Cutting Ties

by C. M. Torrens

  “Europe?” Angel suggested.

  “I have a place in mind,” Odin said softly.

  Patrick joined them. “Many of the packs are leaving to go into hiding. To the south. I can’t blame them.”

  “It won’t help them,” Dante said.

  “No,” Patrick agreed, “but the loss… you know.”

  Dante nodded. “I have to get back. What little I have left is in the mountains, hiding. I have to get back to them before… before someone else does.”

  “Europe, then?” Angel asked.

  “Yes. I will see this to the end,” Dante said softly. “Tell Lazarus that we didn’t find River. But we didn’t find her body either. If I hear anything, I’ll call. I’ll meet you there in a few days.”

  “All right. Be careful.”

  “You too.”

  37. The Dead Can’t Hear

  KENT RAN and ran and ran until he couldn’t smell the boundaries of the pack territory anymore, and then he froze, uncertain what to do. He glanced behind him and felt the terrible sinking spiral of grief as it hit Dante as the pack at home died. He wasn’t sure how many. Maybe all of them. He shuddered with grief and cried. He didn’t even realize he had shifted back to true form until he moved to wipe the tears from his eyes.

  He trembled and looked around the woods. He had only been a youth for a couple of days and had never been beyond the borders of the pack lands like some of the others, and never alone. Not ever. He reached through the weave to Dante and felt him respond immediately, wrapping him in warmth and making him feel better, but he was so far away and the dawn was coming, and that would mean the bad pack could see him better. He didn’t know if they were following him or not.

  Dante soothed the bout of panic that almost took over, and Kent breathed. He closed his eyes and lavished in the warmth. Someone was coming. Dante said so. Well, not said, but he could feel it. He just knew someone was coming, and Dante knew that too, and that meant it was okay. So he sat down and waited.

  He waited a long time, Dante’s constant presence holding him close and keeping him from panicking. He wished his alpha were here, but he knew he had to be brave and wait.

  His tummy growled, but the someone was coming. He just hoped it was soon. Something moved in the brush, and Kent turned as a beast rushed for him. The scent of pack was overwhelming, and he laughed and threw his arms around Tristan’s neck.

  Tristan lapped at his face with his tongue, and Kent squeezed the red-furred beast to him. Tristan let out a soft whimper, and Kent pulled away.

  Tristan collapsed beside him, and Kent watched as he shifted back to true form. He was hurt bad. His whole right shoulder was covered in thick blood and deep cuts, and the shift made it start bleeding again.

  “You did good, Kent,” Tristan whispered. “Just like Dante told you.”

  Kent blinked back tears. “I think the bad pack hurt Jesse. I—I think….”

  “Shh,” Tristan soothed. “It’s okay. Dante will be here soon. We’ll just stay right here until he comes.”

  Time passed, and soon it was midday. His tummy was rumbling, and he was getting restless. Tristan was sleeping and wasn’t waking up. He didn’t want Tristan to die. If he found some food, maybe Tristan could eat and get better. That was how Dante got better when he was sick and hurt.

  He poked around through the woods a short distance away, then the woods thinned and he found himself staring across a field at a cabin. There was a chicken coop near the back of the house. Chickens were good to eat, and he was really hungry.

  He picked his way across the field and peered into the chicken coop. The chickens clucked and squawked at him as he debated whether to take just one. It was stealing because they were all caged and stuff. And Dante wouldn’t like it if he stole from people. But he really was hungry, and the chickens looked all fat and tasty.

  He hummed, stared into the coop and hesitated. He wasn’t at all sure what to do. He was hungry, and Tristan was hurt real bad. He didn’t want to steal. Big tears fell from his eyes as he started to cry.

  “I want my Papa,” he said. Grief and fear made him tremble.

  Dante’s sense rushed over him, and he sighed with relief. Kent plopped his butt on the ground as the tears faded, and a second later, Dante ran across the field, his beast a blur of black as he skidded to a stop in front of him.

  Kent wrapped his arms around Dante’s neck as his alpha nuzzled him close. He felt Dante shift under his arm and wrap his strong arms around him in a tight embrace. “Oh, my cub, my little cub. I’m here,” Dante whispered.

  Kent cried in Dante’s arms, and he didn’t even care that Dante called him cub as he curled deeper into Dante’s protective embrace. Dante was here. Dante would keep him safe now.

  Dante held him close, and they rushed to Tristan, still in the woods. Kent bit his lip nervously as Dante set him down and went cautiously to Tristan’s side. Trevor handed Dante a bag, and he went to work, patching up Tristan’s wounds before picking his unconscious form up from the ground and carrying him back toward the cabin.

  The Lincoln was waiting for them on the road just beyond the cabin, and a hush fell over everyone as Dante carefully put Tristan into the back of the SUV.

  “Is he gonna be all right?” Kent asked.

  Dante’s smile looked forced as he put Kent in the car beside Nicky. “Let’s hope so.”

  Trevor climbed into the driver’s seat and Dante in the passenger’s side of the car. “Seth, call George and tell him we’re leaving. It’d be best if he did too.”

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  Kent’s stomach rumbled loudly in the confines of the car. “Can I get a chicken?”

  Dante turned to Lex. “Go fetch three chickens for the cubs.”

  Lex made a face. “In the Lincoln?”

  “They’re hungry and could use a real meal.” Dante’s voice was soft and distant, and he turned his eyes to the mountains.

  Kent swallowed hard and looked around the overfull vehicle. Was this everyone? His eyes fell on the beast cub in Seth’s arms. A new brother, but…. Was no one else left? Michael and Faith… and Quinn. His heart suddenly ached again. So much it hurt to breathe. He buried his head in Nicky’s chest and tried not to cry. It hurt so much he thought his chest might explode. His brothers, twin, and little Faith, all of them were gone. Forever.

  His throat was tight. It was so hard to breathe. His body shook and chest heaved. He felt Dante’s sense wrap around him and ease some of the pain away. It filled him with warmth and reminded him that he wasn’t alone. He still had family. Dante was here, and he would make sure everything was better.

  After a moment, he was better. It still ached, but it didn’t burn like before. Lex handed him a chicken, and he tried to be careful with the feathers in Dante’s favorite car, but they were soon everywhere. Dante didn’t seem to mind.

  He stared down at the bird and used his claws to dig out the breast like Tristan always did, then climbed to the back of Dante’s seat and handed it to him.

  “You should eat too, Papa.” Kent held out the breast, and Dante turned to face him. His eyes were glassy with grief, but his smile was gentle.

  “No, my little cub. You eat. Your papa will get something later. I’m not very hungry right now.” Dante reached out and stroked his cheek.

  Kent smiled, leaned over the seat, and kissed his cheek. “It’ll be okay. You always make everything okay.”

  Dante forced another smile. “Of course. Now sit back and finish your food for me, okay? You need to be strong and fill your tummy so you can get big.”

  “Oh, I will. I’m going to grow really big and be a heavy. I’ll help you get the bad packs then.”

  “Let’s hope you don’t have to.”

  Kent wasn’t sure what that meant but sat back and finished his meal. With a full stomach, he curled up and went asleep.

  THE CUBS were asleep when Trevor pulled the Lincoln into the abandoned gas station just outside of Boulder. Everyone was quiet an
d on alert for danger as Nicky climbed into the back of the SUV to tend to Tristan. They were both healing up okay, but it would take some time before they fully recovered.

  Lloyd and the hybrid pulled up into the gas station behind them. He didn’t trust the creature. It had saved Lloyd, Nicky, and the cub, but it didn’t mean the thing didn’t have some darker motivations.

  They were driving one of the vans left at August’s trap. Or the hybrid was. Dante had done what he could for Lloyd, but he wasn’t a healer, and Lloyd wasn’t a part of his pack. The most he had been able to do was set the break in his arm, bandage him up, and give him as much aspirin as he could find in the glove compartment.

  Lloyd looked pale and tired as he stepped out of the van. He was glad to see Lloyd carefully veer the hybrid away from the SUV and the sleeping cubs inside.

  “We’re almost back to the city. We’ll be leaving for Europe. Many are going south, anything to get away from the growing horde. You can come, or you can stay.”

  “Europe will be next, won’t it?” Lloyd asked.

  “Yes,” Dante said.

  Lloyd nodded. “We’ll go with you, then. If you’ll have us.”

  Dante shot the hybrid a cautious look but nodded. “All right. If anyone’s left….”

  Lloyd forced a smile. “I’ll give them the option.”

  Dante rubbed his tired eyes and fought off the exhaustion wearing at his bones.

  Lloyd patted his shoulder. “Try to get some rest. I’ll call you later, okay?”

  He forced a smile and watched them leave. He wished he knew what side the odd hybrid was on.

  “What did George say?” Dante asked Seth as Trevor drove toward home.

  “He said he’d meet you at the old pack house. Figured we’d need to stop there to pick up some clothes and food and stuff, for the cubs, if nothing else.”

  “No!” Kent yelled from the backseat.

  Dante jumped with surprise. He had thought the cub still asleep.

  “I don’t wanna go back there. Papa, please! I don’t wanna.”

  Dante sighed heavily. “We need to, Kent. You can’t run around nude. Humans don’t like that.”

  “Colin’s nude,” Kent pointed out.

  Dante rubbed his eyes. “Colin can’t shift, Kent, and beasts don’t wear clothes. We have fur.”

  “I can be beast.”

  “You can’t control your beast yet.”

  “But—but what if they’re there?”

  Dante twisted around in his seat to study Kent.

  Kent’s eyes were round with fear. He was scared, and Dante didn’t blame him. He reached through the weave to calm him. The cub was taking this far better than anyone could expect him to. He didn’t know how much of the attack Kent saw or how to make the pain and fear ease for him.

  “They won’t be,” he said, trying to soothe him some.

  “How do you know?”

  Dante struggled to keep his own pain at bay. His stomach twisted, and disgust and anger threatened to overwhelm him. He took a calming breath and tried to push some of it aside. “Because they did exactly what they wanted to already. Mission accomplished.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Most everyone is dead, my cub. It means we won’t be coming back here for some time. That’s what it means.”

  Kent fell silent, and Trevor pulled the SUV up to the pack house a half hour later. Seth and Trevor did a quick search before anyone got out of the car, then Dante left the cubs inside the car with everyone but Trevor.

  Dante stepped into the pack house and scanned the familiar walls. He ran his hand over the couch as he passed and fought the sudden wave of grief that crashed over him. The rooms were silent. So painfully silent.

  “I’ll fetch the clothes. Gather some food and games for the cubs,” Dante told him and made his way to the pack room.

  He sat down heavily on the bed. The scent of his pack still clung to the sheets. He pulled them to him and inhaled them, his mind flooding with grief and memories. Holding the cloth close, he wept softly into the blanket. Trevor was suddenly there and slipped his arms around him. Dante held him tight and wept. The burn, it was almost too much.

  “I failed them all,” Dante choked. “Jesse, the cubs, everyone.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  Dante gathered himself a bit and shook his head. “I am the alpha, Trevor. It was my decision, my anger… my plan.”

  “It wasn’t just your plan. It was Angel’s and Patrick’s and Odin’s. It was a good plan. The only plan we had. You were trying to save everyone. Not just our pack.”

  “And it ruined us all instead.”

  “We aren’t ruined. You’re still alive. I’m still alive. Kent is alive. We’ll be okay. It’ll just take time.”

  “Yeah,” he whispered, not really feeling it at the moment.

  Trevor knelt in front of him and took his hand. “We’re breathing, Dante. And as long as we’re still breathing, they haven’t won. We will find them, and we will make them pay.”

  The conviction in Trevor’s voice steadied him, and he nodded. Anger and rage were much better than grief, and he let them boil up, drowning out the pain. He fought to breathe and let it wash over him. Each beat of his heart throbbed with vicious conviction. They would pay, and he was going to enjoy ripping the screams out of them as he extracted every ounce of payment due.

  Getting to his feet, he stuffed things into bags and paused at Jesse’s drawer. He ran his hand over the mahogany dresser. Reaching inside, he pulled out a small silver box. He had never opened it before and wasn’t sure what Jesse kept in there, but he wanted something of his. He couldn’t bring himself to open it and stared at it a long moment before putting it in his pocket.

  The sound of a car pulling up into the drive had him peering out of the window. George.

  He frowned. He wasn’t sure he wanted to deal with the human right now. Taking a deep breath, he went outside to the car and tossed the bag at Kent. “Get dressed.”

  “But—” Kent started to protest.

  “Did that sound like a request, Kenton?” Dante shot him a hard look.

  “No, sir,” he muttered and started rummaging through his bag to find something to wear.

  George started to approach the car, but Seth intercepted him.

  “I need to see Dante.”

  “Alpha Dante,” Seth corrected. “He’ll be with you in a second. Stay here.”

  “Look, I’ve been around cubs before. I won’t hurt them.”

  Dante moved to join them. “What is it, George?”

  “It didn’t go well, I’m guessing?” George asked. He looked nervous and smelled of fear. But there was nothing he could do for George. Nothing at all.

  “Over three hundred pack died last night. Probably closer to five,” he said.

  “I thought you said you didn’t have that many warriors.”

  “Heavies,” Dante corrected. “And we didn’t. I lost three cubs, two youths, my heir, my pet, four brothers, and two sisters. All of which I thought were safe. So no, George, it did not go well.”

  He followed George’s eyes as Trevor threw bags into the SUV.

  “Leaving?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “You’re just going to leave us here, alone, with this mess?”

  “I can’t protect you. I barely have enough people to protect the two cubs I have left.”

  “But—but you could help us. Explain to us what to do—”

  “There is nothing you can do! You can fight and fight and fight, and they will keep making more and more and more. When you find the new nest, come find me. But not until then.” He had to worry about his own people right now. The humans and hunters would have to deal with what they could themselves.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To the only place she won’t go,” Dante said. “At least not yet. Good luck, George. Protect your people the best you can, and I will do what’s best for mine.”

&
nbsp; “You can’t leave us here alone.”

  “I have to, or what little I have left will be ripped from me. You have no idea what this war has cost me. None,” Dante said, fighting back another wave of anger and pain that refused to stop pounding at his fragile hold on restraint.

  George stared at him, and sympathy flickered across his face. “I… I’m sorry.”

  Dante nodded and closed his eyes a moment, trying to fight the emotion pressing in around him.

  Seth touched his shoulder. “We should go. You need to rest.”

  Dante winced and stared up into the mountain. “I need to—”

  “No,” Trevor said, moving quickly to his side. “Dante, no.”

  Dante hesitated. He wasn’t sure he could bear to see the cubs. Sweet Creation, he couldn’t bear that.

  “Go to the stray apartments with Seth. Nicky and I will take care of it, okay?” Trevor said. “You’re exhausted. Go rest and be with the cubs. They need you.”

  “I’m not a cub!” Kent called from the car.

  Trevor sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. “They need you. Nicky and I will be fine.”

  Dante hesitated but nodded and headed off to the car with Seth.

  TREVOR WATCHED him go and felt the human’s eyes on him.

  “Will he be okay?” George asked.

  “Dante is a survivor,” Trevor said. “And because of him, we survive.”

  Nicky looked up into the mountain and winced.

  “You aren’t going up either,” Trevor told him. “I’ll do it alone.”

  Nicky hesitated. “But you told Dante—”

  “I know what I told Dante. I said we could handle it, but I can handle it. He wouldn’t have let me do it alone. He needed not to do this. This isn’t like last time. Not even close. Seeing Jesse and the cubs….” Trevor winced and shook his head. “It’d break him. You haven’t seen him in the quiet moments, Nicky. He needs to rest.”

  “But you shouldn’t have to do it alone.”

  Trevor forced a smile. “He’s my brother. I’m his protector. I will always protect him, no matter what.”

  Trevor left Nicky and the human down at the base of the mountains, then took the Jeep and drove it up to the cave. As soon as he got out of the Jeep, he could see the plumes of dust coming from another car. He sighed heavily and moved down the road to intercept the driver. Nicky should have just stayed back at the pack house.