Chapter 148

Renee

The salt and rot of the docks hit me before I even saw the water. The rogues shoved me forward, rough hands biting into my arms, until we broke through the last stretch of shadows.

That’s when I saw him.

The man standing on the edge of the dock, next to a small motorboat rocking gently against its tether. His eyes were cold, calculating. And before my brain could even catch up, my chest seized with recognition.

I’d seen those eyes before. Seen him before in my dreams.

No—my memories.

The night my mother died.

The figure leaning over her as she struggled, as water bubbled past her lips. His hand pressing her down. The silent, terrible weight of him as her life slipped away.

It was him.

Rage exploded through me so violently my hands shook, I thrashed against the men holding me, pulling at the restraints they'd twined around my wrists.

“You,” I spat, my voice raw. “It was you! Andrew, right?”

"Your memory is irritating." Andrew’s gaze slid over me like I was an insect. “Should’ve stayed out of it, girl.” He motioned lazily to the rogues. “In the boat.”

I fought, but their grip was iron. The wooden planks of the dock thudded under my flats. I lost one as they dumped me into the boat, ropes biting into my wrists and ankles. Andrew stepped in after me, crouching just long enough to grab a gun from under the bench seat.

My heart stuttered when I saw the faint shimmer coating the bullet tips.

Wolfsbane.

It clicked. He wasn’t here for me. He was waiting for Dominic.

I was just bait. Vivian was probably just bait, too. This was all so much worse than simply being the bane of Vivian's existence.

Andrew planned to shoot him, cripple him, maybe kill him outright. My stomach twisted. If Dominic showed up in wolf form, one shot would drop him. And Andrew knew it.

And if that happened, I'd kill him myself. No matter what it took.

“You’re going to pay for everything you've done,” I hissed, pulling at the bindings until the rope burned my skin.

Andrew’s mouth curved into something sharp and humorless. “No, sweetheart. I’m going to finish what I started, and you'll be dead before anyone knows anything. Thank you for getting that little winch killed, by the way.”

The sound of claws scraping on wood reached my ears before I even saw him. Dominic burst from the shadows of the dock, his growl vibrating through the night air, his claws glowing like in my dreams, a giant moonlight-furred wolf.

"Look out!"

Andrew’s arm snapped up, the gun trained on Dominic.

Not a chance.

I threw myself forward, slamming my shoulder into Andrew just as the gun went off. The shot rang out, and Dominic’s roar turned into a sharp, pained sound. I heard the splash before I saw him hit the lake, shifting mid-fall back into his human form, the wolfsbane wound already searing the skin on his shoulder.

The gun clattered against the edge of the boat, and I didn’t think—I kicked it as hard as I could. It spun in the air before hitting the water with a satisfying splash.

“You little—” Andrew’s face twisted. His hand clamped down on my arm, dragging me upright.

Then he shoved me back over the side. I kicked and pushed but it was no use. Bubbles blinded me. The icy slap of the lake stole the air from my lungs.

“I should’ve just drowned you years ago!” His voice was muffled by the rush of water over my head, but I caught the venom in it before darkness swallowed me whole.

The cold was everywhere: inside my chest, in my bones, crushing me from all sides. Andrew’s hand was still tangled in my shirt when it happened.

He froze. I lifted up enough to breathe, trying to get free. At first I thought he’d just slipped, but then his whole body locked up, his face twisting like something invisible had sunk its claws into him. He sucked in a jagged breath, the sound more panic than rage.

“What the—” he choked, eyes wide, staring at nothing.

The lake shuddered beneath us. The water started to churn violently, rocking the boat so hard that I slipped into the water off the edge.

Then the sky cracked open.

The current pulled at me, heavy and cold, but I thrashed anyway, desperate to reach the surface. Somewhere above, Andrew thought he’d just killed both of us.

Somewhere below, I could still feel Dominic.

And I knew I wasn’t going to let either of us die here.

But I still didn't know how to swim and the water was so cold.

The current pulled and tugged. I thrashed, until I could feel something beneath my feet.

I breached the surface. Dark clouds gathered faster than any storm I’d ever seen, swallowing the moonlight. The air charged with raw, electric magic. I could taste it on my tongue.

Andrew was clutching his side, and that’s when I saw him. The shadows didn’t just move, they rose from the edge of the dock, solidifying into something massive. Someone.

Neil.

He stepped out of that darkness like it had been made for him, eyes burning that unnatural, furious red. The air around him pulsed, and the water below obeyed him, lifting in swells that slapped against the boat.

Andrew actually stumbled back. Clearly terrified as the waters carried me closer to the shore. He looked like a man staring at his own execution.

“You—” he started, but Neil moved before the word was fully out.

In one motion, Neil yanked him from the boat like he weighed nothing, slamming him onto the dock.

“So you're the reason,” Neil said, his voice low, dangerous, and not entirely human. "I was wondering how long it would take for me to find you, traitor."

I barely had time to process before a tug on my body pulled me toward shore like invisible hands were carrying me closer and closer to shore. My skin prickled with magic as my feet touched wet sand, and I collapsed to the ground just as Dominic washed up too with a groan.

I wriggled out of the bonds around my wrists and yanked the ones off my ankles, scrambling to him.

"Dominic?"

He was pale, bleeding, but his eyes were open.

"Thank the Goddess." I pressed my hand to his shoulder, searching for the bullet, but I realized it wasn’t lodged there at all.

“It went through,” I told him, breathless. “It’s not in you.”

His gaze darted past me, jaw tightening. “Renee…are you…”

I turned.

Neil stood over Andrew, a wolfsbane knife in hand, the blade already slick with blood. He drove it into Andrew’s thigh, twisting until Andrew screamed.

“What were you planning for her?” Neil demanded. “I don't have the patience to hunt down all of your accomplices. They won't survive it."

"I---"

“Talk!” Neil roared, the sound echoing like thunder.

And Andrew did, between gasps and curses, he confessed. He’d poisoned Dominic before the wedding to make sure he could never have another child. He thought Vivan was Dominic's child, but she wasn't.

"That stupid bitch ruined the plan!" He cried.

Apparently, my mother was a part of the plan to get him control of Brightclaw. He wasn't her other lover, but he had targeted her for her wealth. He wanted her to have his child. He wanted to kill me to ensure that he would have control over the money. It seemed like all of his plans had backfired.

I looked back at Dominic, who looked shaken and maybe a little ashamed. My stomach dropped, but Neil didn’t even flinch, just ripped the blade out.

Tyler's father was one of his accomplices. That didn't surprise me. What did, surprisingly, was when Neil stood. Grabbed Andrew by the collar and proceeded to drag him towards the dock's edge.

The lake surged up to meet them in a wall of water.

“I think drowning fits,” Neil said, almost conversational, as water started to rise over Andrew’s boots.

“Neil!” My voice was hoarse, but he didn’t turn.

The crash of footsteps and shouts broke through the trees. Mountainhowl forces spilled onto the docks, weapons drawn, Arielle at the front, her eyes locked on Neil.

“Let him go.”

Neil’s head tilted, and for a moment I thought he’d refuse. The water around Andrew was already over his face. He flailed.

“Neil,” Arielle added, and there was iron in her tone. "I have my own pound of flesh to get."

The red in Neil’s eyes dimmed slightly. He looked down at Andrew like he was weighing whether the man was worth the trouble of refusing. He glanced at me, then he released him, letting him drop in a heap on the dock.

But even from here, I could tell. Neil had wanted to finish it. And part of me wanted him to.