Chapter 23 - Aris

After slamming a shifter into the dirt below me and stepping on his neck until he stops fighting back, I sense Linnea's heartbeat changing. If it's possible, it starts to beat even faster, and I realize she's moving away from me.

What is she doing? I try to look around, to find her, to assure myself that she's still hidden in the tree, as she should be, but when I make my way through the chaos to get a glimpse of the platform on which I left her, she's not there.

I growl as a rogue jumps on my back. With my size in my wolf form, many of these other shifters are puny compared to me. I toss him off me, watching as he lands at Percy's feet. Percy makes quick work of him, but I can't stay to enjoy the sight. My body urges me to find Linnea.

That's when Eva comes bounding out of the trees with Linnea stumbling after her. In a second, I'm standing in front of Linnea. She glances around with fear in her eyes but relaxes slightly when she realizes we've finished off the last of them. Then, her gaze tracks up to me.

I've never stood before a woman before in my wolf form—I'd never stood before anyone besides during my first turning ceremony when I was sixteen, waiting with bated breath as they examined me. But that's what I'm doing now, watching Linnea's appraisal like it might make or break me. Like I'm not the strongest, most lethal shifter standing in this clearing right now.

I don't know what I expected her to do—but it wasn't to step forward, nuzzle her head into my stomach, and bury her face in my fur. I try to grab her gently and pull her back, but even though I'm covered in blood and gore, she won't let go. After a moment, I crouch, bringing my arms around her, too. We breathe together for a moment, just the two of us, and when she pulls away, I can sense there's something fundamentally different about her.

Is it just our mating bond strengthening? Looking her over, checking for injury, I try to determine what it could be, but Linnea smiles softly, running her hand over my forearm.

"Aris," she says, taking a breath before finding my eyes. Surely, it must be disconcerting to look a shifter in the eyes like this when you can't shift yourself, but she does it. "I have something to tell you—"

"Alright!" Byron hollers, running out of the trees on the other end of the clearing. "Yes, guys, that was incredible. It was like a freaking horde of zombies out here, and we just crushed them."

A smile breaks across Linnea's face, and she pats me on the arm, shaking her head.

"I'll tell you later," she says, which is the most frustrating thing I've ever heard. I wish our mental link was in place so I could command her to explain, but she just slips past me, running in the direction of the rest of the team, most of whom have already shifted back and re-dressed.

"That was incredible," I hear Linnea breathe as she approaches the group, daintily stepping over the fallen bodies of the rogues. I notice her nose scrunch the tiniest bit, but that's the only sign she's bothered by the carnage.

"I sawwhat you did with that burly rogue, Eva," Byron adds. "It was sick."

"Is sick a compliment?"

"Fuck yeah, it is!"

"I wasn't sure we were going to pull it off there for a second," Bigby says, "But I'm glad we did."

"Very well done," Ado adds exactingly, which makes everyone laugh. After the quiet murmur of humor goes through the group, it's like we all realize something is missing in this celebration. Heart pounding, my eyes swing around to find Percy, who's sitting completely naked on a tree stump, his head bowed, breathing heavily.

"Percy," Linnea whispers, moving toward him, but Bigby and I get there first. Bigby puts one of his massive hands on Percy's shoulder. Now that I'm looking and focusing on him, I can feel that something's not right. A little ways away, I notice a pile of vomit that must have come from him, though none of us noticed in our celebration over the victory.

"Hey, Man," Bigby says gently. "Are you hurt? Let me get a look at it and we can stitch it right up."

He's burning up, Bigby sends to me, do you smell that?

I do. Something sharp and metallic, like licking a battery, emanates from Percy like it's in his blood. My body urges me to take a step back from him, but I hold in place, watching as Bigby pushes his shoulder back until Percy finally looks up at us, a mix of steely resolve and fear mingling in his eyes.

As a group, I feel our eyes move collectively downward to where Percy has a hand pressed over his stomach. His hand is shaking when he pulls it away, revealing a thick, oozing liquid, glinting in the afternoon sun like silver.

I hear the commander's voice in my head: …this serum is incredibly dangerous for shifters. Many of the test subjects are still being held in Varun's testing compound—lost their sanity completely.

Percy bends at the waist again, and I step forward, wishing I could take some of the pain away from him. He lets out a low, whining growl, like an animal that's been shot, and from the corner of my eye, I see Byron and Eva holding Linnea back from getting too close. Even in the midst of all this, I feel proud of Linnea's willingness to come to Percy and try to comfort him as his luna.

But it could be dangerous for her, and that's why Byron and Eva won't let her come closer. We don't know what this serum is capable of or what Percy might do now that it's in his bloodstream.

Gritting his teeth, Percy looks up at us again with tears in his eyes.

"Boss," he says, his voice strained. "It's been a pleasure working for you. I've loved this team like my own family—" his eyes skip to Linnea, looking bright and proud, and I see something pass between them that I don't understand. Linnea, with tears running down her cheeks, nods at him, and it makes him smile. "—and I'm sorry it has to end like this."

My gun, Percy sends to me alone, and my eyes widen as I realize what he's asking for. My body feels frozen, my head racing. I can't stomach the thought of handing his gun to him, but I also know that's what I would want if my mind and body were about to turn against me.

We don't know the effects of the serum, Bigby projects to both Percy and I, clearly seeing something pass between us, and being smart enough to guess what. It could be refined enough now—there could be an antidote—

I can already feel it getting further from me,Percy sends, sliding from the tree stump and onto the ground, his pale skin glowing white in the rays of the sun. I feel sick, looking at him, at the feeling that I can see that serum pumping through his veins in the light. Please, boss.

If I don't do something, I never will. So, I force myself to move, stalking to the other side of the camp where Percy's pack lies discarded against the side of his cabin. I return to him with the weapon in hand, gazing down at him.

Linnea cries out as I hand the gun to him, and we watch as he stumbles to his feet, shuffling to the edge of the trees. Just when he gets to the tree line, the gun dangling loosely in one hand, he turns back to us, giving us one last goofy smile before turning and disappearing into the forest.

"No!" Linnea says, breaking free from Byron and Eva, who have both gone slack with the horror of the situation. She starts to run toward the area where Percy vanished, but I reach out, shifting back into my human form and wrapping an arm around her. When she realizes she can't get away from me, she turns, pounding her fists into my chest.

"Let me go!" she cries, her sobs ripping through her and echoing through the clearing. "We can't let him do this! We can save him! Aris, we can—"

Her pleading stops abruptly when a shot rings out through the forest, a flock of birds taking off about a mile away. Her sobs turn into screams, and she collapses against me, feeling the first full loss of a pack-mate as the luna. I realize that as painful as this is for me, it must be unbearable for her. Wellbeing is the luna's primary concern, and she's just witnessed a member of her pack take their own life.

"Linnea," I say, my voice coming out gruff, "You need to calm down."

"I can't believe you let him do that," she sobs. "He was the best person on this whole fucking team."

"I know," I say, rubbing her back, agreeing with her. Through the sadness, grief, and despair, something else is rising in me like a tidal wave, red-hot and fierce. I struggle to stay calm and gentle while holding Linnea in my arms. "I know, baby. We're going to miss him. But it would be cruel for me to take away that option from him if it's what he wanted, knowing the effects of the serum."

Linnea doesn't say more, just shakes her head against my chest, her tears and snot trailing against me. When I look up from her, I see the rest of my team is just as disbelieving. Eva is staring straight ahead, between the cabins, a blank look on her face. Ado is sitting quietly with his head in his hands. Bigby has a hand on Byron's shoulder, and is clearly sending something to him privately as tears track down Byron's cheeks.

We're a man down. Every shifter on this team serves a vital function, and we've just lost our light. Without Percy, we're too serious. We forget to have fun. None of the members of this squad will ever be the same again.

"Baby," I say to Linnea, taking her by the shoulders and firmly but gently pulling her from me. "Sit down."

For once, Linnea does what I say and sits down on a log around the fire, steering clear of the tree stump Percy had claimed as his spot during our time here.

"Listen up!" I say, snapping everyone's attention to me. I'm still naked, but I'm planning on shifting back soon, anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Watery and empty eyes stare back at me, but I can feel the simmering rage projecting from myself. I plan to infect my team with it and use it to go and kill the motherfucker who developed that serum in the first place.

"Varun is a disgusting son of a bitch, and we are going to cut him down in his own house. We are going to make him pay for what he's taken from us."

Already, I can see my team members transferring their grief into rage. As I speak, I think of Percy, but I also think of my parents. The number of victims who have unfairly died or lost their will to live at the hands of Varun is growing too high, and I will no longer stand for it.

He corrupted my commander and potentially corrupted a member of my team. He took my father, my mother, my legacy, and one of my best friends—but he's not taking anything else from me.

My eyes drift to Linnea, to her watery eyes and downtrodden appearance. Varun is done taking things from this town.

"Get your things," I say to the team. "We're bringing the fight to him."