Chapter 29
Every ounce of hope I’d had vanished, leaving me cold and hollow. Memories surged from the days I’d spent trapped inside the bunker, being threatened and drunk from by that very vampire.
“Yes. Warin.” Keagan lifted a brow. “He’s one of the oldest vampires in existence. I just don’t know where the hell he is. He said he knew the spot and would meet us here.”
My blood turned to ice, his response confirming everything I already knew.
Raffe froze, feeling my emotions.
I hung my head, and my knees weakened. No wonder Olwyn had texted me. She’d probably known the moment we left Salt Lake City. “They know we’re here.” I scanned the trees for the enemy, but if coven members were there, they could be cloaked. “They’ve had ten hours to prepare.”
“There’s no way they could know. The priestess probably texted because it’s been so long since you saw the text.” Stephanie laughed quietly. “Maybe she couldn’t sleep and wanted to nudge you again.”
I inhaled deeply and put the phone into my back pocket. They weren’t mind readers. I needed to tell them, but foolishly, it felt like if I didn’t speak the words, maybe what I knew wouldn’t be real. I murmured, “Warin works withthem. He’s part of the Veiled Circle.”
“What?” Ednah pursed her lips. “No. You must have him mistaken—”
The memories of his fangs biting into my neck made me shudder. “No, I’m not. He was one of my captors in the underground bunker. He and a witch named Glinda were my handlers.”
“Glinda.” Sedona blinked. “No. That can’t be right. She’s one of the coven members in Missouri who’s been working on a solution to help us separate—”
“Holy shit.” Keith grimaced. “They’ve been around longer than any of us have ever known.”
We should’ve known not to underestimate the Veiled Circle, especially with how they’d taken me from campus, but it had made sense once I’d learned about Slade and Olwyn’s involvement.
Keagan looked back at his people standing behind him. His eyes faintly glowed, and his group dispersed, heading toward the water and near the tree line. They sniffed, searching for any sign of Warin.
I suspected they wouldn’t come up with anything. I’d bet Warin and Olwyn had determined exactly where they wanted us to arrive, and he’d never set foot here.
Bastards.
Worse, they now had a dagger to Mom’s neck. My lungs stopped functioning as the entire situation hit me. We had no element of surprise, and Olwyn had my parents. The panic I’d felt back in Salt Lake City came crashing over me. Being busy and believing we might be able to save them had gotten me through, but now the future looked damn bleak again. “It doesn’t matter whether you all smell Warin or not. They know we’re here.”
Raffe nodded. “The only thing we might still have on our side is if Warin thinks there’s a chance we haven’t put everything together.”
I bit my bottom lip. “No. They want us to piece it together.” My heart dropped into my stomach like a bomb. “That’s why they sent me the text now—to trigger this conversation.” Once again, we’d played right into their hands because we hadn’t seen the full picture.
“Maybe we should go,” a taller man who stood behind Keagan said.
I gritted my teeth to keep my frustration at bay. Losing the numbers we had was the worst thing that could happen to us since Olwyn and the others would have prepared to face this many, but this wasn’t their fight. Olwyn had brought it to me and targeted my family. Yes, the rest of the supernatural world would have to deal with the fallout, but that didn’t mean they had to face the firing squad right now. “If that’s what you all need to do, so be it. I can’t leave my parents. Not like this. Not after everything they’ve done for me.”
Raffe stood firmly next to me, though I could feel his dread and worry.
“Well, I, for damn sure, am not going anywhere.” Keith stepped forward. “I will fight alongside my alpha and alpha’s mate.”
My heart doubled in size. And to think, just over a month ago, he would’ve been the very one to suggest they leave me here alone. How far our relationship had come astonished me.
“I’m staying as well.” Sedona lifted her chin and moved next to him. “If it weren’t for Skylar, I’d be dead.”
The rest of Raffe’s and my pack, including Dave, joined Sedona and Keith, which didn’t surprise me. We were all pack and family, and when Sedona completed her fated-mate bond with Keith, she’d joined us.
Priestess Caroline and her coven had stayed several feet away, but she chose this moment to clear her throat and add, “My coven will always stand with the arcane-born and right our past mistakes.” Her eyes cut to Ednah in daring.
“None of this is needed.” Keagan raised a hand. “We promised to protect you, and that’s what we’ll do. The supreme priestess knowing that we’re coming doesn’t change a damn thing. If anything, it makes this fight more important.” He pivoted to face his men. “We’ve allowed these people to manipulate us into attacking innocents. Are we going to walk away and let innocent humans die? A species that isn’t even supposed to know we exist? Obviously, this organization doesn’t care about keeping our secrets.”
The tall man who’d made the original suggestion averted his gaze to the gravel road and nodded.
Eyes glowing, Keagan huffed. “As you suspected, Warin’s scent isn’t anywhere near here. They can’t pick up the trail.”
“I don’t feel any coven magic around here.” Priestess Caroline closed her eyes. “We aren’t in immediate danger, but that could change at any time.”
The longer we stood here, the more antsy I became. There was no telling what they were doing to my parents. “We need to go before she …” I trailed off, the sound dying in my throat. I couldn’t say the word on the tip of my tongue; it was way too permanent. I inhaled, hoping my voice remained steady, and tried again. “Before she hurts them.”
“We should split up.” Adam turned in the direction we’d be moving. “Groups of around twenty-five each since there are a little over a hundred and fifty of us. People from each pack group should mix together so we can communicate between groups via pack-link bonds.”
Stephanie rubbed her hands together. “That would put around nine witches in each group, though two groups won’t have vampires.”
“Does that matter?” From beside Lucy, Fane furrowed his brows.
“Vampires move quicker than the other species, so having them is an advantage, especially since we’ll be fighting vampires here.” Josie smiled and glanced at her mate.
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my smart retorts to myself. Fane didn’t understand this world completely, and I didn’t want us to take the time to teach him now. Yet, he did need to know more so he’d be prepared to face them.
“We should make sure there’s at least one wolf shifter in each group that can cross-communicate, but the six of us should remain together.” Raffe tugged me against his side. “If there’s an attack, we need to be able to link and strategize with each other. We can’t do that if most of the people we’re with can’t speak to us in animal form or telepathically.”
Even though I understood the merits of both ways of splitting up, I agreed with Raffe. “He’s right. Last time, things were chaotic, and coordination may be critical.” I hadn’t been as worried about that when we’d believed we were taking Olwyn by surprise, but everything had changed.
“My pack stays together with Dave,” Raffe said and tightened his hand on mine. His nerves churned.
I suspected he feared that Keagan would not want to listen, and he believed this was the best route. He’d never had to worry about that when he was the prince and heir, except with his father. Keagan could go against what he said.
Keagan blew out a breath. “Okay. I’m assuming the seven includes Octavia, Dru, Fane, and Priestess Caroline.”
Octavia nodded. “Yes, I want to be with our daughter.”
“And I know Stephanie and Sedona will want to be with you as well. So, with Dave, that will make thirteen, and I would like to stay with your group as well, if possible. That way, we can coordinate easily among alphas if needed.”
“Then the rest of each group should be made up of my coven,” Priestess Caroline added. “We’re used to interacting with each other. I understand wanting to pack-link, but if both alphas are together and we split up so that most of us are with the people we’re most familiar with, it will be for the best.”
“I can see it both ways. We need to get moving so they can’t attack us all in one place.” Keagan’s eyes glowed as he turned to his pack members.
We started splitting up, with eleven of Priestess Caroline’s coven members joining the fourteen of us. We had a group of twenty-five.
The rest formed another five groups, and we were ready to go.
“The house is a mile north. Our yard is five acres, so there’re tons of room to spread out. We’ll come up to the backyard. The back of the house has a sliding glass door on the ground level, and stairs lead to a porch overhead with a door that enters into the kitchen.” I rubbed my hands together to get rid of some nervous energy. “They have my parents tied up in the kitchen. That’s where we need to go.”
Everyone nodded.
“We’ll head straight to the house.” Raffe glanced at everyone. “The rest of you can fall in where you like.”
“At least two wolf shifters stay in human form so we can communicate,” Keagan added.
Something meowed at my feet, and I looked down. I sucked in a breath.
Of course, Cat-Keith had snuck her way into coming here with us. Part of me wanted to find a way to keep her safe, but knowing her, she’d locate us again. I didn’t have time to worry about that when my parents were in danger. This cat was proving to be smarter than I’d ever have expected and probably wanted to help us. I’d let her.
Now it was time to move, and I was more than ready.
I took the lead, hurrying to the woods. I felt the faint hiss of my power, so I tugged at it to make it stronger. There was no telling when I’d need to use it.
My wolf edged forward, but I held her at bay. I needed to stay in human form so when I reached my parents, they’d know who I was and listen. I could only imagine the sort of hell they’d been through in the twelve hours it had taken us to get here.
I’m going to shift, Josie linked, since most of our group is human.
It’d be best if we all do, Raffe answered. We need to be in our strongest form.
I looked at him and linked, I don’t want to. My parents … I had to believe we were going to reach them and save them.
It’s fine. Raffe’s expression softened. With your power, you’re just as strong in human form. I didn’t expect you to shift, and besides, you’re my mate. I expect you not to listen to me. Never have before.
I chuckled, unable to stop myself. Even in a dire situation, he knew how to make me grin.
The others peeled off, and Keagan watched them run toward the firs.
“We should go shift with them,” Stephanie said.
“You go.” Keagan nodded. “I’ll stay in human form because I need to understand what the hell is going on.” He lifted his shirt, revealing a pistol. “That’s why I brought this.”
I lifted my brows. That was one way to protect himself.
The coven members, Sedona, Dave, Octavia, Dru, Fane, Keagan, and I kept moving forward. The wolves would catch up once they were in animal form.
Our group formed a circle with the coven members in front. After a minute, I heard the sound of paw steps as the wolves hurried to join us. The groups on either side of us were made up of half witches and half wolf shifters, with one vampire. We were close enough to see one another but unable to speak without shouting.
My heart raced faster with each step. I wasn’t sure when the enemy would pop out or if one or both of my parents were near death. All the potential situations had my stomach in knots and my power increasing. I swallowed, trying to keep it under control as much as possible. I didn’t need to drain myself before we even got there.
We’ve almost caught up to you, Raffe linked, though he didn’t need to. The base of my neck tingled, telling me he was watching me.
Static weaved through the air in front of me, and my wolf howled inside me.
“Coven magic,” I whispered, but it was too late.
Priestess Caroline and the other coven members slammed into an invisible barrier. They bounced off the wall, and Priestess Caroline fell hard backward. I rushed forward, catching her, but by righting her, I stumbled forward and I braced to hit the wall.
Static rubbed against me as I went through the barrier and dropped to my knees.
Skylar, Raffe linked, and his panic slammed into me as he tried to race through the perimeter spell they’d cast, but he was flung onto his back, snarling.
The same thing had happened that night at campus when the three Eastern wolves had attacked me and I’d shifted for the first time.
I spun around, searching for my attackers, but all I heard was silence.
No animals were nearby, which meant they felt danger. I noticed that all the groups had stopped and couldn’t get through. They’d isolated me.
Dammit, Sky. Raffe jumped back on his feet, baring his teeth. If they touch you, I’ll kill them all.
“Calm down,” Priestess Caroline bit out. “We need to bring down the spell, so stop running into it. It won’t vanish on its own.” She held out her hands toward the other coven members, who took them.
A shiver ran down my spine just as Dave yelled, “Vampires!”
I spun, searching for the attackers, and saw ten blurs charging toward me through the trees.
I yanked, my power humming as I lifted my hands.
“Focus on big targets, but don’t blast your power into the ground!” Priestess Caroline shouted. “If you can hold them off like that, your power will drain less quickly than forcing it into small or massive areas.”
I took a deep breath to center myself. The vampires were almost on me. I pushed the power from my palms, aiming for the closest blurs I could see. The coven members behind me chanted, though I couldn’t make out the words over the roaring in my ears.
Then, the fastest two blobs were on me, so I funneled the power from my hands. I knocked the first blob down, a hiss resonating, and blasted the second one, causing a sickening pop. The smell of copper hit my nose.
But I had no time to see what I’d done because four other blobs were already on me.
A loud wolf howl came from behind me, and Raffe’s fear pummeled me, making my power surge to a song. I hated that he was seeing everything that was going on but couldn’t reach me. I could feel the edge of hysteria clawing between us.
And that made me miss the third mark.
One vampire wrapped his hands around my neck, choking me, as a second vampire snagged my arms and forced them behind my back. I kicked backward, nailing him in the knee, and heard a crack. Then I grabbed the pale, sinister arms of the one strangling me.
Power soared into his body as I stared into his dark eyes, dug my fingernails into his wrists, then kneed him in the crotch. He grunted and dropped to the ground, so I kicked him in the face. His head jerked to the side before he landed in a heap.
Two other vampires appeared at my sides, their teeth extended. The woman fisted her hands in my hair, dragging my body toward her. The male vampire kicked me in the stomach. Acid burned up my throat.
I had to do something before they killed me or worse.
So I allowed my power to go feral.
The power soared through me into the ground, and the earth quaked underneath me.
The vampire that had my hair hissed, and sharp teeth sank into my neck. Raffe’s snarls and whimpers echoed in my ears as the woman gulped and then gagged, the combination of my power making her crazy but my wolf blood poisoning her.
She released her hold and stumbled back as the man backed away, pinching his nose as if trying not to smell me.
I placed my hand against my neck where the vampire had bitten me, and warm liquid slipped between my fingers.
Babe, I’m so sorry, Raffe whimpered, and a dark void of helplessness opened deep within him.
I spun around to see him pawing at the ground like he could go under the barrier, but then I felt a shift in the magic. My attention flicked to Priestess Caroline. Her eyes were glowing. I knew I couldn’t move forward without everyone, but I was desperate to reach my parents.
Then I remembered how I’d taken the barrier down before. I could help them, and maybe it’d be quicker.
I released my neck and placed my hand against the barrier. Just like when I’d slipped through, it passed through.
My heart skipped a beat. I could get out there with Raffe and help the coven.
As I stepped forward, something stabbed into my shoulder.