Thick snow flurries covered the ground and blanketed the trees, transforming the greens and browns of the forest into a winter wonderland of white. A thick fog of breath surrounded Noah’s head as he panted heavily, desperately trying to stand and offer at least some resistance to his and his mate’s impending deaths. Propping himself up with his cane, he wobbled and swayed until he crashed into the thick layer of snow once more. Even the strongest of wills couldn’t overcome a broken body.
Keeping his eyes trained on his enemies, he watched as Wren circled her mate, removing her jacket one tasseled sleeve at a time. Noah gasped as she threw the leather jacket into the snow in a crumpled heap. A glowing purple pentagram snaked around her bicep and pulsed with alien magic, a twisted abomination of a mating mark.
“The conduit!” Noah gasped as he pointed a shaky finger at the pentagram in accusation.
Wren swung around and stared at him with narrowed eyes. “Clever, human. Yes, it is our mating bond that has allowed the Unseelie to draw their portal’s power this far away from their territory. It took years for the magic to saturate the pack’s lands, but we were patient. Oh, so patient.”
“Wren, what have you done? This forest is your home, and the wolves are your family. You’ve destroyed every ounce of goodness in your life!” Sylvie shouted, wincing in pain as her rising chest shifted her broken ribs.
Wren glared at her best friend’s broken body without a shred of sympathy. “What have I done? I have made things right. My father was the beloved alpha of our pack, and we all prospered under his power,” she said in a monotone voice, her eyes glazing over as she became lost in the past.
“Our packs merged? You say that as if we negotiated an alliance. Your father slaughtered half of my pack and dethroned my father before my eyes. Thrown aside like trash and forced to do your father’s bidding, the silver leaked from his eyes little by little until none of his proud glory remained,” she yelled, her shouts reverberating through the trees and causing Sylvie to flinch at her stinging reprimands.
“I had to watch the once proud alpha waste away one belittling command at a time until he became a cowardly shell of himself. My father’s last attempt at vengeance failed with his death, but I carried on his will. After I kill you three, no wolf will be strong enough to challenge my rule. I will become the new alpha and return my family to its former glory!”
“The wolves will never bless your unholy union with an Unseelie. You have taken the crown, but you will have no subjects to rule,” Sylvie said in derision, spitting on the ground in contempt.
With a snort, Wren gestured to the silent and empty trees surrounding them. “Ah, but they won’t know of my mating, will they? All they will know is that the strongest wolves in the pack sacrificed their lives, and I bravely risked my life to fight off the Prince until he retreated.”
“How could you have even mated with the Prince when he hasn’t left his territory in decades?” Noah asked, hoping to satiate his curiosity but also hoping to bide time for a miracle to appear before them.
“After my father’s death, I wandered between territories, searching for something or someone that could help me quench my thirst for revenge. I traveled to human and Seelie territories and even traveled to a few vampire covens to find allies. Who would have guessed that my travels would take me into an Unseelie territory where I would find my mate? Nature really does know when a mate is perfect for you. The Prince was exactly what I needed to accomplish my vengeance.”
Circling behind the Prince, Wren rubbed his chiseled chest until she came to his vest. She ripped the one-sided vest off, revealing an angry red bite mark. With the tip of her finger, she traced the outline of her mating mark, causing the Prince to shiver with pleasure. He gazed into Wren’s eyes with such adoration that Noah knew he truly loved his mate.
“It is quite fitting that this journey should end from where it began,” she said, continuing to trace her mating mark on the Prince’s chest. “Tell me, Molochith. Did I ever tell you how my father died?”
The Prince cocked his head in confusion. “No, Partn—”
His answer was cut off in a choke as an iron blade pierced into his back, penetrating his chest and skewering his heart. Gurgling the rising blood in his throat, the Prince looked back at his mate with betrayed eyes. Wren withdrew the dagger, pushing her mate forward and throwing him down into the blood-stained purple slush. The Prince crawled away from his mate as she stalked him slowly, smiling at his desperate escape attempt. His wingless back provided no shadows to bind the wound, and a trail of purple blood stained the snow.
Wren gazed at the blood-stained dagger in her hand before snapping her eyes back to her dying mate. “My father provided an Unseelie Prince with Ajax’s blood, hoping his newfound ally would overthrow his conqueror for him. Just as they had agreed, the Prince cursed the invincible alpha, but during the wolves’ attack on the Unseelie territory, that very same Prince struck my father down in a fit of rage.”
Sylvie gasped, staring at the Prince in horror. Wren laughed at her friend’s shock and twirled the dagger in her hand, flinging droplets of purple blood onto the snow. “I know, right? Who would have guessed that my mate would have been the same fae who murdered my father? I wanted revenge and to become alpha, and nature decided that this Prince was the perfect being to help me accomplish that. After all, a shifter’s magic resonates with the person who can grant you what you seek most in life.”
“This is the Prince who killed your father and tormented you with an unbearable curse, Sylvie. Does it fill you with pleasure to watch him crawl in agony before his death?” Wren asked, cocking her head curiously.
Sylvie tore her gaze away from the Prince to stare at Wren, but she didn’t speak. Silent communication passed between the two until Wren smiled at the despair on Sylvie’s face. “Oh yes, Sylvie.”
At her words, Sylvie struggled frantically to rise to her feet but collapsed onto the ground once again. “No! Don’t kill him!” Sylvie begged, the desperation in her voice leaving Noah confused at their exchange.
Ignoring Sylvie’s pleas, Wren loomed over the Prince, who crawled on his hands and knees through the icy slush. She stabbed the iron dagger into his back repeatedly, stabbing again and again…and again. The Prince had stopped moving long ago, and yet, she continued to stab into his butchered back with a look of pure madness in her eyes. Tears poured down her face as her dagger completed her long-awaited vengeance.
With saddened eyes, Noah gazed at the Unseelie Prince with whom he had locked wits and strength. The ancient being who had survived the traversal to an alien world, securing a territory for himself and his followers with overwhelming power, met his end by the betraying dagger of his mate.
Wren finally vented her rage on her father’s murderer and threw the dagger to the side of his corpse, the tip sticking into the snow and wobbling back and forth. The insanity in her eyes faded until the warm and welcoming wolf that Noah believed her to be returned once more.
Wren smiled mockingly at Noah before turning to the stunned Sylvie. “What’s wrong, Sylvie? Worried that your deceit will finally be exposed? I was shocked that the rest of the pack believed your lies so easily, but you couldn’t fool me. Remember, I was with you that day at the lake. I witnessed the curse shear your ability to mate from your magic. That type of curse leaves no room for loopholes and is absolute in its purpose.”
In a daze, time seemed to freeze as Noah floated above the ground, inspecting his questioning gaze and the stricken look on Sylvie’s face. His chest constricted painfully until, with an explosion of sounds and sights, he returned to his body, and time resumed. Tears streamed down Sylvie’s cheeks, but she refused to meet his eyes, preferring to stare at the ground. His stomach churned violently, and he fought to keep himself from being sick.
Emotion clogged his throat, and his words came out in a croak, “Sylvie, was I ever your mate?”
Please, please, deny this lie, Sylvie. He hoped with all of his heart that she would erase his doubts and fears, but Sylvie remained silent, continuing to stare at the ground with a haunted look in her eyes.
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“Oh god,” he whispered as tears dripped from his face onto the snow. Refusing to listen to his logic, he had overlooked so many oddities and peculiarities in their relationship. After all, why would he question something that he wished to be true?
Through her sobs, Sylvie finally managed to choke out, “I had no choice, Noah. When the Unseelie appeared so close to our territory, I knew rampant rumors would overthrow me within days. The only way to avoid exile from my home and family was to prove that the Unseelie magic hadn’t tainted me—I needed a mate.”
He couldn’t bear to look at her and stared at the black waters of the lake, gently lapping against the shore. “You were drowning, so you latched onto a convenient life raft chosen at random?”
The pain of her betrayal spread to every corner of his body, burning him alive from the inside out. His choked sobs marred the serenity of the silent night as he clutched at his throbbing heart.
“You are still my mate, Noah. My magic may not have resonated with you, but my heart did. This doesn’t change the time we spent together or the love we share,” Sylvie said, pleading with him to understand.
She struggled to pull her broken body through the snow to reach him, but he ignored her efforts and continued to gaze at the lake. “My mate, please look at me. This changes nothing.”
A chuckle sounded out from the forgotten enemy. “What a heartbreaking scene for the young alpha. I’m afraid the goal of your scheme eludes me, Sylvie. How long could you have avoided suspicions when you failed to get pregnant?”
Shaking her head, Wren clapped her hands and dusted off her trousers. “I guess I will never know the full extent of your devious scheme because, unfortunately, you are correct. This changes nothing. In the exact spot I was in when my father was killed, I will fulfill his will and become the Alpha of this pack.”
Glancing at the prone forms of Alder and Rowan, Wren sneered. “Ah, your stalwart protectors, Sylvie. Every time I tried to whisper poison into the pack’s ears, these two never ceased to defend your rule. If not for their loyalty, I would have ousted you long before Noah came along.”
After a brief shimmer, she shifted into an auburn wolf and limped toward Noah and Sylvie. Still stained with Rowan’s blood, her snarling fangs snapped at the immobile mates. Step by step, she approached in a limping prowl until her hot breath blew Noah’s bangs from his eyes.
Refusing to look away, he glared at her yellow eyes of evil in defiance. Just as she opened her maw wide, a howl bellowed from within the trees. Wren snapped her jaws shut, spinning around in a blur to face the new threat. From the forest, a pale blond wolf, barely the size of a normal wolf, emerged from the tree line, her whitish coat blending in with the freshly fallen snow. To her side, a gangly, dirty blonde wolf, almost as big as Wren, protected her flank.
“What are you two doing here? Return to the safety of the lodge!” Noah shouted in hysterics, frantically trying to rise with the assistance of his cane.
“We can’t do that, Noah,” Silas said as he shifted into his human form. An iron sword hung at his waist, and he removed it from its sheath, swinging it through the air and testing its balance. “Unfortunately, I prepared my weapons for the Unseelie, so I didn’t bring any silver.”
Beside him, Luna toyed with the leather pouches hanging from her waist, untying the bags and fingering the dust contained within. Her pigtails bounced through the holes in her hat, and she glared at Wren with merciless eyes.
“Luna, stop this madness! Run as fast as you can and rally the other wolves!” Noah yelled at her, his desperation echoing across the battlefield.
Her green eyes glanced at Noah, and she shook her head with a sad smile. “I’m sorry, Master. Just this once, I must disobey your orders. You told us that if all the adults should fall, it would become our duty to protect the pack. The defenses have fallen, and we will answer the call to defend our home.”
Crippling fear ran through Noah as he watched the siblings face off against a grown warrior wolf. An injured one, but still far beyond their capabilities to defeat.
“Witness the results of your training, Master,” Luna said, glancing at Noah one last time with a proud smile.
Shifting into their wolves, the siblings bellowed a howl and sped toward Wren with vicious snarls. Even with her shredded leg, the auburn wolf blurred toward the siblings in a shocking display of speed. The siblings split from each other and lunged at Wren from different angles.
In mid-air, Luna shifted into her human form, digging her little hands into the leather pouches dangling from her waist. Grasping a handful of the mysterious powder, she tossed a handful of dust at Wren’s eyes and shifted back before she even touched the ground. With impressive agility, Luna dodged Wren’s bite and darted out of reach of the stronger wolf.
A howl of pain ripped from Wren’s throat as the dust blanketed her eyes. A sizzling hiss sounded from Wren’s face, and steam rose from her burned eyeballs. Not wasting the opening from the temporary blindness, Silas sank his fangs deep into Wren’s shoulder, thrashing side to side to inflict maximum damage. With a roar, Wren snapped at the teenager, forcing him to release his clamped jaws and dodge her counterattack.
Blood leaked from Wren’s closed eyes as she jumped away from the siblings, losing her footing on the edge of the embankment and almost tumbling into the lake. Blinking rapidly, Wren tried to clear the poisonous dust from her eyes and restore her blinded vision.
Sylvie shifted into her massive black wolf and attempted to join the fight but only made it a few feet before she collapsed into the snow with a whimper. As the battle continued, the siblings became hellish demons. They flipped through the air, constantly shifting back and forth from human to wolf. Luna threw powder after powder in Wren’s direction before shifting back into her wolf form to dodge any attacks. Silas primarily attacked with his razor-sharp fangs but also shifted and swung his iron sword in devastating slashes.
In a daze, Wren’s bloodied eyes glazed over, and she swayed on her feet as the multitude of poisonous powders took their toll. Attempting to kill the stronger wolf as fast as possible, the siblings dished out continuous attacks, keeping the pressure up and hoping the veteran warrior would make a mistake.
However, Wren had decades more experience than the siblings and wouldn’t succumb to the barrage so easily. As Luna shifted in mid-air, Wren slammed her head into the little girl’s chest, flinging her across the snow. Luna’s human body bounced and rolled across the ground until she struck a tree with a horrendous thump.
With a howl of rage, Silas charged the auburn wolf with uncontrolled fury. Noah stumbled toward the battle, falling to his knees every few steps but using his cane to climb back to his feet and continue his impotent charge. As he watched Wren toy with the teenager, he realized he wouldn’t make it to them in time.
He didn’t have the strength to kill Wren, but she didn’t know that. Rocking back on his heels, he reared back and threw his cane in a lazy arc at her back. Enhanced senses, usually a powerful ally, became a fatal flaw. Wren heard the cane whooshing through the air and dodged the feeble attack before facing the non-existent threat of Noah’s iron-bladed cane.
Silas didn’t miss the opening and clamped his jaws around Wren’s neck, sinking his fangs deep into her flesh. Wren twisted, howled, and snapped in an attempt to gain her freedom, but Silas refused to release the dying wolf. As the final death thrashes of the auburn wolf slowed, Silas still didn’t release his hold, crushing his fangs even deeper into the dead wolf’s neck.
“She is dead, Silas. Release her,” Noah said tiredly, watching as the pentagram on her bicep faded until the magic dissipated into the air in a fog of purple smoke. Excited howls sounded in the distance as the warrior wolves began to route the crippled Unseelie forces.
Silas ignored his words, thrashing his head side to side and almost decapitating the body. A shiver traveled down Noah’s spine as he spied a crazed look in Silas’ eyes that reminded him of Wren when she was stabbing the Prince. “Silas! Luna is injured!”
At the mention of his sister, the crazed look faded from Silas’ eyes, and he dropped the dead Wren onto the ground. Shifting into his human form, he studied Wren’s corpse with blood and gore smeared across his mouth. Slowly, a small, delicate smile tilted his lips as he gazed at the mutilated body. After erasing the smirk so quickly that Noah wondered if he had imagined it, the teenager raced toward his sister, who sat gingerly against a tree.
“Luna! Are you injured? Don’t move until I can find you some medicine,” Silas said, frantically examining every inch of Luna, who puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
“I’m fine, Silas. We need to call the warrior wolves,” Luna said, shifting into her wolf form and howling into the night sky.
“Noah?” Sylvie whispered, wincing in pain as she continued to crawl towards him.
Noah slumped back to the ground, ignoring Sylvie’s calls and her attempts to crawl toward him. A few minutes later, warrior wolves emerged from the trees, staring in shock at the scene before them. With years of experience, their hesitation only lasted a second before they rushed toward Sylvie, Rowan, and Alder to render aid.
Rowan remained unconscious as the warriors tied a tourniquet around his stumped arm. After securing the First Beta, they rushed to their alpha, bandaging Sylvie’s ribs and feeding her small sips of a fluorescent blue poultice. With the Alpha treated for the time being, they bandaged Alder’s bleeding claw wounds and attempted to rouse him with powerful slaps against his cheeks. Noah watched as Alder slowly regained consciousness, blinking in confusion at his surroundings.
“Dad! Where is my dad?” His eyes darted around the battlefield until he located Rowan and rushed over to him. Some of the older wolves patted him on the back in comfort as he sobbed over his father’s unconscious body.
“He will be okay, Alder. He has lost an arm but kept his life,” one veteran said, rubbing Alder’s back in a soothing cadence.
Alder nodded with tears in his eyes and wiped at the snot dripping from his nose. Suddenly, a shimmering glow surrounded Alder as if he was about to shift. His head snapped toward Noah…no, not at Noah. Behind Noah, a shimmering glow engulfed the despairing Sylvie.
“I knew it,” Alder whispered. “You are my mate!”