Heartsong (Green Creek 3)

I ran toward him, Rico bellowing after me.

Nothing else mattered but getting to Kelly.

I flew past Aileen and Patrice. They had a group of feral children in front of them. The kids were snapping their teeth, trying to get at the witches but unable to get past the barrier Aileen and Patrice had created.

I saw dead wolves, at least three that had come with us. One of them had been an Alpha, and one of his Betas looked up at me, confusion mingled with fear on his face, eyes suddenly flashing red.

I ignored it.

There wasn’t time.

I felt my pack behind me as I ran.

What I found made me stop cold, my breath catching in my chest.

The earth on the south end of the lake was scorched, blackened and cracked.

Tanner stood above Chris, who lay panting on the ground, ribs exposed from a deep cut on his side.

The timber wolf—Gavin—was snarling, sounding angrier than I’d ever heard him.

Robert Livingstone was dragging Carter and Kelly toward us by their hair. He looked no worse for wear. Kelly was struggling weakly. Carter’s eyes were closed, body looking as if it’d suffered a repeated assault. His face was bruised heavily along his jaw, eyes swollen. He wasn’t healing.

“This,” Livingstone said. “This is what you’ve done. This is what you’ve brought upon yourselves. Do you think I want this? Do you think this is necessary? All I asked, all I ever asked for is what was mine, what was owed to me. And you refused. All of you refused, and it has come to this. How dare you.”

“Let them go,” I snarled, Gavin at my side.

To my surprise, he did. Kelly and Carter fell to the ground. Carter groaned as Kelly tried to raise himself up. He looked at me, face ashen. He was bleeding from a cut on his forehead, and it ran in rivulets down his face.

Livingstone stood between them. Instead of angry, he looked weary, like he was exhausted. There were shadows under his eyes, his pupils blown out. He raised a hand toward us. “Gavin,” he said, voice soft, “I can fix this. I can make it all go away. Come with me. Let us leave this place behind.” He looked down at the brothers at his feet, then back up at us. His gaze trailed behind us to Tanner and Chris, to the rest of the pack coming at a run. He sighed as he shook his head. “Wolves. With them is only death. Suffering. I know. I know. They turned Gordo against me. They poisoned my wife, filling her head with falsehoods. They drove her to take my tether from me, and then, when all was lost, they tried to contain me. They took my magic from me. They ripped me in half like it was nothing. Abel Bennett. Thomas Bennett.” His lip curled. “The princeling. The human Alpha who cannot stay out of my goddamn way.”

My pack gathered around me, wild and strong. Ox and Joe stood on either side of me, their anger boiling over through the pack bonds between us.

“This is over,” Gordo growled. “The children are contained. Dale is dead. You have nothing left. You’ve lost. Let them go.”

Livingstone turned his face toward the sky. He took a deep breath, let it out slow. “So it would seem. But that’s the thing about appearances, my son. They can be an illusion.”

“My grandfather chose to spare your life,” Joe said, shoulders squared. “He knew what you’d gone through. What had happened. He showed you mercy.”

Livingstone laughed bitterly. “And where did that get him? He’s nothing but dust. Like the pack that once was. Like Thomas.”

Elizabeth shifted. “You don’t deserve to speak his name.”

Livingstone nodded. “You think you’ve won. And I can see why. But you are sadly mistaken. Gavin. Don’t make me do this.”

Gavin took an uncertain step forward.

Carter groaned as he raised his head. “Don’t,” he managed to say. “Gavin, he’s… lying. Don’t… listen….”

And Gavin stopped.

Cocked his head, ears pricking.

Livingstone narrowed his eyes. “What’s this?”

“He’s with us,” Ox said. “He’s pack.”

“Pack,” Livingstone spat. “Pack. Fine. Remember, this is on you.” He looked down at Carter. “You made me do this.”