She was limp as he lifted her from the ground and far too light to be the larger-than-life woman he loved. Her essence, her unwavering will, it all drained from her when she’d cut the connection drawing power from him and Jackson.
He’d felt her addiction, tasted the hunger for power on his own lips. It had been as if they were almost one, joined so deeply, and when Katalina had severed herself from him, he’d felt the absence down to his bones.
The last of Castor’s army either fled or surrendered, the remnants of the true Indiana pack coming forward with questions of the family Castor had used as collateral. But all of it would have to wait because the war wasn’t over yet. Bass had understood John’s final warning, felt the moment a human had mated into his pack, and then he’d seen the truth in his second’s eyes as he’d slipped into unconsciousness, clinging to the new and fragile bond keeping his mate alive.
A team was dispatched almost immediately for home, Jackson leading the charge, leaving Bass to deal with the casualties of war.
Karen took Katalina from him, her determined expression showing none of the terror Bass felt.
“We need to get her home. She’s lost too much blood, and there’s only so much I can do here,” Karen said as she laid Katalina down next to Cage in the back of the van.
“Is he?” Bass murmured, too afraid to finish his sentence. He and Cage had let go of the issues between them, the tension disappearing when Anna had come into his life.
Karen shook her head. “He’s holding on. Bullet missed his heart by a fraction.”
More injured, who needed immediate medical attention, were piled into the van, and moments later, Bass watched it drive away, not knowing if he’d ever see Katalina open her eyes again. The darkness swallowed them whole, but Bass wasn’t ready to turn away yet. He watched the night, allowed his heart to throb with his pain, and gave himself one more second to be only Bass. Only a mate to Katalina.
A cry of sorrow pierced the quiet, calling Bass back to his reality. Turning, he became an alpha once again and walked toward his and Jackson’s people, who’d somewhere along the way all become his own.
Regan wept over Holly’s body, Tyler standing vigil at her back. So many had fallen, giving their lives in defense of their home, and before the night was through, Bass feared there’d be more. Headlights appeared out of the dark, casting a stark glow over the scene. Sprays of blood across the snow, mutilated bodies, and fallen wolves… the earth would forever be tainted, the echoes of the carnage heard even after they’d long gone, and the memories of war forever imprinted on the minds of every man and woman there.
“Bass!” Logan shouted, appearing out of the dark carrying Mia. “Bass, help her.”
Rushing forward, Bass took Mia from Logan’s arms and raced toward an awaiting car. Laying her on the back seat, he got a better look at her injuries and almost staggered back. The lower half of her calf was all but gone, her foot seeming to be held on by bone alone.
“She threw herself in front of me, freaking wolf nearly took off her leg, before I recovered enough to kill it,” Logan rasped franticly. “Bass, I can’t lose her. I can’t lose her too.”
“Tyler,” Bass called out. “Take Logan and Mia home, now.”
As Tyler ran over, Bass tore strips off her shredded jeans away and tied it tightly above the wound before taking hold of Mia’s hand and drawing some of her pain into himself, groaning as the wave hit him. He had nothing left to give his back—Katalina had taken all he’d had to offer—but easing her discomfort was enough to rouse her back to consciousness, and seconds later, wide eyes met his.
“Feel like doing that again?” Mia murmured, a ghost of a smile on her lips. Smiling back, Bass did as she asked, staggering back from the force of it. “I was joking, you idiot.” She laughed, then whimpered. “Fuck, that hurts like a bitch.”
Climbing into the back of the car, Logan maneuvered his mate into his lap. “I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.
“I’m holding on,” she replied shakily.
With Tyler behind the wheel and a tearful Regan in the passenger seat, Bass patted the hood before it drove away and turned back to assess the scene.
Many other vehicles followed, taking their injured home until all that remained where the bodies of their dead and the few who stood over them in silent mourning.
They’d won the war, but it had come at a cost that would hang over them long into the future, darkening the hearts of many. Holes had been punctured into his family, which could never be replaced. Parents had lost sons and daughters, and sons and daughters had lost their parents. Mothers, fathers, siblings, friends, lovers, mates, each and every one of them would be remembered and honored as the days slipped into weeks. Bass would carry them all within him, his alpha heart missing vital pieces. And never would he forget the sacrifices made for him and his mate.
Chapter 58
Eva
John was the blood in her veins, the beat of her heart. She’d watched mates with envy and fascination, never truly comprehending what it meant to be bonded to someone’s soul. But even as his lifeforce flowed through her heart, beating it for her as her blood seeped from her wounds, another presence invaded her body and controlled her mind, until the pain became sharper, scents stronger, and a hunger awakened within her as wild and savage as the man she loved.
Come on, sis. I can’t lose you too….
Little brother.
She sensed others too, but it was like reaching through a veil, the outside world just out of her grasp.
There was movement, pain, and then the small, tender touch of a boy who owned her heart as much as John. But Eva’s eyes wouldn’t open, and as snarls and shouts filled her ears, Eva was buried under a fresh wave of darkness.
***
John….
He was there, his touch, his scent, far richer than the presence of him in her every cell.
Attacked… clawed… changing her DNA….
Words flowed through her brain, but none of it was solid. Mere whispers of a world she wasn’t sure she belonged to anymore.
***
“Oh, Evaline, I’m so sorry.”
Dad….
“I came as soon as Zac said Katalina was taken. I was such an idiot, Eva. Please, I can’t lose you too. Come back to me, baby girl.”
Dad, I’m right here. But her mouth wouldn’t move, her eyes wouldn’t open. Tears hit her skin, her father’s cries of heartbreak hurting her own, but the veil was too thick, and it wouldn’t let her go.
Chapter 59
John
He’d been unconscious for one day, but as Eva’s body began to heal, the draw Eva had on his energy dwindled until he was fully awake. Cut and bruised from the war, John watched his mate and wondered if she’d ever wake again. And if she did, would she be the woman he’d fallen in love with or as mad as the wolves Castor had turned against their will.
It would be ironic if the shifter gene that healed her wounds and saved her life also killed her at the same time. It would be his own personal hell to have a woman who looked and smelled like his Evaline but acted like an untamed beast, her humanity all but lost.
“Matty’s asking for you,” Zackary murmured as he knocked on the bedroom door. “I can sit with her a while, if you like?”
With a sigh, John heaved his tired body out of the chair and faced the teen who’d become his family. “Okay.”
“John?” he called as John reached the door.
“Hmm?”
“I made it, and so will Eva. My sister, she’s far stronger than me. You’ll see.”
Nodding, John found a smile for the teen before he left the bedroom and found Mathew playing quietly on the floor by the sofa, a car in his hand. The little boy had grown quieter since the attack, his words reduced to single-worded whispers.
“Hey, buddy, can I play?”
Looking up, Mathew passed him another car. “Eva?” he asked quietly.
“Still sleeping,” he replied, r
uffling his dark locks.
Mathew stared, big eyes glassy for a moment before he blinked it away and returned to his game. John folded himself onto the floor beside him and pushed his car along, making pretend engine noises as he did, and although he smiled and played, John couldn’t forget about Eva laying as if sleeping in their bed. Wondering if she really was as strong as her brother or if she’d wake a shell of herself, hating the thing she’d been turned into.
So much change. So much loss. Eva had suffered far too much, but through it all, she’d been determined to finish her degree and find a way to become a vet, but this hurdle might put a stop to all her dreams. John could only blame himself. He’d known how fragile she was when he’d first laid eyes on her and wanted her anyway. He’d kept her here, and if he hadn’t, she’d have been safe away at college, unharmed and unchanged. His choices had been selfish, and they might very well be the mistake that cost him his mate.
***
Two nights later, John first felt her touch within his mind before her hand reached out to find his.
“John?” she whispered so faintly, he wasn’t sure if he imagined it.
“Evaline?” He squeezed her hand and reached over with the other to flick the lamp on. “Evaline?”
Her eyes found his, squinting in the low light. “Everything is so loud and bright,” she murmured, screwing up her nose. “And smells….” She sat upright. “You’re bleeding.”
Shifting back onto his elbow, John pulled the hem of his T-Shirt up to reveal the bandage around his middle. “Nearly healed. Took a claw to the stomach.”
Her eyes widened before she reached for her leg. “I was attacked. Why aren’t I dead?”
John wasn’t sure if he had the courage to say his next words, but denying them would only delay the inevitable. There was no changing Eva’s condition. “You’ve been turned like Zac, Eva. That’s why you’re alive. The shifter gene healed you like it did your brother when he was first turned.”
She nodded as if saying the words triggered memories she already had. “I remember. You were talking with Oliver, but I couldn’t wake up.” Alarm filled her gaze and she searched the room. “Wait, where’s Matty? Is he all right?”
John took her other hand, held tight. “He’s in the other room. My mother’s sleeping with him.”
Her hand flew from his hand to her mouth. “The baby, John, please tell me Cass’s baby is all right.”
Ignoring the bite of pain from his healing wound, John dragged Eva down into his arms as he laid back on the bed. “You saved her, Eva. Cass and Evan have been here every day wanting to thank you.”
“They’re safe? I thought after they attacked….” Tears pricked her eyes. “It was so awful, John. I’ve never been so frightened in my life.”
“It’s over now,” John said. “We won.”
She studied him, seemingly no different from the woman he’d left behind, but John wasn’t ready to breathe fully yet. He was too afraid to believe she’d accept being a shifter so calmly.
“How many died, John?” she whispered. He closed his eyes for a beat too long, fighting against the sorrow that clung to both packs. “That many?”
Meeting her tearful gaze, John took her face into his hands and pulled her down to his lips. A moment of pleasure to brace him against the horror. Then he relayed the names of all of their dead, including River Run’s. Names he knew Eva wouldn’t know all of, but there was one that had her in floods of tears above the rest. Tilly, the small feisty girl John had rescued from Indiana, her mother had also fallen in battle, the pair would now be reunited in the afterlife.
“The funerals are in the morning.”
“I want to go,” she said after the sobs had subsided. “She was such a good friend to Matty. He must be so sad.”
“He’s okay, I think. Worried about you. We’ll see how you feel in the morning about the funeral.”
“I feel fine, John. Even my back doesn’t hurt like it did.”
“It’s not your physical injuries I was worrying about,” John answered softly.
Realization dawned on her face. “You think I’m going to be a danger to others? Is that why Matty’s not in our bed?”
“No, Eva. No. But being around so many grieving people might be a bit much on your senses at first.”
“I feel the same, yet totally different,” she murmured, rolling away onto her back beside him. “The bond between us, John, it’s incredible, but it scares the hell out of me.”
Leaning up on his arm, John peered down at her. “What part of being mated to me is scary?” He wasn’t sure if he should be amused or hurt, then settled with a smirk.
“I’ve never been afraid of you, silly. But the intensity, the level of feelings we have for one another…. Maybe scary isn’t the right word. Overwhelming is better. I can feel just how much you love me, and as much as that fills me with joy, my human brain is screaming to slow down.”
“We’ve never had a chance for slow.” Anxiety wormed its way into his head. He kept waiting for her to run, even now.
“I know.” Her gaze narrowed. “Hey, stop worrying. I’m not going anywhere. Yes, our entire relationship has been in fast-forward, but my life has also been in fast-forward too. Losing my mom, trying to help Zac, it’s all been crazy, but I don’t regret a single action that’s led me to you and Matty.”
Her hand slipped into his hair, dragging his lips to hers, and Eva kissed all the anxiety from his veins. In return, she gave him pleasure and love, and for the first time since he’d left her to go fight for his home, John could breathe.
“I do have one question, though,” Eva asked, hours later as they lay naked and sweaty in each other’s arms. “When Zac first turned, he was uncontrollable. Why aren’t I like that?”
“I’m not sure if we’ll ever truly know, and you may still have problems yet, but Bass did have a theory that being mated to me would help keep you stable.”
“Like you balance me out?”
“Something like that.” He caressed her hip and pulled her closer to him. “We’ll take each day as it comes and deal with any problems if they occur.”
“Okay.” Placing a kiss to his chest, she snuggled further against him, when Matty came racing into the room and jumped onto the bed.
“Eva!” he breathed, smile wide.
Returning his smile, Eva opened her arms and his heart expanded with love. “I missed you, Matty.”
The little boy fell into Eva’s arms, John’s coming down over them both and hugging tight. As Eva kissed the top of his dark curls, tears threatened to spill from John’s eyes, and then she tipped up her head to meet his lips.
“John?” Eva whispered as they broke the kiss.
“Hmm?”
“I love you.” And as her words filled the air, her emotions pulsed down their bond.
“I love you too,” he replied tightly, overwhelmed with all they were.
They’d all lost so much, but in that moment, John had everything he could ever want. His mate. His life. The woman who made him whole.
Chapter 60
Bass
Bass was weary right down to his soul, taking one slow step after another, he forced himself to keep walking and entered Jackson’s home. No one stopped him or questioned why he hadn’t asked permission to enter. The lines weren’t blurred anymore; they were obliterated.
Fighting side by side, dying for each other, it had a way of bringing everyone together, and as Bass had promised Katalina, he would make sure Dark Shadow and River Run remained as one for as long as he should live.
Trudging up the stairs, Bass mustered a smile as Owen popped his head out of the kitchen and saluted hello—the man’s shooting skills had been a big advantage in the battle, skills they’d have not been able to survive without.
Bass was beyond tired. He’d caught little sleep since the fight had ended, but his job wasn’t nearly done. The hours that had followed had been a whirlwind of crazy—gathering their dead, making sure th
ose that had been injured didn’t join them, rescuing Katalina’s family only to find her uncle had been turned into a shifter from his wound, and then his worst job: delivering the news to the families that would no longer get to see their, son, daughter, mother or father again.
Each family, each broken heart and cry of despair, had taken something from Bass he’d never get back. Dark Shadow were his people—each and every one of them, his to protect—and he’d carry the losses as a scar on his psyche forevermore. He’d remember them. Honor them. They’d all given their lives so that both packs could have a future of peace and happiness, and every generation to come would learn their names and the sacrifice they’d made so others might live.
Only one face was on Bass’s mind as he came to the door of Karen’s temporary infirmary though. Katalina was healing from her injuries, the knife wounds covering her body healing hour by hour, but it was the mental injuries Bass worried she’d never wake from, because while he’d carry the collateral damage of war inside him, Katalina would crumble under it, each death a far deeper wound than any knife could have ever inflicted on her.
Opening the door, he walked through and came to a stop as Jackson jumped to his feet, swaying on the spot for a second as he blinked the sleep from his eyes. It was a testament to Bass’s own exhaustion that he hadn’t sensed the other alpha in the room before entering.
“Jesus, son, you look as tired as I feel,” Jackson said as he ran a hand over his face.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Bass answered, his gaze flickering from Katalina’s sleeping form back to her father’s. “I just need a few moments with her.”
Enough to patch himself back together. A few moments of peace before he returned to his duties.
Stepping away from Katalina’s bed, Jackson patted Bass on the back. “Take all the time you need. I’ll cover things for a while. Have you heard from the crew at the farm?”
Sitting on the chair Jackson had vacated, Bass took up position beside Katalina’s bed. He took a moment to take in her face. The only signs she wasn’t in a natural sleep were the healing slashes along her cheek. Cuts he’d happily have ripped Raven’s head off for if Katalina hadn’t beaten him to it.
Wolf Queen (A New Dawn Novel Book 6) Page 27
