Chapter 1

Chapter One

T he hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as the energy in the space swells. I turn slowly and find the Volva standing in the tree line. All in white, she contrasts with the Bur Oaks and Ponderosa pines.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Bo asks, brown eyes narrowing. His dark brown hair falls over his broad forehead, and his cupid's bow lips press into a straight line.

"I don't know. But I think we're about to find out," Kirk says as she walks toward us. The moonlight kisses his dark brown skin. His strong jaw clenches and his full lips turn down in the corner.

Gliding like a spirit, her feet don't seem to touch the ground. The aura of power surrounding her is electric.

It's clear why we've looked to her for so many years for advice and magic working. Her face is radiant, smoother, and less pinched. It's as if she's shrugged off the effects of old age and returned to her prime.

Is she drawing power from the blood moon?

Fell steps forward, face strangely blank and back straight. He looks like a soldier ready to go into battle.

"What the hell is he doing now?" Bo whispers.

I shake my head, unable to look away from the strange event occurring.

The Volva smiles. "Son of Halvar, are you ready to step into the role always meant for you?"

"I don't know," Fell whispers. His rich timber shakes with fear.

Her lips curl up in the corners as she studies him silently. Fell shifts his weight and his breathing increases.

"How's running worked for you?" the Volva asks. The pack spiritual priestess has always filled me with reverence mixed with fear. With her milky pale blue eyes, white hair, and infinite knowledge, she's intimidating. Her petite frame has grown fragile over the years.

I look from one to the other, feeling like I'm watching a table tennis match. She made her intention of transferring her power and title to Fell clear. But the process of transition has been slow and unpredictable.

Fell's jaw clenches. "I've done what I needed to."

"You did what they wanted you to." Despite her serene expression, her words cut like a knife.

Fell's hands ball into fists. His face flushes and my stomach aches as anxiety creeps up.

Swallowing, I press a hand to my stomach. The surrounding air grows charged. Tiny bumps form on my arms.

"The keys to your freedom are here." She places a hand over her heart. "You're being handed the scissors to cut the cords binding you."

"How?" Anguish distorts his face in an uncanny show of vulnerability that steals my breath away.

She's penetrating the enormous wall of secrecy he's been hiding behind.

"That's for you to figure out."

Fell scoffs. She steps forward and holds his face between her hands. His pale green eyes flash with anger, and his strong jaw ticks. Fell's cropped light blonde hair is ruffled as the wind kicks up. Their gazes lock and time stands still.

If she frees him, will I get my old Fell back?

Do I even want him? There's hope that comes with the end of the spell, and potential devastation. My first love, he'd broken my heart when stood me up instead of helping me move to college as planned. The abrupt rejection and abandonment had broken me back then. Discovering he'd been under a spell had thrown my beliefs upside down. Forced to question the loathing and mistrust I'd developed for him put us in a strange place. What if his excuses don't satisfy me?

Heat floods my cheek as shame rushes in. His freedom is the most important thing, not how I feel. Still, that broken-hearted, eighteen-year-old girl in me longs for healing and understanding.

A streak of light slashes against the dark sky, followed by another. The starry-clad velvet night creates an eerie background to the intense exchange happening a few feet away.

The Volva presses her forehead against Fell's. His eyes flutter closed, and a high-pitched hum pierces my eardrums. I cover my ears and the ground rolls beneath me. Off balance, my body sways with the abrupt movement.

Cadoc and Bo reach out and grab my left and right arms, keeping me on my feet. Thunder cracks overhead, deafening as it resonates through my body. I look up, expecting to see storm clouds overhead, but the stars wink back at me in the clear evening sky. Unease winds my gut up like a garden hose.

There's nothing natural about the sudden storm. Wind kicks up and a strange circle of light forms around Fell and the Volva. The wind whips her long streaks of gray hair around like a weapon, obscuring our view of their exchange.

I can't make sense of what's happening. I step forward.

"Don't." Cadoc pulls me back against him. I struggle to break free. "Wait," he whispers in my ear.

I bite the inside of my cheek and watch as the two levitate a foot off the ground. Rotating slowly, an opaque cocoon forms around them like frosted glass obscuring them from view. Brilliant blues and greens pulse rapidly in the cocoon like leds. The encasement shatters, and the two drift to the ground, unconscious. Lying side by side on the ground, they look peaceful.

Cadoc releases me, and I rush forward, kneeling between them.

"What the hell did we just see?" Bo asks.

"I'm not sure," Kirk says, taking their pulses. His forehead wrinkles and he grunts. "Her pulse is thready and weak."

"She's, like, a thousand years old. Maybe that's normal," Bo says.

I scoff at him as I brush the blonde hair back from Fell's eyes. I peer over at the old woman who suddenly seems so small and feeble. The Volva has always been larger than life. Seeing her like this feels wrong.

"We can't let anyone know what happened here," Cadoc says. He looks around. "If they knew he was gaining her power, they'd try to keep us here."

"You want to leave her here like this?" I whisper, shaking my head.

"What choice do we have, brat? We need to get to our rooms now."

I set my jaw and shake my head. "No."

Her eyes pop open, and I recoil. Pale and unseeing, she looks through us. "My time is ending. I've done my part for our people. It's time for a new pack member to be chosen in my stead."

"Fell?" I whisper, shocked.

Her lips curve up in a mysterious smile. "The magic chooses the wolf, not the other way around. I've only unlocked what was already inside him. This is my last gift to you."

"Where are you going?" My lower lip trembles.

"I've earned my rest. But I won't be far." Her eyes grow distant. "We have little time. Get him up on his feet. And get ready to run. Trust no one but each other."

"I'm not sure you should do that," I protest weakly. If we run and we're caught it could be the end of us.

"Now is the time to dig our heels in and push ourselves to the limits, girl." Her bony fingers wrap around my wrist.

"Cryptic Response," Bo snarks.

Disappearing in the blink of an eye, she leaves us all baffled as Kirk wakes Fell.

"What the hell was that?" Fell asks groggily. The others help him stand.

I open my mouth to respond and freeze. The hungry breeze sweeps in, tugging at my hair and bringing a vaguely familiar smell.

My heart moves up into my throat. Kez? The energy is similar to my old roommates'. What would she be doing here? Thoughts of the betrayer who'd been like a sister I have mixed emotions.

I turn to the left along with my mates and freeze at the sight of the odd man standing a few feet away. The bland, vanilla scent wafting off him screams scent blocker, but there's a hard-to-place note underneath that tugs at my brain.

The glint in his fathomless black gaze dries my mouth. Dangerous, despite his pleated gray slacks, white button-down with sleeves rolled up to the elbow, gray vest, and innocent expression; he instantly sets me on edge.

Cadoc straightens, blocking me from the stranger's view as Fell, Bo, and Kirk pull in around me. A mating ceremony is a time for pack, not interlopers. Having him here after it was just performed is odd.

"I came to make sure you weren't thinking of leaving." His deep voice is smooth and cultured. I can't place the accent, but it's not local.

"Who the hell are you?" Cadoc asks.

"A friend of the Alpha's here to inform you an emergency meeting has been called." He smiles, revealing white teeth that look sharper than normal. "Attendance isn't optional."

"Who are you to tell me anything?" Cadoc stands his ground, growling in the back of this throat as his chest expands and the wolf inside him surges to the surface.

"Careful, wolf. You don't want to tangle with me." His eyes flicker to an odd, swirling silver that gives us all pause. "You have no idea what you're dealing with."

Bo sneers. His body tenses.

Stay. Cadoc's command sweeps through our clan link. Shocked, I freeze.

"Is that a threat?" Cadoc asks calmly.

"A notice from your Alpha."

"But not yours?" I ask, catching onto his wording.

"Never." He laughs.

I turn to look at Bo, who shakes his head. He has no idea what's going on either. Fell places a hand on the small of my back.

I lean into his hand, soaking up the warmth. This is a curveball we hadn't seen coming.

Alpha played a hand we didn't know he held. Who is this? What is he?

Following him inside the house behind the clearing, we move further away from our freedom. We walk into the dwelling and walls shrinks around me. The expensive art on the wall, and modern dark wood furniture speaks to the Alpha's wealth.

The majestic building I once admired, for its high ceilings, and old architecture, is no better than a prison.

"You have an hour to freshen up before we meet in his office. We wouldn't want our people to think we mistreated the new heroes meant to save our pack" the enforcer says.

"Who's we?" Bo asks.

"The council, of course."

"What would you know about the council?" Cadoc's voice deepens.

Glancing over his shoulder, he smirks. "More than you, I'd wager."

Cadoc stares a hole into the stranger, who returns his gaze. They both stop walking abruptly and Bo and Fell nudge me behind them.

"When were they called?" Kirk's question shatters the moment.

"Did you think they wouldn't be here for your mating ceremony?" The mystery man arches his eyebrow.

"That's not an emergency meeting, now is it?" Bo asks. For once, I admire his snarky attitude as he draws the attention away from the silently fuming Cadoc. Muscles tense, my ex-enforcer is ready to strike at a moment's notice.

I press my hand to his back.

"Things change fast around here. If you're not careful, you'll get left behind." There's a hidden meaning behind his words I don't understand.

"Interesting theory from someone I've never seen around before," Fell says. "Anything else you want to share with the rest of us?"

"I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise." His smug smile makes my belly ache.

"Does that include your name?" I peer from behind Cadoc's massive frame.

"Are you curious, Ylva?" He arches an eyebrow and turns his attention to me. I fight the urge to hide.

"I like to know who has the Alpha's trust and ear." I tilt my chin up, drawing strength from my mates.

"Smart." He tilts his head. The graceful movement makes me uneasy. "Axford. Remember, you have one hour." He taps his Rolex and sweeps past us down the hallway with an ease and familiarity that speaks volumes.

"Not a word until we're in the room," Cadoc says as he ushers us up the stairs and down the hall to our suite.

Cream-colored walls are offset by thick pale blue velvet curtains that block out the moonlight from the large windows. Ignoring the massive circular bed, I move to the dark blue velvet settee against the far wall and sink onto the soft cushion.

Hands in my lap, I wait for the others to join me in the oversized winged-back chairs of the same hue. A fireplace rests beneath a large mantle decorated with gaudy crystal vases full of fresh cut red, yellow, and orange ombré Gaillidra, Echinacea, and Goldenrods.

I focus on the ornate glass chandelier with depictions of Norse gods and goddesses painted on each pane as I sift through chest-tightening emotions and thoughts of Kez.

Inhaling, I breathe out through my nostrils. My mates need me. "Kez," I whisper.

"Who?" Bo asks.

"Her old roommate," Cadoc answers.

"That's who he smells like to me." I lick my lips as Kirk scoots to the edge of his seat and presses his knee against mine.

"The vampire?" Fell asks skeptically.

"He had a scent blocker on," Kirk reminds me gently.

"Yes, but there was something else too," Bo says narrowing his gaze. "It was elusive and foreign?—"

"Not to me." I shake my head. "I think it's time I return my roomie's phone calls."

I dig the phone out of my suitcase and power it up. I hold my breath as the screen lights up and I scroll to her name and press send.

"Ylva."

"Hi." My throat swells and I close my eyes. Hearing the voice of the closest person to me for the past four years is bittersweet.

"Are you okay?" Kez's voice is higher than normal and laced with fear and anxiety.

"That's debatable," I say with a laugh. "But I'm safe enough."

"I'm sorry. I hated deceiving you, but I didn't have a choice." The words bring back the shock I experienced when my pack revealed she'd been hired to keep tabs on me in college.

"Why?" My voice cracks.

"The world I live in is cruel, and the people in charge are ruthless. When they tell you to jump, you ask how high, if you're smart." Voice shaking, she sounds haunted and regretful. Good, it's what she deserves to feel.

"What do you mean?" I ask, longing to understand this person I once considered my sister.

"The less you know, the better." She closes off, and my curiosity grows. I won't push for now, but this conversation is far from over.

"I called because I had a question."

"Anything," she says eagerly.

"Why didn't I know you were a vampire? I saw you eat. You walked in the sunshine."

"There are all kinds of vampires. I'm," she says before pausing, "different from the others."

"But I never felt anything from you, and I should have."

"Magic. There are always workarounds, they might hate witches, but they can put those feelings aside long enough to pay them to do their bidding."

How? A million different questions arise in my head. I've had an interest in vampires and their lore. Maybe it's time for that to change.

Bo nudges me on the side, and I clear my voice. "There's someone here who smelled like you."

"Like me?" she asks.

"Vanilla and something I couldn't quite place."

"What's his name?" The alarm in her voice rattles me.

"Axford."

She gasps. "Is he tall, dark, and handsome with a designer watch?"

"Tall, and lithe, with dark eyes and hair. Dressed to impress in a designer pants and vest combination."

"Be careful around him," Kez pleads.

"She knows who he is?" Cadoc asks.

I hold up a finger.

"Who was that?" Kez says.

"One of my mates."

"Wait. Mates!" her voice goes up three octaves.

"Four of them," I admit sheepishly.

She cackles. "For someone who barely dated, you sure hit the jackpot after graduation."

"That she did," Bo agrees.

"They can hear me?" she whispers.

"Yeah, wolf hearing. Back to the man." I steer her from the friendly waters. I'm not ready to swim with her again.

"You need to stay as far away from him as you can. Being on his radar is never a good thing. He's got his hands in all kinds of shady things. Axford is ruthless with a hunger for power and a reputation for breaking rules to get where he wants to be."

"It's too late for that. He sought me out." My voice wavers. "How high ranking are we talking?"

"Royalty. An ancient from a powerful born family." Kez's voice is tinged with fear. It scares me.

"Born?" I mouth the words.

"An original vampire that wasn't made. They've become quite rare," Bo explains from his spot leaning against the wall.

Kirk and Fell sit on either side of me and Cadoc sits at the end of the bed.

"Why?" I wonder aloud.

"That's a question they've been trying to answer, the same as we have," Kirk says.

"Do you think it's related to our pack's decline and the Alpha's strange behavior?" I whisper.

"It has to be," Bo says.

"Do you want to let me in on the secret?" Kez asks.

Cadoc shakes his head. "This you're better off not knowing. How do I deal with Axford?"

"I wish you weren't." The fear in Kez's voice makes me nauseous. "He deals in power and information. Figure out why he's there and offer him something better or position yourself in a place of power he can't challenge."

"What could he possibly gain from us?" Cadoc asks.

"How did they discover you, Kez?" Vampires and wolves may work together, but we're never friends outside of the safety alliances.

The silence stretches out like a rubber band approaching its breaking point.

"Kez?" I prod.

"That's complicated."

Huffing, I sneer at her words. Rising, I begin to pace. "I think you owe me some explanation." I hate the secrets that continue to separate us. Doubt creeps back in. Did I ever know her at all? How much of her act was complete fiction?

"It was an assignment." Truth hits me in the chest like a sledgehammer.

"From whom?" Cadoc asks, speaking over my shoulder.

"My host family, the Leids." There's a wealth of bitterness and anger in that phrase. Why were they hosting her? What did that mean, exactly?

"I wasn't in a position to ask questions. When I saw a chance to escape, I took it. I won't apologize for that. But I'm sorry I hurt you."

I swallow around the lump in my throat. I don't have the time or capacity to fully process this portion of the conversation. My ignorance of the vampire culture has never been more apparent.

"What did they do to you, Kez?"

She clears her throat. "I can't." Her voice breaks. "I have to go. Watch him, keep your distance, and never turn your back on him. I don't know what's going on between our people, but it's not good. I'll see what information I can gather on my end."

I hear footsteps in the background. "I have to go." She disconnects and I stare at the phone, more confused than I was before the call.

"What do you make of that?" Cadoc studies me with a neutral expression.

"I'm not sure what to think."

"Don't forget we already know how well she can lie," Kirk says gently.

"If you think I've forgotten, you're insane." I grind my teeth.

"And yet, she has no reason to lie now," Bo says, propped up against the cream-colored walls.

I stare at the expensive, original baroque-style painting. With a round face and curvy frame, the pale woman looking over a lake and holding a blush pink peony looks like an angel. Head tilted; she seems to view us with curiosity. I peer up into her dark eyes, entranced and fascinated by the pull I feel to her.

"Ylva, did you hear me?"

"Huh?" I look at Fell, disoriented.

"Come sit." Fell pats the oversized dark blue settee cushion beside him.

"What's going on, princess?" Bo asks, fixing me with narrowed eyes.

"I don't know. That painting is different." I nod at it, careful to avoid its eyes as I walk across the room and sit beside Fell.

Cadoc grunts. "I don't like it."

"Did you think they'd put us in a room they didn't have some way to monitor?" Kirk asks softly.

"You think it's spelled?" I whisper.

Kirk inclines his head. "Maybe."

"That would put the Alpha in bed with witches," I say, studying his face.

"Never underestimate the things that man does." Kirk's face is a stone wall, and his voice has turned cold. Seeing the normally neutral healer have such a strong reaction gives me the chills. It's a stark contrast to the level-headed behavior I've come to expect from him since we were paired.

"It's time you share with the class, Doc. The mysterious comments you keep dropping are old," Bo says.

"There were late-night meetings with all kinds of supernatural players over the years. I saw them, and I turned a blind eye." Kirk's jaw twitches and he shakes his head. "I was too focused on keeping Hildr alive. She didn't go suddenly as we lead you to believe." Kirk drops his head and my stomach lurches. He'd been caught in an impossible position. Tasked with keeping the Alpha's wife alive from the sickness stealing the lives of the females in our pack would've been a fulltime job. In the end, even he couldn't prevent her death.

"What?" Fell sits up straight.

Kirk drops his head. "We fought the sickness inside her for years. In the end, all I could treat was the pain. He kept her alive for so long because he was selfish. If he'd truly loved her, he could never bear the kind of suffering she underwent."

"Fenrir's Chains," I whisper.

"He had me dose her with painkillers, and energy enhancers to parade around the others, feigning the appearance of control and power he didn't possess."

"Why didn't we smell it sooner?" Cadoc asks.

"You know why." Kirk meets his gaze.

"Magic," Cadoc whispers.

Kirk nods.

"Fuck." Bo runs a hand through his hair. "Makes things complicated."

"Take the painting off the wall," Fell says. His thick, pale blonde brows dip.

We all stare at him.

"Now. They're going to use it to spy." Fell's knowing tone is eerie.

"You heard the man." Cadoc walks over to one side and Kirk joins him. The minute they place their hands on the ornate gold gilded frame, they grunt.

"Are you okay?" I ask, wringing my hands.

"It's hot," Cadoc says, tensing.

"On three?" Kirk asks gruffly.

"One. Two. Three." They lift and nothing happens.

"It's like it's stuck," Cadoc grunts as they pull.

Fell stands. I can see a golden aura surrounding him as he walks toward the painting. Tilting his head back, he studies it. His lips twist into a displeased frown. Fell places his hand on the thick frame and it leaps from the wall. Kirk and Cadoc scramble to balance it as they lower it to the ground and rest it against the wall.

"The heart of the pack has been corrupted. It continues to rot from the inside out," Fell says with disgust. "They thought to trap us here with a ward on the painting."

"Fell?" I ask softly. This isn't the same man he was before the Volva touched him.

He turns toward me. "I broke it."

I inhale sharply. I can sense the power growing inside him, but I don't fear it. No, I'm drawn to it.

Rising, I walk toward him, holding his intense gaze. When I reach him, I place my hand on his warm chest. My palms tingle and I feel our connection growing.

"You feel it?" Fell whispers.

"Feel what?" Bo asks approaching our side.

"Magic," I whisper in wonder. "Can you tell me now?" I ask hopefully.

Fell's brow wrinkles. "Not yet."

Shoulders slumping, I nod.

"I realize you once had your own language together, but the rest of us would appreciate a translation," Bo says heatedly.

"For now, the spell on him still holds," I mumble.

"But it won't always, will it?" Cadoc asks. "And the person who cast it will want to retaliate. What then?"

"Then we fight. No one gets left behind in this clan." I bristle. We've stuck together so far. I won't see that change.

"Look at how gorgeous you are when you claim us," Bo drawls.

I sniff and he chuckles. "Do you need one of us to remind you who you belong to, brat?" Cadoc asks silkily.

I turn to him, shocked that he's backing Bo. "No." The word is sharp.

"Oh, brat. Wrong answer." He clicks his tongue and steps forward. His broad hand becomes a necklace for my neck.

I lean into his firm touch, soothed by his closeness and the fire burning in the depths of his pale blue eyes. Cadoc always had a calming energy to him, likely because I've known him as a safe figure that my father trusted. When the Alpha paired us together to form a new clan, deep down a part of me was relieved. One of my father's friends, he'd been in my life long enough for me to know him.

"You enjoy testing me, don't you?" Cadoc chuckles.

"Yes," I breathe as I press my thighs together and my core throbs.

"So tempting." Cadoc runs his thumb across my lips, and I shudder.

"We can smell how badly you want us, princess," Bo says gravely.

"We should put this sweet girl out of her misery," Kirk says.

"Yes," Fell agrees. They walk toward me together as slick gathers between my lips and inside my upper thighs. Eager to forget about the threats constantly circling us, I lick my lips hungrily.

A bright flash of light draws my attention to the window on the right. We turn our heads to look and gasp at the bright shooting star rocketing past us. Looping and zigzagging, it illuminates the darkness.

"Oh," I whisper in awe of the magnificence.

Warmth develops in my chest and the star shoots straight up and explodes into a rune Perthro forms like fireworks. Sparks rain down and a sense of sorrow and change settles over the room.

The old bell on the steeple in town chimes heralding the beginning of the end of the Volva's reign. Concerned cries and panic begin. Doors open in the rooms of the mansion as the news spreads.

"This is the distraction we need to escape." Cadoc lowers his hand, and I bite the inside of my cheek to stave off my whimper of disappointment.

"We'll join the others and make our way to the car through the chaos that always comes with the sudden exchange of power," Cadoc says.

"Headed where?" Fell asks.

"I think we'll have our answer soon." Bo holds up the glowing sundial with the spinning piece slowly rotating. Seeing the instrument integrate itself into his magic is fascinating. It's become a part of him, absorbed into his magic, it appears when needed, sinking into his body when it's served its purpose.

"Let's go now," Kirk insists.

Picking up the leather satchel from the place I'd hidden it in the closet, I clutch it to my chest. Whatever happens next, I can't afford to be separated from the information inside.

He grabs my hand as Cadoc takes the lead, and we leave the bedroom behind for the unknown. The door opens, and the chaos infiltrates the pocket of quiet we'd carved out.