Page 46 of Bloodbane
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Reverent Revelations
{ R U B Y }
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty, it’s time to get up.”
“ No! ” My nightmare chases me into consciousness, and I jerk upright in the chair, trying to push to my feet. A large hand on my shoulder keeps me in place. I swallow dryly around the wild beating in my throat, and twist to find Grayson and Thayne standing either side of me. “What time is it?”
“There’s a little over an hour until the sun sets.”
“An hour? Fuck! No, no, no… I need—we need—” I struggle against the hold on my shoulder, but Grayson just drapes himself over my back, arms criss-crossing over my rapidly-rising chest, pulling me into a tight, cool embrace.
“All you need right now is to calm down, wake up, and have some sustenance.”
“There’s no time for that. We need to plan, to get ready, and—”
A warm hand runs through my hair, and Thayne’s hot breath ghosts over my ear. “ Take a deep breath for me .”
The hand squeezes gently at my nape as the Command rolls through me. It feels like sinking into a warm bath. My body relaxes, sagging back into Grayson’s embrace as I fill my lungs, long and slow.
Thayne presses a kiss to my temple. “That’s it. Good girl.”
The praise is an echo of last night, and I can’t stop the small whimper that escapes my lips. I don’t realize my eyelids have closed until they fly back open at Cooper’s pointed throat clearing. He raises an eyebrow, his eyes darting between Thayne and Grayson before returning to me.
“Looks like you’ve been busy.”
“You have no idea,” Ash says with a laugh.
Ignoring the heat itching up my neck, I drop my gaze to the four fully completed devices on the table. Seeing the finished traps should offer some measure of comfort, but time to prepare is finite, and we need to take advantage of every second.
“Why did you let me sleep so long?”
“You needed it. You were running on fumes after yesterday—”
“And last night,” Ash chimes in from the kitchen.
“—and you’re no good to anyone in that condition, least of all yourself,” Grayson continues, ignoring Ash.
“But we need time to make a plan.” The anxious fluttering in my chest is back.
“A plan for what?” Cooper takes an offered coffee from Ash with a grateful smile. He wraps his fingers around the heated mug with a contented sigh.
Ash places a second cup in front of me. “We’re out of sugar and milk and cream and, well, pretty much everything, so today you’re going to have it black and love it.”
I turn the cup around in my hands. My gut is filled with so much dread that I can’t stomach even a single sip. Instead, I watch Cooper drink his.
Cooper, who is sitting at the table in the farmhouse.
Cooper, who should have left by now.
Cooper, who has no idea he’s stumbled into the middle of a supernatural suicide mission.
Fuck.
“Uh, shouldn’t you be getting back? Have you been hanging out here all day?”
Cooper doesn’t answer, too busy chugging his coffee as if he’s afraid it’ll magically disappear if he leaves it to cool. I drum my fingers on my thigh, watching my best friend’s throat work for what feels like an hour before the cup finally hits the tabletop.
“I woke up like ten minutes before you did. Guess I was more exhausted than I realized. Doing your part of my job is harder than you make it look. And, since we’re on the subject, what the hell are you doing out here anyway? Besides these guys, I mean.”
Resisting the urge to poke my tongue at him, I settle for a shrug. “We’re—they’re having a bit of a, uh, wolf problem. I thought I’d make some… deterrents.”
“Mhm,” Cooper hums thoughtfully, eyeing the traps. “Those deterrents look awfully fatal, which is a very unlike you thing to make. Try again.”
“There was an attack yesterday. These wolves are sick. We need to make sure they don’t hurt anyone else,” Ash offers before I can answer.
“Sorry to break it to you, but that horse has already bolted.”
I stretch my neck to the side, trying to unknot the tight muscles. “What horse? What are you talking about?”
“I thought we might have a couple of rogue wolves on our hands, but hearing they’re sick makes more sense.” Cooper leans his chair back, balancing on two wooden legs as he locks his fingers behind his head. “That’s why I’m so worn out. I was run off my feet yesterday with people reporting attacks. Fifteen at last count. Luckily, they’re all pretty superficial, bites and scratches, nothing that needs more than—”
“ Fifteen? ” The blood in my veins turns to ice. No, no, no. “Jesus, Cooper, why the hell didn’t you call me?”
“Grayson said you were sick,” Cooper retorts, voice dripping in defensive petulance. “And let me point out that wanting to spend all day in bed is not the same as having to. You’re just lucky it was nothing I couldn’t handle. Milo taught me how to do some basic first aid.”
“You weren’t bitten, were you?”
“No, I’m fine, but so many others aren’t so lucky. I called Milo. He’s going to bring back more supplies with him. He’ll be back tomorrow, and I’ve got a list of names for him to follow up with.” Cooper digs his phone out from his pocket. He checks the lock screen. “Hopefully, the fact that no one has called since I’ve been out here means the worst is over.”
“No. The worst is yet to come.” I seek out Thayne’s pinched face. “I have to tell him. He’ll have to stay tonight, it’s too dangerous to leave now.”
“You know I’m always up for a quality sleep, and that mattress was next level amazing, but I’ve gotta head back. The zero notifications are probably because I seem to get zero service out here.” Cooper stands, tucking his phone away. “There could’ve been another dozen attacks by now and I wouldn’t know.”
“Coop, stop. I haven’t been entirely honest with you. I wasn’t pretending, I really was sick. The wolves that attacked me that day at the clearing aren’t normal wolves, and they’re the same ones attacking everyone in… oh my god.” Understanding crystallizes with terrifying implications. I jolt to my feet. “He’s trying to make himself an army.” I round the chair, rushing to Thayne on unsteady legs. “Will that work? Will the newly bitten turn tonight? Can it happen that quickly?”
Thayne’s frustration spreads like poison through the room. The wooden backrest of my recently abandoned chair splinters under his twin-handed grasp. “I don’t know. There’s so much that I just don’t—” Wooden confetti drifts from his fingers as he starts pacing the kitchen, unfocused eyes volleying from side to side as if reading from an unseen playbook.
“Ash?”
“It is possible, but those that survive the rapid transitioning would most likely be weak, confused, and scared. Without choosing Draven as their alpha, he won’t be able to control them. He might be using them as a diversion—keeping you distracted by the attacks, maybe thinking you’ll split the pack and try and fight on two fronts.” Ash lays a hand on Thayne’s arm, effectively stopping his pacing. “Tee, you have to be prepared for the possibility that those who come seeking him out tonight will become sacrificial pawns.”
“It may not come to that,” Grayson’s low voice is oddly soothing. “He might be playing the long game, padding out his ranks in anticipation that we actually survive the night. He’ll need more bodies to mount a second attack.”
“Or he could just be a sadistic bastard who gets his kicks terrorizing people and ripping lives apart,” Thayne adds bluntly. “There are too many variables. All we know for sure is he’s coming tonight. That’s what we need to focus on. We’ll deal with the fallout when the sun rises.”
“Turning? Sacrifices?” Cooper eyes me warily. “What the hell is going on? What’s happening tonight?”
I had wanted to spare Coop this dangerous new world I’ve found myself a part of, but there’s no sugar-coating it now. Too many lives are at stake, and I won’t let his be one of them.
“Look, I know how this is going to sound, believe me I know , but I need you to listen with an open mind, alright? It’s just—the wolves, they’re... they’re lycans. Werewolves. Just like Thayne, and well, everyone here.”
“Almost everyone,” Grayson corrects dryly.
“All the people that have been bitten are going to turn, either this full moon or the next. But at moonrise tonight, Evander is coming for me, and he’s planning on killing anyone that stands in his way.”
Cooper is silent for a good thirty seconds before he nods. Just the once. “Okie dokie.”
The revelation of a world existing in the shadows of the only one I’ve ever known had sent my mind reeling. How can Cooper accept it so readily? Without so much as a question.
“Okie dokie? That’s it? That’s all you have to say? Okie dokie ?”
“What do you want me to say? Prove it? I believe you, Rube.” He holds up his index finger. “Ash is too much of a goddess to be mere mortal.” Awe coats every word as he raises another finger alongside the first, counting off his observations. “And Thayne…” he blows out a low whistle. “I mean, look at him. He can’t be human. He has muscles that we just don’t have, and you probably have a much more intimate knowledge of those. And what are you?” Cooper looks to Grayson. “If you’re rounding out the sexy triangle, you’ve got to be something special, too.”
“Oh, he is,” Thayne murmurs.
Grayson snorts affectionately at the praise. “Vampire,” he offers quietly.
“Of course you are."
“Coop, I know it sounds—”
Cooper holds up a hand to stop me. “No, it answers all the question marks—how he got to my truck so quickly, why he makes me want to pee my pants every time he gets within biting distance, and the whole turning extra-crispy in sunlight deal. I really should have figured that out earlier.” Cooper nods as if the matter is settled. “So what’s the plan? Count me in. How do we stop the bastard from taking you?”
“Nuh-uh. You’re staying in the house. You are not getting involved.” My tone books no room for argument.
“You are both staying inside,” Grayson corrects. “You’ll man the shotguns. If anything comes through that door before sunrise, you kill it.”
“That’s not happening. What if I, uh… you know.”
Cooper’s eyes narrow. “If you what ?”
“When the sun sets, we’re all going to shift.”
“Into wolves? Like, real wolves? Fur? Four legs? The whole shebang?” At Thayne’s nod, Cooper’s eyebrows jump high. “Wow, cool. Are you going to fluff out too, Rubes?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I haven’t done it before...”
Thayne comes to stand beside me once more. “Even if you do, I want you to keep to the house.”
“I’m not going to hide in the house and have you fight for me!”
“We will be much more efficient if we can focus on the fight, and not worry that you’ve been taken or injured.” Grayson’s thumb caresses my inner wrist. “Thayne can make you stay inside, but we’d rather you did it by choice.”
White noise screams inside me as my nightmare comes roaring back in front of my open eyes—standing in front of the house, alone, a sea of blood and broken bodies littering the ground around me: Thayne, Grayson, Ash, the twins, and Cooper. Their cold, lifeless eyes staring to the heavens as Evander drags me away. The weight of knowing they’ve sacrificed their lives for nothing knocks my legs out from under me. I land hard on the chair as my chest constricts painfully until I can’t breathe.
Thayne crouches beside me and cups my face. “Look at me, sweetheart.” Large thumbs caress the line of my jaw. “ Take a deep breath. That’s my girl. Just like that. And another one. ”
“I can’t lose you. Any of you.”
Thayne presses his lips to mine, soft and sweet. “I love you, Ruby Evans. I think a part of me has loved you from the moment you turned up on my doorstep looking like Red Riding Hood, all wide-eyes and flushed cheeks, smelling like honey and vodka, calling me a lumberjack.” Thayne chuckles. “I am not about to give that up—give you up—without a fight. It just so happens I can fight a little better when I’m not worried about you.”
The reverent revelations just ratchet my fears higher. There’s a burning behind my eyes, but I refuse to let the tears escape.
Love.
The word is foreign and sharp, a thorn lodged in my throat. Love has always been like fire; something that could bring warmth, but more often pain. Love is loss and devastation, and I won’t survive it again.
As if reading my thoughts, twin sets of mismatched fingers—cool and warm—trail over my cheeks. My lashes flutter closed. I soak in this moment as the certainty of what I have to do cements in my heart.
“You know we will do everything in our power to keep you safe and come back to you. But if anything goes amiss—”
“Eirik, stop.”
“She needs to know that the blame for whatever happens next isn’t her cross to bear.”
“It’s okay, I understand. I won’t fight.” My tremulous smile is all I can manage while I blink against the stinging of my eyes. “You’ll both be fine, I know it.” I will make sure of it. “I made these—” I gesture to the explosive traps on the table “—to help. I need you to set them up in the woods around the house. There are trip-wires to attach to the trees.” My fingers trail over the securing points. “They have silver shrapnel inside, so be careful when you’re setting them up.”
Thayne’s chuckle sounds odd in the tense room. “I’m glad your genius is on our side.”
“I’ll take care of them,” Ash offers.
“No,” I interject quickly. “Thayne and Grayson can do it. I need you to help Cooper find something to wear. Maybe a leather jacket? Something with a little more protection than he has now.” I meet Ash’s assessing look with a forced-casual shrug. “It might come in handy if they do breach the house. And after that,” I add quickly, “could you and the twins find a way to block the back door and windows to limit the points of entry?”
Ash’s shrewd gaze is unwavering. “And what are you going to be doing during all of this?”
“I’m going to, uh, scent-mark the front of the house. Hopefully draw Evander’s attention and get him where we want him, or at the very least, distract him.”
Ash turns to Thayne and quirks an eyebrow.
“You heard the lady,” Thayne says, taking two traps from the table. “We have less than thirty minutes before moonrise. After everyone’s completed their assigned tasks, we’ll meet back here. Any questions?” He seeks out each face in the room before lingering on me. “Alright, move out.”
The victory that spreads through me as I watch the pairs split off is hollow. The erratic thumping of my heart drowns out the silence in the room as I grab the pen and pad of paper from the table. The few words I scribble down are shaky but legible. I stare down at them, wet drops falling, spreading, soaking into the paper. I don’t try and wipe them away.
On trembling legs, I walk to the back door and slip through.
I take the steps two at a time before sprinting toward the tree line. Still not used to the power of my changing body, I stumble—my feet speeding forward, my mind struggling to keep up. It doesn’t take long to find my rhythm, my legs stretching out, pace increasing until I’m whipping through the forest in a blur, moving so quickly I feel like I’m flying.
As the distance to the farmhouse increases, so does the yearning in my chest. Like a spring stretching straight, it tugs at me, trying to pull me back: to Thayne and Grayson.
Evander only wants me. He said that no one else had to get hurt. I may be putting all my eggs in one very unreliable, cruel basket, but I have to trust he’ll keep his word. After all, once he has what he came for, he has no reason to risk losing his pack or life by attacking the farmhouse. Whatever torture he has planned for me, I can endure it as long as I know the others are safe.
The bloody vision from my nightmare drives me forward. I can’t take the chance it’s a twisted premonition of the future. I can’t exist in a world where those I care for are lost, not when I’ve just found them. I can’t allow them to trade their lives for mine; I won’t. There will be only one sacrifice tonight, and it will be me.