Fate Bound, page 11
I take in a breath, relieved that she’s gotten to this question so early. I nod at Jack. “I consider myself a werewolf. I’m a member of Jack’s pack.”
There’s a subtle shift in the atmosphere as the five members between Cassandra and Kiara seem to let out a collective breath. My words have put many of them at ease. A woman with salt-and-pepper hair pulled back into a long braid sighs as tension visibly drains from her shoulders.
But Kiara doesn’t sit down. “And what is your role in the pack?”
I glance at Jack before turning to Cassandra, but she doesn’t look at either of us. Her eyes are trained on Kiara. “I’m new,” I begin tentatively, “so I’m still learning what it means to be a werewolf.”
Kiara’s full lips curve into a smile. “But packs are split by a hierarchy of sorts, are they not? There are more submissive wolves and their pack leaders—the alphas and betas. Where do you fall on the continuum?”
The unease that had begun to unravel in my stomach coils itself once more. For the first time since learning where I stand in the pack, I wish I were more submissive—more like Lillie or Maggie. I could make it seem as if I am, but I don’t think it’s in my best interest to attempt to deceive anyone. “I’m the fourth female. Third, I mean.”
If my last answer served to comfort the council, this one has only upset it again. Unease ripples through those seated around the table. Besides Cassandra, the only one who seems unsurprised by this news is Kiara.
“You don’t sound entirely confident,” she says.
There’s something in her tone I don’t like. “It’s new. Our alpha female was killed last night, so my place in the pack changed.”
Kiara tilts her head. “I understand. Pack hierarchies are hardly written in stone. The death of someone who ranks higher than you can effect your status. And there are always dominance fights.”
My wolf bristles at her insinuation. “I have no desire to challenge anyone to a fight for dominance.”
“But you could,” says the woman with salt-and-pepper hair.
Jack leans forward. “What does this have to do with anything?”
Kiara’s lips curve into a smile when she looks at him. “The alpha speaks. Good, I’d like to clarify something. Is it true that an alpha’s orders must be obeyed by pack members?”
“Yes,” he says, his voice tight. He’s doing his best to keep his expression impassive, but I catch a steely glint in his eye.
Kiara continues. “What would happen if you were to command your pack members to submit to becoming hybrids?”
“I’d like to think my history with vampires would be enough to assure you I’d never do that,” Jack growls.
If Kiara is bothered by his tone, her expression doesn’t show it. “And what if pack dynamics shift again? What if Ava becomes alpha female and decides to give the order herself?”
“I would never let that happen,” Jack says, his voice low and dangerous.
Kiara narrows her eyes. “How far would you go to stop her? Once an alpha’s command is given, there’s no way to keep it from being carried out—unless the one who spoke it gives the counter commands. I’m under the impression that one alpha can’t command another, so you wouldn’t be able to order her to do that. If that’s true, the only way to keep such a command from being carried out would be to kill its issuer. Forgive me, but I find it hard to believe if it came down to it, you’d be willing to kill your half.”
The word hits me like a bucket of ice water. I turn to Cassandra, a sense of betrayal building in me at the idea that she would have told the council before we even arrived, but she looks just as surprised by Kiara’s revelation as we are.
The gazes of the witches at the table are now distrustful. A man with close-cropped black hair and a graying goatee turns an accusatory eye on Cassandra. “You said she posed no threat. You claimed we were seeing portends where there were none, that the world hadn’t fallen too far out of balance—that the earth could still be saved. But you can’t tell me this girl’s existence isn’t an omen. The scales have tipped—this world is beyond salvation.”
Cassandra’s face remains calm. “Stephen, listen to yourself. You are allowing unfounded accusations to—”
“We all know you have a… special connection with the werewolf,” Kiara says. “It seems you’re the one whose judgment is clouded. You’d rather allow the world to end than betray your pet. You are no longer of one mind with the council.” She draws her shoulders back, a satisfied smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. “You are removed as our head. Now, on my authority, take the hybrid into custody.”
Panic sweeps through me as the council members stand to obey Kiara’s command. To get to the front door, I need to go around the table—or over it. But if I were to jump, it’s likely one of the witches would grab me before I made it to the other side. There’s a small window directly behind me, but it’s too high to jump through easily.
“Get down,” Cassandra hisses. Without waiting for an explanation, Jack and I hit the floor. A split second later, energy pulses from Cassandra’s fingertips and the witches are knocked backward. As they hit the ground, Jack shifts. I follow suit and chase him to the large, low picture window at the front of the house. Without hesitating, Jack jumps through it, shattering the glass. He hits the porch outside and doesn’t miss a beat. When I jump through, jagged shards dig into my paws, but I ignore the pain and run into the woods after Jack. We are only a few yards into the trees when I glance over my shoulder and whine. Cassandra isn’t following us.
We need to leave, Jack insists. It’s what Cassandra would want. The witches won’t kill her—it’s not their way. We’ll come back later with reinforcements and get her out.
As much as I don’t want to go, I know Jack is right. I block out the pain in my paws as we run over roots, moss, and fallen twigs. What’s important now is putting distance between us and the witches.
I was right to dread this meeting. But the worst thing is, I’m not the only one who’s affected by the outcome. As I run, all I can do is hold onto hope that Jack is right about the witches not harming Cassandra. I don’t know if I’ll be able to forgive myself if someone else dies trying to protect me.
Chapter Sixteen
The weakness comes over me so quickly I nearly fall on my snout as we enter our territory. I wonder if it’s adrenaline that’s kept me going this long. The familiar burning ignites in my stomach, and I stop and shift back to human form.
When Jack senses what I’ve done, he shifts too. “What’s wrong?”
I turn my attention to my hands. Small flecks of glass sparkle in the light coming through the tree branches, and I use my nails to start digging it out. I don’t want to tell him what’s really going on, but I also don’t want to lie, so I hope my actions lead him to his own conclusions.
After a moment, he takes my hand in his and starts digging the glass out for me. I take deep breaths, trying to focus on the pain to keep my mind off the pangs of hunger. “You know, if we keep running we’ll be at the enclave in five minutes. We could take care of this there.”
The idea of running any further makes me want to faint. “It’s not that.”
He runs the pads of his thumbs over my palms. As I watch, the small holes left by the shards of glass mend themselves. “What is it then?”
I sigh. “I’m hungry,” I say, not meeting his eyes. “I mean, part of me is.”
A beat passes before he inhales with understanding. “Oh.”
And just like that, things are awkward. Of course Jack is aware of my vampire side, but mostly we can ignore it. Now, here it is, rearing its head.
“Could you… Would…” He exhales noisily and his lips twitch like he’s trying to figure out exactly the right words. “Could you use me?”
While his offer comforts me somewhat, I shake my head. “You know that won’t work.”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s just, it worked once before. I thought maybe…”
I’ve been over what happened in my room that day hundreds of times, and I still can’t explain why I needed to feed from Jack. I haven’t had the desire since. Werewolf blood still appeals to my vampire side, but it’s a totally visceral reaction. I don’t hunger for it. It’s kind of like the crappy off-brand cookies one of my supervisors at the call center used to bring in to boost morale—no one really wanted those cookies, but because they were there, most of us ate a handful. “I can’t explain why it worked. But that’s not really surprising, since I can’t explain any of this.”
The corners of Jack’s mouth quirk up in a smile. “It’s pretty new to me, too.” He brings his hand to my face and strokes my cheek with his thumb. The gesture is all I need to know that he’s not repulsed by my need. He understands.
A scent tickles my nostrils and I straighten. Jack sniffs the air. “It’s a deer,” he says. “That might work—I’ve met vampires before who lived entirely off animal blood. I can help you catch it if you want. I can flank it and drive it toward you.”
Animal blood. Why didn’t I think of that before? In my mind, the only options have been werewolf blood—which won’t help me—or human blood. If I can take what I need from animals, people wouldn’t need to factor into the equation at all. “Okay.”
Jack shifts and runs off. No sooner is he out of sight than my palms begin to sweat and blood rushes in my ears. The hunger in my stomach is so sharp now that it’s making my vision blur. I can’t wait this long between feedings again. My mind is foggy, and I have little doubt that if I were near people, I wouldn’t be able to control myself.
Crashes sound in the woods about ten yards ahead of me. I force myself to focus and prepare to run. The deer appears through the brush ahead of me, and I sprint after it. Even in human form, my speed is well beyond that of any normal person. When the doe catches sight of me, she changes direction, but she can’t get away from me fast enough. I leap, landing on her back and knocking her to the forest floor. My teeth burn as they lengthen, and I sink them into her soft neck. It must be some kind of vampire instinct, because I know exactly where to bite. The fur tickles my face, but I ignore it. I expect the animal to thrash, but instead she seems to calm as I drink. I wonder if there’s something in my bite making her docile.
It doesn’t taste as good as what Luke gave me at the mansion, and it’s different from when I drank from Jack, but it still satisfies me. When I’ve had enough to quench the hunger, I pull away and climb off the doe’s back. After spitting out some fur, I check to make sure she’s all right. A twig snaps behind me and I smell campfire. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”
Jack circles the doe, whose eyes are heavy. He strokes her head and peers at her. “I think so. She looks like she wants to take a snooze.”
“She didn’t fight. I expected her to fight.”
He nods like this doesn’t exactly surprise him. “I think vampire venom may have a mild paralytic in it.”
I pat the deer on the back and murmur a “thank you” before turning and heading toward the enclave. It’s strange how the place seems to pull me to it. I wait until Jack is at my side before speaking. “Venom?”
He nods. “I’m not sure entirely how it works, but I know vampires have venom. Maybe a couple kinds. A bite to feed won’t necessarily turn a human into a vampire. I think whatever venom they use for that needs to be specifically injected for that purpose.”
“So it’s different with wolves?”
“Yes. The way a person is turned into a werewolf works more like a virus than a venom. There are some immortals who dedicate their lives to figuring this stuff out. I only know a bit that I’ve picked up over the years.”
I can’t help smiling. “I guess with as many years as you’ve got under your belt, you can’t help having picked up some things.”
He looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “Are you trying to say I’m old?”
I hold my hands up innocently. “You look fabulous for over a hundred.”
Jack laughs and reaches for my hand, and we walk at a leisurely pace through the woods. I inhale deeply, allowing myself to relax on the exhale. For a few minutes, I push all the complications from my mind and pretend the two of us are just a normal couple out for a relaxing stroll. But as we near the enclave, Jack’s easy-going posture tightens and the smile slips from his face. I hear his voice in my head: Mel, Dakota, and Sawyer, meet me at my house. The words drip with a kind of authority I can’t put into words. Even though the command wasn’t aimed at me, I feel the weight of it.
“Someone told that witch about you being my half. We need to find out who.”
He shifts and takes off at a run toward his house. I do the same. I want to know who betrayed us just as badly as he does—perhaps more.
By the time we arrive, Jack’s front door is open, and Dakota, Mel, and Sawyer are standing inside. Sawyer wears a white tank top and a pair of sweatpants. His hair is damp with perspiration. He was probably down at the gym when he got the call. Mel’s appearance couldn’t be more different. She stands with her shoulders back, her long dark hair pulled into a low ponytail at the base of her neck. Her face is impassive. Dakota’s expression is mildly baffled.
“I’m assuming the meeting didn’t go as well as we’d hoped,” Sawyer says as Jack and I shift back into human form.
“You could say that,” Jack says, his voice cold.
Mel crosses her arms over her chest. “What’s this—”
Jack silences her with a look. “A witch on the council knew that Ava was my half. Who told her?”
His words aren’t a command. Jack wants the guilty party to come forward willingly. I look from Mel to Sawyer to Dakota and back again. While Sawyer’s and Dakota’s eyebrows have hiked upward, Mel’s expression hasn’t changed.
Seconds tick by before Mel finally speaks. “Maybe it was that witch friend of yours. Cassandra, is it?”
Jack shakes his head before she’s even finished speaking. “I was there. She was just as shocked as we were. Cassandra would never betray me.”
He says it with such certainty. I don’t doubt it’s true, but I can’t help wondering why he’s so convinced. What kind of history do the two of them have?
Mel shrugs. “Well, maybe it was Skye then.”
Jack steps in close to her, snarling. “Are you really going to try to hide behind the dead?”
Mel doesn’t shrink away. “If you have something to say, say it.”
“I know it was you,” Jack says, his voice low and dangerous. “I didn’t command secrecy when I told the three of you about Ava being my half because I believed I could trust you. And you probably would’ve kept my secret if Ava hadn’t bested you and taken your place in the pack.”
Mel’s lips draw back, revealing her teeth. “This halfbreed isn’t fit even to be a member of our pack. She’s the reason Skye is dead, but you can’t see that. You’re too smitten to see her for what she really is.”
Movement outside the still-open front door catches my attention. The rest of the pack is assembling at the base of the hill. “Jack, did you call them?”
“No,” Mel says, stalking toward the door. “I did.”
My stomach sinks. No good can come of this. Jack, Sawyer, Dakota, and I follow as Mel addresses the pack. “Our alpha is putting us in danger by allowing this hybrid to live among us. It’s only a matter of time before more packs come for her. How many more of us will die protecting her? How many more will Jack sacrifice to save his half?”
A rumble of murmurs spreads through the crowd. I’m stabbed by this new betrayal. She has no right to be the one to tell the pack about Jack and me, yet here she is, announcing it to everyone.
“Stand down, Mel,” Jack growls, striding toward her. “You are no longer fit to be a leader of this pack.”
She tips her head back and laughs. “That’s rich, coming from you. You’re no longer fit to be our alpha.”
Beside me, Sawyer inhales sharply. “Think about what you’re saying,” he murmurs, a hint of warning in his voice.
Her eyes flick to him for a moment. “I know what I’m saying.” She turns her attention back to the wolves. “Jack no longer has the best interests of this pack at heart. I demand Jack leave this pack at once—or face the consequences.”
Another murmur ripples through the group, and all eyes turn to Jack. He squares his shoulders. “I will not leave this pack.”
The two of them start down the hill to where those assembled are already forming a large circle. Sawyer begins walking toward them and I follow, keeping pace with him. “What’s going on?”
“What does it look like?” he asks, his voice barely above a whisper. “If an alpha or a beta believes a member is a danger to the pack or to pack unity, they can cast them out. The exception is the alpha. Any pack member can call an alpha’s loyalty into question. But you can’t just cast out an alpha—he has to be beaten. They’re going to fight, and whoever wins gets to stay.”
Icy dread trickles into the pit of my stomach. “What happens to the loser?”
Sawyer keeps his eyes trained ahead of him. “It’s a fight to the death.”
Chapter Seventeen
His words freeze me in place. I must’ve heard wrong. But the pack is arranging itself in a large circle, the same way it did both times I fought Mel. Except those times, the consequence of losing wasn’t so dire. “A fight to the death?” I demand, chasing after Sawyer. “You can’t let them do that.”
He stops and rounds on me. “I can’t stop them. The challenge was issued and accepted. Unless someone forfeits, one of them has to die.” Without giving me a chance to absorb this information, Sawyer continues down the hill.
I inhale deeply, trying to will myself to relax. I like the idea of forfeit being an option. Maybe no one will have to die today. I jog down the hill and join the circle.
Dakota walks into the center of the ring. Her shoulders are drawn back and her chin is raised, but an air of unease surrounds her. I doubt she imagined having to deal with something like this on her first day as alpha female. “Mel has challenged Jack’s place in this pack. As you know, if neither party forfeits, one must die. As Jack is the one who has been challenged, he gets to choose which form they fight in.”
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