Naked, writhing under him, her core bloomed for him as he got as naked as she was.
“I want this, Kate. I’ve been wanting it, you,” he told her before he dipped his head between her legs and licked her, brought her to the edge and didn’t stop when she whimpered with frustration laced with pleasure. She wanted him—all of him—and he didn’t make her wait long, entered her with a long, slow stroke and then let her lay claim to him. They rocked against each other, pulling and writhing until their climaxes swelled together, and they murmured each other’s names into their mouths as they kissed. It was a greeting, a good-bye to all things past—a welcome to whatever was to come, good or bad.
It was everything.
* * *
Kate snuggled in Stray’s arms in a way she feared she was getting far too used to. They didn’t have long before the battle would begin, but Stray insisted they make the most of this time.
And they had.
“Kate?” he asked now, and she heard slight surprise in his tone.
“Yeah?”
“We’re floating.”
“What?” She looked over her shoulder and saw they were hovering above the bed. “Good. It’s about time all of this kicked in.”
She stared at the bed and concentrated on bringing them down again, slowly. They lowered and then fell the last foot with a hard jolt. “Shit—sorry. I’ll work on that.”
He was staring at her, not caring about the landing. “Something’s changed.”
“I have a plan. I understand what needs to happen to defeat him.”
“Don’t tell me,” Stray said. “Keep me the hell out of your mind, for your sake.”
“I will. That’s why I called for you. I wanted to make sure I could.”
It was his turn to concentrate now, tried to break into her mind, so to speak. But based on what Rogue told her days ago, she finally realized what she needed to do.
“I can’t hear a damned thing,” he said regretfully. “I don’t like not being able to hear you. Everyone else, yes, but you . . .”
“I know. I’ll let you back in as soon as I can. When I need to. And then I won’t lock you out again. I promise.”
“Never again,” he said.
“That’s a really long time, you know.”
“I’m still getting used to the concept myself,” Stray said. “It’s one thing not to die when you’re killed. Another to think of a sprawl of centuries that lie ahead.”
“What do your brothers say about it?”
“They don’t talk about it much. It is what it is. The hardest part for them was going all this time without mates.”
“So Rifter waited centuries for Gwen?”
“He thought he’d never have a mate, so it was a surprise,” Stray admitted. “They didn’t think there were any Dire females left to mate with. I knew there were some, but based on the way they treated me, none of these wolves would have them.”
“So you can only mate with Dires.”
“Gwen’s an exception, since she’s half Dire, half human.”
“Are there other exceptions?”
He pressed his lips together in a grim line for a few seconds, then said, “The mating rules are pretty specific. And they involve the female shifting into wolf form to complete it. It also involves pain for me. But then again, orgasms without mating always cause pain.”
She stroked his cheek. “I don’t want to cause you pain.”
“It’s worth it. It’s left over from the old ways. The Elders never thought we should be having casual sex—mating was the way to go.”
“So they left you with no mates and in pain? They sound cruel.”
“I think they’ve just lost sight of their charges. They were Dires once too, lived among us.” Stray shrugged. “Maybe one day they’ll realize they need to change some things, but I’m not holding my breath.”
“You can understand what the witch did,” she said quietly. “Because you might have done the same thing if it were possible.”
He paused, considering that. “I couldn’t imagine passing on my legacy to a young child, but, for me and the rest of the Dires, the thought can be tempting. When Vice learned that Gwen’s blood contained the power to kill the immortal Dires, he flipped out, not because of the danger, but because of the possibilities. Our lives—theirs, centuries long—could finally end.”
“You lived with your powers for much longer than I have,” she noted. “Maybe I have nothing to complain about.”
“You’re not complaining—you’re being honest. You’ve had a lot to deal with in a short period of time. And you’ve been warrior stoic about it, for the most part.”
“So your brothers came to grips with Gwen and what her blood can do?”
“Killing themselves would mean killing Gwen, and she’d been dying for nearly half her life from seizures. She fought to live, found her king and her family. None of us were willing to sacrifice her happiness for our own selfish motives.”
“I always did like a good love story. Is there a marriage ceremony?”
“There are different steps. Some of them involve chains and others, the moon.”
“Can you tell me more about the chains?” she asked innocently.
“One day, I’d like to show you.”
* * *
Hours later, the skies opened again. Kate thought of the raindrops as Seb’s tears, his anger and pain at having to let go of Lila, and even with that, she knew she’d have no sympathy for him when the time came.
The time is here.
And it was. Lightning flashed, thunder rolled and, hopefully, humans stayed inside where they belonged.
And you’re not thinking of yourself as human anymore.
She put her palms to the window, her breath making steam against the glass. There was nothing else out there now. The threat was waiting for them at Pinewood, squaring off, having no idea that the Dires planned on fighting, not running.
They were in for the surprise of their lives. Or deaths, as it were.
Stray once told her that the ragtag army they’d pulled together had to be enough. Tonight she was confident that it was more than enough. With some of the Weres following Liam, the immortal Dires, including Harm and Kill, as well as Jez, they would fight and win.
She and Gwen would stay behind with Rogue and wage their own battle. It was safest that way—and they hadn’t given her an option. She didn’t argue much, because it was exactly what she wanted.
The best wolves—and witch—would win. There was no other option.
“Want to talk about what’s bothering you before we take the field?” Stray asked quietly from behind her. “And no, I’m not reading you—I still can’t. I just know you well.”
That last part warmed her, although in this case, she’d much prefer not to discuss it out loud at all. But she knew she had to, for all their sakes. She’d been struggling not only with staying, but with keeping her powers.
If she chose to keep them, she would be deadly, and thus there would be another decision to make. But first things first. “I don’t know if I can keep these powers. And I’ve been thinking . . . what if I include something in the powers that will compel the new . . . owner, so to speak, to give them up when he or she reaches the right age?”
“So you’re giving the powers to an innocent and condemning them to death, one every ten years.”
“Better one than potential millions,” she said quietly, finally turning to meet his gaze. It was serious and sad at the same time. None of this sat well with her either, but her options were limited.
“So you’re willing to die.”
“Yes.”
“I won’t let you.”
“I can’t be used against you. I won’t.” She paused. “I’d be yours until I die
.”
“You’d die immediately, Kate. There’s no way to give back your powers and live out your normal life.”
She wrapped her arms around herself.
“I can’t tell you what to do with this. I don’t know what I’d do if an opportunity presented itself to me to end things. I’ve been on this earth seventy-five years—my brothers, a lot longer. They struggled when they found out Gwen’s blood could kill them, put them to rest. But they’d never use it because they love her. Still, I don’t know what they’d do if they found another way out.” He paused. “It’s not going to be easy, but I think that nothing worth having is.”
“I don’t want to hurt people.”
“Then don’t.”
It couldn’t be that simple, could it? She looked into Stray’s eyes and realized that, if she gave away her powers, she’d never know.
“Lila picked you because she knew this was your destiny. Your mother tried to change it. I tried to change mine, and things were worse than they would’ve been otherwise.”
“But then you never would’ve met me,” she pointed out. “I wonder if Lila knew that. She could tell the future.”
“I don’t need her to tell me mine. She’s standing right in front of me.”
Chapter 48
Stray stood next to his brother in the cemetery where Rogue said the final battle between the Dire ghost army and the wolves would be fought. Jinx had known the location for days, ever since he’d discovered the ghost corpses and had tried to keep them contained, but when they’d arrived, the iron gate had been ripped from its hinges.
Vice had searched for it, found it in the woods and brought it back. He and Jinx reattached it, because when all of this was over, the ghosts needed to stay where they belonged.
Now even Stray could feel the excess energy from ghosts and spirits. Jinx said they were everywhere, scattered and nattering, and as Jinx tried to turn their talking off, Stray forced himself to tune out his brothers’ minds as well.
There was pride and fear and anticipation in all of them. Stray didn’t need to know more. They would all fight to the death, as it were.
If the ghost army won, they’d continue on from here, overpowering humans and killing whatever was in their path until Seb—with Leo’s okay—called them off.
Leo Shimmin also had several possessed county leaders in his pocket, although controlling them would be difficult. Stray and Killian would take care of that later, once they defeated the Dire ghosts.
Which was why they couldn’t lose. There was more at stake than ever.
Rifter was there, along with Vice, Jinx and Harm, who’d been freed of the silver he’d worn from the time he’d resurfaced weeks earlier since the meeting with Jinx and the vampire. Liam, Cyd and Cain were there along with the Manhattan pack and other recruits. A second and third wave waited in the wings.
Jez was also there, standing next to Jinx.
“You think this is going to work?” Kill asked him.
“We’re stronger than they are—we can’t die either,” Stray said.
“But the Weres can,” Kill pointed out, and Stray knew that Jinx was worried about the twins and Liam, like they all were.
“When duty calls, they come,” Vice interjected.
“Jameson’s mine,” Rifter said.
“I might have to help you with him,” Harm told him. “Just because I spent time singing doesn’t mean I didn’t keep up with the warrior ways. It’s a part of me—you’re all a part of me—whether I wanted it or not. Gwen says I need to accept that. This is a start.”
For a long second, Stray held his breath, until Rifter nodded his consent.
“I suppose it’s only right to take him out together.”
At those words, Harm stepped in front of the pack with Rifter and they waited in silence for the ghost army to arrive.
* * *
The ground began to shake like it was being plied by a thousand horses running in their direction. Actually, the sounds came from all sides, like the living Dires were being boxed in by their ghost counterparts.
“Stand your ground,” Rifter told them and, as hard as it was not to swivel and look for something—anything—they waited for the first real signs that it was time to wield their swords.
Jinx saw them first, but thankfully, all the Dires could see them. He didn’t know why that was, but he didn’t question it as the Dire ghosts came at them from all sides—every angle, swooping and screeching and turning transparent as they moved. They were dressed in full Viking Dire battle gear, which meant chain-link armor and long swords, their mouths open with the whoop of the battle cry and the howls of their wolves.
Jinx wondered if the ghosts had the ability to shift to their Brother Wolves, or if they were trapped deep inside, in pain.
Brother Wolf howled at the ghost army, like he was trying to get a response as well. Silence followed.
“I’ve got this for us, Brother. Hang tight.”
Jinx had given them all silver weapons that wouldn’t work on regular ghosts—they’d need iron for those. But for the Dire ghost army, which was an unnatural grouping, what worked on them in life would still work on them in death.
Jameson hovered above the rest, looking down on them. His bearing remained regal, his eyes pure black like his soul. “How dare you try to thwart us? You ruined the Dire existence once before, caused us Extinction. We must rid you from this earth so it will not happen a second time.”
“We will fight you to your second death, Jameson,” Rifter told him. “Prepare to go back to your afterlife.”
After that, there was no more talking as the two armies, living and dead, blended into each other.
Vice took the honor of the first kill, a silver blade right through the heart of a Dire warrior. It was both heartbreaking and exhilarating killing their own.
“Jinx, your left!” Vice called and Jinx ducked and rolled, turned to find himself under the blade of his father. He hadn’t seen him in the mix of ghosts, but he’d known it would come down to this moment.
For him and for Rogue, he would do this. He leapt to his feet, circled his father with his own blade poised for the kill.
“You would kill your father again?”
“In a heartbeat,” Jinx said through clenched teeth as the battle raged on around them. “But I didn’t do it the first time. You were responsible for what happened. Rifter’s a good king. Under his leadership, the Dires would’ve stayed alive and prospered.”
“You and your twin are unnatural. Your mother should’ve let me kill you and Rogue when I had the chance,” his father said.
“I’m not going to waste that opportunity and have the same regrets.” Jinx lunged, the blade successfully embedding itself in the man’s neck. The look of surprise on the apparition’s face made Jinx pause for a second. His father hadn’t believed Jinx could be a warrior.
“You were wrong again, Father,” he whispered as he drew the blade out and sliced through the head, watching the ghost’s corpse fall into separate pieces on the ground.
“Jinx, watch!”
Jinx turned in time to see Jez bear down on the ghost aiming for Jinx’s back, the blade going clean through from back to chest before slumping to the ground.
“You owe me, wolf,” the vamp called as he wheeled around and headed back into the confusion. “Good kill, though.”
And there were still so many more. Jinx took the blade and began swinging as the body count—dead and living—began to rise.
Chapter 49
The battle raged on for so long, Vice lost track of time and space, his mind only on vanquishing anything dead that came across his path. And still, the Dire ghost army kept coming, marching, not caring that for most of them, it was to their final death. Cain was able to protect Liam and Cyd as they fought and his p
rowess as an omega would spread to the other Weres. It would go far in cementing Liam’s backup.
But first they needed to win this battle.
Jameson had floated frustratingly too far above for them to get him, directing the ghost army, no doubt with Seb helping from the sidelines. That bastard witch would die if Vice had anything to say about it. He’d kill him every single day for eternity if that’s what it took.
Vice took down two Dires he used to spar with back in the day, saw the hatred in their eyes and wondered if it had been there all along and he’d been too stupid to notice it.
Everyone had always known about his abilities. He couldn’t hide them if he tried. To his knowledge, no one had ever thought he was dangerous or problematic. He’d always been picked for battle. But now he wondered if maybe they did that in hopes he would be killed faster. After all, the Elders had been mortal Dires once, killed for their abilities. And even though the Elders told the Dires to be protective of those with abilities, not fearful of them, Vice realized they’d never listened.
He sliced the first and then the second, taking both heads off with the same clean motion and whirled around to see Jameson coming down and headed straight for Rifter and Harm.
“We’ve got this, Vice,” Harm told him, and although Vice wanted to buck that order, the look in Rifter’s eyes told him he wanted this kill himself.
Only for him would Vice stand down, but it hurt. Man, it hurt like fucking hell running through his veins.
The warriors circled. For someone who no doubt hadn’t picked up a weapon in centuries, Harm swung the blade like nobody’s business. And when they had Jameson between them, Harm kept the blade level to the top of the apparition’s head, the iron keeping the old king from rising up and away from them.
“Why didn’t you take us out on our Running?” Rifter asked. “Or were you scared we were too powerful, so you went after innocents instead?”
That enraged the Dire ghost. He lunged for Rifter, who moved back and repeated the question.
To watch the wolves work together after all the adversity, the anger, all the time apart, made Vice think they actually had a shot in hell to make this work.
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