Chapter 18

Eve

I woke with the worst headache of my life, every square inch of my brain throbbing with agony.

At first, I had no idea where I was. Who I was, even. I was just a mass of throbbing pain—unusually bad throbbing pain. Definitely not a hangover.

Aching, I opened my eyes, my vision blurry at first. All I could see was an enormous space with a raftered ceiling and the figure of a man.

A man?

The killer.

It was the killer. He stood just fifteen feet away, watching me. Waiting for me to wake.

And he'd seen me. The way his black eyes lit up made that perfectly clear.

Frantic, I tried to get out of the chair in which I seemed to be sitting. I was almost too weak to move, but it didn't matter. My wrists were bound to the back. I could stand, but I'd be bringing the chair with me.

I drew in a bracing breath and sat back, my mind spinning.

He hadn't killed me yet. Why?

I had no idea, but I needed to use it. How, though?

Distract him until help showed up. Yep. That made perfect sense. It was some pretty basic 101 you've-been-kidnapped-shit, but it was all I could think of.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. "Why kidnap me?"

He laughed but didn't answer. Apparently, he wasn't going to lay out every detail of his dastardly plan. Well, a girl could always hope.

Instead, he walked forward. We had to be in the attic, as it was dusty and dark up here. The rafters overhead supported the sharply peaked roof, and there were a few windows on the side wall that led out to the ramparts.

The killer stepped into a beam of light, and I gasped. His hood was down, and now that I could see his face, he looked just like…

Like Lachlan.

"Who are you?" The words trembled as they escaped my lips.

"Surely you can guess."

His voice was cold, his eyes colder. They were completely black, with no whites at all. Cold iced me.

His brother. Garreth. "You're supposed to be dead."

He looked so different than I remembered. He'd been slight when I'd seen him last, not even an adult yet. Now, he was a hardened man. Almost as handsome as his brother, and almost as big, but a killer.

He nodded. "I am supposed to be dead. You're right. Brother dearest would agree with you, too. He saw my body."

"What happened?"

"Hmm, I don't think I'm going to tell you that."

"Then why did you take me?"

"I needed bait. I saw you with my brother, saw the way he looked at you, and knew he'd come for you."

It had never been about me at all.

He strolled closer, and I noticed that he was holding something in his hand. A leather cuff studded with potions.

"My cuff." My gaze caught on a silver charm dangling from a slender chain, and I gasped. "My necklace!"

He held them up and smiled. "Quite the interesting collection of jewelry you have."

I began to pant, panic making my limbs go numb.

Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. He had my necklace.

"This leather one is quite obvious, though ingenious." He held it up to display it. Then he held up the chain. My pendant glinted in the narrow ray of sunlight. "This, however, was most unexpected."

"It's a comms charm." The lie was desperate and dumb, and he could tell.

"That's what I thought as well. Didn't want you calling for help, now did I?" He swung the charm, and my gaze followed it. "But as soon as I took it off, those ears of yours disappeared. They're round now. And your scent changed. Your entire signature." He strolled around me, and I shuddered. "You're a shifter. And if I'm not mistaken, you're not just any shifter."

"I'm not." My lies were sounding thin even to my own ears.

He came around to crouch in front of me. "You're my brother's mate. I'd recognize your signature anywhere. It surprised the hell out of me when you walked into our chambers all those years ago, so dowdy and plain but smelling like the best thing I'd ever run into."

I spat at him. I couldn't help it. Rage filled me up, and I spat at him.

He lunged backward, then slapped me so hard I saw stars. My head rang, and my eyes watered.

A crashing noise sounded from the far side of the attic, and he straightened abruptly, then spun to stride toward it.

Was help here?

He disappeared into the shadows at the far side, and I began to struggle anew, trying to tear my hands out of the rough rope bonds.

Chill out!

Ralph's little voice sounded in my head, and I glanced down, shocked to see him there. He looked dusty and worn out, but he started working on the ropes that held my hands.

I said nothing, not wanting Garreth to hear me talking to my familiar. Only I could hear Ralph's voice in my head.

I've almost got you free, then you can run for it out the window. Or wait, and I'll try to find Lachlan.

Desperately, I tried to telepathically send my thanks to Ralph. He'd clearly climbed up here somehow, then set off a distraction for Garreth. When I saw the man's huge shadow returning, I cleared my throat to warn Ralph. I felt the bonds fall away and heard the faint noise of his little footsteps as he ran off into the shadows. I hoped he'd taken the ropes with him so that they weren't sitting right under my chair.

Of course he had. Ralph was clever enough to find my entire stash—he'd take care of the details. And thanks to my little thief, my hands were free. Garreth was almost upon me, but I had options now.

"Why did you take me?" I asked. "Why not just kill me?"

He laughed, then spun in a circle, looking toward the door. My gaze followed his movements, and I noticed a string that formed a tripline in front of the threshold. Another string connected it to a spot deeper in the room…and led straight to a crossbow with a silver-tipped bolt.

Bait.

I was bait.

* * *

Lachlan

Eve.

Fear like I'd never known shot me straight in the heart. She'd been taken fifteen minutes ago, through a secret door that I'd had no idea existed, and we still hadn't found her. No one had been able to make the door reappear, and we'd abandoned the effort.

How the hell did the killer know the tower better than I did?

The search had taken on a new urgency, and her friends were as frantic as I was. But every room we searched, every cubbyhole, was empty.

I was stepping onto the eighth floor when I felt it.

My mate.

The knowledge of her hit me in the chest like a battering ram, driving the breath from my lungs. Somehow, she had appeared. She was in this very tower. I could feel her like I could feel my own limbs. And she was in danger.

Eve?

It had to be Eve. I had no idea why I could feel her now, but I could.

"She's upstairs," I said, my gaze going to Seraphia. "Highest part of the tower."

"How do you know?"

"I can feel her." I rubbed my chest, then turned and raced for the stairs. I had to get to her.

* * *

Eve

Garreth watched me as I swallowed hard, my gaze riveted to the bolt. Silver. Poisonous to werewolves. A shot to the heart would kill Lachlan, quickly. A regular bolt might not—werewolves were powerful healers—but that silver bolt was deadly if it hit him in the right spot. Even if it didn't, it would weaken him, maybe even make them evenly matched.

"I assumed they would come for you," he said. "I'm not as strong as my brother, you see. No one is, especially when he's in his wolf form. So I need the upper hand. Little did I know I found his mate. He'll be able to sense you now that the necklace is off. He's coming for you."

Oh, fates.

I couldn't wait for help to arrive.

As subtly as I could, I reached into the ether and withdrew my bag. It was too big for me to be completely graceful about it, and Garreth noticed that something was up. His brow furrowed and he stepped forward. "What are you doing?"

I plunged my hand into the bag and yanked out the first potion bomb I could find, then lunged to my feet to hurl it at him.

But he was too fast and dodged. It shattered on the ground behind him, spraying green liquid everywhere. An acid bomb, wasted.

I shoved my hand in for another and hurled it, hitting him in the shoulder that time. The acid ate into his skin, green and bright. He howled but didn't go down.

The Dark Moon curse had to be making him stronger.

Behind him, the door opened. Lachlan appeared.

Before he could trip the wire, I screamed. "Duck! It's a trap!"

It was too late. He'd already stepped forward, and his foot caught the wire. But he seemed to have heard me. He ducked low and caught the bolt high on his shoulder. Pain flashed on his face as he yanked it free.

I pulled another potion bomb out and hurled it at Garreth. He dodged, his movements unnaturally fast, and turned to charge toward Lachlan.

My mate.

His gaze met mine, just briefly. I could feel him now.

With the pendant gone, I could feel Lachlan like a second heart.

It was insane.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Lachlan caught sight of Garreth, and his eyes widened with shock as he went white.

Garreth drew a long, wickedly sharp knife.

"Garreth." Lachlan's voice was rough.

"Brother."

"You were dead."

Garreth just smiled, cold and dark, then charged. He reached Lachlan and raised the knife.

Lachlan deflected it, landing a blow to his brother's gut. Garreth doubled over, gasping, but managed to swipe at Lachlan's arm with his blade.

The metal cut through Lachlan's jacket. He flinched, then dove at Garreth and drove him to the floor. Garreth's head cracked on the wood, and his arms went briefly slack. Seizing the opportunity, Lachlan grabbed the blade out of his brother's hand and chucked it across the room.

But Garreth soon recovered his strength and threw Lachlan off him. They grappled, rolling and punching, landing hit after vicious hit.

I grabbed a stunner potion bomb but couldn't find an opening. They moved too quickly, and I was just as likely to hit Lachlan.

Garreth managed to hurl Lachlan off of him once more before lunging for the discarded blade. He swept it up in his hand and turned toward Lachlan, blade raised high.

Lachlan's eyes flashed, and he shifted, transforming into his wolf. He was massive and glorious as he snarled, then lunged.

Clearly realizing he was outmanned when Lachlan was in wolf form, Garreth hurled the knife. He was an excellent shot, and the dagger sliced along Lachlan's front leg. Lachlan stumbled, and Garreth raced for the window, knowing he didn't stand a chance. I hurled another potion bomb, hitting him right in the back, but he didn't even stop. Tearing off his jacket, he scrambled to freedom.

Lachlan followed, leaping out the window seconds behind him.

Seraphia appeared in the doorway, looking around the attic in befuddlement.

"Watch out for traps!" I shouted as I ran after the brothers.

It was night already, the moon full. Garreth must have transformed, because now there were two wolves on the roof. Lachlan, the larger of the pair, chased Garreth, their forms illuminated by the moonlight. He was nearly on him. I sprinted after them, knowing it was crazy to run toward a fight like this but unable to wimp out now.

Lachlan leapt, soaring four meters through the air, a feat of incredible ability that took my breath away. He landed on Garreth, and the two tumbled across the gently slanted roof, rolling over and over as they snarled and bit at each other. Flashes of blood gleamed in the pale light, marring both wolves. It was riveting. So violent. So powerful.

Panting, I slowed to a halt about twenty meters away. The fight was taking too long.

Lachlan should have won already. His brother was stronger and faster as a result of the Dark Moon curse, but not as strong as Lachlan. Even with his bolt wound, Lachlan should have been able to take him out…

He doesn't want to kill his brother.

The thought flashed into my mind so brightly that I felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.

Wolves weren't exactly great at taking hostages. It was more kill or be killed when they fought.

Frantic, I scrambled in my bag for a stunner potion. It had to be a stunner. Two of them. Nothing else would do, as I couldn't guarantee that I was going to hit the right wolf. They were a mass of flailing fur and limbs.

I found the first one, thank fates, then another. Quietly, I approached. The wolves were too distracted to dodge me, but I couldn't afford to miss. I stopped ten meters away, shaking. The fight was so vicious and powerful that it made my soul seem to shrivel up inside me.

Carefully, I aimed for the smaller wolf, then hurled my potion bomb. It landed square on his back. He gave one last bite toward Lachlan's shoulder, then collapsed, unconscious.

Panting, I dropped my hands to my knees and braced myself, staring at them. Finally,I'd landed one on that bastard.

It took Lachlan a moment to realize his brother was down. When he did, he lunged backward and transformed to human, shock on his face as he stared at the unconscious wolf.

"He's not dead!" I shouted.

Seraphia came up from behind me, holding out her hands so that the vines could grow from her palms. They stretched across the roof and wound around the wolf, wrapping him up in a bundle that he wouldn't be able to escape. When she was done, she handed me the silver chain and pendant that I'd lost. "Found it on the floor. He must have dropped it."

I stared down at it. To put it back on, or not?

Even now, I could feel the pull between Lachlan and me. The mate bond was impossible to ignore.

I took the coward's way out and put the necklace on. The bond broke immediately, and his gaze flashed to mine.

"Your ears are back," Seraphia murmured.

"Thanks." I stared at Lachlan, unable to look away. It was impossible to read his face, but my secret was definitely out. I swallowed hard, then stepped back.

He'd caught the killer. His brother.

"He should be unconscious for an hour," I said. "I have a truth potion. If you make him take it while he's weakened, he'll give more answers."

Lachlan nodded, his jaw tight.

Part of me wanted to run, but a bigger part of me wanted answers. Needed answers. What the hell had happened here?

Lachlan hoisted his brother in his arms and staggered toward me. As he neared, I caught sight of the blood soaking through his clothes. So many wounds. Garreth had landed quite a few grisly bites, and it hurt just to look at him.

"I can make the vines carry him down," Seraphia said.

"No." Lachlan's tone was so hard that she just nodded.

He passed us, carrying the wolf that was his brother. His expression was shattered, grief in every line of his face.

Seraphia reached for my hand and squeezed. I looked over at her, feeling tears prick my eyes. "This is so much worse than I expected."

She nodded. "I know, love. But it's going to be okay."

"Not for Lachlan."

She sighed, her expression sad. "Maybe not."

I swallowed hard. "Let's go get this over with."