46. Dirge

FORTY-SIX

Dirge

C all it a sixth sense, call it supernatural. Whatever you called it, I knew Kane was about to lunge before he did. His eyes glowed, his fangs descended, and his fingertips were razor-tipped claws as our chests clashed. Somehow, I'd moved fast enough to block the other alpha from tearing the witch's head off her shoulders.

He couldn't do that, because we needed her to lift the curse. He'd realize that, I was sure of it. But however long that took to sink in, I was facing the full wrath of the high alpha, mano a mano.

And holy shit , did it not take long for him to pull on his pack bonds, because the wave of dominance he hit me with a half second later almost knocked me on my ass. Thankfully, Reed copped to the same thing I had and joined me in restraining Kane.

" Move! " The command thundered with so much alpha dominance that I felt all the women skitter back from his fury, unable to withstand the power lashing us. Reed and I together were nothing close to a match for him, and it was only Gael's quick thinking to jump on his back that gave us a fighting chance. His thick biceps curled under Kane's chin—not choking, yet, just applying enough pressure to get his attention.

"Alpha, please!" Reed tried to reason with him, while I tried not to get gutted by his claws. My wolf was howling for release, but I kept him locked down behind steel bars. We could not start shifting in this small space, or one of the females could get hurt.

"That's enough, Alpha. Allow me to explain, and all will become clear," Kari said, taking her own life in her hands as she stepped forward instead of giving Kane space.

He strained again, but her own power crackled in the air, sending an unpleasant buzz over my skin.

Kane was still in our grip as she stood toe to toe with him. "I promise, if you don't like what I have to say, you can rip my head off yourself before the sun sets on this day. But you're not going to want to."

He shook us off, still riled as he ran a hand through his close-cropped hair. Brielle was at his side in an instant, hanging on to him and leaking that lightning-struck stream scent I'd come to associate with her being stressed out.

It made me want to jump to her defense, even though rationally, I knew that wasn't the move here. The witch was too calm, and if she meant her harm, why tell us?

Shay stepped up to my side as well, her fingertips ghosting over my chest as if checking I was in one piece before settling on the back of my arm.

"Please, have a seat. Would any of you like a cup of tea, before I tell you the story? It's a long one, and not pretty."

"No, thanks," Leigh scoffed, arms crossed over her chest.

"Very well." Kari inclined her head slightly, sadness clear on her sharp features. "Your mother was my best friend, a fact you well know," she said to Brielle, like the rest of us weren't here.

The witch was bold, ignoring a room full of edgy alphas.

Brielle nodded hesitantly .

"Our friendship wasn't one many approved of. Neither my coven at the time nor her pack. It wasn't done, friendships across species lines, and at that time in America, racial tensions were high as well. We were doomed to fail, yet somehow, our friendship bloomed. Two women ahead of their time."

She smiled softly then, stroking one of her thumbs idly as she relived the memories. She didn't have the body language of a killer. Not that she wasn't able to kill—she was strong enough to fry a person if she was so inclined—but my wolf sensed no malice in her, no whiff of a lie to this tale.

"She met your father about a hundred years after the two of us became friends, and it was instant love, as it so often is with your kind. They were over the moon when they found out you were on the way. She'd lost a son before you—I don't know if they ever told you in the end—and it took all my skill to save her. So when she found out she was pregnant again, well, your mother immediately put herself on bed rest. She was so eager to be a mom, even though pregnancy is fraught for wolves. She didn't care. She just loved you, from the moment she knew you were coming."

I drew in a shallow breath, confused about the direction this was going. If they were so close, why the fuck had Kari cursed her?

Brielle's scent changed again as sorrow plunged into the mix.

"Around halfway through the pregnancy, she began to have complications. Small things at first. Early contractions here and there. And then one day, she was walking back from the bathroom and collapsed. Your father called me after the pack's healer left. He hadn't been able to do anything for her besides a few herbal teas. And that's when I sensed it for the first time. Your magic."

She smiled at Brielle, the saddest expression I could imagine .

"You knew," Brielle said, the words a statement, not a question.

"I knew what you were, yes. And when I told your mother, she nearly died of a broken heart. She couldn't bear to lose another child. She begged me to do anything I could, to change you, to save you. But there was nothing I could do to take away your very nature. An omega is who you are, what you were destined by the Goddess to be. We tried everything: masking spells, glamours, even lesser curses, but still, I could sense you. The only possible option was to dampen your magic, smother it under a curse so vile, it would kill her. But she didn't care. She wanted you to live, to have a chance at a normal life and happiness. She insisted that she'd rather spend however many years she could loving you. Your father agreed, though I think given any other option, he would have chosen his mate's life."

Brielle and Leigh were both crying now, my own mate swiping away silent tears as she leaned into my side. I wrapped my arm around her, wanting to stop the pain, even though we all knew how this story ended.

"I placed the curse in her fifth month. Your power was already so strong, we were concerned the ODL would sense you early, and it was the only way to mask your true identity. The effects were immediate, the taint so strong, your mother's health almost didn't recover after the birth. It once more took everything I had to save her, return some semblance of her health, but she refused to let me lift the curse. You were her everything, and if I lifted it from your line, you'd have been exposed."

She cleared her throat, doggedly continuing the story. "It worked, obviously. Your magic has been slowly draining away for your entire life, and as you age, the symptoms will worsen. I can lift the curse, but… you'll be hunted. The power I felt when you were still in your mother's womb…" She shook her head sadly. "It can't be hidden any other way. As soon as we reveal the truth, the ODL will come for you with the full weight of the organization. You'll be hunted until the day you die."

The silence was so thick, you could have cut it with a knife.

"She died to protect me," Brielle whispered, her voice full of agony. "She could have lived for hundreds of years more if it weren't for me."

"No, sweetheart, no. You don't understand. Bringing you into this world, saving you, that was her purpose. She couldn't have borne another blow. It changed her, losing your brother. She'd had a long, hard life. You were the light that saved her." Karissma stepped forward, ignoring the way Kane tensed as she folded Brielle into her arms.

After they'd both regained their composure, she stepped back. "I can remove the curse, today if you wish. But you need to be prepared. Your kind hasn't walked the earth since the Renaissance. While I know you'd never harm another living being, the Omega Defense League won't care. They will see it as their singular mission to destroy you."

"We should wait," Reed was quick to interject, holding up apologetic hands as he addressed Kane. "Alpha, with all due respect… If Brielle isn't in immediate danger of the curse doing permanent damage"—he cast a questioning glance at Karissma, who nodded her agreement—"we should wait. We need time to plan, to make a strategy. The ODL threat is real. The faintest whisper of her magic at Ushagat Island, and they struck without any hesitation or preliminary investigation. They won't be any less willing to strike when her powers are unleashed in full."

Kane was silent, his expression stony as he held Brielle tightly to his chest, and I couldn't blame him for his stunned silence. I'd held my dying mate in my arms. It was enough pain to end me, but they faced a devil's bargain. It was no choice I ever wanted to have to make.

"So, what? Her only choices are to live her life as a shadow of what she was destined to be in relative safety until she dies young. Or, unleash her full potential, only to be hunted into an early grave?" Leigh said, her words stricken with anger and grief.

"Those aren't the only options." Shay surprised me by speaking up at my side. Her voice shook with emotion, and her grip on me was tight, as if she was scared she'd float away if she let go. "There's another choice."

"What? Because all I hear is shit sandwich after shit sandwich!" Leigh's face crumpled into tears, and in an instant, Gael was there. He pulled her against his chest, running a soothing hand down her back. For the first time since meeting them, she didn't push him away. She accepted the comfort, turning her face into his broad chest and letting her tears soak his shirt.

"We bide our time, and we keep fighting. You don't quit when the chips are down, not when your life is at stake. We figure out how to keep Bri as strong as we can, and then we go to war against the ODL. On our terms." Shay straightened, leveling a pleading gaze on Bri. "You deserve better, Bri. Your mom did too."

Brielle bit her bottom lip and looked up at Kane, as if asking him a question. They communicated silently for a few moments until he cleared his throat.

"We agree with Shay. We will change the laws, or we will dismantle the Omega Defense League brick by brick." He pinned Kari with a heavy gaze. "What can we do for Brielle in the meantime, while she's stuck with this curse?"

Karissma smiled then, giving a slow nod of approval as she peered around at the seven of us. "Physical contact with her mate, of course. The stronger your bond is, the more the toll of the curse is spread between you. Your position as high alpha may help, given the greater pool of power you can access. There are some potions I can provide, generally good for the constitution and good health. But beyond that, it's trying not to tap in to your omega powers while they're shuttered. The more power you use, the larger the drain."

Brielle gasped. "Is that why I can't hold my shift?"

Karissma nodded. "Any use of your power is going to cause you pain and exhaustion. The more you can limit it, the better. Though given you've never experienced your powers without the curse, you may not even realize when you're doing it. Omega gifts take time and practice to master, like any other. Surrounding yourself with power, whether at a natural seat of power like a convergence of ley lines or by those gifted with extreme magical energy"—she nodded at Kane, then Shay as she spoke—"can also help replenish your stores more readily and lessen the effects of the drain."

"Ley lines?" Gael asked. "Where are those located?"

Kari sighed. "You young people are supposed to be running this whole damn world, and you don't even know about ley lines?" She muttered a few curses under her breath as she waved her hand, magical glitter trailing in its wake until a four-foot-high world map shimmered in the air before us. Purple lines began to appear, pulsating and glowing especially strong anywhere they intersected. I was surprised to see that one was centered in Alaska, near Pack Blackwater grounds. But the thickest lines were over Europe.

"Holy shit, that's right where your father's pack house is located," Reed murmured, pointing to an inky pool of purple settling right over Romania.

"Imagine that, a world leader who actually knew about the magic he depended on." Karissma said, sarcasm practically dripping from her tone as she let us finish studying the map. After a few more moments, she waved it away as easily as she'd waved it into existence.

"There's an intersection in Alaska too," Reed said a little petulantly .

Kari's mouth pressed into a thin line. She had that same look our mother used to get when Reed was a toddler.

"I have a question. You mentioned beings of great magical power helping Bri," Shay interjected. "But… how? I don't have any more power than any other shifter, as far as I know."

"You do, actually," Kari said with a gentle smile. "Your fae nature hasn't been fully awoken, as it doesn't for fae until they've bonded with their life mates. Once you two have tied the knot… You'll be sitting on a near-nuclear level of power. I can't say for certain that you could best the high alpha here in an arm-wrestling match, but I'd say there's a strong chance."

Shay blinked, mouth hanging open briefly as she turned to me, then back to the witch. "But how does that help Bri?"

Karissma bobbed her head back and forth, considering. "Think of it like a battery pack. Brielle's battery only has one bar. She's always low. Her bond to Kane allows her access to a second bar of energy. You could give her a third, at full power. That bar could be the difference between her surviving the lifting of the curse, or not."

So, Brielle was some kind of energy vampire? I glanced with concern between Shay—my loving, selfless mate, who'd already thrown herself on a literal blade to save her friend—and Kane, his gaze hopeful as he hung on the witch's every word. I didn't like it, not one bit.

I cleared my throat. "We've got a lot to discuss and to think about. Perhaps we should head back to the pack lands?"

"Of course. I'll be here when you're ready to discuss next steps." She stared me down as I led Shay past her, and I knew she saw right through me. Centuries-old witches tended to have that ability. It was how they survived all the witch hunts.