by Raven Steele
Vincent took a step forward, the chain still taught. “If only you would cooperate. A new world is coming, Isabella, and only the most powerful will survive.”
I clawed at my throat, wishing I had enough air to tell him to screw off.
“But since you can’t control your temper, you will be held prisoner. Then you will give the ultimate sacrifice to Trianus.” He bent down and snatched my hand, holding it with an iron grip. He looped a section of the long chain around my hand. Then he pulled my hand to the ground and stepped on it. I couldn’t jerk it away.
“Hold still, please.”
I punched him with my free hand but he barely flinched.
Either he’d had another boost of whatever drug he was taking, or the lack of oxygen to my body had weakened me. He tied my hands together. I could smell my burning flesh from where the silver bit into my skin.
I thrashed back and forth, desperate to get free.
Vincent removed a knife from behind his back. “If you insist on fighting more, I’ll have to stab you with this.”
He picked up the other end of the chain and began to drag me away from Fire Ridge. I tilted my head up so I could look back at my friends. I could just see them through my watery vision, which was beginning to blur. Something had happened to Luke. He was on the ground, trying to crawl toward the Hydes. Lynx stood over him, knocking back whoever came at them. Even with the distance between us, I could see her legs shaking.
Samira and Angel fought at the front, taking on the remaining Hydes. Gerald had joined them, but his left arm hung limp at his side.
Vincent was talking again. “Dominic was such a fool. He could’ve been great, but his loyalties were always with his sick obsessions. A nasty habit he couldn’t kick. If only he would’ve listened to Silas more.” He puffed a frustrated breath. “I’m so glad you returned. I admit when Phoenix said you’d be coming, I doubted him. I was told you were dead. But he was right. He knows everything, including how this will all end. It will be spectacular, and all thanks to your blood. You should feel honored.”
I thrashed again, but he yanked hard on the chain, cutting off what little oxygen I had left. If I passed out, I’d have no hope of saving my friends.
Inside my head, I screamed in frustration. I wasn’t strong enough, even with using a thread of my Komira powers. I needed to access the heart of it.
With my eyes closed, I concentrated hard. I told myself to forget that my friends could be dying. Forget that Vincent had me chained by my neck. Forget that I couldn’t breathe. Forget the burning pain searing my flesh. I pushed past it all.
I retreated to my mind, the deepest, darkest part surrounded by fears and doubts. Nothing I could see, only feel, which was worse. All my life, ever since my family had been killed, I had been a loner, drifting from one foster home to another. Then when I was older, one city to another. Never connecting with anyone, never wanting to belong. Because in doing so, I might experience the same heartache and pain I’d felt when my family had died.
But in Rouen I had found something I never knew I wanted. Friends. Love. Happiness.
And I was about to lose it all.
Through the negative feelings whipping around me, I felt the faint beat of the Komira’s powers. Just a whisper, as if it were calling to me. I focused on its sound, trying to draw closer to it, but it slipped from my grasp. Inwardly, I growled in frustration. If I couldn’t reach it, I’d lose my friends. Lose everything all over again.
And so, in my desperation, I prayed to Kushin like I had when I was a child. He had helped me once before, I hoped he would help me one last time. Over and over I begged for his help, promising him anything, even my life.
That’s when I felt it. The power. Words appeared in my mind: “Only an Alpha can access the heart of the Komira’s strength to protect a pack.”
The words stunned me. I didn’t want to be an Alpha. Ever. That was a role saved for those who liked to lead, and, more importantly, made good decisions for their pack. I was too reckless, too foul-mouthed, too sarcastic, too everything.
But.
If I could save my friends, I would change. I would do whatever it took to become the Alpha they deserved. My fears and insecurities no longer mattered. It wasn’t about me anymore. It was about them.
I had killed two Alphas, Jackson and Dominic. But I’d only given the authority over to one: Vincent. Which meant I could still claim my right as Alpha. I did just that, infusing all the desire I held inside to protect my pack. My friends, my family.
Mine.
Raw power began to flow through me as the Alpha inside me woke up. The one willing to do whatever it took to protect the innocent and beloved. I felt a strengthening of my muscles, a hardening of my bones, a honing of my mind. My focus sharpened, so intense that it crashed through the barriers to my Komira.
Energy poured through my body, powerful and forceful. It filled every part of me, racing through my blood, spreading its ancient spirit into my bones and muscles. When it reached my mind, it exploded with memories from the past. I saw Akito, the first shifter Alpha, but he was human and had just lost everything. I felt his crushing pain. It mirrored my own. A connection that bonded us. It’s why Kushin had blessed me with Komira powers.
I saw other Komiras throughout time. Every single one of them born of the same pain. They used their powers to help others. To destroy evil and darkness when it became too great. I felt an instant connection to them and a desire to be as great as they had once been.
My eyes snapped open. Vincent didn’t notice. He was still rambling, dragging me across the ground. I yanked the chain from my neck, and then snapped it from my wrists. It broke easily.
Vincent stumbled forward. He turned around to see what had happened, and his face paled as he watched me rise to my feet. “Impossible!”
“Vincent Moretti. You have committed great crimes against your pack and against your family. Your punishment is death.”
His eyes darted around the forest, fear flashing in his eyes. When he must’ve realized help wasn’t coming, his cold gaze returned to mine. “You can’t kill me. I am Phoenix’s rising star. I will sit on his right side when the old world is destroyed, creating a new beginning for Supernaturals.”
“That will never happen.” The words coming from my mouth were full of power. I no longer wanted to kill him out of revenge, only justice. He must die because of all the people he had killed.
He turned to bolt, but I jumped forward. I appeared in front of him and gripped his throat. He tried to punch me, but his blows were ineffective.
Many words came to my mind. So many things I should say. The forest stilled, as if waiting for me to speak. But I was tired of words that did nothing but appease my emotions.
I slid the dagger out from the sheath on his hip.
His eyes widened. “Please, Isabella. We’re family.”
I pressed the tip of his blade to the soft flesh of his neck, right above his sternum.
“No!” He thrashed back and forth but my hold on his neck was too tight. His power was nothing compared to the ancient strength within me.
The blade slid easily into his neck and up to his mouth. I held it there as blood poured from his lips. He panicked and tried to speak, but the forest swallowed his words.
I stared into his eyes as his body twitched its last twitch and as his heart beat its last beat. I dropped his body and stepped over it. He wasn’t worth any more of my time, not when I had friends to save.
Chapter 38
I exploded from the forest so quickly, a gust of wind came with me. But when I saw the devastation in front of me, I screeched to a halt. Bodies littered the ground. Samantha was among them, unmoving. My heart lurched painfully within my chest.
Only three dozen or so remained standing, fighting the deathly fog above them. The beast seemed to be in a rage, probably because I had killed Vincent, lunging at anything that moved. It would either snatch a person, much like it had done with me, and toss th
em far away, or sometimes, it would drive a deadly tendril right through a person’s body.
The only good news, if there could be any, was there were only a few Hydes left. Either the others had fled or were killed.
Gerald held a hose and sprayed it into the sky, barking orders at whoever was listening. Young Loxley was with him, holding a bucket of water, and staring upward with fierce determination. One day, she would be a force to be reckoned with.
Samira fought alongside Mateo against the last of the Hydes, both keeping a wary eye on the skies. Luke had crawled over to another hose and sprayed with Gerald, trying to keep those on the ground safe. My heart skipped a beat when I spotted Lynx sprawled across the ground. I prayed she wasn’t dead. I couldn’t see Angel anywhere.
Time for action.
I roared a sound so loud the ground shook, and I raced toward the chaos, not knowing exactly what I was going to do, but my instincts seemed to know. I let them take over, fueled by centuries of Komira strength and power.
A spray of water arched through the air. I pressed off the ground and leapt high to go through it, a dagger in each hand. The smoke being was just on the other side. It expanded at my approach as water drenched me.
Dripping wet, the fog snapped closed around my body. I rotated my body, slicing through it with my soaked blades. The monster shrieked so loudly, those on the ground covered their ears.
“Leave us!” I shouted, continuing to slash, held in place by the creature’s dark cocoon. Power erupted from me; a mental push of energy that spread outward so fast and hard, it knocked everyone below me to the ground.
The monster squealed again, but in the next beat of my heart, it exploded into a million burning embers that filled the air with black ash. I fell to the grass and looked up, my blades still raised. Several seconds passed.
“Where is it?” Gerald yelled.
“Is it over?” Someone else asked.
I let them figure it out while I hurried to Lynx and dropped to her side. She was still breathing.
“She used too much magic,” Samira said from behind me, her voice breathless.
“Will she be okay?”
“I think so.”
I looked up at her. “How are you?”
“I’ve been worse.” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re different. What happened?”
“I accepted being an Alpha, became a Komira, then killed Vincent.”
“Took you long enough.”
“Fuck you.”
“I think it’s finally over,” Gerald said. “Those still standing, attend to the wounded! Take them to the spare bedrooms. I’ve already sent for the doctor.”
Luke!
I left Samira with Lynx and hurried over to Luke. He was on the ground, staring up at the starry sky, inhaling shallow breaths.
“Luke!”
His eyes came into focus. “Briar.”
I fell to his side, relief pouring through me. He palmed my cheek. “You’re alive. I thought I’d never see you again.”
He pulled me into his arms, and I hitched a breath. I never felt so happy to see someone. I pulled back to examine his wounds. Three bullet wounds to his leg. Another in his stomach. They must not be silver, otherwise he would be dead. “You’re going to live.”
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to, not after you were taken. But I’d like to keep living now. With you.”
I smiled. “I’d like that.”
Angel appeared just then, staring down at me with a look of wonderment on his face. “You did it.”
“Did you doubt me?”
“Not for a second.” He shifted his gaze to Luke and held out his hand. “I’ll help you inside.”
Luke accepted, and Angel kept a steady arm around him as they walked through the back door. Samira followed behind them, carrying Lynx. I ran to help Gerald and the others gather the rest of the wounded.
With the number of bodies on the ground, I expected the death toll to be much higher. But it turned out that when the fog ran through people, it hadn’t been killing them, only knocking them unconscious. The joy I felt at this discovery was in indescribable, especially when I managed to revive Samantha.
She moaned and attempted to sit up, but dropped her head back. “I’m just going to rest right here.”
“Are you okay?”
She groaned. “My body feels like the devil belched through me. Go help others.”
I smiled, exhaling a shaky breath. “I’m glad you survived.”
Leaving her on the ground to recover, I attended to others. Many were injured, some severely. Despite how bad everyone looked, we had only lost eight, but that added to our previous seven and we had lost too many.
I was about to join everyone inside when Samira came around the corner. She had five shifters in front of her, including Marge, and she pointed a gun at them.
“Look who I found.” Samira walked over to my side, keeping the gun fixed in their direction. “Should we kill them?”
“What are you still doing here?” I noted how none of them were injured, which meant they hadn’t fought. “Why didn’t you run?”
Marge stepped forward. “We didn’t sign up for the shit show that was tonight. We thought we were coming to join your pack, not start a war. That’s what Brutus told us, anyways. I don’t know how many others knew the truth, but we sure didn’t.”
I glanced at Samira to see if she was buying it, but quickly realized that was stupid of me. Samira’s expression rarely changed, so she could be thinking about which black pants to wear tomorrow. I looked back at Marge. “So why stick around?”
She cleared her throat. “We were going to split, but then you flew through the air like Wonder Woman, and well, we decided to stay. We want to join your pack.” She glanced behind her at the dead bodies still on the ground. “It’s not like we have a pack to go back to anyways. Most of us came here.”
“Hey, Gerald,” I called. He had a female shifter in his arms and was almost in the house. “These Linchens want to sign up to become Silver Claws. What do you think?”
“Tell them to fuck off.”
I looked back at Marge. “Don’t mind him. It’s been a rough night.”
“And we’re sorry for that.” One of the male shifters stepped forward, his face apologetic.
“There’s a cabin about two hundred yards that way.” I pointed to our left. “Crash there for now. When things settle down here, we’ll come talk to you.”
They nodded and walked away, eyes downcast and shoulders slumped. They’d lost a lot tonight.
I smoothed back my still-wet hair and asked Samira, “How’s Lynx?”
“She’s awake but has a nasty headache.” She looked around. “Only the dead remain.”
“How many vampires died?”
“Five.”
I sighed and shook my head. “Give Mateo my condolences. We owe the Nocturnas big time.”
“They will make sure the debt is collected.”
Her warning sent a cold chill up my spine. “Do you think we won? Is it over?”
“Not even close.” She walked past me into the house.
Damn her and her pessimistic attitude. That was my job.
With the injured being taken care of, I headed inside to check on Luke. Angel stopped me at the door.
“Are you leaving?” I asked.
“I was looking for you. Is there somewhere we can talk in private?”
I shifted my weight. “Sure. Follow me.”
Other than the basement, Dominic’s old office was the most insulated room in the house. I opened the door and let Angel pass. It felt weird to be in here as the new Alpha. I would definitely have to get rid of this space. There were too many bad memories, too much bad juju here.
“Thanks for your help tonight. You didn’t have to come.” I closed the door behind him. “Although I’m glad you did. You’re racking up too many fav—” I turned around, nearly running into him. I sucked in a breath.
“Yes I did.” He stare
d down at me with intense eyes. “I pursued those creatures, the ones you call Hydes.”
I stepped back until I was pressed against the wall. “Oh yeah?”
“We were in the middle of battling them when all of a sudden, they stopped and sprinted into the forest. Like someone had called them with a dog whistle.”
“Where did they go?”
“There was a semi-trailer waiting for them. Down the road on the east side of the mansion. It bore the Bodian Dynamics emblem.”
I puffed air out my nose. “Doesn’t surprise me.”
He reached into his pocket and handed me a vial. “Give this to your most injured. I offered it to Luke but he refused.”
Closing my fingers over it, I looked up at him. Dried blood coated his hair line from an injury mostly healed now, and parts of his clothes were torn. “Why are you so kind to me?”
He moved closer to me until there was only an inch of heated air between us. He searched my face, pain etching the greens of his eyes. “Because you deserve every happiness in this world, and I want to give it to you. What you have with Luke, you need it. But one day, you will want a love that will burn right through you, consume every breath you take, ignite every beat of your heart. I will know when that time comes, and when it does, I will find you. And I will claim what is mine.”
He leaned over and brushed his lips against mine, just barely, but enough to send a searing heat throughout my body unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It burned straight to my core but also to my heart, making me gasp.
I said nothing as he left me alone, stunned. Had Luke not been on my mind, I might’ve gone after him. But … Luke. He was the man waiting for me to be by his side.
I headed upstairs, my legs weak, but I blamed it on being exhausted. The doctor was with Luke, removing a bullet from his stomach. He wore jeans and a cut-off shirt. A long mullet growing out the back of his neck made me laugh. The great thing about shifters is we didn’t need to worry about sterile environments like humans. Or doctors that wore lab suits to look professional.
