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Kade slides his hand over hers comfortingly before he responds. He’s not scared of Denzel. The prophecy is far greater than any alpha. “I suspect they want to see how modified he is. Evolved wolves are necessary to fight this war and for the end game of getting Excalibur on our side. Only Arthurians can evolve, though. I can't say for sure he is one, but so far, Laith and Elara are the only ones I’ve known to survive the change. The shifters want Excalibur, the magic it holds, and to force the wielder on their side and to kill the rest of the evolved wolves if they can.”
“There’ s more to it than that. What else do you know?” Denzel demands.
Kade grits his teeth, wishing the alpha wasn’t so…sure. “They’re trying to resurrect a powerful witch. That’s what all the sacrifices have been for.”
A shudder ripples through Elara and protectiveness washes over Kade. The supernatural world keeps getting scarier, and she barely understands her little pocket of it. Is she realizing that if the shifters succeed, then they’ll be unstoppable? Or what will happen to the wolves, then? Or humans, for that matter? Nobody would be safe with shifters in charge.
Denzel opens his mouth to speak, but the gathering darkness shifts behind one of the large trees to their left. Kade grabs Elara and pulls her behind him, holding onto her wrist.
It’s a woman with black hair and black clothes, both styled in sharp angles. She remains in the shadows of the trunk and foliage. “I know who they’re trying to resurrect.” Her voice seems amused at the knowledge, holding it over their heads.
Kade’s poised to attack. He’s dealt with far too many cryptic people on this quest to fulfill the prophecy. The woman steps forward, somehow still managing to remain in shadow. “Who are you?” he snarls.
Elara’s frozen. Jordyn has gone as pale as chalk. Denzel subtly shifts his center of gravity, ready to fight.
Just like Kade is.
A dark laugh, and then the ethereal voice that doesn’t sound as human as Kade would like pours reaches them. “My name is Dinah.”
19
Elara
Elara maintains her brave face as Dinah moves forward. As she comes into the clearing, the night seems to come with her. Kade keeps trying to pull her back again, but she knows this is her fight. It's her fault Laith was turned in the first place and her fault for being so blind that he was taken.
"Don't come any closer,” Kade growls.
Despite her sneer, Dinah puts her hands up as if in surrender. Kade grasps on to Elara’s hips, ready to push her out of the way. Elara keeps her focus on Dinah, not trusting her eyes being turned away as she gives up on fighting Kade. He's going to protect her one way or the other. It's one of the reasons she can't help but trust him, even after everything he's done. He's made it his sole purpose to protect her, and at least he's being honest with her now.
She ignores the fuzzy feeling in her veins that his hands elicit and listens as Dinah speaks, looking for any sign of deception. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but you must. I'm here to help. Arielle told me what's happening. I've been keeping watch over the shifters' movements."
Elara narrows her eyes at Dinah. As far as she knows, Arielle’s on their side. She saw Laith be kidnapped and was there for Kira when she needed someone. Except Elara doesn’t know Arielle well. She’d like to trust her, but she knows it isn’t something she can freely give anymore. Still, if Dinah knows something about Laith, she can't exactly turn down the information.
"If you’ve been watching the shifters, then where are they keeping Laith? What are they doing with him?" Elara asks with more confidence than she actually has. In comparison to Kade or her pack, she's a baby wolf, and it's only her, Denzel, and Kade here to defend Jordyn, an ordinary human.
"I don't know where they're keeping him," Dinah says almost dismissively. “But I do know who they're trying to resurrect. I've sensed dark energies, and they're closer to what they hope to achieve than ever before. They have the object that holds Excalibur's magic, as I believe you’ve suspected." Her eyes meet Kade’s, and he tenses even more.
"What do you know about Excalibur?" Kade spits out, vibrating with coiled energy. Elara can feel his wolf just under the surface.
“I know the massacre in the woods provided the shifters with the power the resurrection of a centuries old witch, and I know all they need now is Excalibur itself,” Dinah says, arching a brow. “Excalibur is powerful enough to rip open the spirit dimension and pull the witch into her body.”
Elara sucks in a breath. She wasn't aware that Excalibur could be responsible for such dark magic. Now she can see the importance of the sword and finding it before it gets into the wrong hands.
"What does this witch have to do with the Arthurians?” Kade asks, still tense. “I don't understand why they think they need Laith unless they believe him to be the descendant of Arthur.”
Elara’s eyes widen. If Laith’s descended from Arthur, she's most likely descended from Morgana. And if Laith’s the one to wield Excalibur, the shifters will do whatever they have to in order to force him to resurrect this witch. He's not going to be so easily released, even if they hand Excalibur over.
Things just got a lot more complicated.
Dinah moves even closer. "The shifters believe the Arthurian legends, but I don’t think they know who any of the Arthurians are, other than suspecting Laith. Their power is much more immense than you realize. The wolf packs are mistaken in not having moved against them by now."
Elara instinctively moves closer to Kade. "Who is it they're trying to resurrect?"
Dinah pauses. Her lips thin. "They want to resurrect my mother."
Elara rears back. “Your mother?” she gasps.
“There’s no way we can trust you,” Kade growls.
