Broken Wolf

by Stacy Claflin

  Stones dug into my feet, my muscles hurt and burned, my throat ached, and various cuts and bruises throbbed. Yet the warm stone kept me going. Still behind me, Fen shouted at me in Icelandic.

  We were nearing the witches. My heart raced. The air against my skin grew colder. Small snowflakes floated down. Goose bumps formed on my arms. The necklace warmed, sending waves through me. Soon, I felt strong and the chill had left.

  Something pulled on the train of my dress. It nearly yanked me to a stop.

  No. Not now. I needed to get him to the clearing.

  The dress nearly pulled me to a stop, but I kept running. The sounds of tearing fabric sent chills down my spine, but I continued on, leaving the formerly beautiful train behind. Fen continued cursing me in his native tongue.

  I rounded a corner and the field came into sight! The witches were gathered together in a circle. A light shone from between them. I ran straight for them.

  They turned. Gessilyn looked straight at me. “Get as far away as you can.”

  Gasping for air, I ran past them.

  Chapter 29

  Toby

  I ran through the woods, tracking Victoria’s scent. There was something off about it, and I couldn’t figure out what. Maybe it was because she’d left with Fen, and their smells had intermingled as Victoria led him to Gessilyn’s spot. Or more likely, it had something to do with the stone—everything seemed to come back to it.

  Slowing, I came to an area that had broken branches spread all over the ground. Blood pooled near a tree and more was spattered on other trees. My stomach twisted in knots. At least there weren’t any dead bodies.

  Two sets of footprints trailed away off to the side. I followed them and the scents. At least I was finally getting closer. After I left the Faeble, I couldn’t pick up either of their trails between the snow and the fact that they’d, so I’d had to guess where they’d gone—and Victoria hadn’t chosen the most direct path to the clearing.

  The footprints led to another area that looked like a struggle had taken place. More blood and broken branches. Some small white fabric pieces lay scattered around. My own body ached as my mind put together the pieces of the struggle. It was impossible to tell who had gained the upper hand, but at least they were nearing the coven.

  Not much farther ahead lay the train of Victoria’s dress—it had splatters of red throughout. Hands shaking, I picked it up and sniffed the blood. Relief washed through me. It wasn’t her blood.

  How was it that she’d been able to fight Fen off when so many packs had been murdered by him? Could it be the stone? Shivers ran through me. I hoped she fought to keep it on.

  I held the train close to me and sniffed the air. The mixed scent went toward the clearing, but I picked up just hers in a different direction. I closed my eyes and sniffed again, holding onto her aroma until I was certain where she’d gone. Hopefully, that meant she’d taken Fen to the witches. She was probably headed for the Faeble.

  I dropped the train and burst into a run, taking a shortcut through thick trees. Her sweet smell continued growing closer—stronger. I was headed the right way. My heart raced at the thought of wrapping my arms around her. Waiting while she left with the deadly werewolf had been one of the hardest things I’d done, but I’d needed to stay in order for the plan to work—for her to lure him to the witches. Everything in me had wanted to chase after them and protect her.

  Now I wished I had.

  I broke free of the thick woods into an open path. Her scent was even stronger. I hurried toward her. Finally, she came into view.

  “Victoria!”

  She spun around, her hair whipping with her. Her face was bruised and bloody, and her dress was in no better shape—ripped and full of dirt and blood. But she was alive. Safe.

  We both ran to each other. She crashed against my chest, and I held her as tight as I could, kissing her profusely. She kissed me just as eagerly.

  “Is Fen with Gessilyn?” I asked breathlessly.

  She nodded, raking her fingers through my hair.

  “Let’s get back to the Faeble. I’m sorry about your dress. You’re just as gorgeous as ever, though.”

  “I’m just glad Fen won’t be terrorizing any more packs now.”

  “Thanks to you.”

  Victoria shook her head. “No, that’s all on Gessilyn and her family.”

  “Only because you led him right into their trap.” I kissed her again, never wanting to stop. Big cold flakes fell, landing on us. She shivered. I kissed her forehead. “We’d better get back to the Faeble, but maybe we should check on them first.”

  “You mean the witches?”

  “Right. Make sure they’re not having any trouble with Fen.”

  “Are we going to finish the wedding?” she asked.

  “Now?” I exclaimed. “Your dress is destroyed.”

  “I don’t care. Think of the stories we’ll be able to tell our kids.”

  “I’d rather give you your beautiful wedding—the one you deserve.”

  Victoria frowned. “Let’s just see how the coven is doing with Fen. We can decide on the wedding later.” She slid her hand into mine and led me to the coven. We stopped behind a grouping of trees and peeked in between the trunks.

  The witches all stood in a circle, hands linked and raised as they chanted. Fen stood in the middle, frozen in place. A grayish fog danced around him, darkening as it moved upward. Once it reached the top of his head, it hid him completely. The fog appeared to solidify and it took his form.

  Victoria turned to me, wide-eyed. I brought my finger to my mouth, indicating for her to remain quiet.

  The chanting grew louder. Fen appeared to be encased in stone. In fact, he looked like a statue.

  I turned to Victoria and whispered, “It appears he’s taken care of. Let’s go back to the Faeble.”

  She nodded, and we made our way to the pathway. The bar would be nearly empty, as nearly everyone had headed out to find her and Fen. Only a few remained to help clean the mess left in Fen’s wake.

  I put an arm around her. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m fine, but I’ll be better once we’re married.”

  I needed to tread carefully, given her earlier reactions to putting it off. “What if we have to wait?”

  She stopped and stared at me. “What do you mean?”

  “You know I want to marry you—more than anything—but with everything going on…”

  Victoria stepped back and folded her arms across her chest. “I already told you I don’t care what my dress looks like. Not finishing the wedding would be the same thing as quitting. I led him to the witches who are going to trap him for good. Now we go back and get married so we can finally start our lives together.”

  “We already have our life together, but I know what you mean. Let’s head back to the Faeble and see what’s going on there. Can we agree to decide then?”

  “I suppose.”

  “You know I love you.” I wrapped my arms around her. “I just want everything to be perfect.”

  “It is. We started the wedding, took down the worst bad guy around, and then will finish the ceremony. Who else has a story like that?”

  “Well, when you put it like that…”

  We headed back to the bar hand-in-hand in a comfortable silence. If she didn’t mind getting married in a bloody, torn wedding dress, then who was I to complain—especially after how many years we’d waited for this day?

  Before long, the Faeble came into view. Everything sounded quiet. Inside, Tap, Quinn, and a few others were cleaning. Quinn didn’t look up from sweeping as we passed by. Silence echoed around us. Flowers hung upside down from walls. Scraps of paper and other random objects lay strewn around.

  Tap came out from the room we’d had the ceremony in and wiped his forehead. “Is Fen taken care of?”

  I nodded. “It would appear so—he’s now encased in what looks like granite.”

  “Let’s hope it’s really strong.”
/>
  “Knowing Gessilyn, I’m sure it is.”

  “Where’s everyone else?” Victoria asked.

  “Looking for you.” Tap glanced at her

  I pulled out my phone. “I’d better let everyone know to come back.” I sent a quick text.

  Wanda came over. “Are we carrying on with the ceremony? Or waiting for a new dress?”

  Victoria stood closer to me. “Toby and I aren’t leaving here until we’re married.”

  I put my arm around her and kissed her. “That’s right.”

  She beamed at me.

  Wanda pulled out a pad of paper. “Do you want me to see what I can do about finding a new dress?”

  “I doubt you could find much on such short notice.”

  “You clearly don’t realize who you’re talking to.”

  “No disrespect meant.” Victoria’s mouth quivered like she was holding back a laugh.

  Wanda didn’t seem to notice. She marched toward the downstairs, flipping through her pad of paper.

  People started trickling in, asking about Fen.

  “He’s trapped.”

  Jet and Ziamara came over, Jet carrying Sebastian.

  “Victoria, you’re alive!” Zia cried. The two threw their arms around each other. “You had everyone so worried.”

  “Hopefully, that’ll be the last anyone sees of Fen for a long, long time.”

  “No, you’ll see him every day now,” came Gessilyn’s voice from behind.

  We all spun around.

  “What do you mean?” I exclaimed.

  “He’s now a statue, and he’s going to be placed outside of Moonhaven for safe keeping. Johan and Killian are transporting him as we speak.”

  Jet and I exchanged a worried glance.

  “There’s no chance he can break out of the stone, is there?” Jet asked, his face paling.

  Gessilyn shook her head. “Not unless the spell is broken by a high witch—and I’m not releasing that crazy psycho without a really good reason.”

  “Does he have to stay at Moonhaven?” Jet moved Sebastian to his other arm. “I don’t want my kid playing near Fen as he grows up.”

  “You have nothing to worry about.” Gessilyn put a hand on his arm. “Fen is frozen in a sleep state. Also, it’s not like he’s encapsulated in stone—he is stone.”

  “I suppose it’ll be a good reminder,” I said. “Every time we see the statue, we can remember everything we’ve been through.”

  Gessilyn nodded and stepped toward Victoria. “Is that the wolf essence stone?”

  “It is.”

  “Do you mind if I take a look?”

  Victoria held it out and Gessilyn studied it.

  I froze in place, stunned that she was letting Gessilyn near it.

  “Can it really break the curse of the moon?” Jet asked.

  “It wouldn’t surprise me.” She glanced up at Victoria. “How has it affected you since you’ve been wearing it?”

  “I’ve had total control over shifting. No matter my emotional state, I didn’t shift.”

  “Good.” Gessilyn closed her eyes and ran a finger along its surface.

  “Can you fix the curse now?” Jet stepped closer.

  “I’m going to have to do some reading first.”

  Jet and Victoria’s faces both fell. I was a little disappointed, but hadn’t expected the cure to come easily. I kissed the top of Victoria’s head. “Maybe by the time we come back from our honeymoon, Gessilyn will have some answers.”

  Victoria’s eyes lit up.

  “Did someone say the wedding must go on?” came Soleil’s voice. She entered the room, grinning. Her face fell when she saw Victoria. “Oh, sweetie.”

  Victoria stood taller. “What?”

  Gessilyn stepped closer. “I can fix your dress if you want.”

  “You can?”

  People crowded around us. The Faeble was practically full—nearly all the guests had returned.

  “I can whip something up.” Gessilyn’s eyes glowed with excitement.

  Victoria turned to me. “We’re really going to get married!”

  “We sure are.” Excitement zinged through me. It was really happening. “Now the only question is, do you want your dress like that so you can have the story, or do you want the dress restored?”

  “We have the story no matter what.” She stepped next to me. “Someone take our picture before we have our faerie tale wedding.”

  A couple dozen phones and cameras came out. Flashes nearly blinded us. I smiled giddily and then turned to Victoria and kissed her with all my passion and excitement.

  “Not yet.” Soleil pulled me away from Victoria and looked me in the eyes. “You, go back to the platform. No more seeing her until she walks down the aisle.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I blew Victoria a kiss and headed for the platform.

  Jet followed me and put his arm around me once we stood at our places. “Think this’ll actually happen?”

  “I sure hope so.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of the pack while you’re gone. How long are you taking for a honeymoon? Two weeks? Four?”

  I laughed. “Are you that eager to get rid of me?”

  He gave me a playful shove. “You know it’s not like that.”

  A loud pop sounded in the next room, followed by the sounds of glass shattering.

  I jumped from the platform and ran to the next room.

  Chapter 30

  Victoria

  Three mirrors shattered simultaneously.

  “Sorry.” Gessilyn’s cheeks pinkened. “Let me try again.”

  Soleil stepped into the doorway, putting her hand out. “Everything’s fine in here. Go back to your place.”

  “What happened?” came Toby’s voice.

  “I mixed the spell up.” Gessilyn stepped next to Soleil and looked toward Toby. “The rate that I’m learning so many new ones is getting to me. Apparently, each high witch goes through this for a couple years. I know what I did wrong. I’ll get it right this time.”

  “No rush.”

  Quinn came over and swept up the glass shards. He kept his gaze away from us.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” He kept sweeping.

  “You’re acting weird.”

  He glanced up at me. “I’m trying to make sure nobody gets cut.”

  I shook my head. “No, you’ve been avoiding me since we got back.”

  “Forget it.”

  “No.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him behind the bar. “What’s going on?”

  He hesitated.

  “What?” I demanded.

  “I never should’ve told you anything about the stone. All this is my fault—the deaths, the botched wedding, everything.”

  “You don’t think I would’ve kept looking? I found plenty online.”

  “And what I told you, that didn’t help at all?” Sarcasm dripped from his tone.

  “It helped, sure, but the stone wanted me. Do you understand that?”

  He tilted his head, frowning.

  “Nobody else came close. Every other werewolf who tried got killed. I found it with half the map, which by the way, was supposed to be impossible.”

  Quinn didn’t look convinced.

  “It’s the truth. If you wouldn’t have told me something helpful, I’d have found out from someone else. No doubt in my mind.”

  “Where’s Victoria?” came Soleil’s voice.

  I stared at Quinn. “Do you believe me?”

  “I guess.”

  “It’s not your fault. Those deaths aren’t on you.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m serious.”

  He nodded. “You’d better get back to your wedding.”

  Soleil appeared on the other side of the bar. “There you are. Come on.”

  I gave Quinn a knowing look. He gave me another nod. I hurried over to Gessilyn. Now the rest of her family stood with her.

  “Are you ready?” s
he asked.

  “Let’s do this.”

  “Stand here.” Gessilyn pointed in front of her. I stood there and the witches all circled around me. “Close your eyes.”

  I closed my eyes and she spoke softly in a foreign language. The room warmed by at least ten degrees. A breeze picked up, blowing my hair into my face. One by one, the others joined Gessilyn. Rustling noises sounded outside the circle and seemed to move outward through the rest of the Faeble. A sweet floral smell overcame me.

  All of a sudden, everything went quiet, the breeze died down, and the room’s temperature returned to normal. I opened my eyes.

  Everyone stared at me.

  I looked down. My beautiful dress had been restored. Not only that, but everything else looked like it had prior to Fen’s arrival.

  Soleil clapped. “It’s perfect! Let’s get this show on the road.” She trotted away.

  Gessilyn threw her arms around me. “Are you ready?”

  My heart skipped a beat as I thought about rejoining Toby for our wedding. “Never been more excited for anything.”

  Soft, beautiful melodies from harps filled the air. My mother ran into the room and skidded to a stop. “Look at you.”

  Gessilyn turned to her. “My family and I will round everyone up and get them seated. Why don’t you have a mother-daughter moment?”

  My mother wrapped her arms around me. “You look just like you did before. If I didn’t know better, I’d never guess you’d been through such an ordeal.”

  I kissed her cheek. “That’s why we had people take pictures—we needed the proof.”

  “Follow me.” She led me to the bar and grabbed Quinn’s attention. “Can you whip up a little something for the bride?”

  “Sure.” He grabbed a glass and poured in drinks from several bottles.

  I watched, curious. He brought over a lavender-colored concoction. “What’s this?”

  “Just try it.”

  It was a strange mixture of sweet and bitter, but I liked it. The bubbles tickled going down and a warm energy buzzed around, relaxing me—as strange as that sounded. I turned to Quinn. “What is it?”

  “A little something I save for special occasions.”

  I felt light-headed for a moment, and then everything came into sharp focus. The music came to life and the aromas of the many flowers all clung to me. My love for Toby exploded within my chest.