by Callie Rose
“Is it on a map?” I cut in.
Harry shakes his head and blows out the plume of white smoke. He still hasn’t gotten up off the ground. “No. But you can find it. The mountains look like a bottom jaw with sharp teeth and two prominent, vampire canines.” He leaves the joint between his lips and holds up his two pointer fingers, pointing at the sky in a kind of curved, toothy look. “Inside the bowl formed by the teeth is a ravine. The Tree of Life is said to grow in a deep, shadowed part of that ravine, somewhere north of the Devil’s Teeth.”
“How far north?” Frost asks.
Crazy Harry shrugs, and his beard quivers with the motion. “Don’t rightly know. I’ve never seen it.”
I thank Harry for his time, then we leave him sitting on the ground, smoking his joint while the ducks swim leisurely nearby.
Malix falls into step beside me. “Are we seriously listening to the crazy guy?”
“Yes, we’re listening to the crazy guy,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Not all crazy people are crazy. Sometimes, they just know things they’re not supposed to know and other humans don’t believe them. You’re a supernatural creature. You should know that.”
“The place isn’t even on a map.”
“Look,” I say irritably, “I grew up in the mountains. There are plenty of places that haven’t made it onto maps for whatever reason—especially places infused with magic. That doesn’t mean they aren’t there. And it doesn’t mean you can’t find them. It’s just more difficult. We still have to try. What do we have left to lose?”
Kian scoffs from ahead of us, his voice dark and hard. “There’s always something left to lose.”
We gas up the bikes then head north on the highway. I’m forced to ride with Kian this time, while Malix and Frost carry our supplies. The moment I slide on the back of his motorcycle, I stiffen and attempt to keep space between us.
Tension hums through his body too as he kicks the bike into gear. “Stop fucking around,” he snaps over his shoulder. “Hold on or fall off, your choice.”
I grit my teeth and slither my arms around his waist. Considering I’ve already done the bike wreck thing and established that, while I didn’t die, it hurt like hell, I don’t want to do it again. But I still try to keep space between us for as long as I can.
I hate that there’s no way to turn off my attraction to them. Even worse, the longer I’m with them, the stronger the feeling becomes. As we hit our traveling speed, I end up sliding against the vinyl until I’m pressed up against Kian’s back, my legs wide on his hips. And fuck if I don’t like it. I like touching him, straddling him, lying my head against his back as time passes and my eyelids grow heavy.
I want to hate it, but being close to him feeds a part of my soul and soothes my wolf. It’s not smart. It’s definitely not what I should be doing, because heaven forbid I get at all attached to these assholes, but here I am.
In the quiet parts of my mind where I can admit the truth to myself, I know that part of my soul will always want them.
Even though they’ve rejected me.
Even though they’re my enemies.
Since we can’t afford to waste time, we don’t. It’s a day’s journey to the Rockies, and then from there, god knows how long it’ll take us to find the Devil’s Teeth and walk the ravine to the tree. The sun’s setting before we finally take a bathroom break and snag some dinner from a fast-food place right off the interstate. Then we’re back on the road as the stars begin to come out.
We reach the southernmost mountains early the next morning and find a visitor center in a quaint town at the foot of the first peaks. The sweet little old lady at the counter has never heard of the Devil’s Teeth, but she gives us information on the biggest Rocky Mountains visitor center in the area. Unfortunately, the Rockies cover quite a large area, and we need more to work on than we have.
At the next visitor center, we hit pay dirt. The park ranger running the information desk knows the Devil’s Teeth, though he’s always known them as the Devil’s Fingers. They’re a myth, he tells us, but legend says they can be found near Black Mountain.
Black Mountain sits way off the beaten path. We park in a small town called Red River, load up our packs, and disappear into the woods on foot. Once out of sight, we shift and begin the upward trek.
It feels good to be in wolf form, racing through the wilderness. Here, the desert is a distant memory, and the air is cold and bracing when it blows through my fur. I feel more in my element now. Less connected to the emotional human side of me, even though my wolf still can’t stop yearning for the feral shifters. At least in wolf form, I can focus on the ground beneath my feet and drown out the way my soul screams for them.
We reach the foot of Black Mountain just before sundown and shift back to human form briefly while we gaze up at it.
Malix sucks at his teeth, then remarks, “Don’t know about you all, but I don’t see anything remotely toothlike.”
I can’t help but agree. The mountains here are smoother and more rounded than I expected, all of them covered in dense forest that stunts their mountainous appearance even further. These rounded mounds rise all around us, but none of them are the sharp, jagged fingers we were told to expect.
Kian grunts. “We’ll have to search on foot.”
“After we rest,” Frost adds, giving Kian a look I can’t read. I wonder if he’s hurting, then I wonder why I care.
We hunt for dinner, the four of us working much more seamlessly together than I want. After feasting on some of the fattest deer I’ve ever seen, we catch some sleep and set out again at first light.
On our second day in the mountains, I have another poison attack.
We’re halfway up the peak of Black Mountain in the hope that a more aerial view will help us find the Devil’s Teeth, when the pain hits without warning.
I yelp and collapse to the ground, desperately trying to shift back to human form so my wolf doesn’t get hurt. Agony ripples through me, all the muscles in my body responding by twitching and seizing. My magic struggles to take hold through the white-hot pain. I cry out, the sound inhuman, my limbs caught mid-shift, my fear rising.
Fuck. What if this is it? What if this is the end?
Then Malix leans over me in human form, concern evident on his face. “Look at me, Amora.”
I can’t move my limbs or my head, but I still have control of my eyes. I try to focus on him, but he’s just out of comfortable viewing range. So he moves closer and carefully lifts my head onto his bare thigh. He cups my face and angles me so that our eyes can meet.
“Breathe, kitty,” he murmurs. “Breathe with me.”
Even as my body continues to twitch and the pain sears my insides, I follow his instructions.
Deep breath in, deep breath out.
Over and over.
His sunshine and fresh air scent swirl around me. That scent falls into me, chasing away the worst of the pain and helping me finish shifting back to my human form.
Finally, the attack ends. I don’t sit up right away—I feel weaker than before, like the poison did more damage to me this time.
Like I’m running out of time.
Frost kneels beside me and holds out a bottle of water. “Drink. Flush your kidneys.”
Malix helps me sit up, and I take the water from Frost’s hands. He looks pale, the golden tan of his skin taking on an almost ashen hue.
“Frost?” I murmur. “Are you okay?”
He frowns and shakes his head, then lays his hand over his abdomen. “It’s hurting me too.”
Kian barrels over and crouches next to his brother, his hands fluttering almost uneasily over Frost’s body. “What can I do?”
Frost waves him off. “We find the Tree of Life. It’s all we can do. For me and Amora.”
Kian palms Frost’s head with a grunt that sounds more affectionate than irritated, then he stands and walks away. It isn’t the first time I’ve seen Kian have an “older brother” vibe with Frost and Malix, b
ut it’s the first time I saw real fear on his face. If I’ve interpreted their stories correctly so far, the three of them were “made,” and by default, there’s no one else like them in the world.
Kian has been the de facto leader of their merry band of villains since I showed up, and I wonder how he ended up playing that role. They’re all the same, so what makes Frost and Malix look to him for leadership? Just his overwhelmingly large and intimidating personality? Or something more?
Whatever it is, they’re all obviously close, and each time I see that affection between them, it warms me. And bothers me.
Because if they’re capable of loving each other—needing each other, like Kian said—then they’re capable of empathy and kindness. Which also means they’re capable of being shifted off their destructive path.
I get to my feet, ignoring Malix’s hand as he offers to help me up. Then I move away, needing a little space between them and my senses. We all shifted back from wolf when the attack hit me, which means we’re all naked, and my libido wants to throw a fucking party.
I circle around some exposed rocks and lean against the rock wall, breathing through my muddled thoughts. The view from here is beautiful, all open sky, rolling mountains, and so much green. Green like home.
And green like… teeth. About five miles away in a valley.
“Hey, guys,” I call over my shoulder as I shove away from the rocks. “I think we found the Devil’s Teeth.”
Chapter 24
The trek to reach the Devil’s Teeth turns out to be a lot harder than it looked from the top of Black Mountain.
We make it back down the mountain by sunset and find a place to camp for the night. I’m not bothered by the break—my body hasn’t fully bounced back from the poison attack, and I fall asleep the moment I curl up on a soft patch of grass.
The morning of the third day, we set out through the series of dips, valleys, and smaller mountains that separate us from the Devil’s Teeth. We can no longer see the Teeth, since they’re well-hidden by the mountainous terrain, but at least we know where they are. For the first time since I agreed to a truce with these men, I can see an end in sight, and it is glorious.
And, well, kinda sad, too, I think. The past week, for all its confusing ups and downs, has been a welcome respite from the endless monotony that my life has become over the past two and a half years.
Even in wolf form, the going is tough, and it’s obvious that both Frost and I are struggling. But he doesn’t complain, and neither do I. If we want to end this torment, we have to reach the Tree of Life. Like he said, that’s all there is to it.
I’m so focused on the lingering pain and weakness in my limbs that I don’t notice Malix slowing. He’s just ahead of me, and I walk right into his hind end, getting his giant fluffy salt-and-pepper tail in my eye.
I bounce back and snap, Hey. Warn a girl first.
Sorry, he replies in mind-speak, his tone distracted. Do you guys feel that?
The only thing I feel is weak-legged and slightly thirsty, but before I can ask what the hell he’s talking about, Kian speaks.
Yes. I feel it too.
I glance between them. All three wolves are facing the same direction, their noses pointing off course from our actual destination.
Feel what? I ask.
Frost catches my eye. The wind ruffles his snow-white fur. The shadow realm.
Confused, I ask, I thought the shadow realm was separate from Earth?
Kian’s dark brown wolf turns a circle, his nose in the air. Something from the shadow realm. Possibly a weak spot in the fabric between realms.
A pang of worry stabs me between the ribs. A weak spot like you’ve been tasked to find.
Yes, Kian answers, his gold-ringed gaze latching on to mine.
I freeze beneath that stare. Fight or flight instincts rise up inside me in a rush. If these three men try to leave and go for the shadow realm, I’ll kill them. I’m prepared to kill them, even though part of me absolutely doesn’t want to.
Sometimes, you just have to do the right thing, even when it hurts.
Silence stretches through the clearing. But I realize very quickly that it’s a false silence. The guys are still talking. Exchanging glances, shuffling around, all the mannerisms of a conversation being had.
But I can’t hear them.
Goddammit. All those times I thought they were speaking in each other’s heads—maybe I was fucking right.
I’m calculating how fast I can shift, reach my knife in my bag, and put it through three different eye sockets. Fast enough to keep them from shifting to their nightmarish shadow wolf forms?
Then Kian speaks again. Let’s keep moving. Finding the Devil’s Teeth is only step one. We still have to find the tree.
They continue walking.
I ease up on the tension in my body and follow.
But as my paws pad over the rocky ground, I glance over my shoulder in the direction of the supposed “weak point.” I still can’t sense anything out of the ordinary, but I have no doubt that the feral shifters were telling the truth about what they felt.
And yet, the three of them turned their back on finding that place, even though it’s their main purpose in life.
They chose to keep searching for the Tree of Life instead.
Maybe it’s just self-preservation, since neither Frost nor I probably have long before the shadow poison kills us. Maybe they have every intention of returning to that spot later and trying to breach the divide between the shadow realm and earth.
But in this moment, they chose life over death.
They chose Frost.
They chose me.
And that shift in priorities makes me more hopeful than ever that they can be swayed from their dark mission.
The Devil’s Teeth soar into the purple twilight over a small valley dominated by a deep blue lake. The last of the sun’s glow casts the Teeth’s reflection on the water, giving the appearance of a mouth opening wide to swallow the world.
Kian offers to go hunt for dinner alone, but Frost refuses and goes with him. I’m not usually the type of wolf to say no to a good hunt, but I’ve been run through the ringer so many times in the past couple days that all I want to do is rest. I leave Malix next to our belongings and head around the rocky beach for a more secluded place to wash the past couple days off my body.
I shift to human form on the rocky beach and step into the water. It’s cold, but not as frigid as I expected a mountain lake to be. After days of trekking through the woods living in wolf form, it feels pretty good. Mud shifts between my toes as I walk deeper, and the water takes my breath away as it crests over my hips. Then I take a deep breath and plunge beneath the surface.
I swim forward a few strokes beneath the cold water, content in the darkness and silence. My life before Oscura feels like it was someone else’s life. I miss my solitude and the calm routine of moving from town to town, picking up odd jobs, enjoying my own company.
But… I haven’t hated every moment of my life since Kian walked into that Oscura bar either, although I’d never admit that to any of them out loud.
I breach the surface, brushing my now-wet hair out of my face. My feet reach the ground here, but I’m deep enough for the water to cradle every inch of my body from the neck down. I do a backstroke and breathe deep, relishing the soft scent of the water, the earthy moss, the evergreen pines on the air, the waning sunshine…
My skin prickles with a sudden awareness, and the hair on the back of my neck rises.
Halting abruptly, I put my feet back on the mushy ground and whirl around.
Malix is standing on the shore, still in his wolf form.
He looks like a shadow, nothing but reflective violet eyes beneath the tree canopy as he watches me. Even though I’m completely covered by the water, his gaze still makes me burn. I maintain eye contact, a challenge in my expression. I’m not going to let him ruin my bath or force me to leave.
Magic ripples over him.
His salt-and-pepper fur recedes into his smooth, dark skin, and his chiseled physique seems to burst from his giant wolf in slow motion. Still holding my gaze, he stoops down and picks something up off the ground, then he wades into the shallows. Taking his time. Muscles rippling. Every inch of his gorgeous fucking body on display.
The last time I saw this much of his body, I was watching him stroke his cock. The reminder sends a thrill of heat straight through my core.
As he descends, all the shadow tattoos on his skin flow upward on his body, as if fleeing the chilly water. It’s hilarious—especially combined with his serious face and battle-ready body—and I almost laugh. I manage to bite it back.
Malix dives under, and I startle, looking around for him. Is he coming for me?
I turn my back on the shore and wade a little further, only to realize it’s much too deep for me to touch here. I’m forced to go back a couple feet, only for Malix to surface right beside me.
I glare at him. “Can I have some privacy please?”
His hand emerges from the water. “Thought you might like some soap.”
I stare at the small round bar in his hand, all the bluster fading from me. “Oh. Yeah, actually, that would be cool.”
As I pluck the soap from his fingers, he gives me an amused grin and then backs off, giving me extra space.
Turning around, I start rubbing the soap over my body beneath the water. Not the best way to scrub myself, but I’m not too keen on walking further inland and having Malix stare at my naked body while I wash.
Well, maybe I’m too keen on that. And that’s scarier.
I rub the bar through my hair to get a good lather going, then offer it back to Malix. “Thanks.”
“No problem, kitty.”
Shoving my hands into my hair, I roll my eyes and start scrubbing. I listen to the water lapping at Malix’s body as he washes up, trying desperately not to think of his nakedness below the surface.
I rinse my hair out by ducking beneath the water, then resurface, turning my face into the cool breeze.
