“Tell me a memory from your childhood,” I say as soon as Maynard drops down beside the crackling fire. The woods around us are near silent save for the screeches of a hunting owl. “Something happy.”
He chuckles, a smile on his handsome face. “Do you want the time Maverick convinced Madox to put a frog in my father’s study?”
“Oh, definitely,” I reply, bringing my knees up and wrapping both arms around them.
Maynard’s smile is haunted, his tone heavy. “Madox has always been the rule follower,” he starts. “He’d follow our father around, desperate for the same attention Merrick received. Granted, the attention was due to Merrick being the alpha successor.” Maynard lifts a stick and starts poking around in the fire. “One day, Madox was upset behind the barn. Maverick and I found him while we were on our way to spar. He’d been probably ten then? Yes, ten,” he adds after a moment. “Anyway, Maverick told him that father was only focused on Merrick because he’d gotten into trouble. He convinced Madox that hiding a frog in father’s study would earn him some respect and, in turn, get him more attention.”
I laugh lightly. Maverick has always struck me as a troublemaker. “I’m assuming your father did not take kindly to that.”
“You would be assuming correctly,” Maynard replies with a laugh. “My father lost his mind over it. And being a terrible liar, Madox gave himself away pretty quickly.” His eyes darken, mouth flattening into a tight line, letting me know the story is about to turn dark. Given everything I know about Grif Umbra, I’m not surprised.
“Our father grabbed a whip from the barn and set out after Madox.”
I gasp, fresh anger washing over me. What kind of bastard beats his son over a joke?
Maynard’s brow furrows. “I think that was the first time Madox and Maverick saw him as he was—a fucking asshole.” He shakes his head. “Merrick stepped between them and took the blow. When he turned to face our father…” Maynard shakes his head. “You should have seen our father’s face. He’d paled, and Merrick moved in closer. Then he told our father that if he ever touched our brothers again, then the pack would need a new alpha sooner rather than later.”
“Your father was afraid of Merrick?”
“Oh yes,” Maynard tells me. “While Merrick was about the same size as our father, there was always something Merrick possessed that he never did. I’m not quite sure how to explain it, but while our father was a violent bastard, Merrick’s far more savage than he ever was.”
“It’s hard to imagine that. Your father raped a woman.”
Maynard nods. “Yes. But it’s a different type of fucker who harms the innocent,” he says. “To me, that is not savagery. It is cowardice. My father chose victims he knew he’d best. Merrick? He’d pick a fight with anyone. Even when we were kids. He’d go toe-to-toe with grown men in town just to see if he would win. Merrick chases a challenge whereas my father hid from them. That, to me, is what made him so savage and is absolutely why my father was always afraid of him.”
“Because he was unpredictable.”
Maynard smiles. “Precisely. Merrick’s instability is what makes him so dangerous now, though. As his beast, there’s no telling what he’s doing.”
“Maybe he’s already changed back and is going home.”
“Maybe.” Maynard offers me a sad smile that tells me he doesn’t actually believe that. Which makes me wonder—
“Can you sense him? As a pack.”
“We used to be able to,” Maynard replies sadly. “But ever since the curse, we’re cut off from him. Which is likely why the rest of our pack left.”
“Your pack? As in—”
“The village used to be for shifters only,” he explains. “But they left, abandoning us the moment our alpha was removed. They sought out a new pack leader, and Merrick started taking in humans who had nowhere else to go.”
“He’s so much more than I ever thought. You all are.”
“Not so scary, huh?”
I laugh. “Not in the least.”
Maynard opens his mouth then goes completely rigid. His hand reaches for the hilt of his blade moments before a branch crunches.
Whirling, he unsheathes his blade and blocks me from view. My heart leaps at the very idea that it might be Merrick, finally having shifted. He’s tracked me down before, finding me when I didn’t think he would.
What if—that hope dies the second four men step from the trees. They grin when they see us. Three are missing their front teeth while the fourth’s are golden. It’s his grin that spreads when he sees me.
“Pretty thing, aren’t you?”
“You’re going to want to turn around and go your own way,” Maynard warns.
“Or what, boy? You’re outnumbered.”
“There’s a difference between outnumbered and outmatched,” he replies. “Which is what you are. I won’t repeat myself.”
The man pulls out a curved blade, using it to pick food out of his teeth. My hand grips the dagger Merrick gave me with such strength my knuckles turn white.
“Let me tell you what’s going to happen here, boy. You let us have a taste of your pretty thing back there, and we’ll let you live.”
Dread coils in my belly. Can Maynard truly take them on? Or were his words a bluff? My gaze drifts to the tree line. If we ran right now, we might—more men step forward. At least a dozen or so in addition to the four in front of us.
Maynard reaches back and pulls me against him. “Final warning. Should you harm us, King Julius will have your heads.”
The man’s eyes widen almost comically before he barks out a laugh. “King Julius? Hah! He don’t give two shits about people like you lurking about the Shadow Lands.”
“Then the leader of the Shadow Lands will,” I call out.
“The leader of the—is she serious?” Gold Teeth turns to the man at his left. A man who is missing his right eye. “Eh, the leader ain’t been seen in months. Not since he took up a bride. Bet he’s fucking her senseless, too busy being buried in her to worry about his lands.”
Since mentioning that I am that bride, out here without an army, is likely a way to get myself ransomed to a man who is currently trapped in his beast form, I remain silent.
“Now, come over here and show me them pretty tits,” Gold Teeth calls out.
“Not a fucking chance,” I yell.
“Going to teach you to talk better, pretty thing,” he growls. “Kill him; keep the bitch alive.”
The men stalk toward us.
“The second you get a chance, run,” Maynard orders me.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Get to Boots and get gone!” He lifts a leg and kicks the closes man straight in the chest. He falls back, but more come.
A snarl from the trees pulls our attention as a massive shadow steps out. Golden eyes bright, Merrick’s beast stalks from the trees with a single purpose: the slaughter.
The men stop and turn toward him.
At least half a dozen turn and sprint back toward the trees, the others, though, they rush him.
“I want his head!” Gold Teeth calls out. He swings his blade back at Maynard, who blocks it with his own steel.
I step back, but I hit something solid. Large hands go to my arms, pinning me against the body when I try to pull away.
“Hey, there, pretty thing,” he whispers into my ear, his putrid breath on my neck.
Bile rises in my throat. I stomp down on his foot, and he releases me with a muttered curse. I spin and drive my blade into his neck. His eyes go wide as warm blood drips down the hilt of my dagger.
“Fuck off,” I snarl and step back.
“Kiya!”
I whirl, narrowly missing being be-headed by massive claws. “Merrick! It’s me!” I scream as I jump to the side and race toward Maynard. He’s gripping Boots’ reigns, one hand out toward me.
The thundering footsteps of a beast behind us terrify me even as the relief that he’s alive settles in.
Maynard all but throws me onto Boots’ back before jumping on behind me and frantically pushing the horse to run. Wind whips at our hair as we barrel back toward the house, Merrick’s creature eating up the ground behind us.
“We won’t make it!” I call out.
“Then he’s going to kill us”
By the time day breaks, Merrick’s beast has disappeared back into the trees. Still, Maynard and I only stopped long enough to give Boots some relief. Now, moving at an easy pace, Maynard’s wolf trots beside me, ears forward, constantly listening for Merrick.
There’s no explanation for how, but I know he’s out there. Following us. Stalking as one might prey.
In the bright afternoon sun, the house comes into view.
I guide Boots toward the stables and remove his saddle. He nuzzles me, so I press a kiss to his sweat-slicked skin. “Thank you. You saved our lives.” Maynard takes off toward the back of the house, so I continue stroking the horse a moment longer before turning him into his stall so he can have some water and hay.
As soon as I have made my way to the front door, I stop and scan the trees again. Only once I’m sure Merrick’s not stepping out of them do I make my way inside. Savvee is the first to greet me. Hair braided to the side, she looks up from where she’s reading on the couch.
“You’re back far earlier than expected.”
“Merrick found us in the woods. We had no other option.”
She tosses her book to the side and stands, smoothing the skirts of her dress as she does. “Where is he?”
“Near. Are you prepared to break the curse?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s get it set up.”
As Savvee heads upstairs to gather whatever it is she needs, I rush for the kitchen.
“Lunch isn’t quite—” Lea stops when she turns and sees me standing in the doorway. “If you’re here to tell me something happened to Maynard—”
“No,” I interrupt. “He’s fine. Trotted off as soon as we reached the house.”
She breathes a sigh of relief and presses a hand to her heart. “I cannot take any more loss.” Even as she says it, her eyes fill. “Why are you back?”
“Merrick found us in the woods,” I explain. “We were attacked, and he rescued then tried to kill us.”
“Dammit. Can we not have a normal day around here?”
“Seems not.”
Her eyes shimmer with tears as she shakes her head. “What can I do to help?”
I move in closer, lowering my voice as I speak words that feel a hell of a lot like betrayal. “Do you have any wolfsbane?”
Lea narrows her gaze. “For Merrick?”
“Yes. If he hasn’t turned by the time we start the ritual, we may need it.”
“Kiya, you do realize it’s toxic to him, right? He could die.”
“If he kills a member of his family, he will wish he had.”
She swallows hard and nods. “I have a vial. Maynard gave it to me in case—” she trails off. “He told me that if I ever had to use it, he understood.”
“With any luck, after tonight, there will never be a need.”
She reaches into her pocket and withdraws a glass vial. When she offers it to me, I don’t miss the way her hand shakes. “Let that be a last resort,” she warns.
“You have an antidote?”
Lea pats her other pocket. “Always.”
“Then let’s get this over with.”
By the time Savvee is set up outside, night has descended on the Shadow Lands. Owls hoot overhead as Lark, Maverick, Myke, and Maxwell stand together, Madox’s body covered with a sheet beside them. Maynard and MacKenna both carry lassos of rope while Ferris finishes hammering stakes into the ground.
“Ready,” he says, straightening.
“Then let’s do this.” I withdraw my dagger and move closer to the trees. After one final look behind myself, I run the blade over my palm. The bite of the dagger is nothing compared to the pain in my heart as I stare at an empty tree line.
Minutes pass. Ticking by and making me feel foolish. Is it possible I was wrong? That his beast truly cares nothing for me? After all, he didn’t show when I was attacked by the barbarians.
What if he’s too far?
I turn my hand over as a droplet slips free and hits the ground.
A beast bursts from the trees. It barrels toward me as both Maynard and MacKenna rush forward, ropes in hand.
It roars, throwing its massive head back and bellowing a sound that chills my blood and churns my stomach. “Get started!” I scream at Savvee.
Maynard’s rope finds home first, wrapping tightly around Merrick’s arm—if you could call it that. MacKenna’s is next, and both men fight to wrap the rope around the stakes hammered into the hard dirt.
“Merrick! Stop!” I scream, throwing up both hands to try and calm him. But when his eyes widen, his teeth bared, I realize my mistake.
He charges for me. Slashing out.
“Bones of the father!” Savvee calls out as wind begins to swirl around us.
Merrick whirls on her…and changes directions.
Maynard barely manages to get the rope tied around the stake before he slashes out at the witch. She holds up a hand, and he hits nothing but air, though.
“Merrick, please!” Lark calls out.
The beast turns to her and stops. For a moment, the world stands still. The mother and son hold gazes, Maxwell whimpering at her side.
“Tears of the mother!” Savvee calls out, tossing the handkerchief on top of the pile of bones.
Hope bursts to life within my chest. Is this it? Is it going to be—
I cannot even get my thought out before all hell breaks loose. With strength we could not hope to counter, Merrick rips the stakes out of the ground and runs toward his mother. And it is in this moment of chaos that I realize the weight of Savvee’s warning back in the springs.
“When the time comes, you will be quite aware of the sacrifice necessary to break the curse, Beta Kiya. Of that, you can be certain.”
I grab the vial of wolfsbane from my pocket and throw myself in front of her, but before I can get the vial open, Merrick’s massive claw rips me open.
Pain sears me from the outside in, torn flesh and tattered fabric dangling from my chest as I fall to the ground.
“Kiya!” Maynard roars.
Lark pulls me back, grabbing the vial of wolfsbane and holding it out. “Please don’t make me do it,” she whimpers. “Please don’t make me hurt you.”
“Blood of the caster.” I shift my gaze to Savvee as she dumps a pouch of ash on top of the pile of bones and then slices her palm clean open. The blood drips onto the pile as Merrick continues to stalk toward us. Maynard’s rope lands around his throat, and he rips him back.
MacKenna jumps on his back, but Merrick spins, throwing the other brother free.
“Please,” I whisper, a plea for Savvee to hurry. To finish the spell and save my family. Even if it’s the last thing I see before death takes me.
“As I will it, the curse over these lands shall be broken. The rightful alpha restored to his throne.” The wind picks up, and the sounds of fighting become muted—hollow.
“You shouldn’t have saved me,” Lark says as she presses her hands to my wound. “You are far more important to him.”
“You. Underestimate. Yourself,” I choke out.
“I—” Lark trails off as something slams into her from behind. Both arms go wide, and she screams.
They all scream.
And then…nothing.