The footsteps stopped at the door. Serenity pressed herself against the wall, heart pounding.
Through the frosted window, she could see huge shadows moving in the moonlight. At least six wolves in human form, all bigger than normal guys. And leading them was a shape that made her wolf side whimper in fear.
"Open the door, witch," Kael's words cut through the night like a blade. "I can smell her in there."
Asha didn't move toward the door. Instead, she grabbed Serenity's arm. "Back exit. Now."
But before they could take a step, the front door burst inward. Wood splinters flew everywhere. The frame hung in bent pieces. Kael Thorne stepped through the ruins.
Up close, he was scary. Serenity had thought he was big before, but now she could see the true size of him. He had to duck under the broken doorframe. His shoulders filled the entire space. But it wasn't his size that scared her most. It was his eyes. They were the color of winter storms, and totally empty. Like looking into the eyes of a body.
Whatever kindness had once lived in Kael Thorne had died long ago. "Hello again, little wolf," he said. His speech was soft, but it carried the promise of violence.
Behind him, five other wolves crowded into the small house. They all had the same dead look in their eyes. The same gray pallor to their face. Dark veins crawled up their necks like deadly vines. They were dying. All of them.
"Get out of my house," Asha growled. Magic crackled around her fingers.
QKael looked at her like she was an annoying bug. "Witch, I have no problem with you. Give me the girl and we'll leave quietly."
"She's under my protection."
"Your protection means nothing to me." Kael took a step forward.
The temperature in the room dropped. Frost spread across the floor where his boots touched. "I am Alpha of the Blackfang Pack. I take what I need."
One of his dogs moved closer to Asha. She raised her hand and fire blazed around her fingers.
The wolf stopped, but his lips pulled back in a snarl.
"Serenity," Asha whispered without taking her eyes off the wolves. "Whatever happens, don't let them bite you. Their curse spreads through—"
"Through blood contact," Kael finished. "Very good, witch. You know something about curses."
"I know enough." Asha's voice was steady, but Serenity could smell her fear. "I know yours is killing you slowly. Eating you from the inside out."
Kael's empty smile widened. "Three days. That's how long my pack and I have left before the curse finishes what it started. Unless we break it."
"And you think Serenity can help you?"
"I don't think. I know." His gray eyes fixed on Serenity. "She's the last piece of the puzzle. The final part in the spell that will set us free."
Serenity found her voice. "What spell? What are you talking about?"
"A blood binding," Kael said. "Between you and me. Your life force flowing into mine, breaking the chains that hold this curse in place."
"That's not breaking a curse," Asha snapped. "That's moving it. You want to make her your slave."
"I want to survive." Kael's voice went colder. "My pack wants to live. And she's going to help us do it."
"What if I refuse?" Serenity asked.
Kael motioned toward the window. Through the window, she could see more shapes moving in the darkness. Dozens of them. His entire pack had surrounded the town.
"Then everyone in this village dies," he said simply. "Starting with the children."
Serenity's blood went ice-cold. "You wouldn't."
"I would. I have. I've killed entire families to get what I need." His dead eyes never blinked. "The curse doesn't let me feel guilt anymore. Or kindness. Only hunger for life."
One of his wolves stepped forward. This one was younger than the others, with sandy brown hair and eyes that weren't quite as empty. "Alpha, maybe we could—"
"Silence, Malric." Kael's voice cracked like a whip. "We've discussed this."
The younger wolf—Malric—looked away. But not before Serenity saw something flicker in his face. Shame? Regret? Maybe not all of Kael's pack was totally lost to the curse.
"You have thirty seconds to decide," Kael told Serenity. "Come with me willingly, or watch this village burn."
"She's not going anywhere with you," Asha growled.
Magic burst from her hands. Bolts of pure energy slammed into the closest wolf, throwing him backward through the broken door. He hit the ground outside and didn't get up. The other dogs attacked.
Chaos occurred in the small house. Asha fought like a woman possessed, throwing fire and lightning at the creatures trying to tear her apart. But there were too many of them. Serenity watched one wolf grab Asha's arm. His claws raked across her skin, drawing blood.
Where the blood touched her, black lines began spreading up her arm. The curse was in their blood. And now it was in Asha's too.
"No!" Serenity lunged forward, silver eyes burning. Her wolf power burst outward. Every window in the house shattered. The leftover furniture flew against the walls. Even Kael stumbled backward.
But when the power faded, Asha was on her knees. Blood ran down her arm where the wolf had clawed her. Already, thin black lines were beginning to crawl under her skin
"Aunt Asha," Serenity whispered.
"I'm fine," Asha lied. But her voice was weaker now. The curse was already starting to work. Kael fixed his coat like nothing had happened.
"Impressive show. But it changes nothing. Come with me, or she dies along with everyone else."
Serenity looked at Asha's pale face. At the black veins growing under her skin. At the village full of innocent people sleeping in their beds. "If I come with you," she said slowly, "you'll leave them alone? All of them?"
"You have my word as an Alpha."
"Your word means nothing," Asha gasped. "Don't trust him."
But Serenity could see she didn't have a choice. Kael would kill everyone here to get what he wanted. The curse had taken away his ability to care about innocent lives.
"I'll come," she said. "But I have conditions."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "You're hardly in a position to make demands."
"You need me alive and willing, or your spell won't work." Serenity stepped forward, meeting his empty gaze. "That means I have some power here too."
Something that might have been respect flickered in his dead eyes. "What do you want?"
"First, you heal my aunt. Right now."
"I can't heal curse wounds."
"Then find someone who can. You're an Alpha. You have resources."
Kael was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded to Malric. "Take the witch to Dr. Reeves. He knows about supernatural healing."
Malric moved toward Asha, but she pulled away from him. "I'm not leaving you alone with him," she told Serenity.
"You have to." Serenity knelt beside her aunt. "Someone needs to survive this to tell people what really happened. To find out who killed Alpha Marcus."
"Serenity—"
"Promise me you'll find the truth. Promise me you'll clear my name."
Tears ran down Asha's face. "I promise."
Malric gently helped Asha to her feet. His touch was surprisingly careful for one of Kael's dogs. Maybe the curse hadn't fully destroyed his humanity yet.
"What's your second condition?" Kael asked.
"I want to know everything about this curse. How you got it. What the spell actually does. All of it."
"Done." Kael moved toward the broken door. "Anything else?"
Serenity thought about the forecast Asha had mentioned. About finding a mate who would unite or destroy the supernatural world. About the Syndicate still hunting her.
"I want your protection. From everyone. The Syndicate, other packs, anyone who tries to hurt me."
"You'll have it." Kael stopped in the doorway. "But understand this, little dog. Once we begin the blood binding ritual, there's no going back. Your life will be tied to mine until one of us dies."
"How long do I have?"
"The new moon is in three days. The spell must be finished then, or my pack dies." His gray eyes sparkled. "All of us."
Serenity followed him outside. The village looked like a war zone. Broken windows, torn-up lawns, claw marks on every house. Kael's pack had made sure everyone knew they'd been there. But no one was dead. He'd kept that part of his word, at least.
Dozens of wolves waited in the street. All of them had the same dying look as their Alpha. Men and women who had once been human, now slowly turning into something else.
"Mount up," Kael called to them. "We're going home."
Several wolves changed into their animal forms. Huge black beasts with yellow eyes and foam dripping from their mouths. Others got into military trucks that had been hidden in the forest. Kael pointed to a motorcycle parked near the village center.
"You ride with me." Serenity got onto the bike behind him. His body felt cold even through his leather jacket. Like hugging a body. The engine roared to life. As they pulled away from the town, Serenity looked back to see Malric helping Asha into one of the trucks. Her aunt's face was gray with pain, but she was still living. That was something, at least.
"Where are we going?" Serenity shouted over the wind.
"My castle," Kael called back. "In the Blackfang Mountains. It's where you'll spend your last three days of freedom."
"And after that?" Kael didn't answer. But Serenity felt him smile.
The convoy of wolves sped through the night toward the mountains. Behind them, the village disappeared into darkness. Ahead, storm clouds gathered over the hills like an omen. As they climbed higher into the hills, Serenity spotted something that made her blood run cold.
The trees were dying. Every pine and oak they passed was dead and black. The grass was brown. Even the rocks looked sick.
"What happened here?" she asked.
"The curse," Kael said. "It spreads from us to everything we touch. The land, the animals, the people. In three days, this entire area will be dead. Unless you break it."
"Unless we break it." He looked back at her. "Together."
They rounded a curve in the mountain road, and Serenity saw their location. Kael's castle rose from the hillside like a black tooth.
Lightning flashed around its towers. No lights showed in any of the windows. It looked exactly like the kind of place where someone would go to die.
"Welcome to your new home," Kael said as they reached the gates. But just as they reached the entry, something stepped out of the shadows. A man with dark skin and golden eyes. Runes were tattooed up and down his arms. He moved like a trained killer. And he was pointing a crossbow straight at Serenity's heart.
"Hello, little wolf," the stranger said softly. "My name is Riven Duskbane. And I'm here to kill you."