by Belle Kayce
I sum up all the courage in me, thinking of Cole and Julia fighting out there for me. As fast as I can, I stab the rogue in the eye with my dagger. I push as deeply as I can and pull away fast. The rogue does exactly what I wanted it to by getting off of me and howling in pain, stumbling a few feet away from me. Julia finishes it off by biting down its stomach.
Blood is seeping through my jeans and I cringe. My dagger is also bloody.
Even though Cole and Julia seemingly cleaned up the rogue mess, more and more just streams in. How many are there? If there is a mole, how did the mole know? The mole has to be some kind of higher up, right?
Julia’s wolf barks at me again, probably telling me to run. Cole’s wolf does the same. Both of them are in front of me, ready to defend my life. There’s something really touching about this dedication to protect me.
I can tell I’m a hindrance to them because they both keep watching out for me, so I guess I can act as bait. The rogues keep attacking me and only me anyways.
“Guys, come find me when you’re done!” I yell as I start running, a dagger in one hand and a flashlight in another.
***
After running for maybe a solid ten minutes, I start walking when I think there are no more rogues on my tail. I can barely see anything, and I have no idea where I am. I hate the forest at night. Nothing ever good comes out. I’ve seen movies, okay? I know what happens, especially when there’s angry savage rogues out there to get you. And who knows what else, honestly.
I’m all alone in the forest at night with nothing but my wits, brain, and bleeding hand. My phone is broken into oblivion, so I can’t just call someone. This is just great.
I stop running a while back because my stamina isn’t the best, and I’m just taking a quick break.
The bush in front of me shakes. I pull out my dagger, ready to attack, and I shine my flashlight at the intruder.
The intruder comes out of the bushes. When I see her, I shoulders sag in relief.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m so glad to see you,” I tell Grace.
I almost forgot about her existence. Honestly, I could hug her right now.
Grace shakes her head. “Out of everyone, it had to be you,” Grace retorts.
Cole said something about a mole. What if Grace is the mole? I raise my dagger in front of her, and she stares at me in confusion.
“What are you doing?”
“Are you the mole?” I ask.
“Am I the what?” Grace asks incredulously. “Are you serious? I’m out here trying to figure out who the mole is.”
“That’s what a mole would say.” I give her a pointed look.
“If I was the mole, I would have already like killed you.” Grace sighs irritatingly. “Look, I already mind-linked Cole that you’re with me. Right now, we’re going home, away from any danger.”
“How do I know you’re not leading me to my death?” I ask but follow her slowly.
“I’m not the mole. I made an oath to my alpha to protect the pack. Even though you’re not even part of it, I think somehow, someway, it includes you. Besides, I think I know who the mole is.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “It’s Sam. Remember that mute girl that joined recently? She got abused by her pack? I think it’s her.”
“Why would she be the mole?” I ask, thinking back on how she looked so scared when she first came to Lance. Peter is the one that got his head chopped off earlier.
“Sam is a good actor. It all started with her. Peter, her stupid mate, is already dead. Sam killed him.” Grace is silent for a minute. “He was a jerk, but that didn’t mean he should’ve died. He was still a member of the pack.”
We kept walking and I almost fall over in relief when I recognize the training grounds.
“Oh, thank goodness.”
As I am about to sprinting and run straight to my room, a dark blur appears in front of me, then tackles me to the ground in a fit of growls. My flashlight flies out of my hand. I don’t know if it’s the adrenaline, but I am quick to the slash the dagger on the wolf’s chest as the wolf tries to bite my face off. It gets ripped off of me as Grace attacks it in her wolf form.
What is going on? They are so close to the pack house already.
Like cockroaches, I see like another three pairs of yellow eyes. They growl at me while Grace is still occupied. I can make out the color of their fur and how big they are. It’s not fair how big werewolves are. They reach to my hips. Alphas are even bigger.
There is no way I’m going to let the wolves go near the pack house.
A question comes to mind. How is no one else noticing or helping?
My train of thought gets cut off when a wolf runs towards me. I try to sidestep but another attacks from the other side, biting my calf. I scream, trying to shake it off, but it’s too big. The pain is horrible, and the wolf isn’t letting go of me. I’m about to die right here and now.
I feel myself lose consciousness, but I try not to fall. The wolf howls out loud and finally lets go of me, and I see that it’s burning. The wolf attacking me is on fire, as are the other two wolves. My eyes widen at the sight.
I look at Grace’s wolf, who is not affected. She shifts back. In all her naked glory, she turns to me. She looks scared, and like I’m the scared one.
I swallow, feeling myself dizzy.
Did I do that?
CHAPTER THIRTY
My head feels heavy, like it’s physically making me close my eyes. The pain I feel on my calf and my hand is unbearable. My body is going to total shut-off mode. The ground is hard on my back and really uncomfortable as I struggle to get up. There has to be other rogues, which means I cannot pass out.
I distinctly hear a faraway call from Grace, “Ava!”
My mind isn’t working with my mouth right now. I can’t tell her where I am. I can’t move.
Suddenly, I’m being lifted easily off the ground, and I can smell him before I know who it is. He’s here. I smile at this despite the fact I feel like death. I hate that my eyes aren’t working with me right now to see him because I miss him. The warmth he’s emitting gives me such comfort, I didn’t realize just how much I miss him. Did he miss me? I clutch tightly to his shirt, hoping he knows I don’t want him to let go of me. I snuggle in his chest as much as I can. The safety and security I feel right now washes over me, and I don’t want the feeling to go away.
“It’s okay,” his low, deep voice soothes me before I pass out. “I’m here.”
***
Pizza.
I’m really feeling hungry for pizza right now.
My eyes open as I hear my stomach growl. Slowly, I become aware of my surroundings.
Wait.
Everything is white. This isn’t my room.
Also, why are there so many flowers here too? The room is full of flowers, I can probably make my own store. The smell is grassy floral scent.
I look to my right, and I meet the mesmerizing aqua blue eyes of my mate.
“You’re awake,” he says, sitting up straighter. I see a flicker of relief on his face. Lance looks awful. His hair is tousled, all out of place. There are major bags under his eyes, and his clothes are unkempt too. He’s definitely had better days.
“Wh . . .” My mouth is dry, and Lance hands me a cup of water in a flash. He holds it for me as I take huge gulps like I’ve never tasted water before. The cool liquid goes down my throat. Lance pours another cup for me, and I take it from his hands.
“What happened? How are you here?” I squint my eyes, trying to remember. He was there and came for me. “Last night—”
“No, it wasn’t last night,” Lance’s voice is solemn. “Ava, that was four days ago.”
I gape at him. “Four days?!” I try to get up, but my entire body aches. “Lance! What about Julia, Bo, Meg, Cole? Oh my gosh! What happened? Are they okay?”
“They’re all okay,” Lance tells me gently.
I put a hand on my chest in relief, as if I c
an still my rapidly beating heart from worrying about them.
He leans in. “How are you feeling?”
Feeling for some pizza. “Tired but I don’t know why since it’s been four days.” I clear my throat and look at him directly. “How did it go with Trent and Steven? How did Paxon handle it? Is Grayson still annoying? Please tell me you punched someone, preferably all of them.”
“No punching,” Lance replies, looking at the floor. “There’s going to be an alpha council meeting in the upcoming weeks to determine the fate of Trent and Steven as agreed with Paxon. He’s doing better.” He lifts his head, and I hate seeing him so worn out because of worrying about me. In a softer tone he says, “I know you held your own when you faced those rogues.”
Am I imagining the pride in his voice?
“Well, yeah, I’m pretty awesome,” I wave it off, but in truth, I had been really scared. I know now why mates are so important. If Lance was only with me the entire time, I would have been a lot safer.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.” Lance looks away, running a hand through his hair. His voice sounds so miserable, it breaks my heart. “If only I was there, no harm could have happened to you.”
“It’s not your fault,” I insist. Was he thinking that this whole time? “I did this to myself.”
“You just couldn’t stay out of trouble while I was gone.” He gives me a sideways glance, his tone light, teasing me.
“Ugh.” I roll my eyes. “You not being here makes my wild side come out.”
Lance opens his mouth but stops. He looks back at the door just as Julia barges in with a bouquet of roses. She stops once she sees that I’m awake, and her whole face twists in relief.
She cracks a shaky grin at me. “You sure know how to scare someone.” She makes her way to the table next to me and places the bouquet of roses on top. She leans in and hugs me gently. “How are you?”
“Better. Sorry I scared you,” I say, hugging her a little tighter.
She leans away, then turns to Lance, and glares at him.
“You.” She points at him accusingly. “Did you finally get any sleep?”
Lance looks sheepish and doesn’t look Julia’s way. “Maybe ten minutes.”
“In four days.” Julia keeps glaring at him, and I feel guilty.
“Lance,” I reprimand him. “Seriously?” I feel really guilty now because I know it’s because of me that he hasn’t slept properly.
“How can I sleep knowing you are in pain?” Lance asks me. “Your pain is my own.”
I want to just hug him because that is the sweetest thing ever, but he needs some sleep. I smile at him and take his hand that’s on the edge of my bed, He makes no movement to pull back, so I feel a little encouraged. His calloused hand feel so good intertwined with mine. I don’t know what is coming over me, but I just need to feel him.
“Thanks,” I say to him, “but you need to sleep. Like now.”
Lance nods, then looks down at our locked hands.
“Alright.”
Julia claps. “That’s settled.”
“Not on this chair,” I tell him, reprimanding him on what he’s about to do. “You need an actual bed and at least eight hours of sleep.”
“So demanding,” he murmurs to me. He lifts our hands to his mouth, placing a feathery kiss on my hand. Much to my displeasure, he lets go and stands up. “Tell me if you need anything.”
“For you to sleep.” I snort.
His eyes glisten in amusement, and he shakes his head, giving me one last longing look before leaving the room. It’s as if he can’t get enough of me even though he was probably been staring at me for four days. For some reason, I find myself blushing.
“Oh. My. Gosh.” Julia says once Lance is out of the room. I don’t think it really matters that he’s out of the room because werewolf hearing is . . . oh well. “Lance wouldn’t leave your side the whole time and wouldn’t even sleep. I’m pretty sure he didn’t even blink.” Julia shakes her head. “I just want to say how cute you and Lance are .”
This makes me smile. “Shut up. We’re not cute . . . but tell me more.”
“He wouldn’t listen to anyone when he was told to get some rest. Even his brother—Zeke? —couldn’t make him sleep. Then you wake up. You bat your lashes at him and order him to sleep. Of course, now he listens.”
“What can I say. I rule.”
“And the way he looks at you . . .” Julia smiles at me fanning herself.
I swallow, thinking about his heated gazes that are directed at me.
“I was waiting to see how you two would interact, and it’s nothing like I expected, except it’s better. Mate bond or not, he’s so entranced by you. He obviously really, really cares.”
“You approve?” I ask her.
“Obviously, the rule still goes that if he hurts you, I’ll break his nose.”
I grin. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Seriously, you feeling okay?”
“Yeah. Just . . . really want pizza.”
***
After Cole and Meg visit me to see how I’m doing, Bo brings me pizza because he just understands the greatness of Italian delicacy.
“Never ever do that ever again. Ever,” Bo says to me when we’re on our second slice.
I devour it and go for my third slice. Bo leans back and stares at me. “You had us all worried there. Not cool, Ava. Not cool.”
“Sorry,” I say sheepishly. “I’ll try not to almost-die next time.”
Bo frowns, then perks up a second later. He almost knocks over the pizza box as he stands up.
“Wait!”
Bo rushes out of the room, leaving me munching on the cheesy slice in confusion before he comes back with a huge grin on his face. He holds out something. It’s a phone.
“The newest iPhone for the luna.” He hands it to me. “All your contacts are there. Apparently, Cole knows how to transfer like your data or whatever from your old broken phone to this one. You have a different number, and you’re on Lance’s cell phone plan.”
I check it out and see I have like fifteen missed calls and ten voicemails. They’re all from Zeke. There also like twenty messages from him too.
Bo notices me looking at the missed calls.
“Zeke was also worried. You got all your flowers from that worrywort.”
I send him a very unflattering picture of myself. I realize how horrible I look but I just continue the text.
Thanks for the flowers
Curiously, I decide to hear one of his voicemails. Bo leans in as I hit the speaker. Zeke’s cheerful voice comes from the other end.
“Hey, sis, I know it’s like the tenth time I’m leaving a voicemail, but I just wanted to check if you’re doing good. I told Lance to call me as soon as you wake up. Also, PS, tell Lance to sleep.”
I clutch the phone tightly, realizing how many people are worried about me. How many people cares.
“Oh, there’s another thing! Lance is such a sneaky—”
“Bo.” Lance is at the door. I think it’s been around eight hours since I told him to sleep. He raises his eyebrow at Bo like a warning.
“You going to tell her or should I?” Bo asks him.
“I . . . will eventually,” Lance answers.
I frown. This all seems super sketchy. What did I miss in the last four days?
“Tell me what?” I ask Bo, then look at Lance accusingly.
“Trust me. It’s good.” Bo waggles his eyebrows, stands up, and gives me a hug. When he passes Lance, he leans in and whispers something to him. Lance just nods and Bo sticks his tongue at him before leaving. Lance strides towards me, sitting on the chair again.
“What was that?” I narrow my eyes at him.
“Nothing important right now,” Lance brushes it off like it’s really not important, so I give him the benefit of the doubt. “I actually want to talk to you about something. Grace told me what happened with the fire before you passed out,” Lance tells me.
I gulp. “Ava, do you . . . do you trust me?”
“What?”
“Do you trust me?” Lance asks, searching my face.
I don’t even hesitate because the answer just comes naturally. “With my life.”
I think, for the first time since I’ve met him, he looks genuinely happy. His eyes are shining brighter, and the corner of his lips shift upward just slightly. Obviously, this answer really pleases him, which makes me happy too. My answer actually really has a ton of weight and is important for Lance.
“Do you remember the wolves catching on fire that night?” he asks.
I nod. “Vaguely.”
“I know you haven’t shifted yet, and you don’t have the werewolf abilities that are deemed normal.” Lance stops, shaking his head. “And I think I figured out why.”
My heart stops. “Tell me.” I’d believe him.
“You are half-werewolf, but you’re also a witch.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“You’re a witch.” Lance meets my gaze, and I feel like everything stops for a single moment. I feel myself breathing again when Lance continues, and I feel his hand on mine, comforting me. “There’s a reason why these fires start to happen. As I thought more about it, one explanation makes sense.”
I want to laugh like a maniac. That’s the craziest thing ever, except somewhere deep inside me, I know. There had always been something off about me.
I try to get the words out. “B-but both of my parents are werewolves!”
Lance doesn’t look like he wants to say what he wants to say. He probably does not want me to freak out even though I already am freaking out right now. My voice comes out weak because Lance isn’t saying anything,
“I’m not? They’re my parents.” Mom and Dad can never not tell me, right? And Lisa, my sister. . .
There have always been jokes about my adoption from when I was younger because I can’t shift like everyone else.
