“Easy, you’re drawing attention.” Daegan was right. There were eyes on her now as if people had just noticed she was there. A human in their midst, currently freaking out about the murder of her werewolf mate. They watched her with curious eyes as if to see what she would do. Daegan held her upper arm, his fingers digging into her flesh as a warning. She had to calm down.
“It’s the mate-claim,” Jonah, Maggie’s mate, whispered behind her back so she could hear. “It’s unnatural for someone to stand idly while their mate is in jeopardy. Try to breathe through it and fight the instinct.”
But what if he wasn’t? What if Bowinger kicked that stool out from underneath him and they couldn’t get to him before it was too late?
“He’ll be fine, Natalie. This should be over in a few minutes,” Maggie said, her voice barely audible.
The vampire faction leader she met was speaking to the crowd, her hands clasped in front of her and wearing a bright red pantsuit that looked more appropriate for a Sunday brunch than an execution. "…been found guilty of treason by the Council and are hereby sentenced to die by hanging…"
Natalie was ready to jump out of her skin. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she wanted nothing more than to claw her way to the front of the crowd to get to him. It wasn't until Declan's eyes found her in the crowd that she calmed down slightly. Buck up.
Those were the words she relayed to him the night before. She didn't know whether or not he would understand, but the attempt at communication helped her feel better, and Henry allowed it.
I love you, she mouthed just in case something went terribly wrong and she never got the chance to tell him that again. He recognized what she was saying this time and, even standing in the back of the crowd, could see the tension leaving him. Declan was resigned to die.
Hell, no.
The next second, he jerked his head to his right, confusion on his face, just as one of the guards released his chains. Red Bowinger sprang before the irons hit the ground and before Declan could react, the stool was kicked out from underneath him.
“Noooo!” she screamed. Her feet were moving and, in the second it took Jackson and Daegan to realize what was happening, she was out of their reach.
This wasn't supposed to happen. The stool never should've been kicked out. He never should've hung like he was doing now. His face was blood red as he clawed at the rope that was choking the life from him.
The two guards were tangled in a fight as Red stood by and kept an eye on Declan. The shifter wanted her mate to die, and he would stand there to ensure it happened. All around her the crowd roared, not prepared for how quickly he dropped, the fight between the guard, or Natalie's screaming.
Red’s eyes focused on her as she drew near as if challenging her to try to get to her mate as the crowd dissolved into confused shouts and chaos as the Resistance made their move. He shifted from foot to foot, a dark smile on his face. She wouldn’t allow him to stop her.
He didn’t.
A loud barking snarl filled the air just as she was a few feet away. From her side, a massive werewolf shot out from the crowd and barreled into Red, sending him flying up into the air. With a crack, Red shifted, and by the time his feet hit the ground, his body was that of a 700-pound tiger. He roared at the werewolf just as Natalie reached Declan.
Natalie hugged his body and used every ounce of strength she had to lift him up in a desperate attempt to keep her mate from strangling. Her muscles burned, but she didn't dare let go. Jackson was there a second later. He wrestled with the noose and, just as Declan slid from her grip, freed him. Her mate fell to his knees, sputtering and coughing as he struggled to catch his breath.
"H…Hannah," he said in between coughs as he forced himself to his feet. The werewolf was locked in a lethal embrace with the massive tiger. Her back was torn open, blood running in rivulets down her skin. Hannah was giving it all she had, but she was no match for the fight-trained shifter.
As soon as he was on his feet, Declan changed, his beast tearing from him as he launched himself at Red. His teeth dug into Red's shoulder, claws impaling the sides of the tiger before he ripped him away from his sister and forced him to the ground.
Hannah collapsed as soon as Declan engaged Red. Her body vibrated, shrinking back into her human form just as she and Jackson reached her side. Natalie fell to her knees next to her and pushed the blood-matted hair out of her face.
"She's going to be okay, isn't she?" Natalie asked Jackson, pressing her hands to the hemorrhaging wound on her abdomen. Never in her life had she seen anything like Hannah’s injuries. Her skin gaped open, and she hoped it wasn't Hannah's organs she was seeing, but she wasn't entirely sure. Hannah was a werewolf, and they had fast healing. She should be okay. Right?
"I'm so sorry," Jackson said, covering the worst of the bleeding wounds on her abdomen with his hands.
"No, no, no," she cried.
Declan was still tangled with Red, but it was a painful screech that marked the end of the shifter’s life as soon as Declan’s teeth embedded into Bowinger’s throat. The dead tiger shrank back into his bloodied human form at the same time Declan’s beast narrowed his eyes on Natalie and his dying sister.
The beast vanished a second later, and Declan fell to his knees next to Natalie. He stared down at his sister in fear and disbelief. "Oh Jesus, don't. Stay, Hannah. Fuck!"
Jackson was pushed out of the way when Paula flew to her daughter's side. She was wailing, a piercing sound that broke Natalie's heart.
There was fighting behind her, but she didn't spare a glance. She could hear the clash of teeth and claws as the Resistance overtook those still loyal to the Netherworld. The CE was quickly having to decide which side they were on, but the fight was bloody and brutal. Overhead, she heard the flapping of dragon wings.
Declan's hands replaced hers over Hannah's stomach. He bore down, trying to staunch the bleeding as Natalie sat back and pulled his sister’s head into her lap and stroked her hair. The girl was unconscious, but as far as she could tell, still alive, although she didn't know for how much longer. Natalie was waiting for the healing to kick in, but she kept waiting.
“He cut her too deeply,” a familiar voice said from beside her. “She’s dying.”
Natalie looked up at Silas. The vampire stood there, watching Declan desperately try to stop the bleeding while Paula could do nothing except howl her grief, a defeated look on his face. "Can you fix it?"
“Can I save her, you mean?” he asked. When Natalie nodded, he shook his head. “No, I can’t. The Council would kill her as soon as my blood touched her lips, scared of what she’d become. It’s better this way.”
“Look around you, Silas. After today there won’t be a Council. The Netherworld is collapsing behind you as we speak. Save her. Please, save her.”
Silas turned, his eyes scanning the uproar. It was as if he was just now noticing the chaos and the fighting. "She’s not going to be the same,” he said. “You have to know this.”
“Do it,” Declan growled as Paula furiously began shaking her head.
“No. No no no! You can’t do that to her, Declan. You can’t do that to her! She’ll be okay. She’ll heal! You have to give her time.”
When Declan lifted his hands from Hannah’s stomach, fresh blood poured from her wound. He grabbed his mother and pulled her from her daughter’s side just as Silas dropped to his knees beside her.
With a grunt, he bit into the artery at his wrist and placed it over Hannah's mouth. Silas's blood overflowed, running out over her lips and streaking bright red down her cheeks. It felt like an eternity before Hannah latched on. Silas emitted an audible sigh of relief when her throat bobbed as she swallowed.
The healing started a second later. The worst of her wounds began to seal themselves from the inside out. Slowly, the bleeding stopped as they closed over completely, and only then did Silas remove his wrist from her mouth.
Hannah was still unconscious, her face deathly pale. Silas
licked over the trickling wound on his wrist before leaning over and picking Hannah’s body up and off of the cold ground.
“Why didn’t she wake up?” Paula demanded. When Silas didn’t answer and began walking away, Hannah’s naked body clutched tightly to his chest, she screamed, “Where are you taking her?”
He stopped dead and looked at them as Natalie pushed herself off the blood-soaked grass. “Your daughter is gone, werewolf. Hannah is mine now.” With that, Silas turned and strode through the fighting and out of the Council House yard while Paula dissolved into a fit of tears.
“What did you do?” She sobbed, beating Declan’s chest with her fists. “What did you do?”
The heartbreak that crossed her mate’s face made her hurt for him.
“Paula.” The sound of Malcolm’s voice cut through her tears. Declan looked up at his father but didn’t say anything. “Come on, Paula. We have to go.”
“Damn you, Malcolm!” Paula fell into Malcolm’s arms and sobbed.
The werewolf looked defeated and years older than he was. He nodded once at Declan before ushering his mate out of the rapidly dying fight. A few bodies littered the ground, but most of the Council members and CE guards were surrendering to Henry’s people.
Declan grabbed Natalie and pulled her tight against his chest.
"Did you eat your sub?" she asked him when he pulled back enough to look down at her, not knowing what else to say.
"That was you?"
She nodded. “Henry told me that one of the guards had reported you weren’t eating.”
“Henry. Henry’s here?”
“He is. He’s been working with Jackson since before Jackson started working for the CE. Did you know his mate was a witch?”
"I've heard the stories," he said. "Natalie?"
“Hmm?”
“Let’s go home.”
Declan was there to witness the rise of the Resistance. Henry already had control of most of the CE, but by the time all was said and done, he was in control of all of it. He declared martial law until the remainder of the Council members could be found and a new order established.
Malcolm was pardoned before they even left Boston. Roarke had been arrested and was being held in Zachariah's now vacated cell. Celeste was nowhere to be found. Cole took control of the warlocks, but it was shaky at best, especially with Dis still alive and out there somewhere. Lucretia, the vampire faction leader, was accused of carrying out unwarranted executions and was being held until she could be taken to trial.
Collum had given them all the middle finger and took off as soon as Liam darkened the sky. The two other dragons followed suit. It wasn't until early evening before Declan and Natalie returned to his house in Cantor, and they were finally alone.
She filled him in on what Henry hadn’t told him on the ride back. At first, he hadn’t anticipated going back to Cantor, but then Kaleb told him about the slayer cell being eradicated and Ben taking in the female slayer for questioning.
One much-needed shower later, Declan collapsed into his bed with Natalie and slept with her tucked into his arms like he hadn't slept in a hundred years. By two in the morning, he was awake and starving.
He left his sleeping mate tucked in bed and wandered into the kitchen to make himself some scrambled eggs and sausage. He was cracking eggs into the pan when Natalie padded out into the kitchen.
“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked him, sliding onto one of the stools at the counter.
“I got a good six hours since we got home. Are you hungry?”
She smiled one of those devastating smiles and nodded. “Yup. You cookin’?”
“Yup.”
She laughed. “I figured you’d be out for at least eight to ten hours after everything that happened.”
“I can’t remember the last time I ever slept eight hours. I think I was still in diapers.”
“Hmm…” She rested her head on her folded hands. “I like watching you like this.”
Declan winked at her and stirred the eggs for a second before picking up a sausage link from where he set them to drain on a paper towel. He snapped off a bite and held it out to her. Natalie took it and finished it when he went back to the eggs.
"What will happen to Hannah?" she asked him as he scraped the eggs onto a plate for them to share.
When he turned around, plate in hand, there was a tight frown on his face. "Silas will have to watch her for a while until she learns to control the bloodlust. After that..." He shrugged.
"You made the right call, allowing him to turn her."
Declan grabbed a fork from the drawer and stabbed it into the eggs before lifting it to her mouth. "Do you really believe that? Or are you just trying to make me feel better?"
She took the bite and nodded before swallowing. "I really believe it. Hannah would've done the same thing if it had been you. She charged Red with no concern for herself knowing that she was engaging in a fight she couldn't possibly win."
"Yeah." He pushed the eggs around on the plate before taking a bite himself.
"You still have her, Declan. She may never be the same person she was before. I can only imagine what kind of changes she's going through right now, but you still have her. You're not planning her funeral."
"No, I know you're right." He took a bite of the eggs before handing her the fork. "It's just going to take some getting used to, I think."
"I love you, Declan. I'll forever be grateful to Hannah getting Red Bowinger out of my way so I could get to you. I almost lost you, and if it weren't for her I know I never would've gotten to you. He would've gladly killed me. Killed us."
She set the fork on the plate when Declan reached up and cupped her cheek. He didn't speak, but there were no words she had to hear. Her mate told her all she needed to know in a single look, a single touch.
A smile spread across her face at that moment, but even that was fleeting when the shrill ringing of her cell phone sounded from the bedroom. They exchanged a wary look before she took off into the bedroom to answer it. Declan was right behind her.
“Lila,” she told him as she hit the button to connect the call. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s about Carey.”
About the Author
Olivia Hutchinson lives in North Carolina with her husband, son, and two dogs. She’s always excited to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Bookbub.
www.oliviahutchinson.net
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Also by Olivia Hutchinson
The Netherworld
Once Bitten
Up in Flames
When Sparks Fly
Wild and Untamed
Taken by Darkness
Before Dawn
Oceanids (Novella series)
Lotan
Cid
Author’s Note
I wanted to give you guys a taste of my new dystopian sci fi romance series, The Sobekian Project. Ajax is the first book in the series which is due to come out in August or September. There’s no iron-clad set release date yet.
Unlike the Netherworld series, The Sobekian Project books will all be written in first person, much like the Oceanids series. In fact, after book 7 of the Netherworld, it’s likely all my future works will be in written in first person, including the Netherworld spinoff books.
Of course, don’t take anything I say as being written in stone. I reserve the right to change my mind at any point and for any reason. I’m flighty like that.
Happy reading!
Ajax
“Get down!” Alistair shouts as another metal spear punches a hole through the side of the rickety trading post. It soars mere inches above my head, so close my hair whooshes, before penetrating the far wall and burying itself into the cracked ground.
I scramble from where I’ve been pressed, belly down in the small room and clinging to the mud brick wall. I force myself
to be as tiny as possible just as another wave of spears slam through the wooden door and send splinters flying.
I cover my face, gasping for breath, only to realize I’ve been screaming.
Blood soaks into the dirt floor. At least it’s not mine. It belongs to the body of the man who’d come into the post only a few minutes ago. He’s dead now, but not soon enough. He’d had time to call in his shipmates before Alistair had the chance to take him out.
Alistair may be an old man, but he's not so old he can't fight back if his daughter Caia or I am threatened. He's the only man I trust with my life, and rightly so.
The murder may have been for nothing since it looks like the rovers are going to get their hands on me anyway. That is if I don’t die first, speared like a kabob ready for the grill.
The post won't be able to take much more of this before it collapses. And once the rovers land their flyer and breach the post on foot? It'll be impossible for Alistair to stop them all, even if Caia and I fight alongside him. There are only three of us and who know how many males are in the flyer.
“Where’s Caia?” Alistair demands.
I meet his bright blue eyes and shake my head because I can’t get my mouth to work right. I don’t know where she is. The last time I saw her, she was racing up the ladder to the second floor, but I can’t bring myself to say this aloud. My brain and mouth stopped communicating as soon as they started shooting at us.
“She better not have gone to the damn roof,” he yells more to himself than me.
The roof is probably exactly where Caia ran off to. The deafening sound of gunfire a second later confirms it. The walls are shaking with each blast, threatening to bring the entire place to the ground.
I have to get out of here.
Alistair crawls across the floor toward the ladder, taking advantage of the momentarily distracted flyer. "Run," he tells me. "Run and hide before they're on the ground."
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