Page 25 of Alpha Wolf’s Arranged Bride (Rose Hollow Wolves #1)

Racing through the forest, I feel my heart pound in my chest and my paws thud against the ground like a primal rhythm, the drumbeat of life itself. All around me, the sound echoes endlessly as my warriors follow my lead.

There is an obvious scent to follow, and a few drops of Scarlett’s blood. Even though there is only a scatter of it every few miles, I’m furious that she’s been injured.

And the trail is too easy to follow. Azarian isn’t hiding his tracks at all, which only means one thing—he wants us there.

Why an evil villain would want a few hundred trained warriors and black-ops Shadows to appear at his dark ritual is beyond me, but I know a trap when I see one, and Azarian won’t be taking us by surprise.

Every Shadow deployed to Rose Hollow immediately accepted my orders, even though I’m technically retired. They all knew they were coming to join the renowned Shadow Stanton, and that the fight is for my own pack as well as everyone in the valley.

This is also the first breakthrough on one of Wolf’s Shadow’s longest-running case files. Everyone ever recruited has been waiting for this thing to blow—and now it finally is.

Their loyalty and courage truly touch me, even more so because all previous reports of the power in Eccles being activated stipulate that no one ever gets out alive.

This time is different. I can feel it. Azarian’s working an angle, and I need to find out what it is.

The Shadows and warriors from Rose Hollow sweep around Eccles, avoiding the town to go straight to the excavation site. The town is too quiet, and even though I fear for the occupants, I can’t risk stopping for a welfare check.

They might be set up right now to fight us, for all I know. It sucks, but I have to bypass the town, even if innocents are in danger inside. The stone and Azarian take priority!

As we close in on the site, the air begins to get warmer. Even though the midday sun on the ranges can reach high temperatures, the heat rises sharply the closer we get to the stone.

The other Shadows… melted.

I have to gulp down a moment of revulsion, and I wonder if everyone following me knows that gory detail.

If they do, every single one of them deserves a medal for bravery just for being here.

Even though I’m pretty sure Azarian is expecting us, I have my forces fan out around the tree line. Seeing the site for the first time, I’m shocked by how big it is. The massive disc of dark red stone appears to be a solid piece that was hidden only about four feet underground.

A tall, thin woman with long black hair is walking around the stone, touching the carved markings. They begin to glow with a sickly green shine, and I can see heat waves rising from the rock.

Where is Scarlett?

Then, my eyes focus on the center of the circle, and my heart almost breaks in my chest.

Fuck!

My mate and my son are dead center, staring up at the man himself. I can see a crowd of kids gathered not far behind them, and it looks like Scarlett has put herself between her uncle and everyone else.

Azarian is waving a long, sharp knife and reaches down to grab Scarlett’s arm. I’m so shocked, I almost bolt straight out into the circle, but I stop myself just in time.

Around the very edge of the stone, strange-looking creatures watch us approach. The smell of them disgusts me—something part wolf, part man, but not whole.

Rotting. It’s as if they are decomposing on their feet.

The creatures spin towards us, showing that they are still nimble and fast. When I glance through their line to check on Scarlett, she’s looking right at me, and she winks.

Oh, Jesus, fuck, no! What is she doing?

All the kids and poor old Mrs. Florence get up and make a beeline for the edge of the circle. I throw back my head and howl, signaling my warriors to attack.

The creatures guarding the edges attack in both directions, the sudden rush of kids escaping and my army attacking, leaving them confused and divided.

I call out to my warriors not to enter the circle, only to collect the children and kill the creatures if they can. Most of the twisted beasts fall to my Shadows, and a couple of them stumble onto the stone, where they are quickly incinerated by the intense heat of the ancient power.

How did the kids and Scarlett survive in there?

In the confusion of the fight, I couldn’t keep my eyes on her, and when I finally swing back around, Scarlett is alone in the center of the circle with Azarian. It feels like hours, but it’s only been seconds since the kids made a break for it and we attacked the wraiths.

Suddenly, Jarrod leaps into my arms, launching himself at me from within the circle. Even with frightened tears pouring down his cheeks, I can see anger burning in his eyes.

“They’ve got Mom!” he cries. “I didn’t want to leave her—”

“You did the right thing, Jarrod! Trust me, we’ve got this all worked out.”

“Really?” Jarrod asks tearfully.

“Really,” I answer firmly.

No fucking clue, actually, kid, but getting you out of the circle was priority number one.

“Go with Cody,” I tell him, signaling over my shoulder.

My beta hurries forward and holds out his arms for my son. “Come on, Jarrod,” Cody says. “Those other kids are pretty scared, and they could use an alpha to guide them. Are you up for it?”

Jarrod looks at my friend, then back to me. He nods, and I see determination in his eyes.

“I’ll go,” he says almost breathlessly.

“Good man,” I answer. “I’m going to get your mom, and I’ll be right there. Then we can get the hell out of this joint.”

“Good luck, Dad,” Jarrod whispers.

I turn back to the circle, focusing on Scarlett right in the center. Azarian looks pissed that they lost the kids, and Vanessa is screaming at him.

I take a deep breath for courage and leap out onto the stone surface, praying I won’t be immediately melted. When my paws touch the stone, it’s hot, like baked desert sand in the middle of summer.

So, some people get burned to a crisp while others can pass. How does that work?

Vanessa shrieks from the other side of the circle and throws a lance of flame at me. I manage to dodge it and brace myself for another, but Vanessa falls to her knees, screaming for Azarian.

He looks between me and Scarlett, finally sheathing his knife and running towards Vanessa. I make it to my mate’s side and wrap my arms around her.

“Where’s Jarrod?” she asks.

“He’s with Cody. Don’t worry, he’s fine.”

“The other kids?”

“They all got out, too.”

“Thank God,” she breathes. “They need innocent blood in the center of the circle to activate the ritual. Without it, their magic fails.”

“What does that mean?” I ask. “Are we safe?”

“I don’t think so,” she shakes her head. “If the ritual fails, that’s when there’s a wild release of power that no one walks away from.”

“So, we might be fucked either way.”

Scarlett shrugs. “At least Azarian won’t get his power. Neither will Vanessa. Our son will survive.”

“We should get out of here,” I mutter, watching Azarian help Vanessa to her feet. “We can try to outrun the explosion, at least.”

“Okay.” Scarlett tries to get to her feet and stumbles, almost falling back down again.

“Easy,” I mutter, grabbing her. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“I’m afraid not,” a hissing voice whispers against my ear. “Although that depends on your definition of ‘okay.’”

I jump away from the voice, seeing that Vanessa is now right beside me, with Azarian behind her.

“You move fast, bitch,” I swear at her.

“My will is within the circle!” she hisses, her face twisted as if she is physically changing. “And innocent blood has been spilled!”

“What—” I yell, turning back to look at Scarlett.

She’s crouched at my feet, looking up at me in desperation. She’s covered in small wounds, and the worst is the one on her head, its slow trickle the very trail I followed to get here.

Her blood is scattered all over the center seal.

“I can’t move, Rex,” Scarlett moans. “Get out of here! Run!”

“No!” I scream. “I will not leave you!”

Vanessa starts to laugh, and the greenish-yellow glow of the runes brightens. A horrible, thick smell like sulfur rises around us.

“You said it had to be innocent blood!” I shout, trying to pull Scarlett to her feet.

“I’m as shocked as you are, boy,” Azarian says, his eyes slowly changing to black, empty pits. “But it appears the ancient gods have accepted her.”

“We have to complete the ritual!” Vanessa yells. “The magic is working through me, and I’ll be destroyed if we don’t finish it!”

I try again to get Scarlett to her feet, but it’s like she’s glued to the stone. Her blood glitters like rubies as it trickles across the runes and is slowly absorbed by the rock.

A groan tears from my throat as I realize I’m going to have to signal my men to move in. I don’t know what special circumstances are required to survive inside the circle, but I have no choice but to call on my forces now.

If we can kill Azarian and Vanessa, that might stop this—even if it triggers the explosion. I know all of them would willingly give their lives to prevent this evil from getting out of here. I have to call them in!

I sit up on my knees and find Brad standing in the outer circle. With two fingers, I give the signal to advance.

“No, Rex, no!” Scarlett screams.

Azarian begins to laugh, and even though Vanessa seems to be in terrible pain, she shrieks with laughter as well.

To my surprise, none of the advancing warriors get burned as they approach us. Shadows and wolves from Indian Creek advance on the center of the circle, weapons drawn or fangs out, stalking Azarian and Vanessa.

“No, Rex,” Scarlett moans. “What have you done?”

“I’m saving us,” I answer, stroking her shoulders. “It won’t be long now. My guys will take them out, then one way or the other, it’ll be over.”

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Scarlett gasps. “He needs—the blood of warriors—”

Through the sound of Azarian’s laughter and Vanessa’s demented shrieking, I hear howls of pain. Standing up, I look around frantically to see my Shadows and warriors being taken down, one by one, in a closing circle of death moving from the outer rim to the center.

Jesus fuck, what have I done?

“Only sacrifices can survive the circle, Rex,” Azarian laughs. “Anyone not useful to the gods gets melted. Anyone valuable gets to make it to the runes—so we can spill their blood to feed the stone!”

Around me, my men seem to slow down as if the rising green fog and gas have disoriented them. Azarian runs around crazily, cutting them down with his long knife, while Vanessa attacks with nothing but her long nails, which have grown out into razor-sharp claws.

I’m about to join the fight when the stone beneath us begins to vibrate. I put my arms around Scarlett and hold her as tightly as I can, trying to break the spell so I can pick her up and run.

From the exact center of the circle, a curl of pure black smoke rises in an elegant curl. Everything seems to pause, as if the world itself has taken a breath. Azarian, Vanessa, my men—everyone freezes in place, leaving me and Scarlett awake and aware in the dead center of the stone.

A great crack appears through the carved runes, the sound splitting the air with such force, it feels like my eardrums have burst. The ground shudders, and a sudden blast of power blows Scarlett and me in opposite directions.

Flames rise through the crack, but they flow like a river instead of flickering.

They come together to form a serpent shape, slowly thickening and getting taller as it slithers free of its prison.

The strange time dilation collapses, and sounds come at me from every direction, my men fighting and dying, and all those trapped outside the circle forced to watch.

“An Old God!” Vanessa yells. “Yes, my beloved, let us worship you!”

The great serpent hisses and turns towards Vanessa. She cuts through two of my warriors, and the blood hangs in the air for a second before being absorbed by the snake. It begins to drift towards Azarian, and he races towards the center of the circle to meet it.

“That’s it,” I say, looking around at the absolute carnage through the circle. “We’re fucked.”