Page 20

Miranda

A few hours earlier…

Here, at the edge of the woods, I find my solitude, sitting cross-legged on the ground and looking deep into the thick treeline.

That pack. They’re dead.

Is that our future? Is death all we have to look forward to?

It can’t be. It just...can’t.

Now that I know I can touch Rai, that I can probably touch Colt, and even Aubrey, there’s no way I can lose them. Not that I would have wanted to lose them before, but this all has some deeper meaning. I know it in my bones.

That beast in my chest chuffs, and its hackles rise again at the thought of that assembly. That...massacre. They were murdered. And one of them was murdered by one of our own!

I know he was forced. I know he had no choice. I know that this is the future that awaits us all, used as tools, weapons, forced into wars we had no hand in waging, left hopeless. But to see the cruelty first hand…

There’s a shuffling in the grass ahead of me that puts me on edge, and I move to rise, but a little white head with tall ears tipped in black peers out from the brush, and I still my movements. It’s an arctic hare, like the one I released what feels like a lifetime ago.

The little guy’s nose wiggles as his head jerks upward, then side to side, until he nibbles on some moss growing on a nearby tree trunk. His little nibbles bring a smile I never expected to my face. When he looks at me, I get the impossible sensation that this rabbit is the same one I released. But that would be impossible. The grounds here are completely surrounded by a wall. Even with several gates, Laurant and I had taken that hare far from here. And yet…

The little ball of fluff slowly inches closer. His crawl turns into a hop, and the rabbit is suddenly in my lap, looking up at my face with a tilted head, one ear turned sideways.

I can hardly breathe, as I slowly move my gloved hand to his fur. Once there, I stroke the little guy’s back, and at once, he leaps again, this time onto my upper chest where, to my horror, he nuzzles my neck.

Despite my cry of despair, tears threatening to stream down my face at the death of this small and innocent creature, when I pull him from my body, he’s still a rabbit. He’s alive.

When the tears fall now, they’re filled with relief and wonder and utter disbelief.

The rabbit seems unafraid and unbothered as I hold him in one of my arms and pull the glove from my right hand. When I pet him with my bare hand, he’s even softer than I ever imagined, and the tears stream faster down my face.

When his little dark eyes look at me again, I whisper, “Thank you.”

There’s no way this creature knew the danger he was in. There’s no way he’s the same rabbit I released. And yet, I feel a kinship with him I can’t explain.

The beast inside my chest has remained calm and still since this little guy appeared, as if it, too, was fascinated.

“ Looks like you made a new friend.”

I turn to find Colt standing behind me. I don’t know how long he’s been there; likely, my quiet sobs distracted me from his arrival. Sniffing and taking in his fresh grass and rain scent, I look back at the rabbit. “Actually, I think it’s an old friend.”

Colt’s smile is sad as he carefully sits beside me, my knee touching his thigh, his legs stretched out in front of him. “Can’t help but notice you’re touching the little fuzzball.”

I jolt at the realization that I never got the chance to tell Colt what had happened between Rai and me, and the apparent aftermath for us both. Giving the little rabbit one last pet, I place him on the ground. “You’d better get back home, little one. I want you to stay safe.”

The rabbit tilts its head at me again, as if it understands what I’ve said to it and is considering my words. Then, he turns and dashes off, disappearing into the brush. I watch after his retreat for a while in silence, when Colt gives a small huff of laughter, and I look at him. “You’re not unlike that hare, you know? Cute, acclimated to the cold, and—” he grins, a little wicked “—I bet you’re soft to the touch, too.”

I bite my bottom lip and smile before twisting my body toward his, taking his face in my hands, and pulling his lips to mine. He doesn’t react at first, but it only takes a moment for him to run his tongue along the seam of my mouth seeking entry, which I readily grant him. His hands come up to grip my face, mirroring me, but before long, his hands are in my hair, gripping it tight at the roots, pulling my head back and forcing my mouth to open wider so he can feed on it like he’s ravenous for a taste of me.

The creature in my chest shivers with delight.

By the time Colt is on his knees, hovering over me, his tongue circling and flicking at mine with a sensual playfulness, I am yanking at the glove on my still-covered hand to toss it on the ground. Running my fingertips and then my palms under his shirt, up over the divots of his abs, then the mounds of his pecks, we both groan in unison.

He pulls his lips from mine with something like a snarl. “As much as I want this, we’re not safe out here.” His breath comes fast and ragged as he leans his forehead against mine. “I will never risk your life.”

His words sober me, the creature in my chest also acquiescing without argument.

As he rises to his feet and brushes the dirt from his knees, I grab my gloves and rise as I put them back on.

“ Come on, little Snow Bunny,” he says with a crooked grin as he puts his hand on the small of my back. “We’d better get back inside.”

I flash a bemused smile his way. “Snow Bunny, huh?”

Colt lets out a laugh.

We walk back to the academy building side-by-side, a warmth building in my chest. This feels...right. Just like with Rai last night.

My Alphas and I were meant to be together. Meant to be a pack, bearing each other’s marks and living together forever. And now that I’ve discovered this fact, these fucking Betas want to separate us. Diminish our bond, our power. Kill us for belonging together.

They fear us.

That creature speaks to me once more, and I feel Colt startle at my side, his hand still on my back as he peers at me curiously.

You heard that? I think hard at him.

He gives an almost imperceptible nod. “We need to talk. About a lot of things. I’ll tell Rai to meet us at your dorm.”

They’re going to take Aubrey!

About an hour after the three of us convened in my room, we’d communicated with Colt by thought, all about what had happened the night before: How I went into heat for the first time, how Rai and I mated and marked one another, how apparently now we both had some semblance of control over our curses.

Colt took it all in with a modicum of awe, but not as much surprise as I’d expected. “I actually knew a lot of this already. Somehow, I connected with Rai’s mind in my sleep while you two were…”

Rai, who had uncovered his face once he entered the room, raised one perfectly sculpted black eyebrow at him.

Colt laughed, I assume having a private conversation with Rai. Then he sobered and dropped the bombshell on us.

Aubrey was up for auction.

The second he said it, the beast in me went on a rampage in my chest, and I clenched my fists and paced furiously.

“Hime.” Rai’s voice is quiet but stern, calling my attention to him. He nods his head in my direction, and I turn my confused gaze down my body, my mouth gaping.

My hands are encased in ice. It covers my forearms to my fingertips in some strange claw-like form, the tips of my fingers sharp and curved.

“ Holy shit,” I whisper, breathless. “What the fuck is this?”

“ You need to calm down.” Colt is eerily calm. “I know you’re upset. We all are. But we need to figure out what to do, as calmly as possible.”

I look at the glistening ice, sharp and deadly, opening my hands to find that it moves with me, like a second skin.

Kill them all.

That is not helping, whatever you are.

I frown at myself—at the creature who’s growing more brazen each moment—and take in a deep breath, then let it out slow, willing the ice to recede. To my surprise, this actually works.

“ Good job,” Colt tells me as I sit beside him on my bed.

The dorm lock beeps, setting us all on edge, and a ragged Nyx enters the room huffing and puffing with an oversized duffel in her grasp. When she spots us all in the room, she freezes mid-step with brows raised. “Uh, hey, guys.” Her tone is questioning as her gaze pierces into me.

I wave her inside hastily, and she closes the door behind her, dropping her heavy bag on the stone floor with a thud.

“ What’s, uh...going on?” She sounds nonchalant, but the concern on her face is evident.

I trust Nyx. I know that she won’t betray us. And so, I make a decision and turn to Colt. “We need to tell Nyx what’s happening. Everything. Safely.”

My beautiful Alpha looks at my friend for a moment, then back at me before turning to Rai, who rises from the chair at the only desk in the room and comes to sit beside me. I think that’s the moment Nyx realizes that Rai’s face is uncovered, because she stares at him hard.

“ You’re as hot as your brother.”

I stifle a laugh. My Alpha is, indeed, beautiful, but he stiffens beside me and grasps my arm like a frightened child.

Nyx scoffs, eyes rolling upward. “I’m not interested, I assure you. I have enough boy trouble.” She emphasizes “boy” in a way that draws a sympathetic look from me. I want so badly to ask her all about the war games excursion, especially about what happened between her and Erich, but it’s not the time.

As Nyx slowly makes her way to her bed across from us, I pull off my gloves and grasp Colt’s and Rai’s hands in mine.

She gapes at us, and I think she might faint right there.

“Nyx,” Colt somehow says inside all of our minds at once, including an increasingly shocked Nyx, “Mira trusts you. I know that trust isn’t misplaced.” He squeezes my hand. “I swear that you can trust us like we trust you.”

Nyx’s gaping face gives a slow, affirmative nod.

“I know you feel a connection to a couple of the Alphas here.”

She pales, her mouth slamming shut.

“Trust,” he reminds her. “You have to know that we have the same connection you do with them.”

Her chocolate eyes grow tight as she nods again, swallows audibly.

“I also know that…”

As he trails off, I look at him as his jaw flexes before he continues.

“You haven’t had a heat.”

Nyx’s eyes dart to me, and before I can defend myself, Colt says, “Mira would never betray your trust, Nyx. My curse, remember?”

She blinks a few times, then looks back at me apologetically, but I understand her fear all too well.

Colt looks at me in question, and I think at him, Tell her everything.

“Mira wants me to tell you that she experienced her first heat with Rai.”

There’s an audible gasp as Nyx’s gaze snaps to me, eyes wide, swimming with newly formed tears, and filled with more questions than I could possibly decipher.

Colt goes on to explain our mating and the aftermath of it.

“We’re all meant for one another,” he goes on. “Even though we haven’t mated, I’m immune to Mira’s curse, and we are certain Aubrey is, too. And when we touch, there’s this...calm…” His head shakes slow. “I can’t really explain it, but I know the significance is huge.”

Nyx’s expression turns earnest, and her jaw works like it wants to speak aloud while I’m pretty sure she’s thinking hard at Colt.

He puts his hand up to stop her. “I don’t know anything for sure, but I would place a high cash bet that you have the same kind of bond with Erich Byrne and Laurant.” He says the headmaster’s name with a touch of distaste. “At this point, with what we know, everything points to fate. Mates, pack.” His head shakes slow again. “We know these things are forbidden. Alphas and Omegas can’t take a shit without Beta approval, and we Cursed have it even worse.” Colt turns to me, a flare of anger in his mismatched eyes. “We never know what histories are hidden from us. What if this...our bond...is the way it’s supposed to be?”

Everything Colt says makes such perfect sense that I’m mad at myself for not thinking of it, even though Rai and I only mated last night. I hadn’t had much time to consider what was going on since the murders at the assembly, and then worrying about Aubrey’s fate.

“But we are all in even more danger than before.”

Nyx looks both frustrated and concerned.

Colt tells her about everything that she missed today at the assembly. When he finishes the morbid retelling, she looks like she might be sick.

“There’s more,” he continues. “Aubrey is being auctioned today.” Colt takes his hand from mine to rub both his palms down his face and lets out a deep sigh. “Your man Laurant told me after our session this morning, and no one’s seen Aubrey all day. I haven’t been able to access his thoughts, either. I don’t know if that means he’s already gone.”

He isn’t. I can feel he’s still here, though I can’t explain how. I place my hand on Colt’s knee, trying to comfort him. His hand rests on top of mine.

Three loud bangs on the door make me jump out of my skin, or more accurately, off the bed.

I know who it is before I even open the door.

Aubrey.

He stands in the doorway looking ragged, his mocha skin pale, like he’s in shock. His shoulders rise and fall with huge breaths.

He’s safe!

Tears fill my eyes, and my lips part, but no words escape. I jump into his arms, wrapping mine around his strong shoulders before pressing my lips to the side of his neck and keeping them there, soaking in the warmth of his skin and his juniper and chili pepper scent.

“ You’re not going to die, Aubs.” Colt speaks these words out loud, and it makes me back up to look Aubrey in the face before I place my bare hands on either side of it.

He’s whole. He’s mine.

I guide him into the room and shut the door, seeing the moment he realizes the dorm is packed and everyone else looks nearly as bad as he does. When his gaze lands on Rai, his eyes uncovered, Aubrey looks at Colt, who translates his thoughts. “It’s good to see you, and to be seen, brother.”

Rai gives him his beautiful smile before standing and clapping Aubrey on the back. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you again, my friend.”

Aubrey’s gaze falls to the ground before his head shakes.

Colt lets out a frustrated sigh, then tells us all, quietly, what Aubrey is thinking. How he had been brought to auction. How they made him demonstrate his curse, and they bid on him. How he was going to be taken to the Kingdom of Russia first thing in the morning.

My mind whirls with the information, and as it does, that creature in my chest growls. That protective anger turns into a roar that I let escape, and every eye in the room snaps to me. Seething, growling, my voice is not entirely my own when I spit, “No. They will not separate us.”

Colt takes that moment to tell Aubrey about the assembly. When he mentions the pack’s execution and the Councilman’s mention of the rebellion, Aubrey signs, What can we do?

I have no idea, but I do know I would rather die than live without my Alphas.

“I’ve intercepted some interesting thoughts over the past few months. One person gave a possible location to find the rebellion.” Colt looks at each of us in a sweeping motion. “It’s a long shot, but...we may find help there. Even if no one’s there, it could be a place to lay low. It’s supposedly north of here, but way too far away to go on foot.”

“ How would we make it?” Rai asks aloud, his hand gripping the glowing collar around his neck. The same one anchoring us all here. The thing they’ll use to kill us if we run.

Aubrey stiffens beside me, then signs again. Diplomats are staying here tonight. They may have a helicopter fueled and ready to take them to the airport.

“ I heard several helicopters today.” Rai’s eyes close, and he lets out a long breath, slow and steady, his posture straight. Every once in a while, his head ticks slightly in different directions. When his eyes open again, he looks...surprised. His voice is airy and quiet. “There are two still here. I can feel them.”

“We have to try.” Colt’s voice in my mind is more determined than I’ve ever heard it. Then his head whips to Nyx who has risen from her bed, sporting that “don’t fuck with me” look she wears so often when challenged.

“ What?” I ask on a whisper.

Colt’s voice rings clear in my mind. “Nyx thinks that she can short the power source of the explosive charges in our collars so Rai can disable the locks. She thinks it’s the thing shielding Rai’s curse from affecting the collars.”

I turn wide eyes on my friend. Tell her no way! It’s too dangerous for her to get involved.

One of Nyx’s dark red brows rises as she crosses her arms over her chest and stares me down, eyes narrowed.

“Uh, she says that you can’t tell her what’s too dangerous, and don’t even try. She says that this is as much for her as it is for us.” He looks at her again. “Look, I said I don’t know if the rumors are true, Nyx. This could all be for nothing. If you’re able to disable the explosives and we get these collars off and we actually make it out of here, we may just be on the run forever.”

Nyx’s head tilts to the side, her hands landing on her hips.

“Okay, okay. So, we get the collars off and make a run for the airfield. Rai, we’re counting on you to get us in the air.”

Rai gives a solemn nod in response.

Colt looks at us. “We’ll need to be fast, and careful. And...we may need to take out some of the soldiers, however we can.”

I huff a bitter laugh at the same time as Rai and Aubrey look unimpressed, like they’re just looking for an opportunity.

Then, Rai’s brows draw tight beside me, his lips form a thin line before he speaks in a quiet voice. “The power sources...I never considered they were shields.” He looks at Nyx. “If you’re sure, then I trust you.”

Nyx nods vehemently, like she has been planning something like this for years and has the whole thing plotted out.

I guess it’s possible. She’s had the collar on far longer than I have.

I look at each of my Alphas and at my best friend, whose expression softens when a tear slips from my eye. I grab her in a hug, and she doesn’t hesitate to hug me back. “I know this will work,” she breathes in my ear. “The rebellion has to be real. We will see each other again.”

“ Come with us,” I plead, a sob growing in my throat.

She leans back from our embrace, tears in her eyes as well. “I can’t leave my...pack.”

And I understand this decision more than I can express. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I nod at her.

“ This will work,” she breathes, and I realize she may be trying to convince herself.

“If it doesn’t, being dead has to be better than being separated.” Colt’s heavy thoughts envelop my brain.

Turning to him, I grasp his face between my palms and press my lips to his, softly, tenderly. When his arms wrap around my back, his tongue slides across the seam of my lips, coaxing them open so our mouths and tongues entwine. It’s over too soon, but then I’m in Rai’s arms, and we’re doing the same, a fierceness in him and his actions that I’ve only gotten to know as of last night.

When he releases me, I am embraced from behind by Aubrey, who leans down to nuzzle the hair at my neck, breathing in deep and squeezing me tightly.

Our lips don’t touch, and despite our lives being in the balance, he still doesn’t seem to want that from me. Despite my disappointment, I am more than willing to provide what comfort he needs from me, especially now, with our lives in the balance.

I squeeze his bare hands with mine.

When we separate, my heart pounds in my chest, fear and excitement melding as Nyx turns to Rai and asks, “Are you ready?”