by Sky Winters
He approached them quickly, but his eyes were searching the landscape, as though he were looking for something. The pack converged around Savannah, the elders watching her with weary eyes.
“Savannah, why did you come?” Elvira asked in her deep, authoritative voice.
“I had to be here,” Savannah said loudly, so that everyone could hear her. “I'm at least partly to blame for all of this. Marissa wouldn't have betrayed the pack if it hadn’t been for me. I’m not going to sit safely at home while all of you are in danger.”
“And what about your child?” Malick asked pointedly. “It's noble of you to want to share the fight with us, but you’re risking your child in the process.”
“She’s taken measures to protect the baby,” Xander said dryly as he went to stand beside Savannah.
Savannah could tell that Xander was still upset about her involvement with Abel, but she also knew he'd never leave her alone to defend herself against the pack, and his stance beside her proved that no matter their differences, they were going to stick together.
“Taken measures…how?” Principal Harris asked.
Xander glanced at her. He was about to speak but she beat him to the punch. “I went to the witches,” she said.
There was a murmur of fear that ran through the pack as they exchanged wide-eyed glances of horror with one another. Then Malick took a slow step forward. “Did you drink anything they gave you?” he asked, sounding deadly serious.
“Yes,” Savannah said, nodding. She felt panic inexplicably rise within her. “It was a protection potion.”
Malick closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he said, “It was not.”
“What do you mean?” Savannah asked. “How do you know?"
Malick didn’t answer her. Instead his gaze fell onto Xander. “Haven’t you told her…about our past, about our legends and our histories?”
“I have not been able to tell her everything yet,” Xander said, his voice wracked with guilt. “She doesn't know the complete legend of the witches--the history books do not account for them.”
Malick looked around the pack. His green eyes were piercing, and Savannah sensed sorrow rise within him. “Savannah became a part of our pack the day we found out she was pregnant with the next generation of shifters,and yet we have not treated her as such. Xander: you should have taught her what it means to be shifter. You should have educated her in our customs and way of thinking. If that had been done she never would have gone to the witches.”
Savannah looked around in confusion. “You don’t understand,” she pleaded. “They were trying to help me.”
“They were trying to enslave you,” Principal Harris said. “They were trying to enslave us all, and now they might have succeeded.”
She looked into Principal Harris's eyes and realized that she cared little of Savannah's fate. Her thoughts were only of her daughter, and the only worry she was able to muster was for Marissa. Savannah suddenly realized that her pain weighed heavily on the rest of the pack, as if they were somehow connected. Before another word could be exchanged Gordy burst through the trees, his eyes wide, and his stance purposeful.
“They’re coming,” Gordy said, panting hard. “The rival pack is coming! Ten minutes and they’ll have breached the clearing.”
“Marissa?” Principal Harris gasped. “Is she with them?”
“She and Dominic are heading the pack,” Gordy said in a slightly lower voice. “I think… I think she will be fighting with them today.”
“No,” Principal Harris said and her knees buckled.
Malick swung forward and caught her before she could fall. He held onto her and whispered something into her ear. “Stay strong; we may be able to save her still,” he said a little louder to the rest of the group.
“We can save her,” Principal Harris said with a sob in her voice, “but it is not up to you or me to take her back, Will the new alpha allow her back into the fold after this betrayal?”
She glanced at Xander and Savannah realized the weight of Xander’s responsibility. She expected him to assure Principal Harris, she expected him to tell her he'd take Marissa back in a heartbeat if they succeeded in saving her from Dominic’s hold, but he didn’t. He stood there for a moment and then he glanced at Savannah.
“I will make that decision when the time comes,” he said, promising nothing. “With my partner.”
She recognized the apology in Xander’s tone. He was telling her that he was sorry for shutting her out and refusing to listen or believe her. He was telling her that from this day forward, they were going to work together, they were going to act together, and that he was not going to put anyone else’s feelings before hers.
She sensed the enormity of the message from his aura rather than his words, which meant the world to Savannah, and for the first time since the pack had split she didn’t feel as if she were alone in the situation.
“What do we do?” Gordy asked.
“There’s nothing we can do but fight,” Xander said, stepping forward.
“We'll have to fight to kill,” Gordy said.
“No,” Xander said quickly. “Defend yourselves well, but if death can be avoided then avoid it.”
“They will not do the same for us,” Johnny pointed out. “They will kill us all if they win.”
“They have to kill us to take our land,” Xander said, “but aside from that, we are better than they are, and we must prove it. We will defeat them. We’re stronger than they are because our bonds are pure, and our ties to each other are strong.”
“And Marissa?” Principal Harris demanded. “What about my daughter?”
Xander glanced at Savannah and she saw the question in his eyes. He was giving her the choice to decide what was best based on the vision she'd had. If Savannah said that Marissa should be banished with the rival pack, she knew without a doubt that Xander would stand by her decision.
“You have to save Marissa,” Savannah said, her voice a little shaky.
“Are you sure?” Xander asked.
“You’re right: loyalty is important, and from what I’ve sensed about Marissa, she's nothing if not loyal. Her hate for me clouded her loyalty causing her to run to Dominic. Maybe she'll take a second chance if she's given it.”
Savannah felt relief wafting from Principal Harris, and she couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her. She was still a mother, standing opposed to a daughter who had made independent decisions. She momentarily wondered if Principal Harris had ever been tempted to join her daughter.
Xander walked toward Savannah and took her hand. “Thank you,” he whispered to her.
“Don’t thank me yet,” Savannah whispered back.
The burning sensation she'd experienced when she'd taken the potion was beginning to return, clawing at her belly, and making it impossible for her to concentrate. Savannah felt a chill pass over her body.
A moment later, Malick's voice echoed around their loose circle. "They are here," he said, and everyone turned in the direction of the trees opposite the lake.
Dominic and Marissa were the first to enter the clearing, followed by more people. Savannah counted, desperate to determine which pack outnumbered the other.
“Eleven,” Malick said, “including Marissa and Dominic.”
“And we have ten,” Xander said under his breath.
“We can win this,” Zanna added.
Dominic walked forward with as if he were welcome by all in the clearing. He was naked to the waist, wearing nothing but a pair of faded trousers. Savannah understood he was ready for the fight, ready to shift at any moment. He was good-looking, but his features were severe and threatening. It was impossible to imagine that he and Xander had shared the same father.
Marissa followed Dominic close behind. She was just as beautiful as Savannah remembered, with her golden hair and bright blue eyes, but Savannah sensed the undercurrent of fear that lay just beneath the surface. Marissa wanted to appear calm, but Savannah
knew she was far from it.
“Hello, little brother,” Dominic said in a good imitation of friendliness. “I see you've gathered your pack together to welcome me.”
Xander ignored him completely, turned to Marissa, and said, “Marissa, what have you done? Why did you do this to us, to your friends, to your mother?”
Marissa bristled at his words and Dominic shot her a look. She kept her eyes trained on Xander, and Savannah could tell how painful it was for her to see him again. “What have I done?” she demanded. “You’re the one who betrayed us all.”
“Betrayed you?” Xander asked. “How, by falling in love with Savannah?”
“She was never meant for you,” Marissa said.
“Then why is it our child has shifter blood?” Xander demanded. “If we were not meant to be then the child would be human, and I would never have been allowed to marry Savannah.
"Please, Marissa, you’re letting your personal feelings cloud your judgement. This is not the way.”
Dominic looked amused as he looked between Xander and Marissa. “She’s made her choice, Xander,” Dominic said. “She’s chosen the stronger brother.”
“You realize that in order to take this land he has to kill us all, don’t you, Marissa?” Xander continued to ignore Dominic. “Are you really going to help him kill us?”
“Of course not,” Marissa said immediately. “No one needs to die. As long as you are prepared to move your allegiance moves to Dominic and I, then you will all be welcomed into our pack.”
“And what if no one is willing to change allegiances?” Zanna asked, stepping forward.
“You have to,” Marissa said. Savannah saw wild fear pass through her eyes as she considered the possibility the pack might choose to die fighting than submit to Dominic’s rule.
Principal Harris stepped forward. She looked hard at her daughter. “You have made a mistake, Marissa,” she said, her voice low with pain. “You acted impulsively because you were hurt, but you didn’t stop to think it through. You thought the pack would change loyalties if they were faced with death, but you thought wrong. We would rather die than accept Dominic’s authority here.”
Marissa’s eyes filled with panic as she stared at her mother. Marissa gasped. “Don’t say that.” She took a step forward. Dominic reached out to hold her back. “Please,” Marissa pleaded, “don’t say that!”
“Looks like the decision has been made, Marissa,” Dominic said, a confident smile playing on his face. “Time to say goodbye.”
“No!” Marissa screamed. “I will not hurt any of them.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “Then it was a foolish mistake to partner with me, but it's too late now.”
“No, it’s not,” Xander said, stepping forward. “Marissa can choose to break ties with you.”
Dominic nodded. “She can, but that won’t change much. She's still created the bridge that's allowed us into Grey Mountain, and we can still challenge you for this land.”
“But you won’t win,” Xander said matching his half-brother's confidence.
Dominic laughed. “I beg to differ.” He changed his gaze so that it fell onto the trees a short distance from where the packs stood. “Welcome, Abel.”
Savannah felt her body grow cold when she heard the friendly way Dominic had greeted Abel. She stared at the line of trees as Abel emerged. His brown-gold eyes glittered in the sun as he approached them to stand between the packs.
A hiss went through the root pack, and a few of the boys actually bared their teeth. Xander’s eyes narrowed. When he finally spoke, his tone was cold and quiet.
“This is not your territory,” Xander said, full of venom.
“How is it possible you're even here?” Elvira asked.
Abel smiled politely at her. “I'm here because of my dear friend.”
“Dominic?” Elvira asked, confused.
“No.” Abel shook his head. “Savannah.”
Savannah felt the gaze of everyone in the clearing turn toward her, and she wished for the ground beneath her to open up and swallow her whole.
Chapter Thirteen
“Abel,” Savannah said, her voice shaky with horror. “What did you do?”
“It’s not what I did,” he said calmly. “It’s what you did.”
“I came to you for help,” Savannah said desperately. “I came to you because I didn’t have options.”
Abel turned his calm smile on Xander. “I suppose I have you and your pack to thank for that. Prey is usually caught through isolation and you lot did a great job of pushing Savannah out.”
Savannah felt the burn in the pit of her stomach. “What was that potion you gave me?” she demanded, trying not to clutch her stomach.
“Do you know what the real problem with isolation is?” Abel asked. “It's that you have no one around you to help or advise you, no one there to explain things to you or to teach you.”
“What did you do to me?” Savannah gasped as pain shot through her stomach.
“I took a page from the history books,” Abel said simply.
Savannah looked toward Xander and saw the devastation in his eyes. “You remember the legend of Kato and Alais?” Xander asked softly.
“Yes?”
“The history of their story is incomplete,” Xander explained. “The books detail the part where Kato and Alais employ the witches help Alais take on a wolf’s form, but the price of that help was that they could never leave Grey Mountain.”
“I know the story--”
Xander shook his head. “You know the story that's been written down, but that's not the whole story.
"The witch tricked Alais and Kato. Not only were they tied to Grey Mountain forever, they were also under her control.”
“You mean…”
“The witch had complete power over them,” Xander said in a hushed voice. “She could make them do whatever she wanted.”
Savannah stared at Xander without really seeing him, the words, what have I done? repeating in her mind. When she looked back up her eyes fell onto Abel. “So that means the potion you gave me…”
“It wasn’t a protection spell,” Abel said, calmer than the situation would seem to warrant. “It was a spell that allows me to control you and the rest of your pack.”
“How can it control the rest of the pack?” Savannah demanded scrambling to understand.
“Because a pack is connected by bond,” Abel said. “You are carrying the future alpha in your belly, which means that you are the source.”
“Oh God,” Savannah gasped feeling her knees buckle.
Abel opened his coat and drew out a blade gleaming with the promise of a thousand colors. It shone for a moment and then it turned a nearly colorless silver-white. “Oh, God,” Savannah said, “an imbibing blade.”
Abel’s smile went deeper. “You see how much she knows, Xander?” he asked sounding a little too familiar. “It's because she was taught. I was the one to teach her about imbibing blades." He turned to Savannah and said, "Now it's time to finish the lesson, Savannah, with a demonstration of its power.”
He reached into his coat and withdrew a small vial, much like the one he'd handed Savannah when he gave her the potion. He pulled the tiny stopper out with his teeth and raised the bottle in his hand for all to see.
“I didn’t teach you about potions, did I, Savannah?” Abel asked conversationally. “If I had taught you the art of potion-making then you would have known something was not right, and you would have known not to trust me. But then again, you weren't taught, were you?. Do you want to know what this potion does?”
“Yes,” Savannah said breathlessly.
“This potion will kill every elder in your precious pack while retaining their knowledge and their skill, so it may be used at a later date.”
Xander turned to Dominic with fury in his eyes. “You're a fool if you believe he's your ally,” Xander said angrily. “He has aligned himself with you now only because he can use you. Do you really thin
k he won’t betray you once he has power?”
Dominic smirked at Xander. “He cannot control me or my pack--Savannah’s connection is to you and your pack alone."
“He has magic,” Malick spat as he came forward, “and he will use it against you.”
“I am no fool,” Dominic said calmly. “I have made sure my pack and I are protected in all this. The only fool here is my dear brother."
To Xander he said, "You refused to step down and give me my land and my rightful pack, and then you chose a weak and ignorant human who enslaved you all without even realizing it as your mate.”
Savannah heard Xander’s jaw grind together, and the burn in her stomach and the growing feeling of discomfort she sensed from Xander’s pack had her attention.
“What’s happening?” She shivered as she spoke. “Something's happening.”
Abel focused his brown-gold eyes on her. “What you're feeling, Savannah, is the potion spreading. It will infect every part of you, and once it travels to your womb it will infect your child. Once that happens, the whole pack will be under my control.”
Savannah felt the urge to rip the alien substance straight from her veins. She knew Abel had well and truly betrayed her and there was no way out of this.
“How could you do this?” Savannah exclaimed with sorrow. “I trusted you.”
“You were a fool to trust me,” Abel said without feeling.
“I should have listened,” Savannah said weakly. “I should have listened when everyone told me that witches were not to be trusted.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Abel said. “You should have been taught, but your partner and your pack isolated you. You were desperate and alone, and that makes for easy prey.”
Savannah felt Xander slip his hand into hers and squeeze it slowly a moment later. Savannah didn’t dare look at him because she knew that if she did she would break. She felt the poison spreading and she knew there was nothing she could do about it.
“Now,” Abel said enthusiastically, “I think that’s enough talk for one day—time to set things in motion.”
Abel tipped the contents of the vial onto the silver-white blade of the dagger which instantly turned a rich, fiery red that seemed to exude heat. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Abel said, looking at the imbibing blade with fondness. “Now, it’s time to take what I need.”
