No! He tensed, ready to spring, but as he prepared to launch himself out of hiding and obliterate any wolf that got in his way, the air shimmered with an inhuman power that sent him flying.
He hit what remained of the garden wall and slid to the ground. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs, and he couldn’t contain a yelp of pain.
For a moment, he lay immobile, dazed, eyes unblinking as he gazed at the unfolding scene in Varian’s garden.
The wolves were gone, dead on the ground. In their place roamed dozens of great cats—tigers, leopards, pumas.
A huge lion threw back his head and roared. The wall at Zio’s back shook. Bricks crumbled to dust.
Shadow Clan had arrived.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Get up, Zio. We need you.”
Zio blinked. Somehow he was human but couldn’t recall shifting back.
A young man crouched at his feet, blond hair and glowing blue eyes like Devan’s. He smelt of fighting. Of blood and war. He was a soldier, like Zio, but he was Shadow Clan. Like Devan.
The man held out a hand. “Hurry. You need to lead us to Devan. There isn’t much time.”
Devan. Bewilderment fell away. Zio took the man’s hand and scrambled to his feet. He scented the air. Still thick with blood and a hundred strange shifters, Devan’s scent was fainter than ever, but Zio didn’t need it. The pull in his chest was enough.
He turned into the fading sunlight. “This way.”
Despite Varian’s house being where Devan’s scent was strongest, instinct led Zio away from it and to the barracks. Friends and brothers lay dead inside, but he forced himself to keep moving until he came to the intelligence buildings.
Michael’s scent was strong. Zio followed it inside. In the surveillance bunker, he found Vicky, long hair fanned out in a pool of blood. “She was shot. Look.”
The Shadow Clan soldier peered around him. “And she’s not the only one. We’re sorry for your loss, but we need to keep moving.”
Zio nodded and stepped over Vic’s body. If Gale really was dead, he’d bury her himself . . . after he’d found Devan.
Beyond the surveillance bunkers, deep underground, dank corridors led to the interrogation units Zio had rarely visited. Built to conceal scent and noise, they were cut off from the world, both human and shifter.
Zio shuddered, but with every step, the call to Devan grew stronger. “It’s this way.”
“What is?” the Shadow Clan soldier asked. “What’s down there?”
“Cells.”
“You don’t take prisoners.”
“We changed our minds. Devan wouldn’t let us kill them.”
A soft snort answered Zio. Distantly, he wondered how well his companion knew Devan, but the curious thought evaporated before it could take hold, beaten back by the increasing certainty that they were running out of time.
He darted along the corridor, the Shadow Clan soldier a heartbeat behind. At the end, a thick door, coated in scent-masking sealant, separated them from the cells the intelligence unit had hastily constructed a month ago.
There was no key—it was lost to the enemy—and the door had been designed to keep people out, humans and shifters alike. Zio reached out with his gift, summoned his powers from the depths of the earth, but as the ground shook, the door didn’t shift.
Furious, Zio hammered on it with his fist. Kicked out and roared. The clan soldier stepped around him. “Let me try.”
He laid his hands over the lock and his hands glowed. Molten brass dripped from the lock to the floor, taking the surface of the door with it. Heat filled the tight space. Energy crackled.
Gods. But there was no time to stand in awe. Zio blinked, and the door was open.
He pushed past the clan soldier and charged through the door. Devan’s scent hit him like a punch to the gut, and he almost fell to his knees, but the smell of fresh blood—Devan’s blood—kept him upright.
Zio shot down the new corridor, closing the distance between the door and the cages in a split second. “Devan!”
But there was no answer. Their bond had led Zio to the right place, but they were too late. Crumpled on the filthy ground and guarded by a wolf Zio didn’t recognise, Devan was already dead.
Grief was a slow tsunami, creeping up on Zio in sharp, brutal waves. He roared but didn’t hear it. Fell to his knees, but the impact of the cold ground was a lifetime away.
The Shadow Clan soldier pushed passed him, putting himself between Zio and the female wolf. He advanced on her, power shimmering around him in a way Zio had only ever seen in Devan, but he didn’t shift. He stopped in front of the wolf and spread his hands. “Move.”
A low whine pierced the air.
“Move,” the soldier repeated. “I know you’re protecting him, but you don’t need to anymore. Devan’s mate is here. His clan. His family. We’ll take care of him now.”
The present tense broke through Zio’s haze. Confounded, he watched as the female wolf submitted and the clan soldier tore the front panel from the cage and tossed it aside. “Come, Zio. Devan needs you now.”
“He’s dead.”
“Is he? Come closer and see for yourself.”
The only thing worse than knowing Devan was dead was seeing it with his own eyes, but as the clan soldier reached for Devan, the bond surged to life.
Zio darted forward and shoved the soldier’s hands away. “Don’t touch him!”
The soldier smiled. “Why not?”
“He’s my mate.”
“Of course he is. Now save him, Zio. Only you can.”
Zio crawled across the cold cage floor. He pulled Devan into his lap, noting the coldness of his skin, the grey tinge, his slack muscles. “He’s dead.”
“He’s not. If he was dead, you’d feel it. Reach out, Zio. Your wolf knows who you’ve lost today—brothers, sisters, friends, but not your mate. Not Devan.”
Helplessness warred with defeat, but authority laced the soldier’s words, overriding all else.
Zio gasped, sensing the weight in every nerve. “You’re an alpha.”
The soldier nodded. “I am. And you will heed my orders and save your mate.”
It wasn’t an order Zio needed. His soul cried out for hope. He looked down at Devan again and laid his palm over his heart.
A faint pulse greeted him. Zio gasped again. “He’s alive.”
“Because of you.”
“How? What’s wrong with him? I can’t see any injuries.”
“They shot him with a human gun. His body healed the flesh injury, but he was too weak to recover from the blood loss.”
The new voice startled Zio. He threw a glance over his shoulder.
A girl as filthy and bloodied as Devan crouched in the corner. “You were separated with an unfulfilled bond,” she said. “If the bond is too strong to be ignored, it can kill a shifter, especially one with a catastrophic injury who’s already exhausted from healing a hundred wolves.”
Zio swung a panicked gaze to the Shadow Clan alpha. “Is that true? He can’t heal because of me?”
“It’s not you, Zio. It’s the bond. It was stronger than anyone realised, even without completion. But none of that matters now. We can talk about it later. Right now, you need to heal your mate.”
“I’m not a healer.”
“For him, you are, always.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“Keep your hands on him. And sunlight. We need sunlight.”
Zio slid his arms beneath Devan and lifted him from the ground. Skin touched skin. Warmth flared . . . for Zio, at least.
He followed the alpha back along the corridor, the strange girl at his back. An enemy wolf surged out of the darkness. The alpha cut him down with a wave of his hand. Wolf bones crunched. Blood spattered. It was over in an instant, and they kept moving.
The time it took to get above ground seemed a fraction of how long it had taken to descend, and they emerged into bright winter sun.
In the courtyard, the dead enemy wolves had been piled in a corner, guarded by clan shifters. Milling around were a dozen new faces, some slightly built, with blond hair and blue eyes like their alpha, others dark and hulking.
The alpha pointed to the path that led to the bungalow—and the bed Zio had so briefly shared with Devan. “Take him home. Stay with him every moment. I’ll be with you as soon as I can.”
Zio kept walking. In his arms, Devan weighed nothing, as if life had left him and he’d chased after it, leaving Zio to tie him down to the world. New panic seized Zio. What if—
Three wolves appeared from nowhere, blocking Zio’s path. Three brothers. Danielo, Michael, and . . . Bomber, standing strong and proud on three legs.
Danielo shifted back, his hand a steady weight on Zio’s shoulders. “Varian’s taken a force to secure the border. Shadow Clan have moved out to protect the township and beyond.”
“I don’t care about any of that right now.” It was sacrilege to say it, but to lie to his brother was worse.
A tiny smirk graced Danielo’s face. “Neither do we. We’re gonna guard your house, brother. At least until Devan wakes up.”
“What if he doesn’t wake up?”
Danielo snorted, the sound so normal in this strange new world that Zio almost laughed, and Danielo squeezed Zio’s shoulder tighter. “He will wake up, Z. So much life he’s given for others, how can he not?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Warm hands brushed Devan’s sensitive skin. Soft words he couldn’t decipher graced his shallow consciousness. Instinct told him Zio was close, but the lingering pain in his bones denied it. Being with Zio was nirvana—there was no pain, only bliss.
“Devan.”
No. The voice wasn’t right. It was familiar and almost comforting, but it wasn’t Zio.
A low chuckle came next, distant enough to ignore but irritating enough to drag him from the shadowed place he’d made home.
New hands touched him. Devan flinched, and the hands fell away.
“He’s awake.”
I’m not.
The warm hands returned with the hot breath against his cheek. “Devan?”
It was barely a whisper, but somehow louder than anything else. Devan took a breath. It rattled through his chest, and his muscles throbbed with new aches. No. Not even that magic voice is worth this—
“Devan, it’s Zio. Wake up . . . please?”
A lightning bolt of want and need flashed through Devan. His eyelids fluttered, and his body jerked as his every sense locked onto Zio. Brightness hurt his eyes, and his limbs protested at the slightest movement. Blackness threatened to pull him under, but he fought it, and for the first time in however long it had been, he won.
His eyes settled open. For a long, painful moment, he saw nothing then Zio’s face solidified, perfect and beautiful. Dark skin, full lips, and wide brown eyes, full of yearning and worry.
I don’t want him to worry.
Devan’s hands moved of their own accord to smooth the lines of concern from Zio’s face. The effect was instant. Zio smiled, and the sun came out. He leaned down, his lips so close Devan could’ve kissed him if his neck hadn’t been so stiff. “You’re awake.”
“Not on purpose.” Devan licked his dry lips. “How long was I asleep?”
“A week.”
“What?”
Zio’s expression clouded. “You don’t remember?”
“Remember what?”
“Anything, I guess. Though I reckon I should be grateful you seem to remember me.”
Devan swallowed thickly. “Of course I remember you. I feel you . . . here.” His hand landed on his chest with a dull thud.
Zio was briefly amused again, then he sighed and rubbed his face.
“You look tired,” Devan said.
Zio snorted. “I shouldn’t. I’ve spent a lot of the last week asleep too.”
“Why?”
“Because Dash said it would help you heal if I lay down with you. I didn’t realise he meant your body would draw strength from mine, though. That shit is insane.”
It felt so good to hear Zio curse. To see him scowl. To see the sparks fly from his dark gaze. Devan lost himself for a moment before the entirety of what Zio had said hit him. “. . . Dash said . . .” What on earth?
Zio frowned. “What’s the matter?”
“Hmm?”
“You look like you’re in pain.”
Devan was in pain, but he could live with that as long as Zio was close. The gaps in his head bothered him more. “Dash.”
“Do you want me to get him? He’s outside.”
“What? How?”
“Your clan came to our rescue. Stormed the compound and took it back. Luca led them. Dash helped me find you. I didn’t know it was him, though.”
“He’s good at the . . . incognito.”
Zio cringed. “Yeah, I thought he was a kid. You could’ve told me the most powerful shifter on the planet looks like a twelve-year-old.”
Devan almost laughed, but it hurt too much. “Tell me the rest.”
“What do you mean?”
“All of it. Last I knew we were at the waterfall, or did I dream that?”
“Nah, that was real.” Zio lay down on what Devan suddenly realised was his bed in the bungalow he’d shared with Emma. “And I’m kind of glad it’s the last thing you remember. I was scared you’d die with only war on your mind.”
“You look older.”
“I am older . . . by a week, at least.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.”
“Who died?”
“What?”
Devan flailed his heavy arm around until it landed on Zio. He made a feeble attempt to draw Zio closer. “If Dash and Luca felt the need to intervene, I’m guessing it was bad.”
Zio’s gaze flickered. “It was . . . so fucking bad. Tomas, Vic, all of Gale’s unit.”
“No.”
“Yeah. Gale’s unit was ambushed at the hospital when they figured out what was going on there. Only Gale survived, but we didn’t know until yesterday when Luca secured the hospital. Tomas was killed when he put himself between Varian and a gun. Vic was shot too . . . like you were.”
Devan’s head swam. “What?”
“They shot you, Devan. Dash said the bullet went straight through your liver and punctured your spleen. If you’d been human, you’d have died in minutes.”
“I’m not human.”
“No, you’re not. But I wish you were. I wish we both were.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to lie in this bed and eat pizza with you again. I want to spend every minute with you as if it’s all that matters. As if this war never happened.”
“But it did happen—” Devan cleared his throat and tried again. “It did happen, and it shaped us, Z. Like everything does.”
“I like it when you call me Z. It reminds me that we’re brothers too.”
“That wouldn’t happen if we were human.”
Zio laughed. “Yeah, maybe not.”
Devan started to smile too, but something unsaid gnawed at his gut. “There’s something . . . someone. I can’t remember. But I need to know they’re okay.”
“I think you mean Mari.”
“Who?”
“Do you remember the wolf we took prisoner? The girl? I wanted to kill her, but you wouldn’t let me.”
“You didn’t really want to kill her.”
“I did.”
“You didn’t.”
“Whatever. I didn’t kill her. I handed her to the intelligence unit, and they kept her in the cells. That’s where . . . that’s where I found you.”
“Who put me there?”
“I don’t know exactly. Your clan pretty much wiped out the enemy packs as soon as they got here. I’ve never seen anything like it. It makes sense, though. I’ve seen you fight, after all.”
“Stick to the story.”
“Sorry.
Anyway, there weren’t many left to interrogate, that’s my point. And the ones who were captured were still . . .” Zio waved his hand.
Devan frowned. “Still what?”
“Still lit . . . as in, off their tits. That’s the other thing. At the hospital, remember?”
Devan ran out of rope. He’d lost a week, and others he cared about had lost far more, but he was too tired to take any more in. He shook his head and closed his eyes.
Zio’s touch was instant, soothing, and wonderful. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Sleep. I’ve got you. I’ll tell you the rest later.”
Time passed like a speeding bullet. Every moment Devan slept robbed him of hours and days he’d never get back. Hours and days he could’ve spent with Zio or doing something useful to help his pack.
“You really are one of them,” Dash mused.
“It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”
“Perhaps. With all that’s happened, it’s hard to fathom what I was thinking when I sent you here.”
Dash’s strength as an alpha went beyond his unrivalled powers. It was his ability to be so human that made him a leader. Devan stood, testing his legs, and joined him at the window. “You were thinking I could help your friend. And maybe I did, but this war still cost him his mate.”
“Perhaps it would’ve cost him a lot more and a lot sooner had you not been here. Dozens of your wolf pack survived the battle here because of you.”
Devan would have to take Dash’s word for that. Despite nearly two solid weeks in Zio’s bed, he still had little memory of the horrors that had befallen the compound. Only second-hand accounts filled in the blanks. And death. Devan’s heart ached for the brothers and sisters he’d lost, even those he’d never known. “Do you know how Gale is?”
“I visited him yesterday. His wounds are healing, thanks to the human doctor who saved him. I cannot speak for his soul.”
“And Varian?”
“Much the same, though he has taking care of his pack to keep him busy. He came every day when you were unconscious. He is very much a father to Zio, no?”
“I guess.”
Dash drew patterns on the glass. Devan had spent years trying to decipher his habit, but he couldn’t find the will to try now. “Today is the first day I have felt like myself. It’s . . . strange to have missed so much time. I don’t know anything. Only what people tell me.”
Fated Hearts Page 19
