The Wolf's Surrender

CHAPTER 20



Mia stumbled forward as Jeff gave her a little push into the clearing. Her eyes widened as she saw what they had brought her to. She stopped, tried to back up, but the men directly behind her prevented her from backing up more than a step.

“Uh-uh, sweetheart. This is the end of the line for you.”

“Go on,” Jeff crooned from behind her. He sounded absurdly thrilled, as though he was about to be given the greatest gift a man could have. “Nothing is going to hurt you...yet.”

Mia swallowed hard. She didn’t know if she could keep going. Not toward this.

A single figure stood before them, shirtless in the middle of a ring of fire. Though he looked, in great part, like a man, there was something slightly insubstantial about his shape and form, and if he turned the right way, Mia realized, she could see right through him. He was very tall, intimidatingly broad, with a cruel beauty about him. Tousled hair of snowy white was a stark contrast to dark, slashing brows. His face was that of a young warrior. But his eyes were ageless, and burning. There was blood spattered on his chest, but it didn’t seem to be his. It likely belonged to the man on the ground in front of him.

“Ah. So that’s where Troy went.”

Jeff sounded strangely unconcerned as he moved up from the back and approached the circle.

The white-haired warrior spoke, and Mia immediately recognized the voice. He was the one who had led her here.

“A useful creature. His blood helped me light the fire of Ab-ashoth.” His strange eyes drifted to Mia. “And here is the woman. Our faewolf.” His voice grew almost tender. “We have waited long for you. The blood of your line grows faint, the Unseelie magic dim. They have retreated deep into the veil, far from the humans who have forgotten them. And yet here you are.”

“I don’t want this,” Mia said, her voice little more than a whisper.

His smile was a thin blade. “You will.”

Jeff turned to glare at her, obviously displeased that she was getting more attention than he was.

“You’re a means to an end, Mia. Life’s a bitch. Men, bring her.”

Hands clamped on her upper arms as she was pushed forward toward the burning ring. She didn’t struggle...it seemed pointless. And the closer she got, the more lethargic she felt. She grew lightheaded, sleepy. She looked around for something to focus on, to pull her out of this onrushing stupor, but all she found were the bright eyes of the Shadowkin warrior. Her knees began to buckle. Her head lolled on her neck.

“Quit dragging your feet, you stupid bitch,” hissed a voice in her ear.

Mia.

Mia forced her head up, all her attention shifting to that voice, soft but so familiar, calling her again. The first time, she’d been certain it wasn’t real. But...could it really be Jenner? Nearly sick with her sudden, irrational hope, Mia reached out for him with her thoughts. She heard the faintest start of a response before his voice vanished. The words she’d heard surged through her blood, and gave her something to hang on to.

We’re coming.

She felt anything but strong as she was led to the ring of fire, seeing the dark things that had begun to drift from the woods and swirl lazily above the circle like carrion birds. There was power in the air, dark power. The night seemed to thrum with it like a live wire.

“Come to me. All of you,” said the warrior. His voice brooked no refusal. She could feel the hesitation of the men at her sides, smell the sudden tang of fear on the air from the rest. Oh, now you decide to be frightened? she thought, suddenly angry. What had they expected? That a creature who could promise eternal life, incredible power, would look tame?

Jeff looked at all of them sharply, his disdain obvious.

“Do as Murdock says. There’s no turning back now. You know what’ll happen if you do.” He indicated the swirling black figures, now all around them, with a wave of his hand and a thin smile.

“Jeff,” she said softly. “Do you really think they’ll let you live? All they want is me.”

It was a lost cause, maybe. But she had to try one more time to get through. Indeed, all she got from Murdock was a smug little smirk. And true to form, Jeff pushed away any appeal to reason.

“You would think that. You think your blood makes you better than me, better than everyone. Well, you’re wrong. These are my friends. My only friends. They chose me, a very long time ago, when no one else would have. But don’t feel bad. You’ll get a moment in the sun. A very brief one.”

“They’re using you.”

Jeff regarded her for a moment, and at first she thought she’d gotten through. He looked like himself again, polite, reasonable, a little sad. But when he spoke, she realized that whatever was inside of Jeff Gaines was irreparably broken.

“They...love...me,” he whispered. “They need me. Murdock promised. Do you know what it’s like, to never be loved? I do, Mia. But it’s all right now. It’s all right. I’ll finally be in charge of something that matters. I’ll finally have done it right. Everything is waiting for me. Everything.”

She pitied him as much as she could pity a monster like him, hearing the kernel of truth in his words. Maybe he had never felt love. But nothing was an excuse for becoming what he had, for sacrificing his sanity for power. His smile was insane.

“I wish I’d met you a long time ago,” Mia said. “Maybe I could have helped.”

“You’re just jealous he didn’t pick you,” Jeff said flatly. “Come on, Mia. The fun’s about to start.”

“Yes,” Murdock agreed. “Come, all of you, into the ring. The moon rises. It’s time.”

The man at Murdock’s feet groaned and writhed, drawing Mia’s attention. She saw with horror that dozens of tiny cuts had been made in his skin. Out of them ran thin rivulets of blood. The man himself appeared out of it. Drugged, maybe, or just coming to after being knocked out.

Jeff noticed the direction of her gaze and gave her a small smile.

“Don’t worry about him. He’s just another necessary sacrifice.” He flicked his hand above his head and looked up. “She’s yours. You can have the men, as well. As promised.”

Several of the tattered and inky shadows separated from the circling horde and rushed at them. One of the men holding her shrieked, but the sound had only barely begun to leave his mouth when it was choked off. She was pushed away into the fire, but she didn’t even feel the flames as she passed through it, stumbling as she turned to see what was happening. Mia watched in horror as Jeff’s companions were enveloped in a shifting, swirling blanket of darkness. Two of them bolted, dashing for the trees. Two more of the shadows followed in hot pursuit.

And one more, the final one, was swooping toward Jeff. The fool held out his arms, as though he were about to receive an embrace.

“Come to me! I’m ready!” he cried.

“I wouldn’t watch...we are very hungry tonight,” Murdock’s voice murmured in her ear. She felt his hand, ice cold, stroke the length of her arm. As Jeff’s tortured scream rose into the night sky, his body beginning to convulse as more shadows descended upon him, cocooning his body in red-tinged darkness, Mia somehow found it within her to run.

She heard Murdock’s surprised snarl as she broke away, springing back through the fire with a grace and speed she had felt the night she’d chased Jeff into the woods. Adrenaline surged, snapping her out of the horrible lethargy she’d been afflicted with. She barely felt her feet hitting the ground as she ran, and a terrible hope filled her. Maybe she could get away. Maybe the wolves were close enough to save her. Maybe...

A massive shadow swooped down from the sky, heading straight for her. Mia threw up her hands, poor protection at best, her body going rigid in anticipation of the strike. Incredibly, the shadow stopped short, drifting just out of reach. Now that it was closer, she could see the hint of red eyes, and they were narrowed, all its attention focused on the wolf. Her wolf.

“Jenner.” She knew it was him, even though she’d only seen him in this form once before, and briefly. Her heart knew it was him. And the knowledge brought with it such relief that it nearly took her down. All that had happened, all she’d been through, faded away in the face of the only things she knew to be true: Jenner was alive. He was here.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mia saw another wolf, sleek and red, streak out of the forest like a phantom and round the edge of the circle. Looking to flank Murdock, Mia thought. But she had a terrible feeling that even lacking full substance in this world, Murdock would be no easy prey. The Shadowkin warrior looked furious.

“Wolf! Shadow hunter! You’re too late!”

As the one shadow drifted back, Jenner coiled around her legs to face Murdock. He didn’t look at her, didn’t make a sound. But the warm security of his touch was more than enough reassurance for now. She was no longer on her own. Despite everything, Jenner had come for her. Mia wanted to throw her arms around him so badly it hurt.

“You,” Murdock snarled. “You came for her abductor, yes? We’ve already taken care of him, I’m afraid. There’s none left for you. I suggest you run back to your fellow wolves and tell them to hide. We’ll enjoy the game. See how you like being hunted. At least it will be a challenge, unlike this one.”

He jerked his head at where Jeff lay on the ground. Mia sucked in a breath at the sight of him as the Shadowkin that had targeted him swooped into the air and headed back into the swarm of its brethren. Jeff was sheet-white, and appeared to have been completely drained of blood. Mia pressed a hand against her mouth as nausea rolled through her. A man she had just seen walking and talking was now a dried-up corpse. She managed to dredge up a small, very small, amount of pity. He’d been so broken.

Murdock held out his hand to her, even as the shadow he had sent to fetch her continued to hang back in the face of Jenner’s furious growling.

“Come to me, Mia. Make this easy. He’s going to die. They’re all going to. You can live forever.”

“I would rather die with them, then!” she cried, her fear replaced with a sudden fury.

Murdock’s face contorted as he bared sharp, jagged teeth. “You should be honored! We share the Unseelie blood, you and I! I was favored by our queen once, long ago, before she cast me out! We are the same!”

“We are nothing alike!” she spat. Jenner’s presence seemed to have returned her fully to herself, giving her a strength she wouldn’t have felt otherwise. Her blood heated in her veins. She would have to be careful, Mia realized. So careful not to let it get the better of her. The moon was nearly full, and she sensed the increasingly frantic stirrings of the beast now within her. She couldn’t let her anger goad her into making the change and turning feral forever. Not when Jenner had come back to her, and she had so much to live for...if she could just live through this.

Jenner took a step forward, then another, all the while growling viciously deep in his throat. It drove some of the shadows back toward the circle, and Mia realized she could hear them hissing.

“Last chance, Mia,” Murdock said. “Come easily, or watch him be ripped apart.”

“You underestimate him. All of them. And me,” she replied, hoping she was right.

Murdock waved a hand, dismissive, his displeasure etched on his face. “Fine. Watch them die up close. It hardly matters.”

He threw up his hands, shouting a word Mia didn’t understand. The flames shot up around him, turning into a wall. Jenner gave a single, short bark.

There was a mournful howl, and then there seemed to be wolves everywhere, crashing through the trees, a sea of shining coats and teeth. Mia found herself surrounded in seconds by the pack, and was awed by them. Such strength, such beauty. And formidable, when seen all together. But all the hope she felt soar as they appeared was quickly dashed as the wolves tried to hurl themselves through the flames to attack. One by one, they hit the flames as though there were an invisible wall, slamming into an unseen barrier and falling to the ground.

Through the flickering flames, Mia could see Murdock rapidly chanting, his arms upraised over the body before him. The man staked to the ground writhed, and began to glow. His body was suffused with a pulsing red light that seemed to come from inside of him. And one by one, the shadows began to drop to the earth around him, forming a circle within a circle. Then the shadows began to change...shift...their shapes becoming something far more human.

Mia watched, transfixed. Jenner had vanished in the sea of wolves, probably joining those trying desperately to get in and stop what Murdock was doing. She hardly noticed, so fascinating and terrible was the transformation going on before her. Then she felt the chill. It wrapped itself around her, lifting her up until her feet were no longer touching the ground. She tried to scream, but it was choked off as she inhaled biting cold.

A terrible numbness invaded her. She couldn’t move her arms, her legs. Everything suddenly seemed very far away. She drifted up, away from all the violence, all the pain and fear. A voice whispered in her mind. Murdock.

Sleep, pretty one. Let me drink from you. We are protected here, oh yes, in the ritual circle. Soon, we will walk among men again. The wolf is a fool...forget him. Forget all. Sleep...sleep while we rise...and you rise with us.

Mia struggled against it. But her eyes began to close. She felt herself settled gently on the ground within the circle, a wall of flame around her. The world began to go gray, and dark, and cold.

* * *

Jenner had left her side only briefly, but it was long enough. He watched with horror as Mia was enveloped by one of the shadowy abominations and lifted into the circle.

“No!” he wanted to shout. Instead, it came out as a heartbreaking howl. He raced at the flames, throwing himself at them again and again. He barely felt each impact. All he knew was that if he didn’t get through, Mia would be dead, and the woods would be overrun by Shadowkin in a far more dangerous form than he had ever seen them assume. Gaines was gone, cast aside like a broken toy. The real enemy now had Mia in his arms.

Everything he’d protected would be lost. The woman he loved would be torn from him. Forever.

He shifted into human form almost without thinking. He wanted her to hear him.

“Mia!” he roared above the din of the wolves and the mad chanting from within the circle. He could see her on the ground, covered in swirling darkness, the white-haired warrior crouching over her. He raced to the flames, beat his fists against it. “Mia, no! Fight it! I love you!” His voice broke as anguish bubbled up through all of the fury. “Don’t leave me!”

He could see the Shadowkin taking shape, gathering around Mia. A sacrificial lamb. And still Murdock chanted, all of them did, words older than humanity, older than this world. A bright beam of light shot upward from her, from the center of her chest. He saw her body jerk, saw her eyes open wide and sightless.

He roared Mia’s name again, and saw her head jerk toward him, trying to free herself from the oppressive blanket of shadow even as Murdock passed through the light that poured from her, bathing in her magic.

Mia could hear him. Jenner knew she could. If he could just send her strength, help her to free herself...

And then, clear as day, he knew what to do.

Knowing the connection was there, and hoping it was strong enough for her to hear him now, Jenner reached out to Mia with his mind. And if he couldn’t save her, he’d be damned if he didn’t tell her what was in his heart.

Please. Please don’t leave me, Mia. I shouldn’t have fought it, and I shouldn’t have been such an ass. I love you. Please fight, please try. You’re the brightest part of my life. I don’t want to let you go.

He pressed his hands against the barrier surrounding the flames, watching helplessly as all around him, his brothers and sisters tried everything they could to get in. At first, he heard nothing. But then, softly:

Jenner. Not a question, but a sigh of relief, full of warmth...just like Mia. I’m trying. I can’t. I love you, too...

The flames melted away beneath his hands the instant she gave him the words, dissipating before him like so much smoke. Jenner didn’t think, didn’t have time. He raced through the breach, feeling the surge of power as he leaped into the circle the Shadowkin had cast. Murdock, now completely solid, spun to look at him as Jenner leaped again, shifting into his wolf form in midair.

There was a single, furious roar in the split second that Murdock realized what had happened.

“No!”

Jenner saw an instant of pure terror reflected in the Shadowkin’s eyes before he was on him, teeth sinking into flesh, foul, thick blood pouring from the creature’s throat as Murdock’s new life left him as quickly as he’d gained it. The shadows still feeding on the bound victim scattered as the rest of the Blackpaw rushed in, tearing at the wisps of malignant darkness that were thick in the circle and drawing spatters of inky black blood.

Jenner had no time to savor Murdock’s death. Jenner charged the few shadows that still enveloped Mia, lapping at the blood that ran freely from tiny bite wounds on her arms, her neck, trying desperately to coax enough magic from her to keep the doorway open. He leaped, bit in, and shook his head viciously as one insubstantial creature caught in his jaws screeched in pain and fright. It tore away from him, ruins of it trailing behind in tatters.

In seconds, the Shadowkin were gone, rushed back to whatever dark place they were confined to on some other plain. But even as he became a man again and scooped Mia’s limp body into his arms and cradled her, even as he shouted for help, he realized that they had been just a little too late. Three men, their inner darkness still clinging to them like cloaks, sprang out of the circle, dashing away from the victim at a speed greater than any werewolf could muster. One turned to look directly at Jenner, locking eyes with him and giving him the faintest condescending smirk before joining the other two and dashing into the night.

Three had escaped, and were loose in the world for the first time in a thousand years. Jenner’s heart sank, but he turned away from it. There were only three, and there was nothing he could do about it right now. All he cared about, as he gathered Mia close, was that she lived.

He looked up briefly, and his eyes met Kenyon Chase’s. For a moment he thought the young wolf would challenge him now, try to take her from him. Jenner’s thoughts were still half wild, primed from the fight. But instead of approaching, Kenyon looked from Mia to Jenner, then lowered his head in a sign of deference.

The surge of triumphant possession was as overwhelming as it was fleeting. Mia’s skin was like ice, her lips faintly blue. But as he held her, he knew she wouldn’t go down easily.

And he felt the beat of her heart, keeping time with his.