Loss

Lake

It’s midday when Sylas and I come across the familiar scent of Lucy’s territory. The surrounding area is unusually quiet and desolate.

“I thought you said guards would be crawling all over the place,” Sylas says.

“There’s supposed to be,” I reply as we get closer to the sentry trees.

Dread fills me when I spot drag marks on the ground. The smell of dried blood lingers, though the scent is almost as old as Derrick’s on the rock marker.

Several decomposing limbs are scattered across the landscape—legs, arms, torsos, even the occasional head. The sentry trees are ripped in half, leaning against each other for support.

I gag as the scent of death finally takes over my senses. “What the hell happened here?”

“That witch is what happened.”

I jump as a figure appears behind me. Sylas readies himself for a fight as we both turn to see who the person is. A pair of familiar black eyes stare back at me.

“Coal?” I ask tentatively.

“Good to see you, Lake.” Coal smiles sadly and pulls me into a hug. We’re in-laws, if you want to be technical about it. That being said, I can’t say that I expected him ~or~ a hug, so it’s kinda awkward.

“Why’re—how…” My words are jumbled in my head. “The last time I saw you, you were going back to the Celestial Realm.”

“I renounced my Fate status,” Coal replies.

“You were a Fate?” Sylas almost scoffs. “Like one of ~the~ Fates?”

“That help oversee wolf society?” Coal eyes Sylas up and down. “Yes.”

I huff. “Nuh–uh, focus.” I snap my fingers, catching the attention of the two men. “We aren’t doing the whole wolf-vampyre feud thing right now. I need to know what happened.”

“The witch happened, Lake,” Coal says again. “She came here the night you and Derrick left. She tried to abduct Lucy, but I got here just in time.

“However, in order to get my mate out, I had to jump back into the mortal realm on a night when the line was the strongest. The cost was my status, but I didn’t think twice about it. Lucy’s more important.”

I nod in understanding. “What did the witch want?”

“She kept cackling about an army, and how she needed soldiers.” Coal’s face hardens as he remembers. “Lucy and I were able to escape, but everyone else was either captured or slaughtered.

“By the witch?” I ask, startled. Had she really grown so powerful?

“No, by these wolves that had nothing but killing on their minds. They acted almost...feral.”

Sylas and I exchange an uneasy glance. This sounds awfully familiar.

“We got away and came back a few weeks later,” Coal explains. “The camp is mostly back to normal, but Lucy decided to keep the outside like this to keep wandering rogues away. Speaking of which, why are you here?”

“Derrick has been captured,” I blurt out. “I was hoping Lucy could help us.”

“What the fuck did you do to my brother now?” Lucy emerges from behind a fallen tree, an expression of utter hatred on her face.

“Lu—” Coal starts.

“No, it’s okay,” I interject. “Lucy, please. I need your help.”

“I heard everything, Lake,” Lucy growls. “What happened to my brother? Where’s Derrick?”

“My grandfather has him,” I answer. “Please, just listen, I’ll tell you—”

“I knew you would do nothing but get him killed!” Lucy exclaims. She barrels towards me, but her mate catches her just inches away from me.

Lucy looks between me and Sylas. “And you’re travelling with a fucking vampyre?!”

“Lucy, stop,” Coal commands. “Just listen. Hear her out.”

“No!” Lucy struggles against Coal’s grip. The frenzied look in her eye almost reminds me of the one in Derrick’s eyes the last time I saw him.

Her face is scarred and dirty, too. Eyebrows untamed, nails dirty, her skin and hair unwashed—I hardly recognize her.

Sylas shifts until he’s standing between me and Lucy, and Coal struggles to keep his grasp on his mate. Lucy resembles a cat swatting at a string. Her efforts are in vain, but she doesn’t seem to care.

“This is what you lived with?” Sylas whispers. “How did you survive?”

“Shut up,” I growl low. “Now is not the time for jokes.’

Sylas puts his hands in the air in silent, sarcastic surrender.

Lucy’s struggles begin to fizzle out and tears prick her eyes.

~Is her hatred for me that bad?~

“Lucy, if not for me, then—”

She screams, “My baby would still be here!”

Anything I’m going to say vanishes from my mind at Lucy’s words.

“What?” is all I can manage to breathe out.

“My baby! Our son!” Lucy motions to Coal and herself. I can see a pained expression on Coal’s face as his mate begins to wail uncontrollably.

“How is that—”

“The stress and constant anxiety was too much for her body to handle.” Coal soothes his mate as she sobs into his chest. “She miscarried shortly after the attack.”

“That’s not Lake’s fault,” Sylas says, trying to defend me as I stand there, utterly shocked.

“You stay out of this, you bastard!” Lucy chokes on her own tears. “You have no idea who we are or what happened!”

“Lucy, I’m so—”

“Save it!” Lucy growls furiously. “You’ve been nothing but bad luck since you came into my brother’s life!”

I fall silent, my eyes glued to the ground. My emotions shut down, the pain encasing me in a fog.

“Wherever my brother is, at least it’s better than being with you!” Lucy spits.

“He could be killed!” I shout.

Lucy snarls. “With a mate like you, maybe he’d be better off dead!”