Chapter Twelve

Luke

 

One hour earlier

 

Kal, Rett, Tristan, and I were leaving the woods, with several shifters trailing behind. All of us were laughing, loud and punchy after our victory. We’d chased the Bounts and Skrors almost a hundred miles south and had had some fun with them along the way.

The Northbane had made sure they wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

Striding into Cobalt, dirty, muddy, and a little bloody, I grinned. Shifting had gone fine today, too. In fact, there was an urgent sense to shift back, to keep running and dive into the woods.

Walking through town, I tried to ignore that itch pricking in my skin and making me impatient. In my preoccupation, I didn't notice the air buzzing about town.

“What’s going on?” Rett asked and sniffed the air. “Tension. Why?”

“We should find Xander,” I said and went to head off, but then he was there.

The change in my friend still arrested me. I’d seen it in all of them, but, of all of us, it had affected Xander the most. Even now, I could sense the cold purpose of the beast coiled inside of him, its need to protect, defend, and also destroy. If anyone understood fearing and respecting the power we wielded, it was Xander. He’d been HC of Winfyre before we even staked our territory.

With a slight nod of his head, we Alphas clustered around Xander, while the other shifters fell back. It should have been a normal and happy midday. Blue sky overhead, food grilling, and happy kids. Only there were no kids in the street.

Reagan.

Her name was a punch to the gut, and my own fists clenched, as though ready for a fight. Without meaning to, I looked towards home, and my entire body seemed to tense up. But no, she was home. Bo, Rosie, and Timber leaned into my legs and nudged my hands, sensing my disquiet.

“We have a breach,” Xander said in a soft voice.

For a moment, none of us spoke. This had never happened before.

Then Rett let out a loud exhale. “Shit.” And the rest of us let out an uneasy laugh.

It had been bound to happen—nothing was perfect, not even Xander’s wards, but still.

“Where?” Kal asked.

“Farline Pass, maybe twenty miles north of here.” Xander let out a slow breath. “Rotted.”

Of all the horrors of the Rift, these Excris had left an indelible mark on Winfyre.

Excris were creatures of darkness and hell who’d created the Bloodlust rumors. Whatever had cracked open in the Rift, it had let them out, too. Demons, monsters, and nightmares of all different kinds and shapes.

The Rotted were the worst of the Excris. They had the faces of men, the claws of animals, and a bastardized ability to shapeshift. Tireless runners and cunning hunters.

We all began talking at once.

“How many?” I asked. “Who reported this? When?”

“We have to go,” Tristan said at the same time. “And Veda needs to be alerted.”

“Everyone needs to shelter until they’re gone,” Rett said loudly. “Complete lockdown.”

“We’ll handle this,” Kal said grimly. “First and last time it’ll ever happen.”

Xander’s eyes flicked around us, and he glanced back at the town. “There’s more.”

“More?” I croaked, and my alarm increased.

Something was wrong.

I mean, of course there was. Rotted had gotten in. But why were my instincts screaming?

“Cassidy Grace ran away from home this morning,” Xander said, and his eyes went to me. “Reagan went after her. When it was reported, it was too late.”

A hollow sensation scraped against the inside of my chest and into my bones.

“Where did they go?” Rett demanded, speaking for me. I’d never been more grateful.

“North,” he answered. I knew he would say that, and yet it gutted me.

“Maybe they made it to Veda,” Tristan spoke up quickly.

“They’re not in Veda,” Xander replied. “They never made it. Not long after we realized Reagan went after her, a shifter squad came in and reported signs of Rotted.” He took a deep breath. “Luke, we have to prepare ourselves for the worst. I think you should stay—”

“No.”

Every pulse of my heart tore through me. I shook my head and tried to laugh. This didn’t make sense. I’d left Reagan sleeping and safe.

And I’d told her. “I told her the northern pass was closed. She—I’m gonna kill her. I told her not to run off or pull any more stupid shit.” I was having trouble standing upright. “No. No. No.”

Horror palpitated my heart and warped my vision. Rett was gazing at me like he didn’t recognize me, Xander and Tristan were frowning with deep concern, and even Kal looked sympathetic.

Rea.

The last thing I’d said to her was to get the hell out. A coppery acid bubbled in my skin.

For a moment, I thought I could smell her, and agony cracked through me.

She’d be easy prey for the Rotted.

Instinct took over, and I threw myself into shifting, tearing off as a giant wolf, off to the north. Xander shouted something after me, but his words were lost on the wind. In fact, I ran even faster.

I could find her before the Excris did. Somehow.

I have to.

The miles vanished under my paws. I’d never run so fast in my life. Yet every moment was torture. Every turn made my heart explode a little more.

I kept expecting to come across Reagan, safe and sound.

Or find her staring up at the sky, her eyes empty and her throat torn open.

Since her sister was a shifter, the Rotted would drag Cassidy off. My stomach churned at the thought. Oh, God, no. No one deserved that fate. Not even Skrors.

I ran even faster, breath tearing through my chest, and I even cast out for the Farthing Wolves. Anything, anyone, to help.

Tongue lolling and a sharp stitch up my side, I crested a hill and came to the Geshalt Grass. The field of waving grass led to a small, knobbly wood. Then I paused and inhaled, my nose catching the faintest scent of a horse, Reagan, and, with a lurch of horror, the Rotted.

I was about to bolt when I heard the thunder of hooves in the distance, and I saw a Cobalt horse emerge from the trees. Adrenaline kicked in from depths I didn’t know existed.

I flew past the beast, urging her to continue home.

As I entered the wood, a scream shattered the air.

Darting and weaving through the trees, I rounded a corner, where I saw them. A growling snarl exploded out of me, and the horrors stopped, their necks slewing around. The Rotted were gray, mottled creatures, tall and cobbled together, like men made out of lumpy clay, with black-veined faces, sharp teeth, and dragging claws.

The scent of hell and death clung to them.

Unlike other Excris, these had no fear of shifters. They feasted on stasis and shifter alike.

Somehow, I made myself look beyond them, and relief swam through me.

Reagan was alive, clinging to Cassidy and staring at me. I couldn’t repress a shudder. She was seeing me as the wolf for the first time. Huge, furred, and vicious.

Yet the look on her face was not one of fear, but relief.

Hell, Reagan met my eyes and smiled.

Then she promptly passed out.

Reagan!

A Rotted came at me, a short sickle flashing through the air and coated with black bloodstains. Wherever these things came from, the Rift, hell, or some other foul dimension, they could also return. When we killed them, they vanished, and Tristan had a theory they regenerated.

I couldn’t worry about that idea now, when I had more weapons coming at me. Always crude, sharp implements with an ugly kind of purpose. They could fell a shifter with one blow.

Dodging the sickle, then a jagged blade and spear, I crashed my shoulder into one of their chests, and it caved in. The creature fell back on the ground, gibbering and with black blood oozing from its mouth. It crumpled and vanished. More came at me, leaving the girls, and I gladly took them out.

All that mattered was keeping those two safe.

More emerged from the woods. Dammit, this was Xander’s worst fear, that the Rotted would figure out a way to enter Winfyre. There were only so many threats he could guard against. The man was only one—

A roar echoed through the trees, and, for a second, I thought he’d come.

But instead, a white bear came charging up next to me, knocking Rotted left and right. Then a tiger pounced, fluid and fast, tossing the creatures left and right. Finally, a massive black bear, growling and purposeful. It grappled with the Rotted.

Even when the Excris morphed into beasts, they were merely knocked aside.

I’d no idea the Alphas had kept up with me. Tristan was fast like me, but Rett and Kal were not. Unless Xander had figured out a way to portal them across Winfyre, finally.

I shook that thought away, focusing on the fight at hand.

One after another, we crushed whatever animated these horrors out of them. They weren’t alive in the sense we knew. It was more like dead puppets being jerked around on a string. Whoever or whatever was the puppet master, I didn’t know and didn’t want to. I was good on that point.

Finally, we had it under control, and Tristan was crushing the last of the Rotted. Only then did I allow myself to shift back and race to where Cassidy was trying to wake up her sister.

“What’s wrong with her?” I asked and forced myself not to push Cassidy aside. But damn, she was irritating. Always acting like a bratty sixteen-year-old, not a twenty-three-year-old shifter.

“I don’t know—she didn’t eat anything or something,” Cassidy said, and she was trying to pull in calming breaths. But her eyes were dilated, and her body was shaking. “Ugh.”

“You’re suppressing the shift,” I said, distracted for a moment, and Cassidy’s gold-green eyes darted to mine. “I know. I used to do that.”

“We all did,” Kal said from above me. “It can kill you.”

“Kal,” I said and glared at him.

He shrugged. “Okay, it could.”

“Um, okay,” Cassidy said. “Reagan has blood sugar issues—that’s probably it.”

My hand shook as I touched Reagan’s cheek. Clammy and cool. “Rea. Can you hear me?”

“I’ve been trying to wake her up,” Cassidy snapped. “What makes you think she’ll wake up for you, wolf?”

“Easy, panther girl,” I said, and Cassidy went pale. “And forgive me, but you’ve been kind of a pain in the ass for Reagan. I think she might prefer to see me.” I glanced down at her. “If only to tell me off for last night.”

“Oh, what happened last night?” Tristan sang out.

“I let my temper get the better of me,” I said and brushed my knuckles on Reagan’s forehead. “I know, you’re all shocked.”

Rett came over, panting and rolling his shoulders. “What’d I miss? What’s wrong with her?”

“Later. We should go,” Kal said.

Nodding, I bent down and went to pick Reagan up, when she groaned and opened her eyes.

“Cass.” Reagan bolted up and swayed. Her fingers gripped her sister’s arm, and she let out a breath. “You’re okay. You’re okay?” Cassidy nodded. Her gaze went to me, and she gave me a crooked smile, still not steady. “Hey, Swiftlore. I was wondering when you’d show up.”

“Grace,” I said, and my hands circled around both of her upper arms, fingers pressing in. Every breath felt funny. “Never do that again. Never.”