“Daric,” Jade began. “You told me that Stefan is the source of the power and puppet masters are only his conduits. Do you think he’s particularly weak if he’s being drained by both the controlling spell and the northern lights?”
“I did not think of that,” Daric said. “But it’s possible.”
“Then all we have to do is kill Stefan, which may not even take a lot of effort,” Jade hypothesized.
“If we can get past his army,” Alynna pointed out.
“We’ll need our own army, then,” Grant said in a serious voice. He looked at Nick and Alynna. “Start making preparations. We’re going to call every able-bodied Lycan in New York and our allies. Daric,” he turned to the warlock. “How many people can you transport to your village at one time?”
Daric thought for a moment. “I suppose I could move five to six people at a time.”
“Good,” Grant nodded. “We need to get a move on then if we want to attack Stefan before daylight.”
***
Meredith sat in the hut alone, rubbing her hands over her arms as the cold crept over her. Her Lycan metabolism had been keeping her warm, but when the direness of the situation had dawned on her, nothing could stop the chill blasting through her veins.
She realized where they were being held—it was obviously Daric and Signe’s old village in Norway, where the warlock and mage first crossed paths. It was dark outside, which made it even harder to judge what time of the day it was. The eerie northern lights overhead made the entire place look creepy, like some damn horror movie, but that wasn’t what made Meredith’s skin crawl. It was the army of men waiting outside, standing still in the cold like a bunch of zombies. And then there were the wolves—Lycans, by the size of them—surrounding the village, tied up to the wooden posts like dogs waiting to be unleashed. Stefan was well-guarded, and even with Daric’s powers and the New York Lycans, she doubted they would have enough resources to fight the mages and their army of human and Lycan slaves.
She wondered where Stefan had taken Sebastian. It was a smart move on his part, taking Sebastian away because all the Lycans needed to do was free him and unleash the dragon. Hopefully, he still wasn’t under Stefan’s control, but if the mages got a hold of Jade, then all bets were off. She hoped her best friend was safe somewhere. And then there was Zachary Vrost. Stefan only needed threaten the child and Nick Vrost would give everything he had to keep his son safe. For once in her life, she was truly scared.
Her she-wolf whined, trying to comfort her.
“I know,” she said aloud. “I’m trying not to lose hope.”
Think, think, think, the she-wolf said. What would Archie do?
Archie would tell her not to give up. There was always a way.
“I’ve given you all the tools you need, Meredith,” Archie said countless times. “Think.”
She was tired. Bone tired. As soon as Stefan and Victoria had left, she searched every inch of the cabin, trying to find a weak spot or anything to help her get out. But there was nothing, they made sure of that. Just the furs on the ground and the single bed in the corner. She had nothing on her except the tracking bracelet and—
“Christ on a bicycle!” Her hands crept up to her chest. The phone! She had forgotten she had it tucked away in her bra. Her hands trembled as she took it out and pressed the power button. “Yes!” She pumped her fist in the air as the phone turned on.
Meredith took a deep breath. She would only have one chance at this, and the battery was near dead. There was no signal, of course, but most phones had a GPS unit. Hopefully, someone at Fenrir would be monitoring signals from all their registered phones. It was a long shot, but hopefully, someone out there was listening.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It had taken another few hours or so, but the New York Lycans were able to mobilize their forces and Daric began transporting them to the same hill overlooking the fjord. Every able-bodied member of the New York clan came, which amounted to about forty in total, including the security team, trainees, and a few clan members in the area who volunteered to come. Five people from New Jersey arrived, plus Dante Muccino and Frankie Anderson. Connecticut had sent ten of their own, including their current Alpha, Logan Cooper, while Philadelphia sent six of their best Lycan fighters. That was a force of about 60, plus Vivianne, Lara, and Liam.
They were going to battle a hundred human slaves, twenty Lone Wolves, and another 20 mages who were probably armed to the teeth with various spells and potions. However, if all went as planned, then there would be no need to battle them head on. The odds weren’t in their favor, but they had the element of surprise on their hands.
The Lycans set up a small camp in a clearing away from the edge of the hill. Grant stood in the middle, talking to the team.
“Have we got visual?” Grant asked Quinn.
The younger man nodded, holding his tablet PC up. “The drones have just finished their survey and will remain in the air to monitor the area. Awesome tech, by the way,” Quinn grinned as he turned the screen to them. “Just as Daric said, there’s about a hundred or so humans and twenty Lycans scattered around them.”
Grant let out a breath. “Our main goal is to find Meredith, Sebastian, and Zac and get them out. Based on the layout, they could be in any of those huts. There are twenty homes total. Alynna, Lara and Liam’s team will be split up into three for the retrieval purposes. Once the hostages have been found and retrieved, contact us through the comms. Hopefully, we’ll get to them before anyone notices.”
“Highly unlikely,” Nick interjected. “Which is why Alex and I will be leading our team to take out the puppet masters. There’s no way we can defeat all of the human slaves. There are too many of them. Our only chance is to take the puppet masters down.” He pointed to the black-robed figures on the edges of the village, facing the army of slaves and their backs to the shore. “Our best fighters, led by Connor, will distract the Lone Wolves on the front lines. If we catch them by surprise, we can stop them before they can mobilize the human forces.”
“And once the hostages are safe and the puppet masters have been disabled,” Daric began. “I will find Stefan and end him.”
“We both will,” Grant said. They had planned it so Grant and Daric would be watching over the ridge, waiting for the signal that the hostages were safe. Once they were sure, Daric would transport them to wherever Stefan was, and they would end this tonight. “But we want to make sure the hostages are out of harm’s way. We’ll do our best not to hurt any of the innocent Lycans and people, but if push comes to shove, our people and the hostages come first.”
“All right team,” Grant said, checking his watch. “We have an hour until sunrise. Let’s finish this.”
Daric watched as the Lycans made their preparations. Killian, Connor, and Quinn walked together, talking silently. As the best fighter, Connor was joining the main team that would attack the army head on. Killian was on the retrieval team, while Quinn was going to remain behind to continuously monitor the situation and fly the drones to find Stefan. The three brothers clapped each other on the back, touching their foreheads together before they separated.
Jade was also joining the retrieval team, and she was talking to an older man with graying hair. Eric, someone had called him and based on the similar features, he guessed this was Jade’s father. Frankie was talking to Grant, her arms wrapped around his waist. The Alpha’s stance was tense, his back stiff, but he stroked his mate’s back in a tender manner. The Lupa was staying back to coordinate the teams, as although she was invulnerable, her advancing pregnancy made it difficult to move. Nick stood by himself in the corner, his face stony and hard. Vivianne Chatraine had given Cady a potion to help her sleep, and so the Beta’s mate remained at Fenrir, unaware of what was going on. Liam and Lara, on the other hand, were standing silently under a tree, hands intertwined.
This was it. He would do everything in his power to make sure Meredith and the others were safe, but the moment he saw an o
pportunity, he would kill Stefan.
“Alpha! Alpha!” Quinn’s voice rang through the silent clearing, his footsteps hitting the snow-covered ground in a rhythmic pattern as he ran back to Grant.
“What is it?” the Alpha asked as he pulled away from his mate.
“I was running a last scan, just in case the mages were using any sort of tech to help them out.” Quinn fished his phone out of his pocket and held it up to Grant’s face. “Look!”
“What is it?” Grant asked, his brows drawing together.
“It’s a GPS signal. From down in the village.”
“What does it mean?” Frankie asked. “There’s no cell signal out here.”
“That’s the thing.” Quinn tapped on the phone. “No one’s phone is working out here, I could barely get a signal from the sat phones. But, something or someone is transmitting something from down there.”
Daric strode to Quinn and looked at the screen. “Meredith,” he said. “She stole one of your phones,” he said to Grant. “I saw her, the day after the car broke down. She didn’t return the phone, but slipped it into her bra.”
“That must be her,” Quinn exclaimed. “Good girl.”
“I know where that is,” he said, pointing to the red dot on the screen. “That house is in the middle of the village. It belonged to one of our best hunters, Oskar. He was my father’s best friend, and we spent a lot of time there.”
“If we can locate her, then that’s one less person we have to worry about.”
“I can get in there,” Daric said. “I know the space.”
“But you won’t be able to get her out,” Grant pointed out. “You’d both be trapped. The northern lights--”
“I didn’t say I couldn’t leave,” Daric retorted. “But, transporting back and forth would drain me. I could probably only do it twice or thrice in a row.”
“That would mean Stefan could get away,” Grant said.
If someone had asked him weeks ago to agree to such a plan, he would have laughed in their face. Stefan’s demise had been his singular goal in life, but now things had changed. Protecting Meredith at all costs was his priority now. “If Meredith, Sebastian, and Zac are there and I could take them to safety, then it would be worth it.”
“I agree,” Grant said. “Stefan’s death is not worth the lives of anyone. We will proceed with the plan, but once you have them out of there and we can reduce casualties, then we’re out of here. Let’s explain the modified plan to the team and get this show on the road.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Meredith stared at the phone, watching the battery meter slowly count down the power percentage until shut down. A cry ripped from her throat as the hope died along with the phone. This was it. If no one had found her signal, then she was as good as dead.
She stood up and paced. She was out of tools. Like, literally out of them. She only had the clothes on her back, and she doubted her t-shirt and leggings would be able to help her out of this one. Meredith threw herself on the bed, sobbing into the musty pillow.
“Don’t lose hope, min kjære.”
Meredith froze. She was dreaming. Her starving body was making her hear things. Stefan was sending her visions to drive her mad. Slowly, she got up from the bed and turned around.
Daric was standing in the middle of the room, his handsome face beaming at her. It took a second for it to register in her brain but when it all clicked, she ran toward him, leaping up into his arms and wrapping her legs around him. She grabbed his face and planted a hard kiss on his lips. God, she missed him. She couldn’t believe he was really here.
“Yes, it’s me,” he laughed as he gently pried Meredith away from him. She untangled herself from his body and stood in front him.
“You’re here,” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I’ve come to rescue you and—” He staggered forward, and Meredith planted her palms on his chest to steady him,
“Daric!” she cried. “Are you all right?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry. This place…”
“It’s your village, right?”
“Yes, but that’s not all.” He quickly explained to her how the northern lights were affecting his powers.
“It’s draining you?” she asked.
“Not totally, but yes. I can only perform a few more spells before I need rest.”
“Okay, then what’s the plan?”
“Wait, this first.” He bent down and waved his hand over her tracking bracelet. The band disappeared, and the device fell on the floor.
“Daric!” she exclaimed. “Why did you do that? Your powers!”
“A small trick,” he said with a smile. “I’m conserving them as best as I can. Transporting takes the most out of me, but I can still do small things. You will need to defend yourself.”
“Right.” She took a deep breath. “So, now what?”
“I was hoping that Sebastian and Zachary Vrost were with you so I can take you all away.”
She shook her head. “We’ve all been separated. They’ve got some special chain holding Sebastian down so he can’t shift and I haven’t seen Zac since we were in Fenrir, but…” She closed her eyes, trying to use her enhanced hearing to tune in. “He’s been crying, poor thing, but I think I know where he is. North…no, northeast of us.”
“Then we must go,” he lifted his hand, but she stopped him.
“No, save it! We’ll sneak out. Can you remove whatever it is that’s blocking the door?”
He nodded and then walked to the front door, waving his hand. Grabbing the handle, he turned it and slowly opened the door.
Meredith peered outside. “There,” she said nodding towards one of the distant cabins. There was a faint light coming from the inside. “We need to go there.”
“That was our old home,” Daric said through gritted teeth. Before Meredith could stop him, Daric grabbed her arm, and the coldness gripped her. A few seconds later, they reappeared inside another cabin. This one was much larger and had more furniture. A fire was blazing in the hearth, and there was a bed and a baby cot in the corner. A woman stood with her back to them, holding a bundle in her arms as she rocked back and forth.
“Stop crying,” Victoria begged. “Please, baby, stop.” She turned around, her eyes growing wide and her face becoming even paler as she saw Daric and Meredith. “You!” she hissed. “What are you—Master!!” she screamed.
Before Daric or Meredith could move, Stefan appeared on the opposite side of the room.
“Ah, my old protégé,” the master mage mocked. “Looks like you’ve freed your little bitch, I see.”
“Let him go, Stefan,” Daric said as he raised his hand.
“Or what?” Stefan slowly walked towards the witch. “Victoria, you know what to do.”
“Yes, Master.” Victoria retrieved the knife strapped to her waist and pointed it at Zac. “Move, and he dies.”
Victoria moved the tip of the blade closer to the bundle, pointing it straight at Zac’s heart.
Daric lowered his hand. “You truly are a monster, Victoria.”
“No!” Meredith yelped. “You wouldn’t.”
Zac let out another cry, and Meredith saw Victoria’s hand shake and her face falter, just for a second. “He’s your grandson,” Meredith pleaded. “Cady’s son. Your own flesh and blood.”
“Shut up!” Victoria screeched. She pressed the tip against the baby’s breastbone. “I’ll do it, I swear.”
Daric began to raise his hand and slowly advanced toward Stefan. “You’ve drained yourself, Stefan, I can see your hands shaking. You’ve used too many spells, haven’t you? Plus, all the puppet masters have been draining more and more of your power.”
“Stop stalling,” Stefan bellowed at the witch.
Victoria’s eyes went wild as she looked at Zac and then Stefan. “Master?”
“Kill the child, Victoria,” Stefan ordered. “Now.”
Victoria let out a wail and raised the knife. M
eredith was about to scream for Victoria to stop, but her breath caught as she saw the witch fling the knife at Stefan. The master mage waved his hand, and the knife reversed its course, sending it straight to Victoria.
The witch twisted away, shielding the baby as the knife buried into her back with a sickening squish. She fell forward, and Meredith lunged for her, grabbing the bundle before Victoria fell.
“Tell…Cady…” Victoria choked, reaching out to Meredith with her hand.
Tears burned in her eyes as she nodded. “I will.”
Victoria’s hand fell back and her eyes closed.
“Pity,” Stefan declared. “She was quite useful to me.”
“Stefan!” Daric yelled as he flung his hand toward the mage. Stefan was caught by surprise and his body was thrown against the wall.
“Is that all you’ve got?” Stefan laughed as he brushed himself off and stood up. “What were you thinking? Coming here by yourself and trying to get your Lycan whore back? My men will be here in two seconds. I’ve already roused the army.”
“No,” Daric said with a smile. “I’m not alone.”
Stefan was about to open his mouth when sounds of screams and shouts from the outside made his face twist in anger. “What have you done?”
“It’s over, Stefan,” Daric said. “The Lycans and the witches are here.”
Stefan laughed. “I don’t think so.”
The doors behind them suddenly burst open, and five large men filed in, all carrying rifles. Behind them, a giant black wolf padded in, fangs bared.
Meredith’s inner-she wolf howled, and she set little Zac down on the baby cot. She turned and then hunched herself in as the animal burst from her skin. Her limbs and face elongated, her muscles and bones stretching, and fur sprouted all over her body. It all took a few seconds, but to Meredith, it felt like an eternity. She landed on all four paws and stood in front of the other Lycan. She heard a gasp behind her, probably Daric, and she wasn’t surprised. Her wolf was magnificent—all silver white fur and red eyes. She was the only albino Lycan in the world, as far as she knew.
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