Chapter 32
Emery
For the most fleeting instant, an infinitesimal shred of a second, Parker’s lips twisted into a grin as he knelt over Tyler’s body, teeth bared. A blur of movement flashed in the dim light of the moon, hardly discernible to my eyes.
And in only a fraction of the time Parker’s expression lasted, his entire head snapped a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
Every wolf in the lot leapt backward, raising their weapons as Parker’s body fell to the ground beside Tyler’s.
“What the fuck was that?!”
“Where’d they go?!”
“Who did that?!”
The entire militia of wolves spun on their heels, checking the rooftop above and flailing their weapons from side to side as they searched the perimeter.
But my eyes remained fixed on the arm Parker had been holding as it fell back on the ground, refusing to let myself believe what I’d witnessed. Refusing to let myself hope.
And then Tyler’s finger twitched.
Warmth and light flooded my chest. Clarity took hold in my mind, and I seized my chance in the midst of the wolves’ panic, sweeping a leg beneath Davis to knock him on his ass.
He screamed out, causing the others to turn their guns on us.
I wrapped an arm around his throat, dragging him into the corner against the stone fence, using him as a shield.
“Give it up, Evans!” one of the wolves shouted.
“You’ve got nowhere to run!”
One of the men turned their weapon on Gage. “Drop him or I shoot.”
“Go the fuck ahead,” I panted as my eyes flicked between Gage’s face and Tyler. “He kidnapped the love of my life. I don’t give a shit.”
The one threatening Gage stepped closer, pressing the barrel of their gun to his head.
Gage met my livid stare, giving a short nod. With a nervous swallow, he choked, “Get my brother out of there. Take care of—”
A nauseating snap reverberated through my entire being, echoing through the lot.
Turning to the center of the space, I was caught somewhere between elation and utmost trepidation.
A dark shape lowered its hands from the sides of its head, slender, deadly claws extending from its fingertips.
Pale skin moved over the taut muscle of its elongated limbs.
It stretched its head from side to side, more cracks filling the air with every movement.
The red light of the moon glistened on the sharp accents of its face, revealing a slight point at the tip of its ears—and a familiar, cocky smirk on its lips.
“T-Tyler?” I whispered in awe, searching the creature’s form, wholly uncertain if those were the clothes he’d been wearing when we left the house and seeking every little feature just to be sure.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as the figure in front of me breathed deeply. His upper lip curled, revealing razor-like fangs. A voice laced with murder left him in a deadly whisper. “Where…” His eyes snapped open, irises glowing like hellfire. “Is my baby boy?”
Gunfire rang through the lot. Davis convulsed in my grip, ripped to shreds as bullets meant for Tyler suddenly found themselves without a target. A blood-curdling scream cut through the air, snuffed out immediately with a sputter as one of the wolves slumped to the ground in a pool of blood.
The men swung their weapons through the air, following nothing but a rush of wind, chasing a shadow that moved with demonic speed.
Red splattered across the pavement, flecking Gage’s skin as the head of the wolf beside him fell right before the body followed.
Another silenced cry came from my side, the wolf there torn open from his groin straight to his throat as he fell.
Dropping Davis’s body, I backed against the fence, watching in stunned horror as the wolves were utterly ripped to pieces.
I caught Tyler’s monstrous shape from the corner of my eye, a single swipe of his claws rending a man’s leg from his body.
As that wolf fell, Tyler whipped the severed limb around, colliding with another man’s head like a baseball bat decimating a cantaloupe in a hail of gore.
Before I could blink, a disgusting squelch caught my ears.
I turned to find two more wolves with their heads smeared across the asphalt, crushed to a pulp.
One of the few remaining men tried to run, bolting toward the opening in the gate, only to go flying back toward the front doors in a rain of blood.
I blew out a shaking breath, swallowing hard as I scanned the carnage.
Desperately hoping I wasn’t next.
“No!” Gage’s strangled cry pulled my attention away from the macabre scene. I snapped my head toward him, watching him fall to his knees, staring up in terror as Tyler raised a claw. “Please! Please, Ty! I didn’t have a choice!”
Tyler made to end the man groveling at his feet, swiping downward.
That pleading look in Hudson’s eyes, the way he had begged me not to blame Gage, flashed in my mind. “Tyler, no!” I shouted, taking a step toward them with an arm outstretched.
Those blistering red eyes whipped back to me, wrought with blood-slicked fury. His claws curled around Gage’s throat, lifting him from the ground as if he weighed nothing. “He did this,” that demonic tone rattled dangerously. “He took Hudson from us.”
“To save Malik, Ty,” I said, shaking my head and pleading with him. A wave of nausea overtook me suddenly. I fell to one knee, my head spinning as I clutched the back of my neck. “Please, Tyler. Let Gage live. Don’t… be the monster their pack remembers.”
A hand met my shoulder. Cold. Soft and firm all at once as that pungent sweetness invaded my senses. With a heavy swallow, I dared to lift my head—and let out a gasp as I met Tyler’s sparkling whiskey-colored eyes. His human eyes, searching mine as he knelt on the asphalt in front of me.
“Hey, puppy dog.”
Tears clouded my vision. My hands went to Tyler’s bloodstained hoodie, fingers curling into the fabric. “You’re alive.”
“Yeah…” Tyler choked a laugh, shaking his head. “I don’t know about that.” He tugged the zipper of his hoodie down, took my hand in his, and placed it over his heart.
My lips parted as I searched his face. His skin felt cool beneath his t-shirt, an eerie stillness laced through every inch of him. “You’re…”
“Yeah…”
“Holy shit, Tyler…” I gasped, grabbing his face to lift his lip, searching for the fangs I’d seen. “You’re a fucking vampire!”
“Am I?” he sputtered, cocking his head. His eyes dropped. Pulling his hand away and turning it over, he examined the crimson stains covering his skin before leaning in to take a whiff. He jerked back with supernatural speed, his face twisting in disgust. “Ew. No. That smells rank!”
“It’s wolf blood,” Gage said quietly behind him, pacing toward us with caution, never taking his eyes off Tyler. “It’ll probably do in a pinch, but… you need human blood to survive.”
“How…” I whispered, taking Tyler’s face in both hands and marvelling at the coolness of his skin. “How did this happen?”
Ty lifted his palm, rubbing his fingers together as he met my eyes. “I promised Hudson I’d bear any curse for him.”
“The statue,” I whispered, my eyes widening.
“Told you it bit—” He let out a soft grunt as launched myself at him, wrapping my arms around him and burying my face in his neck, not giving a shit how badly that sickly sweet scent of his burned my senses. “—me.” Coiling his arms around my back, he blew out a shaking breath.
“You have to get to Hudson.” With a groan and some help from Ty, I stood to my feet, pulling him up with me. “Just get him out of there. We can deal with your dad later.”
“No,” Tyler said, shaking his head as he stepped away. His hand shifted form again, claws dancing menacingly. “I’ll carve a path. You get Hudson out, and then I’m going to show my father the same kindness he did me.”
“Ty, I’m no use to you like this,” I growled, moving into his space despite the way he bared his fangs in challenge. “I can’t shift until the eclipse ends. I don’t even have my strength—”
Before I could blink, Tyler shoved me back against the wall, crushing our mouths together. Even with his cool skin on mine, heat swelled where we connected. The slightest pain pricked my lower lip as his fang drew blood. Something about it set my veins afire, knowing he was tasting me.
The faint sound of tearing fabric met my ears over the smack of our lips, my momentary distraction broken as a single claw sank into the flesh over my heart.
“What the fuck, Ty?!” I shoved him, trying to push him back to no avail. The irony of the way we’d swapped places—me as a weak, mortal man, and him an immovable beast—was lost on me as he continued his work, tearing my skin with delicate purpose.
“Even with my father pulling the strings, harnessing the blood moon like this is Garland magic, Emery. That’s why he needs Hudson,” he whispered, painting my chest with my own blood in a familiar pattern.
“You’re a Garland wolf, more so than any that has ever lived.
Claimed and chosen by the witch you love. ”
“When did—” I hissed through gritted teeth, staring between his determined face and the mark he was carving into my chest, “—you get so knowledgeable about this shit?”
“Got a crash course from a great teacher while I was a corpse.” A smirk flitted across Tyler’s lips. He finished mutilating me, pulling back. “There. Just like Hudson’s. Well… best we can do for now, anyway.”
I stared down at my exposed chest, watching in awe as my skin knit itself back together, leaving a pale scar in the shape of an inverted trigram. The Garland crest.
“Feel better?” Ty asked, raising a brow.
Glancing up to the pale red moon, I felt my blood surge through my veins. With a stretch, my broken bones snapped into place. I reached for my nose, giving it a sharp tug to the side, fixing the damage Parker had done. Breathing deeply, a smile lit my face as a furious roar echoed in my mind.
My wolf was awake, and all he wanted was Hudson.