“What did they say?” I press.
“She didn’t give ’em a chance to say much. Not at first, anyway. They did agree to hear my testimony about what happened last night. But after they took my statement, Lina sent me back here while they all deliberated. Lina promised to come back as soon as they gave her an answer.”
“She sent you back alone?” I ask, a little surprised Lina would put Anna at risk like that.
Anna just shrugs. “It ain’t like I was outside the wards.”
“But . . . you had to travel to wherever the council is housed,” I say, glancing at Kash for confirmation. Or support.
But he shakes his head, smiling wryly. “Didn’t you pay attention, Pepper? As alpha, I have a direct line to the council’s headquarters in France.”
“France?” I repeat, wondering when I’d missed that particular nugget of info. Maybe right around the time they all turned out to be douchebags uninterested in helping us. “But how—”
“There’s a portal, Pepper. A spelled window that provides instant travel to and from.”
“A portal?” I repeat. “Like a magical doorway through time and space?”
Kash’s eyebrows lift. “Out of everything you’ve seen and heard of this world, this is what you can’t believe?”
“The boy’s got a point,” Anna says, laughing.
I turn to her. “And you weren’t scared?”
“There weren’t any evil werebros in there tryin’ to kiss me, make me their undead queen, or kill me, so no.” She shrugs. “Honestly, it was the least scary part of all this.”
She wiggles her eyebrows. “Maybe Birdie can set one up in our closets when I leave so we can see each other whenever we want.”
“Oh, brilliant,” I say, and Kash just mutters something about needing a “his and hers” sooner rather than later.
I grin.
A loud noise outside wipes that smile away. Something resembling a growl but more ferocious.
Anna looks stricken. She grips the counter with white knuckles.
“Do you think Brody’s arrived?” she asks.
“No. The moon’s not high enough,” I say, gulping the last of my coffee as Kash rises and heads for the door. “Anna, I want you to go to Levi’s cabin. Deissy has the place spelled and cloaked, but I’ll text Reagan and tell her you’re coming. They probably need another casserole anyway. Stay with them, and don’t come out for anything, all right?”
“All right.” She forces out a breath that’s still a little unsteady. “And Romy?”
“Yeah?”
She lifts her chin, and it’s the bravest I’ve ever seen her. “Show no mercy.”
“You got it, Anna-Banana.”
When Anna’s packed up, Danielle gives her a ride out to Levi’s place. I watch her go, hoping like hell Lina gets through to the council. Without their blessing, no other pack will offer us aid. And if Brody’s numbers are as great as Beau says, we’re outnumbered here. By a lot.
When a strangled howl sounds, I spin and scan the yard for the source of the sound. It’s similar to the growl and commotion I heard before, only now it’s louder. Closer.
I spot a group gathered near the treeline and hurry to see what’s happening.
When I get close, I stop and stare at the impossible sight before me.
“What the…”
Out of all the possibilities I imagine, this is the last thing I expect to find.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask no one in particular.
Bellamy, the pack member I’ve seen following Reagan around, speaks up. “Talia and Lynch were sparring, and I guess he knocked her down and pissed her off.”
“This was the result of her temper?” I ask in disbelief.
Bellamy shrugs.
“Is this normal?” I turn to Kash, who’s staring, wide-eyed, at Talia.
The others gathered around are giving her a wide berth, and I can’t say I blame them.
“Uh, no. This is definitely a first,” he assures me. “That’s why everyone’s watching.”
Talia growls again, leaving no doubt that she was responsible for the sound I heard earlier; something between a wolf’s growl and Talia’s hangry curses. A sound that a creature makes when caught between two forms. Which makes sense, considering Talia’s hands and feet are furry paws, but her arms and legs are smooth and very, very human.
Not to mention the shock of bright pink hair spilling up and out of the top of her furry werewolf head.
She looks like she belongs on an eighties Teen Wolf poster as Michael J Fox’s very curvy, very pissed off girlfriend.
“This is insane.” I turn to glare at Lynch. “Fix her.”
“What? Don’t look at me,” Lynch says, “I’m not responsible for . . .” He gestures to Talia. “Whatever that is.”
“Actually, considering you created her, I’d say you are,” I tell him. “She’s half-shifted. That’s not even a thing.”
“Don’t put this weirdness on me. This is all her,” he says, turning back to watch Talia growl again.
She stalks closer to him, but halfway there, she sees me and switches direction.
“Uh, Tal.” I watch her warily, trying to sense awareness in her big, brown eyes. If she didn’t look so murderous, I’d laugh. She looks like she stole half a werewolf costume from a Halloween store. “You wanna tell me how in the hell you managed this particular look?”
She doesn’t slow as she marches straight up to me, and I can feel Kash tense behind me. His hand shoots out, clasping the back of my shirt like he’s ready to pull me out of the way at a moment’s notice. But I’m not scared of Talia. No matter how insane she looks right now.
She continues to stalk forward, stopping abruptly when she’s close enough to pet. I mean, touch. Her eyes gleam with the promise of violence. And a second promise of enjoying said violence.
When she speaks, her voice is gravelly and rough. More growls than words, but I manage to understand her when she says, “Holy fuck, Rom, do you have any idea how much this is going to freak out those werebro douchebags? They’re going to shit their pants when they see me.”
“Uh, except they aren’t wearing pants, Tal. You are.”
She grins, a fierce reveal of glistening teeth. “Exactly.”
She howls, but it’s a strange, lilting sort of attempt that makes the watching wolves cringe.
Lynch swipes a hand down his face. “Trouble, this is not how it’s done.”
She shoots him what I think is a glare before responding. “You fight your battles your way, and I’ll fight my battles mine, Scruffs.”
Lynch’s worried eyes meet mine, and I sigh.
“Cut him some slack, Tal. He’s just worried about you. He doesn’t know how to protect you like this,” I say, gesturing to her half-wolf half-woman form.
Her eyes gleam when she turns her attention back to me. “I’m not looking for someone to protect me,” she says, dropping her partial shift. “I’m looking for my sword.”
Chapter 16
A startled cry has me tearing my eyes away from Talia before I can even begin to tell her how much I love her crazy ass.
My eyes dart to where a small group is huddled around something on the ground. I catch sight of wild hair and a wrist full of bangles, and my stomach drops.
“Birdie,” Kash breathes, pulling me along as he starts toward her.
The crowd parts as we near, and we kneel next to her crumpled form.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, reaching out to claim her clammy hand.
She’s conscious but pale. Her brows are furrowed in concentration and pain, making her look her age for the first time since meeting her, and my heart clenches in my chest. Beads of sweat line her brow and lip, and her breathing is shallow. Beside me, Kash’s body is a wall of rigid muscle, tension rolling off of him in waves.
“Talk to us, Birdie,” I try again, hoping to get some answers before Kash loses his cool. “What can we do to help you? Should we send for
Mirabelle or Deissy?”
She shakes her head vigorously, her throat working as she tries to respond. “Get ready,” she manages to pant out. “The wards–” Her words are cut off by a loud popping sound followed by the sound of a gale-force wind.
Gasps and murmurs sound throughout the crowd as a portal appears in the middle of the field. Despite having never actually seen a portal before, I am one hundred percent certain that’s what this is. An ethereal sort of background glows with a greenish light that swirls and moves like painted canvas. I pause, caught up in the magic. It’s beautiful, really.
Kash is on his feet in an instant, his body tense and on alert as he eyes the portal. The face of a man I don’t recognize becomes visible, and Kash’s shoulders relax.
“It’s okay,” he says. “It’s the council.”
I stand, preparing to move to Kash’s side now that I know Birdie isn’t in danger from whoever this stranger is, but I pause.
“Logan,” Kash says, clear affection in his tone. “It’s good to see you,” he says, taking a step forward.
The man’s sandy blonde hair is disheveled, and his brown eyes dart around the clearing. A feeling of unease crawls over my skin, and my hand reaches out of its own accord, stopping Kash from moving any closer.
Kash frowns, his confused gaze landing on my hand before shifting to my worried face, but my focus isn’t on him. It’s on the man. Logan. His mouth opens, but the only sound that comes out is a gurgle before his eyes go glassy and his body tumbles out of the portal.
A shriek lodges in my throat as Brody steps out of the still-open portal, not even bothering to step around Logan’s lifeless body.
A vicious growl rips from Kash’s throat, and his body starts to tremble beneath my fingers. I take a quick step back, afraid to be too close to him while he fights for his tenuous hold on control, especially when my own body is currently responding the same way.
“I wouldn’t attack just yet,” Brody says. “There’s a reason I haven’t moved from in front of this portal. You’d never make it to me before I escaped back through it,” he says smugly, barely giving Kash a cursory glance. His eyes sweep past him until they land on me, and a cruel smile twists his lips. His teeth glisten in the dim light of the still-rising moon.
“Coward,” I spit. “Of course you’d run away again. Because you know Kash will kill you.”
“Romy,” he sneers. “I told you I’d be seeing you soon.” His threat is drowned out by the sound of the blood pounding in my ears.
“I even brought you a little present,” he says, stepping aside slightly as another body is tossed through the portal from behind him.
Vomit burns at the back of my throat as I take in the familiar figure lying in a heap on the ground. Deep lacerations cover his back, oozing with each movement as he attempts to sit up.
“No,” I scream, my eyes glued to Justice’s battered form. His leg is no longer twisted in an awkward angle, but dried blood coats his clothes.
His head turns in my direction. His icy blue eyes, barely visible through the swelling, are filled with defeat, and my legs give out.
At least he’s alive. For how long, I have no idea.
“You’re going to pay for this,” Kash vows. “And I’m going to enjoy it.”
Brody just grins maniacally.
A crazed cackle splits the air, causing the hairs on my body to stand on end. I tear my gaze away from my friend, searching for the new threat as Kash and his pack begin to shift.
The portal behind Brody still glows an eerie green, but in the center now stands the witch from the coffee shop. Regina. She’s dressed in a black tank top and skintight, charcoal-colored jeans that are torn up the legs, revealing even more of her pale, inked skin. Her tattoos pulse, the black ink seeming to writhe beneath her skin. Her long raven hair whips around her face as she chants in a guttural tone.
All around the clearing, chaos breaks out as more and more portals pop into existence. Yellow-eyed werebros spill out of each new portal, surrounding us and yet somehow dividing us at the same time.
“Attack!”
Brody’s newly turned wolves rush to comply with their alpha’s orders, and fighting breaks out in small groups scattered around me. Kash is pulled into a faceoff with two other wolves, angling his body so he’s shielding me as he fends them off.
Behind me, Birdie lets out a war cry like I’ve never heard before. She’s standing again, though barely, and she looks ready to collapse at the slightest shift in power. Regina’s dark eyes shoot daggers in her direction as she steps from the portal, closing it with a flick of her wrist.
As soon as the main portal collapses in on itself, the other portals follow, winking out of existence one by one. The portals vanishing seems to boost Birdie’s strength, and she steps forward to face off with Brody’s witch.
Regina’s cold eyes gleam as Justice’s cry of pain tears through the night, followed by an enraged howl sounding in the distance.
My eyes dart back to where I last saw my friend, and my brows crinkle in confusion as I spot him still hunched over on the ground. A new wound is opening on his back, and my eyes widen in horror as Regina brings her hand to her mouth, licking the blood that drips from her long nails.
She’s using magic to hurt Justice. The realization washes over me, and my control snaps.
My clothes explode around me as I shift into my wolf. The moment my paws touch the ground, I’m running, hellbent on making Regina pay. I plow through a couple of werebros, sending them sprawling. The first one recovers, and I tear into his throat, ripping flesh away from bone with my sharp teeth. He yelps and collapses as I do the same to the second one. When they’re both put down, my heart pounds. The realization that I’ve just killed threatens to overwhelm me, but my determination drowns it out. I refocus on Regina.
Pepper, no! Kash’s warning sounds in my head a second before I’m knocked off of my feet.
Pain spears through my side as I slide across the grass, but I shake it off, scrambling back to my feet.
My paws claw at the ground, trying to find purchase, but my body remains immobile like I’m running on a treadmill.
I huff out a frustrated whine, unsure of what’s happening to me. A white band of light wraps around my middle, holding me in place. My confused gaze follows the light to Birdie’s outstretched hand.
Her long white hair floats around her face. Her eyes glowing brightly as her magic courses through her. Clearly, she’s given up on holding the wards and is now using her magic offensively.
“Regina is mine,” she says, her voice booming with an otherworldly power. “I’ve still got enough magic in these old bones to teach this bitch a thing or two.”
The moment I nod my consent, she releases me. Her pure, white light lashes out, tangling with Regina’s inky, black magic. Their magic hisses and sizzles where it meets, shooting out sparks that the fighting wolves weave and dodge to avoid.
My gaze darts around the clearing as I try to spot my friends amongst the chaos.
The huntsmen are fighting with deadly grace, but they’re massively outnumbered. For each wolf they manage to cut down, two new ones take his place. I watch as Beau and Xan turn back to back, guarding each other as best as they can. A werebro lies dead at their feet.
I tear my attention away, scanning until my eyes land on Talia. She’s fighting in her weird half-shifted form. The wolves advancing on her growl and paw at the ground, unable to get too close, thanks to the samurai sword she brandishes in one unshifted hand. Any who get too close to her are quickly taken down by Lynch’s teeth or claws as he works in tandem with her. Judging from the wary looks she’s getting, her half-shifted, sword-wielding strategy is definitely intimidating.
I don’t even bother to ask where the sword came from.
“ETA 20,” she shouts in her weird, gravelly voice before running her sword through another wolf.
My gaze swings to Justice again, and I move to go to him, but the werewolves blocki
ng my path make it impossible.
My heart stops as Kash’s howl of pain echoes off the trees, and the ground beneath me trembles with his rage.
I run toward where he’s guarding Birdie’s back, weaving in and out of the battle raging all around me. My claws rake across the heels of a wolf that gets too close to Levi’s flank, sending him tumbling to the ground, but I don’t stop. My wolf has only one objective. Get to our mate.
The witches’ glowing magic makes it difficult to see around their strikes, so I stretch my senses, using mine and Kash’s connection to help lead me to him.
I skid to a stop, barely managing to avoid the body of a wolf as it flies past my face. My eyes finally land on Kash, who’s locked in battle. Wolves litter the ground near his feet, but a wave of replacements surge around him. One of them reminds me of Zac, but I can’t be sure, not in this chaos.
My heart clenches as I realize there are too many of them.
I jump over the fallen wolf, determined to make it to Kash, but something crashes into my flank. Claws rake across my side, and I howl in pain.
Kash’s head whips in my direction, giving his opponents the opening they need.
No! I scream at him through our mental connection. Fight, goddammit!
His response is lost as teeth pierce my coat around my neck. I thrash, using my claws to rake the underside of the wolf pinning me down, but the wolf refuses to let go. My attempts only enrage him further. The wolf growls, its teeth sinking further into my neck, but I refuse to give up. My back paw gains purchase, catching the skin at the wolf’s back leg and slicing through it with ease.
The wolf howls, releasing me and stumbling back a few steps. I scramble back to my feet, my eyes finally taking in my attacker.
Brody.
His eyes gleam with a murderous rage as he snarls at me, his teeth dripping with a mixture of my blood and saliva.
Shift, Red! Lynch’s words startle me.
“Plan D,” Talia’s gravel-coated voice growls out. “ETA 10.”
ETA what?
Her first words finally register, and I shuffle back further, determined to put enough room between Brody and me to allow me to shift.
The Girl Who Cried War Page 15
