"That's not true. She still has feelings for you."
He sighed again and leaned back on a desk. He braced against the edge, his arm muscles bulging. "Maybe. Maybe not. She feels lied to. She saw us last night. I'm sure she could see how we feel about each other. You've been lying to her since the beginning and she doesn't understand our side. No one's been talking to her to explain it."
"She should've talked to me."
"She came to your room last night. I think she heard us talking. I knew she was there, but she left. I should've given it more thought."
It didn't matter anymore. What was done was done. I swallowed back the pain and asked, "What do I do?"
"You do what you can." Roane held my face in his hands. He tilted it up so his eyes held mine captive. He'd been guarded before, but now he let me in. The wall lifted and I saw his love. It was clear as day and I had to choke back tears. "I love you, but stay close to me. Okay?"
My throat was thick with emotion. He wiped some tears from my face. Then he pressed a kiss to my forehead and dipped to meet my lips. I pressed against him.
Someone rapped on the door with their knuckles. Bastion poked his head inside. "Gregory's here. We've got five minutes."
Roane straightened and the hunter took over him. He was cold. Ruthless. "Let's go."
"And her?" Bastion nodded to me.
"You don't have to protect me. I'll be fine. I promise."
"Let's go!" Wren shouted from the hallway and then all the vampires sprinted away.
The kitchen had grown quiet when I went back. Kates straightened from the wall. "What's going on?"
"The Alpha is here. He brought forty wolves with him."
Pippa paled. "They're going to kill me."
Emily looked at her sharply. "Don't be stupid. You'll be fine."
"She's right, Emily." My voice was strong. "They're going to kill her. They think she's a traitor."
She flushed. "They're not going to kill her. That's insane, Davy."
"Yes, they will. She chose to protect me against them. Kates, protect Pippa. She's one of ours. Brown, stay with Gregory."
She perked up. "I don't know where he is."
"He came back. We've got three minutes."
"Davy." Emily looked shaken.
"Wake up," Kates barked. "Nothing's the same anymore." She was serious, more serious than I'd ever seen her. "The numbers are unmatched. We're not going to keep a unified front. That means it's going to be every person for herself."
"I'll be fine."
Kates snorted and then turned to me. "Will you?"
She was asking a different question and I nodded. "I'm ready. I'll be fine."
The Immortal stirred inside of me.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
We started to scatter, but Roane spoke in my head,
"Davy, stop them."
"Wait!"
Everyone froze. Brown tripped.
"Davy?" Kates frowned. "What's going on?"
"Roane said to stop."
"Huh?" Brown looked around. "I can't hear him. Am I defective?"
Kates snorted. "No, girl. Oh my god. They have a mind thing. They can talk to each in their heads."
Emily scowled and Pippa gave me a dreamy smile.
"I was right!" Brown snapped her fingers in the air. "You heard me in the car, didn't you?"
"Tell them to shut up,"
Roane snapped.
I held up a hand and everyone quieted.
"Change of plans. Tracey and Wren are going to cover the south corner. Bastion and Gregory are on the west side. Gavin and I will take the north edge. I need you and your friends to watch the east side of the house. It's a cliff, Davy. Make sure no wolves can climb up from the rocks below."
"How are we supposed to stop them?"
"I don't know. Use your Immortal power. Figure it out. You'll be fine. There's a slayer with you."
Use my Immortal stuff. Easier said than done, but he was right. It was time I fought beside them.
"What'd he say?" Kates moved forward a step.
I skimmed the group. Brown looked scared and excited at the same time. Pippa was wary. Emily looked like it was beneath her to be with us and Kates gave nothing away. She was ready to fight. In that moment, I knew everything was going to be okay. It had to be. I'd just gotten this group of friends, even my brainwashed roommate.
Before I replied, I caught a mischievous glimmer in my roommate's eyes. It was masked quickly, but it was there. Then I caught Kates' gaze and nodded in Emily's direction. She understood immediately, shuffled one step to the side, and backhanded the girl. Emily went down hard.
"Ah! What'd you do that for?" Brown slapped her two hands to her cheeks.
Kates snorted. "Like she was really going to help us."
Pippa bit her lip. "She's right. Emily can communicate with Pete. She would've told him everything that was going on
with us."
"So what did your lover say?"
"Right." On to business. "We're supposed to guard the east side. He doesn't want any wolves to climb up the cliff."
Pippa's eyes went wide, but Kates smirked. "Have you seen that cliff? A bird wouldn't come that way."
"What do you mean?"
Kates led the way to the east side. When we stepped outside, the entire east side of the house was a stone patio. It extended outwards and around the back of the house. A basketball court could've fit on it. We went to the edge and looked over the cliff. Brown gasped and reeled back. I didn't blame her. My own stomach jumped into my throat at the sight beneath us. Water crashed onto boulders below. The fall would've been two miles down. Huge boulders littered the floor of the ocean. Wind rushed against us at a violent speed.
I could see why a bird wouldn't fly upwards.
"It's a vacuum effect," Kates explained. "Nothing could climb up those walls. They're made completely of rock so it's going to be hard for any werewolf to scale it. If they come up in their human forms, the wind's going to just knock 'em down. Anyone climbing that thing is suicidal."
"He wants to make sure."
She rolled her eyes. "Roane doesn't want you near the action. Forget that. I'm going."
"Me too." Pippa jumped next to Kates. "I'm going to fight too. You guys are protecting me, but my family's bloodline is old."
We all stared at her.
She blushed. "That means I'm stronger than the normal werewolf."
"Ah."
"Gotcha."
"That makes sense now."
"Let's go." Kates started to turn.
"Wait. What
about us if werewolves come up?" Then I looked at Emily, who groaned from the lounger that Kates had placed her on. "And what if she wakes up?"
"Really?" She quirked an eyebrow at me. "Put her back to sleep, Miss Almighty."
With a curt gesture to Pippa, they were both gone within an instant.
Brown mused, "Why'd she call you Miss Almighty? Was that metaphorical or rhetorical? Is there a difference? I should look them up when I get home." And then it didn't matter. Brown circled around
me with her hands in the air. "I was thinking that I could try some spells. When I'm around you, I feel my magic more. Maybe if I'm connected to you, I might be useful."
"Connected? What do you mean connected?" I moved back a step.
"Our minds. Like meditation. We can chant together."
Suddenly a howl split through the air. Brown grew silent. And the air grew heavy. A s
omber feeling came over me. I felt him in that howl, the Alpha called to his pack. A second later a unified chorus howled back.
Brown jumped back. Her eyes went wide and her golden skin went white. She grabbed my arm, but I couldn't reassure her. My own heart was pounding.
The essence of Talia's mother was in him. He wasn't holding anything back. That deep magic sparked into me. He could feel me and even as I shook to the core, I couldn't dwell on it. I felt him searching for me. Something shifted and a channel opened to me. I heard him talking to Emily.
"Ems. Emily, are you there?"
When she didn't answer, his anger kicked up a notch.
"That bitch. What'd she do to you?"
I heard his growl.
"Wake up!"
Emily stirred behind us. She rolled over on the lounger, but her eyes stayed shut.
"Davy, this is not fun."
"Was it ever?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"What if I can't do magic? I don't know how else to help."
They howled again. The sound echoed all around. It ricocheted off the rocks. They zapped around us. Brown gasped again and whirled in a tight circle. Her fear was so strong. She was rattled to the bone.
"Brown," I started.
"What?" She glanced everywhere, but at me. She kept jumping in place. The shadows were terrifying her.
It grew dark in the next instant. The light sailed away and the night sky rolled in its place. Only one person had the magic to do that.
"What just happened? This isn't right." Brown clung to me. Her nails dug into my arm.
"It's Pete," I seethed. "It's easier for wolves to hunt at night. Vampires don't see as well as they do."
"I'm really starting to get scared now," she whimpered.
I grew tired of the wolves' antics with their howling. I felt the Immortal kick inside of me and closed my eyes. It was only a matter of time before she burst free. When that happened, there was no going back.
I said again, "Brown."
"What?"
"Look at me."
She grew still and turned. When she did, her eyes widened. "Aren't you scared?"
"No."
"I wet my pants, not in the good way." She shuddered.
"I'm not scared because…" How could I say it?
"Because?"
He howled again. This one was long and drawn out. It was meant for intimidation, but it had the opposite effect on me. The Immortal rattled inside of me now. I could barely hold her back. She wanted out. She wanted his blood. She wanted to reclaim Talia's essence into the rightful body. Mine.
I opened my mouth, but my body shook.
Brown's eyes grew into saucers. She stepped back and her hand let go of my arm.
The Immortal burst free in me. I couldn't hold her in and my eyes switched like a light had been turned on. It now looked like daylight to me. Brown's ashen face was stretched from her fear. I saw the veins in her neck and the blood that pumped into her heart. Everything in her was a colorful three dimensional x-ray.
Pete's howl was cut off. He'd sensed my transition and now he sat back, waiting for the next move. It was mine and I shot off from the patio. I was everywhere at once. I could see all the wolves, how they hunched down behind their hiding spots. Some overlooked the vampires, but most of them still hadn't found where Roane's small army waited. The element of surprise was everything among these two supernatural beings.
Bastion stood behind a tree. His form was camouflaged. I wouldn't have known he was there except for the blood pumping in him. His eyes were closed and he waited. He sensed where they were and they hadn't moved close enough for an attack. Gregory had taken a position behind a boulder. The giant blonde Viking had a bow and arrow in hand, notched and ready to fly. He waited for Bastion's signal.
Then I saw Wren and Tracey. Both knelt down behind a small wall. Each looked graceful, content with their heads bent between their knees. They, like all the others, were waiting. Roane and Gavin stood on separate ends of their area. Unlike the others, they didn't hide. They stood at the tip of their hill. They wanted the attention. They wanted the wolves to come to them.
Roane's head bent and his nostrils flared. He had sensed me. When his head turned towards me, I knew he wanted to see me so I stepped forward.
"What are you doing?"
Gavin tilted his head to the side. "You look good with the white eyes."
I'd forgotten how I looked as the Immortal. I smirked at him. "He wants to be invisible." My anger sparked and magic exploded inside me. "So you will be instead."
Gavin's mouth started to open, but he was gone in the next second. So was Roane. And I knew all the others were too. They were now the invisible ones among the night. Only the wolves remained in true form. I felt Pete's shock when the magic exploded. He knew the thread holder was present, but the new power in the air was a surprise.
Then I bent backwards and my body swooshed to Brown. When I landed behind her, she didn't react. She had no idea I was there so I reached inside of her. My hand found the box
where her magic was locked. It was stretched at the seams, ready to explode. My thumb brushed against the lock and the door opened an inch. Magic slipped through and Brown gasped. Her back arched upwards. Her arms shot out. I could see the blood rushing through her. The ends of her fingers tingled and sparks shot out.
The box's lid remained in place. Even as I watched, I saw how it was trying to close again. Magic older than me had put it there. It fought against the Immortal. Something moved in me and I knew it was a response to Brown's box. The magic surrounding it was
angered by my interference, but the Immortal's magic was too powerful. I reached back in and lifted it once more. It went open all the way, but when my finger moved away, the lid started to close once again.