The Mating Rite (Big, Beautiful Werewolf) (Werewolves of Montana) (34 page)

“I don’t understand.”

“My father fell for your bitch mother. A stupid love affair that tainted the Fae race by your birth.” James waved a hand, and the vines holding her fast tightened painfully.

Then self-preservation took over. Sam began to sing, desperate to escape the vines holding her prisoner. But though the notes were pure and melodious, the vines did not move.

James laughed. “You think your paltry Fae powers can override my commands to the plants and the trees when they are enthralled by me? You are a weakling half-blood, daughter of a bitch Lupine. My true name is Terithen. I am the powerful Elf heir of Glen Daire, pureblood son of the Fae king of the north. I command the forest and it will do my bidding.”

“My father is the Fae king?” The news stunned her. Sam sagged against the tree. Anger and fear twined together, twisting hard like the vines holding her fast. Thoughts zipped through her mind. She must warn the others.

“You were my father’s biggest mistake. He fucked that bitch of your mother and she got pregnant with you. You should never have been born.” Terithen spat on the ground.

Sam thought fast, pushing aside panic and fear. Culling her Lupine powers, she released a long, low howl.

“So base. So wolf,” he mocked.

“Why?” She frantically pulled at her bonds. “Why do you hate me? I didn’t even know I was Fae! I was told my father was Lupine!”

“You are a half-blood, an abomination. I loathe and curse the day my father took your mother into his bed. You shame my family, our race. You shame me!” Terithen flung out his hand. More vines wrapped around her ankles.

“I went to Comairise Energy on the excuse of obtaining evidence to fire HG and Ken. That is what I told my father. I really went there to watch you. It was a challenge, deciding if I should kill you outright or if I should wait.”

Terithen picked up a snake from the ground and let it wind around his fingers. Then he crushed its head and flung the reptile aside. “I commanded the sea
Torathar
to drown you. Waiting to dispatch one’s prey is much more enjoyable. The anticipation has been lovely. I met Todd at a gay bar and pretended to be his friend. It was too easy. He needed a friend who understood…and then I got photographs of him dancing with another man at the bar. Perfect blackmail fodder. I sent him to poison you, but he failed me the first time. Then the second time, he did not put enough wolfsbane into the drink. Alas, he developed a conscience and killed himself. I could no longer wait, for by then Darius had arrived. If he were to drag you back to his pack, you would be out of my grasp.”

A familiar, dear scent flooded her nostrils.
Darius.
She did not dare look backward to give away his presence. A faint rustling sounded behind her.

From behind the tree, Darius began quietly sawing at the vines holding her captive. She must distract Terithen.

“You were my friend. You seemed to like me. How could you do this to me, James?”

“Terithen! My name is Terithen.” He laughed. “I am a good actor. Hugging you was loathsome, but I managed to hide my distaste. I thought I had you at that restaurant, followed you there and cast a spell on the buzz saw. Unfortunately, your furry Lupine friend stopped my plans.”

Darius managed to free one of her arms when Terithen’s gaze sharpened. “I knew you were there, wolf. And now I tire of your efforts.”

The Elf flicked another finger and yanked Darius out of the bushes. Tree roots snaked out of the ground and ensnared his ankles and wrists, pinning him to the ground. Darius snarled and struggled to free himself.

The Elf glanced at Sam and reached into his cloak, withdrawing a handful of purple powder.

“Wolfsbane. In distilled form, it sickens a Lupine. I understand in pure form like this, it causes excruciating pain. I’m going to torment you. First, I’ll torture your wolf; make him suffer. And make you, Samantha, watch.”

Terithen flung a handful of wolfsbane into Darius’ eyes. He screamed and writhed, shifting back and forth from human to wolf. More tree roots snaked out of the ground, lashing his naked body over and over like a horsewhip, making him bloodied. Sam gathered all her energy and sang to the trees, which finally ceased beating him.

“Too late.” Terithen laughed. “He will die from his wounds. Your puny powers cannot save him.”

Blood dripped from Darius’ mouth. He looked up, his gaze agonized. “Save yourself. Go. You have the power to free yourself.”

The Elf laughed. “Who’s the strong one now, Darius? The alpha? You can’t save yourself, you pathetic Lupine. You know me not, nor my powers.”

Darius released a deep, haunting howl and the hair stood up on the back of Sam’s neck. She recognized the call. The call of pack.

Dozens of wolves howled back, the echo of their song filling her with fierce joy. Sam added her howls to Darius’.

“Quiet. You are ruining my eardrums.” Terithen smirked and touched a pointed ear. Still smirking, he formed a small ball of green light. Turning, he hurled it at Sam.

The pain slammed into her like a white-hot sledgehammer, burning through her, feeling as if someone had lit her internal organs with a blowtorch. She screamed, tears gushing from her eyes.

Still writhing on the ground, Darius snarled. “Leave her alone!”

“Why? She screams so sweetly. Shall we make you sing again, bitch sister?”

Tears gushed in her eyes. Then the scent of dozens of wolves filled her senses. She heard their paws hitting the earth, saw them enter the clearing.

Her panicked gaze flicked to Darius, who lay quite still, blood seeping from his wounds. “Help him,” she told them.

Two wolves shifted into their Skin form and raced to help Darius, but Terithen slammed them against the tree. Terithen was far too powerful. Then she saw a large, muscled wolf assume his Skin Form. Aiden! Clothed in black, his expression murderous, he stalked toward the Elf. “You son of a bitch,” Aiden yelled.

Her half-brother raised his arms to the sky. “I am Terithen, and I command the elements. You cannot stop me.”

As Aiden rushed Terithen, wind and rain began lashing the alpha, who raised a palm to shield his eyes from the stinging droplets. A tree root snaked out and captured his ankle.

“Sam,” Aiden shouted. “Use me. I’m an alpha. Use my power, connect with my energy and let it flow into you. You can defeat him through us.”

Wind whipped his dark hair back as he struggled to walk toward her.

“You cannot defeat me,” Terithen shouted, his laughter maniacal. “I have the power to do whatever I please!”

Terithen hurled a ball of energy at the tree behind her. Bark exploded as the ball made contact. Deep inside her she heard the tree scream. Anger pushed aside all fear.

“You are foresworn to protect the forest!” she screamed at her half-brother.

“My hate for you overshadows any love for the trees. They will understand. Their sacrifice is noble, eradicating a vile half-blood who never should have been born.”

Reaching behind her, she managed to place her palm flat against the tree trunk, connecting with it, and sang. Sam glanced up and saw the bark mend itself, the gaping hole in the trunk slowly close over. And then a new, stronger power flowed into her.

She’d somehow tapped into the power of the elements. She felt a surge of strength, of pure force and will, flow into her. Suddenly the vines holding her captive released her. She was free!

The storm lashed at them with wicked fury. The wind howled with vicious force, whipping back her pale hair and tearing at her clothing. She advanced toward Terithen, who snarled and flung another energy ball at her.

It slammed into her chest, burning like cold fire. Sam gritted her teeth, but the fire raced through her veins, draining her. She collapsed against a tree trunk.

This was all wrong, she thought dimly
. I’m going to die and I barely started to live my life, the life I was meant to live.

“Sam!”

She turned and saw Darius on the ground, his face covered with blood. He struggled to speak. “I believe in you, and I love you. You are Lupine and Elf, the best of two worlds. Use your powers. Heal yourself.”

Darius, the male who wanted her as his mate, despite her mixed blood. Darius, the Lupine who had sacrificed himself to protect her.

He would not die today.

Neither would she.

Sam lifted her face to the sky and began to sing. She sang with the last ounce of strength, her fingers gripping the tree trunk and feeling the tree’s energy connect with her spirit. Drawing strength from the tree, which drew strength from the earth, she kept singing. Finally the power inside her surged, filling her with good, strong magick. She sang a new song, urging the elements to calm.

“Heal me, be with me. I am one with you, the storm and the sky and the wind.”

The blood of two powerful alphas and their packs flowed into her, feeding her strength, courage and power. Sam felt Darius’ strength and his belief in her, his love flood her spirit. Darius did not care she was a half-breed. He did not care if she was wolf or Elf. He simply loved her for herself.

I have the power to defeat Terithen. Love is the greatest power of all.

The feeling built deep inside, shimmering and right, and Sam knew she’d finally found her true self. The storm abated, and she felt its power flow into her spirit. Closing her eyes, she cupped her hands. When she opened her eyes, a ball of bright light danced in her palms, rippling in rainbow colors.

Sam looked at Darius. Her mate. Her lover. The only male, Lupine, Skin or Elf, who had stood by her side and loved her, no matter what she was. And she drew on the strength of that love and let it feed her soul.

“Dear brother,” she called out in a low voice. “James. Yo. Shitty excuse for breathing.”

He turned, his eyes glowing red.

“I am half-blood. Lupine. Elf. It is all within me, the power of the earth.”

She smiled and bounced the multicolored ball in her palm. “Taste the rainbow, you son of a bitch.”

Snarling, she flung the ball of light at him.

It hit him square on the chest. Staggering back, he pin wheeled, trying to regain his balance. Sam opened her mouth and sang, calling forth the roots, the trees, the blades of grass to become knives. And she called on her mother’s people, the Lupine. From the shadows, from the distance, the wolves raced forward, snarling and awaiting her command.

Sam lifted a finger and pointed at her half-brother, who stood gathering his power. “Tear him up.”

The wolves rushed forward, snapping their jaws, but Terithen broke free. He severed a tree limb and swung, knocking the wolves down. The vines and roots imprisoning Darius fell away from his wrists and ankles. Her half-brother was losing power in his focus to save himself. The wolves recovered and rushed him again. She recognized Ryder and Aiden sinking their fangs into his legs. Terithen screamed and hurled energy balls at the wolves, slamming into them. Howling, they writhed on the ground.

Sam kept singing, urging the trees to attack the one who attacked and used them. Roots pulled up from the ground, ensnaring his legs and pulling him down. Terithen wriggled, trying to free himself, but the roots tightened around him.

One snaked around his neck like a noose. With wild eyes, Terithen looked up at her. “You can’t do this! I am the True Heir!” He began to call out in words she did not recognize. And then he screamed in English, “Father, save me!”

Sam studied him solemnly. “No one will save you, Terithen. You have abused your power and surrendered to dark forces. You killed those who protected the forest and harmed the woods with your evil.”

“You can’t kill me!”

“I am not the one killing you. They are.”

The root squeezed tight as his face grew purple. Terithen gasped, and then died.

Suddenly light shimmered, iridescent colors that made her squint and her eyes gush water. When it faded, a tall, silver-haired Elf stood there, clad in a brilliant scarlet tunic and trousers, his hair falling down to his breastbone. Clutched in his right hand was a long crimson staff topped with an intricate twist of leaves.

He looked down at the fallen body of Terithen. Then he quietly regarded the twisted remains of the trees, the broken roots and the damaged earth. The tall Elf struck the staff deep into the soil and the earth opened. It began pulling her stepbrother downward, like quicksand. Terithen shrank, his body folding into the earth, and vanished.

The pack shifted back to Skin form, as did Aiden and Ryder. Both alphas were bruised and bleeding, but their wounds had begun to heal.

Sam rushed over to Darius and knelt at his side. Darius was not healing.

Naked, covered with blood that shone black in the moonlight, he had a weak pulse. His eyes flickered open. A wan smile touched his bloodied mouth as he reached up and caressed her cheek. “Love you,” he whispered. “Be happy.”

“Please. You can’t leave me,” she whispered, cradling him in her arms. Sam pressed her lips to his. Once warm and firm and soft, his mouth was cold and nearly lifeless.

Aiden’s mouth worked violently as he clasped his friend’s hands. “Darius, c’mon, hang in there, buddy. I need you.”