“Ash did not violate the oath,” Kel said in a clear voice. “Merle did when he attacked an alpha—trying to stab him in the back, no less. We’ve received what she promised us. Now, we must fulfill our end and go.”

  “How are we supposed to haul them back?” someone asked Kel.

  “Here,” I said. “Let me.”

  I motioned for Oscar to come forward. He grunted with the awkwardness of his large cargo as Cherise hurried ahead to clear a path. Inside the circle, he set down the metal cage he carried and loomed over Cohen.

  “Get in,” Oscar said, his voice daring Cohen to resist.

  Cohen eyed the cage dubiously. Oscar unlatched the metal door and held it wide open.

  “Get. In.” Oscar leaned down, his voice deadly calm as he added, “Or resist—because nothing would make me happier than to put you in this cage myself. Either you can crawl inside, or I’ll toss you, but either way, you’re going.”

  Oscar marched back the way he’d come and hefted a second cage over his head. Returning to the circle, he tossed it on the ground beside the first.

  “Anyone who sides with him gets a cage of their own,” Oscar called out.

  At his words, more pack members moved forward—Corbin, Isaac, Vinny, and two others, each carrying a cage.

  The hexerei backed away.

  Cohen made his way to the cage door and finally… finally, the smug sense of victory was gone.

  “What will you do with me?” he asked as I stepped up beside Oscar.

  “I think that’s up to your coven, but if the lupin get a vote? One for ten by thirty,” I said, using his own terms for retribution from the blood oath we’d made earlier. “For every day you’ve held someone in a cage like this, you’ll spend thirty days locked away.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Kel said.

  Cohen’s face fell. When he started to move toward the cage door, I blocked him long enough to say the words, “I banish you, Cohen Michaels. You will never step foot on Lone Wolf pack lands again or you will curse your own life with your broken oath.”

  Kel stepped up beside me. “Set in the blood of the coven.”

  She raised her hand, palm out, and closed it in a fist.

  Without being asked, the rest of the coven raised their hands and then closed them into fists too. Magic crackled. I recognized the seal of magic against our words at the same time Cohen did.

  Finally beaten, Cohen hung his head and shuffled toward the cage.

  “No!”

  The woman’s scream rattled the calm, shaking loose of anything sane or reasonable. A movement at the far side of the circle caught my eye; a mane of midnight hair whipping against the air as she flung herself through the crowd. And then I heard the unmistakable crack of a gunshot.

  Cohen was flung sideways.

  He landed on his side with a grunt. Crimson blood soaked his shirt through almost immediately, and his expression went slack.

  He didn’t try to get up, and the blood only grew thicker.

  Shock rendered me still.

  No one moved a muscle.

  Arnie Archer marched over to where Cohen lay bleeding in the dirt. She looked down at him, disgust and fear and desperation coating her words. “This is for Claudia,” she said.

  Then she aimed the gun at Cohen’s forehead and fired.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Blood and brain matter spattered in a wide arc as Cohen’s skull was torn open. His body jerked violently. And then he was still. A few hexerei screamed. Others surged forward to get a better look, but they were quickly forced back again by Idrissa and the others.

  Silas carefully pulled the gun from Arnie’s hand, but the older woman barely seemed to notice it was gone. She stared down at Cohen’s body with grim satisfaction.

  “Mom!”

  Kel pushed her way to the center of the circle. She tugged on Arnie’s hand and whispered something to the older woman, but Arnie suddenly pulled away, blinking as if coming back to herself in this moment.

  She turned away from Kel and scanned the faces. When her eyes landed on my mother, she let out a sob and flung herself into my mother’s arms.

  “Claudia,” she cried.

  My mother caught Arnie and held tight, smoothing her hair. They both cried as they hugged.

  “I thought you were dead,” Arnie said. She pulled away to grip my mother’s face in her hands. “I couldn’t let him hurt us anymore.”

  “I know,” my mother said, “I know.”

  My chest panged, and I turned away to find Kel watching me. Our eyes held.

  “It’s done,” she said quietly.

  She was right. It was done.

  Cohen was finished.

  Looking at Kel, the haunted look in her eyes, I wondered if her mother’s stolen justice would be enough. Cohen had caused so much pain, and now, it was over, just like that.

  Two decades’ worth of hate bleeding out into the dirt of our land.

  It felt strange, knowing he was gone.

  “Ash,” Kai began.

  “We’ll take him home,” Kel said quietly. “Bury him.” She looked at me. “He’s not your problem anymore.”

  “Thank you,” I said quietly as tears welled for reasons I couldn’t even name.

  I wanted to ask Kel if we could make a new agreement—a treaty—rather than holding up my promise with Cohen about going our separate ways. But a scuffle behind us broke out. A couple of hexerei had wandered too far, and members of the pack were quick to remind them to keep to neutral ground. By the time Kel and I got to them, Idrissa was already breaking it up.

  When I looked back at Kel, I could see the answer to my unspoken question reflected between us. A ceasefire was one thing. Hell, we’d even achieved some semblance of peace. But it was going to take a lot more than breaking the curse to bring everyone around to the idea of friendship.

  A processional of hexerei walked by, carrying Merle and Cohen. One in a cage, the other wrapped in discarded cloaks.

  It was done.

  “I’ll see you around, cousin,” Kel said.

  “See you around.”

  It took another few minutes to break Arnie and Claudia apart. I listened as they both promised to return here to the boundary line in a few days’ time so they could catch up.

  I wondered what that would mean for my mother. She was clearly healed—from the knife wound and from the curse’s effects. Did that mean she was staying in town?

  I swallowed hard as it finally hit me what I’d done. Even if she wanted to go home to the coven’s lands, she never would. Not after the oath I’d spoken earlier.

  Shit. The oath!

  I spun, heading for Kel—to stop her, to warn them to wait so I could fix this. They’d listen to her; they had to. She’d slipped seamlessly into the role of leader, and while it wasn’t anything I hadn’t expected, I couldn’t let her order them home.

  Not yet.

  “Kel,” I called, but she’d already disappeared into the throng of hexerei.

  Up ahead, a few had already crossed the line with obvious sighs of relief on their faces.

  I felt the change almost immediately.

  Magic quickened my pulse, and the fresh wound on my palm began to ache. Already, the scent of ozone hung in the air around us.

  Someone’s hand closed over my wrist, pulling me back just before I could accidentally cross over into their territory. I rounded on Kai. When he saw my face, his expression turned grim.

  “Tell me it’s not what I think,” he said.

  I held up my palm and showed him the wound now turning an angry shade of red. And spreading.

  “Shit.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But one of their own shot him. It wasn’t us.”

  “Doesn’t matter, I guess. A promise is a promise.”

  He didn’t answer.

  “What happens now?” I whispered, searching his face for some answer. Some Plan B.

  Kai shook his head. “I don’t know, but it’s probably not good.”

  Over his shoulder, I caught sight of smoke wafting in a curling stack from the ground near the boundary line.

  “What’s that?” I asked, dread pooling in my gut.

  “It’s the blood magic,” my mother said coming up beside me. “It knows they’ve lost one.”

  “What happens now?” I asked her.

  “Now, it will honor the oath,” she said. “When the rest of the hexerei cross the line, with one less in their numbers, thirty of ours will die.”

  I stared at her, horrified.

  We’d come so far. Broken the curse. Restored the hexerei’s magic safely. We were even parting ways on reasonably peaceful terms. And Cohen. Cohen was finally no longer a threat.

  But none of it mattered. Not if thirty of my pack were about to die.

  “If that happens, the rest of the pack will attack them,” Kai said.

  “He’s right,” I said in surprise. Then dread. “I can feel them.”

  Kai nodded. “So can I.”

  The tether. My pack. My wolf felt it all.

  “The curse is fully broken now,” I said, caught between triumph and heartbreak.

  Presley and Idrissa joined us, breathless from their efforts at peacekeeping. The mood was already changing; I could feel it.

  “We need to— Whoa. Why do you look like someone kicked your puppy?” Idrissa demanded. She kept her voice low but insistent. “Shouldn’t we be celebrating?”

  Before I could answer, Presley gasped, clutching his stomach. He went down on one knee, struggling for breath and in obvious pain.

  “What is it?” Kai demanded, kneeling beside him.

  Presley’s voice was barely more than a croak as he said simply, “Pain.”

  Then he doubled over, landing on his side as he clutched himself in clear agony. Much like I’d done when the magic had tried ripping me apart.

  “Presley,” Isaac screamed. He tore away from where he’d been stationed on the far left side and sprinted for Presley.

  Dropping to the ground, Isaac pressed a hand to Presley’s forehead, terror written across my friend’s handsome features.

  “What’s wrong?” Isaac demanded. “Who did this? I’ll kill them, I swear it.”

  Presley answered by gritting his teeth against the sound of pain he made. A second later, someone screamed, and I looked back to see Tiffany standing over Cade Marshal, who’d fallen, clutching his ribs as he rolled side to side in obvious pain.

  Oscar started for them, but midway, he stilled, and his body tensed. Horror filled me, but there was nothing I could do to stop what was happening. I watched as Oscar went down on one knee. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell on his side.

  Cherise rushed over and pressed two fingers to his throat.

  “He’s alive,” she announced.

  For now, I realized.

  Two more went down then four.

  Thirty.

  That’s how many would die for Arnie’s vengeance.

  “Wait!” I called out, my shrill voice echoing among the trees.

  The hexerei paused and turned back, fear and uncertainty showing on many of the faces.

  Shit.

  “Keep them calm, Ash,” Kai said quietly. “Or you’ll make it worse.”

  “Please,” I said, forcing my voice calmer as I took a few steps toward the retreating coven. “We just need a few more minutes before you cross.”

  I spotted Kel among them, clinging to Arnie, who’d gone paler than before.

  “Five more minutes,” I said.

  For all the good it would do. Time wasn’t the enemy here.

  Kel glanced past me to where the pack had crowded in closer despite my instructions for Idrissa to push them back.

  “We killed Cohen,” Kel said slowly. “Not you. The vow is unbroken.”

  “I don’t … I don’t think it matters,” I said, forcing myself to focus, to think through the paralyzing fear that gripped me.

  Oscar.

  I couldn’t—

  It couldn’t be him.

  I had to do something.

  Kel frowned. She spoke quietly to a hexerei nearby and then handed Arnie off to the other woman. Then she walked over to where I waited.

  My entire body trembled as she approached.

  “We can’t stay here forever,” Kel said. Sympathy shone in her eyes, but I didn’t want sympathy. I wanted to save Oscar. And Presley. And Cade. And whoever else the oath chose to take from me.

  “I just need a few minutes to figure this out,” I said, my voice breaking.

  Kel cast a glance back at her people, who were clearly impatient to get to what they deemed safety.

  “I don’t think I can hold them off much longer,” she said.

  “Just… Cohen,” I said, scrambling for anything. “What if you leave him with us. We’ll bury him properly. But if he doesn’t cross, the oath might not see it as a betrayal.”

  “I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that,” my mother said gently.

  “Ash.” Kai’s hand in mine was warm.

  But I felt only cold.

  Only fear.

  I’d lose them.

  After everything we’d done, it would end like this.

  A sob stuck in my throat. My mother softened, but she said nothing else. Because there was nothing else.

  “I’ll go,” Silas said.

  I looked at him in confusion, too caught up in my own grief to understand.

  “The same number of hexerei will return.” His expression was unreadable as he turned to Kel. “I’m one of you,” he explained.

  Kel’s eyes widened. “How?”

  “Claudia,” Silas said simply, and Kel’s wide-eyed stare swung to her.

  “Absolutely not,” my mother said. “I’ll go.”

  “You can’t.” Kel’s words were gentle but absolute. “You’re not one of us anymore. You stopped being one of us when you cast the curse.”

  My mother nodded, watery-eyed, and stepped back.

  I could only stare at Silas while emotion welled inside me.

  “Silas,” I choked out as tears fell freely down my cheeks now that I understood what he was offering. “If you go … you can never come back.”

  Not even a flicker of doubt shone in his steely gaze. “I know.”

  “Si,” Kai said softly.

  Silas looked at Kai and then shook his head. “Don’t start with me, asshole. I’ve made up my mind.”

  “I won’t stop you,” Kai said, “But I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Don’t make this about you,” Silas said with a snort.

  They shared a handshake that ended in a hug.

  My heart threatened to cave in on itself. Idrissa pushed past me and threw her arms around Silas’ neck.

  “Don’t think for a second that this redeems all the assholery, Hale,” she told him.

  His arms came awkwardly around her, but he gave a short laugh. “I hope not.”

  “Silas,” my mother said when Idrissa stepped away.

  His expression hardened.

  “I was wrong,” she said, glancing from him to me. “I told you both there was nothing stronger than blood magic. But that’s not true. You’ve proven here today that the one things stronger than blood is love. And that curse was always meant to be broken with love.”

  My heart panged with something that felt like warm emotion toward the woman I’d never expected to forgive. Without a word, Kai’s hand slid into mine and squeezed.

  I squeezed back and watched as Silas struggled with something to say.

  “Well,” my mother added when he didn’t respond, “If you ever want to visit, Arnie will know how to reach me.”

  He nodded.

  “Si, you’re a hero,” Isaac said, looking up from where he sat on the ground beside a barely conscious Presley. His cheeks were wet with tears. “I take back all the things I said about you.”

  “Sure, man,” Silas said, half-amused.

  “Oh.” Idrissa’s eyes lit up. “And I’m sorry about the penis sculpture on your nightstand.”

  Silas’ eyes narrowed. “That was you?”

  Isaac’s mouth fell open. “You took it to his house?”

  Idrissa shrugged. “I needed to hide it, and pissing off Silas seemed like two birds, one stone.”

  Kai grinned.

  Silas shook his head, and when he looked up again, our eyes met. My stomach twisted.

  “I don’t know what to say,” I said quietly.

  “How about we just don’t say anything then.”

  I nodded, not trusting my voice anyway. Then, I threw my arms around him and tried to convey my gratitude in a hug. His arms came around me and squeezed. My magic winked out, but somehow, that only made the moment more painful. With no magic to distract me, it was only me and my new brother and this unexpected goodbye.

  “Death over life, life over death,” he whispered.

  And I knew—not just because the air shivered with it but because my heart wouldn’t make room for anything else—that with this final act, the curse would be well and truly broken.

  I gripped Silas’ collar and stared into his haunted eyes as I said, “A demon and a wolf must choose each other. Right now, you’re choosing us, Si, but you have to find a way to choose you. All of you. Got it? Find a way before it kills you.”

  Finally, I stepped back, shuddering as my magic returned.

  My palm pulsed, and I knew it was time.

  “Take care of him,” Kai told Kel.

  She nodded. “He’s one of us,” she said simply. “We’ll keep him safe.”

  Voices rose from the pack crowding in behind us. More people had fallen ill. From the unrest churning in my gut, the rest of them were about three seconds away from blaming the hexerei.

  “Take care of each other,” Silas said gruffly.

  “Take care of yourself,” Kai shot back.

  “No promises,” Silas said—and then to me, “Later, Ashes.” With one last look at Kai and me, he turned and walked across the boundary line to his new home.

  Chapter Thirty

  3 months later

  A full moon hung heavy and low in the starlit sky. My wolf drew me toward the open French doors, and I stared up at it, fighting the desire to cut out early and sneak through the garden so I could shift before the others. The party was in full swing now. Food, drink, music, dancing—maybe no one would miss me.