Wolves’ Bane (25 page)

The next few moments played out so slowly that Cal thought he was dreaming. He watched with new horror as Morgan’s body, now pressed against Lazarus, seemed to relax. Her hands moved to lie across Lazarus’s chest, all traces of her pain gone as she slanted her mouth up toward his. He slipped his hands around her waist and his lips crushed down on hers. Cal felt all of the air leave his lungs, all of the life leave his body. Lazarus didn’t need a weapon to attack—all he had to do was touch his bride and she melted.

She was mesmerized.

Cal heard a click and turned his head to see Andrew leveling a revolver at Morgan’s back. Andrew’s eyes were filled with hatred, his gaze locked on Lazarus whose lips were still on Morgan’s. To Andrew, she was lost. But Cal didn’t see it that way.

Time sped up at that moment and Cal threw his
sai
. One aimed at Andrew, knocking the gun from his hand as it impaled his arm. Andrew’s mouth opened in a silent scream. He clutched his injured arm and fell to the ground, dropping his weapon in the process.

Then Cal spun and aimed the second one, released it with a quick flick of his wrist. Morgan screamed as it tore across her back, ripping the flesh before impaling itself in Lazarus’s shoulder.

Lazarus bellowed his rage and yanked it from his skin, sending a splatter of blood over Morgan as he crossed his arms around her, hauling her back, away from the Hunters. Away from Cal.

“Attack,” Lazarus growled, nodding his head as his eyes locked with Cal’s.

And out of the woods came dozens of wolves running toward them with fangs bared and murder in their eyes. Cal had underestimated Lazarus’s power. They were as good as dead. All of them.

Chapter Forty-One

Parted

My back throbbed and Lazarus continued to hold me against his body, trapped as the battle exploded behind me. My mind was reeling. What had just happened?
Did Cal just try to kill me?

He took a few steps back, a macabre kind of dance, with me tight in his embrace. I knew Lazarus would want to get me into the forest, into his domain where he would make me his. I knew I couldn’t let him get me there. Couldn’t let him take me away from the Hunters.

“Morgan.” Cal’s voice bellowed from behind and I struggled to look, pushing against Lazarus’s chest as he cradled me closer to his body, his backward movement coming to a stop.

“She is mine, Hunter.” Lazarus’s voice rumbled in his chest, a booming thunderous roar that vibrated through me.

I craned my head to the side, catching a glimpse of Cal, his sword raised, his body posed for attack.

“She is
mine,
” Cal growled.

Lazarus laughed, another vibrating rumble in his chest. “Oh no, Hunter, not anymore.” He tightened his grip on me, twisting my body to the side while at the same time releasing my head from his chest.

I could see the scene clearly now. For every Hunter, there were three or four wolves. Blood and metal flew everywhere. Everyone seemed to be holding their own, all except Andrew, who lay on the ground, his arm bleeding, his weapon missing, and two massive wolves toying with him.

Andrew screamed as one of the wolves latched onto his leg, dragging him a few feet before letting him go again. I shifted my eyes to Cal. “Andrew,” I said, pleading with him to go. As much as I didn’t like the guy, no one deserved to be brutalized like that.

Cal turned his head, his attention snagged at the sight of Andrew being attacked. And then out of nowhere came a giant wolf, barreling into Cal’s body, and both went rolling across the ground.

“Do you want to watch the Hunter die, my pet?” Lazarus cooed in my ear as he ran his finger across my jaw.

I felt the revolting pull of desire as his finger traced along my collarbone. I could fight against it but knew it was pointless. Lazarus was in my head already. That kiss had been enough. I’d had a taste of him and I wanted more.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t want to see anyone die.”

Lazarus laughed as he spun me around, taking Cal, with fists flying, away from my view. The battle still raged behind me, but as Lazarus tilted my face up to stare into his eyes, the noise seemed to dim and fade.

He held my arms behind me, pulling at the wound on my back, reminding me of Cal’s betrayal, my ribs screaming as my body tried to knit the bones back together. Lazarus’s punishment. My wrists were clasped in one of his massive hands while the other tenderly stroked my cheek. His golden eyes pierced me with the intensity of his longing.

“You are the loveliest of all the brides who have come over the years. I feel very lucky to have found you.” He brushed his lips to mine again, this time lingering only for a moment before pulling away again to stare down at me. “So young. So vibrant. Your body is ready for my seed. You will grow my son in your belly, and you will be honored as my queen.”

I felt the pull toward him. I was shocked once again by the intensity. His words were like the sweetest music, telling me everything that I suddenly wanted to hear. I knew the touch of magic—it flooded through my veins thanks to Cal—so I knew that it was magic compelling me to love everything about him. His smell played over my tongue as I inhaled breath after breath of him, tantalizing and exotic. His face, his body, so hard, packed with muscle, his erection straining against his pants. But it was his eyes that held me rapt. I couldn’t tear mine away, not when he was staring at me with such want, such desire.

All sound evaporated around me. All feeling, gone. He slanted his lips over mine, their fullness encasing my mouth as he darted his tongue between my lips.

He released my bound wrists, moving his hand to cup my butt as his other stroked the curve of my breast, his tongue plunging into my mouth, tasting me.

The wound to my ribs pulsed, matching the throb of my sex as Lazarus continued to kiss and stroke me. But the pain from my back brought stabbing reality to my mind, slicing through the haze of Lazarus’s magic. Tugging at the cloud of desire. And then I remembered.

Cal. My Hunter. My lover
.

I realized what I must do. I reached up to stroke the nape of Lazarus’s neck, my fingers dancing a familiar pattern over his flesh. He moaned against my lips, tasting me even as his body began to slump.

His lips broke free from mine, his eyes wide, fighting against the impossible, before sliding closed. His body grew totally void of strength and I cradled him as he fell, letting the momentum carry me down to the ground with him landing in my lap.

I let my shoulders slump, feeling suddenly exhausted and as I lifted my gaze I found Cal staring at me, his mouth open as if to speak. He held a wolf down, pinning the giant beast in a submission hold that I recognized. The beast thumped and growled, struggling to get free as Cal continued to gawk at me, seemingly lost in my gaze.

With a curt shake of my head, I reached along the graveled ground, my fingers splayed and stretched to grab my dagger. As my fingers brushed its hilt, I sucked in a deep breath. Despite the aching of my broken ribs, I pushed my hand farther out and finally grasped it. I rested for a moment, knowing my body was busy healing my wounds, quickly knitting me up with the help of Cal’s Hunter bond, but the pain still took my breath away.

As I turned my eyes to Lazarus, I felt the strange sensation of sorrow cloud over my pain. Staring down at such a beautiful, sleeping man, I found it hard to believe how evil he was. But he was evil. And I had to put an end to it all. Without another moment’s hesitation, I plunged the blade home, slicing through the expensive suit that Lazarus wore, offering no protection to the bite of silver that entered his chest and went straight to his heart.

Lazarus’s eyes flew open, a silent scream on his lips as his body died. He could do nothing. It was already too late.

The fighting suddenly stopped. His pack, sensing their leader’s demise, looked from one to the other, seemingly confused, disoriented. One let loose a mournful howl that sent a chill rushing down my spine. The rest followed suit, and then all gathered themselves and took off, leaving the Hunters looking around in bewilderment. That is until their individual gazes fell on me and Lazarus, my hand still clenched on the handle of the blade.

Cal ran to me, easily lifting Lazarus off my lap so that he could haul me to my feet. He wrapped his strong arms around me, careful not to squeeze my injured ribs.

“You did it. Morgan, you did it.” He was happy—I heard the hope, the love. When he pulled away to look down at me, he was smiling. “I thought he had you. I thought you were enthralled.”

I didn’t smile back. The pain from my wound hurt again, now that the adrenaline was gone, a scathing cut across my back from Cal’s
sai
. “I put him to sleep.”

Cal stared down at me, looking dumbfounded and clearly speechless for a moment, the strangest expression on his face. “That…well, that was brilliant! Of course. But why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you let me know that’s what you had planned?”

I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly parched, my body humming with exhaustion. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know.” I frowned. “I almost gave in to him, Cal.”

Cal’s wrinkled brow matched mine. “But you didn’t in the end, Morgan. You didn’t give in.” He smiled softly. “Now we can go home, build a life without this hanging over us. Lazarus is dead.” He ignored the scowl that tugged on my lips, the denial shadowed in my eyes. But when he moved to embrace me again I stepped away from him.

“I’m not going back to the mansion with you.”

Cal’s smile faded, his lips parted to speak.

I raised my hand to stop him, my fingers resting on his lips. “I’m not going back with you.”

“But you have to, Morgan. We can’t leave the Order. I’ve taken a vow of loyalty.”

I nodded. “Yes, you have and you’ve proven your loyalty.” When his frown deepened, I sighed, letting my hand fall back to my side. “But I didn’t take any vow and I won’t. I can’t live in a house where everyone wanted me dead.”

Lance came to us then, forcing us farther apart with his presence. “Andrew is missing.”

“Dead?” Cal asked, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Ken saw him dragged off by two of the wolves. He said they made a killing blow to the neck, but we can’t be sure.”

No one needed to say it, they all just knew. There was a chance that Andrew was dead. There was also a chance that Andrew would end up like Jimmy. A werewolf with intimate knowledge of the workings of the Order.

Cal nodded even though no one had said anything. “We have to get back to the compound. See if Kelly is okay.”

Lance motioned toward the vehicles. “We need to get Rachel to her home.”

I shifted my gaze to the SUV. “I’m coming.”

Lance frowned. “Of course. I’m sure she’ll react better if she has a friend with her.” He patted Cal on the shoulder as he turned to walk away. “We’ll be back in a few.”

I turned my eyes to Cal’s, the look of hurt I found there almost bringing me to my knees. “No, I won’t be coming back.”

Lance turned toward me. “What?”

I fought to maintain my composure. Cal’s eyes bore into me, pleading where his words didn’t. “I can’t stay with all of you. I’m sorry, Cal. I can’t get past the betrayal. Even if Andrew is gone. That place is haunted for me. I just can’t bind myself to it. I didn’t choose this life.”

Cal shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. “Don’t do this, Morgan.”

“I’ll find a way to break the bond, Cal,” I forced out, my eyes burning with unshed tears as my stomach pitched with my words. “I’ll find a way to release you.”

Cal sucked in a breath. I turned away, walking past Lance, demanding that he follow after me with a quick glance. With every step I took, I felt the burning pain of separation, of undeniable longing. As I moved away from Cal, my body screamed. But how could I stay with someone who had chosen the Order over me? He’d tried to kill me, hadn’t he? He’d taken the shot and followed through on his duty, just as Andrew had wanted. My back burned with the wound his
sai
had caused. As much as I’d bravely spouted off about rather dying than being Lazarus’s bride, when it came down to it, I hadn’t expected it would be my Hunter to do it. It was clear to me that Cal would always choose the Order over me. His vow demanded it.

As I slid into the backseat with Rachel, I immediately set aside my troubling thoughts to deal with what lay before me. Rachel was in shock. She’d covered her head with her hands, her body was shaking. She jumped a foot when I laid my hand on her arm.

“It’s only me, sweetheart. It’s okay, I’m here.”

Rachel lifted her head, her eyes rimmed red from crying, her lips quivering. “Morgan?”

I gave a small smile as I held my arms out. With a sigh of relief, Rachel collapsed into me, the tension and fear rolling off her as she sobbed against my chest.

Lance jumped into the driver’s seat, slamming the door and turning the ignition as he glanced over his shoulder, his brows pulled into a deep frown. “She okay?”

“No. She needs to go home. Can you take us there, please?”

Lance nodded then turned to face front. “Where to?”

Ten minutes later, we were parked outside Rachel’s house. Lance watched me in the rearview mirror as I continued to stroke Rachel’s hair, cooing to her that everything would be okay.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to wait?” Lance asked, shifting his body around so that he could look at me.

I frowned back at him and shook my head. “No, I don’t want you to wait.”

Lance sighed as he rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. “Morgan, this isn’t a decision you should make on the spur of the moment. Cal needs you, he loves you. You can’t walk away from him.”

I glanced toward the window, staring into the black sky. With the moon fully eclipsed, the stars seemed to shine more brightly. It would only last for one night, but I was sure that there were more stars out there than I had ever seen in my life.

“He tried to kill me, Lance.” I sighed as I shifted my gaze to his.

“He didn’t try to kill you.”

I straightened my back and grimaced. “Oh yeah? Tell that to my back.” I lay my hand on the door handle. “I can’t live in a house where the Order demands so much, knowing that I will always lose if Cal is given the choice. I can’t vow my loyalty to them, not when they so clearly undervalue the role of the Huntress.”

“But you’ve changed things, Morgan. You succeeded. You killed Lazarus. Things will be different now.” His voice grew louder with his excitement, and Rachel moaned, her fear returning.

I gave him a dark look. “I’m sorry, Lance, but the damage is done. I wasn’t born into it like Candy was, knowing that I would one day be a Huntress. I didn’t ask for this and I don’t want it.”

“You don’t want Cal?” Lance’s eyebrows were cocked, knowing that if I denied it, I’d be lying.

“It doesn’t matter. Don’t you get that? Cal and I don’t feel the same way about our obligation to the Order. He
needs
to go back there. He needs to tend to Kelly. And now that Andrew is gone, she needs him more than I do.” Even as I said it, my words tore at me, igniting my jealousy, demanding I take it all back.

“That’s bullshit,” Lance spat. “You need him and he needs you. If you walk away from this, it’s going to destroy you. I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. You love him, you can’t deny that.”

I shook my head again. I needed to get the hell away from Lance, from the Hunters, from everything to do with this crazy world. I popped open the door and slid my foot out, raising my hand as Lance moved to get out too. “I don’t deny that I love him, but I can’t go back with you and he can’t go anywhere else.”

I helped Rachel out of the backseat, easing her to her feet as I slammed the door closed.

“Okay, Rach? We’re home. Why don’t you go and unlock the door?”