Chapter Sixty-Seven

One Hour Until the Full Death Moon.

“I love you,” I whispered with tears in my eyes. I had never meant anything more.

Aimes smiled, so full of love and light, even in the dark dungeon. “I love you, too.”

“We're coming to the end of this, finally.”

He inclined his head. “I know.”

“And it might get a little dicey.”

“Might?” He clicked his tongue as he shook his head. “Nah, I don’t believe it, but just to be sure…”

Even with his bound hands, he brought out four dice from his back pocket and rolled them onto the dirty stone ground. All ones. The number of fate. Confirmation that we were on the right path.

“Yep, dicey indeed,” he said, scooping them up again.

I snort-laughed at his bad humor through my tears, which were now flowing steadily. “We're going to be okay, aren't we?”

“Of course we will. Both of us.”

“And they're going to be successful.” I didn't want to say their names, not that I needed to. He understood.

“They are. They know what they're doing.”

“I'm glad some of us do.”

“Hey. We've done all right so far.” He nodded at the dank walls surrounding us. “Even if it doesn't always look that way.”

“As long as I have you here with me. I couldn't do this without you.”

He doubled his smile. “Good thing I’m not going anywhere.”

I blew him a kiss the best I could with bound hands while my insides roiled and churned. The fact was, I didn't have the first idea whether Mom and the rest of the Moon coven would be able to pull off their end of the plan. It felt like now that we were near the end, the stakes had never been higher, and I was flat-out terrified of what was going to happen next.

All I could do was try to put on a brave face for Aimes’s sake, holding my breath half the time, waiting for…something. How would I know if—no, when, I couldn't afford to think if—Mom and the coven were successful? Would I be able to feel it? Would my wolf announce herself?

The spell they were doing was a lot more complicated than the Spell of Enchanted Restraint. It required the full moon to be at its highest so the witches could draw more power from it, which happened around midnight.

I checked my watch, something I’d never worn before today. One more hour.

Please, please, give me a sign when you’re back. I concentrated as hard as I could, like she would be able to hear me, wherever she was, through the anti-Moon wolf magic in the castle. Hell, chew off my own leg if you have to.

Maybe she heard me, maybe she didn't.

That was a joke, by the way. I need my leg, you pretty little psycho bitch.

Aimes and I both jumped when heavy footfalls echoed through the dungeon. This was it. Something was going to happen, something that would determine the direction of our fate.

“It's going to be okay,” Aimes whispered. “Look at me, Harlow. It's going to be okay.”

“I know it will.” I wanted so much to touch him, but the best I could do was offer what I hoped passed for a brave smile. “My mate. My everything.”

The love in his return smile melted so many of my doubts away. We would be okay. It would be a hard battle, but we’d be fine. We had to be.

“He wants to see you,” the guard announced before he appeared with a knowing grin. “There's a special guest who just arrived.”

My insides froze solid, my gaze darting to Aimes. Oh no. Had the Moon pack been captured? It couldn't be. Our plan was rock-solid.

At least, I hoped it was.

I knew better than to ask questions I would never get an answer to. Instead, I stepped back and allowed the guard to unlock my shackles.

“Don't even think about trying any of your tricks,” he warned.

“I wouldn't dream of it.” Mostly because I couldn't pull any tricks, though I hoped—dear lord, did I hope—that wouldn't be the case for much longer.

He freed Aimes too and ordered us to walk in front of him out of the dungeon. We did so, hand in hand, a united front.

He didn’t have to tell us where we were going. I could have walked it blindfolded by now: up the stairs, down the hall, a right turn, then straight ahead.

Aimes’s grip on my hand tightened the closer we drew to the ballroom, and I understood why when I heard a pair of male voices coming from inside.

I should have known. He couldn't stay away.

Stride.

“There you are.” Connolly clapped his hands briskly, now dressed in one of his James Bond tuxes, well-groomed as always.

Stride, on the other hand, was filthy, wearing clothes that were much too big for him. I wondered if he'd stolen them from somewhere after murdering Annecy. His eyes were what made me pause though. They were too wide, too red, too crazed.

“Here we are again,” he said with a rueful grin. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

Connolly clasped his hands behind his back. The way he looked at us brought to mind a general overlooking his troops.

There was pride in his gray eyes and in his voice when he spoke. “I can't tell you how many times I've imagined us here. Like this. Planning your futures. Father, son, and daughter.”

I rolled my eyes. “Could we not with the whole parental act? What is this really all about?”

“Are you in that much of a hurry to return to your cell?” he asked, his head tipping to the side. “Should we perhaps have held this meeting down in the dungeon? You're so familiar with it, after all.”

“Do you want to know the truth?” I folded my arms, popping my hip out to the side. “I'm tired. I'm hungry. My whole concept of myself is turned inside out. I've seen more bloodshed than I ever wanted to, and I was the one shedding some of it. So I'm sorry if I don't have much patience for your failure-to-father syndrome.”

Stride snickered.

Connolly merely yawned. “Women.”

Oh, this little bitch right here. Did he really just say that?

“Tonight’s a really nice night to destroy the patriarchy,” I said through gritted teeth.

Connolly cleared his throat, lifting his chin. “Anyway, as for the reason why I brought you here, it's quite simple. Once and for all, I want us to work this out. Stride, you are the Alpha of the only true pack that matters. We can't have the wrong people stepping in and seizing control like Hannah—or whatever her name is—nearly did.”

Stride’s hands balled into fists. He looked away, but not before I saw a wince cross his face.

Did he once—or maybe even still—have feelings for the fated mate he’d rejected and then killed? Had the rejection been Connolly’s idea?

I didn’t know. A part of me didn’t care, but another part of me almost felt sorry for Stride. Almost.

Connolly flicked his gaze between us. “The two of you are meant to be mated.”

“What?” Stride asked in disbelief. “She’s my sister.”

“Half-sister,” Connolly corrected.

I huffed a breath as a sour taste flooded my tongue. “I’m going to be sick.”

“Wait, you’re serious?” Aimes asked, his eyes wide.

“The two of you together would be unstoppable,” Connolly continued to his son. “You must see it. With her Moon blood and your excellent lineage, there would be no one who could unseat you. You could do whatever you wanted. Unite the packs, wipe them out. Who cares? You could build something that would last for an eternity.”

He turned to me, his eyes blazing with intensity. “I'm handing you this opportunity on a silver platter—and you do not strike me as stupid. Misguided, perhaps, but not stupid. You know what's best. You know this is what you are meant to do.”

Yeah, I would never reject my fated mate in order to sleep with my half-brother. Call me crazy, but that just wasn’t going to happen.

Instead of saying that, though, I pursed my lips, pretending to think it over and buying us more time. The death moon outside the barred windows shone bright and full.

“This would unify what’s left of the packs? I mean, we could do that together?” I looked at Stride, who raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

Connolly beamed as though shocked I was even considering it. “Yes, that's what I'm telling you. All you have to do is agree to the mating.”

“And this will all be over? No more violence, no more bloodshed, no more threats, disappearances, or anything like that? We can start trying to get back to a normal life, where we'll be safe and comfortable?”

“Immediately,” Connolly promised, the word tripping easily from his tongue.

“And what's the alternative?”

“There is no alternative. You wouldn't have to be afraid anymore. We could all work together, like the family we are.”

This guy was bat-shit crazy for even suggesting this. Still, I kept going along with it just to buy us more time. What was taking so long?

“That's what I want,” I said, nodding slowly. “I've seen what life could be if I don't go along with you, and I don't want that.”

“Harlow…” Aimes whispered, eyes darting over my face. “What are you saying?”

It was so perfectly acted that I could just kiss him. He knew better than anyone I would never go along with this madness.

“Yes…” Stride added, “what are you saying?”

“I'm saying, let's go through with this. For both our sakes, and for the entire pack. It's time for peace. I'm so tired of fighting.”

He narrowed his reddish-gray eyes. “That seems like a very swift change of heart.”

“Yeah, well, like I said. I'm tired of being afraid. I'm tired of all the killing.”

“You would give up your fated mate that easily?”

“Yes.” Now was not the time to lose heart. I strengthened my voice, nodding firmly. “Yes, I would. For the good of the pack.”

Connolly held up a hand, a look of utter disbelief on his face. “You’re saying if I had him seized and killed here and now, it wouldn't matter?”

My pulse throbbed. My heart clenched. My whole existence revolted over the word I was about to say.

“Yes.” I wouldn’t let it come to that though. I couldn’t.

Where was Mom and the coven? Where was my wolf?

“Very well,” Connolly murmured, then looked to his guards. “Seize him.”

My act nearly dissolved when the two guards took hold of Aimes. My mate, my everything.

“Why are you doing this?” he demanded, fighting valiantly. “Harlow, why?”

He knew. He had to know that doing this was cleaving me in half.

With his hands locked in charmed cuffs, the guards overpowered him easily, holding him by the arms, keeping a tight grip on him though he struggled and strained.

“Maybe I finally got smart.” I exchanged a glance with Stride, and his lips twitched.

I could tell he wasn’t buying what I was selling for a minute. So why wasn’t he saying anything?

And what was taking Mom and the coven so damn long?

“Sorry, Aimes,” Stride said with a chuckle. “Why would she want you when she can have the Alpha?”

“Finally,” Connolly breathed, his smile lighting up his face. “It took a lot longer than I hoped, but the two of you are finally coming around to the way of things. How they need to be.”

“You know I was always stubborn, Dad,” Stride admitted.

“When will you learn that your father is always right?” Connolly was practically glowing, the wheels turning in his head, all of his plans so close to coming to fruition.

“I'll be the leader you want me to be,” Stride promised. “You taught me a long time ago there's no room for weakness. That weakness should be eradicated, no matter what, even if it hurts the Alpha the most to snuff out that weakness.”

Connolly’s smile slipped. “What is this about hurting? I never said anything like that. Real Alphas don’t hurt. They lead.”

“Decisions have to be made, Dad,” was all Stride said, his face strangely impassive.

“You need a good night's sleep,” Connolly decided. “A few good meals, a shower, and you'll be feeling more like yourself.”

“You know what's going to help me?” Stride asked.

He looked like he did at the wedding when he finally dropped the confused, drugged act and replaced it with a steely, menacing glare.

“Telling you to your face what a lying, gutless, son of a bitch you are,” Stride spat. “No, I won’t be the puppet dancing on your strings anymore. You can go straight to fucking hell. That's what I came here to tell you. I will not mate with my half-sister, and you’re a disgusting pig for even suggesting it.”

“What? Come on,” Connolly said with a laugh. “Like it's such a sacrifice, mating with a beautiful woman like Harlow. So what if she's your half-sister? You weren't raised together. And she’s powerful. The sort of power that would make your reign infamous.”

“You’re not hearing me!” Stride yelled.

Even I had to fall back a step at the ferocity in his voice, in his clenched fists, in the way his features twisted with rage.

“The answer is no! No, you will not destroy my life any worse than you already have!”

Connolly lifted his hands and blinked at his son. “What’s that supposed to mean? I set you up for greatness.”

“You destroyed me!” Stride’s voice trembled, and the sound of it sprang tears to my eyes.

I didn't feel sympathy for him. Not for him, not ever. He was the least sympathetic person I'd ever met except for his dad. Our dad.

But now, watching him quake with pent-up rage, my heart went out to him.

“Do you want to know what you've done to me?” he asked, running his hands through his hair until it stood on end. “I'll tell you. I haven't been able to sleep since I did it. I hear her in my head. She never leaves my head!”

He banged his fist against his temple, and I wanted to stop him, even going so far as to reach out, but that wouldn't help anything.

“Who are you talking about?” Connolly demanded.

“Hannah! Annecy!” he screamed, his face beet red, tendons standing out on his neck. “I killed her! My fated mate!”

“You rejected her,” Connolly said simply. “She wasn’t good enough.”

“But it's still there!” Stride pounded a fist against his chest. “Rejecting her broke me, and she won't shut up! I hear her even now, calling to me. Telling me she loves me. It never stops. Why won't it stop?”

He covered his face with his hands, shaking, while tears rolled down my cheeks. I turned to Aimes, whose mouth hung open, his face pale, his body sagging a little.

“It's all your fault,” Stride insisted from behind his hands, his body heaving in silent sobs. “You made me reject her. I did everything you said, and you've ruined me. I can't eat. I can't think. And nothing is ever going to make it stop because I can't go back and change it.”

“So claim your new mate,” Connolly insisted, his voice soft as he approached his tormented son. “That will silence the voice.”

“And what if it doesn't?” Stride’s hands dropped to his sides, revealing a shell of a haunted man. “What then? Because you've made me so many promises, and nothing has ever gone the way you said it would. Why would I believe you now?”

“All I have ever wanted was what's best for you.” Connolly rested a hand on Stride’s shoulder.

Stride flung it off. “You're lying,” he snarled. “All you ever wanted was what was best for you. Power. That's all you've ever cared about. Not me.”

“That simply isn't so. I wanted you to claim what was taken from me.” Slowly, Connolly once again reached out for Stride’s back. “It pains me like I can't describe, seeing you this way. Let me help you, son. Let me ease this pain.”

“How can I believe you?” Stride demanded.

“I understand how you would feel betrayed.” Connolly squeezed his shoulder. “Complete the bond with Harlow, and you will never have to hear that wolf's voice in your head again.”

Stride threw Connolly's hand away again. “To hell with you,” he growled. “You are never manipulating me again.”

“I'm so sorry to hear you say that,” Connolly whispered, before withdrawing a silver blade from his jacket pocket in one smooth move.

Then he drove it into Stride’s throat.