Rogue Heart

by Samantha Wolfe

  I scowled. The man got my family into that mess with his lack of control. It made me sick. I bit my tongue to keep my mouth shut as Lyric eyed me worriedly.

  "I told them that, and Cob agreed, but Bill was hesitant. Helen was very pregnant, and you had just begun the change. He wanted to wait at least until you were healthy again before he went anywhere. We argued, and things got heated." Rett's face grimaced with shame. "I said some things I shouldn't have, and then he stormed off after I told him to go fuck himself."

  This time I couldn't contain the low growl that rumbled up inside my chest as I tightened my grip on my sword and unconsciously eased forward. An answering growl rose up from the wolves around us as Rett tensed for an attack. Lyric latched an arm around my waist to restrain me.

  "Ronan," she pleaded quietly.

  I glanced at her and let her calming energy help settle me. I nodded and returned my attention to her father, and the pack quieted down again.

  "Cob and I went home to get our families," Rett continued, "planning to meet up at another location to figure out our next move. I was driving home when Bill called to tell me he changed his mind. Apparently, he'd been followed from the pack's meeting and was nearly run off the road. He had to ditch his truck and steal a car to get away from them. We realized that the only safe way out of the mess we were in was to go our separate ways, since he didn't want to lead them to my family. But I didn't want to leave things the way they were between us, so I begged him to meet me, so I could apologize and see him one last time." He sighed in resignation. "It was another mistake." He shook his head. "I was followed too, and by the time I ditched them and got my wife and kids to where Cob was waiting, it was well past our agreed time to meet."

  Rett's face is twisted with pain and regret. It seemed genuine, despite how much I didn't want to believe it.

  "Bill must have been followed there without his knowledge or tracked in some way, because the Alpha's son and some of the pack members loyal to him had gotten to Bill before I got there. Their scent was still fresh as if I just missed them when I finally found Bill there unconscious and badly beaten. He wasn't healing and I...and I could smell wolfsbane on him."

  My mouth falls open as the memories from that night made fresh by the vivid dream I had several days ago begin to make sense for the first time.

  Rett eyes gleam with unshed tears. "The scent was so strong that I knew he wasn't going to make it, but I couldn't just leave him there. I owed him my life. He was so strong and stubborn that I know he never told them I was meeting him there. If he had they would've waited for me and made sure that I met the same fate.

  "I tried to move him, but he woke up and started screaming in pain until I put him back down. He was delirious from the wolfsbane and his injuries, but somehow managed to tell me where you and your mother were and made me promise to take care of all of you." His voice began to break, his words stuttered and faltering. "Then b...before he passed out again, he...he b...begged me to kill him." He looks at me with tears now streaming from his anguished eyes, unable to say what happened next, but I already know. His voice drops to a thready whisper. "I couldn't leave him there like that to suffer."

  I'm barely aware of Lyric's horrified gasp as my head suddenly swims dizzyingly. I feel my legs start to buckle, and Lyric helps ease me onto my knees as I go down, my sword falling to the ground from my lax fingers. "I was there," I whispered raggedly. "Outside the...the window."

  "Oh, Will," Rett said as he came closer and dropped down in front of Lyric and me. It didn't bother him that he used my first name this time. "I'm so sorry." He reaches out to snatch up one of my hands, and I don't fight it since all the murderous hate and rage I felt for him a few moments ago are gone now, replaced by empty numbness. "I didn't know you were there. I went back for you at that warehouse and all I found was your mother's body."

  "She...she died after having...having the baby," I explained in a hollow tone. Lyric sobs at my words, and puts her arms around me, her heartfelt sorrow and sympathy flowing into me. "I went to find Dad. I s...saw...you..." I trail off, unable to say the words describing what I now knew wasn't the coldblooded murder I'd thought, but a mercy for my suffering father. "Then I ran."

  "And the baby?" Rett asked hesitantly, as if he's afraid of what my answer might be.

  "She survived," I say to his obvious relief. "But I knew I couldn't care for her, so I left her in a safe place where she would have a chance at a good life."

  I glance over at Raven and look right at her as I continue. I can't hold it in. I want her to know who I am.

  "I never saw her again or knew what happened to her until two nights ago when I saw her in Rowdy's Tavern with the police officer who found her at the door of that fire station."

  The black she-wolf's cobalt eyes widen in sudden astonishment as she stares at me in shock along with everyone else. She immediately begins to shift, and within moments, she's crouching in her human form and looking at me with incredulous electric blue eyes that are so much like our mother's. Emmett sidles up to her as he eyes me warily.

  "You're...you're my brother?" she asks in a hoarse voice as she reaches out to bury a hand in her mates ruff.

  I nod jerkily, unable to speak, and watch as tears start streaming down her cheeks. Her mate nuzzles and licks at her face to comfort her as my own tears finally appear. Lyric's arms tighten around me as does her father's hand around mine. Raven shuffles forward on her knees to grab my other hand in a warm comforting grip, and I let myself go, sobbing over and over again as my pain and anguish pour out of me.

  After a while, I manage to pull myself back together somewhat, thanks to Lyric's comfort and affection wrapped protectively around my heart, and meet Rett's eyes.

  "Who?" I force out, unable to clarify what I'm asking, but Rett already knows exactly what I mean. Who really killed my father? Who really destroyed my life?

  "Viktor Bravas," he says in a tone dripping with revulsion.

  Holy fuck. My stomach churns sickeningly and I fear I might vomit. Lyric jerks back and stares at me in concern, feeling my sudden riot of horrified emotion. I meet her eyes as guilt twists in my gut. "He...he sent me on this hit," I say.

  Vicious snarls rise up all around me, Rett's being the most vehement. "He knows we're here," he says.

  I look at him again to see anger burning bright silver in his eyes, but there's a definite edge of fear sparkling in them too. I open my mouth to agree with him when movement over his shoulder catches my attention.

  The shadows just outside the clearing appear to be consolidating together. It's almost as if the surrounding moonlight is being sucked into a black void filled with nothingness. I watch as it stretches and lengthens toward the night sky, taking on a tall and menacing shape that instantly curdles all the blood in my body with terrified recognition. Lyric tenses as she feels my sudden fear, but before I can utter a word of explanation or warning, the dark shape hurtles forward, straight toward us.

  I react on pure instinct, my training taking over as I snatch up my discarded sword and surge upwards. I see the flashing edge of a dark blade coalesce from the shadows to barrel toward Rett's unprotected neck, and thrust my ninjato out to catch it a mere foot from making contact. The sound of metal clanging on metal jolts the silent forest, and then all hell breaks loose.

  I have only a fleeting moment to identify the gleam of dark eyes where a face should be just before a second blade flies out at my head. I duck and whirl aide, trying to draw this thing away from my mate and my sister, and feel the rush of air as what I assume is some sort of sword nearly slices into my face. I hear Lyric and Rett shouting, and wolves snarling all around me, but I don't dare to pull my focus from the thing as it continues attacking me. It's all I can do to defend myself against it's swift and violent barrage, barely blocking and dodging it's dual attacks as I'm forced backwards across the clearing.

  "Wyatt...Beck...Coop!" Rett shouts just before a huge blur of black fur along with a smaller blond wol
f and a dark brown one catch my eye. It's Wyatt, Beckett, and another pack member I don't recognize rushing in with teeth bared to attack our common enemy.

  Wyatt doesn't even get close enough to tag the thing, before one of its swords flicks out toward him, and he's forced to dance away, but not fast enough to keep him from being tagged in the shoulder. The same blade nearly catches Beckett and the dark-brown wolf as they retreat to a safe distance as well, and I use the distraction as an opportunity to press forward with my own attack. It turns another flurry of sword strokes my way again that I barely avoid. I know it's only a matter of time before I make a mistake that gets me killed.

  "It's too fast!" I hear Rett call out. "Back off!"

  I spare a quick glance to see him standing guard over Raven, who's still obviously weakened by her shift, along with Emmett still in wolf form. Good. This thing took Cormac from me, and I don't want it taking anyone else I love. My distraction, though brief, is enough for the tip of one of the thing's swords to lay open a long but thankfully shallow cut across my chest. I ignore the white-hot blast of pain and the warm blood cascading down my torso and continue battling to stay alive.

  "Lyric, Harmony!" Rett barks out next.

  A second later, Lyric, who I didn't even see shift, and a slender black she-wolf with gold eyes, who I assume is her older sister Harmony, streak toward the shadow thing. This time it's a different story as the two she-wolves converge on their target with a speed and agility that far surpasses the others.

  Within seconds, Lyric draws first blood. It's hiss of pain, and the metallic scent of blood lets me know this thing can be hurt. The two she-wolves and I find our rhythm quickly, and begin a concerted effort to wear the thing down as we move around it in a dance of fierce and deadly intent. Eventually, I manage to get my sword past the thing's guard and hit what I think is an arm. My reward is a shrieking cry in a human sounding voice and the magical cloak of darkness around it parting just enough to reveal a human-looking face grimacing in pain for a fleeting second. Even coated in silver the iron in my steel blade gets a reaction that confirms what I suspected this thing was the night it killed Cormac, and what we're dealing with now. A powerful dark fae, and though formidable, I know from experience that their kind can be killed. I grin in feral satisfaction, and spare a glance to catch Lyric's eye. Her eyes blaze with eager bloodlust because she also realizes we have a shot of taking this thing out now.

  The three of us step up our attacks, dodging in and out around it and mostly avoiding it's twirling blades, and only garnering a few small injuries for each of us. My sword and the she-wolves' fangs begin to take they're toll and the fae's speed finally starts to falter. And that's when the other wolves join the fray once more, Rett in wolf form again included. They all move together seamlessly to harry it from all sides, wearing down the shadow fae and distracting it with minor wounds again and again.

  They're efforts allow my own attacks to strike home one after the other until the iron in my blade has the magical shadows around it falling away to unmask its dark woodsy scent and true form. My foe is a tall and slender fae man with dark hair and eyes, and dressed in a black voluminous hooded cloak. His remarkably attractive face, that's typical for his kind, is twisted with rage as he fights for his life.

  Finally, my opportunity to end this comes when Lyric manages to dart in and rip a deep gaping wound across the back of one of his thighs with a vicious snarl. One of his blades whips out toward her throat, but before he can hurt her, I move in from the other side and hamstring his other leg. Then I land a hard kick to his back that sends him sprawling onto the ground. I press forward to place a foot in the middle of his back, and when he turns his head to glare up at me, my sword is mere inches from his face.

  "Drop the weapons," I say in a harsh tone.

  He complies, releasing what I can now identify as twin black titanium short swords, and twists around onto his back. I move my sword to his throat and touch the tip of the blade against his skin, forcing a hiss of pain out of him. I keep the steel pressed to his skin to make sure he can't use any other magic against me or the others.

  "Who sent you?" I ask with a baleful scowl as the wolves circle around us, bristling and growling menacingly with flashing eyes and gleaming fangs.

  The fae's nearly black eyes are oddly serene, despite the tight grimace of pain on his almost inhumanly flawless face. "Cormac taught you well," he says in a smooth cultured voice as he meets my gaze.

  His words have guilt-tinged rage ripping through me. I snarl and slice a shallow line into his skin that has him crying out in agony until I pull back. "Who. Sent. You?"

  He sighs softly, then nods with finality, fearlessly resigning himself to the knowledge that he's not going to live through this. "Very well," he finally says. "I suppose it serves no purpose not to tell you at this point. I was hired by Viktor Bravas."

  This time I join in the packs rumbling growls and teeth snapping for a moment before speaking again. "Why? To kill Rett too?"

  "Only if you failed," he says. "My primary target is you."

  I furrow my brows, just now making sense of the strange shadows I thought were a product of my booze and Lyric addled brain two nights ago after seeing Raven at the tavern. "Then why didn't you kill me when you had the chance that night in the rain?" I ask. "I was asking to get killed in the state I was in."

  "I was certainly tempted, but I wasn't hired for something so simple, unlike that pathetic pack of demonborn you burned up," -he grimaces in distaste- "or that wretched undead thing you put down." He smirked. "I hired them, in case you were wondering. I wanted to make things interesting."

  I shook my head in disgust. Fucking dark fae. They were always looking for ways to strew chaos wherever they went. "What were you hired to do then?"

  "I was to follow you until you killed Weylin, then tell you who was really responsible for your parent's deaths while I killed you slowly and painfully." He shook his head with an amazed expression tinged with amusement. "That human mage really is rather manipulative and cruel, even by fae standards. When I realized you weren't going to kill the Alpha, I decided it was time to claim the hit on both of you. After all, a paycheck is a paycheck, and it's even sweeter if I can sow some discord along the way. But I didn't take into account the fact that your enemies would turn around and fight with you, and I underestimated your ability with a sword." He smiled genuinely. "Cormac would be proud."

  "Don't you even say his fucking name," I say as I tremble with restrained fury.

  His smile slips into a smirk. "Killing Cormac was never personal, Nash. It was a job. If an assassin can't stay detached, then they have no business being in this line of work. Wouldn't you agree?"

  "Completely," I say viciously, then immediately shove the tip of the blade straight down into his throat. And with a hard twist of my wrist, I send him gurgling his way into death through the blood gushing and bubbling up from his torn and ruined throat. I yank the sword free, then bring it down to sever the fae's head from his body in one swift motion, making sure he stays dead permanently.

  I take a few steps back on trembling legs that suddenly feel like jelly, and abruptly end up sitting on my ass when they give out beneath me. I close my eyes and just sit there, fighting to catch my breath as all the little wounds I have begin to throb as they heal, and my body starts shaking from the adrenaline wearing off.

  A warm hand touches my shoulder, and I open my eyes to see Lyric once more in her human form beside me. She smiles tentatively with her eyes filled with love and relieved happiness that surges into me through our bond. A soul deep need for her falls over me, and I somehow find the strength to lunge forward and pull her into my lap. I wrap myself around her and hold her close to me, skin on skin, and bury my face in her thick caramel hair. I breathe in her wild honeysuckle scent and feel more at peace than I've ever felt before in my life.

  Killing Cormac's murderer gives me a small measure of closure, and even though Viktor Bravas is still out there,
I know that the past is something I can let go of now. I realize that the future is mine if I choose to take it, unfettered by the guilt of my parent's deaths and the abandonment of my sister. I know with certainty now that I'm right where I belong, and I'm never letting Lyric go again.

  31

  LYRIC

  Ronan puts the Mach 1 in park and stares intently through the early-morning mist at the little beige house with dark green trim. Though obviously a modular home, it's cute and lovingly maintained with nice landscaping and a wooden porch that wraps around to the back. In front of us in the gravel driveway sits an old gray Chevy Tahoe and an even older black Jeep Wrangler that belongs to my brother Emmett.

  Ronan's expression and demeanor are anxious, so I reach over to place my hand atop his on the gear shift. I feel his uncertainty and fear, excitement and anticipation. I send him a wave of comfort and affection in an attempt to soothe him a little. He looks over at me, and his face softens as he brings my hand to his lips and gently kisses my fingers. Then he pulls our clasped hands to his chest and stares at the house again in tense silence.

  He looks as tired as I feel since we've yet to get any sleep since the night before. After Ronan dispatched that terrifying fae assassin with our help, Dad insisted that all of us come to his house to talk. It was a good idea given the tension in the pack over Ronan. He may have fought with them against a common enemy, but he was still the man hired to kill our Alpha, so the suspicion and distrust were understandable. But what turned the tide wasn't anything Dad or I said, it was Mom.

  Dad went inside alone to wake her and explain the situation first before bringing Ronan into their home. Afterwords, she took one look at Ronan as he walked in and unwaveringly pulled him in for a fierce hug with tears streaming down her cheeks as she welcomed him home.