Page 148

The crones ignored it and me and rushed to Charity. “It’s nearly dawn, he comes,” one of them said, and there was genuine fear in her eyes.

“We need the wolves gone to perform the ritual,” another said.

“Then we must rise, if we’re to use our magic beyond this realm,” Charity said.

One of the crones shook her head. “But they’re not ready.”

“No, but enough for what we need them to do.” The loud, booming sound came again. Charity looked up. “We can’t wait.”

I didn’t understand what they were saying, what was happening. “Don’t hurt him. You can have me, but let them go,” I said. If anything happened to Draven, I wouldn’t survive it.

Charity turned to me. “We already have you, you little fool.”

Penny grabbed my arm again. “Come on.”

“Let her watch us destroy him,” Charity said. “Let her see what happens to those who dare to get in our way.”

“No! Don’t hurt him.” I ran for the door as they walked out. One of the crones lifted her hand and a ward rose in front of it. I collided with it hard and was knocked to the floor. I scrambled back up and ran to the window, watching as Charity and the crones walked toward Draven.

He turned and froze. He could see them.

Somehow, he could see them.

CHAPTER 39

Draven

Four corpses lurched toward me.

Mainly bone held together by exposed sinew and ligaments, the flesh and skin still forming.

They were reanimating before my eyes.

The crones.

And Charity.

All four were focused on me.

Asher and Dirk growled beside me, moving forward.

“Give her to us,” a disembodied voice said from one of the corpses. “And we’ll let you live.”

Skin, pink and raw, crept over their skulls and faces. Their hair sprouted, growing in seconds, until it reached halfway down their backs.

Then there she was.

Charity.

Her body was still catching up, but her head and face were almost back to the way she’d once been. She lifted her bony arms. “Give her to me, wolf.”

“Never, you evil bitch,” I snarled.

“You are pitiful,” she said, her eyes filled with hatred. “You are using my weak little niece as a replacement for my do-gooder sister. Males truly are the weaker sex. The organ between your legs has you ready to risk being trapped for another three hundred years.” She laughed, and the crones laughed with her.

“Iris is my mate. Selene was nothing.” I didn’t know what the hell to do. We couldn’t fight against magic. But this was where I needed to be. I felt Iris here, in this place. She was close, and she needed me.

I wanted to fucking roar.