Chapter 25
Darian
“So, things between you and Alice are going well?”
Jimmy’s question prompts me to ponder as I sit on the park bench, watching Mira climb the jungle gym. “I suppose so.”
“Try not to sound too happy about it.” My friend rolls his eyes. “Someone might think you’re actually excited.”
I glance at him. “Funny. She’s not the Alice I remember, and I’m not the Darian she knew. We’re both trying to accept these versions of each other. Seven years is a long time to be apart, Jimmy. She has built a life here, and although she’s willing to leave it behind and come to LA, I don’t know if that’s fair.”
“I thought she was going to open up a practice there. That’s what you told me.”
I sigh. “I feel like a selfish jerk. She doesn’t want to be queen. She doesn’t even want to be part of our world. But she has to. At this point, I don’t know if she’s compromising for the sake of our bond or our daughter. Either way, she’s the one doing all the compromising. I don’t know how to meet her halfway because I still have my duty to the kingdom. I wish I could figure out a way to give her everything she wants, but all I seem to do is take from her. The life that she loves here, the law firm she works at, her dream of becoming a partner. I just keep taking everything good from her life.”
“Maybe she’s doing it because she loves you.”
Love? I don’t reply to Jimmy, but I don’t think that’s what it is. I remember how she looked at me back then and how she looks at me now. No matter how she tries to hide it, I can see the wariness behind those pretty blue eyes, the cautiousness. A part of me acknowledges that every sacrifice she’s making is for Mira.
“I wonder if she would still choose me if it weren’t for Mira,” I murmur. “Or the mating mark. I feel like I’ve cornered her and she has no way out.”
“You keep thinking that way, and neither of you will be happy.” I hear Mary’s voice from behind me. She had gone to get some coffee for herself and Jimmy.
I look over my shoulder as she hands Jimmy one of the disposable cups, and for once, she doesn’t flinch when she meets my gaze. “Alice does love you. In her own way, she does, but it has been hard for her to move past everything that happened to her. You need to give her time, Your Majesty. Time to accept that her life is changing and time to get to know you again. You and Alice need to spend some time together away from Mira, as well. Just the two of you.”
Jimmy sips his coffee. “I second that advice. You two need to reconnect.”
I tilt my head at each of them. “This coming from two individuals who have yet to find their fated mates?”
Mary scoffs, and Jimmy gives me a look. “I may not have found my mate, but I have plenty of experience with women,” he says.
The healer frowns at him. “That’s not something to be proud of. You’re basically calling yourself a man whore.”
“How did you get ‘man whore’ from that?” Jimmy scowls. “Maybe I just know a lot of women.”
She nods sarcastically. “Sure. You just like making female friends.”
“I can’t help that they fall for my charms and slip into my bed.”
Mary coughs to disguise the words, “Man whore.”
“This coming from a prude?” Jimmy retorts. “When was the last time you had a man in your bed?”
Mary shrugs. “I’m not interested in sleeping around. Unlike some people, I respect myself.”
“That’s code for ‘nobody will sleep with me’,” Jimmy shoots back.
“Or maybe I don’t go around hitting on everything that walks and talks?”
Jimmy turns to me. “Are you going to let her speak to me like that?”
“How did we go from discussing my problem to yours?” I demand. “And you do get around, Jimmy. Everybody knows that.”
“Well, I can’t sleep with the same woman multiple times. You know how our wolves are. They start getting attached. What if mine gets attached to some crazy girl, and I end up giving her the mating mark. Then I’m stuck with her for life!”
Mary sneers at him. “If you don’t want crazy, don’t sleep with crazy.”
“I haven’t slept with you, have I?” Jimmy retorts.
I hold up my hands, growling, “Enough. This is not about you; this is about me. I still haven’t managed to initiate contact with the archive keeper. After Mira’s drawings this morning, Alice is properly freaked out. And I don’t want my daughter around white witches. For all I know—”
My words get stuck in my throat as I feel a spasm of pain pass through me. I clutch my heart, finding it hard to breathe.
What was that?
Jimmy immediately notices, as does Mary.
“Are you okay?” Mary puts a hand on my shoulder and runs healing energy through me. She frowns. “Nothing’s wrong with you.”
The next wave has me gasping. “Something is wrong.”
With Alice. Something’s wrong with Alice.
Just then, my phone begins ringing. Without a moment’s hesitation, I grab it from my pocket and answer it, only to hear screaming on the other end. Then, a growling sound and loud thuds, as if a fight is taking place.
Katherine’s voice comes through. “Darian, your ex-wife is here! She’s trying to kill Alice!”
I don’t know how Katherine knows about Willow, but my blood turns to ice.
“Where?” I demand, already on my feet.
“Alice’s office! Hurry! She’s really trying to kill her!”
I run over to Mira, pluck her off the jungle gym, and shove her into Jimmy’s arms. “Watch her. Guard her with your life. Mary, with me.”
I run to the building closest to us and, ducking into the alleyway, out of sight of everyone, I shift. Quickly, I grab the startled healer with my teeth and swing her onto my back. Her fingers dig into my fur, and I leap. Getting to the roof isn’t the hard part. I have to stay out of sight.
I jump from one rooftop to the next, needing to get to Alice as fast as possible. How did Willow find her? Jimmy and I were certain that nobody could figure out where she was, even after looking at her picture. We were sure that magic was involved somehow. Were we wrong? What changed? And if Willow knows, what about the white witches?
As I run, I try to ignore the sharp pain in my shoulder that keeps getting worse. It’s not my pain; it’s Alice’s. She is in agony, and our mate bond is fading. I don’t know what that means, and I’m not going to wait around to find out. As soon as I reach the top of Alice’s building, I shift back.
“Hold onto me,” I instruct the white-faced healer. She clings to my back, and grabbing the ledge, I swing down. The first window looks into Alice’s office, and the scene before me is horrific enough for me to feel a wave of fury.
Katherine is on the ground beside the desk, holding Alice in her arms, and Willow is lying on the ground a few feet away. Alice’s assistant is by the door. She sees me and screams before covering her mouth. To my surprise, instead of running away, she hurries over and opens the window. I don’t ask questions; I jump inside.
“Mary” is all I have to say, and the healer scrambles toward Alice. She drops by her side and immediately starts running healing magic through her.
I don’t approach my mate yet, knowing that the healer needs to look after her first. Instead, I go to where Willow is lying unconscious on the floor. Picking her up by the neck carelessly, I sniff her. She’s still alive.
Pity. Alice should’ve killed her.
“What happened?” I demand, looking at Katherine.
“She”—Katherine’s face is pale as she points at Willow—“she came in here and shouted at Alice. She tried to attack her, but Alice stopped her. And then she—she changed into a beast. She became a wolf!”
I stare at Katherine, cursing Willow silently. She let humans see her in her wolf form? It’s the law of the Wolf Kingdom that if a human discovers our existence, and they are not linked to our world in any way, they have to be executed to keep our secret. I look between Katherine and Holly. I don’t think Alice will want me to touch them. Our relationship is fragile enough as it is.
“Then,” Holly adds, shaking, “when this woman tried to attack me, Alice also changed into a wolf. She saved my life.”
“Mary?” I look at the healer, who shakes her head.
“She’s done a lot of damage, Your Majesty. I need time. It’s a good thing we got here when we did. Any later, we would not have been able to save her.”
My jaw tightens. The bond between Alice and me is flickering, but it’s no longer fading away, which is a good sign.
“Is there a way to clear this building?” I ask Holly. “The fewer people who find out about this, the fewer I have to get rid of.”
The color drains from her face when she realizes what I mean. She staggers backward. “Are you going to kill us?”
Before I can say anything, I hear Alice growl weakly, “D-don’t even think about it, Darian.”
I close my eyes in relief on hearing her voice. “I won’t touch them.”
“Why did you call him ‘Your Majesty’?” Katherine asks Mary, apparently not bothered by the potential threat to her life.
Mary glances at me nervously before replying. “This isn’t the time—”
“I’m the king of the Wolf Kingdom,” I say as I walk over to Alice and take her limp hand in mine.
Her eyes are glazed with pain, but she squeezes my fingers, whispering, “You can’t hurt them, Darian. They’re important to me.”
She has a pleading look in her eyes, and I hate it. I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it. “Your wish is my command.” She nods almost imperceptibly before her eyes flutter shut. My head swivels toward Holly. “How do we empty this place? Don’t make me ask again.”
“Fire alarm,” she says queasily. “It’s down the hall.”
“Do it.” She hurries out, and I stroke Alice’s cold hand before looking at Mary. “How bad are we talking?”
“She’s going to need a couple of days to heal properly. Willow got her muscles and two arteries. She knew exactly where to target. She came here intending to cause a scene and kill her.”
“She knew what would happen if she revealed our kind to others. She took that risk to get rid of Alice?”
“She probably would have blamed Alice for it all,” Mary hisses. “There’s no way she didn’t plot this out to last detail. And if I know Willow, she has a backup plan in place.” She pauses for a moment. “I have a bad feeling. We shouldn’t have left Mira alone with just Jimmy.”
I reach for my phone, but when I call Jimmy, he doesn’t answer. Alarm bells begin to go off in my head.
I dial another number. On the first ring, a man answers. “Your Majesty?”
“I want the entire squad at my location in five minutes. I’m coming to the rooftop.” I end the call and look at Mary, who nods. Alice has passed out. “Some of my men will show up and escort all of you to another location. I have to go check on Mira.”
As soon as I walk out of Alice’s office, I hear the sound of the blaring fire alarm. She did it. As people rush toward the exit, I see Holly hurrying in my direction.
When we meet, I command, “Get back in there and lock the door till five men arrive. They will take all of you to a safe place.”
I hear the snick of the lock amid the sounds of feet hitting the marble floors.
It’s not hard to find the stairs to the roof. The Black Arrows are never too far away from where the king is. They are the king’s shadows, his private army, numbering no more than twenty at a time. I reach the rooftop, and they arrive within minutes.
“Willow is to be held prisoner,” I instruct the first five men. “Alice Lane is my fated mate and the future queen. Protect her at all costs. There will be two humans, as well. Do not harm them. Move them all to the royal residence and guard them with your lives.” I look up at my other men. “The rest of you are to come with me. My daughter may be in danger.”
Their expressions don’t even flicker. If they are surprised, they don’t show it. They simply nod, and while five of them head down the stairs, the rest follow me as I jump to the ground.
Our first stop is at the park. It takes us more than fifteen minutes to get there in our human forms, and there’s no trace of Jimmy anywhere. What I do smell is something else. Something that makes my blood curdle.
White witches.
And another distinct smell.
Thomas Elvin.
When did Willow’s father get here? And how did he find out about Mira? His appearance along with Willow’s cannot be a coincidence.
I follow the scents into the woods. As I head deeper, I can smell blood. Jimmy’s blood. My heart is beating wildly in my chest, fear an acrid taste on my tongue.
They couldn’t have gotten far.
Suddenly, three of the Black Arrows pick up their pace and dart ahead of me, shifting into their wolf forms. I hear the sounds of fighting mere moments later. Without a second thought, I shift as well, along with the rest of the Arrows.
A full scale battle is taking place in front of me when I get past the trees and into a clearing. I recognize Jimmy’s wolf facing off against Thomas’s wolf and at least nine white witches. The three Black Arrows who left my side have also joined in. Jimmy is shielding Mira, who is crying. Snarling, I jump into the fray, attacking the witch closest to me. She turns around and presses her hands against my chest, but before she can move her mouth, I rip her head off.
Thomas sees me and staggers back in fear.
As the white witches are engaged by the Black Arrows, I shift back and rush over to my daughter. She cries out to me hysterically. I take her in my arms, whispering, “It’s okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
“I want Mama!”
She’s clinging to my neck as I comfort her. When the white witches see me holding her, they intensify their attacks, and I roar, “Enough! What is the meaning of this?”
The fighting stops momentarily. Although the white witches are powerful, their strength lies in healing magic. They’re not well- versed in battle magic. But that doesn’t mean they’re going to stop before they get whatever it is they want.
One of them steps forward, her voice harsh. “That girl has the mark of a dark witch. We came to retrieve her. You have no business getting involved in this matter, King Darian!”
Thomas has also shifted back now, and while he looks pale, his eyes hold a familiar defiance. I’ve seen that look far too many times. The day Willow forced me into making that deal with her, he had that same smug look in his eyes, as if he’d gotten his way. But when Alice disappeared, he lost some of his leverage. He tried his best to manipulate me like a puppet, to control the royal palace from behind the scenes, but I never allowed father nor daughter any sort of power, especially not the kind they craved. Most likely, he found out about Mira and thought he could use her against me.
“She’s a dark witch!” Thomas declares. “She cannot be allowed to live!”
“Just like your daughter will not be allowed to live for exposing our kind to the human world?” I ask him, keeping my tone even.
Thomas freezes. “What have you done to her, Darian?!”
“I am your king,” I growl. “There is no familiarity between us. Don’t ever use my name again, or I’ll have your head.”
Thomas trembles. “Where is my daughter? What have you done to her?”
“Willow attacked my mate. And I’m starting to see that her doing so was merely a distraction. But she revealed her true form to humans, and as a result, she will now be imprisoned and executed. That is how our laws work, isn’t it?”
Thomas bristles. “You’re lying. She never would have done that! Willow was just going to talk to Alice…” He trails off.
“Talk to Alice? About what?”
“That dark witch interfered in her marriage!”
“There was no interference,” I growl. “Willow was never really my wife. She was only bound to me legally. You’re lucky I didn’t tear her heart out sooner. She will pay for what she’s done. And as for you—”
“I’ve done nothing wrong,” Thomas spits out. “This thing is a dark witch. She needs to die!”
“Talk about my daughter again, and I will annihilate your entire bloodline.”
From the lack of surprise in Thomas’s eyes, I can tell he’s already aware that Mira is my child.
The witch closest to him announces, “It doesn’t matter if she is of your blood, King Darian. She still carries the bloodline of the dark witches. She needs to be put down. It is our job as the white witches to—”
“The white witches will have no say in the royal kingdom anymore. I will not hand my child over to be executed or tortured or whatever it is you wish to do to her,” I cut her off calmly, holding Mira close to me. Jimmy has shifted back now, and his whole body is bloody from being badly attacked.
The witch before me takes umbrage. “Then you leave us no choice. You had a child out of wedlock. The white witches will not recognize this child or your mating. Your true queen is Queen Willow. You will rescind the divorce papers and have a child with her. Alice Lane and this child will be brought before the white witches’ coven and dealt with. We will not be lenient any longer.”
“You won’t be lenient?” I laugh coldly. “I’m afraid you have it backward. It is the royal kingdom that has been lenient with you all these years.” I narrow my eyes and look around. The Black Arrows are still in wolf form, ready to shed blood at my command. “You must think you have a lot of power in the Wolf Kingdom, but you don’t. I am the king, and I’m telling you that you will stay away from my family. If you do not, I will not hesitate to wipe out all the white witches.”
The threat has the witches turning pale. “You can’t do that. The white witches are the backbone of the Wolf Kingdom.”
“When it comes to my family being threatened, there is no line I will not cross,” I snarl. “You have attempted to manipulate me for long enough.”
The white witches exchange looks with each other before one of them steps forward and says coolly, “Perhaps it’s time for the Wolf Kingdom to have a change in leadership.”
I frown, and all of them suddenly crouch down and put their palms flat on the forest ground.
The white witches are known for their healing powers. But from the spots where they have their hands pressed down, dark streaks begin to spread out. As the streaks reach the plants around them, they turn black and wither away.
Thomas doesn’t look surprised, but the Black Arrows’ wolves instantly grow nervous.
The streaks of darkness start aiming for us, and I know that when they reach us, they will have the same impact on us as they did on the flora. I’m about to jump out of the way when a woman emerges from the trees, her hand held out in front of her.
The dark streaks come to a halt. And then, they’re pushed back.
The woman is wearing a dark hood that conceals her face, and she keeps walking toward the white witches, who begin to panic. I can see them straining themselves, but to no avail. Whoever this woman is, she’s more than capable of pushing back their magic. And as the streaks of darkness retreat toward the white witches, they do the opposite of their original intended effect.
Two of the witches lift their hands off the ground and hurry away, but the others are too late. By the time they have the sense of mind to remove their hands from the ground, the dark streaks have wrapped themselves around their wrists and are moving upward, shriveling the witches’ bodies. Their screams are horrific as they collapse, writhing in the dirt.
I watch them die in excruciating pain, one of my hands over Mira’s eyes and the other covering the ear that isn’t pressed against me. She doesn’t protest, hiding her face in my chest.
“Who are you?” one of the remaining witches shrieks at the mysterious woman.
Thomas doesn’t stick around to find out, shifting his form and running into the woods. The Black Arrows start to give chase, but I stop them. I am more concerned about this person who managed to stop the white witches’ attack.
The cloaked figure simply raises her hands and begins to chant. As she does, slashes appear on the robes of the white witches, and they scream when their flesh suffers the same fate. She keeps at it till their bodies are battered and they, too, fall to the ground, dead.
The Black Arrows come to stand in front of me protectively. The woman is between us and the witches, her back to us. She removes the hood of her cloak now, her voice soft. “You have nothing to fear from me, King of the Wolves.”
She turns around to face me. She has silver hair and purple eyes, and her features are youthful and exquisite.
I go still. “You’re a dark witch.”
Part of me had already figured it out when I saw her slashing at the white witches with her magic, but seeing her features confirms it. A majority of the dark witches had silver hair and purple eyes. At least, that is what was written in the texts I read as a child.
“My name is Nara.” The woman gives me a faint smile. “I believe you called for me.”
“The archive keeper,” I breathe.