Chapter 11
Eleven
REID
Gerry leads us back to where the party was held—on the road between four houses.
Everyone is crying and hugging each other.
I don’t see any bodies, though the picnic table is still stained red with blood.
As I watch, a shifter drags a hose to the wood, attempting to wash away the horrors of the day.
I’m not sure that will be enough.
I’m not sure anything will be enough.
The closer we get to the largest house—the one that wasn’t reduced to rubble in the attack—the more wolves I see. All of them are huddled around each other, whispering and pointing. At first, I don’t understand what they’re looking at, but then I see them.
I see her.
Witches.
Only the one at the front captures my attention. The similarities between Izzy and her are unmistakable.
“Delaney.” Gerry forces a smile. “What a pleasant surprise.”
He sounds as if this meeting is as “pleasant” as getting his toenails removed with rusty pliers would be.
“You kept me waiting long enough, old friend.” Delaney’s gaze shifts from his face to mine, then Emery’s, then Ashton’s. Her upper lip curls. “These are hers, I’m assuming? Not the most attractive bunch, are they? I suppose the dark one could do—if he wasn’t covered in dirt and blood.”
She gives Ashton a slow once-over—though her expression is more assessing than sexual.
Is she talking about us?
God help me, for the first time in who knows how long, I feel the familiar pang of self-consciousness. I hate my looks, and I hate even more that Izzy is tied to a beast like me. But for her only living relative to point it out? Yeah. That makes me feel pretty shitty.
“You wanted to talk, so talk.” Gerry scowls. “Where’s Izzy?”
“She’s fine. Already enjoying her first day of classes.” A smug smile unfurls on her lips.
“Her first day of classes?” Emery murmurs, his nose wrinkling.
He glances at the setting sun and then refocuses back on the witch bitch.
Gerry doesn’t take his attention off of Delaney as he answers. “Time moves differently at the covenstead. An entire week could pass, and it would only equal a few hours here. Maybe a day.”
“Why is she with you?” Emery demands, refocusing on Delaney.
Delaney gives Emery a look that would make milk curdle. “Because she has witch blood, of course. We need to know her potential, especially if she’s capable of being as powerful as her mother.”
My wolf howls and rages inside of me, demanding release. Only the cage Michelle trapped him in keeps him contained.
“You kidnapped our mate?” Emery yells.
“I did what was necessary to protect both her and our coven,” Delaney says with a haughty sniff. “But don’t worry. I made a deal with my niece. She’ll be permitted to visit you every weekend.”
“Her weekend or our weekend?” Gerry asks, his right eye beginning to spasm.
At first, I’m confused by the question, but then I remember what he said about time moving differently at the covenstead.
One week for us could be months for Izzy.
Delaney’s lips twitch. “I suppose I didn’t specify, but I took it to mean your time.
As did the spell I performed on her. She won’t be very happy when she discovers the truth, but oh well.
She’ll thank me in the long run. You…shifters are nothing but distractions.
I won’t let you hurt my niece the same way you hurt my sister. ”
Her grin grows, and for the first time since we started this conversation, she shows her teeth.
“A lot can happen during that time. She could fall out of love. Fall in love. Meet new friends. Choose to stay.” She taps a manicured finger against her chin in contemplation.
“She’s required to stay one whole month with us, which, in the covenstead, will be… just about a year.”
My heart pounds dauntingly in my chest.
I’ll be able to see Izzy in a week, if what Delaney says is true. But for Izzy? That will be an entire month on her own. And then, after the weekend is over, she’ll have to go back and endure another month, if not more. Who knows how time works there versus here?
I only just decided I wanted to pursue this bond with Izzy. What if she doesn’t feel the same? What if the witches corrupt her, turn her against me and my brothers? What if she meets someone else?
Impulse demands I charge forward and tear Delaney’s head off her shoulders.
I want to destroy any threat that will keep me from my mate, even if only for a few days.
But I know I can’t do that. Not only will it cause a war we don’t need, especially with Hunters breathing down our necks, but it’ll hurt Izzy, even if she won’t admit it.
Goddammit.
“I decided to be courteous and tell you myself,” Delaney says with a tight-lipped smile. No more teeth. “Now, if you’ll excuse me—”
“Once a pompous bitch, always a pompous bitch, huh?” The unfamiliar voice precedes the appearance of a tall, muscular man with shaggy brown hair, a crooked smile, and a scar on his cheek.
Delaney’s face drains of color. The witches behind her begin to whisper amongst themselves, their attention fixated on the newcomer.
“You see, I heard what you just said,” the stranger continues, ambling forward almost casually. In his hand, he twirls a blade. “And I have to admit I’m not a big fan. I really don’t like the fact that you kidnapped my daughter. If anyone is going to kidnap her, it’s going to be me.”
Wait…what?
There’s a lot to unpack in that statement.
“Travan.” Gerry’s voice holds a hint of warning.
Travan? Why does that name sound so familiar?
Travan doesn’t peel his gaze off of Delaney, who has finally regained some of her lost bravado.
She straightens and meets the taller man’s eyes unflinchingly. “I didn’t know you were back in town.”
“Decided to do a little stalking.” Travan twirls the blade expertly. “Did you miss me, dearest sister-in-law?”
Sister-in-law?
This must be one of Izzy’s biological dads.
Holy fuck.
Delaney’s lips curl. “Don’t claim any relation to me, beast.”
Travan pouts. “That’s too bad. I make a very great big brother. Anyway…I’m gonna need you to let Izzy go. Now.”
Something wicked and insidious slithers across his face, darkening his features. The change happens almost instantaneously. One second, he’s smiling, and the next…
His skin flushes, a deep red creeping across his cheeks and neck.
His brows furrow tightly, and deep lines etch themselves on his forehead.
His eyes narrow, pupils dilating, as his gaze hardens into a fierce, piercing glare.
The veins in his temple and jawline bulge, and his lips press into a thin line, trembling with the effort to contain his fury.
The air around him seems to grow heavier, as if the darkness itself is responding to his rage.
A chill sweeps through me.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Delaney scowls. “If her magic—”
“We both know it’s not her you want, but me.” Travan spreads his arms wide. “And I’m here. Ta-da!”
He punctuates the final word with jazz hands.
“This isn’t about you,” Delaney hisses, an indecipherable emotion sparking in her eyes.
“Everything is about me. I decided that long ago.” Travan says this entire thing matter-of-factly.
“Isabella needs to harness—” Delaney cuts off with a scream, her gaze flicking towards her hand.
Where a blade now protrudes from the center of the limb.
Travan smiles, and in any other circumstances, I would describe it as sheepish. “Feeling cute. Might throw a knife at a bitch. Oops.”
And then everything goes from shit…to shittier.