Chapter 18
Effie Harlow
The relief I felt at seeing Ruby was immediate, and I practically tackled her in a hug.
I couldn’t help myself, because in that moment I fully realized just how worried I’d been about her, especially considering the similar position we found ourselves in being mates to blood-bonded packs.
I knew Hastain already didn’t like the idea of his son having a mate that he hadn’t approved of himself, so I was terrified that she would become his target once I was gone.
“Effie!” Ruby laughed, the sound light and relaxed as she hugged me back. “I didn’t realize you missed me this much.”
I pulled back, examining her relaxed face, and spoke honestly. “I was worried Hastain would go after you next—that you would be his next target.”
“We would never allow that,” her lycan mate growled.
Ruby rolled her eyes but didn’t seem annoyed; instead she squeezed my hands before stepping back and patting him on the chest. “We haven’t been on campus, to be honest—I haven’t even been to class. I feel like shit about it, but it just doesn’t feel worth it.”
I nodded in understanding because it really felt like the minute we stepped into class or even an academic building, we were in Hastain’s territory.
“I think for now we’re going to go up to Milwaukee,” I told her. “Ryder has a place there, and until we figure some stuff out, it may just be safer.”
“I heard what happened at that damn dinner.” She scowled, looking back at Aaren. “Your father is a piece of crap.”
The man nodded, and I could tell that he not only agreed but that he truly disliked the man, a simmering rage visible right under his skin. With him being a fenrir wolf, it made me more than a bit uncomfortable, but any nervousness was absent since my mates were so close.
“I wanted to see you before we left. We aren’t going to stay here long.” I exhaled, walking towards the couch. “I did have something to ask you though.”
“Oh?” She followed, and I noticed that her mates were exchanging hellos with mine before moving onto a more serious dialogue, spreading throughout the room.
Except for Ryder—once he’d greeted everyone he joined me on the couch, and I also almost immediately felt his magic expand out. I offered him a confused look.
“I put up a warded sound barrier so the two of you can talk without fear of any shifters overhearing,” he said, the action gaining approval from everyone in the room.
“Sweet. So what’s up?” Ruby asked, tucking her legs underneath her.
“Alright…” I drew out. “I’m going to try to explain this in a short way…”
“Before you do that,” Dakota rumbled, “let me make it very clear that what Effie is about to say cannot leave this room. Outside of the five of you and Aanya and her mates, I presume”—he looked to me, and I nodded in agreement—“this is a complete secret.”
Ruby’s face turned serious as she nodded and reached forward, squeezing my hand. “You can tell me, and they won’t say a word—they’re great with secrets.” She said it with a heavy sense of trust, and I examined each of their faces, searching for proof of the confidence she had in them.
Aaren, her fenrir mate, was probably the person I trusted the most because of my multiple interactions with him, but I also couldn’t forget the way her lycan mate, Eryx, had pried open the metal door in Hastain’s office to allow me to escape.
I wasn’t as familiar with Vox, whose magical signature was similar to Dakota’s totemic power, or Warwick, her bitten mate, but the devotion they seemed to regard Ruby with had me thinking they would do anything to make her happy…
which hopefully included keeping this secret.
I wanted to believe and trust in them. I knew we needed allies, so while I knew little about them besides their names…
I trusted Ruby and, more so, my mates. If they were allowing them to stay in the room, then they were trustworthy.
“Right.” I sat back, pulling my legs up and diving right into my story. “I don’t remember anything about growing up before age thirteen. Specifically, before the night I showed up at the door of the Whitepaw pack—”
“Fuck,” Aaren hissed. “Those are some nasty fuckers.”
I hummed in agreement. “Yeah, I lived there until this past Christmas when I received my acceptance letter to Silver Falls. I was confused at first, and now we know that President Hastain bought me. So that’s…gross.”
Ruby let out a defensive growl.
“I’ve always thought I was a bitten wolf,” I continued, “but recently we went back to the Whitepaw pack to find out more about my magic because there are things I do that don’t align with that story.
Besides my shifted form being more colorful than the presumed Arctic species I thought I was, I can heal people.
Something your father knows, by the way. ”
“Not good,” Aaren grunted.
“Yeah.” I pressed my lips together and looked at my hands, trying to keep on track.
“When I was there, I was given back a pendant that I apparently had on me when I arrived at the Whitepaw pack, and that was when we realized it was not only from the divine realm but that Julian had been the one to disguise me with a bitten mark. Even though I am something far different than that, supposedly.”
Although I couldn’t say supposedly with confidence now that I had seen and connected with the Homura and Fengari Stones.
“This woman from the divine realm appeared at the dinner—she erased it from people’s memories, except for anyone with true magic like Hastain or Ryder’s grandfather—and she told me…
well, a lot. But it came down to me needing to unlock my true magic by going to find the Homura and Fengari Stones.
I thought at first it was about my magic, but then she told me there are others like Hastain who’ve been normalizing what equates to human trafficking.
Buying women and forcing them to mate with a chosen individual or even pack. ”
“Goddess,” Ruby hissed. “That shouldn’t be shocking, though—that was how I ended up in the midwest to begin with.” The last part was murmured but surprised me. “I didn’t realize how widespread it was.”
I wanted to come back to her statement about her past, but I figured that wasn’t something she would want to talk about right now, in a group setting.
“It’s so much worse than we can even imagine, and she said that the true magic trapped in the divine realm needs to be released so they can help with the problem.”
“And how do we know we can trust this woman?” Vox asked.
I laughed sharply. “We can’t. I think she’s using me.
She also says she’s my mom, but that doesn’t really matter.
The part that matters is that both the Homura and Fengari Stones gave me a vision.
I saw the past and I saw the future. I saw what was coming.
This problem is far too large to handle on our own. I have to open the divine realm.”
“So you’re possibly a goddess?” Ruby asked.“The divine realm…that’s a lot of power, Effie. A lot of power that’s been trapped behind a gate.”
“I know,” I mumbled, “I just can’t see any more women in my position get used by men like Hastain—especially with no one to protect them.”
Determination glinted in her gaze. “I’ll help you. If that’s what you were going to ask, don’t think twice about it.”
“Thank you.” I exhaled in relief before admitting, “I do have an actual question, though. Mona mentioned that the gate needs a key from the one who locked it—the dark god.”
Ruby slumped, making me wonder if I shouldn’t have asked her about the dark god. I didn’t know how sensitive the topic was, especially around her mates.
After a long moment, she sighed. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
“I completely understand if you can’t tell me,” I insisted, “but I remember when you were talking about Reaper—”
One of her mates growled, and Tore shot him a warning look.
“—and you said that you were down in the shadowlands.”
“Sounds a lot more menacing than it is, but you’re right, I was. It also wouldn’t surprise me if he had it…although there’s only one way to know for sure without going down there first.”
“How?”
“Fuck, not this bastard,” one of her mates growled while another shook his head, throwing himself into a chair, already looking beyond frustrated. My brow arched curiously at his reaction as Ruby flashed me a smile.
“Let’s call Reaper.”
Apparently calling Reaper was even easier than making a phone call. Ruby stepped towards the center of the room and closed her eyes, her hand going to a tattoo that ran up the inside of her arm. I watched in surprise as her arm began to glow red, surrounding her in a violently angelic light.
“So cool,” I murmured. My men had gathered behind me while Ruby’s had spread out, looking progressively more stressed. They seemed more grumpy than angry, something that would’ve been funny, since my mates could also get like that, if the men themselves weren’t so intimidating.
“Don’t like this,” Tore admitted as I squeezed his hand, almost looking up, but then I would have missed Reaper appearing.
And he truly did appear. Like out of freakin’ nothing.
One minute there was empty space…and the next it was occupied by a man nearly seven feet tall. I’d seen it happen once before, but this wasn’t something you got used to easily. My brows went up as I sank back into the couch, his gaze darting immediately to Ruby in concern.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“Nothing. Chill out, we’ve just got a question,” she teased before sitting back down. Reaper looked at all of us in confusion and speculation before stepping back and leaning against the fireplace.
“Good to see all of you aren’t dead,” he said to Ruby’s mates, a smirk tilting his lips.
“No thanks to you,” one of them growled out, clearly frustrated. I would’ve asked, but Ruby offered me a small shake of the head, clearly amused by all of it.
“Right.” Ruby clapped her hands. “Long story short, Reaper, we need to know if your dad has the key to the divine realm, if he would give it to Effie, and if Effie can go down there to get it.”
Reaper froze and blinked before running a hand through his hair, suddenly looking far more human. Magic surrounded him, and his dark robes were turned to jeans and a shirt, his height shifting down to about 6’5” as he walked towards a chair close to the hearth.
Ruby tried to stifle a laugh at his transition, and I didn’t understand why until he shot her a scowl. “Your furniture isn’t made for me,” he grumbled. Tore made a sound of agreement, and it didn’t completely surprise me that he would relate to that.
“So…” He looked towards me. “You’re Effie.”
“I am,” I said, trying not to be nervous.
“Why do you want the key to the divine realm, first of all? They’re all a bunch of assholes there.”
“I agree, but the reason is good,” Ruby pointed out before offering me an understanding look, somehow sensing that I was nervous. “Mind if I catch him up?”
I shook my head and she immediately launched into my story, recalling the details. Reaper hung onto her every word, clearly willing to actually listen, which was a relief because he could have easily said no, and that would be that. I would have no other lead.
“I see,” Reaper said, his gaze going far away in thought.
“Truth be told, Effie, I don’t know if he still has the key.
I’m sure he once had it, but you would need to ask him.
I would suggest explaining exactly what Ruby just did, because to say my father harbors a grudge against the divine realm is an understatement. ”
“I don’t want her to waste her time—” Ruby began.
“But he loves his humans. All of them, including wolf hybrids, so there’s a chance he would be willing. You would need to ask him, though.”
“So it’s possible to go there? To the shadowlands?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “It’s where I just came from, but for all of you it’s a bit different. Being a blood-bonded pack is an advantage. Since it’s formed with true magic, the transition won’t be as hard—”
BBPs had true magic? Was that something my mates knew? I was tempted to turn to see their reactions but forced myself to be patient. It was something we could talk about later.
“—but there are only two real ways to go there.”
“Which are?” Julian asked.
“There’s a place where the gate opens, but it’s quite the journey.
If you can wait two days until the new moon, I can use my magic to get you there.
It just depends on how quickly you want to go.
I can tell you that the journey to Kayagui where the gate is, would take you longer to travel via human means than if you waited for the new moon. ”
I believed that. I had never even heard of that place, wherever it was.
“I think it would be better to wait the two days,” I said, looking back at the others. “What do you guys think?”
“You need rest,” Caedmon agreed, the others offering their own signs of agreement—except for Dakota, who was staring at Reaper with a narrowed gaze.
“How dangerous is this journey?”
“With me?” Reaper blinked. “Not bad.”
“Good,” Ruby said. “Then all of us will go.”
Reaper looked at her mates before grunting, “Okay. Fine.”
Ruby looked back at me. “I need to handle something and pack up before leaving town. Would you mind if we meet up tonight and go up to Milwaukee together? It may be late though, almost early in the morning.”
I wanted to know what she needed to do between now and then, but what she was asking seemed reasonable. I looked at my mates, and Tore frowned.
“I don’t like her being close to the university longer than absolutely necessary,” Tore rumbled. “But I think if we stay here and one of us keeps watch…it should be fine.”
“If anyone comes near the property, we’ll get on the road early,” Julian said, his voice not brooking any disagreement.
“Sounds good.” Ruby nodded, looking almost excited. “Let’s get a move on it, then. Effie, I promise we will figure this out. I won’t let some bastard like Hastain hurt people, and I know Aanya will feel similar.”
Feeling relieved, I said goodbye to her for the moment. Reaper disappeared in a literal cloud of smoke, followed by Ruby and her mates walking out the door. I hadn’t expected her to want to help, I’d just wanted her opinion and an answer to that question, but I loved that she thought the same way.
Once they left, I stilled, my nose twitching as I realized the house now smelled slightly like Ruby’s mates.
Tore nodded in silent understanding, opening the back balcony doors and letting the wind in.
I let out a sigh of relief, looking at the two-story ceilings of the den that had long wooden beams running across them.
I collapsed on the couch happily, Julian tugging me against him.
We had a plan. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the start to solving our problem and getting on with our future and the rest of our lives.