Willow turns and scans him up and down. “Who is this?”
A smile spreads across my face. “This is Ezra.”
He comes next to me and wraps an arm around me. “Her mate.”
There’s a moment of silence before she grins and shakes her head. “I know you said you’d mated, but seeing you like this with someone is going to take some getting used to.”
The ground quakes under our feet and the walls rattle, causing a picture to crash on the other side of the room.
My power thrums inside of me and spazzes in strength. What the hell is going on? The arm wrapped around me, tugs me behind his back.
“Sage, get in the back room.” Ezra’s tone is low a growl.
His concern is understandable, but this energy is familiar.
Willow raises her hands. “Calm down, wolf. That’s just the rest of the coven.”
“Whoa.” I step around him and head to the door. “Did you just say the rest of the coven? How is that possible? We’re going to be too drained to fight.”
She grins but the warmth doesn’t quite meet her eyes. “I told you we got stronger the other night and Xavier knew what happened. We are fine now with teleportation.”
I open the door and, even though she prepared me, I still miss a step when all three hundred members of my coven come into view. They are surrounding the house and scattered through the woods, circling a few of the pack houses. “Holy crap. How is this possible?”
There are a few of the pack members out of their houses, staring at the women who just appeared in front of their eyes.
Grams comes into view, a frown marring her face. “You know how and why.”
If I expected a warm welcome, I should have known better. Yet, my heart still hurts at her indifference. “I never meant to upset you.”
Warmth touches my back as Ezra steps up against me. His breathing is calm but there is something protective about his stance. “If you’re going to speak to her this way, you’re welcome to leave.”
Holy shit. Did he just speak to my grandmother that way? I’ve always wanted to but never had the nerve to do it. She took me in, after all, when my mother passed.
Her eyes cuts to him and she takes in a ragged breath. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
“I’m her mate.” His voice is gravelly.
A bark of laughter leaves her, and it echoes in my ears. “You’re the cause of the problems.”
Okay, that’s not cool. “Don’t even try to blame him. The only reason we’re in this situation is Xavier.” I square my shoulders and lift my chin. “Don’t you dare to try blame him.”
“You ungrateful girl.” Grams shakes her head.
Ivory walks up and stands between us and stares at Grams. “That is enough.” She turns and smiles at Ezra. “Would you be so kind to invite us in your house? There are a few things I would like to discuss with Sage.”
He reaches down and intertwines his fingers with mine. “It’s up to Sage. It’s our house.”
My heart feels as if it might explode in my chest. I mean, who would have thought I would have found someone like him in my life.
Willow clears her throat behind us.
Oh, crap. We’ve just been staring at each other. I shake my head and turn to Ivory. “Oh, sure. Come on in.”
As we walk inside, Gram mumbles something to Ivory.
Ivory holds her hand up and jerks her head to the side. “Stop.”
That’s odd to see because Grams normally knows when to hold her tongue around our priestess.
We walk into the den where there is a couch and two chairs. The couch is against the brown wall and the chairs are across from it with a window in between them. Once again, the window overlooks the woods.
Grams sits in the chair to the left of the window while Ivory sits in the one beside her. Willow takes a seat on the couch. Ezra watches me, but for some reason, I want to stand. He takes my lead and stays next to me.
I don’t want to have this conversation, but there isn’t any reason to avoid it. It’s postponing the inevitable and our time is limited. I take a deep breath. “What’s going on?”
All three of the women glance back and forth between each other.
I wait a few more seconds and nothing. “Okay, guys. Out with it.”
“Now, you listen here.” Gram jabs her finger in my direction.
A growl fills the room and Ezra’s eyes glow.
“Pearl, stop. You’ve got to quit this.” Ivory drops her head back against the headrest of the chair. “Whether you approve of this or not, Sage is mated and your next priestess. You will respect her.”
In my whole life, I have never heard Grams get reprimanded.
Her whole demeanor has changed. She’s avoiding my gaze and staring at the floor.
Something strange is going on and I have no clue what it is.
Willow taps her foot on the floor. “No other coven is going to help after all.”
My body tenses and legs weaken. “What?”
Arms wraps around my waist and I lean into him.
I run my hands through my hair. “I don’t understand. I thought we had a least one coven on our side.”
A moment passes, and Ivory turns her body toward me. “It’s because of me, child.”
“Now, don’t be silly.” Grams’ body shakes. “If she hadn’t mated with that… animal.”
Heat flushes throughout my body. “Do not call him an animal again.” I pull away from him and walk over to her chair, leaning over her. “He is my mate and you will respect that. Am I clear?”
Her face turns a slight shade of red, but she nods.
I back up and take my spot next to Ezra again. He brushes my lips with his.
“As I was saying,” Ivory smooths her dress, “the night you… um… mated, your power strengthened more, which carried through to the coven. But that also weakened me.” She stands and holds out her hands. “My power won’t last much longer, and the other priestess came to visit last night and sensed it immediately. Xavier had alerted her that you had become tainted, and she came to address it and knew immediately when she saw me.”
His hand grabs mine. “What the hell do you mean by tainted?”
Bless him. “Priestesses aren’t supposed to be wed.”
“So?” He shrugs. “What we have goes a lot deeper than that.”
“Do you think that matters?” Gram spits out.
“You do realize the original witch was mated with a wolf, right?” Willow’s tone is quiet but clear.
That was over four centuries ago so I’m not sure why that’s relevant here.
“I know.” Ivory stares at mine and Ezra’s joined hands. “I’ve always wondered why Sage was so powerful and now this. If legend is true, she should now be on par with the original witch.”
For once, my Grams smiles at me. “Of course. She’s my granddaughter.”
Ezra let’s go of my hand and walks to the window. “I hate to interrupt the conversation, but I am really confused on something. If only priestesses can’t marry, then why is your coven only women?”
Joining him at the window, Ivory gazes out as well. “Even though only the priestess isn’t allowed to marry, our coven has chosen to hold themselves to the same standard.”
“But why?” His forehead creases.
“Well, men can cause drama in the course of a witch’s life. There are some that have men and, boy, it can cause a ruckus.” She places a hand on his shoulder. “But, every year, we take a few girls that are of age to a council meeting where they can have a night of fun, and a few will get pregnant, and we reproduce that way. No strings attached.”
It’s funny to hear it explained in such a way. It seemed so natural to me for so long. It is what I grew up knowing.
“But what about the baby boys?” He turns to Ivory.
She smiles at him. “Our coven is one of the strongest in the world and, because of this, we can only birth girls.”
His eyes flicker t
o mine. “So, we’ll only have girls? No boys?”
My mouth dries at the question and my stomach gets upset. What if I can only have girls? Will that be a deal breaker for us? “I… I don’t know.”
A hand rubs down his face and he winces. “No, wait.” He walks over to me and puts his hands on my arms. “That sounded bad. If all we have are girls, I would be ecstatic. I don’t care what we have as long as you’re here by my side.”
Oh, thank goodness. I don’t know if we could have a boy or not. Being mated is not common, and I always assumed that when I did it would be a girl.
Ivory clears her throat. “So, what are we going to do now that we don’t have a coven to fight with us?”
“My pack will join the fight.” He takes a deep breath and nods. “They have accepted her as my mate, so we fight as one unit and protect our own.”
“No, this can’t be happening,” Willow whines.
“What are you talking about?” I sit beside her on the couch and grab her hand.
“We weren’t supposed to be able to fight.” She stares off into space and a tear rolls down her cheek.
I glance at Ivory looking for direction, but she shakes her head. Great, no one has a clue what’s going on with her.
“You’re going to have to give me something more to go off of.” I squeeze her hand.
Her blue eyes turn to me filled with tears. “I messed up.”
Shit, what does this mean. “How?”
She wipes her eyes. “I feel for him.”
I jerk back. “Who? Xavier?”
She nods. “I didn’t mean to, but he’s funny and nice to talk to.” She grabs my hand and pulls it close. “You can’t kill him.”
Ezra’s growl is so loud it’s deafening. “He will die. He’ll just keep coming after her.”
Tears fall down her cheeks and she sniffles. “I know, but he’s just messed up. He’s a nice guy underneath it all.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He is beside me and his eyes are glowing. “Underneath it all doesn’t matter here. He wants her and he’s willing to kill to get her. I won’t let him have her.”
There is a loud knock at the door followed again by another.
I get up from the couch and hurry to answer it. One of the girls around my age in the coven is standing there. As I look at her, I can already feel the something in the air. There is a stench of death, and the greens, blues, and pinks are faded. “What’s going on?”
Her eyes meet mine and terror is shining all throughout them. “He’s here.”
11
There’s no need to ask who. We all know who she’s referring to.
I expected to feel fear, but a calm descends over me. I turn to face my mate, Grams, Ivory, and Willow. “Let’s end this.”
Willow lowers her head but not before I notice more tears streaming down her cheeks.
My heart breaks at this impossible situation, but Ezra is right. He won’t stop, and we cannot live always wondering when Xavier is going to show up and create problems.
The first guy that my best friend loves and I’m going to have to kill him. Will our friendship be able to survive this? I want to think it won’t change, but I know that’s wishful thinking on my part.
Ezra walks to my side. “We will get everyone gathered.”
Liam joins us in the den. “All the pack and coven members are outside.”
I nod, take a deep breath, and square my shoulders before heading toward the French doors to the backyard. My head jerks back and I gasp.
Ivory, Grams, and Ezra step outside at my gasp, stopping in their tracks.
The witches and shifters are co-mingling in the yard. This is not what I was expecting when I walked out here.
The voices hush and we become the sole focus of the congregation.
Now is my time to put to use all the things Ivory has been mentoring and grooming me for. I step to the edge of the porch, taking in the vast number of witches and wolves standing in front of me.
The hues of nature behind them are fading more by the minute.
Xavier is leeching power from the earth, hoping to diminish my coven’s powers.
Lifting my chin up, all the muscles in my body tighten in readiness. “Thank you for stepping forward to fight against this enemy that is lurking on our doorstep. I know this is a great risk for many of you, but know that I will be fighting alongside you every step of the way. This was not an easy decision to make. War is never easy. It’s dark, bloody, and brutal. But it never fails to bring people together to create a united front.” I pause and an arm wraps around my waist, Ezra stepping up beside me.
A fierce expression mars his face.
“Whether you’re a witch or a wolf, it doesn’t matter in this moment. All that matters is that we stand together and fight.”
The crowd remains silent. Are they not going to fight?
My heart pounds in my chest and warmth mingles with the trepidation of what’s to come.
Ezra holds a hand up. “Shifters protect what’s ours. My mate and her coven need our help. Who’s with us?”
The shifters roar.
Some of the tension releases from my shoulders.
I glance over the mix of men and women and my gut clenches. How many of our people will die tonight?
Ezra leans over, whispering in my ear, “It will be okay, love.”
“I hate this. I don’t want anyone to die.” I lay my head on his chest.
He places a kiss on my head. “I know, love.”
There’s a tap on my shoulder. I turn to face Grams.
She smiles at me. “I’m proud of you. You showed them a true leader tonight.”
My mouth falls open. Did Grams just give me a compliment?
She turns, facing the house. “Close your mouth, dear. It’s unbecoming.”
I snap it closed and Ezra chuckles in my ear.
The chatter from the crowd dies back down as they all turn toward the woods. A hooded figure emerges from the woods, coming from the same path I took to the graveyard.
Should have known Xavier would be at the graveyard.
The man stops at the edge of the tree line. Something floats from his hands and through the air separating us.
Ezra steps in front of me, reaching for the item.
“Stop,” I shout.
His hand pauses in mid-air and raises an eyebrow at me. “What is it?”
I place my hand on his forearm, pushing it back down to his side. “It’s probably spelled for the person it’s meant for.”
“Meaning?” He crosses his arms.
I sigh. “Meaning… if someone other than the one it’s intended for touches it, a spell will be released. Before you ask, I don’t know what kind of spell. It depends on the caster. But in this case, I’m guessing it would not be a good one.”
His eyes glow and he paces a few steps back and forth in between me and the scroll of paper. “I don’t like this.”
I touch his arm to stop him from moving. “It will be okay.” I grab the scroll, pausing for any spells to be released. When nothing happens, I unroll the cream-colored paper and read the manly cursive writing.
My dear beloved,
Hand yourself over and I won’t kill those you love most. Meet me in the mutt’s graveyard by midnight or the deal expires.
Yours,
X
If I hand myself over, we can avoid innocent lives being lost. But Xavier cannot be trusted. My hands crinkle the edges of the page.
When I raise my gaze back to the path, the man is no longer standing there. Coward.
Ezra reads it over my shoulder, his body vibrating with anger. His voice deepens with his wolf. “Hell no. You’re not leaving my side. He can’t be trusted. There’s no guarantee that he will even do what he says.”
I sigh and square my shoulders. He’s right. I know that, but it still doesn’t change the fact that I want to save people, not send them to their deaths.
“I’m not going to. You can calm d
own now.” I soften my voice to calm his beast.
His eyes close and he takes a few deep breaths.
Liam steps forward. “You’ve got a good woman, son. Hold on to her.”
He nods. “I’m trying, Dad. She’s not making it easy.”
Liam belly laughs, holding his stomach. “The best usually don’t.”
Walking down the stairs, we join our people. “My sisters and brothers, let’s join together to win this war.”
The loud cheers are deafening. Half of the pack members begin to shift into their wolf forms and the others walk with us.
Ezra and I lead them toward the path in the woods.
Xavier has killed the foliage in this area. All of the trees and plants are dead.
Dread pools in my gut. I hope this isn’t an omen of what’s to come.
It’s like walking through a different set of woods than the one from earlier. The color is gone. Blue, green, and purple hues no longer beckon me, only the gray of death.
Silence reigns around us as we trek to the final resting place of lost loved ones, no signs of wildlife in the vicinity.
As we break through the tree line into the graveyard, I stop, halting the trail of people behind me.
Headstones and flowers sit in rows, marking burial places, but there’s no one else around. Something doesn’t feel right.
Ezra stops beside me, sniffing the air. “All I smell is death.”
Another reason Xavier wanted the battle here. It’s his source of power and death hides his scent from the shifters.
My gaze takes in the cemetery in a slow sweep. Where is he?
“They have to be here. Where else would they be?”
The ground starts to shake and Xavier raises from one of the graves. Hooded figures emerge from around the gray stone crypt in the middle of the cemetery.
Wolves walk out of the woods, surrounding them on all sides, baring their canines and growling.
Ezra’s entire body tenses beside me, preparing for any slight movement.
Xavier’s eyelids open, revealing almost solid black eyes. He begins chanting words in Latin, his voice echoing around us. The hooded figures join in, creating an eerie sound.
My coven chants, calling their powers.
Xavier’s black gaze locks on me. His facilized voice stands out among the multitude of voices. “So, you’ve chosen the hard road.”
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