Finally getting to his feet, Forest waved the others down. The wolves kept growling, but they no longer advanced on the skeleton. They backed up, putting more distance between them. What had shrunk to five feet was now back to fifteen. A respectable distance, though distance didn’t matter when it came to Clay and his magic.
“What do you want?” Forest asked, his teeth sharper than they should be. Claws were on his fingertips, his veins bulging and his chest heaving. It must’ve taken every ounce of self-control to not turn, to not shift and attack the skeleton on the spot, for it was only due to Clay’s magic.
But then, from what it sounded like, Hannah had been Forest’s weakness, which I could not blame him for.
I threw a glance to Sarah, who looked on with a stern expression. Though she was my mom, Sarah also knew that this was my fault, my problem. I would have to clean it up. Beside her, my mates were ready to attack, ready to pounce or do whatever else Forest commanded, but now was not the time for posturing.
Turning my gaze back to the skeleton, I found the singed ivory head tilting, as if it studied me. The red flames dancing across its form seemed to burn brighter as I stepped closer.
“Me,” I said. “Clay wants me.”
“He will not have you.” Forest moved between me and the skeleton, blocking my view of the pyre with his large frame. Just as well, because all I could see, the only thing I could focus on were the deep grooves in his back, the blood seeping from each wound and staining his black shirt.
All of this chaos, his injuries, for me? I wouldn’t let this continue.
I set a hand on Forest’s arm, causing him to look at me—eh, more like glare at me—as I moved to his side, meeting the eyeless stare of the flaming skeleton. The way the skeleton watched us, watched me, I didn’t like it.
“How sweet. Maybe this body and this voice no longer hold the power they once did,” the skeleton spoke.
My hand fell to my side. I wanted to let Clay know that a skeleton was not the same as a body…and also ask him just what the hell he meant by that. It was more than obvious Forest still felt something for Hannah. Love didn’t disappear because one of the two died. There would always be a part of Forest that loved her.
But the thing before us was not Hannah. It didn’t even look like her. It might sound like her, but behind that skeletal form was Clay, pulling the strings.
“You will not take her,” Forest addressed the creature, hands balling into fists.
My mates gathered behind me, along with Sarah. I had a mini pack behind me, standing with me, but none of them knew, save for Sarah, this was all my fault. I could not let this continue, could not let any other shifter get hurt because of my stupid choice to keep it to myself.
The skeleton’s boney shoulders shook in silent laughter. “She will either come to me willingly, or I will take her after draining each and every shifter in this town dry. What’ll it be, Addie? Will you come with me of your freewill, or are you in the mood for some mass murder tonight?”
Before I could answer, Forest growled, “I said you will not take her, and I meant it.”
If a skeleton could smile, it surely would’ve. As it was, the expressionless face it wore said enough. “I don’t think myself too unnecessarily cruel, and I think I’ve mellowed out over the years, so I’ll give you until dawn.”
As the skeleton spoke with Hannah’s voice, the pyre began to move. Shifting and rolling, twenty-three other figures of bone and fire rose from the ground as they got themselves off the pyre, which was next to ashes, now. The wolves closest to the first skeleton took a few steps back, and beside me, Landon muttered a string of swearwords that made Sarah glare at him harshly.
Now is not the time to scold for cursing, Mom, I thought. Now wasn’t the time for anything but a bunch of oh, shits.
Maze and Dylan…there was no way they were taking this well, but I supposed their attention was solely focused on me, now.
“Say your goodbyes,” the skeleton added, “do whatever you have to. But know that this is the last chance this pack has to survive. If Addie does not come to me before the sun graces the sky, I will annihilate this entire town.” The skull cocked its head, bones cracking as it did so.
Forest breathed hard, his chest rumbling with growls, but I whispered, “We can’t fight them. Assuming we can even get close enough, they’d just tear us apart.” Not to mention the fact they’d be able to reassemble with magic.
As for my magic, I was too freaked out. I wouldn’t be able to do shit against an army of flaming skeletons, and the mere sight of them was enough to make me forget my practicing.
Forest glared at the skeleton, ignoring the small army behind it, staring at the one that held Hannah’s voice. Her bones. Though I had never met her, I knew the shifter didn’t deserve to have her corpse desecrated in this way. Hannah, all of the shifters who’d lost their lives to Clay, deserved more.
“Back to the house,” Forest said, and no one argued. How could they, when the hulking, flaming skeletons of their dead trailed after them. He looked to the shifted wolves, saying, “Go home. Make sure your mates and your children are all right. Stay with them. Protect them, no matter what happens.”
The wolves gave their alpha a nod before taking off, darting past us and running through the park at a speed only an animal was capable of. A mad dash, a sprint with everything behind it.
“Uh,” Maze spoke, glancing behind us, at the creaking, flaming skeletons who trailed us about twenty feet back, “just for clarification purposes, whose house?”
“Mine,” Forest said. Around me, he shot Sarah a look. “Sarah, you should leave, before this gets worse.” Still looking out for her, even though she’d run off with a warlock. He was a good alpha who cared for everyone. He should have a quiet pack, not Clay constantly breathing down his neck and kidnapping and murdering his packmates.
Sarah huffed, “If you think I am going to leave my daughter during a crisis, you are wrong, Forest.” Her voice dripped disdain; she still wasn’t fond of him, which I didn’t understand. Forest was everything an alpha should be. What wasn’t to like?
Not that I was trying to set my mom up with Forest. Setting her up with anyone would be crossing a line I never wanted to reach, let alone see.
Forest grumbled, his blue gaze flicking to me as we headed down the street where his house was. “You should both go. To be safe.”
Arguing with him was pointless, so I kept it to myself. I wasn’t going to run away. If I did, Clay would still come after me, after decimating the Crystal Lake pack. I couldn’t live with that many lives on my shoulders.
We filed up the porch, greeted by the shifter who’d been watching the basement. “What’s…” The man’s voice drifted off as he spotted the skeletons. “What’s going on?” He stood aside, letting everyone else into the house first, his gaze locked on Hannah’s form. The other skeletons shuffled away, probably to stalk the whole town.
When no one responded, Maze said, “Well, since no one is offering, I’ll explain everything—”
“How’s the traitor?” Landon asked, cutting through his words. The guys exchanged glares.
I would’ve rolled my eyes, because this wasn’t the best time to get into a fight with each other, but I locked gazes with Hannah’s skeleton. I could practically see Clay staring at me from behind those black, eyeless holes. The fire dancing along the skeleton was nearly out, but not completely, and it stood in the road, motionless, waiting.
I was the last one in the house, but before I went, the black sky flashed red. Not right above us, but a few miles away. An invisible energy flowed into me, and though I had next to no experience with spells, I knew what it was.
A barrier.
Only this time, the barrier would keep everyone inside.
If I didn’t agree to go by sunrise, Clay would use the skeletons to slaughter the whole town—and the shifters, the human mates and the children, would have nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
We
ll, shit.
Chapter Twenty-One – Addie
Sarah was in the kitchen with Dylan, cooking something that required about five pots and pans and a whole lot of spices. Distracting themselves from the life or death scenario that awaited them. Maze took the place of the other shifter, sending him home, guarding the basement, even though it seemed sort of pointless now. If Jack was going to escape, he would’ve. If Clay was going to try to use him again, he would’ve.
No, Clay was done using Jack. Clay’s only focus now was me.
Landon pouted in the living room, another beer in his hand—as if the jerk needed another. Like now was the freaking time to lose himself in the bottle. Oh, I wanted to strangle him, but I couldn’t. I would have to settle for imagining it a few times.
There was only one wolf who I had to get on my side, who I had to make understand. I couldn’t let myself get distracted by cooking, or by the long-winded conversation Maze wanted to have, or by the pouting one in the living room. Forest was upstairs, and after I gathered up my courage, I headed his way.
My feet took the steps two at a time, and mentally, I practiced what I was going to say. My arguments for going with Clay, the cons with a well thought out rebuttal, along with the truth—my dream, how we could’ve avoided this if only I’d gone to the clearing before night fell.
Would he get where I was coming from? Would he understand? I hoped he wouldn’t be angry with me for keeping it to myself, but he had every right to be. After all, it was because of me Hannah’s skeleton was now up and walking around. All twenty-four of them were my fault. The shifters would know no rest, even after death.
Forest probably would hate me.
Best get it over with then, I thought, peeking in the rooms upstairs. I found him in the bathroom, his torn shirt on the floor, a first aid kit sitting open on the sink counter. He still wore his nice pants, along with a belt. They hung low on his hips as he tried to clean his own wound and dab it with disinfectant.
I leaned on the doorframe, knowing he’d heard me come up. I crossed my arms, watching for a moment. “You know, if you shifted, I think everyone could forgive you.” Shifting helped kickstart shifter’s already increased healing abilities. With wounds like that, no one could blame him, especially with the whole Clay thing going on. Crystal Lake needed its alpha at its best.
“No” was all he said. He didn’t even turn to look at me.
That mad, already? Before we even talked? Oh, that was a great sign.
After a minute of watching him fumble, I let out a sigh. “Let me do it, since you’re too stubborn to shift or even get in the freaking shower.” I stepped into the bathroom, snatching the small towel out of his hand before he could stop me.
Standing so close to him, I did my best not to focus on the wounds themselves. Instead, I zeroed in other things, like his tallness. Was he always so tall? I thought I was on the tall side, for a girl, but shifters seemed to put everything I thought to shame.
“You never should’ve given that thing your back,” I said, wincing when I realized I’d just called Hannah’s skeleton a thing. I began to clean his wounds, noticing the way his muscles trembled under my touch. Not once, though, did he ever cry out, nor show the pain on his face. He was a tough cookie.
With wounds like this, practically an inch deep, I would be a blubbering baby.
“I never would have, if you wouldn’t have acted like a stubborn pup,” Forest scolded me, though the harshness of his words lost a little kick, since he was injured and totally refused to look at me right now.
Back to being a pup, was I?
The next slash I started to clean and disinfect, I might’ve pushed on a bit harder than was necessary. It was enough for Forest to notice, and he turned his head, glaring at me over his shoulder.
Yep. There was the alpha look, the glare I was beginning to know all too well.
“Sorry,” I said. “I know I’m stubborn, takes one to know one, right? But I hate it when you call me a pup.”
“Any particular reason why?”
I bit my lip as I cleaned his wounds. The blood didn’t look like it was going to stop flowing anytime soon; needed to get some bandages on them ASAP. “It makes me feel…like a kid, and I’m not…” How could I say it without sounding stupid, without sounding like a whining child? I finished, “That’s not how I want anyone to look at me.”
Forest sighed. “I didn’t call you a pup. I said you acted like one.”
I didn’t really see the differentiation. “Apparently, I’m the only pup around here with any sense.”
Under my hands, he growled. “We are not having this conversation, Addie.”
“And why not?” I replied, finishing up the last gouge. “I’m the only one facing reality here. Sacrifice one for the good of all—”
He turned to face me then, angling his head down, dark brows coming together. He was…not happy, which was the understatement of the year. The expression he wore when he turned on me the first time we’d come across the barrier held no torch against this one. The look he wore now was furious, totally enraged. The blue in his eyes flashed brighter, more metallic, his wolf peeking through.
“We do not sacrifice anyone here,” he said, tone strong and unflinching. “I will not let you sacrifice yourself for whatever stupid reason you think. We’ll fight him and—”
It was my turn to interrupt. Holding the bloodied towel against my chest, I cut in, “And you’ll all die. You’ll all die for me, and I don’t know what kind of person you think I am, Forest, but I’m not the kind who could live with a sacrifice like that, especially because it’s so pointless. He wants me.”
The expression Forest wore was murderous. He took a step toward me, practically suffocating me with his nearness. “Just because he wants you doesn’t mean he can have you.” His chest rose and fell with a heavy breath, heat coming off his body in waves.
My inner wolf bucked, whining, but I barely paid attention to the feeling of submissiveness deep within the confines of my soul. He was the alpha, but it didn’t make me instantly bow to his every opinion. I would not stand down, not about this. This was more important than anything I’d ever done in my entire life.
A bit dramatic? Yes, but it was true all the same.
Just as I opened my mouth to retort, to argue with him further, I realized his words could have more than one meaning.
Great. Now was most definitely not the time to overthink Forest’s words, not while we stood less than a foot apart, the only thing separating us my arm and the bloodied rag. Not while he was shirtless and so close, showcasing muscles to me I didn’t even know existed.
No. My inner wolf might’ve been horny, but it didn’t mean everything had a sexual undertone. I had to snap out of it.
It became very hard to snap out of it when Forest whispered, “I will not let him have you, Addie.” Even harder when his gaze fell and he added quietly, “I can’t.”
“You—” God, my voice sounded light and airy, like I was in the middle of doing some very physical things. Granted, they were things I could not seem to get off my mind, but still. Forest was off limits in so many different ways. Swallowing, I said, “You don’t get to make that decision.”
Forest’s blue gaze snapped upwards, locking on me, eyes narrowing. Involuntarily, I took a step back, and he matched it. My butt hit the doorframe, and before I could move again, he had me cornered, even though I really did this to myself. Half in the bathroom, half out of it.
One arm rested on the frame above me, blocking me from darting into the hall, the other grabbing the wrist that held the rag, his grip iron but not hard enough to cause pain. The rag slipped through my fingers, mostly due to the shock of his sudden, fast movements. Inside my chest, my heart beat rapidly, so loud he could probably hear it.
“I am your alpha, Addie,” he reminded me, moving closer to me, his bare chest touching my hands. Since I couldn’t move the one he held onto, I dropped the other one, figuring it was probably best no
t to grope him, even if he was practically asking for it.
This was…not a good position to be in. Not for my sanity, not for my horny wolf, and probably not for him, since my mom was right downstairs, as were my three future mates. This was bad. I should probably struggle, try to break free.
But I couldn’t.
“You cannot question every decision I make,” Forest continued, towering over me in a way that was both uncomfortable and familiar. “You are a part of this pack now, and I cannot have the new addition constantly at my throat.”
At his throat? As if. Right now, I stared squarely at his chest. To get at his throat, I’d have to look up, and that certainly was not going to happen, because other things might follow.
“You will listen to me, Addie. You will follow my orders like the rest of the pack. You will fall in line.” He kept saying my name—why? To make me squirm? To make me start to like the sound of my own name? It was hard to hate anything that came out of his mouth. His voice was so deep, so manly.
And my body was full of feelings I shouldn’t have.
“Sounds like you want a dictatorship,” I muttered, barely able to speak. How could I?
“No. A good alpha listens to his pack and quashes dissent. You, on the other hand—” Forest moved the wrist he held, holding it beside me so he could fully hold himself against me, his entire front pressing against me in a way that left nothing to the imagination. “—I would have you listen to me because you’re too self-sacrificing, too stubborn to see the picture in front of you. You will listen to me, because if you don’t, you’ll run headfirst into danger, and sooner or later, no one will be able to reach you in time. Your magic will fail. You can only be so lucky before things start to catch up to you.”
The hand gripping the door frame above me slid down, moving to my chin, which he grabbed and forced up. It was a movement I could not fight, so I kept my eyes averted. I would not lose myself in the oceans of his eyes.
Crystal Lake Pack: The Complete Series: A Reverse Harem Shifter Romance Page 34
