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As the canyon widened even further, buildings of varying sizes appeared, most resembling longhouses of old. Much of the stone used in their construction was quartz, which meant they shone as brightly as the canyon’s walls. All of them had earthen rooftops on which different grasses and wildflowers grew, presenting pretty mats of color even in the heat of summer. There was a proliferation of green technologies here as well, with every house having a combination of solar panels, wind turbines, and battery storage.
The closer we got to the compound’s heart—which lay in the remnants of an old crater and held not only the main residences of the various alphas within the pack, but also the civic and industrial center—the larger and grander the longhouses became.
The grand hall—which was not only the pack’s main meeting place but the building in which I’d confronted his mother and bested the demon trying to kill her—remained partially hidden by the trees that lined the end of the path, but it was circular in design with an angular earthen roof that pitched up to the stone chimney dominating the center of the structure.
The massive, double-width wooden doors were obviously open, as the soft babble of voices coming from within the hall rode the air. The pack leaders awaited to pass their judgment on us.
Aiden squeezed my fingers as we passed the final row of trees. “You ready for this?”
“As ready as I ever—”
I stopped abruptly, my gaze widening. The wild magic was here. It wasallhere. The whole building literally shone with it. Tiny threads of glowing moonlight crawled across the stone and through every fiber of every piece of wood within the frame. It was almost as if it were intent on imprinting its presence on every part of the building…
Realization hit, and horror surged.
The wild magic wasn’t intent on imprinting its presence on the building.
It was intent onreclaimingit.
ChapterEleven
This was what had happened to that little village in Gloucestershire. This wasexactlywhat had happened. I had absolutely no doubt of it.
And if we didn’t stop it—ifIdidn’t stop it—then a good portion of Aiden’s pack would die.
Because that building was on the verge of collapse, and it wouldn’t be the last to fall. The energy building under my feet very much suggested this whole area was about to be obliterated, just as that little village had been.
“Aiden,” I said urgently, “the hall is about to collapse. You have to get everyone out.Now.”
He didn’t question the statement. He simply turned and ran for the hall, his form flowing from human to wolf, his howl filling the air.
People began to file out of the hall, but they were moving too slowly, the wild magic too fast, and the building was beginning to shimmer and shift.
It would collapse before everyone got out.
I swore and ran after Aiden, the wild magic buzzing around my fingers a stark contrast to the power and fury consuming the building ahead.
I didn’t understand the fury.
Didn’t understand how mere energy could evenbefurious or why it seemed intent on taking it out on the O’Connors rather than me, especially if what Eli had said was true and this was all connected to the child I now carried.
Aiden disappeared into the hall’s cool darkness. A second later, he was yelling at them to leave, to hurry, that they were in danger, and they needed to get out.
Then a hand grabbed me, spun me, and I found myself staring into eyes as blue as Aiden’s. His sister, Ciara, not his mother.She’dstill be inside.
“What the fuck is going on, Liz? Why is Aiden ordering everyone out of the hall? He’s the one that called—”
“I haven’t the time to explain, but please, you need to evacuate the area. The wild magic is about to bring the hall down and maybe everything else in this damn area.”
Her gaze jumped past me. “I know it’s caused a few minor problems, but—”
She cut the rest off as a low rumble filled the air. It wasn’t the building; it was the earth, beginning its rise to reclaim.
The hall would fall first, and people remained inside.
Aidenremained inside.
I peeled Ciara’s fingers off my arm and said urgently, “We’re about to be hit by a quake. Evacuate the entire area—now!”
