Chapter Forty
‘I
don’t need to explain what you’re in the middle of here, do I, Jask?’ Kane said, as Jask re-entered the room. ‘I need to take her off your hands.’
Jask resumed his seat, but this time directly opposite Kane. ‘She stays with me. You owe me this much. And if you want my co-operation, you owe me it even more.’
‘You know that if it was anyone else, I wouldn’t be giving them the option.’
‘But you know she’s safer here with me than anyone else.’
‘And are you willing to keep her contained, whatever it takes? Because if either Sirius or the Higher Order find out you have her, what they did here tonight is nothing more than the pre-warm-up.’
Jask looked across at Corbin. ‘She’s heading across the courtyard. Will you watch her for me?’
Corbin nodded, taking his leave, closing the door behind him.
‘You have to get your pack to safety, Jask. Or they will use them against you. Take my offer.’
‘I look after my own. And you don’t touch her, do you understand me?’
‘Don’t worry,’ Kane said. ‘She’s too useful for that. The same as I have no more intention of disclosing her than you do.’
‘What game are you playing?’ Jask asked, frowning.
‘I’m not,’ Kane said. ‘I’m long past playing anything.’
‘You said you want to stop the prophecies. That means you’re going up against your own.’
‘I’m trying to save my own. There’s a difference.’
‘And is that why Caitlin Parish is still alive? Is she somehow useful in all this too?’
Kane sent him a hint of a smile. He lowered his gaze, licked his incisor before looking back at Jask.
‘It’s true, isn’t it?’ Jask said. ‘You
have
gone soft on her.’
‘Let’s not ruin my reputation now, Jask. And I won’t ruin yours. Because from the way you were looking at that serryn, it seems we’re both making moves above and beyond what’s required.’
Touché
, Jask thought, but he didn’t quite trust Kane enough to confirm it, despite the shared moment of understanding. Kane was still a law unto himself. Always had been. And there was still enough potential for this to be all about Kane’s survival instincts for him not to maintain his wariness.
‘So can I count you as being on side?’ Kane asked.
‘I’ll think about it – if you can eradicate another problem first.’
‘Which is?
‘Caleb Dehain.’
Kane frowned. ‘I’ve not heard of Caleb having a problem with your pack.’
‘He will have – if he finds out I’ve got the serryn he’s looking for.’
He hadn’t seen that troubled look in Kane’s eyes for a long time. It did nothing to abate his own.
Kane leaned forward to rest his forearms on the table. ‘He knows about her? How?’
‘Jake’s accident – where he drank that girl to death – was down to Phia. He and Caleb were targeted by The Alliance. Only Caleb found out. And now he’s after her. Only he knows she’s a serryn too.’
‘You know this for sure?’
‘Phia’s sister told her. The sister the serryn line jumped from. She was the one who saved Jake Dehain. Caleb had her. He knows she lost it and now he’s after Phia, the next in line.’
Kane’s frown deepened. He turned his head to the side slightly as if finding it difficult to process what Jask was saying. ‘You’re telling me a serryn saved Jake Dehain?’
‘Seems that way. I’m guessing that’s why Caleb let her go.’
Kane’s eyes widened. ‘He what? She’s still
alive
?’
But before Jask had time to answer, the door flew open, a breathless Phia bursting inside. She slammed her hands down on the table, glaring Kane direct in the eyes.
‘Why do the Higher Order want Caleb Dehain dead?’ she demanded.
Jask stood and immediately forged a barrier between them, despite Kane’s previous assurance that he wouldn’t touch her. Arm across her waist, he eased her back from the table, keeping her back, sending a warning glance to Corbin who was now rejoining them in the room.
‘Dan just told me who hired us,’ Phia declared. ‘The same one responsible for torturing and murdering my entire squad. So why are the Higher Order going after their own? Why did they hire us?’
Kane didn’t flinch, despite Jask detecting the storm building behind his eyes. ‘Do you have a name for this Higher Order vampire?’
‘Jarin. Mean anything to you?’
‘I know
of
him,’ Kane said. ‘I hear Caleb’s been embroiled with his betrothed, Feinith, for decades. Only Jarin’s never been one to confront Caleb in the flesh. Trying to kill him let alone his brother, and failing? Yes, he’s going to want to cover his tracks. No one fucks with Caleb and gets away with it – not even the Higher Order.’
‘But if Feinith is embroiled with Xavier Carter and the TSCD like you said she is, does that mean Caleb is too?’ Jask asked. ‘Will he know about the serryn role in the prophecies?’
‘Only Higher Order vampires are supposed to know. But it seems secrets have been leaking out all over the place.’
‘What if the Higher Order discover Sirius’s plans?’ Phia asked. ‘Surely it’ll be more important than ever that they find me? I’ll be their best weapon. Maybe their only weapon.’
‘She’s right,’ Jask said to Kane. ‘We need to talk to Caleb and find out his role in this. Something tells me we’re about to be hit from all angles.’
‘He was next on my list.’
‘Do you think you can get him on side? Call him off Phia?’
‘If not, avoiding that implosion might not be as straightforward as I first hoped.’
‘You can handle Caleb, though, right?’ Phia asked. ‘Only he’s got my little sister.’
‘Jask tells me he let your other one go – the serryn. Do you know why?’
‘No. She said it was complicated. That she’d explain when she came back.’
‘Came back? From where?’
‘Home. Summerton.’
‘He let her escape to Summerton?’
She nodded.
Kane exchanged glances with Jask.
‘What?’ she said. ‘Why are you looking at each other like that?’
Jask knew why. Something he had not yet dared utter to Phia, having not wanted to burst her bubble, on seeing her relief back in the alley that her sisters were alive. He knew as well as Kane did that Caleb was guaranteed to have an ulterior motive – something that was becoming ever more probable with the latest revelations.
Kane shoved back his chair and stood. ‘Your big sister should be dead, darling – especially as he already knows he’s got a backup in you. If he let her go, there’s something in it for him. Something big enough to warrant it. He’s got more to gain somehow. He’s not done with her yet.’
Sophia tensed in Jask’s arms, her lips parted in horror.
‘I’ll call you tomorrow night,’ Kane said, turning his attention back to Jask. ‘If you want your pack somewhere safe in the meantime, there are plenty of places on the east side I can sort.’
‘If you’re going to see Caleb, I’m coming with you,’ Jask said.
‘And give him proof you have Phia? No way,’ Kane said. ‘This is one for me to handle alone. But I
will
find out what’s going on. You just watch her,’ he said, indicating towards Phia. ‘And keep her out of sight. She might not just be the Higher Order’s best weapon – she might be ours too.’
‘You get Caleb off her back and come back here and tell me what’s going on, and then, and only then, will we have a deal,’ Jask declared.
Kane flashed a fleeting smile. ‘You’re going to make me work for this, aren’t you?’
‘We have a lot of ground to make up.’
‘And we will,’ he said, crossing the room.
But he stopped at the door and turned to face Jask again.
‘I’m sorry about Rone,’ he said, his navy eyes laced with sincerity – another moment of complete understanding, and revealing the side of Kane that few ever saw. The side of Kane that Jask had trusted all those years before. ‘Join me and we’ll bring the fuckers down, Jask. All of them. For good this time.’
And with that, Kane disappeared through the doorway, out into the subtle glow of dawn light.
Chapter Forty-One
S
ophia leaned against the tree trunk, not far from the poolroom, as she watched Jask mingling with his pack.
The atmosphere was dense enough to wade through, but the lycans were active again. Graves were being dug, the lycans monitoring the peripheries had a look of grit determination in their stance, others were carrying various tools through to the exit.
Jask wasn’t just keeping them focused and distracted; he was making preparations. He wasn’t going down without a fight – that much was obvious. But first he was going to lay those of his pack he had lost to rest and, at the same time, make sure the rest were protected any way they could be.
As he strolled back across the quadrant to join her, she stood up straight, ready to greet him. The breeze in his fair hair, the late morning sun backlighting him, his azure eyes fixed on her, she couldn’t look anywhere but at him. Couldn’t look anywhere but into the eyes that had first scrutinised her in the ruins back at a time that now felt like months ago.
She thought how easily Daniel could have killed him. How she could have lost him just a few hours before. Three days ago she’d have killed him without hesitation. Now she couldn’t imagine life without him.
‘We don’t have long, do we?’ she said, as he drew level. ‘Before you all change.’
‘Six days. Five days until we’ll need to be contained.’
‘Six days to change the world. No pressure then.’
He shrugged. ‘No pressure at all.’ But the faint smile on his lips didn’t manage to make it to his eyes. ‘We’ll do whatever we can to keep your sisters alive. And once we know exactly what’s going on, we’ll decide what to do about it.’
‘But Caleb Dehain versus Kane Malloy is something we need as much as a full-scale war.’
‘Which is in both of their interests to avoid. And they know it.’
‘I don’t trust him, Jask. I don’t trust either of them.’
‘I trust Sirius Throme, the Higher Order and the TSCD even less. And one way or another, they’re coming whether we like it or not.’
She glanced back over his shoulder at his pack, preparing to say goodbye to their loved ones. ‘Well, I don’t know about you,’ she said. ‘But I’m up for a hell of a fight if they think we’re going to make this easy for them.’
This time he did smile. ‘Warrior spirit’s back, eh, Phia?’
‘Which they’ll see for themselves soon enough.’ She looked back at him. ‘No one hurts the people I care about, Jask.
No one
. Been there, lived through that, and I’m not going back there. Like you said, I’m part of this pack now. We’ll find your young. And I’ll make sure, whatever it takes, that I’ll get our pack the supplies it needs to make sure none of you have to morph. What’s the point of having a serryn on your arm if you can’t pull a few strings?’
He caught hold of her hip and pulled her closer, taking hold of her hand in the other. The minute her skin touched his, he interlaced their fingers. He gently cupped her neck with the other hand, sliding his thumb across her jawline. ‘You coming into my life was the best thing that could have happened to me, Sophie.’
‘Because I’m going to make sure they regret fucking with the wrong serryn?’
He managed another smile, and this one caught her deep in the ribs.
‘Because you’ve reminded me of who I am,’ he said. ‘And why the fight is worth it.’
She smiled back, despite anxiety still lurking in the pit of her stomach. ‘They really don’t know what they’re taking on, do they?’
He lifted the hand he’d been holding, tightened his fingers in hers as he held it up near their shoulders, moving in as close as he could get.
‘Are you okay with this?’ she asked, indicating over his shoulder towards his pack. ‘Being with me so openly. I’d understand if–’
He caught her lips with his, his hand slipping around the back of her neck, kissing her deeply, stopping her breathing for those few seconds.
She snatched back a breath as soon as there was a gap of air between them again.
‘The pack know you tried to save them,’ he said. ‘I made sure they did. They believe me that things are far from over. An angry pack is one thing. A pack with hope in their veins is a force to be reckoned with. And I’m going to keep that hope alive. Above all else, I’m
proud
to be with you.’
‘So you should be,’ she said. ‘And don’t you forget it.’
He smiled again. ‘I’m sure you’ll keep reminding me.’
‘And how does Corbin feel about us?’
‘He’s wary of you, but he trusts my judgement. Always has done.’ He led her towards the tunnel. ‘He just needs a bit more time with you.’
‘And what do you need?’
‘Time to think. Once we start this, there’ll be no going back.’
‘But would you want to go back?’ she asked. ‘Do you want things to stay like this?’
‘No. This has been a long time coming.’
‘Win or die trying.’
He looked across at her. ‘Now, that
is
warrior talk.’
‘I meant what I said, Jask,’ she said, coming to a standstill. ‘When I was holding you down at the stone table. I wasn’t just saying it.’
‘I know. Just tell me you believed me when
I
said it. Because we’re going to have to trust each other, Sophie, if we stand any chance of pulling through this.’
‘I do trust you.’
‘Tell me you believed me.’
‘I don’t think you could have said it if you didn’t. I don’t think those words have fallen from your lips often enough.’
‘They haven’t.’
‘Well,’ she said with a small shrug, as she looked down. ‘Once more won’t hurt.’ She glanced back up at him.
He cupped her neck again, gazed deep into her eyes to the point she could see nothing but him. ‘I love you, Sophie. More than I thought I was capable of.’
She traced her fingers over the leather straps at his neck. ‘And I love you too. So go and do what you have to do. I’m right here with you.’
His gaze lingered for a few moments longer. She knew he was putting it off. She could feel it in the way he reluctantly pulled away.
She wanted to go down there with him, but knew Jask wanted to face it alone. Needed to face it alone.
She wrapped her arms around herself against the chill, as the only thing she could do to comfort herself.
When he re-emerged minutes later, his shrouded dead son in his arms, Sophia almost choked on her tears.
But Jask was controlled. Jask kept his head up. Kept focused.
She followed him back through the tunnel to join the rest of his pack, to where the others they had lost were being lowered into their graves.
She kept back at first as Rone was laid on the fabric, Jask, Corbin, Samson and Phelan each taking a strap at one of the four corners.
Once he was in the ground, Jask shovelled the earth back in, before taking a step back, his head lowered.
Words were said for them all. Words she couldn’t hear from her distance.
But when Jask looked across his shoulder at her, held out his hand for her to take, it took her no hesitation to join him.
She noticed his necklace had gone, the one with the pendant. As she glanced down at the mound of earth, she had no doubt who now wore it.
Jask looked across at Corbin on the other side of the grave, his second in command clutching Solstice’s hand as tightly as Jask clutched Phia’s.
‘They started this,’ Jask said, his voice terrifying calm. ‘And we’re going to finish it.’
‘Too fucking right,’ Corbin said.
‘The district, the system they created, will break them,’ Sophie declared.
Corbin looked across at her, before returning his attention to Jask. ‘Now I see what you mean.’
‘Oh, believe me,’ Jask said, capturing Phia’s gaze. ‘You haven’t seen the half of it.’ He looked back at his friend – his second in command. ‘Neither have they,’ he declared as he squeezed Sophia’s hand. ‘But before we’re done, they most
definitely
will.’