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Even in the low light of the fire, Hannah was bright red. She patted the pocket of her robe and pulled out her phone. As she read the message, she scrunched her nose. “It’s another message from Destiny, apologizing for overreacting.”
Interesting. My wolf was restless inside me. “So Zoe is with her?”
“I’ll ask.” Hannah sent the text and then stared intently at the screen. The face she made told me everything I needed to know. “She said no, but don’t worry, everything’s cool. Uh, no. Everything is not cool. What do we do?”
“We’re already working on tracking Armand,” Hugo said. “The reporters are taking care of Leif for us. We’ll pack up as soon as daylight hits. If we can home in on the location that they’ve brought her to, then possibly we can get her back to safety before any of the media outlets or the forums pick up there was a problem. A missing fan is the last thing we need right now.”
I felt a responsibility to Zoe and her friends for that reason. They were superfans, and without people like them, we wouldn’t even be doing this. But I harbored some resentment for the way they’d been treating Hannah since they’d arrived in Sunset Springs. Like they’d used her for what they wanted and didn’t need her anymore. Hannah was so genuine, and she loved her friends, apparently much more than they loved her. It was heartbreaking. But I could put my anger aside and help Zoe.
I hoped Destiny’s false alarm text was true, but I knew deep in my bones that it couldn’t be.
My attention turned to Hannah and Lars. “Think the two of you will be ready for the livestream on the forums tomorrow?”
Hannah’s eyes widened. “Tomorrow? Shouldn’t we be looking for Zoe?”
“I should probably go back to the mountain,” Lars said. “Make sure my brother hasn’t found the Sempiternal Scepter. Sounds like the wolves can pull off their plan with this spell Wendy and Laura found, but the idol would make it much easier.”
“It’s the first place we’ll go when we leave in the morning. And the live won’t take long. If these beasts are running the operation we suspect, they’ll be close to Sunset Springs. This way, we can control the narrative, get anyone who has any information talking, and hopefully, Zoe will be rescued before we even film. It’s important to show everyone that we’re in complete control of this situation.”
Even if it felt like the furthest thing from the truth right now.
thirty-one
Lars
“Fuck,” I muttered the moment we stepped into the mountain. All along I’d known we were too late, but still, I’d hoped to intercept Leif before he committed his next crime.
As usual, my brother was three steps ahead of me. I kept making the mistake of thinking his lack of modern knowledge would slow him down. But Leif was too fucking arrogant to even consider that anyone could be smarter than him.
“You feel it too?” Hannah asked, laughing nervously. She was such a brave little human. She had no idea what chaos my brother could bring to her life. “Of course, I have no idea whatitis, but something is off. And why wouldn’t you feel it? You’re an ancient powerful creature who’s totally in sync with what’s happening in your home. Not that you need to be to know something’s wrong.”
She was nervous. Maybe I’d underestimated her too.
“Don’t discount your intuition,” I said. The place was a mess. Leif had gone through all my stuff. Crystals had been pulled from boxes and cabinets. Candles burned, wax pooling far beyond their holders. I wanted to believe that I still had time to secure the Sempiternal Scepter. To keep it from my brother. But from the change of vibration in this mountain, I knew that was nothing more than a dream.
Still, my pace quickened, and I charged down the hallway. Hannah jogged to keep pace with me. I needed to keep her safe. My brother had cost me everything I loved. My home was in danger, and if I was smart, I’d tell Hannah to run.
“Tell me how I can help you,” she said.
“Not sure you can,” I sighed.
Tell her.Tell her to go back on that stage and find a mate that could keep her safe.
I couldn’t bring myself to say the words out loud. Which was the most dangerous thing. I didn’t want to think about what my life would be like without this woman in it, even if I knew it was better to walk away from her than lose her. “This life…isn’t for you.”
“Yes, it is,” she insisted. “You showed me once again last night that camping with you is nothing like being on a tour bus.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.” I had to do it. Set her free. “I can’t ask you to live with this kind of uncertainty—”
“Lars.” She grasped my arm. Electricity and unwavering hope flowed from her body. “Don’t do this.”
“I don’t want to. But until I can stop my brother, there’s no guarantee I can keep you safe.”
“You’re not alone in this fight. You have Bibi. Hugo. The security team. Everyone on the crew. You have me. I might not look like much of a fighter, but I’m not afraid to punch an evil sasquatch in the dick when I need to.”
I laughed, pulling her in to me and brushing my lips against her forehead. “And that’s exactly why I…”
“Why you what?” she asked when I didn’t finish.
