Chapter 41 #2
“What if we aren’t strong enough on our own?” Constantine asked, looking between us. “Emme is going to be so upset that we took this risk without her. I don’t want to lose my daughter again. She’s only just starting to trust me.”
Slade rumbled. “We’re strong enough. And as long as Emme is alive, I don’t care if she hates us. It won’t last forever. One day she’ll understand that we will burn everything down to keep her safe, even ourselves.”
It was the truth, but I also knew Emme wouldn’t want to live without us. Which was what made her so fucking precious. No one had ever loved us the way she did, and we would fight literally the entire world to just feel her soft touch one more time.
Constantine didn’t argue, but his concerned expression remained. We all stood at the top of the stairs that disappeared down into the unknown. This was where the shielding really started, and the bursts of magic against our skin were painful.
“You weren’t kidding about the earth dulling magic,” Talon muttered. A fluttering of scales slithered over his arms before he got his beast under control again.
“It’s one of the most thorough blankets I’ve ever experienced,” Constantine said, the unease from his expression creeping into his voice. “Do you plan on waiting for the backup before we go down there?”
Slade didn’t bother to answer him, and I wouldn’t have been surprised to find that whatever respect the witch-wolf had garnered with his earlier actions was gone now under his hesitation.
The dragons feared nothing and no one, and when their mate’s life was on the line… He would not wait any longer.
Checking on Emme once more, I found her safe and in Finley’s chair, getting her tattoo finished. Their game was an early one today, and I’d already arranged for Kassidy to be there.
If Emme decided to go, she wouldn’t be alone.
“Let’s just get closer,” Slade suggested, his movements uncharacteristically agitated. “We need to know what we’re up against. We need to find that witch and destroy her.”
My brother was untethering under the threat to his pack, and I already knew he’d destroy half this warehouse if we didn’t do something. “Okay, we can move closer, but we don’t attack until our backup arrives.”
That way I could promise Emme we did everything in our power to win this battle.
Slade agreed with a nod, already striding down the stairs.
We all followed behind, and Constantine cast a very dim light above us, which I didn’t think we’d need until we were in the narrow tunnel that had been carved into the rock.
Down here, the darkness was like a black hole, as if all light had been swallowed.
It took us over an hour to reach the end of the tunnel, and the magic stench was thick enough that we knew it had been constructed by witches. No doubt above our heads would be the very spot we’d met Talon and Slade before; right on the co-ordinates of the power usage Slade had been tracking.
“They’re just beyond here,” Slade whispered as he came to a halt.
“How many?” I asked softly.
“A lot of them.”
Talon pushed in behind me. “What is the plan?”
None of us were using our bond, in case Emme picked up on it, so we had to huddle close and keep our voices low.
“We should wait,” I said, infusing my entitled alpha power into my voice. “We cannot risk being outnumbered and not making it back to Emme.”
Slade huffed but didn’t argue as he leaned against the wall. “Okay. Let’s conserve our energy while we wait.” He did pull out his phone, and somehow even underground, managed to figure out how to log into a network and check on Emme at the hockey.
“Fucking Warrick,” he muttered, right before he stashed his phone again.
“Is Slalon ready?” I asked as I joined him against the wall, forcing my muscles to relax.
Talon answered first. “We’re not perfect, but we’re working well together.”
“We’re ready,” Slade rumbled softly, the hint of his annoyance still strong. “We’ll be enough.”
Holding on to that, we all fell silent, our breaths the only noises to infiltrate this desolate tunnel as we waited. Checking in with Emme kept me entertained, as she fully enjoyed herself at the game.
Long after my skin grew icy, and my beast moved restlessly in my chest, the silence was broken by footsteps. We tensed as we waited to see if this was our backup, or those associated with Jewels. When a familiar tea tree scent filtered through, I relaxed and nudged Constantine.
“Light,” I murmured. He’d extinguished it when we’d waited here, in case anyone stumbled in or out of the tunnels.
When it flared to life in his palm, I found myself staring at a familiar face. “Will,” I said, keeping my voice low. Behind him were dozens of faces, all of them outfitted in Reeves industry tech.
He lifted a bag he’d been carrying and shoved it at me. “Your assistant said you might need some extra gear.” The quieter his voice got, the stronger his German accent grew. “We brought all we had.”
“Thank you,” I said as I took the gear. “If we get out of this shithole alive, remind me to give Casey a bonus.”
Constantine and I strapped vests on and pocketed weapons, but the dragons declined. “We’ll be shifting,” Slade said shortly.
Will nodded, and the bag with the extra gear was left in the hallway at our feet. “You believe this is where the witch is holed up?”
“We do,” I said, adrenaline starting to course through me. “We haven’t confirmed it, but if Jewels is here, we cannot let her escape. This might be our only chance.”
Will’s expression was one of determination, no concerns visible. It was harder to see the others, but none of them backed away. “We’re here to fight by your sides and save shifters from her curse. Whatever happens, we won’t bail on you. Lead the way.”
Slade took off, as if he’d barely been holding himself back all of this time.
We followed just as fast, and when the tunnel narrowed, we had to move nearly single file to make it through.
At the entrance to the bunker or whatever was down here, Slade took out additional security, leaving their dead bodies off to the side.
The entrance was blocked by a heavy door with bright lights on either side of the entrance.
“That explains the power,” Talon noted, and I wondered how the hell they’d managed to make this happen. There was no way this had been constructed in the days since the street attack. This was years in the making, even if it had only recently come into use.
The door opened easily to reveal an entrance, already lit up to showcase a wall of weapons. Mostly knives, daggers, and axes. There were also a ton of boots and shoes scattered below.
It remained well-lit as we pushed on, and when we entered the first real room, I almost lost control of my beast at the sheer fucking size of it. The round space spanned out for at least a mile in all directions, with camp beds surrounding the full perimeter. Bedside drawers in between each bunk.
Some of the beds were occupied with sleeping shifters and witches, blissfully unaware that there was an enemy in their midst. Silently, we moved forward, and following our noses, found ourselves in an area containing an industrial kitchen and dining facility.
A dining facility filled with at least fifty shifters, and almost as many witches.
At our appearance, everyone turned to us, and silence descended so fast it was eerie. A low laugh rang out, and from the middle of the tables stepped a far too fucking familiar shifter.
Blaine’s grin was lopsided and too large.
It made him look even more unhinged than usual.
“Well, well, look who stepped right into the fucking shit.” His gaze moved between us and our allies.
“Jewels was really hoping you’d be stupid enough to try and track her using me.
I’m happy to see that she was right. Again. ”
My gut clenched hard at the thought that Jewels wasn’t here, that this was no more than another one of her traps… another plan to take us out. We were vastly outnumbered, especially if you considered how many shifters and witches had been sleeping in the previous room.
“Destroying you, and all of her sycophants, was on our to-do list anyway,” Slade said in a calm, unruffled voice. “I’ll be happy to tick that one off today.”
Blaine threw his head back in another laugh, like that was the funniest joke he’d ever heard. “You might have some immunity to magic, but I have every damn witch left in this country. You cannot take on their collective power.”
Slade shuffled us back into the room with the beds, needing the space to shift into Slalon. All of the shifters and witches got to their feet and started to follow.
“You’re not going to run, right?” Blaine taunted. “After all your big talk of ticking me off your to-do list.”
“Where’s Jewels?” I asked in the hopes he’d monologue for a minute, so the twins had time to shift. Not to mention, it was still important information we needed. “Why did she leave you here to deal with us?”
Blaine’s glee made my stomach swirl, and I fucking itched to tear his head off. “Ah, that’s an amazing story. My favorite witch always has plan upon plan in place. In related news, where’s your omega?”
At the mention of her name, I tapped into the bond, finding Emme still at the hockey game. She asked about going home with Warrick, and since I needed her safely in our house, I agreed.
“She’s safe and sound at home,” I told Blaine.
Slade’s dragon drifted into her beast too, and then we both shut down the connection. We couldn’t have her picking up on what was about to happen here. The air crackled strongly as the twins called on their energy to shift.
“It was brave of you to leave her home unprotected,” Blaine said conversationally. “Not that we were surprised. We knew it would happen sooner or later… Especially after that dream.”
“There’s no way for Jewels to get to her,” I snapped. “The entire town would be alerted the second she stepped into Golden Claw.”
Blaine nodded, as if he completely agreed. “Oh yes, but there’s just one little problem with that theory.”
When he didn’t continue, I clenched my hands and imagined his death. “What’s the damn problem?”
Blaine paused. “The problem is…”
Magic exploded around us, and before he could finish, we were under attack.