by Holly Hook
Get up, I tell myself.
Brie, we're coming. It's Cayden. His voice is stronger than before. He's near. I have little time.
A huge, hulking figure growls and runs at me. I get up. Too late. Romulus hooks his teeth around my shoulder blade, digging teeth into my flesh. Burning pain screams and I bite in a yelp. Teeth grind against bone.
In the distance, Cayden growls.
I have to get free and keep him alive.
I thrash, but the Savage King holds me down with his weight. Footsteps close in. Robes whisper. Darkness presses on the corners of my vision.
Brett reads in an unknown language. His low, droning voice compels the darkness. I can't breathe. Terror fills me, pumping through my limbs. Cayden will get here any second. Then he'll attack. Then he'll die.
I have to get up.
I have to get up.
Not just for me, but for everyone else.
Growling, I rise, surprising the Savage King and pushing him off. His teeth retract from my flesh. My wound burns as it pulls together. Every instinct tells me to turn and destroy this monster. He shouldn't be around normal people or anyone else. Leaping, I swipe the Savage King across the muzzle, drawing blood. Drips fly as he turns his head to the side and I bite the side of his head, sinking teeth into his eye. He grunts in pain and backs away. He's not fighting as hard as he can. Romulus doesn't want to kill me. Not his wanted vessel.
Behind the warlocks, four wolves break into the parking lot. They emerge from the trees, with Cayden in the lead. His hazel eyes lock on Romulus as hatred and protectiveness fill them. Cayden darts past the warlocks. Candlelight shines off the red highlights in his black fur. My heart swells at the sight of him, even as I keep grinding my teeth into the Savage King's face.
Romulus growls at Cayden, trying to buck me off.
I have to end this and now.
Releasing Romulus‘s face, I bite into his throat.
The flesh there is soft as it is with every creature. Romulus growls as Cayden's claws click across the pavement.
Cayden, stop.
Stop! That's an order.
He slides to a halt as I grind my teeth, drawing rivers of blood. They merge and flow to the pavement as the Savage King snorts. Iron fills the air, overtaking the decay.
I'm tearing out his throat.
And he‘s laughing.
Brie, Cayden thinks.
This was too easy.
Brie! It's Aunt May.
Everly. It has to be a trap.
Romulus is only using Mr. Saffron, a human.
He can leave whenever he wants.
At the thought, the Savage King's shape wavers under my teeth. His neck shrinks and fur retracts into smooth skin with just a trace of stubble. My teacher cries out.
He's leaving Mr. Saffron.
Leaving his puppet to die.
The witches and warlocks mutter, feet tapping as they surround us in a circle. The acrid stench of burning herb bags joins the iron and the fading decay. Mr. Saffron takes a gurgling breath as horror fills me.
Brie, let go! Cayden thinks.
A chill fills me. I release Mr. Saffron and backpedal to join Cayden. My claws tap the pavement. Blood still fills my mouth, so strong it may never leave. My drama teacher, with no signs of the Savage King, lies on the pavement on his back, eyes open wide, grasping his bleeding throat. Darkness rises from Mr. Saffron and blends with the night, abandoning him. He takes another breath, and the horrific wheezing sound will fill my nightmares forever. Blood coats the front of Mr. Saffron's shirt. It's Mr. Hayde all over again.
Brett now stands on the other side of the dying teacher. Wide-eyed, he holds a burning bag in front of him while struggling to read the strange words—maybe Greek—from the book. They combine with dying gasps as Cayden presses against me, shaking with horror.
The shadows dance, but instead of an avalanche, the pressure within me builds. The stench of rot once again fills my nostrils. Cayden sniffs and looks at me with confusion.
Terror fills me as the pressure builds in my chest. The darkness surrounds me, suffocating. Romulus. He's the worst of the dark spirits, strong from this cult.
Like attracts like in the magical world.
I press against Cayden. By doing this to Mr. Saffron, I opened a gate. Brett chants louder and louder even as the rest of the pack snap at the cult and members dart. The undertone climbs with each word. You deserve this. You kill, you attract the same.
Brett's chanting reaches a higher tempo. A fist of darkness presses against my chest. I turn over, swatting at the air with my paws, but it does nothing to ease the agony. This is how the end begins.
No, Cayden thinks.
So it doesn't matter if we're still mates.
Cayden's curse was just a distraction.
Being my mate, he'll rot with me.
Cayden leaps over me, pinning me to the ground. Warm love sweeps over me. Light. He'll die for me. Aunt May growls somewhere. She snaps at a cult member, biting flesh. A man cries out and drops something. Everly and Remo do the same. They're attacking the cult, putting themselves in the poison's range. But Brett continues to chant, the pressure increases, and Cayden yelps in pain—
He's trying to protect me.
His love is blocking the darkness, but his act is about to kill him. The wave of despair approaches, announcing his coming death. The instinct to protect sweeps over me again, filling me with strength. I growl a warning.
Rising, I throw him off. Cayden flies forward, flipping and landing on his back.
No, he thinks.
I won't let him die for me. I love him too much.
Rolling over, I tense every muscle again. The cult members run around, fleeing the pack. Candles wave and go out. Feet thud pavement and icy ground. The pressure shifts to my back. The darkest of the spirits is still trying to take me. But the pressure's lessening. I'm still too nice. He doesn't want me. It was Romulus I attacked, not Mr. Saffron. My teacher still lives. He breathes with labored breaths, but he still lives. I let go of him in time. I've closed the door again.
The door is closed.
The pressure continues, but I'm holding the darkness out. It retreats from my inner world,
Brett's chanting increases in speed. He holds the herb bag before him, ensuring we don't attack. He pumps his words full of anger and hatred, feeding the dark spirits. I sense them at the periphery, expanding and dancing. Feeding. They raise my hackles and nip at my flesh, injecting darkness. My thoughts gravitate to revenge. Ripping out Brett's throat. The pressure once again settles on my back, trying to invade…
Brie, block it out, Cayden thinks.
Looking down at the pavement, I reach for my love for Cayden instead. He lies on the pavement, yelping once again from pain. I won't feed them. Instead, I run for him, determined to keep the darkness off him. The spirits swirl around him, obeying the curse. The black wolf rolls on the ground, lost in lands of agony. Cayden pants, fighting invisible enemies. The wave of despair approaches and shows no signs of slowing. It'll crash into us both.
Nearby, Everly growls with the pain of the herb poison. Remo snaps at someone. A man seethes in pain. A vehicle door opens and closes. Feet thud. A knife slices cloth and then flesh, and I smell more herbs, incense, and nature. More shoes shift against pavement.
People are fighting.
The Russells have arrived.
“Break the circle!” Edwin shouts.
“What are they doing to her?” Leonora yells.
“He's bit.”
“That man. Put a cloth on his neck.”
“He's still alive.”
I leap over Cayden and close my eyes. I love you. Hang on.
The cousins' words swirl around me. Someone stomps on an herb bag. The darkness around me shifts. Though I close my eyes, I can feel it all floating over me. Even if I have to give myself up, I'll defend Cayden. He stills under me and continues to pant.
I open my eyes to find Brett slamming his leath
er-bound book shut. He faces Edwin, who holds up a wicked dagger and slices him across the shoulder. Iron fills the air as blood leaks from the wound. Droplets fly.
The darkness above quivers.
Brett shoves back the older man. “Karina!”
And he runs. He holds his sister's hand and they run towards the school. The rest of the cult members scatter as Everly snaps at another, who bleeds from a bite on his leg and leaves a bloody trail on the pavement. Their footfalls fade. We've outnumbered them.
The pressure on my back retreats.
I'm good. Not compatible with the darkness. As I close my eyes, a brightness fills me. I can breathe again. The air is fresh and full of Cayden's scent. He's breathing. No longer in pain. It's as if that same light is protecting him, too.
Mr. and Mrs. Russell chant low words in the same language Brett used. Their voices come from across the parking lot, and the cousins run to surround us in a ring. I smell each one. Fresh hay. Maple syrup. Dry leaves. Pleasant scents, full of magic and the beautiful parts of nature. The page to a book turns. Leonora joins in on the chanting. The rhythm is beautiful, like the sun on a warm spring day. It's full of hope.
The whole Russell Coven is together.
And together, they have real power.
We will live, I think to Cayden.
I don't have to go dark to fight the Savages or their King.
I can stay good—so long as I'm only good to those who deserve it.
The last of the dark spirits retreat, vanishing into the cracks of winter. I'm warm. Cayden and I remain still, enjoying the moment. I put my paw over his, despite lying on top of him.
With this power on our side, we don't have to separate ever again.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“I've called the ambulance,” Leonora says, breaking the moment. “They'll be here any minute.”
It seems hours have passed with Cayden and I lying together in the parking lot but it lasted only seconds. The air returns to its normal cold. I lift my head from Cayden's and sniff the air. He turns his hazel eye up at me. It‘s filled with relief.
The cult continues to flee through town. No trace of Romulus remains. He's gone back to the other dark spirits, to twist and float in places without light.
Or love. Is that what repelled him?
The Russell Coven stands in a ring around the pack. Leonora stands with them, pale. She has no time to beam with pride. Her gaze shifts back to a figure lying at the edge of the lot.
Mr. Saffron holds a towel to his still-bleeding neck. The wound on his throat still bleeds, though the flow has slowed down. He grasps at his neck, asking a silent question. My teacher's lips move. He‘s still going despite the bad wound. I must have missed his artery by a hair.
No. I hit it. He should have bled out. But I struck Romulus's artery, not his. Things must have changed when the Savage King abandoned Mr. Saffron‘s body.
We have to check him, Cayden thinks.
I get up and run towards Mr. Saffon, but Aunt May cuts in front of me. The gray-blond Wolf stares me down with bright blue eyes. She's telling me to stop.
I do, even though she's challenging my authority.
We have to leave before the police get here, she thinks. I don't care if you're alpha.
And she has a good point.
The authorities will hunt us when they find Mr. Saffron like this. And the Russells will take care of him until they get here.
He might live. I didn‘t kill an innocent after all.
“Go,” Edwin says, a handful of our clothes in his hands. He's holding my underwear. “Run into the woods. The cabin. They won't look there.”
Cayden nudges me with his nose. Mr. Saffron will be fine if he's not dead yet.
He sounds so sure.
And together, as a pack, we run.
Remo and Everly join us. Everly has blood around her mouth, which dries in the cold. We dart into the woods and away from the coven as the first sirens sound from deep within the town.
* * * * *
There are plenty of spare clothes at the Russell cabin, which has the remains of several pizzas on the tables. Blankets lie everywhere as if the Russell Coven got up and left in a hurry.
We change back in the cabin's warmth, standing together in the living room. With no regular humans here, my lack of clothes doesn‘t bother me, but I steal a peek at Cayden and smile. He looks like a wild god, like a Greek sculpture come to life.
And he smiles back. I'm so relieved that we both got out of the confrontation alive that I can enjoy the moment. My pulse races as Cayden shifts his gaze up and down my body.
“Oh, get a room, you two,” Everly says, parading past us and wrapping a blanket around her.
She's always the mood killer.
“Good idea, but I don't want you in it,” Cayden says, grabbing a blue blanket off the old sofa. He watches her vanish into one of the few private rooms, Leonora‘s.
Aunt May and Remo have already gone off to dress. I listen as I grab an old orange blanket to cast away the cold. The fireplace has burned down to embers and the winter chill is invading.
“Is the curse...” Cayden asks, lifting an eyebrow. “Is the curse gone? Those dark spirits were hurting me and then they weren't when you jumped on me and the Russells did their chanting.”
My heart races with possibility. Without the curse, Cayden and I are free to be completely together. “I don't know. We ask them when they get back and that might be awhile. They have to explain to the police why Mr. Saffron has a bite on his throat.”
“Oh," Cayden says.
The thought of my teacher lying there and suffering dispels all the tingles and electricity I have from looking at Cayden. “He should have died. He was Romulus when I bit him, and, well, Romulus set the whole thing up so I'd kill a human. That must be the only way he can possess me. I have to do something bad and attract him. Even though my mother's family were human descendants of Romulus, I'm still so Noble that the cult had to break that. And you were right about them wanting me to be alpha. It doesn't matter to them if you live or die. They wanted Romulus would have power over us if he were to use me--”
Cayden grabs my arms, curling his fingers around them. “I missed some of this. Your mother's family?”
“Romulus can only use people with a blood tie to him,” I say. “Mr. Saffron was one. He was a human descendant.”
Cayden eyes the fireplace for a second as if trying to figure out what to say. “Maybe not anymore. You bit him. And Everly bit one of the cult members to break the circle.”
“You mean—”
“That's why Mr. Saffron didn't die,” Cayden says. “You bit him hard enough to cause a lot of bleeding, but enough to kill him fast. He's infected.” He forces out those last words. “And that helps someone heal faster. It worked for Remo.”
“You mean I infected Mr. Saffron?”
“Well, he is human, even if Romulus was coming through him,” Cayden says. “His smell gave that away. That's how he got into our territory without us knowing. That cult must have caught him one night since he stays at the school late. They do a spell to bind Romulus to people. Our poor teacher thought it was a prank at first and didn't even know what his lapses in memory meant.”
“And that's how Matthew knew the Savage King,” I say. “He got in over his head.” I explain everything Brett told me. “And what will happen to Mr. Saffron?”
“If all goes okay, he'll just become a Noble Wolf,” Cayden says. “He was bitten by one. That's how it works. Maybe that will make it harder for Romulus to use him again.”
“What do we tell him?” I should have the answers, but Cayden has the experience. “I mean, what normally happens?”
Cayden pulls me close and kisses me on the forehead. “We'll think about it. He won't turn until the full moon, so we have a few weeks. And if he does, he won't harm any people. Maybe he should figure it out on his own before we approach him. Then we'll bring him into the pack, if Romulus abandoned him f
or good. We could use the numbers. Then maybe he'll stop kicking me out of the plays.”
Everly emerges from Leonora's room, dressed in a spare sweater and jeans. “I hope Leonora doesn't mind,” Everly says. “I'll apologize to her when she gets back. I'll even offer to buy her more clothes. Take her shopping.”
Cayden's jaw drops. “You? Go shopping with another girl?”
Everly flushes. “Hey, she's valuable.”
I can't hold back a grin. Everly's making progress. It's amazing to see. Well, if Olivia has hope, then so does she.
Remo steps out next, also dressed. Cayden and I get changed in Leonora's room. We smile at each other again, but I shake my head.
“If we'll do anything, it can't be in Leonora's space,” I say, eyeing her bed. “That would be disrespectful.”
“I agree. If we have enough energy when we get home tonight--” Cayden's cut off when the front door opens and people parade into the house. In my distraction, I wasn't paying attention.
“They took the teacher to the hospital,” Edwin announces to the others.
Aunt May emerges from the Russells' other bedroom. Jeans swish against each other as she goes to meet him. “What did you tell the police?”
I should be asking that question and taking charge.
“That a wild dog attacked this teacher, and we heard his screams,” Edwin says. “The man will have to get rabies shots, but no one is looking for wolves right now.”
I burst out of the room, leaving Cayden behind. I have to know another truth before Cayden and I proceed.
Edwin stands with the Russell cousins and Leonora's parents. Leonora tries to squeeze in through the front door. “Is he going to be okay? What about the curse? Did the coven remove it? Did you keep Romulus from possessing me?”
“Whoa,” Edwin says. “One question at a time, please.” He's lost much of his attitude.
Cayden emerges, too, to stand beside me. Instead of taking charge, he waits for me to ask the questions. The power shift seems to have settled. If being beta now is bothering him, he's not showing it.
“Did you remove Cayden's curse?” I already know Mr. Saffron should pull through.
