Chapter 29

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

Callista

M y head was spinning. I blinked, trying to piece together what had just happened. I was sprawled on the ground with Kael caging me against the ground. The cool, damp earth pressed against my back.

Where was Lana? She was there. The dagger in her hand.

"Kael." I struggled to push myself up onto my elbows, and he lifted his weight from my chest, still positioning himself between me and any oncoming danger.

I gasped when I saw him. Bill. His grizzled form was crumpled on the forest floor. "No —"

Kael was already moving, whirling and grabbing onto Bill's shoulders. "Bill!" His voice cracked, and my heart wrenched in my chest.

The hilt of the dagger protruded from his chest. Directly over his heart. I searched for Lana and found her a few feet away, her face in the dirt.

What the hell had happened?

"Bill," Kael pleaded, lifting the man's head and shoulders into his lap.

I didn't know what to do. This wasn't like the birth where I could jump in and take direction. Bill's face was ashen, his chest spasming.

A tingling sensation started at my core and spread outward, like sinking into a hot bath after a winter hike. My hand flew to my arm, feeling for my wound. But there was nothing. Just smooth, unbroken skin. My hand trembled as I ran my fingers over the spot, disbelief warring with relief. All of it was followed by a pit opening up in my stomach. If my wound was gone, that meant?—

A gurgling sound pulled my attention back to Bill. Blood pooled around him, soaking into the forest floor. Kael's hands pressed uselessly against the wound. Lana pushed up from the ground, wiping the dirt from her cheeks.

Blood. The dagger had taken his blood. But how was it possible?

Kael pressed his hand against Bill's cheek. "Why did you do this?" He knelt in the pooling blood, his hands trembling. "Why would you?—"

Bill's eyes flicked to his, and he smiled. "Kael . . ." His voice was barely a whisper. "You know why."

The forest seemed to hold its breath. The dappled sunlight filtering through the trees cast a warm, golden glow on Bill's face, making him look like an angel.

Kael shook his head, and Bill's hand reached up to rest on Kael's arm. "It's okay, pup. It's okay." His eyes closed for a moment.

Lana watched on in disbelief. She was shaking, tears streaming down her face. "It accepted him but not me."

I shook my head, confused. "What do you mean?"

Lana squeezed her eyes shut. "Something went wrong. When it touched my blood, it didn't accept it. The dark power surged through it—surged into me."

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. Lana's blood was supposed to satiate the dagger, not provide a more deadly vehicle. But what did we know? We'd based our plan on an elementary understanding of the relics. Of course we'd misunderstood the power it held. The link that Lana had with the Shadow Pack.

Lana crawled forward, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Why didn't you tell us?" She stared directly at Bill.

Bill's eyelids shuttered. His breath coming in quick bursts.

Lana's eyes locked onto mine. "When the dagger touched me, I saw things. Memories that weren't mine. A pack, the Shadow Pack." Her voice wavered. "I saw them before the curse, before the relics. And I can see him now. I can see his wolf."

I stared at her, my mind racing. "Bill. He's Shadow Pack?"

Lana nodded, her hands clenched into fists. "The dagger wasn't satisfied with a taste. It still required a life. If I had given more?—"

Bill coughed, and Lana's head jerked up. She scrambled to his side, her hands hovering over him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Bill turned his head to look at her, his eyes glassy. "It's not your fault, Lana."

She shook her head, and a sob broke free of her lips.

Bill reached up and grabbed her hand. "This was my fate." His voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper. "You have to fulfill the legends. You need to reunite the pack." Bill's grip on her hand tightened. "The Shadow Pack. It's the only way the packs will be strong again. The only way to protect what's coming."

Lana paled. "What's coming?"

Bill's eyes fluttered closed. "You have to find the others, Lana. You have to—" His grip weakened, and his hand fell to Kael's lap.

Lana's breath came in ragged gasps as she watched the life drain from his eyes. "Bill, please. Please don't go."

He didn't respond. His eyes were vacant. His chest still.