What Matters
Theo
In every fucking direction, my home is destroyed. Rage is ripping through me, and yet, this bastard is not going down.
I have never wanted anyone dead as much as I do him. He and the rest of his fucking team.
How? How did they do it? How the hell did they do it? When did they destroy the barrier? How did they know the key points to target? I get they have witches, but the tethers for the spell were hidden, and we have security around the perimeter.
But I can do that too, get close, get past others without them realising. What fucking powers do they have? Was it Calindra or Velasara? Both are powerful witches. And we don’t know who else they have on their side. If we have so many favoured on our side, then who else is out there?
I know there are potentially others who we don’t even know of out there, and we are searching for them. The more on our side, the better… but at the same time, who do they have? What powers do they fucking possess that they can bring barriers of such calibre down?
Ares was fighting Calindra until Heaven showed up. As much as I’m fucking proud to see her go head-to-head with Calindra, I know how dangerous this is, and I want to go over there and ask her why the hell she’s out here. I get witches come into power way earlier, but this shit is fucking dangerous.
I may be over here with Dad and Jayce fighting this masked cunt, but my attention keeps flitting to the match that’s occurring up in the air. The fact that she’s able to stay up there as if she has solid ground beneath her feet is incredible.
Sienna’s here, too. So are Shahira and Charlotte. I think I saw Brock, but I’m not sure.
I block an attack, the power throwing us all back as Dad and Jayce counter, their auras colliding.
Theo, Heaven! Jayce snarls through the mind-link. My head snaps towards her, my heart lurching violently into my throat.
She’s plummeting through the canopy of trees at breakneck speed, hair whipping wildly, her body falling headfirst towards the ground.
“Heaven!” I roar, launching myself forward without thinking. The wind tears past me as my power explodes outward, and I push forward, hurling myself towards her as fast as I can.
I reach her seconds before impact, catching her against my chest, arms locking tight around her instinctively, and then I freeze.
She’s light.
Too light.
My heart pounds as I look down at her.
Her aura is steady. Calm and in control.
My heart slams hard as the truth hits me. She didn’t fall. I didn’t fucking catch her. She broke the fall herself.
Fuck…
Relief crashes through me so hard I drop to my knees, my heartbeat thundering in my ears as I hold her tight – anger, pride and fear at the thought of losing her colliding violently in my chest.
She’s fine. For this heartbeat, I just want to hold her, before the world rips us apart again.
Her aura… it feels different. Again. Reminding me of how it felt when we returned from the Gods’ Realm.
Ares sends a violent wave of water tearing toward Calindra, and Heaven’s eyes snap open.
Black markings begin to spider out from the corner of her right eye, curling across her skin surrounding her eye, the exact marking that she had on her face in the Gods’ Realm.
As always, she looks fucking breathtaking.
“Worried about me?” Her voice is soft, an edge of intimacy I know I shouldn’t entertain. But when her gaze meets my milky white eyes, I’m unable to ignore it.
“What do you think?” I murmur, frowning. And without thinking, I brush a stray lock of hair from her forehead, my thumb lingering against her skin far longer than it should.
Her lips curve into that slow, knowing smile. “I think… you look dangerously sexy when you frown.”
And the way she says it, like she knows exactly the effect she has on me, makes my pulse spike. My jaw clenches, and I feel something feral in me tug against my restraint.
“As much as I’d love to stay right here, I have a bitch to deal with,” she whispers, her hand fleetingly brushing my chest.
I can’t help but snicker breathlessly at that.
I want to tell her when this is over, maybe we could, but we can’t. I know that.
She rises, tossing her hair over her shoulder in a way that’s careless, yet commanding, and my eyes trace the line of her neck, the arch of her shoulders, the way her body moves with quiet power, with a confidence that both impresses and seduces me all at once.
“You going to be ok, Sweetcheeks?”
“Go help Jayce and Uncle Liam,” she murmurs, glancing over her shoulder at me. Her eyes are soft yet confident. Each word is a brush against my skin. “I’ve got this.”
Her hand flickers toward the air, summoning the Tongue of Dawn, its flare of light catching against the curves of her face, and for a heartbeat, our eyes lock again. Something tugs at me inside, and my wolf comes forward.
I want to step forward, press closer, brush my lips against hers and let the world burn around us, but I don’t. Instead, I release a ragged breath, let my hands fall, and watch her launch into the air as her aura swirls around us – stronger than ever.
And I was right, it’s changed… She’s a mystery, one with so many layers.
I turn, about to return to Jayce and Dad, when the ground trembles.
A unison of roars erupts through the sky, and then six wolves with immense power thunder past me, each one burning with a different elemental aura.
Power ripples through the sky, tearing leaves from branches and bending the air itself.
I shield my face as I squint in time to see someone land beside Jayce with enough force to make the ground shudder beneath our feet.
A slow smirk crosses my lips.
Finally.
Dante is here.
His red eyes blaze, full of hostility. “We meet again,” Dante says, his voice colder than I’ve ever heard it, his presence suffocating as the masked man comes to a halt, his eyes fixed on Dante.
Jayce and Dad step back just slightly, both breathing hard.
“We didn’t expect you. What a pleasant surprise, Dante Alejandro Rossi,” the man drawls, his voice eerily calm beneath the mask.
Dante’s wolves circle him slowly, the earth responding to their movement. “I’ve got this. Handle the witches,” he says to us without taking his eyes off the bastard. “Who are you? Do you have a name?”
“Or does Dumb Cunt work?” I add.
The man’s gaze glints from behind the mask, glancing at me as if I’m the dirt beneath his fucking feet. “You can call me Enzo. Or as my people know me, Il Messia.”
The Messiah.
I scoff quietly and turn away, leaving Enzo to Dante, because whatever happens when those two clash is going to look less like a fight and more like gods testing the limits of the world itself.
What’s everyone’s position? Dad’s voice cuts through the chaos.
I track Jayce as he moves toward Sienna, who’s locked in combat with Velasara.
But what freaking stops me in my path is the huge, shadowy form surrounding Sienna.
Her power – like Calindra’s, has taken a form…
I can see the horns on its head, the wings that mirror Sienna’s own; it’s like her aura has become a fucking giant demon.
The fuck…
Jayce, two o’clock, head toward our future Luna-
Shut it, Theo, Jayce snaps back.
Mom? Where are you? Renji asks.
Assisting the vulnerable to the bunkers. I’m ok, you all take care of yourselves, and our people, Ma replies.
Stay safe, Dad says quietly as a manananggal barrels toward us.
You too, Blue-Eyes, Ma answers.
Has anyone seen Katara? Please take her to safety. She had two children with her, Dad asks through the mind-link.
I’ll find her, Carter says.
Dad glances at me. Theo, go to her.
He motions towards Heaven, a faint smile tugging at his lips. I lift an eyebrow in return, disbelief flickering through me. Of all people, he noticed? Are we really that obvious?
I give him a curt nod, energy whipping around me as I glance skyward, spotting Aunty Delsanra joining Heaven, and that settles it. They’ve got this.
Heaven will be fine. She’s Heaven-freaking-Somers.
But I don’t miss the subtle signal Calindra gives someone down below, and I scan the trees. What did that mean?
Why are they here? Is it the tomes again?
I slice through an oncoming manananggal just as Dante and Enzo collide.
Lightning and shadow explode, fire and ice spiralling into the sky as the ground cracks beneath their feet.
The shockwave throws me against a tree as I watch them. It’s like watching something of an entirely different calibre.
Every strike, every counter, every move is fucking insanely powerful.
I try to move, but right now we’re all fucking struggling as they move faster with every attack.
That’s the thing about war, about a battle: no matter how hard you train, nothing can really prepare you for the reality of war.
Then, Dante lands a crushing strike, and my eyes widen as Enzo reels backwards and, satisfyingly, I see his blood splatter across the ground.
He clutches his shoulder, and in that moment, his power falters.
It’s just a second, but it’s enough for me to get the hell out of here.
Letting the chaos roar behind me, I turn and run towards the Westwood Mansion. I need to protect the tomes.
I let mist wrap around me, hiding myself as I pick up speed.
Jayce, where are the tomes?
Only one’s here. The rest are elsewhere. Why?
They’ve got to be here for a reason. Thought maybe it’s the tomes again. Where is it?
Fuck… it could be. There’s nothing else here for them. It’s in Dad’s office at the packhouse.
I’ll grab it.
Need backup?
No. I’ll be fine, bro, I answer, changing route.
They’d need Deimos blood to open it, even if they take it-
Unless there’s a traitor among us, I answer quietly, the thought sitting heavy.
You’re insinuating it’s one of our own? I don’t want to believe that.
Not wanting to believe something doesn’t stop it from being true.
I slip past the fighting lines, the formation holding strong under Uncle Damon and Aunty Maria’s command, Allie tearing through enemies like a force of nature while Renji’s girl fights beside her with savage precision. Didn’t know that sweet thing had it in her.
The barriers around the mansion still hum with power, though the packhouse itself has taken damage, nothing compared to the devastation in the woods.
I enter through the front door, the silence inside pressing down on me immediately. Everyone must have been evacuated to the bunkers, with those who can fight out there doing just that.
Rayhan, Delsanra, Leo, Azura, and Ahren are here. Raihana and Kiara are on the way, Dad informs us.
Perfect. I saw Delsanra, but didn’t know who else was here.
I walk through the hallway when I stop, spotting one of the omegas who I know works in the packhouse lying crumpled on the floor, her body twisted unnaturally, eyes glassy and unseeing.
I crouch beside her, throat tight as I take in the deep, clean slice across her neck, the blood already cooling against the stone.
Some kind of power mixed with close combat…
Reaching over, I close her eyes before I rise to my feet and silently move deeper into the packhouse.
Someone’s here.
My every sense is on alert as I reach Dad’s office and find the door unlocked.
Jayce, where exactly is the tome, and which one is it?
Beneath the floorboard by the fireplace, he replies. Are there signs of a break-in?
Yeah, there is.
I slip inside, the door opening silently, and sure enough, inside the walls, there’s a woman searching the shelves swiftly. She hasn’t even noticed me, my powers masking me entirely. I know the power I have is equally incredible and terrifying, to be able to walk into any room, and take any life…
I move silently to the rug by the fireplace, pry up the floorboard and retrieve the tome resting beneath it as the illusion remains. She moves to the desk. She doesn’t look like much of a warrior, but the way she moves…
Maybe a spy or a tracker.
I glance down at the tome in my hand: The History of Wolf Bloodlines.
Keeping it firmly in one hand, I step toward her, studying her carefully as I weigh my options.
If I interrogate her, she would alert the others, and capture would end the same way…
Or I could give her the illusion of finding the tome, if it is what she’s looking for.
If that’s the case, would they leave?
Let’s test it out.
I make the corner of the rug appear slightly bent, she’ll definitely notice it.
Then I wait and watch as she hurries towards the cabinet near the window, but stops when her eyes fall on the rug, before she yanks it back and pries open the floorboard that is usually hidden far better than how I make it appear to her.
“Found it…” she breathes, her hands wrapping around a book that looks just like the one I’m holding. I watch as she finds five more, all illusions created by me. I’m risking this by showing her the titles I think are the safest to share, but I didn’t have enough time to think this out properly.
She’s still for a moment before she nods to herself and moves towards the door, grabbing the bag she’s carrying on her back. She shoves the books in, and I step in front of her, raise my hand and drag my nail down the centre of her forehead.
She’ll have a short while… and then she’ll be dead. I’m taking a gamble here. If they are here for the tomes, then this may make them leave. I can hold the illusion for a while, but it’ll wear off the moment she dies.
Her eyes widen for a fraction of a second before she hurries towards the door, leaving.
I give her a few minutes before I leave the office with the tome in hand, but then pause, glancing back at Dad’s office. Unease crawls up my spine as a disturbing thought crosses my mind.
No other room seems to have been touched.
They didn’t search anywhere else.
They knew exactly where to look.