by Cate Dean
God—did I just think that?
I stopped, gave myself a minute. It was one thing to face a crazy woman when she kidnapped your boyfriend.
It was a whole other thing to accuse a monster of murder. A monster who could eat you.
“Okay—that’s enough.” If I kept it up, I was going to freak myself out completely.
I took an uneven breath, and started searching Sam’s room.
It helped that I had a rune necklace on me; I could use it to activate one nearby.
And it didn’t take long.
A dull glow filtered out from under Sam’s dresser. I used the edge of the bed to lower myself, still achy from the attack, and cradled my injured arm as I bent down. The rune was tucked in the back corner, and when I reached in to grab it, I discovered the leather thong had been wrapped around the leg of the dresser. If that didn’t say intentional—yeah.
My always short temper flared hot. I wanted to hit someone, preferably with my fist.
Instead I stuffed the necklace in my pocket and limp marched to the door. I’d tell Sam everything, show him the rune necklace. If he changed it was because of this, and the English bastard who planted—
Strong hands caught me as I walked out the door and spun me around, pinning me to the wall before the pain in my left arm registered. When it did my knees buckled. But lucky for me, Oliver kept me upright. Yeah, lucky.
“Hello, Alex. It seems you’ve discovered my little gift to Sam.”
“You son of a bitch.” He flinched, probably not expecting it from me. Well, he was about to get more. “What are you going to do now? Bite me?”
Not the smartest thing to say, but I was in pain, and my filter tends to be nonexistent.
“You believe—”
“I saw you, Oliver.” I fought through my own pain to remember where I’d hit him. My right hand closed into a fist, and slammed against his left side. He gasped, yanking my hand away. “Still hurting? I thought Fenris healed faster than that.”
“Only in wolf form . . .”
His voice faded as he realized he walked straight into my trap.
“I know it was you, Oliver. You killed all of them, didn’t you? Even—Matt.” I still stumbled over his name, my heart hurting.
“I knew, when you ran in to defend the police detective, that you would realize Sam or Jake were not to blame. You’ve seen both of them, in their Fenris form?” He didn’t give me time to answer. “Of course you have. They trust you. Everyone here trusts you. I understand why, Alex. You are so kind, so loving. Your strength and gentleness attracted me, from the off.”
“Oliver—”
“I have stayed too long here, and it is time for me to return home. And to find a new home, since I will no longer be welcomed at my former haven. I want you to go with me.”
I had expected some kind of invitation. It was hard not to notice how Oliver looked at me.
“I can’t just leave. I’m still in high school, Oliver.” I kept my voice low, and calm, like I did when Sam was on the edge.
“I thought of that. You will travel as my sister, until we reach London.” He held up what I recognized as a passport. A British passport. How long had he been planning this? “Then we can leave behind the charade, and—”
“What? I don’t care about you like that. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
“Because of Sam.” The bitter anger in his voice startled me. “I tried to take him out of your life, leave the way open for me. Having his teeth in the throat of the latest victim should have cinched it. But it seems he has more luck on his side than I anticipated.”
“Why, Oliver? Why are you killing innocent—”
I let out a choked gasp as he grabbed my injured arm and dragged me around to the side of the building. One hand clamped over my mouth before I could make another sound, and he kept going, out to the far side of the support forest. No one would see us here. Oh God—
Oliver jerked me out of my panic when he started talking again. “Because I know you will understand, I am going to share my deepest secret.” He moved until he trapped me against a support, his free hand on my waist, like it was okay for him to touch me. “They are my cure. I bite them, then kill them as the blood virus takes them. I know what it is, Alex. I’ve known for years. It’s an infection, a disease I’ve spent twenty years fighting.”
He dropped the hand covering my mouth, so I figured he wanted me to talk.
“You don’t have to do this alone anymore. There are other ways, Oliver—”
“This is the only way I have avoided becoming the Fenris, completely, since I discovered the cure. And it worked, until I arrived in your bloody unprotected haven. Here, I needed to kill more often, and demons no longer worked. I started changing—uncontrollable change. That has become intolerable.”
Oh, God—we were the only haven without a shield. And that was partly my fault.
“When Jake contacted me,” Oliver said, his voice low, shaky. “I had hope; that I could finally be in complete control. His Candace is skilled, but not skilled enough. There will be no cure from her.” I jerked back when a sneer twisted his mouth. I’d never seen him look at anyone with such disdain. I had a feeling I was finally meeting the real Oliver Martin. “I must say, I have been disappointed by the entire experience. Except for you, Alex.”
He pressed his nose against my throat and inhaled. I wanted to throw up. “Now that I have been exposed, I need to protect myself. I am far more important than the lowly demons you keep here—I am human, with the strength of a Fenris.” The human part was debatable. “Once I find those who understand, like you, I will keep them alive, have them join me.” He met my eyes, and I recognized the look in his. Hunger. “There is another reason I framed Sam, Alex. I did it for you.”
I closed my eyes, horror clenching my stomach. This wasn’t happening—it had to be a bad dream—
Except bad dreams didn’t try to kiss you like they had every right.
I twisted one hand into the front of his shirt, let him think I was giving into his kiss. Then I shoved him so hard he smacked into the nearest support and lost his balance.
I ran.
A low, nerve-shredding growl came from behind me. I darted in the opposite direction, using the supports as hiding places, and the darkness to my advantage.
“That was not the welcome I envisioned.” Rage scored his voice, barely contained. It also pinpointed his position.
I limped to the next support, cradling my injured arm. The pain was making me lightheaded, and I couldn’t afford that. Not if I wanted to get out of this in one piece.
His voice froze me, and I held my breath.
“You are coming with me, Alex. I will have something from this disastrous visit.” Fabulous. I was his consolation prize. I felt so special. “But it will be on my terms. Once I bite you—gently, of course, and in an easy to cover spot—we will be together, in all ways.”
His voice started to change, in a way I recognized. It was slurring, because the shape of his mouth was changing.
I inched around the support, readied myself to limp run to the next one—and Oliver stepped in front of me. My breath caught in my throat and I stumbled back, trapping myself against the support behind me.
“Please, Oliver. You don’t have to do this.” He was on me between one second and the next, his ragged breath hot on my cheek. “Oliver—I’ll go with you. I won’t fight, I promise. Just don’t do this—”
“My mate,” he whispered. “You are—my mate. Knew it from the first sniff of you.” I heard fabric tear. I was fast running out of time. “We must be true mates.”
One arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me off the support. When he lowered me to the ground and pinned me with his body, I knew there was no getting out of this. He really was going to turn me into a monster, and I had no way to stop him.
“Oliver—please.” He was still human. Mostly. “You don’t need to—”
His claws ripped into my upper arms. I scr
eamed, the pain white hot and so bad I expected to pass out.
The claws withdrew, and I slumped against the ground. I felt blood sliding down my arm, surprisingly hot. It hurt to breathe, and my vision kept blurring. I turned my head away when he tried to kiss me again. He settled for nipping his way up my throat. I kept expecting him to break the skin, bite me right then. With his weight pinning me, I had no chance to . . .
My fingers brushed over the rune necklaces. They wouldn’t help—unless—
I eased them out of my pocket, adjusted my grip so the short top of the tree rune was in my palm. I held them like I would a key, the long end of the runes between my fingers, aimed to gouge. With an effort I forced strength into my voice.
“Oliver.” He raised his head, his pale eyes more wolf than human. I kept eye contact, needing all his attention on me. “Can we—sit? The ground is so cold.”
“Of course, my love.” He slid off me, and helped me sit, those clawed hands touching me everywhere he could. It creeped me out completely, but he was distracted, and that was exactly what I wanted him to be. “How is that?”
“So much better.”
I saw the look in his eye, and knew he was going in for the kill. Fighting against every instinct, I held still, waiting for the right moment, for him to be in the right spot. My dragon fan practice helped me focus past the pain, ready myself to strike. I wasn’t sure I had the strength to do damage, but I sure as hell was going to try.
He nuzzled my throat. I knew better than to scream again—he’d shut me down faster than anyone could come to my rescue. He made his way back down my throat, kissing the spots he nipped before. It took all my control not to jerk away—not that I could. Oliver had me in a death grip. Literally.
I shuddered as his claws closed over the collar of my shirt and pulled it off my right shoulder. I couldn’t keep from flinching.
“It’s all right, my love. Only a small pinch, and we will be together.” He smiled, baring his teeth. “I must tell you this, before we become as one. I have been here before.”
I stared at him. “The haven?”
“Emmettsville. I visited, oh, about ten years ago.”
My skin went cold.
I knew what he was going to say next, and I didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to know.
“I came to the haven, because I heard about the shield.” Our unique shield. Oh, God—he probably thought it would help him. “With its unusual properties, I had hoped . . .” He shook his head, anger darkening his inhuman eyes. “I still needed to kill. I chose Jake, and Sam, when I saw them visit the haven. I was interrupted both times, before I could finish, before I could take them. That they survived this long—and Sam, not changing until a few months ago. I wish I had been here to observe, to learn how he accomplished it.”
Oh, I’d heard enough.
Rage shot through me. With a hoarse cry I snapped my arm up and jammed the end of the runes into his throat. More than once, for good measure.
What I thought was unbreakable glass splintered under the pressure of my attack.
His raw scream deafened me. But he let me go, clawing at his throat.
I crawled across the ground, my arms on fire. All I had to do was get away from him. The screams would bring help. Until then I had to keep him off me—
“Bitch.” He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back. His voice sounded awful. The glimpse I got of his throat before he laid his elongated teeth against mine told me I did some damage. Just not enough. “You earned a slow, painful change for that. I will break you, and it will be my pleasure to do so. You will be mine in every way.”
I braced myself, and looked down at the bare arm wrapped around my chest. With nothing to lose, I rammed the jagged shards of the runes into his arm just as his teeth broke the skin on my throat.
He let me go so fast I hit the ground before I could brace myself.
When I rolled over, what I saw lodged my breath in my throat.
His arm was glowing.
Whatever the creators used to light the runes was in his arm, snaking under his skin like bright blood.
“Get it out—it burns—” Oliver gouged at the skin on his arm, his eyes wild. “Bloody hell—get it out!”
I started to get up to help him. He may have been an ass, but I hate to see anyone in pain. A figure shot past me, headed right for Oliver. I recognized Louise just before she body slammed him. My arms reminded me that I had been recently punctured by Fenris claws. I dropped like a stone, face first.
“Alex!” Gentle, trembling hands lifted me, turned me over, pushed bloody hair off my face. “Oh, God. Look at me—Alex, please.”
I pushed past the pain raging up both arms, wanting to look into the grey-blue eyes I thought I’d never see again. “Hey,” I whispered.
Light surrounded us, coming from a dozen lanterns, held by residents who watched everything. Oliver was lucky they didn’t show first.
Sam framed my face, so careful I knew I must look bad. “When I heard you scream—God, Alex, I was so afraid we wouldn’t find you in time. What did you do to him?”
I opened my hand. The shards of the runes cut into my palm, but next to the other injuries, I barely felt it. “This was—why you had trouble controlling. I found it hidden in your room. You need to check—Jake’s room for one.”
“I will. What tipped you off about him?”
“Simon,” I whispered. “And Elias.”
“You’ve always been good at putting the pieces together.” Sam cursed under his breath as he carefully removed the shards. I flinched, feeling every cut now. “I’m so sorry. Can you sit?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then we’ll stay just like this. You used the rune on his throat first, I take it.”
I saw what he was talking about when Louise hauled Oliver to his feet. Wow. His throat looked like a dog’s chew toy. That fan defense really worked.
“Tai chi,” I whispered.
“It did some damage. I’ll have to look into it.”
A hand appeared next to his shoulder, holding a dishcloth. I lifted my head, and met Diana’s concerned gaze. She nodded when Sam thanked her, then melted back into the shifting, muttering residents. She may not have done much socializing, but it was a start.
Sam eased my head to his thigh, careful of my injuries. “Oliver left a long trail behind him before he started in here. He won’t see the outside of a Fenris-proof prison cell. Ever.”
“What—how—”
“Simon—and Detective Sampson,” he said, like it was hard to give the man credit. “It helped take his mind off his recent life change.”
“Simon—connected Oliver . . .”
“To a whole string of murders, across England—and not just in the havens. After a call to Scotland Yard, the rest fell into place. We had just gotten off the phone with them when I heard you scream.” He cradled my cheek, took a long minute before he spoke again. “Simon’s going to escort Oliver, to check the latest victims. There are some serious laws in place over there, just for haven residents. They even have their own prison. Oliver is going in a special cell, for the rest of his unnaturally long life.”
Relief crashed through me, taking the last of my strength with it. I forced myself to keep my focus on Sam.
“That’s better than he deserves.”
“He’ll live longer with an ocean between us. I’m not the only one who wants a target over his heart, Alex. He gave grief to more than a few people. Rest now.” His smile spread heat over my cheeks. “You earned it.”
I closed my eyes, and felt the warmth of Zach’s aura before I heard him.
“Hi, Alex.” I pried my lids open again, found him leaning over me, his vivid blue eyes intent. “I’m going to poke around a little, see if I can’t help ease some of the pain you have floating around you.”
“Okay.” I sucked in a raw breath when he touched my left arm. Of course he gravitated to my worst injuries.
“Sorry. If it’s
okay with you, I want to practice my healing skills.”
“Yeah.” I managed a smile when Sam growled, low in his throat. “Sam, he’s joking.”
“Not funny.” Sam lowered me to the ground and knelt by my head, to give Zach some room. “Hurt her, and you’ll answer to me.”
“I think that line’s already full.” Zach glanced over at Oliver, who had been restrained with the silver cuffs we found while renovating the haven. He was still twitching, trying to get at his glowing arm. I wondered if it would be permanent. “You don’t have to stay awake, Alex. I won’t be offended.”
He obviously saw my serious lack of energy. I spent it all trying not to freak out with Oliver.
Oh, God—on the subject of freaking out—
“My parents,” I whispered.
“Misty called, let them know what’s going on. She and Candace are up top, watching for them. I want to have you in better condition by the time we hand you over, so let’s get started.”
Zach laid his hands on my wrists, and the familiar blue light rolled over me. Huh—he didn’t need to touch the wound anymore.
That was the last thought I had for a while.
13
When I opened my eyes again, I was home, on the sofa, in—oh lord—my pink robe. Misty must have coordinated the clothes changing. She adored this lace-trimmed disaster. I only had it in my closet because my Aunt Agnes gave it to me. Otherwise it would be occupying someone else’s closet—after they bought it at the local thrift store.
Sam slouched in the armchair, sound asleep. The others were at the dining room table, talking quietly. I could make out Dad, standing behind one of the chairs. I figured Mom was sitting in it. My adventures took a lot out of her.
I tried to sit up—and I must have made a noise, because every person in the room converged on me.
Mom got to me first—surprising, since Sam was the closest. She sat next to me on the sofa, gently brushing her fingers over my forehead.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
