Aries

by Kim Faulks

  I swung my head to the man standing in my cage. I wanted to shove him aside and follow her. I wanted to roar in his face, show him that she…is…mine.

  His long hair danced as I lowered my head and huffed. He never moved, only stared at me with those dark eyes that softened when he looked at me. “I get it. I really do. But she’s pregnant, Zadoc. She’s needs to rest. She needs to eat and there’s no way she’s doing either of those things when she’s obsessing over you.”

  An ache ripped through my chest.

  “This isn’t to punish you. This is to help her. So, the way I see it, you have two choices. You can come with us, and we can try to get you back to…you. Or, you can trample me and run after her. But I saw the pain in her face. Pain she’s never going to acknowledge, not while you're there.”

  Not your brother…not your kin. You’re not one of them anymore…you’re one of us…the infection whispered. It was faint now, slipping back to the far corner of my mind.

  I lowered my head and dragged in his scent.

  Evander…his name reverberated, echoing from another time—a time where I screamed his name. I would’ve given anything to hear his voice. I would’ve given anything to see his face.

  “Let us help you, Zadoc.” Xael stepped in behind him, lifting her hand, wanting to touch.

  Crusted canker-like sores covered my scales. Open wounds oozed black puss. My shattered bones had mended time and time again, but this sickness was deeper than marrow, it was deeper than my cells.

  It was my mind. My infected mind.

  Evander swallowed hard and motioned Xael to follow. “Come, let’s make a call and see if we can figure this out.”

  I followed them out of cage, the truck, and into the hanger. Planes crowded one end of the space, an office sat at the other end. I glanced to the open door and the dim light, knowing she was in there.

  “I’m going to call home. Maybe the old woman or Odessa can help,” Xael growled. She took one look at me and reached for her pocket.

  “Do you know what day it is?” Evander murmured, drawing me to him. “It’s three days before Christmas. You’re our gift, Zadoc. The only one we wanted.”

  Xael’s voice drifted off as she paced.

  “Hey, don’t worry about her. You’re here, you’re safe. Whatever she says, we’ll figure it out together.”

  Tires squealed outside. A black SUV pulled up just outside the doors. Alpha climbed out and yanked open the rear door. X was limp in his arms as he lifted her, holding her close as he carried her through the hanger doors.

  “X?”

  That sweet voice echoed. I followed the sound as Joslyn stumbled out of the room. A cuff on her arm flapped, tethered to nothing as she stumbled from the open office toward them.

  “X… Jesus, X,” she cried and grasped her face.

  “She’s okay.” Concern etched into Alpha’s words. “She’s just swallowed a lot of smoke, that’s all. She’ll come around, just give her a little time.”

  A flash of white filled the doorway. I was faintly aware of Xael calling Evander, and less aware of when he left. It was Joslyn I wanted to watch. Joslyn that sent a shudder into the murky depths of my mind—where the Wretched waited.

  The doctor marched from the room, giving Joslyn a steely glare and moved to the wolf in Alpha’s arms.

  A sudden hard, hacking cough followed a gasp. X jerked upright, smacking into Alpha’s face.

  “Sonofa…” The Marine growled and wrenched his head to the side out of aim.

  “You’re okay. X, look at me, you’re okay. You’re safe.” Joslyn wrapped her arms around the young wolf and pulled her close.

  Marcus, Victor, and Michael watched me from the far side of the hangar. Their haunted faces said it all. The faster Xael paced, they more worried they became.

  We’d waited for an hour for the phone to ring.

  And now that it had, there seemed to be no help in sight.

  “What good are you, then? Don’t tell me to calm down,” Xael spat into the speaker of her phone. “Figure it out. I said, figure it the fuck out. He’s our brother for fucks sake.”

  She wiped her thumb across the screen and stared at Evander in silence. He brushed the back of his hand across her cheek and pulled her close. Quiet words were whispered. I didn’t need to hear the answer, it was written on my sister’s face as she turned to me. The slow shake of her head killed something inside.

  Tears streamed down her beautiful face. “They don’t know, they said. It’s demon’s blood…no one’s been infected before. No one knows.”

  “No.”

  The sharp gasp stilled everyone. Joslyn shuffled closer, her arm still strangled by the blood pressure cuff.

  “No, they have to know—someone has to know,” she said and swayed. “He’s in there. Don’t you get it? They’re both trapped under this…skin. They need us to fight for them.”

  “No one’s giving up,” Evander murmured and pulled her into his arms. “No one’s ever going to give up.”

  “You don’t understand…Zadoc can’t take it. It’s killing him, Evander. It’s killing him.”

  “Listen to me. He’s stronger than you know. We’ll get through this, we’ll all get through this.”

  But the fiesty, pregnant human shoved away from his embrace and stumbled toward me, whispering, “No, he’s not. I don’t feel him. I don’t feel him under all this…”

  She moved closer, reaching out to brush my arms. Her touch was electric, tearing through these black veins. Perfect brown eyes held me, drawing me into her. Images filled me, eyelids half closed, lips parted, a sigh of ecstasy…followed with a shudder.

  “He’s not strong enough…but the Wretched is.”

  Evander turned. His gaze narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  But she never answered. Her focus was on the right here and now. Pain filled those perfect eyes, forcing me to lower my head.

  She moved her hand to the bridge of my nose and then higher skimming the fractured bones of my horn.

  “Are you in there, Wretched?”

  “Joslyn, wait. You can’t—” Marcus started.

  “Leave her be, Marcus. Let her call him for God’s sake.” Xael’s stony words silenced him. “Let her call his Dragon. If anyone can get through to him it’s her.”

  “Can you hear me?” Joslyn whispered, her breath warm against my skin.

  I’d give anything to touch her again, to kiss her and not feel this muted horror—I’d give anything to just feel.

  “I know you’re in there.” She moved closer. “I want to say something I should've said a long time ago…thank you. Thank you for being there with me, for protecting me, for loving me.”

  Somewhere in the dark, an echo tore free…a howl of need.

  A blow of energy thundered through my mind as the Wretched rushed to the surface. Agony followed, sending shudders through my chest.

  “Zadoc can’t fight this, but you can. You’re stronger.” She brushed a hand across my cheek, her other skirted the blistering sores along my jaw. “You can fight this, I know you can…Zadoc can’t. I never wanted to choose. I love you both. I want you both.” Her hands tightened, drawing my face higher to meet her gaze. “But this baby needs a father. He needs someone to hold him, to care for him. He needs someone to hold his hand. He needs Zadoc.”

  The Wretched neared, drawn by the need in her eyes and the pain in her words. A tremble raced from her body and into mine.

  He only ever wanted her…from the first moment he heard her…until his dying breath.

  Her tremble took hold, spreading out like ripples on a quake. She didn’t need to say the words. He breathed in the sweetness of her scent and lowered his head to her stomach. A throb resounded. Joslyn was wrong. He was a father. He was a mate and as much as he hated to leave them…for her—he would.

  Her stomach bowed, something reached, pushing against the wall. The Wretched pressed his nose into the movement touching warmth, feeling love.

 
; I’ll be back for you… He lifted my head to meet Joslyn’s gaze …both of you.

  A thick tear gathered, blurring her. It slipped, carving through the festered scales.

  He’d broken bones.

  He’d shattered his mind.

  But that was nothing compared to tearing his heart in two.

  A quake raced through my mind, followed with a faint rumble. I dropped my head and the tear fell, splattering the concrete floor at her feet. The ground was sound, the roof steady—still the vibration grew, spreading out, gathering speed until the roar filled my head.

  And with the sound came the fire.

  Hot, searing flames swallowed my mind, burning brighter than I’d ever felt before. Orange danced with yellow until with a blast the color changed to blistering blue.

  I cried out with the force and fell to my knees.

  “Zadoc!”

  Voices pulled at me, but it was fire, the consuming power that nailed me to the ground.

  For her…the voice whispered, and for the first time I heard him clearly. Everything was always for her…

  Something in me shattered, fracturing into a thousand pieces like the glass door in the building we left, and in an instant, imploded inwards.

  “Zadoc, can you hear me?”

  Long strands of dark hair kept her from view. I lifted my head and the world seemed to shift out of focus and narrow in. Instead of standing under me, Joslyn knelt beside me. I gulped air and tried to speak. There was nothing but an arid hiss…but the words were there, already tumbling out of my heart…a heart that was fractured in two.

  But she held both pieces in the palm of her hand. I clasped her fingers, drawing her soft, perfect palm to my cheek and turned my head. The swell of her stomach consumed my view. I touched her, pressing my fingers into taut skin, and felt the movement underneath.

  A body part pressed. I traced the contours of tiny long fingers, and the small curve of a palm… This was my son. Tears wavered, and spilled. This…was…my…son.

  “Zadoc,” Joslyn whispered, combing her fingers through the long strands of my hair to squash my head against her.

  “The…first…thing I need after kissing you is a damn haircut.” The hoarse words burned.

  I flinched with her bark of laughter, everything around me crowded in.

  “Zadoc… Zadoc, buddy, are you okay?”

  A shadow cut across the glare. I lifted my gaze, and blinked. Marcus stood at the edge as though he hated to intrude.

  “Yeah,” I licked my lips. “I think so. I just feel…strange.”

  “Your Dragon, is he still there?”

  I closed my eyes and shot a flare into the dark of my mind. A scream of agony echoed, faint…but still there…still somewhere. “He is, but there’s something wrong. He’s not the same. He’s…”

  “Infected,” Joslyn whispered and looked away. “He’s infected with the blood.”

  “Demon’s blood.” The memory rushed in, circling me, surrounding me on all sides. “They made me drink…they made me. I had to make the choice. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me.”

  I reached for her hand. My words sounded hollow, as empty as my chest. “I don’t blame you…I could never blame you. I just…”

  “Miss him.”

  Joslyn answered for me. I nodded, tears spilled, running freely. There was a resounding ache in my heart—and I knew the source. The Wretched didn’t just consume the demon’s blood for her, he also did it for me.

  Love would fight. Love would surrender.

  I only hoped love would find a way to win.

  “This one needs rest, and this one needs to go to the hospital. I can’t go digging for bullets in a damn hangar,” the doctor snapped, striding into the middle.

  “I told you, I didn’t need anesthetic, Doc. Just get the fucking thing out; it’s goddamn pissing me off.” The soldier poked at his blood soaked shirt and then lifted his head. He took one look at me and stilled. “Jesus. I guess I can shut up now.”

  “Zadoc.” Evander motioned to men and woman in green. “This is Gunny, and her team. They’re the ones who stormed the building.”

  “I’d rise and shake your hand, but I’m a little underdressed.” I took one look at Gunny.

  Her eyes sparkled with devious glint. “Always the gentleman. I thank you, but we’ve got things to do, like organize some clothes for you to wear and somewhere to rest. We patrol a housing estate not far from here where wolves and humans cohabitate. We’ve got a spare room at Alpha’s place, plenty big enough for two. It’s yours if you want it.”

  “And X, we need a place for her,” Joslyn cut in. “She can’t be on her own.”

  “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” X shook her head. “I don’t want any trouble.”

  “I know of some shifters that can take you in, just until you rest and heal. They're good women, honest women. Shifters like you.”

  X took one look at the Marine and nodded. “‘Thank you, for everything.”

  Grime cracked with a smile as he nodded. “Save and protect, that’s what I do.”

  “I thought you went in hard, that’s what you told me,” Xael snarled. One brow rose as she faced the soldier. “FYI, or something like that.”

  “Woman, that was before I saw what you had under the hood. There’s not a snowball’s chance in Hell, I’m tangling with that.” He smiled, and gave my sister a wink.

  Xael stood stony faced. I bit the insides of my mouth to kill the laugh.

  “Thank you, thank you to everyone who saved my brother.” Michael was the only one to step forward, gripping each palm and stopped at the doctor. “Doctor…”

  “Angel…Angel Leigh,” she countered and swiped her hand against her white coat.

  “Then let’s get everyone out of here,” Gunny said. “Before they hunt us down. They’ll come for us. So each and every one of us needs to be prepared for that. They’ll come hard, so we have to watch each other’s backs.”

  My family fussed, handing me drinks, food…anything to ease their nerves. I hunkered in the corner, watching my home like it was the very first time.

  They all looked the same—except nothing was the same.

  I’d spent months in Hell, months locked up, chained up. Months beaten, starved, drugged…touched.

  The feel of that bitch’s hands haunted me. I wanted to gag, and expel everything inside me. All the hurt, all the rage. It festered like the demon’s blood, taking over my thoughts, stealing the time I had with Joslyn.

  I reached the room and found her, sitting amongst the children around the Christmas tree. She was pale and drawn, dark circles crowded her eyes. Her mouth nothing more than a bloodless slash. She’d been growing distant, pulling away from me and this morning, for the first time she wept.

  I tried to comfort her, tried to hold her. But everywhere I touched she flinched and pulled away. It was me, me she didn't want to be around, me she didn’t want to sit with.

  This young, small, supernova had done the one thing—the only thing she could to save me—she sacrificed another she loved…and he loved her.

  I could feel him down there, hacking, clawing, fighting with every breath of his immortal soul. He came to me in flashes of images, coated with soot, stained black. Festering and foul. He was sick, and growing sicker by the day.

  Protect her.

  His words resounded in the empty space where he’d once been.

  “Want to take a walk?” Victor moved into my line of sight.

  I gave a nod and stood. All eyes drifted toward me. Fear hovered at the edges of this day, dulling the smile in their eyes. I followed my brother out of the makeshift door and into the cold.

  We walked up the mountain, carving fresh tracks along an old path. Our forced conversation grew easier the longer we walked. I shoved aside the horror and smiled, each step grew harder on my wasted muscles until I was panting with the strain.

  “How about we head back down and see if we can steal some of that gin Marcus keeps hi
dden in his room?”

  I laughed at the image, knowing that stash would get us into all kinds of trouble, until a thunderous crash came from the house.

  My legs trembled as I lunged. I forced my strides to lengthen, pumping my legs through the soft snow as the Wretched let out a howl of rage. I told you to protect her!

  I punched through the plywood door and barreled into those standing around the fallen tree. The chair where Joslyn had been was on its side with shattered presents all around.

  A grunt followed a cry of panic. I swung my head to see her stumble, windmill her arms and fall to the ground.

  I sat forward as her hands went to her stomach as she hit with a hard brunt, letting out a cry of pain and stilled.

  No! screamed the Wretched.

  He sliced through my mind, shattering bones, slicing skin as talons broke through. But he wasn’t the same…and neither was I.

  A growl rippled from my chest.

  Not her…not her.

  I swung my head toward the movement as Joslyn raised a hand.

  “Zadoc. No,” Joslyn commanded as she reached for me.

  “Jesus Christ, what is that?” came from somewhere inside the room.

  I drew in the bitter scent of fear. It swelled, filling my cancerous lungs.

  Kill…kill them all.

  I closed my eyes, and swayed.

  “That’s my fucking brother,” Evander snapped.

  “Zadoc. Zadoc…”

  The pain in her voice raked my insides.

  Between his monstrous thighs, Joslyn crawled forward.

  “Get back. Everyone get the hell back!” Marcus screamed.

  I opened my eyes as the eldest of my line neared.

  He was too close…to close to my mate. Her jaw clenched with agony. I wrenched my head up and growled.

  Stay the hell away.

  Rage blistered as it shredded my throat. The fireball engulfed the room, and smothered the tree. Leaving tongues of flames where green pine had once been.

  I swallowed the blaze, drawing it into the hollow of my chest. The room was silent, Dragons and wolves stood numb.

  Can’t trust…can’t trust.