My Eternal Soldier

by Krystal Shannan

  “There are no animal sounds. No birds. Nothing moving but the wind.”

  “It’s the middle of the night, Eira,” Charlie replied, laying a hand on my shoulder.

  I started shaking my head. “Call them back. It feels like a tra—”

  A howl carried from the forest ahead. We stepped off the bridge, and I suddenly heard heartbeats everywhere. The pack scattered. They saw them, too.

  Then the shots rang out. Followed by screams.

  Pain tore through my side, and I peered down at the gaping hole in my stomach. Blood poured from the wound, soaking my jeans.

  “Eira!” Charlie screamed then collapsed to the ground. Three small, red darts protruded from her neck. Her body was limp in seconds, but I could hear her heart beating steadily. Tranquilizers.

  The pack was dropping all around me. Soldiers advanced from the woods. Several women stood at the edge of the forest. Their hands were raised to the moon, and their lips moved. Latin flowed from their mouths, but my head swam from the blood loss. I couldn’t focus. I needed to stay away from those witches, and I needed to feed so I could heal.

  I swallowed down the blood seeping from my mouth and lunged at the nearest soldier. I was so much weaker than I realized. He threw me off of him and hit my cheek with the butt of his gun.

  Pain seared my head, and I groaned, squinting to focus through the stream of blood running down my forehead and into my eyes.

  “I’ll take this, bitch. You can burn in hell like the demon you are.”

  I bared my fangs and hissed, but he struck me again and again until everything faded to black.

  ***

  I opened my eyes and moaned. Pain roared through my nerve endings. My face felt like it’d been bashed against a brick wall, and my side still had a gaping, bloody hole in it. I’d lost most of my blood volume. Hunger coursed through me, and the need to feed made my head hurt worse than any hangover. The bloody bodies of my friends called to the beast inside me. I could no more feed from their lifeless bodies than I could’ve killed them myself. It wasn’t right. No matter what, I’d die before desecrating their bodies in that way. How would I ever explain a bite mark to their families?

  Dragging myself to my feet, I surveyed the field and cried. Half of the pack was dead, littering the field. The other half was nowhere to be found. Charlie was gone. I remembered her falling near me. But her body was gone.

  “Charlie!” I shouted. “Chad!”

  No one answered.

  The smell of burning flesh hit my nostrils before the singe of pain registered in my brain. The sky was turning orange, and the coming sunrise burned. I held up my right hand. The ring was gone. Fucking bastard. How did he know to take it?

  It didn’t matter. If I didn’t move my ass under some shelter fast, I could never avenge or rescue my friends.

  I blurred across the bridge, but only made it a few miles before my weakened state caught up with me. My head swam, and I was seeing double if I didn’t carefully focus. I slowed for a moment, trying to get my bearings, but the burning on the back of my neck and arms spurred me forward. Dying wasn’t an option.

  I had to feed.

  And I had to make it to Sanctuary.

  They were the only ones with enough resources to help me save my friends. Half of the pack had been on that mission. Most of the wolves left at the lodge were mothers and children. When the news of the loss reached them, they wouldn’t be in any shape to mount a rescue mission. With the alpha pair gone and Charlie missing, chaos would drive them into a panic. Better they didn’t find out for as long as I could put it off.

  Ducking under the shade of a tree, I fell to my knees and screamed in pain. The sun was rising higher, and I couldn’t see or hear a human anywhere. I couldn’t die. Not now. If I didn’t find help, no one would go after the pack until it was too late for the ones still alive. If I didn’t live, no one would know Manda had betrayed us.

  Survival was paramount.

  The Texas border fence was coming up fast. I had to make it through, but the border patrol wouldn’t let me through in the state I was in. As hungry as I was, I also didn’t trust myself not to kill and feed on soldiers in a desperate attempt to quench the thirst that burned inside me.

  Jumping was going to be difficult with my injuries, but was my only option. I didn’t have time to get to a tunnel.

  I blurred again, this time making it to a part of the fence that lay below a ridge. I’d come through this way before. If I could build enough momentum, I should be able to clear it. My weakened state aside, I still had enough energy to hurl myself over.

  I had to leave the protection of the shaded woods, and the sun was rising higher. If I didn’t find shelter before it rose completely, there wouldn’t be any of me left to find help.

  Pain doused me from head to foot. I squinted through my blurry vision, gathered the energy I had left, and ran. The ground flew beneath my feet as I blurred forward, leaping from the top of the ridge and hurling my body across the top edge of the fifty-foot electric fence.

  The ground rushed toward me, and I hit it with a thud that broke at least half of my ribs. I couldn’t contain the scream as pain lanced through my body. I twisted on the ground and crawled to my feet. The sun was still rising over the horizon, colors flooding the sky. I had mere minutes before I would be nothing more than ash blowing in the wind.

  I blurred through the trees and followed a road, trying to keep an eye out for anything that looked like a driveway. One appeared a few seconds later, and I rushed down the gravel. A large gray barn loomed ahead of me. A heavy padlock locked the massive sliding door, but it was no match for my desperation. The metal snapped in my hand, and I slipped inside, closing the door behind me. The darkness of the barn soothed my burning skin, but something else caught my attention. Blood.

  Dried blood spattered the walls… the floor. The scent of death hung fresh on the air. Another scent also coated the building. Male. Magick. An Other lived here.

  Damn it. Feeding on Others was tricky. Why couldn’t some stupid hunter live here? I needed to feed. Hunger clawed at my insides. My head rang from the need to eat. God forgive the next living being to enter this barn. They wouldn’t stand a chance.

  For now, I’d just have to wait. The sun was shining, and I was trapped.

  Chapter Nine

  KILLÍAN

  Setting my helmet on the long seat of my bike, I took a deep breath of the sweet morning air. The café door of Rose’s swung open. Miles and Eli Blackmoor emerged, pausing to hold the door for the beautiful blonde woman I recognized as Diana—their wife.

  Miles caught my gaze and raised a hand in greeting. I returned the gesture and started toward them.

  “Killían, it’s been weeks. What have you been up to?” Miles’ voice rumbled.

  Eli flashed a grin. “You haven’t met our wife since she returned to us.” He turned to the small woman standing between them. “Diana, this is Killían. He lives a few miles outside of town. He’s Elvin.”

  Her face brightened, and her perfectly shaped lips turned up into a smile. “You are from the Veil?” she asked, walking forward and taking my hand in hers. “My son Mikjáll will want to meet you. He was raised by Elvin. Please come by the Castle if you have time.” She squeezed my hand and then dropped it, moving to lean against Miles’ chest.

  “Thank you, Diana.”

  She smiled and nodded as her hands absently stroked her round stomach in a circular pattern.

  A baby on the way? And a grown son raised by my people? Questions burned in my mind, but they could wait. It wasn’t my place to interrogate the Snøen mor. I was just thankful to see her safe with her husbands and happy. I knew Miles and Eli thought she had been lost to them forever.

  Her blue eyes were soft, compassionate, but burned with the fire of a Drakonae meant to rule. She and Miles and Eli belonged in the Veil. They belonged on the stone thrones, not those Incanti bastards.

  “May the Blackmoor house grow strong and
live in peace.” I used the old words from court to show respect. They weren’t my kings and queen here, but if life had gone differently a thousand years ago, they would’ve been.

  “Peace and strength to you, friend,” Eli returned. “Don’t be a stranger, Killían. You are always welcome in our house.”

  Diana waved as they led her away. I waved in turn before going inside the cafe.

  Raven’s bright voice greeted me the second the door swung closed behind me.

  “Killían,” she said, sauntering over to my side. “Where have you been?” The Pixie planted a kiss on my cheek. Her hand traced my shoulder and then along my back, grazing over the two swords sheathed and strapped in place. She circled behind me and came around on my other side. It was like being stalked by a hungry cat. A starving, gorgeous cat, though.

  “Just taking out the trash.”

  “You should take a break from that more often than once every two or three months.”

  “Thanks, Raven.”

  She flashed a wide smile and walked off, her hips swaying enticingly with each step. Damn. That girl knew how to work her ass.

  I slid into the closest booth and sighed. The smell of freshly baked bread, pies, and other sweets clung to the air. Heaven for the tastebuds. This was the closest I came to freshly made food —ever.

  A second later, Bella slid into the seat opposite me. I wanted to reach out and pull her bright blue hair loose from the high ponytail it was twisted up into and drink in the sweet scent of jasmine drifting from her smooth alabaster skin. Her wide doe eyes sparkled with life.

  If I could grab her around the waist and disappear into her house for the next twenty-four hours, I could be a happy man. At least I should be able to be happy with a woman like Bella in my bed. But I’d be lying to myself if I thought even sex with her would help my present mood. Plus, sex with Bella or anything with Bella for that matter always came with strings attached.

  Only one woman could make my heart happy again, and she was lost to me forever.

  “It’s good to see you, Killían.”

  “How did you know I was here?” A grin tugged at my mouth.

  “I heard you. There’s only a few bikes in town, and none of them sound quite like yours.”

  “What do you want, Bella?”

  “I just wanted to say hello. Can’t a friend say hello?”

  “You want something.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared. This wasn’t a friendly visit. Her vibe had Rose’s scent all over it.

  “I want you to move here. Everyone does. That old run down farmhouse isn’t good for you. There’s more to life than killing wayward SECR soldiers unlucky enough to wander into your sandbox.”

  “By everyone, you mean Rose put you up to this.”

  She frowned, but nodded.

  “Do you know why she wants me to live here? Did she tell you that?”

  “Because you are a phenomenal fighter?”

  I scoffed. Rose had been trying to convince me to move into the supernaturally charged town for decades… ever since she’d found me slaughtering soldiers just outside the town border one day.

  She’d offered me a home. A place where I could belong and be around others that understood what I’d gone through. But I didn’t want pity. And I didn’t want companionship. I’d lost the only two people who’d ever meant anything to me, and I couldn’t move past that.

  Losing Eira had torn my heart to pieces a thousand years ago. I’d given her the Goddess diamond I’d worn over my heart since becoming an adult in my father’s clan. The stone had linked us together permanently. I’d made the choice without telling her I’d done it. The act had been purely selfish, but I’d wanted that tie to her even though she was a human. The pain of loss would only be felt by me when she passed away from her human life.

  Now, a thousand years later, even though she’d died, for some reason I’d never been able to forget her, her scent, her touch, her taste. Everything about her stayed as fresh on my mind as the recurring nightmare where my sword had pierced her chest. The sound of her choking on her blood as she drowned haunted my memory. Then the battle had turned, and another wave of warriors from the opposing clan had pushed me away from her.

  When I’d returned to recover her body and give her the warrior’s burial she deserved, I couldn’t find her. Her body had been taken. My beautiful warrior was gone forever.

  My brother and I left the country only a few days later. I told him I couldn’t stay when everything around me reminded me of what I’d lost. We left Britain and never returned. Then I lost him, too.

  “Killían?” Bella’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.

  I glanced up from the tabletop and met her gaze. “Sorry. I have to go.” I rushed from the booth.

  “Killían. Don’t leave!”

  Her voice carried through the cafe, but I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t let myself become attached to anyone, and I’d let Bella too close, even as a friend. Emotions were too hard. Anyone who cared about me seemed cursed to die. Staying to myself kept everyone safer.

  Chapter Ten

  KILLÍAN

  The ride to my house was interrupted by a patrol in a tan Humvee. I waved, and they returned the gesture, pulling to a stop on the side of the road. Turning the bike sharply, I hung a left and pulled up behind them, pushing the kickstand down and settling my bike in the mixture of dirt and gravel. Patrols rarely left the main roads, and my curiosity was piqued.

  “Master Sergeant North,” a familiar male voice called out, and a large redheaded man jumped out from the driver’s seat of the vehicle.

  I smiled. Corporal Hinson was a good soldier, and I’d trained him before I left TR Army. It explained why they were off the main road, too. He’d been looking for me.

  “Hinson.” I saluted and pulled my helmet off before walking to meet him.

  He shook my hand. “We drove by your place, but didn’t see your bike on the porch. Glad we passed you.”

  “What can I help you with?” I would have to be more careful about leaving prisoners alive in my barn if my trainees were going to make uninvited house calls. Even though I only killed SECR soldiers, currently the TR wasn’t officially at war with the SECR. They had a tentative peace treaty, but it wouldn’t last long. Not with Xerxes fueling the fire to keep crossing the TR border without permission.

  “Spotters said they saw a SECR five man ops team crossing Dead Man’s Lake, not too far from here. We haven’t been able to find a trace of them, though. I wanted to give you a heads up and ask if you’d seen them.”

  Shaking my head, I lied straight to his face. “Nope. Nothing around here, but I’ll keep an eye out for them and radio you if I do.”

  “Thanks, Master Sergeant.” We shook hands again. “If you’re ever near the base, swing by and grab a drink. Me and the boys miss you.”

  “I’ll do that. It’s good to see you, Hinson. Watch your back.”

  “Same to you.”

  I walked to my bike and waited until they pulled away before starting her up and continuing to my house. The sun was high above my head, and my stomach was knotting up like a nest of writhing snakes, especially since I’d left the cafe without eating anything.

  Bella didn’t deserve the way I treated her. She was just being nice, but she did try to convince me that I needed to stay every time I visited Sanctuary. I tried to tell her it was useless. Sanctuary held nothing for me, and I didn’t want any attachments. Relentless was her favorite word, though. I knew at one time she had wanted to pursue more than just a friendship with me, but I couldn’t do it.

  I saw Eira’s face every time I closed my eyes. The first breath I took in the morning somehow smelled just like the evergreen scent that had always clung to her long black hair. In a thousand years, I’d slept with only three women out of desperation to feel some type of connection, and each of them I’d left the next day. Unable to see their face past the memory that haunted me… a shadow of the woman I’d loved so long ago. My
last one-night stand had occurred twenty years ago, and I’d been shit-faced drunk.

  After waking up in Bella’s bed and not being able to remember how I’d come to be there, I swore it would never happen again. And it hadn’t. I’d been alone since, and I deserved nothing more. I couldn’t give any woman what she deserved or needed if I couldn’t grieve and forget about the one I’d lost.

  I pulled up to the old farmhouse I called home, hopped the bike onto the sprawling porch, and cut the engine. She purred to a stop, and I threw a cover over her to keep the dirt off.

  Walking to the front door, I reached for the handle but stopped. My gaze followed the wall down to the end of the porch. Across the yard, the door to my barn was closed, but the padlock was missing.

  My eyebrows raised in surprise. Tugging on the dual sheaths, I pulled one of the swords out of the sheath on my back before advancing toward the barn. The Corporal said they’d just driven by, but I knew I’d padlocked the barn before leaving this morning. Something wasn’t right. Someone had entered my barn.

  Dead grass crunched beneath my feet, and a slow breeze tousled my hair. When I reached the door, the lock was on the ground. It’d been wrenched apart, not cut or picked. Almost like something had twisted it until it snapped.

  I used my shoulder to shove the door aside. Peering into the dark, I paused before moving forward, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dark. A snarl tore through the silence. I swung my sword, catching only air. Hands grabbed my sword arm, small hands, but they twisted and yanked me from my feet. They pulled me into the shadows, slamming me hard against the concrete floor. Air whooshed from my lungs, and I gasped for breath. My sword clattered across the floor, and I kicked toward the body of my assailant, but missed.

  Delicate fingers wrapped around my throat, and I gagged under the pressure as I was lifted from the ground and slammed into the wall. I punched forward into the torso of my attacker with a swift right-right-left combo, and both my hands came away bloody.