Sebastian stood alone. The moon was almost directly overhead, and he felt the power of its brilliant reflection. As the rogues moved toward him, he raised his arms overhead and called out to the Mother, but there was no sound.
He couldn’t let his father take him, but his legs refused to move, and he stood there, wondering if the pack would realize he was trapped within the same spell that had held Annie.
“Come, boy.”
Like a mindless automaton, he followed Aldo toward the tree. He was vaguely aware of Annie stumbling away toward the woods, heading straight for Alex, closer to safety, but his goal had become the tree. He had to touch the bark, connect to the spirit that had guided him, and with that thought in mind, he found the strength to move beyond his father.
He felt the roots beneath his feet and drew the energy into his body. Reached out and touched the rough bark and the Mother answered his call. Her power rushed back into him, filling him with energy so pure, so powerful that his body glowed.
Brighter, as more power flowed into him. He felt the Mother, and the goddess Eve, and as Aldo’s wards began to fail, the energy from the Chanku pack flew into him, and all of it was tempered by his love for Lily. He pressed himself against the trunk, drawing even more into himself. Wolves burst out of the surrounding forest, more than he’d realized were even nearby. The six massive rogue wolves leapt into battle, and the others still in human form drew guns. One grabbed Sebastian around the neck and pressed the barrel of a handgun to his temple.
“Don’t kill him. Not this way.” Aldo rushed the rogue and shoved the gun away. “He’s mine. His energy is mine. His immortal spirit is mine.”
He shoved Sebastian against the tree and strengthened the spell that was barely holding him, but that was exactly what Sebastian needed. The Mother was there, strong and giving, her energy passing through the bark, through the life-giving roots, filling Sebastian, drawing power from the rocks and the nearby stream, pulling it from the moon overhead, and sucking it out of Aldo Xenakis.
Sebastian felt his father’s spell slough away like so much dead skin.
A fierce battle raged all around. All twelve of the rogue wolves had shifted, so that their numbers were almost evenly matched, but in size and strength the rogues had the edge.
Lily went down, a huge wolf at her throat, while Alex and his father fought off a pair who’d gone after Annie. Sebastian shoved Aldo, and the man stumbled, but then he pulled a long silver blade from the sleeve of his robe and rushed Sebastian.
Sebastian had barely a second to call on the Mother, to raise his hand to the nighttime sky and pull down the lightning. A single bolt of immense power and energy flashed out of the clear, moonlit sky.
A single bolt that struck Aldo Xenakis dead center in the middle of his chest. He’d not even fallen before the massive burst of energy grounded itself in Sebastian, standing his hair on end and sparking off his skin in crackling sparks of blue and gold.
Then it flashed from one rogue to another, too fast for the eye to follow so that only the afterimage burned into sensitive eyes told the story. Xenakis was dead before his body fell, a look of absolute disbelief on his face, that his son should have such power.
Before he hit the ground, lightning had speared each of the rogues. They died where they stood, falling so fast they made no sound. Unlike a dying Chanku shapeshifter who would return to human form, these creatures died as wolves, proof they were closer to their feral roots than the human side. Their bodies lay scattered across the ridge. Smoke drifted lazily from each, and the stench of ozone and burning hair and flesh polluted the air.
It was a small victory at a terrible cost. Sebastian didn’t even glance at his father. Instead he leapt over the man’s body, ran directly to Lily, and knelt beside her.
She lay in the torn dirt, still in her wolven form; her attacker sprawled beside her, dead. Lily’s throat was torn and bleeding, but her eyes were open. As he knelt there, feeling helpless and afraid, Lily shifted, but she didn’t try to speak. He carefully lifted her in his arms and held her against his chest.
Anton? We need help. Healers, now. Xenakis and the rogues are dead, but Lily’s badly injured. I don’t know how many others are hurt. Help us.
He felt a warm hand clasp his shoulder and glanced up. Anton stood beside him, covered in sweat and blood. “We’re here. Adam, Logan, and Liana are working on the most seriously injured. Liana will be here to help Lily in just a few minutes.”
He knelt beside Sebastian and took his daughter’s hand. “Hell of a fight, sweetheart. I know it hurts, but the bastard missed the artery. Just hang on and think about this man you mated.” He glanced at Sebastian and smiled. “I’ve never seen power like that before. You didn’t draw it from the pack until the very end. Aldo had you blocked. Where did you get the power to call the lightning?”
“The goddess Eve was here. I felt her, but most came directly from the Mother.” He glanced toward the tree. It was nothing more than an oak now. There was no sense of the spirit within. “She’s always come when I’ve needed her. I just never realized what a tough old broad she was.”
Oh, Sebastian.
Lily’s eyes actually sparkled.
Don’t let Eve hear you say that.
Smiling even as he fought tears of relief, Sebastian held the woman he loved in his arms.
“Eve already heard that.”
“Eve?” Sebastian watched as the goddess knelt beside Lily.
“I sensed your spirit, but I didn’t know you could physically leave the astral.”
“Sometimes, when I’m needed.” She brushed Lily’s tangled hair back from her face and touched her fingers to the gaping wound on Lily’s throat. “And it appears I am needed tonight.”
The sun was high over the Rockies before they were able to return to the house. The sheriff’s department had sent out their forensics team to collect samples from the dead wolves and to take Aldo Xenakis’s body away, but Sebastian was still so wound up he doubted he’d ever sleep again.
The trip off the mountain had been slow, as he’d carried Lily the entire way down in his arms. He wasn’t ready to turn his mate loose. Neither, it appeared, was Alex, who held Annie close against his chest. It was an unusual procession of naked men and woman along with a few wolves and a pair of snow leopards, but Sebastian realized it didn’t seem as odd as it might have just a few days earlier.
His life continued to evolve.
He stopped by Lily’s cottage and wrapped her in a beautiful copper-colored sarong, though she had to show him how to tie the knot. He found another pair of Alex’s jogging shorts to wear.
“Does Alex actually go jogging?”
Lily just laughed and held out her arms. He picked her up and carried her through her mother’s beautiful gardens, aware on some instinctual level which grasses he might want to nibble on. Then he carried Lily through the sliding glass door off the back deck and took her directly to Anton’s den. Stefan, Alex, Annie, and Keisha already sat in front of the bar. Alex’s mom, Xandi, slept in one of the big overstuffed chairs, and Anton was behind the bar, opening a new bottle of Hennessy.
He nodded toward the leather couch, and Sebastian set Lily there. “I can sit at the bar, Sebastian.”
“Humor me.” He leaned over and kissed her. “You just got your throat torn out and almost killed by a rogue wolf.” He trapped her between his extended arms and pressed a tender kiss against the healing marks before kissing her soundly.
She came out of the kiss with a dreamy expression on her face. “Okay. I guess.”
“Thank you.” He turned and walked over to the bar. Without a word, Anton handed him two snifters with healthy shots of cognac.
Then Anton did something totally out of character. He grabbed his own glass, walked out from behind the bar and across the room, and sat on the couch next to Lily. Sebastian took the other side, but he slung an arm over her shoulders. It was going to take a long time before he felt like turning her loose.
“I want to propose a toast,” Anton said. His gaze slipped from Lily to Sebastian, and then settled on his daughter. “I always wondered how I would feel when my daughter took a mate. Would I be jealous that another male had her attention? Would I worry he wasn’t strong enough to protect her? Would he be confident enough as a man to let her be the powerful woman she has always been? Lots of questions for a father to ponder as his daughter takes that huge step away from his protection.”
He turned his gaze to Sebastian. “All of my worries, it appears, are for naught. You, Sebastian, have proven your strength, your honor, and your magical ability beyond all expectations. I welcome you as a member of our family and as a valued new member of the pack. To you, Sebastian Xenakis, and to my lovely daughter Lily. May you love long and love well, and always find laughter together.”
He held his glass out. Lily tapped the rim with hers and then it was Sebastian’s turn. “Thank you.” He glanced toward the others still sitting at the bar, surprised at how the crowd had grown. “Thank you all, for giving me the family I’ve never had, and for trusting me with one of your most precious members.”
He leaned close and kissed Lily, surprised when he tasted the salt of tears on her lips. He had to look away before his own spilled, and so he glanced again at the ones who’d joined the toast. The snow leopards, Mei and Oliver were here, along with others he was just getting to know. Adam and Liana, who had healed the injured with help from two pack members he’d not met before, Doc Logan and his mate, Jazzy Blue. Eve was still here, though he sensed her time on this plane was growing short. There were others he’d not seen before, and a threesome he hadn’t met, though he recognized the men from tonight’s battle.
The woman looked familiar on another level.
Anton waved her over. She walked across the room and stood in front of Sebastian. “It’s good to meet you, Sebastian. I’m your cousin, Daci. Daciana Lupei. My mother and your mother were sisters.” She held out her hand.
He stared at her for a moment in shock. Then he stood and pulled her into his arms. A cousin! There’d only ever been his mother, but hadn’t Aldo said she had a sister? “Your mother was the lab assistant.”
“That’s right.” Smiling broadly, the woman nodded. “She had an affair with Milton Bosworth, and I’m the result of the affair. I don’t, however, claim my father.”
Sebastian chuckled. “That seems to be going around.”
The phone on Anton’s desk rang. Keisha picked it up, listened for a few minutes, and then hung up. “That was the sheriff’s department. Aldo has been linked by forensics to the rapes. His wolves were responsible for the murders, at least of the young women up here. Since there’s been no mention of them shifting and they died as wolves, it clears the Chanku entirely. Once the sheriff has Aldo’s travel records and DNA from the victims down there, he says he expects he’ll be able to link them to the killings in the Bay Area as well.”
Alex slipped off his bar stool and grabbed Annie’s hand. “That’s good. I’m glad it’s over.” He turned and kissed Annie. “And I’m really glad I’ve got Annie.”
Tinker stood and planted himself in front of Alex. “Son, I’m glad, too. I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time. I have to quit thinking of you as a ten-year-old bundle of hell-raising energy. I was really proud of you tonight. Both of you. I think you’ve both made a good match.”
“Thanks, Tinker. I figure it’s all about payback. One of these days, when Annie and I have pups of our own, they’ll be your grandchildren. If they’re anything like me, I imagine I’ll be needing your experience then.”
Tinker chuckled. “Here’s hoping they take after their mother. For both your sakes.”
Laughing, Alex tugged Annie along behind him. Almost to the door, they paused in front of Anton. “Any idea who the latest victim was?”
Anton nodded. “It was a girl you dated. Jennifer Martin. It turns out she worked for Aldo Xenakis. The guys who went after Annie in town that night were three of the rogues.”
Alex sighed and slowly shook his head. “Interesting. I’m sorry about Jennifer, though if I’d known she worked for Aldo, a lot of things she said and did would have made more sense.” He focused on Anton. “I think she was pumping me for information about the pack. I was careful not to tell her much, but I don’t like feeling used.”
Then he shot a teasing glance at Annie. “I just realized—no wonder those guys who hassled you in town were so big. Do you realize I flattened three rogues on my own to insure your honor?” He shot a grin at Tinker. “Your dad has to be nice to me now.” He wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her close. “Oh, Lil? Annie and I are taking the cottage tonight. Hope you don’t mind.”
Tinker growled softly, but Alex and Annie were both laughing as they left. Lily glared after them. “What about us?”
“We can stay here tonight.” Sebastian leaned close and kissed her. “And since I’m Aldo Xenakis’s only heir—something he loved to remind me of—I imagine we can do something with a twelve-room cabin on the five hundred thousand acres abutting your dad’s property.”
Lily turned and stared at him, wide-eyed. “Ya think?”
“And there’s also the house in the city. It’s over in the Sunset, not too far from your place in the Marina District. I have to admit, though, I like yours better.”
Her smile lit up her entire face. “Me too.”
He wondered if she was thinking of that sybaritic bathroom and remembering what they’d done there. He nodded. “We’ll make a decision after a thorough cleansing of all the bad vibes around my father’s properties. I don’t want any essence of dark magic anywhere.”
He stared at his glass of cognac and thought of all that had happened in such a short time, how much his life had changed. “We just might have to tear it down and build something new.”
Anton wasn’t sure what woke him, but he was a man who’d learned to listen to his instincts. He left his wife sleeping, slipped on a pair of worn sweatpants, and padded down the hallway.