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“First, you could thank me.” Lavinia raised the small brown bag she had in her hands. “There isn’t a decent place to eat around here, so I brought you something.”
The scent of beef tacos hit my nose right away and stomach growled in response. Yeah, I was hungry.
I grabbed the brown bag from her and sat on the edge of the queen bed. “Thanks.”
Killian leaned against the dresser, while Lavinia sat in the rickety chair in front of the desk. They watched me as I opened the brown bag and consumed the tacos. I hadn’t had a real meal since arriving here, so this was like a piece of heaven.
“Lord Drake knew exactly where your pack is located,” Killian said, answering my previous question. “When we got here, all we had to do was track you.”
“Also, there weren’t many inns or other places to stay in the area,” Lavinia added. She frowned. “So, why the hell did you leave without telling us? You could have at least asked to take my potions instead of stealing them.”
I swallowed a big chunk of taco. There was a light teasing tone to Lavinia’s voice, but I knew she was serious and also a little disappointed in me.
“You could have waited until our vampires arrived to assess the situation and reported back,” Killian said. “Or you could have at least invited us to come with you.”
I put the rest of my taco aside. “This is my pack.” I was supposed to be the damn alpha. “I needed to do this on my own.”
Killian glared at me. “Bullshit. You know that isn’t how our friendship works. You were there for me when I needed you, and I thought you knew that goes both ways. Besides, you’re a member of DuMoir Castle now. You don’t need to do anything alone.”
I stood, suddenly not hungry anymore. “I know, but … believe me, I needed to do this first assessment by myself.”
I had let everyone in my pack down; they believed I had abandoned them. Coming here by myself and seeing them with my own eyes … it was the punishment I needed to get my ass in gear. I knew seeing how things were would rock me hard and I didn’t want anyone witnessing that. Now that most of my frustration was past, there was only rage. Now, I didn’t mind if others saw me.
“I was going to call you soon, because you’re right. I need help. I can’t save my pack by myself.”
“Well, Lord Drake didn’t send the other vampires because we were coming,” Killian said. “We’ll be surveying the area with you.”
“I’ve already done that,” I told them.
The gleam in Lavinia’s eyes turned sympathetic. “Tell us what you’ve found.”
I sat down and told them everything I knew.
After the witches took me, Conri had stayed with his demons. They cuffed and imprisoned the surviving wolves, including Raika, Tyren, and Minsi. But for some reason, Conri took a liking to Raika and brought her to my house so she could live with him. I assured them Conri hadn’t forced himself on her—unless Raika had lied about that. I also told them how Raika was taking care of everyone, especially my sister.
My heart filled with pride for my mate. Our pack had been so terrible to her, always treating her like trash, with the exception of handful of people—Rue, my mother, who had told me why Raika’s family had been demoted, and my sister.
If my father hadn’t been watching every one of my moves, I would have been another one. But I couldn’t risk being kind to her when everyone else was watching, and then having my father retaliate against her and her family.
So, I pretended I didn’t care.
Focusing back on the now, I told Killian and Lavinia about the other packs and how I had gone to several of them yesterday, trying to get help. Only one offered help if I repaid the favor later.
“That doesn’t sound good,” Lavinia said. “What if he asks you to bow out so he can be the alpha of your pack?”
I shook my head. “One problem at a time. Right now, I need all the help I can get.”
Killian approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “We’re here for you.”
“Thanks.” I sighed. “There’s more.” Next, I told them what Raika had told me. That she had heard Conri and his demons talking about finding something in the pack lands, but she had no idea what it was.
Lavinia bit the inside of her cheek. “What could it be?”
“I know what it is,” I confessed. Both of them stared at me, expectant. “Long ago, the first alpha of my pack was friends with a witch coven—“
“Don’t tell me it was the Nightmist witches,” Lavinia mumbled angrily.
“To be honest, I don’t know which coven it was, though I know it wasn’t the Nightmist witches,” I told them. “That alliance came much later. Anyway, the witches wanted to gift something to the alpha. They enchanted the pack lands so it would always be spring there. No cold, no winter, no super-hot summer. Flowers always in bloom, earth always rich so it would be easy to plant anything and have it grow, abundant water in the lakes and rivers, always fresh and clean. They made a hidden paradise with a magical barrier around it so only pack members could come and go—if their alpha allowed it. However, the magic required to keep this paradise going didn’t come from a one-spell-and-done kind of thing. The witches hid powerful crystals in the pack lands, and these crystals keep the magic going.”
