“That’s it,” Raven cooed. “Scream. Scream for me.”
Please, Katalina silently begged. Please make it stop. The words repeated in her head, but as cut after cut was made, Katalina promised herself she’d never say them out loud. She might die, might slowly bleed to death, but she’d never beg. She’d scream, she’d yell to the sky, but Raven would never get what she truly desired, because Katalina would never break. She’d never bend to their will.
The wolf inside her howled in agreement. Sent out its song to those she loved, and as her mind gave in and slipped into unconsciousness, Katalina was sure she heard their answering cry on the wind.
Chapter 40
Eva
Until Eva watched John walk away with Mathew clutched to her leg, she hadn’t realized just how deeply ingrained he’d become in her heart. In no time at all, she’d become a mother and girlfriend. She’d become a person she didn’t know and hadn’t been given a chance to know, and if the future was going to play out as predicted, she might never get to know her new self.
The thought of John walking into battle was surreal. It was as if they’d been transported onto a movie set. But in real life, heroes didn’t always win, and as mates and mothers wept around her, fear a visceral thing, Eva wondered if she’d ever see her hero again. Would John ever truly know how important he had become to her? Would they ever get the chance to become true mates?
“Eva?”
Blinking back her tears, Eva bent and picked up Mathew in her arms before facing Olivia. “I don’t know how you do this.”
Olivia shrugged. “Believe me, I’m as baffled as you. All I really want to do is chase after Nico and beg him to stay with me.”
“Would he do you think?”
Olivia smiled sadly. “Yes, he would if I asked. But it would kill him to leave his friend to face this alone. Bass and Nico, they’re more than alpha and packmate. They’re brothers. They’d die for each other, so I hold my tongue and hope somehow, they are going to rescue Katalina, and all come home.”
“They’ve been training for this. They’ll be fine,” Eva replied, using the words John had said to her when she’d voiced her concern.
They have to be.
Olivia smiled tightly, creases of strain around her eyes. “We best get going. They want us all to gather in the school building. Do you have everything you need for Matty?”
Eva held up his small backpack. “Yup. How long do you think we’ll be in the school? My dad’s not even finished building it yet.”
“Hopefully just the night. It’s finished enough for that and the only building large enough on shared land to house those who can’t sleep outdoors.”
Putting Mathew down, Eva waited until he’d ran ahead to walk with a boy near his age before asking her next question. “What’s the likelihood of an attack here?”
Olivia glanced at her gravely. “Honestly, I don’t know. All we can do is hope for the best.”
But hoping, Eva knew, didn’t get you anywhere. She’d watched her mother slowly fade before her eyes and hoped every second of every day for a miracle to change her fate. She’d hoped her father would see sense and contact her once he’d left pack lands and arrived home, yet she’d heard nothing from him, other than what her brother had passed on. Hope was an emotion that you clung to when all else was lost, but it was useless when the world was ripped from beneath your feet, and the darkness of grief smothered it out. Hope was a beacon on the horizon urging them forward, but sometimes the distance was just too far to reach.
***
“Hey, Anna, is everything all right? You’ve been staring at your phone for the last twenty minutes,” Olivia said.
Eva looked up from watching Mathew and toward Anna. She’d also noticed the woman staring at her phone and wondered if everything was all right, but while Eva had met her several times, she didn’t feel like she knew Anna well enough to ask her such things. Sometimes Eva felt like an outsider looking in, no matter how many people made an effort to include her. It was the curse of being a human in a pack of supernatural creatures and being the most fragile and unprepared. And while Anna might be human, at times, Eva saw her as the least human of them all. Not because she was cruel and without humanity, but because seeing the future made her the most different and unearthly.
Startling green eyes met Olivia’s, wide and glassy, and a line of tension gathered between her brows. “I sent Katalina a text just before she was taken… but I don’t remember sending it.” She ran her hand through her ruby red locks, brushing them from her face. “What use am I if I send cryptic texts without warning anyone she’s in danger? I should have known.”
“You can’t control your gift, Anna,” Olivia reassured her, placing a hand on the woman’s knee. “And from what Nico told me from the scene, it appeared a small army took her. I don’t think a warning would have stopped this.”
Anna looked to the ground, gaze forlorn “You’re right. Castor was destined to take her. It’s up to Katalina how fate plays out now, but it doesn’t make me feel any less useless.”
Eva didn’t know much about fate or foreseeing the future, but what Eva did know was her previous envy of Anna’s powers was maybe the wrong emotion. One look at the red-haired beauty, and even a relative stranger could see the toll it had taken to know what was to come and yet be powerless to stop it.
“Kat never struck me as a pushover,” Eva added. “She’ll not back down easily, I’m sure.” It had amazed Eva the strength she’d possessed, not just physically but mentally. Katalina hadn’t long lost her mother before Eva had lost hers, yet she seemed to have coped with the loss far better than Eva. Or maybe it was simply how life was for Eva. Living life in fast-forward, thrusting events and emotions onto her she didn’t have time to process, let alone mourn. John… Mathew… they were the best surprises but also a lot to comprehend, and Katalina had Bass and two whole packs to deal with. It was a wonder the woman hadn’t crumbled under the pressure.
Chapter 41
John
Watching Bass out of the corner of his eye, John concentrated on the road as his alpha directed him with the internal compass that led him to his mate. His alpha was humming with violent energy, a breath from snapping. Yet his face showed none of the chaos John’s inner wolf sensed battering his instincts.
As terrible as Bass felt right now, a part of John was jealous he had the ability to track his mate across towns. He longed for such a connection with Eva, and as he’d kissed her goodbye, a grave voice had whispered into his mind that he may never have the chance to truly experience the magic of the bond between two mates.
“Right,” Bass gritted between clenched teeth. “We’re close.”
“Hang in there, Bass,” Nico murmured from the back, leaning forward and briefly touching his friend’s shoulders. “Kat’s strong. She’ll hold out.”
Bass shook his head as he hissed out a breath. He’d been doing that every so often, enough that John had been unable to hold back asking if his alpha was hurt, but then Bass had revealed a much worse answer. It wasn’t his pain he felt, but the injuries currently being inflicted on Katalina. Despite this, John still envied him, because Eva could be hurt right now, crying out his name, and he’d never know until it was too late. He just hoped Castor kept the fight away from pack land, but hope hadn’t yet been all that kind.
“She’s giving up,” Bass rasped. “Her energy is leaving her.”
John pressed his foot harder on the gas. He was already driving over the speed limit, but fuck rules. He couldn’t take much longer trapped in the car while his alpha pair were hurting. His heart beat with the need to help Bass and Katalina; they’d earnt his respect and loyalty, and the wolf at his core would lay down his life if it meant they’d live.
“Stop!” Bass instructed on a growl. His gaze swiveled to the right, gazing out over the vastness around them fading quickly to night. “We’ll need to go the rest of the way on foot.”
Abandoning the large number o
f vehicles along the so far empty country road, men and women from both packs piled out and gathered around Bass as he fidgeted from one foot to the other in a rare display of impatience. The one and only vehicle to not stop was the large van with Karen—River Run’s healer—inside and two guards. They carried on finding shelter in a crop of trees, which could be seen in the distance, ready for the moment one of them would inevitably need medical assistance. Because strong or not, war was never without sacrifice, and the trap they were heading into could lead to a casualty rate John wasn’t capable of thinking about.
“How far?” Jackson asked Bass. The two alphas seemed to have forgotten the base instincts telling them they were each other’s rivals. John had never seen them so close to one another or offering comfort in the form of a shoulder squeeze or pat on the back. While they’d given up hostilities a long time ago for Katalina, the pair hadn’t gone as far as becoming friends—there was only so much two primal beings could do to squash territorial instincts. But today, as the men stared at one another, it was as equals, as two men joined by the love of one woman, and the screaming vengeance howling in the hearts of their wolves.
“I’m not sure. She’s close to passing out. All I know is we have to go cross-country away from the road.”
“Well, lead the way, son. It’s time we got our girl back.”
Nodding his approval, Bass’s gaze took in the crowd. “I will never forget you followed me blindly into danger.” His soft words were spoken with a fierceness that shook John.
“She’s ours too,” John answered. A bright light that had pulled them all into the future even as she’d been weighed down by sorrow. Katalina was their new dawn, and they’d fight until the bloody end to get her back.
Bass smiled. “Even so, I appreciate you all.” His gaze purposely fell on several River Run wolves, before ending on Jackson’s. “It’s time we showed Castor what’s coming to him.”
Howls lifted into the air, singing across the nearly dark sky as the two packs became one and raced toward the unknown—their song one of strength, of vengeance, and love. Something Castor would never understand, and no matter the outcome of the battle, Castor would always be the loser. For he would never know the beauty that beat through the hearts of every member of Dark Shadow and River Run. He would never have loyalty and friendship as they’d had.
He would never be a true alpha wolf.
Chapter 42
Bass
The closer he got, the louder the static was in his head. It consumed him, drowning out his surroundings and the people by his side. It vibrated through his skin, took over his every function until he lived and breathed for one thing only: find Katalina.
He’d walk through a rain of bullets, face an army of one hundred alone. His fear of death was nothing compared to never setting eyes on the woman he loved again.
The bond between them grew weaker and weaker until it flickered out, and Bass knew Katalina had succumbed to her wounds and fallen unconscious. He was pleased in a way; at least she’d feel no pain there. But it also meant he was running out of time, and it left him no patience to lead the pack at his back.
They’d trekked across snow-covered fields, night falling fully around them, until they’d come across a small farmhouse, but it wasn’t the farmhouse Bass focused on in the distance, but the large barn with the warmth of light spilling from the odd broken board or two along its sides.
“She’s in there,” Bass whispered, near silently to Jackson on his right.
John appeared on his left. “I suggest we spread out and see what security Castor’s set up before going any closer.”
His second was an intelligent and ruthless wolf. Bass knew he should listen, but all he wanted to do was to race ahead.
I want you to promise me you’ll hold the packs together….
With Katalina’s words whispering through his mind, Bass gritted his teeth and turned to face his second in command. “Gather a small team. You’ll lead the recon.” Then he met the glowing wolf eyes of Jackson. “Send one team from each pack?”
“Agreed.” Jackson glanced back. “Cage?” Cage came forward. “You’ll lead River Run’s group.”
“Understood.” Cage nodded, then met John’s gaze. “I’ll take the right, you take left?”
The two nodded their approval and moved off to choose their men or women.
“I think we should move back until we know more,” Bass suggested. It was taking every ounce of his willpower to stay rooted to his spot, because if he strained his ears enough, he was sure he could hear the faint breathing of his mate. It was killing him being this close but not close enough.
Jackson took a moment to answer, his focus too on the faintly lit barn in the distance. “Yes, we should,” he said reluctantly, as if he wanted to charge headfirst into danger as much as Bass.
Clearing everyone back, the two teams prowled into the darkness, becoming invisible within moments.
“We made promises to Theo. Do you plan on keeping them?” Jackson murmured as they waited.
Glancing up at the other man, Bass thought of the people they’d taken in. Of the children whose parents could very well be inside the barn holding his heart hostage. He’d made promises, but no promise came above the safety of Katalina. He just didn’t have it in him.
“I don’t know, Jackson. If it comes between saving Kat or reuniting parents with children, I’m going to pick Katalina every time.”
“They might come to our side if they know Castor doesn’t have their children anymore,” he suggested.
Bass shrugged. “Yes, and if the opportunity arises to get the word out of their rescue, then we’ll do it, but my priority is Kat.”
“She’s mine too, Bass. I survived losing my mate. I won’t survive my daughter.”
Bass tilted his head, caught the soft sound of footsteps over snow. “They’re back,” he whispered, stepping forward to meet John as he appeared out of the dark. “So?”
“Five guards around the barn, all armed with semi-automatics, and it appears as if there are people in the house too, though I couldn’t make out the numbers as the room was lit by a candle.”
“Cage?” Jackson asked.
“Same as John. Castor wants us here. His aim isn’t to keep us out but bring us in,” he said, his expression dire. “Are we really just going to walk right into his hands?”
“No,” Bass answered firmly. “I am.” Several murmurs of warnings came after, but Bass didn’t care for their opinion. Katalina was in that barn; therefore, he was going in. “Castor won’t kill me on sight. I’m the only one who can get away with the risk.”
“You don’t know that, Bass,” John warned. “He’s taken Kat to draw you here.”
“He’s taken Kat to draw us all here. He’s torturing her as a message to me. I know Castor. I grew up watching him envy my father’s position. He has a flair for the dramatics. Whatever he has planned in that barn isn’t going to be over quickly. He’ll want to turn our deaths into entertainment. He wants to break us before he kills us.”
“And to break us, he’ll first need to break Katalina,” Jackson finished for him, his tone vibrating with the rage of his wolf.
“Exactly,” Bass replied, meeting Jackson square in the eyes. “Let’s take out the guards, and then I’ll go inside and keep Castor talking while you find a way of taking out as many of his men as possible without getting us all killed.”
“I don’t like it,” John murmured.
Nico stepped forward, expression stark. “Neither do I, but what other choice do we have?”
When no one else answered, Bass turned his back to them and started for the barn. He wasn’t afraid. The time for fear had passed. This was war, this was his mate, and whether he died or not, his enemy was going to pay.
***
Pushing through the small door on the side of the barn, to the left of the larger double doors, Bass smiled upon entry as if he was going to meet an old friend, not the man who’d hurt his ma
te. He was every bit his father’s creation as he sauntered in, staring down every pair of eyes with lazy confidence. He was the weapon his father had molded—sly, deadly, and cunning. A snake hidden amongst the grass, ready to strike when you least expected.
His gaze found Katalina first, and for a second, he faltered. His heart fractured in two, his soul screaming its agony. Her blood was rich in the air, pooled at her feet and soaked into the white lace covering her skin. But Bass couldn’t afford to let his love for Katalina cloud his judgment. He couldn’t be the man with the soft heart who’d fallen so deeply and permanently. He had to wear the face he’d come to hate, the mask his father had crafted just for him. He had to be steel. He had to be the earthquake that would destroy the earth beneath their feet.
“Bass,” Castor boomed, clapping his hands together as he walked out onto a platform at the end of the barn. “I’m so pleased you could join us.”
Bowing, Bass played along with Castor’s games and risked a discreet glance of his surroundings. There were several platforms erected around the barn, each manned with men or women holding semi-automatics. In the center was the cage holding Katalina. Raven, who’d inflicted such horror on his mate’s body inside, was with her. And lined around Castor stood an army of silent, lethal shifters, all waiting in wolf form.
“I got your invitation. Though next time, may I suggest a letter in the mail.”
Castor laughed. “But where would be the fun in that?”
Suppressing his growl, Bass narrowed his eyes. “Enough of this. I’m here. What do you want?”
“So impatient. Just like your father. I wonder, Bass, are you alone? Because what I want requires a few more people to really make it fun.”
Wolf Queen (A New Dawn Novel Book 6) Page 23
