Chapter 20 - Elias
My men stood around the meeting table, all looking down at the map sprawled out on it. Several new markers of recent wraith sightings had cropped up, dotting the paper erratically and with no rhyme or reason.
“If we can find out where it’s going to strike next, we can come up with a plan,” I said.
“Problem is, there’s no pattern,” Oz muttered as he scanned the map. “Even if we could, there isn’t a whole lot we can do.”
“We’ve got a plan to take care of the wraith, now that we know we can kill it with magic,” Sam said. “Though it’s hard to plan when we can’t figure out where it’ll show up next.”
“We don’t need to find out where it’s going to strike next if we can figure out where it’s living,” I said.
“And once we’ve figured that out?” Oz asked. “What’s the plan, then? Just waltz in and ask it nicely to stop?”
Oz was a good guy, a competent fighter, and smart. He was also a massive pessimist. But that didn’t mean he was wrong in his concerns.
“Emma will be able to help once we can pinpoint its location,” I said. “The problem is that we’re going to need to protect her.”
I didn’t just mean because she was our one chance of defeating the wraith. I meant it because I couldn’t stand the thought of losing her, of her getting hurt. Unless I knew she was safe, I was going to have half my mind fixated on her instead of fighting the wraith.
If I had my way, she wouldn’t be anywhere near any of this. Even then, I would want her to have a guard if I couldn’t be there myself. Since she had to be at least close to the fray, I planned on sparing as many men as possible to protect her.
“So she really is a witch?” Oz, one of my men, asked.
I let out an irritated growl. I wasn’t sure exactly which elder had “accidentally” let it slip to the entire town the truth about Emma’s lineage and her powers—my guess was Romulus or Thaddeus, but I wouldn’t put it past any of them—but by now, rumors of Emma’s abilities had spread like wildfire, to mixed results.
“Part witch,” I said, staring Oz down. “And if you or anyone else has a problem with that, you can leave now.”
No one moved, though more than one person wouldn’t meet my gaze as it swept across the room.
“In a way, we need to be grateful,” Sam commented, breaking some of the tension rippling through the group. “If it weren’t for her powers, we wouldn’t have any way of fighting the wraith at all.”
A reluctant murmur of concession filtered through the group. I shot Sam an appreciative look and a brief nod. He cracked a smile and gave a quick wink.
“Emma’s training her powers. She’ll be ready when it comes,” I said.
“We need to keep an eye on her,” Sam muttered. “If the wraith finds out what she can do, she’ll become its number-one target.”
“Well, yeah,” Oz said. “She’s the only one who can beat it.”
“It’s not just that,” I said. “Even if the wraith doesn’t realize what she can do, she’s going to be in danger.”
It was something that had worried me for days now. The wraith would inevitably want to go after the luna. Few things would cause as much despair to an entire pack and its alpha. In other situations, I would already have her a thousand miles away with two bodyguards.
“I don’t think it would kill her,” Sam said. I didn’t know if he was saying it to placate me or because he genuinely believed it. “The wraith would love to have the luna in its clutches. It could probably feast on the despair over that for weeks.”
That did soothe some of the anxiety rippling through me. Not much, though. The idea of her being in the wraith’s clutches set my wolf on edge. He snarled, claws flexing, imagining tearing into the wraith.
If only it were that easy.
“Putting Emma aside for the time being, we need to figure out what to do with the rest of the town,” Sam said, pushing things forward. “Because if the wraith attacks the town, they’re all going to be in danger. We need to put safety protocols in place.”
I didn’t respond right away. I had given this a lot of thought over the last few days, trying to figure out what was best for the pack and the town. I had to balance protecting everyone with not seeming weak. After a lot of thought, though, I had come to an unpleasant conclusion.
“Evacuating the town might be our best option,” I said.
A ripple of disquiet flitted through the group. Not necessarily alarm, but surprise.
“We’re giving in?” Oz asked. “We can’t just let the wraith take our town.”
I shook my head. “Of course not. But I am also not going to let it kill our town unnecessarily.”
“We at least need to get the females and children out of town,” Danson said.
“Getting the women and children out is part of the plan,” I said.
“Any female who can shift is welcome to stay if she wants, though we’ll discourage it.
Elderly, too. But we need to figure out how to do it quickly and without raising too many alarms. We also need to figure out where we’re taking them and protocols. ”
“Adobe Creek, surely?” Danson asked.
I drummed my fingers. “I’m not sure. Adobe Creek doesn’t know about the supernatural world. If we bus in a bunch of our people, they’re going to notice that something is wrong. The same goes for any other place around here.”
“The nearest pack is, what, an hour away?” Danson suggested. Already, though, Sam and I had started shaking our heads in unison. But it was Oz who actually answered.
“We’re not going to another pack and showing them our problems,” he snarled. “We’ve already got the sand wraith hunting us. We don’t want another pack knowing that we’re weak. They’d try exploiting us.”
“But—” Danson began, but he fell silent when I raised my hand.
“Oz has the gist of it,” I said. “We can’t give any pack leverage against us. We’ve warned the nearest couple that we’ve spotted a sand wraith, but we’ve left it at that. We’re not telling them our weaknesses. Not unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
Danson gave a begrudging nod. A couple of the others looked a bit uneasy about the decision, but seemed to understand.
“What I’m thinking is that we spread our pack out over a few towns,” I said. “I’ve spoken with Sam, and he’ll take charge of planning the evacuation. Any male who can shift is required to stay, and any male who can fight is strongly encouraged to do so as well.”
A knock on the door interrupted the stream of murmurs that had rippled around the room.
“Enter,” I said.
A scout burst into the room. He panted heavily, eyes wild and a little wolfish, as if he had only recently shifted back to human.
The second he emerged, everyone’s attention locked on him.
I stiffened, taking in the fear scent mixed with sweat, his panic as his gaze swiveled to everyone until it locked on me.
“We’ve seen the sand wraith north of town,” he said. “It looks like it’s coming toward us.”
More rumbles of shock and unease flickered through the group. I raised a hand, and everyone fell silent, all turning toward me, looking to their alpha for direction.
“We knew this would happen eventually,” I said. “That’s what this whole discussion has been about. It means we’ll be putting plans in place a bit faster than normal, but we’ve been preparing for it.”
I turned to the scout. “Any thoughts on how long it might take?” I inquired.
The scout shrugged, rubbing his shaggy head as his eyes swiveled around. “A few days, I think. It’s hard to tell.”
I nodded, digesting the information. “In that case, we need to plot out the evacuation as quickly as possible,” I said. “I want a plan by the end of the day. We’ll finalize the details tomorrow and then announce it to the pack once we’ve settled everything.”
Sam nodded. I waited for a quip. But it was a testament to how dire the situation truly was that none came.
“On it,” he said instead. He gestured toward Oz and Danson, silently tasking them to join the job. They nodded and followed him out of the room.
“Everyone else, get ready,” I said. “We have to be ready to move.”
***
It was late when I finally trudged into the house.
Emma and Grace sat on the rug, playing with Grace’s dolls.
Emma had a beatific smile that seemed almost to shine.
She really was stunning. And I loved watching her play with her daughter.
You could see their bond as Emma made funny voices for the dolls, taking Grace’s guidance so the kid could guide the narrative.
It looked like they might be having a tea party.
“Hey,” Emma said, smiling up at me as I came in.
“Hi.”
I had debated how to talk to her about the wraith and the evacuation plan.
She needed to know, but at the same time, the idea of making her worry or panic set my wolf growling.
He wanted to protect her, to handle it without unsettling his mate.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to be an option this time.
It was better just to rip the Band-Aid off.
“We need to talk,” I said.
Emma froze, disquiet radiating off her as she gave me an uneasy look. I could have killed the sand wraith just for putting that expression on her face.
“About what?” she asked. When I glanced over at Grace, Emma turned back to her daughter. “Grace, why don’t you go upstairs? I’ll even bring you some ice cream as a special treat.”
“Really?” Grace perked up, eyes burning with excitement. “You never let me eat in my room.”
“Well, sometimes the rules can be bent a bit,” Emma retorted. “But only if you run up there right now. I’ll bring you some in a bit.”
I had never seen a kid run so fast. Emma watched, biting her lower lip as she stared after Grace, then tilted her head, as if keeping an ear pricked as she listened for the door to close upstairs.
The second the sound reverberated through the house, she turned to look at me, her face taut with dread.
“What is it?” she asked, wrapping her arms around her stomach.
“The sand wraith is coming,” I said. “We only have a few days to prepare.”