by Lexi Blake
“See, sweetheart,” Dev breathed into my ear as he pointed. “There’s Zack.”
A brown wolf prowled the edges of the massive pack, circling around. His gaze would stray to the tent every now and then, waiting and watching for his chance to get past the guard. We were damn lucky the guard hadn’t gone in there or he might have discovered Daniel’s coffin and the small army of pixies we’d ordered to stay behind so the wolves didn’t try to eat them.
Halfer suddenly held the paw up. Behind me, Lee groaned. The wolves stopped what they were doing and all focused on their new master. After a moment, I watched as four small groups of wolves took off in various directions, no doubt trying to figure out where we’d gone. Even worse, one of the men was now walking up toward the house, toting his rifle behind him. He was going to search the house and eventually he would find the door we had been forced to leave open. We’d bolted the gate from the inside but I was certain Halfer had come prepared.
“Damn it. I hope he doesn’t have any C-4.” Dev didn’t sound too hopeful because I was sure if he was running this, he would have come prepared. “Screw our contracts, Zoey. From now on I’m bringing in weapons whether our allies like it or not.”
This was the second time our playing by the rules had cost us with Halfer.
“Do you see the way he has to hold up the paw when he wants the wolves to do something other than prowl?” I pointed out.
He nodded. “He’s been doing it a lot. I think he has to do it to maintain such a large group. And he obviously has to remain in direct contact with it.”
“How good is your brother with that bow of his?” I wished I didn’t have to rely on that bastard, but we were running out of time.
Dev got still as he followed my line of thought. He shook his head because he knew I was right. “He’s the best archer in generations. It’s like the weapon is a part of his body. Even so, it’s a small target and we’re a long way away.”
Declan snorted behind us where he had crawled forward to listen in like the sneaky bitch he was. “I could hit that with my eyes closed and the rest of my body engaged in a bit of fornication.”
It was time for my brother-in-law to stop talking and do a little walking because the minute they got that gate open, we were going to be surrounded.
“I am going to need a better perch than this, however.” Declan craned his neck to look around. “I would have a much better spot if I climb up a bit, but then I would be exposed.”
The three of us moved back in the cave so we could speak more freely and the others could hear us.
“If the prince climbs out of the cave, they will shoot him,” Padric pointed out because guarding the royal was his chief occupation in life.
“We need a diversion.” Dev ran his fingers through his hair. “This is where the grenades would have been helpful, John.”
“You really like blowing shit up, don’t you, Quinn?” McKenzie asked, rolling his eyes. He looked like a man who’d had to blow up too many things to think it was cool anymore.
He did, I acknowledged silently. Daniel had forced Dev to watch far too many action movies in the last couple of months. After exploring the oeuvre of Michael Bay, Dev had started buying all kinds of exotic explosives. He was now obsessed with big bangs. He sometimes forgot that small diversions could work just as well.
I suddenly had one of those awful ideas in my head. I get really dumb ideas from time to time. They usually end with me dying or getting my ass handed to me.
“So you want the faery to shoot the damn paw out of Halfer’s hand?” Lee asked, leaning against the cave wall. “What’s to stop Halfer from running back to get it?”
“Uhmm, the wolves who suddenly get their free will back,” I explained. “I think they might be pissed off and not at us.”
“This is a terrible plan,” Padric said, shaking his head.
“It’s the only one we have.” I really hated this rule-by-committee thing. It was easier when I was running my own damn crew. I just had to deal with Daniel’s objections because everyone else knew I was the boss. I hated having to justify everything. It was just about time to act and let the others follow my lead.
“The fact that everyone’s attention would suddenly be on Declan could give Zack the shot he needs at taking out the guard and getting to Daniel.” Dev stared out the cave, thinking.
“Nice, brother,” Declan said but even as he groused, he was snapping those imperious fingers. “So I am to be bait. That is a loving way to describe the man who shared a womb with you.” Reality twisted around a tall Fae with long blond hair. He handed Declan his bow and arrow with a deferential bow and gave Padric a long silver sword.
“Are we needed, Your Highness?” The guard asked the question with an academic tone.
Declan waved him off. “Not yet, Geary. The cave is too small for all of us. You may go.”
Neil’s eyes were wide as the Fae disappeared again. “That was cool.”
“Well,” Declan said with a small smile. “I suppose we will see now if I am faster than those bullets Zoey is so impressed with.”
But I had no intention of letting our only hope of getting out of this alive be a target. If they shot Declan, we had no one else who could do what we needed. If they saw him moving, then the wolves would be all over the cave and we were done.
Declan would need to move into position, set up his shot, and take it. He wouldn’t do that in one easy, fluid move no matter how good he was. The truth of the matter was we still needed bait. While I wasn’t sure exactly what Halfer’s orders were to the wolves, I did know I was his prime target. If we sent someone else out, say a McKenzie, there was no way to know if the wolves would go for him. I thought they would follow him until they got my scent and then chase me down in the cave, taking everyone out in the process. I had no doubt Halfer would let the wolves kill everyone, but he would make damn sure I went first.
When it comes to bait, shouldn’t you always go with the choicest morsel when trying to hook a big fish?
Dev sighed beside me and suddenly his hand was in mine. He leaned down and spoke quietly in my ear. “You’re the most obnoxious woman I’ve ever met. You are certain this is the path you want to take?”
My mouth was hanging open, and Dev laughed lightly. “How did you…?”
“I’ve been through enough of these little adventures to know what you will do, my wife,” Dev replied, a sparkle in his eyes. “I also know I can’t stop you. Besides, it really is the only thing that makes sense. Those wolves want you, sweetheart. They’ll come after you no matter where you are. But this time, I think, I will let them eat you first.”
I grinned up at him, the adrenaline already pumping through my system. Declan was at the edge of the cave now. He reached up and pulled himself over the cave ledge. Without a word to the others, Dev and I took off, leaping in the opposite direction, going down. I heard Padric yell behind me and Declan curse righteously from above, but there was nothing he could do now except the job.
Dev and I tumbled down a short hill. My husband pulled me to his chest and shielded me from the worst of the rocks and sticks with his big body. When we stopped, he was on his feet quickly, lifting me up with him.
Just in case the fuckers missed our little trip, Dev held up his gun and blasted two rounds in the air. The sound split the silence, cracking through the valley.
Every wolf in the area turned toward the sound, and Halfer’s head snapped around. Even from the distance, I could see the triumphant gleam in his eyes as he raised the paw over his head and the pack shifted as one great predator toward us.
“Shit, that’s a lot of wolves,” Dev said, shaking his head. “If we get out of this alive, I will be expecting payback for all the terror. I plan to take it out on your soft, sweet body.”
“I have no doubt.” I took his hand and began to run, but not before I saw that brown wolf taking his shot. As I turned, Zack was leaping onto the guard, his teeth at the man’s throat.
I
ran as hard as I could, trying to keep up with my husband’s long legs. It wouldn’t be long before Daniel was awake. We just had to stay alive long enough for Declan to do his job or Danny to wrestle the paw away from Halfer.
“Follow me,” Dev yelled as he started to run even faster but not in a straight line.
He zigged and zagged across the field because the wolves were not our only problem. Already one of the humans with Halfer was beginning to take shots at us. He was at a disadvantage. We had rolled down the hill and into the valley so we were on flat ground. The man with the rifle needed a sniper position and he just didn’t have one. Dev was making us a hard-to-hit target by constantly changing our path.
My lungs started to hurt as we ran because I’ve lived most of my life at sea level and my body was sadly human. Dev wasn’t even breathing hard yet, but my chest was burning and I could hear the wolves behind us, thundering through the valley, desperate to finally get their teeth into me.
I made the mistake of looking behind me and they were eating the distance between us like a single ravenous beast. They were going to catch us before Declan or Danny could save us.
Dev scooped me into his arms in a graceful move. He never stopped running, simply held me to him and ran as fast as his long legs would carry him. I looked into his eyes and saw Bris there. He winked at me and Dev’s body started to move faster than I had ever seen him. He’d told me he could strengthen Dev. I thought he meant strengthening his magic. Now I understood he made Dev stronger in every way. He was faster, stronger, more capable.
I locked my arms around his neck and turned so I could see behind us. Declan had his bow taut, waiting for that perfect shot. We only needed a moment more. I watched Declan, so focused on his target and then suddenly, we were falling and blood bloomed across Dev’s shoulder.
We tumbled, Dev falling first to his knees, trying so hard to keep me safe even as the bullet lodged in his bones. Dev or Bris, I wasn’t sure which, seemed unsure of what had happened.
“Goddess?” he asked, and now I was pretty damn sure who it was. “What is this thing?”
“It’s a bullet,” I told the fertility god who probably had never been shot before. More than likely he’d never seen a gun. From what I understood, he’d been dormant since long before someone decided to use gunpowder as a propellant.
“It hurts,” he said. “I do not like it.”
It wasn’t going to hurt as much as being torn apart by wolves. I tried to scramble up and pull Dev with me. They were close now, too close to run from. They would catch us with no trouble. I could run as fast as possible and get pulled down anyway, or I could spend the last minute I had in his arms.
“I love you,” I said, throwing myself around him. I held him close not caring about the blood. I really wanted to get eaten first. I didn’t want to watch it happen to him.
“I am sorry, goddess,” Bris’s voice said sadly. “It doesn’t seem fair. I wanted more time with you. I don’t want to go back to the darkness.”
“Give me Dev,” I ordered as the wolves reached us. Like the wolves they were, they circled us, not content to just rip and tear. They liked the terror. “I want my husband.”
Bris closed his eyes, acquiescing to my wishes, and when they opened again, Dev was there.
“Help me up, sweetheart,” Dev ordered.
I shook my head. “There’s nothing we can do now.”
He was looking, searching for anything he could use. The wolves were too close to throw up a barrier. We would get caught in it, too, and be torn apart by the vines and thorns. There were no trees within reach for Dev to command. His arm hung useless at his side anyway. Dev always used his hands when he called forth his magic. We were caught, and there was no way out.
I thought about Dev and Danny and the baby that might or might not be in my body. Could we have made it work? Could we have had that odd little family?
It didn’t matter now because the biggest wolf in the pack had broken from the circle. He charged forward, a locomotive of power and muscle and killing rage. I was in front of my husband, my back to his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me, an instinctive move, nothing that would stop the wolf. Dev shrank back from the teeth and claws, trying to take me with him.
I felt hot breath on my face and knew this was my last moment. I felt Dev’s warmth at my back and was glad that would be one of the last sensations I would feel. The wolf growled his triumph and opened his mouth to tear out my throat.
And stopped.
The enormous black wolf sat back on his haunches and surveyed the space around him as though trying to figure out just where he was and why he was about to eat these two people. He was calm now, and the confusion was obvious in his dark eyes. All around us the wolves were coming out of the artifact’s control. They stumbled and shook their mighty heads as though trying to clear the magic from their systems.
My eyes flew to the cave, and I watched as Declan swung down from his perch, a look of enormous superiority on his face. I watched as he called his guard, and ten Fae appeared at the cave’s entrance. Almost as one unit they turned to where Dev and I sat among the confused wolves. Declan pointed and I had no doubt it was me he wanted brought to him. If I let that guard take me, I would be held far from this fight and perhaps taken to Faery against my will. They were surely being ordered to stop me from doing something stupid.
The trouble was I still had stupid things to do, and I wasn’t about to let some royal guards stop me. I still had a job to do. I stood up and helped Dev. “We have to get that paw before Halfer takes it again.”
He nodded and despite what had to be the agonizing pain in his shoulder, he took my hand and started to run toward the camp where Halfer and that artifact lay.
Even as we ran, I could hear the gunfire and the screams of men.
I smiled fiercely because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt my Danny was awake.
Chapter Thirty-Three
I looked at Dev who was struggling now, his body so strong but he’d lost blood and the bullet was still lodged in his shoulder. Even as I watched, his body was trying to heal itself. Dev took Daniel’s blood, too, and the vampire blood didn’t think about the fact that no one had taken the bullet out. It simply healed. I wanted to wait, but that guard was making its way across the field and they weren’t heading into the important fight. They made a beeline for me.
“Dev,” I said, breathless as I ran back to help him.
“Go,” he said. “Get that paw. Daniel will keep Halfer busy. Take my gun.” He pressed the SIG Sauer into my hand. “It’s better than anything McKenzie had. Zoey, kill those followers of his. They would kill you. The guard is coming. They will aid me. Go.”
I didn’t think that was going to go the way Dev expected. He seemed to think they were coming to help us, and I knew for a fact that they weren’t. I kissed him with all my might and ran toward the gunfire.
I heard the shouting coming from across the field. Declan was screaming as I ran into the line of fire. The guard quickly changed course and they were moving to intercept me. Forcing my legs to pump as fast as I could, I broke for the valley. Even at a distance, I could hear Zack growl and then a mighty roar nearly shook the ground beneath me.
Daniel’s beast could be really loud. Daniel was calling to me. There was a burst of gunfire, but I wasn’t going to make it. The guard was so fast. I glanced to my right and they were rushing across the field to cut me off from the fight.
It was me versus ten big strong warriors of the sidhe. They had trained all of their lives to guard, protect, and hunt. I was a thief who almost never made it to the gym. What made me think I could win against that army? It was arrogant to even try, but I kept running.
Daniel needed me. It was Danny against Halfer and three men with high-powered rifles. Normally that wasn’t even the beginnings of a fair fight, but it was full daylight and no matter how much he fed on Dev’s powerful magic, daylight cut his strength way back. If Halfer or one of his men
got that paw back in their grubby little hands, the balance would shift firmly into their corner. Right now, the wolves seemed to not know what to do. I wanted to keep it that way, but it looked like the royal guard was going to fuck up my plans.
The one Declan had called Geary broke from the rest, and it seemed like he was going to win the fastest asshole guard competition. His hands stretched out toward me, ready to pull me down to the ground. I had no doubt I was about to be taken into custody, hauled back to Declan and held against my will. If I was lucky, he might let me watch as Daniel was taken apart by the wolves. Perhaps he would try to save his brother, but I couldn’t be sure of that. The baby that might be in my belly was the only thing he cared about. Angry tears flooded my eyes as I tried to evade Geary’s arms. Just an inch more and he would have me. Just another step and I wouldn’t be able to help Danny. I wouldn’t be able to save Dev.
Alone. I was so alone as he reached for me to pull me down and take me out.
Just as his hand was about to touch my arm, Geary hit an invisible wall and flew back. I did a double take, looked to the caves, and I knew I wasn’t alone anymore.
Sarah stood behind Declan, who screamed at his guard. He and Padric watched in confusion, and Felix stood beside them doing his best to keep their eyes on the field. Declan yelled, but he didn’t turn around because he had no idea Sarah was a witch. It would never occur to him that the cute, funny girl with the electric blue bob and ready smile could render his guards completely useless. Neil stood behind her and I saw him put a hand on her shoulder, lending her his strength.
I smiled up at my friends as I gave Geary my happy middle finger and went about my business because my crew had my back.
I ran hard, getting a second wind from the adrenaline of winning that particular battle. I broke through the tree line that separated me from the campsite, and the first thing I saw was Daniel. He was standing among the tents and campsites, his body already covered in blood and unfortunately I was pretty sure a lot of it was his. He was dressed in nothing but a pair of jeans, his boots, and a jacket he seemed to have slung on in lieu of a shirt. The jacket gaped open and blood covered his chest.
