Dark in the Light

Iblink my eyes open, and the world swims back into focus.

"Rowe!" My whole body rocks as Haut shakes me. "Wake up!"

"You shouldn't shake her." Fear tightens Tris's voice. "She might have sustained an injury when she hit the dashboard."

Pain throbs through my head, and I lift my hand to press at a tender bump. "Ugh, what happened?"

"Tree stopped us," Tris says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Which it is, because the front of the van now folds around the immovable trunk, with smoke rising from the engine. A spiderweb of cracks covers the windshield, though it somehow stayed intact.

"We need to get out of here." Aspen attempts to open the side door, but it sticks.

"Here, allow me." Levi wedges into the narrow gap between seats, grasps the door, and wrenches it out of the frame.

I cradle my throbbing head. "Barron is so going to kill us."

"Barron's not the person we should worry about right now." Haut tries to unbuckle my seatbelt, but it doesn't unlatch.

With a growl, he shreds the polyester strap in an impressive show of superhuman strength that I would applaud if my head didn't hurt so bad.

He kicks his door open and wraps an arm around me, pulling me out of the wreckage. The acrid scent of smoke makes me dizzy and disoriented, threatening to topple me over.

I sway on my feet, before leaning against Haut. "Is everyone okay?"

"We're all upright." Levi's tall form comes around the side of the van with Aspen and Tris stumbling behind him. "But we've got company coming down the slope."

"Because driving us off the road wasn't enough." Tris walks over to run his hands over me, checking for damage.

"Gotta finish the job." As he prods the bump on my head, I wince. "Stop that. You can do your doctor thing once we're away from the van that may or may not explode."

Levi's head turns toward the road several hundred feet uphill. "Silver Hollow is within running distance. We need to move."

"Shouldn't we stay and fight?" I fumble for my wand, but my fingers don't want to work. "There's only one of them and five of us."

"We don't know that there's only one of them. We also don't know what they are, you're injured, and three of you can't see in the dark." Levi faces Haut. "If it comes to a fight, protecting Rowe and Tris will be a distraction. With a wolf, we might have a chance. But a witch or a vampire could incapacitate us from a distance."

Haut gives a terse nod and kneels in front of me. "Climb on my back. We'll move faster if I'm carrying you."

Knees shaky, I drape myself over him. "That better have not been a poke at my short legs."

The world wobbles on its axis when he stands, his arms hooked behind my knees. "Hold on tight, but try not to strangle me."

"Not sure I can do both at the same time." My head spins as I wrap my arms around his neck. "Don't drop me."

"Here, Tris." Levi turns away from him and kneels. "I can carry you."

"Don't think I'm going to protest that I can make it on my own." Tris hops onto his back. "What about Aspen?"

"I can see in the dark." Aspen taps his wand against the corners of his eyes. "Lead the way, and I'll follow."

With a nod toward my mentor, Haut gestures for Levi to go ahead of us.

He takes off, vanishing into the darkness within a dozen steps. Pain shoots through my head when Haut follows, and I cling tighter, trying to stop my head from exploding. My face feels like it stopped the van instead of the tree.

On either side of us, the world rushes by in a blur of shadows. The more distance we put between us and the van's headlights, the more my eyes adjust to the limited light, and I pick out the outline of trees in the moonlight.

I bury my face against Haut's shoulder. "I hate forests. Everything bad happens in forests."

"Shh." He squeezes my legs. "I need to listen for pursuit."

With the noise Aspen makes behind us, I don't know how he can hear anything, but I zip my lips. Which is for the best, because with all the jostling, my stomach is threatening to rebel all over Haut.

A loud crash breaks through the forest, followed by Aspen's shout. "Watch out!"

Light blazes through the darkness, and I look back to see Aspen's wand in hand, glowing like a star as he fires into the woods on his right.

Haut curses, and Levi stumbles, their night vision ruined.

"Keep going!" Aspen whips off another spell. "I'll hold them off!"

Fear grips my chest, and I squeeze Haut's shoulder. "We should help him!"

Ignoring me, Haut and Levi continue running, carrying Tris and me deeper into the woods.

I cast a frantic look back and see another blur whip past Aspen, sending him flying to one side, his wand spinning from his grip.

My stomach clenches. "Haut, he's going to die!"

"The monster isn't after him." Haut's pace doesn't slow. "We'll send someone back once we reach Silver Hollow."

Tears sting my eyes as I cling to Haut, my heart racing. If I hadn't agreed to come here, Aspen wouldn't have been put in this position. If he dies, I'll never be able to face Mel again.

A crash comes from behind us, and Tris whips out his wand, twisting to point backward. A blaze of fire streams from him, lighting the forest in red and revealing a creature of nightmares. A blood-curdling scream splits the air before the monster rolls to the side, into the brush.

In the next moment, a stampede of breaking branches sounds from up ahead.

"Change of plan!" Haut skids to a halt and lowers me gently to the ground.

Levi does the same with Tris, and we put our backs together, while Haut and Levi guard us in a protective circle.

My hand trembles as I pull my wand from its arm sheath. I've used offensive magic, but only on instinct, when backed into a corner with no other choice. Doubt fills me that I'll be able to summon it on command.

Haut's head swivels from left to right. "Where is it coming from? I can't tell."

"Neither can I." Levi drags in deep breaths before growling in frustration. "I've never encountered a monster like this."

With a nightmarish howl, darkness rushes toward us, and Haut swings, his fingers lengthening into claws. He misses, though, and Tris yanks me to the side.

A chill brushes past me, passing through the space where I stood. That was too close. Another attack like that will see one of us injured.

I drop to my knees and press my hand to the earth. I am ethereal, connected to all things.

So why do I only feel dirt and wet leaves beneath my hand?

"Anything?" Tris steps closer to me.

About to shake my head, his leg presses against mine, and blue sparks shimmer to life. All at once, the forest shivers, taking a deep breath, and my palm buzzes, like dipping my hand into a pool of electricity.

It blazes through my body, lifting the fine hairs on my arms and the back of my neck. My eyes widen as the darkness vanishes, replaced by a world of silver energy.

"What the hell…?" Levi whispers before someone shushes him.

Tethers of light spool out from my chest, connecting to Haut and Tris, while others streak off into the distance. I feel Aspen, alive but in pain, then farther out, stretched thin but still there, the surprised concern of Owen and Ros, along with my coven.

In the other direction, I sense enough energy to feed a star, and smaller energies streaking toward us. So much life, so much potential, so much magic waiting to be summoned.

A hand touches the back of my neck, blazing with Haut's possessiveness and his dedication to protecting what's his. "I feel it."

Unsure what he's talking about, I glance up to see his moss-green eyes glowing, the outline of his wolf a living creature around him. I follow his line of sight, to a shadow among the light, a malevolent darkness eating away at the magic.

The monster.

"Levi! Left side!" Haut shouts a heartbeat before the creature rushes toward us.

Without hesitation, Levi swings, his clawed hand striking the monster and sending it hurtling back into the shadows.

Pain flares across his face, and he shakes his hand. "Feels like I punched a tree."

Haut grunts, searching for the dark spot once more. "Better a broken hand than a torn-out throat."

"True."

My hand tightens on my wand, the energy of the forest humming through me, awaiting my command.

If I accept, though, it will demand a cost, not just from me but from those who live here. Because that blaze of energy is the dome that protects Silver Hollow and all of its citizens. Taking this magic will destroy the very thing I came to save.

I turn my head, instinct drawing me to the spot of darkness in the light. It wants this magic gone. Either through my hand or by killing me to stop us from fixing what's been done.

"Lights out, Haut," I warn, and lift my hand from the ground, breaking the connection.

An enraged howl tears through the forest, and blinded, I sense the monster rushing toward us.

Then more howls fill the night air, and the darkness freezes.

"That's my pack!" Levi raises his head and howls in answer.

The forest floor shudders with the pounding of the new arrivals, as wolves and men burst from the trees to surround us, their eyes glowing red and shadows roiling from the wolf-like shapes of those at the front. Werewolves, every one of them.

Our attacker, sensing the tide turning against them, snarls and flees into the night.

Levi's hand drops to the shoulder of the biggest shadow-wolf. "There's an injured witch a dozen yards back."

"He's wounded," I add, "So approach him with caution."

The werewolf chuffs and jerks his head. A smaller werewolf peels away from the group, leading two humans back the way we came.

"Thank you." Haut dips his chin in the barest sign of deference, one Alpha showing respect to another in his territory.

Shadows boil around the shadow-wolf, and he rises onto two legs as the black tendrils suck inward to reveal the naked body of a muscular man only slightly shorter than Haut. A silver pendant dangles from a cord at his neck, a match for the one Levi wears.

"My apologies." Amber eyes assess our ragtag group before sweeping out over the moonlit forest. "This never should have happened so near our home."

"Hot damn." Tris leans against me. "They sure make fine stock in this werewolf town."

"Yee-haw." I fan myself in agreement. "This was worth the struggle."

Haut turns on us with a growl. "Please, ignore the peanut gallery. Their behavior will not improve."

The naked Adonis smiles. "Rowe Wendall, I presume? Your reputation precedes you."

"Branning," I correct on reflex. "And the reality is far tamer than the rumors."

"Somehow, I doubt that very much. My name is Griffen, and I am the Alpha of Silver Hollow." He sweeps a hand behind him. "Allow us to escort you the rest of the way to Silver Hollow. My bond mate will make sure your comrade is taken to a doctor."

"Bond mate?" Tris turns to Haut with a grin forming on his lips. "I think I know what that means, bond mate."

Haut scrubs a hand over his face. "Don't."

"Why not, bond mate?" Tris flutters his lashes. "Does it bother you, bond mate?"

I move to stand at Haut's back and tug on his shoulders. "Carry me, bond mate."

A rumble of warning comes from him. "You can walk, mate."

"But I don't want to." I plant a shoe on his calf and climb up, winding my arms around his neck. "I want to ride you like the pretty pony you are, my most special grumpy puss."

The growl increases. "Rowe…"

I lean forward to press my cheek to his. "I hit my face in the wreck. It hurts."

The annoyed vibrations instantly cut off, and his arms hook behind my knees. "Fine, but only because you're injured."

My heels kick against his thighs. "Giddy up, bond mate."

Tris gives Levi a hopeful look, and the tall man lets out a laugh before he kneels, his back turned to Tris.

"Hell, yes." Tris drapes himself over Levi's broad back. "I like this place, murder monster notwithstanding."

Griffen shakes his head in bemusement. "Hopefully, the rest of your stay will be far less exciting."

"Not likely." Haut hitches me higher. "Lead the way."

Shadows boil from Griffen's skin, and a moment later, a werewolf stands in his place.

Tris sighs with disappointment. "Here I was, looking forward to following that fine ass back to camp."

"These woods will rip up bare feet," Levi points out, not at all offended, which is a little disappointing.

Nothing ruffles the man.

As if he heard my thoughts, his head turns toward me, and he winks. "It is a fine ass. No harm in voicing the appreciation."

Griffen barks in agreement before setting off in a lope, and the humans from his pack fall in on either side of us.

Thankfully, the end of our trek is less eventful than the beginning.

From my brief connection to the woods, I know Silver Hollow isn't very far. It still comes as a shock, though, when we instantly go from nothing but miles of trees surrounding us to a sprawling collection of cabins when we pass through the barrier.

Haut tenses beneath me, the only sign of surprise he shows.

Bright lights push back the darkness, and people mill around a large, open area in the center, where tables are set up for communal eating.

"This is the pack compound where the werewolves live." Levi sweeps his arm out. "Welcome to Silver Hollow."