by Kali Argent
“Is that normal?” Her voice came out hushed. “Is she supposed to be that big?” She jerked around to stare at Rhys. “Do you get that big?”
Rhys shook his head. “No. Definitely not.”
She turned to Deidra. “You?”
“Nope. Not even close.”
If Mackenna could have frowned, she would have. She’d never been part of a pack, and she’d never seen another werewolf shift besides her mother. Since her mom looked exactly like her, right down to the color of her fur, she hadn’t considered her size abnormal.
Seeing everyone’s reactions now, especially Rhys and Deidra, that clearly wasn’t the case.
“A demon wolf,” Deidra said, and she sounded awestruck rather than afraid or disgusted. “I thought they were just stories.” When she noticed everyone’s blank stares, she elaborated, “Hellhounds.”
Luca’s sharp laughter rang through the night. “A demon wolf? Really?”
“Stop it.” After giving him a censuring glare and a swat to the arm, Abby stepped off the patio, her posture calm and relaxed. “She is no hellhound.” She reached her hand out but stopped far short of actually touching Mackenna. “May I?”
Still eager for an ally in all the chaos, Mackenna whimpered as she lowered her head and pressed her nose to the female’s palm. Her skin was warm and soft, and it smelled of soap and…cheese. Apparently, she’d been snacking before everyone had been asked to meet outside.
“She is a Primus Wolf,” Abby said as she stroked the ruff of fur that encircled Mackenna’s neck. “The first wolves. The Primus are the origins of the species. They were fierce warriors, protectors of kings and queens. All modern werewolves are descended from them.” She pulled her hand away and let out a musical little laugh. “Isn’t she magnificent?”
Mackenna didn’t feel magnificent. She felt like a bug under a magnifying glass. How could she be something and not know it? Abby had to be wrong. Her mother had taught her a lot about being a werewolf. Well, she had taught her a lot about how to hide the fact that she was a werewolf. Surely, she would have told her if she was descended from some ancient line responsible for the creation of the entire species.
“I thought the Primus line had died out,” Deidra said, but she sounded uncertain. “They were hunted to extinction almost a thousand years ago.”
“Clearly not.” With what appeared to be a great deal of effort, Rhys pried his gaze away from Mackenna and focused on Abby. “How do you know all this?”
“I read,” she answered dismissively. She didn’t even spare him a glance.
The information was in no book Mackenna had ever read. In fact, she had never even heard of the Primus until now.
Frustrated and tired of being the only one there without a voice, she lowered herself back to the ground and called forth the change. Unable to clear her mind of all its conflicting thoughts, the transition took a little longer this time, but less than a minute later, she knelt on the frozen earth, naked and shivering in the cold.
A blanket fell over her back, and she looked up with a grateful smile at Abby. Then, Cade’s arms came around her, dragging her upright and into his embrace. She took only a moment to soak up his strength and support, because right then, she didn’t need protection. She needed answers.
On the bright side, at least no one was talking about locking her in a cage and poking her with needles.
“How can I be one of these Primus Wolves?” she demanded of no one in particular.
“Well, when a mommy wolf and a daddy wolf,” Lynk began.
“Shut up,” at least six different people interrupted in unison.
“What about your mom?” Cade asked as he adjusted the blanket more securely around her shoulders. “Was she like you?”
“She was. I never knew there was any other kind of werewolf. I thought they all looked like me.”
His lips turned down at the corners. “You didn’t know other werewolves? None?”
Mackenna shook her head. “I mean, I met a few in college, but it wasn’t like we got together on the full moon to compare notes. Why wouldn’t my mom tell me?”
“You were only thirteen when she died,” Cade reasoned. “Maybe she was waiting until you were older, but she never got the chance.”
“Primus weren’t just hunted by humans,” Abby told her. “Gemini hunted them, too. For a long time, it was thought that if you killed a Primus under a Wolf Moon, you could absorb their power. Nonsense, of course, but people believe all sorts of things.”
“I think your mom was just trying to protect you.” Hugging her close, Cade pressed a kiss to her temple.
Her mother had taught her what countless other Gemini parents had passed on to their children. Don’t reveal her true nature. Blend in, learn to appear human, and stay hidden. Meeting up with other wolves to run under the full moon was too dangerous. It would draw too much attention and risk discovery.
The only reason Jess had known was because she’d followed her into the woods one night on the full moon. Mackenna had been terrified, but Jess had thought it was the most amazing thing in the world. Jess had promised to keep her secret, and as far as Mackenna knew, she’d never broken that vow.
Still, if her mother had been so desperate to keep her safe, she should have told her who she was. What she was.
“She should have told me.”
“I’m not arguing that, baby.”
“No one else can know,” Roux said. She sounded both sad and resolute about the fact. “Not about what she is. Not that she’s immune to the virus.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Deidra agreed. “Not just for Mack, but for all of us.”
“We all have to agree to keep this between us.” Stepping forward, Deke turned to face the rest of the group and folded his arms across his broad chest. “Does anyone have a problem with that?”
“Thank you,” Mackenna said when everyone shook their heads. “I know it’s not fair to ask you to keep this secret.”
“It’s not fair to you, either,” Luca said, surprising everyone. “There are, however, other people who know.” He came forward as well and wrapped his arm around Abby. “That’s why the Hunters kept you for so long, isn’t it?”
Mackenna honestly couldn’t say if her unique status as a Primus had anything to do with it. The answer was probably yes, but at the time, she’d had no context, and the Hunters had never specifically said. They had seemed much more interested in her immunity than the fact that she shifted into a giant wolf.
“Me and a few others. Like I said before, there are at least three other Gemini who have been there as long as I was. Maybe they’re immune, too?” And speaking of immunity. “I understand why no one else can know about me, but I still want to help.” It was the entire reason she’d revealed herself to them in the first place. “I don’t know if a cure is even possible, but—”
“Would you be willing to provide a blood sample?” Dr. Lancaster asked.
“That’s all?” Mackenna checked. “Just a blood sample?”
The doctor grinned. “That’s all. Just a small vial so I can run some tests. Now, I don’t want you to get your hopes up.” She spoke to the whole group then. “This is not my area of expertise. I might be able to tell you if a cure is possible, but I wouldn’t know how to go about creating one.”
It was a start. A small one, but a start, nonetheless. “I’ll do it.”
“What about humans?” Roux asked. “I mean, if we’re alive, we’re obviously immune. Why hasn’t anyone tested us?”
“They have.” Linking her fingers together in front of her, Dr. Lancaster pursed her lips for a long moment before she continued. “While Gemini may appear human, their DNA is vastly different. In simple terms, you can’t pass immunity between the two.”
“Well, that sucks.”
Leave it to Roux to put it so succinctly.
“So, what now?” Mackenna asked her mate when the rest of the group began to break apart and head back into the hospital.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I just found out I’m from some ancient line of god-like werewolves.”
“I don’t think anyone used the term ‘god-like,’ but I get what you’re saying.” He held her blanket while she changed back into her clothes, then draped it around her shoulders again. “It’s a lot to process.”
“What do I do about it?”
“I don’t think you do anything about it, to be honest. It’s just who you are.”
Okay, true, but it felt bigger than that.
“Don’t let everyone’s reaction get you worked up,” he added as he reached out to open the door for her.
“Do you think there are others like me?”
“Maybe. Probably.” He sighed and shook his head. “I think it would be nearly impossible to find them.”
She hadn’t been suggesting they go look. They had enough things to worry about without venturing out on some side-quest to try and trace her ancestry. Being the last of some fabled lineage of wolves was a lot of responsibility, though. Too much. Imagining others out there like her, even if they were hiding in isolation, made her feel a little better.
“It would just be nice to not be alone.”
Stopping in the middle of the dining hall, Cade spun around and jerked her into a heart-stopping kiss that made her pulse race and her legs tremble. “You listen to me, Mackenna Wade. You will never be alone. Ever. Got it?”
She’d never seen him so fierce, and she felt his conviction right down to her soul. He was right, of course. She had an incredible mate and an amazing new family. They were a team. They looked out for each other, took care of each other. In every way that mattered, she was the luckiest person on the planet.
“Got it.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him in for another kiss. “But just to be safe, maybe you should remind me again.”
Chapter Seventeen
Two nights before the full moon, Luca called a meeting to go over the final preparations for the mission to the Hunter camp. Lounging back in one of the chairs around the conference table, Cade linked his hands together over his abdomen and listened while everyone attempted to talk over one another.
The plan was simple enough. They’d park three SUVs and two cargo vans at the edge of the woods near now unused service road. According to Mackenna, the prisoners would be given a ten-minute head start in which they would all inevitably try to make it to freedom. Of course, none of them ever made it as far as the highway, and those who strayed from the woods were easily hunted down thanks to the tracking chips in their necks.
“Why don’t they just remove the tracking chips like you did?” Roux asked.
Mackenna gave her a sad little smile. “Some tried. They all bled out before they could find help.”
Dr. Lancaster cleared her throat. “Adrenaline injections should be enough to trigger the natural healing process. If they’re anything like Mackenna was when she came in, it won’t be enough to heal them completely. Still, it should keep them from bleeding out when we remove the trackers.”
“We just have to make sure we herd them in the right direction,” Deke added.
Jai Webber, the only remaining member of the Valkyrie left at the safe house, nodded. “Leave that to me,” he said. “I’ll make sure we get them to where they need to be.”
Still, the entire plan hinged on timing, and the biggest piece of that puzzle was getting the Coalition into position to distract the Hunters while the Revenant completed the extraction. It was all a pretty big “if,” and they still had to decide who would tip off the guards.
“It can’t be a human,” Luca said from his usual place at the head of the conference table.
Naturally, everyone agreed. A stray human would be taken and locked up on sight. Any mention of Hunters would be disregarded as either lies, or worse, a trap.
“They’d probably be more sympathetic to a female,” Roux suggested.
Again, everyone in the room nodded. Everyone except Cade.
“I’ll do it,” Deidra offered. She bared her fangs and snarled when everyone looked at her. “What? I said I’ll fucking do it.”
“O’Malley,” Deke said, holding his hands up for peace when she glared at him. “you don’t exactly look like a damsel in distress.”
After a moment, Deidra relaxed her posture and shrugged. “And that’s not exactly an insult.”
The only other female Gemini in the room were Thea and Mackenna. All eyes turned to Mackenna.
“No.” Covering his mate’s hand with his own, Cade sat up straighter in his chair and shook his head. He pointed to the female shifter. “Thea can do it.”
“Mackenna is the better option.” Deke spoke practically, without emotion or inflection. “She’s been to the camp. She knows the details.” He dipped his head in her direction. “No offense, but you’re no soldier.”
“She’s non-threatening,” Roux added, though she seemed to do so reluctantly.
Cade glared at her. “No. It’s too risky.”
Roux chewed her bottom lip as her gaze flitted between him and Mackenna. “I don’t think they would suspect her.”
“I said it’s not happening.” With every word, his voice rose, and he had to will himself to remain seated. “Did you forget that it’s going to be the full moon? She’s going to have to shift. What if she shifts in front of the Coalition?”
“She won’t,” Rhys interjected.
Deidra nodded her agreement. “We can fight it if we want. It’s not exactly compulsory unless we go too long without shifting. Just uncomfortable.” She shuddered visibly. “That’s why the virus is so bad, and Ravagers progressively get worse.”
“Have you all lost your minds?” Forfeiting the battle for self-control, Cade surged to his feet, spittle flying from his mouth as he shouted the words. “You’re all willing to risk her life on a maybe.” He shook his head. “No. It’s not going to happen. I won’t let it.”
Luca shifted in his chair, just a small, subtle movement, but all attention in the room turned to him. “I haven’t heard anyone ask Mackenna what she wants.” His piercing gaze cut across the room to land on Cade’s mate. “What do you think?”
“I think…” There was an apology in her expression when she looked up at Cade. “I think I can do this. I want to help, and they’re right. I’m the best one for the job.”
Sacrifice the few to save the many.
He couldn’t count the number of times he’d said those words. It had been his motto, the creed he’d lived and led by when he had commanded just a small faction of human rebels. If one of them fell behind or was captured, they were on their own. He couldn’t risk the entire group to save one person.
That had all changed when he’d—unwillingly and unofficially—joined the Revenant. They never left anyone behind, something they’d proven time and time again. No life was more or less valuable than another. The Revenant had saved him from the Abraxas coven. They’d risked everything to rescue Abby from a pride of lion shifters.
They protected everyone the moon touched, fought for every person who couldn’t fight for themselves. Every member of the group knew what they were getting themselves into. They all lived with the understanding that the next mission might be their last.
Mackenna wasn’t naïve or ignorant. She knew the risks. Like the rest of them, she knew what she was signing up for, and she’d made her decision with eyes wide open. To deny her that right, especially in front of the entire group, was to say that he didn’t trust her. He would essentially be telling her that he didn’t think she could do the job, that she was weak and incapable.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. He had no doubt that she could accomplish anything. It was only his fear of losing her that held her back.
“I need some air.”
Mackenna didn’t follow when he left the room, but he hadn’t expected her to. Christ, he didn’t know how the others dealt with it. He didn’t know how Deke and Rhys watched
their mates race into battle and not completely lose their shit. Maybe they were just more evolved than him. Maybe they weren’t as selfish.
He truly believed everyone had the right to fight for what they believed in, even his mate. He just wished what she believed in was rescuing kittens or eating an organic diet.
Wandering toward the rec room, he stopped at the mouth of the hallway when he noticed Abby seated at a large, round table with three of the children who still remained at the safe house. Crayons and markers had been scattered across the tabletop, and the kids chattered excitedly about their works of art while Abby listened and nodded. She smiled often and exclaimed over their drawings with genuine enthusiasm. It was the most relaxed, the most normal Cade had seen her since her rescue.
“Look!” A little boy no older than six with a mop of golden hair held up his drawing. “Do you like it?”
Cade couldn’t see the picture, but he did see Abby’s eyebrows pull together briefly before her face transformed into a brilliant smile.
“I love it! Just look at those wings. Good job, Conner.”
A little girl about the same age wrinkled her nose. “What’s that supposed to be?”
“It’s the Others,” the boy, Conner, responded, and he sounded utterly exasperated with her lack of knowledge. “They bring you presents if you’re good.”
“That’s Santa Claus,” the girl shot back with a roll of her eyes.
Cade coughed to cover his laughter, but no one seemed to notice him.
“My mom says the Others are bad,” the other girl at the table whispered. “She says that when you die, they come and steal your gold!”
Over the years, Cade had heard various and creative tales about these so-called boogeymen of the paranormal world. From what he could piece together, they were nothing more than the stuff of myth, told to children to frighten them into eating their vegetables and cleaning their rooms. He’d never heard anything about them stealing gold, though.
“Your soul,” Abby corrected the child gently. “They don’t steal it, though. The Others come and take your soul when you die, and they lead you to the next life.”