When I felt strong arms around my middle, I knew it was Lachlan, trying to yank me away from the Maker.
Frustration flared in the eyes of my enemy, and defeat followed. He knew he couldn’t fight us both.
And then, to my surprise, I felt the slice of pain at my shoulder.
He’d cut me.
Out of the corner of my vision, I saw him press a glass vial to the wound, collecting a sample of blood. It all happened so quickly.
“I’ve got what I need,” he hissed. With a great yank, he pulled away and released me, then disappeared.
Lachlan and I tumbled backward, landing in a pile on the ground. I scrambled upright, still in wolf form, and looked around.
The Maker was gone. The guards were all dead, their bodies scattered in puddles of blood. I turned back to Lachlan, who stared at me with awe on his face. “You’re magnificent.”
I looked down at myself, able to catch glimpses of white fur.
I was big.
Really big.
He knelt at my side, inspecting the wound at my shoulder. “You’re hurt.”
Why the hell had the Maker wanted my blood? Same reason he’d wanted me, probably. And we had no idea what that was.
I needed to be able to speak.
Shifting back to human form was as natural as breathing. One moment I was a wolf, the next, I was human. The flash of magic that accompanied the change was like quicksilver.
Panting, I knelt in front of Lachlan. He gripped me by the waist, helping me stay upright, and inspected my shoulder. “You’ve healed.”
He was right—I could no longer feel the pain—and I met his gaze. “Are you all right?”
He nodded. “More importantly, are you?”
“I think so.” I staggered to my feet. “Let’s go check on the others.”
He rose, wrapping an arm around my waist and helping me walk. All of my wounds had healed in the transition, but I was so exhausted that I could barely stand. As quickly as I could, I gathered up the Moon Stones and stored them in the bag I kept in the ether.
We exited the chambered tomb, which looked like a massive, grassy hill from the outside. In front of us, my friends walked through the woods. There were no more enemies, and I was able to account for everyone, thank fates.
Lachlan
* * *
A day later, after everyone had healed, I visited the Shadow Guild tower. Everyone in my pack had survived, though there had been some gruesome injuries. Even Garreth had made it back, thank fates.
Unfortunately, his eyes had gone entirely black after the battle, his mind escaping him. However he’d managed to hold off the curse, he was no longer able to. It was almost as if he’d found the strength to help us, and then given up.
In a brief moment of clarity, he’d tried to get me to put him down.
I’d refused. No way in hell could I do that. It would break me.
Fortunately, my pack had agreed. They’d seen how Garreth had fought on our side to save me. Seen how he’d fought the curse.
Though we knew it was impossible, we’d agreed to try to find a cure. Until then, Garreth was locked in a tower room with a constant guard.
I hadn’t seen Eve since we’d parted ways after the battle. We hadn’t spoken about the night in the cell, and I didn’t know if we ever would. It’d been the most miraculous hour of my life, but it was over.
It had to be over. The Dark Moon curse still dogged my heels, and Mordaca’s potion was quickly losing efficacy. The moment I fell in love with Eve, it was over for me. Hell, I was almost there already.
I probably shouldn’t even see her, but I had to know she was okay.
When I reached the door to her tower, it swung open. Carrow stared at me, then stepped aside.
I entered and immediately spotted Eve by the fire. Her gaze flashed to me, and her lips parted. “Lachlan. What are you doing here?”
“Checking on you.”
“I’m fine.” She rubbed her chest. “My magic doesn’t tear me apart anymore. I still don’t fully understand it, but it’s not hurting me.”
“You’ll learn what you’re capable of.” She’d been the most magnificent wolf I’d ever seen. Larger than any other, with bright blue eyes and a beautiful white coat. Her power would become legendary, I was sure. There were no others like her. “I need to know what you think the Maker is after.”
“We don’t know.” She frowned, wrapping her arms around her legs. “But he wanted my blood for some reason. He’s going to do something awful with it, I’m sure.”
“Hey, now,” Carrow said. “We’ll take care of that. You’re more powerful than ever.”
Carrow was right. We might not have succeeded in stopping the Maker, but Eve’s transition was an arrow in our quiver.
“I just still don’t understand how it happened to me,” she said. “Why am I the dire wolf?”
“We’ll figure that out,” I said. “We’ll have answers, Eve, and we’ll stop him.”
“I hope so. Because nothing was as it seemed.”
I nodded, feeling the same. More than anything, I wanted to sweep her up in my arms and carry her away from this. Lock her away in some tower to be safe for the rest of her life.
But that wasn’t an option.
She had to face her fate, and I couldn’t be near her.
I stepped back toward the door. I’d seen what I needed to see—she was safe.
“I’ll have Kenneth start looking for more answers,” I said. “We won’t stop until we know what’s going on.”
She nodded, saying nothing as I turned and left. Walking away from her was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, but it was necessary.
There could be nothing between us, no matter what fate decreed.
* * *
~~~
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I hope you enjoyed Pack of Lies! The adventure isn’t over yet. The next one is coming in early May. Click here to get it.
THANK YOU FOR READING!
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I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews are so helpful to authors. I really appreciate all reviews, both positive and negative. If you want to leave one, you can do so at Amazon or GoodReads.
Acknowledgments
Thank you, Ben, for everything. There would be no books without you.
Thank you to Jena O’Connor and Ash Fitzsimmons for your excellent editing. The book is immensely better because of you! Thank you to Susie Johnson and Jenna Ossip-Klein for the excellent typo hunting.
Thank you to my amazing narrator Laurel Schroeder for bringing the character’s voices to life.
Thank you to Orina Kafe for the beautiful cover art and Chris Sim for the guild crests.
For Saun.
Author’s Note
Hey there! I hope you enjoyed Pack of Lies. There’s quite a lot of archeology and history in this one. Much of it revolves around the Viking period in Scotland.
Scotland, particularly the northern islands, was heavily influenced by the Viking diaspora. In the late 8th century, Vikings (primely from Norway) began to colonize parts of Scotland. They set up towns and Earldoms, taking over entire islands. Orkney and Shetland were two places where Vikings concentrated, but they also built settlements on the mainland and in the Hebrides.