CHAPTER TWENTY || HARRIS
Idrove back up the mountain like a man possessed.
The rain had stopped, but the roads were still slick and treacherous.
The only light was from the high beams of my rental car, slicing through the dark.
Still, I took the curves too fast, my hands white-knuckled on the wheel.
Emma’s voice was still echoing in my head from the phone call.
We’ll gather the pack. Get here as fast as you can.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Probably a text from Cole. He must’ve been wondering why I wasn’t at his place by now.
I couldn’t slow down to check. Besides, there wasn’t time to explain. My world had narrowed down to one simple truth: Reed was in trouble. It was the only thing that mattered.
The commune appeared through the trees, lights blazing in the cabins on the ridge. I pulled into the gravel lot and killed the engine, my heart hammering. Lindsey was waiting for me, her expression unreadable as she watched me park.
I grabbed my duffel and climbed out of the car.
“You came back,” Lindsey said, appraising me.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, ignoring that. She could be angry with me later, after we got Reed back.
“In the mess hall. Everyone is there. Even the witches. They were about to head back to Seattle when you called.”
“Let’s go,” I said, already walking past her.
Lindsey followed without another word.
Every head turned when I walked through the door of the mess hall.
Emma moved first, crossing the room to meet me. Her face was tight with worry. “Harris. Tell us what you know.”
I set the duffel down and forced myself to breathe. To think clearly despite the panic clawing at my chest at the thought of what might be happening to my mate. “The Algea took him. Reed’s in the Otherworld.”
A shadow crossed her face. “You already said that on the phone. But you’re certain?”
“We shared a mate dream. I saw it.” I sucked in a breath and let it out. “He’s there.”
Lindsey swore under her breath.
“How long ago?” Emma asked sharply.
“I don’t know. Hours, maybe. He’s still alive.”
I looked around the room, taking in the worried faces of the pack and the exhausted, drawn expressions the witches wore. They were all silent, their eyes locked on me.
Reed was in the Otherworld. With that monstrous thing. And no one could reach him.
The witches had already said another portal was out of the question. Which left only one other option. Putting myself in a state between life and death.
“There’s another way to cross over,” I said, forcing the words out one after the other, doing my best to keep my voice steady. “Apart from opening a portal.”
Emma’s lips pursed as she regarded me. A moment later, she said, “What are you suggesting?”
“Tamrand said someone in a liminal state could cross into the Otherworld.” Then I paused before speaking the words that would change the course of my life for good. “A human becoming a werewolf would probably work.”
Understanding dawned in her eyes and she took a startled step back. “Harris—”
“I can do this. I have to do this.”
“Absolutely not,” Simone cut in, her voice sharp and her gaze fixed on me. “Do you understand what you’re proposing? Transitioning into a werewolf is permanent. It cannot be undone.”
“I know that.”
“You’d be giving up your human life,” Hunter said quietly. He and Lee sat side by side at one of the tables, nearly identical expressions of concern on their faces. “Are you willing to do that?”
The sum total of my human life was my job, my spartan apartment back in Los Angeles, and my friendship with Cole.
I wasn’t particularly attached to Los Angeles.
I definitely wouldn’t miss the deafening silence of my apartment.
And I liked protecting people—solving homicides did that.
If I cracked the case, I usually stopped bad people from hurting anyone else.
But I could protect people here, too. Not only Reed, but people like Sally. And I’d have an entire group of people backing me up. People I could probably come to love, if given the chance.
As for Cole, I was pretty sure he’d be my friend regardless. We’d been through way too much together for us to ever be anything else.
I would’ve been lying if I said I wasn’t afraid. But this wasn’t exclusively about saving Reed. That was the catalyst. I might’ve—and probably would’ve—chosen this eventually. This had just moved up the timeline.
“Yes,” I said firmly. “My life is with Reed. It’s here, if you’ll allow me to do what I have to do.”
“The wolf bite will kill you,” Oliver protested. “That’s how it works. You have to die as a human man. Then you’re reborn as a wolf.”
He’d probably been expecting to cow me, but I was already well aware of how the process worked.
The entire drive here, my certainty about what needed to be done had been at war with my fears about the actual process involved.
But my certainty won out. Because if the roles were reversed, Reed would’ve done it for me in a heartbeat.
“So be it,” I replied, staring him down. “Even if I had to die a hundred times, I’d still do it.”
Oliver’s eyebrows shot up at that. He nodded, grudging respect in his eyes.
“Of course you would,” Poppy said quietly, watching me. “You love him. It’s not just the mate bond. It’s more than that.”
Her words lodged a hot lump of emotion in my throat. I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I nodded instead.
“I’m not going to stand by and let that thing destroy him. The Algea might be where it was last night, or it could’ve taken him somewhere else in the Otherworld. But I can find him with the mate bond. I’m the only one who can.”
Lacey stood abruptly and when my gaze met hers, she held it firmly. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
This was the moment I had spent years of my life fearing. The moment when it came time to commit and put my everything on the line for another person: my body, my heart, my life, and now even my very humanity.
But the fear was eclipsed by a simple truth I’d spent a lifetime not seeing properly: when something matters—when it’s real love—you fight for it. And I was going to fight like hell for Reed. That wasn’t even a question.
“Yes,” I said simply.
For the first time in my life, I was all in.
I turned my attention back to Emma. “What’s it going to be? Am I joining your pack or not?”
The room went silent.
Before Emma could reply, Lacey cut in, “Without our alpha, we’ll need to put it to a vote.” She looked around at the others. “My vote is yes.”
“Yes,” Oliver said immediately.
Lindsey stood. “I’m not technically pack, but if you want my vote, it’s yes.”
Hunter and Lee exchanged a look. Then Lee nodded. “Yes.”
“Definitely,” Hunter said.
“Of course.” Sarah flashed me a smile, not even a trace of her previous suspicion remaining. “You’re already one of us. Why not make it official?”
Lacey nudged Daniel. He stood, seeming hesitant, as though he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to speak up. “Look, I don’t know if you guys want my opinion or not—”
“We do,” Lacey said, giving the rest of us a hard look that dared anyone to contradict her.
No one did.
“Well, then yeah.” Daniel’s cheeks turned bright red. “My vote is yes.”
That just left Emma. She studied me, her blue eyes searching my face.
At last, she nodded. “It’s decided,” she said, the gravity in her voice unmistakable. “You will become pack.”
* * *
I went back to Reed’s cabin alone to gather what I needed.
The vial of Ethan’s blood, still half full, which I took from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.
I pocketed it carefully. Reed would need it.
The venom in the Algea’s claws would have him paralyzed.
Without a way to undo that, this was a suicide mission.
Though it was technically a suicide mission either way. Because my human self had to die for this plan to work.
Next, I retrieved the amulet from my duffel. The heavy gold was cool in my palm. I didn’t know if I’d need it, but I shoved it in my pocket anyway.
Last, I checked my gun to make sure it was fully loaded with silver bullets. Then I grabbed a spare magazine, just in case.
When I had everything, I stood in the middle of the cabin, looking around, trying to memorize it. This was my last time seeing it as a human man. This place had been a home. For such a brief time, but it had been real. And it was worth fighting for.
I left the cabin without looking back.
* * *
The pack was waiting at the fire pit when I returned. They’d lit a fire and then built up the flames until they were bright and crackling in the darkness.
The witches stood off to one side. Poppy, with Simone next to her. On one side of them, Tatiana and Wynn, who’d regained consciousness. On the other, Ethan and Nathaniel.
The rest of the pack formed a loose circle around the fire.
Oliver handed me a machete when I approached. “The Algea needs to be beheaded and its body burned.”
I nodded, tucking the machete through the loop of my belt at my side. I would need my hands free for my gun. The machete was going to be a killing blow only.
Emma stepped forward, a solemn look in her eyes. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
She nodded. “We will administer the bite to your forearm. The magic will take you more slowly than if we did it on your torso, as it will take longer to reach your heart. That will give you more time to reach Reed before the transition completes.”
“How much time?”
“An hour. Maybe two.” Her expression was grave. “The bite will cause a fever. It will stop your heart. You must die as a man to be reborn as a wolf.”
I nodded, even though I felt a thrill of fear at the prospect. “I understand.”
“You are brave,” she said. “You are loyal. And you are true to your word. These are the qualities the pack values above all else.” She paused. “No matter what happens next, you will always be one of ours from this moment forward.”
The subtext wasn’t lost on me. If you die, we’ll remember you.
My throat tightened. “Thanks.”