Pure Blooded (17 page)

Fury boiled in my bloodstream, heating my freezing veins for a precious second.
You know nothing! Fate corrupted her so they could kill me. Now I will exact my revenge. I created the most powerful being the world had ever seen. Now I will
become
the most powerful being
. She blew through my body, her magic so cold it made me ache once more.

But she couldn’t take hold.

My wolf was still fighting her.

TAKE. DON’T FIGHT.

Your signature is almost the same color as my own
, I said.
It’s yellow, though it’s a darker shade than mine
.

That matters not. Soon all the magic in your body will be mine
.

Her signature was yellow, same as mine.

TAKE.

Dawning washed over me. I sent out a silent prayer to Juanita that this was what I had to do.
WE HAVE TO STOP FIGHTING HER!
I yelled to my wolf.
WE HAVE TO ABSORB HER MAGIC
. I tore through my mind, trying to find my wolf. A new
batch of adrenaline raced through me, bolstering me. I heard her bark.
Do it now! Stop fighting and grab on to her magic
.

You cannot wrestle my magic from me. It’s impossible—

My blood warmed by a few degrees as another bark sounded in my mind. My wolf had heard me and was doing what I asked.
Yes!
I urged her.
Let it become a part of us. LET GO!
My wolf howled in response and my temperature began to rise in earnest. Marinette’s amber signature began to undulate. My wolf threw the magic she had kept close at the stream, and I watched it collide, coming together with Marinette’s, the two yellows melding, becoming brighter.

This can’t happen!
Marinette raged.
You are not strong enough to do such a thing!

It has nothing to do with strength or power
, I said.
My wolf is simply taking her just deserts
.

What are you talking about? I owe her nothing!

Oh, on the contrary. You created her with half, but she deserves the whole
.

Impossible!

No, Marinette. You made a mistake by infiltrating us. This is what Juanita was leading us toward the entire time! You hand delivered exactly what we needed—what Fate wanted—to finally set things to right after all these years. Your soul. The half we need to make my wolf complete, what she should’ve received from you from the beginning. You made an error thinking you would be the victor, that your half was stronger—but clearly it’s not. You were never going to win. We just had to stop fighting you
. I was waking internally now and could see my wolf. She had her muzzle up, howling her joy. My body opened up in a rush as my magic absorbed Marinette’s amber signature as quickly as it could, melding with it like Marinette had stated—like mother to child. It was a homecoming.

I cannot die this way
, Marinette screamed, her voice fading fast.
I am immortal!

I had no idea if she was actually dying in the classic sense. My guess was that she would snap out of existence once my wolf took her soul. That had been the only thing tethering her as a spirit all these years—she’d told us that already. If she lingered after, that would be a very bad thing. My wolf snarled her agreement, both of us on the same wavelength. As my magic swallowed up Marinette, I felt euphoric.

You may be able to take my magic, but you cannot have my soul
, Marinette whispered in my mind, trying to tear free of our grasp. My body temperature began to cool slightly as she fought against us.

We might have to rip it from her once and for all
, I told my wolf.
Can you connect it to yours and take it completely?
I couldn’t see Marinette’s soul in a physical sense, but I knew my wolf could. She began to snarl and keen, a high-pitched sound that brought tears to my eyes. Her voice was strong and determined. She was calling to her other half, that piece of her she’d been yearning for all this time. It was a beautiful cry, and our magic jumped in response.

I knew then why I was different.

Not only why I was a female, but also why I could partially change. This was the reason my wolf acted like an Alpha. I was a part of two halves. My wolf had brought her own legacy to me, and together we’d made one completely unique supernatural. Marinette had created her all those years ago, but I’d brought her new life. And in this one, she would be whole.

Marinette’s soul answered my wolf’s call, and with a huge rush of power, it coalesced inside of us with a big snap. For a single moment, my body felt like it was engulfed in flames. My chest rose and I cried out.

Then power exploded all around us in one huge surge.

I opened my eyes. Marcy stood over me, hands on her hips. “Way to go, champ. You just blew this place to smithereens.”

I lifted my head slightly and ran my hands through my hair, sliding them to my temples, and rubbed. I couldn’t feel a trace of Marinette inside me anywhere.
Do you sense her, or is she gone?
I asked my wolf. She barked happily. I took that as a sign that the goddess was gone for good.

Then I heard a roar.

“Rourke?” I croaked as I sat up. “Are they here?” I asked Marcy, my throat still sore.

Marcy ignored my question, her face a mask of both fear and frustration. “You looked dead, you know”—she tapped her foot—“and you weren’t breathing. And your body was totally blue. Your eyes were open and they were vacant and spooky and covered in a white film. Then all of a sudden there was a gigantic popping noise and all the wards exploded. You scared the tar out of me! Then I thought the loa would be ejected or there would
be some sort of shift in magic, and once it was over she would be you and dominate us all”—Marcy peered down at me—“but she didn’t come out, did she?”

I grinned up at my concerned friend and simply said, “I love you too.”

“You scared me senseless. That wasn’t funny.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention. And, Marcy, I promise to tell you everything you want to know, but we have to get out of here first.” The ground beneath us began to shake. Now that the wards were gone, the makeshift island that had housed the bokor for so long was crumbling apart.

“You’re right, we do have to get out of here.” She glanced around her, making a face. “Water is already seeping in.”

“Where are Danny and Naomi?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck.

“I am here,
Ma Reine
,” Naomi said, almost too quietly for me to hear.

My body responded to the sound of sorrow in her voice and I jumped to my feet and began to run. Naomi was awake, sitting behind one of the totem poles, the flora on her shoulder bright red.

She cradled Danny in her arms. He was still in his wolf form.

Marcy came up behind me. “I sort of gave her my blood, because I didn’t know what else to do. You were playing dead and none of my spells worked. And wouldn’t you know it, she woke right up.”

The anguish in Naomi’s eyes brought me to my knees in front of her. Danny’s listless body was draped in her arms, dwarfing her slim figure. Blood tears ran in rivulets down her face. She bowed her head and said, “He is gone.”

Her words shot to my core.

She spoke the truth, but I didn’t want to believe it—couldn’t believe it. Instead, I plowed my hands into his fur and frantically
sent power rushing into his body, searching for any signs of life, and for his connection to me as Alpha so I could help him. But I couldn’t find the bond anywhere.

There was a void where he should have been.

He was dead.

I angled my head up to the sky and raged, screaming, my hands fisted at my sides.

“Jessica!” Rourke shouted in response. “We’re almost there. Hold on!” The realm was evaporating quickly. The natural environment was taking over, setting things to rights.

Marcy touched my shoulder. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “But, Jess, we have to get out of here. We need to get to the airboats before this area is submerged. All the black magic buildup over all these years will have lingering effects, none of which we want to encounter. It’s silly to stay.”

My body shook where I sat. “We’re not leaving him.” My voice broke. “I refuse to leave him here.”

“
Non
, we will not leave him.” Naomi’s voice was filled with sadness. “I will take him.”

I fought to control my emotions. My battle with Marinette had taken too long. I had no idea how long I’d been out, but it was too late. I’d lost him. Danny had tried his best to protect me and he’d run out of time. I let it happen. “Naomi, his wolf form is too big for you to handle on your own. I’ll carry him out.”

Rourke broke through the deteriorating circle right as Ray landed in front of us. Rourke crossed the expanse in no time. Then his hands were on me, helping me to my feet. “What’s going on?” he asked. I couldn’t speak. “Jessica, what’s happened here?” He glanced down at Naomi and Danny.

“Um”—Marcy cleared her voice behind me—“we lost Danny. He was poisoned with the bokor’s curse and he… just ran out of time.”

Ray walked over to Naomi and bent down to look at Danny. Naomi immediately tensed, tightening her hold on her mate.

“It’s okay,” Ray told Naomi, his voice quiet and soothing. “I’m not going to hurt him. I just want to take a look.”

I turned to Rourke, resting my forehead against his chest. “His bond to me has vanished,” I murmured. “I can’t feel him any longer. He’s dead.”

“It’s true,” Ray added. “He’s gone. He’s not breathing and his heart isn’t beating. All his functions have shut down.”

I lifted my head off of Rourke as Naomi eased Danny onto the ground in front of her. Right then my father and his wolves entered the circle.

My father’s voice boomed over the quietness. “What’s going on here?”

“Danny is gone,” I answered.

My father came forward and bent on one knee, his hand going into Danny’s fur to check. “Well, he certainly isn’t breathing, but he’s still in his wolf form”—my father glanced up, meeting my gaze—“but wolves always shift back to human when they die.”

Naomi nodded. “He just passed. I am certain he will shift soon.”

Her quiet fortitude rocked me and I had to tamp down my anguish once again. If she could handle herself with such grace, I had to do the same. I moved to her side and took her hand while we all waited for Danny to change back.

Ray shook his head, regret in his voice. “What a loss. And there was nothing I could do. It’s clear he was cursed, but I didn’t see anything to get rid of inside him. It’s not like it was with Jessica’s father. There’s nothing to take out, but his soul is hanging on by a thread, so go figure.”

“What do you mean there’s no curse? There has to be,” I sputtered. “That’s what killed him!”

“Nope, his body is clean,” Ray said. “No curse.”

I cried as I broke away from Naomi’s grasp and plunged my hands into Danny’s fur once again, pouring my power into him, searching for Marinette’s magic.

Ray was right.

The curse was nowhere in sight. But that couldn’t be right. How could it have disappeared?

Rourke stood behind me, and my father moved in next to me, putting his hands on Danny’s head. “Jessica,” my father addressed me. “I know this is hard for you. Losing a wolf always is. Daniel Walker was bonded to you. Because of that, I cannot help him. But he’s still in his wolf form. I’m not saying it will work, but there might be a chance. Try to save him if you can.”

“I’m trying”—tears rushed down my face—“but his bond to me is broken. I can’t feel anything. I’m transferring my power to him and he’s not waking up. His heart is not beating.”

“Jessica.” Rourke knelt down next to me. “We all know you’re doing your best. Keep trying, we have time—not a lot, but we can spare a few more moments. There might be something we’re missing.”

“I’m trying to find it,” I said miserably, “but there’s nothing here.”
Do you sense anything? What killed him?
I asked my wolf.

Tyler burst into the clearing. “Hey,” he yelled, “water is filling this place up like a bathtub and there are more than a few gators out there that seem interested. We have to get going. I sent some wolves back out to gather the boats and come around to this side—” He stopped dead in his tracks. I knew the instant he figured out what had happened. “No. He can’t be dead. It’s not possible.” He dropped to his knees beside me, as Rourke moved to make room, his eyes furious. “Why aren’t you helping him?” he accused. “He’s not dead! He can’t be dead. You have to fix this! You’re his Alpha, for chrissake.”

Grief wound its way through my heart. Tyler was right. I’d let Danny down. I was his Alpha and I’d sent him here on his own to fight a battle he couldn’t win.

My father responded for me. “We are doing all we can. Jessica is pouring power into him right now. He’s unresponsive, and has been for some time.”

“I’m so sorry, Tyler.” I bowed my head. “I don’t know how else to help him. He was like this when I woke up.”

“Woke up from what?” Tyler asked. “What the hell happened in here?”

Marcy stepped in when I didn’t answer. “In a very basic nutshell,” she said, “we were pulled into this realm on purpose. Once we found the bokor, she was trying to drain Naomi’s magic, and she’d already cursed Danny. We both battled her and the loa with spells, which worked in the short term.” Marcy’s voice held her distress. “But then Jessica got bit by a rabid wolf, and from what I could surmise—once I woke up from my spell—the loa, who was actually Marinette, the powerful goddess of werewolves, had drained the bokor of all her power, killing her, and then entered Jessica’s body. I woke up and thought Jessica was dead—I mean she looked totally dead—but then she blew this place apart and woke up. The loa hasn’t been back since.”

I glanced up at Marcy. “Wait a minute. I
looked
dead. But I obviously wasn’t. Was I breathing?”

“Um, I don’t think so. That’s part of the reason I thought you were dead, duh,” Marcy said.

“Then that’s the same as Danny. You said my eyes were filmy, right?” Every one of our gazes shot down to Danny as my hands flew to one of his eyes. The lids were closed, but I gently pried one of them open.

There was a thick, filmy coating covering it. “I don’t know what this means,” I cried, feeling hope for the first time, “but
while the loa was inside me, she told me that the curse was actually her blood, which I took to mean her magic signature. I don’t feel her magic in Danny right now, but her magic had to go somewhere when I killed her, right?” I looked up, my eyes wide. “Right?”

“Jess, we have no idea what the hell you’re talking about—but whatever it is, just do it!” Tyler yelled. “Even if he’s dead,” my brother choked, “we have to get rid of whatever is left in him so he can shift back and we can bury him properly.”

I felt numb as I ran my hands over Danny’s coat, pushing more power into him, searching to see what was wrong, praying like crazy I could fix this.

“You can do it, Hannon,” Ray coached from the sidelines. “His soul is still there. It hasn’t left yet.”

It wasn’t until I felt Rourke’s hands on my shoulders that I finally took a much-needed breath. He infused calm into me as he said,
It’s okay, Jess. Danny’s death is not your fault. We all know the risks we take in battle, and we take them willingly. If Danny had been given a choice, and he knew what the outcome would be, he would do it again without pause
.

I know, but that doesn’t make this any easier to take
. I took in another labored breath and focused my power on Danny, seeking to find what was wrong. If there was a way to save him, I had to find it.

After several minutes of trying with no results, Naomi broke the silence. “I believe this is Fate’s plan,
Ma Reine
.” Her voice was solemn. “Even if it is hard for us to accept, we must. We will grieve, but in the end, he would not want us to—”

“Wait!” Something caught my attention.
Do you see that?
I asked my wolf.
Our magic signature is back to our sunlight color. When did that happen?
I hadn’t noticed the change. When we battled Marinette, it had been a muddy amber.

She barked and shook her head.

As she did, I immediately noticed she was clearer in my mind, sharper than ever before. She had beautiful thick, inky fur and she radiated power. I was in awe of her for a moment. She had become her own entity.

“Jessica?” Tyler asked. “What’s going on?”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I can’t sense anything in Danny with my power alone. I’m going to have to send my magic in.” I glanced up at the group. “But I’m worried my magic will be toxic to him”—there was no way for me to explain quickly how my signature had changed once again—“and instead of the possibility of finding something lingering from the curse, it might be enough to give him a true death.”

“Hannon,” Ray said in a gentle tone, “he’s essentially dead already. Whatever you do is not going to be
more
harmful to him. Go ahead and use your magic. This is the only way to settle this, one way or another. It must to be done.”

I nodded. Ray was right. We had no other options.

Naomi’s hand settled over mine. “I believe in you,
Ma Reine
. He cannot remain like this. He must die a true death or wake from whatever it is that’s holding him, but in my heart I don’t believe you will kill him with your magic, as he has a piece of you inside himself already.”

She was referring to the blood we’d swapped, but that made me realize something incredibly important. “Naomi, I don’t think my blood has anything to do with this, but he did have something in him already—Marinette’s magic!” I exclaimed excitedly. “I might know how this happened, but I’m not sure I can fix it. The only thing I can do is try.” A flicker of hope ignited inside me as I spread my hands across Danny’s flank.