39. Sedrick
Sedrick
I ’d thought it was over, that I’d done the unthinkable and failed my pack.
Ruthie’s terrified scream had torn through me, pulling my attention away from the dangerous predator before me.
It was only for a split second, but that was all Edward had needed.
He’d taken me down, nearly ripped my throat out.
I’d lain on the ground, desperate and gasping, the wind knocked out of me and my head spinning.
I had no idea what was happening to Ruthie, Dillon, or Phil.
Images, each more horrific than the last, sped through my brain and paralyzed my wolf.
And then I heard it . . . Phil’s voice. They were fine.
Phil didn’t doubt me, but I’d doubted him.
Phil was bonded to Dillon and Ruthie. He wouldn’t let anything happen to them.
I felt ashamed and that shame filtered into my wolf, focusing us both.
When Edward attacked, we were ready. Edward made the mistake of thinking I was injured far more than I was.
It was a mistake he’d never have the opportunity to learn from.
In our world, death wasn’t always final. In Edward’s case, it was.
The fight was over. Victory was mine. Arching my neck, I howled to the Moon Goddess.
Two voices echoed my own. One I was familiar with.
The other was new but not unwelcome. Head turning, the room swam.
I’d lost more blood than was healthy, and pain took over with the adrenaline fading.
That pain was overshadowed when I saw the gleaming white fur of my niece.
Despite my wounds, my transformation was instantaneous. Naked, bloody, exhausted, and near passing out, I stared at my niece in awe. “A dire wolf.”
She was beyond amazing.
Ruthie walked toward me. Her gait was more of a lop than a stealthy predator. Her head came up a little higher than my waist. She was only five, and she was enormous. Her wolf form would get larger as she aged. By the time she was an adult, she’d be massive.
My fingers smeared crimson into Ruthie’s white fur, tainting it. I stared into her crystal blue eyes, and my chest filled with pride. “A dire wolf. You’ve been hiding things from me, missy.”
Ruthie’s answer was a headbutt into my thigh. I held in a grimace.
“Sedrick!” Phil barreled into me, wrapping his arms around my neck. His wings beat furiously, and the air was thick with pink dust. It dripped and drifted, dissolving into nothing as it touched Ruthie’s fur.
Phil suddenly released me, flying back. Blood stained his pretty pink clothes, and I frowned. “I’m sorry. You’re hurt. I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that.” Phil fluttered around. His hands came up, fingers stretched out as if he wanted to touch me but was afraid to.
“It’s okay.” I tried to calm Phil. “I—” My body swayed, and when I reached out, Dillon’s wolf form was there, propping me up. His wet tongue licked against my naked thigh. The soft brush of his fur was a welcome addition.
Pack. I was surrounded by my pack. Joyful pride filled me so full I thought I might burst with it.
“Congratulations are in order.” Lucroy Moony glided into the challenge ring. He spared a disgusted look toward Edward’s body. When I followed his gaze, I found Arie standing there, shoulders hunched, eyes locked on the defeated body of his second.
Lucroy lifted his fingers to his lips and licked the blood from them. When I looked closer, the pristine white of his shirt was coated in red.
Peaches fluttered nearby, his skin paler than looked healthy.
His wings barely beat enough to keep him lifted off the ground.
I’d heard Phil shout Peaches’s name earlier.
I had no idea what had happened, but whatever it was, Lucroy Moony had been in the thick of it.
I had a sneaking suspicion I owed him more than a weak thank-you.
“Sedrick.” My name shook as it tumbled across Peaches’s lips. “I’m really happy you won. I—” Peaches glanced Edward’s way and turned a fresh shade of green.
“I believe,” Lucroy Moony moved closer to Peaches, fondly touching his wrist, “that Peaches has been away from his orchard long enough. Now that the excitement is over, I’ll take Peaches home.”
Peaches protested. “I’m okay. I can—”
“It’s fine, Peaches.” Phil flew forward and enveloped Peaches in his arms. Their difference in sizes had never been so evident. “Thank you for being here, for coming to get me, for . . . everything.”
Peaches hugged Phil back. The jealousy I used to feel was barely a twinge. “You’re welcome. Call me.”
Phil assured Peaches he’d do that, and with Lucroy Moony’s fingers still touching him, Peaches walked out of the courthouse.
They were near the exit when Lucroy looked off to the right before addressing Judge Langley.
“Should Muriel charge you extra for the plus-one body, I believe Mr. Belview should shoulder the extra cost. However, should he prove as incapable in that endeavor as all the others he’s attempted tonight, I will be happy to foot the bill for this . . . trash.”
“This has been an interesting evening.” Ray stepped down from the judge’s podium.
Hamish was gone. I had no idea if Arie needed his services anymore and didn’t give a shit either way.
“ Interesting , huh? You use that word far too often, Ray.”
“On the contrary, Sedrick. I don’t use it often enough.
” Ray offered a hint of a smile. “I am most pleased I agreed to take your case. I had not expected payment in the traditional sense, but I am pleased you now have enough finances to satisfy that requirement as well. Expect a bill by the end of the week.”
I grunted out a laugh. I had no idea why it struck me as humorous, but it did.
“Thank you, Ray.” I held out a hand, and when Ray grasped it, I pulled him forward.
Ray could have stopped me if he’d wanted.
He didn’t. “If you ever threaten Phil or the kids again, I’ll tear you apart.
I get that you were making a point, but if you’d been wrong—”
“But I wasn’t wrong.”
“But if you had been,” I argued right back.
Ray released my fingers, and I let him go. “But I wasn’t. Good night, Sedrick. Judge Langley and I will retire. We’ll meet up with Mr. McIntyre and finalize tonight’s documentation.”
Judge Langley ignored us and asked, “Mr. Belview, would you care to take the deceased with you, or shall I call Muriel’s Zombie Cleaning Service to take care of the bodies?”
Arie flashed his canines, his eyes glinting with rage.
For a heartbeat, I thought he was about to challenge me himself.
He didn’t. Instead, Arie’s eyes caught on Ruthie.
They widened, and I realized it was the first time he’d noticed his granddaughter’s wolf form.
His attention, his eyes, had all been for Edward.
Ruthie’s lip curled, and a rumbled growl filled the room.
Arie didn’t look scared. He looked disappointed.
He’d let this slip through his fingers. Dillon was an alpha, and Ruthie would be more than an alpha one day.
The forgery he’d paid for was good enough that he might have been able to argue for visitation rights, to try to influence his grandchildren and bring them into the Belview fold.
He’d lost that chance, lost that last glimmer of hope.
And he’d lost his second—someone intensely loyal.
Head bent, Arie tensed. I could see his muscles rippling below his suit. When he finally answered Judge Langley, the garbled words came through canine teeth. “I’ve no use for the dead and no need to honor failure. Let the zombies have them.”
With those final words, Arie spun and stormed out of the courthouse, one lone, midnight-black wolf slinking behind, a wayward, mournful glance shot in the same direction Lucroy Moony had stared at earlier.
“It’s been a long night, Mr. Voss. I think it’s time to heal. Take your pack home. You’ve earned it.” Judge Langley stepped down from his podium and followed Ray through a back door.
The brownies reappeared and gave all of us expectant stares.
“I think they want to put the room back to rights,” Phil said.
“I think you’re right.” I took a step forward and faltered.
Dillon held me up on one side, and Ruthie moved to the other.
“Thanks.” I gripped their fur tight while Phil fluttered in front of me.
The blood I’d gotten on his pixie clothes earlier was already dried and looked set in. I hoped spider silk was easy to clean.
“Maybe . . .” Phil cleared his throat, blushing as he looked off to the side and waved a hand up and down my nude body. “Maybe you should shift back into your wolf form. As a human, you’re a little . . . um . . .”
“Naked?” I teased.
Phil’s blush turned fire red. “Y-yes. Not that I mind your nakedness. You’re very handsome and, well . . . I could do without the blood and . . .”
A chuckle slipped past my lips. I hadn’t felt this light in . . . honestly, I couldn’t remember, but I figured it was sometime when I was a child. “Transforming will help me heal, Phil. Don’t worry. We’ll get some quality naked time soon, sans blood. I promise.”
I landed on four feet again. Phil’s flushed face and heady scent were heavenly to my wolf senses.
I mustered up the energy to prance forward and pushed my nose into Phil’s hand, breathing him in.
Phil ran his hand over the top of my head and down my neck.
His fingers stayed in my fur as we finally left the challenge circle.
Dillon and Ruthie’s light gaits followed close behind.
My pack, safe and sound. My pack, my life, my love. I’d never thought I could have this. Death had delivered Ruthie and Dillon to me. Necessity had added Phil. Love glued us together.