Chapter 19
Elodie
As soon as we were out of the SUVs and into the castle, somewhat settled into one of the freshly prepared family rooms, I pulled Brielle aside and told her my suspicions about Leigh. She took my analysis seriously, which surprised me.
“Hydration is always a good first step, so I’m glad you got her to drink. I’ll tell her I’d like a checkup, and if there’s anything else, my wolf will take care of it.”
“Thank you,” I murmured, feeling oddly anxious about the way she was looking at me, as if she approved. For an ambitious woman, I was somehow uncomfortable with praise, whether spoken or implied.
She shocked the shit out of me when she pulled me in for a hard hug, squeezing me tight before she let me go. “You’re an excellent addition to our pack, you know that? I’m glad we have you. Although, I have a feeling you’ll be officially a member of the Hungarian pack one of these days?”
“Uhh—”
Brielle must have seen the panic on my face because she threw her head back and laughed. “I’m sorry. It’s just funny to see someone as tough as you panicked over the idea of a mate bond. Don’t worry, though. It will work out how it’s supposed to.”
One more quick squeeze, and she was off to Leigh’s side to check on her and the baby.
I was ridiculously grateful to have the spotlight anywhere but on me.
Shay stood by the door, watching us all with a quietly amused expression. “I’m going to see about food,” I told her as I left.
Her silent grin told me she saw right through me, but hey, Leigh was surely going to want to eat when Bri was done with her, right? That had to be a pregnancy cliché for a reason.
I bumped into Dirge in the hallway, arms crossed over his chest, brooding so quietly it was loud in the enclosed space.
“Sorry.” A quick nod his way, and then I moved to skirt him, on a mission.
“Elodie.” I paused, the usually quiet male a little unnerving, even to a trained warrior like me.
After a long pause where he said nothing else, I prodded. “Yes?”
He tapped his temple. “Shay is worried that Brielle’s shielding potion from the bonding ceremony is wearing off. She’s sensing more of her omega signature. Thought you should know, but she didn’t want to freak anyone out in case she was wrong.”
Shit.
“Can we get her another potion? Didn’t her aunt make it?”
He nodded. “The aunt made it. I think it’s too soon to take another, though, or Brielle will get sick again like she was before. It was supposed to cover her for longer, but Shay thinks her powers surged when we got here to the ley lines.”
My mind reeled at the unforeseen dilemma. No, it was bigger than a dilemma. It was a downright disaster. Looks like no one is getting a cheeseburger anytime soon.
If Brielle’s blocking wore off, the ODL would be on top of us within hours. The castle was already barely standing, and while the bunker was livable, it wasn’t a permanent solution. It was a foxhole we’d be trapped in, cut off from the rest of the pack or long-term resources.
“Do you know where Kane is?” I asked, already jumping to the next step in my mind, before I’d moved an inch.
“Their room. He, Gael, and Valens are meeting with Cristian to discuss the state of the castle while I stand guard.”
“Thanks.” I was gone before he had a chance to reply, fingers twitchy on the cell phone in my pocket. Did I call in backup? I thought the answer was a resounding yes. But the priestesses were already on their way, planning to meet us here to address the issue with the omega stone.
But what if a few priestesses—even the most badass priestesses on the planet—weren’t enough? Dread filled my limbs as I pushed through the door without knocking.
“The ley lines aren’t technically beneath the castle—” The elderly butler sputtered to a stop at my rude interruption.
“Apologies, Cristian. Kane, I need a word.”
The high alpha was on his feet in a split second. “What’s wrong?”
I quickly relayed what Dirge had told me about Brielle’s shielding spell starting to falter.
“My concern is that the priestesses already en route won’t be sufficient to defend against a full-scale ODL assault.
Especially not after we already kicked their asses last time.
They’ll come down harder and more prepared the second time. ”
He nodded gravely, but before he could say a word, Gael spoke up at his side.
“Not just the ODL. We’re going to have a full-blown war on our hands the second her cover is blown.
While some species have been magnanimous enough to give us a second chance, there are many more with an axe to grind.
And the ones who’ve been neutral are going to be significantly less so once they realize we’ve got both the rock and an adult omega capable of using it. ”
I grimaced, unable to argue with his conclusion.
In short? We were fucked.
“Did Shay have any idea how long it would take until her shield failed completely?”
Shaking my head, I moved into crisis aversion mode. “It could be a day, it could be a week, maybe a month if we’re lucky. But I don’t think we can safely assume it lasts beyond today. We need to make a contingency plan. Immediately. The only place she’d be safe when it wears off is the enclave.”
“And we can’t go to the enclave, or anywhere else, not until the stone is fixed.”
I nodded, anxious energy zipping through my body like a dancing live wire, ready to blow. It took all the restraint I had not to bounce on the balls of my feet.
I didn’t let my gaze stray to Valens, even as Kane took his time absorbing my recommendation, but I felt his eyes on me like a physical caress.
“Master, at the risk of overstepping…” Cristian hesitated, but Kane waved to indicate he should speak.
“I would recommend you gather the packs. If war is coming, there’s no use pretending it’s not. Gather the packs, gather all your allies, and prepare to meet what’s coming head-on. It’s your right as the high alpha. An attack on you, on your mate, is an attack on all wolves.”
Kane nodded, jaw muscle working overtime as he took in all the opinions in the room, his own strangely absent. But what the fuck did I know about leading people? I swung a sword and left the decisions to those better at making them than I was.
The silence in the room drew taut as a bowstring, when finally, Kane rapped his knuckles on the desk twice, resolutely.
“If we can’t assume Brielle’s shield lasts more than a day, we have no choice but to move quickly.
” He turned to Gael. “Call Reed and have him start gathering the packs, and any allies he thinks will fight on our side from the council. Cristian, I need you and the staff to prepare for guests. Many, many guests. And as much refortification as we can get of the castle.”
“High Alpha,” Valens interrupted, wearing an apologetic, downcast expression as he stepped forward.
“I have no doubt that were he here, Lucien would volunteer the Hungarian pack mansion for lodging for our allies. As his second, I promise that whatever you need, the Hungarian pack will be honored to provide.” He bowed formally at the waist as befitted Kane’s dominance, and for the first time, I saw Valens as more than just a man, a shifter, a potential mate.
He bore his pack role with pride and dignity. It was impossible not to see that he was a man of honor who served his people first and himself second.
I knew something about that.
An indefinable emotion swelled in my chest, leaving me feeling too much, too quickly. I shoved it down hard, though, because now was not the time.
“Thank you, Valens. Please discuss it with Lucien and ask how he wants to proceed. We may all need to stay here because of the advantage of the ley lines, but actual housing would be preferable if we have the option.” Kane pinned that dominant gaze on me next.
“I need you with the women every second from here on out, until we’ve got more maidens to take shifts. ”
“Of course, High Alpha.”
That settled, we all moved into action, except Gael. “Wait. What do you need from me?”
Kane crossed his arms and seemed to brace himself, as if expecting backlash.
“You’re going to take your wife and child, and you’re going to run.
Far. Don’t stop until this is over, one way or another.
Call your father. Tell him you’re leaving the pack.
Tell him you’re running away with the maid.
I don’t care what you tell him, just make it clear that you’ve cut ties with us now, before any of this comes out.
With his connections to the royal family, he’ll be able to get you both new identities, untraceable to Pack Blackwater. ”
“Alpha, no. How the fuck could you expect me to abandon the pack now?” His fists balled up like he was about to put one through the nearest wall.
Kane lifted a hand, sharply cutting off Gael’s vicious protest. “That wasn’t a suggestion.
It was an order. Gael, we may not win. Your mate is pregnant with the next generation of omegas.
You can’t stay here, even if we do manage to survive.
Leigh is too easy a target pregnant, and your daughter deserves a chance at life.
Don’t forfeit that chance for pride. Someone must survive to carry on the change wolves need.
If it’s not meant to be us, it will be you. ”
Gael was nothing short of a warrior, but when his Alpha put a hand on his shoulder, cementing the order with a wave of crushing dominance, his face crumpled.
It lasted only a second, but the raw emotion was pure gratitude.
Maybe some terror at what was to come. But deep appreciation for an Alpha who was willing to save Gael’s mate and child, even at risk to Kane’s life.
When Gael finally dared to look back up, boldly meeting the high alpha’s gaze directly, his lower eyelids were rimmed with unshed tears. “You have to win, Kane. I can’t fight this fight alone.”
“Goddess willing, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Now, go. Take care of your family, and we’ll fight like hell to give you something to come back to.”
I turned away as the two men embraced, barely hiding my own tears.
This was it. The end was coming, and if Kane was sending away his nearest and dearest, he thought we were going to lose. I stole one last look at Valens, our eyes locking for the barest second, before I shoved my way into the hall and hurried back to stand guard over the women.
Things sped into motion after that. Everywhere you looked, someone was working. There were heated arguments—mostly from Leigh, who bitterly did not want to leave her pack—and lots of tears over the next few hours of chaos.
But as midday marched toward evening, things settled into a quieter rhythm.
A knock on the door I was leaning against had me turning to open it. A haggard butler stood on the other side, a twig protruding from his normally perfectly coiffed silver hair.
“Madam Maiden, if you would please tell the ladies that we have found the best location to take the stone. High Alpha Kane and the other males are waiting outside to escort you all.”
“Excellent.”
It was excellent news, because if Kane and Brielle were able to use the extra juice of the ley lines to knock out whatever problem the ghost of Narcissa’s past might have been causing with the stone…
well, we could get the heck out of Dodge and back inside the enclave, where Brielle’s powers could more reliably be contained.
And, you know, four-foot-thick stone walls would also help in terms of warding off the ODL and their supernatural army of crazed sycophants, should the worst happen and they found us.
Please, Goddess, let us avoid this entire catastrophe.
My silent prayer felt like a paltry offering in comparison to what was breathing down our necks.
I turned to tell Brielle, Shay, and Leigh that it was time to go, but they were already on their feet. Wolf hearing.
Brielle stopped, frowning at Leigh as she put a hand on her arm to stop her from following us out.
“You should stay here and rest. Everything today was draining, and you need all your energy for growing this little lady. I know you two decided not to get on the road until morning, but… the more you rest now, the better. Once you leave, you’ll be on the road for a while. ”
Leigh scowled, resting both hands on her very prominent baby belly.
“I’m coming. If this is the last night I spend with my best friends…
damn it, I’m not sitting in the damn room.
I don’t want to leave at all, but if we’re being forced to go, I am not leaving until the last possible second.
I don’t know how many seconds we have left.
” Leigh’s lower lip trembled, and she swiped at it angrily.
“Hey,” Shay murmured, stepping forward to wrap Leigh in a hug.
“None of that. We just need you safe so we can kick ass without worrying about them trying to steal you or hurt Poppy. As soon as we wipe the floor with the ODL and anyone else who thinks they can take out Pack Blackwater… well, we’re coming to get you ourselves. ”
I winced as Shay wiggled her fingers, sparkling magic dancing over them in promise. “Dude, don’t take her up on that. Word on the street is that flashing with a fae is about as fun as going through a bendy straw sideways.”
Leigh snorted at that, and the heavy mood was broken as everyone chuckled.
“Weak stomachs need not apply. Personally, I think it’s pretty fun.”
“Uh-huh,” I chided as we walked out the door, where Dirge and the slightly less winded Cristian waited.