by Holly Hook
He closes his teeth, snapping the Savage Wolf's neck. She goes limp as he drops her. She lands like the Lowe parents to decay beside her mate.
But more Savages approach.
And this time, ten sets of paws hit the thawing ground. They're a half mile away and will be here in no time.
More! I think.
Even with my strength, we'll never fight off ten Savages. They'll make me watch as they kill Everly and Remo. Pushing me into the night won't help me resist the Savage King.
We need the Hunters, I add.
I shouldn't. But I must. It's our only chance. Bolting onto the grounds of the mansion, I listen as Everly and Remo follow. We have just a few minutes to free up Alex and Callie. Both press against the house, using a tall shrub as cover, while the cult stand on the other side. Burning remnants of bags lie on the ground, and only one member, a woman, still holds her weapon. Alex coughs but he's still standing.
I stop. What do I do? The bombs affect me more than they do the Hunters.
Everly and Remo also stop, waiting for my orders.
If I attack, the guilt gets me.
If I let Remo and Everly endanger themselves, the guilt gets me.
But I know what's less likely to destroy me.
Attack them, I think.
Remo and Everly charge, and the woman throws her poison bomb. It flies, and the two Wolves split, letting the bag land on the ground. It explodes, sending sparks and smoke everywhere.
I run up to and nudge Callie. She looks down at me with recognition. Then I nod to the woods.
"Savages?"
I nod again. Yes.
"We can't move until the cult is gone," Alex says. "Every time they face me, I can't breathe. They're doing something to us."
The dark spirits. Now that I pay attention, I sense the dark pulses, wrapping around my ribcage. I'm not shocked. But I growl at Alex. He can't stay here.
Callie gets what I'm saying. She seizes her uncle's coat and pulls him towards the trees. He gasps as he runs into the sight of the cult, but Remo and Everly keep them busy. Feet thud as they scatter and run, two Wolves snapping at their heels. Any one of them could curse my pack mates.
But I won't think about it. I run after Alex and Callie instead, who raise their crossbows at the trees. Both load more bolts—they fired some at the cult—but I know they can't see well into the trees. The Savages run closer but they could emerge anywhere, costing the Hunters valuable seconds they'll need to aim. I have to herd the Savages to the right place. They'll be furious when they find their dead pack members. Blinded with anger. I'll use that to my advantage.
I follow the vile scent into the woods. The Savages stop far ahead, hearing my footfalls. I slap my feet against twigs and dirt, broadcasting my location.
Two hundred feet ahead, three different Wolves growl. Fur scrapes branches and tree trunks as the pack charges me. The Savages might hurt Alex and Callie, but they signed up for this.
A huge gray Wolf, followed by a pair of tan-brown Wolves, leap over a fallen log and charge me. Three more follow. Six. Even with my Royal strength, I can't deal with them all. They close the fifty feet between me and them, running at a full sprint.
Cayden gasps in terror in my head, and the sound is enough to send me running back toward the mansion. I skid to a stop in the mud and whirl. One of them snaps at my tail, and I yelp as the Wolf pulls out a few hairs. It's not fake. The pack could tear me apart or hold me down while the Savage King does the worst.
I run.
They follow, crashing underbrush and snapping teeth together. The Savages are stupid. They'll tear me apart in a fit of rage, and they're right to. We invaded their land.
Wind blasts against me as I jump over a small boulder and break out onto the gravel trail. The bodies of the fallen Savages have reverted halfway back to human form. The sight incenses the Wolves just feet behind me, and they send up a fresh round of growls. All six fix murderous stares on me.
All the fight leaves. My limbs tremble. All I can think of is getting help. I need Cayden, but all I have is Callie and Alex.
Kicking gravel, I bolt back into the overgrown yard.
The cult scatters on the far end of the yard, running from the snapping jaws of Everly and Remo. Callie and Alex wait, and I glimpse silver arrow tips pointing at me. But Alex is sharp. He lifts the crossbow as he fires the bolt over my head, and the shaft flies over me and strikes flesh with a wet thud. A Wolf screams and goes down, rolling on the ground.
Callie shoots.
Her bolt flies past me and stabs the ground, barely missing one of the Savages. I maintain my pace, closing distance between Callie and Alex. Alex loads another bolt. Callie scrambles to do the same, and I read fear in her eyes. Adrenaline fills the air.
I stop and a Savage behind me collides, making blobs explode in my vision. I snap at him, sinking teeth into a shoulder as we roll on the ground. She fires again. The shaft zips over us. In another world, a Savage Wolf yelps in pain.
The Savage writhes away from me and claws me on the side, drawing three lines of burning pain. This is my fight. Around me, Wolves and humans run around each other in a silent fight for survival. Brett curses somewhere. I claw at the Savage Wolf, digging and biting, until at last he backs off, dripping blood from his muzzle. He eyes me with pure hatred and darkness, and I recognize the dark pressure and evil in those pupils. It's the same dark trying to invade me. All the Savages have it.
I growl and give chase, snapping at the Savage's ankles as he flees towards the trees. Expelling him from my presence eats everything. I ignore two other Wolves as they run towards Callie and Alex.
"Stay back!" Alex yells at Callie.
A bolt flies and then her footfalls thud against the ground. With the backdrop of Brett's cursing, growling, and crossbow triggers, I chase the Savage back into the woods where he belongs. He vaults over the fallen log and flees with his tail between his legs. A sense of satisfaction washes over me as I watch him go. I'm still a Noble Royal, and the Savages fear me.
In the distance, a quad screams as a rider speeds through the woods. It's miles away, but coming from the north...from Colling. It's Cayden. Has to be. He's coming, despite the miles between us. The thought dispels the dark pulses under my skin for a moment.
Heartened, I turn back to join the fray at the mansion. Four Savages remain, and two chase Callie as she does what Alex warns her not to: run. Her leather coat slaps against her legs, though she still holds her crossbow. Terror's taken over. Alex fires at one of her pursuers, missing by an inch, and drops his crossbow. He's out of bolts. Alex draws a wicked silver dagger from his coat and charges the Wolves chasing Callie, ignoring the ones at his own heels.
I run at Callie.
"Brie!" she shouts.
Cutting behind her, I ram into the tan-gray Wolf at her back, throwing her into the tall grass. She lands on her back, vulnerable belly exposed, but I have no time to finish the job.
The other Wolf leaps on Callie, claws scraping leather, and she goes down.
Leaving my opponent behind, I snap at the tail of the other brown Wolf, drawing blood and a sharp cry of pain. The Wolf backs off Callie, turning her aggression on me, and she gets up and draws her own silver dagger. I lock my jaws around the Wolf's muzzle—she's smaller than me—and hold on as Callie raises her weapon. The silver shines in the pale light, and she swings it down between the Wolf's shoulder blades.
The creature jolts, but she can't yelp, and Callie releases the handle. Blood pools around the weapon, filling my nostrils. I release the Wolf and face the other, who gets up, looks at her pack mate, and flees in the direction of the cult.
Alex fires. Other Wolves run into the trees. We're winning. The yard's emptying of everyone but Everly, Remo, Alex, and two other Wolves the three are chasing toward the woods.
Callie gasps and backs away from the dying Wolf. Tears of relief fill her eyes, but the adrenaline remains. She's not going to calm down anytime soon.
I eye the yard. In the weeds, two Savage Wolves lie dead: Callie's victim and Alex's. Alex stops beside us, panting. I recognize protectiveness. He's spent all his energy making sure his niece gets out of this alive. It's something I would do. He stands there, now flanked by Everly and Remo, as Callie mouths something to me.
I face her.
With wide, terrified pupils, she mouths, I'm hurt.
And then I smell blood. Her blood. Coming from her thigh. And then a trace of rotten wood. The Savage Wolf might have scratched or bitten her.
Chapter Fourteen
The quad screams again, closer, as the rider accelerates at a crazy rate. Now it just punctuates my horror. Callie and I look at each other with understanding, and though I'm still in wolf form, she must be able to read my expression.
And I can read hers. Don't tell Alex, she pleads in silence.
Sickness washes over me as I remember Matthew at the Spooktacular Dance, grasping his chest as the change came over him. My mind spins. Not all bites infect. Deeper bites have a greater chance. Shallow ones, not so much.
But the risk is still there.
I swallow, knowing what I have to do. What I should do.
I have to keep Callie's secret. I owe her one. She's kept mine. I sniff again, but can't tell how deep this wound is. Is it even a bite? does that work?
Cayden roars closer. I need him. He'll know the answer.
"Callie," Alex says, pulling a bolt from the ground. "Are you okay?" The soft-spoken man borderline growls now, with pain and worry in his words. I catch hints of a troubled past and turmoil that a regular human can't hear.
"I'm fine, Uncle Alex. You're right. These leather jackets really do the job. And I killed the Savage. Brie helped!" Callie raises her hand in pride. She's a great actress, so good she's convincing herself everything's okay because the adrenaline smell starts fading. Her nerves calm.
"I didn't want you to do this, Callie. Things could have gone very wrong."
"It's my birthright!" Callie ups the act by walking towards Alex like there's nothing to hide. Remo, however, takes a sniff and looks right at me. One of them hurt her, she thinks.
I know, I think back. We have to get her away from Alex.
"We need to leave the area," Alex says. "Callie. Are you sure you're not hurt?" As he speaks, he tightens his grip on his silver dagger.
Callie steals a glance back at me. Her pupils widen as she does. I read veiled terror. We might both be in danger from having secrets revealed. "I'm sure. And you're right. Let me get my dagger and we'll leave." She runs back to the dead Savage, pulling out her weapon. It drips with blood. Iron and rotten wood mix.
The quad screams closer, and Alex looks in its direction. Even he can hear it now. I listen to the sounds of the cult fleeing in one direction and the Wolves running in another. No one's coming back. With luck, the cult thinks the police are coming. Or a park ranger.
I have to change back so Callie and I can speak face to face. As people. Nodding to Everly and Remo, I run back to where my clothes lie, close to where the other two dead Savages still revert back to human form. The man, who lies facedown, still has fur covering his back, and the woman has already reverted back to full human form. Bloody flowers spread around them both, and I turn away and let the pain overtake me. Focusing on Brett's book makes changing back more bearable.
I stand on two legs and pull on my clothes, listening as Remo and Everly do the same in the trees.
My mission gifted Cayden and might have doomed Callie.
And you're too weak to destroy her.
The veil of darkness lowers over me again. The Savage King is trying to goad me into killing a person. That's all. I won't let it work. Callie might be fine. She wanted to come out and hunt Savages. If she got a deep bite she wouldn't have walked away like it was nothing.
But there's still a chance...
I knew it. You're weak.
"Shut up," I say. "Get out of my head. Or I'm going to charge you rent."
My humor does nothing this time. The darkness remains. Romulus is stronger than the other dark spirits. I take a breath and hug the tree, focusing on the texture of the bark. Then I pull at my shirt and listen to the quad again. Cayden's almost here.
And then the darkness lifts. Maybe Romulus is allergic to love.
I run towards the sound of the quad as Everly walks out of the trees, now in human form, motioning to me. But I ignore her. I don't need her to tell me things are bad when I already know they are. A dark shape and a headlight emerge from the trees. Cayden weaves around trunks like a pro and jumps over the fallen log like it's nothing. Not only does he sing and shove down guys twice his size, he also could compete in professional sports and locate me without directions. My mate never ceases to amaze me.
"Cayden!" I run towards him, floored that he drove into Savage territory alone. He must have risked his life to get through the trees.
He turns his face up to me even as he winces in pain. Stopping the quad under a large tree, he keeps it on but falls off, rolling on the ground.
"Cayden!"
The curse. He's still trying to protect me. I forgot. It's still here, maybe even more so while we're in this territory. We're on the dark spirits' land. The Russells' spirit guardians aren't as effective here, but I sense their light rays and their warmth trying to form a shield around Cayden. I lie over him while Everly screams his name behind me. More of the darkness pulses through me as I still his thrashing form.
"I knew you were glad to see me, Brie, but wow," he says in relief. He rasps his words, but I don't care.
I want to tell him that he shouldn't have come here, that he should have stayed in Colling and swayed Lawrence, but I'm so glad to see him I don't care. The shadows retreat, leaving a warm ray of sun that casts light and happiness on my skin. Yes. Most of the guardian spirits are staying around Cayden as I predicted. "Is there anything not impressive you can do? How did you know I was here?"
"I just felt that you were in the Savages' territory. Once I got close enough, I could smell you. I should take you for a ride. Never driven a quad before, but I got the hang of it fast."
"No kidding. Would love to. Out of here." I keep my tone light as Everly hovers over us. I bet she's shaking her head. I might be alpha, but Everly is stubborn like her brother. I kiss Cayden on the cheek, and whisper into his ear, "We get Callie out of here. Now."
We rise, and I find Remo, also now dressed, standing beside Everly. Callie and Alex talk to each other in low voices. Remo tilts his head in the direction of the mansion, where they stand.
"I swear, I'm fine." Callie.
"We have to be sure. The Noble Order was strict for a reason," Alex says. "We've had incidents in the past, and believe me, they're not an easy thing to deal with."
"My jacket protected me."
"You seem nervous."
"That's because this was my first real fight. Sheesh." Callie's losing it. I have to intervene, but I can't tell Alex what to do. The Hunters and the Nobles are separate entities.
But I run out of the woods and join them. Cayden shoots me a look of terror as he joins me, but I'm glad to have him in my corner. He's the best person at improvising I've ever met.
"I still smell the Savages in the area," I say. "We need to go, and we need to go now. Cayden brought a quad. If you want Callie out of here, we'll get her out first."
A mixture of relief and worry comes over Alex's face. He wrinkles his beard and thinks. He's collected his crossbow and his hands tremble as he grasps it. As if he's debating on what to do, or thinking about what he might have to do.
"I smell them too," Cayden says, whirling and facing the woods. "We all need to go, before they regroup and attack. I can tell you guys have just been in a bad fight. After killing a few of them, they'll want revenge. That's what Savages know." He has no trouble sounding nervous. On and off the stage, he performs.
"We've got to go. We're weak," I say.
Alex nods at Callie. But his look prom
ises an investigation later.
I grab Callie's arm and pull her towards the waiting quad. It rumbles and waits, and the long seat on it promises room for two people. I want more than anything to get on with Cayden and wrap my arms around his middle as we zip through the woods. The happy memory of him carrying me through the woods fills me for a moment. That was before life got too complicated.
Cayden climbs onto the quad, and Callie, dropping her crossbow and blood-stained dagger, follows. I watch her wrap her arms around Cayden. There's no room for me.
"Take her to the Lowe cabin," I say. "No. Take her to my house. The Savages won't find her there."
Cayden nods. "Got it." He cranks the handle of the quad and zips off into the woods, following the gravel trail and barely missing the bodies. Callie's leather coat flaps as they go.
And I glimpse blood on her right thigh. Her blood.
Horror balloons in me as her coat flaps back into place and Cayden turns away. No doubt he can smell it.
"Let's get out of here," I shout to the others. Now I can really smell the Savages. The rotten wood scent strengthens, blowing from everywhere at once as the wind changes. Tree branches groan in the wind, threatening to fall. I tuck Brett's book back into my jeans and pull my shirt over it. Burning hay. Toxic herbs. Dancing shadows. The Savages and the cult are bringing reinforcements to finish us. And from the smell of it, there are more of them than before. They must be a mile away, but one thing is clear: they've been busy infecting people and expanding their pack.
The thought makes my heart race. My urge to fight rises to the surface, but I think of Cayden on that quad, speeding away with Callie, and I wave to Everly and Remo.
We run.
I run against my tense muscles which order me to fight and protect the pack. Brett's book jabs into my ribs but I ignore it. The border gets closer, even as I run through the cloud of hatred and despair. Cayden's quad fades.
