Fighting Fate (5 page)

slamming into him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Logan saw a small boy run to his mother. Melanie ran to him,

picking up the little boy who screamed, clutching at his chest.

Wolves howled around him, mourning and anger warring and threatening to consume them all.

All of this, the new Alpha in Kade, the new Heir’s powers in the little boy, Finn, the immense

pain and loss radiating from Pat told Logan what he already knew.

Their Alpha was dead.

Edward was no more.

Sacrificed to save his daughter.

Logan pulled Pat to her feet, needing to get to Cailin’s and Edward’s sides. The former Alpha

female stood on shaky legs and gripped his hand.

Before they took their next steps toward Edward’s body, Pat stopped and faced Caym. She

raised her chin, the power within her coming from deep inside, the dominant wolf not backing down.

“Fight until your last breath, my wolves,” she said, her voice eerily calm. “Fight. We will not

fall.”

The Redwoods howled, their pain so thick Logan had to swallow hard to breathe.

He pulled Pat toward where Cailin sat, her father’s head in her lap, tears streaking down her

face, her body shaking.

The Central wolves had either died or had gone behind their master. Dead bodies lay in a

grotesque, macabre tableau, their blood staining the earth, the den itself. Central wolves, weak, dying,

and long forgotten by the Redwoods, scurried away, their tails tucked between their legs even in the

sight of the immense failure of the Redwoods. He could sense his own Pack trying to get at Caym but

not succeeding. The demon’s personal wards and powers—despite been used in such an immense

show of power just then—were too strong for them. They wouldn’t be able to. Not now. They didn’t

have the power to defeat the demon.

Logan looked up at the demon as he shifted his stance, facing
him
. Caym grinned, the sheer

sadistic delight in his eyes making Logan want to retch. The demon held out his arm one more time

and Logan cursed, the lightning arcing toward him at a remarkable speed.

With one last glance at Cailin, he knew this was the end, knew that he’d lost it all before he’d

ever had a chance to hold the idea of something more in his hands to begin with.

Small hands from a wolf that smelled like pain, warmth, and kindness, pushed at him with a

force he didn’t know they possessed. He slammed into the ground, shouting as Pat screamed above

him, her body glowing white-hot before falling on top of him, the weight feeling a frail shadow of

what had once been.

Caym disappeared in a cloud of smoke as others ran to where Logan lay. Tears streaked down

his face, but he ignored those as the others came to his side, sitting up so he could cradle Pat in his

arms.

Her body shook, and her eyes were open. She hadn’t died as quickly as Edward, but from the

wounds on her chest, he knew not even the Healer, Hannah, would be able to save her. He pressed his

palms over the wounds, trying to staunch the blood to no avail.

“Why did you do that?” he cried. “You can’t leave them. They need you.”

Pat gave a weak smile, a small trail of blood seeping from her lips. “She needs you more.” She

coughed, a spray of blood catching Logan in the face. “Take care of her. Take care of my baby.”

The last flash of light seeped from her eyes, and she stilled in his arms. He clutched her close,

knowing Cailin did the same to her father only a few short feet away.

Others gripped at him, screaming, trying to get to their fallen mother, leader, savior, but he

couldn’t let go.

He squeezed harder before throwing his head back, letting an inhuman wail rip through his

throat.

Edward and Pat had died for those they loved…for Cailin…

Logan wasn’t worthy. He’d never be.

The Redwoods were losing a war they had no hope of winning, and they’d just lost the most

important part of their soul.

Logan couldn’t breathe.

The end was near, and this time, he didn’t see a way out of it.

Not alive.

Chapter Three

Silence.

That’s all Cailin could hear.

Silence.

She blinked once. Twice.

Yet the silence remained.

The nothingness.

How could there be anything else when the world had ended?

Maybe she would wake up from the nightmare, pinch herself and find herself tangled in her

sheets. Maybe then she could run to her parents’ home and find them there.

Alive.

Breathing.

Not dead.

Cailin opened her eyes, not remembering when she’d closed them.

Her parents wouldn’t be there.

They’d left.

Her mother and father were dead.

And Logan wasn’t here.

She swallowed hard then shook her head. She wouldn’t think about Logan. Not yet. Not when

she could barely breathe, barely think.

“Cailin.”

Maddox sat next to her on the couch, pulling her into his arms. She sank into him, using his

warmth, letting her wolf settle with her Omega. But she didn’t cry.

She’d cried on the battlefield, but she wouldn’t cry in Kade and Melanie’s living room. Not

when the world had shattered around her, and she knew she had to be the strong one.

She didn’t have another purpose. Not anymore.

With one last sigh, she sat up straight, pulling away from Maddox’s arms.

“What can I do?” she asked, her voice oddly hoarse. Only it wasn’t so odd now that she

remembered the screaming, the pain. Her body shuddered, but she pushed it away, pushed it deep

down to a place she prayed she’d never have to see or deal with again. No, she wouldn’t think about

that. Not now. She wouldn’t break down.

Her brothers and their mates needed her to be strong. They’d be able to grieve with each other

soon, hold their babies, and try to find a reason to go on.

Cailin would go home.

Alone.

She stood on shaky legs, wiping her clammy palms on her jeans. She froze when she noticed the

blood and dirt on them. Though she’d killed many wolves on the field, she knew whose blood soaked

her skin. Soaked so deep she knew she would remain stained, tainted.

Her father’s blood would mark her for all eternity.

Bile rose in her throat, and she ran to the bathroom, pushing a pale Reed out of the way as he

exited. By the time Cailin finished retching, Hannah was at her side, sitting down next to her on the

floor, a cold washcloth in the Healer’s hands patting Cailin’s forehead.

So much for Cailin being strong for others.

Cailin took the cloth gratefully and wiped her face, pressing it against her cheeks to cool the heat

and her aching head. She leaned against the bathtub while Hannah ran a hand down her arm.

“Go with Reed and Josh and the twins,” Cailin whispered, forcing the tears back. She might not

be strong enough, but she would not cry.

Not anymore.

Hannah shook her head. “I’m a Healer, Cailin. I…I don’t know what to do, but right now what I

do
know is that we need to get you out of these clothes and cleaned up. Mel has things that can fit you.

Okay?”

Numb, Cailin nodded then stood. Hannah helped her strip off her clothes, the bloody items piling

up on the floor.

Hannah looked down at them, her face oh-so-carefully blank, then gently pushed Cailin into the

tub. “I’ll take care of it, darling.” Hannah and Cailin might have been the same age, but right then, the

woman seemed so much older, so much more in tune with what was needed.

Cailin turned on the water, the cold a shock as it woke her up before it warmed. Hannah left the

room, and Cailin scrubbed her skin, still trying to get the blood off, even though the water cleared

after the first few minutes.

“Here, honey,” Hannah whispered. “I have clothes for you. The others think you’re just taking a

shower and handling it all.” Cailin met the other woman’s eyes, the pain in them so potent Cailin

could almost feel it through the numbness. “They won’t know you needed help. They won’t know

anything. But, honey, even if they did, it wouldn’t matter. You aren’t weak for needing to lean on

someone.” Her voice cracked at the end, and Cailin shook her head.

She turned off the shower and stood for a moment, putting on the shield she’d worn so long it

was almost a second skin.

Bitchy Cailin would make it through the day.

Broken Cailin would have to hide.

“Thank you for your help,” she said, her voice wooden. She got out of the tub and dried off

before pulling on a pair of Mel’s yoga pants and a shirt. Hannah had taken care of Cailin’s bloody

clothes. Where the other woman had put them, Cailin didn’t know. She didn’t want to know. Never

wanted to see them again. “Now go out and cuddle your mates and your babies. They need you.”

Just as much as you need them.

She didn’t say that last part aloud, but she had a feeling Hannah knew it anyway.

Hannah nodded once, and then left the bathroom, hopefully going back into the living room

where the rest of her family was.

When the smoke cleared after the demon left, things had happened quickly. Or maybe it was in

slow motion. Cailin wasn’t even sure anymore. Her brothers had come to her side as well as Logan’s.

They’d looked as broken as she’d felt.

The rest of the Pack had come as well, helping her family deal with the aftermath that none of

them had been prepared for.

Edward and Patricia Jamenson were not supposed to die. They were supposed to lead their

people in the final battle, their heads held high, their wolves in perfect, exceptional form.

They were not supposed to die for their daughter and the wolf her own wolf craved.

She shook her head, clearing those thoughts. She’d deal with Logan and what her own guilt

meant later. Right then, she needed to
do
something. Her parents’ bodies—hell, she couldn’t believe

she was thinking that—were with her father’s enforcers. They were going to take care of them for the

family. While she knew she and her brothers could have pushed through and handled it, the men who

fought and put their lives on the line for her mother and father needed their closure as well.

The Jamensons also needed to regroup and find a way through the mess that was their lives.

Cailin went into the living room and sat on the floor beside the armchair where Adam sat with

Bay on his lap. He whispered into his mate’s ear, and she snuggled closer, their son Micah against

her chest, Adam’s hand on his little back.

Kade stood at the fireplace, his back to the family as Mel ran a hand down her husband’s back

before holding him around the waist. Not leaning into him, more like showing him she was there for

him.

It surprised Cailin how strong Mel was, knowing the woman had been human when they’d first

met and a very analytical human at that. Cailin hadn’t welcomed Mel with open arms, and though her

doubt in the woman’s ability to become a leader had faded, Cailin still didn’t feel like she knew this

Mel.

The Alpha female of the Redwood Pack.

Goddess, Cailin didn’t know how the other woman could do it—take Pat’s place and lead their

wolves into blessed peace after battle.

Mel was stronger than she for sure.

The rest of her family sat on various couches and chairs in Kade and Mel’s large living room.

The children were scattered about either on laps or on the floor. There would be no hiding this from

them, not this time. They were just as much Pack as the rest of them were, and now one of the babies

held a power that Cailin couldn’t even comprehend.

It was odd to be here for a meeting rather than at her parents’…

Cailin swallowed hard.

No, she wouldn’t have been able to make it there, and she didn’t think the rest of her family

would have been able to either.

“Where do we stand?” North asked his gaze unfocused, while his son Parker sat between him

and Lexi.

Cailin wasn’t sure when her brother would be able to see again,
if
he’d be able to see again. She

knew he fought well because of his other senses and the fact Lexi had been by his side, but it couldn’t

have been easy. Her brother was a doctor, and yet now, he couldn’t practice his profession. He could

only stand by and help Noah, Cailin’s friend, step in and try to take care of the Pack’s health.

“Lost?” Reed asked then leaned into Josh’s hold. Reed was part of the triad with Josh and

Hannah. He was also the softest of her brothers, if that made any sense. Oh, he could fight, kill, and

stand for his family, but other than Maddox as the Omega, she thought Reed
felt
more than the rest of

them. Being an artist helped him have an outlet for that, and having two mates and twin children

helped too.

Jasper shook his head, his mate, Willow, on his side, their daughter Brie on his lap. “We can’t

afford to be lost. We need to be strong. Now more than ever.” Brie patted his chest, and Jasper

leaned down to kiss her tiny head.