The Girl Who Cried War

by Heather Hildenbrand

  What?

  I hate whiskey. Shit, maybe my injuries are worse than I thought.

  My eyes start to drift closed. Footsteps sound against the floor, and I manage to peel my bleary eyes open. A second later, Xan appears beside me. I recognize his shoes.

  He faces Regina, and when he speaks, it’s in a tone I’ve never heard from him before. His voice rings with authority and power.

  “Your kind has treaties against what you’ve done to help this pack. It’s unsanctioned, not to mention despicable, and for that, you must answer for your crimes.”

  “I don’t answer to any treaties, and I certainly don’t answer to you,” Regina tells him.

  Her snarky purr makes me want to slap the magic right off her skin.

  My anger only makes my neck pulse hotter and brighter. Fire burns through my veins.

  My vision starts to blur, and black dots encroach around the edges.

  Exhaustion sets in, making my entire body feel heavy and wooden.

  Behind me, there’s another loud crash and then a howl that ends shortly. More footsteps as Xan turns and rushes toward something I can’t see.

  A second later, a roar fills the air followed by a whimper. Brody’s furry wolf-body sails over me, falling in a crumpled heap next to Regina. She reaches down, tangling her fingers in his fur, and pulls him back into the safety of her circle once again.

  “Not so fast,” Birdie says, but Regina drowns her out.

  She utters words in a language I don’t recognize, and then there’s a pop. Wind whispers past me, and Talia slams her palm against an invisible force just beyond where she’s crouched with me.

  “Dammit,” she mutters.

  Somehow, my foggy brain is able to comprehend what is happening. Regina has cast another protective barrier around them, but this time, she’s left them visible, wanting to taunt us. They’re untouchable now.

  “You shouldn’t have come.” Regina’s voice is amplified, somehow echoing from all around us. “You were foolish to think you could rival us. We’ve only let you see what we wanted you to see,” Regina says smugly.

  Bare feet step up beside me, and a naked Kash crouches on my other side. He looks down at me, his expression revealing rage, desperation, and fear as he takes in my injuries.

  Not just bad then. Horrific.

  Shit.

  “Montgomery,” Brody wheezes, standing unsteadily as he shifts back to his human form. “Looks like your mate could do with some quality time with her alpha.”

  I angle my head just in time to see him wink at Kash.

  With a roar, Kash stands, beating his fists against the invisible barrier between him and Brody.

  “Why would you do this to her?” Kash demands.

  “I’ve given her what she wants most,” Brody purrs. “Which is more than I can say for you, isn’t it?”

  Kash growls. “She’s my mate. She’ll never join you.”

  “It’s my venom running through her veins now. That makes her mine. You thought you could take my queen? I’m just returning the favor, though if I’m lucky, yours won’t make it. Either way, I’ll consider it a win,” Brody says. His cold eyes drift to where I lay crumpled on the floor, a malicious grin curving his lips. “It’s looking like the latter from the looks of her.”

  “I will kill you for this,” Kash says. “And for what you did to my father.”

  “Otto was clinging to a dying age,” Brody says with a sneer that only serves to enrage Kash further. “The only thing I did was let him die with it.”

  Kash doubles his efforts, clawing at the magic separating him from Brody. When he roars again, Birdie whispers something, and suddenly, a wall takes form before my tired eyes; a translucent bluish surface that shakes and shimmers with each of Kash’s poundings. Kash grabs it and pulls. A splinter of something chips off, and Brody’s eyes go wide.

  “Get us out of here, Gina,” he says, reaching a hand down to hers.

  Regina grasps his hand and whispers a flurry of foreign words just as the barrier crumbles beneath Kash’s determined fists.

  “No!” Birdie steps forward, flinging a string of words at the couple. But they’re already gone, vanished into thin air.

  “Shit,” Xan mutters from somewhere behind me.

  “Check outside,” Lynch says, and retreating footsteps answer him.

  “Kash,” Talia says sharply.

  Kash growls and turns to me, his expression draining of rage and then color. Pale and stricken, he assesses me quickly then turns to Talia.

  “Bring the car around,” he says shortly, and she nods, already rising.

  “Lynch,” she calls as she hurries out. “Lynch, I need the keys!”

  “You don’t have time to get her home,” Birdie says, and her voice sounds like it’s coming through a tunnel far away.

  Kash hangs his head, taking my hand gently in his own.

  Underneath the pain and my failing vision, exhaustion is turning fast to something worse. I can feel my own awareness slipping away. With each ounce of blood that leaks from my torn throat, I become more sure Brody has done something terrible. Something none of them can fix. Not even Kash.

  One more glance at Kash’s drawn face, and I know I’m right.

  “Kash,” I whisper.

  He looks up at me, his eyes sad. “Yes, Pepper.”

  “I love you. Always.”

  Kash’s enraged roar is the last thing I register before I slip into the peaceful darkness.

  Chapter 7

  A sharp sting has my eyes fluttering open.

  “Don’t you dare fall asleep, bitch!” Talia’s manic gaze swims before my eyes.

  “Tired,” I mumble, too exhausted to fight her.

  “Do something,” Talia shrieks.

  “Back up, Trouble. He can’t help her if you don’t let her go,” Lynch says softly.

  Talia huffs. The warmth that surrounds me disappears, and I whimper. I’m so cold.

  Heat surrounds me again, this time even hotter than before. A gentle hand strokes my hair, and I sigh. I know instinctively, without having to open my eyes, that it’s Kash. I’d know him anywhere, even here on the brink of death.

  “We need to help her.” Lynch’s voice is urgent. “Make sure she’s linked to you and not him when she--”

  “I can’t–” Kash’s voice cracks. “She’s lost too much blood. She won’t–”

  “Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Kash Montgomery!” Talia’s hysterical shriek fills the room. Judging from the scent of sage still hanging in the air, it’s the same room where I passed out. Regina’s sad sack of a rental. Which means I couldn’t have been out for very long.

  But why are we still here?

  “One of you had better do something, or I’m going to kick all of your asses,” Talia warns from somewhere behind Kash.

  “I’ll help her if you won’t,” Justice growls. A brief scuffle sounds from the door before Lynch’s gruff voice rings out.

  “Don’t make him compel you,” Lynch grits out. “He’s got enough on his plate right now.”

  “Move aside, boy. Let me look at her,” Birdie says.

  A cool hand presses to my ravaged throat, and I moan in relief.

  “I’ll do what I can to stop the bleeding, but I’m not going to lie. This will hurt like the devil. She may look on the brink of death, but she’ll fight. If you can’t hold her down, you need to step aside.”

  “Let me do it, son,” Xan says, but the person holding me refuses to let me go. Instead, his grip tightens.

  “No. I’ve got it. It’s my responsibility,” Kash says.

  “That may be true, but your wolf won’t allow harm to come to your mate if you can help it. You may not be able to stop yourself from hurting Birdie. It’s safer for both of them if I hold Romy. I’ll be careful. You have my word.”

  “Fine, but I’m staying right here,” Kash reluctantly agrees, and my body is jostled as Xan moves to take Kash’s spot. Kash must not go far because
his hand reaches out to grasp my own a moment later.

  “Stay with me, Pepper,” he whispers as he kisses my nose. Then he looks away. “Lynch, don’t let me hurt anyone.”

  “You’ve got it, Boss.”

  A hand returns to my neck, and I sigh as the cool fingers take away the odd burning in my throat. The relief is short-lived. The hand heats up, burning me with a new ferocity, and my sigh turns to a gurgled scream.

  Xan’s strong hands pin me down as my body arches off the ground.

  “I’m so sorry, Pepper,” Kash’s voice whispers near my ear. His hand grips my own in a bruising hold. “Just hold on a little longer.”

  He repeats the same words over and over as my screams echo around the room. In the background, a soft crying starts.

  After what feels like an eternity in the flames of hell, the fire recedes, and Birdie drops her hand.

  “That should be enough,” Birdie says. “Her bleeding has slowed. The rest is up to you, boy.”

  “I’m so sorry, Pepper,” Kash’s voice breaks. “I didn’t want it to happen like this.”

  The sadness that laces his voice tugs at my heart. I want to open my mouth and tell him it’s okay. That I’m not sorry. That I’d take more pain if it meant more time with him. That I wouldn’t trade a single second of my time with him, but my body won’t cooperate.

  “I know I promised you this wouldn’t hurt, but it will. I have to get more of my venom in you than Brody left. It’s the only way. I’m sorry, Pepper,” he whispers against my ear.

  Sweat slicks my skin, and exhaustion weighs on me. My stomach roils with nausea as I’m jostled once again.

  “What’s he doing,” Talia hiccups. “Did Birdie’s magic not fix her?”

  “I’m sorry, Trouble,” Lynch says, his voice grave. “Birdie was only trying to stop as much of the bleeding as she could. She’s been bitten by Brody, darlin’. Kash needs to bite her enough times that his venom outweighs Brody’s, or she’ll wake up belonging to Brody’s pack. Normally, this wouldn’t be so risky, but she’s lost too much blood. He’ll try to make it easier on her, but it’s the only hope we have.”

  “He’s making her a werewolf here?” Talia hisses.

  “He’s going to try,” Lynch says quietly, and I know even through the haziness what he’s trying not to say. My wounds may be too severe to make it through the change.

  “In the lair of the demon bitch from hell?” Talia asks. “This isn’t where Romy would want to get her happily ever after.”

  “I’ve warded the property. Technically, it’s our lair now,” Birdie says, her voice drifting farther away from me. “But we should probably get this show on the road. Just to be safe.”

  “Wait!” Talia yells.

  “We can’t, Trouble. She needs to be turned now. Her wolf may be able to heal her, but only if we change her as soon as possible.”

  “All right,” Talia says, her voice coming closer to where I lay on the hard floor.

  Her hand wraps around my own as she settles next to me.

  “Wait for me, bitch,” she says, her voice a whisper in my ear.

  “You can’t lay next to her, Trouble. This is a very private thing.”

  “Bite me, asshole,” Talia says.

  “I understand you’re upset. But we’re doing the best we can. In case you haven’t noticed, the room is clear except for the six of us. Even Justice stepped outside with the rest of the pack to guard the house and give Kash and Romy some privacy.” Lynch sighs when Talia remains unmoved. “I’m serious.”

  “I’m serious too, big guy. Bite me.”

  “Wait. What?” Lynch croaks.

  “You heard me. Bite me.” Talia says, determination steeling her words. “I’m not letting Romy go through this alone. What the hell kinda beta would I be?”

  “Trouble, I–” Lynch breaks off, his words strangled.

  Talia huffs. “If you don’t want to bite me, just go outside and send someone else in who will.”

  A growl rumbles around the room. Lynch’s enraged voice sounds from too close by.

  “Nobody will bite you but me, Trouble,” he growls. “I meant that I can’t bite you because it will mean something different to me than it will you.”

  “Spit it out, Lynch. We’re running out of time.”

  “I love you, you stubborn pain in the ass!” Lynch roars. “You’re like bacon. You make everything better. I didn’t fall for you. You tripped me. Don’t you see? I can’t change you because doing so would make you my mate, and I don’t think you’re ready for that.”

  Talia leans over me. “Be right back, Rom,” she whispers. Footsteps shuffle, and the weight of Talia’s body against mine disappears.

  “Lynch Foster,” she says, her tone vulnerable. “You big idiot. I know that I’m a handful, but that’s why you’ve got two hands.”

  “What are you saying, Trouble?”

  “I love you with all my butt. I would say heart, but my butt is bigger.”

  A thump sounds, followed by Talia’s shriek and Xan’s chuckle.

  “Now that that’s been settled,” Birdie says. “How about we officially make these girls your mates.”

  Tears slip from the corners of my eyes and Kash kisses them away.

  “Let’s get you both those happily-ever-afters. What do you say, Pepper?” Kash whispers against my neck.

  My body is still too weak to respond, but I manage a slight finger twitch that has Kash releasing a small breath.

  Suddenly, Talia’s hand is back in mine.

  “Okay, let’s do this bitch,” she says like she’s psyching herself up.

  “Are you sure, Talia?” Kash asks. “What about your family and the life you had planned after college.”

  “I’m sure,” Talia says without a hint of uncertainty, “that was never my life. It’s about time I started making my own choices, and I choose Romy. And Lynch. Always.”

  “Okay,” Kash says, a smile in his voice, and my heart pinches at the way he cares for my friends. He wanted to give her one last out. It was sweet but unnecessary. When Talia makes her mind up about something, there’s no changing it.

  “This will hurt,” he admits. “This isn’t how it’s normally done.”

  I want to ask what he means, but suddenly Kash is everywhere. Teeth scrape against my skin, biting and then soothing as he moves. His weight settles against me as his hands trail up my sides. Soft kisses pepper my face and his tongue traces the shell of my ear. He whispers to me, telling me he loves me over and over. My body tingles with awareness as his nose trails up the column of my throat, biting as he goes.

  He kisses the uninjured side of my neck, licking and nipping, until at last his teeth descend and sink into my skin just above my collarbone.

  I moan at the pressure, my body too weak and yet somehow more alive than I’ve ever felt all at the same time.

  Slowly, he pulls his teeth out, licking the spot and sealing the venom inside.

  Heat surges as the venom spreads, and I bite my lip to hold in my cries, determined not to make this harder for him.

  “I’m sorry, Pepper. Stay with me. Please,” he whispers before his teeth sink into my wrist. He licks the wound, and the coals inside me flare to life again.

  His teeth sink into me over and over again, and with each new bite, the fire burns hotter. Tears stream from my eyes as the fire consumes me from the inside out.

  Kash kisses the tears away, continuing to mutter words of devotion and apology, but my brain has shut down.

  Kash bites near my hip before sealing it closed with a swipe of his tongue, and the fire raging through me reaches its pinnacle, robbing me of breath.

  “Sleep, my mate,” he growls, as darkness captures me once again.

  It’s only as I drift lazily into unconsciousness that I realize the words weren’t said aloud.

  Chapter 8

  I wake to Talia’s shriek, confusion swirling through my mind. “Keep it down,” I groan. Instead of my own words,
all I hear is a yipping bark echoing around the room.

  My eyes pop open and dart around, searching for the source of the sound. But there’s only one other person inside the room where I’ve woken.

  Where the hell am I, anyway?

  Beside me, Talia is naked. My eyes widen, and when she sees me awake, she grabs the sheets from the bed we’re both in, trying to cover herself. I startle, confused about why we’re lying in bed together sans clothes and glance down.

  My mouth falls open, my tongue lolling to the side as I take in the red fur that covers every inch of my four-legged body. Suddenly, my memory of before comes crashing back in. The witch. Brody biting me. And then Kash sealing his venom inside my body.

  Holy shit! I’m a werewolf!

  “Holy shit, Romy? You’re a wolf,” Talia breathes. “Wait!” she says, a look of confusion crossing her face as she double-checks her own human body. “I’m a wolf too, aren’t I?”

  “Rawr,” she says, making claws with her human hands.

  Nothing happens, and I tilt my head to look at her.

  “Wait. You aren’t evil are you?” she asks, backing away a little. “I mean, if I say, ‘Brody is a giant dildo,’ you don’t feel the urge to attack me to defend his honor or anything do you?”

  Hell no! I shout, but the words just come out as more high pitched yips. I shake my head, frustrated.

  “I’m gonna take that as a no,” she says. “Your eyes are still green instead of the creepy yellow of all the werebros, which is good because my wolf is on the fritz, and I seem to be missing all of my weapons, so I don’t think I could exactly take you right now.”

  I tilt my head and grin.

  Her eyes narrow. “Don’t you look at me like that, Romy! My wolf is broken or some shit, but I remember everything, including you almost dying on my ass, so get your furry little butt back in human form so I can yell at you and then hug you.”

  I look down at my red fur coat, so much like the shade of my hair. My belly is cream, and the tip of my tail is black like it was dipped in ink. I’ve never seen a wolf of my coloring before, and I worry briefly what Kash will think.