Dad promised to take Cerri back to her apartment. Connor offered to stand watch over her.
The guilt was heavy and made every step nearly impossible. The hair on the back of my neck lifted. I stopped, a feeling tugging at the edge of my mind.
Alvin had returned.
When I twisted, I saw him standing at the other end of the yard. He seemed larger than ever. A manic smile curved his lips and made his eyes too wide.
My arcana slammed into my mouth. Cold rage coated my tongue. I grinned in return, ready to tell Alvin where he could shove it. Before I could utter even a syllable, a hand clasped over my mouth. My captor jerked me back into his chest.
Dad shouted. I heard Connor grunt as he hit the ground at the edge of my vision. He glanced my way and resolve flashed over his face. If the pack helped him, then he had a chance. Together they could stop this.
“Where is Janessa?” Catriona asked, her voice wobbling from unshed tears.
I heard the low murmur then. My name rushed over everyone’s lips as they blamed me. I thrashed and kicked, but Marcus wouldn’t let me go. I tried to bite the inside of his palm and nearly got a bit of the muscle at the base of his thumb.
Marcus snapped his hand back and punched me in the back of the head. I toppled forward onto my hands and knees while the world canted back and forth. Out of Marcus’s grasp, I crawled forward.
My arcana was right there. I tugged it up again and let my wrath fuel it like gasoline on a fire. No, more like the winds during a blizzard because it was cold and unforgiving. These wolves had lost all right to live. Death would come to claim them and take them to their deserving afterlife. I hoped they rotted in hell after today.
I rocked back, about to stand, when Marcus grabbed ahold of my hair. He yanked my head back and shoved a strip of fabric into my mouth before knotting it behind my head.
“Good. Now she can’t use that voice of hers,” Alvin purred. He laughed. “I see that the bitch queen took your dragon puppet. You’re completely helpless without him, and you know it.”
I lifted my middle finger to him. Marcus kicked me in the back and shoved me back down again.
“Give Janessa back,” Catriona howled.
“These girls didn’t do anything to deserve what you’re doing,” Dad said. His voice grew louder as he approached. “You said it yourself. Any shifter who can’t protect themselves deserves what happens. Don’t go back on your own word. Let my daughter go.”
Alvin sighed and rolled his eyes. When he crooked a finger, my heart leapt. I scrabbled for the knot behind my head so I could speak before Jackson attacked. Marcus grabbed my wrists and yanked, making me hiss in pain.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a wolf attack. Dad staggered into full view. Blood dripped down his forearm. He glared at the wolf now prowling around his feet. Where was Cerri? Who would help my father?
I needed Ryder back, but Beryl would continue to hold him hostage every time something happened. She would make sure that Lakesedge was always in turmoil. While the pack suffered under the hand of their own leader, Beryl was up to something. She used our problems as a diversion.
Now wasn’t the time to think about what Beryl might be up to, though. I needed to focus on the problem before me. The pack should have stepped forward to help my father. They could do it if they banded together. They’d stepped forward earlier.
The sight of what had happened to Cerri made them balk now. Dad would be next. Jackson launched himself at my father. Dad fumbled back, but he managed to twist and throw himself away from Jackson’s attack. In between one blink and the next, Dad shifted. Enormous black paws touched the ground.
Dad spun around and snarled at Jackson. The younger wolf was undaunted by my father’s warning. I wanted to tell Dad to run, but the cloth in my mouth muffled my words. My arcana swirled just beneath my skin. It tickled the tip of my tongue but couldn’t find its way out.
Standing his ground, Dad lowered his head and watched Jackson prowl around him. I kicked Marcus’s knee. The man grunted, but didn’t let me go. He yanked me to the side, making my vision blur. That was the moment Jackson chose to strike. Dad was fast, but Jackson was faster.
Jackson’s teeth sank into Dad’s throat.
Blood sprayed through the air. I cried out. The smell was horrid. It would haunt me for the rest of my life, longer than the scent of Harvey’s charred fur. I screamed for my father. Jackson jerked back, tearing as he did so.
I screamed. The thunder above drowned out my fury. Death crept up behind me. I could feel its cold presence climbing along my spine. It made my breath shudder out of me. I shivered. Tears seared my cheeks.
Death couldn’t have my father. I wouldn’t allow it. If there was a way to divert death, then I would do it. I just had to find a way.
The cold ice around my heart thickened. I could feel the thunder vibrating my bones as if I’d become a part of the storm. Every hair on my body stood on end as electricity filled the air. I could reach for it, if I wanted. This wasn’t like the desperate plea of the other night, when Harvey had me cornered. My power was within my own grasp for once.
I wouldn’t use it to kill again, though. These monsters deserved death, but I wouldn’t be the one to deliver it. Their end would find them without my help. With a tug, I brought down a bolt of lightning. It singed the ground between Jackson and my father.
Marcus flinched behind me. Was he not smart enough to realize I couldn’t hit him without hurting myself? Probably not. I wasn’t going to tell him, though. I waited for him to chicken out and back away, but he kept ahold of me despite the nervous sweat gathering in his palms.
Frustrated, I brought another bolt down. It hit the ground in front of Jackson. If I kept doing this, I would either run out of arcana or they would figure out that I didn’t actually want to kill them. Though I had all this power now, I was limited. A simple gag in my mouth stopped me from using my command. My own morals kept me from protecting my father.