Chapter 62
Julian
“There is only one thing an alpha truly dreads, and that’s calling his people to fight when he knows it’s a death sentence for some.”
Of all the lessons my father hounded into me, that is the one that stuck, and the one that returns with a vengeance now, as I stare at the missive in front of me and Aiden.
I don’t want to be pessimistic and assume that’s what it is, but dread wells up in my stomach as my eyes linger on the Council’s broken seal.
The Council warrior who delivered the missive—and who currently waits outside—was one of the twenty said to be on their way to help us confront the growing force to the north, according to the letter. They received our reports of the gathering rogues and took them with the utmost seriousness.
We, along with every other pack in this region, are receiving as many warriors as the Council can spare because they aren’t willing to let the rogue population grow large enough to become a true threat.
“Don’t panic,” Aiden whispers, drawing my gaze to where he sits beside me with a grim expression that most likely matches mine.
“It’s not panic,” I reply, dropping my gaze back to the letter. “It’s dread.”
Aiden’s expression doesn’t soften, but his eyes do. He understands the feeling, because he feels it too.
“We’ll have a pack meeting tonight,” he says.
I nod, already calling for Beckett through our bond. He steps in a moment later with Emitt at his side. Their concern is palpable, but they do a good job of hiding it.
“The Council wants to deal with the rogues,” I explain, not bothering to sugarcoat it. “They see the threat, and they want to squash it early. More of their warriors will be arriving to assist before we, and at least five other packs, head out.”
“We’re leaving the pack to fight them?” Emitt echoes, eyes widening as he looks between Aiden and me. “And with other packs? That … that doesn’t happen.”
“No, it doesn’t,” I agree tightly. “Not unless it’s very serious, which means—”
“It’s very serious,” Beckett finishes for me. I nod.
“We’re all trained for this, and with the numbers we’re gathering, it’ll be fine,” Aiden states confidently.
Before I knew my mate, I would’ve thought he was being stupidly self-assured and na?ve, but I can spot the slight tightening in his jaw now. He’s being strong so that others can be, too.
“We’ll need to prepare a space for the incoming warriors and get everyone ready for what’s to come,” he adds.
I nod again. “We’re calling a pack meeting tonight—no, this afternoon,” I correct. The sooner we get things rolling, the better.
“Uh, tonight might be better,” Emitt says, cutting into my already spiralling thoughts. “You guys have another visitor.”
I frown as Aiden asks, “Who?”
“The witch,” Beckett answers, and my heart immediately sinks.
I have nothing against Katerina—not anymore. For a witch, she’d been absurdly helpful, and while she is weird, that’s one of the few areas in which she was harmless.
Except she’s not harmless, and a random pop-up was not on the agenda.
When the warrior initially showed up at our border this morning, my first assumption had been that they’d somehow discovered that Aiden had been with Katerina when she’d single-handedly decimated her coven.
Thankfully, that hadn’t been the case, but it very well could be if she were here right now.
“Where is she?” I ask, already on my feet.
“The roof,” Emitt answers with a slight grimace. “She said she had to talk to you guys, but that she’d wait out of sight until you were ready.”
I glance at Aiden as he stands, scowling when I spot my alarmed confusion mirrored on his face. That isn’t good.
Aiden understands her the best. He should know why she’s here—or at least trust that it isn’t anything horrible—because I’m already preparing for the worst. And right now, the worst is that her last freebie to help with our wolves hadn’t been a freebie at all, and she’s ready to blackmail us, knowing that the Council’s eyes are pointed our way.
I doubt the witch needs anything from us enough to blackmail us, Alex notes before humming. Though if she does, maybe this will be a lesson not to trust a witch.
Will you get over it? I groan. It worked.
Alex huffs, and as annoying as it is, I’m grateful for it—because he’s here, as a part of me, as he should be.
Whether or not Alex liked me employing a witch to force him to talk to Max, it worked out for the best. And with what we’re about to face with the rogues, I’m grateful I have him at my side.
“We’ll deal with it,” Aiden says as he heads for the door. “You guys keep the warrior away and get the word out about the meeting.”
Not waiting for a response, Aiden exits the room, and I’m right on his heels.
We book it to the elevator, trying our best not to look anxious with the eyes on us.
By now, word had spread that the Council sent someone, and until they heard from us, they’d assume the very worst. Little did they know, it might not be the Council we had to worry about—but the all-powerful witch we’d decided to play hopscotch with.
“It’s nothing bad,” Aiden says once the elevator doors shut and we climb upwards.
“How do you know?” I mumble.
“Because we’d be dead already if it were.”
Aiden and I step out onto the familiar rooftop and relax slightly to find it empty. It looks as it always does, but the presence of magic, even masked, is one I’m now too familiar with to miss.
Katerina doesn’t make us call for her. She materialises out of thin air, not quite teleporting, but more like she steps through a gateway that only she has access to. I’m used to her magic enough not to be alarmed, but what does scare me is the lack of her usual frivolities.
“What is it?” Aiden asks, sensing it as well. And with everything the morning has already piled onto us, patience is the last thing he wields.
Katerina mistakes it as annoyance and straightens, dressing herself in an indifference that doesn’t quite fit. “Don’t get your panties in a twist,” she grumbles. “I’m just trying to be nice and give you guys a heads-up before I hit the road.”
“You’re leaving?” Aiden exclaims with a surprising amount of dismay.
“It’s time,” she says, shrugging even as she frowns. “I was only here to juice up before giving my coven the chop. I’ve done that, so I’m leaving.”
It should be a relief to know we no longer have personified chaos as our neighbour, but relief isn’t what I feel. Despite the clear line that’s been drawn between our species for aeons, Katerina has done a lot for us, and she’s been honest while doing it.
“Where will you go?” Aiden asks, with evident concern that they’re both as ignorant of as their budding friendship.
“I don’t know,” she says with another shrug. “I haven’t really seen much of anything, so I was thinking maybe I’d get an apartment in a big city or something. But I like space, so maybe not. Maybe I’ll get a mansion in the middle of nowhere.”
“With what money?” I ask.
“I’m a witch. I don’t need it,” she deadpans, and I can’t argue with that.
Neither can Aiden apparently, because he stays quiet. He struggled enough as it was to express himself to me, so doing it with a witch is an entirely new challenge he’s not up for. Sadly, for the pair of them, Katerina isn’t any better.
“Anyway, that’s only half of what I came here for,” she carries on, trying to move past her obvious discomfort. She looks at me, and that strange expression from earlier returns as she studies me. “I wanted to give you guys a heads-up about some rogues.”
I stop myself from reacting, but only just, while Aiden stiffens beside me before his dark eyes cut my way. I ignore them, focusing on the witch in front of us—the one we’ve possibly gotten far too comfortable with.
“Rogues?” I question, as if I’ve never heard the term before. “Why would you be warning us about rogues?”
We never once spoke to Katerina about the rogues, and the very day the Council shares the news of their plan to fight, she shows up to talk about them?
“They’re everywhere in the unclaimed lands, so I see them more than you,” she says with a little hum. “There’s loads more now, so maybe I’m just looking out for you guys.”
“Or maybe you’ve gotten tired of syphoning power from them,” Aiden counters, and she immediately stills.
“Well, well.” A sly smile spreads across her lips as she glances between us. “Look who finally caught on.”
Aiden told me his theory after Katerina mentioned drawing power to him, but we’d had no reason to investigate it when we thought she was someone we’d see only once more before she disappeared forever.
“That’s why you settled here, of all places,” Aiden continues. “You needed to draw from something strong enough to give you power, but not strong enough to do anything about it if they noticed.”
“Oh, they noticed,” Katerina replies as her smile turns into a scowl. “You’re right. They shouldn’t have, but they did.”
Well, that’s not disconcerting at all, Alex mumbles as my anxiety crests.
“The rogues aren’t what they used to be,” Aiden agrees ambiguously.
“Yeah, no shit,” she laughs, but it’s dry and unamused. “They’re supposed to be an insane yet lovely power source for earth-bound and dark magic witches when we come across them. Unconscious.”
“But they’re not. So tell us plainly what you know, Katerina,” I say, eyeing her.
I don’t like showing my hand, especially when I don’t have a clear view of the board, but we don’t have time to be bobbing and weaving around the truth.
We’re dealing with an unfamiliar force here, and I would put my pride aside to find out more about it if that meant saving even one of the lives destined to be lost out there.