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Every crunch of leaves below our feet or brush of our clothes against a tree sends another flock of birds screeching into the night. I put my hand up to stop the group. Overmaster Descallia, Romano, and I will transport ahead. There’s too much activity in the forest tonight to keep going on foot. “Lucas, Clay, Terrence Embry, and Silver, keep the ladies with you and watch our six.”
I start moving ahead, but Lucianna appears in front of me so quickly that I almost plow right into her. “I’m not staying behind. Make another plan.”
My eyebrows raise. Lucianna is known for her kind and gentle ways, but her eyes aren’t glowing with positive vibes right now. If they could slice me in two, they probably would.
I turn and give Overmaster Descallia a look, but he doesn’t step in, just watches his mate with as much curiosity as everyone else. Someone has managed to light her fire, and that someone, unfortunately, is me. “I didn’t mean the plan to exclude you.”
Her keen eyes narrow.
I walk that back. “What I mean is, you weren’t originally on the team to come out. I wanted to make sure that both you and Willow were safe. Embry, she’s on the special ops team. Whether Lucas likes it or not that’s the position she worked for and got. She’s needed but you and Willow… I don’t want any unnecessary casualties.”
The future queen is not to be dissuaded. “It’s not your call.”
Lucianna is putting me in a shit position with the boss standing there watching, but the call is good. Even though I’ve heard she can handle her own with far more skill than many of our soldiers, still, if Descallia had wanted her in the mix, he would have put her by his side, but he didn’t. “I’m sorry you feel that way. It’s for your own protection, and we need more people covering us. Eyes on the ground,” I tell her, trying my best to soften the blow, while rationalizing the need.
She turns to Descallia. “Override it.”
His eyes grow wide. “Not this time, Lucianna. There’s something about this whole thing that rankles. They’ve tried to get to you too many times for me to simply put you right in front of them? They have magic now. Who’s to say they won’t disappear and take you with them. I’m not taking the chance. Campania made the right call. I want you here, with the others, far away from the magic ass shifters. We’re going to get in and get out. We’ll be back before you know it.”
Her eyes glow bright green and flash, but she doesn’t say a word. Embry goes to stand beside Lucianna. “We’ll all take care of each other while you guys go in.”
Everyone turns to Embry, because laying down, giving in, and not making a scene is definitely not her norm. I give her a long look, and she gives me an arch of her brow in challenge. “Fine, make sure you have coverage behind and at your sides, use the overhead for intel, and when they tell you someone’s coming get out of the way, do not go head-to-head with these wolves. We don’t know enough about the magic that they possess.”
I give one look to Willow, but she’s already looking away, anticipating my very move as though not interested in anything that I have to say. Not that I can blame her after what she heard. I give Embry a nod. “Keep them all safe.”
Embry draws her long sword while twisting the jewel-tipped dagger in her other hand. “You know that I will, but Lucianna can go up against the devil himself and win that frickin’ battle. Have you seen her moves?”
Descallia scowls at Embry but doesn’t give Lucianna a backward glance, probably already knowing that he’ll catch the fire in her eyes because she looks more than pissed to me. On my gesture we transport. The minute we’re close to the mountain base the putrid stench of shifters fills the air so powerfully it makes it hard to breathe. I gesture toward the natural crevice in the rock. “Caverns all throughout. Let’s stay together and armed from all sides. No surprises from these bastards.”
I take the lead, walking slowly, stealthily with my weapon at my side. Listening for any noises but more so smelling my way. The stench of shifters grows stronger as we go, headed for one of the closest caverns. A shifter walks out from the right, not noticing us at first, but he doesn’t get a chance to let out a warning howl before my dagger hits him center mast, silencing him with one toss of the blade.
I point to the right and shore up against the wall of the mountain, slowly peeking my head around. The area is clear, and I breach the cavern, keeping close to the crevices that tuck in to moment’s notice. Slowly we make our way deeper under the base of the mountain, into the hiding place of the shifters.
Four shifters sit passing the time by playing cards as I stop and look into the large open space. I’d put money on it that they’re here to guard something or someone pretty damned valuable, and my bet would be on the witches who can give them magic. I hold up my fingers, counting it down for the others; one, two, three and four. We charge, the blades of our weapons flying through the air, dead on target without causing a sound, other than the mangy bastards hitting the floor.
A stray shifter walks into the cavern, unaware of what’s happening. I don’t see any witches around, so I want this one alive. “Tell us where the witches are, and live to see another day. If you don’t, I’ll kill you right where you stand.”
“Take your best shot, Vampire. I won’t sell out my brothers no matter what you say. What time is it?”
I scowl. “What the fuck difference does that make?”
He grins, a large wolf-like grin that shows his jowls and large canine teeth that hang over his bottom lip. “It makes the difference between life and death for some, and for others the difference of going home with you or my brothers.”
His high-pitched laugh can only be one thing, a cry out to others. I silence him with one well-placed blade, because he’s been of all the use he’s going to be to us.
Descallia and I are thinking the same thing at the very same time. “Lucianna. They’ve always been after her. Everyone back to the others, make sure the shifters don’t get anywhere near them; alert our brothers in the air,” I tell them, already knowing they would have heard the shifter’s cry from here.
“I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.” I made a promise to Willow to find the witches, and I owe her that, if not a helluva lot more. They have to have the witches here somewhere or they wouldn’t have been guarding the cavern. I walk from crevice to crevice, searching any nook and cranny where bodies could be hidden, pulling up rocks that could create hiding spaces, but to no avail. Not one witch or anyone else in the entire base of the mountain.
A trap both the witches and shifters are notorious for, since they can’t beat us in hand-to-hand combat. I swear under my breath during transport, hoping against hope that I get there in time to help the others lay these mangy shifters down for good.
When I get there, Descallia has his arms around Lucianna, Lucas and Embry stand side by side holding hands, Terrence and Silver and everyone is watching Romano who is holding Raven in his arms while tears stream down her face.
Willow…
My voice comes out in a crack, and it’s hard to breath. “Where’s Willow. Somebody tell me where Willow is right the fuck now?”
Raven looks at me and begins crying harder. Romano holds her tightly against him and shakes his head over her tiny body. My chest tightens, and my heart begins pumping at an unprecedented speed, and my fangs descend as I scan the area for any signs of my love.
