“Scout?” Talley’s voice was tearstained, even in my head.

“Jase is okay.”

“I know, but Toby--”

I took off at a full run, using my nose to find him. I leapt over bodies that were part human, part animal, only paying enough attention so I didn’t accidentally step on anyone. I found him far away from the others. He was in human form, and had been for some time. Yet again a Shifter’s last ditch effort to survive had failed.

Another Shifter lay crumbled in front of the body. Still mostly coyote, he growled and snapped his teeth as I approached.

“Talley, can you talk to Makya?”

“He didn’t do it, Scout.”

I already knew that. Not only could Makya not take Toby, but the grief rolling off of him was palatable.

“Tell him that no matter what happens, he’s to stay here. If he lets anyone other than a Hagan touch the body, he’ll wish he was the one who died.”

“Scout--”

“Tell him.”

“Is that an order from my Alpha?”

My eyes couldn’t break away from the body crumbled on the ground. Memories flashed through my head: Toby talking Charlie, Jase, and me into stealing Grampa Hagan’s prized watermelon out of the garden when we were kids. Toby walking out of the delivery room, a huge grin on his face as he cuddled Layne against his chest. Toby getting off the plane after nine months in Iraq, tears streaming down his cheeks as he ran towards his family. Toby standing in front of the Alpha Pack, asking them to let me go.

Brave, strong, chauvinistic Toby. I would be damned if I let him die for nothing

“Yes. Let’s end this.”

***

Speaking of Alphas, it was time for me and Sarvarna to have a little face-to-face time. I Changed back next to my clothes. It felt a bit like cheating with everyone else having to go naked, but there was no way I was confronting her with my boobs on display in front of a bunch of guys. Liam, who was wearing a pair of jeans, was waiting for me once I was fully human and dressed.

“Toby’s dead.” As far as greetings went, it sucked big time, but I couldn’t help it. It was this rotten, horrible thing I had to get out of me. “They killed Toby.”

Liam brushed the tears from my cheek with the back of his hand. “I am so sorry. He was a good man.”

“How do I tell Charlie? Oh God. How do I tell Layne?” My heart was broken. I knew because it hurt so much.

“Scout, you need to breathe.”

Couldn’t he see I was trying?

“Who else? Who else did we lose?”

“We’ve lost about five. Joshua’s arm looks like hamburger, but he assures me it’ll heal. Everyone else should be okay once they finish Changing.”

“Which is my one and only mercy.” I didn’t flinch, which probably pissed her off. She tried to sneak up on us, but not even the smell of blood could block her scent from me. “Surrender now, and I will merely Banish the others.”

I thought I wouldn’t be ready for this moment, that when it came I would see too much humanity in her to follow through. Toby’s death changed that. I didn’t care if she loved her parents or was adored by her little sister. And if she thought I was a demon, it was because she made me become one.

“If I don’t?”

“We’ll start all this again, but this time the wounds won’t heal so quickly.”

I looked across the field, even though this scene had been etched in my brain for almost a year. “That might not be the best idea, Sarvarna. As you might have noticed, most of your Alpha Pack is dead.” And I would carry the guilt of it for the rest of my life. “Are you prepared to lose more?”

“I believe I’m more prepared to lose soldiers than you are, Scout.” Her upper lip curled. “Maybe it’s because we both know all this blood and death is on your hands, not mine.”

“I can’t tell if you’re crazy enough to actually believe that or not.”

“Surely you know none of this would have happened if you weren’t a power hungry abomination.”

“I’m sorry. Are you talking to yourself here? I can give you some privacy, if you need it.”

Hatred lit her eyes. “You think this is a joke?”

“Actually, I think this is a Challenge.” Shoulders back. Voice loud and clear. No one could be in doubt of what was happening. “Sarvarna, I officially Challenge you for the position of Alpha Female.”

“You can’t do that!”

“I can, and I did.”

“Submit,” I said to her through the brain-to-brain network. “You know you can’t beat me, and I don’t want to kill you. Please. Submit.”

Sarvarna stood there debating her options for a second before releasing a breath. “Okay,” she said, her head dipping down. She walked slowly towards me, her shoulders bent forward. Then, when she was standing directly in front of me, her head whipped up. “I accept your Challenge.”

At first, I didn’t understand. I saw her hand clutched around the knife sticking out of my stomach, but it seemed like a stage prop or something. Then, the pain hit and I knew it was real.

Pull it out. Pull it out. Pull it out…

There was a scream piercing the air, but it wasn’t mine. I wanted to tell Liam it was okay, and maybe mention that I loved him, but I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t do much of anything. If only she would pull out the freaking knife…

“I told you I wouldn’t let you take what’s mine.” She rotated her wrist and my vision wavered. “You should have just died like you were supposed to in July.” Another twist. I wasn’t going to make it. “In fact, you never should have existed.”

“And you should have never been Al--” The world started going black. My body went slack, and Sarvarna pulled the knife from my stomach.

Finally.

With the absolute last of my consciousness, I yanked energy from the ground beneath me. Two heartbeats later, Sarvarna found herself pinned to the ground by a very angry arctic wolf.

Submit.

Sarvarna bared her teeth as if she was a wolf herself. It was the last thing she ever did.

Chapter 30

Death has many smells. The sulfuric bite of gunpowder. The metallic tang of blood. The harsh burn of hospital antiseptic.

“Would you like a few moments?”