Chapter 27
Ithink so, Raffe linked, and he pushed calm toward me. Remember, you’re the one I chose, and you’re my fated mate, the only person who matters to me.
Some of the anger ebbed, though my wolf remained alert within me. I took a deep breath, remembering what Sedona had said: The girl hadn’t wanted to be with Raffe either. That was something King Jovian and Keagan had come up with together.
The older woman in the back stepped forward, her long, silver hair reflecting sunlight. My breath caught as I remembered her from last night. She was the witch who had used water magic on me, and it hadn’t worked.
Her eyes homed in on Sedona, and she took a ragged breath. With my power so high, I could sense their fear, hesitation, and wariness. They didn’t trust us and were nervous.
“Mom, I’m fine.” Sedona gestured to Raffe and me. “What I said on the phone is true. They helped and saved me. They did me no harm.”
“Good.” Keagan remained at the door and examined Sedona’s wrapped forearm. “We’ve been worried about you. Let’s get you back with the others so you can get some rest.”
Priestess Caroline cleared her throat from her spot on the opposite side of Keith and almost in front of Ednah. Standing tall, she said, “We may have given her grace this one time, but it’s the only time that will happen. Attacking us again will be considered a declaration of war, and no lives will be spared on our front, the same as you didn’t spare any of my coven, who’d never done a damn thing to you.” Despite her words, I sensed her fury.
“We didn’t have a real choice,” Ednah rasped.
“No, you made that choice.” Priestess Caroline wrinkled her nose. “And broke the sacred oath of doing no harm to others.”
“I made that call.” Keagan lifted his head high. “If you’re angry at anyone, it should be me.”
Raffe chuckled darkly. “Oh, believe me, we’re furious with all of you equally. The only reason I’m not ripping your throat out is because my mate asked me to be understanding. But I agree with Priestess Caroline. You try harming my mate in any way again, and I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
Faint paw steps sounded to our right, and I turned my head to see Adam stepping out of the trees in wolf form. The young woman’s head snapped in that direction. Her brows furrowed, and she shook her head faintly.
Something akin to interest and confusion swirled from both of them.
“Understood.” Keagan waved toward the vehicle. “We should get going.”
The young woman frowned and glanced at Keagan as he moved to climb back into the car.
“Come on.” Ednah held out her hand to her daughter. Desperation clung to her like a cloak, and her eagerness to leave slammed into me.
I noted Keith’s hands clenched at his sides.
My heart ached for him. Even though I could read his emotions, I could only imagine the turmoil he was feeling. Watching Raffe walk away with no certainty of when I’d see him again would be the hardest thing in the world.
“I can’t,” Sedona whispered and remained still. Resolve sang from her.
“What?” Ednah asked as her brows lifted, her emotions a blend of surprise and terror.
My heart dropped into my stomach, fearing what their reactions might cause them to do.
Alarm rang from Keagan as he tensed and growled to the young woman, “Stephanie, get in the damn car.” His eyes glowed, indicating he was linking with his pack. “This is a trap.”
Be ready. He’s going to attack, Raffe linked and grabbed my wrist, pulling me back.
Out of all the situations, I hadn’t expected this. Why the hell would she let us set this up only to pretend she couldn’t hand herself over? Had she played on Keith and her connection to finish what they’d started?
How had I been so foolish as to give her another chance? My power hummed, and I readied to connect with the animals.
“It’s not a trap.” Sedona took a few hurried steps to stand between the groups. Her determination shot through me like an arrow. She wobbled, proving that her blood loss was still affecting her. “They aren’t forcing me to do anything, and they didn’t tell me I had to.” She turned her back to us, facing the three of them. “I swear to you that everything I’ve said is true, and I do believe that Raffe can help us break away from the king like he promised.”
“We’ll take that into consideration once we get you out of here.” Keagan’s neck corded. His emotions were those of concern and wariness. “We don’t have to talk about this here.”
Sedona huffed, and I watched her hands tremble. “I’m sorry, but I can’t leave. I don’t want to.”
“This isn’t a request, Sedona.” Ednah rubbed her hands together. “You need to come back with us. We’re your family and coven.”
If she doesn’t leave, we may have to fight them, Raffe linked, his frustration evident. And this would’ve been better not to do, but that’s where we’re at.
“I know that, but he’s my fated mate.” She looked at Keith and bit her bottom lip before staring back at them. “And I can’t leave him, knowing we might not see each other again because of some misguided quest to break free from King Jovian. They could’ve let the bobcat kill me, but they didn’t.” She gestured to me, and her voice rose. “She stopped it and convinced the others to help me even after I tried to kill her. If that doesn’t show they’re different, I don’t know what would.”
If she wants to stay, I won’t force her to leave with them, Keith replied, moving next to Sedona.
“Sedona Butler,” Ednah gritted out.
Hand twitching, Raffe leaned forward, readying to grab Keith back.
Instead, I caught his hand in mine. If they wanted to be together, there was no way in hell I would stop them. I squeezed Raffe’s hand comfortingly and linked, Remember what it was like when people tried to keep us apart? We know better than to try to do that, right? They’re determined to be together, and who are we to stop them? I can feel their resolve. We don’t want to lose Keith.
Stephanie glanced from Sedona to Adam then back to the young witch. Her emotions flared, and I felt her settle on something.
She shut the passenger side door. “If Sedona trusts them, we should too.”
Shock filtered both ways through our bond, and Raffe interlaced his fingers with mine.
That little action told me everything—he agreed. I didn’t even need to be around to read or feel his emotions, though I could. We wouldn’t prevent her from staying here if that’s what they wanted.
“That’s not your decision to make.” Keagan opened his door wider. Though his face tensed slightly, I could feel panic swirling inside him. “They could attack us at any second. For all we know, Sedona’s been coerced to comply.”
“Has there been any hint of a lie?” Raffe asked, rocking back on his heels. “Have your priestess come forward to see if any magic has been placed on Sedona to hide her lies or force her to do something she doesn’t want to. Also, if we were going to attack, we wouldn’t be standing out here, allowing you to doubt us. We would’ve already taken action. If you don’t want to stay here, that’s fine. You can leave. But if Sedona wants to remain with us to be with Keith, then we’ll accept her.”
Keith turned slightly, a huge smile on his face. Are you serious? I thought you’d alpha-will me to give her up.
My heart ached, remembering how King Jovian had tried to do that very thing to Raffe and me. The regret that pulsed from Raffe made me confident he was remembering the same thing. Thanks to our fated-mate bond, he’d been able to fight his father’s control.
“We both know how well that went when Dad tried that with me,” Raffe growled as he tugged me to his side and wrapped his arm around my waist.
Keagan tilted his head back. “King Jovian tried to keep you from your fated mate?”
“In order to marry your daughter.” Raffe’s hold tightened.
The buzz of our connection eased my wolf, preventing me from getting more upset at the memory.
Stephanie cringed. “I’d never agree to that, especially if you found your fated. I wasn’t happy with the arrangement and was relieved when I heard you’d found someone already.”
My wolf settled completely, reading that she hadn’t been interested in my mate in the least. “Then why agree to the betrothal if you didn’t want to?” I asked, needing to understand what had driven her decision.
She bit her lip. “If it was something I had to do in order for the royals to listen to our desires and realize that what we were requesting was actually a need, I would’ve done it. Begrudgingly.”
Adam snarled and shook his fur, forcing us to turn in his direction. Anger radiated from him.
Immediately, Keagan and Ednah tensed.
Stand down. Raffe’s eyes glowed, and power laced his command.
Adam’s fur remained raised, and he growled deeply.
“But I didn’t want to do it in the least. I want to find my fated mate and have what my parents share,” Stephanie added softly, focused on him.
His fur lowered on the nape of his neck like those were the words he’d needed to hear.
What in the hell is going on? Lucy connected. Has everyone lost their damn minds? One minute, the conversation is going well, and the next, it feels like we might attack each other.
I couldn’t argue with her. We did need to get hold of the situation, especially if both Sedona and Stephanie were siding with us. Right now, everyone felt confused. “Look, I get that we don’t trust each other, but we have more reason to distrust than you do. You attacked us not even twelve hours ago.”
“He’s the king’s son.” Keagan pointed at Raffe like no one knew who he meant and said, “He stands to lose everything by turning his back on his father, so forgive me if I don’t trust you all either.”
Raffe gritted his teeth. “I told you—”
“Try to link with him,” I offered. That was the simplest solution to all of this. We could say words all day, but actions and facts were things we couldn’t dispute. “If he’s still part of the pack, you’ll be able to. When you can’t, you’ll see that he’s left it. Then have your priestess test Sedona to confirm we’ve done nothing to her.” We were wasting time—time everyone needed to rest and recover from a pointless attack.
Stephanie snorted. “That’s easy enough to test, especially this close.”
I smiled at her, warming to her even more.
“Fine.” Keagan shut his door, stepping around the hood of the SUV. His eyes glowed as he stared at Raffe. After a few minutes, his jaw went slack. “I can’t feel you.” Surprise became his dominant emotion. “You really did leave the pack.” He glanced at Ednah. “Check Sedona like they said. They could be telling the truth after all.”
Ednah wrung her hands and scanned the area. She seemed hesitant to get closer to us.
“Here,” Sedona said and moved toward her. She held out her hands to her mom.
Taking Sedona’s hands, Ednah closed her eyes, and her determination was easy to read. It slowly changed to confusion, and her eyes opened. “She doesn’t have any magic affecting her.”
“I told you.” Sedona smiled sadly. “I would never lead you into danger.”
Keagan shook his head. “I would’ve never imagined that any of this was possible. Why did the Veiled Circle send us to you if you aren’t with the king? Especially with Aldric knowing his daughter was among you. I thought it was strange when we stumbled upon Josie here.”
Raffe flinched, and my chest constricted. This was official confirmation of Aldric’s actions, and Josie was nearby to hear it.
“Worse, he put the trackers on your vehicles for the Veiled Circle.” Keagan gestured to our three vehicles, which were parked at the edge of the gravel driveway.
“Wait.” Keith scratched the back of his neck. “You’re saying Aldric is part of the Veiled Circle and helped them track us?”
No, that can’t be, Josie linked. They have to be lying.
The air remained clear. There was no lie to detect.
Son of a bitch. Adam pawed at the gravel. That’s how they’ve been finding us.
I grew light-headed, and I didn’t know Aldric the way they did. Then why did Olwyn try the locator spell? If the cars have trackers on them, they already know where we are, I linked to our pack.
Probably a distraction, Raffe answered, so we’d assume they couldn’t find us and we’d stay here. She probably knew you’d feel the magic trying to locate you and sense it didn’t work. Besides, it’s not like any of us expected them to use technology to track us and not magic, so none of us accounted for that.
“Yes, that’s how Supreme Priestess Olwyn got ahold of us.” Keagan ran a hand through his hair. “Aldric has been busy with the king, and she called us to offer us this deal. After King Jovian threatened us, it made sense that Aldric would be tied up with him, so we took her word for everything.”
I shook my head. “The Veiled Circle tried to recruit me, and when I didn’t join, they wanted me dead.”
Ednah’s brows rose. “Why? They made it sound like you could become unstable and destroy the world, but—”
“The arcane-born influences who will become or remain the leader of the supernatural world.” Priestess Caroline clasped her hands together. “That’s what my ancestors figured out during the time of the last arcane-born. They tried to manipulate him and his bond to get him to side with the covens, which ultimately led to his demise.”
I inhaled sharply. “Foster?”
“Yes.” Priestess Caroline closed her eyes. “Him. When he died because of our selfishness, my ancestor repented to the goddess, but another witch stepped forward and took control of the coven and manipulated them. That’s when the coven separated, and my ancestor landed here with her smaller coven. They wanted to learn how to right the wrongs when the next arcane-born came along.”
“That’s not what I was told.” Sedona frowned. “I thought the priestess of that time went mad and couldn’t lead anymore, so a new one was appointed.” She stared accusingly at Ednah.
Ednah crossed her arms. “Don’t use that tone with me. That’s what’s in the Book of Twilight.”
“I’m not surprised.” Priestess Caroline rolled her eyes. “Supreme Priestess Olwyn comes from a long line of manipulators and users. We wanted to repent, but the wolf shifters took control as punishment from the goddess for us disrespecting the fated-mate bonds and the balance. The other coven members couldn’t admit they were wrong and wanted to find a way to keep their power. Clearly, it didn’t work, and now we’re back to history repeating itself with the arcane-born, but worse, they’re actively trying to kill her.”
“I’m assuming Olwyn didn’t tell you their goal?” I arched a brow.
“Of course she did, to allow us our freedom.” Keagan straightened his shoulders. “She doesn’t want to dictate what rituals they practice or important things they want us to follow.”
I snorted. She did have a way with words. “They, meaning her and maybe the vampires. When they kidnapped me and tried to brainwash me, they made the wolf shifters’ future very clear. You are all to be held captive or killed. She wants to punish the wolf shifters for taking power centuries ago, and you’re helping her accomplish that by attacking us.”
Keagan sucked in a breath. “What about Aldric? Why would he go along with that?”
A deep snarl came from Raffe. “Because he’ll be pardoned, or he thinks he will, and they’ll need someone to help control the shifters. He has a strong wolf.”
No. Dad wouldn’t do that. But Josie’s conviction felt weak.
Silence descended.
“How do we know that for certain?” Ednah laughed roughly.
“You already tried to kill my mate.” Raffe narrowed his eyes. “On campus, with three of your men. I’m assuming Aldric gave the order.”
My mouth dried as I remembered that night and the first time I’d ever shifted into a wolf. I’d been cut off from the others with no help.
“Aldric took me and my beta straight to King Jovian to tell us that the agreement was off. He wouldn’t let me join the other three wolf shifters and ordered us to make sure my three men watched Josie. While they were there, Olwyn made first contact and told us to kill an unstable witch. They were shocked when she turned into a wolf. We had no clue she was your fated mate until King Jovian showed up in Atlanta, upset and threatening us with the real estate cancelations.”
Raffe sniffed, smelling for signs of a lie.
Some of the resentment that had built around my heart toward King Jovian eased. Olwyn had ordered them to kill me, not King Jovian.
“The only way we come out of this strong is to go up against the Veiled Circle together and not fight one another.” Now that everything was out in the open, we couldn’t put off them deciding if they would ally with us any longer. “Raffe has made an offer so we can both win. It’s up to you to accept it.”
“I need time to talk with pack members, our coven, and the vampires. Our goal, once we split off, is to form a council to rule and not have one monarch.” A muscle in Keagan’s jaw twitched. “A decision like this is too large to make on my own.”
“Vampires?” Priestess Caroline lifted a brow. “I don’t see any here.”
“They remained back in the city because of the food supply. Traveling is harder for them because their food source is limited to blood banks, and we don’t have the connections out here for them to eat as they should without risking them needing to feed from humans.” Keagan opened the car door. “But they will be part of the decision.”
A council where all species had a say. I liked the sound of that. My chest expanded with hope.
“Dad, I’m staying here.” Stephanie straightened her shoulders. “While you call and make a decision, I want to get to know them.” Her gaze darted to Adam.
We should let her stay if she wants to, I linked. I think she and Adam have a connection.
Raffe sighed. Of course they do. I’m not even surprised. He then said out loud, “If she stays, I promise she’ll be safe.”
Keagan winced but nodded. “Fine. Is there someplace I can go to make a call? I’m not leaving my daughter here alone.”
“You can use the house.” I didn’t want them to get closer to the coven and where everyone else was. “There’s no one inside.”
Pulling on the sleeve of her dress, Ednah rolled her shoulders. “That’s fine with me. That way, I’m close to Sedona.”
My heart hammered. I wasn’t sure what she meant. “The doors are unlocked.”
Ednah and Keagan faced one another, and then they walked together toward the front door.
Before the two entered the house, Priestess Caroline called out, “Priestess Ednah, you know Olwyn. Do you think she would really let the Eastern covens go? It would reduce her power.”
The truth of the words knocked the breath out of me, and the two women locked eyes. Then Ednah and Keagan went inside.
Silence filled the area as our nerves teetered on edge. Each moment dragged on like hours, though none of us dared to talk as we waited to find out our future. Unfortunately, the Eastern supernaturals were in control of that.
Several minutes later, the front doors opened, and Ednah and Keagan came out.
They strolled over to us, Keagan’s face set like stone. My power fizzed, but all I could read from him was resolve.
When he reached us, he held out his hand to Raffe and said, “We’re willing to be allies, but we want a magical contract drafted up.”
My heart leaped into my throat. This was everything we’d hoped for.
“That’s fine with me,” Raffe replied, shaking his hand. “Let’s go back in the house and get this done.”
“Sounds good to me.” Keagan nodded.
For the next several hours,Raffe, Ednah, Caroline, Keagan, Adam, Keith, Stephanie, and I talked strategy. We decided we would live in Atlanta with Keagan and the others until Raffe could finalize the property sale to them. Once that was settled, we would be given money to help get us established wherever in the East we chose and would be able to form our own pack and be protected.
Though I hated that this would cause a further divide between Raffe and his parents, it was for the best because the Veiled Circle wouldn’t be able to take control.
Overall, it was best for everyone, including King Jovian.
Stephanie and Sedona decided to stay with us in one of the coven houses while Keagan, Ednah, and the other wolf shifters went back to the houses they’d rented here. We would settle everything in the morning so that Octavia, Dru, Fane, and all of Caroline’s coven could relocate with us now that we knew Olwyn knew where we were.
When everyone finally left and Raffe and I were in the house alone, some of that relief vanished. Part of me knew not to hope too much because the thought of having a life where I, Raffe, and our pack weren’t constantly on the run sounded way too good to be true. No. Perfect.
There was one thing that hovered over us.
When we reached the bedroom we’d been staying in, Raffe changed into his clothes while the information we’d learned about Aldric weighed down on us.
“Should we talk to Josie?” My mouth went dry.
He shook his head. “She’s with Dave. I checked on her. She needs time to think before we’re all crammed into cars to Atlanta.”
Fair. I’d be the same way.
But there was more to it than just how Josie felt. Raffe had a stake in this. His dad’s most trusted confidant was working against him. “You should call your dad. You two may not be pack anymore, but the Veiled Circle taking control would be bad. If Olwyn ordered those three wolf shifters to attack me, then your dad wasn’t on board with it. She would never do anything to help him.”
His shoulders sagged, and I could feel his relief. “You’re right, but I don’t want to talk to him. He tried to keep us apart and alpha-will me to be with someone else.”
I placed my hands on his shoulders. “Then call your mom.”
“You’re right.” He lifted his phone from the nightstand where our phones had been charging. He dialed his mom’s number, and I heard it ring two times.
“Hello?” King Jovian answered. “Son? Is that really you?”
Raffe winced. Of course, his father, the person he wanted to avoid, would answer.
“Yeah, it’s me.” Raffe’s jaw clenched.
“Son, I never—” King Jovian started, but Raffe cut him off.
“I don’t have much time, but I wanted to let you know that Aldric is working with Supreme Priestess Olwyn.”
I swallowed my snort of surprise. Raffe wasn’t wasting time on pleasantries.
“Now, son, if this is a joke to get back at me, you’re going too far.”
Raffe’s hurt swirled through me, and I hurried to him and touched his arm, wanting him to know I was there for him.
“It’s not a joke. He’s been betraying you the whole time.” Raffe’s face hardened, reminding me of the distant, cold man I’d met at EEU. He got that way whenever he dealt with his father, and I hated it for him, but he leaned against me, using me as support. “Aldric put trackers on our cars, and he and Olwyn keep attacking us. I’m sure you saw the one attack on the news with the house that burned down. We barely escaped. The coven attacked within an hour of when Aldric left. They’ve formed a secret society and were trying to use Skylar to take you out of power, but she refused. That’s why they kidnapped her.”
I snagged my own phone, checking it to see if my parents had texted me.
When I opened the phone, I saw a text message from Mom, dated two hours ago.
Shit. I didn’t want her to worry.
I clicked on the message, but when it popped up, my heart stopped.
No.