He tracked my movements, ever the predator.
I stood before him. Only a few feet separated us.
“Because I chose you instead,” I told him quietly, and he reared back. “We never needed each other to survive. If we did, we would have both been dead a long time ago. It’s never been about that, Mark. We’re here now because we chose each other. In the end, it’s always been about choice. We chose to fight each other until we chose to fight together. You chose me a long time ago. And now I’m choosing you back.”
Conflicting emotions battled on his face: incredulity, sadness, anger, and hope. “I don’t—”
“You broke the raven you made for me.”
His face crumpled and his shoulders shook. “I know. I know, and I will never forgive myself for—”
“Do you still have it?”
“It’s broken, Gordo, it’s on the floor and it’s broken—” Coherency dissolved, words becoming garbled snarls.
“The stone wolf. The one you gave me a long time ago. And the one I gave back. Do you still have it?”
He looked up at me, eyes wet and wild. “I… yeah. Yes.” His chest hitched. “I still have it. It hurts, Gordo. It hurts.”
“You’re going to give it to me, okay? When all this is done, I’m going to ask that you give it back to me. And if you think that’s all right, if you think that’s the right thing to do, I promise you I’m going to take care of it for the rest of our days.”
He pressed his hand flat against the barrier. “Show me,” he said through a mouthful of fangs.
I knew what he meant. I tilted my head to the side and stretched the collar of my coat until he could see the bite mark. It was throbbing angrily, and I relished each pulse of pain that shot through me.
“I’ll give you my wolf, witch,” he growled. “If I don’t kill you first.”
I grinned at him nastily. “I’d like to see you try.”
The ice-blue was gone.
All that was left was violet.
“What are you doing?” Ox asked me angrily. “What the hell are you doing, Gordo?”
I stared at Mark as his half shift came over him and he began to prowl along the line of silver, narrowed gaze trained on me. “I’m going to make them pay. All of them.”
shatter
IT WAS midday before the others returned. I’d stayed down in the basement, watching Mark as he descended. It was slow going, and painful, and I knew that if this didn’t work, I probably wouldn’t last long enough to live to regret it.
Kelly was furious with me, daring me to do the same with Carter, daring me to try to make his brother feral. Joe barely held him back. I ignored them both, focusing everything I had on Mark. Kelly had broken down in tears, and Carter had tried to console him, but he was breathing heavily, tense and stiff. The timber wolf with him kept pressing against his shoulder until Carter snarled at it to stay the fuck away from him.
Ox hadn’t moved, and I could feel him staring at the back of my head. Jumbled emotions poured through the bonds between us. He was angry with me and saddened at the sight before him. But he knew me, knew I wouldn’t do what I’d done without a reason. He was still holding on, still trusting me, and I hoped it was enough.
“They’re here,” Ox said, and a moment later, there came the sound of a door being thrown open at the front of the house. Footsteps thundered overhead, heading toward the stairs. Ox’s eyes flared brightly. “But not all of them. Something’s wrong.”
Robbie came down first, looking frantic. He must have felt Kelly’s anguish, because he looked like he wanted to shred the cause of it. I hoped Kelly wouldn’t sic him on me. Granted, it would have given me an excuse to break his glasses, but I’d hate to have to hurt the kid right off the bat.
He stood in front of Kelly, reaching up like he wanted to touch him, but he closed his fingers into fists and brought them back to his sides. “Are you okay?” he asked in a hushed voice. “I tried to get here as fast as I could, but Elizabeth said we needed to move together, and she wouldn’t let me shift, and then we got attacked and—”
“I’m fine,” Kelly said through gritted teeth. “What do you mean attacked?”
“Hunters,” Robbie said, face pale. “They found us when we were halfway here. I should have—but I was trying to get back here and I didn’t hear them. I didn’t hear them. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
My blood ran cold. “Who?” I managed to ask. “Who did they—”
Elizabeth came down next. And she wasn’t alone.