Pack Ruin (The Splintered Bond #3)

25. A Bargain with the Devil

25

A Bargain with the Devil

GLEN

T he devil itself had me in its grip, but I wasn’t going down without a fight. Its claws were still tangled in my hair, its breath warm on my face, as I dug deep into my well of power and called on my wolf to answer. I couldn’t move, but fur prickled on the backs of my hands, and my claws and teeth lengthened. If I could somehow manage to open my jaws, I would?—

“Peace, little brother,” the beast with the glowing eyes rasped, then let go of me.

I scrambled away on the floor, trying to stay quiet. I had to get Luke out of here, away from this. The creature pulled himself out from under the bed and lay panting, propped up against the wall.

Only it wasn’t a creature. It was a man. One I knew.

“ Joaquin? ”

“Grigor,” he corrected with a soft groan.

I shook my head as he pulled himself up to sitting. He looked awful, his normally bronzed skin almost gray, his face drawn. “What the fuck were you doing under Luke’s bed?”

“I was… keeping him alive.” He rasped out a few short sentences that were so ridiculous, they had to be true. Crazy, cruel shit. Torran cutting into Luke, the machines being taken away. “He’s only alive now… because I breathe for him. My power is moving the blood through his veins, pumping his heart.”

“How?” I stood, skirting Joaquin until I stood next to the bed again.

“Magic, little brother. I am Grigor Dimitri?—”

“No.” I cut him off. “I don’t want to hear that name. I’m not going to stay in a room with the fucking boogeyman of all wolf shifters.” His eyes flew to mine, and I immediately dropped my gaze. Damnit. I forced myself to look back up, though I had to stare at his nose. “You are Joaquin Villalobos, from the Borderlands. Got it?”

He nodded and tried to stand, but pitched over. I caught him before he could hurt himself, helping him up onto the bed beside Luke. Joaquin was shorter than Luke, his skin dark against the white sheet, and he looked almost innocent as he lay there, panting. But when he opened his eyes, and the red flames there danced…

“Close your eyes,” I snapped.

He sighed heavily. “You’re here for me.”

“For Luke,” I corrected.

“Of course. But Flor came for me, when I called, yes?” I just sneered, not willing to answer. “I won’t be able to leave this room and go to our mate with my eyes closed.” He hesitated. “Or not in my current state, in any case.”

“Cryptic fucker,” I muttered, checking on Luke again. He was no closer to waking up than he had been, though his skin felt slightly warmer. When I remarked on it, Joaquin looked resigned.

“I had to… connect our souls, in order to save him.”

“You what? ”

He snarled, the fire in his eyes flashing like red and blue lightning. “He was dying. No, he was dead. His wolf was all that was left, and I wasn’t certain I could even save that part of him. But our queen will need all of her mates to be whole. So I made the choice. I bound myself to him. I brought him back.”

“His wolf?”

“I think… I think he will be whole. I’m not certain. He hasn’t awoken since. I’ve poured everything I have into him, to try and heal both of his natures.”

“Why would you do that?” I was beyond shocked. I’d known that Flor felt an unrealized mate bond to this guy, though I’d tried not to think about it, hoping that if she had to let one mate go, it would be this one.

But he’d tied himself to Luke, to save his life. Why?

His mouth turned up at the corners, and I saw the answer in his flickering eyes. “Is there anything you wouldn’t do to keep her from harm, from pain? I would burn down the world.”

I blinked at him for a moment, understanding. Wishing I didn’t. “Again. I heard you already did it once. Heard you killed more shifters than all the wars since time began.”

“How could I have done that?” he asked calmly, trying to sit up, but failing. “I’m only Joaquin, an unimportant shifter from the Borderlands.” Against my better judgment, and ignoring the way my wolf cowered inside me, I leaned over to help him up.

This time when I touched him, it felt like grabbing a live wire. Energy began to pour out of me. “Let go,” he ground out, his jaw tight. “Let go now! ”

The command in his voice was so much more powerful than any Alpha dominance I’d ever felt that my body obeyed before my mind could process the words.

“What was that?” I stared at my hands. They didn’t look burned. The weakness I’d felt vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.

“Apologies, young brother. I didn’t mean to pull your strength away. I’m weaker now than I’ve ever been, and it was instinct.”

I ignored him, because Luke’s eyes were opening slightly. His lips formed my name before he fell back into unconsciousness.

“He woke up!” My voice was far too loud for the situation we were in, and Joaquin glared at me. With a wince, I whispered, “He spoke, or tried to.”

“You are young, but very powerful. Your new bond with our little mate is a seductive source of energy for my wolf, and for Luke’s. It is best you do not touch me again.”

I thought for a moment. “You’re saying if I touch you, you could accidentally suck me dry?”

He lifted one dark eyebrow. “Crudely put, but yes. It is possible.”

“What about Luke? What if I touch him? Could he pull—” Joaquin was already shaking his head. “I meant, could you pull energy from me through him, enough to wake him up, so he can walk out of here? I don’t think I can carry him to the fence without being caught.” I didn’t mention that Joaquin looked almost half-dead himself. There really wasn’t a safe way to tell an immortal, evil, uber-powerful creature that he looked like shit.

“It might work,” he admitted at last. “I had to create a significant bond… I could facilitate the transfer, though it might mean another bond…” He let out a long exhale that might have been a laugh. “I have done many things over the course of my long life. I find this… not knowing… exhilarating.”

I was almost certain “exhilarating” was another way of saying “terrifying.” I focused on a different part of his rambling. “Another bond?”

He nodded slowly. “You may become connected to Luke in the same way that I am. And…”

“Connected to you as well.”

“Yes.”

Fuck. My breath was shaky as I let it out. I couldn’t do this without knowing. “Will it hurt Flor?”

“No. I would never allow it. I would use the last of my power to keep that from happening, even if it meant my own death.”

“And Luke’s.”

He nodded.

I understood. But did he? “I’m a rogue now, but I still follow the moon’s laws. I can’t be bonded to a wolf who has no honor. Who’d kill indiscriminately. Who’d make flowers out of intestines, for fuck’s sake.”

He regarded me for a long moment, then asked, “Did she like them?” I didn’t want to answer, but finally, I nodded once. “What did she say?”

“She said… Damnit, she said it was sweet.”

That eyebrow arched again. “You are already bound to a behrserk , little brother. What will you do when she kills again? Will you cast her aside? Will you make her feel that she is not worthy of your bond, because she was forged in a hotter fire, made for greater feats than you can imagine?”

I was already shaking my head. “She’s not like that. She’s not a cold-blooded killer.”

“We are all like that , as you say,” he murmured. “Given the right spark, we are all one breath away from embracing the worst of our natures. I’ll understand if you would not risk a bond with me. If Luke dies, if I die as well, she will survive. I will ensure it. The magical bond I made with her is tenuous, and I could make its cleaving painless.” His gaze bored into me, and I shivered under its weight. “But I believe she would not thank you for taking that choice from her. I also believe you have too much courage not to try.”

Outside, the wind picked up, whistling around the corners of the Pack House, a sense of urgency in the sound. “One condition,” I managed to say, though my tongue was dry in my mouth, and my throat clogged with fear. Joaquin nodded. “You can’t call me little brother. I’m at least six inches taller than you.”

His quiet laughter spilled through the room, somehow painting the walls with shadows. “We have a bargain.”

“A bargain with the devil. What could go wrong?” I muttered before I closed my eyes, and laid my hand on Luke’s chest, right over his heart.It was time to wake him.