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CHAPTER ONE

T he ground shook underneath my feet, or at least, it felt like it did. The first time I’d trusted a vampire, and this happened.

Betrayal.

An actual knife to the back would have been preferable to the sting that ached throughout my body and soul.

It reminded me of how I’d felt the day that Reid rejected me.

Still in my wolf form, I scanned the area, noticing that Cassi, Ryker, Briar, Kendric, Xander, and Gage shared varying expressions of disgust, and then glared at Raven as the words she’d spoken moments ago repeated in my head— I can explain.

If I weren’t so shocked, I’d have been laughing at her audacity.

She’d better explain why vampires had slaughtered Ryker’s and my packs and caused countless other deaths.

No.

Fuck that. That wasn’t strong enough.

Hell no.

There wasn’t any explanation that could justify their actions.

My attention was diverted to the dead vampire that had just been uncloaked at our feet. The Blackwood witch, Cassi, was still leaning over him. This was the first time we’d seen who the enemy attacking us was, and the irony wasn’t lost on me that he was the only thing between us and Raven.

The scab on my heart ripped wide open, and the grief I’d been trying to avoid coursed through me. My blood began to boil, and the warmth I’d been feeling from the invisible barrier within me seemed to vanish, leaving me even more raw.

Ryker edged closer to my side, his hand grazing my fur. The familiar buzz sprang to life between us, easing a little of the anger and grief. Even so, neither of us could tear our gaze away from the threat in front of us.

Raven’s long, dark hair framed her face and hit her shoulders, emphasizing her pale skin in the twilight. She looked ghostly instead of vampire pale, which seemed fitting, because these vampires had found a way to cloak themselves and hide in the shadows like ghosts.

Tugging on his dark locs, Kendric narrowed his milky brown eyes. "Explain what, Raven? That you’ve known about the attacks and have been lying to us this whole time?"

Her cognac eyes widened, and her crimson lips parted, but no sound came out.

She had known this entire time. Though I understood this, the logic didn’t make sense to my brain. She’d been attacked, like us. She’d been injured. She’d bled alongside us, and the vampires had shown up at the Shae pack lands and saved us from the attackers.

"We thought you were one of us.” Gage’s shaggy, dirty blond hair fell into his darker-than-normal sparkling blue eyes. "Was it all a game to you? Messing with us and my boy’s heart?"

"I wasn’t...it’s not what you think," Raven stammered.

Ryker’s fists clenched tight enough that his knuckles blanched. The golden flecks in his eyes vanished as the sheen that showed the witch’s magic taking hold glimmered, and the buzz of our connection ebbed. He gritted out, "Then tell us what it is."

Raven hesitated, searching our faces for something I suspected she would never find here—understanding, or forgiveness. Her attention landed on Kendric, no doubt hoping their romantic relationship would push him to protect her.

She should’ve known better.

After everything we’d been through, did she really think any of us would be on her side?

Frankly, her silence was answer enough.

Her shoulders finally sagged. "I protected you all too." Her voice was strained, almost broken.

A bitter laugh escaped me, sharp and humorless. It channeled all my rage and hurt and felt like sandpaper against my throat and, of course, sounded like I was coughing up a hairball in wolf form.

Briar’s head whipped around, her light copper hair swinging and her jade-green eyes widening as they met mine. Her brows furrowed like she was seeing me for the first time.

I must have come across as unhinged, which made me laugh harder. My ribs shook hard, and the laughter had the injuries on my legs and sides throbbing so hard the pain soon stole my breath. Worse, my fur felt weighted down with congealing blood, but at least that meant I was healing. The strange warm presence inside me that I’d been experiencing ever since my parents’ deaths pulsed through my body in time with the vibrations of the invisible barrier around us.

Lifting a hand in my direction, Xander shook his head, his tan skin flushed with anger. “I’m in agreement with her, and I don’t even need to packlink to know how she feels. You expect us to say thank you ? You knew who killed our pack and kept it from us.”

A deep snarl came from the left, where Bruce stood over Reid’s frail body. His sharp green eyes were full of fury, and drops of blood dotted his salt-and-pepper head. “Don’t forget how she and the vampires showed up to protect my pack after they slaughtered half of them.”

I took a shaky breath, filling my nose and lungs with the stench of copper, and looked at all the wolf shifter bodies lying dead at my feet.

The thirty-year-old shifter from the Blackwood pack kept her hands pressed against Reid’s neck, trying to stop the bleeding like Cassi had instructed. Her face had turned an ashy shade. At least thirty dead bodies littered the ground, and there would have been a lot more if the magical barrier separating us from the shadows—er, vampires—hadn’t been created.

We now knew who our real enemy was.

Vomit burned the back of my throat as I realized how many lives had been taken because we’d included the vampires in our plans. A heavy rock seemed to sink into my stomach, which churned even harder.

The dead bodies of at least twenty Blackwood pack members lay spread around the clearing, with a few more dragged partially into the woods. Each one had their throat ripped out the way a wolf would do it. However, wounds from vampire claws were very similar to those made by wolves’ teeth, so that made sense.

The only lingering question was... how in the hell had they managed to smell like wolf shifters?

Five more wolves were in poor condition, with deep scratches down their chests and arms, though Reid’s injuries were the worst of the ones still alive.

When my gaze landed on Perry, my heart squeezed. He and my father had always been friends. Tears burned my eyes, and my wolf snarled.

She didn’t want to look weak, especially in front of our enemy.

A rush of footsteps sounded in the distance, and the warm magic thrumming against my skin ebbed, as if the barrier had vanished.

Someone’s coming, I linked with Briar. And the barrier has come down.

Once again, her head snapped in my direction, and she tilted it as if she were examining me. Still, she said, “The vampires may be returning.”

“There’s no reason to think they’re here now, especially with the barrier up.” Ryker exhaled loudly. “Let’s not get everyone riled up.” He locked eyes with me.

Shit. They couldn’t hear it.

Gesturing to me, Briar rolled her shoulders back. “Don’t lecture me. Ember just informed me that the barrier is down and footsteps are rushing our way.”

The taller of the other men shook his bald head and held both hands up. “I don’t hear them yet, but it’ll be more of our pack. They’re bringing a few stretchers to carry the injured and the dead back to the neighborhood. We need to gather together in case the vampires attack again.”

Relief washed over me, easing my tension but causing the pain from my wounds to ache more pronouncedly as my adrenaline subsided.

Ryker bit his bottom lip and looked at me, his chestnut brown hair slightly darker from sweat and the darkening sky. “Are you sure about the barrier?" A muscle in his jaw twitched.

Before I could respond, Cassi stood up and gasped. Her golden-brown eyes sparked, and her long black hair swooped behind her like a cloak. Faint swirls of iridescent mist surrounded her, indicating she was using magic. "She’s right! The barrier is gone. I can’t feel the otherworldly magic anymore.”

Kendric snarled and walked toward Raven. “When are they coming back?”

She jerked back faintly, showing barely any movement unless her reactions were watched closely. “I-I’m not sure. If they’ve retreated, they’ll need to regroup. They don’t understand what’s going on with this barrier either, or why it keeps protecting us.”

“ Us ?” Ryker bared his teeth. “There is no us , bloodsucker. Say it again and see what happens.”

“Okay, please say it again.” Gage clasped his hands together like he was begging. “I want to see you get your throat ripped out.”

The footsteps were upon us, and the Blackwood pack would be here minutes later. We didn’t have time for a fight.

“As much as I would love to take revenge, we need to be strategic.” Kendric pivoted toward Ryker and me.

My heartbeat quickened. Maybe Gage, Kendric, and Xander were over being mad at Ryker for keeping the secret that he had been spelled from them. We needed a united front.

Ryker looked ready to bark orders, but then Kendric said, “Ember, what do you want us to do?”

A sour taste filled my snout, and the warm hope in my chest deflated.

Gage and Xander gazed at me, not Ryker.

Ryker’s nostrils flared, but he placed a hand on my neck, and the buzz hummed between us again.

He wasn’t angry with me, thank Fate.

I wasn’t sure what to do. Someone needed to give us direction, but I didn’t want to betray Ryker by stepping up. At the end of the day, Ryker and Briar were the two most important people to me.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Briar flinched. How do you want to respond?

Each second felt like an hour, and I knew I had to answer. Ask Ryker what his thoughts are.

Briar nodded and opened her mouth just as twenty people poured into the clearing, carrying ten stretchers.

Mavis Blackwood, Perry’s fated mate, rushed to his side and fell to her knees. She placed a hand over his heart and reached for one of his hands, looking like she couldn’t believe he was dead.

The woman I’d seen Reid speak to before our mating ceremony ran across the clearing to Reid. Tears streamed down her face as she squatted next to the woman who’d been keeping her hands pressed over his wounds. The woman lifted her hands, and the new girl replaced them with her own to continue the pressure. I hadn’t noticed how pale Reid was until his ghastly appearance contrasted with the new woman’s dark skin.

That had to be Reid’s chosen mate.

Two bulky men rushed over to Reid and laid their stretcher next to his body.

The dark-skinned woman turned to Cassi. “Please, help him.” Desperation rang in her voice.

“I have, Sun.” Cassi moved to her side. “I applied an herbal ointment that will manifest healing if we keep pressure applied. He needs constant pressure until he regains full consciousness.”

“So he’s going to be okay?” Mavis rasped from where she’d remained sitting beside Perry. “I… I can’t lose them both.”

I whimpered, my insides twisting. I hated that I had doubted the Blackwoods and allowed Reid’s rejection to taint my perceptions of all of them. I’d fallen for the illusion the vampires had created. Even though Reid and I hadn’t been super close growing up, we used to respect and trust each other.

“None of us wants to lose Reid.” Cassi pressed her lips into a firm line. “He’ll make it.”

Had she said that because she was certain or so we wouldn’t spiral into more chaos?

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Briar clutched at her shoulder where she had a deep gash.

“Stay with us.” Sun continued to press on Reid’s wound as she studied Ryker’s and my packs. “Though it pains me to ask right now, with enemies that can hide in thin air, we need to be together. Not separated.”

Ryker growled. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Well, we think it is,” Kendric snapped. “So I’m staying with them unless you’re going to alpha-will me to do something I don’t agree with again .”

“Same,” Gage and then Xander chimed in, making it clear where they stood.

I wanted to shift back into human form and try to calm the rising tension, but if I were naked in front of Reid, Ryker would no doubt come unglued. Though he shouldn’t feel threatened, Reid was my fated mate and had been willing to complete the bond with him.

“I’m not thrilled about my request either, but we can protect each other. You have a small pack, and half of our pack is injured.” Sun kept holding the now crimson cloth on Reid’s neck as the two men gently placed him on the stretcher.

“Half your pack?” Briar squeaked. “But only about a quarter of them came here.”

The Blackwoods had slightly over a hundred pack members, and about thirty of them had been here with Reid and Perry when we’d been attacked.

“You weren’t the only ones under attack.” Sun grimaced. “We were attacked in our homes. Do you think I wouldn’t have raced here as soon as I realized Reid was in danger? I would’ve been here to fight beside him, but Mavis and I had to protect the rest of the pack.”

The entire Blackwood pack had been attacked. And their strongest wolves had been here, separated from the ones remaining behind because they’d thought we might pose a threat.

“What do you think, Ember?” Gage pushed again.

This issue within Ryker’s pack had to be resolved, but now wasn’t the time or place to do it. But I didn’t want to lead Ryker’s pack without his blessing. I lifted my head and bumped into his side, asking him to look away from his pack mates and at me.

When our eyes connected, I hoped like hell he understood what I wanted—for him to state his opinion because I trusted him to put aside his personal feelings and make the right call.

The sheen vanished from his eyes, the golden flecks warm as he gave me a tight smile. “Even though it’s the last thing in the world I’d want to do, Sun has a point. I agree with my pack, I think we should stay here and work together.”

My chest expanded uncomfortably from how much I loved this man. I hated that it’d taken me so long to see him for what he truly was—remarkable underneath that hard exterior. I nodded my head and linked with Briar, Please tell them I agree with Ryker’s decision.

I love the way you two work together, even in a situation like this. Briar’s approval pushed through our bond, causing my chest to ache more. Then she turned her attention to Kendric, Gage, and Xavier. “She agrees with Ryker.”

A quick breeze hit my face, and the overly sweet scent of vampire made me want to gag.

Raven.

“Fucking hell,” Ryker snarled, and Kendric took off.

I spun around to see what the commotion was about...and stopped dead in my tracks.