by CJ Cooke
Grey blinked for a second in shock as he looked at me. It was like he was rerunning the brief conversation in his head to see what he’d done wrong.
“It doesn’t matter,” I huffed. “When are we doing this then?” I asked instead.
“I was thinking tonight,” Cassia added reluctantly. She got it even if Grey didn’t. “We need to know if the moonlight funnel will work on them, and we need to move quickly because if it doesn’t, well, we’re back to square one because I doubt you’ve found anything else.”
“Literally nothing,” River sighed. “It’s like someone has purposefully erased them from the books. It’s almost suspicious how little information there is available about wraiths and shadow demons.”
“I think it’s more that no one knows anything about them. They’ve only ever been a threat to vampires, and the shadow touched. They aren’t even on the radar for most witches. You’d probably be better looking at vampire authored books,” Cassia pointed out.
Have you ever had that feeling of stupidity when someone pointed something out really obvious that you hadn’t realised before? All this time, we’d been looking at every magic book we could find in the library, and we hadn’t even considered they wouldn’t be the right source. As one, we all seemed to turn towards the bookcases. When we’d moved them, I remembered seeing some books which looked different, but I had no idea which ones they were right now.
“You have looked at vampire authored books, right?” Cassia sighed.
No one answered. It was fairly obvious we hadn’t, and I didn’t think any of us wanted to admit it.
“At least tell me you questioned the vampire after the meeting we had?” Cassia almost seemed to squint in pain as she asked the question.
Were we stupid? I felt like this meant we were maybe stupid?
“Okay, new plan,” Grey sighed. “We prepare for summoning the shadow demon tonight, and tomorrow we need to pump Davion for information and start to check what texts we have in the library that are vampire authored. Maybe Davion could help identify them to speed the process up.”
“So that’s it,” Maverick muttered. “Just like that, you expect Calli to summon and fight a shadow demon. Are you even considering if she can do something like that? Are you even thinking about what we’re going to do if she’s successful in summoning it and the funnel doesn’t work?”
Maverick’s eyes were lit with anger, and the fact he was angry on my behalf was having a strange reaction in me.
An angry growl ripped from Grey, “Of course I’m thinking about that,” he roared. “Don’t you think I’m absolutely fucking terrified right now! Don’t you think, if I could, I'd stand in her place without giving it a second thought? The only reason they’re coming here, the only reason we even have to take on this fight, is because I wasn’t a strong enough alpha to protect this pack from the witches in the first place.”
His chest heaved as he panted out of anger. I didn’t realise he felt this way, that he was blaming himself for our situation. How could he possibly believe all of this could’ve been prevented?
“Grey,” I said, my voice hitching as my feelings bled through. “No one is to blame for this. There were so many times all of us could have done something different to end up in a different place than here, but personally, I’m glad we didn’t. I got to meet the four of you. We were able to save Coby, and Jean. Cassia and Hunter were put together. I know this is hard. It’s hard for all of us. I would do anything to not have this threat hanging over you, over our pack, but call me selfish if you want, because I’m happy things worked out the way they did.”
I shrugged as I finished because I was completely telling the truth. Yes, it was selfish. What we were facing now was terrible. Grey and Nash could lose their lives to this unknown threat that had landed on our doorstep. We could have not asked the vampires for help. We could have not invited Cassia to join with us. But that didn’t mean the shadow demons wouldn’t have found their way here eventually. At least this way, we knew what we were facing. We were armed with knowledge and allies who could help guide us. We’d make it through this; we had to.
43
Maverick
Ever since I’d arrived here, I’d felt like a stranger standing on the outside watching through the glass. But sitting here now and watching Calli tell Grey that everything was how it was supposed to be, seeing the determination set in on her face, it was the first time I was glad I was doing it.
I didn’t miss how she’d included being grateful for meeting me, but I couldn’t wrap my head around why she’d feel that way.
I was the interloper, the virus sent in to try and destroy the system by taking the one vital element from it—Calli. She was the reason why the pack functioned. They orbited her sun, and they didn’t even realise it most of the time. Watching the fierce look of determination cross her face as she talked about protecting her pack, though, it made me realise I didn’t belong here. I was too broken to learn how to fit in with these people. I had nothing worthwhile to add to this pack. My father was right, my life was nothing but a mistake. I could never hope to contribute enough to make my presence necessary.
As they spoke about the details of the summoning ritual, I quietly got up from my seat on the couch and slipped out of the room. I doubted they’d even realise I’d gone. Perhaps it would be best to just slip away now. I hadn’t taken the pack bond yet. They wouldn’t be able to track me. It would be better for Calli if I removed the complication that was my presence out of her life. But without being here, I couldn’t ensure my father remained at a distance. The only reason why he hadn’t enacted his plan yet was because he was under the misguided impression I’d follow his wishes. He hadn’t anticipated the sun that was Calli, pulling me into her orbit as well.
I got all the way to my room without running into another pack member and gratefully closed the door on the silent corridor. There was just too much to think about, too many decisions, too many things that could go wrong.
Calli had no idea the danger she was in when it came to my father. She’d blindly accepted I wouldn’t betray her. Perhaps she did realise the effect she had on us all. Even the others were starting to grow accustomed to my presence. Their suspicions seemed to fade more and more each day. Tanner had been away from his birth pack for too long to really understand what he was facing, and the rest of them had come from one of the lesser packs. If they’d separated from there with dreams of a better life, they had no way of anticipating what was coming. The true evil that bred in the dark shadows of the bigger packs. No, they weren’t equipped to deal with this threat.
I’d been here for long enough that I should’ve told them by now. I should have taken this time to educate them, warning them, just fucking done something. But instead, I’d stumbled through the shadows watching what a real pack was like, what it was like to be part of a family, dreaming of a life that was never meant for me.
And to think I’d thought I’d be able to just take this pack from Grey. I’d experienced a fraction of the alpha power he wielded, and I knew I wasn’t a threat to him. I’d been dreaming to even think I was. Too absorbed in the overinflated ego my father promoted. We weren’t better than these wolves. We weren’t even on the same end of the scale as them. These were good people, and we were nothing.
I’d gleaned from snippets of conversation that Calli’s Uncle Sean was a part of something. Something that stood against the Council, even if they didn’t stand in direct conflict with them. He was the one I needed to speak to. The one I’d explain the threat to. He’d know what to do, how to protect Calli, to protect all of them. Once I’d done that small thing, I’d slip away into the night. It would break me to leave behind my beautiful mate and the chance of knowing a brother I hadn’t even known existed. But what was one more crack in my already broken soul? There came a point when the pieces were too smashed to put back together. What was even the point in trying?
44
Calli
Do you e
ver find yourself standing somewhere and wondering how your life could’ve gotten so crazy you ended up getting there? That was exactly how I felt as I stood in the woods where I felt like I’d tortured Cassia. Waiting to summon a shadow demon to, best case scenario, kill, or worst possible scenario, suck out the soul of one of my mates. No pressure, absolutely no fucking pressure!
“Let’s go over it one more time,” I panicked, spinning back to Cassia.
I could feel the nervous sweat starting to collect on my skin. I was about to fight a demon! No that didn’t sound right. I was about to be killed by a demon. Yeah, that felt more accurate.
“You don’t need to go through it again,” Cassia sighed. I could see she was starting to get annoyed, but at the moment, I didn’t give a shit. “You already know what you’re doing.”
“One last time isn’t going to hurt,” Grey interjected gruffly in my defence. He didn’t even look slightly nervous. His blind faith in me, however, was making me freak out all the more.
“Fine,” Cassia sighed, throwing her hands up into the air. “Just like last time, you are going to start the funnel, but rather than immediately letting the moonlight flow through you; you’re going to collect it in your core. Once you’ve started, I will summon the shadow demon. We know they’re close by, and they will be attracted by, not only my own magic, but the presence of the two other shadow touched here with us,” she said, pointing to Nash and Grey. Nash at least had the common sense to look like he was about to throw up. See! That was the appropriate response to this situation.
“When the shadow demon appears, you will release the Moonlight and open the funnel as wide as you can, pouring the light into him.”
Cassia looked at me like it was all so straight forward even a child should be able to understand. And it was straight forward. It was so straight forward that it couldn’t possibly go right. Everyone knew that when it felt too easy, it was because it probably was.
“But what if it doesn’t work?” I asked, repeating the same question I’d voice over and over every time I’d made her go through the plan with me.
Cassia mimed strangling me in her frustration, and a collection of masculine chuckles flowed around the pack who’d gathered in the woods to help. Not that I was entirely sure how they planned to help. The only people missing were Holly and Jean, who had the kids occupied up at the house to make sure none of them snuck out to try and watch this go down.
“If it doesn’t work, which there is no reason why it shouldn’t,” Cassia growled at me through gritted teeth, “I have the completely unnecessary banishing spell that you made me prepare ready to use.”
I nodded absently, running it all through my mind again. I knew she was pissed, and I didn’t care. We couldn’t afford for this to go wrong. The moonlight might have burnt the shadow magic poisoning her, down to manageable levels, but it didn’t completely destroy it. There was no reason to believe it would completely eradicate a shadow demon if it didn’t do the same for her. Cassia was arguing I’d just stopped too early, which terrified me even more. Because if I hadn’t, she’d be dead now, and it would have 100% been my fault.
Cassia sighed and seemed to deflate on the spot before she came and stood beside me. Putting one hand on my shoulder in an attempt at comfort, I caught her visible wince at the unfamiliar gesture. I knew I was going to break down this grumpy witch eventually.
“I know you’re scared, Calli. We all have a lot riding on this. But this is what we need to do to keep our pack and a lot of innocent people safe. You’re one of the strongest witches I’ve ever felt, and you haven’t even fully embraced your magic yet. You have what is needed to do this. Have faith in your magic, even if you can’t have it in yourself.”
She was right. My magic was getting stronger, and it seemed to be developing an intuition of its own almost. We could do this because we didn’t have any other choice.
I looked around at the circle of people who had come to support me. We were a pack, and our bonds were strong. Grey, River, Tanner and Maverick stood together, and it warmed my heart. I could see how they were slowly relaxing around Maverick, slowly accepting him into their group. I knew it was going to take time, I wasn’t blind to that. But being able to see the progress they were making gave me faith that they could do it. It also filled me with guilt for not having made more time to bond with Maverick myself. That was one thing I needed to rectify as soon as we’d dealt with this. As soon as we were able to find our way back to some kind of normal.
Hunter, Nash, Blake and Aidan were standing on the other side of the circle. Aidan nodded in support, and his unwavering confidence in me was appreciated, even if it was confusing. Nash still looked like he’d rather be anywhere but here, and I couldn’t blame him. The only reason he was in this position now was because he’d nearly died trying to protect Jacob. Looking back, I didn’t understand how I couldn’t see that then.
The only one out of all of them, who looked to feel even a fraction of the same concern as me, was Hunter as he watched his mate closely. He’d come so close to losing her, and now here we were putting her in danger again. Even so, he hadn’t said a single word to try and dissuade us from doing this.
These wolves were here to support us. This is what it was like to have a pack. A part of me mourned the fact that I’d missed out on this growing up, although, from what I’d learned from Tanner and Maverick, any pack I would’ve grown up in, wouldn’t have been like this.
“Okay, let’s get this done then,” I said, feeling a growing strength inside me gathering from having my pack at my side.
I stood on the opposite side of the circle from Cassia and took a deep breath. Nothing was going to start until I did, but I was still nervous I wasn’t going to be able to get what I needed to do done in time.
Grey shuffled a fraction closer to me even though Cassia had warned everyone to give me space to work. It helped knowing he was there, though. There was a strength to Grey recently that seemed to fuel everyone around him. I wasn’t so sure it was coming from his growing alpha powers. I think it was just him and how he made everyone feel when they realised he was on their side.
Taking a deep breath, I tipped my head back and turned my face to the moon. My eyes slowly closed as I exhaled, feeling the sensation of the moonlight gently caressing over my skin. It baffled me that I’d never noticed how much power there was in moonlight. I could feel it like a physical thing, reaching out to me, begging me to touch it back. It was almost like it needed the connection. It felt almost lonely.
Turning my awareness inward, I sunk down into my core, where my well of magic resided. It was so easy to find now. It felt like my wolf did to me. She was always the warm, reassuring presence in my mind, and now I had her twin, the glowing comforting presence of my magic.
It was scary how easily it was to open myself up and pull that moonlight into my core. It rushed into me eagerly as it flooded through my body, merging itself with my magic, intensifying that glowing comfort into a blazing shining light. I could feel it saturating every cell of my body, but it wasn’t enough. I needed more.
I opened my arms wide, inviting in the moonlight. I wasn’t holding back this time. I couldn’t afford to. There was no hesitation, and it wasn’t until I felt like my skin was going to split apart from holding back the flow that I gave my head a brisk nod to tell Cassia I was ready.
The pressure building inside me felt like it was pushing on the back of my eyes. I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands as I held back the flow. This light, this power, wasn’t meant to be contained; it was supposed to be allowed to flow freely across the land. No person was built to hold power like this. Maybe the shadow demon wasn’t the thing that would kill me.
45
Grey
My wolf was slamming against my walls, and I could practically feel the fur beneath my skin trying to push its way through. It wasn’t the fear of the shadow demon taking my soul that was driving it. It was the need to protect my mate, to protect
my pack.
Calli had started the funnel process. It had seemed the same as last time, except just before she gave Cassia the nod to begin the summoning ritual, she started to glow with a soft silvery light. Her golden hair picked up on a breeze, dancing around her as she held her arms wide with her face tipping towards the sky. Calli looked like an angel. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
I caught the moment her face started to wrinkle in pain, her hands clenched into fists and her jaw tensed hard. This was hurting her. It hadn’t seemed to hurt last time. What if something had gone wrong?
Before I had the chance to stop, Cassia voice’s raised in volume as she called out to the shadow demon. The spell was complete, and everyone tensed in anticipation for what was to come… except nothing did. There was no explosion of smoke, no sudden gathering of shadows. We stood in the woods alone, not a single shadow demon in sight.
“Didn’t it work?” Tanner asked in confusion, whipping around to look behind him in paranoia.
I knew how he felt; the woods felt eerier than they had before. There was no longer that comforting sense of outside; instead, it felt like hundreds of eyes were watching us from somewhere inside the darkness.
“It definitely worked. I felt the summoning latch onto an entity,” Cassia spoke slowly, turning in a circle as she did, checking her surroundings. It wasn’t just me who was getting this feeling then.
“Just one entity, though, right?” Blake asked, his eyes wide in panic.
“I can’t… keep… holding… this,” Calli gritted out.
Everyone quickly turned to look at her, the glow surrounding her had intensified, and the breeze that had been playfully moving her hair earlier seemed to have turned into a storm as it whipped around her, pulling at her hair and clothes.
