by A Lonergan
Jade had transformed faster than anyone I had ever seen before. She lowered her head and the pups whined before they rolled over to their bellies. I could see the intense look in her yellow eyes as she stared down at the children. They didn’t make a sound and before I knew it both children were back in their human forms. Nalia simply sat back on her haunches before she looked in our direction.
Tracey’s mouth was hanging open and the side of her glass had tipped over slightly. A few drops of the juice splashed against her pants but she didn’t notice. “Did you just see what I saw?”
A grin stretched across my face before I could stop it. “She is a sigma. You should see her run now too. It’s incredible to watch.”
Tracey blinked a few times then she corrected her cup all while shaking her head. “I can hardly believe what I’m seeing.”
“Do you think that’s why Damian wants her so badly?” Knox said behind us. He held a glass of lemonade as well but there was something else mixed with it. I couldn’t get a good whiff to identify it.
Tracey rolled her eyes. “There’s no way he would have known. She’s just now being able to do these things. She couldn’t do this before.”
Knox leaned against the side of my chair. “You’re just offended you’re the last to know about how powerful she is.”
Tracey’s lips curled up into a sneer. She didn’t reply back to him but instead tossed her entire drink at his face.
It was my best friend’s turn to smirk through the juice rolling down his face. “Very classy.”
Jade’s wolf watched us with a cool expression before she got up and walked away. No one bothered following her. The set of her tail told us all we needed to know. Nalia was annoyed with our human qualities and would talk to us later.
Before Tracey followed my mate, she flipped her hair over her shoulder and gave us both a cool look. “Isn’t it funny that she isn’t a Guardian or an Alpha and she’s more powerful than the both of you?”
Knox’s expression didn’t change. He simply shrugged. She wanted a rise out of him and he wasn’t going to give it to her.
“I sure know how to pick them,” I said around a massive grin. I didn’t care that she was more powerful than me. I didn’t care that she was faster. I didn’t care about any of those things. The only thing I cared about was that I could try to keep up with her. At the very least, she would wait up for me.
Chapter 28
Jade
Rafe enjoyed the waiting game. I could see it on his face every time we met in his war room. He enjoyed making everyone squirm and if we were nervous, that meant Damian was as well. Vivian had brought us freshly baked rolls and a beef stew. My stomach growled as I waited for Rafe to get this meeting over with. The food smelled entirely too good for all this waiting.
“We are going to make them think we are weak,” Rafe leaned on his armrest while his fist supported his jaw. “The next time they come, we won’t repair the damage immediately. We will make them think we can’t repair it. For whatever reason, they can’t get through Granny’s wards or they don’t have the resources to try.”
Knox stood up and paced across the floor. “Why don’t we call in Pack Law?”
Mav’s curls bounced softly around his ears as he shook his head. “No, that isn’t a debt we want or need at the moment. If we ask them for help, it will make our pack look weak. We aren’t weak.”
Knox pinched his lips together and his cheeks stained pink. Rafe nodded. “He’s right. If I am to sit with the most powerful Alpha’s of all time, I’m going to have to win this on my own. We are going to have to do this on our own. There have been countless wars fought and won by these other Alphas. It’s like a right of passage. The only way it would come to needing their help is if there is mass genocide of the humans.”
A man stepped from the shadows and I about jumped from my skin. I hadn’t realized there had been another man in the room. Nalia whispered soothing thoughts through our mind. He wasn’t an enemy and he looked familiar but I couldn’t place him. His blond hair was pushed back on his head and he had a similar build to the Guardians. All of them except Mav. Mav was the massive anomaly.
“Nice to see you again, Duncan,” Knox didn’t look up as he spoke. Instead, he cleaned his fingernails with a pocket knife like he was indifferent to the entire situation.
I remembered him now but only slightly. His hair had been shorter when I had seen him at the bar the night I had been kidnapped. How did I forget there was another Guardian? Tracey wrapped her fingers around mine then leaned toward me to whisper.
“Don’t worry, Duncan scares most of us. He doesn’t speak to anyone and keeps to the shadows.”
Duncan’s eyes didn’t leave Rafe’s. Rafe nodded. “Report, Duncan.”
“I have been out gathering intel on the one you call Damian. As far as I can tell or what I’ve discovered, he doesn’t have a last name. He bounced around from coven to coven as a child but his mother never gave up who they were. They were nomadic witches for most of his life until his mother disappeared one day. He started to pop up in covens then disappeared until about five years ago.”
Rafe narrowed his eyes. “How long ago did his mother disappear?”
Duncan sighed. “There are a few different stories but probably over a hundred years ago.”
Tracey gasped. “We are dealing with a witch older than all of us.”
Knox licked his bottom lip. “We all figured he was old to have this amount of power and sway over the witch community. We just need to figure out if we can find his mother. If he’s hiding her.”
Rafe shook his head. “We won’t be taking hostages. I won’t fight dirty. I won’t stoop down to his level.”
Knox clicked his tongue. “Okay, then why would we look for his mother?”
Rafe shrugged. “My mother has always been the one to talk me out of my wolf-crazed thoughts. Maybe his mother can do the same.”
“And if his mother’s dead?” Mav leaned back in his chair before he kicked up a huge foot on the table.
Rafe’s eyes found mine before he spoke. “Then we are back to square one and all we can do is wait.” He looked back at Duncan. “See if you can find a record of his birth. It will be in the archives. Granny should be able to help you get in.”
Duncan bowed his head before he disappeared again. I frowned as I looked around the room. He had simply vanished before our eyes. Rafe and his men didn’t look shocked at all but Tracey looked somewhat put off by it.
She chewed on her lip. “Told you, creepy.”
It was seven days before the attack came. But as much as we thought Damian would immediately march through the hole in our wards, he didn’t. Rafe gritted his teeth together as he surveyed the damage. The trees had all been split down the middle and the grass was burned. Other than that, I couldn’t tell that the magical barrier had been decimated. It was invisible. Could the witches on Damian’s side see it and know it was weakened? It was odd for it to happen on one of the most secluded areas of the Pack Lands, unless they weren’t firing for a specific reason but instead seeing how we would respond. The last attack had done damage and there was no way they could know who was affected by it.
Rafe shook his head while Granny did her work. She repaired the wards but not to max capacity. It would look strange to keep the barrier down for too long. We had to do as little to it as possible so we still looked weak. Rafe cupped my shoulder and leaned into me slightly. All of this was starting to wear on him. Mav reported back to me that my mate no longer slept and would instead pace around his bedroom. Last night he had thrown something. All the while I stayed in my own home with my two best friends. I wanted to go to him but I didn’t know how. Even now as he slightly leaned into me, I didn’t know what I could possibly say or do. How could I make any of this better? I ran my fingers over his before I kissed the top of his hand. He pulled away slowly to speak to Granny. I purposefully tuned them out as I thought of what I could do to take the weight off of Rafe’s
shoulders. Nothing came to mind but I had to try.
Granny and Rafe were still in deep conversation when I finally excused myself and walked away. Rafe watched me with regret in his eyes but there was nothing that could be done by it. I had to figure this out without him nearby. My thoughts were muddled when he touched me. I couldn’t think clearly with him so close.
Thunder rolled in the distance as I made my way back to my home. I closed my eyes at the sound. I had always loved a good thunderstorm. It had been too long since the last one. I would sleep like a baby tonight.
Except I didn’t.
Nightmares plagued my rest.
Damian stood in front of me with a grim expression on his face. “You could have ruled by my side. You could have made this easier on everyone.”
I couldn’t reply. It was like my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth. I watched him pace back and forth in front of me. He wore a band t-shirt I didn’t recognize and black jeans. His hair was a little bit longer than it had been before. He resembled someone but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was right on the tip of my tongue but as soon as my thoughts seemed to get close to the answer, the answers danced away again.
“Why do you care about the Crimson Pack so much?” This time I could talk but I didn’t know what to say. It was all a dream. It didn’t matter.
“Why do you?” My voice sounded far away and murky like I was underwater.
Damian raised his brows. “I care because the Crimson Pack took everything from me. Wolves don’t deserve a place in the world.”
“But you wanted to be one,” Once again my voice sounded off.
Damian’s eyes flashed. “That was stolen from me. I could have been like you. I could have loved you and cherished you but you chose him over me. Why?”
“Is that what all of this is about? You wanted me?” I had known that in some ways but he didn’t make sense. At first, he had wanted me to get back at Rafe. Now he wanted me because he wanted to love me. I couldn’t grasp what was happening.
“Everything has been stolen from me, Jade. My birthright, my mother, my name, and now you.”
He marched toward me and my body wouldn’t move a muscle. He leaned over me and his minty breath fanned over my face. “I didn’t care if you wanted him or if you were his fated mate. If I had been given my birthright, you would have been my mate.”
He ran his hand over my cheek and I internally cringed. My body wouldn’t move no matter how much I wanted to. No, needed to.
“I wouldn’t be your anything.”
His hand flashed across my face and pain blossomed along the side of my cheek. My body wouldn’t move even to process the abuse he was inflicting on me. “You would be whatever I told you to be.”
“That is why you will live and die alone. Your birthright wasn’t stolen from you. You could have had whatever you wanted in this life but you chose vengeance and evil instead. You could have done good for this world.” My words cut off with a gasp as the air was stolen from my lungs. Damian held his fist into the air as it got harder for me to breathe. My hands wouldn’t move to go to my neck where my oxygen had been cut off. Nothing would obey me. Once again, I was trapped in another kind of prison.
Black spots dotted my vision as my head swam. My eyes blinked but my vision was already going out. He was going to kill me. My time had come. Would Nalia know? She wasn’t in this dream with me. Her wolfish presence had been kept away from it. He must have known we were stronger together. All of the things I hadn’t gotten to do flashed through my head.
I hadn’t told Rafe how I was feeling about him. Sure, I had let him kiss me. I had flirted but I had never kissed him first. I didn’t tell him that I was ready to pledge or that I would be soon. I didn’t tell Tracey how much I valued her friendship and how she saved me. I didn’t tell Lucas just how much I cared for him. My parents hadn’t seen me in a few days and I hadn’t called. They would think I just vanished and how heartbroken would they be. The emotional pain in my heart was more than the pain he was inflicting on my body.
After a few seconds, something seemed to rip through me. A scream louder than anything I had ever heard ripped through my chest, like a banshee. But instead of staring at Damian’s face, I was back in my bed, staring at the ceiling. My chest rose and fell rapidly as I ran my hands down my body to make sure I was all still here. The door to my bedroom burst open and the lights above me temporarily blinded me. I winced against the abrasive surprise. My neck ached but I wondered if it was from the scream. Had I screamed out in my dream? It had felt so real. A tear slid down my cheek and fell on my pillow as Tracey and Lucas marched into the room. Tracey wore a pink negligee that barely covered her ass and Lucas was in his flannel sleep set.
“What happened?” Lucas held his fists up as he surveyed the room.
Tracey’s face was full of horror. “Are you okay?”
I tried to wave them off. “It was just a nightmare.”
Tracey shook her head. “No, it wasn’t. The magic is burning my nose. What happened?”
Lucas sat on the edge of the bed and his fingers reached out to the neckline on my pajama set. The collar was a little high but I let him brush it away. He jerked in surprise. “You’re alive. That’s all that matters.”
Before I could say anything, Lucas had me shoved into his arms and was breathing in the scent of my hair. His hands rubbed up and down my back in a soothing pattern all while Tracey cursed and waved her hands around.
“What is she doing?” I managed to ask against Lucas’s chest.
“She’s destroying webs of magic. While you were at the border with Rafe, he must have been weaving in your room.” Lucas let me pull away slightly and looked into my face. His fingers traced something on my cheek and his eyes glowed with murderous rage.
There was no time for me to say anything again as I was pulled from Lucas’s embrace and settled into another. It was the scent that got to me first. Pine and whiskey. I sunk into the scent of it. A growl rumbled through my mate’s chest. “What happened?”
Tracey’s voice trembled with her anger. “Damian was here.”
Silence stretched around the room before I was yanked up into Rafe’s arms and whisked right out of my home. Trees blurred in my vision as the moon hung high and heavy in the sky. It took only seconds for him to bring me through the door to his house and up the stairs to his room. He tucked me onto the bed carefully before he rushed to the other side of the space. It felt like hundreds of feet separated us but it was only a few.
My mate struggled with his breathing as he watched me. His eyes glowed bright yellow and I could smell his wolf fighting for control of the situation. Fur rippled along his arms. He gritted his teeth as he fought the change trying to take him over.
“You will be safe here, nothing will harm you. Alpha homes have more wards than others.” His hands curled into fists as fur sprouted down his fingers. “Please don’t leave. Gabriel is sleeping downstairs if you need anything.”
And before I could ask him to stay, fur continued to grow up his arms. He ran from the room with a speed only my wolf senses could track. A howl rang through the woods outside and I wondered if he was trying to protect me from Damian or himself.
Chapter 29
Jade
Even curled up in Rafe’s blankets that smelled like him, I couldn’t rest. The sun peeked through the curtains on the opposite side of the room and still, my body didn’t feel like resting. Even when the sun was highest in the sky, I didn’t move from Rafe’s bed. I knew there were things to get done but the comforting scent of my mate was the only thing that kept me from falling apart, especially when he didn’t return.
Around noon, Gabriel knocked on the door. I knew I couldn’t hide in here forever, even if I wanted to. “Come in.”
He pushed the door open with his shoulder because his hands were full with a breakfast tray. Gabriel was one of the more serious of the Guardians. He and Rafe seemed to get along better depending on the situation. I w
ondered if he had been more like Knox before he was Alpha. Gabriel settled the tray over my lap. There was a cup of orange juice, pancakes, eggs, and a thick stack of bacon. My stomach didn’t growl and my mouth didn’t water. Everything that had happened the night before had stolen the appetite that I usually had.
Gabriel backed away and settled into a gray chair in the corner. He watched me with sad eyes but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t going to leave until I had eaten something. I wondered if Rafe had put him up to this. The bacon would have to do. I carefully chewed on the end even though I couldn’t taste it. It was like sawdust in my mouth. The last thing I was worried about was food.
“Where’s Rafe?”
Gabriel shrugged. His eyes dipped down to my cheek then my neck before he turned toward the window. “He had some business he needed to take care of.”
Dread numbed my body. The slice of bacon I had been gnawing on fell back to the plate. “Don’t tell me he went to Damian.”
Gabriel pressed his lips together. “You don’t have to worry about that. We would never let him do something so reckless. That was probably Damian’s plan. He wants Rafe to come to him. He knows the only way to do that is to get to you.”
My shoulders fell. “They’re both playing a similar game.”
Gabriel chewed on his cheek and didn’t say a word. It didn’t matter because after a few minutes Tracey was bursting through the bedroom door with a very pissed off Knox on her heels. Gabriel shot Knox a warning look. Knox sighed and threw his hands in the air. “Do you know how hard it is to tell any of these women to wait a minute?”
Tracey ignored the Guardian and crawled across the massive bed. She settled in beside me before she tore off a piece of pancake and plopped it into her mouth. Knox shot Gabriel an exasperated look. “I came to check on my friend. I told all of you that if you kept me from seeing her that I would rip off your limbs and put them back on the wrong bodies. All limbs.”
