by Ruby Raine
Somehow, Charlie's parents, and theirs before them, and so on and so on, had managed to fit in both the job and life, and so would he. But this thing with the Source was possibly the biggest moment ever in recent history, maybe even since the war against the Deanes so many years before. It simply felt wrong not to be here and be part of it.
And also, as much as none of them had any damn clue what was popping out of that cocoon, other than a person of some kind, they all fully expected another attack—whether it be the Feyk, or something else. Because the release of magical energy was inevitably going to draw curious evil closer. Evil that would want to steal whatever was born even if it was meant to serve the side of good.
Or at the least, it might make the Power Source vulnerable and evil was always seeking out an opportunity to seize control, or tap into the power. And the extra magical energy being released because of this birthing event was sure to alert anyone paying attention.
Because one thing was certain: whatever was born would be the most valuable thing in the magical world, possibly ever. Evil would want to make it theirs. So, it was the Howard's job to make sure that did not happen, at any cost.
Well, not any cost. Because Charlie would never put anyone's life at risk during a werewolf shift, especially the first one. Which would be the hardest one because of all the unanswered questions that remained. After tonight, they'd find out if Lizzy would have access to her human mind while shifted. From what they'd read in the notebooks of research provided by his parents, as long as Charlie could connect with her, as her Alpha, she should remain in control of her mind and actions.
But the topic of whether Charlie would have to force his Alpha status to control her wolf, was a hard one. It was an idea he was struggling with because he hated the thought of stripping away any of Lizzy's freedom or independence. She'd suffered enough of that in her long life already.
And even with all the notebooks of research they'd read, they were not completely sure what to expect. And as life had proven over and over again, complications happened. Like the timing. It sucked, but they'd have to make it work.
Inside, with the Source, Riley clutched his chest and winced as footsteps approached. It was Charlie and Mathew coming to check in. Again.
He stopped his pacing as they came into view, the pressure against his chest, intense and blazing with a stark warning—I'm coming soon.
Whatever was inside that cocoon was being born. It wanted out. And its time was approaching, fast. And for whatever fucked up reason, it wasn't the Howards, or the Guardians needed when that happened, but a Deane.
Him, to be quite specific. But why? Why? Why?
The question with no answer.
Yes, it was his feeling that had brought him here. To the Isle. And now, to the Source. And it was his feeling telling him he had to be here. But it wasn't his gift that was needed, but him. Which made even less sense. And he might be wrong. His gift might not be telling him why he was here yet. Or what was needed from him.
Or maybe it was going a few days without proper sleep or rest and too much coffee and his mind was playing tricks on him.
Riley had been caught off guard when he'd gone into the manor after arriving back on the island to find visitors there—Emily Morgan and her aunt, Lucy Arnaud. He was still reeling from his run in and break up with Melinda when he'd come across them. However, when he'd seen Mathew not long after...well, that just threw him for a few crazy ass loops and made him question his own sanity. Because why was his brother's ex here on the Isle? And seemingly aware of the magical world?
Riley had even wondered if maybe he'd left Sorcier only to return to some alternate or wrong version of The Demon Isle that existed in some other plane of existence, or universe, or something crazy like that. But reality got straightened out pretty quick.
Turns out Mathew had been hiding the biggest of secrets: he was a freaking Guardian.
Riley was still having a hard time seeing it as he glanced at Mathew. He was so—wonderfully normal. He had a beautiful energy to him that brightened a room just with his presence. He was a bit shy. A bit awkward. Clumsy and cute as hell—according to Lucas on more than one occasion. But also super smart and quick witted too.
And now, as it turned out, he was once a witch that had lived alongside Lizzy Deane before she'd been ghasted. And become a Guardian after his early death.
Small world. Circle of life. Whatever it all was or meant, the thing that mattered most is that Riley was damn glad that Mathew and Lucas had mended their rift. Because Lucas had been miserably broody about the whole shitty breakup—even though he outright refused to talk about it, ever.
And Riley liked Mathew and his brother together. He'd always thought it was a perfect match. They complimented each other in all the best ways and Mathew had a way of bringing the real Lucas to the surface. The one who laughed and loved a good time. The one who believed in himself and didn't constantly doubt, or believe that the world was out to get him—because of his Deane blood.
Mathew made Lucas shine, just like himself. A heck of a gift in itself, never mind being a Guardian. Although, what kind of future they had was up for debate. But at least, if nothing else, there was understanding now where there hadn't been any before. Mathew hadn't meant to fall for Lucas and had gotten carried away while actually being in their lives as part of his job, watching over the two of them. It was a strange world and getting stranger every damn day.
"Any changes?" asked Charlie while scrubbing a hand across his stubble covered chin.
"It's getting closer." Riley gave an over dramatic eye shrug along with that answer. It was the same response as a few hours ago.
"Okay," Charlie said, but it sounded more like defeat. He had a terrible feeling it was all going to go down tonight. But there was only once place he had to be and that was with Lizzy. He'd have to hand over duty to his family and friends, but he'd hold out for as long as safely possible. He could not chance Lizzy shifting out in the open.
It was a damn lucky thing they had so many extra hands on deck. Or perhaps it was fate working in mysteriously witchy ways. With William home, and having brought Annie to the Isle, and with Riley back, plus Mathew and Lucas, and Courtney, the Howard Witches were in better shape than ever before. And yet it was killing Charlie to have to leave. And not because he didn't trust them—they had three vampires and a Guardian on their side for magic's sake!
But this was a massive event that might change all their lives, maybe even be the culmination of the Howard's legacy—generations of protection and sacrifice. This wasn't just going to affect him, but everyone. It might change the direction of their future.
Maybe. He had no way of knowing for sure.
He groaned and sighed—he was in fine form, doing what he did best—creating problems before there were any. Regardless, there was no stopping the full moon. So, he had to believe that he wasn't meant to be here tonight, but rather home with his mate. And even though it pricked at his nerves as crazy ass wrong, he wouldn't fight it. And he supposed that fact, in itself, was progress—in letting others take control and handle the job, too.
Charlie left Mathew and Riley inside the Source and returned outside, closing the entrance. No need to leave it wide open to temptation for their enemies and those inside could get out easy enough since they'd set it up to work that way.
Michael and Courtney were just back from checking the crystal alarm system surrounding the perimeter—again. Melinda, Lucas, and Annie were posted nearby keeping watch. Annie had been more than happy to help and thrived on the fact that her help was needed. They'd all come to love her almost instantly, even amidst all the chaos. Although it was equally intriguing and strange to hear tales of a place called Soricer—a place William had built, lived, left, and never spoke of.
But they were glad Annie had tagged along with William and were mega impressed by the fact that Annie had never once drank human blood. They all thought this was an important thing for Courtney to witness, a
nd hoped seeing that it was possible would help the new vampire as she adjusted to her new life.
Even Mack, the sheriff, was on hold as backup, just in case. And Grace, the owner of the Wicked Muddy Café, had taken it upon herself to make sure they remained caffeinated and fed. Only Emily and her Aunt Lucy were keeping their distance, which was probably for the best. There wasn't much Emily could do in this situation, and her presence would have been a major distraction for Michael. He'd spend all his time worrying about her instead of being focused.
But mostly, after the shitty nightmare that had gone down the last time Emily was a prisoner at the Power Source, Michael didn't want her to ever have to return here if she didn't choose to. She was only back on the island by a turn of events that wasn't her choice, and that was bad enough. And she was safer away from here while her aunt and ghost of a mother taught her how to use her gift as a Spirit Vessel.
Sadly, though, and Michael hated to admit it, this place had stolen a lot from Emily, and he wasn't sure how she'd ever want to live here again. He hadn't wanted to admit it before and admitting it even now was hard. But he had to accept the truth—Emily might not want to stay. And he wasn't able to leave.
Although, why was he staying?
He'd promised to stay to find his father and they'd done that. Jack Howard had been freed from the Soul Hunter only to die, for real. And if their duty ended when whatever the hell was about to happen went down, would he actually need to stay on the Isle?
For a moment, those old desires to flee the island wound their way through his veins. Would he ever get the chance to travel and see the world? To go to college? To do something, anything, that wasn't about being a Howard Witch? Or have a future with Emily if that meant no longer being on the Isle?
Part of Michael wished he could just be happy with where he was. But it seemed that it just wasn't in his blood to be satisfied by being a witch, or an empath and death reader. But, like always, now was not the time to think about it. Now was not the time to act on it. Or talk about it. Someday was fast becoming his least favorite word.
Never today. Because there was yet another crisis brewing that only the Howards could handle. And tonight, he was filling Charlie's shoes. And though he'd been open to the idea, and wanting Charlie not to feel like he always had to be in charge, Michael found that he preferred not to be.
He was better when he had time to think. And plan. And prepare. Not dive right in and react to the chaos unfolding. This making decisions on the fly thing could fuck right off. He hated it. Because his choices didn't only affect him, but all those around him.
No pressure....
He shook his head in silent sadistic challenge, because no matter what he might want out of this life, leaving all those decisions up to his brother all the time wasn't fair either. It was a duty they needed to share the burden of.
The silence surrounding the Source branched outward, each of them either at full attention to their surroundings, or having a deep moment of inner reflection. Not knowing when the Power Source might give birth had left them spending the last three days on high alert.
They'd been doing non-stop rounds, keeping watch. Decking themselves out in clothes ready for battle, or stealth, should it be needed. They had magic belts at the ready, stocked with potion bottles ready to use at a moment's notice.
But even with all the prep and inevitability of a battle, they didn't feel fully prepared. Because it was impossible to prepare for the unknown. It left them worked up, overtired, and balancing on a sharp edge that was going to cut away to chaos at any moment.
Along with concerns that the longer things took inside the Source, the inevitable crash was soon to find them too. Exhaustion was already setting in, with only short hours available for sneaking in sleep. Or a normal meal. They could only survive on caffeine and adrenaline for so long. The humans at least. Without the vampires, who didn't require such trivial things like rest and sleep, the situation would be even more frightening. But even they were showing signs of strain the longer the wait continued.
Living on the edge of a war just waiting to break out wasn't good for anyone, it turned out. Human, witch, vampire, it didn't matter. Nerves were flayed and frayed.
Lizzy plunked back against a tree looking not so unlike Charlie—unusually defeated and off kilter. She wasn't questioning her choice to become a werewolf, but she knew how much it was killing Charlie to leave this, to protect her, and how equally it was killing her to do the same.
It was feeling impossible and wrong to leave a group of people she cared about tremendously, knowing trouble of the killing kind was brewing, and they'd be unable to help—never mind she didn't want to add to that trouble pile if things went awry during her shift. Like they needed that to happen. This left it up to her and Charlie to make sure they did their part and kept her wolfy issues out of the Power Source issues.
Equally, Lizzy hated that in this case, Charlie was sort of—kind of—maybe just a little bit right. In that some planning might have avoided this. However, in reality, no amount of planning could prepare for every eventuality. She had to stop questioning herself because now, it was what it was, and they'd have to deal with whatever was thrown at them.
And, Christ! If they waited for the perfect time to do something, they'd never move forward only stay put. There was never an ideal time unless you made it so.
Charlie's thoughts nudged into Lizzy's mind—he'd been thinking the same thing. It was almost a role reversal, or maybe just clearer heads seeing each other's point of view better after spending more time in each other's minds.
Melinda approached them.
"I'm going to head home for a bit. Try to refresh. I'll be back before you guys have to go." She meant of Charlie and Lizzy. "But holler if anything changes and you need me back here faster."
"All good. We have a few hours before we have to...." Charlie let the sentence fall and his gaze slid to his new mate. Their bond was getting stronger and more in tune with each other the closer they got to the moon rising. Lizzy had no way of hiding her current fears from him even though she wanted to.
Don't feel bad about what's going to happen, it's going to be a rough night here, or locked in our cell.
She caught his thought and tossed him a silent eyeroll.
You said you believe everything happens for a reason, he reminded as lightheartedly as possible.
Stop reminding me of all the things I've said. I've changed my mind, she shot back into his mind grumpily. Her skin was tight. Like it was being stretched from deep inside her own bones. And it wasn't an ache something like ibuprofen or even a bottle of damn tequila was going to ease. The reality that she was actually going to shift was sinking in. And she did not want to be, but she was scared shitless.
Inside the Power Source was one countdown clock.
Inside her own body was another.
The electricity in her gaze burned bright and blue, another sign that the wolf inside was winning out over her human side. It was also rather stunning, and Charlie's inner wolf could have just lingered in her stare, happily. And apparently, he was growling hungrily again without realizing.
"Seriously, oh my God! Go get a room." Melinda laughed.
Even Lizzy had to chuckle, because it was too easy to rile the wolf and if she was in her right mind she'd take full advantage. But the wolf beat her to the punch and shoved a thought into her mind that might as well have been his own damn fingers working magic all over her.
Charlie chuckled and then nodded his blushing face toward his sister who waved a haughty goodbye and left. Poor Michael and his empathy would take the brunt of it, as always. And the disgruntled frown on his face claimed so.
Charlie approached Lizzy.
"Let's walk the perimeter," he suggested, even though Michael and Courtney had done just that and had nothing to report. But the wolves both had some energy to burn and it was better than sitting around, waiting.
But the low chuckles and clearing throats as t
hey left the gully all claimed the same thing; enjoy your walk. Because everyone was sure that's all that would happen. No frisky wolves fooling around going on whatsoever.
"You really are enjoying hanging out with vampires, aren't you?" teased Courtney.
Michael gave her a sarcastic chortle in reply.
"Your gift doesn't work on vampires?" assumed Annie.
"No. And that is a nice break," he admitted.
"And you were a witch, before you changed?" she aimed at Courtney.
"Yup. And you? Were you a witch too?"
"Me? No. Not a witch. Just a normal human." Living a wretched life on the streets that I've never missed even once.
Lucas chimed in. "From what Riley tells me, Annie, it's best to always tell the truth around you though." He passed her an easygoing smile.
"Yeah. I do have that, but no idea where it came from. Magic wasn't something I'd even heard of when I was still human."
"So, like, you can see the truth in things?" Courtney tried to understand.
Annie pegged her gaze on the new vampire. "I can tell when someone is lying to me." There was a hint of a dare in her reply.
"Handy gift." But Courtney ignored the dare.
"Can be."
"Let me guess," retorted Michael. "Good to know when someone's lying to you, but also sucks ass to find out someone is lying to you?"
"I imagine our gifts aren't so different," Annie replied with a tight grin. "Except mine works on the living and the dead." Unlike Michael's.
The roots of the Power Source began to shift and open. They all twisted to see Mathew exiting. Lucas couldn't help himself and greeted the Guardian's short absence with a kiss. He really was setting himself up for a world of hurt because the surprised and too eager gleam in Mathew's gaze warned they were both in deeper than either new how to deal with.
