Unbroken (Dark Moon Shifters #3)

by Bella Jacobs

  “Even we are vulnerable to a false narrative,” Maria continues. She nods, and two of the vampires seated at the curve in the table closest to the double doors rise, drawing their stun weapons from their holsters as they move to block the exit.

  Instantly, the energy in the room surges, tension crackling in the still air.

  Creedence chuckles. “No. Not a good idea. You seriously don’t want to try that shit. Not today.”

  Maria doesn’t blink. “If two Fata Morganas are allowed to form a mate bond, it will be the end of the world as we know it. Their spirit world will become our reality, and anything not adapted to survive there will perish.”

  “Including humans,” Franz adds, an apology in his tone that does nothing to defuse the situation. “The atmosphere there is toxic to non-supernaturals. We’ve tested it.”

  “So you’re worried about your food source, is that it?” Luke snorts. “We are, too. Because they’re our friends and family. And Wren already has four mates, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  “Our bond can be reversed,” I say, not breaking eye contact with Maria. “Atlas has a mate who can reel in time, undo things that have been done. But even if he captures or kills every one of my mates, I won’t bind myself to him, Maria. That’s not how I work.”

  She presses her lips together, nodding for a moment before she says, “I want to believe you. I really do. But there’s too much at risk. You’ll have to stay here with us until Atlas is no longer a viable threat.”

  “That’s why we took your sister,” Franz says, as if it’s no big deal, to kidnap a person’s only living family member. “You’ll do as we say, or Scarlett will pay the price.”

  Luke and Kite surge to their feet, reaching for their weapons. The vampires surrounding us do the same, and I lift my arms and shout—

  Chapter 26

  Wren

  “Wait!” I snap my arms out wide, hands spread, but I don’t jump to my feet. I don’t want to seem like any more of a threat than they obviously consider me now.

  I scan the table—no safeties off yet—and take a deep breath, letting it out slowly as I motion for Luke and Kite to sit down.

  The vampires helped save my life. The rescue last night might have been impossible without them, and most everyone we’ve interacted with downstairs—from Dr. Cahill to the nurses on day duty to the concierge who went out of his way to fetch our belongings and bunny-sized prisoner from a hotel across town—have been lovely and helpful.

  I don’t want to hurt anyone here, not even Franz or Maria.

  Not unless they give me no choice.

  “Let’s keep talking,” I say in my most soothing voice. “We don’t want a fight. But we can’t stay here as your guests or your prisoners. Atlas has to be stopped before he causes any more damage, and we’re the only ones who can do that. We have to go in, and we have to do it alone.”

  “According to what? Shifter prophecies?” Maria arches a thin brow. “While I respect your right to believe in whatever dogma gives you comfort, we deal in facts. And the fact is that you are a danger to the safety of my people, as well as outrageously outnumbered.”

  I nod. “We are outnumbered, but our connection will ensure Atlas can’t control us or use any of us as a disguise.”

  “Vampires are immune to mind control. Atlas can’t get into our heads,” Franz says, motioning toward his temple. “If anyone can get in, destroy the man, and get out without being overcome, it’s us.”

  “But that won’t keep Atlas from stealing one of your faces and using it as a disguise,” I say. “And without a connection to your people, we won’t know if you’re you or Atlas until it’s too late.”

  “And if you’ve got this thing in the bag, why haven’t you pulled the trigger yet?” Luke challenges. “Why isn’t Atlas six feet under?”

  Maria gives the bottom of her suit coat the slightest tug. It’s not a big tell, but from this uber-composed woman it’s a confession that he’s gotten to her. “We’ve tried. And each time, we get closer to completing the mission.”

  “Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” Creedence says.

  “We’ve taken out hundreds of his soldiers,” Franz says, standing taller.

  “But his killing fields in front of his castle and the forest behind are still ridiculously well defended,” I say. “I’ve seen them. While I was down there in that pit, I was also with him, in our shared spirit realm. I’ve seen how many men and women he has fighting for him. And they are unquestioningly loyal. He’s in their heads so deep they’re practically an extension of Atlas himself. They will fight to the death for him, throw themselves in front of a bullet or a sword without hesitation. No human or shifter or vampire soldier can compete with that, no matter how loyal or well trained.”

  “Not to mention whatever he’s hiding under the water,” Kite says, pointing to the map still projected on the wall. “In the end, numbers aren’t going to matter. Whether we go in with five people or five hundred, we’re going to lose. Unless we surprise him, give him a fight he isn’t expecting.”

  “And how is he going to be surprised by a Fata Morgana and her four mates showing up on his doorstep, just as shifter prophecy has foretold for thousands of years?” Maria asks, making a valid point. “He’s already killed hundreds of brave little bands like yours. What makes you different?”

  “We’re not going in as a band of five,” I say. “We’ve got a different plan.”

  Franz and Maria exchange the briefest of sideways glances before Franz asks, “And that plan is?”

  “Something we can’t share with you.” I keep my focus on Maria, knowing she’s the one we really have to convince. “The fewer people who know what we’re up to, the better the chance that we can keep Atlas in the dark.”

  “You know he has spies everywhere,” Dust says, cutting in before Maria can speak. “One of the people in here could be Atlas in disguise.” He points to the high ceiling of the conference room. “Or he could be a swarm of flies hiding in the air ducts, or a cockroach tucked inside the wall.”

  “There is no such thing as too paranoid when it comes to this guy.” Creedence leans forward, his arms braced on the table in front of him. “And you know it. He’s the grandfather of all shapeshifters, the ultimate big bad, and he’s clearly got you running scared. Which is understandable. I get it—if the climate chaos gets so bad that humanity dies out, then you die out, too. And if they can’t survive in his spirit realm, there’s another danger sign flashing bright red. But you’ve been trying to take him down for a long time without getting the job done. Don’t you think it’s time to give something different a try?”

  Maria tilts her head ever so slightly. “And if you fail and Wren joins forces with Atlas, humanity will be wiped out in a single night. My people will last another month, maybe two or three if they can find animals in that realm with digestible blood. If not, we’re all gone, destroyed without Atlas having to lift a finger.”

  “I will not join forces with him,” I insist again. “I know that’s a huge amount of trust to put in someone you don’t know, but I’m strong enough to stand up to him. I proved that while I was in our spirit world. I swear to you, on my life, on the lives of the people I love, I won’t give him the power he needs to destroy your people or mine or any other innocent life on this planet.”

  Maria studies me for a long moment before she lifts two fingers to Franz, who nods and moves quietly around the guards to exit the room through the double doors—the only exit. We’ve allowed ourselves to be trapped between a half dozen ancient vampires and a hard place. The bloodsuckers on either side of Maria and Franz’s position haven’t said a word, but their stoic expressions make it clear they’re ready to do whatever it takes to support their captain-at-arms and her second-in-command.

  If we try to run, they will do everything in their power to stop us, which means I’ll have no choice but to go dragon. I don’t want to set fire to creatures old enough to be my great-grea
t-great-grandparents, but if they give me no other choice…

  Then I’ll do it. Even if they hurt Scarlett.

  My heart twists miserably in my chest, but I know it’s what she would want. She risked her life to lead Atlas away from me, making him think she was the Fata Morgana, giving me a chance to grow up and get strong. She was ready to die to put an end to him, and so am I. Losing the people I love will be so much harder than losing my own life, but I’m prepared to do that, too. I have a mission that must be accomplished. No matter the personal cost, I will pay it. It’s what I have to do to give the rest of the planet and the billions of life forms on it a fighting chance.

  “I’m impressed,” Maria says softly, the two vampires to her right nodding along. “You would really sacrifice your sister? Just like that?”

  I blink, realizing too late just how old these vampires must be. According to Dust’s tutorial last night, only vamps in their four digits and higher can read minds, and even most of those have trouble getting a clear read on other supernaturals. We’d assumed we were safe from mind reading or control—there are only a few ancient vampires left in the world and almost all of them live in Europe—but we clearly underestimated how important our mission is to bloodsucker survival.

  They’ve brought in the big guns, and the only thing standing between us and an ugly battle with serious casualties on both sides is my ability to convince Maria that I meant everything that just pulsed through my head.

  “I would,” I say. “I know it’s what she would want. And I’m determined to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people, even if it means personal sacrifice.”

  “So you’re of a Utilitarian philosophical bent then?’ Marias asks. “The consequences are all that matter? The ends justify the means?”

  I shake my head. “I honestly don’t know much about philosophy. I was raised in a cult that controlled my access to information that might have contradicted their teachings, but I know what’s right. I know my sister risked her life to save the world when she went into hiding, pretending to be the Fata Morgana. That was her choice, to make that sacrifice, to be a hero, and I’m not going to take that away from her because a bunch of bullies are trying to use her to control me.”

  I glance toward the door before turning back to the head vamp. “And I know you can read my mind, see everything I plan to do before I do it, but do you really think you can stop me? In the thirty seconds it takes me to go dragon, you might be able to wound, maybe even kill, some of my mates, but then I will kill every last one of you.”

  The truth comes to me, another clear image shimmering beneath the false assumption that we’re the ones who are trapped here. “You’re stuck between a dragon and a hard place, Maria. I don’t want to kill you, but if I’m willing to let you destroy my sister, who I love with all my heart, you can’t imagine I’ll have any mercy on you or yours, do you?”

  “You’ve let your death in through the front door,” Kite says, his soft, soothing voice doing nothing to make the words any less threatening. “But it’s not too late to show us out again. And our sisters, too.”

  I take a breath and hold it, grateful that Kite isn’t angry with me for forgetting Leda was here. But then, she’s a hero, too, a fact she proves when Franz shows her in a few moments later.

  She surveys the room, wary but not frightened, and proceeds to tell us what she learned from Clover, who was apparently quite forthcoming once she’d been fed on a few times and was too high on the rush of vampire saliva to think straight.

  “Once he and Wren get hitched, Atlas has promised the Kin Born land and power,” she says, nodding my way with a roll of her eyes. “Obviously never going to happen, but the Kin Born think it’s a given, and they’re pretty excited about humanity being wiped out. No more scientists, no more lab-made shifters, and they’ll have Atlas’s help to kill off the existing ones.”

  Franz nods. “Which is interesting, but not the most interesting part of Clover’s confession.”

  “I’ll tell it, I was in the room with her,” Leda says, a teasing note in her voice, though I’m sure she’s read the energy in the room and has realized that we’re not getting ready to make each other friendship bracelets in here. That’s likely why she’s trying to keep the tone light. “Like Spooky said, the most interesting part is that the Kin Born were told to bring all of Wren’s guys in alive. Apparently, he wants something from them he can only get while they’re living.”

  “Like I said before.” I motion toward my mates. “Atlas can make it like our bonds never happened. His Time Reeler could undo it all in a few minutes, but she has to be able to touch them. That’s probably why he wants them alive, so he can make sure I’m free to make a different choice.”

  “Killing us would accomplish that as well,” Dust says, a frown check marking his brow. “And Atlas definitely knows that.”

  “And as someone who spent several days almost dying in a pit, I’m not sure I buy it,” Creedence says. “As far as I could tell, Atlas was happy to let Wren and I die in there.”

  “But you didn’t die,” Maria says. “And though there were soldiers in the store, there weren’t many of Atlas’s men. They were almost all Kin Born. If he’d really wanted to keep you in there, he would have made sure you were more heavily guarded. Or, at the very least, attempted to interfere with our extraction.”

  “But we were allowed to pop in and out without much resistance,” Dust agrees, making me cut a glance his way.

  The vampires are doing a decent job of making their case without our help, thank you very much.

  “He wants me to choose him.” I lift my hands, palms tilted toward the ceiling. “Or at least that’s what he said. His magic doesn’t work on me. He can kill me, but he can’t force me to marry him the way he has his other wives. He has to make me want to become his mate, either through winning me over to his way of thinking or…” I motion toward my men again. “Or by kidnapping and threatening someone I love to force compliance. But in order for the threat to be effective, they’d have to be alive. This ringing any bells?”

  “I’m so proud of the way your smartass side has grown since we first met up, Slim,” Creedence says with a dreamy sigh. “I mean, you were cute before, but when you run your mouth to the grown-ups…” He places a hand over his chest. “Be still my heart.”

  “Would it work?” Maria asks, a hint of amusement in her eyes. But only a hint. “If he threatened your mates? You’d let your sister die a hero. What about them?”

  I pause, searching every last corner of my heart, knowing nothing less than a completely honest answer will satisfy the vampire. But no matter how hard I look, I keep coming up with one undeniable truth. “If Atlas wins, then the people I love will suffer and die, anyway. Maybe it will take longer—a few years instead of a few hours—but the end result is the same. So the answer is no, it wouldn’t work. If Atlas captures one of my mates alive and tries to use them against me, I’ll call his bluff.” I swallow the bitter, burnt taste rising in my throat. “And then I’ll kill him.”

  Apparently satisfied, Maria dips her chin. “Very well. We’ll send you on your way. But Scarlett stays under our protection until you return. It will give you one less loved one to worry about.”

  And it will give the vampires leverage—just in case. I don’t like it, but this is the best possible scenario and we should get while the getting’s good.

  I nod as I rise to my feet. “I’ll be back to get her soon.”

  Or I’ll be dead.

  But I don’t say that, either.

  Chapter 27

  Wren

  I’m not happy about leaving Scarlett in vampire hands—not even a little bit—but I was raised in the Church of Humanity. I know how to stuff down my feelings, pull out my best manners, and put on a good show for the people in charge.

  So even though I want to demand a phone call or some other proof that Scarlett’s okay, I swallow the words and play nice. I’m asking the vamps to put an
incredible amount of trust in me, and turnabout is fair play.

  We return to our hospital room for one last vital sign check, are declared fit to travel by Dr. Cahill, and then given enough weapons and ammunition to take down every wildebeest on the African continent and still have a few rounds left for target practice.

  We’re also given clothes, toiletries, and sleek combat bodysuits with built-in bullet protection and a light glamour. “It creates a blurring effect as you move,” the silver-haired human woman in charge of escorting us to the surface explains as our bags are loaded onto a luggage cart outside the hospital room. “Makes it harder for your enemies to lock in a shot. We’ve seen a thirty percent reduction in combat fatalities since the new model went into use.” Her green eyes crinkle at the edges as she adds, “I can’t wait to see what happens with an even higher glamour. It took over a hundred tries to find a fabric blend that would hold this much, but we finally got there.”

  “So you’re the inventor?” I ask. “I’m sorry, I missed your name.”

  “Wendy.” She extends her hand and I take it. “And no worries. You’ve got a lot going on. I can’t remember names, and I’m not under nearly the amount of stress you are.” Her expression sobers as she releases my palm. “They’ve been throwing everything they’ve got at this guy for decades, since I first signed on right after grad school. I don’t envy your mission, but I do respect you. Thank you for going out to fight for all of us.”

  “Of course,” I say, the tension in my chest easing for the first time since we left the conference room. Wendy seems to have a heart as human as the rest of her. Which means she might be an ally. “I’m ready to fight, and I don’t intend to fail, but if I do… The Triad has my sister. I haven’t seen her since we were kids, and there are so many things I wish I could tell her. Just in case…”

  Wendy’s eyes narrow ever so slightly as she nods and adds in a softer voice, “There should be pen and paper in the table between the beds. Write her a letter. I don’t know where they’re holding your sister, but that will be declassified eventually. I’ll get the letter to her then. I promise. If I need to.”