“Well, that fucking worked,” Alejandro remarked as we walked over to the other adults.
We had kept it small, only inviting our close friends and family, but even then, there were plenty of little ones running around. My brother, Liam Westwood, the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, had quintuplets; five boys: Jayce, Theo, Ares, Carter, and Renji, who were two and a half years old. Then, there was my sister, Azura, who was eight years old, like Dante, and she was the leader of the Westwood Quintuplets. She was fiercely protective of them and would let them get up to whatever they wanted. There was also Artemis, my friend, Alpha Damon’s, daughter, who was two and a half years old, and their one-year-old son, Asher, Rayhan’s son, Ahren, who was almost two, and his one-year-old daughter, Sienna, and finally, Raihana’s son, Tatum, who had turned two a few weeks ago. Raihana was Alejandro’s niece.
Plenty of kids, but I loved it.
“Baby, no!” Raihana scolded Tatum as he almost put his hand into the cake. “I swear, these kids.”
“You were a fucking handful, too,” Alejandro drawled mockingly.
“Uncle! Seriously, all I seem to do is run after him.”
“Good exercise.”
“I’m sure she gets enough of a workout,” Chris, her mate, remarked with a cocky smirk.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t fucking hear that,” Alejandro replied coldly.
“Pups don’t just get made by themselves,” Chris shot back.
“Okay, put aside the male testosterone,” Raihana warned them, kissing Chris on the cheek before pouting at Alejandro. “I’m not a baby, Uncle.”
“I didn’t say you fucking were.”
“Food’s done!” Dad called.
I smiled warmly at him. Although he was just six years older than my mate, at forty-eight, he looked no older than his mid-thirties. I guess, being a werewolf, our genes help in many ways.
“Kiara, where are the sauces?” Mom asked me, drawing me out of my thoughts.
“Oh, I think I left them inside.” I brushed my hair back.
“Shall I grab them?” Delsanra, Rayhan’s mate, asked me. I shook my head.
“I’ll go get them. Just keep an eye on the kiddies!”
I ran towards the lodge, feeling Alejandro’s intense gaze on me. I turned, looking at him over my shoulder, and he winked at me from where he stood with Rayhan and Damon.
I love how that ass of yours jiggles, but I love it even more when I’m the one who’s working it.
My heart skipped a beat, and I teasingly licked my lips before disappearing inside, unable to wipe the smile from my lips.Goddess, I can never get enough of him. I hurried to the kitchen, about to grab the tray of sauces I had prepared earlier, when I froze. An uneasy feeling suddenly filled me, and I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand on edge. My heart thundered as I spun around, looking through the archway that led back into the hallway. Leaving the tray, I walked out, my eyes blazing a dazzling purple as I scanned the hall.
Silence.
The only sound I could hear was laughter and the hustle and bustle of the party outside. My wolf was restless, and the urge to follow my instincts overtook me, leading me down the hall and up the stairs to the first floor. The wooden floorboards creaked under my heels. I walked down the hall, paying attention to everything, including the dust particles that hung in the air, the rays of light that shone through the windows, and the sound of my heart beating like the drums of war as I walked down towards the twins’ bedroom. I pushed the door open slowly and scanned the room sharply.
The sun had lit the room aglow. The pale blue walls, bright white curtains, and bedding were all in pristine condition. Nothing.
I exhaled, that dark feeling of foreboding vanishing, and I shook my head. That was weird.
I was about to leave the room when I saw it: a black piece of paper lying in the centre of the double bed. Frowning, I crossed the room and stared down at it. I couldn’t smell anything strange about it, yet the moment my fingers touched it, I felt a burst of power swirl around me. Whatever the paper was, it contained powerful magic. My eyes fell on the words that were written in the centre of the paper. They seemed to almost burn orange against the black paper.
PAY THE DEBT BY THE BLOOD OF THE BEAST AND YIELD TO THE CRIMSON KING.
What did that even mean? Suddenly the paper caught fire, and I gasped, letting go of it and stepping back as it turned to ash before vanishing completely, leaving me completely derailed.
Someone had placed that there… but how? With so many alphas and even witches gathered outside, how had no one sensed it? I looked out at the clouds that were gathering in the skies, and that unsettling feeling that had settled within me returned with a vengeance. I turned to hurry downstairs when, suddenly, flames sprang up all around me, making my heart thunder.
“Alejandro!” I shouted, panic filling me as the heat of the fire began to lick at my skin. “Alejandro!”
