Okay, what in the hell is up with that? Since when did Leo’s eyes turn red?
“She ran from me. Ran and stayed hidden because she thought I’d done that to her…but it was you.” Leo stared at Luke with hate stamped on his face. “You sent those bastards after her again, didn’t you? Last night? But I was there. I’d found her, and I stopped them.”
“Leo…” Luke began carefully. “I’m really not sure what you’re talking about.”
“The dead paranormals that I left near the shack! The dark ones!” He grabbed Luke’s shoulders and shook him. “I know you sent them! You hurt her! Dammit, I didn’t want the end to be this way! I was trying—all these fucking years trying—to find a way out for us! I didn’t want to kill you. I didn’t want to ever attack my own brother!”
Luke couldn’t speak. For once, someone had caught him truly by surprise.
“But you went after her.” Leo’s teeth had become fangs. “You hurt her. And now I don’t have a choice.” Leo’s claws dug into Luke’s shoulders. “I’m going to kill you.”
He’d always known this moment would come. But… “I swear to you, I didn’t send anyone after Fate. I have never sent anyone after her.”
Leo’s gaze just burned brighter. “The paranormals who hurt her weren’t mine. They were dark. They were yours.”
“Then they weren’t acting under my orders. Even you know we don’t get total power over every being that’s supposed to bow down to us.” A jeep careened into the lot. Luke ignored it—and the humans around him. “Take me to these paranormals. I’ll question them myself. I’ll get answers.”
Leo’s laughter was mocking. “Told you, I killed them. Nothing left but ash because they hurt her.”
“Show me,” Luke demanded. Something wasn’t adding up for him. Something just felt off. “Show me where you killed them. Take me there now.” The human in the back of the truck would just have to wait.
He had more important matters to deal with right then. End-of-the-world matters.
Leo nodded grimly, but his eyes still blazed blood-red.
***
Mora’s hands were tight around the motorcycle’s handle bars. She eased into the lot, and the bike spat gravel from beneath the tires.
Sammy’s Place. When darkness had fallen and there had been no sign of Leo’s return, she’d realized that she couldn’t just sit and twiddle her thumbs forever.
She was Fate. And she had work to do.
She’d tried to deny who she was for so long. She’d been so afraid of using her powers and getting more pain or heartache as a result but…
Maybe things can be different. Maybe.
So she’d come to Sammy’s Place because…she had a bike to return. And a man to save.
She braked the motorcycle near the back of the bar, and yeah, she felt a flare of envy as she stared at the building. Sammy Long was a criminal to his core, a killer, a drug dealer. And he got to keep his bar while her place burned?
Fate…
She slid off the bike. If her visions had been right—and they were, she knew it—tonight was the end for Dax. He’d die in that bar. Get beaten to death. Then Sammy’s goons would dismember him. In her vision, she’d seen a guy with claws tearing Dax limb from limb. Sammy has a shifter in his stable of guards. She’d tried to warn Dax. That hadn’t worked so well.
So now she’d come to save his hide.
I have to do something. I’m tired of the world just passing by. I want to change the end for Dax.
Because if she could change Dax’s fate, if she could give him a different ending, then maybe, just maybe, there was hope that Leo could have a different ending, too.
She headed briskly for the front door. She wouldn’t look like much of a threat. A pretty face would fool the idiots in her way. She’d get inside, find Dax and then—
A groan reached her ears. A very pain-filled groan. She stopped and turned around, her gaze sweeping over the lot.
The groan came again. Her head jerked at the sound.
“H-help…”
She bounded toward the plea. The whisper had come from the back of a battered pick-up truck. Like, seriously, it looked as if something had pounded the hell out of the side of that truck. A deep dent was on the driver’s side. The whispered plea had been so faint that she knew humans hadn’t heard it. But her paranormal hearing had picked up on the cry.
She grabbed the side of the truck and peered into the bed. Her jaw dropped. “Dax?”
“M-Mora…help…”
He was bleeding like a stuck pig. She heaved herself into the back of the truck and put her hands on his wounds, trying to stop the flow of blood. He’d been beaten—that was clear in his broken and twisted nose and in all the bruises that covered his face. But he’d been stabbed, too. Or…
Were those claw marks on him? Did Sammy let his shifter get started early with his cuts?
“L-Leo…saved…me…”
What? Her eyes widened. But then she shook her head. “You aren’t safe yet. You’re lying in a pool of your own blood, and if we don’t get you help soon, you will die.” She had zero healing powers, so she couldn’t miraculously save him with a wave of her hand. Angels could heal—they kind of excelled at that thing, but she couldn’t summon one down to her. That was more Leo’s thing.
Maybe that’s where he is. Maybe he went to get an angel.
But…
Dax started jerking beneath her touch.
“I’m getting you to a hospital!” Mora cried out. “Just—don’t die yet, okay? I really, really need you to live.” Then she jumped out of that truck bed. She wrenched open the driver’s side door and fumbled around inside, searching for keys.
No helpful driver had left keys behind.
So she hot-wired the truck. After all, she owned—or had owned—a bar. And she’d met her share of interesting clientele over the years. One woman in particular had spent some time teaching Mora some handy tricks, like hot-wiring. And money laundering and…
The truck revved to life. Mora shifted to reverse, and the truck flew backward with a heaving groan. Then she shifted hard into drive. They raced out of the graveled parking lot, careening a bit too much as they headed for the highway. Mora rolled down her window as she kept one hand on the wheel. “Stay alive back there!” she yelled at Dax. “You have to stay alive!”
Because if he lived…if he made it through the night…
Fate can change.
Chapter Ten
“Nothing’s here.” Luke paced toward the small cabin—one that bore the black marks of flames on its wood. “Where are the bodies?”
The scent of ash still lingered in the air. “I burned them.”
Luke glanced back at him with raised brows.
“I shifted fully.” He rarely did that. Leo didn’t like it when the beast took over so completely. When that happened, things got…bad.
For everyone.
Leo cleared his throat. “You know how hot the fire burns when it comes straight from the dragon.”
Luke looked worried. A very unusual occurrence. Also, probably something the guy was just faking. But Luke strode toward him with narrowed eyes and a heaving chest. His hands were clenched at his sides. “You don’t let your beast out—and you never let him burn your enemies until they’re only ash.”
Leo gave a bitter laugh. “I saw what they did to her.” Not everything, but enough to push him over the edge. “And they tried to take her from me again a second time. I wasn’t going to let them just walk away to threaten her again. I made sure they weren’t a threat.”
Luke glanced around. “Yeah, but now there’s no clue for me here. I mean, I thought there’d be something…” He whirled and strode toward the cabin. “Maybe something was left inside.”
Leo had searched earlier and found nothing. He didn’t follow his brother. “How long are you going to continue this game?” He figured this place was as good as any other for a final battle spot. At least there were no humans aroun
d. No one who would get caught in the cross-fire.
I didn’t bring Luke out here so he could prove himself to me.
I brought him out here so I could kill him.
Luke was on the cabin’s sagging porch. “I do like games.” He grabbed the wooden railing. “Only this time, I’m not playing.” Then he kicked in the door and strode inside.
Leo’s beast stretched inside of him.
This was it. He’d tried to find another ending, but it hadn’t been in the cards, not for him. Not for his brother.
And as soon as I learned what you tried to do to her, brother, I knew your end had come. Once, he’d planned to not fight Luke. To not raise his hand against his brother. He’d wanted to let Luke live.
But if you sent those men after her…you’re dead, too.
***
“I need help! Now!” Mora burst into the hospital’s emergency room. Her breath was coming in gasps as she glanced frantically around. A security guard rose from his post near the check-in desk, a cup of coffee half-way toward his mouth. A blonde nurse sat behind the desk, and she just waved toward Mora vaguely. “Fill in our patient form and—”
“No!” Did she look like she had time to fill in a patient form? Dax’s blood was all over her. Mora spied a gurney and grabbed it. “I’ve got a man dying in the back of a truck—I need help now!”
That snapped the nurse to attention, but Mora didn’t wait to see if the lady actually sprang into action. She was too busy shoving that gurney out of the sliding glass doors at the ER and rushing her way back to the truck. She yanked down the tail-gate and grabbed Dax’s feet.
He let out a ragged groan. The pain-filled sound was good. It meant he was still alive.
“Keep living,” she urged him. “Don’t you dare give up.” She yanked—using her paranormal strength—and he landed on the gurney. She ran back toward the emergency room and nearly collided with the blonde nurse and the security guard. As soon as they saw the condition of the guy on the gurney, they got to work helping her get him inside.
The nurse yelled for a doctor—lots of them.
“L-Leo…”
Mora glanced down at Dax’s form. Oh, jeez, but that was a lot of blood. If he’d been fully human, she was sure he never would have made it to the hospital. Whatever his paranormal side was…well, that other half was keeping him in the land of the living. For the moment. “Forget about Leo right now,” she told him curtly. “Focus on surviving.”
“S-saved me…”
She still was stunned by that news. It made her heart feel funny. Made her whole body feel warmer.
“I-I…owe h-him…”
Doctors were running toward them.
“Don’t worry about your debt,” she assured him. “I’ll take care of it. But for us to have an even exchange, you have to live, got it?”
The doctors were taking him away.
“Live!” Mora yelled after him.
***
Leo breathed slowly. He stared down at his hands and saw the black claws where his fingertips should have been. Claws—the better for ripping and tearing in battle. Soon his body would be covered in scales. Soon he’d be breathing fire.
Soon he’d be killing his brother…
Or he’ll be killing me.
Wasn’t that the fate that Mora had seen for him so long ago? His body broken and bloody, surrounded by darkness? When she’d first told him that terrible truth, tears had made her voice break. Tears had tracked down her beautiful cheeks.
He’d wondered—as he stared at her pain—just why she cared so much. Fate had to see hundreds of people die. Thousands. Millions.
But she’d cried for him.
And then…then he’d wondered…how does she know I’m the one in that vision? Luke and I look the same. The exact same on the outside, but so different beneath the skin.
“Leo!” Luke was roaring his name.
Leo glanced up at his brother’s shout. Luke was back on the porch, his body tense. Leo swallowed what tasted like ash and said, “I asked her how she could tell the difference between us…when she saw the vision of our final battle and she saw which brother won…I asked Mora how she knew who was victorious. I mean, we have the same face, right? How could she tell the difference?”
“Leo, you need to get your ass in here—and stop waving those claws at me!”
“She said…she said…she’d always know me. That she could be blind, and she’d know me. That she could feel my very soul.” He laughed. “Bullshit, right? That was what I thought. I thought I’d fooled Fate. That I’d gotten her to fall for me.” His laughter faded away. “I left her, still thinking I was the fucking shit—”
“This sharing session was not on today’s to-do list,” Luke snapped at him. He waved his hand toward the cabin. “Will you get your ass in here?”
He took a lumbering step forward. “But then I…missed her.”
“You are such a mess.” Luke shook his head.
“I went back for her, but she wasn’t there.” He took another step forward. Hating this. Hating that he was going to kill his brother. But Fate wasn’t wrong. She was never wrong. “I…I wanted her back.” His hands lifted and he clawed at his chest, barely feeling the skin tear. “I hurt…here. And no matter what I did, the pain wouldn’t stop. She was gone.”
Luke stared at him.
Leo bounded onto the porch and stood toe-to-toe with his brother. “I didn’t think I’d ever feel pain like that again.”
“We all feel pain,” Luke said softly. His face was a tight mask. “And it’s a bitch.”
“But then…then I learned that you were the one behind her torture. You were the one who hurt Mora, and the pain was just as bad as before.” Leo grabbed his brother’s head. Their foreheads touched. “I would have fought anyone and anything to keep you alive. I was doing that, don’t you see? I wanted a chance. For both of us. But then you hurt her.”
“Leo…”
His left hand rose, and his claws pressed right over Luke’s heart. “Only one of us will leave today.”
Luke’s whole body was tense. “You need to fucking look in the cabin.”
“I already did. Nothing was there. And I’m done with your lies.” Leo braced himself. His brother’s blood would be on his hands. “Guess you can’t change fate. No matter how hard you try.”
***
Mora’s eyes were locked on the giant clock that hung on the waiting room wall. One minute until midnight. One minute and it would be a new day.
I saw Dax’s fate. He was supposed to die. But if he can make it past midnight…
Then he would be living a future that she hadn’t seen. He would have changed his fate.
Or maybe I changed it. Or Leo did—but, it would be changed!
A throat cleared, a rough, nervous sound. Her head jerked to the right and she expected to see Barbara. The blonde nurse had tried to get Mora to fill out a police report about Dax—Barbara had asked a million questions, but Mora had just ignored the other woman.
Until the questions stopped.
But Barbara wasn’t there. A man in blue scrubs stood looking at her. Deep lines bracketed his green eyes.
Was this the doctor who’d operated on Dax?
Mora jumped to her feet. “Is he okay?”
The doctor ran a shaking hand over his face.
Mora hurried to him. “Is Dax all right?”
“He…” The doctor paused, swallowed, and the click of his Adam’s apple was too loud in that tomb-quiet waiting room. “He…he died on the table.”
Mora’s knees gave way. She just…fell. Hit the tiled floor that smelled heavily of antiseptic.
I couldn’t change his fate. I can’t change anyone’s.
I can’t…change Leo’s. Despite all my effort and my hope and—
The doctor’s hand landed heavily on her shoulder and he squeezed. “He died.” His voice was a rasp. “He was gone…for fifteen minutes.”
She’d failed. Again.
/> “But then he came back.”
Her head whipped up.
The doctor stared at her in shock. “I didn’t do anything to make him come back.” His voice was low and ragged. “I’d…I’d given up. Too much blood loss. But then, he took a breath. He just took a breath and opened his eyes, and the guy was fine.” He shook his head, as if he still didn’t understand. “That man came back.”
She jumped right back to her feet and glared at him. “You lead with that shit—you don’t start by telling a stressed out woman that her friend died.” She tried to push past him so that she could go back and see Dax.
But the doc grabbed her arm. “He came back! Against science. Against everything I know, that man started breathing again. His wounds healed.” He shook his head, again and again. “What happened?”
She had a suspicion, but she’d need to see Dax to be sure. “Take me to him.”
Swallowing again, his whole body shaking, the doctor nodded.
***
“Don’t commit an act you’ll regret.” Luke’s voice was calm even though his body was tight with battle-ready tension. He wasn’t fighting Leo. He was just standing there. Waiting. “Because there’s a line…one that neither of us has ever crossed.”
No. Luke had crossed all lines when he hurt Mora.
“Come into the cabin, brother,” Luke told him quietly. “Because you missed something before. Something pretty damn big.”
Leo blinked. He wanted to believe his brother. “You lie so well. I’m not even sure your closest friends can tell your truths from your lies.” He’d stopped being able to tell the difference long ago.
Luke just gave him a twisted half-smile. “You’re one to talk. All this time, I thought you were the biggest asshole on earth, and you were trying to find a way to stop us from killing each other?”
“Not each other,” he said quietly. “Only one dies, remember?”
The smile slipped away from Luke’s face. “Get in the cabin. Just look at what I found.”