Pack Possessed, page 21
part #4 of Thrown to the Wolves Series
The ground beneath our feet rocks as the path behind me begins to separate, threatening to leave us stranded on a makeshift island in the center of a jagged circle that’s widening further with every passing minute. He shrugs a single shoulder. “Maybe, but what do I have to lose? You’re going to kill us either way. At least this route, I might be able to barter a head start out of this hellhole.”
Gritting his teeth, he demands, “What do you want?”
“Hostage trade. You get Sabrina, I get her mate to make sure she won’t let anyone kill me until I’m out of range of this place. Then I’ll let him go, and we all part ways happy and healthy.”
Ash doesn’t so much as hesitate, getting to his feet and hauling Hunter up by the scruff of his neck while keeping his gun trained on the back of his head. “Deal.”
Against my ear as he urges me to start walking, Adrian’s voice is a barely audible hiss. “Do you trust me?”
Matching his volume, I counter, “You do realize I could have melted the blade by now if I wanted to, right?”
I can feel the corner of his lips curving up into a smile against my ear. “People like us are good at playing the shitty hand we’re dealt, but it doesn’t hurt to stack the deck when you get the chance.”
Coming to a stop outside of Ash’s reach, Adrian tilts his head towards Ash’s hand. “Hate to break it to you, but I’m not that stupid; you’ll shoot me the second I let go. Kick the gun over here.” Jaw ticking, he finally removes the gun from Hunter’s head, and I hold my mate’s stare, urging him not to do anything rash.
“Sorry to make you play musical hostage, but trust me, okay? I can’t focus on doing this if I’m worried you’re going to get killed if I’m not moving fast enough for the nutjob’s liking.”
Ash kicks over the gun that I catch beneath my foot, and Hunter tentatively pads closer, eyeing me like he thinks he might be able to snatch me and bolt before anyone can stop him. Lightning strikes several more places, the pressure in my chest tightening until it’s hard to draw in air. On his way past, Hunter brushes against me, the small comfort enough to ground me to the moment. Steadying my breathing, I let Adrian usher me forward a step, hoping that he’ll survive long enough to actually cash in the favor I owe him for helping save Hunter.
And immediately take back the sentiment when the traitorous son of a bitch shoves me off the ledge of the platform.
I can’t even scream, my vocal cords seizing in fear as I plummet into the void below, eyes shut tight and body tensing for the inevitable impact. It comes far sooner than I expected, my back slamming against the rock and pain exploding throughout my entire body. But when it’s abundantly clear that I’m not dead, I pry my eyelids open, finding a dark, seemingly endless void below, and realize that I’m upright, back pressed into the stone cliff I was thrown from.
A faint light emanates from the series of markings across the figure pinning me in place, as if she’s illuminated from within. Her taloned hand is wrapped around my wrist pinned above my head, the feathered wings softly beating at her back keeping us aloft as she finds a foothold and wedges a knee between my legs, her other claw gripping the rock to keep us more securely positioned. In her elven face, dark eyes speckled with light like stars in the night sky study me intently, cocking her head curiously. Leaning in, she runs her nose along my jaw and up to my hair, inhaling my scent before pulling back and breaking out in a massive grin.
“My, my, how much I’ve missed if even a little Nightmare can wear the skin of her victims now.” Colors ripple across her skin until she blends into the rock wall she’s gripping. “Tell me, does this mean Aurelia’s finally deemed the surface safe enough for us to return?”
Shock renders me speechless, giving my demon an opportunity to steal control, curving our lips into a cruel grin. “Not quite, Mira.”
Chapter 16
Hunter
The edge of the platform gives way, sending us falling thirty feet below and pain exploding in my left shoulder as I crash to the ground. My other half wrenches control away from me, forcing us to scramble back just as another fissure splits across the earth. It leaves Ash isolated on the makeshift island above us, and at the sound of Adrian’s pained curse, I yank the reins back, turning to him with a snarl. The gun he aims at my face doesn’t make me so much as pause as I stalk towards him.
Death isn’t a threat when you’ve lost your only reason for living.
“She’s not dead,” he groans, pushing himself to his feet.
That makes me hesitate, even if it’s only a lie to buy himself time to escape with his throat intact. But I need it to be true, need to hear the words with a desperation like nothing I’ve ever felt before.
“I was with him today when we were grabbing Annika. Ash had resigned himself to the fact that nothing he did was going to win her over, so the second he saw that she'd freed them, he was going to kill her so she wouldn't be a threat. With the demons free, he was going to find another Elemental to replicate the stone."
I can only manage a low growl, but he has no trouble deciphering the intrinsic demand for answers. Taking a step back, he explains, "People are looking in the darkest pits for the demons crawling out of that abyss, Hunter, not towards what casts the shadows. Our kind are naturally drawn to her, so it was a better chance for her to walk away from this than she would have gotten from that monster."
As Ash's enraged scream cuts off, it snags my attention, and Adrian bolts. Taking a running leap, I clear the small rift at the base of the cliff, shifting at the last second and gripping the stone. Making swift work of it, I haul myself up onto the platform, in time to see Ash crouched down on the far side of the platform. When Sabrina’s face comes into view as he hauls her up, my foot slips, and its only sheer fucking determination that has me hauling myself up.
Getting to my feet, I freeze when she grips the front of Ash’s shirt, silent tears streaming down her face, and slams her lips against his. A wave of shock ripples across the battlefield beneath us, the fighting grinding to a halt as everyone attempts to make sense of what they’re seeing, stunned speechless.
But then I see the obsidian dagger Cinjin gave her plunged into his chest, and a moment later, another Sabrina pulls herself over the ledge. While Ash is busy shoving her doppelganger away, stumbling forward with a gasp, she uses the distraction to sneak up behind him and slit his throat damn near to the bone.
“This is for Noah. For Kaige and Hunter’s parents, for my parents, and for every single person you’ve tormented,” she decrees. “But between you and me?”
Unhurriedly, she follows as he stumbles his way in a pitiful escape attempt, finally falling to his knees not far from me. As he gasps and clutches at his throat, she strides up behind him, putting her foot in the middle of his back.
“The Hell you’re going to is a far cry from the one I created, Acheron. I sparked legends, while you hid in the shadows, deluding yourself into thinking that you controlled them.” With a harsh kick, she sends him sailing over the ledge.
Throwing him to the wolves waiting below.
Kaige is the first to tear into him, Damian closing in to take his pound of flesh next. Soon, it’s a free for all of hellhounds caught in a frenzy of bloodlust and vengeance. Turning my back on them, I leave the others to it. Even though that’s all I wanted once, now that the moment’s actually here, it doesn’t hold the appeal it once did. The only thing in this world that could bring me any peace, I already have.
The demon sheds Sabrina’s image, back into what must be her natural skin, only for it to shift a moment later, taking on the hue of the earth at our feet. Eyeing her warily, I keep her in my peripherals as I sidestep her, everything in my head screaming that this woman is a threat. But seeing as we have her to thank for helping Sabrina kill Ash, and most likely for saving my mate from plummeting straight to Hell? I’m not about to be so stupid as to say a single word.
“I know that probably looked awful, but I swear-” Sabrina’s words taper off into a startle yelp as I palm both sides of her face, crushing my lips against hers.
Chest heaving, I force myself to pull back, slowly running my gaze over her scraped and bruised form. Brushing my thumb over her bleeding lip, I choke on my tirade about how godsdamned reckless she was for going along with Adrian’s plan, how fucking scared I was. Instead, I bite it all back in favor of what’s actually important for her to hear right now.
“I’m so fucking proud of you.” Kissing her again, I rest my forehead against hers, heart still thundering away.
An amused hum of contentment forces us to break apart, facing the demon staring at us with a predatory tilt to her head, her eyes locked on us, yet I can’t read them to save my soul. “The deal’s been fulfilled then, yes?”
Sabrina nods with a broad smile. “One assassination in exchange for the best place to live in the city, and it’ll go down in history that you were the one to finally end the war so you could all come home.”
Beaming with victory, her skin ripples again before a massive set of feathered wings appear behind her like a demonic Valkyrie. “Then I shall report to the others that I have ensured their safe arrival.” Walking right over the edge, she glides down into the dark void and out of sight.
Lacing her fingers with mine, Sabrina walks to the edge and peers down with a grimace. “Probably should have haggled for a ride to solid ground, too.”
Kissing the back of her hand, I guide her to wrap her arms around my neck and climb on my back so I can carry her down and make sure she damn well stays where she belongs; with us. “It’s not too huge of a gap; you kicked that bastard across it, after all.”
“Fair.” She wraps her legs around my waist and hangs on tight. “Scale of one to ten, how mad do you think Carina’s going to be to get my call?”
“When you ask her to house a hoard of demons in Khalida? I’m sure you’re going to become her new favorite curse word.” As we make our way down, I sigh, pretty sure the last two weeks have taken a decade off my lifespan. “But better Carina’s wrath than losing you.”
"I told you I'd never sacrifice myself for someone else." Against the side of my neck, she smiles wistfully. "You don't die for the people you love; you live for them."
Epilogue
Sabrina
3 Years later
“Harlow, Devlin! Get back here!” Thane’s harsh demand has Emmy and I looking up from where we’re sprawled out on our stomachs in a couple of beach chairs, dozing under the summer sun.
“Shit.” Wide awake in an instant, Emmy rolls to her feet, sprinting across the sand to where her toddlers are making a beeline for the ocean.
Concentrating, I flick two of my fingers, swiping the sand out from under the girls’ feet before they can reach the water. Better a face full of sand than getting swept up in the undertow, even if it makes me sound like a jerk.
Thane snatches them up a few seconds later, tucking the squirming blonde haired, silver eyed twin girls under his arms like a couple of footballs. “Thanks, Sabrina.”
Pushing myself up, I wave him off. “I don’t know how you guys do it, honestly.”
As Emmy reaches them, he grimaces. “Sorry, babe. I swear, I only turned around for a second.”
Stealing Harlow, she shoots me an apologetic look. “Rain check?”
Chuckling, I remind her, “I’ll literally see you in a couple of hours for dinner, don’t stress it. Not like we can’t sneak in some time together whenever it works out; perks of living together.”
With a blinding smile, she blows me a kiss and heads back up the beach towards the wing of the house she shares with her mates. Getting to my feet, I head down the beach a little way in the opposite direction, enjoying the tranquility. Water laps at the edge of the island, the mainland still visible on the horizon, close enough for convenience whenever we need anything, but far enough away that we can see anyone coming, too.
It’s safer for everyone this way, surrounding our demonic little castle with a moat and taking a step back from the world.
Carina managed to get most of them squared away in Khalida or the surrounding mountains, plenty of them beyond thrilled to help expand the city and see how much the world has changed, but there were also those that couldn’t handle the culture shock. The guys were already dead-set on us living somewhere remote so we wouldn’t need to deal with shifters constantly drawn to us and all of the stress that came with it, plus I had Byte-Ware to sell and pitch some money into the pot, so for once, all of the pieces actually aligned for a perfect solution.
One modern day castle on a private island, and a carefully selected pack to live there with us.
A yelp is followed by a sharp smack and Cinjin’s annoyed, “Quit acting like a little bitch and sit still.”
Following the sound of buzzing towards our section of the house, I slip through the open archway to where Reid is reclining in a chair as Cinjin tattoos his chest. Reid notices me first. “You’re back early.”
Leaning against the pillar of the arch, I smile. “The twin devils decided to try and baptize themselves, so Emmy had to dip out.”
Cinjin glances up, worry etched into his features. “They’re okay, though?”
“Of course, I have no problem drop-kicking my nieces to save them from becoming Kraken bait.”
With a snort he returns to his work. “You’re so benevolent.”
“I know, it’s one of my more redeeming qualities.”
Reid was the last one in the lineup, and honestly, this might be the most perfect idea Cinjin’s ever had. Slade joins us a little while later, and I lean back against him as we watch in peaceful silence. Ten minutes later Cin’s wiping off Reid’s chest, and I can’t help but grin at the end result.
It’s the same tribal wolf head that he tattooed over all of our hearts, a perfect balance of shadows and highlights. Now, we all finally have matching mate marks, visible proof that we chose one another and continue to do so.
Low chatter draws my eye over to where Nate and his mate Sarah are walking on the beach, and I can’t help but smile at the way he looks at her with nothing short of absolute adoration when she’s not looking. The only non-wolf shifter on the island, her black and orange hair is the same unique coloring as her fox. But where there was a little hesitancy on my part after our experience with Jonathan, it was quickly washed away once I actually met her. Sarah’s so sweet, she makes you want to wrap her in bubble wrap and shower her in candy.
“Hey, Nate?” They look my way instantly, and make their way up the path.
“What’s up, Sabrina?” He wraps an arm around Sarah’s waist, tucking her into his side.
Wetting my lips, I debate if it’s the right time to ask, but if the perfect moment hasn’t appeared by now, it’s not going to. “I know wolves were pushed to the edge of shifter society because of Ash, but some of you were still aware of them before everything exploded. Why was it such a secret that there were even other packs outside of Shadow Ridge to where the guys didn’t know?”
He looks past me to Slade. “I had my suspicions that your fathers were messing with things they shouldn’t after how dramatically their behavior deteriorated, so I got the others to agree to spare you. But since we didn’t know who they were involved with or how they were getting their hands on it, it came with the stipulation of cutting you off from any packs outside of those in Shadow Ridge so there wouldn’t be another exposure risk.”
With a sad smile, he admits, “I told you we kept you alive that day for a reason, Hawthorne, but the others didn’t have anything to do with it besides humoring me. It was because something had to change. And seeing how much you boys hated the lives you were living? If there was anyone that would find a way to break the cycle we were all trapped in, I knew it’d be you.”
He claps his shoulder once before guiding his mate away to join my fathers down the beach where they’re fussing over Terra, our pack’s human lawyer. The poor woman hasn’t gotten a moment’s rest since they overheard her telling Hunter that she was traveling to Khalida to get some paperwork signed by Carina. All they heard was ‘attractive human alone around people that could kill her’ and it was over. But by the small smiles and lack of objections when that woman can get half of the people in a police station begging for mercy in a matter of minutes? She doesn’t mind their hovering.
“It’s finally ready.” Kaige emerges from the house, breaking into a broad smile when he sees Reid’s tattoo. “Looks like perfect timing, too.”
“What’s ready?”
He threads our fingers together, kissing the back of my hand. “Your room.”
“Seriously? I’d made my peace taking over part of all of your rooms and started wondering if that was your plan all along. What will you guys fight about, now?”
Slade chuckles, setting a hand on my hip from behind and urging me into the house. “I’m sure we’ll find something.”
Weaving through rooms, we climb the spiraling stone staircase that leads up to the third floor, our wing of bedrooms separated from the rest of the place for the dual purpose of privacy, and to ease some of the paranoia that can never fully be eradicated after the things we’ve been through. Tracing my fingers along the walls on the way, we finally come to a stop in front of the door at the end of the hall that I’ve never been allowed to set foot in.
“If you hate it, definitely don’t hesitate to say something, you won’t hurt our feelings,” Reid says from behind us, catching onto the way my heartbeat quickened.
Cinjin chimes in, “If anything, it’ll be fun for us since we aren’t telling you who picked what, and we can give them shit. Besides, after this long, I’m not sure what to even do with myself now that it’s done. You’d be helping us out until we find a new project to obsess over.”
“I can’t imagine I’ll hate it,” I chuckle. “Just a lot of buildup and anticipation so I’m bracing myself.”
Kaige turns the black iron handle, pushing open the ancient looking, dark wooden door with all of the flourish as if it were a gateway to another world. Hunter, Boden, and Damian are already inside, standing out of the way so they can witness my initial reaction before I can hide it like the cheaters they are, knowing me far too well. But there was absolutely no reason for any of them to worry, because they know me better than anyone else.
Gritting his teeth, he demands, “What do you want?”
“Hostage trade. You get Sabrina, I get her mate to make sure she won’t let anyone kill me until I’m out of range of this place. Then I’ll let him go, and we all part ways happy and healthy.”
Ash doesn’t so much as hesitate, getting to his feet and hauling Hunter up by the scruff of his neck while keeping his gun trained on the back of his head. “Deal.”
Against my ear as he urges me to start walking, Adrian’s voice is a barely audible hiss. “Do you trust me?”
Matching his volume, I counter, “You do realize I could have melted the blade by now if I wanted to, right?”
I can feel the corner of his lips curving up into a smile against my ear. “People like us are good at playing the shitty hand we’re dealt, but it doesn’t hurt to stack the deck when you get the chance.”
Coming to a stop outside of Ash’s reach, Adrian tilts his head towards Ash’s hand. “Hate to break it to you, but I’m not that stupid; you’ll shoot me the second I let go. Kick the gun over here.” Jaw ticking, he finally removes the gun from Hunter’s head, and I hold my mate’s stare, urging him not to do anything rash.
“Sorry to make you play musical hostage, but trust me, okay? I can’t focus on doing this if I’m worried you’re going to get killed if I’m not moving fast enough for the nutjob’s liking.”
Ash kicks over the gun that I catch beneath my foot, and Hunter tentatively pads closer, eyeing me like he thinks he might be able to snatch me and bolt before anyone can stop him. Lightning strikes several more places, the pressure in my chest tightening until it’s hard to draw in air. On his way past, Hunter brushes against me, the small comfort enough to ground me to the moment. Steadying my breathing, I let Adrian usher me forward a step, hoping that he’ll survive long enough to actually cash in the favor I owe him for helping save Hunter.
And immediately take back the sentiment when the traitorous son of a bitch shoves me off the ledge of the platform.
I can’t even scream, my vocal cords seizing in fear as I plummet into the void below, eyes shut tight and body tensing for the inevitable impact. It comes far sooner than I expected, my back slamming against the rock and pain exploding throughout my entire body. But when it’s abundantly clear that I’m not dead, I pry my eyelids open, finding a dark, seemingly endless void below, and realize that I’m upright, back pressed into the stone cliff I was thrown from.
A faint light emanates from the series of markings across the figure pinning me in place, as if she’s illuminated from within. Her taloned hand is wrapped around my wrist pinned above my head, the feathered wings softly beating at her back keeping us aloft as she finds a foothold and wedges a knee between my legs, her other claw gripping the rock to keep us more securely positioned. In her elven face, dark eyes speckled with light like stars in the night sky study me intently, cocking her head curiously. Leaning in, she runs her nose along my jaw and up to my hair, inhaling my scent before pulling back and breaking out in a massive grin.
“My, my, how much I’ve missed if even a little Nightmare can wear the skin of her victims now.” Colors ripple across her skin until she blends into the rock wall she’s gripping. “Tell me, does this mean Aurelia’s finally deemed the surface safe enough for us to return?”
Shock renders me speechless, giving my demon an opportunity to steal control, curving our lips into a cruel grin. “Not quite, Mira.”
Chapter 16
Hunter
The edge of the platform gives way, sending us falling thirty feet below and pain exploding in my left shoulder as I crash to the ground. My other half wrenches control away from me, forcing us to scramble back just as another fissure splits across the earth. It leaves Ash isolated on the makeshift island above us, and at the sound of Adrian’s pained curse, I yank the reins back, turning to him with a snarl. The gun he aims at my face doesn’t make me so much as pause as I stalk towards him.
Death isn’t a threat when you’ve lost your only reason for living.
“She’s not dead,” he groans, pushing himself to his feet.
That makes me hesitate, even if it’s only a lie to buy himself time to escape with his throat intact. But I need it to be true, need to hear the words with a desperation like nothing I’ve ever felt before.
“I was with him today when we were grabbing Annika. Ash had resigned himself to the fact that nothing he did was going to win her over, so the second he saw that she'd freed them, he was going to kill her so she wouldn't be a threat. With the demons free, he was going to find another Elemental to replicate the stone."
I can only manage a low growl, but he has no trouble deciphering the intrinsic demand for answers. Taking a step back, he explains, "People are looking in the darkest pits for the demons crawling out of that abyss, Hunter, not towards what casts the shadows. Our kind are naturally drawn to her, so it was a better chance for her to walk away from this than she would have gotten from that monster."
As Ash's enraged scream cuts off, it snags my attention, and Adrian bolts. Taking a running leap, I clear the small rift at the base of the cliff, shifting at the last second and gripping the stone. Making swift work of it, I haul myself up onto the platform, in time to see Ash crouched down on the far side of the platform. When Sabrina’s face comes into view as he hauls her up, my foot slips, and its only sheer fucking determination that has me hauling myself up.
Getting to my feet, I freeze when she grips the front of Ash’s shirt, silent tears streaming down her face, and slams her lips against his. A wave of shock ripples across the battlefield beneath us, the fighting grinding to a halt as everyone attempts to make sense of what they’re seeing, stunned speechless.
But then I see the obsidian dagger Cinjin gave her plunged into his chest, and a moment later, another Sabrina pulls herself over the ledge. While Ash is busy shoving her doppelganger away, stumbling forward with a gasp, she uses the distraction to sneak up behind him and slit his throat damn near to the bone.
“This is for Noah. For Kaige and Hunter’s parents, for my parents, and for every single person you’ve tormented,” she decrees. “But between you and me?”
Unhurriedly, she follows as he stumbles his way in a pitiful escape attempt, finally falling to his knees not far from me. As he gasps and clutches at his throat, she strides up behind him, putting her foot in the middle of his back.
“The Hell you’re going to is a far cry from the one I created, Acheron. I sparked legends, while you hid in the shadows, deluding yourself into thinking that you controlled them.” With a harsh kick, she sends him sailing over the ledge.
Throwing him to the wolves waiting below.
Kaige is the first to tear into him, Damian closing in to take his pound of flesh next. Soon, it’s a free for all of hellhounds caught in a frenzy of bloodlust and vengeance. Turning my back on them, I leave the others to it. Even though that’s all I wanted once, now that the moment’s actually here, it doesn’t hold the appeal it once did. The only thing in this world that could bring me any peace, I already have.
The demon sheds Sabrina’s image, back into what must be her natural skin, only for it to shift a moment later, taking on the hue of the earth at our feet. Eyeing her warily, I keep her in my peripherals as I sidestep her, everything in my head screaming that this woman is a threat. But seeing as we have her to thank for helping Sabrina kill Ash, and most likely for saving my mate from plummeting straight to Hell? I’m not about to be so stupid as to say a single word.
“I know that probably looked awful, but I swear-” Sabrina’s words taper off into a startle yelp as I palm both sides of her face, crushing my lips against hers.
Chest heaving, I force myself to pull back, slowly running my gaze over her scraped and bruised form. Brushing my thumb over her bleeding lip, I choke on my tirade about how godsdamned reckless she was for going along with Adrian’s plan, how fucking scared I was. Instead, I bite it all back in favor of what’s actually important for her to hear right now.
“I’m so fucking proud of you.” Kissing her again, I rest my forehead against hers, heart still thundering away.
An amused hum of contentment forces us to break apart, facing the demon staring at us with a predatory tilt to her head, her eyes locked on us, yet I can’t read them to save my soul. “The deal’s been fulfilled then, yes?”
Sabrina nods with a broad smile. “One assassination in exchange for the best place to live in the city, and it’ll go down in history that you were the one to finally end the war so you could all come home.”
Beaming with victory, her skin ripples again before a massive set of feathered wings appear behind her like a demonic Valkyrie. “Then I shall report to the others that I have ensured their safe arrival.” Walking right over the edge, she glides down into the dark void and out of sight.
Lacing her fingers with mine, Sabrina walks to the edge and peers down with a grimace. “Probably should have haggled for a ride to solid ground, too.”
Kissing the back of her hand, I guide her to wrap her arms around my neck and climb on my back so I can carry her down and make sure she damn well stays where she belongs; with us. “It’s not too huge of a gap; you kicked that bastard across it, after all.”
“Fair.” She wraps her legs around my waist and hangs on tight. “Scale of one to ten, how mad do you think Carina’s going to be to get my call?”
“When you ask her to house a hoard of demons in Khalida? I’m sure you’re going to become her new favorite curse word.” As we make our way down, I sigh, pretty sure the last two weeks have taken a decade off my lifespan. “But better Carina’s wrath than losing you.”
"I told you I'd never sacrifice myself for someone else." Against the side of my neck, she smiles wistfully. "You don't die for the people you love; you live for them."
Epilogue
Sabrina
3 Years later
“Harlow, Devlin! Get back here!” Thane’s harsh demand has Emmy and I looking up from where we’re sprawled out on our stomachs in a couple of beach chairs, dozing under the summer sun.
“Shit.” Wide awake in an instant, Emmy rolls to her feet, sprinting across the sand to where her toddlers are making a beeline for the ocean.
Concentrating, I flick two of my fingers, swiping the sand out from under the girls’ feet before they can reach the water. Better a face full of sand than getting swept up in the undertow, even if it makes me sound like a jerk.
Thane snatches them up a few seconds later, tucking the squirming blonde haired, silver eyed twin girls under his arms like a couple of footballs. “Thanks, Sabrina.”
Pushing myself up, I wave him off. “I don’t know how you guys do it, honestly.”
As Emmy reaches them, he grimaces. “Sorry, babe. I swear, I only turned around for a second.”
Stealing Harlow, she shoots me an apologetic look. “Rain check?”
Chuckling, I remind her, “I’ll literally see you in a couple of hours for dinner, don’t stress it. Not like we can’t sneak in some time together whenever it works out; perks of living together.”
With a blinding smile, she blows me a kiss and heads back up the beach towards the wing of the house she shares with her mates. Getting to my feet, I head down the beach a little way in the opposite direction, enjoying the tranquility. Water laps at the edge of the island, the mainland still visible on the horizon, close enough for convenience whenever we need anything, but far enough away that we can see anyone coming, too.
It’s safer for everyone this way, surrounding our demonic little castle with a moat and taking a step back from the world.
Carina managed to get most of them squared away in Khalida or the surrounding mountains, plenty of them beyond thrilled to help expand the city and see how much the world has changed, but there were also those that couldn’t handle the culture shock. The guys were already dead-set on us living somewhere remote so we wouldn’t need to deal with shifters constantly drawn to us and all of the stress that came with it, plus I had Byte-Ware to sell and pitch some money into the pot, so for once, all of the pieces actually aligned for a perfect solution.
One modern day castle on a private island, and a carefully selected pack to live there with us.
A yelp is followed by a sharp smack and Cinjin’s annoyed, “Quit acting like a little bitch and sit still.”
Following the sound of buzzing towards our section of the house, I slip through the open archway to where Reid is reclining in a chair as Cinjin tattoos his chest. Reid notices me first. “You’re back early.”
Leaning against the pillar of the arch, I smile. “The twin devils decided to try and baptize themselves, so Emmy had to dip out.”
Cinjin glances up, worry etched into his features. “They’re okay, though?”
“Of course, I have no problem drop-kicking my nieces to save them from becoming Kraken bait.”
With a snort he returns to his work. “You’re so benevolent.”
“I know, it’s one of my more redeeming qualities.”
Reid was the last one in the lineup, and honestly, this might be the most perfect idea Cinjin’s ever had. Slade joins us a little while later, and I lean back against him as we watch in peaceful silence. Ten minutes later Cin’s wiping off Reid’s chest, and I can’t help but grin at the end result.
It’s the same tribal wolf head that he tattooed over all of our hearts, a perfect balance of shadows and highlights. Now, we all finally have matching mate marks, visible proof that we chose one another and continue to do so.
Low chatter draws my eye over to where Nate and his mate Sarah are walking on the beach, and I can’t help but smile at the way he looks at her with nothing short of absolute adoration when she’s not looking. The only non-wolf shifter on the island, her black and orange hair is the same unique coloring as her fox. But where there was a little hesitancy on my part after our experience with Jonathan, it was quickly washed away once I actually met her. Sarah’s so sweet, she makes you want to wrap her in bubble wrap and shower her in candy.
“Hey, Nate?” They look my way instantly, and make their way up the path.
“What’s up, Sabrina?” He wraps an arm around Sarah’s waist, tucking her into his side.
Wetting my lips, I debate if it’s the right time to ask, but if the perfect moment hasn’t appeared by now, it’s not going to. “I know wolves were pushed to the edge of shifter society because of Ash, but some of you were still aware of them before everything exploded. Why was it such a secret that there were even other packs outside of Shadow Ridge to where the guys didn’t know?”
He looks past me to Slade. “I had my suspicions that your fathers were messing with things they shouldn’t after how dramatically their behavior deteriorated, so I got the others to agree to spare you. But since we didn’t know who they were involved with or how they were getting their hands on it, it came with the stipulation of cutting you off from any packs outside of those in Shadow Ridge so there wouldn’t be another exposure risk.”
With a sad smile, he admits, “I told you we kept you alive that day for a reason, Hawthorne, but the others didn’t have anything to do with it besides humoring me. It was because something had to change. And seeing how much you boys hated the lives you were living? If there was anyone that would find a way to break the cycle we were all trapped in, I knew it’d be you.”
He claps his shoulder once before guiding his mate away to join my fathers down the beach where they’re fussing over Terra, our pack’s human lawyer. The poor woman hasn’t gotten a moment’s rest since they overheard her telling Hunter that she was traveling to Khalida to get some paperwork signed by Carina. All they heard was ‘attractive human alone around people that could kill her’ and it was over. But by the small smiles and lack of objections when that woman can get half of the people in a police station begging for mercy in a matter of minutes? She doesn’t mind their hovering.
“It’s finally ready.” Kaige emerges from the house, breaking into a broad smile when he sees Reid’s tattoo. “Looks like perfect timing, too.”
“What’s ready?”
He threads our fingers together, kissing the back of my hand. “Your room.”
“Seriously? I’d made my peace taking over part of all of your rooms and started wondering if that was your plan all along. What will you guys fight about, now?”
Slade chuckles, setting a hand on my hip from behind and urging me into the house. “I’m sure we’ll find something.”
Weaving through rooms, we climb the spiraling stone staircase that leads up to the third floor, our wing of bedrooms separated from the rest of the place for the dual purpose of privacy, and to ease some of the paranoia that can never fully be eradicated after the things we’ve been through. Tracing my fingers along the walls on the way, we finally come to a stop in front of the door at the end of the hall that I’ve never been allowed to set foot in.
“If you hate it, definitely don’t hesitate to say something, you won’t hurt our feelings,” Reid says from behind us, catching onto the way my heartbeat quickened.
Cinjin chimes in, “If anything, it’ll be fun for us since we aren’t telling you who picked what, and we can give them shit. Besides, after this long, I’m not sure what to even do with myself now that it’s done. You’d be helping us out until we find a new project to obsess over.”
“I can’t imagine I’ll hate it,” I chuckle. “Just a lot of buildup and anticipation so I’m bracing myself.”
Kaige turns the black iron handle, pushing open the ancient looking, dark wooden door with all of the flourish as if it were a gateway to another world. Hunter, Boden, and Damian are already inside, standing out of the way so they can witness my initial reaction before I can hide it like the cheaters they are, knowing me far too well. But there was absolutely no reason for any of them to worry, because they know me better than anyone else.
