Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (40 page)

He took the pitcher and bloody cloth outside the den, setting them on the ground. Someone would take them to the stream to wash, eventually. Kane didn’t have time for that now. Ronan might be dead, but that didn’t mean he should be left alone.

Kane leapt back onto the dais. For once, he didn’t particularly want to shift. It was a strange feeling. Normally, he felt more at home in his wolf. But now that there was hope of life, he didn’t want to be able to smell Ronan’s death so easily. His wolf nose found it hard to believe that Ronan would be back.

He sat with Ronan a long while. His eyes turned to Gaunt, slung out on the long table. He saw that Della had already painted Gaunt’s story on his fur. The symbols showed tales Kane had heard many times, over winter campfires and midnight hunts. They showed a wolf pup born at the wrong time, in a harsh winter with no food to be had. They told of a pup who showed too many ribs, a father who refused his rations so his son could eat. A fat pup howling at a pyre.

The symbols ran down Gaunt’s side. There must be his first hunt, a wild boar brought down. Then the journey from his home, to find a pack of his own. His ceremony when he received the red clay of the Twin River pack. Finding a woman in the woods, falling in love with her. Introducing her to the pack. Biting her and making her his mate. The battle where he fought hard, but still lost his Alpha.

The symbols ended. Kane knew they continued around on his other side. Della would have included everything. It was Gaunt’s entire life, written in clay and fur. Soon it would be nothing but ash.

“Don’t you go,” he said to Ronan. “Your story—our story—isn’t over yet.”

Kane hoped Lia and Della’s plan would work. It had to. He refused to let Ronan burn. He would bring him back, even if he had to smash through the dark god’s gates.

Kane didn’t fear death. Death should fear Kane, if it refused to give back his brother.

But Lia would fix it, wouldn’t she? She could fix anything. Though she had said she didn’t want to be bothered, he wanted to make sure she was okay. That she was… ready. He should check the heights.

He also wanted to ask if she’d noticed anything strange about Della. Something was bothering him about her, something he couldn’t quite put his paw on. While his thoughts had been elsewhere until now, he realized it had been nagging at him since Della’s hug. His wolf seemed to be howling at him, though about what he didn’t understand.

Kane passed the storage room on his way to the stairs. Three steps up, he paused. A slight smell of flowers had wafted up with him.

He went back down. What was Lia doing in there? Was she taking another look at the locket?

Silently, he entered. “I thought you were on the heights—” He frowned. Lia wasn’t in here. Della was.

She looked up from a scrap of paper she was writing on. “Oh, Kane. I’m almost finished. We can get on with it soon, don’t worry. I just need to find an envelope…”

He sniffed the air. Now that he knew what he was smelling for, he didn’t even need his wolf nose. Everything fell into place.

Kane staggered back. “Lia!” He had to find her, had to tell her before it was too late. She couldn’t do this.

Della caught him before he could run up the stairs. “Don’t.” Her voice was low and calm. “I’m doing this for Ronan, for Lia, and for you.”

“You have to tell her.”

Her grip on his arm faltered. “If I tell her, she won’t be able to do what’s necessary.”

“Della, don’t leave without telling her. When my momma left with no explanation—” Kane’s voice broke. “It hurt for a long time.”

“I already left her, though,” Della said. “Maybe it’ll hurt less this way.”

He shook his head. “It won’t. Don’t go without telling her.”

“Even if it means Ronan can’t be saved?”

He hesitated. “She needs to know.”

“And she will.” Dragging him back into the storage room, she folded up a piece of paper and put it in an envelope. She wrote Lia’s name on the front with a flourish, then handed it to him. “Here,” she said. “For later.”

Kane took it automatically. Della was going to die. She watched him, her pulse racing at her throat. It was hard to believe that she would die soon, just as he could barely bring himself to admit that Ronan was dead.

She wrapped an arm around him. “Don’t think of this as me leaving you. I’m just bringing Ronan home.”

Della left him there. He held the letter, fingers numb. What was he going to tell Lia?

***

The wind on the heights had only done so much to help. Lia had faced into the oncoming gusts until her eyes watered, but her mind felt no calmer than it had on the ground. It was horribly twisted. The only way to save someone she loved was to kill someone else she loved. Somewhere, the dark god must be laughing at her.

There wasn’t any point in waiting. It wouldn’t get any easier. Lia walked down the stone steps, feeling like she was going to her own execution. She didn’t know what would be worse at this point, going through with this horrible plan or not.

“Lia?” Kane sat on the steps, like he’d been waiting for her. “Can I talk to you?” He looked terrible. Maybe the truth of what they were about to do had finally sunk in.

“It’s not a good time.”

“Wait. Please.” He took her hand. “There’s something you should know.”

“There’s no time, Kane,” she snapped. She couldn’t pause now, not even to breathe. Otherwise, she’d never be able to go through with this.

Lia strode down the hall and into the heart of the den. The pack had gathered around the dais, like they knew something was happening. Whispers raced around the circle of shifters. Della knelt on the stone’s center, next to Ronan. She kissed his head, rising when she saw Lia.

Everyone turned, and was silent.

Lia gulped. She hadn’t thought of what would happen now. Would the pack let her do this? Would they allow her to kill Della?

The crowd parted to let her through. Lia stared up at the dais. It was so high off the ground. She didn’t want to jump up and miss it. She’d look ridiculous.

Then Kane was there, boosting her up. He came to stand beside her. She was glad for his solid presence. She doubted the pack would argue with Kane.

The pack gazed up at her. They were all here, even the wounded. Blossom held a bandage to her face, and Lark cradled her wrist. Others nursed smaller injuries, though no one seemed to care about them now.

Lia opened her mouth, then closed it again. It felt like she was supposed to say something. But what? Sorry for ruining the pack? Apologies for murdering Della? There weren’t really words for that.

Della stepped forward. “It’s been an honor, living with you.” Her eyes seemed to sweep over each and every face. “I was lost when the Twin River pack found me. You took me in and made me yours. You gave me a new life. For those of you who joined the pack after me—and now that I’m old and frail, I think that’s most of you—I hope I welcomed you as warmly as the pack welcomed me. There were so many nights, so many seasons when you ran with me, hunted with me, slept under the stars with me, and I want you to know that I cherish each and every day I had with you.

“I want you to remember what’s important. There’s only one thing you can count on in this life, and that’s your pack.” She smiled at them. “Our pack is an endless river. It’s ever changing, yet it remains the same. Wolves will join, wolves will leave, but the pack is eternal. It goes on. It will always go on, as long as our Alphas are wise and strong.”

Tears blurred Lia’s vision. It seemed like it had been only yesterday that Della had painted her with clay and welcomed her to the pack. How could she be leaving so soon?

“I was bound to this pack,” Della said, “and to its Alphas, in more ways than one. I owe so much to my pack, and to my Alphas. When I joined the Twin River pack, the pack gave its blood to me. It’s time I returned the favor.”

Below, the shifters stirred. The air seemed to hum with energy.

“A pack is only as strong as its Alphas.” Della seemed to hold the crowd spellbound. “Kane and Lia would lead you well, but with Ronan too, you’ll prosper.” She looked at Lia, her eyes shining. “If I can lend my Alphas strength, I will, without question. This time, however, they need all my strength.” She gazed at Gaunt, stretched over the table. “Like my mate, it’s time for me to lay down my life for my pack.”

“Della,” Lark called, “what’s happening?”

“We’re bringing Ronan back. With blood magic. A life for a life.” She faced the pack. “If you don’t want to witness it, I suggest you leave now.”

No one moved.

“You’re going to die?” Lark asked. “Now?”

Della nodded.

Lark scowled at her. “Get down from there.”

“Don’t think you can stop us.”

Lark gave a heavy sigh. “That’s not it at all. Get down here.”

Della looked at Kane, who shrugged. Looking resigned, Della slid off the dais.

Lia held her breath. Would the shifters club Della over the head and carry her away to make sure Lia couldn’t hurt her?

Lark stepped forward. “Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye?” She practically pounced on Della, giving her a long, tight hug. Lark finally let go, smiling, with tears in her eyes.

Dove and Cricket were next, squeezing her from both sides. Orion clasped her shoulder, while Huck gave her a bear hug and lifted her off her feet.

She laughed at something Fox whispered in her ear, and accepted a kiss on the cheek from Dash. Ivy and Clove pushed forward. Della told them something Lia didn’t quite catch, but the trio seemed to lean into each other afterwards.

Della reached Blossom, whose face was swollen and bandaged. “Still beautiful even after the battle, I see.”

Blossom blushed while Cage and Grey said their farewells.

Briar took Della’s hand and kissed it, his tears flowing freely. He stepped back while Rain and Violet comforted him. Duke bowed. Della winked, and curtsied.

“Flint,” she said when she reached him. “You behave, now.”

He grinned. “As well as I can.”

Even Sequoia shook her hand.

Della had made her way all around the circle. With a satisfied smile, she climbed back onto the dais. She hugged Kane, then nodded to Lia.

“I’m ready, chickpea.”

Lia wasn’t. She wasn’t ready at all.

Della pressed a knife into her hands. “You’ll need this, if I remember correctly.”

Taking it, Lia stared at it stupidly. Knives were for cutting food, or for defense. She couldn’t use it on Della, who was so full of life and love. Della couldn’t die, and Lia couldn’t kill her.

“You’re stalling,” Della said. “You said you’d do this for me, remember? I need you to focus, love.”

“Right.” Lia had promised, after all. Kane had agreed, so she had to.

She glanced down at Ronan’s pale body. His blood might be completely cool soon. Della was right. It was now or never. She couldn’t lose control, or this might all be for nothing.

“What’s wrong?” Della whispered.

“I’ve never done something this big before. I don’t know the words.”

“You’ll find them. Just say what needs to be said.”

Somehow, the knife in her hand was steady. The pack watched silently, but Lia was barely aware of them. The world seemed to shrink to the size of the dais, where she was alone with Della and her Alphas.

This had to work. She couldn’t take any chances that the dark god would reject her bargain.

Taking a breath, Lia braced her feet on the rock. “Are you sure about this, Della?”

Della guided Lia’s knife hand to her throat.

It was like someone else’s hands were moving, pressing the knife, making the shallow cut along the side of Della’s neck. Blood seeped down to her collar bones and dripped to the dais.

Kneeling, Lia pressed her palm to the spatter. It stung the scabs on her hand. She waited for her heart to beat thrice.

“Let Ronan live,” she said. “I’ll give Della’s life in exchange. This I promise.”

Her hand sank into the stone, which had started sizzling. The contract was sealed.

The pack gasped. “Look at Ronan,” someone whispered.

Blood had begun to flow from the wound at his neck, but it rose into the air like a band of silk. It twisted, seeming to search for something. Then it changed course, streaming toward the cut in Della’s neck. It probed at her wound, but couldn’t enter. The path wasn’t quite large enough.

Della nodded. “Do it, chickpea.”

Lia brought the knife up to her neck, but hesitated. From here, there would be no turning back. She wouldn’t be able to reverse the flow. If she pressed down now, Della would definitely die.

Della leaned into the knife. It cut deep, nicking the big vein at her neck. Blood flowed freely, rushing through the air and into Ronan’s wound. Lia felt its warmth as it passed.

“Oh.” Della held a hand up to her wound, where Ronan’s blood poured in. She shuddered. “It’s so cold.”

Lia grabbed her before she could fall. She helped Della sit, wishing she could do something to help her. But blankets, fire, and tea would do nothing when the ice was in her veins. Lia already knew this. She held Della’s hands, wishing her own were warmer. Della deserved some comfort.

Blood arced in the air around them, twin rivers that passed right by each other but could never again meet. Ronan was still pale, still unmoving. Lia bit her lip. What if this didn’t work? What if she lost both of them?

“Kane, is he warm at all?” Lia asked.

He went to Ronan, feeling his forehead. Kane shook his head.

Lia held back her tears. Should she stop this? Della might still live.

“Too late.” Della gave her hand a sharp squeeze. “Don’t stop. Give Ronan a chance.”

Kane cradled Ronan’s head in his lap. He looked at Della, the strangest expression on his face. “We’re running out of time. Tell her, Della.”

Della glared at him.

“You need to tell Lia before it’s too late.”

Lia looked between them, unsure which was confusing her more. “Tell me what?”

Gasping, Della clutched her chest. “It’s like ice. It hurts more… than I thought it would.”

Kneeling beside Della, Lia rubbed her upper arms. Maybe it would help a little.