For the first time in her life, Joan struggled with staying among her sea-sisters instead of running ahead. They had found Etheridge's blood in the dungeons beneath the castle. His blood, but not him. Now they searched throughout the many rooms of the castle, as thorough as when collecting abalone. It nearly drove her mad, but she knew this was the best way to find him and get out safely.
Servants and courtiers fled in their presence. So did some of the guards once they saw how many sea-wolves there were and that they knew how to fight with blades and bullets as well as their teeth. Even so, they left each room full of bodies. If she weren't so damn mad, she'd almost feel sorry for the guards. They had thick uniforms and deadly silver, but most didn't even know how to change form while being ripped apart by her and her sisters.
Her movements were so wild that at one point Nora caught her and gave her a shake. "That throat's been gone since your second bite. Just keep focused and remember he'll be fine. Izzie will make sure he stays alive."
It kept the haze of red in her mind at bay, and she fell into the rhythm of the others while they continued through the castle. Halfway up, they found a wolf with Etheridge's blood on his shoes. He already wore the same gold badge that had been Etheridge's. Joan changed over into her skin before approaching him, realizing he must be the new royal inspector.
"Where is he?" she growled, while Nora held his own silver dagger to his throat.
The wolf looked very pale. Sweat darkened his blond hair as his gaze followed the blood trails down her chin and throat. "I won't fight you. If you let me go, I'll just leave."
"That's not what I asked."
"Etheridge is with the queen. The highest tower."
Without a word, some of the sea-sisters moved closer to Joan, sensing her decision to head straight up there. As she stripped a knife and gun from a guard's body, the inspector added, "We've also caught the sea-wolf he tried to save. She'sâ"
"Doing better than you," said Nora, and laughed. Then she glanced at Joan. "Should we spare him?"
"Whatever you think," said Joan, already intent on fighting a way to the next staircase.
Her heart hammered in her chest but her limbs felt tireless as she and her sea-sisters went up and up. Dread pushed her along countless stairs and through opulent rooms. What if they were too late? What if she only found a body?
Finally, just as they passed by walls upholstered in red velvet, she caught Etheridge's scent. Pain and rage filled it, but he lived. Her throat was too dry to howl as they reached massive gold doors, but one of her sisters did. On the other side, Izzie whistled back, using the same call as when she was unharmed but hunting something dangerous. The amount of blood already smelled overwhelming.
It took two she-wolves to pull open either door. When they finally managed it, a figure flew out at them. A she-wolf in a fine gold dress, wild-eyed and gasping for breath. She held a knife and was covered in blood that smelled unfamiliar. Something looked wrong with her face. Then Joan saw the gold tiara tangled in the hair at the back of the she-wolf's neck, as if it had been ripped off her head during a struggle. The queen of the Upper Mulgrew Pack, wearing a stolen face.
With a snarl, Joan lunged with her dagger. Her timing was perfect from hunting swift sharks and shy fish; the queen didn't stand a chance. The blade slashed from cheek to cheek and then back across the throat. The other she-wolf managed to clutch at her face while crumpling to the floor, but Joan's attention had already moved on, and she left the queen to her sisters.
As she and the others streamed inside the room, her heart felt as violent as the sea during a storm. What was she about to find? What was she about to be left with?
A fire crackled in a massive hearth, highlighting Etheridge as he unlocked his handcuffs with sharp, angry movements. A guard's body twitched nearby, his neck ruined. Relief slammed into Joan like a wave as he looked over at the sound of their arrival, expression dangerous.
"Etheridge!" She didn't even realize she had moved from the door until she found herself kneeling beside him, hands hovering by his bloodied face while her sea-sisters swarmed around the lone guard trying to fend off Izzie.
"Joan." His voice sounded hoarse as he caught her chin, heedless of the blood on her skin. His amber eyes grew as bright and hot as the flames behind him. "You're all right."
Then he pulled her into a hug and pushed his face into her neck, drawing in a ragged breath. She clung to him just as fiercely. Time stopped existing as their hearts hammered together.
Her next words refused to stay steady. "We followed your scent from the dungeons. All the way through this damn castle."
He chuckled against her throat before shifting enough to look at her. "So, that's why no other guards appeared."
She also laughed while burying fingers in his hair. She never wanted to stop touching him. "Always figuring things out."
As his mouth moved within inches of hers, he murmured, "You know how it is. I'm an inspector. We like our neatly tied ends."
Then he kissed her, revealing all his hidden passion. Once upon a time, she'd believed city wolves had lost their wildness. Now she knew better, at least with him. His mouth was rough, tender, and ferocious in all the best ways, heating her blood until she felt dizzy. She found herself having to break it off to pant against him, found herself grinning like a fool while he nuzzled her, also smiling.
A whistle startled them apart, as playful as the words that followed. "Already distracted, Joan?"
Laughter rippled among her sea-sisters, many who had changed back into their skin, while she flushed and said, "Be nice, now. His head is probably still spinning."
"I'd say it's yours that's spinning." That came from Nora, who had appeared in the room with the rest of the sea-wolves. The castle was theirs.
She and Etheridge rose to their feet amid another wave of good-natured laughter. Her focus jumped to his knee as the pain in his scent flared, but he seemed more intent on her sisters, who were all surrounding him in curiosity. Bloody-skinned, teeth still sharp in their jaws. Wild as the sea.
Pride filled Joan as she introduced him to her sisters, and more rushed through her at his fearless response to them. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Thomas Etheridge."
Izzie came up beside Nora, grinning. "A decent fighter, handsome, and polite. I guess he was worth all the fuss."
Joan huffed at the teasing and then just as quickly pulled Izzie into a hug, putting all her gratitude over her sea-sister's bravery into the strength of her embrace.
Izzie's eyes glimmered with humor while she turned toward Etheridge, "I'm Izzie. I always play the decoy on our hunts. I was supposed to be a helpless captive, but the bitch pissed me off." Then she pushed at the thumb of one hand enough to show how it could be effortlessly dislocated to allow her to slip free of any restraints.
Nora looked more serious, and spoke up before Joan could slip back to Etheridge's side. "Who's going to finish it? She wanted both of you dead."
Joan understood the implication and glanced at Etheridge to see if he had as well. His eyes hardened when the sea-wolves parted into two sides to reveal the body of the queen left by the door. Joan's rage had brought her down, and her sea-sisters' teeth had kept her there... but only silver would kill her.
"I'll do it," he said, the words quiet yet steady. Maybe he sensed Joan's surprise, because he then glanced at her and added, "Not to end her suffering, but to end her reign."
Joan nodded, remaining intent on him while he took a gun from one of the dead guards and approached the queen. Despite her unrecognizable form, her chest still shifted with each breath. Etheridge aimed, hand steady, and fired a bullet straight to the heart. A slight convulsion, a final rattle of breath in the throat, and then his queen was nothing more than slack flesh. A body that couldn't harm others anymore.
Etheridge continued staring at the body until Joan brushed his arm, but when he turned to her, his eyes were clear with relief. He never looked back as they began the long journey out of the castle.
Joan knew his knee had to hurt like hell by the time they reached the gardens outside and began following the road. He never made any complaint or even winced over it, just limped whenever there was uneven footing. They all stayed with him, slowing their pace with patience until they were at the cypresses above the shoreline where she had found the body. The fog-free sky was a soft lavender with the coming dawn.
She squeezed his hand. "We're stopping here. Do you want to sit?"
He smiled a little. "I'm fine. Why are we up here instead of on the shore?"
A shiver of anticipation ran through all the sea-wolves before he got his answer. Old Bess stepped out from beneath the shadows of the cypresses, raising her chin toward the horizon. The waves were more violent than usual, crashing onto the land and seeping away with reluctance. Without looking away, the old she-wolf said, "We don't want a crown owning this shore again. Nothing controls the sea, but sometimes it'll listen to us."
Then she spread her arms wide as the sun winked over the vast blue-grey of the sea, its brilliant light piercing the white castle on the distant cliffs. All the sea-wolves began howling, voices rising and falling with the waves as the sea began roiling, growing into a monster that roared with power and frothed while crashing against the dark rock there.
Joan felt her throat grow hot and raw, felt her blood seethe with the water. Her howl ended in a gasp when the sea swirled in on itself and rose up as a massive wave cresting for the castle. It slammed in with a force that felt like it would crumble even the ground beneath their feet.
Rock cracked. Foam sprayed. Then came the rumble of collapsing earth. Sections of the cliff sheared off into the water with incredible force. Within a breath, the gleaming white castle crumbled down into the waves, disintegrating as if it had been built out of sand. The sea churned, swallowing it all.
Silence fell as the sunrise revealed the new shape of the cliffs and the calm waters below. Gulls called to each other while wheeling through the air. A fleet of pelicans searched for fish. It was as if the castle had never existed.
Then Joan heard Etheridge draw in a deep breath. When she turned to him, she saw that his gaze was on her, not the cliffs. The morning breeze tugged at his bloodied shirt collar as he said, "It's over."
She nodded.
He glanced around at the other sea-wolves, who had started to follow Old Bess on a path down to the shore. "Are you going home?"
"Yes." They still held hands, and she now squeezed his. "Come with us."
Surprise spiked through his scent. "And do what?"
"Build a new life."
"Joan, I'll always be lame in this leg."
She scoffed, but gently, and rested her chin on his shoulder before saying, "You know the dangers of our work. Do you think none of us lose a limb or grow stiff in the joints? The sea-wolves you see on this shore are on hunts away from home. We camp in the cliff sides because it's easier than traveling every day. Believe me, where we live is well-suited to you."
He nodded but glanced back toward where the castle had been. Suddenly, she realized that he might still feel loyalty to his pack if not the queen. That he would rather return to them than uproot his entire life and start anew.
Just as her heart shrank from the thought, Etheridge smiled and turned back to her. "All right. Let's go."
Hope thickened her voice. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." There was no hesitation in the answer. A glimmer of playfulness even appeared in his amber eyes as he added, "Under one condition."
"What's that?"
A certain wistfulness joined his humor. "Call me by my first name. Just this once, if never again."
Even a rough sea-wolf like her understood the significance of using a first name with a city wolf. It was an intimate act, and usually the first step to becoming mates. Happiness bubbled in her chest as she nuzzled his chin before bringing her mouth up to his. "Thomas. And believe me, it's all I'll use from now on."
* * *
Crescent City soon learned that the famed white castle of the Upper Mulgrew Pack had disappeared, destroyed by the raging sea. The surviving wolves joined other packs, and the territory remained empty. As for the sea-wolves famed for finding the precious ambergris needed for anti-silver... they remained, although they and the shore that had once been Upper Mulgrew territory were now inaccessible to anyone coming from the city, protected by the broken cliffs.
However, if anyone ever braved the shattered rock, something would have been found: two sets of footprints marking the pristine sand, as if visiting old paths along the shore. A close enough look would even reveal that the bigger set has a limp. Yet both remain side by side without exception, following the waves together.