Rivals and Retribution by Shannon Delany Page A

scent of Mommy’s brandy-spiked coffee—whispered, “Rest. Regroup. Feed .”
    Grasping the door frame we lowered our head and dug our fingers into the wood. We fed, pulling from the door frame and wall until wallpaper and plaster cracked and flaked and the ceiling began to sag.
    “Not too much,” Mommy warned, her voice edging into a hysterical tone. “Derek, Derek—you need to let go—get out before she buckles or you’ll be trapped.…”
    But we were high on the sensation, our head full of clouds, our feet so light if we let go of the wall we might drift away, lost.…
    “Derek— now ,” Mommy commanded.
    But her voice held no power, no authority. It was a whisper among the dark rain that now fell in the forest of Wanda’s mind.
    Then everything shuddered and the high was snatched away, replaced by a throbbing headache.
    “Out. Now!” A voice boomed like a crack of thunder as lightning raked the sky.
    “Father,” we said with a gulp, and let go of the door frame and raced out into the hall, the door slamming shut behind us. We ran down the hall, back toward the main doorway and out into her brain, vaulting backward out of the gray matter, skull and flesh, and slamming back into our body—Derek’s body.
    Our eyes peeled open, the throbbing behind our skull so intense we bent over to catch our breath and try to clear the fireworks that burst across our field of vision.
    “I told you that you had to be tough with him. If you’re weak, he’ll be weak. And the little bastard will ruin everything we’ve worked so hard for on this project.” Father leaned over us, grabbing us by the shoulder and forcing us to sit up so fast, we thought we’d die. “Quit screwing around. You have a job. Do it. We can’t afford a screwup like the last time. Get yourself under control.” Then he strode out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
    We rubbed our head, our eyes screwed tight against the light in the room that seemed to want to pierce our eyelids and drive into our eyeballs like railroad spikes. “Where’s he going?” we asked, our voice thick with misery.
    “Out to see some woman, no doubt,” Mommy hissed. She patted our hand in a conciliatory gesture. “But don’t you worry. How do you feel?”
    “Rested. Ready to tackle anything.”
    “Excellent.”
    And I knew that resting and regrouping mentally was what I needed to do, too.
    So I closed my eyes and thought back to my training as a competitive shooter, thought back to calming things, and let my pulse and my breathing slow.
    Alexi
    Rescue attempts are seldom as easy as they appear in the movies. And so it was true of our circumstances. Max’s superior nose tracked them easily to a particular mountain road. Thanks to the borrowed truck, we roared toward it.
    Roared was an apt description not because of our amazing speed but because of the more amazing lack of any truly discernible muffler on the beast we rode.
    Cat had explained the flaw in the cure to Pietr and so he pouted, even less useful than before as he wracked his brain to decide how he might break past the cure and be oborot once more.
    “If the car crash didn’t trigger it…,” he grumbled.
    Cat patted his hand. “The car crash happened too fast. I think the change must be triggered by a building desperation. Perhaps you must be close to death. Or perhaps someone you love…” She looked away.
    “That is far from encouraging. But you don’t know if that is what it takes to trigger the wolf’s return,” he said, catching her gaze and holding it with his.
    She shook her head, dark curls tumbling around her heart-shaped face. “ Pravda . I do not know. There seems no certainty in this.”
    “Then I guess today we will find out exactly what it takes,” he said, setting his jaw stubbornly and once more turning to face out the window.
    Marlaena
    We parked the car, and Gabe hefted Jessica over his shoulder, carrying her to a large lump in the snow. He dumped her on the