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GRIFFIN
We packed our bags again, heading out for the millionth time. Shoving the crate’s contents into our bag, along with stuffing a few shirts to keep the bottles from breaking, we had the sleeping potion packed away. It was Silas’s idea, the elder wolf from the Ash Hounds, to bring them along and pass them off to the demon representative to give to Amon.
While I wasn’t fond of giving the bottles to some stranger, the guy was old, so he probably knew better than I did. And if anything, we could always go back and get some more. Not like we paid for the bottles anyway.
Piling into the SUV again, the five of us—Silas included—headed to wherever those coordinates led. According to Google, it was somewhere near the Canadian border, near Lake Ontario.
Never again will I complain about not traveling the world. After jumping from realm to realm, spending more hours in a vehicle in only a matter of weeks than I had any other time in my life, I would be happy never to travel again.
“Lucky Sam,” I grumbled, moody from my resistance to travel. “At least he gets to stay.”
Cassian sighed, his impatience already making its presence. “That’s because he’s in charge while I’m gone. He still has responsibilities.”
“You know,” Emily said from behind Cassian’s seat. “Sam has really stepped up as a beta. He’d make an excellent alpha.”
Peeking at Cassian’s reflection in the rearview mirror, I saw a frown on his face, laughing to myself at his jealousy.
“You two have become rather close lately,” he said, more as a question than a statement.
Emily shrugged. “He’s a good guy. Total jerk at first, but once we got over that hiccup in the beginning, we’ve become—dare I say it—friends.” She playfully shuddered at the words, mocking Cassian’s wariness of their relationship.
“Not that I don’t love how protective you are over your luna,” she added, watching Cassian’s face morph into a happier one. “But you have nothing to worry about. Nothing is, or ever will be, going on between Sam and me. Just respect, from beta to luna. That’s it. Sam helped me when I needed it, and I believe him to be an honorable man. Given the position as alpha, I think he’d excel.”
Since the drive was about seven hours, we traded off driving every few hours. It was a good thing we left early that morning, or we’d be getting there after dark.
A good hour of the drive was down windy, back-country roads, leading to god knows where. We’d finally reached a point where we couldn’t drive any further, so we had to walk. Curse the stupid High Council for making us walk so far. They’re magic! Can’t they just poof themselves to the warehouse?
After hiking uphill for an hour, my face was pouring with sweat. The near-summer midday heat was beating down on the top of my head, burning right through my white hair.
Add hiking to the list of shit I never wanted to do again.
“This is so stupid, going through the High Council. Why do we need one, anyway? What makes them so special?” I huffed, out of breath. My mouth took off speaking before I could filter through what I’d said. The truth was, I was too exhausted to think clearly about my words and actions. I was running on autopilot. And at that moment, I could barely do that.
Deciding it was time for a break, I flopped onto the ground, a rock digging into my side. But I didn’t care, I needed to rest for a minute.
Silas sat down beside me, the others following suit.
“Annoying as they can be, the High Council maintains order,” Silas said, his tone perfectly even. The dude was like 100! How was he not out of breath after hiking a mountain?
“Without them to keep the supernaturals in order, I can only imagine the chaos that might ensue.”
“What would happen if the High Council just—I don’t know—ceased to exist? Like if they disappeared and there was no High Council? What would happen?”
“There would be no one to keep the order. No one to ensure the safety of the humans and other supernaturals. Imagine how many beings would run rampant with their powers?”
Ember nodded in agreement. “I know exactly what you mean. You should’ve seen Raul when we exchanged powers. You remember how he went crazy,” she motioned to Emily, who nodded. “And that was with the rules in place. Imagine what he’d do if there were no rules with power sharing?”
Always the party pooper, Cassian insisted we were close to the coordinates and should keep moving. Grunting, I got up from my uncomfortable rock and stretched my limbs. But to his credit, he was right. The location was only another five minutes away from our rest stop.
When we got to the location, there was nothing around besides a cave.
“Are we supposed to go in there?” Ember asked, not at all thrilled with the idea.
“I’m not going first,” I answered, holding out my hands in defense. “A dark, spooky cave in the middle of nowhere? No, thank you.”
Cassian sighed and said he’d go first. But before he even got three steps into the cave, a little rabbit came hopping over, stopped in front of him, and stared at Cassian.
“Is that the same rabbit from the tree that lead to the fae realm?” Ember asked, hunching down in front of it.
