by TJ Klune
A beast.
He tilted his head back and howled. It rolled over us, the ground shaking beneath our feet.
“What do we do?” Rico shrieked. “What do we do?”
“We finish this,” Ox growled.
“Yessss,” Livingstone said, jaws snapping.
But he was stronger than us.
Than all of us.
And here, at the end of all things…
We lost.
Oh, we gave it everything we had. Ox and Joe charged at him, and we all shouted when Livingstone swung his massive arm out, striking them both in the chest, knocking them back. I barely had time to take a breath before Joe crashed into me, slamming us both to the ground.
He rolled off me as gunfire erupted above us. I looked up to see Jessie walking toward the beast, Rico’s guns in her hands. She kept on shooting, and the bullets were silver, but they barely made a mark, bouncing off Livingstone’s face and chest, only pissing him off even more. The guns dry-clicked and Jessie threw them to the ground, pausing only to scoop up the crowbar before charging. Livingstone swung at her, and she ducked, falling to her side, her momentum carrying her underneath him between his legs. He started to turn, but she was already on her feet behind him, bringing the crowbar down onto his back.
It broke, the end snapping off and falling to the ground.
“Well, shit,” Jessie said.
Before Livingstone could put his claws on her, Chris and Tanner and Rico shouted in unison, these brave men who had carried the hearts of wolves in their chests even before they’d been bitten.
They were no match for Livingstone. He knocked them away easily. Chris and Tanner landed on the ground near a burning house. Rico flew out onto the lake, sliding along the ice.
I had to end this.
I had to stop him before he hurt anyone else.
I ran toward him, claws popping.
“Robbie, no!” Gordo cried, but it was too late.
I would do this for him.
For Kelly.
For my family.
For my pack.
I jumped.
And Livingstone caught me by the neck.
“You,” he growled, pulling me close to his face. He opened his maw, and I could see endless rows of teeth. I struggled against him, beating on his hand and arm, but it was useless. “I gave you life. I gave you a home. I gave you everything. And thissss is how you repay me?”
“Fucking die already,” I managed to say, and sunk my claws into his right eye. It was almost as big as my palm, and I yanked on it, feeling it pop underneath my fingers.
Livingstone howled in pain, his grip around my neck tightening until I thought my spine would break.
Instead, he threw me to the ground. My breath was knocked from my chest as my arm broke. I turned my head slowly to see what remained of his eye still in my hand.
Joe and Ox pulled themselves to their feet.
Carter and Kelly stood before the beast, next to their mother.
Jessie circled Livingstone, keeping a safe distance.
Chris and Tanner helped me to my feet as my arm healed.
Rico slipped over the ice before hitting the beach, eyes orange.
Mark stood next to Gordo, their ravens’ wings stretched wide.
“Stop. Please.”
Two words, grunted with what sounded like great hardship.
The beast looked down.
Gavin stood before him, looking up at his father. It was discordant, seeing his face, so like his brother and father. But it was harder somehow, darker. It was in his eyes.
Feral.
“Leave,” Gavin grunted. His face twisted like he was struggling to form words. “With you. I’ll. Go. With you. Don’t. Don’t touch. Them.”
Livingstone craned his neck toward his son. “Leeeaave?”
“Yes,” Gavin said. “Us. We go.”
Livingstone snapped his teeth at Gavin. “Whyyyy?”
And Gavin said, “You’re. My father.”
The beast reared back, nostrils flaring.
“No,” Carter said, taking a step forward. “You can’t—”
Livingstone jerked his head toward Carter. He roared, his remaining eye flashing in warning.
“Here!” Gavin shouted. “Here! I. Will go!”
Livingstone looked back down at him. And extended his hand, claws flashing in the sunlight.
Gavin took it without hesitation.
“Joe!” Carter cried. “You have to stop him. You can’t let him—”
“No,” Gavin snarled at him, eyes violet. “Stay. Back. Don’t want. This. Don’t want. Pack. Don’t want. Brother. Don’t want. You. Child. You are. A child. I am not. Like you. I am not. Pack.”
And his heart never stuttered.
But he lied. Because he was pack. They were faint, the threads that stretched from him toward us, and just as we began to pull on them, just as we began to tug them, to sing to him, to remind him where he belonged. Gavin broke them.
Carter sounded as if he’d been punched, bending over and gagging.
The others were distracted.
They didn’t see what I saw.
The look on Gavin’s face, brief though it was.
It was heartbreak, real and devastating.
And then it was gone.
Livingstone roared again, and I covered my ears.
By the time my head cleared, Gavin and Livingstone were running. They didn’t stop when they hit the wall. Livingstone leaped up and over it, and Gavin clawed his way to the top and jumped to the other side.
He never looked back.
They were gone.
Carter took a step forward, hand raised, fingers trembling.
And when he turned toward us, gone was the bravado, gone was the man I’d come to know. In his place stood a lost boy, eyes wide and wet, lip trembling.
“Mom,” he croaked as a tear spilled down his cheek, chest hitching. And ah, god, there was so much blue pouring off him, I thought it would drown us all. “He… left. Mom? Why—why did he go? Why did he leave? I didn’t know. I didn’t know.”
Elizabeth went to her son, holding him close as Carter broke apart, shoulders shaking. She whispered in his ear, telling him it would be all right, that it would be all right, my love, I promise you. I promise you. I promise you.
There were cries of joy as the people of the compound poured through the gates, whatever magic had held them in the trees now gone. The kids screamed for their parents, eyes clear but confused. Tony’s mother and father swept him up, each of them kissing his cheeks, his chin, his forehead as he babbled at them, telling them he’d been asleep for a long time and had the strangest of dreams, but he was awake now, and why were they crying? Why were they sad?
Brodie looked lost and unsure, but Ox was there, crouched before him, hands on his shoulders. Brodie’s face crumpled as he collapsed into Ox, sobbing against his chest.
Elizabeth led Carter away from the rest of us, his head bowed, hands in fists at his sides.
Kelly watched them leave. “What are we going to do?” he whispered to me.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“We can’t beat him. Not like we are now.”
“I know.”
He turned his head toward me. “Gavin didn’t want to go.”
I sighed. “You saw that too?”
He nodded and looked back at his mother and brother. “He sacrificed himself. To save us.”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“We have to. For all of us. But for Gordo and Carter most of all. They deserve to know the truth. And he’s part of this. Gavin is part of this. Of us.”
“He’s pack,” I said quietly.
“Yes. And we don’t leave pack behind. Ever.”
“Ever,” I said, hugging him closer.
He put his face in my neck, breathing in deeply. “You don’t remember.”
I closed my eyes. “No.”
“It’s o
kay.”
“I don’t—”
“Grass. Lake water. Sunshine.”
I sucked in a sharp breath.
“That’s what I smell like to you. Isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I said hoarsely. “It is.”
“I never told you what it was like for me. How I knew that day. When we came back. How I knew you were my mate.”
“It’s—”
“Home,” he whispered. “You smell like home. You always have. And that’s the only thing that matters. You don’t need to remember because I remember for the both of us.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Are you sure?”
He nodded.
I kissed the side of his head. “Then we won’t worry about it. We won’t—”
“I tink we can help with dat,” a voice said from behind us.
We turned to see Aileen and Patrice standing there, looking dirty and worn but otherwise unharmed.
They were both smiling.
There were questions. So many questions. The residents of Caswell were scared. They demanded answers, wanting to know what had happened and what was going to happen next. They didn’t have an Alpha, they cried. They didn’t have anyone to lead them.
They didn’t want to turn into Omegas.
They gathered in front of the remains of the house that had once belonged to Michelle Hughes. We stood in front of it, a wave of anger and sadness bowling over us from all sides. I didn’t blame them. After everything we’d all been through, after everything we’d seen, I understood their fear.
Ox was trying to calm them down, but they weren’t listening.
It wasn’t until Joe Bennett spoke that they quieted.
He was staring off at the lake, a strange look on his face.
He said, “My father… he stood here once. I remember it. Clear as day. He was crying. I found him. He tried to hide it from me, but I found him. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t…. My voice had been stolen from me by a man named Richard Collins.” Joe turned to look out at the crowd. He took a deep breath. “I did the only thing I could. I put my hand on his hip, putting my scent on him. I bared my neck, wanting him to know that no matter what had happened, no matter what I’d gone through, I knew him. My Alpha. My father. And he was shocked by the display, so much so that I think he forgot he was crying. He asked me what I was doing. But I couldn’t answer him. I didn’t know how. So I hugged him.”
Elizabeth wiped her eyes, Carter standing stonily at her side.
“I hugged him,” Joe continued, voice growing louder, an undercurrent of AlphaAlphaAlpha behind his words. “Because I needed him to understand he didn’t have to hide his sadness. That he didn’t have to be tough and brave all the time. That he was my father and it was his job to protect me, but as his son, I loved him no matter who he was or what he was capable of. That we were stronger together than we would ever be apart.” He looked around at the crowd of wolves and witches and the last of our humans. “And I will be strong for you. But I can’t do it alone. I need you. I need all of you. If you’ll have me. If you’ll allow me to be your Alpha, I promise you, I will do everything for you. Because pack is everything.”
At first no one moved.
No one spoke.
We waited.
And then Tony stepped forward—little Tony who had blood on his hands but would never know of it as long as I still drew breath. His mother tried to stop him, but his father grabbed her arm, shaking his head. She didn’t argue.
He looked at all of us, the Bennett pack.
He smiled at me briefly before he looked to Joe.
“Are you a good wolf?” he asked.
“I try,” Joe said quietly. “And if I ever fail, I have people to remind me of who I am.”
“Your pack,” Tony said.
“Yes.”
He reached up and tugged on Joe’s hand, pulling him down, their faces inches apart. Tony touched Joe’s cheek, dimpling his skin. He laughed when Joe snapped at him playfully with a low growl.
And then Tony bared his throat.
Joe blinked rapidly, breathing heavily through his nose.
He trailed his fingers along Tony’s neck, flashing his Alpha-red eyes.
Tony scrunched up his face.
His eyes flickered orange.
The crowd sighed. It sounded like the wind.
“I did it!” Tony crowed.
“You did,” Joe said, smiling warmly. “And I’m so very proud of you.”
“Thanks, Alpha!” He ran back to his parents. They scooped him up in their arms as he laughed.
Joe rose, taking Ox’s hand in his.
He said, “I am Joe Bennett. My father was Thomas Bennett. My grandfather was Abel Bennett. I have their strength within me, and that of all those who came before me. We are pack. I know you’re scared. I know that uncertainty lies ahead. We have much to do. But we’ll do it together because we’re the goddamn Bennett pack, and our song will always be heard.”
The people of Caswell, Maine, all bared their necks to him.
His eyes filled with fire again, and when he howled, I knew things would never be the same.
In the ruins of the compound, we howled with him.
Joseph Bennett.
The Alpha of all.
heartsong
On a normal day toward the end of September, I knew it was time.
Or at least Gordo knew for me, and didn’t seem to have a problem telling me as much.
“You’re being fucking stupid about this,” he growled as he closed the door to his office in the garage. He pointed to the chair in front of his desk. I thought about arguing, but the look on his face made me keep my mouth shut. He wasn’t here for my shit.
I sat down, refusing to look at him.
He sighed as he sank back down into his own chair. “Kid, I don’t know why you want to drag this out.”
“Yeah, well. Who wants to remember the time they almost killed two members of their pack?”
He grunted as he scratched the stump of his arm. “It’s more than that.”
I grimaced. “That’s not—”
“What are you so scared of? Aileen and Patrice said it has to be—”
“I know what they said,” I snapped. I took off my glasses and scrubbed a hand over my face. “I just….”
“You just….”
I didn’t want to say it out loud. It sounded ridiculous even to me. But I didn’t think Gordo was going to let me out of here without saying something. And if I couldn’t talk to him about it, I probably wouldn’t ever say anything at all. I gnawed on my bottom lip before saying, “What if I don’t like the person I was?”
He blinked. “What?”
I tried to keep my frustration down. “I’ve got this… this life. I’ve made it for myself, even after everything. What if I get my memories back and everything changes? What if I don’t like who I was and who I’ll become? There’s no going back after this.” I looked at him hopefully. “Unless you could take it all away again if I—”
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. I wouldn’t do that to you, kid.”
I deflated. “It’s hard.”
“I know. But you’re being a dick about it.”
“Hey!”
He sat forward, elbows on the desk. He looked grumpy as fuck, and I felt a surge of affection for him. This ridiculous man who for some reason loved me like a brother. Which, of course, I didn’t necessarily talk about out loud, given how touchy the subject of brothers was at the moment. I knew Gordo talked to Mark about Gavin, though not the specifics. Other than that, Gordo didn’t mention him at all. But I knew he was hurting, maybe almost as much as Carter was.
After the fight, Joe had decided to stay in Caswell for a while to give everyone there time to get used to him, to help them rebuild their homes and lives. He also wanted to make sure that no one was still under Livingstone’s hold. Michelle had been their Alpha. Livingstone had taken that power away from her, but he hadn’t asserted con
trol over the compound. He’d just left. He’d gotten what he wanted. Mostly.
A few of the wolves had left, not wanting anything to do with the Bennetts. Santos, the one who’d been guarding Dale and who’d gone after Alpha Wells and her pack, had been one of them. I didn’t know if he went looking for Livingstone, but he was there one day and then gone the next, without so much as a note left behind.
I had a feeling we’d see him again.
But Joe’s favor with his new pack rose when he honored Michelle Hughes with a pyre worthy of an Alpha, regardless of all that she’d done. She’d burned, and when she was nothing but smoke and ash, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. I allowed myself a few tears over her, but that was all.
There was brief discussion of trying to get everyone moved to Green Creek, but packing everyone up and bringing them cross-country wasn’t in the cards. There wasn’t room, at least not yet. I thought Joe and Ox were making plans, preliminary though they were. Elizabeth, Carter, and Tanner had stayed with him in Caswell initially, with Ox going back and forth, but they’d come back a week before, just as they had the previous full moon at the beginning of the month. I hadn’t been ready then. I didn’t know if I was now.
I told myself we had bigger things to focus on.
Healing.
Putting our lives back together.
Looking for Livingstone and Gavin, though they had all but disappeared.
But….
It was on me, Aileen and Patrice had informed us. It was all on me. The reason I hadn’t snapped back like Carter and Mark had after Livingstone had initially died, the reason my door hadn’t shattered like theirs, was because I didn’t want it to.
I was holding it closed.
“You’re frightened,” Aileen said quietly, “of what you’ll find. Of remembering all that has happened. And that fear is stronger than any magic Robert Livingstone ever had. Until you conquer that fear, you’ll remain as you are.”
