12. Twelve

twelve

T he mysterious caster took the seat of honor, and I joined the elderly advisors at the end of the row.

Even though the visible stain had been scrubbed away, the fibers of the wood beneath my feet still held remnants of my father’s blood. Adding mine to his was poetic but foolish. My wolf retreated, as if I’d disappointed her.

When the time is right, I vowed, settling in for the excruciating evening.

Finneus made a speech that I tuned out, using the time to study the audience instead. Some of the strays were splayed in seats at tables alongside pack members. Those sitting beside them were visibly rigid, as though they feared their lives might end at any minute.

It was a valid concern.

The only thing more disturbing than a dangerous caster seated beside the alpha was the presence of so many faces that were foreign to me. I’d known everyone in our pack my whole life. Even if the new additions weren’t menacingly devoted to our turncoat leader, they didn’t blend with the Ophiuchus wolves.

Our pack was polished and harmonious. Even dressed in nicer clothes, the strays were feral and spoiling for a fight.

When Finneus and Belinda took to the dance floor, I leaned back in my seat and wondered what promises the new alpha had made to secure any allegiance from the strays and the caster.

No one was paying attention to me, so I decided it was a good time to slip away to the bar. If my presence was an attend-or-die situation, the least they could do was give me a decent bottle of champagne to help me survive the ordeal.

A shadow trailed me—apparently not everyone had given up interest in me. I didn’t acknowledge Donnelle until a flute of bubbly was tucked between my fingers.

“What do you want?” I asked, my voice lacking any true heat. Even to my own ears, the question sounded weary.

Belinda’s brother shrugged. “Nothing,” he said. “I’d just rather be your guard than leave you to…. someone else.”

The memory of Finneus’ strays swarming me brought revulsion and an itch to break something in equal measure. I downed the champagne and slammed the flute on the bar with enough force to snap the stem.

Without flinching, the bartender handed me another glass already filled to the brim. I finally turned back to Donnelle as he chewed on a cuticle. When I raised an eyebrow and stared pointedly at the nervous habit, his arm fell to his side.

My tone was softer when I finally asked him, “How are you holding up?”

The whole pack was reeling from Finneus’ actions, not just me. More than anyone, Donnelle had reason for anxiety.

Belinda’s brother snapped to attention as if he’d been straightened by a ghostly chiropractor. “Alpha Williams has…,” he started, his face screwing up with the effort of fighting the newfound control. “I want only happiness for my sister and peace within the pack.”

Leaning back against the bar top, I chose my words carefully.

“Is your sister happy?” I asked.

Donnelle’s resolved expression fell, and fear crept into his eyes. “Do you thi—”

A whiskey glass hit the bar behind me.

“Single-malt on the rocks, don’t be stingy,” a voice declared. Ander’s eyes were bloodshot, sadness heavy in his expression.

When he reached for the refilled tumbler, I noticed the skin on his knuckles was peeling and crimson. Ander’s casual facade about his relationship with Belinda was belied by the decimated skin—something solid had paid the price for his unleashed emotions.

“Is there anything I can do?” I asked him, knowing full well there wasn’t a bippity-boppity-boo moment in our near future.

“Beli can handle herself,” he said with no conviction. It was the first time I’d heard him utter an affectionate nickname for a girl.

Before I could process what that might mean, I caught Penn in my peripheral vision, approaching from the right. I looked down at the fizzling bubbles popping in my glass and ground my teeth.

Then the scent of juniper wafted from my left and I looked over to see Evera and her mother coming from the other side. Without a word to Donnelle or Ander, I pivoted and walked toward the Matthews women. Penn could make a scene if he truly wanted to announce some new way to torture me, but at least I would have witnesses.

Grace clutched me in another tight hug that lingered. I sagged for a heartbeat of reprieve from the stoicism expected of me.

“Thank you for dinner,” I murmured. “I ate it all.” I felt her stiffen, and I knew the reason without turning.

Sure enough, Penn stood behind me, shuffling his weight from foot to foot.

“The al… Finneus asked if you might share a dance with Belinda’s brother,” he muttered, his light gaze flitting from me to Evera to her mother, and back again. “Please, Drake?”

“You’re stepping on my dress,” I snapped, pointing down to his shiny tuxedo shoes standing on the hem of my gown and pinning me to the spot. “I know you have control issues, but that’s excessive, even for you.”

When he stepped back, the memory of the last time he wore those shoes threatened to suffocate me.

Exhaling a long breath, I set my glass down. Donnelle had watched the exchange with a range of intense emotions. Knowing that it was a fight-or-flight moment, I turned to him with a ghost of a smile playing on my features—the closest thing to charming I could manage.

“Wanna give them something to talk about?” I asked, my tone light. Penn’s shoulders sagged in relief when Belinda’s brother nodded tightly and held his hand out.

As we performed a patterned waltz around the shining dance floor, I looked up instead of meeting Ander’s gaze. The midnight blue sky shone on the other side of the glass domed ceiling. The stars gleamed in a way only seen outside the confines of cities and streetlights.

If I squeezed my eyes shut, could I transport myself to the last time I’d danced on that floor? Could I open them to find myself dancing with Penn while my father watched? I would’ve given anything known to Gaia for that to happen.

The unforgiving moon was fuller than it had been that night, and the twin streaks of light were missing. This wasn’t the Twin Comets Ball. It was a celebration of the new alpha, his soon-to-be mate, and the end of the pack life that had been my constant in a world with little biological family to my name.

When we drew even with the foot of the dais on our circle, I found Malia’s gaze locked on me again. Her fixed stare brought goosebumps to my forearms. Even though I knew little of casters, it wouldn’t have mattered if I’d never heard of them before—everything about the woman was unsettling.

A heaving stray stood behind her, watching me with the same concentration. I must’ve physically bristled because Donnelle noticed.

“What the hell are they doing?” he murmured.

I shook my head in the briefest of nods. For all I knew, the powers of casters extended to lip reading. Maybe even mind reading. Shit.

When my back faced the dais, I finally answered him. “Plotting my death, measuring your resolve, or taking bets on which of us will try to stop the ceremony.”

The last option bolstered him for an instant, as if that might be a possibility.

“We can’t,” I breathed. “Not now. But we will save your sister.”

As Donnelle opened his mouth to respond, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the room. At one of the tables, a stray had thrown a beer-filled pint glass. On the opposite side of the circular table, another newcomer shoved his chair back and hissed.

It was as if the sound sent off a chain reaction. The first shoved his hands beneath the table and sent it flying. The second shifted in an instant, snarling and snapping as his black fur gleamed in the light. Screams rose and bedlam ensued as Ophiuchus pack members stampeded for the exit.

Along the periphery, shifts happened in a rapid-fire sequence. The strays flung their wolves into the melee. I couldn’t tell who was on which side, but the fervor rose to a new level. The only evident thing that united each faction was their desire to maim the opposing group.

I backed away from the dance floor until my spine crashed against the wood of the dais. Donnelle had abandoned me—he ran for his sister like a track sprinter, vaulting up the stairs until he stood in front of Belinda.

Someone shoved against my ribs, and I leapt to the side. That only gave me six inches until I collided with another body. The pounding in my chest couldn’t find an outlet. My brain clouded, and I dropped to a crouch, hugging my knees. I felt impacts on both sides as I curled into myself and prayed to Gaia. Staring at the floor, I wondered if this was really how my life would end. Hopefully it would be quick.

A strong hand wrapped around my bicep, and I hunkered down further, refusing to make it any easier for these assholes to kill me.

Was this the plan all along? I wondered as the fingers tugged at me again.

A gasp of pain from one side dragged me back to reality. Fight or flight, Drake. What’s it going to be?

I gulped two deep breaths and stood, my thighs aching from the crouched position in stiletto heels.

Just as I summoned my wolf to shift and take over, Penn’s palm cupped my cheek. His eyes scanned me for injury. “Do you trust me?” he asked.

Hysterical laughter bubbled from my throat, joining the chorus of fear and panic as the thumps of bodies hitting the floor punctuated the air.

“Not in the least,” I said. Evidently, my heart and brain weren’t in sync on matters of survival. Penn’s blond hair whipped across his face as he twisted his head back and forth, searching for threats.

“Drake, you are not going to like this. But Basil deserves it.”

Before I could begin to fathom what he meant, Penn stooped and hoisted me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I wanted to fight, to struggle. To stay and maybe help someone. Penn’s words echoed in my head as he hauled me to the exit. Grunts of pain trailed behind us, but I couldn’t see anything except the backs of Penn’s shiny shoes when they burst out onto the snow-covered ground outside.

Without an ounce of grace, he dropped me to the ground.

“Get Evera,” I demanded from my place in the snow. Penn hesitated for an instant, torn between leaving me alone without help and reentering the melee.

Donnelle’s voice boomed into the night before Penn made a decision.

“I have your six!” he declared. Belinda hobbled beside him, wearing only one of her shoes. My heels slipped on the ground as I got to my feet.

Apparently, Finneus’ guards had better things to do than ensure the safety of his soon-to-be mate. Like kill each other. Scrambling to her side, I locked an arm around Belinda’s waist.

“Go,” I urged. “I can handle this.”

Before the men made it back inside, Malia exited the temple with her arms raised. She said nothing. Energy pulsed around her in a suffocating swirl of dark magic. This was why casters scared the shit out of everyone—we had no idea what she was truly capable of.

Instead of casting a spell upon those of us fleeing, she tilted her head back as if soaking in the magic of the night. As I calculated the odds of taking her down before someone could stop me, shouts rose, followed by a scream.

The front window of the temple shattered when two wolves collided with the glass from inside. They toppled end-over-end onto the icy grounds outside. That was all I needed to fly into action.

I ripped off my heels and dashed for the Ophiuchus wolves closest to me, signaling for them to move behind me. I would go down fighting if I could shield them from the violence.

Snow flew through the icy air with every re-positioning of the grapple. Crimson sprayed the ground, but neither backed down. What were they even fighting for? Top spot in the ranks of a traitorous dick? What was the best possible outcome?

Penn climbed atop a bench beside the path leading to the temple. When he threw his head back and howled, it rang with a degree of authority I never would’ve fathomed from him.

“Enough!” he bellowed. “You have all dishonored the Ophiuchus pack. You will disperse, and you will answer for your disgraceful acts. Get the fuck out of my sight!”

The aches of loss and terror in my chest softened for an instant. Was it possible Penn wasn’t just another minion of his brother?

Before I could wrap my head around the possibility, another question slammed at my brain walls like a sumo wrestler. If I was outside along with the beta, Belinda, and Malia…

Where the hell was Finneus?