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“Should we be afraid to talk about it though? Are we just going to tell the network where we’re going and give them another reason to track us down and decimate us?” Daniel asked. He’d been fairly quiet so far, but he’d been through hell as well the last few months so I couldn’t blame him for his fear.
“He already knows,” I countered, finding myself unable to leave now that the conversation had taken a turn. “We can’t hide our moves anymore.”
“I can put a soundproof barrier over the pavilion,” Holt said. “He can see but won’t be able to hear. Hopefully.”
“Come on, Alpha,” Leven said firmly, dragging him outside to go collect the pack.
The walk to the healing tent took twice as long since I was dragging my feet. The air was tainted with the scent of smoke but the sun was warm enough to give me at least a bit of peace. The tent opened before I reached it and Nyx came out, his brows furrowing as he took me in.
“You okay?” he asked.
“No.” I laughed but it was a hollow sound. “Pack meeting in two hours. We’re going to move on, the Rivera twins are looking at places and scouring for the assholes behind all this. Callum is freaking out and I’m ready to scream. Is this ever going to end?”
“It is,” he promised as he pulled me in. I breathed in Nyx’s scent and the feel of his arms around me. The link flared in my chest, growing even stronger at such a simple gesture. But at the same time, I realized I felt grounded now, like it wasn’t quite so bad. I’d started to handle things alone again, far too used to it to break the habit, but fate had other ideas. Just their touch or voice could bring me out of my head and right back to stable ground. I just hoped if Straya upped her mind games, it would still be true. Because I had not tricked myself into thinking that the random visits from the Grave Alpha would suddenly be over.
“How are they?” I asked, gesturing toward the tent behind him. He shrugged.
“As good as can be expected. They shifted and healed, and Stella is a phenomenal healer, she helped me enhance my salve and it seems to be closing their wounds even faster. We’ll have to whip up a bunch before we confront the Grave Pack.”
“Well that’s some good news,” I said. I’d try and cling to that because I had a feeling our meeting wasn’t going to end well. “Do you need some help in there? We have some time.”
“Sure,” he said, leading me in. He almost looked relieved to have me close and that was something I could understand. Once the chaos died down, I’d have to be better about allocating my time.
Who knew having five mates could be so complicated.
* * *
Hades and Emmacame back just in time with enough food to feed an army. They’d hit up several pizza places instead of one and seeing the relief on the pack’s faces made it even better. The fact we were so excited about a semi-hot meal was a testament to how fucking bad things had gotten.
Holt stood up as soon as things had quieted down, holding his hands out as I’d seen him do before and whispering under his breath. A barrier formed around the entire pavilion making it look like we were inside of a bubble. The iridescent walls took on a color-changing glow as the moonlight filtered through it.
Satisfied with his work, he turned to our alpha and nodded to show it was done. The alpha stood and everyone’s attention was focused on him, the silence intense. He swallowed hard and walked to the front before speaking.
“We’ve got some bad news. If you haven’t picked up on all the chaos, we’ve had magical mental attacks, a kitchen fire that started for no reason, and the bath house walls collapsing and hurting a few of our own. It seems our land is hexed beyond the traps we found.” He stopped talking as murmurs echoed in the pavilion. Fear and confusion was mirrored on every face in the crowd. My pack and I shared a look, all of us hating the impact this was having. They’d been through hell and the hits just kept coming. Callum let out a shrill whistle, bringing quiet back. “Antonio and Carlo are searching tirelessly for new land and the Grave Pack. We’re doing everything we can. We deserve to live hex free and comfortably.”
Leven stood up then. “All in favor?” Every single wolf and witch and even the two vampires we’d adopted into our fold raised their hands.
Adam stood up and walked toward Callum. “I’ll contact our hives, see if there’s anything we can do to assist. If anything, they can send us supplies.”
Callum shook his head in protest. “You don’t have to stay here through all of this,” he reassured him. But Adam and Grayson both shook their heads.
“We’re invested now. And this doesn’t just fall on your shoulders. We were sent to find answers and you have the best chance of finding them. Here we can be useful and help ensure your success.”
Callum shook his hand. “We’ll take all the help we can get at this point.” He turned to the rest of our pack. “Prepare, my friends. This is only the beginning, and at the end of this war, we will be triumphant.”
The cheers that rang out were full of confidence. Every one of us was ready to face them in battle.
We just have to find them first.
ChapterEleven
Grave Alpha
Our latest attempts to integrate vampires into our mating bonds have been futile. No matter the level of torture or coercion we’ve used, the vampires we’ve caught have been annoyingly silent.
My blood was already boiling as I walked up to my quarters. As if the pack could sense it, the lodge was silent, everyone barely making noise in an attempt to avoid me. My footsteps echoed loudly in the quiet as I stomped up the stairs. The moment I hit the top, the magic I was still getting used to flared. Mating to a witch with foresight had proven useful. I was immediately on high alert as I continued forward, yanking the door to the great room open.
Camilla stood there at the mirror. She waved her hand, but it was too late, I’d know Vanya’s face anywhere.
