Bloodrose

  Emile didn’t hesitate. He thundered toward my father, never slowing as he hit the other alpha. He used my father’s body to break through the already-stressed wood. The table split in two when Emile drove my father into the wall on the other side of the library.

  They slammed into the bookshelves and were thrown apart. Emile landed on his feet, muscles quivering in anticipation of the next attack. My father was lying on the ground, his head hanging low.

  That’s when I saw it: a sharp piece of wood had pierced deep into his back. The blunt end of the wooden spear protruded from his fur. He struggled to his feet, twisting his neck to grip the impaled wood in his jaws. But in doing so he exposed his throat to Emile.

  Without hesitation the Bane alpha lunged at my father.

  I was already running, hoping to block his attack, no longer caring whose fight this was supposed to be. Emile Laroche would not kill my father. I couldn’t watch that happen and do nothing.

  But Ren was closer still. I was a few feet short of my father when Ren hit Emile in a flying leap, sending both of them tumbling away from me and my father. They scrambled to their feet, turning and lunging again. Within moments they were wrestling on the ground, tearing at each other without mercy.

  Beside me, my father snarled. He’d pulled the huge splinter from his chest. Blood gushed from the wound and he faltered.

  Take my blood. I turned my shoulder to his muzzle. Hurry!

  He bit into my flesh as I wrenched my neck to see what was happening behind us.

  Emile’s attention remained focused on Ren. The elder Bane’s muzzle was bloodied, but I didn’t know if it was only my father’s blood or if Emile had wounded Ren as well.

  That’s enough, Calla. My father pushed me away gently. Thank you.

  He turned his attention to Ren and I heard his command. Renier, do not attack Emile.

  Ren didn’t move, didn’t even glance in my father’s direction. He was shouting, his mind open to us.

  My whole life was a lie. Ren’s muscles were shaking with rage. My mother died because of you. I swear I will kill you.

  Emile’s laugh sounded in my mind. Is that any way to speak to your dear old dad, boy? His thought finished with a menacing snarl.

  You are not my father. Ren growled. My father died when you broke his neck.

  One of the best days of my life. Emile crouched low. Just like today will be when I finish this.

  Ren howled and lunged at Emile.

  Renier, no! My father threw himself toward the other two wolves as Ren attacked. Stop!

  I saw Ren’s mistake even as he made it. In his anger he’d jumped too high, giving Emile time to change position beneath him. Emile leapt, angling his body to meet Ren in the air.

  Emile’s shout rang in my mind. I should have done this the day you were born. His jaws closed around Ren’s neck.

  Ren! I screamed his name as they fell to the ground, their bodies locked together.

  Emile gave a sudden jerk of his head. I thought I was splitting in two when a horrible crack stopped Ren’s steady growl.

  When they hit the ground, my father slammed into Emile, shoving him away from Ren, who lay horribly still on the library floor. I howled, skidding to a stop beside him. Dropping my muzzle, I pressed my nose against him.

  A squeal across the room tore my gaze off Ren.

  Emile was on his back, pinned under my father. The Bane alpha writhed beneath my father’s weight, kicking and struggling. My father ignored Emile’s desperate attempts to free himself. His jaws were around Emile’s neck and they were slowly closing. Emile cried out, a half howl, half shriek that became a gurgle as my father crushed his throat.

  Emile stopped struggling. My father lifted Emile’s limp body in his jaws and with one swing of his head tossed the Bane’s carcass aside.

  My father came toward us, shifting forms as he walked.

  Ren. Ren. I nipped his muzzle gently. Please get up. You have to get up.

  I breathed into his charcoal gray fur. His scent was the same as always, sandalwood and fire wrapped in leather.

  Ren. I whined, pawing at him. Answer me. I can heal you, but you need to wake up so I can give you blood.

  Someone dropped to the ground next to me. Adne was on her knees, staring at me with wide, brimming eyes. Bryn was beside her, whining softly.

  “Why?” Adne said. “Why did you have to leave too?” She began to reach for him, but I snarled, knocking her back. I didn’t want anyone else near him. They couldn’t help him. She stared at me, limbs trembling as the color drained from her face.

  “Hey!” Connor was still standing over Logan, but he pointed the tip of his sword at me. “Back off, wolfie.”

  Shay glanced from Connor to me. “Stay here.” He returned the Elemental Cross to its sheaths and then shifted forms.

  Calla. He approached slowly, keeping his head low.

  I bristled, a steady menacing growl rising from my throat. Stay away.

  Let me help you. His voice was soothing and he dropped to his belly, still inching toward me. I only want to help.

  I snarled again, showing him my fangs when he reached me. He lifted his muzzle and gently licked mine. It was soothing; his scent—fresh and hopeful, like rain that rinsed away the sludge of fear muddying my senses—reassured me. I stopped growling. He stood up, resting his muzzle against mine.

  We can help him. But not like this.

  He shifted to human form and I understood. Ren was a wolf; he couldn’t drink when he was unconscious. We’d need to bring him back, just like Gabriel had helped Nev breathe again. I shifted forms.

  Bryn dropped to the ground, remaining a wolf. A quiet steady whine continued to rise from her muzzle.

  “Help me,” I said to Shay. But he hesitated, not moving any closer to Ren. Something was flickering in his eyes, something he didn’t want me to see.

  “Help me,” I said again.

  Shay gazed at Ren’s still form. He stretched a hand toward me. His fingers were shaking. I turned my back on him with a growl.

  “Fine.” I crawled closer to Ren. “I’ll do this without your help.”

  When my father reached my side, there was no triumph in his eyes. Only loss.

  “We need to wake him so he can drink,” I said. My father can fix this. He’s always led us. He’ll know what to do.

  My father gave me a long look before he crouched beside Ren, resting his hand on the deep gray wolf’s neck. He bent down, laying his head against Ren’s chest. He let out a slow, regretful breath.

  “What should we do?” I asked.

  My father slowly turned his face to gaze at me. I couldn’t accept what I found in his eyes.

  “There isn’t . . . ,” Shay murmured from behind me; I felt his fingers encircling my upper arm. “Calla—” His voice was thick and he couldn’t manage any more words.

  I wouldn’t look at him, asking my father again, “What should we do?”

  “Emile broke his neck.” My father lifted his head, rocking back on his heels with a heavy sigh. “His heart isn’t beating,”

  I’d already sunk my canines into my forearm. When I stretched my bleeding flesh toward Ren’s muzzle, Shay caught my shoulders, pulling me back.

  He didn’t say anything when I snarled, craning my neck to glare at him. “Let me go.”

  He shook his head.

  “Calla,” my father said quietly. “Renier’s heart isn’t beating.”

  “No.”

  “You can’t save him. It’s too late.”

  “No.”

  Adne had begun to sob. She stood up, stumbling away from us and into Connor’s arms.

  My limbs had gone numb. I let myself melt into the floor, stretched beside Ren’s body. My fingers twisted in the thick charcoal fur.

  He can’t be dead. He can’t be.

  I shifted into wolf form with the only will I could muster, settling my muzzle on top of Ren’s.

  Shay didn’t try to approach me, but I glanced at him w
hen I heard his shaky breath.

  “I’m sorry, Calla,” he said. “I didn’t want it to end this way.”

  I whimpered and turned my face away from him. Closing my eyes, I sent a final plea out, trying to touch Ren’s mind.

  I love you.

  But he was gone.

  TWENTY-SIX

  “LEAVE HER.” My father stepped between Shay and me. I was still curled against Ren’s body. I could hear my blood pounding through my veins, but I couldn’t feel anything.

  “But—” Shay gazed at me, his features hardening with resolve. “We still have to face Bosque. We need her.” Adne was wrapped in Connor’s arms, crying quietly.

  “Losing another alpha is like losing part of yourself.” Stephen bared sharp canines at Shay.

  “I understand that.” A challenge flashed in Shay’s eyes, but he withdrew to stand beside Adne and Connor. “It doesn’t change what’s at stake. We can’t stop. This isn’t over. We still have to summon Bosque.”

  Sabine approached us slowly. Ethan trailed close behind her, but kept a respectful distance as she knelt beside Ren.

  I didn’t move, watching her stretch her hand to touch him. She bent forward, placing a kiss on the top of his head.

  She turned her eyes to me for a moment, and I saw my sorrow reflected there.

  I understood now why Shay had come to me in wolf form. Why he’d coaxed me to shift. He’d already known there was no hope for Ren, but he knew I wasn’t able to face that loss. That I would have attacked any intruders—just as I’d almost attacked Adne—that had come too close to Ren’s body.

  But that time had passed, leaving me numb, exhausted. I wouldn’t attack anyone now. I wouldn’t do anything. The battle might not be over for Shay. But it was over for me. Doubt and regret stole my will to fight.

  Sabine bowed her head and stood up, letting Ethan fold her into his arms.

  “Come on,” Connor said, beckoning to Shay. “It’s time to end this.”

  Shay nodded. “Get Logan up.” He turned to me. “Calla?”

  I snapped at his fingers, unwilling to move from Ren’s side. So what if this battle was the last? We’d lost Ren. I didn’t want to fight. I couldn’t look at Shay.

  I couldn’t stop thinking about Ren’s voice, his words warm against my skin. We were always meant to be together, Calla.

  He’d loved me, but I’d found my mate in another wolf, another alpha. Had I been reckless because of my choice? Could I have done more to save Ren? I’d been fighting other Guardians, tasting wolves’ blood that flowed between my fangs, killing my own packmates. And now this. What could be worth losing Ren?

  A warning growl slid through the space between me and the Scion. All I wanted was to be left alone. Shay gritted his teeth but turned away from me, following Connor to Logan’s side.

  Bryn stayed in place, watching me, but she didn’t try to move any closer.

  Connor kicked the Keeper, not too hard but enough that Logan finally lifted his face. “Is it over?”

  “It’s about to begin,” Connor said. “And you’re the opening act.”

  Logan didn’t move. He scanned the room, taking in Emile’s corpse and Ren’s. He swallowed hard and began trembling as he stared up at Connor.

  “If I do this,” he whispered, “do you promise to let me live?”

  His gaze slid onto me. I bared my teeth at him, snarling.

  “Give me your word!” He rolled his eyes up at Shay.

  “If you keep your promise, we’ll keep ours,” Shay said. “You won’t be harmed.”

  “Now get on your feet,” Connor said. “Our friends are still dying out there.”

  Logan scrambled up, stumbling forward as if he were barely able to force his muscles to work. He shook as he dropped to one knee in front of the fireplace. He unbuttoned his shirt, shrugging the crisp fabric from his body. Sabine hissed and my breath faltered. Logan’s back was covered in scars.

  “Blood oath,” Connor muttered, gazing at Logan’s ravaged skin. “It’s a bitch.”

  Logan began chanting, his voice low and feverish.

  “Oh God.” Shay stepped back as one by one the scars on Logan’s back opened.

  Fresh blood began to seep from the wounds. Then it was flowing, spilling down his back and dripping onto the varnished wood floor.

  The fireplace, which had been empty and silent, stirred. It began like a gentle breeze. As if a breath of wind had been caught in the tall chimney, so that the sound barely reached us. The murmur of sound grew louder. Within the darkness a shape began to form. The angry noise buzzed like a swarm of insects.

  My father snarled, pacing restlessly in the space between me and the fireplace.

  The flowing mass began to congeal, stretching into the shape of a man. A putrid green aura surrounded the moving body that stood tall in the shadows.

  Connor swore, shielding Adne as the sickly light grew brighter. Behind the dark figure shadows flickered in and out of the gleaming green, creatures that remained just out of sight.

  “There it is,” Ethan murmured. “The Rift.”

  Sabine shifted into wolf form, hackles raised. Shay moved forward so he stood directly behind the chanting Keeper.

  Logan’s voice rose to a shout and then he collapsed.

  Bosque Mar laughed as he stepped from the fireplace. Bryn snarled, scrambling to her feet and placing herself in front of me, as if she feared I wouldn’t be able to fight for myself.

  “Logan, Logan.” Bosque’s smile glinted like the edge of a blade. “Whatever are you up to?”

  “Master,” Logan breathed, though he scuttled backward like a crab, only stopping when he ran up against a bookcase.

  Bosque scanned the room; his eyes settled on Efron’s body. “How tragic.”

  “Hardly,” Shay said.

  “Welcome back, my nephew.” Bosque’s voice almost sounded warm. He turned a stony gaze on Logan. “Did your actions lead to your father’s untimely demise?”

  Logan stammered something, but all I could hear was the chattering of his teeth.

  “I think you’ll find the price of treachery to be quite high,” Bosque murmured. Logan moaned, pressing his body tight against the wall.

  Shay moved sideways, blocking Bosque’s view of the Keeper. He slowly withdrew the Elemental Cross. The power of the blades reacted instantly to the aura of the Rift, making the air around Shay crackle as if it were alive with electricity. The sight stirred something inside me. I forced myself to my feet, keeping my gaze fixed on Shay.

  Calla? Bryn’s ears flicked as she watched me uneasily.

  I’m fine. I bared my teeth. Get ready to fight.

  I crept toward Shay, keeping my body low. Positioning myself behind him, I crouched, ready to leap at any hideous creatures that Bosque might conjure.

  Bosque’s gaze flitted over Shay’s swords. “What a pretty toy you’ve brought me.”

  “The better to kill you with,” Connor said. Beside him, Ethan raised his crossbow and Sabine growled.

  Bosque glanced at the two Searchers. “Oh my, toy soldiers as well.” He flicked his wrist and the men went flying. They crashed into the far wall, books tumbling down around them. Sabine yelped and tore across the room.

  Go! I didn’t want to leave Shay, but Bryn could help the others. Without hesitation, Bryn bounded after Sabine.

  “No!” Adne shouted, running toward the mess of wood, pages, and limbs where Sabine had already begun digging in an attempt to reach the bodies of Ethan and Connor.

  “What a lovely young thing.” Bosque watched Adne move, running his tongue over his lips as if tasting the air. “And with such power. You’ve been playing with my garden, dear. Without permission.”

  He twisted his fingers and Adne stumbled. “Please stay awhile. I think you could be quite useful to me.”

  She rolled over, clawing at the rug beneath her feet, which had begun to unravel. Its loose threads wound together into thick ropes that wrapped around her ankles and continued
to snake their way up her body.

  “Logan, do it!” she screamed. “Do it now! Finish the ritual!”

  Logan cowered, his eyes rolling up at Bosque, full of fear. My father ran to Adne’s side. More ropes appeared to bind her even as he chewed through the first cords that had sprung out of the rug.

  He stared at me and then at Bosque, who was laughing as my father struggled to free her.

  “Let her go!” Shay advanced on Bosque. The blades of the Cross moved with such speed I couldn’t make out either weapon. It appeared as though Shay was walking with a fiery tornado clearing his path.

  Bosque laughed. “You can’t touch me, boy. Put those down before you hurt yourself.”

  “Stop talking,” Shay snarled. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”

  “Whyever not?” Bosque said. “I still have room in my heart to forgive you.”

  Shay shook his head, lunging at him. Bosque raised his hand. Shay wasn’t thrown backward as Connor and Ethan had been, but the swords were blocked as if Bosque had thrown up a shield.

  Shay snarled and swung the swords again, but he couldn’t pierce whatever force Bosque held up against the attack. Bosque’s human shell was protecting him. We had to strip it from him.

  I heard groans and was relieved to see Ethan and Connor struggling out from under the rubble as Sabine and Bryn clawed through broken shelves and mounds of books.

  “You coward!” Shay gritted his teeth, holding the swords low. “Fight me!”

  “But the fight isn’t happening here, is it?” Bosque closed his eyes and smiled. “It seems we have quite the gathering happening just outside.” He lifted his arms. “I believe I’ll invite a few more guests.”

  The sound sent chills up and down my limbs. I barked a warning to Connor and Ethan as a hundred tormented sighs swelled in the air around us.

  “It’s the Fallen!” Ethan shouted.

  The sighs became moans, but more noises layered on top of the Fallen’s cries. Shrieks and hisses followed the cracking of stone. Rowan Estate’s statues were coming to life.

  “Not just the Fallen,” Connor yelled. “Here they come!”