TWENTY-TWO
REN PINNED ME TO THE cold steel of the cell wall, his
knee parting my thighs.
Shock drained the
strength from my limbs. I couldn’t find the will to change forms.
This can’t be happening.
“Oh God, Ren. No.” I
could barely whisper the words, staring at Ren. I no longer
recognized the boy in front of me, madness and grief blazing his
eyes, driving him to hurt me. Terror gripped me in a way it never
had. I didn’t want to believe this change was possible, but his
fingers dug into my wrists, making me cry out. I tasted blood in my
mouth. His teeth had torn my lips. Does Ren
belong to the Keepers now?
My body shook;
sickening waves crashed through my limbs. I was only upright
because Ren still held me against the wall. The frenzy in his eyes
terrified me, making me fully aware that his every choice was
fueled by grief and pain.
“You don’t have to
do anything, Renier.” A new voice came from the cell door, quiet
but hard. “Let her go.”
Ren’s teeth were
already bared as Monroe slowly moved toward us. He had a sword held
low in each hand.
“You do have a
choice.” He continued to speak in low tones. “Leave this place,
leave all of this behind. You can come with us.”
“With you?
Searchers?” Ren spat on the ground.
“We aren’t what you
think,” Monroe said. “We came for you. Calla is here to help you.
So am I.”
I cast a pleading
gaze at the alpha even as I twisted against his painfully tight
grasp. “Please, Ren. It’s true. Come with us.”
“Your lies took
everything from me.” Ren’s eyes were fixed on Monroe. “I’ll kill
you before I believe anything you say.”
He glanced at me,
his face contorted with outrage and sorrow that sent shivers racing
over my skin.
“I hope it doesn’t
come to that,” Monroe returned. “I’m not your enemy, but I can’t
force you to make the right choice. This doesn’t have to be the
end, but if you won’t come with us, at least let the girl go. Don’t
make this worse.”
“What could be worse
than accepting the outstretched hand of a monster?” A man stepped
from the shadows of the doorway.
My heart slammed
around wildly when I recognized Emile Laroche, broad and bulky in
contrast to his tall, streamlined son, his body all knotted muscle
and coarse bristling hair. The Bane alpha looked straight at me.
Though he remained in human form, he was flanked by three wolves:
Dax, Fey, and Cosette. My heart splintered as their eyes locked on
me and they growled in unison. I could pull their single, shared
thought from their hateful stares.
Traitor.
I didn’t want to see
the truth that stood before me. Truth witnessed by the sharp flash
of fangs and bristling fur, eyes full of hate as they stared at
me.
A choice. They were given a choice. Just like
Sabine.
Three of my
packmates had turned on me. They belonged to Emile’s pack now. They
had chosen the Keepers over their friends.
Why?
Then I turned my
gaze back on Ren. His fingers still dug into my arms. They’d given
him a choice too. My gut clenched violently and I thought I might
be sick. I could see the pain behind his fury and knew Ren didn’t
want to hurt me, that he’d only chosen the Keepers because I’d left
him behind. Because I’d betrayed someone who loved me. He’d lied
for me and they had tortured him. He’d been broken and it was my
fault. What other choice could he have made?
“Emile.” Monroe’s
hoarse voice tore my eyes off of Ren. The Searcher’s face became
almost unrecognizable as he stared at Emile, eyes darkened by a
hollow, endless rage.
Emile kept smiling.
“You don’t know how much I’d hoped to see you again, Monroe. Thank
you for coming.”
Monroe didn’t speak,
but his hands began to tremble.
Emile turned to Ren.
When he spoke, his voice was cool and silky. “Renier, meet the man
who killed your mother.”
Ren’s hands dropped
from my arms; the color leached from his face.
I scrambled away,
crouching against the side wall. My eyes flicked from Ren, to
Monroe, to the door still blocked by Emile and the wolves. There
was no way out.
Monroe drew a
hissing breath. “You lying bastard.”
The emptiness in his
eyes brightened with the subtle gleam of tears.
Emile’s laugh was
like the snapping of bones. “Lies? Do you really believe Corrine
would have died if not for you?”
With a sudden cry
Monroe lunged at Emile.
But Ren was there,
shifting forms in the air, and a dark gray wolf hunched snarling
between his father and the Searcher, blocking Monroe’s path of
attack. Monroe faltered at the sight, losing his momentum. He
pitched to the side, rolling out of the way as Ren snapped at
him.
“I seem to have the
upper hand, old friend.” Emile grinned while Ren stalked toward
Monroe, cornering him against the far wall of the
cell.
“We’ll see about
that,” Monroe said, keeping his eyes on Ren. The wolf’s muscles
were bunched, his snarls furious. I knew he would be on Monroe at
any moment, craving the blood that he believed would avenge his
mother’s death.
“Ren, don’t!” I
shouted. “Monroe didn’t kill your mother. He tried to save
her!”
“Kill that bitch,
Dax,” Emile hissed, pointing at me. “Now.”
Dax stalked toward
me, snarling, revealing all his razor-sharp teeth. I’d never given
much thought to how large Dax was when he wasn’t in human form. I’d
never thought I’d have to fight him. The best warrior of the young
Banes. As I watched his muscles rippling beneath his fur, I
realized he was the biggest wolf I’d ever seen. I shifted forms,
hackles raised, and braced myself against the floor. He had the
advantage of size and strength, but I had speed.
Even as I grasped
for a way to defend myself, my mind was shrieking. I don’t want to kill Dax. How could I ever kill
Dax?
He was only a few
feet away, a distance he could cover in a single leap. I snarled
but reached out to him with my mind.
Don’t do this.
You made your bed, Calla. Dax crouched, muscles
coiling like springs, baring his fangs.
Even his teeth were
huge.
A sharp growl
pierced the room and Dax hesitated, turning in response to Ren’s
call. Their eyes met. Dax sounded a short, confused bark, looking
from Ren to Emile.
Ren hadn’t opened
his mind to me—only Dax could hear him, but I was desperate to know
what was passing between the two wolves.
“Don’t interfere,
boy.” Emile glared at Ren.
Dax balked and I
stepped another foot closer to the door, wondering if I could make
a run for it. Even if I could, it would mean leaving Monroe behind.
I froze in place, refusing to abandon him.
“I am your alpha,”
Emile said, showing Dax sharp canines. “Kill her. Kill her and take
your place as my second.”
Dax turned to face
me, his eyes burning, full of bloodlust, and I knew he wouldn’t
hesitate again. I had to let go of whatever doubts still made me
balk at the prospect of fighting a former packmate. Now. Or I was
dead.
“Back off, fluffy!”
Connor rushed through the door, throwing himself between Dax and
me, brandishing his swords. “Sorry to break up the party, but it’s
time for us to say good-bye. Not that you haven’t been wonderful
hosts.”
Dax darted forward.
Connor feinted, slashing the wolf’s shoulder. Dax lunged again, but
Connor matched his speed, leaving two more gashes in Dax’s side.
The massive wolf gnashed his teeth, barking furiously while Connor
circled him, keeping the blades flying between them at a dizzying
speed.
Fey and Cosette
started toward us, growling.
“No!” Emile shouted,
pointing at Monroe. “Forget the girl. This man is who we want. Dax,
fall back. Let the others leave. It doesn’t matter. There’s nowhere
to run.”
He turned his gaze
back on Monroe. “We have more important business to take care of.
Personal business.”
Dax slowly backed
away from us, still snarling. Fey and Cosette took up positions
alongside Ren, barring any path of escape Monroe might have
had.
“Connor,” Monroe
called in a steady voice as the four wolves closed in on him. “Take
Calla and run.”
Connor stared at
Monroe, wild-eyed. “No.”
“Now, Connor.”
Monroe didn’t take his eyes off Ren. “That’s an
order.”
“I will not.”
Connor’s voice shook. “It’s not worth it. It can’t
be.”
“It is,” Monroe said
quietly. “You knew this was a possibility. Now get the girl out of
here. And don’t try to come back for me.”
I was so startled I
shifted back into human form. “No!”
Emile began to
laugh. Ren still crouched between his father and the Searcher, his
charcoal eyes blazing as he watched Monroe lower his
swords.
“I won’t hurt the
boy,” Monroe said. “You know that.”
“I guessed it,”
Emile said, eyes flicking to the snarling young wolves. “Make sure
he doesn’t escape. It’s time for Ren to avenge his
mother.”
“Ren, don’t! He’s
lying. It’s all lies!” I shrieked. “Come with us!”
“She’s not one of us
any longer,” Emile hissed. “Think of how she’s treated you, how she
turned her back on all of us. Taste the air, boy. She stinks of the
Searchers. She’s a traitor and a whore.”
He glared at me and
I stumbled back at the livid fire in his eyes. “Don’t worry, pretty
girl. Your day is coming. Sooner than you think.”
I jerked sideways
when Connor grabbed my arm and tugged hard. He pulled me toward the
unguarded door.
“We can’t leave
him!” I shouted.
“We have to.” Connor
stumbled into me as I fought to free myself but quickly regained
his balance, locking his arms around me.
“Let me fight!” I
struggled, desperate to go back but not wanting to hurt the
Searcher who was dragging me away.
“No!” Connor’s face
was like stone. “You heard him. We’re gone. And if you go wolf on
me, I swear I’ll knock you out!”
“Please.” My eyes
burned when I saw Ren’s fangs gleam, and my breath stopped when
Monroe dropped his swords.
“What is he doing?”
I cried, dodging when Connor tried to grab me again.
“This is his fight
now,” he said through clenched teeth. “Not ours.”
Ren jumped back as
the swords clanged on the ground in front of him. Though his
hackles were still raised, his growl died.
“Listen to me, Ren,”
Monroe said, crouching to meet Ren at eye level, not looking at the
other two wolves bearing down on him with cruel slowness. “You
still have a choice. Come with me and know who you really are.
Leave all this behind.”
Ren’s short, sharp
bark ended in a confused whimper. The other three wolves continued
stalking toward the Searcher, undeterred by their enemy having
abruptly laid down his arms.
Connor’s arm swung
around my neck, catching me in a painful headlock.
“We can’t watch
this,” he snapped, slowly wrestling me out of the
room.
“Ren, please!” I
shouted. “Don’t choose them! Choose me!”
Ren turned at the
desperation in my voice, watching Connor pull me through the
doorway. He shifted forms, staring bewildered at Monroe’s
outstretched hands, and took a step toward him.
“Who are
you?”
Monroe’s voice
shook. “I’m—”
“Enough! You’re a
fool, boy,” Emile snarled at Ren before smiling at Monroe. “Just
like your father.”
And then he was
leaping through the air, shifting into wolf form—a thick bundle of
fur, fangs, and claws. I saw him slam into Monroe, jaws locking
around the unarmed man’s throat, a moment before I was whipped
around. Connor dragged me back down the hall at a breakneck
pace.
I glanced over my
shoulder, hoping to see Ren and Monroe emerge together, joining our
escape. But all I heard were growls and snarls echoing in the empty
space behind us.