Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-Five

Milo

By the time we shove our way through the last of Pack Montrose, Lily is already deep in her fight with Nielsen. They seem evenly matched, both attacking and neither getting the upper hand. One side of the circle is filled with Nielsen's most loyal lackeys, who have remained human, cheering for him..

"Hey!" a human voice calls from the side of the house, and I turn snarling, Jared and Landon mimicking the movement.

A tall, thin figure waves to us from the shadows, and I realize it's Billy. My gaze darts back to Lily in the midst of her fight; we can't leave her, we're her mates. In theory, no one would attack during an alpha challenge; it's not allowed. But I'm willing to bet this pack has done several things that no one else would do, and I don't trust them.

Landon releases a low whine and I look back at Billy pointedly.

It sucks not being able to speak in wolf form.

"Come on, you don't have much time!" Billy waves us toward him, his voice strained.

I hesitate, glancing again at Lily, and realize a few of our pack mates have made it across the sea of Montrose too, and they're guarding her flank.

"Come on!" Billy hisses again.

My gaze lands on first Jared, then Landon, who both appear to be waiting for me to decide.

With a huff, I creep across the lawn to see what Billy wants. He's nervous, sweating despite the chilly air.

"You're her mates, right? I recognize you from that night in Smoky Falls. If you're going to save Leaf, you've got to do it now."

A low growl rumbles in Jared's chest, and despite having no ability to enunciate, his feelings come across clearly.

"I promise there's nothing you can do for her right now. Alpha may be a dick, but he still believes in certain traditions. He'd murder anyone who interfered with a challenge, and I've seen a few of these; they can drag on for a while. But if you don't help Leaf soon, he'll be dead before they're done."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Amber's voice shocks all four of us; Billy practically jumps in response. She's obviously shifted back to human and stands there with her hands on her hips, blood smeared across her face and down her chest, glaring at Billy.

He swallows nervously, his eyes darting away to avoid getting caught ogling. "The witch has him. She's doing something. I don't know what it is, but it can't be good."

Amber snorts. "Lilliana said she's on our side, remember? She's probably just trying to help him escape."

Billy shakes his head stubbornly. "No, I'm telling you she's got him in some kind of ritual, and Leaf needs help. Come on, I'll show you where they are." Without confirming that we'd follow, he turns and slips around the side of the house, following the narrow trail between the siding and the hedges.

I'm dubious about his claims, but I trust he means well.

I don't trust that Azalea has good intentions.

I follow in his wake, and the others fall in behind. When we reach the back door, Amber is back in wolf form. We slip down the basement stairs, then wait for Billy to lead us to the right cell. The hallways are dark, lit occasionally by a single can light far placed enough apart to leave stretches in deep shadows.

It's still a maze, but far less daunting with a guide. Billy seems to know the place like the back of his hand, trotting down the hallways and taking lefts and rights with no discernible pattern.

We turn the last corner and a deep feeling of unease settles in my stomach.

The hallway is dark like the previous ones, but unlike the previous doors, the window on this one's not dark. A sickening green glow emanates from inside.

I now understand why Billy is worried; the air crackles with energy. It makes my fur stand on end and my stomach slosh.

Whatever it is, it feels… wrong. Very wrong.

"I have to go back outside before they miss me," Billy whispers. "I'll flick the lights on the way back to leave you a path to the door. But as soon as you stop her, get him out of here. Alpha couldn't get him to shift, so he's already planning to kill him. If he wins the alpha challenge, he's going to kill your alpha and see if that will get Leaf to shift. If he loses to your alpha, he's already got someone primed to carry it out. He'll be dead before she even finds her way down here."

I swallow hard; Lily's up there with no one to protect her if she loses. No one to warn her about what Nielsen's planning. An anxious whine escapes my throat.

We have to get Derrek and get him out of here, fast, so we can go protect our mate.

Without a second thought, I creep toward the door. I pull up short when I realize it's a knob, not a handle.

Of course.

I call on the shift, stuffing myself back into my human shape, and peek through the door.

The green light is almost blinding after the darkness of the hallways, but when my eyes adjust, my heart jumps to my throat.

Azalea's face is black and blue, and she holds a jagged knife while reading aloud from a book. She's standing over Derrek, who's tied down to the concrete floor with ropes. A wide black collar covers his throat, and his eyes are round with terror even as he struggles to free himself. Green light that has the look of sinister lightning bolts whips around them in a funnel, ripping at their clothes and making Azalea's electric purple hair flutter around her battered face.

And painted on the floor is a giant pentagram, dozens of symbols I don't recognize around the outer circle.

Derrek is smack in the middle.

I crouch down and face the others.

"She's doing some kind of ritual on him, and he's tied down in the middle of a pentagram. Jared and I will attack Azalea; Amber, Landon, you focus on getting Derrek free. You heard Billy, so don't wait for us; get him out of here first. We're going to bust through that door on the count of three. Ready?"

With a chorus of affirming growls as my only response, I stand back up and grip the doorknob.

"One…"

They've lined up, Jared in front and ready to charge through.

"Two…"

My blood races through my body, the sound of it loud in my ears.

"Three!"

I swing the door open and the wolves charge through. Azalea has just closed her book and is kneeling over Derrek with the wicked-looking knife raised when our sudden entrance distracts her. Just as she glances up, Jared hits her full-on and sends her sprawling. The knife clangs on the concrete floor and slides into a corner.

I have no time to shift, so I throw myself at the witch, trying to grab hold of her arms and pin her.

Unfortunately, we forgot one important thing: she can work spells with words alone.

Snarling, Azalea shouts in a language I don't recognize, and Jared goes flying against the wall, hitting with a sickening crack and sliding down in a heap. He doesn't move.

The witch just laughs. "You pups should have known better than this. Spiritus prohibere!"

Instantly, my throat seizes and I can't breathe. My lungs try desperately to inflate, but nothing will pass either way. Panic sets in and I try to keep hold of her arms, but it's no use; dizziness swamps my head and the panic gets worse. I scrabble at my throat vainly, as if my body expects to find something blocking off my windpipe other than magic.

Azalea stands and glances down at me scornfully. "Pathetic," she spits, then fluffs her hair and turns to look for her knife.

And that's when Amber strikes.

She's shifted back to her human form, and stands directly in front of the other woman, a look of utter contempt on her face. Without hesitation, she slashes the witch's neck with her own knife, preventing her from uttering one more spell. A thick wave of blood pours from the grisly cut, and Azalea drops to her knees with her fingers at her neck as if trying to stop the flow. Within seconds she tips over, the surprised expression frozen on her face.

"That's for Jeremy," Amber spits at the lifeless body on the floor.

My vision is darkening around the edges. A warm hand covers my throat, and after what feels like an eon, air floods into my lungs again. I cough and sputter, straining to pull in more oxygen to relieve my aching lungs.

Turning to see my savior, I realize it's Derrek, who's now darting around me toward Jared. His hands run over the crumpled heap of fur, back stiff while he kneels.

Landon whines loudly, and I assume it's for Jared until a bright flash of green light almost blinds me.

Amber's standing in a strange position, her body almost bowed backwards with feet wide and arms out at her sides, the bloody knife still gripped tightly in her right hand. Her expression appears frozen in shock, and my brain finally catches up that she's not standing. She's floating several inches off the ground and apparently unable to move. Her hair ripples lazily above her, in a gust of green energy that's swirling up from Azalea's spilled blood and wrapping Amber in what looks like a cocoon of green magic.

I'm stuck, frozen in place, and absolutely dumbfounded. I have no idea what to do or if I could even do anything to help her. It must be some kind of curse as a last revenge for killing her. I can see Azalea casting such a spell easily.

When the last wisps of magic clear the pool of blood, the swirls around Amber thicken and close in like it's going to shrink wrap her. Amber screams, and I stumble to my feet, grasping for a way to help her.

Then, with one last flash, the green magic is gone and Amber goes completely limp. She teeters over, eyes closed, and I dart in to catch her, lowering her slowly to the ground.

Checking her vitals, she's definitely alive. Her chest rises and falls visibly, warm breath passing her lips. But she's definitely knocked out.

A hand taps my shoulder, and I look up to find Derrek behind me. My eyes dart to Jared, who's back on his feet in wolf form, and butting heads gently with Landon.

"Is he okay?" I croak, my throat still on fire.

Derrek nods. When I give him a confused look, he points to his collar before miming zipping his lips.

"Right, you can't talk. Is she going to be okay?"

Without hesitation, Derrek nods a third time.

"Okay, we have to get out of here. Billy said they'd come for you whether Nielsen wins or loses, and we've got to get back to protect Lily." With a groan, I pull Amber into my arms and stand.

Derrek presses a palm to my shoulder, stopping me from walking to the door. His hands open in an expression of confusion.

"The alpha challenge. Lily challenged him for his position of alpha. They're fighting right now. If he wins, he plans to kill her, then you. If he loses, he's sending someone down to kill you, anyway."

Before I even finish, he's already yanking open the door and disappearing down the hallway.

"Follow the lit path!" I shout after him, and barely manage to wedge a naked heel against the door to keep it from closing. With a grunt, I heft Amber's limp body and force the door back to allow Jared and Landon to slip out. They sprint after Derrek on all four paws, and I bring up the rear as quickly as I can, cradling Amber's body with the knife still clutched tightly in her hand.