Broken Wolf

by Stacy Claflin

  “But he’s killing hundreds?” Victoria asked.

  “So far, he’s sticking to werewolves. I haven’t heard about a single other species being affected.”

  “We want to help,” I said. “If you don’t want our help, we need to get home and figure out what our pack is going to do.”

  She nodded, understanding filling her eyes. “I appreciate that, Toby. It’s the others I’m not sure about.” Marguerite nodded toward the other vampires. “If you’d like to stick around and visit with Ziamara, you can wait to see what we end up deciding.”

  “How is she?” Victoria asked.

  “Good. Resting.”

  “Did she—?”

  A loud whistle pierced the air. Alrekur stood in the middle of the room with his arms raised. “The Fyrsturae will meet to discuss this now. We’ll return with an announcement once we’ve come to a decision.” He marched out of the room with gusto and flair, waving his arms and speaking in Icelandic.

  “I’ll speak with you soon.” Marguerite gave us a small smile before rushing out of the room.

  Soleil came over. “What are we going to do?”

  I kissed the top of Victoria’s head. “I’d like to see Zia before making any decisions.”

  A servant came over. “I can take you to her room.”

  “Are you coming?” I called to Tap.

  He stood, staring at a mounted unicorn head. High along the walls, many of the king’s hunts were lined up, displaying his conquests.

  “I’ll find you.” Tap didn’t look our way.

  “Okay.” I turned to the servant. “Thank you.”

  He walked to the door and held it open for us. We went into the hallway and he led us a short distance. He opened another door for us near the king and queen’s quarters. We entered a quiet bedroom the size of a master bedroom suite. A king plus bed took up one wall. I could see some of her rainbow hair resting on a pillow.

  Victoria stepped away from me, crept over, and whispered, “Zia?”

  Soleil and I joined her. Ziamara lay in bed alone—no Jet and no baby. My stomach fell, fearing the worst.

  Zia’s eyes fluttered and she looked at us, somewhat confused.

  “Are you okay?” Victoria asked.

  “Where’s Jet?” I asked, trying to push aside images of him digging a small grave in the dirt.

  Zia pushed herself up.

  “Don’t strain yourself.” Victoria sat on the bed and pulled some hair from her eyes.

  “It’s okay. I’m just worn out. I’ve already healed. Want to see?”

  “No!” I covered my eyes.

  She laughed. “I was just going to show you that my stomach is already flat.”

  I uncovered my face, relief washing through me. “So, you’re doing okay?”

  “Good as new, pretty much. Just tired from the whole ordeal.”

  Soleil sat on the other side of the bed. “So, where are Jet and the baby?”

  “The doctor wanted to examine the baby. He said sometimes hybrids have special needs. Also, the pregnancy was pretty short, even for a vampire. Jet wanted to go with them. I did, too, but I was exhausted. I’m feeling better now.”

  “How long have they been gone?” I asked.

  Ziamara stretched. “I’m not sure. I don’t think I’ve been asleep too long.” She turned and smiled when she saw Soleil. “You came! How are you doing?”

  “You think I’d miss this?” She gave Zia a light, playful shove.

  The door opened. Jet came in, carrying a small bundle. They were followed by a vampire wearing a stethoscope around his neck.

  Jet grinned when he saw us. “Hey, it’s the whole pack.”

  “Almost.” Ziamara held out her arms. Jet climbed onto the bed and handed her the tiny bundle.

  I leaned over to see the newest pack member.

  Zia held him out for Victoria and me to see. “Meet Sebastian.” He was the perfect mixture of his two parents.

  “And he’s perfectly healthy,” the doctor added. He turned to Ziamara. “I’m going to check on some ill vampires. Just call if you need anything.”

  She nodded a thanks and held Sebastian close to her.

  “Can I hold him?” Victoria asked.

  Zia’s eyes lit up. “Sure.” She patted the bed next to her. Victoria scooted over and Ziamara placed Sebastian in her arms.

  “Oh, he’s so cute,” Victoria gushed.

  Jet threw me a teasing look that clearly said I was next in line for having a baby. I shook my head but couldn’t help smiling. My heart warmed at the thought of seeing a young werewolf that was half Victoria and half me. But first, we had to get married—and with the original werewolf running around killing hundreds of our kind, it looked like our wedding would get pushed back. Again.

  Soleil scooted over to the other side of Ziamara, pushing Jet out of the way. The three ladies gushed over Sebastian. Jet came over to me and gestured toward the window. We walked over and stared out over the enchanted forest. It went as far as the eye could see.

  “What’s going on with that werewolf?” Jet whispered.

  I didn’t want to say much. Vampires had impeccable hearing—far more sensitive than any other species. If one was down the hall, they could very well eavesdrop. “I’ll fill you in on the details later. But the short story is that Fenrisúlfr, the original werewolf, has been awakened. If the rumors are true, he’s terrorizing our kind in ways we’ve never seen.”

  Jet nodded. “My father used to tell us tales of early werewolves. You know, how destructive they were. When us kids were acting up, he’d threaten to awaken the first one. It’s too bad he’s not alive to see this. He probably thought he was talking smack to scare us, but it looks like there was more truth to it than he ever imagined.”

  I nodded. “Unfortunately.”

  He arched a brow and rubbed his neck.

  “Got an itch?” I asked.

  Jet shook his head and flicked his head toward Victoria.

  “Oh, the necklace.”

  “Right. Well?”

  “Yeah, that’s it.”

  His eyes widened. He mouthed, “The wolf essence stone?”

  “Correct.”

  His eyes lit up. “Does it work?”

  “We don’t know yet.”

  “Does it have anything to do with… you know?” He mouthed, “The murderous wolf?”

  It was a good thing I could read lips. I nodded. “Oh, most definitely.”

  Jet swore.

  “Not around the baby!” Zia reached over to Soleil, who now held Sebastian and covered his ears.

  “Sorry, but he’s going to have to get used to it, growing up around werewolves.”

  “Maybe the wolves will have to learn to watch their language.”

  “Good luck with that, sweetie.” Jet turned to me and lowered his voice. “What should we do about Zia and Sebastian? Is it safe to bring them home to Moonhaven? There’s so much security around here, they might be better off staying here—and if they’re here, so am I.”

  “Understood. I’d like to see what the vampires decide before leaving, anyway.”

  “They could be a long time,” Ziamara said. “They’ve had meetings in the past that have lasted days. No joke.”

  I groaned. “You’re right. I’d forgotten about that. I really don’t want to be here for days.”

  “Me neither.” Victoria rubbed the stone. “We have a wedding to plan.”

  “Even with Fenrisúlfr running around killing packs?” I asked.

  She frowned. “He’s leaving us alone.”

  “But he’s terrorizing other packs. Packs we have alliances with. It wouldn’t be right to leave them fighting while we’re celebrating.”

  “Is that really how you feel?” She rubbed the stone.

  I took a deep breath, watching her with the wolf stone. That had to explain her behavior. I needed to tread carefully. “Other packs have dropped everything to help us recently.”

  “What about us?” Victo
ria climbed off the bed and put her hands on her hips. “We should’ve been married centuries ago! Our fathers have gotten in the way twice. When do we get to have our time?”

  “But we can’t ignore the other packs.”

  Tears shone in her eyes. “Yes, we can!”

  “Even considering…?” I nodded toward the necklace—the very stone that had woken the murderous werewolf.

  “Considering we now have the tool to break the curse of the moon?” She stared at me with indignation. “Yes. We owe it to wolves everywhere. Just think, Alex and the other wolfborns can be human when we are. We can be wolves when they are. The younger ones have missed out on so much. Do you know they only recently saw their first movie?”

  I took a deep breath. It felt like we were speaking two different languages. “That’s not what I mean. I don’t want to discuss it here.” If any vampires found out that she had been the one to wake Fenrisúlfr, I doubted there was much we could do to protect her.

  “Of course you don’t, but I do.” She narrowed her eyes at me. Her harsh glare felt like daggers stabbing my soul. She cradled the stone and rubbed it.

  I reached for it. “Maybe it would be best if we put that away for now.”

  She snatched it away from my reach and backed up, shaking her head.

  I felt the burn of everyone else’s stares. “Victoria, why don’t we head back to Moonhaven? We can discuss this in the morning. It’s been a long and trying day.”

  “No.” Tears spilled down her face. “You don’t want to marry me. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  I gasped, her words gutting me. “You can’t mean that.”

  She wiped her face. “Oh, I very much do.” With that, she fled the room.

  I ran after her, unwilling to let her get away. Given how upset she was, she was likely to shift in the middle of the vampire castle.

  Chapter 22

  Victoria

  I ran down hallways, corridors, and wide open spaces. Toby wasn’t too far behind. His aroma stayed near. I ran down a spiraling staircase and came to a room full of vampires. It was just what I needed to cover my scent and get away from him. Why couldn’t he understand that I needed space? If he wouldn’t discuss marriage, we had nothing to talk about.

  My feet slid as I ran toward the crowd. I ignored the glares of disgust as I pushed my way through the mass of vampires. Someone stuck a foot in my path. I lost my balance and fell flat on my face, skidding across the floor, sliding into several sets of legs. Laughter erupted around me.

  I scrambled to my feet, grumbling. Would I ever be graceful? It always seemed that I was the clumsiest werewolf in existence. I darted around the vampires and ran down a narrow, dimly lit hallway. At least it was free of vampires.

  “Victoria!”

  But I wasn’t alone. My throat closed up, thinking about Toby telling me how it would be—all other werewolves above us. First it was the jaguars, then our parents getting in our way. Now it was him. I never would have suspected Toby to object to us being together.

  I forced my feet to move faster. I slid on the slick floor again, but at least nobody was deliberately trying to trip me. I reached out for the walls on either side to keep me balanced.

  “Stop! We need to talk!”

  “Go away!” Tears blurred my vision again. I wiped them away and ran faster. Carpet came into view. I lunged for it, and ran with ease. Unfortunately, the corridor was a dead end. I glanced around for a door. There was no escape. I jumped behind a couch and pulled my knees to my chest. My breath hitched as I listened for his footsteps. I shook, wild emotions raging through me.

  I took deep, quiet breaths, trying to calm myself while still remaining hidden. Hopefully, Toby would give up trying to find me and return to the others. Since he was so concerned about everyone else, he should just stay with them.

  My heart continued racing. It felt like it would burst out of my chest and break through the couch in front of me. I rubbed the stone, allowing it to relax me. I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes.

  Something touched my right knee. My eyes flew open. Toby sat next to me.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes full of concern—probably concern for what others thought.

  I scooted away and looked in front of me.

  “What’s going on?” His voice was soft, and he didn’t move toward me.

  “You should know.” I continued rubbing the stone. It soothed my frayed nerves.

  “If having the wedding sooner rather than later is that important to you, why can’t you just talk to me? You don’t need to run away from me like that.”

  “I tried talking to you! You wouldn’t listen.”

  “I thought I was.”

  “You thought wrong.” I scooted farther away while still keeping the stone in my grasp.

  “When do you want to have the wedding?”

  I didn’t answer.

  “Victoria?”

  “Do whatever you want, then we can talk about it.”

  “I’m here, talking about it now.”

  “Well, go figure out what to do about the other werewolves first. They’re obviously more important.”

  “I don’t want to. And no, they’re not.”

  “You could’ve fooled me.”

  “It wasn’t my intention to hurt you. That was the last thing I wanted.”

  “Well, that’s what you did.” I rubbed the stone, allowing it to soothe me further.

  “Can we start the wedding conversation over again? I really want us to be on the same page.”

  “You mean you want me to get on the same page as you.”

  He took a deep breath and didn’t say anything for a couple moments. “That isn’t what I meant.”

  I turned and looked at him.

  “You’re the most important thing to me,” he said. “And sometimes I forget I’m no longer the head alpha over all the packs of the world. The other packs are responsible for themselves.”

  Toby held my gaze, and I studied him. His expression was kind. He seemed genuine.

  Sighing, I faced the back of the couch again. “I want it to be just as important to you as it is to me.”

  He scooted closer to me and put his arm around me. “Nothing is more important than you.”

  I turned to him. “Really?”

  “Of course! Why else would I have stayed single all those years you were dead? I had no reason to think you were coming back—the thought of someone opening the other side was the last thing I ever imagined happening. And do I need to remind you of everything I’ve been through with the jaguars and our fathers?”

  He stared into my eyes, piercing deep into my soul. Tears filled my eyes and again. They spilled to my face.

  Toby reached over and wiped them. “When you hurt, I hurt. I hope you know that.”

  I glanced down. I did know that. What had gotten into me? Could it have been the wolf essence stone? That had to have been it. I didn’t normally act like that. It was time for me to focus on reality. Toby cared about me. I knew he did.

  “If you’d like, we can marry today. There are a thousand beautiful places around the castle. Soleil can officiate. What do you think?”

  “Tap would be mad if we didn’t get married in the Faeble.”

  “I’m sure he’d get over it.”

  “His sisters might not.”

  Toby chuckled and kissed my cheek. “You might have a point. But I’m pretty sure your mom wants to be there, and she went to all that trouble making your dress.”

  I smiled, finally feeling like things were as they should be. “We’ve been through so much. I just want to get married and start our life together. Then we can help the other packs as a team. I just don’t think we should let anything else get in our way. There’s nothing stopping us now.”

  “You’re right.”

  I leaned my head against him.

  “So, we’re good?”

  “We’re good.”

  He rose and he
lped me up. “You didn’t shift, did you notice that?”

  I gave him a double-take. He was right. I’d been so upset, and not even a bone had popped, trying to shift. Fear tore through me. “You don’t think I’m losing the ability to shift again, do you?”

  Toby put his hand on mine. “I think it has more to do with the wolf essence stone. You’re rubbing and wearing the item that’s said to break the curse of the moon. You might only shift if you want to.”

  My eyes nearly popped out of my head. It was the only thing that made any sense.

  “That’s good news.” He kissed the top of my head. “All the more reason for you to wear it until we figure out how it’ll help werewolves everywhere to shift at will.”

  I clasped my palm around the stone and nodded. “But I still want to wear it for our ceremony.”

  “Whatever you wish, sweetness. Are you ready to go back to the room and see how Zia’s doing?”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry for running away like that. I should’ve trusted you.”

  He ran his fingers through my hair and tucked some behind my ear. “I understand why you did. Again, I’m sorry for hurting you.”

  “And I’m sorry for—”

  “No more apologies.” He brushed his lips across mine. “Time to move forward. We have a wedding to plan.”

  “I’m—”

  “Don’t say sorry.”

  “Excited to be back to planning our wedding.”

  Toby grinned. “Good. So am I.” He laced his fingers through mine. I squeezed his hand, and we headed back toward Ziamara’s room. A few minutes later, loud conversation sounded around the corner.

  I turned to Toby. “I don’t suppose you know a way back that doesn’t involve running into groups of vampires?”

  He paused. “Actually, I do, but it might take twice as long to get back.”

  “Sounds good to me.” I shuddered, thinking about running into more of them. I’d had more than enough of their threatening glares.

  “I understand completely. It’s a lot worse the fuller the castle is—vampires come in from all over the world, and many cultures refuse to accept peace between the species.”