“Once we take out this person, it will be easier to dispose of the coven,” he said after a moment.
Renee nodded, and her mate just stared as if he didn’t have an opinion. Oriel wasn’t sure the other man ever did, but he would be essential in this particular part of the battle, so he wouldn’t complain. He would take care of the man shortly. Or perhaps he would ensure Renee did it. That would probably be better. Having to kill one’s mate would be a true sign of loyalty.
But first, they needed the shifter to do what Oriel wanted and take care of their little problem.
“Make it look like an ambush. Perhaps from someone he trusts.”
Renee nodded. “We can handle that. He has more enemies than he cares to admit.”
Renee’s mate finally spoke. “The dissension in the ranks is enough that it won’t seem like you, but rather those he has angered with his current predilections.”
Oriel nodded, a smile playing on his face. “Good.” They needed him out of the way to take care of the coven. And then, Rowen would be his.
He held up his glass of Bordeaux, and the others did the same. A cruel smile played on Renee’s lips as her mate scowled at Oriel, but not in anger, that was just what his face looked like.
“To the end of the one in our ranks, and to Ravenwood and our making.”
“To Ravenwood,” they agreed and sipped their wine. Images of Rowen occupied Oriel’s mind and a small smile appeared. The coven was within his grasp.
Those of Ravenwood had dared to take what was Oriel’s, and now they would pay.
But first, they would know true pain.
They would know what they had caused.
Chapter
Nine
Jaxton
I lay curled around Laurel, holding her close, pretending that this was how our day would be. That we didn’t have to get up or do anything other than what we were doing right now. That we could remain here until the end of time, breathing, pretending that this was our life.
Only I knew that reality would creep in at any moment, and there would be no going back.
Laurel rubbed against me, still asleep, and I held back a groan. Her tight little body, with that firm little ass pressing against my already hard cock wasn’t exactly a way for me to keep sane today, yet I didn’t want it to stop.
What I wanted to do was lift her thigh and wake us both up in the best way possible. I knew she needed the sleep. And thus, making love again probably wouldn’t be good for either of us. Because Laurel would walk away. I knew she had to. She wanted to protect me, and maybe even herself. And that meant I either had to be the one to keep her or let her walk away.
“You were thinking so hard, you woke me up,” Laurel grumbled, and I swallowed hard, telling myself that as long as I kept still, she wouldn’t be able to read the emotions on my face once she turned over.
Maybe that would be a lie, but I was never good at keeping things from Laurel. Hence why we were in this situation again.
“Sorry. I have a lot to think about.”
She turned in my arms, our legs tangling as her naked breasts pressed against my chest. “I think we both have a lot to think about.”
I cursed under my breath and then pushed her hair away from her face, cupping her cheek. “Laurel.”
“I know. I know.”
She leaned forward and kissed me gently. While I wanted to pretend that this was just the beginning of something far better for both of us, I knew that wasn’t the case. I knew that this was probably goodbye. Perhaps there was always going to be a goodbye.
“Don’t look so sad,” she whispered.
“I feel like that’s usually what I say to you.”
“You should get going. We need to meet the coven later.”
“We’re just not going to talk about what happened then?” I asked as I sat, running my hands through my hair. The blanket pooled around my waist, leaving us both bare on top.
“I’m sorry.”
“You better not be sorry about what happened,” I growled before getting out of bed and shoving my legs into my pants.
“I know. I meant that I’m sorry I keep screwing everything up and don’t know what I’m doing. I used to think I was better than this. Better at this. And now, everything is just wrapped around itself, and I can’t find my way out. How are we supposed to find our way out when we don’t even know who’s attacking us or who’s coming at us? Or even how to break this curse? It almost doesn’t make any sense to me, and yet I know it has to. Because I hate hurting you. I hate watching you walk away.”
I whirled at her. “You’re the one who’s always walking away, Laurel. It was always like that, even when we were with Trace.”
And there it was. We.
Because we had both thought Trace was ours, and we had been wrong.
So fucking wrong.
“I thought he was ours, too, but he wasn’t. He was just our steppingstone. No, that’s a horrible thing to say. I didn’t mean that.” Her hands went to her mouth for a moment before she let them fall.
I moved around the bed and cupped her face before crushing my mouth to hers. She leaned into me. “I know. I know you didn’t mean it like that. But Trace was part of our past, and I thought he would be part of my future. I thought you both would be.”
“And now I’m dying, too,” she said woodenly, and he held back the scream of rage threatening to erupt.
“Trace wasn’t ours, even if we might have wanted him to be,” she whispered. I lowered my head to hers, trying to catch my breath.
“And because he wasn’t ours, we have to somehow move on and figure out our lives without him.”
“I just don’t want you to have to figure it out without me.”
“Then stop saying that. We’ll find a way.”
“How?” she asked as she stood and went to put on her clothes. “How exactly are we going to figure that out? We haven’t yet. I almost killed you and my brother trying to figure it out, and it hasn’t worked out yet.”
“We can’t just give up.”
“You don’t think I’m trying? If I gave up, I would just spark my magic and let myself burn. But I haven’t. I’m sitting here, and I’m fighting. I’m trying to protect this town. You. Everybody. You know, if things were different, I wouldn’t run the way I usually do. And I wouldn’t be trying so hard.”
“If things were different, we wouldn’t feel like this curse was for us specifically, and not just the town.”
She gave me a look, and I sighed.
“I don’t want you to hurt any more. I want everything to go back to some sense of normal. But then I remember we don’t have a fucking normal.”
“We don’t. And I don’t know when that’s going to change. I need time, Jaxton.”
I gave her a look and sighed. “What if we don’t have that kind of time, Laurel?” I regretted the words as soon as I said them as she blanched. “Laurel,” I started again.
“No, you’re right. We don’t have that kind of time. But I still need it. I... I care about you, Jaxton.”
I hated that phrase, but I knew she couldn’t say love, not when we didn’t know what would happen next. So, I had to let her get away with that.
For now.
“I’ll give you time, Laurel,” I whispered. “But not too much.”
She smiled softly, and I leaned forward and kissed her gently. “I won’t take too much time.”
I picked up the last of my things and left, knowing Laurel needed space. And maybe so did I. We hadn’t slept together in years, even if the two of us had been prowling around each other for what seemed like our entire lives. I had loved her every moment I had known her, even if that love had begun as one thing and changed into another. I’d loved her when I thought she was Trace’s, and when I thought she was mine.
And I would love her until my dying day.
I just didn’t know what I was supposed to do without her.
The sound of a shriek above me pulled me out o
f my morose thoughts, and I looked up to see one of my wing members dropping towards me before flying across town. I recognized who it was. They weren’t on patrol today. They were just out for a flight.
I held back a smile and made my way back to my house, knowing I had other things to do. I needed to focus on my wing, my family, and the town.
My phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket, answering without checking the readout.
“This is Jaxton.”
“It’s Rome,” my best friend grumbled.
“What’s up?”
“One of the guest wolf shifters took a nap, and her three teenage wolf pups decided to go on a rampage down Main Street.”
I nearly tripped over my feet, imagining three teenage pups in wolf form, running through the middle of town, trying to burn down Ravenwood. I went on alert, scenarios of how this could be connected to Oriel and the necromancers filling my brain.
“Did they destroy anything?”
“Sorry, rampage is a little strong. I should have just said shenanigans. They were in their human forms but are still learning their newfound strength since one of them may become alpha. At least that’s what the wolf mom thinks. They accidentally broke a window while closing a door and did a few other things just being teenagers. They’re doing their best to clean up the mess, and they’re going to pay for it, but they could use your help learning how to fix a window.”
I cursed, relief running through me. “Be better at the words you use, man.”
“Sorry, it’s been one of those days as a cleaner. I’m stuck at the den dealing with a couple of my elders. Do you have time?”
“I do. I’ll work on this. Then I need to head down to my aerie.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“I’m on it,” I said and made my way to Main Street.
People were milling about, those in the know of the supernatural nodding at me and gesturing towards where the three teenagers stood. The humans who had no idea what surrounded them didn’t even bother glancing past the broken glass or the bear in animal form walking past them.
With Sage’s addition to the wards, it seemed that even that magic could hide in plain sight now.
I smiled at the thought, then looked at the bear shifter, who just shrugged. It seemed that Rome was testing the boundaries, or this bear shifter would have hidden a bit more than they were. It was good to know what we could and couldn’t do. The next time the shifter leaders got together, we’d have to go over what Rome had found.
I shook my head and made my way towards the three teenagers.
“How are things going here?” I asked, donning my wing leader voice.
The kids stared at me and blinked.
“Oh, hi,” the youngest said before ducking his head. The oldest nudged him, then met my gaze for a minute before lowering his head again. It seems that this one could have the scent of an alpha. They weren’t going to challenge me or anything, and that was nice, but they definitely had that strength.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
The dominant one nodded. “We’re very sorry. We didn’t mean to break anything.”
“Sometimes, we don’t know our own strength,” the middle one added, his gaze still lowered.
“It’s okay. It happens. Were you giving your mama a break then?”
All three ducked their heads, blushing a bit.
“We’re triplets. It’s a little difficult sometimes.”
They had to be fraternal ones since they didn’t look alike, but much like the triplets that ran in the bear families, multiples weren’t rare.
They weren’t unusual within our wing, either, but it had been a couple of years since a set was born. The last had been a set of quads nearly five years ago.
“We’re really sorry,” one of the guys said, and I nodded.
“I know you are. Now let me show you how to clean this up without magic, and then one of the witches will be by to make sure we do a good job.”
“We like the town,” the youngest said.
I smiled. This one had to be an omega. The way that they oozed emotion and wanted to soothe anyone around them. I already liked them. I wasn’t sure about the middle kid, I liked him, but I didn’t know what power he would hold. But he had some.
No wonder Mama Wolf had needed a nap.
“Okay, let’s get to it. And I like this town, too. We take care of one another.”
“We were only passing through, but Mom likes it. We’re looking for a pack.”
I froze as the two other teens looked down at the littlest one and frowned. I cleared my throat. “We don’t have a wolf pack here. We do have bears, though.”
“That’s what Mom said. But when we had to leave our other pack, we came here, just to rest. But we’re searching.”
“Daymond,” the eldest grumbled.
“No, it’s okay. Does Rome know why you’re here?” I asked cautiously. “The alpha of the bears?”
The one with the scent of the alpha nodded. “Yes. As do the few wolves here. They said they were going to talk to Jaxton. That’s you, right? The alpha, no…wait, the wing leader of the hawks.”
“It seems I was out of commission for a time when they were going to talk to me. But, yes, that’s me. Jaxton.”
“Oh, hi,” the one who could be an omega said with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”
The other wolf cleared his throat. “Anyway, we just need some help cleaning up, I guess.”
There was a story here. One I probably wouldn’t like. But as I looked down at my phone, I realized I had missed a couple of calls when I was with Laurel. It seemed these wolves were on the run from something. I didn’t know what it was, but hopefully, they’d be able to figure it out. With the strength of the eldest wolf, even if they were triplets, things could get interesting.
I helped the kids figure out how to clean up what they had messed up as well as fix the window when Rowen came by. She smiled and snapped her fingers. With a minor spell, she cleaned up any residual magic. She fluttered her fingers as she waved goodbye, and the three teenage wolves stared after her with their mouths agape.
I held back a snort and introduced myself to Mama Wolf as she came forward. I immediately knew that this submissive wolf had her hands full.
She was a strong wolf in terms of courage, but very submissive with three decently dominant boys and no other pack.
Rome and the others would help how they could. My job was to ensure that peace remained settled.
Before I could do any of that, I had to focus on my wing.
I nodded at the others, helped a few more people, and then finally made my way back home.
My people needed me. Eventually, I’d find time to think for myself. To just be.
But that wouldn’t happen anytime soon.
I thought about shifting but decided I needed the walk. I’d take flight later, feel the wind beneath my feathers and my wings—despite the fact that I hated that song.
My lips quirked into a smile even if I didn’t have much to smile about these days. Suddenly, I froze, a familiar scent on the wind.
“William?”
That was my cousin’s scent, but that couldn’t be right.
He was gone. Wasn’t he?
I turned and ducked, flames erupting over my head.
“Tut tut tut. All alone, little hawk? What will you do when your feathers burn?” the necromancer in front of me whispered as she grinned.
My cousin, the man I’d thought dead, or at least long gone, stood behind her. He had his hand on her hip, and I sensed the mating bond. My heart raced at the implications of what I saw.
“William?” I asked as I rose, ducking another swath of flame.
“Cousin of mine, you don’t want to mess with my mate, Renee. She’s stronger than you. Stronger than the whole wing.”
“What the hell?” I asked, trying to catch up to what was happening.
Was William mated to the necromancer? That meant he’d left the wing of his
own volition.
There wasn’t more time to think. Renee sent flame after flame, her control decent—what Laurel should have been—but the manic glee in her eyes scared me.
This was a witch, a necromancer, and revenants could be around any minute. As William came at me, slashing his talons towards me, I knew I was outnumbered. And I couldn’t call for help.
And then Renee whispered a spell, something I couldn’t quite hear, and flames danced along my flesh. My skin burned, my bones screamed, and then there was nothing.
Just talons across my stomach like knives digging into me, and the scent of burnt flesh filling my nostrils.
Chapter
Ten
Laurel
“I don’t see why we can’t simply try,” Ash said, his voice devoid of emotion as usual.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, breathing in deeply before slowly letting out the air.
I loved my brother, I cherished him, I respected him, and I liked him.
But ever since the curse had taken over, it was like he became a different person. Parts of him would always remain the same, but others continued to change.
He didn’t quite understand the consequences of some of his actions. It wasn’t that he wanted to put others in harm’s way. It was more that he didn’t realize that he was doing it until it was too late.
Or perhaps he didn’t care. I wasn’t sure how his curse worked because he didn’t tell me. Not that I told him about everything of mine, so I didn’t know if I could truly blame him in that respect.
“Ash, I love you, but no, we can’t try that.”
“They’re already dead. It’s not like we could hurt them.”
“We are not taking a revenant and seeing how to reverse the magic to stop it on a grander scale. If you talk with Rowen about the idea, she may curse you again to spite you.”
“I think spiting and smiting and cursing could all be similar things,” he added dryly, and I flipped him off.
“You’re such a jerk.”
“I’m your big brother. You love me.”
Dusk Unveiled (Ravenwood Coven Book 2) Page 8
