Fated for the Alphas: The Complete Collection (Nine Book Paranormal Romance Box Set) (39 page)

Flint and Duke carried Gaunt past her into the den. He was in wolf form, the form he’d died in. Della followed, looking like a ghost. Lia wanted to talk to her, but she couldn’t face her. Not yet. After all, Gaunt had died defending Lia. If not for her, he’d still be alive.

Dash bled from a shallow cut on his head, but he was well enough to help Lark stand. Lia felt a wave of relief so heady it was almost sickening. At least her friend hadn’t died for her. Dash put Lark’s arm around him, and together they hobbled toward the den.

“Lark!” Lia called. “You’re all right?”

“I’m fine. Just fell on my wrist badly.” Lark touched it and grimaced. “Ivy says it’s broken, so no shifting for me for a few days. Of course, it could be worse.” She glanced over at where Kane lay curled next to Ronan, and fell silent. Lark turned back to Lia, eyes filled with sorrow.

“You should get to the den,” Lia said. “Get some rest.” The last thing she wanted right now was for Lark to comfort her. If anyone showed her pity, she feared she might break down.

“Are you sure?” Dash asked. “You could come inside with us. I’ll fetch you both something to eat.”

“No thanks,” Lia said. “You go.”

Lark opened her mouth to protest, but Dash murmured something in her ear.

“All right,” Lark said. “But if you need us, come find us.”

“I will.” Lia watched as they limped back to the den. Overhead, the sky was bursting with the color of a new day. Under the cheerful pinks, Ronan was dead. He was one of the first people who had actually loved her, and he was gone because she was too weak to save him.

She wondered if she should leave now, simply walk out of the meadow and out of the lives of the pack she had ruined. They were her friends, her family, but how could they want her now? Ronan was gone because of her.

“Ow!” Blossom yelped. “That hurts, Violet.”

“I have to clean your wound. Do you want your face to turn green and fall off?”

Blossom heaved a sigh. “I guess not. It doesn’t look… It doesn’t look bad, does it?”

A wicked slash cut across Blossom’s cheek and down her neck. Lia almost gasped at the sight of it. It looked so strange on Blossom’s beautiful face.

Violet’s silence said everything.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“N-not terrible, Bloss,” Violet stammered. “You never know with cuts like this. Maybe it’ll heal up so well you’ll barely notice it.”

“Can I see it?” Blossom asked in a small voice.

“I really don’t think—not today—later, maybe…”

Blossom lay back, letting Violet bandage her. “I don’t even care,” she said. “If I hadn’t distracted that brute, he might have killed Cage. I’ll just make him tell me I’m pretty. He owes me now, anyway.”

Lia smiled. She had to admire Blossom’s attitude.

A hand clapped her shoulder. She jumped.

“We’ll make Shade pay for this,” Sequoia said. Tears streaked her face, though her eyes were dry. “If I could, I’d kill him myself.” She took a breath, then patted Lia awkwardly on the back. “Stay strong, Lia. You still have us.”

“Thanks, Sequoia.” Lia was touched. She watched as Sequoia moved on to help Violet with Blossom. She did still have the pack. It was a small consolation, but maybe they would help make things okay again. The sun was warm on her face, but it was hard to hold off the feeling that everything was bleak and hollow.

Kane lay beside Ronan, still as a statue. If anyone knew about feeling bleak and hollow, it was him. She wanted to comfort him, and wanted him to comfort her, but that could wait. She would let him remain with Ronan for as long as he needed.

She walked into the den, hardly feeling the ground beneath her. It was like gravity barely existed in this awful new world without Ronan. Her arms and legs seemed to move without any input, her brain disconnected from her body. And she was still so cold. Without Ronan, her heart seemed to have crystallized into a block of ice. She wasn’t sure it continued to beat.

Gaunt’s body was laid out on the long table. Della stood over him, a bowl of red clay in one hand. She drew symbols and signs all over him. Geometric patterns covered his muzzle, trailing down his throat and chest to his legs. On his back were two undulating lines, just like the ones Della had drawn on Lia to welcome her into the pack.

“Can’t trust anyone else to prepare him for his pyre,” Della said. “I want him to look handsome when he goes.” She set down the bowl. “I thought I’d lose my mates eventually, but not like this. First Gale, to a long winter’s sickness. Now Gaunt, to battle. I thought we’d have more time.”

“I’m so sorry,” Lia whispered.

“Not your fault, chickpea. I asked Gaunt to switch with me, to defend the den while I fought in his place.” She chuckled. “You can imagine how that went over. He said he’d be happy to die fighting for his pack.” Della stroked his head. “I hope he was.”

Lia glanced toward the hall, wondering if she should go. Gaunt had died defending her, after all.

“I know that look,” Della said. “I’ve spent too much time with Kane not to recognize it. You can’t blame yourself.”

“But I’m the reason Gaunt is dead. The reason Ronan,” his name caught in her throat, “is dead. They would still be here if it weren’t for me.”

“If it weren’t for Shade, you mean.” Della sat at the table, and motioned for Lia to sit beside her. Reluctantly, Lia went.

“This is the hard part about living with wolves,” Della said. “They can be violent. They may die in battle. But they’re also full of so much wonder, so much wild passion. Their lives are like falling stars, vivid and glorious and burning. And no matter how long the ride lasts, you can’t help but want to ride with them until the very end.”

Della smiled. “I hope your ride lasts longer than mine, chickpea.”

Lia looked up, confused. Ronan was dead. Hadn’t her ride already ended?

“What is it?” Della asked.

“This can’t be right, can it?” Lia stood, almost knocking over the bench. “What about the prophecy you dreamed? ‘The pack will prosper, and a failed witch will lead them.’ Kane and Ronan were both there, weren’t they? In your dream? If they were, then how can Ronan be dead?”

There was an unreadable expression on Della’s face. “Will you sit?”

Lia did. Slowly.

Della looked at her, the moments stretching into one another. Lia wished she would say something.

Finally, she took a breath. “All right. There was no dream, no prophecy. I made it up.”

Lia gaped at her. It felt like the stone floor of the den had crumbled beneath her feet. “But why?”

“I just wanted them to find—someone like you. But there’s no reason it can’t be your fate.”

“How could it be my fate?” Lia didn’t know if she was angry or sad or some strange mixture, but tears were threatening to spill over and she didn’t have time for them. “How can the pack prosper if Ronan’s dead?”

“You know,” Della said hesitantly, “there might be a way to save him. There’s still time.”

“How?”

Della looked around, as if making sure there were no eavesdroppers. “I know something of blood magic.”

Lia almost wept. She shouldn’t have let Della get her hopes up. “I would save him with blood magic if I could. But I used up almost everything I had escaping from Shade. I wish I hadn’t, now. And to save Ronan… Della, you know it’ll take more than a few drops of blood.”

“I know that,” Della said, strangely calm. “To save a life, a life must be given in turn.”

“But who would do that? I mean, I would. I’d do it for Ronan. But my blood is useless for three days, which we don’t have. Kane would probably give his blood to Ronan, but it would be unfair to ask him. Besides, Kane dying wouldn’t solve anything.”

“There’s someone else who would be willing,” Della said.

Lia wiped her eyes. “Who?”

Della sat silently, watching Lia. At last, her meaning sank in.

“No!” Lia cried. “I couldn’t let you do that, Della.”

She took Lia’s hands in hers. “I can’t do it myself though, chickpea. I’ll need your help.”

“I would have to kill you.” Lia’s hands shook in Della’s grasp. “How could I kill you?”

“You could do it to give my son another chance at life. I’m the closest thing he has to a mother. I don’t want to put my mate and my child upon a pyre.”

“But what if—” Lia’s voice cracked, “what if you’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a mother?”

Della’s expression twisted. “Oh, chickpea.” She wrapped Lia in a tight hug. “That’s why I want you to be happy.” Pulling back, she wiped Lia’s tears away with her thumb. The maternal gesture almost made Lia break down again. “Ronan will make you far happier than I can.”

“But I don’t want to lose you, either.”

“I know.” Della clasped her hand. “But I need you to be strong. There’s nothing I could do to atone for all of the wrongs I’ve done, but this might help me get partway there. Please help me, Lia. For Ronan.”

Lia couldn’t imagine what Della could have possibly done wrong in the past. She was Della, after all. But if Della wanted to give her life for Ronan, how could Lia refuse? Wouldn’t Lia do it herself, if she could, just to keep Kane from everlasting agony?

“Will you spare me?” Della asked. “Release me from the torture of being without my mates, without my son? Will you let me leave you with the life I want you to have, full of love and hope?” She touched Lia’s chest, just above her heart. “I think my prophecy will come true for you. I think it will be your fate to lead the pack to prosperity. But if you want it, you’re going to need to help it along.”

“All right,” Lia said. “If—if Kane agrees.”

“Wonderful.” Della sat back, looking like a large weight had been lifted off her shoulders. “Let’s find Kane.”

Chapter Two

Someone shook him awake. The first thing he saw was Ronan’s body. Pain went through him like a hot knife. It hurt just as much as it had the first time.

He snarled as he shifted. “Why did you wake me?”

Lia and Della stood over him.

“We’re going to save Ronan,” Della said.

His knees went weak with relief. “You can fix him, then,” he said to Lia.

She was looking at Ronan, her face ashen. “Only if you agree.”

“I agree. I’ll agree to anything. What do you need me to do?”

Anger flashed across Lia’s face. “It’s not that easy. It’ll take blood magic, Kane. A lot of it. A life must be given for Ronan’s.”

So that was it. They needed a sacrifice. Well, that was easy enough, wasn’t it? He had already realized that he should have died instead of Ronan. This would just repay his debt.

“All right,” Kane said. “I’ll do it.”

Della cuffed him lightly on the shoulder. “Not you, dunderhead! We’re going with someone old and weak, whose bones are practically desiccated anyway.”

Kane frowned. “Who?”

“Della wants to do it.” Lia’s words were almost bitter.

“You’d do that for Ronan?” he asked softly. “For us?”

“It’d spare me having to look after you any longer,” Della joked. “It’s exhausting, really. Maybe I can finally get some peace and quiet.”

“There has to be another way,” Lia said. “Something I’m not thinking of.”

“There isn’t, and you know it,” Della said gently.

Kane wished Lia didn’t look so devastated. He didn’t want her to hurt the way he did. She shouldn’t have to lose Della.

“It’s okay if it’s me,” he said. “I don’t mind.”

Lia swayed on her feet, but Della caught her. “I don’t want to lose either of you.” She looked like she might cry.

“It’s going to be me,” Della said. “That’s final. Name your first pup after me if it makes you feel better, but we have to get a move on, before Ronan’s blood goes cold.”

By the stubborn line of her mouth, it was clear there would be no arguing with her. Kane looked at his brother. If anyone deserved a second chance, it was Ronan. He nodded.

Della smiled. “That’s my boy. Bring Ronan to the den, and put him on the dais. There are some things I need to do first, but they shouldn’t take long.” She gathered Kane and Lia in a hug. “Try to look a bit more cheerful, both of you. This is a good day.” Releasing them, she hurried off to the den.

Lia put a hand over her mouth. Kane couldn’t tell if she was going to cry or be sick.

“Is there anything I can do?” he asked.

“Just get Ronan to the dais.”

“I mean for you.”

Lia was so pale she looked like death itself. She shook her head. “I’ll be on the heights, if you need me. Maybe some fresh air will help.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

She turned away. “I need to be alone to clear my head. To… prepare.” Lia looked back at him. “You know I’ll have to kill her, Kane,” she whispered.

He reached out to her, wanting to kiss away the tears that were forming in her eyes, but she was already running toward the den.

Kane bit back a curse. It really should be him. He would make this up to her someday, somehow. But let her save Ronan first.

He picked up his brother, his twin, his other half. Ronan’s body seemed to weigh nothing and everything all at once. Other pack members offered their assistance as he made his way toward the den, but he refused them all. Ronan was his responsibility.

Once inside, Kane laid Ronan over his back and shifted. He jumped onto the stone dais, neatly setting Ronan on the smooth surface. It would have been impossible to climb up one-handed. Sitting on his haunches, he gazed at Ronan. How long had it been since they’d gone on a hunt, just the two of them? When had they last raced around their territory, seeing who could circle it the fastest? When they were pups, they had done almost everything together. Sometimes, Kane wished that hadn’t changed.

Of course, some things had changed because of Lia, but Kane wouldn’t give her up for the world. It couldn’t have been anything but fate when he and Ronan found her. She was perfect, in every way.

Shifting again, Kane went to the kitchens, grabbing a clean cloth and a pitcher of water. He took them back to the dais, soaking the cloth and patting down Ronan’s skin. He didn’t want his brother to be covered with dried blood when he came back. Some of the blood clung stubbornly, but Kane went patiently over every inch. He did have to stop when he got to Ronan’s neck. The wound made him lightheaded, and he couldn’t look at it. He would be happy to help Ronan wash it once he was alive again.