by Dana Archer
Jarah and Uri follow me. I don’t wait for them or any of the other agents running onto the mine’s property.
The sound of pouring rain reaches me as I hit the flat section on the opposite side of the hopper from where the humans and Krisban males entered the mine. It’s not rain, though. A section of the hopper is gone. Coal is pouring down on the area below it, where the vans are parked. I take in the sight, along with the smoke and flames pouring out of the entrance, dangerously close to where the shower of coal is covering the ground, then I turn my back on the destruction and push my body faster, harder.
Gabriel’s still alive. I feel him.
Awareness rushes over me, from the balls of my feet to my head. I’m close. I zero in on the cluster of bushes, then barrel through them. With my bare hands, I rip two of the deadened shrubs from the ground, exposing rich dirt. I dig my fingers into the soil and reach out with my mind, seeking my alpha.
A flicker of life reaches me.
Eyes closed, I curl my fingers, gripping the cool dirt, and open my mind completely. “Gabriel?”
“Ilan.”
I offer up a prayer to our goddess, thanking our grandmother for keeping Gabriel safe. “Are you okay?”
“I’m…alive.”
“There was a mine explosion. As soon as we regroup, we’ll figure out if there’s another entrance to use to reach you or how we can make one. But we’re coming for you. We’re going to get you out of there.”
“Who’s going to get me out of here? You?”
“Yes, and Shifter Affairs. They’re the group of humans and shifters who got Owen out.”
“There’s coal dust in the air down here, little brother. A lot of dust.”
And if ignited, it’ll explode. The pressure of such an explosion can tear a body apart, even ripping off a head or bursting a heart. The ceiling coming down on top of anyone trapped inside could do the same. I acknowledge the danger and push it aside. “The agent in charge has a mining expert on-call. He’ll work with us to get the air and dust to stable conditions, then we’ll come in. Can you get to a safer area?”
“No.”
“Is the tunnel blocked?” That’ll make retrieval harder.
“I don’t know.”
I swallow against the grittiness in my mouth as dust and clouds of noxious gas fill the air around me and will my body to remain calm. Gabriel’s avoiding telling me details. “Can you go look? We need to know what we’re up against.”
“Is Owen safe? Somewhere he can’t be kidnapped again?”
I slam my fist into the ground. Gabriel’s changing the subject. My chest tightens. “Yes. He’s with his birth pack. There are extra agents on his pack lands tonight too. We want to make sure nobody makes a play for him.”
“And you, Ilan? Can you get to safety?”
Opening my eyes, I scan the area instead of responding. Jarah’s making his way toward me, Ella at his side. I wave them closer and focus on Ella. “What’s our backup plan for getting into the mine? Gabriel’s still alive.”
Ella glances at Jarah. Something unspoken passes between them. Jarah looks at me. “There is no backup plan, Ilan. There are two entrances to this mine. One is currently sealed because that section of the mine is unstable. One is caved in by the explosion.”
“How do we unseal it?” I ignore the implications of Jarah’s statement. That we’re not getting in today. I don’t like that assumption.
“We don’t.” Ella kicks at the branches in her way and crouches in front of me. “We’re aborting the mission. We’ll have to wait, bring in experts, and plan a new retrieval. You’re going to have to tell Gabriel to be patient.”
“Ilan Kane, answer me. Can you get somewhere safe?”
The power of an alpha is twined into Gabriel’s question. Spoken into my mind, I can’t ignore the compulsion to answer truthfully. “Yes. I’m surrounded by agents, and Jarah is here.”
“Then go with him. Leave the agents here to guard this place if you insist, but I don’t want you here. I want you somewhere safe. You can’t die.”
“Neither can you.”
“I won’t ever die. I promise you that.”
Gabriel’s vow wraps around me, but his words offer little comfort when he’s trapped in a coal mine without any way of getting him out. “I’m holding you to that, Gabriel.”
“Then do it from somewhere safe. I want you to leave with Jarah. Now.” Gabriel’s command is another I can’t deny.
Gabriel cuts the connection between us, leaving me in my own mind. I push to my feet and nod to Jarah and Ella. “Then let’s get out of here so we can plan a safe retrieval.”
The sounds of sirens grow louder. No doubt human rescue crews are coming to contain the fires here. I block out the activity and put one foot in front of the other, climbing out of the valley the same way I went down.
At the ledge where I watched the explosion not long ago, Gabriel forces open the connection between our minds. I stumble and glance over my shoulder at the spot where I dug my fingers into the dirt.
“You were always my favorite brother, Ilan. You’re going to make a good alpha.”
My heart races. “I can’t be alpha. You’re alpha of the Kane pack.”
“Not for much longer. I’m ready to stop fighting.”
“No!” I step closer to the edge. “You’re going to be patient and wait for us to get you out.”
“I accomplished what I needed. Owen is safe. You’re safe. I have no doubt you’ll find and make sure Brock’s sons are safe too. There’s no reason left for me to remain in this living tomb.”
“Well, you’re going to have to remain there a little while longer. It’s not like you can go anywhere or even kill yourself. You can’t shift. Death collars only work if you shift.”
“There’s dust in the air, Ilan. A lot of dust. A lot of gas too. It’s hard to breathe.”
“No. I don’t care how much gas and dust are in the air. You’re going to—”
“Do you know what happens when you rub metal against rock?”
My heart pounds hard against my chest. “Don’t do it, Gabriel. Don’t—”
Our connection cuts a moment before another explosion rocks the ground in the valley below me. No smoke this time. No fire. At least that I can see. The explosion happened too far underground.
I drop to my knees. Jarah joins me. Ella’s shocked gasp comes from somewhere behind me. I ignore them. I ignore everything—the sirens, the whooshing sound of flames, the guttural sound of pain coming out of my throat.
Head bowed, I press my palm against the rock beneath me. My throat tightens around a lump, making it hard to swallow. My eyes burn. I squeeze them tighter, stopping the moisture pooling there from leaking out.
Then I reach out with my mind, confirming what I already know. Gabriel’s gone. “Run free, Gabriel. Run free.”
Thirty-Eight
Sara
Through a series of texts, Ilan broke my heart. I cried inside for him, for Gabriel, and for Soren and his twin who’s out there in the world alone. But the ugly tears I shed are gone now. Ilan needs my strength and love, not my sorrow. The future awaits us.
“What exactly is involved in casting a ceremonial circle?” The explanation Eli gave me covered why a pack had a circle—it was a sacred plot of ground that brought heaven down to them, allowing the shifters of the pack to connect with their pack’s spirit and their goddess.
“Blood.” Ilan slides his hand over the steering wheel and glances into the rearview mirror, whether to look at Soren in the backseat or Eli and Jarah in the car behind us, I can’t be sure.
“Whose blood?” Pulling details out of Ilan since he returned late last night has been hard. He’s grieving. I get that, but without holding a piece of his soul, I can’t sense his emotions the way he can mine.
“Traditionally, two pack mates will slice their palms and walk a circle of blood. It’s symbolic and powerful, but Soren is too young to offer his up to the Kane spirit. I�
��ll have to do it alone.”
Because he is the only mature member of his pack. Soren won’t reach shifter adulthood until he’s twenty-five, according to Eli.
The agitated man who paced the house the entire time Ilan was gone offered up any information I pressed for with the stipulation I didn’t get too close to him. He was dangerous, not fit to be around innocents. At least that was the reasoning I got when I asked why he didn’t want me close. Since Ilan picked him to be our protector, I find that hard to believe. Eli has a story to tell. I just don’t know what it is yet.
“And why does the Kane circle have to be on your property? Eli said they can be cast and wiped clean. That the bear clans and feline prides routinely do that. It’s only the wolves who keep their circle up permanently. Why can’t it be cast behind the house on the Winchester pack lands?” Where we’re surrounded by the largest Royal wolf pack in the eastern states.
“Because that land belongs to the Winchester pack.”
“And? Obviously they didn’t mind us staying there for a little while.” Gwen, Xander and Vlad’s mate, even stopped by to ask if there was anything we needed for the house to make it feel like our home.
Ilan cuts me a quick look. His brows furrow. Then he turns his attention to the road ahead of us. “Shifters are territorial. That’s their land. I have my own, about sixty acres that came with the hunting cabin I bought. It’s not a lot, but my pack isn’t big either. It’ll be enough for Soren and his brother to run in their wolf forms and build homes on when they get older.”
A brother, not a sister. Gabriel confirmed this before he passed on.
“Okay, I can see your reasoning, but why now?” After holding me for several quiet minutes once he returned from the site of the explosion, Ilan gave me five minutes to pack up Soren before we headed out. He didn’t even change. The scent of fire and coal dust cling to him.
“Because I didn’t feel my pack’s spirit depart when Gabriel died. It should have. There is a possibility it did and I didn’t sense it amidst the chaos, but I can’t take that chance. Especially knowing Owen is still alive and still carries the aura of my goddess.”
Dante confirmed this in a text to Ilan’s phone a few minutes ago. He went out there, while we drove this way to Ilan’s place. Ilan hadn’t been happy about the message I read to him either.
The sound of the blinking turn signal fills the car. Ilan makes the turn onto the road leading to his cabin. We only have seconds left before we get there. “Why? Please explain it to me, Ilan. Why weren’t you happy to learn Owen didn’t die too?”
“I’m not unhappy Owen is still alive. I’m concerned about my pack’s spirit. If it’s now housed by Owen, it won’t come to me on the next full moon, which means I won’t be the next Kane alpha.” Ilan pulls into the driveway of his house while Jarah and Eli park behind us and get out.
Ilan kills the engine, then faces me. “And if that happens, I’m not sure what I’ll be. Maybe dead. Maybe a lone wolf. The bond Owen and Gabriel shared wasn’t natural. I have no idea what to expect now. I doubt those who forced the bond onto them know either. They likely just decided to conduct an experiment and see what happens.”
“And Soren and his twin? They might die or be lone wolves too.”
“Yes.” Ilan reaches between the seats and lays his hand over the plaid blanket covering Soren’s body. Their gazes meet and hold. “And I can’t take any chances with Soren’s and his brother’s lives.”
“Or mine.” Because soul bonding would guarantee we lived and died together.
Ilan nods. “Once I cast the circle, I’ll be able to sense whether or not the Kane spirit is in the heavens waiting to come to me. If it is, I’ll be alpha and everything will be fine. If not, Soren and I will seek asylum from another Royal alpha and be joined to his family’s spirit.”
“And Soren’s twin?”
Ilan stares at me for a long moment, then opens the driver’s door and gets out. I climb out my side and hurry around the car, stopping him from opening the door to the backseat. “And Soren’s twin?”
Without looking at me, Ilan takes my hand in his, then opens the backseat door. “We have to find him first, Sara. And we will. The human government knows where he’s at. That’s why the file on Soren has been sealed. I’m sure of it. And with what happened to Gabriel, we should have the justification to open it.”
Should isn’t a guarantee, but it gives me hope. I nod. “So we have options.”
“Yes.” Ilan unhooks the car seat and lifts the carrier out. “And I’ll be able to keep my promise to you. We’ll have our happy family and our forever. The details of how it’ll play out are just still up in the air. Either way, everything is going to be fine.”
The assuredness in Ilan’s tone calms me. I straighten my shoulders. “Then let’s find out which option we’re taking.”
“Yes, let’s.” Ilan gives my hand a squeeze, then turns to look at where Eli’s standing by the door of the cabin with his arms crossed over his chest.
“House is empty. Jarah went to check out the woods.” Eli steps away from the door. “I’m assuming I’m staying in there with them.”
Ilan walks forward, holding my hand, then stops next to Eli. “Do you think I’d allow an unsalvageable man anywhere near the heart and the future of my pack, Eli?”
“You’re crazy enough to try to save me, so what do I know?”
“Follow my orders, and we’ll figure it out together.”
Eli dips his head at Ilan’s promise, then trails behind us as we enter the cabin.
Ilan sets the carrier down on the couch, then slips out the front door without another word. Not even a goodbye. Of course, he’s only going outside. Goodbyes aren’t necessary for going outdoors.
“The kid’s sleeping.”
Eli’s announcement draws my gaze to Soren. He looks content snuggled under the blanket. I fold it away from his face and ease my hand back, careful not to wake him. His restlessness while Ilan was at the coal mine left Soren agitated and awake most of the evening. He needs his rest now.
“You can watch Ilan from the upstairs window. He’s casting the circle in the backyard. I’ll stay down here with the kid.”
Eli’s offer surprises me, especially after his comments to Ilan, but I won’t argue. I want to witness Ilan casting the circle. I technically might not be a pack mate, but I’m his true mate. That bond is powerful too.
“Thank you, Eli. Yell up if he starts fussing.”
“I plan on it.”
I nod, then hurry up the stairs. The upstairs is as cozy as downstairs. I scan the smaller bedroom, the bathroom, then step into the master bedroom. Like all the other rooms in this house, there’s nothing personal displayed. After getting to know Ilan, I’m guessing there never was anything personal in this cabin. That’ll have to change. I want to make it ours, ensuring I’ll never walk through these rooms and remember blood and death.
Light from outside catches my attention. I make my way to the window. Someone turned the floodlight on. Likely Eli. I’m glad. I can’t see in the dark, and I don’t want to miss a moment of this.
Barefoot and shirtless, Ilan’s kneeling in the grass alone. Jarah’s nowhere in sight. After several moments, Ilan stands and uncurls his hand. There’s blood on his palm. He clenches his hand again, digging his nails into his flesh. Then he walks, forming a circle a dozen or so feet wide, until he reaches the spot where he started. With his back to me, I can’t see his face to even guess at what he’s feeling, but he stands there a moment longer before stepping into the circle.
In the center of the circle, he drops to his knees and raises his hands in the air, as if calling down the heavens. Head tipped back and arms outstretched, he looks like a primitive male giving thanks to his gods or a shaman ready to conjure a spell.
Minutes pass with Ilan kneeling there, his arms stretched to the stars. I want to open the window and yell out, asking if he can feel his pack’s spirit. Instead, I worry my lip between my te
eth and wait.
Ilan lowers his arms. His body jerks and crumples to the side. And doesn’t move.
A harsh noise escapes me. I press a hand over my mouth and wait for him to push to his feet. I don’t know if this is part of the ceremony or not. Time stands still as my heart races and my hands shake.
Ilan’s still not moving.
Jarah rushes from the woods and drops to his knees by Ilan’s side. He pushes him to his back and leans over him, ear to his chest as if listening for a heartbeat. Jarah’s back blocks my view. I can’t see Ilan’s face. Can’t see if he’s alive.
I unlock the window, pushing it up. “Ilan! Is he okay?”
Jarah doesn’t answer me. Neither does Ilan.
I run across the bedroom, down the stairs, and fling open the front door. Darkness makes it hard to see, but I round the cabin, running full-out toward the backyard where the floodlight illuminates Ilan’s crumpled body.
Jarah pushes to his feet. Blood covers his hand, up past his wrist. There’s blood on Ilan’s chest. A lot of blood. I scream. Jarah glances in my direction, meeting my gaze for the briefest of moments before jumping over Ilan’s body. Something falls from Jarah’s bloody hand. He doesn’t look at it or his bleeding son. Jarah runs, shifting into a huge black bear between one step and the next, and disappears into the woods.
With betrayal choking me, I stumble forward, then stop several feet from Ilan’s body. Because that’s what it is. A body…a lifeless body. His heart is on the ground next to him. That’s what Jarah was holding. Ilan’s heart.
Royals can survive a lot as long as they don’t lose their head or heart. Dante’s words repeat in my head, confirming the truth I don’t want to believe.
Ilan’s dead. My true mate is dead.
A gut-wrenching cry crawls up my throat. I press my hands to my face, muffling my sobs. “Jarah killed him. Killed his own son.”
My knees connect with the hard ground. I press a splayed hand on the cold grass in front of me, stopping me from collapsing. As much as I’d like to curl into a ball and sob, I can’t. Jarah betrayed us.
