Chapter 42
EMME
Warrick was quiet as we left the stadium, the mid-day light enveloping his Range Rover, and despite the packed stadium we managed to escape the crowds fairly quickly. Kassidy had taken the front seat, since I’d jumped in the back like Slade had requested.
My friend was tense. I could only assume it was due to seeing Henderson out on the ice today.
The quintet was quiet as well, and when I opened the bond to check on Hunter and the twins, all I picked up on was restlessness, like they were doing a lot of waiting around.
I didn’t push any harder. As long as they were safe, I’d give them their privacy, since I expected my own in return. My wolf shifted uneasily but I kept her in place. Leave them be. They’ll check in when they’re on the way home.
In truth, unless Hunter was already on the plane, I doubted he’d make it back within the twenty-four-hour timeframe. But he was still trying to keep his promise, and that mattered as much to me as him making it in time.
When Warrick’s phone rang, I jumped about three feet in the air. “Hey, love,” he said as he answered, and my heart stuttered when Cora’s voice sounded through the speaker.
“Mate, are you on your way home?” she asked softly. “I don’t want to be alone any longer, and Richard and Sierra have already gone to their wing.”
Warrick shot me a side-eyed glance, and then to my surprise said, “Would you be up for a little company? I could bring two of your lovely friends home with me.”
Kassidy shifted to the side, staring at Warrick with a semi-hopeful expression.
There was a long pause, and I tried not to get my hopes up too.
“Actually, yes,” Cora finally said, her voice faint. “That would be amazing. I’ve missed them.”
I had no idea how she knew it was us, since Warrick hadn’t mentioned our names. Maybe he’d already told her that he sat with us at the hockey, not that I’d seen him grab his phone, but I had been focused on the ice.
Warrick silently asked me if that was okay by lifting one eyebrow and jerking his head. I nodded, desperate to finally see Cora.
“Okay, we’ll be home in ten or fifteen,” he said, and after a brief pause added, “Put some pants on please.”
My heart soared when Cora let out a low laugh. “Can’t make any promises. You know how I feel about pants. See you soon.”
When the call ended, there was a slightly more upbeat vibe to Warrick’s demeanor as he picked up speed, changing directions to head for his house.
“I know we can’t possibly understand what you and your pack is going through,” Kassidy said, still facing him. “But we’re always here to help, even if it’s just to get you groceries, or take you out driving so you have a few hours escape. Rely on us.”
Warrick’s voice was raspy when he answered. “Thank you. It’s honestly hard to describe the pain, as it’s more than emotional. The physical loss of one of our quintet has destroyed parts of all of us, and while Marcus wasn’t the heart of the bond, and we’re not all scent matches, it still hurts.”
It was lucky he wasn’t the heart, otherwise all of them could have died from the loss of the one who bonded them.
“Has it been worse for Richard and Sierra?” I asked softly. “In the way of bond sickness over this loss?”
His nod was jerky. “Yeah, they’ve been very weak. We feared we might lose them too, as their beasts struggled to deal with their loss.”
“I wish there was something we could do to help with that,” I said, my heart aching at the very thought of them living through such pain.
Warrick turned and shot me a sad smile. “What you’re doing today will help. Cora needs you. We both do.” And yet neither of them had even returned a single message since that day in our street.
When he drove into their familiar cul-de-sac, I was reminded of all the times I’d showed up here and gotten turned away by their new security. Today, there were no enforcers, and I finally made it near the house.
Seeing their gorgeous home reminded me of my first days in Golden Claw.
I’d been filled with fear and uncertainty, half expecting to be drained of all my essence by the powerful alpha pack I’d found myself part of.
A lot had changed since then, and it was so unfair that for this pack it was a change for the worst.
Before his car had even stopped in the drive, I was already out of the car, ready to see Cora.
She stood in the open doorway, wearing a plain blue dress, her face washed out, and dark circles under her eyes. But her smile was warm, if not a little wonky.
“Cores,” I murmured, racing up the stairs so I could wrap my arms around her.
She remained tense in my hold for a few seconds, but I wasn’t bothered by that. I just kept holding her until she eventually relaxed, her soft sobs ripping through her.
“I missed you, friend,” I murmured.
Her sobs grew louder, and when Kassidy’s arms came around both of us, we rocked Cora back and forth until she no longer cried. When she pulled away, her eyes were red and puffy. She looked as beautiful as always, but there was a strong sense of fatigue about her, as if grief had worn her too thin.
When she backed up through the doorway, she gestured for us to follow. As I stepped over the threshold she whispered, “I’m really sorry.”
There’d been not a single scent of magic until I entered through the doorway, and as the energy encased me full bodily, it was clear her apology was about far more than ignoring all my messages.
“Kassidy, run!” I yelled, but it was too late.
She’d followed me inside, and when I tried to rush out the door again, I was flung backwards by the strong magical essence.
“What did you do?” I croaked, staring at Cora.
Warrick, who’d just stepped inside, closed the front door.
Not that it mattered, since we couldn’t exit even when it was open.
Shivers raced over my skin, and I was struggling to catch my breath.
This reminded me of the place in Silver City where I’d been trapped with Slade, and my wolf was howling at the constrictions on us.
“The witch has held us captive from almost the moment she attacked the street,” Warrick said, voice near inflectionless.
His eyes were dark pits, and there was none of his usual warmth in those shiny depths.
“We can only leave when she allows it. We can’t bring in outsiders. We are virtual prisoners.”
“Why are we here, then?” Kassidy snarled, her gaze darting around as she searched for additional threats. Her dominance was spilling out into the space, but it just bounced back off the shielded walls.
Tingles raced into my hands as my magic reacted to the heavily spelled house, but when I tried to use the quintet bond to reach my pack, all I got was a staticky interference. Our beasts were frozen in place, and no matter how hard I tried to reach them, I kept getting shot back.
Before I threw my full effort into destroying that interference, a tiny blond witch appeared. My world tilted lopsided for a beat, but I recovered almost instantly, snarled and backed closer to Kassidy.
“Jewels,” Kassidy raged, and even I almost fell under the spill of her wolf’s strength. “They lured us here today to deliver us right to the fucking witch.”
I found the strength to glare at Warrick and Cora, who clung to each other near the doorway. Oddly, their expressions were not triumphant. They looked devastated.
No that it mattered. Betrayal was betrayal, whatever way you sliced it.
“You both should have just died at the witch’s hands,” Kassidy told them, and in that moment she sounded like her brother. Hunter. My wolf whined louder than I’d ever heard, and I wanted to join her.
“You know her pack will kill you anyway,” Kassidy finished with a huff.
Warrick met both our gazes, and the fact that fucker had the balls to do so when his shameful stare should have been planted on the ground, had red flashing across my vision.
“She holds the rest of our pack, and will kill my twin,” he said shortly. “As much as I care about Emme and her pack, I don’t care about them more than my own blood. I’m sorry, but there was no other choice.”
That had another snarl ripping from my chest. “As I said to Chelsea, who is dead from her betrayal, there’s always a choice. You could have let us know what was happening and allowed us to fight with you. You sat in our damn dining room and pledged your allegiance to us.”
Jewels’ husky laughter cut off his response. “Ah, as if I would have allowed him to tell you of my plan. They’re completely under my control, just as all shifters will eventually be. This was a nice little experiment, and I’m happy to report it was a roaring success.”
Cora was pleading with me, her eyes filled with tears, but I couldn’t bring myself to soften. Right now, I needed to focus on getting Kassidy and myself out of here before we became Jewels’ next victims.
“You’ve been here since the curse was cast?” I asked the witch, needing to buy time until I figured out a plan.
Kellan and Finley would realize soon enough that I wasn’t at home, and they’d come right here to Warrick’s. But I didn’t want them trapped by this psycho either.
In a magical fight, they had very few defenses.
“I figured the safest place to hide was right under your noses,” she said, sounding properly pleased with herself. “I stashed all of my witch and shifter allies in another area, knowing that would be where you’d search, while I remained here.”
I had no doubts that Hunter, the twins, and my father were in the location of her magical allies.
“Why did you bring me here, then? All you had to do was wait out the rest of the curse and we’d be fucked. None of us thought for a second you’d remain in the city, hidden within the very securities designed to keep you out.”
It really had been the ideal hiding spot, which meant she’d only break it for a very serious reason. She’d sent Warrick out to bait the hook, and then Cora called to reel me in. It was a perfectly laid trap and I’d walked right into it.
But what was the reason?
Jewels took a step forward, and I hated that she still looked gorgeous. Dressed completely in black, she was vibing psycho-magic-Barbie, all blond, tiny and evil.
“I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d get the opportunity to separate you from your pack,” she said, and the smug smile on her face had unease fluttering through me.
“But thankfully, with a little hint from Warrick and a bit of a dream to scatter your forces, you all finally followed the breadcrumbs I laid out for you.”
She’d orchestrated the search near Silver City, which had been Warrick’s suggestion.
“Why am I here?” I repeated, gritting my teeth so hard my gums ached.
Her empty smile grew, and when she no longer bothered to put on an act, it was clear how soulless she really was.
She held up a finger. “One: your pack is the only ones who can stop this curse from coming to pass. It was partly their energy and Fletcher’s that initiated the curse, and they are essential in destroying it. ”
I shook my head. “But no one can stop it once the curse comes to pass. All you had to do was stay hidden in this perfect spot. We trusted our friend’s odd behavior was just from grief.”
Jewels waved that finger at me. “Who told you the curse could only be stopped before it came to pass? It can be stopped at any time by the energy which cast it.” She shrugged. “It’s just easier before it’s enacted.”
My heart stuttered in a few weird beats as I wrapped my head around that. Constantine had either lied to us, or he’d been unaware.
“So you need to take them out no matter what?” I whispered, and whatever fear and unease I’d felt before was a thousand-fold now. She would never stop coming after my pack.
Jewels nodded, forcing a fake pout on her full lips. “Yes, and those silly dragons are far too strong together. I knew I should have had them killed young, but I let my sentimentality get the best of me, thinking they’d be great lovers and allies one day.”
My wolf raged in my chest, and I barely stopped from shifting.
My magic on the other hand, slipped out before I could stop it.
Jewels lifted a second finger. “And that brings us to reason number two why you’re here. You are their mate, the heart of the quintet, and if you die… they will all die.”
A third finger lifted. “Even if that wasn’t the case, you’ve just confirmed what I sensed the day you secured your quintet bond. You’re an abomination of wolf mixed with witch. You cannot be allowed to survive, so it’s a win-win for me to destroy you.”
All along, the spy had been Jewels, in this city, stalking our steps. And she knew what I was now. Fletcher had kept me a secret for his own gain, but that secret was out.
Kassidy gawped at me, her eyes wide and glassy. Magic, she mouthed, and I swallowed roughly with a brief nod.
I had magic, and I was the heart of this quintet, which meant my entire pack was in danger. Not even dragon genetics could survive the death of the heart of a quintet when we were bonded close enough to mentally communicate.
Jewels was right in saying if she took me out, she’d take them all out.