The Crucial Shift (The Ariane Trilogy Book 3)

by Michelle Dare

  A loud, deep growl from my right pulls my attention that way. Two grizzlies are fighting, and oh my bears, I have never seen anything like it. They are both on their hind legs, with their mouths open, and teeth bared. Their front feet touch, pushing on one another. One of them is covered in blood, but I have no idea who is on our side between them. I didn’t get a good enough chance to get to know all of the shifters who are standing with us, let alone recognize them in their animal form.

  One of Travis’ pack must see this as an opportunity to get me, because a sharp pain blazes through my side. Freaking bears distracted me and now I have blood soaking through my shirt. I turn and find a very dirty white wolf with my blood coating its mouth.

  “You’re going to pay for that,” I seethe, already feeling my body start to heal.

  “He’s mine!” Rion growls in my head as his wolf rushes toward the one who attacked. However, the wolf is ready for him.

  They clash together in a mess of fur and teeth, but the wolf is no match for my mate. He has it down and dead in under a minute, giving my body time to fully heal. At least I don’t have to worry about diseases. Who knows what that wolf had bitten before it got to me.

  Ford’s thoughts float to me, telling me he’s near. Spinning, I find him behind me, squaring off with a gorgeous fae woman. Yes, they’re deadly, but that doesn’t mean I can’t admire how pretty she is. Seriously, what do I have to do to get skin that luminous?

  “Ari! Focus!” Rion shouts in my head.

  “I’m sorry! You know how much they fascinate me.”

  She blasts Ford with some sort of magic, sending him backward a few steps. His lips form a slow, menacing smile as he trudges forward. He’s not going to fight her alone. I want in on this. No one goes after my best friend.

  With a snap of my fingers, I teleport behind her while Ford keeps her attention. He moves in for the kill, but she tries to dodge left and out of his grasp. Only, I’m there and stick my leg out so she trips, falling flat on her face. There’s no way I can hold back the laughter that bubbles up my throat. She peers up and the murderous look on her face says one thing—I’m next. Too bad she won’t get a chance to hurt me.

  Ford is there, his hands on either side of her head. With a quick twist, he snaps her neck then pulls harder to sever it from her body.

  There’s no break in the action, because next thing I know, something lands on my back and digs its sharp teeth into my shoulder. I yell in pain. My wolf rushes to the surface, wanting to handle this one, so I let her. I’m fine taking the back seat while my body heals.

  Fast as lightning my wolf is there, on four feet. It was a fox on my back, who falls to the ground when I shift. The fox leaps again, ripping into my wolf’s back right leg. No one has time for this nonsense. Foxes may be fast and smart, but this is annoying. It’s not going to kill me. It’s too small to inflict any real damage.

  Dropping to the ground, my wolf rolls over a few times to get the fox off. It doesn’t work until Ford comes over and plants his boot on the fox’s tail, holding it in place while it screeches in pain. My wolf jerks away. It takes a little of her fur with it. She snarls at the fox, who has the nerve to bare its teeth. Screw this. I’m not playing. I tell my wolf to end it, and she is completely on board with that.

  Gripping the fox by the neck, she bites as hard as she can into the fox’s neck and shakes it violently until it goes limp. No more fox.

  I hate that my wolf and I are having to kill, but these paranormals sided with Travis. They knew what they were getting into, and as long as they are allowed to walk around and follow his every beck and call, they could harm others. Evil always sides with evil. If you have a black heart and crave the taste of death, you need to be removed from this earth.

  The next sound I hear is one that hits me everywhere. It pierces my heart and deep into my soul. My neck burns as if it’s on fire and my wolf’s legs become weak. Quickly, I shift back to a human and look myself over. There isn’t a mark on me, yet the pain intensifies. It’s Orion. This isn’t good. I can’t lose him.

  Using my internal compass for him, I teleport to where he is. He’s on his side on the ground. A grizzly bear has its mouth around Orion’s neck, and there are two wolves pulling at Orion’s legs. He can’t win this on his own. Not when it’s three to one.

  Everything in me goes on autopilot with one thing in mind—to save the man who has become my everything. I retreat a few paces then run at the bear as a defensive player would to clear the field. Right before I reach him, I send a message to him in my mind.

  “Hey!” I scream.

  His head jerks up, causing him to drop my mate. Just what I wanted him to do. He does it a split second before I slam into him. It’s enough to cause the bear to stumble back and put his attention on me. As the bear and I square off, Zayda rushes in, shifting into a light grey wolf. She fights off the two others wolves long enough so Orion can shift twice, mending some of his wounds, but he’s still bleeding. He needs to shift more, and any additional time out here makes him vulnerable.

  I’m about to call for Ford when he appears and teleports Orion away. Any other time, I’d be scared to death about him dying. I can’t right now, though. Not when a bear is standing on its hind legs, towering feet above my small frame. He has to be at least eight feet tall. There’s no way I can fight him, even in wolf form. And my vampire strength will only do so much good. This thing is a monster. So I do the only thing I can think off—kick him where it counts.

  The bear lets out a high-pitched noise and folds over. It’s time to go in for the kill. It’s time for my wolf to appear again. This bear tried to kill my mate and it must die. I have zero remorse for the life my wolf is about to take.

  My wolf goes from leg to leg, severing every tendon then moves in for the final blow. It only takes a few strategic bites to tear out the bear’s throat. It’s a bloody mess and my wolf is bathed in it. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the taste of blood on my tongue. My wolf might be the one actually biting the bear, but everything she feels and does is a part of me as much as I’m a part of her. But it must be done. No one will take Orion from me.

  Zayda comes to my side and brushes up against me, her wolf meeting mine. Then Cassandra comes over as well. She’s been fighting hard next to Aries. People might not think of her as a formidable opponent, but after seeing her in battle, no one should mess with her wolf.

  As screwed up as all of this is, it’s nice having family around. I’m sure at some point the weight of this entire day will slam into me, and I’ll be rocking in a corner sobbing. Right now isn’t the time to fall apart, though. Because as my wolf lifts her head, she narrows her eyes on a huge cheetah who is barreling toward us. Can’t these paranormals take a break?

  Solomon appears in front of us, and just before the cat hits him, he spins, grabs its tail, and uses it to launch the cheetah into the trees. All we hear are its cries and tree limbs snapping. That’s one way to handle things.

  “Thanks for that,” I send him with my mind. He winks in return and rushes back into the fray. If I’m not mistaken, he’s enjoying this. Never mind, I’m certain he’s enjoying this.

  A massive red wolf walks toward us, barely able to keep its eyes open. Merrick’s wolf. He falls to the ground about a foot from us with his mouth open. Zayda rushes over, nuzzling him with her snout, and I follow right behind her. Focusing on the rise and fall of his chest, his breaths space farther and farther apart. Zayda repeatedly tries to get him to shift, but nothing she does works. No. He won’t die here. I can’t lose my uncle when I only just learned I had one.

  “I’m going to take him to Desmond,” I tell my aunt with my mind. She dips her head in a nod.

  Quickly, I shift into a human, and in a flash, I have Merrick’s wolf in the hallway outside of the medical room at the mansion. Releasing him, I go in search of Des. There’s no blood on my uncle, so I’m not sure exactly what’s wrong with him. His injuries must be internal.

  �
��Des!” I yell. “I need help!”

  He enters the hall through one of the doors that houses everything he needs to patch up the pack. His hands are covered in blood; his face sorrowful. “Lena’s gone.”

  My response is immediate. Tears well in my eyes as I stride toward Des. “Try again,” I cry. “You have to try again.” Hot tears stream freely down my cheeks. It’s too soon after losing Cace. We can’t let his mate die as well.

  “I did, Ari. You have no idea how much I tried.” He sucks in a breath, not wanting to break down in front of me; however, I notice his puffy, red eyes. I see the way his bottom lip trembles ever so slightly. “I can’t save someone who has lost the will to live.”

  I break down in sobs as Desmond embraces me. This can’t be happening. Not Lena. We stand there for a moment mourning the loss of a beautiful shifter with a huge heart. The pain in my chest is raw and real. I can’t believe she’s gone.

  When will all this death end? Will it when this war is over? I don’t even know where Travis is. There’s no way we can kill someone we can’t find.

  “Ari?” Ford says behind us. “Are you okay?”

  Pulling away from Desmond, I shake my head and wipe my tears. “No, nothing is okay.”

  “Merrick’s wolf isn’t looking too good.”

  Oh, no! I forgot about him. I’m such a disaster. Brushing away my tears, I turn my attention to my uncle. “Des, you have to save him. I can’t lose anyone else.”

  We rush over to Merrick’s wolf’s side, and the three of us lift him carefully, placing him on the table in a free room. The shifters were told to heal the best they could in battle, to try and find a safe space. Only severe cases were to come to the mansion.

  Desmond assesses him while Ford and I stand off to the side. His arm wraps around my shoulders, pulling me to him while I continue to cry over Lena, watching as Des tries to fix my uncle. He does multiple things, even shifting and calling out to his wolf in an effort to heal him. Nothing works.

  Back in human form, Des takes out a vial of something and a needle. “If this doesn’t work, I’m not sure what else I can do. He’s got multiple broken bones and extensive internal injuries, from what I can tell. I’m afraid if I cut him open to operate, he’ll bleed out before I can get it under control.”

  “What are you giving him?” I sniffle.

  He inserts the needle into the small vial and withdraws a clear liquid. “The same thing I gave you and other humans when they are injured to promote rapid healing. It’s the last-ditch effort to save shifters.”

  Moving around the table, he injects the full dose right into Merrick’s wolf’s heart to induce healing. We wait, holding our breaths, to see if it works. Then, the wolf takes a deep breath. And another. In under a minute, his breathing becomes steady, and I let out a long sigh of relief. He’s healing. He’s going to live.

  “Go get Zayda,” Des states. “She needs to be here when he wakes. If not, he’ll storm out there searching for her, and he needs to heal for a little bit.” Merrick’s first thought will be of Zayda. I have no doubt he was out there watching over her the best he could, just as Orion is watching over me.

  Ford teleports out of the room before I have a chance. He’s back almost immediately with her. Zayda is in human form. Her long, blonde hair is a mess of tangles, dirt, and blood. Her clothes are covered as well. She launches herself onto her mate’s furry side, burying her face, crying quietly.

  “He’s going to be okay, Zayda,” Desmond soothes. “He took to the serum I created. It’s healing him. But if you can get him to shift, that will help as well.” She nods.

  Ford and I leave the room to give them space. I lean hard against the wall in the hallway. “Is it almost over?” I ask.

  He scrubs a hand over his face. “I don’t think so.”

  16

  After three days and many deaths, the battle is over. As far as I’m concerned, no one won. There were a number of fatalities on both sides. Too many. Eventually, Travis’ side walked away before they were all killed. They had more deaths than we did. But Travis never showed his face again. Some leader he is.

  No one knows where Travis is. The vampires tried to read the minds of those still standing on the Diaminsey side and got nowhere. Apparently, he didn’t share his plans with anyone except Benedict. They all saw them together but knew nothing beyond the war between packs and what little information Travis gave them.

  They followed him for different reasons. Some were greedy like him and wanted it all, while others thought our side was the real evil in this. With Travis and Benedict still out there, I don’t consider any of us safe, and I won’t until they’re both dead.

  One of the mages put a spell on Lealla’s mansion before he left to keep anyone from teleporting in or out. Well, except Kiara, Ford, Solomon, Rion, and me.

  At some point during the battle, my powers finally took hold of Rion, thanks to our mate bond. From what I was told, it doesn’t always happen instantly. My powers settled over Rion when three wolves decided to back me against a tree on the last day of battle. One moment Rion was in wolf form, the next he was a human and teleporting in front of my body.

  He gained most of my powers: my vampire strength, my super mind reading abilities, the ability to block anyone from my head, and my healing power. I’m still not sure about the memory transfer thing or if he can have premonitions while he sleeps. Rion no longer has to shift to heal. It helped ease my mind a little knowing I didn’t have to teleport him away for him to heal if he got hurt again. Although, there will still be a learning curve of some sort. Teleporting is easy after the first handful of times. I think it helps that Rion has seen me do it repeatedly.

  Our mating was unique. I found my inner wolf, and Rion became just like me. We both have abilities most shifters do not, which makes us all the more powerful when we’re together.

  The other vampires left once the battle ended. None of them lost their lives on our side. Neither did any of the mages. The deaths were all shifters and fae. Hayden, the Avynwood Pack’s mechanic, was lost in the war. Iliana, Cooper’s mate, was, too. Plus Lena. There were others who weren’t mated in the pack and were killed—five unmated males, to be exact. And those in Lealla’s other packs and Merrick’s. Too many. Far too many. The older, wiser fae made it out alive, but the younger ones, who weren’t as experienced, were no match against the mages and fae who had experience and age on their side.

  Ford teleported out to his house in Portland this morning. Everything there was fine, and no one had bothered them. We decided to keep them there a couple more days to make sure no one came back to the mansion wanting to fight.

  Each of the shifter mates got to go out there via one of us teleporting them. Being separated like that can’t be easy. Even if it was brief, they got to see and hold their mates. To know they were okay.

  Except for Gianna. Cassandra asked me to teleport her out there to deliver the news. But Gianna already knew. She felt Hayden’s pain. Felt the gaping hole in her chest at his loss. Watching her fall apart while Cassandra held her caused my own tears to fall.

  The humans in Ford’s home are the most vulnerable, and we don’t want anything happening to them. Yet we couldn’t save Hayden. At least he died knowing his mate was safe. Ford came back from the house after all the visits were done, wanting to stay at the mansion in case he was needed. Kiara is still out in Oregon, as well as the four wolves originally stationed there. They can watch over the humans for a little while longer.

  After a long, hot shower, I collapse onto the bed, unable to remember the last time I got a solid night’s sleep. Over the last few days, I would sleep for two hours here or there then jump back into things.

  Everyone who is close to me seemed to become targets—more so than the rest. Ford. Rion. Merrick and Zayda. The Diaminsey Pack knew who they were going after to get to me. And I was attacked nonstop. They came at me from all angles. Apparently, I had the biggest target on my back. But we made it out of there.
Not without injury or the mental scars that will last all of our lives. Some things I’ll never be able to unsee. I’m sure I’ll have the nightmares to prove it. However, we’re alive. And for that, I’m grateful.

  Rion emerges from the attached bathroom and sits on the bed beside me, his hand finding mine, holding it in a tight grip. I stare into his crystal blue eyes, his intent gaze on me. Then we slide to the head of the bed to wrap each other up in our arms.

  I can’t help the tears that fall when he holds me close. So many times I wanted to grab him and teleport him away from the fight. I wanted to pull back and avoid all that was happening in front of me, finding a place where it was just the two of us. But I couldn’t. This is bigger than me. If Travis isn’t stopped, so many will be affected. I had to keep reminding myself of the overall picture. And that was what kept me going and not fleeing. At eighteen, I shouldn’t have to do this. I shouldn’t be fighting for my life and the lives of everyone around me. But I’m not a normal teenager anymore. And this paranormal world is the one I reside in now. There’s no going back. No trying to wish the violence away. I have to keep pushing forward.

  “We’re okay,” Rion murmurs as his hand strokes my hair. “We made it through together.”

  I checked our connection often during the battle, to make sure he was still alive while I was fighting. I would feel his pain as well as his anger, as I’m sure he was aware of mine. But he’s right, we both made it out.

  “He’s still out there.” I sniffle. “We have to find him.”

  “We will. He won’t hide for long. He wants to get to you, and, as long as you’re alive, he won’t stop. He’s probably searching for a way to get the upper hand again. Bringing more to his side. I bet he’s out there recruiting as we speak.”

  “I don’t want to keep doing this. We can’t have more die to stop one shifter.”

  “I agree. But for right now, we have to stay put. He knows where we are. He’ll play his hand. It’s only a matter of time.”