The Willow Read online

  “I have more right than any of you to want him dead. If you think for one fucking second that I’m going to sit by and let everyone else fight a battle that is mine, you can all just think again. Got it?”

  Zia’s laughter grew louder. “Oh, this is funny.”

  “I concur,” Zade chortled.

  Talon’s shock drifted away to something that resembled pride. “I think you have made yourself perfectly clear.” He cleared his throat a little. “We will respect your right to be involved in this. However, let it be known that I will not put you in unnecessary danger.”

  I sighed, exasperated. “Fine, but you won’t keep me purposely out of it either, right?”

  He gave me a nod, which didn’t impress me.

  Drake’s tension eased a little. “It is not that I do not want you involved in this. I know you have more right than anyone to see him dead. It is just—” he hesitated, “I worry—”

  “I know you are worried about me and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate hearing that. But really, how can anything happen to me? I have too many of you protective males guarding me.”

  He laughed, but it sounded forced. “I suppose you are right.”

  When I turned to face Kyden, he was grinning from ear to ear. He always did like my smart mouth. He grabbed me hard and kissed me with a passion that just shouldn’t happen with a dad around.

  Drake huffed loudly. “That is quite enough of that.”

  Kyden kept at it for a minute more—probably just to annoy Drake, then backed away smiling.

  Suddenly, Brax entered the hall. “I have just spoken to Briggs. He has found the location of one of the wolves from the Texas pack. He’s at the Riverside Church in Manhattan. Go to him,” he said to Kyden. “Find out what you can.”

  “Be safe,” Drake said, pulling me into a hug.

  I squeezed tightly. “Always.”

  Kyden took my hand and drew me away. “Let’s go.” Then, he looked back at Finn. “You too.”

  Finn looked slightly confused, but followed.

  We hit the foyer and grasped hands as Kyden opened the door. The smell of New York consumed me. Was it a bad smell? No. Just smelled like a busy city.

  The church didn’t look much different than the structures in the Otherworld—gothic architecture was pretty spectacular. Just as we approached the stairs, the tuned bell rang high above us in the tall, enclosed bell tower.

  When Kyden opened the door, I was shell-shocked. This was God’s house indeed. Dozens of candelabras reflected a pretty glow off the large arched windows surrounded by pews. A man sat in the second row, who after closer inspection, appeared to be crying.

  Kyden stepped forward.

  I grabbed his arm. “No.” I said sharply. “Let me.”

  He inclined his head.

  Just as I walked away, Finn asked, “Why am I here with you?”

  I shook my head, laughing, and wondered how Kyden was going to answer that question.

  Making my way to the pews, I slid into the one in front of the man. His head was bent over his hands and his entire body was trembling. I nudged his arm with my finger.

  He raised his head. Tears soaked his school boy face. “It’s you,” he whispered. He took a quick glance back at Kyden and Finn. Then, he sighed deeply and met my gaze. “Go on, kill me. I have nothing to live for anyway.”

  “I’m not going to kill you,” I answered.

  His eyes went wide. “You’re not?”

  “No, I’m not.” Well, not yet anyway. “Why are you here?”

  “It was the only place I could think to come. I—” He began to sob.

  “Okay, spill it. Why are you crying? Shouldn’t you be out killing someone?”

  “I should be, but I do not want to. I have gotten myself into a situation that I am not sure how to get out of.” He wiped a few tears away and pulled himself together. “My brother left our pack in Texas, so I left with him feeling it was the right decision. I did not know at the time that we would be joining Lazarus, and furthermore, I had no idea we were going to be taking innocent lives.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “I am Calder.”

  “Well, Calder, it is never too late to make things right.”

  His expression turned incredulous. “You are going to help me?”

  “You will help us and then we will help you. Deal?”

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Deal.”

  “Kyden, Finn.” I waved them over. “This is Calder and he is going to help us.”

  Kyden arched a brow. “Help us?”

  “Yup. Then we’re going to help him.”

  Kyden’s arched brow rose higher. “Are we now?”

  “Mmm hmm,” I answered. Then, my gaze met Calder’s. “Tell us what you know.”

  Quickly, he did just that. The first ten minutes was a reminiscence of things we had already heard. Lazarus’ wanting me—blah, blah, blah. Then, the conversation took a turn to things new.

  “Lazarus had said he wanted to drain your magic. He believes the power you hold will give him what he needs to succeed a takeover of the Otherworld.”

  I gave Kyden a knowing look and he gave one back. Zia was right. He thought I had my magic. How could he be so stupid? He was killing again for nothing. For no damn reason at all. What he was after? He couldn’t possibly get it since I didn’t have it to give. Rage was threatening to explode, I clamped down on it. No one here deserved that anger directed at them.

  “Do you know where Lazarus is?” Finn asked.

  “No,” Calder answered. “He never stays with the wolves, and even if he did, I still wouldn’t know. The wolves never stay in one place long and I haven’t been with them for days. The last time I saw them they were staying at the Paramount Hotel, but I can promise you they will not be there now.” He brushed his hand through his long, dark silky hair. “As to finding Lazarus, you will have some difficulty there. He is well hidden. Only one wolf knows his whereabouts. Archer. Trust me when I tell you he will not give this information up easily. He has a claim on Lazarus that I am unsure of. He seems desperate to please him.”

  “Well, that makes it difficult to find him,” I grumbled.

  “Hrmph,” was Kyden’s response. Then, he examined Calder. “Would you be willing to act as an informant? You can get in contact with your brother somehow.”

  Calder closed his eyes for a moment, then snapped them back open. “No. I will not set my brother up to die, which is exactly what will happen if you discover them. I cannot participate in that.”

  “You know we could force you,” Finn said.

  “But we won’t,” I interjected. Kyden and Finn both gave me an annoyed look. “If you were in his situation you would do the exact same thing. He has been helpful and he hasn’t killed anyone. Obviously,” I pointed to his tears, “he doesn’t want to be involved with Lazarus. We have to give mercy to those who deserve it. If we don’t we’d be no better than Lazarus.”

  Kyden’s face instantly softened—I’d struck a chord. “Come on, Calder. We will take you to Briggs. He will help you either rejoin the Texas pack or will find you a new pack to belong to. You can trust him.”

  Chapter Twelve

  There it was. Kyden was off to Briggs’ dealing with boring wolf business. My mind swirled with questions and concerns—mainly just plain old worries.

  The thing was I wasn’t quite sure who I was worried for. Myself definitely. Kyden was right up there too, but basically, I was just worried for all mankind. What would the world become if Lazarus gained control?

  Needing some air, I had come out to the beach, resting on the edge of the peninsula looking out at the water. There wasn’t a breeze in the air, which left the water still and silent. It was exactly what I needed. I didn’t want noise or disturbance. I wanted tranquility and this place provided that in abundance.

  Abruptly, soft footsteps came behind me. Suspecting it wa
s Kyden, I kept my gaze focused on the water and waited for his approach.

  When he met up with me, he pulled his legs tight against my body. Reaching back, I ran my hand up his leg—a little stunned to feel pants beneath my hands. “You put pants on?” I asked, confused as I angled my head back.

  Fear instantly sliced through me.

  It wasn’t Kyden. It was Lazarus.

  Jumping to my feet, I twirled away, instantly realizing I was in deep shit. I didn’t have my sword. I had left it back at home. How could I be so stupid? This isn’t the Otherworld. This is Scotland—I wasn’t safe here.

  “Get away from me,” I snarled.

  “Ahh, my beauty, I cannot grant that request. You have what I need.” He began to walk slowly toward me. “This will be easier than I anticipated. I was expecting to have a fierce fight on my hands.”

  As I began to back away, moved farther away from him, a deep yell came from a distance away. I couldn’t make it out—my focus was locked on Lazarus.

  It came again, this time it was clear. Someone was yelling my name. I quickly snapped my head toward it and saw Kyden running at full speed toward me.

  Lazarus began laughing—cackling with evil pride. “A Guardian defending his mate, how romantic.”

  Kyden was only a foot away. “Run.”

  Tears filled my eyes. “No, I will not leave you here.”

  “You cannot fight,” he shouted and lunged at Lazarus. “Get Talon.”

  His words instantly hit home. He was right. If I stayed to help I’d only get hurt or killed. The longer I stood here the longer it would take me to get Talon to help him.

  With one last look and a clenched heart, I ran.

  Ran faster than I’d ever run in my life. I hit the ground hard, sending my shins screaming out in pain.

  “Get her,” Lazarus shouted.

  In a flash, a wolf was right on my heels, growling deep and snapping frantically at my legs.

  I kicked him twice to send him away.

  Then, loudly, thumping paws surrounded me. They were everywhere. Never once did I look back. I kept on. Running harder. Screaming louder.

  Seconds later, I rippled through the gateway and let out the breath I’d been holding. The wolves didn’t follow, they wouldn’t dare. Rushing toward the castle, I slammed into the door, threw it open, and ran into the Council’s Hall.

  My breath was exhausted. My words came out in panicky whispers. “It’s Lazarus—you have to come—Kyden.”

  Talon was running toward me. “We know.”

  He took my hand and started to run out of the hall. Zia and Finn appeared beside us as we ran through the foyer. Talon opened the door to the portal and we slammed back to the beach.

  We all spun around in circles, looking, trying to find Kyden or Lazarus. They weren’t there. I ran over to the edge of the cliff, praying with each step that Kyden wouldn’t be lying dead at the bottom.

  Peering down, relief instantly washed through me. I glanced back at the group. “He’s not down there.”

  Talon snapped orders immediately.

  Some I heard. Some I didn’t—unable to escape the guilt crippling me. I had caused so many deaths—so many lives taken—all to get to me. Now, because I acted stupidly, Kyden was in danger.

  This was my fault.

  A slap across my face broke me away from my internal hell. Slowly raising my head, I scowled at Zia. “What the hell was that for?”

  “You need to snap out of this. You have done nothing wrong here. It is Lazarus that has done this and you need to remember that.” She reached up and rubbed my stinging cheek. “This will remind you that every time you begin to think that way—you are thinking wrong.”

  Talon interrupted us. “Zia, show me what happened here.”

  She raised her hands, and in an instant, the fight between Kyden and Lazarus was before us.

  Lazarus slammed a hard punch across Kyden’s cheek, which sent him flying back. “You will not win against me, Guardian,” he snarled.

  Kyden jumped to his feet and charged forward. “I will damn well try.” He drew his sword, stabbed forward, and landed it directly in Lazarus’ stomach.

  Lazarus laughed cruelly. “You will have to do better than that to kill me.” He pulled the sword from his stomach and threw it to the ground.

  The fight continued.

  Kyden hadn’t unleashed himself on me, because now, what he truly was capable of was being shown, and it was almost beautiful. He was brilliant. His strength was unparalleled.

  It was increasingly obvious that Kyden had gained the upper hand. He threw a hard punch, which slammed Lazarus across the face and sent him at least twenty feet away. Kyden charged forward just as Lazarus vanished and reappeared on the other side of the peninsula.

  “I do not have the time for this,” Lazarus said in an impatient tone. “Wolves, deal with this.”

  My breath stopped. My body froze in pure terror as more than ten wolves stepped out of the shadows. They stalked toward Kyden, began to circle him while they closed in. Kyden closed his eyes. When they opened again, it was as if he was staring right at me. His face was full of desolation. His eyes defeated as he began to accept his fate.

  “No,” I screamed. This couldn’t be happening. The wolves quickly lunged and attacked furiously. “No,” I cried, sinking to my knees and closing my eyes tightly. He was going to die—die right in front of me and nothing I could do would stop it.

  My breath caught in my throat. Breathing was impossible. My throat was closing. My entire body began to convulse.

  The sound of the wolves breaking his bones, tearing into his flesh—hearing him scream out, was horrible. My stomach started to turn. My body hot with panic and grief. Sickness overtook me and I began to throw up violently. My heaves were hard and deep. My stomach wrenched with every inch of its power trying to deny the truth of what was happening.

  Soon, my stomach was as empty as my soul. Rolling onto my side, I pulled my legs up to my chest to hug myself. Drawing in, trying anything to survive this moment.

  Lazarus shouted. “Stop, you idiots. We cannot kill him. We need him. Move away now!”

  I raised my head with a moments hope. The wolves began backing away—growling as Kyden lay beaten and moaning on the ground.

  A second later, the scene slowly faded away.

  “He’s not dead,” Finn said, helping me to my feet. “There’s still hope.”

  “What would Lazarus want with him?” I cried.

  “I have no idea but I’m glad he wants something. It gives us time to find him.”

  I glanced away from Finn to see Talon on his knees. His head bowed toward the ground, his body shaking as tears fell.

  “Talon,” I whispered and ran to him. I wrapped my arms around him. Who knew if he wanted this, but it didn’t matter. I needed it—needed to feel the closest connection to Kyden.

  “My son,” was all he said as he pulled me tightly into his arms.

  We stayed there for a moment. Finding comfort in each other, needing something to hold onto, anything that would keep us from crumbling.

  Minutes passed before Talon backed away from my embrace and stood, tears gone and determination rising. “Let’s call a meeting to discuss strategy to locate him.” He swept me off my feet, kept an arm around my waist as we landed back in the foyer. He gave me a tight squeeze, then let go. “Go to your residence. You will be called when the meeting has been arranged.”

  “We will get him back, sweetie,” Zia said sternly to me before she followed Talon into the Council’s Hall.

  Finn took me outside and wrapped me into his arms. He felt so much like Kyden. He was big—strong. Even smelled a little like him. I sank into him and begged him to tell me that this was all some terrible nightmare. Begged him to tell me Kyden would be back at any minute.

  He didn’t. All he said was, “I will go find Haven.” And with that, he left.

  My breath
gasped as the pain sank deep into my gut. The agony ripped my soul apart at the loss of him. Emptiness spread through me that was strong enough that it took force to keep breathing.

  All the things I wished I done—wished I said. Kyden had never heard me tell him I loved him. He never knew how important he was to me.