MattBefore I could protest, Celeste had dropped her gun and was jogging down the spiraling steps back into the church. I cursed and took off after her. I caught up to her on the stairs, grabbing my gun from my belt as I went.The fight on the ground was in full swing, and like I suspected, Celeste wasn’t content to wait it out. I loved her for it, even as fear spiked through me.She glanced at me as we reached the bottom. “This ends now,” she said.I nodded and kissed her, our lips smashing together in a frantic kiss. She pulled away first and pulled her gun free.“Together?”I forced a smile. “Together.”She nodded, then pushed open the church doors. Then we were running toward the worst of the fray. Celeste took in the chaos and dropped her gun. A moment later, she let the shift run through her. By the time we reached the worst of the fight, she was in her wolf form. She tore into the closest wolf with a sharp growl. It had its jaws around Seth’s neck, but quickly let go when Celes
JackJack jolted at the sound of the gunshot, his heart in his throat.He lunged for Fiona, desperate to put himself between her and the bullet. He landed half on top of her, and she grunted. She grabbed onto him, her fingers digging into his sides, and her entire body shaking. He was shaking too, but he didn’t feel any pain. Did the bullet hit her, anyway? Was he too slow this time?Celeste would never forgive him. He’d never forgive himself.Fiona looked over his shoulder with wide eyes, her hands clutching onto his jacket. Jack followed her gaze, his eyes locking onto his cousin. Time slowed to a crawl as Freddy lifted his hand away from his chest. His fingers were stained cherry red with blood. Then he crumpled to the ground. His chest rattled for a few breaths, then didn’t rise again.He was dead. Freddy was dead.Shock settled over him as he lifted his gaze. His father stood behind Freddy’s body, his gun still pointed at his prone form. After a beat, Henry’s gaze met his, and he
JackBlood ran through the streets, straining the sidewalks and the pavement. Dead bodies littered the ground. Jack’s heart drummed in his chest as he followed his father, desperate to get to Celeste. Screams of agony and snarls of anger rose around him as the fighting worsened. More and more Crescent wolves had appeared, along with Schreibers carrying silver-tipped blades and guns with silver bullets. They were becoming more outnumbered by the minute.“Come on,” Henry called. He shot a black-clad Schreiber as he ran by, saving a wolf that quickly rejoined the fray. “We need to keep moving.”Jack forced himself to hurry after him, his eyes roving over the street ahead. Either one of them could easily catch a stray bullet. One wrong move and the fight would be over long before they found his sister.By the looks of things, their allies weren’t faring much better. With the Schreibers, there were too many of them. Even with the reinforcements from Nina’s father, it was likely they wouldn
Alyx darted toward me, and I shifted to the side, narrowly missing his outstretched claws. The wolves pulled back slightly to give us more room. For better or worse, this fight was about revenge. I was Alyx’s to kill, just like Matt was Ronan’s. The other wolves wouldn’t step in unless they absolutely had to.I had the feeling I knew exactly who they all were. Ronan brought his entire family to the fight. They were all here to watch their brothers get vengeance for what I did to Jeremy and what Matt did to Miles all those years ago. I couldn’t even say I really blamed them. Family was family. It was my fault Jeremy was dead.I couldn’t bring myself to feel remorse as I faced Alyx. Everything he and his brothers put me through those months rushed to the forefront of my mind. They hurt me. Tortured me. Kept me against my will. Not to mention the way Alyx treated me before I even got to their compound and found out who he really was. He didn’t deserve my sympathy.I needed to put everyth
MattI couldn’t move.Every breath I took sent waves of pain darting across my body. I couldn’t make sense of what was happening. One moment I was fighting Ronan, and the next Alyx had Celeste on the ground with her leg in his grip. I didn’t think twice before I lunged for Alyx. It didn’t matter if it left me open to Ronan. It didn’t even really matter if I died. What mattered was that Celeste made it out of here okay.Then there was pain. So much of it that stars danced across my vision. Then the distant sound of gunshots and more pain. My whole body shook and sweat broke out across my skin. Somehow, at some point, I’d shifted back into my human form.I was really injured then.“Matt?” I felt someone’s hand on my arm. Heard their familiar deep voice, but I feared that if I opened my mouth, I’d just start screaming. “Come on, man, you’ve got to get up.”Yeah, that wasn’t happening.“Please.”I peeled my eyes open. The world spun for a moment before I could make out the person kneeling
JackHe sprinted for the distant apartment building, his heart in his throat. His clothes were coated in Matt’s blood. When he left, Matt’s wounds were well on their way to healing, but for a moment there, he really thought he was going to lose his best friend.He couldn’t even begin to imagine the kind of pain his friend was in. He’d never get Matt’s screams of pain out of his head. Never stop hearing Matt pant for breath as his bones snapped back into place. It was a miracle those wounds could heal at all.It seemed too good to be true that the fight was over. He couldn’t wrap his head around what Celeste had done. He knew she had powers. They were the reason she got out of the Crescent compound in the first place. Hearing about something like that and seeing it for himself were two entirely different things, though.He knew her show of strength likely scared the remaining Crescent wolves away. It was likely that without her powers, they would all be well on their way to death. They
Those of us still on our feet spent the rest of the day tending to the wounded. God, there were so many of them. Every wound I saw, every cry of pain I heard, felt like a knife to the gut. Everywhere I went, I saw pain, death, and gore.It was all too much.“Hey,” Jack said, giving me a concerned look. “Take a break if you need to.”He was still covered in blood, and I could barely stand to look at him. He’d taken a few minutes to wipe most of it off his face, but he hadn’t stopped to change his clothes. None of us had. There hadn’t been time.“I can’t.”I couldn’t get my father’s face out of my mind. Jack took me to his body shortly after the fight ended, tears in his eyes. I allowed myself to cry only for a minute before I helped him move the body to the small grassy area behind the church. That was where we were laying out the dead before we’d give them all proper funerals.There were already too many bodies out there. Seth had collapsed beside Jenna’s bloody form and hadn’t moved
MattI held onto Celeste’s hand, leaning heavily on the two crutches I had propped under my opposite arm. A feeling of intense déjà vu swept through me as I watched Seth step forward and light the pyre. Around us, others did the same until dark smoke rose into the blue spring sky. I hoped this was the last funeral I ever had to go to, at least for a long while.Celeste had a blank expression on her face that worried me more than anything. Beside her, Jack and Fiona stood holding hands. Fiona was crying, and Jack had a stricken look on his face. As one, he and Celeste let go of our hands and stepped forward. They lit the last pyre.“Goodbye dad,” Celeste said, just loud enough for me to hear. My heart squeezed.Jack didn’t speak, he just lowered his gaze and stepped back beside Fiona. She immediately took his hand, but he didn’t look up from his shoes. I understood the warring emotions he was feeling. He hated his father for abandoning him, and he felt guilty that he got killed right i
EpilogueThe sounds of plates clinking together, and the low hum of chit-chat, merged into the background as I listened to Fiona describe her latest assignment. She was stuck in a geography class that she needed for distribution, and it was driving her nuts. Her professor was a mean, curmudgeonly old man, and a notoriously difficult marker.“He gave me a C–. A C–! That was not a C worthy paper.”Jack nodded. “I read it. It was pretty good.”She rounded on him. “Pretty good?”He put his hands up, a small smile on his lips. “Really pretty good?”She huffed but turned back to me. “Your brother is a pain in the ass.”I smiled. “You’re telling me.” They’d only been together for a few years, but they already bickered like an old married couple. Matt and I were actually married, but we didn’t even bicker like that. It was as endearing as it was exhausting.Matt sank into his seat beside me and slid me a cup of coffee. I threw him a grateful look. Our peacekeeping duties had kept us late the
MattThe nerves made me jittery, and I bounced my knee so hard it rattled the bench. Seth gave me a knowing look before bending over to finish tying his skates. I focused on taping my stick, letting muscle memory take over. All the guys knew what I planned to do tonight, and they kept throwing me knowing looks as I tried to stay calm.It was the last home game before playoffs started. A part of me kept thinking that I should wait, but an even greater part of me didn’t want to wait one more second. If life had taught me anything, it was that we didn’t know how much time we might have. I didn’t want to waste another second of it. I especially didn’t want to waste time just because I was afraid.“Dude, stop vibrating the bench,” our goalie James called. “I’m trying to focus.”“Sorry,” I answered. If there was one rule in hockey, it was to not mess with the goalie, especially right before a game. If he needed to focus, then I just needed to find a way to chill the fuck out.Enzo gave me a
The arena was buzzing with energy as Matt got the puck and darted forward to take advantage of the breakaway. He sent the puck into the corner of the net, and I jumped to my feet. Beside me Fiona screamed so loud, heads turned in our direction. Jack cringed slightly, throwing her a bemused look.It was the first home game of the year, and Matt was giving everything he had to make sure the team got a win. Around us, the school cheered as he skated by, knocking fists with his teammates. It was his second goal of the night, his first a tricky tip in after Seth’s initial shot rebounded. It was 3-1 with only four minutes left in the third period.“He’s playing great,” Nina said from my other side as the cheering died down, and we took our seats again.“He is.” Over on the bench, Enzo stood in a dark suit, his head bent as he talked to one of his players.He and Nina were staying one more year. Even though Nina graduated in the spring, her father was giving her the year to clean up the town
“Are you ready for this?” Jack asked, his eyes trailing over my face, looking for any signs of fear or hesitation. I schooled my features into a blank mask. Sure, I was nervous, but he didn’t need to see that. He already hated that he’d gotten me involved. Too bad I was the only one that could do this, and I’d do anything to get the Schreibers out of our town.I took a deep breath and gazed up at the towering mansion. It was on the outskirts of town, far enough away that I’d never seen it, but still close enough for the Schreibers to cause havoc. The house seemed quiet, but I knew our grandfather lurked inside. Him and whoever survived the fight.“I’m ready,” I said, keeping my voice steady. Matt and the rest of the Peacekeepers had already surrounded the house. They were keeping their distance but staying close enough just in case we needed them. It made me feel better knowing he was out there. I knew, without a doubt, that Matt would do anything to keep me safe. Just like I’d do any
Jack“Hey!” Jack called, running to catch up with Fiona. She stopped walking and turned to give him a curious look. “I’ll walk you home,” he said when he reached her side.She gave him a bemused look. Technically, her place was only five minutes from campus, but that didn’t mean she should walk alone at night. Plus, he hadn’t seen her since she moved back in with her roommate, and he wanted a moment alone with her.“Alright,” she said with a shrug. “If you insist.”He smiled. “Better safe than sorry.”“Bye,” Celeste called, waving at them. She gave him a knowing smile, and he glowered at her. She clearly knew something was going on, but it wasn’t her business. They needed to figure this out for themselves.She and Matt were headed in the opposite direction, back toward the house. Matt was still haunting the halls. Everywhere Jack went, there he was. In the bathroom, when he needed to piss. In the kitchen, when he was hungry. Even in the living room at night, making out with his sister
“I promise to protect this town,” Jack said, his hand over his heart. “I promise to fight for peace, and to not rest until it is achieved. I promise to treat all life as equal. I devote myself to this cause from now until my last breath.”Nina dipped her head in acknowledgement, and Jack let his hand drop to his side. I stepped forward next and repeated the oath. It was the same words every person in this room had recited when they agreed to become a Peacekeeper. It wasn’t something to take lightly, and I didn’t plan to.“I devote myself to this cause from now until my last breath,” I said, stepping back beside my brother. Fiona stood at his other side. She took the oath first, saying the words with the utmost confidence.I locked eyes with Matt, and he gave me a proud smile, his eyes gleaming. Our friends sat around the room, and, as if given some invisible cue, they all began to hoot and clap. They stood up and slapped the three of us on the back. I got pulled into hugs, one after t
Matt closed my bedroom door behind us and leaned his crutches against the wall. He hobbled over to the bed and sank down onto the mattress with a soft groan. “Just as I remember it,” he said, jumping a little. “So soft.”Downstairs, Fiona, and Jack were rifling around in the kitchen. They offered to make us something, but neither of us were very hungry.Matt lay back and stretched his arms over his head, his shirt riding up just enough to reveal the smooth skin along his waistline. His hip bones dipped down into his cargo pants and I bit my lip, desperate to get my hands on him, but still worried about his wounds. Sure, he was up and moving around, but that didn’t mean he should be doing physical activity. I didn’t know a lot about werewolf healing, but I wasn’t willing to risk him.“I missed this room,” he continued, turning to look at me through hooded eyes.The purple bedspread brought back a flood of memories. I’d spent so much of my life in this room. I had so many memories, and
MattI held onto Celeste’s hand, leaning heavily on the two crutches I had propped under my opposite arm. A feeling of intense déjà vu swept through me as I watched Seth step forward and light the pyre. Around us, others did the same until dark smoke rose into the blue spring sky. I hoped this was the last funeral I ever had to go to, at least for a long while.Celeste had a blank expression on her face that worried me more than anything. Beside her, Jack and Fiona stood holding hands. Fiona was crying, and Jack had a stricken look on his face. As one, he and Celeste let go of our hands and stepped forward. They lit the last pyre.“Goodbye dad,” Celeste said, just loud enough for me to hear. My heart squeezed.Jack didn’t speak, he just lowered his gaze and stepped back beside Fiona. She immediately took his hand, but he didn’t look up from his shoes. I understood the warring emotions he was feeling. He hated his father for abandoning him, and he felt guilty that he got killed right i
Those of us still on our feet spent the rest of the day tending to the wounded. God, there were so many of them. Every wound I saw, every cry of pain I heard, felt like a knife to the gut. Everywhere I went, I saw pain, death, and gore.It was all too much.“Hey,” Jack said, giving me a concerned look. “Take a break if you need to.”He was still covered in blood, and I could barely stand to look at him. He’d taken a few minutes to wipe most of it off his face, but he hadn’t stopped to change his clothes. None of us had. There hadn’t been time.“I can’t.”I couldn’t get my father’s face out of my mind. Jack took me to his body shortly after the fight ended, tears in his eyes. I allowed myself to cry only for a minute before I helped him move the body to the small grassy area behind the church. That was where we were laying out the dead before we’d give them all proper funerals.There were already too many bodies out there. Seth had collapsed beside Jenna’s bloody form and hadn’t moved