Chapter Twenty-Six

Laia

 

The cloth was ripped from my eyes, and I blinked, eyes watering in the brightness. The trees swung around sharply, and I saw we were in an unfamiliar circle of trees. Smoke filled my nose. The sounds of grunts, boots, and the distant ocean faded as my eyes closed again for a brief moment.

No. This isn’t happening.

Opening my eyes again, everything was blurred, and I blinked rapidly. Tears swam down my face. When my vision adjusted, ice plunged through my chest, and I jerked forward with a cry.

Rett, my Rett. Strong, capable bear shifter. An Alpha Command of the Northbane. My mate.

On his knees.

Hysteria rose in me, and I began to fight, kicking at the augris and trying to wrench free. “Let him go, let him go,” I screamed at Jasper. “This has nothing to do with him. He’s a Northbane Command. They will hunt you to the ends of the earth and—”

“Enough,” Jasper roared as I almost yanked free of his grasp. “I’ll kill him, Laia, I swear.”

“You can try,” Rett said, his eyes flashing and lip curling.

“Rett,” I breathed, and my vision swam again.

“Oh no, Laia, you—”

Jasper didn’t get any further, as I’d twisted loose from the augris and swung my fist around, punching him in the jaw. He staggered, his grip slipping on me and then tightening as I went running.

Adjusting his jaw, Jasper grimaced and asked, “Now, what did that accomplish?”

“Made me feel better,” Rett said, and my heart squeezed.

I almost smiled, but then I caught the ugly look in Jasper’s eyes, and a shiver ran over me. He was even colder than I remembered. No trace of the sweet, serious boy I’d once known. His gray eyes were pitiless in the depths of his hood as he gave me an impassive once-over.

Standing up straight, I pointed at Rett as I stared at Jasper, my heart slamming in my ears.

“Let him go,” I said. “I’m the one you want.”

Jasper didn’t answer. He didn’t even make a sign he’d heard me.

Rage shook through me, from head to toe, violent trembles going up and down my body. Underneath that, fear simmered. I couldn’t tell what Jasper was thinking.

That’s when he was at his scariest and most unpredictable. When the violence that Orion had slowly and carefully seeded in the cracks of Jasper’s soul bore ugly fruit.

“We can’t pass this up,” Sarrow interjected, and I glanced over, fists clenching. He smirked at me. “Been a minute, doll. You look good.” His guttural, creeping voice had not changed, and I hated him even more now.

Rett made a low, warning growl in his throat, and Jasper’s fingers convulsed on my arm as he spoke. “Are you insane, Sarrow? We’re here for the shard and Laia.” His face hardened as Sarrow snorted. “No prisoners. Kill the bear, and—”

“No.”

The word ripped from my lungs, and I threw myself at Jasper, pulling my arm free. Both hands clawed at his face, while I kicked at his knees, side, and back, focusing on the left, which I knew had an old injury.

In spite of the fact that I’d already gotten in a punch, Jasper wasn’t expecting it. Showed how little he respected me.

Jasper grunted and swung up a hand, trying to catch mine or stop me, but I was too fast. Ducking and weaving, I kicked at Jasper, years of bitterness and rage pouring out of me.

“Laia!” Rett’s voice cut through the air, but I didn’t stop.

I’d kill them all before I let them hurt Rett.

“Go to hell,” I gasped out as Jasper’s hood fell back and revealed his squared-off jaw, buzzed blond hair, and silver eyes. “I won’t let you—”

“Laia, stop,” Jasper said, catching hold of one of my wrists. “Or I’ll—”

“I won’t let you hurt him!” I screamed. “I’ll die before you hurt my mate, you evil—”

Jasper’s face went white with rage, and my words were cut off as he kicked my feet out from under me. I caught a glimpse of his dilated pupils and taut shoulders as I went down.

Slammed into the earth, a painful burst of air escaped me, choked off by Jasper’s hand around my throat. His face was inches from mine, and the crian shard, so long tucked into the bottom of my backpack, now burned along the periphery of my right eye.

“Mate?” Jasper’s face was twitching.

“Let her go, you piece of shit.” I’d never heard Rett sound like that. “I swear to God, I’ll—”

The shard moved closer, and I let out a soft whimper before I could stop myself. Rett stopped and cursed, slamming a fist into the ground.

“That’s what I thought,” Jasper said. There was a frantic light in his gray eyes, almost as though he were trying to solve a problem or wake up. “Laia.” His head shook from side to side as I gripped his forearm, trying to loosen his grip. It was infuriating that he could hold me down with one hand, although he had to use his leg to pin mine down. “No, no, he’s not your mate.”

“He is,” I spat. “I know you don’t believe in them, but they’re real.”

“But what of our promises? What of the Bloodfang sigil?”

“You mean the Excris brand latched onto my ankle?” I spat, and his fingers loosened. I swear, his fingers had left the same indentations as the last time. “When you tried to bind me to you, Jasper?”

“It was you?" Rett roared, and the ground shook under the weight of his shifted form. There were sounds of cries and bodies hitting the earth, Sarrow shouting directions.

A jolt went through Jasper, and he spun around, getting to his feet, reaching for me. But I pulled free, kicking him in the groin as I sprinted by, and grinning when I heard him groan.

Rett knocked away shifters left and right, while Sarrow retreated into the background and shoved some Skrors into the fray. All of those men looked young and helpless in front of the raging bear. I leaped over one, casting an eye around for the augris. Never a good idea to have your back to that slippery, slimy creature.

Something knocked me to my knees, and I hit the ground hard, the back of my knee stinging. Turning, I saw Jasper charging towards me, launching another rock. I ducked and scrambled back up when Rett spotted me. Time paused for one breath as our eyes met.

I began moving forward, Jasper on my tail, somehow thinking that if I could get to Rett, I would be okay. If I closed that distance, we could—

A cry escaped me, and the world catapulted by in a blur of color.

Again, I was down on my knees, only this time I had no idea how I’d gotten there. My hands were gripping my ankle, the brand hot under my fingers and pulsing with agony, as though sharp nails were trying to rip free of my skin. Tears burned my eyelids, and I prayed I could hold on.

Don’t let me have an episode now, please, I begged. Please, please, please…

I looked up and saw Rett fighting to get to me, wolves, coyotes, and mountain lions pouring in from all sides. Glancing back, I saw Jasper had caught up with me, and his hand reached for my shoulder, but I flinched away.

To my surprise, Jasper drew back and fisted his hands.

For the first time in over a year, I thought I saw a trace of doubt in his eyes.

I had to look away.

But Rett had shifted back, and I saw him shouting soundlessly at Jasper, his face twisted with rage. He was being restrained by at least eight shifters and towered over all of them, the muscles in his neck bulging.

Jasper crouched down and studied me, ignoring Rett. “The mark is to show I chose you as my future wife, Laia.” His voice was almost kind, and I drew back, that violation like bubbling acid in my veins. “It was an honor.”

“I didn’t choose you,” I said in a savage whisper. “You never asked.”

There was a blur of movement, and Jasper caught the front of my shirt, dragging me up as he stood. I was almost on my tiptoes as he shook me and snarled, "It binds us. Me and you, like always." He swallowed. "Don't disobey. Otherwise, you will forget everything except me. Stop fighting this.”

“I will never stop fighting this,” I cried, and he let me go. “Especially now, Jasper. Now that I know what love is, and what it means to be with your true mate.” A shuddering breath escaped me. “What it’s like to be respected and cared for, not ignored, belittled, and locked away until convenient. You were my friend, and you betrayed me.”

“I did this for you!” Jasper shouted.

“You did it for you!” I threw my hands out. “You wanted to keep me in line, have my mindset fall in with yours, even though I could see the Bloodfang for what they really were, and you only saw what you wanted to see.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Jasper said. “Fight it, and you’ll forget.” He sounded oddly triumphant and nodded at Rett. “Even him.”

“I know,” I snarled. “And when I forget, the world narrows down, yes, but it narrows to a point of horror.” Jasper went rigid. “You, you monster.”

There was silence as I pushed back my hair and let that poison spill. Finally.

“I hate you,” I rasped. “You destroyed our friendship. You almost destroyed me. I fear you—I fear what you’ve become. A coward, a murder, and Orion’s bloody dog.”

“You don’t mean that,” Jasper said, and he gripped his head. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do! Take me away, bind me, do what you will, Jasper. But you will never have my heart. Rett Deacon does.” I looked at Rett. “I love him.”

Rett’s eyes went soft, but Jasper jerked my face back to him, his face twisted into a glower. “No. You are not completely marked by his scent, Laia, nor is yours on him.” He paused and then looked at Rett, before striding forward. “Fine. Let’s see how a champion of the Northbane, the honorable Winfyre Command, fares against a plain old Bloodfang bruiser.”

“No,” I cried. “No, Jasper, stop this.”

“I challenge Rett Deacon to a Dominance Combat—for his mate," Jasper said, spitting out the word with the utmost derision. “His mate, who is my betrothed. How honorable, to steal another man’s property.”

“Laia is not your property,” Rett snarled.

I was barely paying attention. I was trying to figure out a way out of this mess.

Dominance Combat. A one-on-one spar between male shifters to establish a pecking order. Illegal in Winfyre, it was a common and often fatal occurrence in the Bloodfang.

Usually at Jasper’s hands.

“Do you accept?” Jasper asked softly.

I went to speak—to accept any punishment but this—when Rett’s voice rang out.

“I accept.”

Turning, shaking my head, lips parted, I saw that Rett was standing, and the other shifters had fallen back. A wild and fierce light was in Rett’s eyes, one I’d never seen before.

“You win, and Laia is yours,” Jasper said. “We’ll remove the brand and leave.”

“Levy,” Sarrow snapped. I jumped. It had been such a long time since I’d heard Jasper’s last name. He preferred to go by White Lion or Jasper, wanting to snuff out all association with his family. “Stop this madness. Orion didn't tell you to quibble over some fool woman. Kill him, grab her, and let's be done with this. The Northbane will—"

“Shut up,” Jasper snarled. “I’m in charge, Sarrow. Want to fight me next?”

Sarrow scowled, shook his head, and kept quiet.

“You will leave and never come back,” Rett said, and there was a dangerous note in his voice. “You stay in Laia’s nightmares.”

Jasper flinched, and I shook my head, trying to go forward. “Rett, no, please,” I said. All I could think of was the savagery of the matches back in the Rust Mountains. “Don’t do this.”

“I won’t lose,” Rett said, a smile playing around his mouth, and his gaze never leaving Jasper.

“This will be fun,” Jasper said. “Augris, Davenport—keep an eye on Laia and the shard.”

“Great white lion,” the augris simpered, finally oozing out from the sliver of shadow it had been hiding in. “Not to cast my lot in with the stasis Sarrow, but are you certain this is wise?”

“Laia’s confused,” Jasper said, his tone suddenly gentle, but with a small note of uncertainty running through it, even as Rett snorted. “This will reassure her.”

“You two are not fighting over me,” I burst out, trying not to throw back my head and scream for a good ten minutes straight.

They might tear each other to shreds. I’d be left with Sarrow and the augris. But I couldn’t stop it. I might not have had an episode of amnesia right then, but the brand was sapping my strength and leaving me far too dizzy to fight.

Rett cracked his knuckles and glared at Jasper, who shoved me at a nearby wolf shifter, who must have been Davenport. The kid puffed his chest out, trying to look important, but I could see the sweat beading on his forehead. The augris hovered nearby, giving off a foul, damp smell.

Jasper strode forward as the shifters and Skrors hastened to fall back. Sarrow was scowling and shaking his head as he all but vanished into the tree line.

“This is some misogynistic bullshit,” I muttered, having the helpless sense of watching two out-of-control trains collide without being able to do a damn thing.

“Prepared to die?” Jasper asked.

Rett didn’t answer, only smiled. One I’d never seen before—an Alpha smile so cold, I shivered. I could almost taste the blood in the air.

Suddenly, I remembered that Jasper had never fought against another Alpha. The Bloodfang kept them apart, fearing the death of one in a Dominance Combat. They were too precious. Other shifters weren’t. I now wondered if that had rankled Jasper. Status was a big deal in the Bloodfang.

As they circled each other, a painful, desperate hope went through me. Maybe we could walk out of this relatively unscathed. Maybe I wouldn’t need the Coven in Veda to cure me. Maybe if Rett won, it would wake Jasper up.

Jasper prowled by, and I could almost see the flick of his long white tail. Hope now struggled against pure terror. How many times had I seen his white coat splattered with blood, and his claws shining as they swiped across a throat?

Rett, I hope you know what you’re doing, I thought. Although, if anyone could win, it would be you. My fists clenched. I believe in you.

As though hearing me, Rett looked over and winked.

In spite of Sarrow’s griping and the augris’s warning, everyone was silent. Together, we watched as the seconds spiraled by, and the Alphas shifted. That sent a spark of anger through me.

From what I could tell, the Bloodfang had gotten worse. Everything was about the pecking order, about brute strength and power. Nothing but giving in to base desires and bloodlust.

I knew Xander and the rest of the Northbane probably thought they were merely misguided, but now that I'd lived among both, I knew the Northbane were made up of a different kind of shifter. The way they took honor so seriously… The Bloodfang had no principles, no mercy, and no conscience.

Fear wrapped cold tendrils around my hope and heart.

Am I about to see my mate killed before my eyes?