Agartha hovers a foot off the ground. Her eyes lack color, they’re void of irises and a stark white coloration.
“Release me.” Samuel floats weightless above the living room floor.
“How’s she doing that?” I smooth some flyaway locks, pulling them into a bun, and then secure my hair with a ponytail holder.
“Magic.” Ethan stands, dragging me to my feet. “We gotta go.”
“Where?”
“Out back.” In an open stride, Ethan takes off running.
I sprint, keeping a close distance behind him.
“Go.” He turns at the end of a hallway and pushes me in front of him. “Cole’s bedroom.”
“Where?” I’m shoved into a room.
“Don’t stop.” He glances over his shoulder at the door leading to the hallway. “Head for the south wall.”
“What?” Glancing round, I see a dresser, bed, television, and a covered sliding glass door. I make a dash for it, draw the blinds, and then stumble back into Ethan.
“There’s a—” My heart hammers in my chest.
A man looms on the other side of the glass. He slides the door open and takes hold of my wrist.
Chapter Fourteen
Ethan Cotter
“ETHAN.” Panic etches the single word, and she struggles to free herself from Toby Tekin’s grip—the alpha of the Lakota
clan.
The pungent scent of fear mixes with her alluring essence. The aroma grows by the second and now travels on the currents of the wind, which will draw unwanted attention, I’m sure of it.
“Easy, now.” Toby drags Sadie outside. “Not gonna hurt you.”
A familiar smell fills my nose, sending my inner beast to the edge of frenzy.
The bones in my hands and feet creak, pop, and then begin to shift. Pre-transformation warms my body from the inside out. Blood rushes to my head, pounding in my ears.
“Control yourself.” Toby grabs my shirt and lifts me off the ground. “Focus. You can’t help her if you don’t contain your beast.”
I reel in my wolf and concentrate my energies on keeping a human form.
Shadows beyond the yard snake in and out of view. Red glowing eyes appear in the darkness, announcing the arrival of a lycan pack—a rogue one at that.
“Beyond the trees . . .” I call on the eyes of my beast.
My vision brightens, and an amber tint sharpens the view of the dense, wooded area.
Five bipedal lycans, clan less and rogue by scent, stalk forward in formation. One slinks down the center with two of his pack hanging back three yards behind him. Those on the outside of the formation steal away into the darkness.
“They’re trying to flank us.” I keep my focus on the center beast who continues to gain ground.
“Yeah. Noticed.” A hint of amusement coats Toby’s calm tone. “They won’t get far.”
“You know him?” Sadie’s shoulders roll forward, and she ceases her struggle for release.
“Yes.” I place a hand on the small of her back. “He’s with us.”
“Is he a . . . uhm creature like—”
“Lupine. He’s an alpha like Keegan.”
“Toby Tekin. Call me Toby.”
“How many leaders are there?”
“One per clan.” Toby holds her gaze. “I’m Alpha of the Lakota.” He sniffs the surrounding air, and his eyes glow a coppery hue. “Well, now, you smell different, don’t ya?”
“Uhm. Perfume?” Sadie inhales a ragged breath.
“No. That’s all you.” Toby takes in another whiff, and the hue of his eyes burn brighter.
A ping of jealousy makes my shoulders tense. Mine, the wolf within me whispers.
“Sam and Troy with you?” I struggle to keep my inner beast in check.
“They’re in the woods, hunting rogues.”
The clomp of horse hooves echoes in my ears. Even with my boots on, the tremors of the animals’ steps vibrate underfoot.
“Ever ride a horse?” Toby whistles a bird call through parsed lips.
“Uhm. A-a few times.” She swallows hard.
“Good.” He glances over a shoulder. “Charlie here will get you setup. Won’t you?”
Charles Ince, known in small circles as Charlie-the-mute-horse-empath, came to Kensington Cove as a lone stray. Up in age and being the last of an extinct clan from New Mexico, made it hard for him to join the ranks of most packs. But Toby took him in with open arms.
Leading three horses by the reins, Charlie tips a cowboy hat, and then offers a warm smile. With a wave of a hand, he motions for her to approach.
“Wait.” Sadie’s eyes widen, making the whites stand out like two little round moons against a starless sky. “I’m getting on that—alone?”
Another layer of fear wafts in the air around her.
“No. You’ll ride with someone.” Toby relinquishes his hold on her wrist.
He hands her over to me as if passing her off to my care once again.
“Mount up. We haven’t much time. My clan and Keegan’s can hold off the rogues, but the Wiccans are a whole other story.
I mount one of the three horses, then take the leather leads from Charlie. “Come on.” I offer an outstretched arm to Sadie.
“I-I can’t ride that.” She stumbles into Toby, who keeps her on her feet.
A snarl, followed by a forlorn cry, pierces the night.
Sadie jumps and glances over her shoulder at the open sliding glass door leading to Cole’s room.
“Let’s go. You don’t have time to ponder what if scenarios.” Toby half-leads, half drags her to the horse. “Take his hand.” He slips my boot out of the stirrup and smacks the top with his palm. “Step here, and he’ll pull you up.”
Going through the motions outlined by Toby, Sadie places a bare foot on top of my rattlesnake boot.
One quick tug, and she slips on to the saddle in front of me.
“Hold on.” I draw her upright in the seat.
Relief settles over me with her this close, but it’s short lived because rogues stalk her from the shadows.
“To what?” She trembles on the seat. “There’s nothing to grab.”
“The mane, the saddle horn, or me. Anything is fair game but the leads.”
Toby mounts, followed by Charlie.
“Head out.” Toby whistles, and the horses snort, then take off in a trot—mine in the middle and Charlie’s brings up the rear.
“Wait. We can’t see.” She squirms on the seat.
“Maybe you can’t”—Toby clicks his tongue twice and his horse picks up speed—“But we can.” His eyes glow a coppery hue which match Charlie’s.
Less than five minutes out, rogue lycans in more of a mutated wolf’s form than human’s flank the line, snapping at the horses with elongated, malformed muzzles.
The horses pick up speed, but the rogues isolate my steed from the rest of the group.
Howls break out from the west and northeast.
“A-are those lycans?” I can’t tell if she’s trembling or the full trot is tossing her about. “Or lupines—friendlies?”
“Back up. More of Keegan’s clan.”
Sadie bounces on the seat. She releases the mane, seizes the saddle horn, but then loses her grasp.
“I’m going to fall.” She grabs my thighs with both hands. Holding on with a firm grip she digs her nails into the denim fabric.
“I got you.” I wrap an arm around her, drawing her against my body and back in the seat.
A wall of lupines in wolf form converge.
“Oh, God, there’s more of them.” The wind mutes Sadie’s words.
Leaping into the air, the lupines transform into bipedal weremen, taking the rogues down.
Charlie flanks my horse on the right. Shotgun in hand, he fires off a round, taking down a lycan in mid-leap.
“Don’t squeeze the horse with your legs,” I whisper in her ear. “Relax and let them set against mine or hook your feet around my calves.”
“Uhm. Okay.”
Toby trots up. “You two okay?”
“Yeah.” Doing a quick spot check, I glance over one shoulder, then the other. Open pasture fills my vision.
Thirty minutes into the ride, she slumps against me, allowing her body to move with the motion of the horse instead of working against it.
“Better?” Inhaling her scent, I pick up trace particles of cortisol, indicating her stress level remains high.
“Yeah, kind of.” Her hands, still on my thighs, no long hold on with a death grip. “Where are we going?”
“If guessing, to a cave in the mouth of the mountain on the north side of Keegan’s property.”
“Why there?” Her breaths now match mine.
“Because the rogues won’t follow.” My arm cradles her, keeping her pressed against me. Hand held against her midriff, I relish the warmth of her flesh under my fingertips.
“Why not?” The smooth skin of the side of her face brushes against my lips.
“It’s sacred.”
“Oh.” She releases her grip on my right thigh, lays her arm on mine, and then laces her fingers with mine.
At the base of a ravine, a mountain comes into view.
“See that?” I point at a trail cut into the side of the formation.
“Yeah, but it’s hard to see.” She leans forward on the seat.
Coo
l air rushes between my body and hers, punctuating the loss of heat.
“Is that where we’re going?”
“Yes. From here, we climb.”
Drawing the leads back, I bring the horse to a full stop, and then dismount.
“Come here.” I hold out my arms. “Swing your leg over.”
Sadie sits sidesaddle and then slides into my open arms. When her feet hit the ground, I draw her close, holding her in a firm embrace.
“What if they’re waiting? Hiding in the dark?”
“I’d know.”
I draw in a deep breath, filling my lungs. Traces of geckos, wild pigs, skunks, coyotes, and other small game register.
“How?” She clings to me.
“By smell.”
“Hey. I’ll come for you when it’s safe to return to your place.” The words echo, bouncing off the stone surface of the mountain. “We’re going to clear the area. Sentries are nearby if needed.”
“Thanks, Toby. I owe you—both of you.”
“That you do, whelp.” Toby ushers a series of whistles and all three horses trot off, leaving me alone with Sadie in the dark.
Chapter Fifteen
Sadie Reed
A BLACK VOID of nothingness surrounds me.
Even with the breeze blowing, air hunger forces me to inhale, but each breath lacks satisfaction.
“Come on.” He tugs my hand, urging me forward. “The cave isn’t far.”
Focusing, I shadow his steps, hoping to avoid tripping hazards, sharp rocks, thorns, and creepy crawlers of the night.
I stumble over something hard, then slide off the side of a rock into something prickly. An explosion of burning pain ignites across the sole of my foot.
“Ooh. Fuck.” I hobble on one foot, stubbing my toe. “Double fuck.”
Ethan releases my hand and looks back. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Sort of.” I slip and fall into him.
“Careful.” He steps in front of me, giving me his back. “Jump on.”
“What?”
“You heard me.” He squats. “Get on.”
The thought of pressing my body so intimately against his, makes my cool flesh flush, sending a wave of warmth rushing from head to toe.
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