Requiem (Blackwater Pack #5)

Chapter 1

1

LULU - AGE 11

I held the brown stone in my hand for a second before discarding it. It was a basic rock, and it wouldn’t work for my school project on honing stones. Instantly I felt bad, swiftly picking it back up and mentally apologizing to the stone for being so dismissive of its significance.

Everything on earth has a purpose. Each element gives us our power. Never forget that even a single grain of sand can save you.

Miss Viola’s words from a previous lesson had me setting the stone back onto the ground exactly as I’d found it.

No, the muddy brown stone that was rough wouldn’t be useful as a honing stone, but it was useful . It had a purpose. It had value.

And if anyone could appreciate that, it was me.

Other than my mother and the Elders of our coven, everyone seemed to move around me with eyes averted and mouths pinched closed.

I was Lucia Usari, daughter of Yetta Usari. Our family dated back to the beginning of Narodnaya. We were descendants of Namina, the elemental whose love ignited a war. My mother’s side was badass, and I wished that was what the coven knew me for.

Instead, it was my father’s influence that was all anyone could see. The monster who had kidnapped my mom and made her think things that weren’t real. He tricked her into having me, and only the Elders finding Mama had saved our lives. They’d killed my dad, but not his legacy.

Now I was the weird girl with the serial killer father. The girl whose mother was held against her will and forced to give birth to me. The girl with the strange silver eyes.

Adults whispered about me, but it was the kids in my class that had no problem telling me how useless I was. Not a real earth elemental like they were.

Over the years, I’d gotten used to never being picked for games at recess. It was fine; I wandered around by myself, finding fascinating plants and glittery stones that called to me.

I didn’t have play dates or friends, but I had my cat, Helio, and a greenhouse of flowers and herbs to study and watch. And I had Mama when she wasn’t busy with the Elders of our coven.

Tonight, Mama was with the Elders, which meant I was on my own. And since Mama—and the Elders—were busy, that meant I could finish my project by going where none of my classmates had looked for their honing stone.

Wearing all black and keeping my wild hair in a tight braid, I snuck through the coven’s lands until I was on the outskirts of town. The town we shared with the wolves.

Even thinking it had a chill zipping down my spine and a smile tugging at my lips.

Children in the coven weren’t allowed in town unless supervised by an adult, but even then, we weren’t allowed to explore. There were too many risks, the biggest of which were the volatile wolves that could swallow us up in one bite.

Except, that was a line from a story we’d been told since we’d been little, and I’d seen a wolf once. I was ninety-nine percent sure I wouldn’t fit in its mouth.

Besides, it seemed the moon was on my side today since the town was empty. All the stores were closed up tight and no one was lingering, so it was like it had all been preserved in a magic bubble just for me.

I walked down main street in the middle of the paved road, tipping my head back to see the outline of the stores and shops against the blue sky. There was a park in the middle of town with actual slides and swing sets and monkey bars. In the distance I saw the mountain that Mama had told me belonged to the pack, and the massive house in front of it belonged to the Alpha. Beyond the town, I saw sloped roofs of houses where the other wolves lived.

Their houses were so much bigger than the coven’s. We lived in small little homes with large yards. Our houses were small so we didn’t stifle much of the grass, trees, flowers, and plants.

The house I shared with Mama only had one bedroom, a living space, one bathroom, and a kitchen. I slept on the sofa in the living room area since Mama was in the bedroom. I didn’t mind it. Besides, Helio always slept curled up with me so I wasn’t alone.

From the corner of my eye, the sun glinted off something shiny. I turned and gasped when I saw a gorgeous green stone buried under a patch of stinging nettles. Kneeling, I took a deep breath and focused my attention on the nettles, gently asking them to part for me.

The leaves trembled for a moment, and then the stems pulled away to reveal the stone.

I quickly snatched it, and a second later, the nettles bounced back into place.

Turning it over in my hand, I studied the pale green color. I’d never seen anything like it.

Or felt anything like it.

The stone heated in my palm, and something about it called to me on a level I’d never felt. I just knew that it was… mine.

I cradled it in my hands with wide eyes, unable to tear my gaze away. The veins of darker green and gold seemed to swirl in a slow, glittering dance. My blood almost seemed to hum in my veins, and calmness swept over me.

Standing up, I shoved the stone into my pocket and decided to head home. Mama would be done soon. This wasn’t a honing stone, but it felt powerful. I couldn’t wait to show Miss Viola. Of all the adults in the coven, she always smiled at me and treated me nicely.

Stepping off the curb, I hopped onto the asphalt and started walking toward the coven’s land. The quiet was abruptly ripped away as tires screeched from an SUV as it turned a corner.

Gasping, I pulled back and tried to get out of the way. The dark vehicle passed me, and then braked hard.

My heart pounded as I watched the two back doors open and two men come lumbering out, their cold, dark gazes locked on me.

The instinct to run welled up from deep in my gut, but by the time I turned to run, they were on me. I froze, not sure what to do.

“Any idea who this one is?” The first man with bad breath and a few missing teeth asked the other.

The second man was shorter with a pointed nose and small eyes. He looked like a mouse I’d seen in the greenhouse. “No idea, but I’m sure she’ll be valuable. Dashkov is an idiot for letting an underage pup wander around.”

The first man—No Teeth—closed a meaty fist around my thin arm. “Let’s go, sweetheart.”

My body trembled, and I tried to pull away. “Let go!”

“Shut up,” the second man—Beady Eyes—barked, jabbing a finger at me. “Do as you're told and we’ll find a nice alpha or beta looking for some underage ass.”

I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it didn’t sound good. I opened my mouth to scream, but the first man clapped a hand over my mouth and lifted me into one thick arm. I kicked feebly at his legs, earning a grunt. But I knew I was in trouble when Beady Eyes opened the back of the SUV.

My limbs locked up as my body tried to process what I was seeing. Two boys around my age were in a cramped kennel inside the back. Before I could truly understand, I was dumped into the back. My head hit the side of the metal cage with a cry, and the doors were slammed shut.

Whimpering, I tried to take stock of where I was, but there was a metal barrier between the back and the last row of seating. I spotted someone in the driver’s seat and a man next to him while Beady Eyes and No Teeth got in the second row.

Beady Eyes twisted to see me and licked his lips with a smirk. The car shot off with a lurch.

Cowering, I tucked myself into a ball and scuttled as far into the corner as I could. Tears dripped from my eyes as I cried into my knees, my arms curled around my shins.

“Hey.” The voice was so soft it was barely above a whisper.

I didn’t look up, not sure if it was a trap or not.

“Hey, look at me,” the voice tried again.

I slowly lifted my gaze until I could see the two boys in the cage in front of me. One with dark hair, the other with blond. The blond boy’s hair was cut short and his face looked entirely too serious for someone his age. His blue eyes seemed to miss nothing.

But it was the dark haired boy that had my attention. Hair cut short at the sides and longer on top, it flopped over his forehead. It blocked a cut that I could see was crusted with drying blood and a knot swelling under the skin. But it was his eyes that cut through me and wrapped around my lungs like a fist.

Green eyes. The same pale color as the stone I’d found, with a ring of darker green hugging the irises and a golden ring around the pupil.

He smiled at me, the move a little crooked. “What’s your name?”

I swallowed hard. It took me a moment to remember how to speak. “Lu… Lu…” I dragged in a shaky breath.

“Lulu?” His head cocked.

“Lucia,” I forced out.

He nodded. “Lucia. I’m Dimitri, and this is Alexei.”

Alexei gave me an assessing look. “Hello.”

“Hi,” I whispered.

Dimitri frowned. “I haven’t seen you around before. Who are your parents?”

“Just Mama.”

“And what’s her name?” Dimitri’s questions sounded curious, but there was no sense of annoyance or urgency to answer. Like we’d met in the park and decided to be friends.

“Yetta Usari,” I murmured.

Dimitri pulled back and exchanged a look with Alexei.

“Fucking hell,” the blond hissed, running a hand over his shorn head. “Dima?—”

Dimitri held up a hand to his friend before looking at me. “You’re with the coven.”

I nodded slowly, not saying a word.

Dimitri sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m Dimitri Dashkov. I’m?—”

I felt the blood leach from my face. “The Alpha’s son.” My gaze swung to Alexei. “And you’re a wolf, too?”

“Of course,” he replied coolly.

Another whimper escaped me, and I pressed even harder against my side of the cargo space.

“Hey,” Dimitri’s tone was so gentle and kind that I wanted to listen to it all day, “we’re not going to hurt you. And we won’t let these assholes hurt you either.”

“But you’re wolves,” I pointed out.

Dimitri rolled his eyes. “We’re not the bad guys here, okay, Lucia?”

I gave him a dubious stare.

His expression softened as his hands wrapped around the bars of the cage. “I promise we won’t hurt you, Lulu.”

“Hey!” A hand slammed on the barrier above our heads. “Shut the fuck up!”

I cried out, shaking from head to toe.

Another bang and Not Teeth’s head appeared. “Shut the fuck up, bitch, or I’ll make you.”

“Leave her alone,” Dimitri growled in a tone that was more man than boy. It made the hairs of my arms stand up straight.

“Stop the fuckin’ car,” Beady Eyes called, and a moment later, the SUV ground to a halt.

Beady Eyes jumped out of the car while No Teeth snickered. “In for it now, you little shits.”

The back door was ripped open so hard that I thought it would come off its hinges. Before I could think about moving, Beady Eyes grabbed me by the throat and yanked me out of the car.

I tried to scream, but the hand wrapped tighter around my neck, cutting off almost all of my air.

“Arms up,” Beady Eyes snapped at Dimitri and Alexei. “Put your fucking arms up, or I beat the life out of this bitch.”

Dimitri’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t even?—”

Beady Eyes gave me a shake that had my limbs flopping like a rag doll. I clawed at his hand, struggling for oxygen.

“Now!” Beady Eyes roared.

I watched as Dimitri and Alexei lifted their arms through the bars, extended out to Beady Eyes, who hurled me back into the cargo area. I coughed and spluttered, my eyes watering as I saw Beady Eyes withdraw two syringes. He plunged the first into Dimitri, who only flinched. The second went into Alexei’s arm. He gave a single grunt, his icy blue eyes promising vengeance.

I stared up at Beady Eyes, not sure what was happening. He tossed the used needles on the ground before reaching into his pocket.

The cage rattled as Alexei slumped over, eyes shut.

Oh, Gods. Was he dead? Did Beady Eyes kill him?

My gaze flew to Dimitri, watching in horror as those beautiful eyes went glassy and unfocused.

“Don’t leave me,” I begged, reaching for him as a sharp prick landed on my neck. I cried out, feeling a burning sensation spreading through my neck and rolling towards my limbs. Everything was so heavy.

And I was so tired.

“It’s okay,” Dimitri murmured, managing to squeeze enough fingers through the bars to catch my hand.

It’s okay .

I replayed his last words as the darkness swallowed me whole.