Bloodrose

ONE

I COULD HEAR each heavy beat of my heart. The sound seemed to ebb from my veins out of my body, traveling across the empty space between the shimmering portal and the dark house.

He was there. I had no doubt. Though I couldn’t see him or even catch the slightest hint of his warm, smoky scent, I knew he was there. Waiting for me. But why? Why would Ren come to this lonely place?

My gaze traveled over the shadows that twisted as clouds slid over the moon, reminding me too much of wraiths. I stared at the sky so I didn’t have to look at the houses, or the skeletal frames of those left unfinished. Time had been frozen here. The mountain slope, cleared of trees to make way for a cul-de-sac and ring of houses, whispered of a past unreachable. The sprawling Haldis Compound-or what would have become the Haldis Compound-lay before me, composed of luxury homes built exclusively for the pack Ren and I would have led together. Our pack’s den. Our home.

I turned to face Adne, trying to hide my shivering. “Stay out of sight. You’ll hear me if there’s a problem, and if I come running, you’d better open a door fast. No matter what, don’t come looking for me.”

“Deal,” she said, already backing toward the forest. “Thank you, Calla.”

I nodded before I shifted into wolf form. Adne melted into shadows. When I was satisfied that no one would be able to detect her, I began to stalk toward the house. Its windows were dark, the structure silent. For all appearances it looked empty, but I knew it wasn’t.

I kept my muzzle low, testing the air. We’d arrived upwind from the compound, which left me feeling vulnerable. I wouldn’t be able to pick up the scent of anyone hidden by night’s veil until I was almost on top of them. My ears flicked back and forth, alert, listening for any sign of life. There was nothing. No rabbits dashing for cover under brush, nor did nocturnal birds flit through the sky. This place wasn’t just abandoned; it felt cursed, as if nothing dared tread within the boundaries of the clearing.

I picked up my pace, covering the distance to the house, leaping over snowdrifts, my nails scraping on rivers of ice that had frozen on the pavement. When I reached the front steps, I stopped to sniff the ground. My eyes followed fresh paw prints that became boot tracks, climbing the steps. Ren’s scent was sharp, new. He’d arrived only slightly before we had. I slowly moved up to the porch, shifting forms to open the screen door. I carefully turned the doorknob. The house wasn’t locked. I let the door swing open. It made a slight creak but nothing else. I slipped inside, closing the door and turning the dead bolt. If someone did come after me, I wanted warning of their arrival.

I shifted back into wolf form, moving through the front hall, tracing Ren’s scent to the main staircase. I tried not to cringe as I passed the entrance to the dining room. A beautiful oak table, probably antique, was surrounded by chairs. Four on each side, one at the head and one at the foot. Ten. It was too easy to imagine meals there. Our pack together, laughing, teasing, belonging.

I climbed the stairs slowly, wishing my nails weren’t clicking on the hardwood. When I reached the second floor, I paused, listening. The house only answered with silence. Still trailing Ren’s path through the house, I passed three bedrooms and a bathroom, until I reached the door at the end of the hallway. My heart slammed against my rib cage as I entered the master suite.

Only a few steps in, I stopped. Wisps of moonlight curled through the room, illuminating the stately bed, piled with satin pillows, draped in jacquard linens, boasting tall ebony posts at each corner. Matching armoires sat against one wall. On the adjoining wall, a mirrored vanity and settee faced the bed.

Ren’s scent was everywhere. The smoke of aged wood lingering beneath a chilled autumn sky, the smooth burn of well-worn leather, the seductive ribbon of sandalwood. I closed my eyes, letting his scent pour over me, filling me with memories. It was a moment before I could shake my ruff, sending the past scurrying as I tried to focus on the present.

The light from outside filtered in through tall bay windows with a seat nestled beneath them. Curled beneath the windows, partly cloaked by shadow, was Ren. He was lying very still, head resting on his paws. And he was staring at me.

We stayed like that, frozen, watching each other, for what felt like an eternity. Finally I forced myself to take a step forward. His head snapped up, hackles rising. I heard his low, threatening growl. I paused, fighting off my instinct to snarl at him.

He stood up, still growling, and began to pace back and forth below the window. I took another step forward. His fangs flashed as he barked a warning. I dipped my head, not wanting to give any sign of aggression. It didn’t matter.

Ren’s muscles bunched and he lunged at me, knocking me onto my side. I yelped as we slid across the wood floor. His jaws snapped just above my shoulder as I rolled away. I scrambled to my feet, dodging when he lunged again. I felt the heat of his breath and his fangs brushing against my flank. I whirled, snarling, and faced him, bracing myself for his next attack. When he struck for the third time, but his teeth didn’t cut my flesh, I realized what was happening. Ren didn’t want to attack me. He was only trying to scare me off.

Squaring my shoulders, I barked at him. Stop!

I met his dark eyes, which were on fire.

Why won’t you fight me? He bared his teeth.

I tracked him, turning in a slow circle as he stalked around me. I didn’t come here to fight.

This time when he lunged, I didn’t move. His muzzle was inches from mine, and he snarled, but I didn’t flinch.

You shouldn’t be here if you aren’t ready to fight.

I’m always ready to fight. I showed him my own teeth. But that doesn’t mean I want to.

His rumbling growl slowly faded. He lowered his head, turning away from me and walking back to the window, where he stared up at the sky.

You shouldn’t be here.

I know. I padded toward him. Neither should you.

When he turned to face me, I shifted into human form.

The charcoal wolf blinked and then Ren was standing in front of me, gazing down at my face.

“Why are you here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” I said, biting my lip. The fact that he whiled away the hours in an empty house built for us was not the reason I’d come here. But it was hard to push those thoughts away. Standing in this room, on this mountain, in this house, everything felt like it was about us. I could barely remember the outside world. The Searchers. The war.

His eyes flashed, but then went hollow.

“It’s a good place to be alone.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. The words felt like ice in my throat.

“For what, exactly?” His smile was razor sharp, and I cringed.

“Everything.” I couldn’t look at him, so I walked through the room, staring at nothing in particular, moving past furniture with empty drawers. A bed no one would sleep in.

“Everything,” he repeated.

I was across the room, standing on the other side of the bed, when I turned around, staring at him.

“Ren, I came to help you. It doesn’t have to be like this.”

“Doesn’t it?”

“You don’t have to stay here.”

“Why would I leave?” he said. “This is my home.” His fingers grazed the satin surface of the bed linens. “Our home.”

“No, it’s not.” I gripped one of the bedposts. “We didn’t choose this; it was chosen for us.”

“You didn’t choose this.” He walked to the other side of the bed. “I thought we would have had a good life here.”

“Maybe.” My nails dug into the wood varnish. “But it wasn’t really a choice. Even if it might have been good.”

“You never wanted it. Did you?” His fists were clenched at his sides.

“I don’t know,” I said. My heart was beating too fast. “I never asked myself what I wanted.”

“Then why did you run?”

“You know why,” I said softly.

“For him,” he snarled, grabbing a pillow and hurling it across the room. I stepped back, forcing my voice to remain calm.

“It’s not that simple,” I said. The moment he mentioned Shay, something inside me stirred. I still felt sad, but stronger. Shay hadn’t just changed the path of my life. He’d changed me. No, not changed. He’d helped me fight for my true self. Now it was my turn to help Ren do the same.

“Isn’t it?” He glared at me.

“Would you have been able to kill him?” I asked, holding Ren’s gaze. “Is that how you wanted to start a life with me?”

Part of me didn’t want to know the answer. Could he really want Shay dead? If I was wrong about Ren, coming here was a terrible mistake. We would fight and I would have to kill him. Or he would kill me.

He bared sharp canines at me, but then he sighed. “Of course not.”

I slowly moved around the bed. “That’s the only life they would have offered us. Killing the people who need to be helped.”

He watched me approach, remaining stone still.

“The Keepers are the enemy, Ren,” I said. “We’ve been fighting on the wrong side of this war.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I know the Searchers now,” I said. “I trust them. They helped me rescue our pack.”

His smile was harsh. “Some of it.”

“The others made their choice.”

“And I didn’t?” His eyes were obsidian dark, angry. But I didn’t think his rage was directed at me.

When I closed my eyes briefly, unable to take in the torrent of regret that flooded Ren’s stare, I was back in Vail, in a cell deep beneath Eden. I remembered the desperation in Ren’s voice, the fear in my own.

“They said I have to.”

“Have to what?”

“Break you.”

I shuddered as the memory of slamming into the wall and tasting blood in my mouth rushed over me. Forcing myself back into the room, I caught Ren’s slightly sick expression and I knew his mind had been in the same place.

I swallowed, clasping my hands so they wouldn’t shake. “I hope you didn’t.”

He didn’t answer, but gazed at me.

“I don’t believe you wanted to hurt me,” I said. “And I don’t think you would have, even if Monroe hadn’t-”

My words dried up in my throat. It was true, but that didn’t take away the memory. The horror of those moments had been etched on my bones.

“I wouldn’t have,” Ren whispered.

I nodded, though I wasn’t sure I believed it. What mattered now was getting him out of here and away from the world that twisted him into someone who could hurt me. He started to lift his hand, as if to touch my cheek, but then let it drop back to his side.

“Did the Searchers send you to find me?”

“Sort of.”

His brow shot up.

“Monroe wanted to find you,” I said.

Ren’s jaw tightened. “The man my-the man Emile killed.”

I noticed the way he’d stopped himself. He didn’t want to call Emile his father.

“Ren.” I reached out, taking his hand. “Do you know?”

His fingers gripped mine. “Is it true? Did Emile kill my mother?”

I nodded, feeling tears slip from my eyes.

He pulled his hand away, fisting his fingers in his dark hair, pressing his temples. His shoulders began to shake.

“I’m so sorry.”

“That man.” Ren’s voice cracked. “That man, Monroe. He’s my real father, isn’t he?”

I watched him, wondering how he’d put it all together. “How did you know?”

Not much time had passed between the fight in Eden’s depths and this strained moment where I stood looking at Ren. I’d known him since we were both pups, but I felt like in the last twenty-four hours, we’d aged decades.

Emile began to laugh. Ren still crouched between his father and the Searcher, his charcoal eyes blazing as he watched Monroe lower his swords.

“I won’t hurt the boy,” Monroe said. “You know that.”

“I guessed it,” Emile said, eyes flicking to the snarling young wolves. “Make sure he doesn’t escape. It’s time for Ren to avenge his mother.”

“Ren, don’t! He’s lying. It’s all lies!” I shrieked. “Come with us!”

“She’s not one of us any longer,” Emile hissed. “Think of how she’s treated you, how she turned her back on all of us. Taste the air, boy. She stinks of the Searchers. She’s a traitor and a whore.”

He glared at me and I stumbled back at the livid fire in his eyes. “Don’t worry, pretty girl. Your day is coming. Sooner than you think.”

I jerked sideways when Connor grabbed my arm and tugged hard. He pulled me toward the unguarded door.

“We can’t leave him!” I shouted.

“We have to.” Connor stumbled into me as I fought to free myself but quickly regained his balance, locking his arms around me.

“Let me fight!” I struggled, desperate to go back but not wanting to hurt the Searcher who was dragging me away.

“No!” Connor’s face was like stone. “You heard him. We’re gone. And if you go wolf on me, I swear I’ll knock you out!”

“Please.” My eyes burned when I saw Ren’s fangs gleam and my breath stopped when Monroe dropped his swords.

“What is he doing?” I cried, dodging when Connor tried to grab me again.

“This is his fight now,” he said through clenched teeth. “Not ours.”

Ren jumped back as the swords clanged on the ground in front of him. Though his hackles were still raised, his growl died.

“Listen to me, Ren,” Monroe said, crouching to meet Ren at eye level, not looking at the other two wolves bearing down on him with cruel slowness. “You still have a choice. Come with me and know who you really are. Leave all this behind.”

Ren’s short, sharp bark ended in a confused whimper. The other three wolves continued stalking toward the Searcher, undeterred by their enemy having abruptly laid down his arms.

Connor’s arm swung around my neck, catching me in a painful headlock.

“We can’t watch this,” he snapped, slowly wrestling me out of the room.

“Ren, please!” I shouted. “Don’t choose them! Choose me!”

Ren turned at the desperation in my voice, watching Connor pull me through the doorway. He shifted forms, staring bewildered at Monroe’s outstretched hands, and took a step toward him.

“Who are you?”

Monroe’s voice shook. “I’m-”

“Enough! You’re a fool, boy,” Emile snarled at Ren before smiling at Monroe. “Just like your father.”

And then he was leaping through the air, shifting into wolf form-a thick bundle of fur, fangs, and claws. I saw him slam into Monroe, jaws locking around the unarmed man’s throat, a moment before I was whipped around.

Ren didn’t look at me when he spoke, ripping me free from the blur of memories. “When he laid down his swords, I thought he was crazy. Maybe suicidal. But there was something about his scent. It was familiar, like I knew it.”

I watched as he struggled to speak. “But what Emile said. I didn’t understand at first. Until he… until Monroe was bleeding. The scent of his blood. I knew there was a connection.”

“He loved your mother.” My tears ran so hot I could have sworn they were scoring my cheeks. “He tried to help her escape. A group of the Banes wanted to rebel.”

“When I was one,” he said.

“Yes.”

Ren sat on the bed, his face buried in his hands.

“Monroe left a letter.” I knelt in front of him. “He wanted us to bring you back.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Ren said.

“How can you say that?”

He lifted his face. The ragged expression on his face felt like claws in my chest.

“Where would I belong, Calla?” he asked. “I don’t have a place in that world. Even if my mother tried to go there and my father used to be there. Both of them are gone. Dead. Dead because of the life I do belong to. There isn’t anything that links me to the Searchers. I’d only be an enemy to them.”

I understood his feelings too well. We’d both lost so much. Our pack had been torn apart. Our families broken. But there was still hope. The Searchers proved themselves to me when I fought beside them. They weren’t so different from Guardians. We were all warriors, and we’d shed blood for each other. Our enemies had become friends, and the wolves could find a new home among the Searchers. I believed that, but I needed to make Ren believe it too.

I grabbed his hands, squeezing his fingers tight. “You do have a link to the Searchers.”

“What?” He was startled by my fierce words.

“Monroe has a daughter,” I said. “Her name is Ariadne.”

“He has a daughter?” Ren asked.

“You have a sister. A half sister.”

“Who’s her mother?” He stood transfixed, a flurry of emotions racing through his eyes.

“A woman who helped him when he was mourning Corrine,” I said. “But Adne’s mother is dead too.”

I bowed my head, thinking of how many people this war had destroyed. I pushed the grief away, trying to focus on Ren. “She’s two years younger than us. And she’s the reason I’m here.”

“She’s the reason,” he said.

“Yes,” I said, frowning as he scowled. “We should go.”

“You should go,” he murmured. “They want Shay and you. Even with a sister, I don’t fit into that equation.”

His words were like a slap in the face.

“It’s not enough.” He looked at me sadly. “She’s a Searcher. I’m a Guardian. What am I without a pack?”

My stomach lurched. How often had I asked that very question of myself? The pack was the essence of an alpha. We were meant to lead, to bond with our packmates. Take that away, and life lost its meaning.

His eyes were on me. “What do you want?”

“What?” I stared at him.

“Can you give me a reason to go with you?”

“I already have,” I said, quivering as his words sank in.

“No,” he said, leaning toward me. “You’ve given me reasons, but not your reason.”

“But-” My words were hushed, shaky.

His fingers traced the lines where my tears had fallen. It was a light touch, barely brushing my cheek. But it felt like flames chased each other across my skin.

“Give me a reason, Calla,” he whispered.

I gazed at him. Blood roared in my ears. My veins were on fire.

There wasn’t any doubt in my mind as to what he was asking. But I couldn’t give him what he wanted.

Ren’s dark eyes were full of pain, a pain for which he thought I was the only salve.

“Ren,” I whispered. “I want-”

And then I was leaning over him, my cropped hair brushing against his cheeks as I bent to kiss him. Our lips met and I felt like I was diving into oblivion. The kiss grew deep, immediate and hungry. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist, molding my body against his. Our kisses were so full of need, so long, so fierce that I could hardly gasp for breath. He laid me on the bed. Our bed.

His hands slipped beneath my shirt, stroking my stomach, sliding up, pushing aside my bra. I moaned and bit his lip, reveling in the full press of his weight against me as our bodies began to move together.

With each touch of his fingers my skin came alive, crackling like tinder under a lit match. Burning away fear. Burning away sorrow. Burning away loss.

I heard my own cry of pleasure as his mouth followed the path of his hands, and I struggled for thought in the face of torrid sensation.

I shouldn’t be doing this. I can’t be doing this.

My mind reeled as I called up the image of Shay. He’d been the one to open this world to me. His hands, his body had set my soul on fire for the first time. I’d wanted him so much, and at that moment I was sure Ren was lost, that he’d chosen the Keepers’ path, I’d drowned my grief by giving in to the flood of desire for Shay.

But what if Ren hadn’t chosen? What if we’d left him behind too soon? What if Monroe had been right?

When I’d been faced with encounters like these with Ren in the past, I’d been restrained by the Keepers’ Laws, always afraid to give myself over to the passion he stirred inside me.

I loved Shay. I had no doubts about that. But I couldn’t deny the powerful reaction I had to Ren, to how much he wanted me. I wondered if there was a bond between us that couldn’t be broken, forged from our shared pasts, born out of the pain of our life as Guardians. Was that bond stronger than the new love that had sprung up between Shay and me?

Ren’s hand slipped between my thighs and I shivered. My body knew what was coming and it screamed for more. If I’d had any notion that being with Shay would have smothered the allure of Ren’s caress, it was swept away in that moment. Through my night in the garden with Shay, I’d had my first taste of lovers’ secrets, and I was intoxicated with wanting to know the ways Ren would bring my body to life. And I wondered if giving him that pleasure would somehow take away the horrors he’d been dealt because of me. His touch pulled me back in time, into a past where we were together as it was always meant to be. Where my mother was alive and my brother wasn’t broken.

His lips were on mine again. I twined my fingers in his dark hair.

“I love you,” he murmured, briefly breaking the kiss. “I’ve always loved you.”

My heart skipped a beat. “I-”

It was like Shay was there, whispering in my ear.

You loved him.

Yes.

But not the way you love me.

I love you.

Shay. I’d only ever said those words to Shay. I didn’t want that to change.

What the hell am I doing? I loved Ren. I still loved him. But this place, these intimate ghosts that held me in this room, on this bed, murmuring of past promises and stolen dreams, none of it was my life now. Lingering here, no matter what my feelings, only kept us from escaping a fate we hadn’t chosen for ourselves.

My pulse was racing. Ren kissed me again, but I felt like I was in the arms of a restless spirit that haunted me and not the lover I wanted.

“Wait,” I whispered. “Please wait.”

“Don’t,” he said, moving his mouth over my neck. “Don’t do that, Calla. Don’t try to leave. Just be here. Be with me.”

Couldn’t he see it? There was no here. This place was empty, full of nothing but sadness and-if we lingered-death.

“Ren,” I said, pushing at him gently but firmly. I was beginning to panic but didn’t want to show it. Every word, every move had to be chosen with the utmost care. If I said the wrong thing, I might send Ren running back to the Keepers. While I couldn’t be with him the way he wanted, not here, not now-maybe not ever-I wasn’t going to lose him either. “It’s not safe.”

“What?” He straightened, blinking at me. “Oh. Oh, of course. Look, Calla, I’m sorry about the other girls. I know that must be strange for you, and it wasn’t fair, but I swear I was always careful. I’m completely healthy. It’s safe.”

I stared at him and then burst into laughter.

“I’m not lying,” he said, looking slightly injured by my outburst.

“No,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “I believe you.”

“Good.” He smiled and leaned in for another kiss. But I squirmed away; the passion that had caught me off guard when I’d first found Ren wouldn’t snare me again. This place was dangerous for both of us.

“No,” I said again. “I meant it’s not safe because the people who built this house want me dead. We’re using time we don’t have. We need to go.”

“Not yet.” He reached for me. “We aren’t in danger. No one comes here. Not ever.”

His words made me shiver as I wondered how many times Ren had come here. How often was he forced to be a lone wolf rather than the pack’s alpha?

“Yes, yet.” I sidestepped to dodge his hands. “Adne’s waiting out there. Your sister.”

Ren’s expression transformed, desire and frustration giving way to amazement.

“My sister,” he murmured. I made a mental note of his reaction, which I might need again. Ren’s alpha instincts-his need to claim me-could be diverted by Adne. She was the family he truly needed. His sister was the only link to a past that offered him salvation from the brutality of Emile. From the pain of knowing his mother had been killed by the Keepers and that he’d never known his real father.

“We can talk about this when we’re back at the Academy.” I hurried to fix my clothes, trying to ignore the guilt that tore through me. It was hurtling at me from both sides-I didn’t know what I’d say to Ren once we got out of Vail and I didn’t know what I’d tell Shay about what had transpired here. My own feelings were a jumbled chaos that seemed impossible to untangle.

“You’re not getting out of this,” he growled, pulling me against him. “I’m not letting you go. Not again.”

“I know,” I said, not resisting when he kissed me, wondering just how deep a hole I was digging myself into. But I was afraid that saying anything to counter Ren’s hopes would make him change his mind about coming with me. I couldn’t let that happen.

“Good.”

I felt him smile through the kiss.

We left the bedroom, hurrying down the stairs. When we reached the front door, he paused, turning to look at his surroundings.

“It’s a shame,” he said. “It really is a nice house.”

“There are more important things in life than houses,” I said, reaching for the doorknob.

He put his hand over mine.

“There’s one more thing I need to tell you before we go,” he said.

“What?” I asked in a clipped voice, wanting to get back to a safe place and away from the seductive spirits that lingered here.

He leaned down, lips brushing my cheek as I opened the door. “I like your hair.”

TWO

BACK IN WOLF FORM, I quickly led Ren away from the graveyard of homes. As we neared the tall pines ringing the site, I skidded to a halt. Lifting my muzzle, I tested the air, wanting to be sure we hadn’t been watched or followed.

I already told you no one comes here. Ren nipped at my shoulder. Ever.

I looked at him, my skin crawling beneath my fur as I again wondered how often Ren had been to this place. Ren’s life had more loneliness than I’d ever imagined. I hoped I was about to fix that.

She’s just ahead.

I trotted toward the forest.

Adne came out to meet us, approaching cautiously. Her eyes were wide as they settled on Ren.

“All good?” she asked in a light tone, but her voice cracked a little.

I shifted forms. “Yeah.”

Ren tilted his head, looking at Adne. He padded toward her, sniffing the back of her hand when she extended it. I wasn’t sure what he’d recognized, but his tail wagged. He shifted into human form.

“Ariadne, this is Renier Laroche.” I sidestepped so they were facing each other without me in between.

She smiled and said, “Adne.”

At the same moment he said, “Ren.”

They blinked at each other, then laughed. I looked back and forth between them. Ren’s tall, muscled form was not anything like Adne’s. She was a wisp of a girl whose stature belied her ferocity. But they shared something. My chest burned when I realized they both looked like Monroe. In the short time I’d spent with the Haldis Guide, he’d proven himself the best leader I’d ever known. We would all miss him in the fight to come.

“I’m glad Calla convinced you we’re the good guys,” Adne said, her voice more confident now.

Ren nodded. “I’m sorry about your father.”

“Our father.” She hesitated and then took a step forward, reaching her hands toward Ren.

He wrapped her small, slender fingers in his. They stood like that for a moment. Then Adne leaned into him, resting her head against his chest.

Ren looked startled, but he quickly wrapped his arms around her.

He had to clear his throat before he could say, “You know, I always thought it would be cool to have a kid sister.”

“Be careful what you wish for.” Adne looked up at him and grinned. “I’m kind of a brat.”

Ren laughed.

I couldn’t help myself. “She’s not kidding.”

“Thanks, Lily.” Adne glared at me, but she was laughing too. “What do you say we continue trading insults where we’re less likely to be in mortal peril?”

“She calls you Lily?” Ren was gazing at her, astonished.

I groaned. “She does.”

“Great minds.” He flashed a wicked smile at me before winking at her.

Maybe this reunion wasn’t such a good idea after all. But something inside me that had felt hollow since the attack on Vail was giving way to a comforting warmth. Hope.

“So how are we getting out of here?” Ren asked. “Do you have a car? Or a snowmobile?”

Adne pulled the skeans from her belt, flipping them high in the air and catching them again. “Just wait till you see your sister’s mad skills.”

When Adne first started to weave, Ren shifted back into wolf form, ears flattened, snarling at the lights that sparked through the air. She paused, glancing over her shoulder.

“This is a lot harder if you interrupt me. I don’t want to have us landing in Greece instead of Italy.”

Ren’s bark was full of surprise. I smiled at him and he changed forms.

“Italy?” He stared at me. “That’s a joke, right?”

“No joke,” I said. “I haven’t seen much yet, but what I have seen is beautiful. It’s on the Mediterranean coast.”

“I’ve never seen the ocean,” he murmured.

I threaded my fingers through his. “I know.”

Adne turned from admiring the finished portal and looked at us. Her eyes flitted to our clasped hands and she threw me a questioning glance. I averted my gaze. Her question was one I couldn’t afford to answer.

“You ready?”

That question I could answer. “Let’s go.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Ren asked as I pulled him forward. I didn’t know if he was dragging his feet to give me a hard time or if the portal actually made him nervous.

“We only lose one out of every five travelers,” Adne quipped, stepping behind us and shoving us into the light.

On the other side of the portal Ren was gripping my hand so tightly it hurt. I shook my fingers free, flexing them.

“Sorry.” A blush slid over his cheeks. “Where are we?”

“My room,” Adne said, closing the portal.

“This is the Academy,” I said. “It’s where the Searchers live and train.”

“The Searchers live in Italy?” Ren frowned.

“Sometimes.” Adne looped her arm through his.

“Where are you going?” I asked, hurrying to chase her through the door.

She called over her shoulder, “We need to tell Anika about this right away.”

“Really?” I was already nervous about introducing Ren to the Searchers. Working our way up to Anika struck me as a more appealing idea.

“Trust me,” Adne said, sensing my anxiety. “The sooner we tell Anika about this, the less trouble we’ll be in. Hopefully.”

“Great,” I muttered.

Ren was staring at the walls of the Academy just as I had when we’d first arrived. His body was tense; I could see the tightness of his shoulders and back. I couldn’t blame him. This place reeked of Searchers-and theirs was a scent we’d been trained to recognize as a threat.

When we reached the doors of Haldis Tactical, Adne squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and knocked.

I heard muffled voices on the other side of the doors; a moment later one door opened, revealing a Searcher I didn’t know. She eyed us suspiciously.

“We need to speak with Anika,” Adne said before the woman could question us.

“We’re in the middle of Council,” the woman said stiffly.

“I’m aware of that.” Adne straightened to her full height, which wasn’t very tall, but she managed to appear menacing. “This is an emergency. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

The woman pursed her lips. “I’ll inquire as to whether she’ll see you.”

“She’ll see us.” Adne pushed past the now-sputtering woman. I threw her an apologetic glance and darted after Adne, taking Ren’s hand and pulling him into the room with me.

Anika and about a dozen other Searchers were gathered around the table. I didn’t recognize most of them. Connor was there, as were Ethan and Silas. They were all watching Logan. The Keeper leaned against the table, looking far too much at ease for my liking.

“Like I said.” Logan took a drag from his cigarette. “I don’t know that I can reveal the location of Shay’s parents without further reassurance about my own safety.”

Anika was rubbing her temples. “Would you please put that out? I don’t want to ask again.”

“I’m simply acting according to my current circumstance.” Logan blew a smoke ring, scenting the air with tobacco and cloves. “I thought prisoners were always granted a cigarette before their execution. And since you all keep threatening to kill me, I believe I should always have this small luxury afforded to me as long as my life is at risk. Don’t you?”

Ren and I growled in unison when Logan gazed at us, a slow smile curving one corner of his mouth. He began to laugh, shaking his head as he took another drag off his cigarette. Silas stared at us openmouthed. Connor stood up as Adne approached the table. He frowned at her, but then his eyes found Ren and me.

“Holy shit,” he breathed before turning to Adne, his voice quickly becoming a shout. “What the hell did you do?!”

Adne balked but gave him a steely look. “What I had to.”

“Ariadne, what’s the meaning of this?” Anika had risen.

Adne opened her mouth to respond, but before she could speak, a snarl ripped from the room. I heard a crash as a chair was thrown back, smashing into the bookshelves behind the table.

“What is he doing here?” Shay’s face was like a thundercloud. He didn’t bother to come around the table. He was over it in a single leap, leaving me no time to launch into an explanation.

The air around Shay rippled, tinged with the rusty hue of his rage. I caught the scent of Ren’s own fury, sudden and violent, as he stepped in front of me, blocking Shay’s approach. It was an act of possession, as unmistakable as if he’d thrown a gauntlet at Shay’s feet. Ren was an alpha, and he was reclaiming his place.

He dropped to the ground, a massive charcoal wolf snarling at the golden wolf, who bared his own fangs, bristling, muscles bunching as he prepared to strike.

I tried to speak, but it was as if an invisible hand was strangling me, my words choked off by own rising horror.

What have I done?

The Searchers were drawing their weapons. Swords slid from sheaths; daggers flashed in the sunlight. Crossbows took aim. At Ren.

Shay launched himself forward, slamming into Ren. They tumbled across the floor, a mass of teeth and claws slashing out from golden and dark bodies. The furious struggle moved with such speed as the rival alphas tore at each other that their figures blurred, becoming a play of light and shadow. Fortunately for Ren’s sake, the lock of their limbs around each other made it impossible for any of the warriors to take a clear shot.

I smelled the blood before I saw it. Metallic and rich, its scent filled the air. Shay twisted, sinking his teeth into Ren’s shoulder. Ren snarled, his own jaws clamping down on Shay’s foreleg. They slid along the floor, a crimson trail staining the marble beneath them. And then they broke apart, struggling to catch their breath, bracing for the next attack. Ren howled as Shay hunched down, ready to leap back into the fray. The ring of Searchers took aim at Ren once more.

“No!” Adne’s cry broke through their growls. She threw herself between the two wolves, shielding Ren with her body. Startled, he yelped, but stopped himself from snapping at her.

Shay was equally thrown by Adne’s appearance. He scrambled back, still growling, but staring at her. He stalked sideways, angling for a new line of attack. Adne draped herself over Ren like a cloak. The dark wolf snarled in aggravation, trying to shake her off.

“Calla!” Adne stared at me, eyes wide. “You have to stop this!”

Connor strode across the room to Adne’s side. I expected him to drag her off Ren, but instead he turned around, adding his body as another buffer between her and the Searchers. He drew his swords.

“I suggest everyone else put their weapons away. Now.”

Logan was grinning, taking slow pulls off his cigarette.

Anika’s eyes narrowed. “I trust there is a reasonable explanation for this chaos?” She was looking at me.

I nodded, walking forward until I stood between the two wolves. “Shay, Ren.” I gave an icy glare to each of them. “Shift. Back. Now.”

They both hesitated, hackles raised, gazes moving from me to each other.

“Now,” I said, flashing my fangs.

Ren shifted first. Adne toppled over when the tall boy bumped into her. Connor grabbed her arms, looking like he was about to shake her in frustration. Instead he just held her, eyes alight with anxiety.

Shay was still glaring at Ren when he shifted.

They were both breathing hard. Stains darkened the shredded fabric at Ren’s shoulder, while Shay clamped his hand around his bloodied forearm.

The room was full of the scent of their blood and the sharp tang of the Searchers’ fear. The warriors had lowered their weapons, but I knew it would take only the slightest provocation to spur them into attack. Shay was their only hope at winning this war. If Ren posed a threat to the Scion, the Searchers would kill him without hesitation. I had to convince them we needed Ren’s help.

I took a deep breath, putting as much strength into my words as I could muster. “Anika, I apologize for the intrusion. Adne and I had to take care of something. A vital rescue if this alliance is to succeed.”

I was grateful Adne managed not to gape at me.

Anika arched her eyebrow. “You ran your own clandestine operation?”

A slow smile pulled at my lips. “I apologize for the surprise. I didn’t trust that I could share my plan with such an untrustworthy creature in our midst.” I glanced at Logan, whose grin vanished. My confidence bloomed.

“A rescue, you said?” The suspicion in Anika’s gaze was less pronounced, but still there.

Adne cleared her throat. “Yes, Anika. A rescue warranted by my father’s sacrifice.”

At the mention of Monroe’s death, murmurs passed among the Searchers. Worried glances, uneasy shifting of weight stirring their bodies.

“Your father was killed in combat,” Anika said. “A terrible loss, but casualties are a way of life here.”

“It was more than that.” Adne took Ren’s hand. He looked surprised but smiled at her. Shay’s brow knit together as he watched Adne draw Ren toward Anika.

“Anika, I’d like you to meet Renier Laroche. My brother.”

Gasps filled the room. Shay stiffened, glancing at me with wide eyes. I nodded. The fury in his eyes swirled with newborn curiosity, giving me a breath of hope. Shay had liked Monroe, respected him. And he’d quickly befriended Adne, who was desperate to keep her brother safe. Maybe playing on those sympathies could lessen his hatred of Ren. I had to reassure him. It was ripping me up inside that Shay might think I’d betrayed him by going to rescue Ren. When I thought about the way I’d coaxed Ren away from Vail, I felt even worse.

“Ren, this is Anika.” Adne ignored the flurry of whispers and disbelieving stares. “Anika is the Arrow. She leads the Searchers.”

“Sorry to crash your party,” Ren said, eyeing the gathered Searchers warily.

Anika frowned and looked at Connor. “The letter.” Her hand rested on her coat pocket.

Connor’s face was grim. “Yes.”

Anika stared at Ren, then glanced at Adne with a sigh. “It was a fool’s errand.”

I bristled. “No, it wasn’t.”

The Arrow turned to me. “The son of the Bane alpha is here. His presence risks everything. His first move was to attack the Scion and-”

I snarled, cutting her off. “He is not Emile’s son. He is nothing like Emile.”

This time the weapons drawn were aimed at me. Shay and Ren both growled, moving beside me. Thankfully they ignored each other, focusing their attention on the Searchers.

Anika held up her hand. “Speak your mind, Calla.”

My heart slammed around my chest. This was it. This was the moment that would make or break everything, pulling Guardians from our past and hurling us into the future. And it all rested on my shoulders. Could I bear this weight? Was I truly the alpha I’d always wanted to be?

“He is Monroe’s son.” I pointed at Ren. “And he’s your best hope to win this war.”

“He’s what?” Shay’s voice was deadly quiet.

“I’m what?” Ren kept his own voice to a whisper, but the look he’d thrown me was a bit alarmed.

Damn. That was the problem with impromptu plans. You didn’t have any time to weigh their consequences.

Ignoring them, but knowing I’d have to deal with Shay’s jealousy later and that I still had a lot to explain to Ren, I kept my focus on Anika.

“The Scion is your weapon,” I said, touching Shay’s uninjured arm. His skin was hot under my fingers and I could feel his pulse jumping. I wanted to pull him close to me, but I didn’t dare. Not yet. “But you still need an army.”

“Your turncoat pack is hardly an army,” Logan said. “And Emile’s bastard certainly hasn’t shown himself to be a leader.”

I was forced to let go of Shay so I could grab Ren’s hand, holding him back when he snarled at Logan.

“And why are you here, Logan?” I glared at him. “Because you lived up to your father’s expectations?”

He pulled his gaze from mine and I smiled, knowing I had him. “You lost your inheritance, didn’t you? Failed in your duty? That’s why you had to run. Your little kingdom has crumbled, hasn’t it?”

Logan didn’t look at me. He lit another cigarette.

“He has a point, Calla,” Anika said, though her expression showed that she had no love lost for the Keeper either. “Your pack isn’t an army.”

“But we can bring you one,” I said.

“How?” One of the Searchers I didn’t know stepped forward. His shaved head and hooked nose gave him a hawk-like appearance. When he spoke, I heard traces of a French accent. “Monroe is dead. The potential for an alliance died with him.”

I gave the sour-faced Searcher a hard look as I walked up to Logan, taking the Keeper’s shirt in my fist. “Tell me, Logan. How many Banes did your father kill when Corrine’s betrayal was discovered?”

Logan’s eyes bulged. “How can you expect me to know about that? I was a child!” He gaped at me, disbelieving that one of his former servants would now threaten him.

My blood was singing as the peppery scent of his fear filled the air. “I can hardly imagine that Efron Bane would leave his only son so poorly prepared as to not know his future pack’s true history.”

Logan’s face was growing paler by the second. “But… I…”

“Answer her.” Ethan had come to my side. I heard his dagger hiss out of its sheath.

“Twenty-five,” Logan said. “Twenty-five traitors were killed.”

“That wasn’t so hard, now, was it?” Ethan smiled.

I snarled and Logan backed against the table.

“How many wolves knew that Emile wasn’t Ren’s father?” I asked.

“None.” Logan ground his teeth. I slammed him against the tabletop.

“None that we knew of,” he whimpered. “But there have been rumors since the revolt. It was no secret that Corrine despised her mate. My father kept the truth quiet, but Emile’s temper gets the best of him at times. He wanted to kill the child. He was ordered not to.”

I glanced at Ren, whose face was drawn. I wished I could spare him the pain of this knowledge, but I had to get answers out of Logan.

“Would you say that the Bane pack lives contentedly under Emile’s leadership?”

Logan swallowed hard. “Perhaps not.”

I let him go, turning to Anika. “What’s happened in Vail will have thrown the packs into chaos. The Nightshades aren’t loyal to Emile Laroche. They’re loyal to my father. My family.”

Connor was nodding. “Good girl.”

“What are you proposing?” Anika asked.

“Guardians need alpha leaders. The bonds of the pack are what make us fight so well. The Keepers made a serious mistake by killing my mother and deposing my father. We’ll exploit that mistake.”

“Don’t they know their packs well enough to avoid such an error?” the hawk-faced man asked.

It was Ren who answered. “Their pride makes them believe their rule is absolute.”

Anika turned to Logan, who had scrambled to his feet. He glared at me, but gave a reluctant nod.

“And you believe that you and this boy can be the new alphas?” Anika’s steely gaze was on me. “Both packs will follow you?”

“We are the alphas. One Bane, one Nightshade. The packs will follow us. We can unite them and lead them against the Keepers.” In truth I wasn’t at all sure they would, but it was the only thing I could think of that might convince the Searchers to welcome Ren.

“There are those still loyal to Emile,” Logan said, rubbing his throat where my tight grip had left bruises. “You won’t sway them all.”

I kept my focus on the Arrow. “We can sway enough. Enough to make a difference.”

“It’s Monroe’s plan, Anika,” Connor said. “This is the revolt he wanted to stage from the beginning.”

“I know,” she said. “Very well.”

She crossed the room to stand before Ren. “Welcome, Renier. Your father was a good man.”

“No.” Shay’s eyes were wild. His knuckles were white as he clenched his fists.

“Shay, please,” Adne said. “This was always the plan Monroe hoped for.”

“I can’t go along with this,” he said. “It’s not what Monroe wanted. It’s what the Keepers wanted, forcing them to be together. Calla doesn’t belong with Ren.”

Ren bared his teeth at Shay. “She does. She always has.”

“I will kill you before I let you touch her.” The air around Shay was rippling again. “You aren’t the only alpha and you know it.”

My breath caught in my throat. Shay understood. His wolf instincts were teaching him faster than I ever could have anticipated. He was the interloper, and he was ready to challenge Ren for rule of the pack.

“Give it your best shot.” Ren smiled, just as ready to accept that challenge.

Shay stepped forward, only hesitating when Anika drew her sword, barring his path.

“Someone throw a bucket of ice water on these two,” Connor said.

“Calla,” Adne said. “Make them stop.”

The truth of her words was like a slap in the face. I could stop them.

Pushing past Anika, who sheathed her sword, I stood between Shay and Ren.

“Listen to me, both of you.” I placed a hand in the middle of each boy’s chest; their heartbeats thrummed against my fingertips. “This ends now.”

“Of course it does,” Shay said. “You have to choose.”

“He’s right,” Ren said, looking past me to glare at Shay. “Choose, Calla.”

“I won’t choose,” I said. “Not yet.”

Their hearts both skipped a beat in sync, revealing their shared uncertainty. A wave of giddiness washed over me. I was the alpha, and I didn’t have to submit to anyone. I finally was able to follow my own path, a destiny I could discover for myself.

“I don’t need a mate,” I said, measuring my words. “I need soldiers. You two are the best I know. I need you. Both of you. Will you fight for me?”

Neither boy answered. They glared at each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

I let my words drop into their silence like stones into a deep well. “Will you fight for me?”

Shay frowned. “Always, but-”

“No buts,” I said, turning to Ren. “Will you?”

“You know I will.” His eyes were wary.

“Ren leads the pack. He’s the key to cementing this alliance with the wolves still in Vail,” I said. “Shay gets his hands on the Elemental Cross and leads the Searchers into battle.”

I glanced at Anika, who nodded.

“What about you?” Shay asked.

I smiled. “I’m the one who makes sure we all get along.”

“Good luck with that,” Ren growled.

With a quiet laugh, I moved my hands from each of their chests to grasp their wrists.

“I don’t need luck,” I said. “You’re going to swear to me that you’ll help and not hurt each other. You’re about to make a blood oath.”

“Uh… what?” Shay stared at me.

“Until this war is over, winning it is all that matters.” I pulled on them until they were standing face-to-face, inches apart. I could feel the tension pouring off each alpha. The scent of sunlight and thunderstorms swirled with the smoke of autumn bonfires and sandalwood.

“Heal each other,” I said.

“No,” Ren said.

“I need my warriors whole. You made each other bleed.” I ignored Ren’s bewildered expression. “Now undo the damage.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Shay grimaced.

“I can’t begin to tell you how much I’m not kidding.” I stepped back, folding my arms over my chest. “Until I choose a mate, I’m the only alpha here; I’ve made it clear that I’m not making a choice right now. You two answer to me. Prove your loyalty. Heal each other.”

“I don’t believe this.” Ren groaned, but he bit his arm and held it out to Shay.

“No way.” Shay started to back off, but I snarled.

“Do it.”

“Damn it, Cal. You’re heartless,” he said, biting his own wrist.

“I know.”

Shay and Ren glared at each other, eyes locked as they drank each other’s blood, bonding them as packmates even though they still despised each other.

“Nicely played, alpha,” Logan murmured.

As much as I wanted to level a stony gaze on the Keeper, I couldn’t stop my own smile. Something inside me was running free, wild and howling its joy.

THREE

“SINCE THAT’S SETTLED, can we talk about winning this war?” Connor sheathed his swords.

From the way Ren and Shay continued to glare at each other, I knew their rivalry was far from settled. But this uneasy partnership was the best I could hope for at the moment. At least they weren’t shredding each other’s flesh anymore.

I turned to face Anika. “No more secret meetings where I’m not invited. If you want wolf warriors, you include us at every turn. Strategy and execution.”

The hawk-faced man snorted but kept silent when Anika shook her head at him.

“That’s fine, Calla,” she said. “Shay had already insisted on that point before you arrived.”

I smiled at Shay, but he was still glowering at Ren. I wished he would look at me. If he could just meet my eyes, maybe he’d see how hard this was for me. How much I wanted to pull him aside, to be alone with him and explain all of this.

Anika turned back to the table. Large maps covered its surface.

“Logan’s informed us that the Keepers are going on the offensive,” she said. “Purgatory was just the beginning. We’re running out of time.”

“In what way?” I asked.

“Time to collect the pieces,” Logan said. “We’ll be expecting you, of course.”

He’d lit another cigarette and recomposed his nonchalant attitude.

“If they’re waiting for us at the sites, we don’t stand a chance,” Anika said. “Any element of surprise we can still hold is vital. We need to move on each of the sites quickly, one strike following immediately after the other. No waiting. No delays.”

“You need someone to run interference.” I turned in surprise at the sound of Ren’s voice.

Anika raised her eyebrows.

Ren shrugged. “Like Calla said. Shay’s leading the Searchers. I lead the wolves. Let us do what we do best: fight.”

Connor whistled. “You want to open another front?”

“Not another front,” Ren said. “Two teams. A decoy and the real team sent in after.”

“It would pull attention off the sites.” Adne grinned at her brother. “The stealth team would go in for retrieval while the strike team did the fighting.”

Ethan nodded. “That could work.”

“Any team drawing that kind of attack would suffer heavy casualties,” the hawk-faced man objected.

“Who are you?” I barked, frustrated by his constant sniping.

“Pascal is the Tordis Guide,” Anika said. “His team would be joining the attack that Ren’s proposed.”

She gestured around the room. “The group gathered here are the strike teams from each of the outposts. You already know the Haldis team, but Tordis, Eydis, and Pyralis have gathered at my request to plot our course. For this effort to succeed, we must work in concert.”

I gazed at the Searchers. Assembled in Haldis Tactical, the core team members looked weary but alert. It made sense: they were staring death in the face. We all were. I met Pascal’s scornful gaze and my heart ached for Monroe. The Tordis Guide clearly didn’t share the same empathy for Guardians that Monroe had encouraged.

“Pascal’s right,” Ethan said. “The decoy team would suffer heavy losses. But the way I see it, we’re not getting out of this war without heavy losses no matter what.”

“We need those pieces,” Anika said. “We can’t finish this without them.”

Pascal’s lips thinned, but he inclined his head.

Shay cleared his throat. “Ren’s right. I think two teams is the way to go here.”

“Agreed,” Anika said.

“But I have a request,” Shay continued, throwing a cold glare at Ren.

“And what is that, Scion?” The Arrow watched him, her eyes narrowing.

“The stealth team will be backing me, right?” he asked.

“Of course,” Silas piped in. “We know now that you’re the only one who can remove the pieces from their resting places.”

The Scribe winced when Connor fixed a stony gaze on him.

Shay nodded. “Then I want to pick my team.”

“Excuse me?” Anika frowned.

“I need to fight beside people I trust,” he said. “I’m not going into the sites with strangers.”

“We’ve been fighting this war much longer than you have, child.” Pascal’s face was mottled by rage. “How dare you presume-”

“Oh, put a lid on it, Pascal,” Ethan said. “I’ve seen this kid fight. You don’t want to mess with him. Let him pick his own team.”

“It’s not unreasonable for you to select your teammates, Shay,” Anika said. “But would you object to the Guides for each outpost weighing in on your choice? They’ll be taking heavy casualties in order to protect your team.”

“If they want,” Shay said quickly. “But I’m only talking about the retrieval team. And my companions are coming from Haldis… which no longer has a Guide.” He glanced at Adne, sadness shadowing his face.

I was a little surprised to see Ren put his arm around Adne when Shay spoke. She looked up at him with a weak but grateful smile.

“Do you really think you have the skill to make these decisions?” Pascal glared at Shay.

“Calla and I found Haldis on our own.” Shay bared his teeth at the Guide. “So yeah, I think I have the skill.”

Pascal spluttered at Shay’s words. Shay and I shared a quick, conspiratorial smile. It was amazing how almost dying from a giant mutant spider attack could end up being a good memory. But it was. And not only because we’d killed the beast and retrieved Haldis. That was the day Shay had become a wolf to save my life. I realized I held that knowledge close, treasuring its intimacy along with the joys of our first days running together through the wilderness near Vail. Before our world had fallen apart, and running for joy had been displaced by fleeing for our lives. After all that had happened, it seemed strange to think of him as once having been just human-though as the Scion he’d never been ordinary.

Shay caught me watching him and arched his eyebrow. A blush surprised me as its heat bit into my cheeks, but I answered his quizzical gaze with a smile before I looked away from him. I’d never been much of a daydreamer, but thoughts of Shay-particularly of the moments we’d shared alone-captured my mind a little too easily.

Connor laughed. “Nice job, kid. I’ve never seen Pascal speechless before.”

“I believe this issue is settled,” Anika said. “Pascal will assemble the decoy team for deployment tomorrow morning. What are you envisioning for the stealth team, Shay?”

“Small,” Shay said, running a hand through his hair. “Adne weaves the door, putting us at the entrance to the cave. I’m assuming it’s another cave?”

Silas nodded.

“Connor and Ethan as Strikers. Calla, Nev, and Mason backing them up.”

“We’re integrating the Guardians this soon?” Pascal asked. “We don’t know that we can trust them.”

“You can trust them,” Ethan said. I stared at him, hardly believing what I’d just heard.

“You’re going to trust us too,” Ren said, offering Pascal a cold smile.

Pascal grimaced, but didn’t bother to argue with Ren.

“The decoy team was my idea,” Ren continued. “I’m not missing its trial run.”

Fear needled my skin. Ren’s plan was a good one, but the Searchers were right. The decoy team would be hit hard. They wouldn’t get out of the fight without losses. I didn’t want Ren to be one of them.

“And Sabine, one of my packmates who’s here,” Ren said. “I’m guessing she’ll want in too.”

“She’s only just recovered from her injuries,” Ethan said. “I think she should stay behind.”

Ren laughed. “Have you seen how we recover? I don’t know what happened to her, but if she’s had pack blood, she’s fine. She’ll be more than ready for a fight.” He glanced at Logan. “Besides, if we’re going up against the Keepers, I’d like to see you try and leave her behind.”

Logan shuddered.

Ethan didn’t respond, but his mouth set into a hard line.

I was surprised by how quickly Ren had settled into his role here. We were surrounded by lifelong enemies, but he’d taken command without hesitation. He was a natural leader, confident and strong. I could see it burrow into Shay. Each time Ren spoke, Shay bristled.

Shay was a leader too, taking control of this war in which he’d play such a vital part. And he wasn’t ceding pack rule to Ren. By taking some of our packmates, including me, with him to retrieve Tordis, Shay had made it clear he’d be leading wolves, not just Searchers.

How would the pack respond to Ren’s return? Would any new allegiance they felt for Shay dissolve? Nev and Sabine had loved Ren. Ansel and Bryn had thought he was a good alpha. But I also remembered what Sabine had said. Ren made a mistake. If he wanted you so much, he should have come here. He should have been here to fight for you. He was here now, but was it too late? I wondered if she’d still feel loyalty to her former alpha.

Thoughts of my pack, of our bonds, brought me back to the wolf I was the most worried about.

“What about my brother?” I asked Anika. “What have you decided about him?”

“Nothing’s been decided yet,” Anika replied carefully.

“It wasn’t his fault.”

“According to Logan, your brother betrayed our location to the Keepers of his own volition. He wasn’t forced to do so.”

“You don’t understand what they did to him. They destroyed his wolf. They broke him. They promised they would make him whole again. He had no choice!”

As much as I didn’t want to think about it, I wondered if I wouldn’t have done the same thing had I been in Ansel’s place. I couldn’t imagine life without the ability to shift. The wolf was who I was. Without that part of me I would feel like I was nothing. Just like Ansel did.

“We’re taking that into consideration,” Anika said.

“How could Ansel have told the Keepers about the Denver hideout?” I protested, growing more desperate. I couldn’t make my brother a wolf again, but at least I could try to set him free. I turned pleading eyes on Connor. “You saw what he was like. He didn’t have any strength left.”

Connor looked at Logan, who smiled cruelly at me.

“He didn’t need strength,” Logan said. “All he needed was a simple invocation. A spell that revealed the location of the supplicant. The only thing your brother had to do was read the words aloud.”

My throat closed as I remembered two nights before, when I’d tried to turn Ansel. Tried and failed.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out the crumpled paper.

“Ansel, what is that?” I asked, trying to get a better look.

“Leave me alone.” His eyes rested on the dirty scrap for a moment before he gripped it in a tight fist, pressing it against his chest. “It’s from Bryn, okay? I managed to hang on to it while the Keepers had us separated.”

He’d lied to me. There had been no poem. No last words of love from Bryn. Only betrayal scribbled on a slip of paper. Logan watched me, still smiling while the truth twisted like a knife in my belly.

Shay’s hand was on my shoulder. I let myself lean into him, the reassurance of his touch easing my fear about Ansel’s fate. “They won’t hurt Ansel. I made them promise.”

A growl rumbled behind us. “Could you not touch her?” Ren didn’t make it sound like a question.

“Bite me,” Shay snarled.

“Stop it. Both of you.” I rubbed my throbbing temples, pulling away from Shay even though I wanted him to wrap his arms around me and find comfort. If I was going to referee this game, I had to stay neutral. I could see now while it might make me powerful, at times it would leave me miserable.

“We did give our word, Calla,” Anika said. “No harm will come to your brother. But we also can’t risk freeing him.”

“But you’ll let him come and go at will?” I pointed at Logan.

“If you haven’t noticed, everyone in this room is armed,” Anika replied coolly. “Logan was escorted here from his cell. He’ll be escorted back. Make no mistake. He’s a prisoner, not a guest.”

“Thanks, that’s lovely,” Logan said, blowing smoke rings into the air.

I glared at Logan, wishing I could bite off those fingers and let him try to hold a cigarette without them. As much as I wanted to convince the Searchers they shouldn’t trust him, I knew I was right about Logan. He was here because he’d lost his place among the Keepers. Logan was just like his father: he’d only ever been interested in power. Somehow he thought the Searchers were his way of getting it back. I just couldn’t figure out what angle he was playing.

Anika surveyed the map on the table. I knew the conversation about Ansel was over. Fury bubbled up inside me. If I couldn’t fight for him, at least I could fight. Edging forward to peek at the map, I saw mountainous terrain.

“That’s where we’re going?”

She nodded. “Mürren, Switzerland. At dawn. We’ll send in the decoys first. The cave is here. We’ll draw the Guardians away from the entrance and then send in the stealth team.”

“You up for early morning bear baiting, Pascal?” Connor laughed.

For the first time Pascal cracked a smile. “Of course, mon frère. It’s what we do best.”

“Huh?” I frowned at Connor.

Connor cocked his head at me, then his eyes went wide. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Oh, man.” Shay glanced from me to Ren. “The other Guardians are bears?”

“What?!” Ren and I exclaimed in unison. I looked at him. The other alpha’s face mirrored the shock I felt.

“Just the Guardians of Tordis,” Silas replied. “You really didn’t know about the other Guardian forms?”

My skin felt too tight. I wanted to shift and bolt from the room.

Ren managed an answer. “No. We didn’t.”

“Was that bear that attacked me when we met a Guardian?” Shay asked me.

“No,” I said, still shaken. “That was just a grizzly.”

Not once in my life had I considered the idea that other forms of Guardians might exist. Our wolf packs were closely knit. We were proud of our ferocity and of our skill as warriors. The Keepers made us feel like we’d been chosen. That we alone could serve them in the war. More lies.

Ren threw me a puzzled glance. “You saved him from a bear?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I folded my arms across my chest. “I want to know more about these other Guardians.”

Silas puffed up. “It’s quite genius, actually. Keepers created Guardians naturally suited to each environment they would protect. Wolves in Colorado. Bears in Switzerland.”

A stocky, dark-haired Searcher from a team I hadn’t been introduced to smiled grimly. “Y las yaguares en Tulúm.”

“Sí. Las yaguares.” Silas shuddered. “La muerte en las sombras.”

I didn’t speak Spanish, but I knew he was describing another type of Guardian. My stomach twisted. I’d always felt that we were special somehow. Even if we were servants, I’d felt a sense of privilege of lives marked by exception. Now it turned out that we were just convenient.

The shock of learning wolves weren’t the only Guardians created by Keepers wasn’t the only thing gnawing at me. Everything about this scenario-the strategizing, the strike teams. Haldis Tactical was the place where Searchers planned their attacks. Where they’d planned their attacks on Vail. I didn’t have any doubts about whose side we should be on, but I wondered if I would ever feel at ease here.

Silas was still talking. “It would be the perfect system, except for the-”

“If you call them a sin against nature again, I will end you.” Ethan’s hand was on his dagger’s hilt.

“Look who’s a born-again Guardian evangelist now.” Connor laughed. “What’s up with that?”

A blush slid up Ethan’s neck. “Nothing. They’re our allies. That’s all.”

“Sure it is,” Connor said.

Ethan swore and turned his back on Connor.

FOUR

BRYN HAD BEEN RIGHT about Ansel’s quarters. They weren’t so much a cell as a sparsely furnished bedroom. Though from looking at Ansel, you’d have thought he was back in the Keepers’ dungeon. He was curled up in the window seat, head pressing against the glass.

In the distance you could see the sea lapping at the shore, but the idyllic setting had no effect on Ansel’s blank stare. I could see now why the Searchers posted outside the door were so relaxed. Their ward seemed to have no interest in escaping, and even if he did escape, he had the strength of a wet noodle. My bones ached as I watched him. Why did it have to be Ansel who suffered?

Bryn sat next to him, stroking his hair. I was surprised to see Tess sitting on the opposite side of Ansel, a plate of oatmeal cookies in her lap. As they sat opposite each other, Tess looked almost like Bryn’s older sister. Tightly curled ringlets crowned each of their heads; Bryn’s bronze locks glinted in the sun while Tess’s blue-black curls took on an almost violet hue. The former Haldis Reaper turned mother-like caretaker of my little brother watched Ansel with a kind but worried expression. Mason stood near her, munching on a cookie. Nev and Sabine were a short distance apart, speaking to each other in soft tones.

Nev saw us first. His mouth opened and closed, but rather than speak, he jerked his chin at Sabine. She turned. And hissed when she saw Ren.

“You.”

Ren didn’t move when she flew at him. Her fists pounded his chest. “How could you?! How could you let that happen to us?!”

With considerable effort Nev pried Sabine off Ren. She struggled before turning to bury her head in Nev’s shoulder, sobbing.

“Sorry, man,” Nev said, stroking Sabine’s ebony hair.

Ren shook his head. “I deserve it.”

I couldn’t decide if I agreed with him or not. When Nev and Sabine had left the Bane pack, Ren stayed behind. He was their alpha. His duty was to lead and protect them, but he’d thrown his lot in with Dax, Cosette, and my old packmate, Fey. Their betrayal stung. Did Sabine blame Ren for how she’d suffered? Did she think it was his fault Dax and Cosette were still with the Keepers?

Bryn didn’t leave Ansel’s side, but she gaped at us. “Oh my God. Ren.”

Mason hesitated before coming to Ren and catching him in a quick hug. “Good to see you, man. In one piece and such.”

“You too, Mason.”

“How?” Sabine sniffled, still clinging to Nev. “How is it that you’re here? I thought you left us.”

Ren looked at the floor. I had to help him. Even if I still felt uneasy about why Ren had briefly chosen the Keepers over us, he was here now and we needed him. A broken, grieving alpha was no good to our cause.

“He was manipulated,” I said, and he smiled weakly, keeping his eyes downcast. “Ren is here because he has a sister who wanted to save him.”

“Okay,” Bryn said. “Now you’re not making any sense at all.”

“Adne,” Nev murmured, peering at Ren. “Right? I knew there was something about that girl.”

I nodded. “Her father was Monroe-the Searcher who led our rescue mission. He was also Ren’s father, not Emile.”

“Heavy,” Mason said.

“Tell me about it,” Ren said.

The sound of ceramic shattering brought all our eyes to the window. Tess was standing. Shards of the broken plate lay at her feet. She crossed the room, taking Ren’s face in her hands.

“You’re Monroe’s son?” Her eyes were brimming. “Corrine and Monroe’s son?”

Ren nodded.

“Thank goodness Adne isn’t alone.” Tess laughed despite her tears, wrapping her arms around Ren, who looked startled but not upset by the gesture. “Monroe would be so, so grateful that you’re here.”

“Thanks,” Ren said, his own voice getting rough. “I’m sorry I didn’t know him.”

“Me too, sweetie,” she said, wiping away her tears.

Bryn was still frowning. “Monroe and Corrine? I don’t understand. How would that even be possible?”

“It’s kind of involved, but it’s possible. We’re gonna have to leave it at that,” I said. “We’ve got other things to do now that Ren’s here.”

“What other things?” Mason asked. “Please tell me they’re things that involve kicking some Keeper ass.”

I grinned. “That’s exactly the kind of things they are.”

“Hold on,” Bryn said. “I’m all for fighting the Keepers, but do the Searchers want our help?”

“They rescued us, didn’t they?” Mason rocked back on his heels.

“I suppose.” Bryn’s eyes wandered to Ansel, who was still staring off into the distance. I was already counting her out of this fight. She was only concerned with helping my brother. And that was fine with me.

Tess spoke up. “Monroe and Corrine first met because a group of Banes planned to rebel against their masters. We were going to help them. Unfortunately the plan was discovered.”

“The Keepers killed my mother,” Ren finished. His eyes had gone flat.

“Shit.” Nev kicked the edge of the rug. “They are just total shit.”

“No kidding,” Mason said.

I didn’t want us to get lost in our own rage against the Keepers. “There have been other, older alliances between Guardians and Searchers, but none of them could last.”

“Because no one can defeat the Keepers.” Sabine glared at Tess.

“Until now.” Tess didn’t falter under Sabine’s cold eyes.

“Shay can stop them,” I said quietly. “That’s why they wanted to kill him.”

“Says who?” Sabine snapped. “That stupid prophecy Connor and that punk-rock brain trust, Silas, were talking about? What if it’s all lies? Nothing we’ve heard up to this point about our past has been true.”

“Let it go, Sabine,” Nev said, squeezing her shoulder. “These are the good guys. They saved us, remember?”

Sabine’s lip trembled. “Go to hell.” She shoved Nev away and ran from the room.

Mason shook his head. “She’s not seeing the silver lining, is she?”

“She’ll be okay,” Nev said, watching the door close again. “It’s a lot to take in.”

Ren nodded, though the tight set of his jaw told me he was worried about her.

“We may need to rethink our teams,” I said.

“Yeah,” he said. “Looks that way.”

Mason tugged on the collar of his shirt. I glanced around at my packmates, realizing they were all dressed in Searcher garb. I suddenly wanted to laugh.

Mason gave me a quizzical look and I shook my head.

“Where’s Shay?”

“Still with the Searchers in Haldis Tactical,” I said. “They keep him pretty busy.”

He fidgeted, coughing before he spoke again. “So, uh, Ren’s here… and Shay’s here?”

“Yes,” I said.

Bryn glanced nervously at Ren and then me. “Who’s our alpha?”

“I am.” I waited for Ren to object, but he didn’t.

She chewed on her lower lip. “And Shay and Ren?”

“Are backing me up.”

Ren sighed, but he nodded. “We’re backing her up.”

Mason grinned. “She is woman, hear her roar.”

Bryn giggled. “Awesome.”

My answering smile was so broad it hurt a little.

The door opened and Anika entered, followed by Adne. A moment later Shay walked in. As soon as he joined us, the air crackled as if it were filled with ozone. Ren moved to the other side of the room, putting as much distance between himself and Shay as possible. I appreciated the safeguard, forcing myself to stay in place rather than going to Shay like I wanted to. Nev and Mason exchanged a glance and didn’t hide their grins fast enough.

“If you two make any bets, I will find out about it,” I said. “And you’ll be sorry.”

Mason managed to look abashed. Nev shifted his gaze from my pointed stare with a sly smile.

Adne followed Ren, looping her arm through his in a casual gesture, but I saw her fingers lock around his arm, steadying him as he glared at Shay.

Anika’s face was stern as she surveyed our small Guardian pack. “I trust you’re aware of our shifting circumstances.”

We all nodded. Anika smiled, turning to Tess.

“I’m told you have a proposal for me?”

Tess straightened. “It’s about us orphans.”

“Us orphans?” Anika’s brow furrowed.

My chest tightened as I looked from Tess to Ansel. She was right. Tess and Isaac had been posted in Denver, at the Searchers’ hideout. Now that Purgatory had burned, Tess couldn’t do the Reapers’ work of smuggling goods under the Keepers’ noses. She’d lost her home; her job; her partner, Isaac; and her lover, Lydia. All because we’d shown up and turned her world upside down. If anyone should hate us, it was Tess, but all she’d done was treat us with kindness, my brother especially.

“Me and him.” Tess gestured to Ansel. “We’ve both lost our place in the world.”

“His status is still being considered, Tess,” Anika said. “You know that.”

“Of course,” Tess said. “But I think it would benefit everyone for him to prove himself useful.”

I watched her, suspicion nestling against my spine. Ansel wouldn’t be exploited in any way while I had a say in it.

“What did you have in mind?” Anika asked.

“My outpost is gone,” Tess said. “But I still have training for basic Academy tasks. I can help in the garden and in Eydis Sanctuary. I’d like to take the boy with me. Teach him some of our ways.”

“Do you really think that’s wise?” Anika paced across the room.

“I think it would be unwise to leave him unoccupied.” Tess’s eyes slid over Ansel’s arms. His skin was crisscrossed with bright red hatch marks. Older cuts were healing; newer scratches were just beginning to scab over.

“He’ll never be unsupervised,” Tess said. “I’ll take full responsibility for his whereabouts.”

“I’d want to send a Striker to accompany you as well,” Anika said.

Tess nodded. “If you think that’s necessary.” She looked at Ansel again, her face making it clear that she didn’t think he was a threat to anyone. As I gazed at my brother, or rather at the shell of a person that he now seemed to be, I wondered how anyone could see him as dangerous. Then again, he had been swayed by the Keepers to betray us. Brute strength wasn’t the only threat to worry about.

“I’ll consider it,” Anika said.

“Don’t bother,” Ansel said without turning his face from the window.

Tess didn’t react to his dead voice, but Bryn twined her fingers in his. “Come on, An. You should go with Tess. Doing stuff will take your mind off…” Her words trailed away.

“I should just stay in here,” Ansel said, pulling his hand out of Bryn’s grasp.

Her lip trembled. I wanted to grab my brother and shake him for treating her with such carelessness.

Anika frowned, peering at my brother. “You’d prefer to stay confined?”

“I’m where I belong,” he said.

Anika beckoned to Tess. “Let’s discuss this elsewhere.”

The two of them left the room. Bryn was still trying to coax Ansel into conversation. When he finally pushed her away after several attempts, she got up and went to Mason’s open arms. He hugged her while she quietly cried.

Ren came to my side, which made Shay growl. He quieted when I cast a warning glance in his direction. I wished I could do more. I hadn’t had a chance to speak to Shay alone since Ren had returned, and the longer I had to wait to steal away with him, the more I worried that Shay would misinterpret all of this.

“I think I might be able to do something here,” Ren murmured in a low voice so only I could hear him.

“Like what?” I asked.

“He needs to know you can make the wrong choice and still deserve a second chance.” A painful lump formed in my throat at Ren’s words. The alpha was the only one who could relate to Ansel’s betrayal. Maybe he could make a difference.

I nodded, raising my voice to address the others. “Let’s give Ansel some time to think about it.”

“Actually, that would be great,” Adne said, smiling at me. “’Cause I’m here to give you an official tour of our digs. You haven’t seen how awesome it is here. You’ve pretty much just seen the dining room and your quarters, right?”

“I went to the healers’ place with Ethan and Sabine,” Nev said. “The Sanctuary?”

Adne nodded. “So Nev knows where to find Band-Aids, but not much else. How about it? You guys wanna see the place so you don’t get lost?”

“I’d say yes,” Shay said, meeting my eyes. “Considering the fight we’re going to provoke tomorrow morning, this might be your last chance.”

FIVE

HAVING SEEN PARTS OF IT from the inside, as well as approaching it from the outside, I’d known the Academy was huge. Still, its enormity was overwhelming as we followed Adne through the sparkling halls. She started at the top, the floor where we’d spent most of our time since arriving. The third level of the Academy held most of the residences plus the areas unique to each wing: Haldis Tactical, Tordis Archives, Eydis Sanctuary, and Pyralis Apothecary. Fortunately, Adne had remembered that it was better to describe the Apothecary to my packmates than subject them to its discomforts. The second floor housed the Academy’s training rooms: scholarly, mystical, and combat, plus a few more residences. The first floor offered plenty of storage for weapons and gear. It also featured the dining hall, kitchens, and baths for each wing of the Academy.

“Why are they so far away from our rooms?” Bryn had asked. She’d always been concerned about access to bathrooms. It made sense as she spent more time in bathrooms than any person I knew “putting on her face,” as she’d say. I wondered if Bryn was already experiencing separation anxiety from her extensive makeup collection.

Adne was still explaining about how the kitchens and baths were on the lowest level because it offered the easiest links to water and geothermal energy as we returned to the dining hall for the evening meal. The large room was already buzzing with activity. I spotted Tess, Connor, and Sabine gathered at a table. Ren was also with them, though I noticed he’d left a couple chairs empty between himself and Sabine. Apparently they hadn’t cleared the air about Vail yet. I stopped in my tracks when I saw that Ansel was sitting beside him.

“Oh!” Bryn’s hand flew to her mouth when she followed my gaze. Her eyes brimmed.

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. Ren had been right. Ansel was fidgeting, but there was more color in his face now than I’d seen since he first showed up in Denver.

Tess saw us and waved. My stomach was growling when we settled around the table. Within minutes tureens of spicy fish soup and heaping bowls of pasta were being passed around the table, as well as a bottle of lemon liquor Connor produced with a flourish. One sip of the bright yellow concoction had enough fresh lemon to bite into your tongue, followed by a kick that almost knocked me out of my chair.

“What is this?” Mason’s face was scrunched up.

“Limoncello.” Connor laughed. “Local specialty.”

“Wow.” Sabine licked her lips with a shiver. “That’s… something else.”

“Something good,” Nev said, dishing up another plate of pasta.

“Corrupting the kids already?” Ethan had approached the table. I looked up at him in surprise. I’d been so busy scarfing down food that I hadn’t noticed he was missing from our group.

“What I do best,” Connor said, passing the bottle around again. “Wanna pull up a chair? Really good eats tonight. We should advocate for a longer stay in Italy.”

The addition of Guardians to the Haldis team made for a crowded table, even with the number of Searchers we’d lost in the past several days.

“Taking into account what’s about to go down, I’d hope the food is good,” Ethan said. “Every meal could be our last.”

“Thanks for ruining my appetite.” Bryn stuck out her tongue at him and then smiled at Ansel.

Seeing him briefly smile back at her had more of an effect on me than the limoncello. I crossed my fingers, wishing with every ounce of my being that Ansel really was coming back to us.

Sabine scooted her chair over, making space for Ethan beside her. “Here you go.”

Ethan looked at her and then away. “Actually, I’m not hungry. Just saying hello.”

Without another word, he turned around and left the dining hall.

“Is he always so grumpy?” Mason asked with noodles dangling from the side of his mouth.

Nev elbowed him with a chuckle. “You have no manners whatsoever, huh?”

“I’m a fierce beast, man,” Mason said, wiping tomato sauce from his chin. “What can I say?”

“Ethan’s still a little uneasy around Guardians,” Adne said. “Don’t take it personally.” She was slurping her soup with abandon. It looked like everyone had been getting tired of whatever the Iowan menu had been. What she’d said about Ethan wasn’t clicking in my mind. Ethan had certainly been open with his hatred when I’d first shown up, but lots had changed since then-including his attitude. Even this morning he’d defended us to Silas. So why would he say that and then refuse to eat with us? It didn’t make any sense. My questions vanished when Bryn passed a bowl of luscious fresh fruit.

While the rest of us continued to stuff ourselves, Sabine was picking at her food. She spent about ten minutes making patterns with her pasta before she stood up, mumbling something about being tired, and hurried out of the room.

Watching her go, Connor laughed and shook his head.

“What is it?” Adne frowned.

“Nothing,” Connor said, but he was grinning like a fool.

Suspicion buzzed in my ear like a gnat. Unable to quell my curiosity, I excused myself from the table. I wasn’t sure why I was following her, but something irresistible pulled me after Sabine’s jasmine trail. Plus if I’d tried to eat another bite, I probably would have passed out.

Sabine had followed the curving corridor to the first level’s entrance to the garden. I had an eerie sense of déjà vu, having taken this very path myself last night. I peered through the glass doors, but the garden had bloomed into its full, lush glory in the two days since the Weavers had moved the Academy to Italy. Hanging vines, fruit trees, and thick hedges blocked my view.

I slipped into the garden, shifting into wolf form so I could prowl the paths on silent paws. Guilt nipped at my heels, but I couldn’t fight off the suspicion that something important was about to happen in this garden-something that affected my pack. As an alpha, I had to know.

Moving along the path, close to the hedges so I wouldn’t be spotted, I followed what I thought was the sound of voices. Quiet, but persistent, like the bubbling sound of a distant stream. I’d almost reached the heart of the garden when I caught sight of two figures. Their bodies gleamed ghostly silver in the bright veil cast by the near-full moon. I tucked myself against the trunk of the nearest tree, letting the shadows cloak me.

Sabine paused in front of the stone bench where Ethan was sitting. Ethan continued to sharpen his dagger; he didn’t look up.

“You can’t do it forever, you know,” she said.

“Do what?” He kept his eyes down; the dagger’s blade seemed to glow in the moonlight.

“Ignore me.”

“It’s nothing personal.”

“Of course it is.”

His shoulders hunched slightly at her words, but he didn’t speak.

A rustling of the bushes on the other side of the tree caught my attention. I had to bite down on my tongue so I wouldn’t yelp when a brown wolf slunk from the undergrowth.

Calla?

I bared my teeth at Shay. What are you doing out here? As much as I wanted time alone with Shay, this wasn’t how I’d envisioned it.

I was going to ask you the same thing. When you left dinner, I thought you might be sick and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Then when I saw you go into wolf form outside the garden, I wondered what was up.

My ears flattened. Nothing. Get out of here.

He tilted his brown-furred head at me, green eyes curious and intent.

“I just want to talk with you.” Sabine’s words cut through the night air.

Ethan didn’t move; she stood silently. Waiting.

Shay’s ears flicked as her voice reached us. Is that Sabine? He took a step forward. And Ethan?

Get down! I nipped at his shoulder.

Hey! He bared his teeth, but a moment later his tongue lolled out. You’re spying on them.

I flashed my own canines. Don’t be ridiculous.

That’s a pretty pathetic attempt at denial, Cal. He turned and bellied back into the brush. Besides, there’s a much better hiding place over here. You’ll get spotted for sure where you’re standing.

I stared as his brown body disappeared into the dark foliage. A moment later I scuttled over the ground after him.

Our bodies pressed together amid the thick branches. I let myself snuggle into his fur, enjoying the way our scents blended in the night air. It reminded me of our first adventures together as wolves. Long night hunts after which we’d eat our fill and then curl up together for a nap beneath the shelter of a pine tree or tucked under the huge trunk of a fallen tree. Watching the golden brown wolf beside me, my heart twinged with longing for that freedom. The uninterrupted hours where the wilderness and the world belonged only to us.

Inch over a little more; I can’t see. I pushed my muzzle against his shoulder, making the excuse to wriggle even closer to him.

I knew you were spying. He edged farther into the hollow, nipping my jaw affectionately.

Be quiet; I want to know what’s going on. But as I peered at the pale silhouettes of Ethan and Sabine, I rested my head on Shay’s forepaws. He laid his chin on the back of my neck, giving my ear a playful lick.

Why do you care what they’re doing anyway?

Because it’s Sabine and Ethan.

Good point.

Ethan had finally lifted his chin to look at Sabine, whose hands rested on her hips as she watched him.

He sheathed the dagger and sighed. “Fine. What do you want to talk to me about?”

“I’d like you to stop avoiding me.”

“I’m not avoiding you.” He sat up a little straighter.

“Really?” Sabine smiled thinly. “You could have fooled me.”

Ethan stood up and walked along the path away from her.

Sabine’s bell-like laughter rang through the night air. “See, you’re doing it right now.”

He turned, shaking his head. “I’m not much for company. Particularly the company of wolves.”

“I see.” She followed his retreat toward the rosebushes, heavy with red blooms turned black by the shadows. “So that’s why you’re working so hard at it.”

He stopped and frowned at her. “I’m sorry?”

“You’re doing everything you can to stay away from me, even though it’s not what you want.”

His own laugh was harsh, but his words had an edge of fear. “Since when do you know what I want?”

“I know every time you look at me.”

Whoa. Shay scooted closer to the edge of the bushes.

Shhh! I nipped at his shoulder, but a heartbeat later I moved up beside him.

Ethan stood frozen in place. Sabine took another step toward him.

“Spending time with me isn’t a betrayal of your brother,” she said.

He jerked back. “How did you-”

“Tess told me,” she interrupted. “I think she’s concerned about you.”

“That’s none of her business,” he said, voice shaking. “She shouldn’t get involved.”

“I don’t think she wants to get involved.” Sabine’s voice curled like smoke in the night air. “That’s where I come in.”

He stared at her, wild-eyed, looking like a rabbit caught in a snare. She reached out and rested her palm in the center of his chest.

“I’m not so different from you, Ethan. No matter what you might think. Feel how your heart is racing?”

He stared at her slender fingers and nodded.

Her other hand grasped his and pressed it against her breastbone. She didn’t take her eyes off his face. “So is mine.”

A sound emerged from his throat, a sharp cry somewhere between pleasure and pain. Their two silhouetted bodies became a single, dark tangle of limbs when he reached out and pulled Sabine against him, kissing her.

A low chuckle filled my mind. That’s our cue. Let’s go.

But… I was staring at the entwined pair, entranced by the scene while knowing it wasn’t my place to watch any more.

Come on, Cal. Shay’s teeth gently grasped the ruff of my neck. Your questions are answered. Would you have been happy if anyone saw our night in the garden?

I fought the urge to snarl at him. I’m coming, okay, stop pulling me. I’m not a puppy.

Behind us, I heard Ethan’s low groan and I flushed beneath my fur.

See. Shay crawled from the brush in the direction of the garden’s entrance.

We stole from the garden on silent paws. When we were safely in the shadowed doorway, we both shifted forms and slipped inside the Academy.

“War makes strange bedfellows.” Shay grinned. “Good for them.”

“I guess.”

“You don’t approve?”

“It’s just a little weird.” I frowned. “A Searcher and a Guardian?”

“It’s not the first time,” he countered. “Monroe and Corrine-”

“Are both dead,” I interjected, still troubled by what I’d seen. I wanted to be happy for them, but the loves I’d seen here had all ended in horrible loss. And the battle of our lives was ahead. I was afraid for Sabine and Ethan. I was afraid for all of us.

“This is different,” he said. “Sabine isn’t stuck with the Keepers. She’s here, she’s safe, and she’s free to do what she wants. Probably for the first time in her life.”

I nodded slowly.

“Still worried?” His mouth crinkled as he watched my furrowed brow.

“I can’t help it.” I remembered Tess sobbing when Lydia had died.

His arms slipped around my waist. My hands came up against his chest, but just to rest near his heart, not to push him away. I curled my fingers in his shirt, pulling him closer.

“What are you doing?” I asked, noticing the sly expression on his face.

“Easing your mind,” he murmured, and bent to kiss me.

“Wait.” This time I did push him back. “We should go-”

What I’d intended to be an invitation to my room died on my lips when he became very still. His arms still encircled me, but I could have sworn he’d stopped breathing.

A sound like the blending of a cough and a growl bounced off the walls in the hallway behind me. Shay’s fingers dug into my hips and I knew who was there, watching us.

“Don’t let me interrupt.” Ren moved toward us slowly, stalking. “Never mind. I’d like to interrupt.”

Shay’s answering growl vibrated through my limbs. Still heady from our covert encounter in the garden, my instinct was to wrap my arms around Shay and warn Ren off with my own snarl. But those were instincts I had to ignore. I twisted out of his grasp, positioning myself between them.

“Truce, remember?” I bared my teeth at them.

“It doesn’t look like he’s playing fair,” Ren said.

“I’m not playing at all.” Shay laughed. “It’s not a game to me.”

Ren bristled. “You know that isn’t what I meant.”

“Stop it.” I put my hands up, making sure neither alpha took a step closer to the other. “Don’t do this.”

“I’d just like to understand what you were doing alone with him.” Ren didn’t take his eyes off Shay.

“Nothing,” I said. This was exactly why I’d wanted to get out of the hall and into my room, where we wouldn’t be seen. “We were talking, Ren. I can still talk to Shay alone.”

“It didn’t look like he was after conversation to me,” Ren said.

“He’s right.” Shay smiled wickedly.

“Let’s see what I can do about that pretty smile.” Ren lunged at him.

I swung around, slamming my fist into Ren’s chest. He faltered, glancing at me in surprise.

The wolf inside me howled in frustration. How was I supposed to keep these two from killing each other?

“I’m serious. You will not hurt each other,” I snarled. “Do not cross me.”

Shay laughed. “Nice jab, Cal.”

I whirled and kicked Shay in the stomach, sending him stumbling back against the wall.

“What the hell?!” he shouted, rubbing his abs.

“I’m talking to both of you!” My head was throbbing. “How do I make it more clear? Stop trying to gain an upper hand. You’re both being total jackasses. I can’t stand it.”

Shay winced and I regretted my words. My frustration arose from my inability to pursue my own desires as much as the chore of regulating their abundance of testosterone.

“She’s right,” Ren said.

Shay glared at him before turning his eyes on me. When I met his gaze, I stepped back, reeling from the pain I saw there.

“So what, then?” he asked. “Nothing that happened between us matters now? He’s here and all that is just over?”

“No, Shay…” The words were hard to push out as my heart rebelled against my mind. I saw flashes of the garden, was once again swimming in passion guided by moonlight. I felt the warmth of Shay’s skin against mine. I remembered waking wrapped in his arms only to be full of desire again at the simple sight of him sleeping beside me. Blood roared in my ears. “That’s not what I meant.”

“What happened?” Ren’s question was like a dam against the flood of memories.

Shay opened his mouth to respond, but my hard stare silenced him. He held my gaze for a long moment. My blood ran cold when I saw how much this exchange cut into him.

“Nothing,” Shay said, turning away. “Good night.”

I watched his retreat, the knot in my belly tightening until the pain was almost unbearable.

“What was he talking about, Calla?”

I forced myself to face Ren. When I met his dark, worried eyes, I shook my head.

“Leave it,” I said softly. “Please just leave it.”

His mouth set in a hard line, but he nodded. “Can I at least walk you to your room?”

“No,” I said, my voice trembling. “I think it would be better if you didn’t.”

I felt empty, and Ren was too good at reading my emotions. A part of me still couldn’t believe that he was here. That despite all we’d lost, he’d been saved. I wished I could tell him how much it meant to have him near me, how much strength I gained by knowing another alpha would be in this fight. But following that trail of thoughts would get me in serious trouble. If I let him play the role of comforter when I felt this vulnerable, I’d end up doing something foolish.

“Fine.” I saw the flash of anger in his eyes before he headed in the opposite direction from the path Shay had taken. “Sweet dreams, Lily.”

When they were both out of sight, I wandered, slightly dazed, back to the stairs, climbing slowly toward the third floor and my room. I wondered if sleep would come. Despite how weary my limbs felt after the chaos of battles and clandestine rescue missions, my mind was in a frenzy.

By not choosing a mate, I was forced to lead alone. Was I strong enough to do that? The freedom of solitude swirled through my veins, equal parts joy and terror. When I reached my room, I paused, staring at the door for several minutes, pretending I wasn’t glancing every few seconds at the next door along the hall. Shay’s door.

Swearing under my breath, I gave up trying to ignore the pull toward his room. I hesitated outside. The episode with Ren had been the worst kind of blunder. I’d alienated both of them, but I was more worried about how I might have hurt Shay. Would he still be angry? Did he know that I’d wanted to be alone with him ever since Adne and I came back from Vail? Would he still want me, knowing that I had to try to keep a balance between the two alpha males?

I knocked on the door, cursing my own lack of conviction.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Calla.”

He made me stand in the dark hall for at least two minutes before he opened the door. He was wearing a plain white V-neck T-shirt that offered a teasing glimpse of his chest muscles and light cotton navy pajama pants. I had a similar but slightly more feminine set of sleepwear in my drawer. Apparently they were Searcher standard issue.

“What?” His unfriendly tone told me I wasn’t forgiven for what had happened downstairs.

“Can I come in?”

He walked away, leaving the door open. I followed him into the room, closing the door behind me. My pulse began to jump, knowing that I was alone with him in his bedroom. I’d been waiting for this moment all day, but now that I was here, I felt unsteady. Nerves rattled my bones. If Shay thought he couldn’t trust me, everything I’d fought for could fall apart.

Shay stretched out on his bed. He had a very old book propped on his chest.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Scion lore,” he said. “Apparently, being the Chosen One means you get homework.”

“Homework from Silas?”

“Yep.”

I stayed a few feet away from the bed, watching him. His lean form, lounging against the pillows, made my skin feel electric. I wished he would look up and stretch his arms out to me. He kept his focus on the book.

“So how long are you going to be mad?” I asked.

He didn’t answer.

I sighed. “Shay, I’m not trying to hurt you. I just think it would be a bad idea to rub Ren’s face in what’s going on with us. It could ruin everything.”

Shay laughed. “Way to use a dog metaphor.”

“You know what I mean.”

I also knew it was more than just keeping Ren’s temper in check, but I wasn’t sure Shay could handle that information. Saving Ren had been necessary. I didn’t want to admit how good it felt to have him back, to be near him again. But the constant buzz of hope that accompanied Ren’s return only made me feel worse about what I knew it must be doing to Shay. The malice roiling in both their eyes whenever the alphas looked at each other verged on explosive. As much as I wanted Ren beside me, Shay needed to know that I hadn’t abandoned him. I had no idea how I could balance the power between the two males without making Shay feel rejected. I’d made a terrible mess. Shay was angry with me and my instinct was to be defensive, but that wouldn’t solve anything.

He tossed the book aside, looking at me. “Look, I realize I’m being a jerk. I’m sorry. He brings out the worst in me. He always has.”

“The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem.” I smiled.

He laughed, but a moment later his somber expression returned.

“I can’t stop the spinning top that’s my brain right now,” he said. “I’m trying to figure out what it means to be the Scion, but all I want to do is find out where my parents are.”

“Logan hasn’t said anything?” I watched Shay’s chest rise and fall with a heavy sigh.

“He’s playing hard to get… or something,” he said. “I don’t even know if I believe they’re alive. I can’t stop thinking about them… and I know it’s not what I have to focus on right now.”

“No one would blame you for that, Shay,” I said. “Of course you want to find your parents.”

“As long as I save the world first,” he said.

“I guess there are strings attached,” I said, smiling.

“Strings tied to anvils,” he said. “Speaking of which, we have our own baggage and I think yours is ready to drag you back to the altar.”

“Shay-” A small growl came out when I spoke.

“You know I’m right,” he said. “Ren thinks you belong to him; he always has.”

“He’s an alpha,” I said, not wanting to defend Ren so much as try to explain the situation to Shay. “He still sees me as his mate.”

“And do you see yourself that way?”

“It’s complicated.” I looked at the ground. Lame, Calla. Lame.

“Maybe that’s why, with him around again, I feel like you don’t need me anymore.”

“How can you even think about that?” I asked, avoiding a direct answer. “You’re the Scion. You’re the only reason that the Searchers might be able to defeat the Keepers.”

“I thought Ren was the best hope for winning this war.”

“We do need Ren,” I said, ignoring his angry glance. “He could make or break a Guardian alliance. But all the Guardians in the world can’t do anything about wraiths. You can.”

“And yet that doesn’t seem to get me anywhere with you,” he said. “The wolves are what matter to you. More than anything.”

“Of course they do,” I said. “I’m an alpha.”

“So am I,” he said. “As much as Ren is. I’m newer to the pack-that’s all.”

“I know that, Shay.” I frowned. “But I think you’re missing the point.”

“You’re the one missing the point, Calla.” His smile was bleak. “Do you think being the Scion matters to me if I lose you? Because it doesn’t. None of this matters. You’re the reason I need to win this war. I’m fighting for you. Not for the Searchers. Not for anyone else. It’s all for you.”

My pulse thudded in my veins, heavy as a bass drum.

He lay back on the bed, gazing at the twinkling starlight above us. I watched him, wondering what to do. I didn’t need him. I didn’t want to need him. In order to lead, to fight this battle, I couldn’t afford to need anyone. But that didn’t mean I…

When I realized what had to happen, what I wanted to happen, my mouth went dry. Then my heart sped up, matching the flare of heat in my blood.

“I don’t need you, Shay.” I couldn’t hide the hoarse edge of my words.

Shay grunted without looking at me. He didn’t see it when I pulled my shirt off.

“But I want you,” I said. My heart felt like it was in my throat. A raw vulnerability like nothing I’d ever felt churned within me, and I knew this was what real love was like. And it was terrifying.

He finally turned toward me, pushing his hair back out of his eyes. “You wa-whoa.” He sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, but he didn’t stand.

I walked slowly toward him. “If I needed you, I wouldn’t be me.”

He didn’t reply, but I watched his Adam’s apple move up and down when he swallowed.

“Do you understand?” I asked. My hands were shaking.

Seduction was new ground for me. I’d been worried about Shay feeling rejected, but now I was the one whose nerves spiked at the thought that Shay might still be too angry to welcome me into his arms. What if he threw me out of his room? The restrictions put on alpha females hadn’t allowed me to be the pursuer; I could only be pursued. The mysterious workings of romantic relationships were still unfamiliar territory for me. It didn’t help that my pulse was racing at a pace that I thought might break the sound barrier.

“Yeah.” Shay had to clear his throat to get the word out. He rolled his shoulders back, recovering, leaning back on his elbows in a careful, but superficially casual pose. “I think so.”

“You think so?” I was only a foot away from him.

A slow smile slid across his mouth. “It would help if you showed me.”

I stopped in my tracks. Show him? I am so out of my league here.

“Unless…” He was still smiling. “You don’t want to.”

There was no hint of fear or doubt in his voice, only a gleam in his eyes that made them vibrant. I could see the challenge there. The wolf inside me snarled at the provocation from another alpha.

It wasn’t a matter of making a choice. Pure instinct drove me forward. I was standing over him, pressing my palms down on either side of him, forcing him to lie back. My lips curled, bearing sharpening canines. I drew a deep breath, wondering if he was afraid of me. But fear’s sharp tang didn’t linger in the air. Only Shay’s scent, thunderclouds crackling with lightning, swirled around me, mixing with the smoky amber of our mutual desire.

“This isn’t choosing,” I said, my words husky. Balance. I’m supposed to keep balance. Damn. It was going to be much, much harder than I’d realized. I wanted him so much.

Even as I battled against my passion, struggling to remember that I wasn’t allowed to be here-in Shay’s room, on his bed-my resolve evaporated. He was simply too close, his skin too warm and inviting. And I loved him. The wolf within me howled for a mate. The pull of his body was magnetic; I couldn’t turn away.

“Isn’t it?” Shay smiled. “What is it, then?”

“A lapse in judgment,” I said, though it didn’t sound convincing.

“Works for me.” Shay’s canines were sharp. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me down onto the bed. He rolled over, pinning me beneath him.

“I love you,” he murmured before he kissed me. I returned his kiss, aching to be closer to him.

“I know you don’t need me, Cal,” he said, moving his lips along my throat. “That’s why I love you. But I want you to know I belong beside you, with you. I may not have been the one chosen for you, but I want to be your mate. Your alpha.”

His words jolted through me, an electric current of desire. He understood so much about who I was. What I wanted. How I lived and loved. Heat swirled through my limbs. I slid my hands beneath his shirt, running my fingers over the muscles of his back. He pulled his shirt over his head. My heart stuttered at the sight of his carved torso giving way to the cut of his hips, the rest of his body only covered by drawstring pajama pants. In the next moment I was pushing those down too.

As the rest of my clothes peeled away, I buried lingering doubts. One night of bending my self-imposed rules to reassure Shay couldn’t hurt. Could it?

Whatever the consequences, as Shay’s hands and lips moved over my body, I knew how foolish my question was. I hadn’t slipped into Shay’s room late at night to rid him of doubts about my feelings. I was here for myself.

I twined my fingers in his hair, bringing his face close to mine. “I love you, Shay,” I said. “Always.”

SIX

THERE’S A REASON they call it the morning after. I woke up before dawn with my heart slamming against my ribs. Gray light filtered through the room. Clouds had rolled in overnight, leaving the sky above flat, the color of slate.

As I hurried to pull on my clothes and get myself out of Shay’s room before he woke up, I silently berated myself. Not only did I feel like a total bitch for leaving Shay alone not once, but twice, I also felt the potential consequences of my decision to stay with him last night piling up on my shoulders like heavy stones.

Questions darted in and out of my mind as I grabbed clean clothes from my room and rushed to shower. Would Ren know? Would Shay gloat and provoke a fight? Innumerable worst-case scenarios played out as I headed straight to the bath, all of them ending with Shay, Ren, or me bleeding and the alliance destroyed. Right now facing bear-shaped Guardians or even a wraith had more appeal than dealing with fallout from my love life. As I scrubbed my skin well past exfoliation, regret lingered, following me like a shadow. I didn’t want to pretend that last night with Shay hadn’t happened. Every kiss, every caress I shared with him felt right, made me want him even more, but revealing myself to the group could put our mission at risk. Close memories of spending the night wrapped in Shay’s arms sent a hot shiver over my skin, but I knew I had to push them away. Like so many times before, I was caught between duty and passion. Too much was at stake to let my heart rule; it had to be my head calling the shots from now on. If I chose my mate now, our shaky alliance would crumble.

When I arrived at Haldis Tactical, Anika and Pascal were already there. Flanking the Tordis Guide was a group of Searchers I didn’t know. Much to my surprise, Ren stood in their midst, and it looked like he was giving instructions. I assumed they were Pascal’s decoy team and I shivered. Ren’s plan was a good one, but he was risking himself so soon.

Ren lifted his head, almost as if he’d read my thoughts. He gave a curt nod, turning his attention back to the team. I pushed back the desire to join their group, leading beside my fellow alpha. But that wasn’t my fight. Not today.

Ethan and Sabine entered the room together. I tried not to stare. They weren’t speaking or even touching, but one glance told me it would take a force of nature to pry them even an inch farther apart. Seeing them offered a rush of relief. At least I wasn’t the only one dealing with romantic complications.

Trying my best to be casual, I approached them. “Morning.”

“Hey, Calla.” Sabine eyed me suspiciously. Apparently casual was not my forte.

Ethan just nodded.

“Did we miss the boat?” Connor asked. He sauntered in with Adne just behind him.

“You’re actually just in time,” Anika said.

“Damn.”

Adne gave me a brief wave while Connor continued his conversation with Anika.

“Hey.” I jumped at the touch of a hand on my shoulder.

“Sleep okay?” Ren asked.

“Uh… yeah.” So far, so good.

Never mind. Shay walked in with Mason and Nev. They were all chomping on rolls and fruit. The scent of freshly baked bread made my stomach growl.

“Hungry?” Ren grinned.

“I skipped breakfast.”

“Plenty to share.” Mason tossed me a roll. I tore into it, pretending it was hunger and not anxiety that kept me from looking at Shay. He was standing right next to Ren. I kept waiting for something to happen. A smirk, a smug glance-any movement that would signal to Ren where I’d spent the night. Despite how delicious the roll tasted and smelled, when I swallowed, it felt like a rock landed in my gut.

Considering I’d scrubbed my skin hard enough in the showers to leave it red and stinging for several minutes, I hoped I’d gotten every trace of Shay’s scent off me, but I didn’t dare meet his gaze. Now that he was close, I could smell thunder and rain-drenched leaves, which made my toes curl. Heat climbed into my cheeks.

Desperate to distract myself, I focused on Ren. “How about you? Good night’s sleep?”

“Not so much.” He grimaced.

I tried to keep my voice casual as I imagined Ren passing by Shay’s door and hearing what we’d been up to all night. “Your room not comfortable enough?”

He laughed. “That wasn’t the problem.”

My pulse had become a frenetic staccato. He must have found out somehow.

Ren rubbed his temples. “I had company.”

“Excuse me?” My voice took on a high pitch that I didn’t like at all.

Silas stumbled in, gasping. If it hadn’t been for his cobalt and black hair, I might not have recognized him. He’d traded in his wannabe rocker wardrobe for classic Searcher garb. There was even a sword in scabbard hanging from his waist.

“Did I miss it? Am I late?!”

Anika frowned. “Considering I granted you a special dispensation for this mission, you certainly could have been more timely.”

“Sorry, Anika.” Silas shoved his mad hair out of his face. “I couldn’t decide which writing tools would travel best. I settled on pencil and pen-one each, and a Moleskine.” He held them up proudly. “Plus I was up most of the night tutoring our new recruit.”

Ren sighed loudly enough to catch Silas’s attention.

The Scribe made a sour face. “He was a rather difficult student.”

“Silas?” I glanced from Ren to the mad-haired scholar. “He was your company?”

“Still jealous?” Ren winked at me.

“I was not jealous,” I said.

“Really?” Ren said. “So that harpy-ish tone was your normal speaking voice?”

My cheeks flamed again, but this time had nothing to do with my clandestine sleepover with Shay.

“Dude, if you want to change teams, welcome aboard.” Mason grinned. “But you could do way better than that punk-a-doodle-do.”

Silas went beet red, sputtering, “I was giving him vital information about our mission.”

Mason shrugged. “Everything that happens in the bedroom is vital.”

“He’s not wrong.” Nev slung his arm around Mason’s shoulders.

Silas was opening and closing his mouth, but no sound came out. Ren took pity on him.

“He told me about how special you are,” he said, flashing Shay an unfriendly smile. “Because of your great-great-times-a-hundred-grandmother Eira who got us into this mess when she became a demon’s mistress.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” Shay said. “So now you know why you and Calla were supposed to cut my throat instead of a cake at your wedding. Too bad that didn’t happen.”

Ren stiffened. “I’m not sorry you made it out of Vail alive. As for the rest of it… we’ll just see how that turns out, won’t we?”

Shay smiled slowly. “We certainly will.” I held my breath, waiting for him to strike back with a hint about my visit to his room. But he only glared at the other alpha. Luckily for all of us, Shay’s brain did not seem to have been completely overrun by his male ego.

“I didn’t give all the background you needed.” Silas had recovered a bit as his lessons were rehashed. “You kept growling at me.”

“You called me an abomination.” Ren’s teeth were sharp. “What did you expect? A kiss?”

Mason coughed. “You could do better.”

Silas ignored him. “I’m merely stating the facts. Guardians were created in violation of natural laws. You are an-”

Ren’s hand was around Silas’s throat, lifting him to his tiptoes and choking off his words. “Say it again and you’ll be very sorry.”

Adne grabbed Ren’s arm and jerked him away from the Scribe. “He doesn’t mean any harm.”

Ren smiled at her as he dropped Silas. “Just making sure.”

Adne returned his smile, laughing. “We all know you’re not to be trifled with, big brother, you don’t have to prove it.”

“He’s lucky you came to his rescue.” Ren slid his arm around her shoulders. “That’s twice now.”

“Twice?” I asked.

“Last night and just now,” Ren said.

“I was up late,” Adne said. “I heard Silas’s lecturing when I walked by Ren’s room and figured I should get in there before things got ugly.”

“We were past ugly,” Ren said. “But we hadn’t reached violent yet. Your timing was impeccable.”

“I’m awesome like that.” Adne grinned. “Besides, you and I have a lot to catch up on.”

Ren turned a smile on Adne more tender than I’d ever seen from him. Connor was also watching the pair. A twisted smile, bittersweet, flickered across his mouth and I knew he wished Monroe was here to see his children together.

“What’s the bookworm doing here anyway?” Connor pulled his gaze off Ren and Adne to glance at Anika.

“I’m going with you.” Silas shoved his notebook and writing tools back into the satchel slung over his shoulder.

“The hell you are!”

Silas puffed up his chest. “These are the final days. The events about to transpire must be recorded.”

Connor cast a pleading glance at Anika. “Please tell me this is a joke.”

“He’s right, Connor.” Anika smiled thinly. “And there’s precedent. Scribes make up the core teams for missions we designate as ‘historic.’”

“The professor could mess with our game,” Ethan jumped in.

Anika shook her head. “Despite your personal feelings, Silas is fully trained in operations and combat as all Searchers are required to be. He’s going.”

“Can’t you just give us a dictaphone and we’ll record the play-byplay for posterity instead?” Connor asked.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Silas said. “You couldn’t string a sentence together, much less observe the nuances of what will mark the Scion’s epoch.”

“Epoch?” Shay laughed. “I’m epochal now?”

Silas glared at him.

“Fine.” Connor turned away from Anika, heading back to Adne’s side. “Just don’t get in our way.”

“Are the teams set?” Anika asked.

“Almost,” Ren answered. “Sabine, I was hoping you’d come on the decoy run.”

Her eyebrow shot up. “You’re leading it?”

He nodded.

She glanced at Ethan, who shook his head. “I’m heading into Tordis with the Scion.”

Sabine folded her arms over her chest, jerking her chin toward Ethan. “Where he goes, I go.”

“The Searcher?” Ren cocked his head, regarding her curiously. “Really?”

“Ask another question and I’ll take a bite out of your ear, Ren.” Sabine smiled, her fangs bright.

Ethan remained silent, but I saw the corner of his mouth trying to twitch into a smile. Beside Ren, Adne jabbed her elbow into his side when he tried to object again. The alpha glanced at his sister. When she shook her head, he shrugged.

“If it’s what you really want,” he said.

“I’ll take her place on the decoy team,” Nev said, throwing a wink at Sabine. “Sabine can go to Tordis and stand by her man.”

“Bite me,” Sabine snarled, moving an inch closer to Ethan. Ethan looked like he couldn’t decide whether he should laugh or bolt.

“Where’s Bryn?” I asked, though I thought I already knew the answer.

“She’s staying with Ansel,” Mason said. “Tess got permission to do some work in the garden with him today. Bryn won’t leave his side.”

I nodded, having expected something like that. Knowing Bryn would be with Ansel was a relief. As much as having my beta fighting by my side would be helpful, it was better still hoping that her unwavering devotion might pull my brother out of his cycle of self-hatred.

“It’s for the best,” I said. “She’s where she belongs.”

My eyes met Shay’s for a brief moment and my heart skipped a beat. Other than a subtle gleam in his moss green eyes, he gave nothing away. No matter how deeply love, lust, and jealousy ran between the three of us, this morning we had another battle to face.

“Okay, Nev,” Ren said. “Why don’t you come meet the team? We’re heading out in a minute or so. You don’t happen to speak French, do you?”

“There’s a language requirement now?” Nev laughed as they walked away. “Man, you should have mentioned that before I volunteered.”

Our smaller team approached Anika and the other Searchers, waiting for orders.

“When you’re ready, Pascal.” Anika gestured to the Tordis Guide.

Pascal nodded at one of his team members, who drew skeans from his belt and began to weave a door.

“How will we know when the Guardians have taken the bait?” I asked.

“Pascal only needs five minutes,” Anika replied.

Connor laughed. “He’s good at making a scene.”

“Merci.” Pascal grinned at him.

Anika lifted her hand in salute as Pascal, Ren, and their team passed into the shimmering portal.

From where I stood, I couldn’t make out much other than glistening white and stark blue. Snow and sky. A hard lump caught in my throat when Nev shifted, trotting through the door. Ren, still in human form, turned toward us. He caught my eye and smiled, and then a charcoal gray wolf rushed after the team.

A moment later the door winked out.

“What now?” I asked. My fists balled up. There was about to be a fight and I wasn’t there. My skin felt too tight. I wanted to be a wolf in battle. That’s who I was. Who I’d always been.

“We wait,” Anika said, giving me a sympathetic smile. I met her eyes, realizing that as the Arrow, she gave orders but rarely joined the fight. A steely flash in her irises told me she hated missing out as much as I did. There was no clock in the room, but it felt as though my pulse ticked off each minute they were gone. Anika, who’d been pacing back and forth in the room, suddenly stopped. “Now, Adne.”

Adne had already begun to move, immediately lost in the intricate dance of her weaving. Multicolored, glimmering threads of light streamed from her skeans, twisting, braiding, slowly forming into the pattern that would be our door.

A door to what?

Tordis lay ahead. If we succeeded, Shay would have the first sword of the Elemental Cross. Remembering Logan’s hideous creation that had waited for us in the bowels of Haldis, I shuddered. What was hiding in Tordis?

“Okay.” Adne was breathing hard. When Connor put his arm around her, she leaned into him.

“You all right?” he asked.

She nodded. “Just making sure we’re right on top of it.”

Ethan strode toward the door. Sabine, in wolf form, stayed close on his heels. He nodded once to Anika before passing through the portal.

I peered into the doorway. Through the shimmering passage I could see the almost-blinding whiteness of snow occasionally cut by jagged black rock.

A soft touch on the small of my back made me jump.

“Sorry.” Shay was smiling at me. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” I said, throwing a teasing grin back at him. “You nervous?”

“Nah.” He rolled his shoulders back. “I’m the Chosen One, remember?”

I laughed when he twisted to show me the ice axes he had strapped on.

“For luck,” he said. “And ’cause we’re headed for another mountain.”

“Let’s hope we have more than luck working for us.” Connor laughed, brushing past us and into the portal. He threw a disgusted look back at Silas, who had pulled out his Moleskine and was already scribbling notes. “Don’t say anything embarrassing, kiddos, ’cause apparently it’s all on the record from here on out.”

Adne tapped her foot. “Could you guys get a move on, please? The other team would probably appreciate us getting this done as quickly as possible.”

“Sir, yes sir!” Shay grinned. He took my hand, squeezing my fingers before turning to follow Connor. Instead of letting go, I pulled him toward me, raising up on my tiptoes to brush a soft kiss across his mouth.

“You don’t need luck,” I said. “But I’m still glad you brought the axes.”

He drew me into a longer kiss until Connor whistled. Shay shook his head as he let me go and followed the Searcher through the portal.

The warmth of Shay’s grasp was replaced by a cold touch. I glanced down to see Mason, a wolf, gazing up at me. I shifted forms and was greeted by his voice in my mind.

Follow the leader. Ladies first.

I’m no lady and don’t you forget it. I nipped his shoulder.

Good point. Mason’s tongue lolled out. I don’t think proper ladies let themselves be kissed like that.

Shut up, Mason.

Just tell me. He yipped, wagging his tail. Would you have let lover boy get that close if Ren was still in the room?

I said shut up.

I just need to know what kind of odds I should be getting from Nev. He barked when I bit his flank, chasing him into the glittering doorway.

When I hit the ground on the other side of the portal, two thoughts screeched inside my head. That the air pouring into my lungs was the coldest, freshest I’d ever breathed.

I gulped the frigid air. How high up were we?

Glancing around, I got my answer. The ground sloped away from my feet at an angle that seemed impossible. If I took one step down, I was sure I wouldn’t be able to stop until I reached the bottom of the mountain. If I turned the other way, I could see blue sky in the distance, partially blocked by a cloud drifting past. A cloud at eye level.

Shay was turning in a slow circle, careful to keep his footing. “Where are we?”

“Altitude fourteen thousand, seven hundred fifty feet,” Silas rattled off. “Latitude seven degrees, longitude forty-six.”

“In the Swiss Alps,” Adne interpreted as she closed the portal. “Not too far from Mürren.”

She pointed one of her skeans at the sheer obsidian rock face a few feet in front of us. “That’s the passage to Tordis.”

Shay stared at the black wall and voiced the thought that lodged in my own mind. “But there’s no entrance.”

“There’s an entrance,” Adne said, sliding the sharp spikes back into her belt loops. “It’s just tough to see.”

Ethan was already moving toward the dark surface. When he reached it, he put his hands out, walking sideways, all the while sliding his palms along the rock. He stopped, gave a small cry, and disappeared.

Sabine whined, rushing to the wall. She sniffed the edge, pawing at the rough black stone. Suddenly a hand appeared, reaching for her. She yelped, tumbling backward. I jumped forward, terrified she’d begin the long, unending fall down the mountainside. My jaws clamped into the ruff of her neck as I leaned back on my haunches while digging my paws into the snow.

Let go, Calla. She snarled.

Not until the law of gravity isn’t working against us. I growled back.

Mason’s voice reached both of us. Stop fighting her, Sabine. You don’t want to fall off this cliff. You wouldn’t be an attractive pancake.

She growled but stopped struggling.

Thanks, Mason. I held on to her, probably digging my teeth in a little harder than I needed to, but she’d almost taken us both for an unwanted skydive. I was pissed.

When I felt sure that we were both upright, I released her. She threw me one spiteful look before turning back to the rock wall.

Ethan’s head, which looked like it was detached and floating against the black surface, appeared just as the hand had. “Sorry! I was just trying to show you the way.”

Sabine and I moved toward Ethan’s bodiless head. Scanning the rock wall, I still couldn’t see where the rest of him was hidden. It wasn’t until we were practically on top of him that I saw it. A crooked opening like a gash in the mountain’s hide. Beyond Ethan lay only darkness. I wanted to whimper but covered it with a snarl.

Shay was right behind me. “How inviting.”

Ethan turned away, beckoning to us. “Let’s go.”

A bellow, full of pain and rage, pulled me around. Barreling up the steep slope, churning snow and ice in its wake, was a bear. But it was larger than any bear I’d ever seen. Its girth was double that of the grizzly that had attacked Shay near Haldis. This creature looked like something left over from the ice age.

“Ethan!” Connor shouted. “Looks like one got past the other team.”

Ethan’s crossbow appeared from the slit in the rock before the rest of his body. By the time he fully emerged, he was already firing. Sabine, Mason, and I chased after the flying bolts.

Our downward charge, aided by gravity, was almost too fast. We’d have no control when we hit the bear, which meant the first strike had to count. When we got close, I smelled copper and salt. The bear had already been wounded.

It’s running from the other strike team. I threw the thought to my packmates. Try to find the wound.

Got it, boss. Mason sprang into the air. He came down on the bear’s back, digging his teeth into its shoulder to keep himself from tumbling past it. Just as Mason went high, Sabine ducked low. She squeezed her limbs tight to her body, flattening herself to the slope so she slid under the bear. When it was directly over her, she struck. Her muzzle clamped onto the bear’s underbelly.

The bear roared, slowing. It turned in circles, trying to shake the wolves loose. As it moved, I saw the gash in its side. I leapt, striking as hard as I could into the bleeding wound. I bit down until my teeth met bone. The bear rose onto its hind legs, roaring its fury. Mason and I went flying, our bodies crashing into the snow-covered slope. But the bear’s desperation to rid itself of our ripping teeth threw the beast off balance. It tipped over backward. Sabine, still clinging to its belly, landed on top of the bear, which now lay on its back. Not wasting a moment, Sabine tore into the bear, shredding its abdomen. The bear swung at her, but she leapt out of the way.

The bear struggled to roll over, but Sabine’s attack had been fatal. Blood and gore spilled onto the ice, creating a river of crimson that flowed over the edge of the cliff. The bear groaned once before going still.

Any more? Mason lifted his muzzle to the wind.

Not that I can tell. I turned to Sabine. Nice work.

She sniffed. Whatever.

We trotted back up the slope.

“We clear?” Ethan asked.

I shifted forms. “That was the only one.”

“Good.” He slung his crossbow over his shoulder. “Though I’m not surprised. Pascal’s team isn’t sloppy. He’ll be furious even one got away from them.”

“They might have thought he wouldn’t get far,” I said. “The bear was already injured. Sabine just finished the job.”

“She sure did,” Connor said, leaning over and whispering loudly to Ethan, “Hey, man, your girlfriend is kind of scary.”

Ethan glared at him and Sabine snarled.

Connor pointed at her bared teeth. “See. Look at that.”

“You’re asking to get bitten,” Adne said, grabbing the back of his duster and pulling him out of range of Sabine’s muzzle. “Let’s get on with this.”

Ethan laughed and slid back into the cavern.

Sabine followed the Searcher, while Mason took up a position at her flank. I kept a few feet back from her and could feel Shay following close beside me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Connor, Silas, and Adne at the rear of our group.

The darkness glowed red as Ethan set off a flare, basking the walls in crimson light so that it looked like the rock had begun to bleed. The tunnel was narrow. We squeezed our way through a passage barely wide enough for Ethan to fit through. I held my breath as he grunted and pushed his way forward. We had to shift into human form to wriggle sideways between the rough walls of the cave.

A constant sighing of wind moved through the cavern, mournful and unsettling. Ethan’s flare sputtered out, but instead of that plunging us back into darkness, the passage remained illuminated. No longer red, the walls took on a soft, opalescent hue. I heard Ethan’s breath catch.

He looked at us over his shoulder. “We’re not alone.”

“Guardians?” Connor asked.

Ethan nodded. “Three of them. Still human.”

I crept up beside him, peering into the light. The tunnel opened up to a snow-covered hollow, nearly a perfect circle cut out of the mountain. The space was hidden from the outside world, accessible only through the narrow passage we’d scuttled through. On the other side of the open space an immense glacial wall covered the mountainside. Sunlight struck its surface, making the innumerable shades of blue sparkle like gemstones. The bright reflection made it almost impossible to see the outline of an opening in the ice, but I knew that Tordis lay within that glacier.

But between Tordis and our party, smoke was rising toward the sky. Three people huddled around a small campfire. They were outfitted in full winter gear, enough to withstand sudden, harsh weather shifts on the mountain.

“We’d better attack while we still have the advantage of surprise,” Connor said.

“I don’t think we do,” Ethan said. “I’d bet they’re just waiting for us to show. We’ve scouted this area in the past and haven’t encountered Guardians beyond the first passage in. This group is new.”

“The Keepers are tightening their watch on the sites,” Shay said. “They know we’re going for the pieces.”

“Not much we can do about that now, is there?” Connor said, drawing his swords.

“Wait.” I put my hand on his arm.

“Wait for what?” Connor said.

“They’re Guardians,” I said. “Like us.”

“Sort of.” Ethan was frowning.

“Let me talk to them.”

“Are you insane?” Ethan said. He’d unshouldered his crossbow.

“She’s not,” Shay said. “The more allies the better. Maybe the bears are disgruntled employees too.”

Ethan shot him a withering glance.

“You’ll be right behind me,” I said. “Anything goes wrong and you attack. I’ll be okay.”

Connor looked at Ethan, who shrugged. “She’s the alpha.”

“Okay, Calla,” Connor said. “If you think it’s worth a try, go ahead. Just keep in mind bears are grumpy, stubborn animals.”

“And they smell bad,” Ethan said.

“You want me to go with you?” Mason asked.

“No,” I said. “I’ll be less threatening on my own.”

“Good luck,” Shay said as I slid out of the narrow passage into the sunlight.

The moment I stepped into the open, the three Guardians were on their feet, watching me approach. I lifted my hand, waving, walking steadily forward. They didn’t shift, which I clung to as a hopeful sign. The unmistakable fragrance of bear musk hit me and I wrinkled my nose. Ethan wasn’t wrong about their scent. Not pleasant.

One of the Guardians stepped forward, pushing back the hood of its parka. A woman with dark eyes and braided copper hair stared at me.

“Pourquoi vous êtes ici, le loup?”

Why are you here, wolf?

My three-and-a-half years of French class got me that much. Wolf. She knew what I was. But there was no way I’d be able to answer her in French.

“My friends and I are searching for something,” I said, hoping she spoke English.

She smiled. “You have friends who search.” Even her heavy French accent didn’t mask the spiteful emphasis she placed on the word search.

“The Searchers are friends to our kind.” I kept walking forward. The other two Guardians had taken flanking positions close to the first woman. “Our masters made us believe otherwise, to our detriment.”

“These are broad claims for one who is but a child,” she said. “Perhaps you have been misled because of your youth.”

“I learned the truth about the war,” I said. “And we’ve been fighting on the wrong side.”

She laughed, tossing a glance at her companions, who grinned. “No, petite loup, your friends are only more desperate to trick you because they know they will lose this battle.”

I didn’t know if I shuddered because of the blast of icy wind that hit me or from the harshness of her tone.

“The wolves may be fools.” She lifted her hand, and I watched her nails lengthen into claws. “Mais nous ne craignons pas la guerre.” In the next moment the shadow of a giant beast blocked the sun from view. I staggered back.

“Calla!” I heard Shay shout as the immense she-bear swiped at me, but I was already rolling along the snow, shifting into wolf form as I tumbled.

When I scrambled to my feet, she roared, clawing at the crossbow bolts that protruded from her dark fur. The bear’s fury filled her deafening bellows.

Crossbow bolts buzzed through the air. The she-bear ignored them, charging me instead. I braced myself for her attack, catching a glimpse of Mason and Sabine flashing past to meet the onslaught of the other Guardians.

A flash of golden brown fur caught my eye and I knew I wasn’t alone in the fight. Shay struck at the bear’s flank just before she reached me. The blow caught her off guard. She turned her head and I lunged, locking my jaws around her neck. My teeth tore through thick tendons, but I couldn’t get a strong enough grip to crush her windpipe.

She rose onto her hind legs. Still clinging to her, I swung from her neck like a rag doll. I heard Shay barking below me; the bear grunted in pain and I knew he’d attacked again. Kicking up with my back legs, I propelled myself away from her, releasing my grip and flipping through the air. While it wasn’t graceful, I managed to twist around and land on my feet.

The bear was bleeding profusely from the wound I’d left on her neck and bites Shay had inflicted on her flank. Connor was beside him now, wielding a sword in one hand and the short, wide blade of a katara in the other. While Shay kept the bear’s attention, Connor stalked close. With incredible speed he slashed the wound at her neck, widening it, and then plunged the katara into her chest. The bear shuddered. Connor had just enough time to spin away, pulling his blade free, before she collapsed.

“Let’s go,” Connor said, bolting toward the others.

We reached Sabine just as she leapt aside while two bears, one black and one ash brown, lumbered after her. The shaggy black bear roared, dropping lifeless to the ground. Ethan’s bolt protruded from its left eye.

The brown bear gave what appeared to be a casual bat of its paw, but the blow sent Sabine sprawling. Ethan shouted, running to her side. The bear roared, charging at the shaken wolf. Mason stood his ground between the bear and Sabine.

A blade whirled past Shay and me. The sharp steel of Connor’s sword sank into the bear’s side. It roared but didn’t falter. Connor swore. I threw myself at the bear’s hind legs, snapping at its hamstring, but I missed, crashing to the ground. Shay caught the bear’s left heel in his jaws. It kicked hard, shaking him loose, leaving Shay on the ground beside me.

The bear suddenly stumbled, its right front leg jerking out at an awkward angle. A silver rope stretched from the bear’s shoulder, pulling it off balance. It took me a minute to recognize Adne’s spiked chain whip. Silas had his arms around her waist. The two of them hauled on the whip, dragging the bear onto its side. It roared in pain, swatting at the whip’s length.

“Connor!” Adne’s knuckles were white as she clung to the other end of the whip, and Silas’s face was as pale as her bloodless hands.

Connor dove forward, his left arm pulled back. While the bear fixed its gaze on Adne and Silas, Connor punched the katara’s blade into the wound at its neck, driving the steel deep into the bear’s throat. The beast’s roar became a gurgle and it slumped into stillness.

Connor grunted as he pulled the blade from the bear’s throat, wiping it clean on the snow. “Some fight.”

“So much for alliances,” Ethan said. Sabine had shifted to human form. He helped her to her feet and was studying her face.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Not my first fight.”

“That bear hit you hard.” He touched her cheek.

“I can take it.”

He smiled. “I’d rather you didn’t.”

Shay’s nose pressed against my jaw. You okay?

Yeah. I shouldered into him as we stood up. Thanks for the help.

My pleasure. His green eyes sparkled with mischief. I’ve been looking for some bear-type payback for a while now.

I wagged my tail, sending my laughter into his mind.

“Time for the main feature.” Connor was standing beside us. He looked at Shay. “I think you’ll need your hands for this.”

Guess the fun’s over. Shay licked my jaw and I laughed again.

Fun?

Of course. You didn’t have fun?

He was still watching me when he shifted into human form. I rested my chin against his palm, licking his fingers. Fighting with Shay at my side was more than fun. It was everything.

SEVEN

“SO THIS IS TORDIS,” Shay murmured as if we’d entered a holy place.

Haldis had always been imposing. Its maw-like opening acted as a warning, never inviting exploration. Tordis couldn’t have been more different. The claustrophobia-inducing, dark passageway into the mountain kept a secret carved into the silver-blue glacial wall before us. A secret that might have been the most exquisite place I’d ever seen. The ice-filled cavern wasn’t just beautiful, it was breathtaking. Each frost-covered surface captured light, reflecting it back into the space. The tunnel was bright, covered by a glimmering net of sunbeams, delicate as lace but far more captivating to the eye. The dancing web of light was broken only by a small, dark opening on the far side of the cavern.

Shay pointed at the crawl space. “Looks like that’s where we’re headed.”

“How do you know?” Ethan asked.

“Haldis was in an antechamber off the main cavern,” Shay said. “I’m guessing Tordis is the same.”

“Fair enough,” Connor said, despite Ethan’s deepening frown. “Let’s go.”

I lifted my muzzle, opening my jaws to let the frigid air slide over my tongue. Nothing. No alarming scents. No off-putting tastes that might alert me to danger.

Shay was watching me. “Any sign of mutant spiders, Cal?”

I barked and wagged my tail.

He frowned. “Really? Are you sure?”

It does seem awfully appealing for a Keeper lair. Sabine’s voice carried an edge.

I know. I glanced at her, then back at the cave. But I can’t pick up anything.

So what now? Mason asked, pawing at the ice.

We keep going. I trotted forward.

“I don’t like it,” I heard Ethan grumbling. “Something’s in here. It has to be.”

“Yeah…” Connor drew a long breath. “But if there’s no creature feature waiting…”

I twisted my neck around, impatient with their hesitation. I wanted to get Tordis and get the hell out of here. If the Keepers hadn’t left something hideous to guard this place, it was my best guess that our arrival had triggered some sort of alarm and soon this place would be swarming with nasties. Just like when we’d rescued my packmates from the dungeon below Eden. But in Tordis, I couldn’t see or smell anything that signaled we weren’t alone. Other than the bear, I hadn’t spotted any sentinels or stone gargoyles hidden in the clefts of rock, waiting to alert their masters to our intrusion upon the sacred site. Even so, I didn’t want to linger here-the best strategy was for Shay to grab the piece of the Elemental Cross that was hidden here and for us to get back to the Academy as quickly as possible.

I was about to growl at my lagging companions when Connor’s eyes, which had been flicking around the tunnel, suddenly went wide.

“Calla, stop!”

My growl became a whimper as his warning came a second too late. My front right paw came down and met-nothing. There was no longer an ice-covered floor beneath me. Gravity and my own forward momentum propelled me into the empty space. A hole that I still couldn’t see, even as I was falling into it.

Even my hind legs desperately scrabbling against the ice proved useless. My body tumbled over the invisible ledge.

I howled, but my cry of terror became a squeal when pain jolted through my limbs, traveling from my tail and rocketing up my spine. I hung in the air, kicking and snarling.

“Damn it, girl!” Ethan shouted. “Hold still.”

It finally registered that I wasn’t falling. The pain had resulted from Ethan catching me… by the tail.

My heart was pounding, my pulse deafening as it roared through my veins. Even as Ethan pulled me back up, each moment agony when he tugged on fur and tendons, I still couldn’t see where the floor had ended and the hole began.

And then I was back over the ledge. My weight collapsed against the frosted stone of the cavern floor. Ethan released my tail and dropped down, resting on his heels as he let out a huge breath.

I scrambled up, snapping my teeth at him.

“What the hell?” He glared at me.

Shifting forms, I returned his ferocious stare. “That was my tail.”

“Well, sorry,” Ethan said. “I guess I should have let you fall.”

I stared at him; an abashed smile finally won out over my humiliation.

Ethan shook his head, laughing. “Some thanks.”

“Yeah,” I said, knowing I should offer him a real apology, but my butt still hurt. “I guess I owe you.”

Connor scanned the cavern, eyes narrowed. “’Twas beauty killed the beast.”

“What?” I frowned.

“The cave.” Shay followed his gaze, shaking his head in frustration. “It’s the death trap. That’s why there’s no mutant spider.”

“Fascinating.” The scratch of Silas’s pencil on paper echoed in the cavern.

Connor glared at him. “You know, this would go a lot better if you didn’t talk.”

Silas ignored him, lost in his furious note taking. He inched up near the invisible lip of the pit, trying to peer into its depths. “Impressive.”

Ethan set off another flare, tossing it into the space where I’d fallen. For the briefest moment I could just barely make out the shape of the abyss. A perfect circle, probably four feet in diameter. The flare fell and fell and fell. Its red gleam finally disappeared, but there was no sound of it hitting any surface. Just silence that settled into my bones, making me shudder.

“Oh God,” I whispered, trying to press back the vision of myself falling. I glanced at Ethan, swallowing hard.

He just nodded. He lit another flare, chucking it ten feet ahead of us. It bounced once on the ground and then it too disappeared into another invisible chasm.

“Damn it.”

He did it again. This time hurling the flare twenty feet beyond our group. It didn’t hit anything, vanishing from sight almost instantly.

Mason whined. He and Sabine circled me nervously, their fur brushing up against my skin.

“Fantastic,” Connor said, crouching down. He turned his head back and forth. “How are we supposed to get through?”

“How many crevasses do you think there are?” Shay asked.

“No way to know,” Ethan said. “The flares hardly make out the holes. This cavern was built to trick the eye. Even with the change in light it’s tough to know how well we can mark them.”

“Let’s throw Silas in another one,” Connor said. “Maybe they aren’t all that deep.”

“Hey!” Silas moved away from the edge.

Shay took a knee next to Connor. “You guys brought ropes, carabiners, and pitons, right?”

“In case we had a climb in store,” Connor said. “You got a plan?”

Shay was already pulling the axes off his back. “I’ll have to climb, all right, but on my belly.”

“What do you mean you?” Ethan asked as Shay handed him an ax.

“How often do you guys climb?” Shay asked. He’d taken a rope from Connor and was looping it around his body.

“When we have to…,” Connor answered, his brow furrowing.

Shay grimaced. “That’s what I thought. That means I’m the most experienced. I’ll set the line.”

“No way,” Ethan said. “You may have the most experience, but you’re also precious cargo. We can’t risk you.”

Shay smiled. His canines were sharp. “How many of your friends, and mine, do you want lose because we got stuck here? You or Connor will take forever to get across. I know how to do this. I’ll be fast.”

I’d begun trembling at the thought of Shay crawling between crevasses none of us could see. I also wondered if he realized he’d just numbered Ren among his friends.

Connor ran a hand through his hair, agitated. “How can you be sure about that? We don’t know how far this trap goes.”

“See how the cavern narrows about fifty feet out, leading right to that crawl space?” Shay pointed to the far end of the glittering space. “I’d put good money down that the trap ends there. Tordis is on the other side of that next passage.”

“You don’t know that,” Connor said.

“Yes, I do.” Shay lowered his gaze, suddenly quiet. “I can feel it.”

Connor snorted. “Well, at least the Force is with you.”

“Shut up,” Shay growled. “Let’s get started. Give me the pitons.”

Adne tossed him a backpack.

“We shouldn’t endanger the Scion,” Silas said, turning to Adne. “What about opening a door?”

“A door where?” Adne said, gesturing toward the invisible death traps. “Even if we found a ledge out there, who knows how wide it would be? Someone could step through the door and fall right in a hole.”

“Which is why I’m going out there,” Shay said. “I need to get to the gap on the other side of the chamber. If this setup is like Haldis, this is the trap; the other side should be clear sailing.”

“If you fall before you get there-” Ethan began.

“The piton will catch me and you guys can haul me back up,” Shay cut him off, hammering one of the pitons into the floor with the blunt edge of his ax and knotting the rope around it. “I’ll make my way across, set the rest of the pitons, and secure the line at the other side. Then you guys hook safety lines on and get across quickly. No one will fall. Or if they do, they’ll only drop a few inches before the line catches them.”

“I don’t know…” Connor looked uneasy.

Adne sighed, kneeling down to help Shay locate the remaining cams and carabiners. “It’s a good plan, Shay.” She met Connor’s warning glare. “You know it’s a good plan. And the only plan. Pascal is counting on us and we’re already well over time. We didn’t plan for that second group of Guardians.”

“Fine.” Connor handed Shay another rope. “Attach this one too. We’ll hang on to it in case the piton gives.”

Shay gave him a hard look. “My piton won’t give. I’m not a moron.”

“Just take the second rope,” he said.

Managing not to take a swing at Connor, Shay secured the second line to his body and moved a foot from the spot where I’d slid over the edge. He dropped to his hands and knees. I wanted to call out for him to be careful, but I worried that I’d only undermine his confidence.

Fifty feet doesn’t sound like much of a distance, but watching Shay making steady progress through the cavern verged on painful. He had an ice ax in one hand, at times swinging it down and burying it in the ground in front of him as he inched forward. He placed the cams at regular intervals, threading the rope through. A zigzagging path began to emerge as he crossed the cavern. Even with the rope outlining our route, the crevasses remained impossible to see. To the naked eye it looked as though a deranged, or very drunk, climber had charted his nonsense course along a flat surface. Only the memory of the floor dropping out from under my paws reminded me that I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Shay suddenly swore, the sound echoing through the ice-coated chamber.

I screamed. Shay was falling. And then he wasn’t. He’d swung his ice ax up, burying it in the side of a crevasse he hadn’t found soon enough. He hung from one arm, but the safety line he’d placed had already pulled taut. Just as he’d predicted, he only dropped a few inches. But that didn’t stop my heart from trying to break free of my rib cage.

“You okay?” Connor’s call was strangled.

“Yeah,” Shay yelled. He also sounded a bit breathless. “This part is going to be a problem. These two holes are only separated by about three inches.”

“Damn,” Adne said. “That’s narrower than a balance beam.”

“And I’m no gymnast.” Mason’s laugh was tight. He and Sabine had both switched back to human form when Shay began his crossing. Wolves might have good reflexes, but if we were strapping into climbing gear to make the passage, we’d need to be human.

Shay placed a piton, securing himself to the side of the crevasse. “I’m going to carve out some holds here,” he shouted. “We’ll have to climb across the side at this point.”

“Climb?” It felt like cotton had been shoved down my throat. Scurrying along the edges of the pits was one thing, voluntarily dropping down into one was another.

Mason leaned over, elbowing me. “That was pretty damn sexy-did you see what he can do with his shoulders? Shay’s the wolf to beat, I think. I may need to give Nev better odds.”

I growled at my packmate, but Mason just laughed.

True to his word, Shay was chopping at the wall with his ax, creating small fissures in the rock where a foot or a hand could be placed. He moved forward, placing another piton, making more holds. He’d almost reached the dark gap in the shimmering ice wall. Finally he found the other side of the crevasse and climbed up, setting a piton and hauling his body over the lip of the pit, the force of his push propelling him straight into the crawl space. Then he tumbled out of sight.

“Shay!” Connor yelled. “You all right?”

I held my breath until Shay’s head poked out of the darkness.

“I’m good!” He was on all fours, unable to even kneel without hitting his head on the roof of the tunnel. “The ceiling’s low, but we’ll all be able to squeeze in. And there’s light on the other side. I’m pretty sure we’ll find the hilt where that glow is coming from.”

“Nice work!” Connor called. He was already threading a line through Adne’s belt. “You cross first,” he said to her. “If something jumps out at the Scion in that little cave while most of us are still crossing, you get him out of here.”

She nodded, biting her lip.

“The line’s secure over here,” Shay yelled, waving and pointing at the final cam he’d fixed into the far wall. “Get started!”

Adne moved stiffly, as if she had to force herself toward the edge of the first crevasse. I didn’t blame her. I didn’t want to go anywhere near them either. Silas picked up the rope and was about to hook himself in when Connor snatched it away.

“You’re last,” he said.

“What?” Silas’s eyes bulged.

Connor grinned, handing the rope to Sabine, who started after Adne. “This seems like a thrill-a-minute episode in your marvelous history, doesn’t it? I think our crossing deserves your best writing endeavors.”

Silas stared at him before slinking backward. To his credit he did begin to write again immediately, though I couldn’t have guessed whether he was describing the cavern or lodging another complaint against Connor.

I hung back with Silas, not because I craved his company but because I wanted to wait until I absolutely had to make the crossing. Adne was already on the other side, squirming past Shay into the narrow tunnel. My stomach clenched as I watched Sabine swing down into the crevasse. Her lithe form seemed to take naturally to climbing as she easily found Shay’s holds. Ethan was behind her, followed by Mason.

“You’re up.” Connor was clipping a carabiner onto my belt and sliding the safety line through it.

I managed a nod. Words, even thoughts, wouldn’t surface as I moved to follow Shay’s rope. I’d never really thought I was afraid of heights, considering I’d spent my life in mountains. Somehow this was different. The slopes around Haldis were soil and rock. Even when it was snow-covered, it was familiar. This cavern, hidden in the heights of the Alps, full of ice and light that wove a wickedly beautiful web in which to snare its prey, made my blood as cold as the mountain air I breathed. The cave’s deception unnerved me in ways I’d never experienced. I didn’t want to go farther into its depths. I wanted out.

I gripped the rope, willing myself to start across. Looking at the far side of the cavern, I met Shay’s eyes. He was waiting for me, hovering on the lip of the crawl space. He lifted his hand.

Get to Shay. Get to Shay.

I forced all other thoughts out of my mind. The only thing I wanted more than to escape this death trap was to be with him. If I could make reaching Shay my goal, I could do this. An ice-edged wind swirled through the cave, its sounds bouncing off the walls in millions of whispers, murmuring in my ears about slipping, falling. I pulled myself along the rope, trying to shut out the wind’s voice, knowing it was more Keeper magic trying to seize on my fears and manipulate me into making a fatal error.

“It’s all right, Calla.” Shay’s voice broke through the whispers. “You’re almost there.”

But almost there meant I’d reached the final crevasse. I stared at what appeared to be a solid, sparkling ice surface. I only knew it wasn’t because of the way Shay’s rope line suddenly dipped well below it.

“Get a move on!” Sabine squeezed beside Shay at the entrance of the crawl space. From her vantage point on the other side of the pit she stared down at me, flashing a challenging smile.

Anger flared and I seized on it, swinging down into the crevasse. My feet scrambled against the sheer face and for a moment I panicked. But then my foot slipped into one of Shay’s holds and I could breathe again.

“You’ve got it!” Shay’s voice was both warm and relieved. “Just a few more feet.”

I pushed myself from hold to hold. My arms were burning. It felt as though the crevasse was trying to pull me off the wall, sucking me down into oblivion.

And then Shay’s hands were locked around my forearms. He hauled me over the edge of the crevasse and into his arms. I scrambled into the crawl space, knocking him backward. His face was buried in the crown of my hair.

“Hey. You did great.”

I almost pushed him away, not wanting to show any weakness and embarrassed that he so easily sensed my fear. Instead I let that impulse go and turned my face up to kiss him. When his arms went around my waist, all my anxiety from the climb faded.

“Thanks.” I smiled, deciding it was okay that I felt better leaning against him. After all, navigating death pits with climbing gear did not fall under an alpha wolf’s job description.

Silas coughed; he clung to the edge of the tunnel, waiting for Shay and me to make room for him to crawl inside-I guessed Connor had given him a reprieve. Shay pulled me farther into the narrow cavern toward where Sabine, Nev, and Mason were huddled. The Scribe was peering at Shay and me. “I just wondered if you might offer a comment as to where you think a relationship between a Guardian and Scion could lead? If we survive, that is.” He held his pen poised. I didn’t know what startled me more: the question or that he had his notebook out not five seconds after that crossing.

Shay shook his head, letting me go and turning to move farther down the crawl space. I smiled slowly at Silas, letting my fangs catch the dim light that slid into the tunnel from the ice cavern.

“Silas! I didn’t know you were writing gossip columns now.” Adne scuttled past us to the end of the rope, offering her hand to Connor as he climbed out of the crevasse. “I thought you were recording history.”

Silas turned beet red but didn’t answer.

“You good?” Adne asked Connor.

“Yeah.”

Shay, who was already heading for the silver gleam at the end of the tunnel, turned and called, “Let’s finish this.”

Sabine, Mason, and I exchanged a look, and in the next moment three wolves were at Shay’s heels. The second tunnel was dark like the first, though it was much narrower. I kept testing the air, but just like when we’d first entered the cavern, I could smell nothing. No monster lay in wait for us. We were alone.

The subtle flame bloomed into bright light at the far end of the passage. I closed my eyes, making a silent wish that we weren’t about to encounter another room full of deadly traps. Shay stepped into the light. And smiled.

We followed him into a room that was familiar and unfamiliar. The space was open and well lit. Unlike Haldis, which had been filled with warm hues, this room sparkled with cool silver and misty blue. I felt like I’d seen the colors before and realized that I had. The walls of this cavern mirrored those of the Tordis wing of the Roving Academy.

“Oh,” I heard Silas breathe behind me. I knew what he was looking at, what we were all looking at.

She was here, just like she had been at Haldis. A woman, ethereal, floating at the center of the room. But now I knew her name: Cian. Shay’s long-dead ancestor. The warrior who’d given her life, her act of sacrifice transforming her into the only weapon that could save us now.

Her hands were extended toward Shay. Once again I found myself locked in place, unable to move a muscle as Shay reached for her, swiftly crossing the space between them. When his fingers touched hers, the light vanished and darkness engulfed us. All was silent.

I waited, listening to the sound of my heartbeat.

“Are we dead?” Mason whispered, and I knew the spell had released us.

I couldn’t help it. Shifting forms, I laughed. “No.”

“Oh, good.” Mason began to laugh too.

Light slowly returned to the room. Cian had vanished, leaving Shay standing alone at the center of the space. A slender blade lay flat on Shay’s palms.

Silas stumbled forward like a man caught up in a religious vision. “Tordis.” He reached toward the blade, remembering himself at the last second and snatching his fingers back.

“Nice work, kid.” Ethan kept his distance but was eyeing the blade admiringly. Sabine stood beside him in human form, and I noticed that her fingers were interlaced with his.

“It’s so light,” Shay murmured.

Connor snorted. “As air?”

He grunted when Adne kicked him in the shin.

I took a cautious step closer and peered at the gleaming metal, though I didn’t know if metal was what I was looking at. The blade’s surface shimmered with movement, the roiling of swift storm clouds, the endless swirl of winds.

Shay’s jaw twitched. “Here goes nothing.”

He grasped the flat of Tordis’s blade between his thumb and index finger, carefully avoiding the razor-sharp edges. With his other hand he pulled Haldis from inside his coat. His forearms trembled as he lowered the blunt end of the blade toward the opening in the hilt. There was no sound as the objects met, but when the blade would travel no farther into the hilt, a ripple of light traveled from where Shay’s palm gripped the base of the sword to the tip of the blade.

With no warning, the ripple exploded from the tip like a solar flare, sweeping through the room, knocking everyone but Shay to the ground. The earth beneath me moaned, and the mountain shuddered.

Then there was silence.

Silas grunted and rolled to his hands and feet. “I hope that didn’t cause an avalanche. We might have just been buried alive.”

“Nice attitude,” Mason said.

“We’d have heard the avalanche,” Adne said quickly.

“Not necessarily,” Silas said, eyes bright with speculation. “We’re pretty deep, and I don’t recognize this form of rock. Who knows what sounds it can absorb or deflect?”

“You’re sick,” Connor replied. “Did you know that?”

“I’m merely pointing out-”

“Shut up, Silas!” Adne was shaking her head. “Even if a wall of snow is blocking the cave entrance, I can open a door in here. We’re not trapped.”

“Could we at least check?” Silas asked. I couldn’t believe how disappointed he sounded.

“No!” Mason and Connor shouted.

I scrambled to my feet and looked at Shay. He stood quietly in the middle of the cavern, eyes closed, both hands grasping the hilt of the sword. The weapon was a study in contrasts. The warm glow of Haldis radiated from between his fingers, while the blade gleamed cool and clear, like lightning striking from the sky to the hilt. It was the depth of the earth wedded to the breadth of the heavens.

As if he felt my gaze, Shay’s eyelids fluttered open and he offered me a smile of mystery. He pulled in a long slow breath.

“We have to get the other sword.”

Something in his voice stopped my breath-strength, fearlessness, and longing I hadn’t heard before. Part of me stood in awe of him-the Scion finding the source of his power-but a smaller, pettier voice told me I was also jealous.

Not jealous of his power, but of that stirring quality in his words. He was finding himself, his true self. Last night, I’d believed Shay when he said he wanted to stay at my side. That he would be my mate. Watching him now, the distance between us felt immense-he no longer seemed like a Guardian. He was only the Scion. What did that mean for me?

I’d never doubted Shay’s love, but Silas’s question no longer sounded ludicrous. What future could the Scion and a Guardian alpha have? Something cold and hollow settled in my bones that I thought might be grief. Was I losing Shay to his destiny?

“Get the other sword, huh?” Connor grinned. “Well, that is the plan.” He jumped out of the way before Adne could kick him again.

“I have an even better plan,” Mason said, putting his arm around Adne’s shoulders.

She lifted her eyebrows at him. “What’s that?”

“You open one of those pretty doors and get us the hell out of here.”

EIGHT

THE CACOPHONY OF sound that flooded my ears when I stepped through the portal made me bristle. Was it panic? Fear?

I’d been caught up in the events of the ice cavern, lost in thoughts about Tordis, the sword, Shay-so that I’d almost forgotten that another team had been on a different mission.

How many had we lost so that Shay could retrieve the blade?

My growing fear splintered when it became clear that the loudest sounds of the din were raucous hoots and unchecked laughter. The celebratory noise died down as the rest of my party emerged through Adne’s portal. When Shay appeared, the room suddenly drowned in silence.

Anika stepped forward. Shay didn’t speak. He simply lifted the sword; its blade came to life and I heard a wind, like the rush of wings, bringing hope-that brightness was balanced by the subtle glow of Haldis, with the solid warmth of the earth itself.

The room erupted again. This time the cheers were deafening. Only Anika remained silent, her lashes wet with unshed tears.

Searchers swarmed Shay, gazing at the sword but careful not to touch it. Watching his newly formed entourage bask in the near-tangible power of the sword, I once again felt the tightness of loss, grief like an invisible hand around my neck.

I’m going to lose him. I started to inch away from them, hoping the sensation would pass.

Connor pushed his way into the crowd and began recounting our journey; from the snatches I caught, he seemed to be embellishing our exploits a bit. My suspicions were confirmed when Silas shoved Connor aside, waving his notebook as he began his version of the tale. Connor took up a strategic position just behind the Scribe and made faces and crude imitations of Silas at appropriate-or rather, inappropriate-intervals.

“Wanna check on our boys?” Mason caught my arm, jerking his chin in the direction of Nev and Ren, who were talking with Pascal.

I met Mason’s teasing gaze, wondering what he meant by our boys. Nev was his partner, but did he expect that Ren would be mine? The thought made me bristle and I barely stopped myself from growling at him.

“Sure.”

I glanced back, expecting Sabine to join us. But she was standing apart, beside Ethan. Their heads were close, bodies turned toward each other, lips moving in swift whispers. The din of the room didn’t touch them, as if they were the only two people standing in Tactical.

Nev and Ren were grinning. The alpha leaned against the massive wooden table, looking as pleased with himself as ever. Nev was perched on a chair, sitting on its frame with his feet resting on its seat. I looked back and forth between them, puzzled, but it was Mason who asked first.

“What?”

Nev’s eyes sparkled. “Dude. Bears!”

Mason frowned. “You’re happy about bears?”

Ren flexed his shoulders. “They make for a good fight.”

“Oui.” Pascal laughed, slapping Ren on the back. “Les loups ont été trop pour les ours.”

“Mais oui!” Nev grabbed Mason’s hands, pulling him into a hug. “Wolves kick bear butt. How did things go for you guys?”

Mason leaned his cheek against Nev’s. “No losses. Got the sword. I’d call it a win. You?”

Ren smiled; his canines were sharp. “Like he said before. Dude. Bears!” He turned to Pascal. “Besides, we had a kick-ass team backing us.”

“Merci.” Pascal folded his arms across his chest, gazing at Ren as-sessingly. “But you made our job… less difficult than is usual.”

“Happy to oblige,” Nev said.

Pascal inclined his head. “I am sorry to say I had my doubt. Les loups have so long been numbered among our enemies. But you make les bon guerre. Better even than les ours.”

“I didn’t follow that,” Mason said.

Nev elbowed him. “No wonder you always copied my French homework. He said we make good war, better than those Swiss bears.”

“The Keepers flubbed,” Ren said, still speaking to Pascal. “Bears aren’t good warriors. They’re too solitary. We could keep them off balance because they’re too eager to argue with each other instead of working as a team.”

“Go, pack!” Nev bumped Ren’s fist.

“I think you are right.” Pascal stroked his chin. “We often find les ours alone. Rarely do they seek out one another’s company.”

“Let’s hope the Keepers have other screwups for us to exploit down the road,” Mason said. “Right, Cal?”

I nodded, but my mind had drifted. I’d been watching Pascal closely. Watching the way he was watching Ren. That assessing gaze carried a fierce admiration in it. When Ren spoke, Pascal listened. I didn’t know whether to be surprised or not. Winning people over was one of Ren’s strongest attributes. He was a natural leader and had so much charisma you could drown in it. A painful twinge caught my chest, stealing my breath for an instant. Gazing at Ren, I saw the alpha mate who would have been mine, and in seeing him, I glimpsed what our future might have looked like. What a great leader he would have made for the Haldis pack, the strength we would have shared as alphas. Had I ripped that away from him? Or could our pack come together again-was our future lingering, waiting to be reclaimed? The sharp pinching in my chest was overtaken by the pounding of my heart. As if he sensed my stare, Ren’s eyes met mine and I couldn’t look away, couldn’t breathe.

It was Anika’s voice that finally broke the spell. I turned to see her standing beside Shay.

“The Scion!” She took Shay’s hand, lifting it high. Shay raised the sword in his other hand. It flashed, sparks of lightning alive in the blade. My racing pulse went cold as I listened to the Searchers’ roaring approval for their new champion.

Did he belong to them now? Was I a fool to think it possible that the Scion could be the mate of a Guardian?

I glanced back at Ren, wondering what he thought of Shay’s rapid ascension.

But Ren wasn’t looking at Shay or the sword. His eyes were still on me. I held his gaze, waiting, wondering what he was thinking, feeling. Suddenly he gave me that half-cocked smile and my knees caved a bit. Then he shifted.

Still watching me with dark eyes, the charcoal gray wolf lifted his head and howled. The sound filled the room, joyful, exhilarating. My heart leapt-this howl was the opposite of the last I’d heard from Ren. The night I left him in the woods. The night I ran beside Shay, abandoning my union with Ren. That night he’d howled and I’d thought the grief in that sound would tear me in two. In this moment, in this howl there was no hint of grief or doubt. There was only an alpha, reveling in his triumph.

Instinct took over and I shifted, raising my own muzzle to match his cry. Our voices united, singing out victory. Nev and Mason joined us. Sabine hesitated, watching. She didn’t change, though her eyes gleamed at the sound of our chorus.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Shay. He continued to hold the sword aloft, but the lightning in its blade carried a charge of fury. A roiling storm cloud ready to explode. Like Sabine, he hadn’t shifted but had gone very still. His gaze moved between me and Ren, his eyes narrowing.

As I shifted back, a wave of exhaustion slammed into me, leeching strength from my limbs. The adrenaline from our mission had run out. Shay was coming toward me, and without looking, I knew Ren was already shifting to stand beside me. Two alphas once again jockeying for position. Both wanting me. Each hating the other. I couldn’t take it.

Before either of them could speak or reach for me, I whipped around and dashed from the room. The burden of keeping the peace between them had rubbed my nerves raw. Today I’d witnessed my two would-be mates staking out their places in this strange new world we’d found. Ren would still be an alpha even among his former enemies. He would lead and they would follow. Shay was the Scion, who the Searchers had spent their lives, and shed their blood, seeking. They both knew where they belonged and what they wanted. I’d escaped the life laid out for me by the Keepers, but even here I was trapped, unable to choose my own fate.

I ran through the halls, feet pounding on the marble floor, wishing I was in wolf form so I could run faster, but I thought there were enough Searchers not used to having Guardians roaming their halls that wouldn’t appreciate a white wolf running full speed through the Academy. I ran as fast as I could on two feet instead of four, needing to find the two people I trusted the most and hoping they might have some answers for me.

I followed their scent until I discovered them in a hidden corner of the courtyard. Tess was kneeling in the soil, up to her elbows in dirt. Ansel crouched beside her. I didn’t see Bryn until I was almost on top of them.

“Hey, Calla!” She grinned as she swung down from the branch of the apple tree she’d been lounging in.

“You auditioning for the role of Cheshire cat?” I asked, returning her embrace.

“Cat?” She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh! Never.”

“Good to know you still have standards.”

“So you’re here,” she said, stepping back to look me up and down. “Looking healthy. I take it that means the mission was a success.”

I nodded. “No casualties on either end.”

“None?” Tess looked up at us. “That’s impressive.”

“Bears are no match for wolves.”

Bryn snorted, placing her hands on her hips. “Of course they aren’t. Any of us would take a bear without breaking a nail.”

I grinned at her.

“And Shay?” Tess asked. “He has the sword.”

“Yes.” I wished I wouldn’t shiver when I thought about it. “He’s got it. We’re halfway to a fully operational Scion.”

Tess’s face was solemn. She nodded and then turned back to her planting. Ansel scrambled to his feet, brushing dirt from his hands. He still managed to smudge dark soil across his forehead when he pushed his hair back.

“Hey, sis.” He leaned forward, giving me a quick hug before shoving his hands back in his pockets and looking away.

“Hi, An.” A lump formed in my throat immediately. “What are you up to?”

I tried to keep my tone easy, knowing he wouldn’t take sappiness as anything but pity. And pity was the last thing he needed.

“Learning about herbs,” he said, pointing at a basket. Plants boasting diverse shapes of leaves in myriad shades of green were carefully sorted and tied into bunches, filling the woven containers.

“Herbs?”

“For the Elixirs,” he replied. When I frowned, he continued, “Those are the healers who work in Eydis Sanctuary.”

“We also gather herbs for the Alchemists in Pyralis Apothecary,” Tess added. She was wielding a pair of pruning shears and I cringed, remembering the hack job I’d done on my hair with them. “But that will take a few lessons. Those herbs are tricky and a little dangerous.”

Ansel flashed a smile at Tess, and I was thrilled to see genuine enthusiasm warm his features. “I’ll take whatever you throw at me. Just say the word.”

“One step at a time.” Tess returned his smile before standing up, taking a full basket in each hand. “Why don’t you take a break while I run these to Eydis? You probably would like to hear Calla’s story.”

“We can help you carry them, Tess,” Bryn said. “There are more baskets.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she replied. “I’ll bring us back some lemonade. The lemons were just harvested this morning, so it will be amazing.”

“Sounds great!” Ansel grinned, plopping down into the dirt. Bryn nestled beside him, snuggling into his embrace. He didn’t flinch or try to pull away. My throat started to close up again and I had to look away, focusing on the ripening cherries that hung from the branches of a nearby tree. The tightness of my throat gave way to my mouth’s sudden watering.

“So what are you doing hanging out with the civilians, Cal?” Bryn asked as I sprawled on a bench across the path from where they sat. “Shouldn’t you be plotting the overthrow of the Keepers?”

“I guess.” I lay back, letting the Mediterranean sun drench my skin.

“You guess?” Something in her voice made me look at her. Bryn’s blue eyes were narrowed, searching. “What’s going on?”

I ground my teeth. “Well… it’s just… I…”

“Spit it out,” she said.

“I wanted to try something. I need to…” God, this is so hard.

“You need to what?” Ansel was gazing at me; worry furrowed his brow.

“I need to talk about my feelings,” I finally blurted out, and instantly felt blood rushing into my cheeks. I was sure my face mirrored the crushed velvet red of the nearby roses.

Ansel and Bryn both burst out laughing.

“Thanks,” I growled. “Your support is duly noted.”

“Sorry, Cal,” Bryn said, grinning and wiping a tear from her cheek. “It’s just… you’re adorable.”

“Adorable?!” I showed her my fangs. “I need help!”

“We’ll help.” Ansel was still laughing. “But it’s hilarious to watch you squirm just because you want to talk to us. Talking to their friends is what people do, Calla.”

“It’s not what I do,” I snarled. “I like to handle things on my own.”

“We know.” Bryn stopped smiling. “That means something’s really gotten to you.”

“Sure does,” Ansel said. “What’s up?”

Heat flooded my cheeks again. I stared at the path’s paving stones.

“Oh… oh,” Bryn said. I glanced up to see her and Ansel share a meaningful look.

“Oh God.” I buried my face in my hands.

Bryn kissed Ansel on the cheek and came over to me. “Scoot. I need to sit here.”

I made a place for her on the bench.

“Do you want this to just be girl talk or can your brother stay?” she asked.

“He stays,” I said quickly. “I need to hear what both of you think.”

“About your love life?” Ansel teased.

“You know I’m not above biting you-” I started, and instantly regretted my words.

His eyes clouded for a minute, but he forced a smile. “I’ll just muzzle you if you start acting like a rabid animal.”

“Enough,” Bryn interrupted. “Time for serious. What’s on your mind?”

Who’s on my mind is the better question.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I just feel… confused.”

“About what?” Bryn lowered her voice. “About sleeping with Shay? Do you think it was a mistake?”

I blushed, glancing at Ansel. He was grinning like a fool again.

“No,” I said. “I’m not sorry. But I don’t know that it really changed anything.”

Ansel’s grin faded. “You’re saying you want to be with Ren?”

“Did you ever want to be with Ren?” Bryn peered at me like I was a specimen under a microscope. My skin felt hot, uncomfortable, and I didn’t think it was the warmth of the sun causing it.

“I never gave it much thought,” I said, edging away from her, trying to give myself room to breathe. “I just always assumed I’d be with him.”

“But Shay-” Bryn said slowly.

“You said you loved him.” Ansel’s words sounded almost like an accusation.

“I do.” I met his gaze, knowing the price he’d paid for that love. “I didn’t lie about that, An. I love Shay. I want to be with him.”

“So what’s the problem?”

I curled my fingers around the side of the stone bench. “I don’t know if he belongs with me.” When I said it out loud, my heart gave an unpleasant thud, like a stone dropping against my rib cage.

“I don’t understand,” Bryn said. “He loves you. It’s obvious.”

“I know,” I said. “But he’s the Scion. I think… I think it might be changing him.”

Bryn tilted her head. “He was different? After he got the sword?”

I nodded. An awkward silence settled on us, broken only by the sound of birds chirping above our heads and the rustle of leaves in the breeze.

“I never thought about that,” Ansel said finally.

Bryn couldn’t meet my gaze. “Me neither.”

I bit my lip, taking a long, slow breath. “So what do I do?”

“Do you still want Ren?”

I listened to my own heartbeat for a minute before answering. “Yes.”

“That’s one hot mess, Cal.” Ansel smiled at me. I almost snapped at him before I realized he was trying to lighten the mood.

“You sound like Mason,” I said, making a weak attempt at laughter.

“Well, he is my best friend,” Ansel said.

Bryn took my hand. “Calla, Ren’s an alpha, but so is Shay. It makes sense that you’d be drawn to both of them. You and Ren have a lot of history, which has to make this even harder.”

“Is there an answer somewhere in there?” I forced myself to laugh, squeezing her fingers.

“She’s telling you there isn’t an answer,” Ansel said, smiling when Bryn blew him a kiss.

“There isn’t an answer?” I couldn’t figure out why they looked so happy. This was what they considered helping me? Then I remembered: they were still basking in puppy love. Why couldn’t I have puppy love? I only seemed to have “I can’t decide if I want to rip your throat out or kiss you” love. Ugh.

“There isn’t an answer yet,” Ansel continued. “Ren and Shay both love you. They both could be your mate.”

“That doesn’t mean they both will be your mate.” Bryn giggled. “I don’t think they’re that kinky… but you might be able to talk them into it.”

“Bryn!” I shoved her off the bench.

“Nice one.” Ansel doubled over laughing.

“I hate you guys,” I said, still mortified. “No wonder I don’t talk about my feelings.”

“You don’t hate us.” Bryn smiled. “You love us. And we love you.”

“We always will, Calla,” Ansel said. “We can’t tell you the answer because you’re the only one who can figure this out. You have to choose.”

“Though I’d try to hold off until this war sorts itself out,” Bryn said. “If Ren is fitting in with the Searchers, we can’t afford to lose him. And Shay-well, if he leaves, the war is over before it starts.”

“I know,” I said. I guessed I was stuck in the same place as I’d been since Shay first appeared in my life, caught between two loves, two destinies. And it didn’t look like I’d be getting out of this fix for a while.

“But we’ll be here for you,” Bryn continued. “We love you no matter what you decide.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Those guys can duke it out forever,” Ansel said. “But you’re our one and only, Cal. You’re the alpha.”

This time I couldn’t stop it. Tears snuck out of the corner of my eyes.

“Hey, look.” Ansel smiled. “She really does have feelings!”

“Shut up.” I laughed, brushing the streaks of salt water off my cheeks. “And thanks.”

“No problem.” He stood up. He was still smiling, but his gaze had a hard edge. I was still puzzling over his expression when I heard Tess shout.

“Who’s thirsty?” She waved, beckoning to us and pointing toward a wrought-iron gazebo.

“That doesn’t look like lemonade,” Bryn said. “That looks like a picnic.”

“Tess rocks.” Ansel ran toward the promise of lunch, forsaking us for the good of his stomach.

Bryn put her arm around my waist. “He’s really getting better. I think it’s going to be okay.”

“Good,” I said, leaning my head on her shoulder.

For the first time in a long, long while my heart unclenched, my muscles relaxed. I didn’t know where love would lead me, but my pack would always be at my side. More than anything else, that was what mattered.