“Right. So how long has this water testing been going on under my nose?”
“I guess six months or so,” his father said.
Nico blinked a few times. That long.
His father’s groan hurtled Nico back to reality. “Stay with me. Dad, stay with me, please. I need you to hold on. Mom needs you to hold on. You’ve only just found each other again,” Nico begged, tears falling from his eyes.
“Son,” Dax rasped, his hand covering Nico’s own. “It’s okay.”
But it wasn’t all right. His father couldn’t die. Nico needed him. His mother needed him. They’d only just gotten a second chance; it wasn’t fair that they’d never get to grow old together, the three of them finally within one world. The dream was shattering before Nico’s eyes. He wanted to see his parents kiss again, see his father, at last, get the life he’d always deserved. But fate had stolen it from them.
“No,” Nico snarled. “No.” Yet even as Nico said the words, he knew it was in vain. The bullet had torn through his father’s heart, shredded the organ to pieces.
Reaching up, Nico’s father touched a trembling hand to his face. “Take care of your mom,” he whispered as the life drained from his eyes, and his hand fell away, leaving behind the bloody imprint of his last embrace.
Chapter 47
Bass
He’d lost Castor in the mayhem. The coward having run off into the farmhouse, which proved to hold more of the turned shifters lost to the crazed bloodlust of the wolf.
Zombie wolves. Freaking zombie wolves.
The ghost of a smile played on Bass’s lips as Katalina’s voice entered his mind. She might not have truly been talking to him, but they knew each other, were connected so deeply that sometimes it was as if Bass could read her mind.
And zombie wolves would be an inept description, the men and women beyond hope. They weren’t shifters, but monsters given a gift they’d been unprepared and untrained to handle. But Castor hadn’t needed a well-trained, obedient army. He’d needed killing machines, unwilling to stop unless death was delivered.
Screams and howls filled the air as Bass ran back toward the barn, and to the mate he felt slipping away inside him. It wasn’t just her life force but her will. Raven was breaking her, slowly, bit by bit, she was chipping away at the good in Katalina’s soul. The fire which had been relentless in sparking Dark Shadow’s and River Run’s new dawn dwindling to near nothing.
The cold night air crept over his bare skin, his shirt having been torn off in the fighting. His jeans were covered in rips and splattered with blood, and his skin too was covered in gore, the claws that plowed through so many nothing but crimson.
Anyone that got in his way felt the sharp tips of his claws or the strength of his punch. Bass fought his way through the double doors, unwavering in his pursuit, but as the darkness gave way to the lit scene of the barn, all the air left his lungs. Terror, cold and slick, rushed through his veins, stopping Bass in his tracks.
They were losing. His people were falling.
Dax, Jacob, Sam… all severed from his alpha heart. All broken beyond repair, and so many others suffered under the weight of such loss.
“Nico.” Dashing forward, Bass barreled into the wolf that had been about to attack Nico. Bass plunged his clawed hand into its gut, ripping the wolf open, before letting it fall dead at his feet. “Nico, you need to get up,” Bass ordered, hauling his best friend to his feet.
“My dad,” Nico growled, slashing out.
Bass took the hit, gripping Nico’s shoulders hard. “He’s dead, and you will be too if you don’t pull it together.”
Nico snarled.
“You can hate me after we get out of this alive.” Bass shook him slightly. “I need you, Nic.”
Nico’s gaze sharpened. “They killed him,” he whispered. “They killed my dad.”
Turning Nico toward Katalina’s prison, Bass leaned close to his ear. “Then let’s make them pay.”
Grief faded from Nico’s expression, replaced with the savageness of his wolf as his muscles trembled, his chest vibrating with a growl.
Bass gripped Nico’s shoulder, looked him in the eye. “Until the end,” he whispered.
Nico nodded. “Until the end.”
The two friends took off, side by side, war cries on their lips, revenge the fuel in their hearts.
Chapter 48
Holly
She’d known the instant Noah had been killed. Felt it deep in her soul in a place she’d never known existed until it was gone. It should have been impossible. It shouldn’t have been real, yet Holly had stumbled, her breath leaving her as she’d gone down on one knee. She’d wanted to scream, to savage someone for taking away what she’d never known, but when Noah had died, Holly had been far away patrolling her homeland, and there was no enemy in front of her to take her revenge. She’d never had a chance to say goodbye. To even see his body afterward. Time, fate, it had all been against them from the very beginning.
They’d never know one another or learn each other’s secrets, joys, and fears. All she’d had with her future mate was an evening of dancing and an intense connection she’d waved off as one too many drinks.
He’d pursued her afterward, all charm and cocky smiles, and a part of her hadn’t wanted to brush him off. But Holly liked the chase as much as any girl, and she’d rebuffed his attention to see if he’d really work for it. She’d never known they’d have no time. If she had, Holly would have given in to the desire stirring between them on day one. She’d have maybe then tasted her mate’s lips, felt his hands roam her body, heard his rough whispers of wicked promise. She’d have maybe seen the smile he’d reserve only for her and had her heart skip a beat.
There was so much she’d never experience. So much promise lost to war. And as she entered the battle zone, sticking close to her alpha’s back, a part of Holly had already left her. In its place was a raw and painful hole. She’d never known such sorrow, such unbelievable agony. Death was the only way she’d meet her mate again, and as she cut through half-craze wolves and dodged bullets, becoming coated in the guts and blood of their enemy, she found herself longing to go to him.
Noah….
He was a stranger and yet… everything. The man who would have been her every dream. A wolf who would have taken her heart and claimed her soul. The howl that tore from her was one of loss, a song of mourning and need.
The enemy came at them from every side, determined to keep them from the bars of Katalina’s cage, but Jackson was relentless in his pursuit of his daughter. A thing of lethal glory and deadly grace. Reaching her prison, Jackson met Holly’s gaze, the silent instruction passing between them before he turned his back to the enemy and trusted her to keep him safe. They attacked with unflinching force, feral beasts after nothing but destruction and blood. Semi-shifting, Holly slashed with her claws, turned skin and muscle to pulverized meat, and still the wolves kept coming, their snarls as terrifying as the bloodlust shining in their eyes.
“Goddamn it!” Jackson swore, his voice heavy with the tone of his wolf.
Risking a glance back, Holly found Jackson struggling to break the lock keeping Katalina inside her torture chamber. Within, Raven carried on with her games, drawing so much blood from Katalina that Holly wondered if Katalina would have any left by the time it was through. Raven hummed as she went, laughing and waving as they failed to rescue Jackson’s daughter.
“I’m going to tear you limb from limb, girl,” Jackson snarled, rattling the bars as he yelled.
“Naughty, naughty, naughty,” Raven crooned.
“Leave me,” Katalina begged. “Please, Dad, just leave me and save our family.”
“I’m not leaving you!” Jackson hollered.
Holly had already seen many of her packmates injured or dead. She’d stopped looking, unable to bear seeing another vacant stare.
Gunfire rained down on them once again. Someone else having taken up a position on the platform Nico had previous
ly cleared.
“Watch out,” Holly called, dragging Jackson to the ground as bullets whistled by, ricocheting off the steel bars and sending dust flying into the air as they hit the floor.
Raven leaped back inside the cage, her screech of rage vibrating through the barn. “Don’t fire at me, you freakin’ idiots!”
More shots followed until Holly and Jackson had no choice but to retreat. The attack cut through friend and foe alike, an endless rain of death, cutting into flesh and destroying organs.
“Katalina,” Jackson cried as he resisted Holly’s pull.
“You’ll never get into the cage, Jackson. Castor designed it that way.” Taking in her surroundings, Holly kept a firm grasp on Jackson as she pulled him back, her mind racing for a solution. “The platforms… we need our men on the guns.”
As she spoke, Tyler scaled the wall and landed nimbly beside one of the gunmen, killing Castor’s shooter and taking control, giving their side some much-needed headway.
A fresh swarm of attackers rushed into the barn, these men in human form and fighting with a control that said they’d been born with the gift to shift and not turned against their will as Castor had done to so many others. Back to back, she and Jackson fought them off. Blood ran down one side of her face from a knock to the head. The left side of her ribcage protested with every breath from a kick to the side. Bruises and cuts marred her body, but Holly thought of nothing but protecting her alpha. It was all she had left. The only driving force keeping her alive.
She’d been unable to save Noah, but Jackson… she’d make sure would survive this storm.
A knife flew out of nowhere, glittering as it flipped over and over through the air. Holly tore out her next attacker’s throat, twisted, and avoided another foe.
“Jackson,” she gasped as it became clear where the blade was heading.
He turned, saw the blade, but there was no time to avoid the knife. No time to dispose of his current attackers and deflect the hit. Holly ran the few feet between them, throwing herself in front of Jackson. The world seemed to play out in slow motion before the knife sunk into her chest.
It was a relief really. The blade spread fire through her veins, which burned and destroyed, taking all of her fight with her. Holly stopped struggling for breath and welcomed the cold numbness spreading down her limbs.
Warmth surrounded her briefly, strong arms carrying her with such care, and moments later, Holly found herself staring at the clear starlit night, the sound of war a distant almost forgotten hum.
“Hold on, Holly. Hold on for me.” The warmth flowed into her again, Jackson’s strained face hovering above her vision as he placed her on the ground and covered the wound on her chest. “I’ve got you,” Jackson murmured. “Don’t you leave me.”
Smiling, Holly took his hand into her own and squeezed. “You’re a good alpha, Jackson. Even after everything you lost, you’ve never turned bitter, never treated us unkindly.”
“I’ll get unkind if you don’t hold on for me. I’m calling Karen. She’ll fix you.”
Strength and love flooded her veins, her alpha’s heart giving all he had.
“No more,” Holly whispered. “It’s my time. I’m ready to go.”
Noah….
She felt him, heard his voice on the wind. It didn’t matter that they’d never truly known each other. Their hearts had always been meant for one another.
“No, Holly. No!”
Cupping Jackson’s face, Holly focused one last time. “Save Kat. Save our home.”
She could see him now—Noah’s eyes alight with laughter, his smile bold and mischievous. Phantom lips touched hers, and though Holly had never felt them in real life, she knew it was Noah.
“Holly,” Jackson gasped, his eyes turning glassy.
“It’s okay. I’m going to Noah.” Her hand fell away, her arm going limp as her heart gave one last sluggish beat. “My home. My mate.”
Fury and heartbreak rippled outward as Holly gave her last breath. The eyes of an alpha wolf glowed with the fire of his vengeance. Holly’s death brought her a peace she’d longed for since Noah had passed, and it was the ammunition that drove the packs forward, justice in the song of their hearts, and the deliverance of death.
Chapter 49
Eva
In all the times she’d imagined this moment, it had never been this chaotic. There had never been a baby in her arms, not even a week old, thrust at her on a mother’s last desperate attempt to save the infant she’d carried for months. And she’d never been alone, lost in the forest that was now her home and yet a foreign land.
Stumbling through the undergrowth, Eva cradled the baby to her chest with one hand, her other gripping the hand of the little boy who’d claimed her as his own. Mathew showed no fear as he ran beside her, his footsteps far more graceful than hers. It had been he who’d snapped her from her first panic attack, he who’d tugged on her hand as Anna’s screams of a blood-soaked future rang out into the world, and the enemy broke down the door.
Time had hit fast-forward then. They’d all scattered out of the half-finished wall of the cabin someone had smashed through to free them from their attackers. She’d followed Olivia at first, Cassady with her baby, and Evan, her mate, leading a small group into the trees.
Head for River Run, Evan had said, kissing Cassady and then his baby before staying behind to give them a much-needed head start. But more wolves had appeared only moments later, the beasts so much more terrible than Eva could have ever imagined. They were savage, mindless, seemingly empty of humanity as they cut into the group.
Before Eva knew it, it was only Cassady, her baby, and Mathew with her, and as a wolf had prowled out of the trees, Cassady had had no choice but to hand over her newborn and fight the enemy as Eva fled with the children.
Dashing through the trees, they came to a small stream. Eva had no idea where she was or if she was going in the direction of River Run, but behind her, the cries of fighting could be heard so forward she would go.
“Come on, Matty.” Eva bent, scooping him into her arm and doing her best to hold the two children at once. “Not far to go now,” she whispered, hoping her words were true. The baby wiggled in her arms and let out a cry. “Shush, shush, shush,” Eva murmured.
Please stay quiet. Please, baby, please.
Water soaked her jeans, the ice-cold stream instantly numbing her feet. But Eva jogged on, fear a dark cloud above her as she made her way through the moonlit night.
“This way,” Matty instructed quietly, pulling sharply on her hand.
Following the small boy, Eva tripped in the dark, falling down on one knee, the impact jarring up her body as she used all her strength to protect the baby and not herself. The baby let out a wail, shrill and piercing, protesting as Eva forced herself back to her feet.
Mathew guided her forward into the gloom of the forest, the light all but gone as the tree canopy above became too thick to let moonlight through.
“Matty, stop,” Eva said. “It’s too dark. I can’t see.”
“This way,” he repeated, tugging again. “This way.”
With no other choice, Eva put her trust into a two-year-old boy and stumbled her way through the trees, and as the forest opened up ahead, the faintest glow of light urging Eva on she heard the rumble of a wolf behind them.
“Quick,” Mathew insisted.
But no amount of tugging was going to save them. Eva wasn’t faster than a wolf, and even as she reached the forest edge and saw Jackson’s house looming in the distance, she knew it was no use. Saliva mixed with blood dripped from the wolf’s mouth, its growl deadly as it stalked toward them.
“Go, Matty, run!” Eva ordered.
“No,” he answered, a small rumble of a growl answering their attacker.
“Run, buddy. You need to run!” Eva stepped back, again and again, her arms cradling the baby, her gaze unblinking as death took one step then another toward them. “I said, run!” Eva screamed, pushing Math
ew into action as she fled.
The ground vibrated beneath her feet; the huffs of the wolf close at her back. Mathew raced ahead, only slightly faster than Eva, and as the wolf breathed down the back of her neck, its claws a whisper over her skin, Eva hoped it would be enough. The house was close, the wolf closer, but Mathew would make it. Her boy would be safe.
The wolf slashed at her leg, tearing into Eva’s calf muscle, and she crashed to the ground, twisting to protect the baby at the last second. Eva cradled her body around the baby’s tiny form as claws tore into the flesh on her back.
Mathew’s screams echoed in her head, the baby’s cries breaking her heart, but as Eva looked up one last time, she saw Mathew was safe. He’d made it to the house.
John! Her mind screamed out, searching for a link she’d never understood, and as darkness descended over her, Eva was sure his answer danced on the night wind. The howling anguish of the man she loved, wrapping around her as she was plunged into darkness.
Chapter 50
Zackary
He’d lost control of his form minutes after the first wave of attackers. The change to wolf as instinctive as his need to breathe. The wolf was powerful, deadly. The wolf at his core would keep him alive.
The first attack had been shifters in human form, the guns in their hands proving their cowardice. But they’d been prepared for guns this time. Owen—a River Run soldier who happened to be a human cop—hid in the trees, his rifle taking out those Zackary and the other teens couldn’t handle.
“All right?” Cooper asked as the last of the enemy dropped dead. Blood splattered Zackary’s friend’s face, the gore on his hands turning Zackary’s stomach slightly.
Heaving in a breath, Zackary struggled to the surface of his wolf mind, finding enough presence to nod his reply. Shifting would come later, when his heart was no longer racing in his chest, and fear had long left his mind.
Wolf Queen (A New Dawn Novel Book 6) Page 25
