Chapter 127 Maddy
MADDY
Aslight sliver of hope settled in my chest when the call ended.
Viola had been in a rage. Psychotic and malicious as always, but her anger hadn’t been as out of control as it could have been.
She hadn’t let on that she’d realized the Wiccan boy had a tracker placed on him.
There was no doubt in my mind that she would have given us shit for that.
She would have called us and chastised us for thinking we could get one over on her. It was the kind of person she was.
That was all fine, but we had other things to worry about. Viola might decide to retaliate for this latest issue. What would she do, and when would she do it? We had been talking about it for nearly an hour when I spoke.
“Is this a good time to leave? I mean, are we sure now is the time to travel away from the pack lands?”
“Absolutely,” Nico said. “If anything, I’m even more certain now is the time to go. We take that vial with us and get out of here.” He ran his tongue along his teeth before adding, “I’m starting to think we should take everyone.”
“You’re worried about the wards?” Sinthy asked, but she didn’t look upset.
Nico nodded hesitantly. “I know you say the wards are strong enough, but my people are here, and it’s the only protection they’ll have once we leave.”
Sinthy reached across the table and put a hand on Nico’s.
“I would never put you or your people at risk. I’ve checked the wards over and over again.
The power of your land truly is astounding.
If there were even a chance they wouldn’t hold, I’d never leave.
Not only is your land strong, but I’m probably the strongest witch on Earth.
At least, that’s what Isme always told me.
You can have faith in me and in your pack lands. ”
Nico looked like he really wanted to believe her.
Her confidence had already eased my fears.
I believed her. Sinthy hadn’t done anything since we met for me to think she was anything but trustworthy.
She also seemed to take the fact that she’d been brought into the pack very seriously.
No way she’d ever put these people at risk.
The pack was her new family, and if there was one thing I’d learned about the girl was that she desperately wanted a family.
Hers had been ripped away, and this was now what she had.
Finally, Nico sighed and nodded to Sinthy. “Okay, as long as you’re sure. Moving everyone would probably be traumatic, especially for the ones who just got here. There’s no reason to terrify everyone if we don’t need to.”
“Exactly,” Sinthy said. “In fact. I tested it to make sure.”
She stood and walked over to the linen closet near the laundry room.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
Sinthy opened the closet and pulled out a big shopping bag. “I teleported to town as an experiment, and while I was there, I monitored the wards’ strength if I wasn’t around. It stayed solid, so I decided to grab a few things while I was there.”
“Son of a bitch,” Nico said. “So, it does work.” He let out a heavy sigh.
He’d obviously trusted Sinthy, but the uncertainty looked like it had added five years to his life. Knowing the protection would remain in place if she left had a relieved grin spreading across his face as Sinthy walked over with the bag.
“Here.” She handed Nico a stack of small boxes.
Nico looked at the six boxes with pictures of phones on them. “Phones?” Nico asked, looking thoroughly confused.
Sinthy nodded. “Burners, as the kids call them.” She grinned mischievously. “I figured you guys would ditch your phones here and take these instead. There’s a chance Viola could trace you guys with your personal phones.”
Nico held one of the boxes up and chuckled. “Didn’t even think of that. Thank you, Sinthy.”
“No problem. And these are for you, Maddy.” She handed me a few bottles of pills and a thick book.
She’d gotten me prenatal vitamins and a pregnancy book. Tears pricked my eyes. Sinthy had thought about my baby while she was out there in the real world. This sweet woman was thinking about what was best for my baby, and all I could do was complain that the timing was bad.
I gritted my teeth and made a decision. From today, I was going to try to celebrate and enjoy this pregnancy. It was a happy time, one that deserved to be observed with joy. I couldn’t let Viola steal that happiness from me.
Sniffling back tears, I put an arm around Sinthy. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
“When do we want to go?” Sinthy asked.
Nico looked across the room at the guys, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
Luis shrugged. “We’re good whenever,” he said.
Swinging his gaze back toward me, Nico said, “I guess we need to say our goodbyes.”
Mom and Dad got to the house less than ten minutes after I called them. Nico’s parents and brothers were all there too. All of them looked relieved that we were getting someplace even safer but worried about being so far from us.
“You’ll check in a lot, won’t you?” Mom asked as she hugged me tight.
“Yes, Mom. I promise. When it’s possible, I definitely will.”
Her hand moved from my back down to my belly, and she smiled sadly. “Be careful. For your sake, but also for the baby’s. I can’t wait to meet the little one.”
I took Mom’s hands in mine and looked into her eyes. “It’s going to be all right. We’ll be safe. Please try not to worry about us.”
I said my farewells to my dad and Gabriella, then to Nico’s family. Nico’s mom and I hadn’t gotten off to the best start, but over the last few weeks, all that had really smoothed out. Her eyes were even a little misty as she hugged me.
Sinthy came into the room with the little wooden box that held the vial.
I still had no clue where she’d hidden it all this time.
I could almost feel my pupils dilate as my eyes fell on the box.
Something about that damned thing always called to me.
Like a phantom or ghost was nudging and pushing me toward it.
My heart rate jumped a little, and my palms got sweaty too.
Sinthy saw the look on my face and sighed. “That’s what I thought.”
Blinking rapidly to clear my head, I looked up at her. “Huh?”
She pointed to the box and then to me. “This thing is like freaking catnip for you. That’s why I hid it and put a bunch of spells around it. Otherwise, your mind would have been on this thing all day, every day.” She waved her hand over the box. “Hang on a second.”
Indecipherable words tumbled from her mouth as she moved her hand across the wood. Then, in an instant, the strange pull of the box vanished, and I was suddenly back to myself.
“Are we ready?” Nico asked as he slung a backpack on his shoulders.
I hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I think so.”
Nico’s father stepped forward and hugged his son again. “I’ll keep this place safe, son. I promise. Everything will be as it was when you get back.”
Nico smirked at him. “Well, you do have enough practice. What was it? Thirty years as pack alpha?”
His father shrugged. “Like riding a bike, I’m sure.”
Our little group formed a circle. Each of us had a backpack and a small suitcase with clothes and personal items. Nico handed Sinthy a printout with the location and a satellite picture of the private airstrip.
She studied it for several seconds before nodding and tucking the paper away.
“Everyone, please touch the person beside you. The circle needs to be unbroken.”
We all grabbed a suitcase with one hand and placed our free hands on the person on our left. Sinthy closed her eyes, and it happened.
I had time to hear Felipe let out a surprised curse, and then we were standing outside beside a small airstrip. My head was a little woozy, but otherwise, I was fine. Felipe, not so much. He’d turned and puked his guts out the second our feet touched the ground.
Sinthy watched him with an apologetic frown. “Sorry. Some people… uh… well teleportation can be weird for some people.”
Felipe groaned and wiped his mouth. “That… was awful.”
“Come on,” Nico said.
He was glancing around in every direction, probably scared the royals had somehow discovered our location before we’d even arrived. We grabbed our things and walked onto the tarmac, where a pilot waved to us.
Sinthy bypassed the pilot and walked over to place a hand on the plane. Closing her eyes, she gave herself an affirmative nod before looking back at us.
“Checking to make sure there was nothing on the plane that could track us. We’re clear.”
The pilot showed us the seats and where to put our bags, then left to join his co-pilot in the cockpit. We hadn’t even gotten buckled up when every one of our new burner cell phones started chiming and ringing. I caught Nico’s eye, dread filling my stomach. This couldn’t be good.
Diego read the text. “It says we need to turn on the news. Like, now.”
Nico found a small, flat-screen TV on the wall and turned it on. As soon as the screen flashed on, I became nauseated. My face was staring back at me from the screen. My current driver’s license photo. The news anchor was speaking in the background.
“…again stating that Miss Maddison Sutton of Clearidge, Florida is the woman Viola Monroe is so desperate to apprehend. We want anyone with knowledge of Miss Sutton’s location to inform the police immediately so proper security measures can be taken.”
“Well, the best fucking security measure would have been to keep Maddy’s damned face off the news,” Nico hissed through clenched teeth.
The anchor went on. “We will now replay the video we received ten minutes ago.”
The anchor and my face vanished, only to be replaced with Viola’s face. Growls erupted all around the plane. If I didn’t know better, I thought even Sinthy may have growled.
“I’m done playing games,” Viola said. “Let’s get right to it.
This is my quarry.” Viola held up a picture of my driver’s license.
“Maddison Sutton of Clearidge, Florida. Bar owner and sexual consort,” she spat the words like they disgusted her, “of Nicolas Lorenzo, alpha of the Lorenzo pack.
This woman is dangerous. I want all my followers, or any who are on the fence about our cause, to listen.
She is a descendant of the legendary vicious and evil werewolf king Edemas.
She has the power and strength to decimate whole towns on her own.
“With her blood, my scientists and I could create something that could end the shifter race once and for all. I implore anyone who knows where this woman is to send a message to me via the secure link that will be posted at the bottom of this screen. Anyone who gives me information that leads to the capture or death of Miss Sutton, or anyone that brings me this woman—alive or dead—will be rewarded with twenty-five million dollars. The money is good, but the main reward will be that you are preventing a disaster. If she is allowed to live, I don’t want to know what may happen to humanity.
I look forward to hearing from you all very soon.
” Viola smiled cruelly at the camera, then the video cut off, returning to the news desk.
“This video was uploaded fifteen minutes ago. Our team tells us it has already been shared more than forty million times and counting. Once again, anyone with knowledge of Maddison Sutton’s location needs to contact authorities or take her to the nearest law enforcement location for her own protection. ”
Nico clicked the TV off right as the jet sped down the runway.
He locked his eyes on Sinthy. “You are totally sure the wards will hold, right? The entire country is about to descend on the pack lands to capture or kill Maddy. Are my people safe?” The imploring look in his eyes hurt my heart.
Sinthy met his eyes with a steely gaze of her own.
“They’ll hold. I guarantee it. And once those assholes start dropping like flies as they try to go through, they’ll get the point really fast.” She shrugged.
“I’m not a killer by nature, but when it comes to my family, I make sure they are taken care of. ”
Nico stared at her for several seconds before sighing and relaxing in his leather seat. “Good enough for me.”