Energy tore through the room like a crack of lightning in a storm as we came together, both breathing raggedly, bodies tensed and writhing.

  He collapsed on top of me gracefully, catching his weight to hover lightly above my heaving chest. I thought I heard the faintest of laughs escape him.

  “I wish I could see you right now,” I sighed, trailing my fingers around his face for confirmation of my suspicion.

  “You will see me soon,” he said confidently.

  Always so certain...

  Deep down though, I could feel he was unsure. His words did not match the dissonance that rolled off of him while I lay in his arms. There was something below his conviction that tipped his hand. He thought that something ominous was at play, causing the disappearance of Scarlet as well as my vision, and in an equally tucked away place, I shared that sentiment. Something was really and truly wrong. But in that moment, I dared to believe that, come what may, he and I could face it and conquer it together―a truly united front, for the very first time.

  I fell asleep with Sean curled around me, our limbs entangled, fingers intertwined. Having him near me made it easy to forget. Forget that Scarlet was fading. Forget that I might never see him again. Forget that trouble was almost certainly headed our way, if history was any indication.

  He was my balancing force and I was his. The more we gave into it, the stronger it pulled. Something greater than the two of us was at play, placing us in each other's lives. It was a destiny―divine intervention.

  Troubles would always plague us, but nothing could separate us.

  Not anymore.

  32

  “So this is the house they found?” I asked incredulously. “This is where you are going to live?”

  Even with my failing vision and the scant light of dusk, I could tell the two-story home was dilapidated. The closer we got, the more my suspicions were confirmed. What appeared to be shutters hung askew—

  where there were still some hanging at all. The front porch sloped so violently that I questioned whether or not it was even still attached to the house. I couldn't fathom why Cooper was taking me to see that tenement.

  “It suits me and them just fine,” Cooper replied, taking my arm to escort me across the lawn.

  “Is it even livable?” I sneered, tripping on something weighty in the tall, unkempt grass. “And why are we checking it out now? It's almost too dark to see anything clearly, not that I could if I wanted to.”

  “Why do you never stop asking questions?” he growled, holding me up once again as I stumbled. “This place isn't exactly on the market, Ruby. We were trying to check it out on the down low to see if it was worth taking over. Why are you so high strung about this?”

  The truth was I didn't know, but something seemed off in a big way.

  I'd spent the entire day with Sean until he had to leave for yet another trip to solve the London debacle. Everything was great. But the second he dropped me off at the apartment, I just didn't feel right, and nothing had felt right from that moment on. Not even Cooper resonated with me in the way he always had. Combined with the anxiety I felt as we approached the house, it made me start to question if the problem was me, given that I was the single common denominator in the equation. With my eyesight fading back to the darkness that had once consumed it and Scarlet's continued absence, I had to entertain the notion that maybe all of my former abilities were no longer reliable―empath included.

  “I'm sorry, Coop. I don't know what's wrong with me.”

  “Just try to relax a bit. You're making this way more stressful than it needs to be.”

  I kept my mouth shut the rest of the way to the house and up the five rickety steps on the wooden porch. Cooper continued to usher me, even though I could make things out better once we were inside. The moonlight poured through the vast windows, illuminating a grand staircase―we were in an old Victorian.

  “They're here,” Ali called from somewhere too deep in the darkness for me to make out, but I could feel him. I could feel all of the boys.

  Even the ones I didn't know.

  “Excellent. I assume everything went according to plan, Cooper?”

  I know that voice...

  “No issues whatsoever, Tobias. She's all yours.”

  “Well done,” the alpha replied. “And what of Sean? Are you prepared to deal with that too?”

  “I'll tell him exactly what you said―that I killed her.”

  “And when he doesn't believe you―because you know he won't, right?”

  “I'll attack him, just as planned.”

  “And you're prepared to die?”

  “Of course.”

  I couldn't believe my ears. Things were happening so fast that I couldn't process them. I hated how much I had come to rely on my sight, but even without it, I knew I was in trouble. Big trouble.

  “Cooper?” I asked, attempting unsuccessfully to wriggle out of his hold.

  “Do not answer her!” Tobias shouted. Cooper didn't make a peep.

  That's when I knew the shit I was in ran far deeper than I could have ever imagined. “Is the ‘copter ready, Beckett?”

  “It is.”

  “Beckett?” I called out beseechingly. I got nothing in response.

  “Where am I going?” I looked around frantically to no avail. The room was far too dark for me to make out anything or anyone.

  “We are going back to London, my dear. You and your DNA are needed there.”

  “Janner! Janner, help me!” I cried, hoping that he would help me, or at least tell me exactly what was going on.

  “They won't help you, Ruby. They answer to me,” Tobias purred.

  “But they aren't yours anymore,” I said aloud, more a question than statement. None of them seemed to be mine at that moment. Not even Cooper.

  “They've always been mine,” Tobias continued. “They just didn't know it.” I could hear the smile in his voice, and my stomach turned in acknowledgment. “Do you think they would have killed Deacon otherwise? No, I don't think so, Ruby. You see, the truth is that they adored him. Everyone did―except me, of course. He was the quintessential alpha: the one that everyone would kill to have. But I prefer chaos to order and never enjoyed being second fiddle, so with the help of some outsiders, I devised an incredibly elaborate plan to take him down and make a boatload of cash while I did so. There's quite a black market out there for werewolves.”

  I shuddered as he moved closer to me, prepared to further explain himself before doing what he came to do―take me away.

  “Deacon caught wind of what I'd done to the others and was about to make me pay for it, but thankfully for me, I had all the pieces in place to assure that it wouldn't happen.”

  He stepped into the moonlight, just enough for me to make out his short and stocky silhouette. It was just what I needed: an alpha with a Napoleon complex.

  “I'll tell you all about it on the way,” he continued. “It seems that you're immune to my little tricks, so I have big plans for you. I'm sure you'll want to know all those details, and if you're like all the others, you'll want to know why. Why me? Why are you doing this? You know, all of those annoying questions that victims seem to always ask their captors.

  It really is cliché.”

  I stared in his general direction while he approached me. I definitely had questions, but most of them didn't revolve around why. That I could grasp, and it had become part of the curse that was being an RB. What I really wanted to know―needed to know―was how? How was he making them do what they were doing, manipulating them to do things they didn't want to do?

  Or at least I assumed they didn't want to.

  Regardless of what was or wasn't in it for the UK trio, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that Cooper would never harm me. The fact that he was all too willing to hand me over to a nefarious lowlife like Tobias was only cause for greater concern, not only for myself but for Cooper too.

  I steeled myself, awaiting the transfer to Tobias' custody. It seemed to drag on forever, as though everything around me was moving in slow motion. Shadows milled around in the background―many of them. More than just the boys I had grown to know and care about. More of his pack...

  Cooper stood beside me, motionless. I couldn't decide if it was because he was awaiting further commands, or if, somewhere deep down inside him, he knew that something was wrong―that something was about to happen to me, and he couldn't let that happen. Not to me.

  “How?” I blurted out as Tobias stood before me, coming into as much clarity as he was ever going to. “I don't want to know why. I want to know how you made them do this.”

  He cocked his head to the side, which in my copious experience with unstable people meant he found me either amusing or curious. I was glad I couldn't see either expression on his face. My blood boiled at the thought.

  “Fair enough,” he said, getting right up in my face. Cooper was still holding my arm, though at that point it was more of a restraint than an aid. “I'm going to keep this as simple as possible because I don't care to waste time; I'm controlling them.”

  “I can see that,” I spat, “but again, what I want to know is how. How are you controlling them?”

  “It's all very complicated, Ruby. I'm not sure that we have time to go into all the science behind it, but the short of it is that a frequency―an energy of sorts―was discovered. It seems to affect cognitive function, allowing the power of suggestion to reign supreme. We've been testing it for a while now on some of the other pack members. It took a long time to work out all the kinks, and of course we lost most of them along the way, but we've perfected it now. Don't worry, Ruby. If you're as rugged as your reputation leads me to believe you are, you'll endure the experiments just fine.”

  “A frequency?” I asked, utterly confused.

  “Exactly,” he replied. “I'm sure you've heard how dogs can hear certain levels of sound that humans cannot. Think of it like that, though for some reason, you seem to be completely immune to it. It didn't affect you in the least when I spoke to you on the phone. My guess is that whatever makes you special is blocking it. We just need to find a way around that.”

  Or maybe my missing half is why it doesn't work, I thought to myself, not liking the implications at all. Maybe Scarlet's absence was helpful to avoid being controlled, but it was also likely to get me killed. I needed details about what was in store for me and I needed them fast.

  “Then what is your grand plan?” I badgered, wanting answers. I was so tired of being used that, for once, I just wanted to be fully in the know.

  “I'm not sure just yet,” he replied, sounding genuinely uncertain.

  “But keeping you would give me an incredible boost in power. I'd be virtually unstoppable. Even to the PC.”

  “Not to Sean,” I whispered, wishing I had said goodbye in the way that I'd wanted to the last time I saw him.

  “Oh, I think you'd stand a good chance. My boys tell me he fancies you. That you're mated. Isn't that really just another way I can control the PC? Through your bond? He won't harm you in retaliation, or let anyone else for that matter, so really I won't have any interference from them at all.” He sounded as though some of what he was saying was a revelation to him―like it had just dawned on him, and the awe in his voice was chilling. He would be unstoppable or I'd be dead. Those were the options, and I knew Sean wasn't about to take me down, so it was looking good for Captain Short and Stocky.

  “The helicopter will be here in a minute, sir,” Janner called out from another room. “We should be outside waiting.”

  “I couldn't agree more,” Tobias replied, wrapping his small, chubby hand around my wrist. “Time to leave now, love.”

  As he pulled me toward him, I felt the slightest squeeze on my other arm from Cooper, like he was trying to hold onto me tighter or tell me it was going to be okay. It didn't matter either way. I was quickly ripped out of his grasp.

  “Let's get you home now. I have big plans for you and me.”

  “And I have even bigger plans,” a familiar and welcome voice called from just outside the house, “but they're all for you.” Heavy footfalls tread across the porch and in through the front door―more than one pair. “Let her go and I'll make this painless,” Sean growled threateningly. Everything about his voice promised that he would not make good on his word.

  “And if I don't?” Tobias quipped, feeling far too confident in his situation. He clearly hadn't pissed Sean off before. I had, and the energy coming from his direction had a more menacing feel than even I'd been privy to.

  “I won't.”

  “Well, that's all fine and dandy, but are you willing to let your little lady here get caught in the crossfire?” he asked rhetorically. “No, I don't think you are. You see, what I think you're going to let us do is leave so that nothing happens to her. Well, nothing yet, anyway.”

  I heard the start of Sean's all too familiar battle cry and cringed, fearing what would happen to everyone present if he unleashed the true dark-eyed monster that I both loved and feared. Bodies would drop until he was satisfied, and I wasn't entirely certain that all parties were as guilty as they looked. I feared most for Cooper, who stood just far enough away from me to not look guilty, but surely Sean would question why he was doing nothing.

  “Sean!” I cried out. “He's controlling them. It's not―”

  A hand clamped down over my mouth, keeping the rest of the secret hidden away. I heard Sean move, but stop almost instantaneously. The blade that I suddenly felt pressed to my throat was the clear reason why.

  “I wouldn't press me on this,” Tobias threatened. “I can keep you plenty occupied with the others to get her to the 'copter and take off. And if not, well, I'm not above racking up a body count of my own on my way down.”

  The floor creaked when Sean's shadowy form rolled back on his heels ever so slightly.

  “That's better. Now Cooper, do come here for a moment and hold this.” In an instant Cooper was behind me, holding that same blade to my throat. “If he moves, I want you to kill her, do you understand me?”

  “Absolutely,” Cooper growled. It was oddly comforting having him holding me rather than Tobias, but it didn't change the fact that he would kill me just as easily. I tried to thrust my calming energy his way and have the effect that I used to have on him for healing, but it felt blocked, like I couldn't reach him. Instead, I was met with that same guarded energy that the boys had had on occasion.

  “Now, Sean, here's what's going to happen. You and your boys are going to let us walk out and head on our way without any objection or Ruby dies, plain and simple.”

  I couldn't see him, but I knew Sean was struggling to find a solution to the problem and quickly. While he did hostage extraction calculations in his mind, I found myself being dragged backward through the house to what I presumed would be the backdoor. Judging by the thunderous sound and whipping winds that came crashing in through the broken windows, the 'copter was waiting out back for us.

  “Ruby,” Sean growled, his tone both a question and a warning.

  “You can't let them take me,” I cried out, but not because I feared for myself. More than that, I feared for what would happen when Tobias succeeded―what would happen if I was under his control.

  I started to panic. Visions of dungeons in Utah―bars, cages―ran fiercely through my mind, peppered with labs and white coats, machines and needles. It promised a long and tortuous path to a mass grave somewhere. Without Scarlet, I was certain to die. The boys had not been overly successful tracking Tobias down, and I was under no delusion that I would live long enough for them, or Sean, to find me.

  But what if Scarlet wasn't gone? What if she was still a part of me, somewhere deep within like I had been, tucked away and barely living?

  What if their testing was a success and roused her? What if one day she'd stand toe to toe against Sean in battle? My skin prickled at the thought.

  He would not kill her if he thought he could save me. Duty or not, I could not take the chance that his love would blind him.

  And if it did, what amount of carnage could Scarlet amass while Sean searched for a way to undo what had been done by Tobias? Would she become that which he had hunted so many centuries ago? The mindless killing machine she was labeled to be? There was no easy way out of my predicament. It was a lose-lose either way.

  There was only one way to prevent either unthinkable outcome. I would not be caged any more than I would let Scarlet be used as a weapon for a sociopath. For once, I would determine my fate.

  With no way of knowing if he could still hear or see me, I looked in the direction I'd last known Sean to be and gave my most pleading face as the tears rolled down my cheeks. I knew what I had to do.

  “I'm sorry!” I yelled over top of the helicopter's deafening noise.

  Taking a deep breath for courage and clarity, I grabbed hold of Cooper's hand―the one that held the knife to my neck―and with all the force I could put into my body as he hauled me away, I pressed myself against that blade and dragged my throat across it.The world quickly went dark around me as the blood rushed from the gaping wound I had so successfully created. Tobias would not get to keep his prize.

  That final thought brought me great comfort.

  33

  I heard nothing. I barely even felt the pain. What little I could remember was falling to the ground, unaided and unhindered by Cooper. He dropped me like a sack of potatoes and just hovered above me, unmoving.

  Then everything went black.

  You would think that, with my numerous near-death experiences, I would have known what to expect, but once again, the universe butted in and changed things up. For once, it was a pleasant twist.

  Before I could see anything, a voice―sweeter than any I'd ever heard in life―called to me like an angelic lulling melody. My soul begged to drift toward that voice, aching more and more the longer I didn't.

  “Ruby...,” she sang. “Open your eyes, Ruby.”