Page 19

Chapter

Seventeen

T he silver ceremonial dagger felt cold against Jim's palm as he turned it over, examining the intricate wolf engravings that spiraled down to the hilt.

"Does the artifact meet your approval, Alpha candidate?" Elder Willow's voice carried the hint of amusement that always seemed present when she addressed him.

"Just appreciating history," Jim replied, resisting the urge to mention he'd seen similar daggers being forged. Some secrets were better kept close. "This is what we're protecting today?"

His eyes found Mia across the clearing before he could stop himself.

She stood with the elders in full alpha mode—spine straight, expression neutral—but he caught the tiny softening around her eyes when their gazes met.

The morning goodbye had been too brief, her lips still swollen from kisses, her whispered "Come back to me" echoing in his ears.

The scent of anticipation hung thick in the air as pack members gathered at the clearing's edge.

Beneath that lingered something less pleasant—the faint copper-tinged musk that had been appearing at pack boundaries.

Vampire blood. Jim's nose twitched, and he saw Mia's nostrils flare slightly. She'd caught it too.

Across the ceremonial circle, Matthews stood with perfect posture, his tailored clothes unmarred despite the morning's humidity.

The man hadn't sweated once during any challenge.

Unnatural. Jim unconsciously touched the spot where Mia's necklace lay beneath his shirt—her mother's trinity knot, pressed against his heart for luck.

A few yards away, Reyes paced like the predator he was, muscles rippling beneath his fitted shirt, dark eyes constantly scanning. At least he was honest about what he was.

Elder Marjorie stepped forward, her walking stick thumping against the packed earth. "The Protection Trial will test your ability to safeguard what matters most to our pack. Each candidate will be given a sacred artifact to protect for the duration of the challenge."

The wind shifted, carrying with it a scent that didn't belong—something rancid and wrong. Jim glanced at Mia again. Her hand had moved subtly to her hip where she kept a blade. Their eyes met for a heartbeat, and he saw her lips form a single word: Careful.

"You will—" Elder Marjorie's pronouncement was cut short by a piercing scream from the edge of the gathering.

A child's scream.

Jim's body moved before his mind could catch up, feet digging into soft earth as he sprinted toward the sound.

His enhanced hearing picked up panicked heartbeats, rapid breathing, and the unmistakable snarls of something neither wolf nor human.

But underneath the adrenaline, Mia's training echoed: Protect the pack. The children first. Always.

He rounded a cluster of spectators to find little Lily—the baker's daughter with the ever-present braids that Mia always fixed when they came loose—backing away from a pack member whose body twitched in unnatural spasms. Dark veins crept up the man's neck like black rivers, his eyes bleeding crimson at the edges.

His teeth—too sharp, too numerous—snapped as he lurched toward the child.

"Hey, ugly!" Jim called, drawing the creature's attention. "I've known vampires with better dental work, and they're not exactly known for oral hygiene."

The infected wolf's head snapped toward him, movements jerky like a marionette with tangled strings. Twenty feet separated them. Jim needed five to reach Lily.

Time slowed—not his time slip ability, just the hyperfocus of adrenaline mixed with desperate purpose.

In his peripheral vision, Matthews approached from the left, moving with that too-smooth precision.

Reyes circled right, already half-shifted, claws extending.

But Jim's focus narrowed to the child—someone's daughter, maybe someone's future.

Like ours could be, the thought came unbidden, shocking in its clarity.

The creature lunged at Lily. Jim dove, tucking the child against his chest as they rolled across the ground. Pain shot through his shoulder as they tumbled over exposed tree roots, but Lily remained unharmed.

"When I say run, head straight to Beatrice by the blue tent," Jim whispered, setting her upright. The child nodded, eyes wide with fear but understanding. Trust. "Run!"

She bolted as Jim spun to face the creature, which now focused entirely on him. Up close, the smell was overwhelming—decay and blood and chemicals he couldn't name. This wasn't just vampire blood. This was something engineered.

"You're looking a bit peaky there, friend," Jim said, circling slowly to keep the creature's back to the retreating child.

From the corner of his eye, he caught Mia organizing evacuations, her voice carrying alpha command.

Pride and fear warred in his chest. "Tried a new diet? Because it's not working for you."

The creature snarled, black spittle dripping from elongated fangs. "The new order comes," it rasped in a voice like grinding metal. "Blood will purify."

"Yeah, yeah, heard it all before." Jim feinted left, drawing the creature away from the path Lily had taken.

The thing was fast—faster than a normal wolf—but its movements were predictable. Jim had seen this behavior before, in Romania when Charlotte first showed him the hybrid experiments. The early stages of blood contamination created patterns of aggression that followed specific neural pathways.

A whirlwind of motion announced Matthews' arrival as he slammed into the creature from behind. The infected wolf howled, spinning with unnatural flexibility to rake clawed fingers across Matthews' perfect suit.

Not a scratch appeared on the fabric.

Interesting, Jim thought, filing away that observation as he darted in from the side. The creature sensed him coming and twisted again, jaws snapping inches from Jim's forearm.

"We need to take it alive," Jim called out, thinking of Mia's need for information, for answers. "It's been injected with something!"

Matthews didn't acknowledge the suggestion, his fist connecting with the creature's jaw with a sickening crack. "It's a threat to the pack," he replied, voice unaffected despite the exertion. "Threats are eliminated."

The scent of pine and sand announced Reyes' arrival as the third alpha candidate joined the fray, partially shifted into a powerful beta form. His amber eyes assessed the situation quickly.

"The thing's running on vampire blood," Reyes growled. "But there's something else—something I've never smelled."

Jim used their momentary distraction to kick at the creature's knee, hearing the satisfying pop of dislocation. As it stumbled, Jim swept its remaining leg, bringing it crashing to the ground. Mia's combat lessons echoed in muscle memory: Use their strength against them.

"Pin the arms!" he shouted, dropping his full weight onto the creature's chest. Its strength was formidable, muscles straining against Jim's hold with each passing second.

Reyes grabbed one thrashing arm while Matthews secured the other with disturbing ease.

"Something's approaching from the west," Matthews said, his head tilting slightly as though listening to a distant sound. "More like this one."

The creature beneath them thrashed harder, its spine arching at an impossible angle. "They come," it hissed, bloodshot eyes rolling wildly. "Master will?—"

Its words cut off as its body went rigid, every muscle tensing at once. Then, without warning, it slumped into unconsciousness.

"We need to question it," Jim insisted, pressing two fingers against its carotid. The pulse was erratic but present. His mind raced—Mia would want intel, not bodies. "This wasn't a random attack."

"Indeed." Matthews' voice remained smooth as glass. "Council procedures dictate the creature be contained for examination."

Reyes shifted back to human form, his dark eyes narrowed. "I smell more of them at the western border. They're trying to breach the territory."

"I'll take this one back to the pack house," Jim said, already calculating. If Matthews went after the others, he'd likely kill them all—and with them, any evidence of his involvement. "You two are faster than me—you can catch the others before they reach our residential areas."

Flattery and logic—a combination that appealed to alphas. He touched his chest briefly, feeling Mia's necklace through the fabric. Keep her safe by keeping Matthews away.

Matthews' eyes lingered on Jim for a moment too long before he nodded. "An excellent suggestion. Reyes, with me."

As the two alphas sprinted toward the west, Jim hoisted the unconscious body over his shoulder. The creature was lighter than expected, as though the contamination had burned away something essential.

"Need help with that?" Gerald, Mia's beta, appeared at his side, his expression grim.

"I've got it," Jim replied, adjusting his grip. "But I need a secure room at the pack house. Something with no windows and reinforced walls."

"The old wine cellar. We converted it last year after the rogue alpha incident."

Jim nodded and started walking, keeping his pace steady despite the burden. With each step, he mentally calculated how long before Matthews would realize he'd been diverted from the pack house. The answer: not long enough.

The pack house loomed ahead, its stone facade cool and imposing against the afternoon sun.

Jim's shoulder throbbed where he'd hit the tree root, but he ignored it, focusing instead on the weight of the creature and what information it might provide.

Mia's scent permeated the building—she'd been here recently, probably organizing defenses.

Inside, the air changed—cooler, laden with the scents of pack and power. Jim followed Gerald down a narrow staircase, past the kitchen where traces of the morning's breakfast lingered—including the specific blend of coffee Mia preferred, dark with just a hint of cream.