Chapter 36
Sienna
Disappointment at Revyn’s silent rejection is a punch to the gut, but stepping into the hallway puts me in a choke hold.
Overstimulated from the bath, exhausted from the night prior, aching in the best way possible from not one but two rounds of sex with powerful men—and all of a sudden, the air in my lungs collapses and every nerve in my body ignites.
A flare of magic bursts from my chest, and I grit my teeth as white hot flames dance across my skin, burning through my clothes and leaving me naked.
The fire flickers with a life of its own, the brightest tips burning pink while the rest settles into muted shades of gold ranging from the warmest rose to soft waves of amber.
My senses sharpen as my eyes shift and my wolf lingers just beneath the surface, a warning growl rumbling deep inside my chest.
I follow my instincts and walk down the hallway to a door like all the rest, except this one has a gaggle of girls crowding its front.
They whisper and giggle among themselves until one of them senses me, her eyes bulging as she turns to stare.
“It’s not what you think it is,” she shrieks, her voice pitching toward hysterics.
Grabbing her friends, she hauls them away from the door. “He’s the one who approached her!”
With a wave of my hand, the door bursts into flame.
The girls shout in panic and flee as the wood splinters into charcoal and I step into the dark bedroom.
Down feathers float through the air, the few nearest me catching on fire as they drift past. Pillar candles adorning twin nightstands ignite and cast light across the room.
Claw marks carve through a mattress, its headboard broken in half and the linens torn to shreds.
Alistair’s scent twists in the air, its usual aroma stained with something so cloyingly sweet that my nose crinkles as I step deeper into the room.
That’s when I hear it.
A woman crying.
I cross the room to find her sitting on the floor behind the bed and hugging her knees tightly to her chest. “Go away,” she sobs, cradling her head in her hands.
When I don’t move, she throws a pillow at me, spilling feathers in an arc through the air.
They burn to ash within moments. Flinching, she knocks her elbows against the stones at her back. “He’s not here, so just leave!”
Curtains rustle on a breeze that kisses my bare skin .
. . and hers. She’s naked but in much worse shape than me, trembling so hard that her teeth chatter.
But I don’t smell any blood, and she doesn’t have any bruises on her body from what I can see.
“What happened?” I ask, crouching to her level.
I recognize this girl—the blonde from class who throws herself at Alistair every chance she gets.
“I had him,” she growls, “right where I fucking wanted him.” Her fangs descend as her frustration grows.
Shifter. Predator. Inhaling sharply, I scent her more clearly and taste her emotions: disbelief, embarrassment, and fury, with a hint of longing that curdles on my tongue. She’s a wolf desperate for a mate.
My true mate.
Her eyes flash an icy blue as they shift.
“This is all your fault, you fucking bitch. We were almost there—he was in my hands—and you just had to ruin it with your stupid fucking vagina!” Growling, she tears a board from the floor and hurls it at me, the wood scraping my cheek as it sails past. The scratch heals instantly and takes the pinprick of pain with it.
A shadow falls over us, and Callum’s scent wraps around me. “Alistair’s wolf was spotted on the grounds,” he announces, sighing. “It seems your connection to him wasn’t entirely severed when we . . . became intimate.”
“Yeah, no shit,” the female shifter growls. “As soon as he realized you were fucking someone else, he wasn’t interested in me anymore. Threw a tantrum and jumped out the window like a lunatic.” Shaking her head, she laughs bitterly. “Gods, why do I like the crazy ones?”
“Alistair isn’t crazy.” A frown tugs at my lips. “He’s—”
“—all yours,” she scoffs, throwing her hands up.
Her claws retract as she takes a deep breath.
“I’m done. He clearly doesn’t want me, and you won’t stay out of his head long enough for him to give me a chance.
” Wiping tears from her eyes, she buries her face in her arms. “Please leave. You smell like him. Like all of them. Gods. How can you nail three men while I’m—” She chokes on a sob and falls silent.
Callum gently takes my hand and pulls me away. The flames tickle his skin but don’t burn, a decided improvement from when that same fire harmed Alistair. “It is his own heart he breaks,” my lover murmurs. “None of this is your fault.”
It feels like my fault.
If I hadn’t come to the academy, I never would have met Alistair.
He’d be fair game for whoever wants him.
Revyn and I would be running through the wilds pretending that everything is alright between us, and Callum would be doing .
. . whatever it is that vampires do. Probably looking for another mate, if I had to guess.
I draw a breath as we step near the balcony.
Alistair’s scent lingers, the taste of his anguish exploding on my tongue.
I shut my eyes as it rocks through me. None of this is fair to me or to him.
“I need to sever the bond,” I whisper, drawing back the curtain to search for Alistair.
Tracks lead to the base of the mountain.
A wolf howls in the distance. “But I don’t know how. ”
A voice rumbles from the open doorway. “An alpha has to do it.” Revyn takes a deep breath and enters the room, ignoring its owner’s whining protests as he joins me and Callum by the window.
“But it’s not as simple as declaring your intention and asking an alpha to enforce it.
You have to mean it.” He taps the space over my heart.
“That’s why Alistair’s rejection wasn’t complete.
A part of him still wants you.” His gaze slants to the blonde covering herself with torn sheets. “Despite his other options.”
“Fuck you,” the girl snaps, pushing herself to her feet and grabbing her clothes from where they’re scattered across the floor. “Alistair only wants her because she’s his true mate.” Her glare cuts to me. “If he had a choice, he’d never pick you. I’m purebred. He should be with me.”
“Pack Princess,” Revyn mutters, curling his lip.
I hate to agree with him, but all signs point to definitely.
“Breaking one’s bonds is manageable in theory,” Callum sighs, rubbing his smooth jawline, “but in practice, it won’t be that simple. Sienna and Alistair are fated. Affirming one’s rejection won’t be enough.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Revyn crosses his arms over his bare chest, his skin still damp from the bath. “They can’t keep this up. It’s unhealthy as fuck.”
My heart soars as the perfect opportunity presents itself.
“Let me mate with you, Revyn.” It won’t solve my pack problems, but it will keep him alive long enough for us to find a place to settle .
. . or for him to come around and start acting like an alpha wolf.
“Then Alistair won’t have a choice but to back off. ”
Most importantly, I can heal Revyn’s heart of the rot and break my ties with Alistair at the same time.
“Not that simple,” Callum repeats, his voice lilting on each word. “And we still don’t know the consequences of Revyn’s predicament. The safest option is for you to mate with me—”
Revyn growls.
“—because I won’t corrupt your soul.”
“Bullshit, fanger. Shifters don’t mate with vampires.”
“Our histories say otherwise.”
“No one sane mates with a fucking vampire.”
“Sienna already has.” Callum raises an eyebrow. “Are you calling our mate insane?”
“That was one time—”
“Of many, I assure you.”
My body heats at the reminder of our . .
. activities. I shift my weight and feel the evidence slicking my thighs.
“What if I mate with both of you?” I chew my bottom lip as I think aloud.
“Then I can heal Revyn, and Callum can heal me if anything bad happens. My bond with Alistair will break once I’m bound to another, right?
So it’s a win-win. Everyone gets what they want. ”
I avoid Revyn’s piercing stare and look out the window. My eyes prick with tears despite me having come up with the perfect solution. Revyn finally gets me as his mate, he and Callum can stop fighting over me, and Alistair will find peace.
“You won’t have a pack,” Callum murmurs, gently brushing his fingertips along the back of my arm. “But I can give you a home, Sienna. We’ll have family that extends generations into the past and future. Vampires don’t say goodbye to our loved ones.”
“That sounds nice,” I gasp, unable to keep the tiniest sob at bay.
Fuck. Why can’t I be happy? This is the best solution for all of us.
I can make it work. It’s not like having a pack will magically make my life better.
I’ll still have to navigate shifter politics and rivalries and whatever tasks my alpha assigns.
It’s not like pack life would be perfect.
So why can’t my heart let it go?
Revyn takes my hand and leads me onto the balcony, the flames kissing my palm kindly skirting around his fingers. “One thing at a time, baby. If you want to sever your connection with Alistair, that’s what we’ll do.” His gaze roams my body briefly. “Can you shift?”
I nod.
“The vampire can follow,” he grunts, backing up to the railing. The drop to the ground looms just beyond, and my heart pounds in anticipation of a run. I haven’t gone running in wolf form in ages.
Taking the lead, I propel myself over the edge and shift in midair, landing on the snow with four paws and fiery red fur. Without waiting for the boys, I pick up Alistair’s scent and break into a run, sensing his agitation, his sorrow, and his anger all at once.
A wolf’s howl echoes down from the mountain, resonating with the deepest parts of me.
Alistair knows that I’m coming.
My resolve wavers as a fresh wave of heartache ripples across our bond, the connection a mere fraction of what it was a few days prior. Until it’s severed, we’ll continue experiencing each other’s emotions and prolonging our pain.
Despite the knot of worry in my gut, I know that I’m making the right decision.
Alistair and I were thrown together by the whims of the gods, not of our own volition.
We’re trapped in a web of suffering that others have woven, and the only way we break free is by cutting the tether binding us together.
He’s already tried to reject our bond once; now it’s my responsibility to see it through.
The relief I feel as I close the distance between us is painfully short-lived.
The moment I reach the mountain path, Alistair’s scent changes, turning sour with regret.
I slow my gait and scan the area for him.
He’s close. I can sense him nearby, but our connection wavers, making it difficult to pinpoint his location.
Closing my eyes, I focus on our connection and wait for the gentle tug inside my chest to lead me to him . . . but a wave of fury crashes through the trees and knocks me over.
Revyn’s warning howl comes a moment too late.
Something lunges at me from the woods and tears its claws through my flesh.
Flames engulf my body as survival instinct takes over, only for them to sputter out as soon as someone stomps on my rib cage.
The bones crack and splinter, piercing my lungs.
White hot agony rips through me, and I cough blood onto the snow.
Callum shouts for me to move.
But as I gaze up at my attacker, panic races through my veins.
I’m no match for an Alpha.
Glowing eyes filled with malice, Thaddeus Dire stalks toward me, his wolfish features overtaking human ones. Fangs sharp as knives. Thick claws dripping with blood. A beast’s snarl rumbling in his chest.
The scent of decay seeping from his pores.
Movement in my peripheral catches my attention, and I watch in horror as Revyn charges.
He snaps his jaw around Thaddeus’s shoulder, aiming for his neck and missing by mere inches.
Grabbing Revyn by the scruff, Alpha Dire tears him off and tosses him aside, the sickening crack of my lover’s body hitting a massive oak tree making me flinch.
Callum is next, his eyes turning pitch black as he reaches for the depths of his power.
In the split second that Thaddeus’s mind is thrown into one of Callum’s illusions, I run for him, my heart pounding as I sink my teeth into his flesh. Rancid blood hits my tongue, but I don’t dare let go, using every ounce of my strength to rip his forearm from his body.
He shouts, the pain of losing a limb breaking his trance, and wraps his remaining hand around my neck.
The grin splitting his face is as wild as his eyes, a sight that so closely resembles Revyn’s in a fight that I scream, my wolven vocal cords straining to make the sound.
A pathetic whimper catches in my throat as he squeezes his fist, cutting off my airway and lifting me into the air.
The bone-chilling crackle of his voice mixing with a scent so similar to Alistair’s becomes a nightmare I’ll never forget.
“Hybrid bitch,” he growls, spitting in my face.
“Rot in the hells with your disgrace of a pack, you fucking wild whore.” He crushes my neck in his fist, and my heart catches fire.
An inferno erupts from my body, burning so hot that it scorches the earth.
Alpha Dire’s malicious grin melts away, his flesh feeding the fire as his bones turn to embers.
As I fall to my knees, Thaddeus’s ashes hover around us, his scent lingering but his final words echoing across the mountain. I snap my head up just in time to witness Alistair rushing toward me, the fury in his eyes matching his father’s.
I killed a pack Alpha . . . and I’m going to die for it.
Book two, HEAT MATE, is coming soon.