Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Destin

T he stone behind me lit up like a damn LED light, blinding in the darkening twilight. I didn't question it. As James turned, I took full advantage of the distraction and flew forward, my wolf taking over. Claws ripped from my fingers, my jaw cracked, and I tore out of my skin, fur bursting from my pores. I landed on all fours, then streaked forward like a missile.

I hip-checked Kael out of the way, then dove straight for the stalkers. Their claws were like needles tearing through my fur, and the stench of rot hit me like a brick wall. I went for their necks, but they were too fast. They jumped back, then lunged, snapping around my throat.

I tore at the one on my right, but the other one clamped down on my shoulder, tearing skin and muscle. I howled, then shoved the one on my left back, snapping my jaws over its head.

The two other alphas shifted next to me, diving into the fray, but I didn't have any help. Kael and the others were still bound. I fought with a wild ferocity, my claws tearing through fur and flesh. They slashed at me. My blood sprayed, they howled and thrashed as I lashed out.

Pain shot through my body as they bit back, their teeth sinking into my flank. I yanked free, tearing skin and muscle, then lunged again. My jaws clamped down on one of their necks, and I felt the satisfying crunch of bone. I shook my head, ripping it free, then threw the limp body to the side. I didn't know who it was, there was only the enemy.

The other stalker lunged for my throat, but I was ready. I thrashed, pulling it off balance, then slammed it into the ground. I didn't give it a chance to recover. I tore into its flesh, ripping it apart until it was nothing but a pile of gore and bone.

It would regenerate, but I hope it would give me a little time. I turned, ready to face the other stalker, but one of the alphas was already on me. His claws sank into my back, and I howled in pain. I twisted, trying to shake it off, but it held on. I drove my body backward, slamming it against a tree. The impact knocked the wind out of me, but it also forced the Stalker to release its grip.

I spun, my vision red, my breath wheezing. My fur was slick with blood, my legs unsteady, but I didn't care. I would protect them. I was?—

"Enough!" James' voice cut through the night like a knife. The bone stalkers froze, their eyes locking onto him. The other alphas, who had been shifting and growling at the edge of the clearing, dropped their heads. Their shoulders hunched, just as a weight landed on my back. What the hell?

"Stop," James said again, his voice soft as the weight crushed me, forcing me down on my front paws.

Then a figure stepped out of the shadows. My wolf whined, urging me forward, but I couldn't move. I could barely lift my eyes to see that it was her. Lana. The book clutched in her arms.

The glow from the stone bathed her in light, making her appear almost ethereal. No, not ethereal. She was there. Solid. More vivid than the shadows that fell around her. Like she was in hyper focus while the rest of the world blurred around her.

My muscles twitched to life. I pushed against the weight of James's power, my frustration growing as I realized I couldn't push past it. I couldn't shift. Couldn't even think straight.

Lana's eyes found mine, and her lips parted. She turned on James, her expression hardening. "Why?"

James took a step toward her, but Lana didn't flinch. "I'm so glad you joined us."

She held her ground, her grip tightening on the book. Her eyes glowed with a fierce determination, and for a moment, I thought I saw something else flicker there. I growled, working to give her a signal, to bark, yip, anything to tell her to run. This power James had, I'd never felt anything like it.

Lana ignored his smug comment. "Why did you bring them here?" She motioned to the bone stalkers. The creatures growled low in their throats, but James held up a hand, and they fell silent.

"They answer to me," James said simply.

Lana shook her head. "They answer to no one."

James raised an eyebrow. "And how would you know that?" Lana's wolf pulsed through her, the veins in her neck standing out, but James only laughed. "I see, because you've glimpsed something beyond this world, you think you understand the darkness? Because you hold that book?—"

Lana hissed as he reached forward. "Don't."

His smile widened. "But you see, that and the dagger you hold will answer to me, too. You were wonderfully willing to retrieve it for me, but now I can remove that burden." He held out his hands like an expectant father.

Lana stood perfectly still, her eyes searing into his. "Please. Take it."

James sneered at Lana, then lunged forward. His eyes flashed with a feral intensity, and his silhouette stretched and contorted as he reached for the book. No. I panted, fighting the weight that locked me to the ground. He seemed to be one with the shadows, ready to rip into her and?—

Three streaks of gold shot from the stone. The lights blazed across the clearing, and I felt their brilliance before I saw them. They were like shooting stars, fast and furious, and in the blink of an eye, they hammered into Evelyn, Rowan, and Kael.

Evelyn staggered, her eyes widening. Rowan cursed, and Kael stumbled back, his head snapping to the side as if he'd been physically struck. Then, just as quickly as they'd been hit, the three of them straightened. They were free. Their bands removed.

The streaks of light ignited everything in their path with a searing brilliance. The bone stalkers, looming with their skeletal frames and empty, glowing eyes, shrieked in unison. Their twisted bodies convulsed as flames licked up their limbs, burning brighter and hotter with every second. The shrikes tore from the trees, but not fast enough.

The scent of charred bone filled the air, thick and acrid, clawing at the back of my throat. The stalkers' limbs spasmed, twisting at impossible angles as they writhed in agony, but the flames showed no mercy. They were consumed, their forms crumbling into ash that scattered across the clearing like dark snowflakes. Feathers rained from the sky.

I sucked in a breath, forcing myself upright, my muscles trembling from the effort. The weight that had held me down moments before was gone. My gaze snapped to Lana just as James snarled, his hand still outstretched toward the book. The flames closed in, gold threads twisting through the air like snakes ready to strike. Realization flickered across his face—he was trapped. They were all trapped.

Then, the air shifted.

A dense, choking plume of smoke exploded from James's chest, billowing outward and swallowing the alphas whole. It was as if reality itself twisted around them, bending space and light, sucking them into a vortex of darkness. The smoke coiled like a living thing, thick and suffocating, and the clearing plunged into a deafening silence as the alphas vanished.

One second they were there, faces twisted in rage—and the next, gone. Lana took a shaky step forward, her gaze locked on the spot where James had disappeared.

Kael cursed under his breath, fists clenched at his sides as he let out a strangled cry into the trees. Rowan stood next to him, his face a mask of fury. I understood exactly. The alphas needed to pay, but right then, all I cared about was her.

The streaks of gold solidified, shifting from abstract streaks to defined shapes. They grew taller, more substantial. What had been mere lines of light turned into fur and muscle, their forms expanding until they stood as wolves in the middle of the clearing.

I would've marveled more if Lana hadn't raced forward. She bolted toward me, her eyes locked on mine. I lunged, meeting her halfway, and Lana didn't slow. She crashed into me, her arms wrapping around my neck, her head burying into my blood-soaked fur.

Every fibre of my being screamed to hold her, to shift back and pull her into my arms, but I was still weak, my body healing. Lana's breath hitched, the vibration of a sob emanating from her chest.

I growled, forcing my human form forward despite the pain. My fur retracted, my bones reshaped. As I stood there, naked in the clearing, I didn't give a single shit about the others seeing me like this.

I pulled her into my arms, my hands gripping her shoulders, her back, her hair. She looked up at me, her eyes glassy with tears. "Lana—" I pulled her tighter, feeling her heartbeat against my chest. When her lips finally met mine, it was like the world stopped. The chaos of the battle, the confusion, the fear, all of it faded into the background.

Her breath was warm, her lips soft, and I lost myself in her. I wanted to claim her right then and there in the dirt, but the sound of a throat clearing snapped me back to reality. I pulled back, my eyes meeting Lana's. She was flushed, her eyes glassy, and I couldn't help but smile at the sight. Then I remembered we were standing in the middle of a clearing, and I was buck-naked.

Lana's cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink as she glanced down between us. She quickly turned, grabbing my pack and handing it to me. I pulled out my clothes and dressed quickly, my eyes constantly flicking back to Lana. She was different. More solid, more . . . I didn't know how to describe it.

I pulled on my shirt and turned, shoving my feet into my boots.

"Okay, what in the actual hell just happened?" Rowan finally broke the silence, his voice strained.

Callista stepped forward, her eyes wide. "Who are they?" She pointed at the three wolves still standing at attention behind Lana.

Kael paced, his hands running through his hair. "We need to go after them. The alphas. We can't just let them go."

Lana nodded. "We will. I promise." She stood and motioned to the warriors, her eyes flicking back to Rowan, then to me. "This is . . . my pack." I stilled, looking between her and the wolves. "I'm Shadow Pack, I?—"

The wolves shifted to their human forms in a blink. One of them stepped forward. "She's our alpha."

Alpha. That was what I felt from her. I bristled, and my wolf, he didn't know what to think. We hated alphas. But Lana . . .

Lana locked eyes with me and swallowed hard. "I don't know what this means." She motioned at the book in her hands. "They say I'll learn, but—" Her eyes glistened with tears. "I don't know how to do this."

It felt like that power had landed back on my shoulders. "Do what?"

Her face broke. "Say goodbye."

The shifter warriors stepped forward. They were tall, imposing figures, their eyes sharp and their movements precise. One of them, a man with dark hair and piercing eyes, spoke first. "You are Shadow Pack now, Lana. You must start by finding Shadow Pack blood."

Lana glanced down at the dagger on her hip. "How?"

My pulse quickened. I knew that look. She'd gotten it in the maze and on the crumbling stone steps. Then as she'd conjured flames and launched them at a bone stalker. "Lana?—"

"You are alpha. You will know."

Lana lifted her head, her wolf pressing toward me so intently, her eyes glowed. My wolf stood at attention, as if readying to answer her call. "Lana." My voice was low and rough. I didn't know what I was saying. What she was trying to say to me.

She stepped forward, lifting the dagger from its hilt.