There was no more time to stew it over. If Nick was going to give her a chance, she would make the most of it. For Max, for the possibility of staying with him always, she would hope there was a way.
After taking a deep breath, Ava said, “Beatrice will meet me in Harrison at sundown tonight. She wants me to come with captured wolf souls, and she wants to leave because a coven of witches she’s been avoiding is getting too close to her safe house.” Ava paused and glanced at Nick.
He nodded his head. “Trinity will take care of the safe house. They already have some shifters in Texas.”
Ava nodded in turn and continued, “Beatrice told me where to meet her, but we can lure her into a trap instead if I call her with Black Magic. We witches sense magic deeply kind of like how all of you can sense emotion and magic to some degree.” Her voice was steady and strong. She almost didn’t recognize it. She was no longer shaking either.
“We have to lure Beatrice away,” Ava said. “As far away from Harrison as possible. If a few wolves came with me so we can pretend to fight, I’ll set off enough Black Magic in a clear area where it won’t hurt anyone to get Beatrice worried. She’ll know something is wrong if she senses a lot of Black Magic and come for me.” She swallowed. “This next part will be dangerous, but once Beatrice arrives, she’ll have her attention on the wolves just long enough for me to get her. A moment of distraction is all I’ll need to immobilize her. From there, the rest should be easy.”
“You’re that confident in your strength compared to hers?” Nick asked.
“Yes. I am much stronger than Beatrice. If we fought head-on, I’d have more trouble, but I’m still sure I would come out on top.” Ava was not the type for boasting or bragging. This was truth. Nothing more and nothing less.
“How many wolves do you need as decoys?”
“T-three. Three should be enough.” It was a large enough number that she hoped none of them would get hurt in the process. Having one wolf with her would be too risky because Beatrice would lock onto them. Three would be a good distraction. More targets meant a slower reaction. Ava would be able to act before she did.
“I’ll do it,” Max volunteered easily.
Ava squeezed his hand tightly even though it hurt her sore fingers. She didn’t want to risk his safety like this. She didn’t want to risk anyone’s safety.
Willow raised her hand. “I’ll do it, too. I’m fast. I’ll be a great decoy!”
“Fuck,” Derek groaned at her side. “I’m number three, then.”
“You do want to capture Beatrice so you can hand her over to Trinity, right?” Ava asked Nick.
“Yes, but if it’s too much trouble, I’m not against killing her. She’s too dangerous to chance her getting away when we can stop her tonight.” He grimaced. “If we do kill her, I hope it lifts the spell on Bruiser and Rogue instead of making it worse.”
Ava nodded. She didn’t know how to break Beatrice’s spell because Black Magic was about permanent destruction, but often even the most powerful magic and curses died with the witch who casted them. She doubted Beatrice knew how to break the spell either, other than with her death. Ava would do her best to bind her former keeper, capture her. If she could keep her alive and hand her over to Trinity, maybe she would want to change like Ava.
Maybe.
“What the fuck is wrong with all of you?!” Cedric shouted from the crowd. “Your Alpha is going to get you killed, but since you’re damn wolves, you’d gladly follow him to your deaths because he’s your Alpha, is that it? Don’t you get it? The witches are working with each other. They’re gathering you together so they can pick you off when they have you in their trap, far from home, and so there are less of you to sort through. They know not everyone will come. Only fighters will go to Harrison tonight, and you are exactly the kind of shifter these witches are after. It’s a trap. All of this.”
“Cedric,” Nick said his name with a coldness that went right to Ava’s bones. “I get your feelings. I really do, but I know something you don’t, and it’s not just because of my wolf senses. I know the bond of Fated Mates. I know the power of the Moon, and the Moon chose Ava.”
Nick believed in her, or maybe not her, the Moon, Max, but he was sticking his neck out for her. She couldn’t believe it, but the wolf inside of her could feel it. Nick and Gwen, Derek and Willow, they all felt warm. They were Fated Mates. They knew what she and Max had. Most of the others were warming up to Ava as well, probably because they witnessed Fated Mates. It was something that softened hearts and made them stronger at the same time. The power of a god, the Moon, to unite its shifters. But not all.
“I’ll prove it,” Ava said resolutely. “Cedric, I’ll prove it. I won’t let you down. I guess you’ll just have to take a chance on me.”
Cedric shook his head, pain clear in his eyes. “No. By then it’ll be too late.” He closed his eyes and his clothes fell softly around him as a burst of white feathers mingled with falling snowflakes. He could disrobe and shift in a way that was pure elegance, pure magic. He took off into the sky, a large snowy owl that glided away on silent wings.
Ava watched him go. She would never be able to apologize enough. Cedric experienced her power for himself, and it left his spirit broken—even though he was revived. She understood where he was coming from, too. He had every right to hate her. He would have that right always, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t try to make it right.
There once was a little girl who saved a dying cat. It got her persecuted and shunned, but that cat thanked her. It rubbed its head on her hand once before he went on his way. It wasn’t enough to ease the ache, and she didn’t recognize it as thanks at the time because she was immediately slandered for what she had done by the people around her. But she made a difference to that cat. She never saw it again, but that didn’t change the mark she left on it, a mark of good intentions and the kind of care she craved. The cat tried to give her that in return. From now on, Ava wanted to treat others with that same care because maybe it would come back to her just as the mark of brokenness and pain came back to her now as Cedric.
Light and warmth. That was all she ever craved. Max gave it to her, and she did her best to give it back. Maybe she could find a way to give that light to more people than Max. Maybe she could find a way to give it to Cedric and chase the dark away.
Little bit by little bit, she was uncovering the deepest part of her soul, the part that only ever wanted to give and be loved.
Chapter 15
THE BANDAGES ON HER fingers caught on the rough bark of the large black cottonwood at her back. There was a thicket of trees outside of Harrison and that was where Ava was now with her three volunteer wolves. Max, Willow, and Derek were all shifted into their wolf forms, waiting patiently for Ava to give the signal. Ava could feel Beatrice’s presence in the city because she was finely tuned to her magic after spending most of her life with her. She was sure Beatrice could feel her, too.
It was about time to get started. Ava needed to make this look good and call Beatrice out with the commotion. She looked at the white wolf, blond wolf, and black wolf standing in front of her. She silently vowed to protect each one of them. No more pain. After today, she would cause no more pain.
I’m sorry, Beatrice.
Max walked forward and placed his nose in the palm of her hand. She couldn’t fathom being deathly afraid of this wolf, not anymore. He was her comfort. She moved her hand to rub his skull in between his pointed ears. Then she knelt down and wrapped her arms around the fluffy fur of his huge neck. Her fingers brushed the silver chain holding the cross he always wore. She didn’t have a good opinion of religious people, but until recently, she didn’t have a good opinion of anyone. Max changed that about her, too. Religion didn’t define a person. There were too many hypocrites. People defined themselves by their actions.
That was why she was here. Her actions today would speak louder than any words she could give.
“We’ve gotta make this loo
k good,” Ava told the wolves. “Just stay back and act vicious. I’m going to shoot magic down from this black cottonwood like I’m trying to fend you off, so don’t get too close. You’ll probably feel the power, but you won’t get hurt. Beatrice should come right away when she senses the spike of Black Magic.”
Ava gave Max a little push to let him know they needed to do this now. He kept his orange sunset eyes trained on her as he back away with the other wolves. The three wolves with Ava were the only ones visible, the only ones that should draw Beatrice’s attention because of the show they’d put on, but there was a group of other wolves hidden deeper inside of the thicket. Nick insisted on coming and bringing the group just in case. Ava hoped the “just in case” part didn’t happen. She wanted to do this quick and clean.
Ava turned around and climbed the tree. She stopped when she reached a branch that would hold her weight. She pressed her back against the trunk and held out her hands. She gave a slight nod of her head and the wolves started growling, showing big white fangs that could easily tear her flesh into pieces. She held out her hands and inky black smoke danced around her clawed fingers, safely wrapped in clean bandages that would soon turn bloody. She heard a difference in the wolves’ growls. They were real now, instinct taking over at the very real threat this power possessed. Good. This needed to look real.
The smoke culminated into a little sphere in her palms. She was focusing on potency, not power. When she launched the sphere of destructive magic, something flew into her and cold talons narrowly missed her eyes. She almost fell off the tree but managed to catch herself. She launched her magic before she got hit, so the wolves were safe. It didn’t go off course. She took a relieved breath when the inky ball hit the snowy ground, eating a small hole into it as it exploded, sending a blast of foreboding darkness into the area around them. Startled, the wolves backed off farther, but already the darkness was starting to dissipate. It would fade and their minds would clear before Beatrice got here.
Ava heard the soft flap of wings and spotted the creature who attacked her. A large snowy owl. Cedric. Blood dripped hot from her cheek against the freezing snow and ice surrounding her. He paused in his onslaught because of the force of Ava’s magic. His eyes were glossy with the confusion caused by the burst of darkness, but he recovered quickly. He set his sights on her and screeched as he dove for her, talons outstretched and poised like daggers.
This wasn’t part of the plan.
Ava held out her hands reflexively to protect her face, but she didn’t call upon the darkness inside of her again. She wasn’t going to hurt him any more than she already had. She screamed when he cut through her hands and proceeded to slice her arms, creating thin sheets of oozing red. She dropped down to the branch supporting her and almost fell from the tree again, but she managed to catch her balance and covered her head with her mangled hands and arms.
A howl caught Ava’s attention. Max’s howl. She yelped when the branch she was on shook and threatened to break as the large white wolf landed on it with deft paws. He snapped at the owl, catching a bird leg in his teeth. The owl screeched and flapped so fiercely, he created a current of air that picked up the ice and snow.
“Let him go, Max!” Ava pleaded. She grabbed handfuls of his thick fur as she clung on to him. She could see the look in Max’s orange eyes. He wasn’t going to let the snowy owl go unless she did something. He was going to maul him to death.
“Max!” She hugged him tightly this time as she grabbed his powerful jaws, trying to pry them open while bracing herself against the icy wind buffeting her. “You don’t want to do this. You’re good, Max. I’m okay. Let him go.”
Max whimpered, but he let her fingers guide his jaws open. Cedric screeched again as he flew free of Max’s hold. Max turned to Ava, the wildness in his eyes replaced with concern. He licked the scratches on her cheek, and then he started licking the blood from her arms. Willow and Derek were barking and growling in the snow below. Their eyes were trained on the snowy owl, warning him off as he circled above the trees, one leg extended and bloody.
“I’m fine, Max,” Ava told him quickly. Her blood was matted and blatant in his white fur. The cuts stung, but she didn’t have time for him to baby her. This wasn’t part of the plan, but now the fight looked real—if only Max would listen to her and get back on the ground. If Beatrice saw him licking her and worrying over her like this, she would know Ava had betrayed her. She would know this wolf cared for her.
“Go,” Ava said as she pushed him away.
He growled at her and refused to budge. He kept licking her.
“Max.” She kissed the top of his head. “I need you to—”
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
Ava froze. She barely had time to look over her shoulder and catch a glimpse of the gothic apparel covering Beatrice head to toe because she eclipsed herself in a smokescreen of Black Magic. It morphed into a double, a second skin floating around her. She shot the shadow skin forward, and it rocketed toward Max and Ava like a human-sized bullet.
“No!” Ava screamed. She shoved Max with all of her might and shielded him from the brunt of the magical blow. The black smoke burned them both as it disappeared upon impact. The force of it knocked them both out of the tree and into the snow below.
“You betrayed me!” Beatrice screamed.
Ava could barely hear Beatrice’s footsteps as the snow crunched underneath her weight. She was too busy gasping on the ground, trying to cope with the pain threatening to put her out of commission. “Max,” she rasped.
Max was whimpering and rolling on the ground as he pawed at the bits of growing black fire caught in his once pristine fur. The misty black magic was clinging to him. It didn’t go away because he wasn’t the slightest bit immune to its power. It was burning him, and it would continue to burn him until it seared all the way through to his flesh and bones like a curse.
Ava’s arms were shaking. She tried to push herself out of the snow, but her limbs crumpled around her. Not now. She couldn’t be weak now.
“What did these wolves do to turn you against me, hm?” Beatrice demanded as she rounded on Willow and Derek. “I’ll fix it by killing every single one of them, and then I’ll make you pay too, my little weapon. No more freedom. Now you are nothing but a tool.”
Beatrice was trying to hurt her, but Ava knew she was never anything but a tool to Beatrice. She allowed her as much freedom as she did because it was easier for Beatrice if Ava cooperated willingly. If Ava didn’t want to be controlled by her, she wouldn’t be. That was why Beatrice was so afraid, trying to grasp the little bit of power she once had over Ava.
Beatrice was nothing but darkness. That was her core, and it always would be.
“Or maybe I’ll kill you, too,” Beatrice said. “I have no use for a broken weapon.”
Tears stung Ava’s eyes. Beatrice never cared for her. She knew it before this. She knew it from the beginning, but that knowledge didn’t make Beatrice’s words hurt any less.
The wolf inside of Ava howled. She had been quiet for so long, allowing Ava to do things her way, but she wanted her revenge. It was good timing. Ava needed her help because things didn’t go according to plan. Strength. The wolf was giving her strength. She wasn’t demanding to shift or bite the shit out of Beatrice like she wanted to, she was giving Ava the benefits of being a wolf shifter without shifting, fusing with her in a way Ava couldn’t force her to.
Power surged through Ava’s body. Her wounds didn’t feel so bad, whether they were healing or she had better pain tolerance now, she didn’t know. It didn’t matter. Wolves were creeping out of the trees, growling and snapping at Beatrice and shying away because of the purple lightning now crackling from her fingertips. The goal was to overwhelm her, but that wasn’t an easy thing to do—especially when she was taking out entire trees with her rampage. She had lost it. Beatrice had always been more careful than this. The thicket was outside of Harrison, but if anyone was outside
or looked out a window that pointed in this direction, they would probably think there was somehow a forest fire raging in the snow with all the smoke.
Ava made it to her feet when Beatrice shot another round of smoky Black Magic that clung to anything it hit. Wolves scattered and whimpered away as they pawed at the stuff burning their skin. Max was suffering beside Ava, getting worse and worse. The stuff was spreading too quickly. Ava needed to put Beatrice down. She needed to save her mate. She needed to save the pack.
“Enough!” Ava screamed as she gathered Black Magic in between her palms to create a more powerful attack. The wolf inside of her was howling, giving her the energy to move through her wounds, strengthening her physical body in a way it had never been strengthened.
Beatrice whipped around and Ava shot the magical sphere. She expected Beatrice to fight back, but she coated her fingers in Black Magic and waved Ava’s attack away, sending it harmlessly into the air where it exploded in a shattering spark of black ash. The move seemed to take no effort, but Ava’s wolf senses caught the slightest hint of weakness in her. The move took a lot of energy. She was tiring herself out quickly.
“How could you do this to me after everything I did for you?” Beatrice demanded as she shot another random shower of purple lightning out into the midst of wolves. The wolves were getting braver, getting ready to sink their teeth into Beatrice now that they had a moment to adapt to the power of a Black Witch, but Ava caught sight of Nick’s blue-gray wolf, made sure he saw her, and gave a subtle shake of her head for him to hold back. Her wolf senses were so in tune, she didn’t have to guess that the blue-gray wolf was Blue Pack’s Alpha despite never seeing him in wolf form before. She had all of Beatrice’s attention now. It would come down to the two of them. And the wolf inside of Ava.
Her Wild Wolf (Marked By The Moon Book 3) Page 16
