Bloodrose

Shay appeared, the room suddenly drowned in silence.

Anika stepped forward. Shay didn’t speak. He simply lifted the sword; its blade came to life and I heard a wind, like the rush of wings, bringing hope-that brightness was balanced by the subtle glow of Haldis, with the solid warmth of the earth itself.

The room erupted again. This time the cheers were deafening. Only Anika remained silent, her lashes wet with unshed tears.

Searchers swarmed Shay, gazing at the sword but careful not to touch it. Watching his newly formed entourage bask in the near-tangible power of the sword, I once again felt the tightness of loss, grief like an invisible hand around my neck.

I’m going to lose him. I started to inch away from them, hoping the sensation would pass.

Connor pushed his way into the crowd and began recounting our journey; from the snatches I caught, he seemed to be embellishing our exploits a bit. My suspicions were confirmed when Silas shoved Connor aside, waving his notebook as he began his version of the tale. Connor took up a strategic position just behind the Scribe and made faces and crude imitations of Silas at appropriate-or rather, inappropriate-intervals.

“Wanna check on our boys?” Mason caught my arm, jerking his chin in the direction of Nev and Ren, who were talking with Pascal.

I met Mason’s teasing gaze, wondering what he meant by our boys. Nev was his partner, but did he expect that Ren would be mine? The thought made me bristle and I barely stopped myself from growling at him.

“Sure.”

I glanced back, expecting Sabine to join us. But she was standing apart, beside Ethan. Their heads were close, bodies turned toward each other, lips moving in swift whispers. The din of the room didn’t touch them, as if they were the only two people standing in Tactical.

Nev and Ren were grinning. The alpha leaned against the massive wooden table, looking as pleased with himself as ever. Nev was perched on a chair, sitting on its frame with his feet resting on its seat. I looked back and forth between them, puzzled, but it was Mason who asked first.

“What?”

Nev’s eyes sparkled. “Dude. Bears!”

Mason frowned. “You’re happy about bears?”

Ren flexed his shoulders. “They make for a good fight.”

“Oui.” Pascal laughed, slapping Ren on the back. “Les loups ont ete trop pour les ours.”

“Mais oui!” Nev grabbed Mason’s hands, pulling him into a hug. “Wolves kick bear butt. How did things go for you guys?”

Mason leaned his cheek against Nev’s. “No losses. Got the sword. I’d call it a win. You?”

Ren smiled; his canines were sharp. “Like he said before. Dude. Bears!” He turned to Pascal. “Besides, we had a kick-ass team backing us.”

“Merci.” Pascal folded his arms across his chest, gazing at Ren as-sessingly. “But you made our job… less difficult than is usual.”

“Happy to oblige,” Nev said.

Pascal inclined his head. “I am sorry to say I had my doubt. Les loups have so long been numbered among our enemies. But you make les bon guerre. Better even than les ours.”

“I didn’t follow that,” Mason said.

Nev elbowed him. “No wonder you always copied my French homework. He said we make good war, better than those Swiss bears.”

“The Keepers flubbed,” Ren said, still speaking to Pascal. “Bears aren’t good warriors. They’re too solitary. We could keep them off balance because they’re too eager to argue with each other instead of working as a team.”

“Go, pack!” Nev bumped Ren’s fist.

“I think you are right.” Pascal stroked his chin. “We often find les ours alone. Rarely do they seek out one another’s company.”

“Let’s hope the Keepers have other screwups for us to exploit down the road,” Mason said. “Right, Cal?”

I nodded, but my mind had drifted. I’d been watching Pascal closely. Watching the way he was watching Ren. That assessing gaze carried a fierce admiration in it. When Ren spoke, Pascal listened. I didn’t know whether to be surprised or not. Winning people over was one of Ren’s strongest attributes. He was a natural leader and had so much charisma you could drown in it. A painful twinge caught my chest, stealing my breath for an instant. Gazing at Ren, I saw the alpha mate who would have been mine, and in seeing him, I glimpsed what our future might have looked like. What a great leader he would have made for the Haldis pack, the strength we would have shared as alphas. Had I ripped that away from him? Or could our pack come together again-was our future lingering, waiting to be reclaimed? The sharp pinching in my chest was overtaken by the pounding of my heart. As if he sensed my stare, Ren’s eyes met mine and I couldn’t look away, couldn’t breathe.

It was Anika’s voice that finally broke the spell. I turned to see her standing beside Shay.

“The Scion!” She took Shay’s hand, lifting it high. Shay raised the sword in his other hand. It flashed, sparks of lightning alive in the blade. My racing pulse went cold as I listened to the Searchers’ roaring approval for their new champion.

Did he belong to them now? Was I a fool to think it possible that the Scion could be the mate of a Guardian?

I glanced back at Ren, wondering what he thought of Shay’s rapid ascension.

But Ren wasn’t looking at Shay or the sword. His eyes were still on me. I held his gaze, waiting, wondering what he was thinking, feeling. Suddenly he gave me that half-cocked smile and my knees caved a bit. Then he shifted.

Still watching me with dark eyes, the charcoal gray wolf lifted his head and howled. The sound filled the room, joyful, exhilarating. My heart leapt-this howl was the opposite of the last I’d heard from Ren. The night I left him in the woods. The night I ran beside Shay, abandoning my union with Ren. That night he’d howled and I’d thought the grief in that sound would tear me in two. In this moment, in this howl there was no hint of grief or doubt. There was only an alpha, reveling in his triumph.

Instinct took over and I shifted, raising my own muzzle to match his cry. Our voices united, singing out victory. Nev and Mason joined us. Sabine hesitated, watching. She didn’t change, though her eyes gleamed at the sound of our chorus.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Shay. He continued to hold the sword aloft, but the lightning in its blade carried a charge of fury. A roiling storm cloud ready to explode. Like Sabine, he hadn’t shifted but had gone very still. His gaze moved between me and Ren, his eyes narrowing.

As I shifted back, a wave of exhaustion slammed into me, leeching strength from my limbs. The adrenaline from our mission had run out. Shay was coming toward me, and without looking, I knew Ren was already shifting to stand beside me. Two alphas once again jockeying for position. Both wanting me. Each hating the other. I couldn’t take it.

Before either of them could speak or reach for me, I whipped around and dashed from the room. The burden of keeping the peace between them had rubbed my nerves raw. Today I’d witnessed my two would-be mates staking out their places in this strange new world we’d found. Ren would still be an alpha even among his former enemies. He would lead and they would follow. Shay was the Scion, who the Searchers had spent their lives, and shed their blood, seeking. They both knew where they belonged and what they wanted. I’d escaped the life laid out for me by the Keepers, but even here I was trapped, unable to choose my own fate.

I ran through the halls, feet pounding on the marble floor, wishing I was in wolf form so I could run faster, but I thought there were enough Searchers not used to having Guardians roaming their halls that wouldn’t appreciate a white wolf running full speed through the Academy. I ran as fast as I could on two feet instead of four, needing to find the two people I trusted the most and hoping they might have some answers for me.

I followed their scent until I discovered them in a hidden corner of the courtyard. Tess was kneeling in the soil,