Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (50 page)

The three of them shifted.

“If Shade wasn’t lying,” Ronan said, “then we have a week until battle.”

“We can’t fight the witches and the Shadow pack,” Kane said. “Not if we want to win.”

Ronan grimaced. “Maybe not even if we just want to live.” He rubbed the scar on his throat. “We aren’t out of options, though. Not yet.”

He called for Fox and Dash, who came running.

“I need you to carry a message to the Ember pack,” he told them. “Twin River calls for aid. And they’ll send it, if they don’t want Shade and an entire coven on their doorstep.”

Fox nodded. “We won’t come back without them,” he promised.

“You have three days,” Ronan said. “Find them, do whatever it takes to convince them… but then you need to return. If they won’t help, every fighter will count.”

“Three days,” Dash said. “You got it, boss.”

They set out at a sprint.

The days passed slowly. There was no sign of the witches, but that was of little comfort when they had no idea what their enemies were planning. The pack tended their weapons, or made new ones. The mock fights that happened around the nightly bonfire became almost grim. No one wanted to yield, for in a few days yielding could mean death.

Even hunting had lost its excitement. There was no one to spare for large parties, no time for extended hunts. Hunters needed to find their quarry, bring it down, and bring it back as soon as possible. They caught just enough to eat, and there was none to spare for the stores.

Ivy, Clove, and Blossom went into the forest each day to search for roots and herbs. They asked everyone to stay on the lookout for certain rarer plants, ones that helped slow bleeding and ease pain.

Blossom seemed to keep her eyes on the ground at all times, whether or not there were plants to be found. She was oddly still, now that she’d stopped tossing her hair. Her scarred face tended to be serious. Lia couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard Blossom giggle, let alone laugh. Sure, Blossom had annoyed her at times, but now Lia wished they could have the vain, carefree Blossom back. Cage and Grey tried to cheer Blossom up, but they rarely got the smallest of smiles.

Sequoia howled on the heights, and everyone scrambled to their feet. Her howl indicated friends, but the pack was on edge.

They stepped out of the den as Fox and Dash hurried across the meadow. Had it really been three days? Lia rubbed her eyes. She slept so poorly lately that the line between sleeping and waking had blurred.

Fox and Dash shifted as they neared. Their faces were lined with weariness. Lia clenched her fists. Her whole body felt as taut as one of the bows she’d strung yesterday. It didn’t look like good news.

Lark rushed over to them, carrying some of Ivy’s salve and a pitcher of water.

Fox opened his mouth, but only a croak came out.

“Drink first,” Ronan said. “Your faces say it all. We’re alone, aren’t we?”

Fox nodded glumly, then gulped down some water. Wiping his mouth, he handed the pitcher to Dash.

“They wouldn’t answer,” he said.

“What do you mean they wouldn’t answer?” Kane asked. “You couldn’t find them?”

“We found them,” Fox said. “They wouldn’t help.”

Ronan growled. “Ash wouldn’t help us? His own cousins?”

“Ash wasn’t there.” Dash set the pitcher aside. “They had no Alpha.”

“What about Blaze?”

“He wasn’t there either.” Fox glanced at Dash, whose shoulders slumped. Lia knew just how they felt.

Ronan began to pace. “None of their pack could come? What about Mercy, Fury, Haze?”

“We spoke with them,” Fox said bitterly. “They were told not to leave the den. They said they wouldn’t defy Ash’s orders. Said they needed to be extra careful, with their Alpha gone.”

Ronan’s face tightened. Rushing forward, he kicked the pitcher. The shards scattered into the meadow.

“We failed you, Alpha,” Fox said softly.

“No,” Ronan said. “You delivered our message. That’s all I could ask of you. Go now, sit at the table. Lark, get them some food.”

The pack dispersed, heads hung, their hope gone.

“What do we do?” Kane asked softly.

Ronan picked up the handle of the broken pitcher. “We prepare for battle. We maintain our strength. Otherwise, we shatter.”

Lia shivered. Their pack was strong, but they would have to face the coven and the Shadow pack. How could they possibly survive?

Chapter Five

Two days left. Ronan stared at Lia. He found himself doing that a lot these days. He couldn’t lose her, couldn’t fail her. Or his brother. Or his pack. But what could they do?

I know a mage
, Della had said.
He told me how to summon him, should I ever need his aid.

She had said to only ask for his help in the direst circumstance, but their battered pack was about to face Shade and the coven. It didn’t get more dire than that.

Ronan took Lia and Kane aside at breakfast. “I need to go,” he told them quietly.

“You’re leaving? Now?” Lia put a hand over her mouth. “But you’re our strategist. Our general.”

His heart wrenched as tears formed in her eyes. “I’ll be back in time. I’m going to try to get help.”

Kane narrowed his eyes. “What kind of help?”

“There’s a mage who might be willing. We can’t fight magic without magic.”

“We have Lia.” Kane crossed his arms. “This isn’t a good time to be going, Ronan. They could attack early, you know.”

“Of course I know. You don’t think I haven’t thought of that?” Ronan lowered his voice. “The moon is waning, Kane. We may have to fight without one. Then there’ll be no magic on our side. I want a better chance.”

“But that’s all this is, a chance.”

“Yes, and a wild one. But Della suggested it.” He turned to Lia. “What do you think?”

“Della knew him?” Lia’s voice softened. “He can’t be all bad, can he?”

Ronan bit his lip. He didn’t want to tell her everything that Della had said, not when the mage was their best hope. “There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?”

Kane pierced him with a look. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’m sure we have no chance if I don’t try.”

“All right,” Kane said at last. “Go quickly.”

Lia caught him before he could leave the den. She gave him an urgent kiss, then let him go. “Come home safe,” she whispered.

Ronan nodded. He didn’t want to make any promises.

He stepped into the meadow, feeling lighter. It might be a slim hope that he was holding on to, but it was better than having none at all. Last night’s fire was down to burning coals. Ronan stoked it until it flickered to life. Crouching down, he pricked his finger with a knife blade.

A drop fell into the flames, where it sizzled and burned away. Ronan waited, but nothing happened. He sighed, standing up. Della had said to do it on a peak, hadn’t she? Shifting, he set out for the Vantage.

Ronan got impatient, and tried again before he was halfway up. His tiny fire almost died from the drop of blood, and nothing happened. Grumbling, he continued up the mountain. Why did it have to be the highest peak? Were all mages this dramatic?

He built a bigger fire on the overlook. He took a breath before he pulled out the knife. It was far too early to panic. This would work. It had to.

Shaking out his arm, he steadied it over the flames. Blood fell, three drops this time.

Nothing.

What was he doing wrong? Would the mage not come? He looked out over his valley, to the den where Lia and his pack were preparing for battle. Della said this would work. But would it work without Della? He touched the scar at his throat. Did it matter, if most of the blood in his veins was Della’s? Would the mage be able to tell the difference?

Sighing, he looked northward. There were some taller peaks in that direction. He needed to start trekking if he hoped to make the first by nightfall.

***

It was nearly dusk, and Ronan desperately wanted to rest. But he desperately needed a mage, so that would have to come first. He built a fire, trying not to think about what would happen if he failed. He’d have to choose, either to go on in the hope that he’d find the mage in time, or turn back to make sure that his pack wouldn’t go into battle without him.

He set two stout logs that he’d carried for the last thirty miles next to the tinder. This had to be a conflagration, big enough to catch the mage’s attention. It had to work, and now. He was running out of time. Besides that, he wasn’t even sure whose territory he was in anymore. He couldn’t afford to make any more enemies.

This was the tallest peak for miles. He hoped it was enough.

His hand trembled as he stuck his finger with the knife. Turning his hand, he let his blood drip into the flames. He held his breath.

One second. Two seconds. Three.

Ronan exhaled. They were alone. Help wasn’t coming.

The fire billowed, turning bright red. Ronan shouted, jumping back as a man stepped out of the flames. He flung his crimson cloak over one shoulder and studied Ronan, looking him up and down. In the dying light, Ronan couldn’t tell if his eyes were black or very dark red.

“Hello.” The mage’s voice seemed to boom off the mountains. “My name is Magnus. What do you want with me?”

“I’m hoping you can help us,” Ronan said. His voice sounded small, and it felt like he had to focus all his will on not stumbling over his words. “My pack is in trouble. We’re about to face a rival pack, as well as a coven of witches. We don’t have the numbers or the magic they do, and I’m not sure we’ll survive. A friend told me how to call for you, and I wouldn’t have, except you’re our last hope. So…” He felt like he was rambling. “Will you help us?”

“Yes.”

Ronan took a step back. He had expected that he’d have to charm the mage, to bribe or to beg him. He never would have guessed that the mage would accompany him without Ronan even having to ask twice.

“You’re powerful,” Ronan said. “I can tell. Why trouble yourself with our battle?”

The mage drew his cloak around himself. “I wouldn’t, if it weren’t for the blood that runs through your veins, and the magic that put it there. Tell me, where is my daughter?”

Part Eight

Chapter One

Lia stood on the heights, looking toward the peaks that were starting to vanish in the growing dark. She peered into the gloom, wishing she could see a tiny hint of flame in the distance, some sign that Ronan was out there. But blackness was swallowing the mountains, along with her hope.

She sighed. “He’s not coming back, is he?”

Kane padded up behind her. “He went on. I knew he would. Even if Ronan found the mage, he won’t get back to us before the battle.”

“There’s still one more day,” Lia whispered.

“Even if he’s already started back, it would take him the better part of tomorrow. That’s if he doesn’t rest. And if he’s not rested, he’ll be of no use to us.”

Lia couldn’t help the terror that welled within her. Without Ronan, they only had one Alpha, and no strategist. While the moon was half-full, it was waning, along with her magic. She wouldn’t be strong enough to save them. Shade and the witches were coming. Together, they would destroy the Twin River pack.

Kane gripped her hand. “I can smell your fear,” he whispered. “Make your heart like stone. You cannot allow yourself to fear. Don’t show weakness to your pack, or to your enemies.”

“But I’m so scared.” She bit back a sob. “We only have you. One Alpha, against Shade and the witches. What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to face them, and fight. We’re going to make them regret stepping foot in our territory.” Turning to her, he grasped her shoulders. “And I need you to remember something. Even without Ronan, our pack won’t have one Alpha. It will have two. You’re a force to be reckoned with, magic or no.”

“I am?” Lia wiped her eyes.

“You are an Alpha of this pack, Lia River. I do not fear because you are here to lead us, as Della foretold.”

Lia drew in a shuddering breath. “What if—what if the prophecy was wrong?”

“I don’t need a prophecy to tell me that you will make our pack prosper. You already have. Don’t discount your own power, Lia. There are only two people I trust to have my back, in battle or in life, and that’s you and Ronan.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Tilting her chin toward him, he planted a soft kiss on her lips. “No matter what may come, I will be here beside you. So stand tall. And feel no fear.”

Dusk descended. In the meadow, the pack was starting to prepare dinner on the fire. The smell of roast venison wafted upward on the wind. Lia’s stomach growled.

Kane put an arm around her waist. “Let’s get you some food.”

She wished she could keep looking for Ronan, but she didn’t argue. As much as she wanted him to return to them, it wouldn’t be tonight. She’d just have to wait, and hope he’d be back in time to help.

Lia took a deep breath, forcing her heart to slow.
I won’t fear. My heart is stone. I’m an Alpha of my pack.
Feeling more composed, she stepped forward.

Kane smiled. “I’d hate to go to battle against you.” He offered her his arm. “Dinner?”

She took it, and together they stepped off the heights. The sentries barely acknowledged their exit, too intent on scanning the woods and the sky.

They stepped into the shelter of the rock, then started down the stairs. Lia held tight to Kane’s arm. She needed to be as strong as him, as brave as Ronan. But she couldn’t help thinking about how Magda and Shade were out there, plotting to take her away from her Alphas. Their heinous pact to share her between them, like she was not a person, but a possession.

Kane stopped her on a step. “What is it?”

“You told me to be strong, and I’ll try, but—what if we only get one more night?” Her voice shook, echoing in the stairwell.

He gazed at her, his golden eyes glinting in the dark. “Then we’ll have to make every moment count.”

“Kane—”

He put a finger to her lips. “Don’t fear tomorrow. There is only now.” Kane ran his hand through her hair, his fingers cradling the back of her head. His eyes held hers as he brushed his lips over her mouth.