No More Lies

We underestimated Kade.

He’d been confident enough to divide his forces, but he’d done it strategically. Most of his mercenaries fell in the battle of Ossory. But the weapons he bought with his family’s wealth, the guns and silver bullets…

He saved those for Silver Manor.

Horror fills me at the sight that lies before us as we drive through the main path of the estate.

Will takes one hand off the steering wheel to reach for me as if reassuring himself that I’m still sitting beside him in one piece. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to tell him that could possibly make this better.

The brave wolves from our allies’ packs have been reduced to bullet-riddled bodies scattered around the grounds. They had Kade’s mercenaries outnumbered, but they’d arrived at the manor expecting a fair fight. They’d charged through those gates and right into Kade’s trap. He’d stationed his soldiers strategically so that our wolves would get shot down before they even got close to the manor.

A wolf will bare its teeth and tear through skin with fierce claws to protect what it loves. But bullets have no such honor. Guns are the weapons of cowards, and Kade’s mercenaries killed our allies without even looking them in the eye.

This was not a fight. It was a massacre.

Even outnumbering their foe, they hadn’t stood a chance. The short-tempered young Alpha, the elderly Alpha with wise old eyes, their best warriors and scouts…

We sent them all here to die.

We should have waited. We should have waited until our forces recovered, and then we should have hit Kade with everyone we had.

Out of the allied force that attacked the manor, how many are left? From the sound of machine guns ringing in the distance, I gather there must be a few of them still standing.

I’m going to be sick, but as I turn my head away from the bloodied road ahead of us, I catch a glimpse through the car window of someone running in the words.

Marcus and… Aunt Margo.

“Will, look! Over there!” I cry, pointing toward the two figures struggling to escape the carnage near the manor.

The detective has my great aunt slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, but she’s conscious.

Will veers off the main road, and the van bounces over the grass and gravel as we drive towards them.

“What’s that behind them?” I ask, trying to see between the trees.

“That’s Luke!” Will answers, keeping his eyes trained ahead.

Alpha Luke. Our hot-headed young ally. Even as the warriors from his pack have fallen, he keeps fighting. He’s engaged in deadly combat with one of Kade’s mercenaries, trying to pry the weapon from his hands.

Will floors the accelerator, and I grab onto the sides of my seat to hold on as we speed toward them. I gasp as Luke yanks the machine gun out of the mercenaries hands and smashes the back of it into his head with a feral growl. As the soldier falls, Luke takes the gun and brings it down against the top of his leg with such force that he smashes the weapon, and I gasp at the sheer strength of his rage.

We skid to a stop in front of my aunt and the detective, their eyes wide.

“Jane!” my aunt cries,

“Get in!”

Now that we’re standing up close, I can see the bandage wrapped around Margo’s throat as Marcus helps her into the back of the van. Luke follows close behind, panting from the fight.

“They knew we were coming. I don’t know how, but they were ready for us. They set a trap, hiding in the trees and shooting us down as we arrived.”

He’s right. As another shot rings out, and we all flinch at its proximity, I suddenly realize why the bodies of our allies are littering the grounds while the mercenaries remain out of sight. They hid in the damn trees.

“He captured a Seer,” Marcus explains raggedly. That’s how Kade did it. Once we surprised him in Ossory, he retaliated by making sure we wouldn’t be able to do it again. With a Seer, he can see us coming.

“That’s how he found the bunker. The Seer revealed it to him,” my aunt adds, her voice weak and strained. How long has she been awake? Elder Hilda had her in a medically induced coma while she recovered. The healer must have had to wake her up when the bunker came under attack. But where is the Elder now? And…

“Where is Ash?” I ask, fear twisting my gut into a knot.

“She stayed in the bunker with Elder Hilda. They both refused to abandon-”

Before my aunt can finish the sentence, a shot rings out, and I scream as the bullet hits the side of the van. Will curses under his breath.

They’re in the trees. They know where they are. We need to get out of here, but I can’t leave Ash behind. Not again.

Will seems to have the same thought because we’re no longer heading for the exit of the estate but rather directly toward the mansion. The closer we get, the louder the noise. We’re heading right into the thick of the slaughter.

My aunt is crying. This woman with steel in her veins, that seemed so untouchable even when she’d been bleeding out to death… tears are streaming down her cheeks, and there is something broken in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Jane,” she sobs. “I’m so sorry. I thought Kade was going to protect you. I thought-”

“Why did Ash stay in the bunker? If Kade broke through, why didn’t she escape with you and Marcus?” Will demands. I’ve never heard him use that tone before.

Luke curses as another bullet hits the van, denting the door. The detective ducks in the back seat, trying to stay clear of the window, but as I look toward them, my aunt’s gaze is fixed on mine. I see the agony in her eyes, the way she breaks under the weight of her mistakes, and her regret.

“Margo, what aren’t you telling me?” I ask, my voice low and tight.

Another shot smashes through the rear windshield. Will veers sharply to the side, and we swerve around the trees. I can’t tell if we’re driving toward the manor or away from it. At his point, we’re just trying to escape the raining bullets.

“Forgive me, child,” Aunt Margo says. “There’s one more lie, one last secret I’ve kept from you in my foolish attempt to protect this family. Kade found the underground facility, but it’s a highly secure maze that spreads beneath the mansion. Ash and Hilda barricaded themselves down there to protect….”

She struggles with the words, shutting her eyes and clenching her hands into fists. The detective places a hand over hers, and I’m momentarily surprised by the softness in the look that they exchange.

“Their hearts stopped that day, but it was so cold… the ice…” my aunt shakes her head as if trying to clear a broken mind. “They’re not alive, exactly, but the healer brought them back from the brink of death. They’re frozen.”

She’s not making any sense, and we don’t have time for this.

“Margo!” I snap. “What’s in the bunker?”

“Markham and Elizabeth Silver are down there. Your parents are still in that bunker, Jane.”