I swallowed, unable to speak. Whatever words could find their way to my tongue would not be enough. This night was the night from hell, but these guys made it better. Even the asshole was on his best behavior.
“I’m not upset,” he whispered, his hands curling around the railing on either side of me. “Not about that. Forest should be happy. The man deserves it, and if you’re the one, well, who are any of us to say no?”
So, because Forest was their alpha, they were only bowing to his authority? I had to clarify, “But—”
“You’re right, there is a but. I’m not mad about that, but I am mad that you think marching into danger is our only option. If you think any of us will let you go, you have another thing coming. None of us will let you go.”
His words might’ve been sweet, but all I could hear right now was the controlling part.
“You can’t stop me,” I said, gazing into his blue eyes. They were a shade different from Forest’s, but beautiful all the same. I wouldn’t let this soft side of Landon control me or bend my will.
Landon suddenly grabbed my face, tilting my head, his fingers grazing my earlobes, rough on my cheeks. “I will tie you to this house before I let you go. I will chain you to a bed if I have to—”
I rose my eyebrows.
“—any bed you want. Mine, Maze’s, Dylan’s, Forest’s. I don’t care. Now that you’re here, you’re stupid if you think any of us are going to let you go.”
His words, as much as I wanted to fight them, made me feel better. Smiling into his hands, which still held onto my cheeks as if life itself depended on it, I managed to say, “It’s not that simple, Landon. I have to, otherwise you’ll all die—and I don’t want any of you to die, especially because of me.”
“It almost sounds like you care about us,” Landon spoke, his smirking sneer becoming a full-blown smile.
“Funny, I was just going to say the same about you,” I whispered.
“What can I say?” he asked, leaning down. “Ever since you found me in that cabin, I can’t stop thinking about you. You saved me, Addie. Why can’t you let us save you?” Landon said nothing more, because his mouth was suddenly occupied with mine.
Hungry and heated, he kissed me harder and faster than the others. There was no hesitation behind his lips, no easing into the kiss. It was all or nothing, and though he caught me off-guard, I was ready. I kissed him back, drawing my hands along him, holding myself closer to him, the world around us fading to black.
Nothing else mattered, not in this moment.
My stomach burned, my wolf practically doing somersaults. My wolf wanted more, more, more, and at this rate, I was going to give it to her.
Eventually.
Though it was far too soon, I pulled away from him. My gaze lingered on his mouth, and I unconsciously ran my tongue over my bottom lip, aware he watched me do it. I must drive him as crazy as he drove me, in both a good and a bad way.
He must’ve gotten the hint though, for he grabbed my hand, marching us both back into the house. I sat on the couch as Landon went to gather the others. Maze and Dylan filed in, each sitting on opposite sides of me. Landon perched himself on the armrest of the couch while Sarah leaned on the wall facing me, her arms crossed.
It would be her usual stance from now on, apparently.
The last one to walk into the room was Forest. He still wore his dress pants, I noticed, but a loose tee hung on his torso. Around his neck, I spotted a white bandage.
Huh. Maybe offering to help him was a mistake after all. He clearly could handle things on his own—just as I thought this, our gazes locked, and all those thoughts flew out of my mind the moment I remembered being caught between his body and the door frame. It was the very opposite of bad.
If anything, it had felt too good. So good I’d lost all sense. And it didn’t matter what Landon said, what any of them said. I should’ve stopped him; Sarah was right.
But I did not stop him, and now I would have to live with the consequences.
“So,” Maze broke the silence of the room, “this isn’t awkward at all, right?” When no one answered him, when no one even glanced his way, he muttered, “You guys are just making it worse.”
I tore my gaze from Forest, my eyes landing on my lap. What was I to do? I could not deny what happened, but ruminating on it over and over in the short amount of time I had left was not the plan.
Unable to not be the center of attention, Maze leapt to his feet, stalking to the center of the room, standing between the couch, where I was with Dylan and Landon, and Forest, who sulked by the window. “Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room—and I don’t mean you, Landon.” He cracked a dimpled grin as Landon sent a scowl his way.
Maze carried on, “We all know what went on upstairs. Yes, it’s kind of creepy, because he was supposed to be Sarah’s mate. Yes, it’s a bit weird because he’s like a decade older than her.” His words earned him a glare from both Sarah and me, though Sarah almost instantly returned her glare to Forest.
“Maze,” Forest scolded him, “what is your point? This isn’t…this is not an appropriate conversation, given the situation we find ourselves in.” As if to prove his point, he glanced over his shoulder, out the window, at the skeleton waiting outside.
“I think we better have it,” Maze said, glancing to me, “because it might be our only chance, with the death wish our mate has.”
If there was ever a time to curl up and pretend I didn’t exist, it was now.
Chapter Twenty-Three – Addie
Our.
Though I wanted to curl up and die from the sheer amount of embarrassment I felt, I also couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by the word. Was he referring to his brother and Landon, or was it a general statement, encompassing Forest, too? Either way, it didn’t matter, because I knew what I had to do.
The problem was convincing the guys to go along with it.
As for Forest? He was one problem I didn’t want to deal with right now. Thinking about what almost happened upstairs would only make me lose my resolve.
I unconsciously brought a hand to my neck, rubbing my fingers along the left side of my throat, the side Forest had showered with his lips, which were softer than his rough hands would imply. My skin tingled in remembrance, and I let out a short breath as a similar feeling rose in other places on my body.
Lifting my gaze from my lap, I felt the stare before I saw it. Forest was looking at me, watching me touch my neck, as if he knew exactly what was on my mind. It didn’t take a rocket scientist. Everyone in the room probably knew, but it didn’t make his gaze any less heavy and intense.
My hand dropped from my neck as I said, “I have to go.”
Maze, still standing in the center of the living room, frowned at me. It was an expression that did not fit with his normal demeanor. The frown looked silly on his face. “No,” he said, as if he could ban me, forbid me from doing what I had to do. “No. None of us are going to let you walk out that door.”
“Then what?” I glanced to my other mates, looked at my mom, who was still busy scowling at Forest. Forest was easily able to ignore Sarah though, keeping his knowing blue gaze on me instead. “Then we just sit here and wait to die? I’m not going to let twenty-four shifters become…however many are here. I won’t.”
“And what if you go,” Dylan spoke hesitantly, “and Clay still attacks the town anyway? Your…sacrifice would be for nothing.” Next to him, Landon nodded, still balancing on the couch’s armrest.
“It’s better than doing nothing, isn’t it? A small shot is better than no shot, right?” I asked. “I still don’t know how my magic works, and the only thing I can do is levitate a book—and I can’t even control it. You saw all the holes in the walls—”
Forest creased his eyebrows. “What?”
Right. The alpha hadn’t seen the destruction I’d wrought with Dylan’s books yet. After tonight, it wouldn’t matter so much.
“All we know is Clay wants m
e. Going to him is your best chance. Do research. Google death priests. My mom can help you guys with it. Do something, and maybe if he comes back, you’ll have a better chance at fighting him.”
Jaw clenching, Landon muttered, “You’re talking like you’re already gone. If you think I’m above forcing you to stay, you’re wrong. I’m not above it, and I think the others would agree with me.”
Finally, Sarah spoke, slowly drawing her glare from Forest, “Honey, I know you think you’re making the right decision, but it’s stupid. Giving yourself to the enemy is one of the worst things you can do. If Clay has been stalking this pack for the last few years, kidnapping and killing shifters, imagine what he’ll do to you—”
I jumped to my feet, stating, “You don’t think I know that, Mom? You don’t think I haven’t imagined the possibilities? I know what he did. I know what he could do to me, but honestly, I don’t see any other options.” I seethed. “I know you guys don’t agree with me, and I know you’re the alpha, Forest, but I’m sorry. This is my decision.”
Before anyone else could say anything that would only get me more upset, I moved around the coffee table, storming to the front door. The moment I flung myself outside, I breathed in deeply.
Funny how even after all this, the air was clean.
Three figures appeared behind me, one of them sighing as he said, “Thank God. We thought you ran off to be a hero.” Maze’s voice. Though he was totally serious, his voice still dripped his usual facetiousness.
“Not yet,” I muttered.
I stared at the skeleton in the road. Hannah’s skeleton. Hannah’s voice. Was it why Forest had acted like that? Was he only hurting, wanting physical comfort? Did he not truly want me the same way I, against my better judgements, wanted him? I shouldn’t be thinking about it right now, because it didn’t matter anymore.
Turning to my mates, I said, “I’m sorry, for all of it. For what I have to do, and for what I did upstairs.” I had a connection with Dylan, Landon, and Maze, and I never wanted to hurt them…although, none of them looked hurt. Upset at me, yes—but hurt? Not even a little.
“Addie,” Maze spoke, glancing at his brother while Landon huffed and looked annoyed, “like I said, it’s a little weird, but if your wolves connected—”
Oh, God. I had to stop him before he rambled on and made things worse.
Without knowing what else to do, I leaned forward, pressing my lips against his. Yep. That shut him up instantly.
It was a little strange to do it with an audience, though. Even stranger to pull back and see Maze grinning like an idiot, nudging both Dylan and Landon as he said, “See? Told you she likes me the best.”
Landon groaned. “She was only doing that to shut you up, you know.”
I turned to the tallest one, having to stand on my tiptoes to kiss him next. Landon—the grouch, the asshole, the jerk. His kiss was hungry and pleading, and when I leaned back, he grabbed my head and went in for a second helping.
Eventually, he let me go, and I moved to Dylan, who watched me with a sadness behind his chocolate stare. “These are our goodbye kisses,” he whispered. “You really are going.” Disbelief, sorrow, utter melancholy. He showed these and more, all within the same look.
I gave him a sad smile. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
A lie, one no one believed.
But it was one I would not take back, even as I stepped closer to Dylan and pressed my lips upon his. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, moving back to the foot of the porch. I had to go now, before Sarah came up with some cockamamy excuse to keep me here, before anyone released Jack and used the chains on me instead. I wouldn’t put it past them. “Tell my mom I love her. I’m sorry for fighting with her.”
I wished I could say the same about the three wolves before me, but things were complicated. I’d never been in love before. I wasn’t sure if the aching feeling in my heart as I gazed upon them was because I loved them or because my wolf didn’t want to leave.
“I wish we had more time,” I whispered, taking a single step backwards, down one of the porch steps. One foot closer to the simmering skeleton in the road.
Look at me, acting like this was the end. This was not the end of my story. I might go along with Clay, but I would fight him tooth and nail for as long as I could, as hard as I could. I would not be a willing participant in his experiments. Whatever he’d get from me, he’d have to work for. Hopefully, it would provide enough time for the pack to research, for some miracle to happen.
“Maze,” a stern voice at the front door spoke, “go make sure Sarah’s all right. She went upstairs.” Forest’s blue eyes narrowed on me. He must’ve come out when I was kissing the others. “I’ll walk her.”
Right. Because the thirty-foot distance from the bottom of the porch to the road might just kill me.
Bad time for a joke like that.
Forest pushed through Landon and Dylan as Maze went inside. Maze paused, half in and half out, glancing back at me. He didn’t want me to go, didn’t want to leave to handle Sarah. I gave him a smile, and he finally turned away. Good thing too, because the smile broke the same moment Forest reached me, his wide chest blocking out my view of the others.
I refused to look up at him, fearing what would happen, what he’d say, what I’d do. “I think I can manage walking to the road by myself,” I muttered.
A low growl left his chest. “I’m walking you.” It was not a question, not an offer; it was an order from an alpha. He was lucky this was an order I would allow, one I would not fight against.
I shrugged, spinning on my heel to face the pathway that led to the road, where Hannah’s skeleton waited, small red flames flickering along her skull and spine, ivory turned to ash. The distance seemed to stretch before me, the path to my own doom, one I would take willingly.
This was stupid, but there were no other options.
Forest walked beside me, his gaze fixated on the skeleton. We were about halfway between the road and the house when he spoke under his breath, “I’m sorry for what happened. It was inappropriate, and I should have stopped myself.”
“Right,” I said, doing my best not to react.
So it meant nothing after all. I didn’t know why, but it hurt. His words, knowing the truth—my heart constricted in a painful way, for even though I’d suspected, it was a different thing entirely to know. True sadness tugged at me, but I refused to let my eyes tear up. Not when I currently faced my own end.
As if I still didn’t get it, Forest added quietly, “It should not have happened.”
“I get it.” Really, it wasn’t a hard concept to grasp. He didn’t need to explain it, didn’t need to linger. The horse was already dead and beaten. Leave it alone, already.
We were at the sidewalk, and I abruptly stopped.
Still refusing to look at him, I said, “I hope…I hope you can find happiness again. I hope the others will, too. And for what it’s worth, I didn’t exactly stop you, so…” I shrugged. “It’s both our faults, I guess.”
How stupid could I be? Actually thinking Forest might like me. I was just a kid in his eyes, a pup. I was nothing, and I’d definitely never hold a torch to a dead woman who still clearly affected him. I didn’t hate him for it; it made too much sense, and it was something I should’ve considered before.
But, when it all came down to it, none of it mattered.
I was doing this for all of them. For Forest, for Landon. For the twins and for Caitlin. For the children in the town and the human mates who somehow stumbled into this life. I was doing it for each and every one of them, and I’d keep them all in my thoughts when I saw Clay again. This town, the Crystal Lake pack, gave me strength I never knew I was capable of.
“Keep them safe, Forest,” I whispered, finally turning to meet his stare. Such a deep, sorrowful blue, like an ocean after a storm. If he let someone in, it wouldn’t be hard for any woman to lose themselves in a stare like his.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say some
thing, but I didn’t let him. I moved away from him, walking past the tree lawn and stepping over the curb. I stood before the skeleton, its eyeless stare seemingly gazing straight into my soul. The skeleton’s bones creaked and snapped as it rose an arm, offering a bony hand. I started to take it, but I hesitated.
Was this the right decision? Was going down fighting as one a better option?
Behind me, Forest shouted, “Addie, wait—” But those were the only words I heard before the skeleton snapped its hand up, gripping my wrist so tightly my hand started to burn and lose feeling.
I turned around to look at Forest, but with a blink, I was no longer under the starry sky beneath Crystal Lake. A dark cabin surrounded me, lit by an eerie red flame, in a fireplace I knew had no chimney. Slow to turn my gaze back to the skeleton holding my wrist, I gasped when I saw it was no longer Hannah’s bones attached to me.
A gloved hand, just as boney underneath as a skeleton would be. A face that made my mind freak and run for the hills. I felt my eyes rolling to the back of my head, consciousness fading as it was pulled out from under me most unwillingly, as a creepy, sinister voice entered my brain.
“Hello, dear Addie. How I’ve missed you.”
And then the world was black.
Chapter Twenty-Four – Maze
I had known it would be impossible to convince Addie to stay, to change her mind. She seemed to have a death wish, one only that death priest could fulfill. If it were up to me, I would’ve fought harder. Somehow, someway, we would’ve won. Maybe. Shifters were a dying breed in today’s world though, so I guessed I could understand where she was coming from.
Sacrifice one to save many.
But that wasn’t what shifters did. They left no one behind, expected no one to give themselves up for the pack. Shifters were limitless when they worked together. There was nothing they could not do…except, apparently, fight off a death priest and detect magic. That was a power reserved solely for other witches and warlocks, which Addie was by blood.
Crystal Lake Pack: The Complete Series: A Reverse Harem Shifter Romance Page 36
