Dying Covenant: The Complete Series

by Amanda M. Lee

  I hopped to my feet, James following suit as he read the horror on my face. “What’s wrong?”

  I turned quickly, pulling up short when I caught sight of ten familiar female wolves closing in. They all had glazed expressions on their faces – they were obviously possessed – and knitting needles in their hands. Claudette was one of them.

  The realization that we were in real trouble helped me dislodge the muffling blanket from my brain. “Well, this can’t be good.”

  James was incredulous. “Do you think?”

  Twenty-Four

  “Zoe!”

  Aric was on his feet, Trouble’s leash clutched in his hand as he glanced around the bonfire circle. Most of the wolves were free from the possession, but that didn’t mean the danger wasn’t imminent.

  I kept my eyes on Claudette as I grabbed the Ouija board and moved around the table. “I’m okay,” I called out. “I don’t think I should’ve made fun of the knitting circle. I think they want to kill me.”

  “I want you with me,” Aric barked. “Come over here.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “Work faster,” Aric said, opening his arms and gathering Sami to him. She looked terrified. “I want my family together.”

  “What is this?” Tate asked, shoving his sons to the spot beside Aric as the wolves who hadn’t lost their minds closed ranks. “Are they … possessed?”

  “We think so, but we’re not sure how it works,” Aric replied, his eyes busy as they hopped between slackened faces.

  “This has happened before?”

  “Once we had a group of small girls go after Sami,” Aric explained. “We took her and ran.”

  “But everyone was okay afterward, right?” Joshua asked, his eyes moving toward Claudette. “Mom won’t stay like this, will she?”

  “We didn’t stick around to find out,” Aric gritted out. “I … Zoe!”

  “I’m coming,” I growled, pushing James so he would move his legs faster and joined everyone at the center of the circle. “I’m here. Relax. I’ll save the day … just as soon as I figure out what to do.”

  “I don’t care about saving the day,” Aric snapped. “I want my family together.”

  “I’m here, too,” James offered.

  “We’re mad at you,” Sami shot back, burying her face in Aric’s side. “Mom, do something.”

  While I love being the hero under normal circumstances, it’s times like these that it comes back to bite me in the ass. I had no idea what to do, and I didn’t think frying half of the pack’s female population would be an acceptable solution. “I’m going to do something,” I said, pressing the heel of my hand to my forehead. “I’m going to do something awesome.”

  “Then do it,” Aric barked.

  “Wait,” Tate interjected. “If she’s going to fry them … .”

  “I’m not going to fry them,” I said grimly.

  “What are you going to do?” Helen asked. “I think setting them on fire is a bad idea. It’s not their fault that they’re possessed.”

  “Have you tried communicating with them?” Lincoln asked, moving forward. I didn’t realize he was still hanging around, and his presence didn’t exactly comfort me. If he thought he was going to control my actions – even though I hadn’t decided on a course of action yet – he had another think coming.

  “Not really,” I replied. “If you want to talk to them, go for it.”

  “Fine. I will.” Lincoln took a step forward. “On behalf of the pack, I order you to put down your weapons … .”

  “Knitting needles,” I muttered.

  Lincoln ignored me. “I order you to put down your weapons and remain where you’re standing. Someone will be along shortly to conduct an interview with you.”

  I scorched Lincoln with an incredulous look. “Really?”

  Lincoln shrugged. “I thought it might work.”

  “And I think you might be an idiot,” I muttered, shaking my head as I focused on Claudette. Her eyes remained pointed in my direction, but I wasn’t sure she saw anything. “Claudette, can you hear me?”

  No response.

  “If you can hear me, I think you should know that I was lying about what I said to you earlier,” I said, opting to take a different approach to the conversation. “I knew I was stealing Aric from you when it happened, and I liked it.”

  “What are you doing?” Aric asked, furrowing his brow. “How is that helping?”

  “Anger is a more potent emotion than rationality,” I pointed out. “I’m playing a hunch.”

  “I won’t be happy if she kills you.”

  “That makes two of us.” I kept my attention on Claudette as she took another step closer. “Not only did I purposely steal him, but I laughed about it after the fact. We both did. We had great big laughs at your expense.”

  Still nothing.

  I pursed my lips as I glanced around. The available area was quickly shrinking as the deranged knitters advanced. We would run out of room pretty quickly at this rate. I couldn’t let that happen.

  Instead, I raised my hands and brought a protective dome down around the sane wolves. They jumped as it happened, a few trying to flee and smacking into the invisible wall instead. They couldn’t really see the confines of the dome, but they could instinctively feel the boundaries that cut them off from the outside world.

  “What did you do?” Lincoln asked curiously, raising his head to the sky. The stars twinkled above as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

  “I’m protecting us from them while we try to figure out how to fix this,” I said, moving closer to the edge of the dome so I could study Claudette. She seemed confused – er, more confused than before – as she lifted her nose to scent for us.

  “She’s trying to find us,” Aric mused, resting his hand on my arm. He seemed to need the contact. “I don’t understand how this is happening.”

  “That makes two of us,” I said, staring down at the Ouija board. I’d grabbed it on a whim, but something occurred to me. “What if it’s the board?”

  “What do you mean?” Aric asked, staring at the squared piece of wood as if it was a mutant spider. “Why do you have that?”

  “I got it out of the Explorer to study,” I replied. “They showed up a few minutes later.”

  “Do you think they can sense the board?” Tate asked.

  “I have no idea,” I answered honestly. “It seems like a heck of a coincidence, though. The board was in our house when the zombies attacked. The board was on the table when the girls attacked Sami. Now the board is out after being hidden for days. I don’t think that’s random.”

  “Probably not,” Aric agreed, reaching for the board. “I’ll break it. Give it here.”

  Instinctively I jerked it away from him. “No. Don’t touch it.”

  Aric was confused. “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t want you to become possessed.”

  “You’ve been touching it and you’re not possessed.”

  “Yes, but … .” But what? I really didn’t have a good reason for disallowing Aric to touch the board. My heart told me it was a bad idea, though. “We can’t break it anyway. It needs to burn.”

  “So burn it in here,” Tate suggested. “Do it right now. You have fire hands.”

  “I don’t want to burn it in the dome,” I replied, my mind working overtime. “It might get out of hand. I have to take it outside of the dome to burn it.”

  Aric immediately started shaking his head. “Don’t you dare leave me.”

  “I’m not leaving you,” I clarified. “I’m moving to the other side of the dome and tossing the board into the fire. I’ll be perfectly okay.”

  “No.” Aric was firm. “I want you to stay with me, Zoe. We’re safe now. I want it to stay that way.”

  I met his serious gaze. “I want us to be safe, too, but we can’t live here forever. I can go outside and destroy the board in a few seconds. I can protect myself.”

  “No.”
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  I licked my lips as I regarded him. He was stubborn when he wanted to be. “Aric, we don’t have much choice in the matter. The board has to be destroyed. I think that’s our best course of action.”

  “Then I’ll do it,” Aric said, moving to dislodge Sami from his side. “You stay with Sami and let me out of the dome. I can protect myself until the board burns.”

  We both knew that wasn’t a good option, yet he refused to back down.

  “Aric, I can protect myself with another dome closer to the fire,” I reminded him. “I promise to be careful. It’ll be okay.”

  Aric didn’t look convinced, but the looks the other pack members gave him were desperate enough that he realized he had no choice. “Okay.” His voice was barely a whisper as he grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me to my toes for a lingering kiss. “Be very careful. I don’t want to pick out another wife. That will be a big hassle.”

  I knew he was going for levity, but the joke fell flat. “Just so you know, if I really do die, I don’t want you to find another wife. I want you to be miserable and mourn me forever.”

  Despite himself, Aric grinned. “Deal.” He gave me another kiss and then released me. “Burn the board and then erect another dome. Don’t give them time to react.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  I moved to the edge of the dome and gave Aric a final glance before making an invisible opening and slipping through it. The second I hit the other side the possessed wolves shifted their heads in my direction. I paid them little heed as I moved toward the fire, the Ouija board clutched in my hand.

  I saw Claudette move in my direction first, the others following suit quickly. I tried to tamp down my anxiety as I slipped between two wolves that were trying to cut off my avenue of escape. I was almost at the fire when I felt a presence move behind me.

  “Look out,” Aric yelled, his voice muffled by the dome. Thanks to the opening I used to escape, it was no longer soundproof.

  I moved my head to the side and ducked Claudette’s blow as she tried to stab me with one of the knitting needles. I lashed out with my foot, kicking her knee and causing her to stumble. I took the opportunity to throw the board into the fire before giving Claudette my full attention. That was probably a good thing, because she was trying to stab me again.

  I put up my arm to ward off the blow, crying out when the knitting needled broke through the thin skin at the palm of my hand. Blood flowed freely as I fought to keep Claudette from removing the needle so she could use it a second time. I heard Aric screaming as he tried to escape the dome.

  I glanced at him, our gazes locking briefly, and then I did the only thing I could do and lashed out with my magic. I threw Claudette off of me with my mind, tossing her a good twenty feet in the air and slamming her into the ground with a loud thump. Joshua screamed for his mother as Tate held him in place, and I shifted my eyes to the other wolves as they closed the distance.

  “I don’t know what’s up with you guys, but if someone is listening through your ears, I want to make something very clear,” I said, my hand throbbing. “I’m going to burn your entire plan to the ground … and you with it. And I’m going to enjoy it.”

  I gritted my teeth as a set of hands reached for me, preparing to throw the wolves far enough away to give myself a buffer and time to erect another dome. Instead of closing around my neck, the hands ceased their forward momentum and I heard sniffles and cries as the possessed wolves regained their senses.

  I dropped my head to the ground and glanced at the fire, grimacing as I realized the board had finally burned through and was disintegrating. Aric howled from behind the dome, and I remembered to drop the walls before closing my eyes.

  “Zoe.” Aric was gentle as he knelt beside me. I mustered a smile even though I really wanted to cry. “I told you I could do it.”

  “Yes, you’re a freaking hero,” Aric grumbled, studying my bleeding hand. “Why haven’t you healed yourself?”

  “Because that knitting needle has to come out first, and I know it’s going to hurt when it does.”

  Aric pressed his lips together and nodded. “It’s going to hurt really badly, baby.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you want me to take it out?”

  “I … .”

  He didn’t give me a chance to respond, instead taking me by surprise as he gripped the needle and it ripped it out of my hand. I cried out, gasping as Aric dropped the needle and wrapped his arms around my back to cradle me close.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, rocking me. “I’m so sorry. I never want to hurt you, but … .”

  “It had to be done,” I said, angry with myself as tears flowed down my cheek. “That really hurt.”

  “I know,” Aric said, kissing my cheek “Heal yourself, Zoe. Do it now. I can’t stand it when you’re in pain.”

  I did as he asked, ignoring the outside world as the other wolves stared. The blue magic was soothing as I touched the fingertips of my good hand to the wound. Within a few seconds the injury closed and the pain was gone. Aric propped me up against him when I was finished.

  “We’re going to have an argument when we’re alone later,” Aric said. “You should’ve let me take the board to the fire.”

  “I survived.”

  “Barely,” Aric said, smiling as Sami moved closer so she could stare at my hand. “Mom is all right, Sami. There’s nothing to worry about.”

  “I’m not worried,” Sami said. “I’m more curious. When am I going to be able to heal someone?”

  That was a very good question. “I guess we should’ve held off and let you do it this go around,” I said. “I didn’t think about it. Next time.”

  “There won’t be a next time,” Aric growled, resting his cheek against my forehead. “I hate it when you have to heal yourself.”

  “That’s why I’m going to let Sami try it next time.”

  “We’ll talk about that if it ever happens,” Aric said, shifting his eyes to the spot across the way where I had tossed Claudette. “I hate to ask, but … .”

  I was already on my feet. “I’ll heal her. I didn’t want to hurt her in the first place. I didn’t have a lot of options, though.”

  “Thank you,” Aric said. “Once that is done, I want to lock ourselves in the cabin and go to bed. We have a few things to talk about.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “Don’t forget the whipped cream,” Aric said, forcing a grin that was more like a grimace. “When we’re done talking I want to celebrate.”

  “You’re a sick man.”

  “Extremely sick,” James intoned.

  Aric beamed. “That doesn’t bother me in the least.”

  Twenty-Five

  “Let me see your hand.”

  “It’s fine.”

  Aric ignored the words and grabbed my formerly injured hand and flipped it over so he could study the palm. The skin was smooth and flawless, and he seemed relieved that I hadn’t somehow missed anything when I healed myself.

  “You’re still perfect,” Aric teased, pressing a kiss to my palm before touching it to his cheek and closing his eyes. “You’re okay.”

  I couldn’t decide if he was talking to me or himself. “Aric … .”

  “I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Aric said, forcing his eyes open and locking gazes with me. “I don’t want to argue in front of everyone else. We need to put up a united front right now.”

  “We don’t need to argue.”

  “Oh, we’re going to argue,” Aric said. “You shouldn’t have left me in that dome. There was another way to do what you did.”

  I forced myself to remain calm, even though I wanted to snap at him. “How?”

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Aric said. “We’ll talk about it when we’re alone.”

  “Oh, well, I can’t wait.”

  Despite the serious nature of the situation, Aric smirked. “We’ll make up then, too.” He tugged me closer and gave me a quick kiss
before releasing me. We shifted our heads in Claudette’s direction in unison, keeping a respectful distance as Tate and her children took care of her. I had a million questions, but I didn’t want to pressure her for answers before she was ready to give them.

  “I don’t understand what happened,” Claudette said, gracing her sons with a watery smile before turning to me. “Did you do that?”

  “Not last time I checked,” I replied dryly. “If I could do that I wouldn’t attack myself. I would go after the person who decided reality television was a thing. He should clearly be killed.”

  “I’m right there with you,” Claudette said, chuckling hollowly. “What do you think happened?”

  “That’s what I was going to ask you,” I replied, sitting in the canvas chair across from her. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

  “We were in the knitting circle,” Claudette said. “Everyone was drinking and gossiping like we always do. Then … I don’t know. Things turned dark.”

  “I knew you couldn’t really love knitting that much,” I said. “I’m glad drinking and gossip are the real draws.”

  Claudette didn’t return my smile. “I love knitting, too. I’m sorry if this comes off as rude – although really I’m not – but I don’t find this situation funny.”

  I didn’t really blame her. “Sorry,” I said, straightening. “I often make jokes when it comes to uncomfortable situations because I’m not good talking about feelings.”

  “You can say that again,” Aric muttered.

  “Go back to your story,” I prodded. “You said everything went dark. Did you hear anything before that happened?”

  “Like what?” Claudette asked.

  “I don’t know. How about a voice?”

  “Are you asking me if I heard voices in my head?” Claudette asked, incredulous. “I’m not crazy.”

  “I didn’t say you were crazy,” I shot back, my temper flaring. “I’m trying to figure out exactly what you heard. This is the second time this has happened, and I don’t know what to make of it. I’m not pretending it wasn’t traumatizing for you, but I need answers and you’re one of the few people in a position to give them to me.”