Chapter 5
Kiara
Despite all my instincts screaming at me not to get into a car with Sebastian Hicks of Mythguard, I did it anyway. He gave me a pair of grey sweatpants and a black sweater to wear, and when I demanded he arm me for my own reassurance, he reluctantly gave me a small knife to hold onto. I wanted a handgun. He refused. That was fine—I knew how to wield a knife well enough.
Sitting in the backseat of the SUV, my muscles were stiff with anticipation of an inevitable betrayal. I expected to be locked inside this vehicle, handcuffed and blindfolded, and taken somewhere far away. Any sudden movement from the humans sitting around me yielded a sharp look from me, my fingers tight around the handle of the knife. We drove through the town of Eastpeak, then hit the perimeter. It took all my strength not to question over and over again where we were going.
My silence rewarded me with the enigmatic demeanor I’d been trying to uphold, keeping the humans at bay since they didn’t know how to read me. Good.
We pulled up to a large home in white stone and sharp angles that was built into the mountainside. A grey car that would have looked expensive were it not riddled with scratches and dents was parked in the driveway. I waited patiently for Sebastian to get out of the SUV and open the door for me, fighting the urge to flee back into the trees once my feet hit the ground. The late afternoon sunlight was soothing on my face. I closed my eyes and breathed in, then looked toward the front door of the house, which had opened to reveal a huge man with dirty blond hair pulled back in a bun. He stared past everyone right at me. I bristled, feeling his threat and knowing immediately what role he played in the wolf packs here. He was an Alpha.
“Come,” Sebastian quietly urged me.
Knife in hand, I approached the front door while the Alpha and a red-haired woman stepped outside to greet us. The female looked at me in wonder, then smiled in a way that showed her teeth, while her Alpha companion looked on in total stoicism. I matched his cold expression, hesitant to accept the warmth of the woman’s gesture.
“Everett,” Sebastian began, “this is Kiara Vale. Apologies for pulling you out of Grandbay for this, but I figured it might be less stressful on everyone to introduce you in a more intimate setting.”
“Welcome to Eastpeak. I’m Everett March, Alpha of the Eastpeak Pack, and this is my mate, Aislin Mundy. I take it your search for your mother, Muriel, has led you here?” said Everett.
I nodded once.
Everett extended his hand. I thought he was going for a handshake, but it was just to usher me through the door. “Come inside. I’m sure you must be tired from your travels.”
He was right, but I wasn’t about to admit it.
I followed Sebastian into the house. The other humans stayed outside, guarding the premises. In the massive living room with bare white walls and a cool grey floor, I was shown to a seat on a grey couch while Aislin flitted off to another room. Sebastian and Everett stood on the other side of the coffee table from me.
“It’s a relief that we found you before the Inkscales,” said Sebastian. “After we detected you close to Dalesbloom territory, we worried that they would capture you in addition to Muriel.”
“They almost caught me,” I replied coolly.
“How and when?” asked Everett.
I looked between the two men. “Last night, I came across them. The dragons chased me for hours. I only escaped by tumbling off a cliff,” I said, feeling their eyes drawn to the healed gash on my temple. “Then I crossed paths with a wolf—a black wolf with blue eyes. He attacked me, too.”
Sebastian and Everett exchanged glances.
“That bastard!” Aislin exclaimed from the far end of the room. She had a glass of water in one hand and a bowl of salad in the other. Visibly angry, she stormed toward me, but I knew her anger wasn’t directed at me when she gently placed the food and drink before me. “That wolf was probably Colt,” she said. “Did he hurt you?”
“No.” I picked up the glass of water and drank. The cold sensation in my throat stirred my stomach into hunger, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten in a while. My attention was drawn to the salad, with its spinach, kale, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers. Between mouthfuls, I didn’t bother looking up at them, but I kept my knife in one hand. “Tell me how my mother got captured.”
Everett sighed. “She had been under the care of another wolf pack: our neighbors, Grandbay. For about a month, they’d been protecting her from the wolves whose territory you were found near. Dalesbloom. The Alpha there, David Hexen, formed an alliance with the Inkscales, and during that month, he launched increasingly violent attacks against Grandbay and Eastpeak. Many of our wolves have been killed.” The stoic Alpha frowned now, his voice darkening as he spoke of the tragedies he and his companions had endured. “About a week and a half ago, they invaded Aislin’s parents’ home, where your mother was staying. They killed Aislin’s father and stole Muriel.”
I finally raised my eyes at the conclusion of his story. “Between your two wolf packs, you weren’t able to protect her?”
My uncaring response prompted Aislin to bristle. “We tried! But even merging our two packs, we’re way outnumbered by Dalesbloom and the Inkscales.” Anger colored her voice.
Everett placed a hand on Aislin’s shoulder, giving her unspoken reassurance.
“So, where is my mother now?”
“We don’t know,” said Sebastian. “Dalesbloom have vacated their territory, and we haven’t been able to track them.”
My eyebrows rose in disbelief. “How can you not be able to track them? They stunk up the northeastern part of their border. Just go there and follow the smell.”
Everett shook his head. “You don’t understand. Entering Dalesbloom territory is a death sentence for us.”
“Then send Mythguard.”
“We tried,” replied Sebastian. “Either we’re attacked or we can’t find them. The trap you were caught in—we were hoping to catch somebody from Dalesbloom or one of the dragons.”
“I find it hard to believe you can’t track them down. They’re here. They chased me last night,” I said, my anger rising. My hybrid beast raged at last night’s memory. I’d been attacked, yet these people were insisting that they couldn’t figure out where the hell their enemies were coming from? “So, you don’t even know where they’re keeping my mom?”
“Miss Vale, we’re trying our best,” Sebastian said.
“We don’t have much longer before the next full moon. If she’s still with them, they’re going to rip that horn out of her head and use it in a Lycan ritual!”
“We’re very aware of that,” growled Everett.
“And yet, you’re just milling around, expecting them to walk into your little traps, instead of searching for the monsters that took my mother,” I accused, standing up. “Unlike you, I’m not afraid to do what needs to be done. Thanks for coming to meet me, but I feel like I’m just wasting time by being here.”
“Wait. You can’t leave,” said Aislin. “You should stay where we can protect you.”
“I don’t need your protection.”
“We disagree,” said Sebastian.
Everett folded his arms. “You’re endangering everyone here by going off alone. If you get caught, too, we’ll have twice as many Lycans running around after the full moon.”
“I’ll be dead, so it won’t matter to me,” I said. That was selfish of me, sure, but it was the truth. All I cared about was rescuing my mother, and whatever happened to these people if I failed wasn’t my problem. Having finished my salad and glass of water, I turned my back on everyone and went for the door.
Everyone moved with me.
“We’re serious, Kiara,” warned Sebastian.
Aislin jogged up behind me. “Look, it’s really important that you come with us to Grandbay!”
The moment I felt her reaching for my arm, I whirled around and slapped her hand away. “Don’t touch me.”
The redhead pulled back and grimaced. “We care about you and Muriel both! Just give us a chance.”
“No. Maybe if you had an actual plan, but you don’t.” I turned away, reaching to open the door. The moment the sunlight hit me, the Mythguard humans all turned to face me. I charged onward.
Sebastian shoved Aislin out of the way to follow me out the door. “Kiara, I’m sorry, but we can’t let you leave,” said the tall man.
Still walking, I glared over my shoulder at him, but as I saw him coming for me, I started to run.
“Stop her!” Sebastian shouted to the others.
Alarmed by the sudden command, the humans scrambled between pointing their rifles and lunging at me. Only a couple made the decision to physically intercept me, leaping forth to grab at my arms. Their daring made my rage flare up. When I felt a hand wrap around my wrist, I yanked it away and scowled at the person. Then, somebody grabbed my other hand, the one holding the knife; I pulled but couldn’t free myself. I faced that human and swung my free fist at his face, but he ducked and dodged the blow. Somebody else suddenly appeared and grabbed my other arm.
“Kiara! Just listen to us!” Everett said behind me.
“Shit. Don’t fuckin’ manhandle her,” Aislin snapped at the Mythguard humans.
“We’re trying to help her,” Sebastian argued above the shouting.
There were too many hands on me. I thrashed, trying to get free, but I was surrounded. It overwhelmed me, feeling too much like I was being captured all over again. They said they were on my side, but they refused to let me go free. They tried pulling me down, incapacitating me. Someone had managed to take the knife away from me. I was helpless.
My beast roared within me. Instinct told me to transform, but the moment my body began to shift, consciousness ebbed away. I collapsed, enveloped in grasping hands.
Screaming jaws snapped all around me. I struggled against the pressure beating my body down. Claws dug into my fur, teeth were buried in my neck, and the stench of burning oil suffocated me. I couldn’t fight back against these things that were attacking me. They were ripping me apart— I could already feel it in my limbs, and my chest, and then in my brow, where my horn was wrenched from my skull.
A body crashed into the maelstrom around me—the monsters scattered in a cacophony of shrieks. Stunned, I watched the inky mass rise up larger than all else, but those weren’t yellow eyes piercing me—no. His gaze shimmered like the depths of a foreboding ocean. He looked at me as if he should be the one ripping me apart, not them.
I snarled but couldn’t move.
He snarled back. The last things I remembered in the dream were his teeth.