The battle seemed to wage on forever, but I know it couldn’t have been more than half an hour before the sun started to rise in the sky. The less Dominant ones were the first to fall to the ground, the tremors of the Change wracking through their body. Liam and I stayed in wolf form until the very end, guarding over the others along with Joshua, who was still carrying around his sword. I don’t know if there are actual Rules of Engagement for Shifters, but I felt strongly one of them should be not attacking someone mid-Change.
The field looked exactly as it had in Talley’s vision. Blood was everywhere. Even though most every wound would heal during the Change, their skin would still be stained with the blood spilled. But not everyone would heal. I made my way through the mass of writhing bodies. Hank was one of the first I ran across. I could tell the fight had been particularly hard for him, but he was Changing quickly. I was happy for him, but more so that Liam didn't have to lose another father figure.
Jase was a bit harder to find. The relief at seeing him mid-Change almost outweighed the weirdness and grossness of seeing him mid-Change.
“Scout?” Talley’s voice was tearstained, even in my head.
“Jase is okay.”
“I know, but Toby--”
I took off at a full run, using my nose to find him. I leapt over bodies that were part human, part animal, only paying enough attention so I didn’t accidentally step on anyone. I found him far away from the others. He was in human form, and had been for some time. Yet again a Shifter’s last ditch effort to survive had failed.
Another Shifter lay crumbled in front of the body. Still mostly coyote, he growled and snapped his teeth as I approached.
“Talley, can you talk to Makya?”
“He didn’t do it, Scout.”
I already knew that. Not only could Makya not take Toby, but the grief rolling off of him was palatable.
“Tell him that no matter what happens, he’s to stay here. If he lets anyone other than a Hagan touch the body, he’ll wish he was the one who died.”
“Scout--”
“Tell him.”
“Is that an order from my Alpha?”
My eyes couldn’t break away from the body crumbled on the ground. Memories flashed through my head: Toby talking Charlie, Jase, and me into stealing Grampa Hagan’s prized watermelon out of the garden when we were kids. Toby walking out of the delivery room, a huge grin on his face as he cuddled Layne against his chest. Toby getting off the plane after nine months in Iraq, tears streaming down his cheeks as he ran towards his family. Toby standing in front of the Alpha Pack, asking them to let me go.
Brave, strong, chauvinistic Toby. I would be damned if I let him die for nothing
“Yes. Let’s end this.”
***
Speaking of Alphas, it was time for me and Sarvarna to have a little face-to-face time. I Changed back next to my clothes. It felt a bit like cheating with everyone else having to go naked, but there was no way I was confronting her with my boobs on display in front of a bunch of guys. Liam, who was wearing a pair of jeans, was waiting for me once I was fully human and dressed.
“Toby’s dead.” As far as greetings went, it sucked big time, but I couldn’t help it. It was this rotten, horrible thing I had to get out of me. “They killed Toby.”
Liam brushed the tears from my cheek with the back of his hand. “I am so sorry. He was a good man.”
“How do I tell Charlie? Oh God. How do I tell Layne?” My heart was broken. I knew because it hurt so much.
“Scout, you need to breathe.”
Couldn’t he see I was trying?
“Who else? Who else did we lose?”
“We’ve lost about five. Joshua’s arm looks like hamburger, but he assures me it’ll heal. Everyone else should be okay once they finish Changing.”
“Which is my one and only mercy.” I didn’t flinch, which probably pissed her off. She tried to sneak up on us, but not even the smell of blood could block her scent from me. “Surrender now, and I will merely Banish the others.”
I thought I wouldn’t be ready for this moment, that when it came I would see too much humanity in her to follow through. Toby’s death changed that. I didn’t care if she loved her parents or was adored by her little sister. And if she thought I was a demon, it was because she made me become one.
“If I don’t?”
“We’ll start all this again, but this time the wounds won’t heal so quickly.”
I looked across the field, even though this scene had been etched in my brain for almost a year. “That might not be the best idea, Sarvarna. As you might have noticed, most of your Alpha Pack is dead.” And I would carry the guilt of it for the rest of my life. “Are you prepared to lose more?”
“I believe I’m more prepared to lose soldiers than you are, Scout.” Her upper lip curled. “Maybe it’s because we both know all this blood and death is on your hands, not mine.”
“I can’t tell if you’re crazy enough to actually believe that or not.”
“Surely you know none of this would have happened if you weren’t a power hungry abomination.”
“I’m sorry. Are you talking to yourself here? I can give you some privacy, if you need it.”
Hatred lit her eyes. “You think this is a joke?”
“Actually, I think this is a Challenge.” Shoulders back. Voice loud and clear. No one could be in doubt of what was happening. “Sarvarna, I officially Challenge you for the position of Alpha Female.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I can, and I did.”
“Submit,” I said to her through the brain-to-brain network. “You know you can’t beat me, and I don’t want to kill you. Please. Submit.”
Sarvarna stood there debating her options for a second before releasing a breath. “Okay,” she said, her head dipping down. She walked slowly towards me, her shoulders bent forward. Then, when she was standing directly in front of me, her head whipped up. “I accept your Challenge.”
At first, I didn’t understand. I saw her hand clutched around the knife sticking out of my stomach, but it seemed like a stage prop or something. Then, the pain hit and I knew it was real.
Pull it out. Pull it out. Pull it out…
There was a scream piercing the air, but it wasn’t mine. I wanted to tell Liam it was okay, and maybe mention that I loved him, but I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t do much of anything. If only she would pull out the freaking knife…
“I told you I wouldn’t let you take what’s mine.” She rotated her wrist and my vision wavered. “You should have just died like you were supposed to in July.” Another twist. I wasn’t going to make it. “In fact, you never should have existed.”
“And you should have never been Al--” The world started going black. My body went slack, and Sarvarna pulled the knife from my stomach.
Finally.
With the absolute last of my consciousness, I yanked energy from the ground beneath me. Two heartbeats later, Sarvarna found herself pinned to the ground by a very angry arctic wolf.
Submit.
Sarvarna bared her teeth as if she was a wolf herself. It was the last thing she ever did.
Chapter 30
Death has many smells. The sulfuric bite of gunpowder. The metallic tang of blood. The harsh burn of hospital antiseptic.
“Would you like a few moments?”
The bright yellow and purple flowers on the nurse’s scrubs offended me with their cheeriness. This wasn’t a cheerful moment. It wasn’t a cheerful place. The only part of a hospital where someone should be allowed to wear such blinding colors is the maternity ward. Everywhere else is filled with people in their darkest moments. When you’re going through hell, the last thing you want to see is your nurse in something so bright it glows in the daylight.
“No,” Liam said. “We’re good.”
Those ridiculous scrubs moved towards the IV pole. Just as her finger was posed in front of the touch screen I yelled, “No!”
/> “Leslie?” Liam asked, using the name we gave the hospital staff when we presented ourselves as Stefan’s son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law.
I tucked a piece of the strawberry blond wig behind my ear. “I think I need some time with him first.” Some time before they stopped all the drips and machines that were keeping Stefan alive and cemented Liam’s and my positions as the new Alphas.
Before running off to fill out paper work or whatever it is nurses do while they’re waiting to end a life, she grabbed a box of tissues from the shelf. “Here you go, sweetie,” she said, handing them to me. “You take all the time you need.” There was no door to shut in this unit, but she slid the curtain closed behind her as she left.
Stefan looked nothing like his former self. The man I knew was strong and proud, radiating so much power even normal humans instinctively knew to stay out of his way. The man on the hospital bed was shriveled up, except for the odd places he was bloated out like a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day balloon. His dark skin had turned a sickly yellow, the color a cross between a bruise and a stain. The Stratego who kept watch over him had taken care of his hair as best as they could, but still it hung off his head in dull clumps. The scar which ran down the side of his face no longer screamed menace. Instead, it whimpered pain and defeat.
I blinked against the stinging in my eyes.
“The doctors say you’re still in there,” I said to Stefan. “They showed us graphs with wiggly lines and said it was your brain activity. And then they told us you may never wake up, and if you do, you will never be able to function like you once did. You won’t be able to walk or talk or even swallow. You will spend the rest of your life hooked up to these machines.” I took a deep breath. “Someone once told me I wouldn’t be able to do this. They said I wouldn’t be able to stand here and kill you while you’re defenseless, but they were wrong. Of all the things I’ve had to do these last few months, this is the easiest, because I’m not killing you, Stefan. I’m setting you free.” I squeezed Liam’s hand even tighter. “We’re sitting you free.”
I moved closer to the bed. I thought about reaching out and grabbing onto his hand to give him some comfort in these final moments, but I couldn’t do it. Yes, I felt sorry for him, but not so much that I could forget all the pain he caused others.
“You should know this is an official Challenge. Liam declared it to the Stratego, and they allowed it without protest. Of course, that was probably because there aren't many of them left, and with Sarvarna dead, they aren’t willing to die for you.”
The monitor lit up as his heart rate spiked, setting off a few bells and whistles.
“So, they were right. You are still in there. Good. I need to you to hear this,” I said as Liam walked around to fiddle with the monitor, which surprisingly went quiet. I hoped it was because he somehow knew what he was doing, and not because he had unplugged it a few minutes too early.
“I didn’t want this. It’s not like I woke up one day and thought, ‘I’m going to take over the Alpha Pack.’ I know many people, including you, don’t believe that, but it’s true.
“I don’t know where it all went wrong. You’re probably as much a victim of circumstance as I am. The difference is, once we were in the middle of it, you chose power over basic human decency. I know the world is an imperfect place - that peace, love, and harmony are pipe dreams - but I need to believe it can be better than this.” I looked across the bed into Liam’s eyes. “I need to believe we can make it better.” My voice cracked. I took a deep breath, and before I could release it, Liam was there, gathering me into his arms.
“I’m done,” I said into his chest, letting his warmth seep through my clothes and flesh to warm the chill inside. “It’s time. Let’s get this over with.”
Liam’s lips pressed against the corner of my eye, absorbing the liquid gathered there. A rush of heat shot straight to my heart, and then he was moving away from me and towards the bed. He looked huge leaning over Stefan’s withered form. His aura of power blanketed the former Alpha Male, and I could have sworn I saw is body shudder under the weight of it.
“For the record,” he said, his finger hovering above the Call Button, “this is for my family, you selfish bastard.”
I barely had enough time to be shocked before a flock of scrubs descended upon the room.
“Are you ready?” Cheery Scrub Nurse asked.
I nodded, afraid of what would come out should I try to speak. A middle-aged man with a paunchy gut and receding hair line also gave a nod of the head, which was apparently the call to action. Cheery Scrub Nurse started pushing buttons on the IV pole. It took both longer and less time than I expected. We all stood there - the doctor, nurses, Liam, and me - watching the monitor as Stefan’s heart rate slowed. When it finally flatlined, someone turned off the screen, but I couldn’t see who through the tears in my eyes.
***
I wanted nothing more than to escape the sterile sadness of the hospital, but it wasn’t happening. In the thirty-six hours since Sarvarna’s death, a lot of plans were made, including one to reintroduce Scout Donovan to the real world.
“Unless you want to see my butt, you better close your eyes,” I called out the door before traipsing into a hospital room of my very own. Liam was sitting on the corner of the bed, his eyes very much open as he leaned to the side. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to get a glimpse of your butt, but you’re ruining all my fun.”
My face burst into flames as I double-checked to make sure I was holding my gown together in the right place.
“What is wrong with you?” I hissed, very much aware that the FBI agents standing outside my door had Shifter hearing as I crawled up onto the bed and immediately threw a sheet over my legs.
Liam shrugged. “It’s a nice butt.”
He was flying to Romania in a matter of hours and now he wants to get all cute and flirty? That was so not fair.
Once I was settled with all my nearly naked parts tucked away, Liam climbed up next to me. There was no awkward shifting or limb organizing. After half a year of sleeping side-by-side, we knew how our bodies fit together.
“You doing okay?”
I took a cue from him and thought before I responded. “It had to be done.”
“That doesn’t answer my question, Scout.”
No, it didn’t, but it answered the more important one.
“I’m going to miss you,” I said, oh-so-cleverly switching topics.
“You could come with me. You're the Alpha Female now. Your place is at the Den.”
“No, my place is with my family.” He already knew my answer just as well as I knew his argument. This wasn’t a new discussion. “I miss them so much it hurts.”
“You could be putting them in danger if you stay.”
“And I could be leaving them to face the danger alone if I don't.” Not everyone was onboard with our little regime change, and I wasn’t naive enough to believe those who wanted retribution would play by the rules. “I’ve not been very fair to my parents this past year. I need to make it up to them.”
This is where our discussion ended. It always did, because there was nothing Liam could say to refute that. It didn’t mean we wouldn’t say the exact same things two or three more times before he left.
“I want you to relinquish your position as Alpha Female.”
Then again, maybe we wouldn’t.
“Excuse me?”
“I had Rachel do a little research, and it’s possible. All you have to do--”
“You want me to relinquish my position as Alpha Female?” It was a good thing I wasn’t hooked up to any monitors. Every freaking alarm would have been blaring. “The position I just got by ripping the throats out of anyone who would oppose me? The position you’ve been training me to take for months? You want me to just… relinquish it?”
“You don’t want to go to the Den--”
“Because it’s in Romania. Do you know how far Romania is from Kentucky? Fifty
-five hundred miles. That’s nearly 9000 kilometers, in case your Canadian brain can’t do the math.”
Liam had been reclined alongside me, but now he was sitting up, his scowl back where it belonged. “Scout, calm down.”
“Calm down? You’re asking me to give up after everything I’ve been through. What was the point?” A horrible, sickening thought occurred to me. “Was this your plan all along? Was I really nothing more than a pawn to you?” I was shaking with fury. “Did I do a good job, Liam? Did I kill them all dead enough for you? Did I save your hands from enough blood that you’ll be able to live with yourself?”
“You’re not being fair.”
“I’m not being fair?!?!”
One of the Shifters/FBI agents outside the door discreetly coughed, pointing out that even people without super-senses could hear us.
When Liam spoke again, his voice was decidedly quieter. “I thought this is what you would want.”
“You thought wrong.”
“Obviously.”
He didn’t elaborate, so I did. “I made a commitment, and I’m going to stick to it. This is important. I might not believe in destiny or fate or any of that other crap, but I do believe I’m supposed to do this.”
Liam picked up one of my hands. The knuckles were covered with scrapes and bruises from an encounter with one of the Odom Pack. More bruises stretched down the right side of my body, and if I wasn’t mistaken, my wrist was broken. Again. I could have healed everything by Changing, but the bruised and battered look added more credibility to the “held hostage by terrorists” story. One of my first acts as Alpha Female had been to make sure the United States government recognized Toby Hagan for dying during the rescue mission.
“I can’t protect you if you’re Alpha,” he said, his fingers gently tracing the damage on my hand. “This isn’t going to stop any time soon. The entire Shifter world is in chaos, and you’re at the center. You’ll be safer if you just disappear.”
Fate Succumbs Page 25
