Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The five of us ran up the stairs and into my parents’ room. As soon as Bart slipped past the door, I pushed the chest of drawers back into place and heard a faint click .
I still couldn’t believe I’d lived in this house my entire life and had no clue about the secret compartment. Whoever’d thought to build the entrance into furniture was brilliant, and Dad must have taken extra precautions to ensure Mom and I didn’t walk in on him whenever he visited downstairs. In fairness, he could’ve kept the journal in the hidden underwear compartment and rarely ventured down until he feared the rumblings.
“We tell no one about this door,” Bart said quietly. “This is meant only for the alpha bloodline to know, so by letting those two down there as well”—he gestured to Killian and Griffin—“I’ve already broken protocol.”
“Because your alpha asked you to.” Now that he’d come clean with us and was part of my pack, we owed him the truth. “And I’m sorry, but we’re in a rush. Griffin is the alpha of Shadow City. His father was Atticus Bodle, the alpha who contacted my dad about opening the city. And Killian is the alpha of Shadow Ridge. There’s a crisis and we’re needed. We can meet up soon, but at least now we can communicate, as long as you all don’t venture too far from Shadow Ridge.”
“Your mate is the alpha of Shadow City?” he asked, slowly turning toward Griffin. “Are you sure magic wasn’t involved in that union? It seems awfully convenient that the Shadow City alpha is mated to you.”
“Oh, trust me.” Killian snorted. “We know. They hated each other at first, and both he and I had no clue what she was.”
Griffin growled as unhappiness pulsed off him. He didn’t like the accusation.
Now wasn’t storytime, and we didn’t have time to waste for them to brawl it out. “I’m positive, and you need to get that thought out of your head.” I stared Bart down and continued, “He’s my mate, and we’ve completed our bond. The decision has already been made and is final. That’s your one pass. Make sure it doesn’t happen again.” I touched Griffin’s arm, hoping to calm him.
Be glad he ’ s your uncle, or I ’ d kick his ass. Some of the tension left his body, but a scowl remained. “Since you’re worried about her best interests, I’ll let it go,” he told Bart, then interlaced our fingers, tugging me toward the hallway. “And she’s right. We have to get moving. Dick is asking where I am. The guards told him that we left the house.”
Of course they did. Granted, we hadn’t asked them not to say anything to Dick—that would’ve raised a lot more flags. We rushed down the hallway with Julius taking up the rear. Once he stepped out the front door, I paused long enough to lock it.
“I’ll link you the address to where we’re heading. We’re still staying close by,” Bart said, and pulled me into a small hug. “If you need us, let us know. We won’t hesitate to come.”
“We need to keep you hidden. For once, we have an ace up our sleeve.” My attention landed on my brother, and I allowed my wolf to rise, lacing my next words with alpha will. I wasn’t going to chance him ratting us out. Whether he liked it or not, he was both my twin and part of my pack, which was probably why he hadn’t gone insane. “You will not communicate in any form with anyone outside our pack with the exception of Griffin, Killian, Rosemary, and Sierra until I state otherwise.” I wasn’t going to allow him to backstab us. There was way too much at risk. And if he didn’t tell Bart anything that would help us, I would use my alpha will to make him talk. But I wanted him to come clean on his own. I was going to give my uncle a day or two because otherwise, it’d fracture my already broken relationship with Julius.
Julius sneered but kept his witty banter to himself.
Good. He needed to earn his place in my warm regard.
I ’ ll keep an eye on him , Bart assured me. His inside light comforted me. And I ’ ll try to reach him. Even though I wasn ’ t abandoned like he was, I had to leave my family behind. I can at least relate to his situation. My own father died while I was gone, and I couldn’t risk coming back here for the funeral. So I understand what it’s like to not get the chance to tell someone goodbye.
I hadn’t even considered the implications of what him leaving the pack had meant. I remember Dad saying something odd the day of Pawpaw’s funeral. Something about how he wished that the entire family could be there. It hadn’t made sense then, and I thought he’d been feeling regret and turmoil over the death of his father. Now, I understood clearly—he’d meant Bart. I ’ m sorry and appreciate your sacrifice. If you hadn ’ t done it, I might be the only silver wolf standing. Well, me and Julius, but I didn’t officially consider him a silver wolf yet. He still had negativity roiling inside him, which didn’t fit our kind.
“Let us know if you need anything, too,” I said out loud, not wanting to make Julius feel even more alienated. “It goes both ways.”
Darrell stalked out of the woods, heading in our direction. His eyes turned to slits when they locked on me.
He must have felt our new connection.
Even though I hadn’t replaced Bart as their direct alpha, there was a hierarchy to things, and I would never override Bart’s leadership unless I felt it necessary. Maybe Darrell thought I had forced Bart to submit, but I’d let Bart handle this one. The more I got involved, the more he’d believe that had been the case.
I turned, forcing my legs to move to the Navigator. As I opened the passenger door, I called out loudly enough so Rosemary could hear. She was still in the air, keeping a lookout. “Meet us in Shadow City—there’s an issue.” I climbed into the vehicle and slammed the door. Now we had to focus on getting there.
As we pulled into downtown Shadow Ridge, my gaze landed on the enormous bridge over the Tennessee River that connected this bank to Shadow City. Its immense towers jetted toward the sky, looking graceful and reminding me of the pictures I’d seen of the Golden Gate Bridge, especially with the afternoon sun shining down on it. About a hundred yards from the city’s main entrance was the section that could be raised in order to prevent anyone from getting inside.
I’d never been inside the city, nor even on the bridge, so I hadn’t thought much about the security and the surrounding protective walls of the city. Probably because what I expected to lie within were corruption and deceit. I wanted to stay far away from it all.
“I’ve never asked, but there are always humans visiting Shadow Ridge.” I glanced at the small two-way road that ran through the heart of downtown, where humans and supernaturals alike loitered along the sidewalks and passed by the picturesque brick buildings that made you feel as if you’d gone back in time. “Why do they not ask about Shadow City?”
“It’s spelled from within by the witches.” Griffin’s finger tapped the steering wheel. He was on edge, and he’d driven faster than he should’ve to get here. “Only supernaturals can see it. Humans see the Tennessee River flowing through, and the place where the city sits just looks like water to them.”
Interesting. I figured it had to be something like that.
He drove to the section of land where the bridge connected and turned onto it. The bridge obviously had been built with care without even a bump, but I shouldn’t have been surprised.
Only the best for Shadow City.
The closer we got, the clearer everything came into view. The massive walls stood over one hundred stories high, with the city’s emblem carved on them over and over again. The emblem was simple but breathtaking in its own right. The picture must be a skyline view of the city, and hovering over the tallest two skyscrapers was a huge paw print. “Why is there a wolf print on top?” I asked. This was a supernatural city, so it seemed strange that only one race would be represented in its emblem.
“Because of the silver wolves.” Griffin’s lips smashed together. “That was what Yelahiah demanded when the council was formed in memory of her brother.”
No wonder Rosemary had turned out to be such a good ally. I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew the story. For some reason, I didn’t think she did. But finally, the kinship we felt for each other—which neither of us had understood—made sense.
I glanced at the top of the city, which was covered by a large glass dome so that not even supernaturals who could fly would be able to enter unless the city authorities wanted them to. “I’m assuming the glass is spelled?” Dad had taught me that witches were damn powerful when they worked together. It was both their strength and weakness, as all it took was one turning against the coven to fracture them.
“Yes, they reinforce it with their magic. From what Dad told me, there’s been only one occurrence of someone trying to break in, a century or two ago.” Griffin nodded toward the top. “Some power-hungry fae dragon king wanted to take over the city. All I remember is that even against fae magic, the dome held tight.”
“So only one attack here?” I’d expected several. There was always at least one crazed, power-hungry supernatural alive at any time. Probably more than one, but I chose to think optimistically. Dad always said to prepare for the worst-case scenario, but think positively. Positivity was stronger than anyone realized.
“No, there have been several,” Killian said, and he leaned forward, staring out the windshield in awe. “But the last one was during the time when my grandfather had been alpha for only a few years. It was a coordinated shifter attack of a few races that lived in a bordering town. Our pack was able to hold them off, though we lost a lot of lives. Shadow City raised the bridge, and the witches spelled the water to kill the few who got past us when they reached it.”
“How many did you lose?” Griffin asked stiffly.
“About half our numbers.” Killian sighed. “That’s one reason that half our neighborhood is vacant and why you were able to buy the house next to mine. We’re still trying to get back to those numbers.”
“Dad told me about an attack, but he said the loss was minimal,” Griffin said with disgust. “That doesn’t sound minimal to me.”
“I think there might have been one Shadow City death—one of the city guards in charge of the drawbridge.” Killian scratched the back of his neck and smoothed his features, becoming unreadable. “The bridge got stuck, so he had to hang over it to get the rope unhung. The enemy took him out then, and Shadow City gave up on raising it higher. It was up high enough that the shifters couldn’t jump to it.”
In other words, the Shadow City deaths were minimal. That perspective was yet another example of why we shouldn’t be separate packs. “You all have done so much to keep that city safe,” I said to Killian. Every time there was an incident, Killian’s pack reacted without hesitation. And still, they weren’t worthy of being officially invited into the city, only to protect the exterior. To Griffin, I asked, They came from Shadow City—why are they viewed as outsiders?
I...I don ’ t know. Griffin squirmed, and regret wafted from him into me. I never questioned any of this before you arrived. Things had always been that way.
Now that was a sentiment we both shared. We believed in our fathers and hadn’t thought to question how and why things were done, or how we were raised.
As children, we’d thought of our parents as heroes. We’d put them on pedestals, but the more we grew and learned, the clearer it became that they were just people. They had strengths and weaknesses and didn’t always make the best decisions.
They were flawed.
They were real.
They were the type of people who should lead because a perfect person wouldn’t have the empathy to relate to others or the convictions of what was right and wrong. Their imperfections made them better leaders, and I was beginning to understand that. Besides, as I did so, I also realized everything that I’d done wrong along the way.
Questions were meant to be asked. A situation should be looked at from every angle. Supernatural races should work together because we all saw things differently, which could show us that sometimes the way things have always been wasn’t the way they should be now.
Things had to change. Each bit of information I learned strengthened my resolve, because Rosemary, Griffin, Killian, and I were going to make it happen. We’d find other allies along the way, but for now, we had a diverse group formed: an angel, the alpha from Shadow Ridge, the alpha from Shadow City, and the alpha silver wolf. Even if I didn’t plan to recruit more races for the cause, no one would be able to argue that we didn’t have the strength to usher in change.
As we approached a large wooden door that would allow us entry into the city, Griffin slowed. When the car came to a complete stop, he waited, his eyes glowing faintly.
He must be linking with people inside.
Confirming my suspicions, gears ground, and soon, the door began to lift. The process was slow and loud, as if the weight of the door were too much for its cables.
The city came into view inch by inch…and it was gorgeous. The buildings seemed modern, despite the city being closed off for almost one thousand years, and they filled the skyline. A stucco-like building with a huge, round, purple stained-glass roof stood directly in front. The light shining from the top of the city’s dome made a beautiful color streak inside, and it seemed like we had entered a different realm.
“Holy shit,” Killian gasped. “It looks unreal. Almost like a drawing from an artist.”
That wasn’t enough to describe the beauty.
“It has to be beautiful to hide all the snakes inside,” Griffin murmured as he drove forward.
When we pulled into the city, the place somehow became even more beautiful. Supernaturals milled through a town square, seeming to have not a care in the world.
Instead of heading toward them, Griffin took a hard right, keeping to the outskirts near the walls where buildings were only on our left side.
“Where are we heading?” I hadn’t asked him many questions before now—he’d felt determined but on edge, communicating internally with his pack, and I hadn’t wanted to pester him. But now that we were here, I needed a little bit of background.
“To the barrier protection building.” Griffin’s jaw twitched. “Something bad happened, and they need our assistance.”
“Are you going to expand on that, man?” Killian asked, clearly annoyed. “I’ve followed Sterlyn’s lead by not asking you stuff on the way, but now that we’re close, why don’t you tell us what you know?”
“That’s the problem,” Griffin said sharply. “I don’t know much. All Dick said is there’s a problem and he needed to see me immediately.”
“Wait. Then why am I here?” Killian sat back, not distracted by the sights any longer. “I thought they wanted me here, too.”
“Like I said, there was a protection issue. That’s all I know.” Griffin licked his lips as he pulled over into a small section of the road that was open and out of potential traffic against the wall. “I figured the two of you should be here because you know security measures better than most everyone else.”
Great. That wasn’t going to sit well, especially not with the angels.
“Follow me.” Griffin climbed out of the car just as Dick ran out of a small building across the street.
“He’s here,” Dick yelled toward the building he’d left and glared at Griffin. “And this whole thing is his fault.”