Dying Covenant: The Complete Series

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Does that mean I get ice cream?”

  Sami yipped at the suggestion, causing Aric to smirk.

  “You get ice cream and sprinkles,” Aric said, blowing out a sigh as he focused on Debbie. The woman’s face was red from exertion and discomfort, but so far she’d suffered mostly in silence. I had to hand it to her. She was tougher than I expected. “Maybe you should let her down, Zoe.”

  “Why?”

  Debbie looked hopeful at the suggestion. “Yes, let me down, you freak! Let me down and I’ll rip your throat out!”

  I wasn’t particularly worried about her threat, but I was curious what Aric had in mind. “Are you going to torture her yourself?” I asked.

  Aric nodded. “I think we should do it the old-fashioned way,” he said. “Our ancestors flayed their enemies.”

  It took me a moment to realize what he was insinuating and the panicked look on Debbie’s face told me she wasn’t a big fan of the suggestion. “Is that what they do on Game of Thrones? Other than all of the incest, I mean.”

  Aric nodded. “It’s very painful but effective.”

  “You can’t do this,” Debbie spat, her eyes wild as she struggled against the magical restraints. “I’m on the side of God.”

  That didn’t impress me in the least. “Oh, yeah? I’m the daughter of mini-gods. I guess we’ve got a lot in common.”

  “You’re going to die!” Debbie screeched. “You’re going to die and we’re going to eat your daughter. We’re going to suck the magic out of her and then cut her head off and wear it as a crown.”

  That was a revolting and troublesome visual. I narrowed my eyes as I shot another yellow pain bolt at her, this one making a sizzling sound as it worked its way into her stomach.

  “Oh, God! Help me!” Debbie wailed as the slow-moving weapon burned into her skin.

  “That’s obviously not working,” Chester said, licking his lips. “You should let her go. If we release her, perhaps her friends will flee into the night.”

  “I’m not letting her go,” I countered. “I told her she was going to die and I meant it. She can go quick or slow, depending how much information she gives us. I’m beyond caring which she picks.”

  Chester crossed his arms over his chest. “This is not your pack. I’m in charge here.”

  “You’re right about this not being my pack,” I said. “You’re wrong about being in charge, though. I’m in charge. I’m frying wolves until I’m sure my daughter is safe. If you’re so adamant about taking care of things, though, you can protect yourself from here on out. I promise I won’t intervene if you get attacked again.”

  I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at the murderous expression on his face. He wanted to kill me. I could see it in his eyes. He didn’t have the stones to do it, though.

  “Put some pants on, too,” I ordered. “No one wants to see your junk, especially since it doesn’t look as if it’s been used in two decades and needs a tune-up.”

  Aric laughed as Chester’s eyes flashed. For a moment I thought Chester might attempt to strike me, but instead he accepted the shorts Lincoln tossed in his direction and tugged them on.

  “What’s your plan?” Lincoln asked. “How many of them can you kill?”

  “I can kill all of them,” I replied. “I just need to make sure that I don’t accidentally kill the wrong wolves.”

  “We’ll take care of that,” Aric said, resting his hand on my shoulder. “Let’s get in position. I have a feeling they’re close.”

  Aric and I moved to the middle of the bonfire area, leaving Sami with Helen as Claudette and Tate moved to the area behind us. The next ten minutes consisted of Aric, Tate and Claudette yelling out at friendly faces while I fried the interlopers. By the time the bulk of the pack was back, I’d killed at least ten strange wolves.

  I was weary when I turned back to the fire. Sami had shifted back to human form while I was distracted. She was back in the knit shorts and Aric’s shirt. Helen kept an arm around her while I worked. I flashed a smile when I saw her worried expression, but she didn’t return it.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Where’s Grandpa?”

  My heart sank at the question. It hadn’t occurred to me that James was one of the few who hadn’t returned. “I … don’t know.” I shifted my eyes to Aric and saw the worry reflected there as well. “I’m sure he’s okay.”

  “I’m sure he is, too,” Aric said, avoiding eye contact. “There can’t be very many wolves left out there.”

  “Unless he’s already dead,” Claudette offered.

  I shot her a dark look. “Really? Did you have to say that?”

  Claudette shrugged. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Sometimes I speak before I think.”

  “Oh, you and Zoe should form a club,” Aric said. He feigned teasing but I could tell he was worried.

  “I’ll find him,” I said, moving toward the trees.

  Aric grabbed my arm to still me. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “You said it yourself. There can’t be very many enemy wolves left out there. I’ll be fine. I’ll find James.”

  “You’re not leaving,” Aric ordered, taking me by surprise with his vehemence. “You’re staying right here.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “You can say that all you want, but we both know it’s not true,” Aric snapped. “You’re barely standing. You’re drained. I won’t risk your life for anything.”

  “Not even for your father?”

  “Not for anything.” Aric was fierce as his eyes flashed. “I love you, Zoe, but you’re staying right here with me. Do you understand?”

  I wanted to argue, but he wasn’t wrong about me being exhausted. Thankfully I didn’t have to find the strength to push him on the issue because that’s when the trees on the far side of the clearing gave way to three large wolves. They dragged another wolf – this one wounded – with them.

  “Grandpa!” Sami tried to rush forward, but Aric caught her, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the wolves.

  “He’s hurt,” Helen said, her voice cracking as she saw the blood running from James’ leg. “He needs help.”

  “I’ll help him,” I said, focusing on the center wolf. “I have to deal with these asshats first.” I locked gazes with the biggest wolf. I figured he was the alpha. “If you have demands, you’ll have to shift. I don’t speak dog.”

  A low murmur went through the assembled wolves – including the ones on my side. I forgot how much they hated being referred to as dogs.

  The center wolf stared at me for what felt like forever before shifting. He was tall, dark hair brushed back from his face as he stood naked on the other side of the fire. I had no idea who he was.

  “Do you recognize him?” I asked Aric.

  Aric shook his head. “I’ve never seen him before.”

  “I am Dornaman,” the wolf intoned, earning a hushed murmur from the crowd. “I am the beginning.”

  “That means absolutely nothing to me,” I said. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

  “I’m Dornaman.”

  I shifted my eyes to Aric. “Did he just explain something? Is he using one name because he thinks he’s Thor or Cher?”

  Aric didn’t laugh at my joke, instead remaining grim and focused. “Dornaman is a legend in the wolf world,” he explained. “He’s supposedly the first wolf.”

  “The one who humped the real wolf in the cave and knocked her up?”

  Aric nodded.

  “Oh, whatever,” I muttered, rolling my eyes as I locked gazes with the man. “I believe that story just about as much as the one about politicians wanting to do right by their constituents. What do you want?”

  “I am Dornaman,” the man repeated. “You must bow before me.”

  I snorted. “I wouldn’t bow before you if the world was devoid of chocolate and you were the Hershey prince,” I shot back. “You bow before me.”

  Dornam
an made a face. “I am a god.”

  “You are a putz making up things,” I countered. “You’re kind of like a cult leader. You’ve managed to convince a few weak souls that you’re some mythical god. Anyone can do that. Watch.” I turned to Aric. “I’m Medusa. Fear me.”

  Aric’s lips twitched. “Your hair often does remind me of snakes in the morning.”

  “See,” I said, swiveling back to Dornaman. “I’m a god, too.”

  “Don’t mock me,” Dornaman shot back, annoyed. “I will not tolerate mockery.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Okay. Well, I can’t stop mocking people, so I think it would be smart for you to smite me for mocking you. Bring it on.”

  Dornaman seemed confused by the suggestion. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re a god,” I said. “I’m not a god. According to your dying girlfriend on the tree, I’m an abomination. If you’re a god and I’m an abomination, you should be able to smite me. I’m totally ready, by the way. Smite me.” I extended my arms as a show of good faith.

  “What are you doing, Zoe?” Aric asked.

  “I’m asking Doughnut here to smite me to prove who he is.”

  “Dornaman,” the man corrected.

  “If he can’t smite me, then he’s clearly not who he claims to be,” I said. “I can certainly smite him. That’s not in question.”

  “I will kill this man if you try anything,” Dornaman said, kicking James and making him yelp.

  I narrowed my eyes to dangerous blue slits. “If you do that again, I’ll kill you.”

  “Don’t kill him,” Chester ordered. “We need to question him.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” I snapped. “I’ll do whatever the hell I want to do.”

  “Because you’re a god?” Aric asked. He seemed legitimately curious to hear my answer.

  “I’m not deranged,” I replied. “I know I’m not a god. I’ll do whatever I want to do because I’m tired and want ice cream. Keep up.”

  Aric pursed his lips. “Just checking. I wanted to make sure your ego wasn’t as out of control as it sounded.”

  “I’m well aware of who and what I am,” I said, taking a bold step forward and focusing on Dornaman. “What do you want?”

  “I want your fealty.”

  “What else do you want?”

  “I want you wiped off the face of the planet.”

  Wow. This really wasn’t going well. “Okay, I’m kind of sick of hearing your demands,” I said. “I’m going to tell you my demands and end this thing. How does that sound?”

  “You do not make demands of me,” Dornaman shot back. “I am a god.”

  “I can’t take much more of this,” I muttered, glancing at Aric. “I could end this now.”

  “Don’t do that,” Chester ordered. “We want to question him.”

  “Why?”

  Chester was confused. “What do you mean? He could have answers. I thought you wanted answers.”

  Something occurred to me. “I thought you had answers,” I said. “You were supposed to have answers for us. That’s why you were trying to blackmail us into the pack. Isn’t that what you said?”

  “We don’t blackmail anybody,” Chester replied, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked a little pale despite his false bravado. I didn’t believe him for a second.

  “You don’t have answers, do you?” I was furious. “You made it up. You have no idea what’s going on.”

  “I do,” Chester snapped. “That tattoo belongs to the Cult of the Moon. They’re waiting for the arrival of the most powerful being ever.”

  I turned my eyes to Sami. “And they think it’s her, don’t they?”

  “That would be my guess.”

  “What else?” I probed. “What else do they want?”

  “As far as I can tell, that’s it,” Chester said. “They want to absorb Sami’s powers, which they believe will give them dominion over the Earth.”

  Huh. I was lost in thought as I stared at Sami’s terrified face. Then I turned back to Dornaman. “Is that what you want?” I challenged him. “Do you want my kid’s power?”

  “There can be only one god,” Dornaman seethed. “I am he.”

  Yeah, I’d definitely had enough of this. I lashed out with my mind, igniting Dornaman and the wolves standing sentry at his side. Dornaman seemed surprised by my actions, but the expression didn’t last long. He was dead before he could mount much of a fight.

  “I can’t believe you did that,” Debbie sputtered. She was losing her battle against the pain. “He was a god.”

  “He was a man pretending to be a god,” I corrected, frowning. “He wasn’t a god, and he wasn’t on the right side of anything. Neither are you.”

  “I understand that,” Debbie said, swallowing hard. “I can make amends.”

  “No, you can’t.” I kept my voice low but firm. “I made a promise at the start of this and I’m keeping it. Go with your god.”

  “No!” Debbie was desperate as she mounted one final offensive against her restraints. I didn’t let it last long, snapping her neck with a tilt of my head before following Aric across the campground.

  James was in human form when I arrived, his brow slick with sweat as he cradled his arm. “I’m cut … and my shoulder is dislocated.”

  “I can fix it,” I said, reaching out to touch his arm as I steadfastly ignored his nudity. I simply pretended he wasn’t naked and I couldn’t see his package. It took me a few seconds to heal him, and then I moved to the side so Helen could hug him and wrap a blanket around his shaking body.

  I was surprised when Sami brushed past me to give him a hug. James looked so relieved when he accepted it I thought he would cry.

  “I love you, Sami,” James choked out.

  “I love you, too, Grandpa. You’re still a butthead, though.”

  “I know,” James said. “I’ll make it up to you.”

  “You can start with ice cream.”

  James smirked. “It sounds like a plan.” He moved closer to Aric. I was fairly certain another apology was on his lips. “I … .”

  “Don’t,” Aric said, shaking his head. “We’ll figure things out later. I don’t need another apology.”

  “That’s good,” James said. “I really am sorry, though.”

  “Don’t offer that apology to him,” I said, opting to lighten the mood. “Offer it to me.”

  “Why am I apologizing to you?”

  “Because I just saw my father-in-law naked and I’m traumatized for life.”

  Aric barked out a laugh as Sami made a comical face.

  Gross,” Sami said. “I’m glad I missed that.”

  “Oh, my poor baby,” Aric cooed, laughing as he pulled me in for a hug. “You’ve had a big night, haven’t you?”

  “I never thought I would be so annoyed with nudity,” I admitted.

  “I’ll make it up to you,” Aric said. “How does ice cream sound?”

  “I think that’s the best offer I’ve had all day.”

  Thirty

  “The air smells crisper now that I’m a woman. Don’t you agree, Mother?”

  Sami was full of herself the next morning, her shoulders square as she hopped down the front porch steps. She had Trouble’s leash in one hand and her bag in the other, but seemed in no hurry to leave the campground despite the horror I wreaked the night before.

  Aric and I exchanged a weary smirk as we watched her.

  “I can’t smell anything,” I replied. “That must be your new wolf abilities coming out to play. I’m so glad you’re finally a woman.”

  “Me, too,” Sami said, her eyes brightening when she caught sight of Joshua standing next to Tate as they packed a vehicle across the way. “Can I say goodbye to Joshua?”

  “As a woman?” I asked.

  Aric scorched me with a murderous glare as Sami rolled her eyes.

  “I just want to say goodbye,” Sami said. “I don’t think it’s too much to ask.”

  “Then
say goodbye,” I said, grinning as I watched her go. When I shifted my eyes back to Aric I found him glaring at me. “What?”

  “She’s twelve,” he reminded me. “She doesn’t need a boy in her life. She has me.”

  “It’s going to be okay,” I said patting his arm. “I’ll make you feel better when we get home. I promise.”

  “It’s going to take more than ice cream,” Aric warned.

  “Hot fudge?”

  “And whipped cream.”

  I couldn’t help but giggle. “Deal.” I helped him drag our supplies to the back of the Explorer and watched as he loaded everything. I would’ve helped, but like most men he had a system, and every suitcase and item had to be in the exact right place.

  I was lost in thought when a shadow fell across us. I lifted my head and found Lincoln staring at me. “What? Do I have food on my face or something?”

  Aric scowled when he realized who was visiting us so early in the morning. “What do you want? We already know you have no information to help us.”

  “That’s not entirely true,” Lincoln said. “We told you it was the Cult of the Moon. You wouldn’t have that information without us.”

  “And yet you have no idea who is in the cult or what their plans are,” I pointed out. “That makes you kind of worthless to us.”

  “Which makes the fact that you wanted to force us into the pack for useless information pretty irksome,” Aric said. “I kind of want to punch you.”

  “I kind of want to punch you, too,” I admitted. “Still, all’s well that ends well … I guess.”

  “And by ending well, are you saying that you’re leaving the pack forever?” Lincoln asked.

  I shrugged. “We’re never going to be part of the pack the way you want us to be. We’ll always be around to help if necessary … that is when our problems don’t overshadow yours, of course.”

  “Of course.” Lincoln narrowed his eyes. “What will you do now?”

  “Now I’ll do what I always do and give the problem some thought before moving forward again,” I answered. “We’re in no immediate danger. We eradicated the current threat last night.”

  “That doesn’t mean another threat won’t appear … and probably when you least expect it.”