Page 25 of Denying Her Mate (The Wolves of Black Mountain #3)

Chapter 25

Roux

S awyer shifts between steps as he races toward the danger drifting out of the trees. His human form is shredded in an instant, his wolf taking over. Feet and hands become paws, his tail grows, and white fur covers his body. I know his wolf’s red eyes are locked onto the enemy rushing toward us.

Around us, the other vargr wolves and Abel are morphing into their beasts too. Jackson is the only one to not shift, instead moving to Dove’s side. He’s careful not to touch her, but his mouth moves rapidly as he speaks to her.

Halle and Tessa join hands, Hester joining them. I rush to their side, glancing at Apryle as I pass her downed body. Her chest is rising, but her jaw is slack, her eyes closed. Whatever power Dove is omitting seems like some kind of protection from threats.

“Is she alive?” Tessa demands as I slip my hand into Hester’s.

I feel the power buzz through my body, not just mine, but the combined strength of the women I am joined to. “I think so,” I say, as my gaze tracks my mate rushing toward the fight. There are wolves on the other side, shifting before my eyes. Abel clashes with a huge sable-colored wolf, a high-pitched whine filling the air.

I block it out, focusing instead on drawing the power that resides inside me to my coven. We have practiced so many times, joining our strength like this, that it is almost second nature to allow the others into my mind. I know I am not the strongest, that my witch side does not have the same ability to perform as Halle or even Tessa. That can’t be my focus in this moment though. Instead, I push my magic through our coven bond with all my strength and watch as Hester thrusts it out toward the men stalking toward us.

The nearest deflects the ball of power before it can hit him and his friends. The magic explodes to the side of him, burning through the trunk of the tree it hits.

My mouth falls open, my eyes bugging.

He has magic. The males rushing us have power, the same as we do. I reach out, trying to sense their wolves, and it only takes me a moment to find them.

They are like us. Hybrids. Part wolf and part witch.

But it is not possible.

At least… It shouldn’t be.

“They’re... tau.” The surprise and shock in Hester’s voice scares me more than the fight that is coming to us.

Male tau do not exist. The line is carried from mother to daughter, as it has always been from the moment Revna created our kind. The fact she is worried only heightens my own anxiety.

“Let’s worry about that after we save our lives.” Halle grinds out the words between clenched teeth as she summons more power.

I do the same, drawing on every ounce of strength I have in my body. We fire more and more magic at the male tau coming to attack us, but everything we do is deflected.

I summon more strength, and I feel Halle and Tessa do the same. Together, we have always been unstoppable, but I feel the first tendril of concern that we might not win this.

Sweat trickles between my shoulder blades, and beads on the back of my neck. The strain almost drives me to my knees, and it’s only the grip of my coven sisters on either side of me that keeps me upright.

“More!” Hester growls and I find the reserves to somehow draw upon my magic even deeper.

My legs are trembling, and I feel more exhausted than I have ever been, but I do not relent. I can hear the barking of the wolves around us, and high-pitched squeals as the attack intensifies.

I can feel Sawyer’s concern and pain through our mating bond. He knows we are in trouble, but he is too tangled in his fight to do anything. I send reassurances through the bond, so he is not distracted, worrying about me, but we are on our own. There is no choice but to survive.

The male tau are coming closer. They each have their hands raised in our direction, power surging around them. The hands locked in mine tremble, as we give everything we possess to the fight.

Something brushes my mind and I almost lose my connection to my coven and my magic. The source of the touch is familiar, and also impossible.

I snap my gaze around, searching for something that shouldn’t exist, and then I see him. He is standing behind the other tau males, a lazy smirk playing across his face that I have never seen from him. His hair is different, longer on top, and there is a scar running along his jaw that was not there when I knew him.

I lock eyes with him, my heart pounding like a jackhammer beneath my ribs. It can’t be. Perhaps this is magic, forcing an illusion of past traumas, but even as I think this, I know it is not true.

He is real and very much alive.

Edward. The mate I had chosen in what feels like another lifetime. The mate I had been driven out of my pack for killing.

I almost release my hold on Hester, but as if she senses my turmoil, she grips my hand tighter, refusing to let me go. I flex my fingers, refusing to drop my eyes from the ghost I thought I had buried.

How are you alive?

I had held his body, sobbed as the life slipped away from him. Is this some cruel trick to make me see the things that haunt me? I close my eyes, counting to five before I reopen them. Edward does not disappear. He is still walking slowly in our direction, his palms held out toward us, the power swirling around him. He, like me, is infused with Revna’s magic. He too is tau, an abomination, a hybrid that should not exist.

Is that how he survived? Was his death an illusion?

“Focus!” Hester snarls, tightening her grip on my hand until she is crushing the bones against each other.

I do as she demands, putting all my attention into my magic and my coven.

A blast of power rips me out of the hands I was gripping. I hit the ground hard enough to wind me, pushing all the air out of my lungs. The snow behind me is cold and seeps through my jeans, as I lie trying to catch my breath.

I roll onto my side, knowing I cannot stay down for long, and see Halle is already on her feet, sending wave after wave of power in the direction of the men stalking toward us. It doesn’t help. The nearest one reaches out for her, grabbing her around the throat and shoving her back three steps.

Halle squeezes her eyes shut, and I feel the surge of power grow within her as she blasts it out of her body. It hits the tau male in the chest, forcing his fingers to release and him to stagger back. She hits him with wave after wave of magic, forcing him back further, as she screams her frustration.

The others are up, ready to fight. I get a glimpse of Tessa taking on a hulking male with Hester, before I notice Edward coming straight for me.

There is no grace to my movements as I scramble to my feet, my body feeling achy and wrong. My limbs do not feel like my own, heavy instead, and my chest is so tight I can hardly draw anything more than shallow breaths into my lungs.

I ignore all of that as Edward steps into my space. I brace, ready to attack and defend myself with my magic, but he makes no move to hurt me. Instead, his eyes crawl over my face, his expression softening.

“They told me you were dead.”

His voice is deeper, harder, and I don’t see any of the young man I once loved in those empty eyes.

“I thought the same about you,” I speak slowly, carefully. I don’t know what situation I have walked into, but I do not trust this version of Edward in front of me. “Stop them from attacking my friends.”

The way his mouth kicks up into a smirk sends a shiver running through me. This is not the man I remember. Back then he had been shy, timid even. He took life seriously. And I truly believed he loved me. I see nothing but darkness in his eyes now.

The urge to step back, to reclaim my space, is strong but I hold my ground. He will not make me back down using fear as a tactic.

“We are not attacking you. We want you and your sisters to come with us, to join our cause.”

We. Us . Edward is with them. I don’t know if he can be reasoned with if he’s been turned by the Order.

“And what cause is that?” I try to buy time, knowing in a fight I will not come out on top. Physically, he is stronger, even in his human form. I don’t know if male tau can shift, or if that is a defect that only affects the females.

His smirk intensifies, and ice settles in my gut. Everyone around me is locked in their own personal hell, fighting for their survival. I can feel Sawyer’s panic through my bond, but I shove it down ruthlessly. I need to focus, without distraction.

“I’ll explain everything as soon as we leave here. Tell your friends to stop fighting. This is inevitable.”

Inevitable? Does he really think he can come here and demand we go with him without any explanation?

I lean into him, having to roll to my toes to get into his face. He is not as tall as my mate but is hardly short. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The mask he is wearing drops. His smile fades and is replaced by pure rage. He grabs the tops of my arms, and shoves me backward, moving me away from my friends and my mate.

I stumble over my feet, trying to stay upright, as he forces me toward the house. I pull my magic deep from inside me and blast it out at him. It doesn’t land. He flicks his wrist as if he is batting away a fly.

How strong is he?

My wolf snarls, snapping her teeth, begging me to give her control so she can hurt him, but I am not strong in that form either.

“How are you doing magic?” I demand as he pulls me around the back of the house, away from prying eyes.

Terror claws up my throat, threatening to choke me. My power is no match for him, and in this moment, I’m reminded of what I have always been told. I am the weakest in my coven.

“Let go of me!” I yell, trying to twist out of his grasp, but his hold is iron.

Once we are fully hidden by the house, he releases me with a shove, and I stumble back, hitting the ground hard enough to bruise my tailbone. Glaring up at him, I scramble to my feet, not wanting to be at a disadvantage. “Asshole,” I snap, brushing the snow off my jacket and jeans. I’m careful to keep distance between us so he can’t touch me again.

“There is much that you do not know,” he schools me as if I am a pup, still wet behind the ears.

“I know enough.” The glare I give him doesn’t seem to faze him. “So you’re with them?” I can’t keep the derision out of my tone, and it makes him snort.

“With who?”

“The Order of the Crescent Moon. You know, the guys that want us dead.”

His brows draw together. “Did you discover this paranoia after you ran from the pack?”

Is he serious?

My mouth drops open, unable to keep the shock from my face. “I didn’t run, Edward. The pack tried to kill me, which is a blessing compared to what the Order want to do to us.”

I expect this to elicit a reaction, but it doesn’t. The words wash over him as if I had said nothing, as if he never cared for me in the past. “That’s being dramatic.”

I grit my teeth so hard my jaw hurts.

Don’t react…

It’s hard because I want to reach out and strangle him. He has no idea what we have been through. What I have been through. I endured terror at the hands of our old pack because they thought I had murdered him. I have been hunted by men who I thought wanted to kill me but have since learned want to use me and turn me into a robot like they did Dove.

I have come through the gates of hell and somehow survived all my guilt and all my upset. Yet, somehow, he is standing in front of me, alive and with magic. Is it any wonder I am being dramatic?

“They thought I killed you.” I throw my hands up in the air. “I watched you take your last breath, held you while the light faded from your eyes. My magic… I didn’t know I had it. I didn’t mean to unleash it the way I did. If I’d known—”

“You did kill me.”

That statement makes me wobble on my feet, my head suddenly dizzy. I had come to terms with being a murderer, had, on some level, made my peace with knowing I took his life. Now he is standing in front of me, alive and breathing, and I don’t know what to do with that. Was everything I believed a lie?

“I don’t understand, Edward. If I killed you, how are you here? As far as I know, none of us are immortal. I saw you die.”

He scrubs a hand over his jaw, his eyes narrowing with pain. I am the cause of that, and I hate it. I never want to hurt anyone, not even the hunters who want to harm us.

“I did die, for a few moments as least. When I woke up you were gone and there was a woman standing over me. I could feel the magic pulsating through my body, repairing cells and fixing me piece by piece.”

Someone else in the pack had power?

Who?

“What woman?”

“That information is not something I can tell you unless you are with us.”

“Was she with the pack?” I press, despite his words.

He shakes his head. “She wasn’t with the pack. She had been watching us both for a long time. She knew you had power, but I was a surprise, a bonus.” His smile makes a chill skitter up my spine.

None of this is making any sense, and my head throbs in time with the beat of my heart. He is a hybrid. There is no denying that. I can sense his wolf, just as clearly as I sense the wolf in any of the males living at the Sanctuary, but I sense his magic too. It pulsates inside him, a steady hum that is familiar to me. “How is this possible? Male tau don’t exist.”

“Oh, we exist, though there are plenty of people who do not want the world to know that.”

I don’t understand, and he doesn’t offer any explanation.

“But how?”

“Come with me and I will explain everything.”

I have no intention of going anywhere with a man I thought was dead. “You didn’t find me. You left me to believe I was a murderer.” Bile climbs up my throat, choking me. “I mourned you. I’ve had nightmares about that day, about what I did to you, and you were just out there living your life.”

I’ve never wanted to exact as much violence against a person as I want to right now. I curl my fingers into fists at my side, letting my eyes flash anger. “Did I really mean so little to you?”

He steps closer, and I mirror his movement, putting more distance between us. His expression tells me this annoys him, but I am past caring about his feelings.

“I wanted to come to you. I… couldn’t.”

“Let me guess, because the Order had you locked up like an animal?” I cross my arms over my chest, in an attempt to shield my heart from the pain he is causing. “They aren’t your friends, Edward. They’re using our kind.”

“Why would they do that? All they have done is treat me with kindness.”

I don’t believe him. Dove came to us damaged beyond repair, brainwashed, and now shattered by what Halle and I have done to her. The other tau we have encountered have all been the same.

“If you want to stay with them, that is your business, but I am happy where I am.”

His gaze shifts around the landscape, taking in the cabins behind us. I wonder if he can sense which one is mine and Sawyer’s. “You would really settle for this mundane existence? You could be great, Roux. Your power could be strengthened, with practice and with people who know how to get the best out of you.”

“In a place where I will be a prisoner? Pass.”

He scoffs at my words. “Do you see any chains on me?” He raises his wrists, twisting them back and forth to show me he is free.

“Is that what they do? They give the males freedom while they lock up the females?” I wrinkle my nose. “Double pass.” As I stare at him, I try to align the man in front of me with the one I grew up with, but there is no sign of my Edward, the one I fell for. I don’t recognize anything in him of the past, and that dark look in his eyes concerns me. “Were you always this way?”

“I like the power. I was no one until it came out of me, and they showed me the things I am capable of.” He stares at me for a beat, but I don’t like it. I don’t want anyone looking at me other than my mate. “I did look for you, Roux. But when I died, when my heart stopped, our mating bond was severed. I felt so empty, so alone without you in the back of my mind. For a long time, I didn’t want to live.”

My heart squeezes at his words. There was never any intention on my part to hurt him, to make him believe… well, whatever he believed. “I felt our mating bond sever too.” I close my eyes, trying to stem the tears that want to fall as I think back to that day.

My pack hadn’t given me time to bury or even mourn my mate. As soon as they knew I was a hybrid, the chase began. Unlike Halle, I had given no indication I was not wolf. I had shifted during my first moon ceremony. I had shifted many times since it, and although I couldn’t hold my wolf for long, no one questioned my DNA—until I used magic.

Edward closes the gap between us, and my throat tightens as he grabs my hands in his. I relax when I realize he does not mean to hurt me. “We can redo the bond. You can be mine again and fight beside me.”

My stomach sinks. Does he not smell Sawyer on me? I pull free of his hands, my fingers straying to my neck. The design of my coat hides the claiming mark my mate gave me, but it throbs insistently, reminding me who I belong to. I do not need to be told that. My heart, my soul, every inch of me, belongs to Sawyer, not Edward.

Thinking back, he did not own me then either. I never felt connected to him, not truly. It took mating with Sawyer to realize just how wrong our relationship had been.

That does not mean I didn’t care about Edward. I did… I still do.

“I found my true mate,” I say slowly, unsure how he will react.

Give me control.

My wolf demands it, but I ignore her, focusing instead on the threat in front of me.

He ducks his head, staring at his feet, as his jaw locks tightly. I steel my spine, prepared for whatever is about to come next. This is not the Edward I knew, and I have to remind myself of that fact.

“I’d say I’m happy for you, but he has what I want, so it’s hard to be.”

“You were dead. The bond between us was gone. I would never have been able to recognize him as my mate otherwise.”

He nods along in agreement, then, without warning, flashes a hand out. I can barely react as it circles my throat, pressing hard against my windpipe.

I try to grab his fingers, to pry them away as the air gets trapped beneath his grip, but he is stronger than he looks. “Edward…” I gasp his name, hoping it will penetrate through the rage emanating from him.

“I never stopped looking for you,” he snarls, spittle collecting at the corners of his mouth. “But you took a mate! You betrayed our bond. You could have joined me, Roux. We could have been an unstoppable pair.”

I feel his power surging, the burning smell infusing my nose. I’m not helpless, and I’m not dying at his hands, so I force the magic out of my body, directing it at him.

It hits with enough force to push him back. He releases his hold on me, staggering back and clawing at his chest where I hit him.

My legs almost fold beneath me, but I force traction into them. This is not a battle I can win on strength. My magic is not enough, my strength is not enough, but my desperation is. I want to live. I don’t want Sawyer to find my broken body. I don’t want to leave him.

So I do the only thing I can think of to survive.

I give control to my wolf.

The shift isn’t quite as smooth as the other wolves around me, but it happens quickly enough. Her awareness shifts to the forefront of my mind, as her form takes shape.

Instantly, she lunges at Edward, teeth snapping. The taste of blood coats my tongue as I sink into the fleshy part of his arm. The scream he lets out takes me by surprise, but my wolf holds tight, ragging him and opening deeper wounds.

The surge of magic through the air is the only warning I get before I’m blasted back. I hit against the side of the nearest cabin, and wood footings slam into my flank. My wolf whimpers, letting out a high-pitched shriek as she tries to stand.

Give me control back, I order. I can’t fight like this. Despite what everyone thinks, I am stronger in my human form using my magic.

But she isn’t listening, fueled by rage. My wolf stumbles to her paws, snapping and snarling in Edward’s direction, but that isn’t going to save us.

I have never tried to use magic while in my wolf form, but I have to do something. It is hard for me to draw upon it, but I manage to find the reserve of magic within me.

I force it out of my body, directing it at Edward who is coming toward me, blood dripping from the tips of his fingers. It hits him square in the chest, hard enough to rock him back on his feet, but not enough to stop him coming for me.

“You’ve brought this upon yourself. I’m going to peel the flesh from your bones, you traitorous bitch.”

My wolf doesn’t let him take more than a step before she attacks again. This time, I force magic through us, heightening our power and strength. The weight of my body forces Edward down onto the ground and I see the opportunity to tear at his neck.

The snow around us is stained with red, such a stark sight, like spilled paint on a white canvas. His hand moves to his neck to stop the blood spilling between his fingers as he mutters words under his breath.

A spell.

I feel the swell of magic and watch in horror as the blood stops dripping. I’ve seen Halle heal enough times to know what I’m seeing, but I’m still shocked that the man I intended to spend my life with is able to draw upon such powerful magic. When he pulls his hand away, there is no wound, no evidence that anything happened aside from the crimson staining his skin.

My wolf loses control, my shift slipping.

No, no, no!

I’m changing back into my human form. I try to hold on to my wolf form as hard as I can, but it is useless. My bones reform and my body rebuilds itself in an instant.

The snow is freezing against my bare skin. I don’t care that I am naked, or that I have shredded one of my favorite jackets. My only thought is on the man stalking toward me with a look of pure insanity dancing across his face.

“If you won’t join me, Roux, then you will die.”