Chapter 7: Pack vs Pack

Naomi POV

She wished she hadn’t talked Cyran into this reckless foray.

Every inch of her body burned from the silver rain. How far did the stuff travel?

How could her fellow hunters turn on her?

OUCH.

She could barely move because of the pain from the silver and Cyran knocking her to the ground where she lay helpless, her four legs splayed out.

“Alpha,” she barked, her body wracked with pain and her voice sounding strangled. “Alpha, get back! Stay back!”

Oh, Goddess, they’d led Jiro into this trap. He’d obviously gone with them to lend his stamp of authority to their hunt … but maybe he’d had another reason. Maybe he’d feared that something like this could happen.

She should have known. Should have foreseen after the encounters with the Sinsworth-Cresta servants.

Her own hunters. OUCH.

She knew them. Or at least she had. Poppy and her mate Federico. The hunt had made brothers and sisters of them all, or so she thought. But her betrayal had destroyed that …

But no! She knew these two hunters.

“Poppy, this isn’t you,” she pleaded.

But the woman pounced on her, snarling, crazed, and Cyran met her head-on.

She struggled to stand up while she watched Cyran kill Poppy. NO. Even though Poppy could take down most of the males in the pack, Naomi felt sick to her stomach.

The Crimsontails and Evenhiders guarding them also sprang into action, knocking the attacker with the squirt gun off their feet. The dreadful weapon flew out of reach and broke apart. As flimsy as the rest of their plan. Clearly, they hadn’t counted on their prey to fight back.

Although her muscles ached, she still lunged at Federico, who went berserk after the loss of his mate. His claws resembled a saw slicing at her, but she kept her head down and batted his legs aside, then gave him as forceful a shove as she could so he hit the dirt with a thud.

Shifting, Jiro even charged into the fray, his fur bristling. But it was Cyran, even with his fur smoking from the silver rain and sticking out in all directions, that held her attention. He was a demon in battle.

It was madness, it was pure horror. She was responsible for it. Her recklessness had endangered the pack and pitted wolf against wolf.

No! That didn’t make sense. Violence wasn’t the answer to violence. She and Cyran wanted to make amends. Instead, they had just made everything worse.

At least three of the attackers fell, ripped from throat to gullet or with their necks snapped. Alpha Jiro shifted back and said in his very human, very Alpha, and VERY angry voice. “GUARDS! ARREST THEM. Those of you who are still alive will wish you weren’t!”

The guards shifted and so did the remaining attackers, including Federico, who lay groaning on the ground. The guards hauled the attackers to their feet.

“Alpha,” one of the others began.

“Not a word,” Jiro said in a cold, flat tone. “Tell it to the council. Explain to them why you disobeyed their orders and mine that NO ONE was to touch anyone we freed from Hades. Explain to them why you think you know better than the people who have been working tirelessly to heal our pack. Until then, not one word out of you.”

One of the others couldn’t resist. “So, because he’s family, we have to–”

Jiro ignored them and stalked over toward Cyran and Naomi. She didn’t envy his position at all.

With some discomfort, Naomi shifted back to human form. A mistake. Her nerves attacked her even worse. “OW,” she yelped when Cyran touched her. It felt like a hot poker.

Jiro’s eyes swirled with concern. “How bad?”

Cyran looked stoic and even noble. “She got it worse than I did. I’m sorry, but we were following–”

“You were lured. I can’t blame you.”

Cyran looked humbled. “Alpha, permission to teleport to the Healing Wing.”

“Do it.” Jiro threw a glare at the prisoners. “We’ll restore order here, I promise you.”

Naomi didn’t feel one bit of sympathy for them. She should, but she didn’t.

Cyran moved in and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “This will feel strange.”

Then, she felt like she’d been plucked from the ground by a giant’s hand. A dizzying swirl, as if she were flying. She felt so marvelously light and the air was full of sparkles like diamonds.

Then, the sparkles and the floating sensation vanished, and Naomi stood in the Healing Wing with Healer Kellam running over to her. “Silver?” he said, sounding like he knew the answer.

“Silver spray, if you can believe it, like paint,” Naomi babbled. “Some sort of a spray gun. Almost like a perfume bottle, except this is the deadliest perfume for us. How did they get liquid silver and turn it into a mist? Magic?”

“A fairly effective way to avoid handling the stuff,” Kellam said, treating her with an advanced salve he, Azandra, and the witches had invented. “There are silver sprays that humans and witches use.”

Naomi felt intrigued. “For?”

“Would you believe, for health? Orcs, too.”

“No! Well, maybe orcs because they do love metal.”

She moaned as the salve seeped into her wounds. Her stomach churned and she bolted away from the healing mat where she lay. “I need a bucket, or the bathroom,” she gasped.

Some quick-thinking soul thrust a porcelain basin at her and she gripped it, feeling the solid coolness under her fingers. She bent down and vomited up her self-disgust, her grief, and her sadness.

Cyran gently held her hair, murmuring comfortingly, which was a balm for her aching heart. She wanted to snap at him for killing Poppy, but Poppy had used silver against both of them.

“You didn’t deserve this, but I did,” Cyran muttered.

“How can you say that?”

“I … my rogues poisoned Alpha Dane with wolfsbane and silver.”

She had heard rumors, but dismissed them, thinking that they must be exaggerated. Otherwise, she would never have followed Cyran.

She looked up, wiping her mouth, seeing the truth in his remorseful eyes and wanting to vomit all over again. “Cyran … how could you?”

He leaned his head back and howled in answer. A tortured sound.

“Did … did Hades tell you to do that?”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s still unforgivable,” he muttered, his eyes full of regret. “And Dragomir hurt my sister and Alpha Jiro with silver … and I didn’t even know he was going to do that. I’m GLAD he’s dead. Still want to work with me?”

It was an excellent question.

But something didn’t add up. Cyran had done despicable things, but poisoning another wolf with silver and wolfsbane went beyond the pale. Granted, he’d kidnapped Luna Lilia among his other bad acts … but this one seemed out of character.

“You wouldn’t have had them hurt Dane with silver and wolfsbane,” she said quietly.

He laughed bitterly. “After hearing and seeing everything I’ve done, you focus on that?”

“I think even you had your limits,” she said. “Did you know the rogues were going to do that?”

“I didn’t even know Dane would be in Wildefell then,” he growled. “But they had silver and wolfsbane on them.”

Naomi shot him a suspicious look, but his dejected expression swayed her. “You said they were rogues … it’s not surprising that they might do rogue things.”

“My fault for hiring rogues in the first place. My fault for even LISTENING for one second to Hades Ombra.” His voice dripped with bitterness, damaging like the silver. “And now three more wolves are dead because of me.”

She pulled him back to the healing mats and pulled him down beside her so they could lay together and let the silver poison drain away, which meant the salve would work faster.

They lay on their backs, staring up at the ceiling, completely helpless. Naomi spoke quietly. “Those wolves chose to attack us in defiance of the Alpha and the council. This is not because of you. Hades … he wants this cycle of hate and violence to continue.”

“But he wants us back.”

“What better way than to make us so hopeless we’ll crawl back to him with our tails between our legs and bow to him?”

His eyes lit with awe. “You are something, Naomi. You really think Hades was behind this?”

“I don’t know that for a fact. What I do know is that when we weren’t hunting, Poppy and Federico were two of the gentlest people I ever met.”

He lay there while his wounds healed. “I guess I didn’t know all the hunters of the pack. I didn’t know Poppy and Federico. Do they have children?”

“No. They’re newly mated.” She sniffled, feeling tears prick her eyes. “I went to their mating party even though it was awkward and I’m sure not everyone wanted me there. Poppy invited me. That person that attacked you … that wasn’t Poppy.”

“I’m sorry … I just saw you in danger. You’re one of the people who doesn’t want to see me dead even though you are one of the people other than my sister who should hate my guts the most. I’m sorry about Poppy. But I had to do it.”

She closed her eyes. “It wasn’t Poppy. I’m sure of it.”

“She wouldn’t join Hades, would she?”

Naomi laughed harshly. “Months ago, I would have said the same thing about me … but unlike me, she had rage in her eyes. Pure, primal rage. That’s not her.”

“I think when we’re healed here we need to question them,” he said.

“Well, I hardly think they’re going anywhere,” she said, finding a bit of dry humor.

His hand found hers and gripped it tightly. She drew strength from his touch. How was it possible to feel so connected to him despite the darkness around them?

After a moment his hand slipped away from hers and he sat up. “I think I’m healed.”

She stared up at his solid, muscular profile. Physically he was far more powerful than Alpha Jiro, but that hadn’t mattered, reportedly, when they fought months ago in this very castle. He also seemed colder. “Hot and cold, I see.”

“It’s better that way, Naomi. Look what happened today.”

“We don’t KNOW what happened today! So let’s go question them as soon as I’m healed.”

He sighed, blowing golden hair off his face. “Fine.”

Irritation and desire warred inside her. “You touched me this morning, and just now, and then you change your mind. Why?”

He growled. “WHY? You know all the reasons why.”

“I wasn’t some unworldly girl that followed you into the cult. You didn’t hold a silver dagger to my throat. I … I was fascinated by secret knowledge. Knowledge that Hades offered.”

He laughed darkly. “Knowledge I wish I didn’t have. Dangerous knowledge.”

She could feel the silver leaving her body. However, she still trembled, shivery and weak. Cyran got up to fetch some water for them both. How had he known? Her throat and lips felt as dry and scratchy as a pinecone. He came back and handed her a cup of water. They both sat cross-legged and sipped the cool, sweet water.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “I hope no one else suffered from the silver spray.”

“It didn’t seem so,” Cyran said with a comforting smile, his eyes moving down her body. “Your injuries seem to be closing up nicely.”

He was so caring toward her. How could he possibly think he was dangerous to her? Yes, Hades would be a danger as long as that horrible man drew breath, but Cyran was different.

“Yes, I think so. Amazing, these healing mats.”

Her father’s voice boomed throughout the tranquil Healing Wing, making Healer Kellam look at him with disapproval. “Get away from my daughter or I’ll rip you to shreds.”

Her mother added, “And I’ll finish what he started.”