Chapter 26
Colt
I didn’t remember falling asleep, but when I jolted awake on the couch, the sun hadn’t even risen yet. The front door cracked open, and Everett spoke quietly to somebody coming in. Gavin was still dozing next to me, with Billie beside him and Aislin on the other end of the couch. Craning my neck, I looked past the armrest and saw a few men clad in black step inside, and then I met Everett’s eyes.
“The Mythguard guys are here,” he said. “Wake everyone up. We’ll begin planning while the recon team visits the mine.”
Aislin was already unfurling her limbs and blinking sleep out of her eyes, which was good; I didn’t want to get near her. I gently shook Gavin’s arm, then got to my feet while he and Billie stirred, looking up at the people entering the living room. Everett welcomed the swarm of strangers into our space, looking focused and hardened while the rest of us sagged with exhaustion and dark circles under our eyes.
After a quick breakfast, we sat around the table with five Mythguard representatives. Another four patrolled outside, while the remaining six who had been sent as backup went to check on the rest of Everett’s and Gavin’s packmates, who were taking refuge at Everett’s mother’s house. The recon team consisted of ten more operatives. That made twenty-five Mythguard operatives in total, plus the five of us. We were still outnumbered by Dalesbloom and the Inkscales, but we figured we only needed to take out David and Lothair before the fight would likely end—it was doubtful their followers would continue fighting if their leaders fell. We were certainly counting on their loyalty wavering once David and Lothair became Lycan.
The plan became that Mythguard would approach the mine first, armed with tranquilizer guns, and either lure the front line out into the open or enter the mine, if need be. As the Lycan ritual required exposure to moonlight, we had to strike before nightfall, as we suspected my father would be hiding deep within the mine until then. The tranquilizers would knock most of the defending line unconscious, and then we would push into the mine, using lethal force if necessary, until we encountered David and Lothair. They would be exterminated, and Kiara would be rescued. The plan was simple in theory, but in execution, none of us knew how it would turn out, and we were prepared for more death. It was a risk we had to take to ensure the safety of our home. I was ready to sacrifice myself if it meant keeping everyone else safe.
At 6 a.m., the recon team arrived at Everett’s house. “We counted three wolves and four dragons patrolling the outskirts of the silver mine. Brad and Carla have also confirmed that David’s truck, carrying Kiara’s scent, is parked at the mine, which leads us to believe both David and Kiara are inside,” one of the Mythguard humans reported.
An hour later, we loaded up into a couple of Mythguard vans and made our way to the mine.
Everyone was silent. I anticipated that this would be the last day I saw my father alive, and I was prepared to do what needed to be done. If it meant watching him die, so be it. My nerves were electric, my ears ringing with anticipation. A chill took over my body, but I didn’t suspect it was from anything other than my nervousness, even if it was intense enough to make me shiver. I balled my fists tight on my lap, thinking about the three balsam resin darts in my pocket that were destined for Lothair.
We drove as close to the mine as possible without being detected, but once our caravan was parked and we had all filed out and were slipping through the trees and up the mountainside to the edge of the pit, our presence was already known. The seven shifters on patrol were waiting for us, some concealed behind boulders, others lurking in the darkness at the mouth of the mine. When one of them made the mistake of exposing a little too much of their arm, one of the Mythguard snipers fired. He hit his mark; the stricken shifter shouted and stumbled into the open, firing a handgun in our direction. He missed us, then dropped to the ground, already made dizzy by the tranquilizer.
In the blink of an eye, our Mythguard operatives flooded out from their hiding spots, and the shifters advanced on them. The fight came to a swift conclusion: one Mythguard human lay dead on the dusty ground, and all of the wolves—my packmates—were unconscious, as were all but one of the dragons. That one shifter was sprawled at the bottom of the pit with a broken spine, having tumbled over a rocky ledge.
I was already sweating, and I hadn’t even engaged in any combat. A few of the Mythguard operatives slipped into the mine while the rest of us waited for signs of further engagement, but only silence followed.
About a minute later, our guys reappeared outside. “There’s nobody in there,” one of them said. “It’s empty.”
“What?” growled Everett.
“They have to be here,” said Gavin, pushing forward.
“The first few rooms are all clear,” confirmed one of the men.
Gavin stepped into the darkness of the cave. I followed him, quickly noticing that not even the lanterns were lit inside. Everett stormed in after us. “We should allow the operatives to sweep the entire mine before we go in,” he said.
“If there isn’t an entire clan of dragons here to protect David, I doubt he’s hiding in the back,” said Gavin.
“He’s right, Everett. They must have left a few shifters behind to give the illusion that they were still here,” I said. “But I can still smell someone, even through the silver. I think there’s a fresh scent inside.”
I led Gavin and Everett through the tunnels, deeper into the mine. Billie and Aislin hung back under the protection of Mythguard, but the three of us were determined to be at the forefront to protect our packs and our mates should we come face to face with our opponents. I felt a strange solidarity with Gavin and Everett here. We all had the same goal, the same hatred for the ones who had thrust our home into chaos.
But as prepared as we were for the final showdown, the mine was empty of life. My little nook in the cavern was untouched. The room where my father stayed, with his table and his sleeping bag, and his now empty crates, had grown cold without his presence. As we approached the tunnel where Muriel and the girls had been kept prisoner, the only lit lantern in the mine flickered against the walls. We turned the corner and simultaneously tensed at the sight of someone in human form, waiting for us.
He raised his head, blond hair falling in front of his sad, sunken eyes as he cradled a baby in his arms. A chain around his ankle kept him anchored to the floor. “You’ve come to kill me,” said Lothair, voice cracking with defeat. “Make it quick, then.”
Terrible sorrow shrouded the dragon Alpha, but it didn’t show on his face, only in his posture and the heavy atmosphere surrounding him. I didn’t know what I felt for Lothair at that moment.
Gavin lunged forward, all too ready to do as he was told, only to stop suddenly when his eyes fell upon the child. Everett and I quickly joined Gavin’s side; there, we saw the baby girl in Lothair’s arms, her eyes closed, breathing gently in her blanket, lulled into the comfort of restful sleep.
“She’s still alive,” I said, unable to keep relief from my voice.
“Yes. Muriel used the last of her magic to heal my daughter,” Lothair replied without emotion. He peered down at the infant, seemingly disconnected from her, looking at her as if she were just an object and not his own beloved child. “She is perfectly healthy.” Then, he looked back up at us again. “But I suspect she won’t be for long, in your custody.”
Anger prevented Gavin from saying anything.
Everett turned his attention to the chain around Lothair’s ankle. “They left you behind. Why?”
This time, Lothair hesitated to speak. His stare ventured past us.
But I knew the answer. “They overthrew you.”
Lothair frowned. “Yes. My Inkscales decided I was too weak to continue leading them.”
“Are you serious?” sneered Gavin.
“Lothair disappeared after Sibyelle’s death,” I explained. “Evidently, the Inkscales didn’t take kindly to his grieving process.”
“Any of you would have done the same had your fated mate died before your very eyes,” Lothair said bitterly.
He was probably right, at least with respect to Gavin. I didn’t know if Everett would have isolated himself. But that didn’t matter—what mattered was that the Grandbay and Eastpeak pack members wouldn’t have ousted their Alphas for mourning the deaths of their mates. That was where wolves differed from dragons.
“Is Kipling the Alpha now?” I asked.
“No,” said Lothair. “That whelp may have rallied the dragons against me, but he doesn’t know how to lead worth a damn. They have pledged their allegiance to the one who offered them a chance to become Lycan alongside him. The Inkscale dragons now serve David Hexen.”
A growl rumbled out of Gavin. “Well, that proves the lack of decency of the dragons right there. They aren’t doing this for some honorable reason, for freedom. They just want carnage!”
“My dragons do want freedom!” Lothair bit back. “They’ll serve whoever will give them what they desire.”
“Sure. And that’s why it was so easy for you and your dragons to slaughter my parents, right?”
Lothair narrowed his eyes. His lip curled, exposing a sliver of his fangs. “Our priorities never changed. David promised us he could achieve freedom. We do what we have to do.”
In a swell of anger, Gavin charged toward Lothair, tearing the baby out of his arms and roughly handing her to me. Then he grabbed Lothair’s shirt collar and punched him, knocking the dragon onto his back. “I should just beat you to death right here,” snarled Gavin.
Coughing, Lothair leered up at all of us. His eyes briefly went to his daughter in my arms, then detached from her for good, fixing back on Gavin. “I am the only one who sees that David is leading my dragons astray. I’ve realized that we will never achieve the freedom we want. Dragons will never be free to embrace their true forms; that day will never belong to us. David is using the Inkscales for strength in numbers,” he said hoarsely. “I was always prepared to turn my back on David. Why do you think I suggested he and his pack hide here in the silver mine?”
Everett grabbed Gavin’s arm and pulled him back, his curiosity piqued. “What are you talking about?”
“My dragons used this place as a hideout long before Dalesbloom ever occupied it. I’ve had nitroglycerine dynamite hidden throughout the tunnels, ready to be triggered at a moment’s notice. I was never going to allow David to become Lycan with me. If he had chosen to stay here, then tonight, as he and his pack prepared for the ritual, I was going to collapse the silver mine on them. If the cave-in didn’t kill them, the silver poisoning would have. They had no idea there was nitroglycerine here. The silver prevented them from smelling it.”
My eyes widened. All this time, Lothair had planned to kill my father for us. And if I hadn’t broken away from David, I would have been one of the casualties along with him. This entire tunnel had been rigged to collapse on Dalesbloom. I didn’t know whether I wanted to praise Lothair’s ingenuity or attack him. After all, Dalesbloom was still my pack—I wouldn’t stand for any more needless deaths, even of my callous packmates. “Do the other dragons know about it?” I asked.
“No. It was Sibyelle’s and my little secret,” said Lothair. “I’m sure they smelled it, but they wouldn’t have known what it was. Unfortunate that my trap has been rendered useless.”
“Where is everyone now?” demanded Gavin.
“I don’t know,” said Lothair. “Wherever they are, I can guarantee they will perform the Lycan ritual tonight. There is but one reason David may return to the mine: he will want to kill me before the Inkscales do, to assert his dominance as their Alpha. He left me alive so that he could do so as Lycan, to demonstrate his ability to keep his wits about him.”
“Where’s the trigger for the dynamite?” asked Everett.
The stoicism on Lothair’s face was replaced by a thin, conniving smile. “Undo my chains, and I will see to it that the mine collapses when David comes for me.”
Leaving Lothair chained where he was, Gavin, Everett, and I reconvened with Billie and Aislin to share with them what we had learned. Nobody trusted the dragon, but we knew he wasn’t about to give up the trigger for free. When we returned to him, Everett stepped forward with a large rock in his hands and smashed the padlock on Lothair’s chain.
“This the wisest decision you have made yet,” said Lothair, slowly standing up. His attention turned to me; I was still holding the infant on my hip. “Keep her safe. I have no reason to pursue you or her anymore. My clan is gone, and my mate is dead. Anywhere I go, I will be a wanted man. So, I will keep my word as long as you promise to protect my daughter.”
Lothair could just as easily deceive us, but what choice did we have? Crushing David in the mine was just one solution of many, but we weren’t going to give up this chance. There wasn’t really anything Lothair could do to screw us over besides not trigger the dynamite; David would be cornered in the mine once he inevitably turned up to kill Lothair, anyway. After exchanging glances with Everett and Gavin, I nodded.
Lothair’s expression softened. “I have decided on her name,” he said. “It’s Nefrit.”
The baby girl stirred and yawned as though the announcement of her name had woken her from a dream.
“You better keep your word,” warned Gavin. “I won’t hold back next time.”
Lothair said nothing. He merely watched as we retreated down the tunnel with his daughter, leaving him to await his destiny.