The Savage Grace: A Dark Divine Novel (24 page)

“You’re brain is addled by the aging, Sirhan. The wolf has too much control. Let the council decide, if you are not able. Who will be your successor?”

“What say the Elders?” Sirhan asked. “Advise me. Whom do you choose? The son of Caleb, or Gabriel?”

All the Elders huddled together—speaking in whispers so low I couldn’t even make out their words with my sensitive hearing—except for Lisa Jordan, who came to stand in front of Sirhan.

“Your choice sounds more like, ‘Son of Caleb, or Caleb himself’ to me,” Lisa said. “I don’t need to deliberate. I cast my vote for Daniel now.” She turned to him and bowed on one knee. One fist pressed into the ground. “And I will follow him into battle to defeat Caleb if need be.”

“Here, here!” Gabriel knelt, fist to the ground toward Daniel. “I cast my vote also.”

The other Elders took in the sight of Lisa and Gabriel, and for a second it looked like they’d made up their mind to follow their lead.

“This is bullshit,” shouted a voice from the crowd.

I looked in the direction of the voice and found that the man with the blond dreadlocks had stepped forward. I thought hard, trying to remember the name Lisa had called him by … Marrock.

“I will not give my allegiance to this boy, true alpha of not,” Marrock said. “He’s, what, eighteen? Most of us have been alive since the French Revolution. What does he know of being a leader that I do not?”

Three men who stood behind Marrock nodded in agreement.

“If Gabriel is too weak to be your successor, then name me instead of this boy.” Marrock looked like he wanted to spit in Daniel’s direction.

“Sirhan didn’t even trust you enough to name you to his council of Elders,” Lisa said. “What makes you think he’d name you his successor?”

Sirhan was aging fast in his chair. “The council will decide,” he wheezed out. “Marrock, Gabriel, or the boy?”

The council went back to deliberation, and I worried Marrock had thrown a major kink in Daniel’s odds of surviving this day. But then the council turned toward Daniel. “Here, here, to the boy!” they shouted, and one by one they fell to their knees, shoving their fists into the carpet. They bowed their heads toward Daniel.

“So it will be,” Sirhan said.

Many of the robed men dropped their weapons and copied the gesture of the Elders.

Marrock and five others in the crowd remained standing. “If that is what the council decrees, then I am no longer a member of this pack.”

His robe swished behind him as he stormed from the room, the five other men followed him.

“Should we go after them,” someone asked.

Sirhan lowered his head. “It’s their choice to leave.”

“I am afraid we will probably see them again at the Challenging Ceremony,” Gabriel said. “For now, let us welcome Daniel Kalbi—”

Lisa pulled on Gabriel’s robes and gave him a pointed look.

“Ah, yes,” Gabriel said. “Let us welcome Daniel Etlu, grandson of Sirhan Etlu, and his pack into our ranks. Here, here!” he shouted.

“Here, here. Here, here,” the kneeling men shouted over and over again, their chorus growing loud enough to rattle my eardrums.

“Here, here!” I called, clapping my hands. Dad and even Jude joined my applause. Only Talbot stood still without cheering, but a smile played on his lips.

Daniel stood tall, as if soaking it all in. He’d never really had a family before, and now he had one almost more than forty people strong. After a moment he cleared his throat and raised his hands to quiet the crowd. “Um, you all can stand up now if you want.”

Lisa laughed and clapped her hands as she stood. I ran to Daniel and threw my arms around his neck. But our joy lasted only a moment before Sirhan gave a great moan and crumpled in his chair. He looked even more withered and decrepit than before—if that’s possible—like the last few minutes had added another hundred years to his body. His sunken eyes rolled back, closing halfway. I would have thought he was dead if it weren’t for the deep-pitched wheeze of his breathing. Two of his men, his medical staff, I assumed, leaned over him, checking his vitals.

I let go of Daniel and sidled up to Gabriel. “What are we going to do? We can’t let him die here in Rose Crest.”

“We’ll need to move him. Somewhere secluded but comfortable. Do you have any ideas?”

“My grandpa Kramer’s cabin. It hasn’t been used in a couple of years, but it’s about a four-hour drive from here.”

Sirhan’s attendant shook his head. “He has had a long journey already today. I don’t think it wise to move him tonight.”

“Tomorrow then,” Gabriel said. “We will find a place for him to stay tonight, and then set out in the morning.”

“There’s always my house,” Daniel said. “He could take the master bedroom on the upper level.”

“No, that location has been compromised,” I said, remembering what Slade had told me about the Akh reading his mind. “No one should stay there.”

Gabriel nodded. “He can take my room behind the parish. I would like to spend the night meditating in the forest before our journey anyway. I must prepare my mind before I can cure Sirhan.” Gabriel took my hand. “I would like you to come with us to the cabin, Grace. Show me exactly how you cured Daniel, to ensure I do it right. You’ll have to miss another day of school, I’m afraid.”

When did my life get to the point that the idea of going to school felt like the abnormal part of what he had just said? “Of course,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure I could really
show
someone how to do it. But at least I could lend my moral support to the “kill the ones you love in order to save them” club.

“I would like you there, also, Daniel. As his successor, you should be there when he dies.”

“Yes,” Daniel said.

Gabriel let go of my hand and clapped his on Daniel’s shoulder. “We must help Sirhan survive the next few days, then you will have an entire month to prepare for the ceremony.”

“If he’s in hiding when he dies,” I asked, “could we keep it a secret? Just for a few days? Let the lunar eclipse pass, and then tell everybody. That way we could have another month to prepare even if he dies sooner.”

“It would be against pack law,” one of the Elders said.

“Yeah, but could we bend this law, just a little?”

Gabriel shook his head. “You could try, but once the Death Howl starts, everyone will know that Sirhan has passed. Secrets would do no good.”

“What’s the Death Howl?”

“When a true alpha dies, his pack will sense it. They will howl in his honor no matter where they are. It’s some sort of supernatural phenomenon that can’t be stopped. Other Urbats, even just plain wolves and domestic dogs, will pick up the call. After the Death Howl, word will spread quickly of Sirhan’s death, and every Urbat who wishes to challenge for the position of alpha will know it is time.”

“Oh,” I said. Really, what else could I say?

One of the guards lifted Sirhan’s frail body. Another took up his oxygen tank.

“I will show you the way to my quarters before I go on my sojourn in the woods,” Gabriel said, beckoning them to follow him.

“Be careful in the forest,” I said. “The sheriff has called for a full-on free-for-all on wolves. In fact,
no one
,” I sent a pointed glance around the crowd, “should be going wolf around here unless you want to be a trophy on a hunter-with-silver-bullet’s wall.”

The crowd gave one another grave looks, but I hoped that would be extra incentive to keep their innerwolves in check.

“Thank you for the warning,” Gabriel said, and left with Sirhan and his attendants.

“I hope Sirhan can hold on,” I said to Daniel.

“Me, too,” he said. His voice sounded like the weight of the whole world suddenly rested on his shoulders.

LATE THAT SAME EVENING

The next couple of hours were spent making sleeping arrangements for our thirty-five or so unexpected guests. Rose Crest doesn’t have any hotels, and most of the pack Elders weren’t too keen on staying too far away from Sirhan, so Mom and I rummaged through the storage closets at the house. We pulled out blankets, old decorative pillows, and bolts of cloth—anything that could make a few bedrolls.

It was strange, really, that only a couple hours before I had been worried these Urbats were going to kill us—and now one of my biggest concerns was for their comfort as they slept on the cold hardwood floor of the parish social hall.

But now that they’d accepted Daniel as Sirhan’s successor, and me as Daniel’s alpha mate, they treated us with the utmost respect.

“I could only find stuff for about twenty people,” I said when I showed up at the parish with a few boxes of old baby quilts, sheets, and sleeping bags.

“I guess it will have to do,” Jude said, and took one of the boxes out of my arms. I smiled at him, remembering the time we’d spent together as siblings, sorting through boxes for the annual Thanksgiving charity drive each year. Working with him now almost felt like old times.

April grabbed a couple of sleeping bags.

Lisa Jordan picked up a set of threadbare
Star Wars
–themed sheets out of one of the boxes—the same set Jude, Daniel, and I used to make tents out of in the family room for movie night when we were little. “I don’t think I’ve roughed it since 1991,” she said. “Not since Sirhan took me in.”

For some reason, I’d always imagined that a werewolf pack that lived in the mountains would be roughing it all the time. Living in campers or caves or something. However, based on the fleet of practically brand-new Cadillac Escalades—not to mention the Aston Martin Rapide—and the quality of the pack members’ velvet robes, I’d started picturing Sirhan’s compound looking more like a fine European manor with at least a dozen garages attached.

I guess if you’ve been around for almost a thousand years, you probably learn a thing or two about long-term investing. It was obvious Sirhan and his pack were swimming in money. No wonder someone like Caleb coveted control of this pack—I imagine it came not only with power, but also with Sirhan’s estate.

“I guess some of them can stay at my house,” April said. “My mom is on a business trip, and we’ve got two extra bedrooms.”

I looked at her. April was offering her home to a bunch of werewolves to spend the night? For some reason, I wasn’t shocked.

Lisa dropped the sheets and popped up on her toes. “Do you have HBO?” she asked. “Sirhan doesn’t allow TV in the compound. I haven’t seen a movie in years.”

“Yeah,” April said.

“And licorice. Do you have popcorn and licorice? We could have a girls’ night!” Lisa looked happier than a puppy with a brand-new chew toy.

April smiled. “And I just got a new pedicure set.”

Lisa squealed, clapping her hands on April’s arms. “I haven’t painted someone else’s nails since the 1980s. You know how hard it is living with a bunch of grumpy old werewolves? Not another girl in sight for miles.”

“You want to join us, Grace?” April asked with a hopeful smile. “Girls’ night!”

“No, thanks,” I said. “But have fun.” I had way too much on my mind to think about movies and makeovers. I didn’t foresee a “girls’ night” anytime in my near future.

April looked at Jude. “It doesn’t just have to be a girls’ night. You can stay at my house, too. I promise not to paint your nails.”

“No.” Jude shook his head adamantly.

“Ooh, is that your boyfriend?” I heard Lisa ask April when the two made their way to April’s car. A small group of Urbat men followed after them, rolling their eyes. If they wanted comfortable beds to sleep on tonight, they were going to have to put up with the giggly girl squad.

I glanced at Jude, whose eyes followed April with a longing sort of look. “If you want to go with her, I’ll cover with Mom. Just this once.”

Jude shook his head. “I want to stay here tonight. Back in the cage in the basement.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m not taking the easy way out,” he said. “I do want to be home. It’s just that the full moon starts tomorrow. I can already feel its pull.” He squeezed the moonstone pendant we’d given him in his fist. “I just don’t feel comfortable sleeping in the house with the family yet. I think it’s best if I spend the next few nights locked up. Just as an extra precaution.”

“Okay,” I said hesitantly. It had been such a big step to get him to want to leave his cage, I worried that locking him up again would be a step backward in his progress. But then again, his wanting to be locked up for the safety of the family seemed like a reasonable request. I just hoped he wouldn’t stop fighting the good fight.

I walked with him down to the basement. I pulled the gate closed behind him and turned the lock.

“Take the key,” he said.

I tucked it into my pocket for safekeeping.

“See you in the morning,” I said before heading up the stairs.

Jude didn’t answer.

ALMOST MIDNIGHT

Daniel and I decided that it wouldn’t be safe for the lost boys to go back to the Duke house, so when I got back home, I wasn’t surprised to find just about every soft surface in the house occupied by a teenage werewolf. Brent was already asleep on the living room couch; Ryan had made a bed for himself under the dining room table with stacks of pink accent pillows—that must have been donated by Charity because they came from the window seat in her room. Zach snored from Dad’s easy chair, and Slade was staked out on the family room sofa, flipping through channels on the TV. Talbot sat on the floor in front him, sharpening a stake with one of my mother’s kitchen knives.

I was glad they were here—not that the house was any safer, as far as Caleb’s knowledge of it was concerned, but I guess I just felt comfort knowing where they were if something bad happened.

“Grace,” Mom called as she came up from the basement. “I just found a few more blankets with the camping gear. You mind running these back over to the church?”

“Sure.” I sighed heavily, picking up my keys again.

“I’ll do it,” Talbot said. “I should be getting home anyway.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, realizing that I had no idea where
home
was for Talbot. “You can stay here. Strength in numbers, and all that.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said, lifting his newly sharpened stake.

Mom handed him the bundle of blankets. “You really are welcome to stay, though,” she said.

“Thank you, but it’s getting a bit crowded around here.” Talbot’s gaze locked on something beyond my mother’s head. I followed his line of sight and saw that Daniel had just come through the front door. I’d wondered if I’d get to see him again tonight. Jarem, the tall, dark-skinned pack Elder—had insisted on introducing Daniel personally, and individually, to each member of the Etlu Clan.

I locked eyes with Daniel, and he smiled at me. My heartbeat kicked up a notch, and I barely even noticed Talbot say his good-byes and duck out the front door past Daniel.

“That Talbot is a nice boy,” Mom said. She must have liked his farm-boy charm.

“Huh,” I said. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Daniel.

Something about him had changed. In the way he stood, the way he smiled, even the look in his eyes. He’d finally, fully accepted himself as a true alpha—and Lisa had been right: he wore it well.

Daniel’s smile grew wider as he came down the hall toward to me. My legs ached with each inch he got closer.

“Well, I guess Daniel can take Jude’s room in the basement since your brother isn’t coming back home tonight,” Mom said. “The bed is small but comfortable. Much better than the couch.”

“Yeah, a comfortable bed would be good,” I said. My face grew very hot, very quickly, realizing I’d said that out loud.

“Thank you, Mrs. Divine,” Daniel said, not taking his gaze off of me. “That’s very kind of you.”

Yes, it was very kind. And slightly odd, considering Mom’s usually not-so-warm feelings concerning Daniel. I started to wonder if her thoughtful gesture was a sign that her mental health still wasn’t 100 percent, but then she grabbed me by the shoulders and propelled me right past Daniel before I could properly greet him, and ordered me upstairs to bed. That’s when I understood her true intentions for offering Daniel superior sleeping quarters over the other boys.

Jude’s basement bedroom was the farthest point in the house from mine.

But it didn’t matter, because even two floors away, even with all the snores and noises of so many sleeping people in the house, I could still
feel
Daniel’s presence. I found it impossible to sleep knowing he was lying on a bed in the dark somewhere in the same house as I was. There were still so many unfinished things—and unsaid words—between us. We’d barely had a chance even to talk about just
us
since he turned back into human.

How do you spend an entire night holding each other, and then let two floors separate you on another night?

I longed to see him, if just for a moment. Have a few seconds alone in the chaos of our lives.

I could just sneak down there for a few minutes…

Yet the idea of it felt downright
dangerous
as I contemplated it.

By three in the morning I couldn’t stand it any longer. My body buzzed with so much anticipation and longing, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep at all unless I could see him.

Just for a minute. Just a quick, “Hello, I love you, don’t forget that,” and a kiss and then I can go back to my room and sleep…

I tiptoed down the stairs, past the sleeping boys in the front room. Slade was still awake, watching infomercials in the family room. I almost turned back when he looked up at me.

“Um, just have to take care of something real quick,” I whispered. “Don’t mind me.”

“Sure,” he said, and nodded, a little too much
knowing
in his smile.

My cheeks grew extremely hot, and for a second I contemplated running back upstairs, but I realized I’d feel even dumber turning back with Slade watching me.

I held my head high, simply pretending I desperately needed a sweater from the laundry room, and opened the door that led down to the basement. I closed it tight behind me.

My feet moved on their own accord after that, propelling me quickly but quietly down the basement stairs. Right up to the door of Daniel’s bedroom. My hand rose to knock, just to see if he was awake, but I stopped.

He was probably asleep. He was probably exhausted from everything he’d been through today. He probably would think I was nuts for waking him in the middle of the night just to say a quick hello.…

I dropped my hand to my side. It was dumb for me to have come in the first place. I turned, ready to tiptoe back up the stairs so he’d never know I’d been there, when the door opened behind me.

“Grace?” Daniel asked.

I looked back at him standing there in a wrinkled pair of flannel pajama pants, no shirt covering his perfect abs and stomach, hair all rumpled like he’d been tossing and turning. Like he hadn’t been able to sleep, either.

“I hoped you come,” he whispered. “I didn’t think you would. But I’d hoped.”

“You did?”

Daniel’s large hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me against his bare, warm chest. Our mouths melted together, kissing in an urgent, almost-frantic way. He pulled me into his room, closing the door behind us.

“I only came for a quick hello,” I said against his skin.

“That’s all I was hoping for.” He kissed me hard. “Hello,” he said, and kissed me again.

“Hello,” I said, and giggled until he cut off my laugh with his searching lips. His hands felt like fire, clasped against my hips.

“I should go,” I said between kisses, not actually wanting to tear myself away.

“Yes, you really should.” Daniel trailed his lips down my throat.

“I’m going to leave now.” My fingers traced the muscles in his back as I shuddered against his chest.

Daniel’s mouth left my collarbone, and he kissed my lips one more time, pushing me away from him in the same moment. “Go,” he said. “Before I can’t resist anymore.”

I stole one more kiss and then backed away to the door. My hand was on the knob, my mind swimming, trying to recall what else I’d wanted to come down here for.… I’d wanted to talk to Daniel about … something.

“Wait, Gracie,” Daniel said, but he stayed on his side of the room, as if trying to resist temptation.

“Yes?”

“There was something else I wanted to say. Another reason I was hoping to see you.” He took one tiny step closer, the muscles in his body tensing. “Something happened at the hospital. You called me your … fiancé, remember?”

I nodded. “I was just … the nurse wouldn’t let you in because you weren’t family.…”
Should I lie?
“I just made that up.…”
What was the point of lying now?

“But when we were doing the healing session for your dad,” Daniel said. “When we were connected, I remembered something. No, not remembered really. But I felt something.… Like what you had told that nurse about us … Like it was just…” He ran his hand through his rumpled hair and bit his lip. He looked like he was searching for just the correct words to say.

“Daniel, I—”

“It just felt …
right
,” he said.

My heart almost stopped—in a good way.

“We’re engaged, for real, aren’t we?” Daniel asked, taking two large strides closer to me. “It must have happened at the warehouse, right? That night we spent in Caleb’s dungeon?”

I took a few steps closer to him, feeling my heart drumming, propelling me forward. “Yes,” I said. “Yes, Daniel…” but my voice was almost completely drowned out by the ring of the telephone on Jude’s nightstand.

I looked at it, perplexed.
Did that really just happen,
now
, or had I imagined it?
Daniel stared at the phone, too.
Who the heck would call here at three in the morning?