Chapter Twenty-Two

Luke

 

When I got to her family’s house, no one was home. A quick lap around Cobalt confirmed my worst fear. Reagan wasn’t anywhere in the settlement.

Running back to the house, I shifted and tracked another of her scents through the house. It led me through the backyard and down a hill, heading straight east. My gut churned with anger and betrayal. I hadn’t thought Reagan capable of something like this.

The air grew colder, and I ran faster.

I slowed to a stop as I got closer, her scent mingling with two familiar ones. Ayani and Lazu. I’d forgotten all about the wolves coming to visit Rea. Creeping closer, I got as close as I dared without alerting them to my presence and caught a voice speaking.

“I don’t understand—everything has been fine. My abilities have been a little strange, yes, acting up…” She trailed off. “What do you mean, attracting attention?” Reagan sounded strained, and I heard her quick footsteps. “From what?”

I wasn’t close enough to catch Ayani’s or Lazu’s reply. The cold deepened.

Suddenly, one of the wolves snarled.

“No, I won’t leave you,” Reagan said. “What is it? What’s coming?”

I broke into a run, sensing the crack of malevolence in the air. Another scent approached. The same strange creature that had been haunting these hills for weeks and had, in all likelihood, torn that poor animal apart on the trail behind my house.

Maybe it’s comin’ after Reagan while she’s not a threat. Her abilities are sporadic. I wasn’t sure where that idea had come from, but it seemed to be confirmed by the wolves’ growls. They wouldn’t protect an Excris or Skror, I knew that.

Lukas is here, Lazu said in his crisp, cool voice.

“What?” Reagan asked and gasped as I landed next to her, then shifted back. “Luke, I-I…” Her eyes were huge and glassy. “I’m sorry, I can explain—wait, what happened to your face?”

“Later,” I said. “Ayani, Lazu, get out of here. Reagan, come on.”

Too late, Ayani said, and his ears flattened. The vryke approaches.

“Vryke?” I echoed.

A beast without form, seeking out the energy to give it form here, Lazu explained.

A creature from another time. Even that name is not its true one—but you don't want to know the beast it would become. It will destroy this land, Ayani added. 

“That’s why it’s been killing those animals,” I said. “It’s trying to find a life source—” The rest of my words were bitten off as I stared at Rea. What better source of energy than an untapped, unknown power, one not fully acknowledged, simmering under the surface? Nothing but raw energy. “How do I drive it off?”

It’s been growing more powerful, killing the innocent. Lazu’s ears twitched back and forth. But it still fears shifters and predators. His teeth bared. We alone can track it.

“Reagan, I want you to run back to Winfyre. The closer you are to the center, the safer you are,” I said, backing her up. “Find one of the Alphas, and tell them everything. We’ll take care of this.”

“Luke, it wants me,” Reagan said. “Let me be bait.”

“I’d rather not,” I said. “I still have a lot of things to say to you.”

“Please, don’t pay for my mistake,” she begged, and I propelled her farther back.

It was hard to get a lock on its scent, but I knew it was close, eyeing us. Trying to figure out a way to get to Reagan. But I could just barely get a whiff of it. The two wolves flanked me.

Something like a funnel of air slammed into the ground and destroyed the scent. I shifted and snarled, eyes closed, trying to track it. It was above us, and I lunged, snapping on something solid. Almost like a fish or a lizard, slithering above us. A vague impression, like a blind and cold-blooded beast, seeking out the warmth of blood, hit me.

It dove at Reagan, but I drove it off, and the other two wolves were there. We circled, wary and tracking it. The vryke hadn’t left, but it wasn’t close by anymore, either. Hiding somewhere in the trees, disguising its scent. Much like the Skrors had.

I dug deeper into my wolf senses, while still holding back on fully inhabiting the wolf, trying to track it. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of Reagan’s powers.

The spark of them, bursting out, like a bonfire on a dark beach. The sheer effort of holding them back and keeping them a secret must have been exhausting.

Suddenly, something cold snapped across my back, and I lost the hold on my wolf form.

Holding back on your wretched wolf gifts, are you, boy? hissed a voice in my ear, and something slammed into the side that had been injured. So much the better for me.

“Luke.” Reagan was running, sprinting towards me, and the vryke chuckled.

Ayani and Lazu were coming, but none of them would make it in time.

Tell Reagan I—

Energy crackled through the air, and the vryke hissed, whirling away. Power thrummed through me, and when Reagan grabbed my hand, hauling me up, I jolted, as though from a shock.

A word was on the tip of my tongue, but before I could grasp it, she suddenly shoved me. There was a line of red against my vision, and a body hit the forest floor.

Shaking my head, I scrambled up and froze.

Reagan was lying next to me, her eyes closed and her hair fanned out.

Thoughts came like blips. She pushed me out of the way. Blood trickled from a gash across her chest. Hurt. Not moving.

“Rea?” I asked and reached for her.

Ghostly tendrils reached for her as well.

With a roar, I shifted and threw myself into the wolf, giving in to the animal.

Power thrummed through me, and the forest came alive. Ayani and Lazu gleamed next to me, and the earth trembled under my paws. Snarling with both rage and undiluted power, I tracked the vryke easily, snatching it up and hurling it against a tree. It let out a wail of pain and rage, the edges of its form now dyed a blackish-red.

I went to attack it, when a tiger appeared and distracted me. In those crucial seconds, the vryke folded itself up and darted away. The two wolves went flying after it.

“What the hell was that?” Tristan asked as he shifted back.

I didn’t care. I turned back to Reagan, and a pained noise escaped me. For a moment, the smell of blood and tumult around me overwhelmed me. I saw the dead wolf on the beach. More shifters pouring out of the woods. I sensed my friends as I never had before, and I tried to shift back.

I couldn’t.

A jolt of terror went through me, then an abrupt calm as I focused on her.

She was worth giving in to the wolf.

Suddenly, I shifted back, and a gasp escaped me. My knees hit the ground, and I reached for her. There was blood, her blood, and I lifted a hand, staring at it.

“Luke, she’s going to be okay,” Kal was saying, but his voice was distant. “We need to get her back, but she’s stable. Look, her breathing is regular, and her pulse isn’t too low.” He’d been trained as a field medic. I could trust him, yet I couldn’t move. “Luke.”

Tristan’s hand gripped my shoulder. “I can bring her back. I’m almost as fast as you.”

“No, I said thickly and lifted her into my arms. “I can do it.”

 

When we emerged into my backyard, two Orlovs were anxiously waiting for us. Rogda ran down, exclaiming in Russian, and Niles took the slim form from me. Reagan’s blood was on my shirt, and I cast it off quickly as I came inside.

“You can give her my room,” I said gruffly. “Better bed, and all the healing stuff is up there.”

Rogda gave me a surprised look, then nodded and began ordering Niles around.

Upstairs, I changed and paced the hall until Rogda kicked me out of the house.

Outside, I went to the spot where she’d stood a week ago, asking me if I wanted to have dinner and watch the sunset. The sky had been lit up then, and now it was dour, brooding, and gray.

She wasn’t waking up. Why wasn’t she waking up? What had that thing done to her?

“How is she?”

Xander had appeared next to me, his instincts up and roaring underneath his skin. I still wasn’t used to being a wolf shifter to this degree, and it jarred me.

“I don’t know,” I said hoarsely.

“May I?” Xander asked, and I turned to him, gritting my jaw and nodding. He hesitated and then lightly touched my forehead. Gold leaped in his eyes as I relived what had happened in the forest. “A vryke?” The word came out like a hiss, and his nostrils flared.

I nodded and swallowed. “She shoved me out of the way.”

“She did more than that. She saved your life,” Xander said coolly. “A vryke can destroy a shifter in his human form.”

“God,” I said and raked back my hair. “What have I done? I should have found this out weeks ago, made sure to help her learn her abilities, not fear them.”

Xander said nothing.

“You know, don’t you?” I asked and blew out a sigh. This was why I hated letting Xander read my memories. “Today was the first time I ever fully gave in to the wolf.”

“Yes, and I think perhaps you can understand where Reagan was coming from.”

“Man, you’re so annoying when you get philosophical,” I said and elbowed him. Xander gave me a sideways grin, and I suddenly saw the kid who was always reading some weird, arcane book about Zen koans or Eastern philosophy. “You knew, didn’t you?”

“I suspected,” Xander said. “Only because I went through something similar.”

“When was the first time you fully shifted?” I asked.

"I think you know," he replied quietly. I gripped his shoulder, and he sighed, rubbing his face. Xander suddenly looked both incredibly old and incredibly young. “I also think you should talk to her. Tell her everything. She’ll understand.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

But Xander shook his head. “You worry too much. Maybe ease up on it.” He cracked a grin. “You don’t want to prove Tristan right and drop dead of a heart attack.”

Xander went inside, and I stayed out. A few stray tendrils of gold and pink threaded through the clouds as the sun sank lower. Supposed fear of the monster had been cloaking the real and sharp fear tearing at me inside: losing Reagan.

“Luke.”

I turned around, and Xander was lounging in the front door, smirking. “She’s awake.”

My feet moved on their own, and I almost shoved Xander aside as I burst in and bolted up the stairs, nearly tripping over the threshold. Rogda frowned at me as I came over.

“Stop making such a scene,” she scolded. “Rest and quiet.”

Reagan let out a small laugh, sitting up and sipping tea. “It’s okay. He worries.”

“What happened?” I asked in a rough voice. “What—why was she unconscious?”

"Well, her wound was shallow, but she experienced something mimicking an electrical shock. She needs to rest and recover, but she'll be fine."

“You’re sure?” I asked, and Rogda gave me an offended look. “It’s a creature we’ve never—”

“Luke, look at me,” Reagan interrupted. “I’m sitting up and breathing. Just a bit woozy.”

“Sorry,” I muttered. “Thank you, Rogda.”

“I’ll be downstairs with Xander,” Rogda said.

She exited the room, closing the door behind her. The room seemed to shrink, and I sank to my knees by the bed, focusing on breathing.

“Are you okay?” Reagan asked. “Your stitches didn’t open, did they? And what happened to your face? Did you get in a fight? Has Rogda looked at it?”

“Oh God,” I muttered and let my head fall into my hands. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or beg for her forgiveness. “No, I’m fine. You’re the one who stepped in front of some hellish beast we knew little about.”

“Yeah. Apparently, I’m quite a juicy little battery,” Reagan said. “You should know it’s been stalking me for a while. I’m sorry. The wolves didn’t think it could get into Winfyre.”

“Well, it can’t—not really,” I said. “It’s border-breaching, and it can only stay here for so long.”

“I lied, though,” Reagan said in a small voice. “Saying I was a stasis. It was wishful thinking.” She hesitated, and I looked up at her. “But you knew or suspected that, right?”

“Yeah,” I said. “You’re the reason I was at the gate that day.” Reagan put her hands on her face. “I scented trouble, then Lazu came and told me about you. I assumed it was one and the same.” I let out a small laugh. “Turns out I was right.”

“If you want to kick me out of Winfyre or…” Reagan swallowed, and her voice trembled. “But please, leave my family out of this. They didn’t know.”

“No, only Risa did.” Reagan’s eyes went wide. “And you snooped around my room earlier. What was up with that?” Now she was tearing up, and I moved to sit on the bed. “Hey, none of that.”

“What are you going to do?” Reagan asked and her hands twisted in the blanket.

“About you? Hm, tough one. For starters, I’m gonna try and take care of you as well as you take care of me,” I said, and Reagan started. “You’re not getting excommunicated from Winfyre, Grace. Takes a lot more than that, although maybe the lies could stop.”

Reagan nodded, still crying, and asked, “You really knew the whole time?” I nodded. “Oh, that is mortifying. God, I’m so stupid.”

“No, I get it,” I said. “You were worried about this impacting your family. And you were scared. All this weird shit happening to you, no one to explain it, and this energy coursing through you, changing you, shifting you.” I fell silent for a few moments. “Today was the first time I ever fully shifted.”

“What?” Reagan asked. “What does that mean?

“As a shifter, with time, you can separate the animal out. But the thing is, it’s a fool’s errand. All that did was cripple me as a shifter and cause me pain when I shifted back. Like an energy recoil. That’s what those episodes were.” I flexed my hands. “Today was the first time I felt strong after shifting. No exhaustion, no pain.”

Reagan nodded, thinking hard.

“Not that I’m minimizing what happened to you,” I said in a rush. “Or trying to talk about me. I’m just pointing out that I’m not one to talk when it comes to suppressing Rift stuff.”

“Sure,” she said.

There was silence for a few moments, and I fidgeted, wondering if I should leave.

“We can talk about this tomorrow, after you’ve rested,” I said and went to rise. “You want something to eat, or fluffier pillows or blankets?”

“No, I’m all set,” Reagan said and fidgeted. “Do you have to go?”

“No,” I said. “I can stay or go.” I dragged a hand across my face. “Listen, I need to clear the air here. I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting. I know I haven’t been myself lately, just been pretending behind all these stupid lies and games.” And avoiding you. “I’m sorry.”

“Luke, it’s okay—you have a lot on your plate, and I wasn’t helping,” Reagan said.

“Still…” Looking down, my voice grew hoarse as I said, “Reagan, anything, anything at all that you need or want, please. I’ll do it. I’ll give you anything.”

Reagan didn’t answer. I chanced a glance up and saw she looked pensive. I went to speak and stopped, waiting. The silence kept spiraling until I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Rea?”

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist torturing you a little,” she said with a laugh, and I sagged on the bed, shaking my head. “All I want right now is some company. Here.” She winced and scooted over. “Sit up here. You look so uncomfortable like that. And take off your boots.”

I followed her instructions, a little thrown, but more than okay with them. As I sat next to her, Reagan leaned into me, and I automatically put my arm around her.

“This okay?” I asked gruffly.

“Lukas Swiftlore, you remove that arm, and I will hurt you,” Reagan said, and I chuckled. “You said anything, and I have to say, I like this game.”

“More than the wager?” I teased.

She tossed her head. “We’re never speaking of that again. Winning me in dice like a horse.”

“Who wins a horse in a craps game? Mafiosi guys?”

“Or cowboys. Luke, I do have something I want,” Reagan said, and I sat up straighter. “I want to talk, about this, and everything. Clear the rest of the air, when I’m back on my feet.”

“Sure,” I said, thinking that I had been planning on doing that anyway.

“And you already said it,” Reagan said with a yawn and stretched an arm across my torso, snuggling in more. I gazed down in surprise at her dark hair. “But I’d like for you to take care of me.” A small, evil laugh escaped her. “Be at my beck and call.”

“As you wish, Lady Grace.”

Sitting there, with Reagan draped across me and in my bed, together, I was only starting to realize the depths of my feelings for this woman. How she drove me crazy, but made me laugh, and how somehow, even as I worried about her, I worried less.

Also, if today had taught me anything, or at least reaffirmed what I’d hoped…

Reagan wasn’t afraid of me.

She was afraid for me.

The thought overwhelmed me. I held her closer, my eyes drifting shut and my body relaxing in a way it hadn’t in a very long time. Reagan let out a contented noise and then promptly fell asleep.

Laughing to myself, I didn’t stir or move an inch.

I had nowhere else to be.