by M. A. Church
Tyler sucked in a breath. So, someone had seen his slip when he smelled Brier on Seth. Could he have been the one Seth thought was following them that day?
Brier’s eyes were blue also, and he prowled toward Elder Conrad. “That’s my mate. Do not speak of him like that, or you will regret it.”
Seth started after Brier, but Tyler laid his hand on Seth’s arm, stopping him. He shook his head. His gut told him this needed to play out.
“Mate? Mate!” Elder Conrad spun to face Dolf. “Alpha, tell me you’re not going to allow such a mating.”
“I do not answer to you. Not now and not ever,” Dolf retorted. “I asked Seth and Tyler here and welcomed them into my home. You’re making a spectacle of yourself, Elder Conrad. You need to leave.”
“I’m a spectacle? After what you have done to this clowder, you dare say that to me? Tell me you are not thinking of allowing such a thing. It would be sacrilege. By the goddess, haven’t you done enough already?”
Tyler flinched. What was it with these werecats using their goddess’s name in vain?
Elder Conrad waved his hand toward Kirk. “First you mate a human. Then you allow one of your betas to mate a human.”
Dolf hissed.
“Oh my God, will you get over yourself already?” Kirk scowled at Elder Conrad. “And here’s a thought. How about you and your little group join the twenty-first century? Your stupid speciesism and your good-ole-boy ways are fast becoming a thing of the past.”
“See how he speaks to his betters?” Elder Conrad demanded of Dolf. “He needs to be taught a lesson.”
Kirk’s belly laugh was heard all over the office. “Ah shit, that’s a good one. You think you’re better than me? Please. And I’m not even going to touch the teaching me a lesson part. I’m his mate, not a slave.”
“This is what I’m talking about,” Elder Conrad ranted. “Matters have gotten out of hand. These changes you’ve brought to our clowder are upsetting the natural order. Yet you keep allowing these humans in. And if that wasn’t bad enough, next came those vampire things.”
Remi sighed heavily. “Vetala. My mate is a Vetala. So is Sam’s. At least try to use the right terminology in your backward-ass ravings.”
Seth glanced at Tyler.
“And that’s another thing! You allowed that female to take a beta position. She isn’t even a werecat but whatever the hell Remi’s mate is.”
“Again, she is a Vetala, and she has a name. It’s Beta Janelle.” Remi narrowed his eyes at Elder Conrad. “Try to keep up.”
“Janelle won the position fair and square,” Dolf thundered.
“The only reason the position was open was because you let Aidric mate an Alpha werewolf. A werewolf!” Elder Conrad proclaimed, red in the face. “That’s something that should have never been allowed. Such a disgraceful thing. It was yet another humiliation perpetrated by our Alpha against this clowder.”
Tyler didn’t like the sounds of that. Elder Conrad acted as if he was some sort of judge and had found Dolf guilty of some imagined wrongdoing.
“Elder, you are way out of bounds.”
“Quiet, Omega.”
Tal paled.
Remi cringed.
“Look, you old coot, the goddess Bast arranged all those matings.”
“Blasphemy!” Elder Conrad screeched.
“How the hell is that blasphemy?” Kirk threw his hands in the air. “Every mating that has taken place at the Circle of Stone was blessed by the goddess. Or is it since you don’t agree with those matings, it must be blasphemy? Hate to tell you, but that’s not how that works.”
“Why are you even speaking to me?” Elder Conrad spat. “You’re not a real werecat. And what would a human know of—”
“Enough!” Dolf shouted. “Over the span of the last several minutes, Elder Conrad, you have insulted me, Tal, Kirk, Remi—damn near everyone in this room. Seth seems to be the only one you have not launched your vile accusations at.”
“Give it time. It’s coming,” Seth muttered.
“I invited Brier and his mates so I could inform them of my decision to accept them into the clowder—a joyful occasion you have sullied.”
“Joyful?” Suddenly Elder Conrad calmed. “You will not accept that abomination.”
Seth took a step toward Elder Conrad.
“No,” Tyler whispered, holding on to Seth’s hand.
“Seth? Wait. Please.” Dolf scowled. “Elder Conrad, you’re treading on very dangerous ground, and you don’t even know it. You do not get to tell me who I can and cannot accept. I am the Alpha. I make the decision. Period.”
“You’re destroying this clowder.”
“By all that is holy, I am trying to make things better, even though you and a few other elders work against me. We have to learn how to accept others who are not like us. We need to grow, because without growth, we wither and die. The old ways are not working, not as the world is today.”
Tyler jerked. Those words. Those were the exact same words Bast had said to him.
“This speciesism must stop. I’ve worked damn hard to make our new members feel welcomed and loved. I’m not destroying this clowder. It’s people like you, and your narrow-minded views, who are.” Dolf straightened. “I have accepted Tyler, a hybrid. I’ve also accepted Seth, who is a shadow walker. My word on this is final.”
Elder Conrad paled. “A… a… did you say a shadow walker? Have you lost your mind? Are you trying to destroy all that we are? They’re evil. Morally bankrupt. Dangerous. And you would expose us to such a menace? No. This has to stop. You have to be stopped.”
Bast said a threat loomed on the horizon—a death. If that happened, progress would come to a halt.
You are the one and only, child.
I understand, my goddess.
Elder Conrad pulled a gun from his coat pocket and pointed it at Dolf. “You must die, Alpha. It’s the only way to save us.”
“Dolf! Get down!” Remi shouted.
Everything moved in slow motion. Dolf yelled something. Tal tackled Kirk, and they crashed to the floor. Roaring, Remi darted at Elder Conrad. Brier spun toward Seth and Tyler. Tyler knew what he had to do. He knew why he was here. Remi wasn’t going to stop the threat in time, and Dolf could not be allowed to die.
This powerful werecat who’d only just met Tyler was prepared to stand for him. Accept him. Was willing to offer Tyler a place, even though Dolf knew it would cause problems. In all his life, Seth had been the only one to ever support him.
Elder Conrad fired.
Tyler calmly stepped in front of Dolf. The force of the bullet flung him backward into Dolf’s arms.
“No!”
There was no pain, but then a burning, aggravating feeling spread through him. He glanced down at the blood blossoming from the hole in his chest. Reaching out, he touched the wetness.
Someone screamed. Several someones were running around and shrieking. His heart slowed. There was so much blood. It poured from him. He was cold too. Frightfully so. And it was hard to breathe. There was a horrible copper taste in his mouth.
“No! Goddess, please. I can’t lose him. I just found him!”
The light receded. He drew one last breath… and everything went silent.
Chapter Twenty-Three – Seth
SETH’S MIND blanked as he watched Tyler crumple, dragging Dolf down with him. Someone shouted, but it wasn’t him. Time slowed. The air stilled. Nothing made sense.
Then Tyler’s heart stopped.
“No! Dolf, do something. Please!” Brier collapsed on his knees next to Tyler’s body.
There was a thump, a snarl, and a small cry. Seth glanced over briefly to see Remi sitting on top of Elder Conrad. The gun had been kicked across the room. Kirk picked it up, unloaded it, and slipped the bullets into his pocket.
Tal took the gun and sniffed it. He turned pale. “He used scent blocker. That’s why none of us smelled the weapon.”
“Fucker.” Kirk took the gun back f
rom Tal.
“Need a little help here, guys,” Remi called. “Got rope or something? Something to restrain him?”
“Just a second.” Tal rushed out of the office and came back a moment later with rope. Still dazed, Seth watched Remi tied Elder Conrad in such a way that he couldn’t shift.
“I… Goddess.” Dolf supported Tyler. Tears poured down his face. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. T-this was never supposed to happen. I… I promised him no harm would come to him while he was here. I failed him. I failed all of you.”
“No, you didn’t.” Kirk lowered himself next to Dolf and ran his hand through Dolf’s hair. “Elder Conrad failed not only himself, and us, but his goddess too. And why the hell was he carrying a gun?”
Tal wrung his hands. “The elder has been taken care of. Should I call Marshell?”
“Yes. Tell him it looks like our new jail is about to be put to use.” Dolf swiped at his face. “Elder Conrad is to be charged with murder.”
With a lingering glance at Brier and Seth, Tal hurried out of the room.
“Brier? Is there anyone I can call for you?” Kirk asked.
Brier didn’t speak, just shook his head. Gently he clasped Tyler’s bloody hand and lifted it to his lips, shaking as he cried silently.
Numbness in Seth’s mind spread. He pulled Tyler from Dolf’s arms and cradled him. He stared down at the man he loved more than himself. A tear tracked down his face, hung from his chin for a moment, then dropped, hitting Tyler on the cheek.
The light that was Tyler was gone, and the shadows threatened to overwhelm Seth’s soul. Never again would he run his hands through Tyler’s red fur. Or hear Tyler’s laugh. There would no longer be gentle touches, soft sighs, or needy moans.
Tal crept back into the room and stopped next to Dolf. “Marshell is on his way,” he said quietly.
Dolf nodded. He moved closer to Brier and rested his hand on Brier’s shoulder. “He won’t get away with this. Elder Conrad will be punished.”
Yes, he would. He’d pay, even if Seth had to burn the world down, destroy everything around him in order to make that happen. If they stood in his way, Seth would introduce them all to what hell truly was. Killing would be too easy. Abandoned in his realm enveloped by nothing seemed like the perfect revenge. Silence would be the only sound ever heard. Calm flooded Seth. Then he smiled. Oh yes, that son of a bitch would get what was coming to him.
When he was finished, he’d join Tyler on the other side, because he couldn’t survive the darkness without the light that was Tyler beside him. He didn’t want to.
“Seth?”
Slowly Seth raised his eyes and met Brier’s horror-filled gaze. “He’s dead.”
Brier’s breath caught on a sob. “You and Tyler were mated. I can’t lose you too. I just can’t,” he pleaded. “Seth, please. Whatever you’re thinking, stop. I can see the shadows in your eyes. Please, don’t give in. I need you. Mate with me.”
He needs me. The thoughts of violence receded. He couldn’t abandon Brier. There wouldn’t be the three of them now, but he’d tend to Brier like a mate should. Brier said he needed him, and Seth desperately clung to that. He wasn’t sure how it would work, but he didn’t care. They would survive this somehow and carry on….
And one day Seth would have his revenge. Perhaps not as violently as he first thought, but it would happen. He owed Tyler that.
“I need you too. I won’t leave you.” Seth struggled to swallow the desperation bubbling in his gut. He wasn’t sure he’d recover from losing Tyler, but he’d give Brier all that he had left. Maybe through Brier Seth could find a way to live. “You’re my mate. My one and only now.”
Brier shuddered. “I’ve begun to hate those words.”
“So have—” A sudden memory, buried in the fog, surface. A voice, sweet and feminine, spoke in his head.
Remember. Remember that place I showed you. The time has come, Seth.
“Holy shit.” Huge stones, placed in a circle, were suddenly frightfully clear in his mind.
“What?” Brier wheezed. “Seth?”
He knew what he had to do. Sadness receded and determination flooded his veins. Gently he laid Tyler on the ground and rested one hand against him. He grabbed Brier with the other and pulled them to the shadows. Shouts followed him, then… silence.
He visualized the Circle of Stone, and moments later he stepped from the darkness. There, in the middle where the grass was always green, he knelt and lay Tyler on the ground. Next to him, Brier groaned. His arm was around Dolf. Seth flinched. An extra passenger hadn’t been part of the plan, but oh well.
Seth looked toward the blue sky. Fluffy white clouds wandered by. We’re here, Bast.
Thank you.
“Fucking hell, that place is a nightmare.” Brier coughed. He collapsed, pulling Dolf down with him. Stunned, he glanced around. “Seth, what the hell are you doing? Why—?”
“Oh goddess. Oh my goddess.” Dolf retched but fortunately didn’t throw up. “What in the ever-loving hell just happened? What was that horrible place?” Dolf, on his knees, leaned against Brier.
“Sorry. I wasn’t expecting a tagalong. That was the shadow world,” Seth said. “My world.”
Dolf shuddered. “I never, never want to go there again.”
“Seth!” Brier desperately reached across Tyler’s body toward Seth. “Why? Why are we here? Why do this? And by all that’s holy, did you have to bring my Alpha? Do you know how that’s going to appear? Fucking hell, I bet Tal and Kirk are losing their shit right now. I need to call Remi and—”
“Brier,” Dolf whispered, “look.”
Pops of brightness flashed and swirled slowly in a circle, then picked up the pace, forming a vortex. Fog rose from the ground and was sucked into the tornado. The column whirled and spun. Blue sparks leaped from the twister and jumped from stone to stone. The hair on Seth’s arms stood up from the sudden rush of energy. There was a loud pop, and the lights disappeared.
From the mist, a figure stepped. “Welcome, Seth. Welcome, my children.”
The remaining color drained from Dolf’s face. “G-goddess Bast.” Already on his knees, Dolf bent until his forehead was touching the grass.
Bast strolled to Dolf and rested her hand on his shoulder. “Rise, Alpha of the West Falls clowder. I am so very proud of you. Rise, so your eyes may see what happens here today.”
Shaking, Dolf struggled into his feet. “Whatever my goddess wishes.”
She patted Dolf on the back, then turned to Brier. She drifted to him and caressed his cheek. “Child, you have had a rough go of it, and for that, I am sorry. But know that you pleased me with your determination to stand with Seth and Tyler. You were the perfect choice.”
Shaking just as bad as Dolf, Brier bowed too. “Thank you, my goddess.”
“Raise your eyes too. See what happens here today.”
Brier lifted his head. “Yes, my goddess.”
Finally, Bast walked to Seth. “You remembered.”
Seth stood. “I did. Is your buddy with you also?”
Bast smirked but waved her hand. Another pop and that bigass lion was sitting next to her. Seth heard both Dolf and Brier gasp. Bast winked at Seth. “Ask and you shall receive.”
The lion yawned and flopped down… damn near on top of Seth.
Seth rolled his eyes.
“Seriously, Seth. Ask and you shall receive. Come on, child, get with the program.” Bast tilted her head toward Tyler’s body, then shot Seth an annoyed glare.
“Oh. Oh!” Holy shit, was it possible? Was that all it would take to return the love of his life? Just ask? Could it honestly be that simple? “Goddess Bast, please, bring Tyler back to us. Brier and I need him.”
With a flick of her wrist, a white light surrounded Tyler’s body, lifting him. Tyler floated gently in the air as little sparks bounced playfully over him until they finally converged on the gap in his chest.
“Oh, please. Oh, please,” Brier pleaded.
<
br /> Dolf almost yanked Brier off his feet as he dragged him to Seth. Brier took Seth’s trembling hand. Dolf moved, separating himself from the two mates. Everyone watched the hole shrink until only new, pink skin remained.
Tyler gasped, taking a deep breath.
Brier sobbed.
Seth simply broke.
The scream of pain he refused to release earlier finally exploded free. Brier wrapped Seth in his arms. Together they shed tears of fear until there were none left.
“Um, guys?”
Both Brier and Seth jerked to face the hesitant voice.
“I’m the one who, like, died. Could I get some of that loving, you think?”
Brier shouted. Seth laughed hysterically. Both of them ran toward Tyler, who was standing on his feet, and smothered him in their embrace.
Bast crossed to Dolf. She smiled at the threesome but spoke softly. “There are those who don’t agree with the changes I’ve wrought. The old ways are not working, not as the world is today. I’ve brought change, and you were the instrument of that change. I have asked a lot of you, but you have risen to each occasion, Alpha.”
“Thank you, my goddess.”
Tyler lifted his head and stared at Dolf and Bast, even though Seth and Brier were still celebrating his return.
“I sent Seth and Tyler here because there was a threat that loomed—a death. Yours. I knew if this was allowed to happen, progress would halt. While Remi, Janelle, Heller, and Brier would have gladly given their life for you, that was not Fate’s plan. A sacrifice was called for—but it had to be someone with no connections or loyalty to you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The sacrifice had to come from the goodness of someone’s heart, someone pure. Someone with everything to lose and nothing to gain. Someone who had no bonds to you, as I said. Tyler stepped in front of that bullet because he understood how important you are to the future. And there are more changes to come.”
“But—”
“He was the only one in that room who could make the sacrifice. Tal and Kirk are your mates. Remi and Brier are your betas. Seth has blood on his hands. His reasons were valid, granted, but there is still blood there. Tyler had a choice to make, and he knew there would be consequences. He just didn’t know what they would be.”
