Finding My Breaking Point

by C. C. Masters

  Fallon had a slight smile on his face as if he were listening to something pleasant. And maybe he was, if this thing was his mother. Shika’s face was just as expressionless as always, giving no hints as to the thoughts that may lay beneath.

  As if he had just been given an order, Fallon grabbed hold of an obsidian blade at his side and drew it as he stalked towards me. I readied myself for his attack. As soon as he lowered this barrier, I was going to throw everything I had at him. There was no way I was going to let him sacrifice me to release this evil.

  Fallon smiled at me as he approached and the second I felt his barrier drop, I attacked. I flung fire, ice, and blades made of air at him, but he deflected it all. I attempted to pull the magic out of him, like I had done to his father, but he was prepared for it. While the previous King of Winter had been arrogant enough to link with me so that he could rape my mind and take my magic, Fallon carefully kept his defenses in place to prevent me from doing the same to him.

  He reached for me with his empty hand and I physically attacked him since my magic hadn’t worked. I punched, kicked, bit, and scratched at him but he handled me like a misbehaving pup and dragged me toward the abyss. I felt the darkness trying to lure me into jumping, but I panicked again and redoubled my efforts.

  Shika had to help Fallon hold me down as I fought them both physically and magically. Despite my best efforts, Fallon cut my arm with the blade and let my blood drip onto the surface where it quickly disappeared. I felt something within that dark void pulling at the small amount of magic that I had left after my fight. I resisted as much as I could, but I felt my magic slowly trickle down into the darkness. To my utter astonishment, Fallon let go of me and pushed me to the side, throwing another one of those infuriating barriers over me.

  I could feel the darkness pressing against the weakened barrier of the abyss and shuddered. Fallon shot a grin in my direction. “Relax, I wouldn’t actually kill you while you wear Drake’s mark.”

  Drake’s mark? What the fuck? He and I would be having words the next time I saw him. But I guess I would have to be a tiny bit grateful that his underhanded sneakiness actually helped to save my life today – if I actually survived what was about to come through.

  “I’ll leave you here to greet my mother,” Fallon said with a nervous look at the prison barrier that was quickly deteriorating. “I’ll save my welcome for after she’s sated some of her bloodlust.”

  Shika opened a gateway for him and Fallon to step through and the moment the gateway closed behind them, Fallon’s barrier around me dissipated.

  Well, at least he wasn’t planning on leaving me completely helpless. I grabbed one of the lanterns, determined to get some space between me and the shadows that were oozing out at an alarming pace.

  I stumbled back through the path we had taken to get down here, but it had been hours of walking. There was no way I could escape before that thing followed. But I was determined to survive. Out of a sense of desperation, I decided I had a better chance as a wolf. I was faster in that form, and I would be able to see better in the dark. Without stopping my awkward jog, I stripped off clothes as I went. I didn’t bother to unlace the boots or take them off, I just shifted and stepped out of them as my feet turned to paws. Because I had to drop the lantern, I made a little ball of light that would illuminate my path enough for me to avoid injuring myself by crashing into anything.

  And then I ran.

  Chapter 24

  Austin

  Cold air whipped by me as I silently urged my snow mobile to go faster. Ingrid’s pack had already done the work of locating the cave where Justin would have taken Anna, and Ingrid had insisted on coming with us. I couldn’t deny her the ability to fulfill her duty as a white wolf and protect the world from what Justin wanted to release, but I also didn’t want Anna to lose the only connection to her mother’s family.

  Ingrid veered to the left and I followed closely. The terrain here was dangerous, and Ingrid had warned us not to stray from the path that she set for us. Her snow mobile slowed, and my brow furrowed in confusion before I saw the collection of abandoned snow mobiles situated around the small opening of a cave. Despite all of my coverings and the strong constitution I owed to being a wolf shifter, my hands were still numb from cold.

  Once I pulled up beside Ingrid, I extended all of my senses, searching for any sign of Justin, Anna, or the wolves he must have brought with him. There was nothing that I could feel, but I didn’t give up hope.

  “Gear up,” I said to my pack mates through our bond. “Night vision goggles and rifles at the ready.”

  The men around me all complied without question, readying themselves for battle. “Holts one and two – you’re first in,” James ordered. “Cody and Trevor will follow on your heels to offer cover while you breach the entrance. Spread out once inside and secure the area while the rest of us follow in. Call out any threats you see through the pack bond but remain in formation. Caleb, stay with Ingrid and remain at the back until we know the path is clear.”

  I gave James a nod to let him know the plan was a go. While I would have liked to be on point, I knew that the wolves James had chosen were the best trained for the job at hand. I flexed my arms and my fingers to get the blood flow moving enough that my trigger finger would be responsive when I needed it most.

  “Five, four, three, two, one, and go!” James shouted through our bond.

  My adrenaline spiked as we charged into the cave, only to find it empty. There were no lights to be seen in the darkness, and I didn’t intend on warning our prey we were coming. “Keep the night vision goggles on,” I told the others. “Stay silent and communicate only through the bond. Mason, Jason, you can remain on point for now, but we trade off to prevent fatigue.”

  I couldn’t sense any wolves nearby, but Ingrid had already warned us that we may have a long hike through the caves ahead of us. The cave blocked most of the wind from outside, which was a relief, but it still wasn’t warm enough to remove any of the bulky protective clothing that we all wore. Caleb quietly murmured my orders to Ingrid, since she wasn’t a part of our pack and wouldn’t be able to communicate that way, and Rich did the same for Sam.

  “Caleb, are you able to use iTAK offline to help us navigate?” I asked our tech specialist.

  “Yeah,” he answered. “I’ll keep the screen off to avoid giving our position away.”

  We crept through the cave at the ready, expecting to hear or see Justin and his wolves at any moment. We had been delayed in following behind them, but I was hoping we had made up time by using a faster jet and having Ingrid to guide us here. I had to believe we could make it to Anna before she was harmed.

  James suddenly froze. “Stop,” he called to all of us using the bond.

  After walking for almost an hour through the caves, the air had warmed enough for us to take off our hoods, but James unzipped his parka and took out the necklace Anna had made for him. My heart thudded with anxiety. James had assured all of us that Anna was still alive because he could feel the beat of her heart through the magic she had placed in the crystal, and he would know the moment she died.

  “What is it?” I asked him, unable to wait a second longer.

  “She’s close. I can feel the magic in the crystal getting stronger,” James answered with relief in his voice.

  Relief flooded through me at his proclamation. We weren’t too late.

  “Continue forward,” I ordered the group. “But stay on your toes, we’re getting close.”

  Chapter 25

  Anna

  I panted as I sprinted through the cave, but I couldn’t afford to slow down. My thoughts churned as I went. Maybe I could block the entrance to the cave somehow? Trap the darkness? I doubted that would work, as it seemed to be made more from shadows than anything else, but I was running low on ideas.

  I stumbled when I sensed the barest flicker of magic through my bonds that indicated my mates might be near. I had known they would come for me and my
heart warmed at the thought of not being alone in this, but dread also trickled through me. If I wasn’t sure I could protect myself, how could I protect them?

  The ground shook beneath my feet as I felt an explosion of magic and I struggled to stay upright. The vibrations caused sharp pieces of rock to shower down onto me and I shook out my coat to try and get rid of them. Once I regained my balance, I tore off again.

  Shards of rock tore at my paws as I ran, but I couldn’t let that stop me. The faster I ran, the stronger the glow of my mate bonds grew, telling me I was getting closer to my guys. I knew I had to reach them before the darkness did if I was going to have any hope of shielding them from this.

  My muscles burned but I pushed myself harder. I could feel a huge burst of magic coming towards me, and my mates were now close enough that I could pick up their faint scents ahead of me. “Get in a group close together,” I sent to them through the pack bond as soon as I was close enough to use it. I sent them an image of everyone close together with a protective barrier encasing them, so they knew what I intended to do.

  The magic behind me was moving faster than I was and I felt it catching up to me too quickly. The temperature in the cave was sinking rapidly as I ran further toward the exit, and I was glad I had changed into my wolf form. Relief flooded through me as I caught sight of my pack mates ahead of me and I urged my burning muscles to take me just a little bit farther. I threw a barrier over top of them as soon as I was close enough and tried to skid to a stop before I crashed into Cody, but because of my speed I just ended up tumbling through them until I collapsed into a heap at Austin’s feet. Austin sank his hand into my thick coat as he crouched next to my heaving form.

  I ignored their greetings and questions as I brought the edges of my barrier down to the ground to protect all of us from the dark magic that was hurdling down the tunnel towards us. “Brace yourselves!” I called to the group as they stared at the shimmering dark mass as it crashed into and then enveloped the bubble I had placed around us.

  The darkness swirled around us as if curiously exploring, but my heart sank when dark mist started to seep inside, and the whispers started.

  “Use your happy memories to protect yourselves,” I sent to the pack, hoping they could at least partially defend themselves that way.

  I knew it was risky, but I opened the bonds between me and my mates and sent all of my love to them. The whispers of the dark became louder, but I enveloped myself in the golden glow of my mate bonds and hoped with all of my heart that it was enough to protect us.

  A shout and a scuffle off to my left was quickly followed by a rifle firing at the ceiling of the cave. I looked over to see Sam and Trevor trying to restrain Mike while he shouted wildly and tried to attack. Austin turned away from me to help Rich tackle Quinn to the ground and take his weapon after he aimed it at his own head.

  The whispers faded as the figure of a woman started to take shape in the darkness. “You’re the one that freed me,” a female said, her voice echoing all around me. “But I’ve also tasted you before.”

  I got to all four feet to face her as her shape coalesced into a woman with ebony hair and pale skin. She smiled at me, then with a wave of her hand she made my barrier dissipate into nothing. “Not yet,” she crooned to her shadows. “We’ll feast in a moment.”

  The whispers receded from us and Mike and Quinn stopped struggling against my pack mates that were holding them down.

  “It’s a great thing to have the Morrigan owe you a favor,” she told me as she eyed my wolf form distastefully. “You look like Summer, but I can taste Winter and a small amount of myself in your magic.” She paused thoughtfully, then looked pleased. “Not me, my son. Let me see who he’s chosen.”

  A wave of pain hit me, and I felt my body transforming against my will. I trembled as I tried to stand after it felt like every bone and muscle in my body had been ripped apart and then pieced back together. I wasn’t willing to show weakness in front of this…entity, so I forced myself to stand tall and meet her eyes fearlessly. “Arctic wolves are creatures of Winter,” I told her quietly.

  She tapped a finger against her chin, and I felt her sifting through my memories as pain radiated through my skull. “The Arctic…yes, I see. It’s a desolate land of snow and ice that few can survive. Yet, your kind thrives here.” She gave me a nod of respect. “I approve of you for now, but you will have to pass my tests later.”

  Before I could even think of an answer she had dissolved into mist once again and rushed towards the exit of the cavern.

  “Fuck,” both of the twins said together.

  “Yeah,” I said weakly as I allowed myself to slump into Cody’s arms.

  I caught Ingrid’s gaze and was surprised to see the normally unflappable wolf with fear in her eyes. “The dark fae are free,” she said with dread.

  Caleb cleared his throat. “I think it might be time to try and contact Froston.”

  “And I have a few things to say to Drake,” I said darkly. “It seems he’s been using my ignorance against me.”

  “Fuck Drake,” Cody growled.

  I sighed. “I have a lot to tell you guys.”

  Chapter 26

  Anna

  I curled up in Austin’s lap as he gave me a gentle kiss on my forehead. We were on the jet headed back to Seaside, and I was exhausted. Ingrid and I had gone back into the cave so I could place a barrier over the gateway to the prison that had previously held the Morrigan and her cohorts. I wasn’t sure how long it would last, or if it would do anything at all, but I had to try something. Ingrid had stayed in the north with her pack not far from the prison so that she could monitor if anything else came out of that cave. I wasn’t expecting anything else to, but the fae were anything but predictable.

  The guys had taken everything I told them in stride. I had felt a brief flicker of sadness when I told Austin about Justin’s death, but there had been so many other things to discuss that we hadn’t lingered on it. We had argued about whether or not it was safe to return to Seaside, but my guys were stubborn. They wanted to dig in and defend their territory and they were confident they could win against anyone who came against them.

  I wasn’t as confident. The council still considered me an enemy, and Austin would lose his seat for harboring a fugitive, so we couldn’t expect any help there. Our only comfort was that the council lacked the firepower to take the Seaside wolves on. Sure, they had enforcers, but they weren’t as well-trained and well-armed as my pack. Austin also doubted they would want to waste their resources or risk their reputation by attacking us. He thought they would simply exile him and anyone else who stood with him.

  Justin had disappeared at the same time that I had ‘escaped’ from the prison, so I would probably be blamed for his death as well. I had no idea what was going to happen to the Zilker pack. Justin had taken his strongest males with him and led them to their deaths, so there was no clear choice for a new pack master. Austin was determined to protect his former pack from predators who might see them as weak and vulnerable without strong leadership, but he was hesitant to claim the pack as his own and absorb it into his territory. That would result in those pack members also being declared exiles and give us even more territory to protect. We would already be stretched thin and Austin planned on pulling everyone in to Seaside so we had a smaller area to defend.

  Austin wasn’t sure what his break with the council would mean for our alliance with Arminius. Would Arminius honor the agreement that Austin had set up to protect wolves across the country? Would he continue his relationship with us? We would need him in our battle against the dark fae, because he had been on the winning side during the last war.

  And as far as our plan to capture or defeat the goddess of war and death; we were going to pull our people in to protect them, find allies to work with us, and hope that some of the other fae would take our side. Seeing as how Fallon had been involved in setting his mother free, I didn’t hold much hope for finding allies in
Winter. But now that I knew my mother was in Summer, I had a whole host of reasons as to why I needed to visit that world.

  And if all of that wasn’t enough, Austin was also risking a potential mutiny in the pack by returning with me. Blaze had decided I was the enemy and a lot of the guys trusted his opinion. Would Austin be able to win them over to his side? Would they ever be able to look past my fae side to see that I was a wolf just like them?

  I inhaled Austin’s scent deeply and let the warmth of his magic sink into me. No matter what happened, I knew that I would stay by Austin and the rest of my wolves.

  Epilogue

  Sam

  The entire world had gone insane.

  I flicked off the television, knowing I would just keep seeing more of the same. Death, violence, and hatred were everywhere. Humans hadn’t taken the news of the supernatural world well, and that was an understatement.

  There were riots, protests, and human militias forming everywhere. The human governments were playing nice for now, but I think that had more to do with the lamia controlling them than any real tolerance or acceptance. The lamia might be powerful, but they couldn’t control every human on earth.

  But not all the supernaturals were behaving either. Wolf packs everywhere had declared huge sections of land to be off-limits to humans. Lamia now hunted openly, and quite a few humans had lined up to be paid donors. Unfortunately, a lot of them had probably done so merely to get protection from the violence all around them and for the guarantee of a steady supply of food.

  The Seaside wolves were trying to keep what they were a secret, not wanting to become a target, but it probably wouldn’t be long before the pack was outed. Humans had started banning wolves from their towns and the barely-stocked grocery stores that lay within. Trade routes were disrupted everywhere because of the chaos and violence, and food prices were astronomical. Riots happened on a daily basis and many towns had become more armed encampments than anything else. Cities were a dangerous place to be as food sources were very limited and closely hoarded by the humans who had access to them.