29. TWENTY-FOUR

TWENTY-FOUR

Wren

Thesundippedbeneath the horizon, and the sky painted beautiful hues of pinks and purples.

“You don’t have to come with me.” Lachlan cleared his throat and forced a hand through his unruly brown curls.

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. You’ve never let me be by your side during the full moon, and I think that needs to change.”

He squeezed my hand tighter as we stepped through the Bestial forest.

“We really haven’t had a chance to talk about the journal,” I murmured.

“Your father’s journal? I know, tiny fox, but he’s away from that now. As long as that human faction is truly goal-oriented about equality, then your father should be okay.”

“Yes, I know.. but I was actually talking about Lily’s journal.”

His jaw ticked as he nodded, turning his gaze from me back to the path in the forest. Crickets sang into the evening sky, and little glows of light flickered around us as lightning bugs came out. “She had explained in the beginning why she was doing it. It was about keeping her family safe, that the humans had threatened them. But the rest of it was all clinical, very in depth, and almost as if she enjoyed it.” A shiver racked through his body, and he tightened his jaw even more. “I absolutely hate the thought of it.”

“I’m so sorry. She’s your twin, though. Give her the benefit of the doubt until you can’t anymore.” I squeezed his hand.

Lachlan loved his twin dearly, and I’d hate for her to turn out to be the way he thinks.

“I know, and you’re absolutely right. She’s my sister, and it’s my fault she ended up in that place anyway.”

“It is not your fault.” I tugged him to a stop, reaching up and turning his face to look at me. My fingertips grazed the scruff on his jaw. “Lachlan, it’s not your fault, and if you were in the same position as her, I don’t think you would make a different choice. You wouldn’t let anything happen to your parents or to Lily if that was the threat.”

“No, but I also wouldn’t experiment on my own kind. I would escape and try to find them.”

“Ideally, yes, but we don’t know what she’s going through or has gone through.”

His head dipped in a nod. “You’re right. I guess I’m just scared to get my hopes up.”

“And that’s normal. I’m scared to get my hopes up that my father will find me.”

“He will find you, tiny fox. I know it.”

“You know I love you, right?”

His aura flashed pink as he grinned. “I love you… Do you think I could fuck you before the full moon rose?”

Heat spread through my body as desire kindled between my legs. “I’m not sure. We’d have to try it.”

A growl rumbled in his throat before he shook his head. “Can’t risk shifting inside of you.”

My mouth fell open as surprise rippled through me, and my arms fell to my sides. I hadn’t even thought of the possibility. “Oh, yeah. That would be a huge problem.”

“You think Rowan’s big.” He shook his head.

“Rowan is big. He’s the size of my forearm.” I held out my arm for full effect, and Lachlan gave a deep chuckle.

“He is big. Not saying he isn’t. But my werewolf form would absolutely destroy your pretty little pussy. We aren’t meant to mate in that form.”

“Certainly not.” I sucked in a sharp breath, and between my legs almost seemed to clamp shut at the thought of it.

His laughter boomed off the trees.

“So, what is it you do when you’re transformed? Howl at the moon and run?”

“Exactly that.”

“I’ll shift and run beside you then. I can’t howl, but I can yip.” I smiled brightly. “Just try to hold in that chasing instinct of yours.”

“You are a tiny fox, and I’m huge in my werewolf form. So try to stay behind me when we run. I would go absolutely feral if I hurt you.”

“Of course. I’ll stay behind you. I promise.”

Lachlan gripped his stomach as a pained growl rolled from his throat. “Step back,” he roared as his spine curled, and his hands hit the forest ground, gripping the soil as his body started to transform.

I stumbled back a few feet as he asked, unable to tear my gaze away from his transformation. The snapping of bones and twisting of his body was hard to see.

His head flew back, three times his original size, and he let out a beautiful yet savage howl to the sky. He turned to me with the brown intelligent eyes of my Lachlan before he stood on his hind legs and closed the distance between us.

He bent down to put his snout against his mark on the side of my neck and sniffed. Pulling back, he flashed me a wolfish grin before his clawed hand shot forward, reducing my clothes to tatters on the forest floor.

I sucked in sharp gasp as my body ached for his touch, but not in this form. Never in this form. The comforting tingle of magic spread across my body as I took the form of my fox and shook out my fur.

Spinning around, I yipped at my mate. He was insanely huge, especially in our shifted forms. I barely came up to his calf.

He threw his head back with another howl as he took off, powerful limbs pushing off the ground as he propelled himself deeper into the forest.

I kept a leisurely pace, careful not to go in front of him and follow him by scent and the destruction he left behind in the forest.

Watching Lachlan unleash his werewolf form was mesmerizing. He looked free, and while he considered himself monstrous, I considered him beautiful—menacing, yes, but also beautiful.

We ran for hours, almost until the sun rose, and we stopped for a drink at the creek that ran through the forest before he cleared a spot of any tree limbs and growth and laid down. I pounced on his chest and curled up into a little ball as his purr vibrated his chest until I fell asleep.

It had been a while since I’d fallen asleep in my fox form, and knowing that Lachlan was awake and protecting me was the best source of comfort I could have asked for.

A vicious growl woke me up, and I jumped off of Lachlan’s chest with my heart racing so he could get up. He lifted off the ground like a madman as a howl erupted in the distance. He tilted his head back and responded with a howl of his own.

He glanced my way before turning and rushing toward the wards on the east side of the forest. I shook myself off and rushed after him.

A glowing blue butterfly entered my path briefly as I pushed my legs harder, but the butterfly was gone as soon as I saw it.

Lachlan had reached the barrier first, and I moved slower as I saw a werewolf that looked just like him, just a little smaller. They stared at each other, almost as if they were communicating but they weren’t, and it sent a shiver down my spine as my tail stood up straight.

My instincts were buzzing with dread, and I shifted back to my normal form, standing up and covering my breasts with one hand while the other hand hovered to hide between my legs.

Lachlan’s head snapped toward me, and the werewolf on the other side of the barrier bared its teeth at me, drool dripping down its jaws.

I flinched back slightly, and Lachlan moved until his large body stood in front of me.

Tattooed hands circled my stomach and pulled me into Damien’s peppermint scented chest.

My heartbeat was erratic as I took comfort in this hold.

Kian stepped out of the shadows next to Damien with his eyes wide, before he ripped his shirt off and pushed it over my head. “Here, sweetheart.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, shoving my arms in the holes as it dropped down to cover all my bits.

“Lily,” Kian answered.

“Why now?”

“Not for good reason,” he said, rage simmering through his bond as fury flooded Damien’s.

Damien nudged me into Kian’s arms, and I slipped my arms back around Kian as the scent of old books wafted into my nose.

“You had a vision.” I rested my head on his chest, and he nodded.

“Yes.”

A cruel smirk grew on Damien’s lips. “My time to shine.”

His shadows curled around Lachlan’s arm that was lifted and aimed to tear a hole in the wards with his magical energy. Damien tugged, and it sent Lachlan’s huge form flying into a tree.

I flinched into Kian as I heard the snap of bone when Lachlan hit the tree. “Damien, no!”

“Sweetheart, it’s the only way,” Kian whispered in my ear.

I bit my tongue, trusting them, but it didn’t stop my worry for Lachlan.

“If you don’t get out of here…” Damien pointed a finger at the werewolf on the other side of the wards. “I will cut off your head and stick it to the ground.”

Kian sighed. “I told him not to provoke him.”

A vicious snarl left Lachlan, and he threw himself up and screamed as the change overtook him back to his normal form.

Lily did not scream, but as I turned to look at her, tears rolled down her face. “Lachlan,” she cried. Her waist length brown curls tumbled around her, almost as a makeshift cover, and she had the same brown eyes as Lachlan’s.

Lachlan barreled toward Damien with a scream, absolute fury boiled through his bond.

Damien’s face blanked as he sidestepped him and used a tendril to wrap around his ankle and jerk him up, hanging him upside down. Lachlan bent up and tried to pry the shadow off before another one gripped around his neck, holding him upside down. “If you come at me again, I won’t hold back. I don’t care if you’re Wren’s mate too.”

Lachlan’s expression turned menacing as he glowered at him. “Letting the human chop off your head really fucked you up.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “Stop! Damien is not fucked up.” I shoved my hurt and anger through his bond, and his gaze snapped to mine as his eyes widened, realizing what he had just said.

“Fuck. I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re right.” Damien tilted his head. “It did fuck me up because all I can think about right now is slicing your guts open and watching them fall out for putting my mate in danger.”

“What are you talking about?”

I slipped away from Kian and moved between Damien and Lachlan, slipping my hands around Damien’s neck and forcing him to look at me. “I love you, Damien. I know you’re protecting me, but he doesn’t know whatever you and Kian do. You know I love him. It would kill me if you hurt him. I love you both so much that it hurts me to see you fight.”

His jaw tightened as he brought Lachlan right side up but kept him bound by the shadows, unable to go toward his sister or the wards.

“Thank you.” I leaned forward and kissed his cheek before turning back to Kian. “What was your vision?”

“You’re the necromancer that Lachlan’s close with,” Lily murmured with a look of admiration, and a growl reverberated from my throat.

“Mine,” I snarled, and the guys tensed before Lily pouted her lips and looked down at her lap.

Kian came forward and swept his hand through my hair, not once looking over at Lily. “I’m yours, sweetheart.” His gaze never left mine, and Damien came up behind me, resting his hands on my hips as Kian explained, “Lachlan, I saw you tearing a hole in the wards to reunite with your sister, only for her to inject you with something just as you shifted back. There’s a human specimen on the other side that takes Wren, and then it goes dark. I can’t see her in the future. Please do not trust her.”

I broke Kian’s gaze to look at Lachlan, who had tears filling his eyes. “Tell me that there’s another option, another vision where she doesn’t do that.”

“I’m sorry, Lachlan.” Kian shook his head, staring at Lachlan. “I love you like a brother. You know I do, and I wanted to do everything I could to reunite you with your sister, but not at the cost of our mate.”

He tilted his head back and howled—something I’d never seen him do in his regular form, and it sounded heartbreaking.

“I can explain, Lachlan,” Lily’s words were soft but panicked, and all four of us spun and snarled in her direction. “The humans promised they wouldn’t ever harm you or our parents. They said that I could be free if I gave the arctic fox over to them. We could be a family again. Lachlan, just let them take her, and we—”

“Over my dead fucking body.” Damien snapped as he stepped forward, his hands twitching as his shadows coiled around him and me.

“Not at the cost of my mate.” Lachlan’s expression was one of anguish as he shook his head.

“I’ll kill her. Say the word, and she’s gone.” Damien’s gaze met mine, and I bit my lip painfully as his eyes flashed silver and a knowing smirk played on his lips. He knew I wanted to agree.

“Are you going to let them threaten to kill me like that?” She screamed at Lachlan, disbelief forming over her features as a human specimen stepped out beside her.

“So it’s true,” Lachlan croaked. “All this time, I’ve been dying to be reunited with my twin… but you would actually conspire with humans to take my fated mate—my soulmate, Lily… No. We can’t be a family again. Not after this. You’re dead to me.”

She moved toward the barrier, panic encompassing her face. “Don’t do this. I’m your twin! We are two parts of a whole! Who needs a soulmate when you have what we have?What would Mom and Dad say?”

“Why don’t you go ask them?” He turned his back on her and came to me before cupping my face in his hands. Agony stabbed through the bond. “I love you, Wren. I’m so thankful you were so supportive of my reunion with her, but I will never let anyone hurt you. Not even her.”

“I’m so sorry. I love you, Lachlan.” I sniffled as tears welled in my eyes.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. She does.” He turned to Damien and Kian with a conflicted expression. “I’m sorry to both of you.”

Damien snarled as he pushed himself closer behind me, his hand digging into my hip. “You should be, and you’re forgiven. If only for our mate’s sake.”

“After this, she sides with the humans,” Kian murmured, placing a hand on Lachlan’s shoulder.

Lachlan turned toward his sister. “Disappointed is an understatement, Lily.”

“Lachlan!” she screamed for him. “Don’t do this. Twins! We’re twins! We were supposed to—it was supposed to be us against the world! Why are you choosing her over me?” A sob wracked through her as Damien’s glare pierced her.

“If I ever see you around my mate, I will kill you. Your relation to Lachlan won’t save you, so don’t fool yourself into thinking it will.” Damien’s shadows whirled around us, and we left Lachlan’s sister crying outside of the wards of the academy with a human specimen.