Chapter Seventeen

Alex rose, scanning the trees for Emmanuel. He was gone along with the wolves. He offered Cora his hand, but she looked past him at Serge's corpse. Leaping to her feet, she rushed to where his head had rolled. Grabbing a handful of blond hair, she spun around and threw the demon's head into the trees. It landed with a sick thud before wolves fell upon it in a frenzy of snarls and snapping teeth. Alex turned away ready to rush to Jamie's side when a groan drew his attention. On the far side of the glade lay a naked man. Alex picked up his sword and crept toward him, but then his step faltered. The man's head had turned in his direction. He gasped. "Kendrick?"

Alex raced to his kinsman side. Blood dripped from his lips and oozed from a gaping wound in his chest. Claw marks ravaged his face. Alex knelt and gathered Kendrick into his arms.

"Quickly, Cora," he cried. "Help him."

Kendrick looked up at Alex with feverish eyes. "Is he dead?" he rasped. "He's...he's gone from my head. Please," he said, grappling at Alex's plaid. "Tell me he's dead."

"Who?" Alex said.

Kendrick shuddered. "Serge."

Confusion clouded Alex's mind. "He's dead," he finally spat out. "But forget about him, ye're hurt, Kendrick. Ye're badly—" His eyes widened. Kendrick's torn flesh had begun to mend. "You're a..." his words trailed off.

Cora knelt beside him. "He's a wolf like me."

Alex stared down at his kinsman, unable to speak. Then it dawned on him. "He must have been the wolf who saved me."

She shook her head and touched Kendrick's face just as tears rushed from his eyes. "He was Serge's wolf."

Kendrick shuddered and covered his face. "Forgive me," he sobbed. "He forced my hand. He worked some kind of magic on me and made me do things. Horrible things. I swear, I had no choice. Oh God. What would my Aggie say if she knew?"

Cora cupped his cheek and leaned close. "Your Aggie is going to fall to her knees and sob with joy when she sees you. And all that has happened will fade to nothing."

Kendrick grew still and stared up at her. "Who...who are ye?" he stammered.

"I'm Alex's wife."

His eyes widened. Then he grabbed her hand. "Ye've met my Aggie?"

Cora nodded. "I have."

"How is she? Is she alright?"

She swiped at his tears. "She suffers. She's lost without ye."

Her eyes traveled across his smooth chest. His wounds had nearly healed. With Alex's help, Kendrick sat up.

"I cannot face her," he whispered.

"Look at me," Alex demanded. "I don't know what happened to ye, or where ye've been these last weeks. But if it was Serge's will that acted and not yours, then the sins belong to him alone."

Kendrick squeezed his eyes shut and turned away. Still, Alex persisted. "Ye're the finest man I know. Doubtless, your goodness will carry ye through. And do ye ken why?"

Eyes still downcast, Kendrick shook his head.

"Because ye'll do it for Aggie."

Alex used his sword to cut off the top of his plaid, which he offered to Kendrick to cover his nakedness. Cora listened while Kendrick's thundering heart started to slowdown. She stood then and offered him a hand up. "Imagine Aggie's face when ye walk into Sonas."

"My Aggie," he whispered and took her hand. The instant their fingers touched, his head jerked up and they locked eyes. "Ye're like me."

She nodded before turning expectant eyes toward the tree line. Slowly, wolves emerged, circling around Jamie.

"Get away from him," Alex growled, lunging forward, swinging his sword at the beasts. They skittered away but did not flee. When he turned back to Jamie, Cora already cradled the dead man in her arms.

"Heal him," Alex cried, dropping to his knees.

She shook her head as tears trailed down her cheeks. "I cannot."

The finality of her words crushed all hope. He rested his hand on Jamie's still chest and closed his eyes, unable to bear the sight of his sunken and withered face.

He gripped his head in his hands and rocked back on his heels. "I should have made him stay behind." Rage thundered through his veins. Then a cold nose brushed his hand. He looked up expecting to see Cora's snowy fur and sky blue eyes, but it was another wolf who sat in front of him.

He snarled at the animal, but it did not move.

Kendrick's hand came to rest on his shoulder. "They're not werewolves. They are ordinary animals and mean ye no harm."

Another wolf came close and then another and another until he was surrounded by wolves. They nosed his arms and nuzzled his face.

"'Tis no great surprise, but they like ye. They wish to soothe your sorrow," Cora said.

Expelling a breath, Alex opened his arms and welcomed the beasts' comfort. He pet their long, black backs and scratched behind their ears.

He shook his head as he stared at the animals. "To think, once I believed ordinary wolves alone had ushered in the darkness."

Kendrick stood beside him, the length of plaid now tied about his hips. "Ye weren't entirely wrong. Vampires like Serge brought the wolves, but now many have redeemed themselves, becoming sentinels of the forest. They've struggled to keep the shadows at bay, and are, at least in part, responsible for the return of the fairfolk." He froze then and angled his head toward the trees.

"I hear it too," Cora said.

Alex's eyes darted between them.

"We should not tarry," Kendrick said. "Cora and I are not the only werewolves in the wood."

Kendrick knelt then at Jamie's side. Tears once more flooded his eyes as he unfolded the top of Jamie's plaid and cloaked his withered face. "Let no one see him this way," he said.

Brows drawn, Alex nodded, then bent down, and lifting Jamie into his arms, he started back up the slope. Kendrick followed, but Cora trailed behind.

When Alex crested the top and disappeared into the forest, she turned expectantly. A familiar, black wolf sat near the far side of the glade. He rose up on his hind legs and expanded into a dark and powerful man. A gust of wind tunneled through the clearing, lifting long, black hair off massive shoulders. Her gaze passed over his chiseled physique before she met his hard, crystal eyes.

Beautiful and terrifying all at once, Murdock stole her breath. She had to stop herself from racing back to Alex's side. "Ye saved his life," she whispered, knowing his keen ears could hear her words even at a distance.

His face remained impassive. She shifted beneath his scrutiny. Just as she was about to retreat, he dipped his head in a slight bow, then turned away. The muscles in his back and thighs flexed as he walked from the clearing. Once more struck by his sheer strength, she remembered how he had thundered into the glade to protect Alex and had charged Serge's wolf without fear. A shiver shot up her back. Kendrick was very lucky to be alive.