by Dana Archer
“Drive faster.” It’s all I can say or do at the moment while I work on compartmentalizing the agony. I can’t allow it to rule me. Mya needs me.
I won’t fail her. Or us. If I do… I don’t deserve to live or love again. Ever.
Twenty-Five
Rick
With each mile we drive, the fogginess in my head lifts. The strength in my limbs returns. Panic settles over me, tightening my chest. If I lost Mya… I shake my head. Now’s not the time for paranoia. There’s one sure way to tell if Mya is still alive. I close my eyes and reach inside myself as I do when I visit my wolf.
My soul shines over the realm where my wolf resides. The small piece of Mya’s soul entwined into it casts a rainbow of colors over the meadow my wolf favors. She’s still alive. Otherwise, I would’ve lost the rays of happiness she brought into our lives. The shifter who dies reclaims the piece of their soul when they leave this world so they can give it away in their next life.
Goddesses, that’s my worst nightmare. I never want to lose Mya. Once we soul-bond in our next lifetime, our souls will remember our love and draw us together, just like the couple from my birth pack. Until then, I’ll remember us and I’ll fight for us, but I want centuries of love imprinted on my soul, not just a few days of heaven.
I turn my attention to my wolf. He’s lying in the rays dancing over the grass. He’s not anxious, not panicked, not aggressive. He’s waiting, reserving his energy.
“Do you feel Mya?”
Uri’s question pulls me back to my world. I roll my shoulders, loosening them. I’ll take the cue from my wolf. There’s nothing we can do until we find Mya. Anxiety won’t help. “No. She’s still alive, though.”
“Then she’s either unconscious or too far away for you—”
My cell rings, stopping Uri’s words. I pull it out. Ella’s picture shows on the display. “Hello.”
“Wyatt Silverman just called the main Shifter Affairs line to report an accident and…and a murder.”
“Mya?” Her name is all I can get out. Mya can’t be dead. I still feel her.
“Yes. Wyatt’s claiming Mya killed his nephew.”
“What?” I grip the phone tighter.
Uri brakes hard going into a sharp turn. I slide into the passenger door.
“I know, I know.” Ella makes a growling sound. “He’s a lying piece of garbage. He’s also our only witness.”
As a dominant male, his word will be believed over Mya’s any day. My jaw cracks from gnashing my teeth. “Where?”
“About a mile from Todd’s cabin and a few hundred feet from Wyatt’s house.”
I glance at Uri. He nods and presses his foot to the floor. The car accelerates.
“We’re close.” I scan the road, looking for any signs of a disturbance or Todd’s truck.
“Don’t kill him. Do you hear me?” Ella’s pleading voice carries over the line. The change from her normally commanding aura stops me from hanging up. “There’s more than you know going on.”
“Tell me.” My voice is barely audible. My wolf’s too close. I feel him moving just under my skin. No longer calmly waiting, he’s coiled and ready to attack.
“Wyatt contacted the Council behind Todd’s back. Told them Mya’s been living on her own. Sleeping with other men. Threatening to abort the babies she’s carrying and run with Peyton and Rey.”
My growls echo within the confines of the car. I want my hands around his throat so I can watch him take his last breath. “He’s going to—”
“He’s going to be convicted of Ambrosia dealing.” Ella cuts me off. “You are not going to kill him! That’s an order. Once the Council learns about how he’s selling drugs out of a vending machine, they’ll order his death.”
Bree’s overly excited face when she exclaimed she could handle things flashes before my mind. “We never made it into the diner. Bree and her partner stayed behind. I don’t think she’s going to wait for help.”
Ella groans. “I’m heading out there now. Remember. Don’t kill Wyatt.”
I end the call without responding. I can’t guarantee I won’t attack Wyatt. Order or not. If he’s threatening Mya, I have no choice but to act. She’s mine to protect. I’d give up everything for her, even this lifetime we could share together.
I sense my wolf’s agreement. Mya’s happiness and her life are more important than ours. We won’t fail her.
My wolf’s soul blends completely with mine as it did this morning. Shadows brighten, bringing out hidden details of the world I’ve never noticed even while in my wolf’s form. Sounds sharpen, drawing my attention to the rush of Uri’s blood in his veins. Smells separate, allowing me to pick up on the faint scent of a female on Uri’s clothes. I can’t place the woman by her scent. It doesn’t belong to the waitress he took out last night. It’s not Ella either. The coroner, maybe?
“Look!” Uri points.
Skid marks lead off the road. A few feet into the woods, Todd’s truck is twisted around a tree. Smoke seeps from the engine.
I’m out of the car before it comes to a complete stop. The scent of death reaches me. My chest constricts on a wave of anxiety, but I don’t understand why. Mya’s not dead. I still feel her. The knowledge doesn’t ease me. I need to see her for myself. “Mya!”
No response.
I skid down the side of the embankment and scan the area. A slumped form in the cab of the truck catches my eye. I rush forward. The driver’s door is open. Todd’s feet are hanging out as if he attempted to get out. He never did. The bullet between his eyes stopped him.
The passenger door remains closed, but the windshield is busted. Blood coats the shards remaining. I swipe my finger over the edge of one and bring it to my nose. “It’s Mya’s.”
“She was thrown from this truck.” Uri surveys the area as I did minutes ago. “Where is she?”
With my wolf close, I inhale, absorbing the thousands of scents I’d normally ignore. I latch on to Wyatt’s and follow it a couple dozen feet into the woods. The craggy and broken branches of a rhododendron bush mark the spot where Mya must’ve landed. More of her blood is soaked into the disturbed ground.
A trail of Mya’s blood leads away from the spot and farther into the woods. Wyatt’s scent is blended with Mya’s. “Wyatt has her.”
Uri’s phone rings. He answers it. I don’t stay behind to listen to the conversation. With the strength of my wolf fueling me, I follow Mya’s scent, running faster than humanly possible.
The trees blur around me. The ground seems to push me forward as if the world around me is helping me. Sooner than I expect, Todd’s cabin is in front of me. It looks no different from the last two times I was out here, except instead of Todd standing on the front stoop, Wyatt is there.
My gun is in his hand. Wyatt raises it, aiming it at me. “Stop right there, Agent Lyall.”
I stop in my tracks. Unlike Uri and Ilan, I can die from a bullet, especially one aimed at the space between my eyes. But I can’t die now. Mya needs me. “What’s going on? Where’s Mya?”
“I know what you did to my nephew’s breeding partner. I smell your stench all over Mya.”
A bullet hits the ground inches from my feet. I curse. Wyatt is crazed. “Put the gun down.”
“You disgraced my nephew.” Rage twists Wyatt’s face. He steps off the stoop. “You’ve disgraced me!”
The sound of snapping twigs reaches me. I don’t take my gaze off Wyatt. My wolf feeds me the knowledge of who’s coming by pushing the approaching shifter’s scent to the forefront of my mind. Uri has arrived. So has another shifter, a male I met only briefly. Ethan Jager, alpha of the Jager pack, is with my partner. Both shifters are angry. Their fury twists their scents.
Without looking at Uri or Ethan, I take another step. Shooting me now would be cold-blooded murder. Doing so would seal Wyatt’s fate and save Mya. “I haven’t disgraced anyone.”
“Liar!” Wyatt’s lips curl, revealing his fangs. “You bit her. Left your scent on my nephew’s breed
ing partner. I won’t stand for it. You’ll pay for disgracing my family!”
“Where’s Mya?” I’m not going to feed into Wyatt’s anger. He’s crazed, and he has my true mate. Getting her away from Wyatt is all that matters.
“Alive and safely restrained.” Wyatt jerks his head, motioning behind him. “And she’ll stay that way until she learns her place.”
Out of the corner of my vision, I catch a glimpse of Uri running toward the house. Wyatt fires, kicking dirt up directly in Uri’s path. “The next one goes in your face, Royal. You might not die, but the shot will put you out long enough to take your head.”
Ethan, a tall blond shifter who looks as if he should be presiding over a courtroom, moves between me and Wyatt. He loosens his tie and unbuttons his suit jacket. “Threatening Shifter Affairs agents is not a very smart move. As your alpha, I caution you to think carefully about what you’re doing.”
“As my alpha, you are obligated to take my side,” Wyatt counters.
“You lost your alpha’s protection the moment you broke the law. Now you’re at our mercy.” I move forward. No way will I allow Ethan Jager to fight my battles.
“What law did you break?” Ethan asks Wyatt.
“Besides kidnapping Mya?” I raise a brow but don’t give Wyatt a chance to respond. I step forward until I’m just out of Wyatt’s arm reach. A shot aimed at my head from this distance would end my life before I could move to avoid it. “Wyatt’s been dealing Ambrosia out of his diner in town.”
Wyatt smiles as if he knows a secret I don’t. “Is that a fact?”
“As a matter of fact, it is.” I match Wyatt’s grin. “And by the end of the day, we’ll have proof.”
“Maybe after the fire marshal sweeps through the burnt remains of Harper’s Diner, he’ll uncover some.”
“A fire?” Keeping Wyatt in my peripheral vision, I turn slightly to look at Uri. “What happened?”
“I’m not holding my breath.” Uri goes on as if I didn’t speak. “Especially since the explosion killing six people, including an off-duty police officer, and injuring close to a dozen more humans originated in the lobby, where the vending machine was located.”
Wyatt’s smile twists his features into a corrupt mask of lunacy. “It’s a good thing I have insurance, then. Isn’t it?”
“Are you telling me these Shifter Affairs agents are lying about you selling Ambrosia?” Ethan pushes the power of his position as alpha into the question, raising the hairs on my arms.
Wyatt flinches. He lowers his gaze and the gun, but the crazed smile remains. “If Ambrosia was being sold out of my diner, I didn’t know about it. Maybe Todd did, however. I’d suggest asking him. Unfortunately, that won’t be possible. Mya killed him.”
“Mya didn’t kill Todd. She was thrown from the truck, and Todd died as he was getting out of it.” Any forensics unit would make the same conclusion. Of that I have no doubt.
Wyatt flips the gun and holds it, handle first, to Ethan. “I’m glad you were home when I called and were able to come out here immediately. It makes things so much simpler.”
Warning bells go off. Wyatt planned this, from the fire to Todd’s murder. I have no proof, but I’d bet my life on my conclusion.
Ethan takes the gun and hands it over to Uri. “Makes what simpler?”
“With my nephew gone, I claim his belongings as mine,” Wyatt announces with the deranged smile on his face.
Every inch of my body tenses. While nonchalantly worded, Wyatt’s claim could ruin everything. “Todd’s house already belongs to you. So does his truck. What else could he own that would be of any value to you?”
Wyatt cracks the front door and calls out, “Abby, my love, bring Mya outside.”
Uri’s curse yanks my attention to him. Features pinched and hands clenched, he appears ready to snap. I turn back in time to watch the redheaded waitress Uri cornered at Harper’s Diner yesterday step outside with a bound and gagged Mya. Abby’s holding a knife to Mya’s throat.
“Mya!” I take a step forward. Abby presses the tip of the knife into Mya’s throat. A trickle of blood drips from around the point of the blade. I freeze. “Are you and the babies okay?”
Mya nods slightly.
“Drop the knife, Abby.” Uri’s voice booms in the clearing around Todd’s old house.
The blade falls from Abby’s hand. She hunches over, cowering in the face of Uri’s fury. I can feel Uri’s power along my skull too. Royals are like that. They’re calm until something triggers them, then they unleash the rage of three large predators instead of one.
I run forward and sweep Mya into my arms. The cold metal linking her wrists together brushes against my skin. I grasp the metal, but Mya shakes her head and mumbles something.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Agent Lyall. Though, I must admit, I wouldn’t mind if Mya loses her hands. Then, she won’t be able to fight me off.” Wyatt pulls Abby against his chest and pets her red hair as if she was a child or a pet.
“Wyatt’s right.” Uri strokes a finger over the metal cuffs. “These are designed to sever whatever body part they’re enclosing if a shifter were to struggle or shift.” He looks over his shoulder. “How did you get them? They’re illegal.”
“Are they?” Wyatt’s eyes widen, but the surprise is about as believable as the accusation that Mya shot Todd. “Here I thought they were sex toys. No wonder my late female died when she shifted while wearing one.”
Fury brings my wolf close. His growl crawls up my throat, making the inhuman noise sound distorted coming from my human throat. “Get them off. Now.”
“Not until she accepts her new role as my possession. I’d rather not accidently kill her before she delivers the sons that’ll carry on my family’s name,” Wyatt says coolly, as if he was discussing something as trivial as the weather, not Mya’s future.
“Mya doesn’t belong to you.” I stand, holding Mya in my arms. “She’s mine.”
Wyatt laughs. “No, you fool. She’s mine. Todd’s death guarantees it.”
“How do you know Mya is having sons?” Uri tilts his head to the side, a move I’ve grown used to seeing while interviewing witnesses and suspects. “As far as I knew, she didn’t know the gender yet.”
“Todd told me.” Wyatt pushes Abby behind him. “He was quite proud too.”
“When did he tell you this?” Uri presses.
Instead of answering, Wyatt approaches us. “Give her to me. Those boys she’s carrying are the future of my family.”
“No.” Although it pains me, I hand Mya over to Ethan. I can’t fight while I’m holding my heart and soul outside my body. “Mya is my true mate. The sons she’s carrying are mine, just as her daughters waiting at home are mine.”
Wyatt curls his hand. “Then we’ll take this before the Shifter Council. They’ll side with me.”
“There’s no reason to take this beyond your pack’s lands. Solve this tonight.” Uri looks between me and Wyatt. “Don’t you agree that would be best? Stretching this out will put undue stress on Mya. That’s not good for her or her sons.”
“What do you have in mind?” Ethan asks.
“Wyatt is a follower of the old ways.” Uri turns his focused stare on Wyatt. “Aren’t you?”
“Yes.” The pride in Wyatt’s voice isn’t surprising. Neither is the possession in his expression as he watches Mya.
“Then you should fight for your right to the sons Mya is carrying as our forefathers would’ve done,” Uri says as if the reasoning is simple.
“I don’t have to fight. The Shifter Council—”
“Still bows down to the will of our goddesses as they should.” Uri interrupts Wyatt. “Now that Mya is a widower, she and Rick can step into any pack’s circle and be blessed under the light of the full moon by its alpha. Such ceremonies are recognized by both the human government and the Shifter Council as having the same legal rights as breeding partners or soul-bonded mates.”
“I would do so for Mya
and Rick if they asked me. True mates belong together. Our pack’s spirit would agree,” Ethan adds.
“Our pack’s spirit would agree that Mya’s sons belong in our pack! Not Rick’s.” Wyatt unleashes his claws and takes a single step forward. “If you blessed them, Mya would take my family’s future with her. You’d be killing off the Silverman bloodline! Ours is one of the strongest families belonging to the Jager pack. You’d be weakening your own pack!”
“No. Mya’s children would still carry Silverman blood. They simply wouldn’t bear your family’s name.” Ethan replies as if he was speaking to a child. Wyatt’s answering snarl reminds me of one too. “And if I’m not mistaken, they never bore your family’s name. Mya’s daughters carry her name. They were never even introduced as new members during our monthly gatherings.”
“Really?” Uri raises a brow. He tilts his head to the side and studies Ethan. “Did he even introduce Mya?”
“No.” Ethan studies Mya. “He cast her out weeks after she became his breeding partner. Even during the time she lived on our pack lands, nobody saw her. He kept her locked away.”
“If that’s the case, Wyatt’s survivor claim might not have any grounds of success. Let him take this before the Council.” Uri waves a hand at Wyatt in dismissal. “They’ll shut him down.”
“I’m not waiting that long! Mya will run the first chance she gets.” Wyatt locks his gaze with mine. “We’ll fight tonight, but I demand Mya be kept from my opponent. I won’t risk him hurting the sons she’s carrying.”
“I’d die for them, just as I would for—”
“Good, then it’s settled. Mya will remain in Ethan’s care while the two of you settle your dispute in the way of our forefathers.” Uri cuts me off, then looks from Wyatt to me. “In a berserker brawl.”
The only fight-to-the-death ritual still approved by the Shifter Council that relies on the consumption of Ambrosia.
Twenty-Six
Rick
There are so many things I want to say to Mya. With over two hundred feet separating us and dozens of people watching us, grabbing a few moments alone to do so is impossible. If I don’t survive this fight, I won’t ever get the opportunity to tell Mya how much she’s changed my life or how her love brightened my soul.