by M H Soars
After another long silence, Brian finally speaks. “That’s, um, interesting.”
“I don’t see how that changes anything. So you guys have some crazy imprinting going on in your pack. I have a demon to deal with. Priorities.”
“This is a waste of time.” Tristan motions for the door. I was planning on stopping him from storming out when the familiar prickling sensation on the base of my spine manifests.
I’m about to have a vision.
Chapter 14
Tristan
I’m ready to head out. I’m too angry to stay. Fuck. I’ve always known Xander was a stubborn shifter, but his refusal to offer support when we most need it is a blow I didn’t expect. All this was indeed a waste of time. I could have already gone to Shadow Creek and forced Valerius to show his hand. But most importantly, I could have already made sure Red is okay.
Dante’s sudden groan is what makes me stop in my tracks. He’s clutching his middle, his face covered in sweat. His gaze is darting everywhere in a manic frenzy. I’ve seen him act like that enough times to know he’s about to have a vision. He’s searching for something to paint the images that are most likely already beginning to flood his mind.
“What’s wrong with him?” Brian’s younger son asks, his blue eyes going wide.
“Get him a piece of paper and pen,” I say. When nobody moves, I snap, “Now!”
Carol hurries out of the living room, returning a moment later with a few sheets of paper and markers in her hands. Lost to his strange gift, Dante grabs the supplies with a jerky movement before dropping onto his knees to maniacally begin drawing.
No one besides my family has ever seen Dante in one of his episodes, and I’m thankful he insisted Brian cast a silencing spell on this group. I’d hate if anyone blabbered about this. Having the sight is not a gift to be taken lightly, and many people don’t understand how it works. It’s an erroneous assumption to think it can be called at will.
As if in a trance, Dante draws sketches that look like nothing but a mess of angry lines from where I stand. He stays busy at it for at least ten minutes before he finally stops, sitting on the balls on his feet. His breathing is erratic, and his hands are stained black and red from the markers. His eyes remain glazed; maybe he’s still lost to the vision.
“Can anyone explain what just happened here?” Xander asks.
Sam approaches Dante, crouching in front of him and his mad sketches. Dante doesn’t blink when Sam begins to lay out the pieces of paper side by side, moving them until a picture begins to form.
“Holy cow. Is that a battlefield?” Brian’s son, Gideon, asks, taking a step closer.
“That’s me in bear form, and some of my enforcers,” Xander says in awe.
“Plus the Crimson Hollow wolves, and—” Armand starts.
“Every other supe who is not bound to Mayor Montgomery,” Zaya completes.
“Fighting a demon,” Carol pipes in. “Maybe your demon, Xander.” She glances meaningfully at the alpha.
“But most importantly, look who is leading the charge.” Sam points at the woman who has become our entire world. Red.
Xander studies the image closely, squinting, before standing up straighter. “That’s Amelia Redford, isn’t it?”
“Yes. That’s our mate, and she’s fighting that demon. Are you sure you don’t want to help us now?” I say, daring the alpha to say no.
“So Dante has the sight; is that it?” Xander switches his attention to my brother, who hasn’t moved at all since he finished his artwork.
“Yes,” Sam and I answer together.
“How often do his visions actually happen?” Zaya asks, her eyes narrowed and glued to the drawing on the floor.
I glance at Sam, who in turns shrugs before saying, “Always.”
We don’t know that for certain. It’s possible there may have been visions Dante never told us about, which never actually happened. Mom’s sight is also not one-hundred-percent accurate. But I won’t contradict my brother.
“Well, I guess that settles it then.” Brian rubs his hands together. “When are we going to Shadow Creek?”
“Nobody is coming with me,” I say, hoping my hard tone will be enough to convince the others.
Sam opens his mouth to argue, but I cut him off. “We’re sticking to the original plan. Only the people in this room know Red is mated to the three of us, and it will remain that way. There’s no reason Valerius should be made aware.”
“That’s suicide, Tristan. Valerius will kill you,” Sam replies, his electric-blue eyes crackling with determination.
“He won’t be going alone,” a newcomer announces from the front door.
I turn to find Mrs. Redford there, flanked by two other women I don’t recognize. One is tall with red hair brushing the middle of her back, possibly in her late twenties. The second is a brunette, maybe ten years younger than Red’s grandmother herself, dressed as if she just came from a renaissance fair.
“Wendy, how in the hell did you get past my wards without triggering the alarm?” Brian asks.
“Please, Brian. Have you forgotten who you’re dealing with?”
Carol laughs, and her husband grumbles something unintelligible.
Ignoring the convo between the druid and his wife, I focus my attention on Mrs. Redford. “I am going alone. That’s the plan.”
“To Valerius, it will appear you’re alone, but that doesn’t mean it’s the truth. With my help and hopefully Brian’s, we’ll be able to conceal the presence of your brothers and anyone else who decides to come. If things get dicey for you, we’ll be there to help.”
“Is that possible? Can it work?” Sam turns to Brian.
“There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?”
“So is it settled then? When do we go?” Xander asks.
I glance at him, then out the window, noticing the sun is about to set, which means we missed Dad’s funeral. A grand sense of guilt washes over me, but at the same time, there’s no time to waste with such futile emotions. My father was betrayed, and everything points to Valerius as the guilty party. The best way to honor my father is to kill the bastard responsible for his death.
Crossing my arms, I ask Xander, “How long until you can gather your bears?”
His eyes become dangerous, feral. “Give me an hour.”
Chapter 15
Red
“They’re not the best, but see what you can do with them,” Valerius replies to Martin’s question. As much as I want to keep quiet and learn by observation, I can’t.
“Where is he taking them?”
Valerius places a cold hand over mine, a gesture that makes my skin crawl. “You were concerned earlier I might not have much of a pack left to rule. Martin is the person ensuring that’s not the case.”
He must be behind the chip controlling the wolves, but what else is he doing to them to make them super strong?
“How?” I ask.
“That’s not your concern.” Valerius snaps his fingers.
It’s a sign for his lackeys to take away the young wolves. The men accompanying Martin reach for them, grabbing their arms roughly before dragging them out. Martin remains behind.
“Say hello to your friend Kenya when you see her, will you, Red? I think we really hit it off.” The chilling message makes my blood grow cold, and my heart squeezes tightly.
“Stay away from my friend.” My voice comes out rough, almost a growl.
“I didn’t realize you knew each other,” Valerius says, and I catch a hint of annoyance in his tone.
Interesting. It seems he and Martin aren’t completely in sync. I add that tidbit of information to my list. Any scrap of intel I can get to undermine Valerius’s ruling, I’ll take.
“We met a few days ago in town by chance. The mayor’s daughter introduced us.”
“I see. You can leave now. You have a job to do.”
“Certainly.” Martin lowers his head, but before he turns around, his gaze c
onnects with mine. His face is a perfect mask, not a visible shred of emotion showing on it. His eyes, however, are an entirely different story. Mischief is all I can read in them.
Why would he provoke Valerius in that manner?
The spectacle is over. So is the meal it seems. No one put the tables back where they were before. Instead, Valerius’s wolves remain frozen to their spots, waiting for their alpha’s command.
I angle my body so I can get a better view of the shifter, and that’s when I notice the tremors on his hands and the dark veins that appear on them, spreading up his arms and under the sleeves of his jacket. I whip my face to his, noting the hard set of his jaw and the perspiration that has pooled on his forehead.
“Valerius?”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he stands up abruptly and jumps off the dais, striding toward the back door through which he came in earlier.
What the hell was that?
It doesn’t seem he’s coming back, but no one is willing to resume dinner or stick around. Like ants marching to work, the Shadow Creek wolves head for the door, hurrying as fast as they can. Not knowing what to do, I get up and make a motion for the exit as well. Somebody touches my elbow, and I find Nadine next to me.
Damn it, I really wish I could communicate with her while in human form. But since I can’t, I’ll have to wait until we’re back in my new accommodations to shift so I can ask her all the questions I have.
Nadine makes a detour. Instead of heading straight to my shack, she takes me to the back of the barn where the kitchen is. Several heads turn our way when we enter, but no none speaks a word to me. Nadine ignores the curiosity as well, grabbing a broom and bucket filled with cleaning supplies.
I don’t want her to help me clean up now. It’s late. But if I say anything in front of these shifters, it might cause suspicion. However, I really need to be alone with Nadine again. When we hit the square, it’s deserted. There are other houses besides the one I’m occupying, but I don’t see any light coming from inside them. All the shutters are closed. It looks like a ghost town.
With everything that happened, it didn’t occur to me to check if I had electricity in my newest lodgings. Mercifully, there is. Nadine turns on the light switch as she enters the house. The single white bulb dangling from the ceiling flickers to light, but it’s weak and barely illuminates the room. I shut the door behind me, but it does little to make me feel safe. When Nadine begins to sweep the floor, I stop her.
“No, you don’t need to clean right now. I want to talk to you.”
The girl stops, putting the broom aside. She keeps staring at me, and it takes me a moment to understand she’s waiting for me to shift. Not wanting to destroy the new clothes I got, I take them off, then I shift fast.
“You want to know what Martin does with the wolves he gets.” Nadine’s voice echoes in my head as soon as I lower my shields.
“Yes. That’s one of the many questions I have. But first, what happened to Valerius just now? He was shaking, and his hands… what were those dark veins?”
Nadine goes paler than she already is. “That’s the price Valerius paid for his rise to power.”
“I don’t understand.”
Shuddering, the girl closes her eyes. “I… I can’t tell you anything about that.”
Not wanting to push Nadine about this topic and risk her leaving, I focus my attention back on Martin.
“Okay. What about Martin? Where did he take those wolves and what does he do to them?”
“I don’t know what he does to them. All I know is that some never come back, and the few who do come back changed.”
“Changed how?”
“Stronger. Meaner.”
Ruthless, just like Victor was when I first encountered him. That’s why Valerius doesn’t care the wolves under his thumb despise him. He’s turning them into mindless killing machines without free will.
“Did Valerius always work with Martin from the beginning?”
Nadine shakes her head. “No, the Ravens only showed up here a few months ago.”
“Ravens? Is that what they call themselves?”
“That’s what I call them, you know, because of their tattoos.” Nadine touches her neck in demonstration.
“Martin took an enforcer from the Crimson Hollow pack. Rochelle. She has red hair and is a little bit taller than me. Have you seen her?”
“No, I’m sorry. But it doesn’t surprise me that Valerius is taking wolves from other packs. He wants to build an army.”
It makes total sense. If he’s using a chip to control his wolves, what’s keeping him from doing the same with wolves from other packs? A thought occurs to me. Valerius must be keeping those wolves nearby. He did say no one enters or leaves his domain without his permission.
“What else is in that building where Valerius kept me prisoner?”
“I don’t know. The first time I set foot there was to bring you food.”
I begin to pace, restlessness taking a hold of me. “It’s a huge building, but I couldn’t find any other rooms besides my cell. Is it possible that’s where Martin is taking the wolves?”
Nadine doesn’t answer my question for several beats. Instead, her gaze loses focus. “Once when I was sleeping nearby, I heard whines of pain in the distance. At first, I thought it was coming from somewhere in the forest, but there was a strange echo to it, as if the sound was coming from inside somewhere.”
That’s it. I bet there’s where Martin is taking Valerius’s wolves. Maybe Rochelle was in that building after all.
“We have to go back there.”
Nadine shakes her head. “No. You shouldn’t leave the house at night, especially tonight.”
“Why especially tonight?”
Hunching her shoulders forward, the teen hugs her middle as if she’s trying to create a shield around herself. “Trust me on this. Tonight, no one is safe.”
I want to keep on probing. Why is tonight worse than the other nights? Does it have anything to do with what happened to Valerius during dinner?
Sudden loud voices outside keep me from continuing my interrogation. With a snap of some unknown string inside of me, I feel the bond as strong as ever. Tristan, Sam, and Dante are here. They’ve come for me. The only problem is I’m not sure I’m ready to be rescued yet.
Chapter 16
Red
I don’t think I can trust my wolf not to run away with my mates, so I shift back to human form before I head out. The shouts I heard came from the Shadow Creek wolves, who decided to re-emerge only to taunt and throw insults at their visitors. It seems whatever it was that made them hide away after dinner is no longer an issue.
Even in human form, I can’t control the impulse to run. I pass the gazebo, slowing down only when I reach the circle of shifters who have gathered in front of the barn. Two lampposts in front of the building provide light to an otherwise dark square.
“So have you come for your punishment?” Valerius asks from the middle of the circle.
I can’t see who he’s talking to, but I don’t need a visual to know my mates are there. Ignoring caution, I elbow my way through the crowd until I gain a front and center location. Despite having felt Sam and Dante’s presence, only Tristan is standing opposite Valerius, his body tense and ready for a fight. He doesn’t break eye contact with the enemy alpha, but I’m certain he can feel my presence.
“No, Valerius. I came here because you took something from me.”
Valerius throws his head back and laughs. “Oh, sweet Lord. I didn’t peg you to have any sense of humor, Tristan. Isn’t it the other way around? You took something that didn’t belong to you. But I’m afraid your stupidity for showing up here alone won’t stop me from taking revenge against your entire pack.”
Alone? What is Valerius talking about? Tristan is not alone. Sam and Dante are somewhere here. They must be hiding.
“You can try, but you won’t succeed. Unlike you, I have allies. If you attack the Crimson Hollo
w pack, you’ll feel the full wrath of our community.”
Narrowing his eyes, Valerius snarls. “Lies. You broke the rules. Those law-abiding freaks won’t dare come to your rescue.”
Tristan curls his lips into an arrogant smirk, the same one I hated when I first met him. “I did no such a thing.”
The odious alpha smiles, a chilling expression taking over his features. “Shall I remind you that you rescued a human who was attacked by one of my wolves? Amelia doesn’t belong to you.”
I belong to no one, you jerk. That’s what I want to say, but I bite my tongue, recognizing now is not the time to antagonize Valerius.
“She’s my mate. You can’t keep her here.”
My jaw goes slack. I did not expect Tristan to confess to that. Valerius turns to me, his glare so intense it shakes me to the core. There goes my plan to try to gain his trust.
“It makes no difference to me. Amelia is not going anywhere.”
My nostrils flare at the same time my entire body starts to shake. My wolf is begging to be set free.
“Then I’ll challenge you.” Tristan speaks loud and certain, and my wolf simmers down a little. He’s going to fight for my freedom? I should be the one fighting for myself. I’m not a damsel in distress.
Valerius opens his arms, indicating the crowd. “Did you hear that, folks? He’s challenging me. This lowly beta who needed the help of his two brothers to kill his father thinks he can beat me.”
My heart gets stuck in my throat. After what Valerius did to his former alpha, I know Tristan won’t be able to win this challenge. He’s going to die. I can’t let him do that.
“Tristan, please don’t do this.” I take a step forward.
He turns to me, his face as hard as stone. My heart rejoices and breaks at the sight. He won’t back down. He’s made his decision. All along, he planned on challenging Valerius. But why is he claiming to be my mate alone? Where are Sam and Dante? I can still feel their presence nearby, but it seems I’m the only one around who can.
