Page 89 of Hidden Sacrifice
“What is that?” Jace asked, his hand also resting just above his heart.
“That’s the pack call,” Jax said, giving a light little laugh, “welcome to the pack, Jace.”
“That’s it? He’s part of the pack now?” I asked in confusion as the humming failed to slow. It seemed even more insistent, my body feeling the urge to go somewhere.
“We have to answer the call if we accept him into the pack.” Jax looked over to Jace, giving him a teasing smile.
“Let’s answer that call,” I said with excitement. This was the best news I have gotten in what seemed like forever.
CHAPTER30
JAX
Our souls hummed out the directions to our feet. We followed one foot after the other, heading out of the hunting cabin and straight for the center of ring nine. I had answered a pack call before, so the foreign sensation of having your limbs tell you where to go wasn’t as jarring this time around. I fought against the call the first time, not wanting to risk a pack with my eventual death. In the end, I caved, much like I had when I heard Mor’s call. This time, I marched along, accepting that there was no changing fate. If I wanted to save them all, I should have just fulfilled the prophecy with my own hands before we were even a pack.
Nothing could be done to escape the fates this time, so why not enjoy the ride. The images Mor sent me of my death hadn’t affected how I thought they would. It was almost a sense of comfortable inevitability. Everything was screaming out that this was my destiny, and maybe Jace was here for a more significant reason than we ever could imagine. He told me about the necklaces Justice made and explained how we could use them to separate our souls. What if his soul remaining alive after my death is enough to keep Mor from suffering the withering?
We didn’t have to meet with Jasper or Justice before heading through the wilderness of ring nine. They would feel the call and meet us there. I wish I had enough foresight to put on something other than the loose, thin pajama pants. A shirt would likely have been a good idea, as my lack of power meant I needed to push all the branches out of the way.
My power was otherwise occupied with healing me from my injuries. I have no idea how that hunt could have gone so wrong. It was almost as if Fachnan was waiting for us and knew who we were. I was trapped out of my powers the moment I stepped into the cellar, utterly helpless as Fachnan used me as a shield against the torrent of fire and electricity that poured down from Jasper and Zebadiah. They must not have realized my telepathic shield was down, and their powers were also hitting me. I wouldn’t get my powers back until my body finished healing. Until then, I would have to move every low-hanging branch out of the way before it touched me.
“My feet want me to run,” Mor said as if she was curious about her body forcing her movements.
“Go on ahead. I’ll get there eventually.” I couldn’t even run fast because that would take more power that I didn’t have.
“If you are calm about it, I can carry you,” Jace suggested, and I glared at him.
“Fuck, no.” I looked at him like he was crazy. There was no way I was about to show up to a pack call carried by a vampire.
“We can walk with you, Jax. It’s not like it can start without all of us anyways. Jasper and Justice could be coming from further away too. They could be on different rings even,” Mor suggested with a smile to keep things light.
I couldn’t help but feel the urge to smile when I looked at her. My hand slid down to grab hers as we walked. Our fingers intertwined, my thumb moving back and forth across her silky skin. She looked over at me, and a blush crept across her cheeks before she smiled and looked down to the forest floor. I looked down and then beyond to the horizon. We didn’t have far to go.
The nearer we got to the center of the ring, the louder the sound emanated from it. It wasn’t a booming sound, more like a breath of exasperation, only never-ending. The trees slowly lessened as the ground flattened into a meadow. Standing nearer to the upward rushing air, two figures waited for us.
Jasper and Justice had made it to the center of the ring before us. Neither of them was entirely drained of power like our group was. Of course, they would get here faster, from anywhere in Hell.
Justice came bounding towards us, running straight for Jace. I let go of Mor’s hand immediately, knowing just how touchy Justice can get when he is in a good mood. Today he got to slice, fuck, and get a new member for the pack. Justice was bound to be a little extra.
Jace’s eyes widened when he realized Justice wasn’t going to stop. Justice wrapped his arms around him, picking him up like he weighed nothing.
“I need to get some blood,” Jace wheezed as Justice gripped him tightly.
“After this, you can fuck for power too,” Justice announced, releasing his hold on Jace.
“Immediately?” Jace asked from the spot on the ground at Justice’s feet.
“The power abilities begin right away, which includes regeneration. It will take some time for the cells in your body to convert to demon cells. Not as long as it took for Mor, since she didn’t have a body, technically,” Jasper said as he joined the group.
A wide grin stretched across Jace’s face as he looked up hungrily to Mor.
“What about healing?” Mor asked, looking at Jasper.
“He will heal at a vampire rate for all injuries sustained to his still vampire body parts. The demon conversion starts internally, working on the most vital organs first. His body will retain all his vampire abilities, but he will have the added durability of a demon. Just like you, Princess.”
“Sounds good to me; how do we answer the call and get this healing orgy started?” Jace asked, getting to his feet and clapping his hands together.
I looked around at my pack. We were mainly drained of powers, desperately healing from a hunt gone wrong. Yet this was the happiest I had ever seen us. Any of us. Jace was an essential part of me, and we needed him. He was the part of me that could save them all.
