Chapter 18 - Hannah
Staring at the children in the living room, my heartstrings tug, like the chords of a guitar being strung to test the sound. But what I hear, what I feel, isn’t melodious or pleasant. It isn’t the sound of the peace I’ve been searching for my whole life.
The only peace I’ve ever tasted was when I lived with the witches in the coven. But even then, I’d always been hiding Clarissa, not revealing she was an alpha wolf’s daughter, as if both Amalia and I knew the consequences that would come with that.
And deep down, I’d been harboring resentment toward Conan for his change of heart, my own heart unsettled. I’d always been looking over my shoulder, waiting for the other shoe to drop, expecting the unexpected. The worst.
Now that the truth about my daughter is out in the open, it doesn’t wipe away our troubles. Rather, it adds to them.
Just like Nico, Clarissa is in danger because she’s a hybrid child. The only saving grace we have for now is the potion that masks their wolves. And though he’d been kidnapped, Nico doesn’t wallow in his trauma, and instead plays with Clarissa as if nothing happened.
Deep down, I know he’s hurting. Losing his mother at a young age affected both him and Orlando, and now, he’s become the center of this raging war against the very creatures that took her life. Candice’s death affected all of us in the August Moon Circle and the Nightcreek Pack.
Now, those troubles have followed us to Iron Breath and every other pack that forms the alliance.
It’s unsettling, to say the least.
Surprisingly, though, my one consolation comes from the most unexpected place.
Conan Becker.
He slides his arm around my waist, drawing me to his side as he sighs and watches the children playing inside. We’ve hardly had time to speak about where we stand in our relationship, but that has taken the backseat in light of the real danger lurking in our midst.
We’ve seemed to have buried the hatchet, and maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe I don’t want to be stuck in the past anymore. Maybe—and I may regret it later—I want to feel safe in his arms.
“Amalia and the others have settled in at the guesthouse,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to my cheek and further driving in the fact that we’ve moved forward without even speaking about things.
Whatever happened that night in Milford, when we amplified each other’s powers through the mate bond, we’ve become closer.
“We’re just waiting for William and Theodore to arrive now.”
I nod thoughtfully. “Will Iron Breath be fine while you’re here? We can go back to that side of the valley if you’re needed.”
Conan shakes his head. “My grandfather will return to Iron Breath today,” he says, and my heart skips a beat.
I haven’t had time to explain why I’m wary when it comes to his grandfather. I gulp hard and nod slowly this time. “I guess that’s good. He hasn’t told Clarissa, has he?”
“No,” Conan assures me. He’d only briefly told his grandfather that Clarissa doesn’t know that he’s her father, and that it should be kept from her until we were both ready to tell her the truth. “Do you think we should?”
I nod hesitantly, turning my attention back to Clarissa and Nico. “I think we should. But maybe once we’re done with tonight’s conference, and we’ve returned to Iron Breath.” I sigh. “She’s so peaceful, so carefree.”
“She’ll be safe here, Hannah.” Conan squeezes my arm with reassurance. “Let’s go. Hale will be back in the valley soon,” he reminds me of the captured human who will return with Alpha William’s and Alpha Theodore’s convoy. “You should prepare for the ritual tonight.”
I nod, mentally preparing myself for what’s about to unfold.
The officials of the packs and the coven had been invited to Bitterroot Valley for another meeting, and for the ritual Amalia claims I need to participate in to uncover the secrets Marcus Hale is hiding.
Why the demons are opening a portal, and who’s leading the whole operation.
Turning toward Conan, I find him staring at me as if he can sense what I’m feeling. He probably can, through the mate bond, and that’s why he leans in until his face is only a mere inch from mine.
The warmth of his breath, the potent mintiness in his scent, make me feel safe.
“I believe in you, Hannah,” he whispers. “If anyone can do this, it’s you. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
“You’re right,” I say, my lips curling to a smile of determination, my spirit ignited with a fire that hasn’t existed before. “I have to do this. For Clarissa. For Nico. For all of us.”
Conan lifts my hands to his lips and presses a chaste kiss on my knuckles, feeding that fire. “And I will be right there with you, for whatever you need. All you’ve gotta do is say the word.”
***
The meeting with the allies drags on long after sunset.
By the time everyone settles into their seats around the conference table inside Red Moon’s gathering hall, exhaustion hangs heavily over the room. Exhaustion, frustration, and determination.
No one says it aloud, but we’re all thinking the same thing.
Nico was rescued.
The portal wasn’t closed.
And Clarissa is still in danger.
The thought alone is enough to keep my attention fixed on the discussion unfolding around us.
“Nico’s shift wasn’t normal,” Amos from the Bitterroot Valley research team says, spreading several notes across the table. “I’ve reviewed every account from Milford.”
The elderly scholar adjusts his glasses, allowing a moment of pause across the room before continuing, “When the child shifted, the portal reacted.”
A silence follows because everyone saw it happening.
I remember the way the darkness twisted. The way the swirling energy above the sawmill fractured for a few brief seconds, as though something had interrupted the flow of power.
“The portal weakened,” Annika concedes quietly.
“It did,” Amalia agrees. “For a moment, it almost looked like it could have disappeared.”
Conan’s hand finds mine beneath the table, and he gently laces his fingers through mine. Though the gesture is small, it’s grounding. Comforting. And I don’t pull away, because I need that feeling right now.
Glancing at Orlando, it’s clear to see that while he’s relieved we found Nico, he remains unsettled. No child should have to go through what Nico did. And the demons are still out there, still a threat to us, to the hybrid children.
Sophie and Damian feel it, too, that uneasiness. Damian has his arm around Sophie’s shoulders, while she cradles her belly with both hands, her brows never straightening. She’s about to give birth to their child, and now the children of alphas and witches are in grave danger.
“If hybrid children are powering the portal,” Heinrich says thoughtfully, “then removing them from the equation would naturally weaken it.”
Amalia nods. “Perhaps.” She slowly rises from her seat. “But I believe there is more to it than that.”
Every eye turns toward her, and she nods at Amos as if she’s about to reveal a secret only they know about.
“The demons aren’t simply using the children. They’re after something connected to them.”
A chill crawls down my spine.
“What do the demons want with our children?” Orlando asks immediately.
“If I knew that for sure, Alpha Orlando, we would not be having this meeting.” She curls a fist. “We would have known exactly what to do and how to close that portal for good. All we have is speculation for now. And what we need is answers before the demons strike again.” Her gaze drifts toward me.
Toward Conan.
Toward the hallway where Clarissa and Nico are sleeping under heavy guard.
“I believe the answer lies with the Ashclaw bloodline.”
My stomach tightens with a painful knot. The witches from both the coven and the Bitterroot Valley exchange uneasy glances.
Every one of the Bitterroot Valley Lunas descends from Ashclaw.
Every single one.
“The portal...the hybrid children…the demons...we’ve done some digging, and it’s no coincidence that Nico was targeted. Candice Hawthorne was a descendant of Ashclaw, just like Luna Sophie, Luna Annika, and Luna Hannah. Everything keeps leading us back to the same place.”
“The south,” Amos murmurs.
“Yes,” Amalia agrees. “All of this seems to be tied to the south of the Bitterroot Valley. To Ashclaw. Perhaps it is why the demons have been attacking us in Helena Valley. Nico Caldas is also tied to the Ashclaw Pack.”
“Then we need to go south, to the ruins. Not just to fight demons, but to do more investigating,” Amos suggests.
Amalia nods. “But before we travel there and risk facing demons again, we need answers.”
Her eyes shift toward the door. Behind it, Marcus Hale, our prisoner, sits bound to a chair at the far end of the Red Moon dungeon.
Amalia’s expression becomes grim. “He knows something,” she says with a grunt. “He has always known something.”
Conan lets out a low growl, glancing at me, and I nod.
“I am ready for the ritual, Sister Amalia.”
“Very well.” She nods. “It is time.”
My pulse quickens, and I cling to Conan’s hand as he leads me to my feet. We follow Sister Amalia through the doors, with the other allies waiting behind for our return.
Milly rushes forward and slides her arm through mine, shivering with nervousness as the High Priestess leads us to Marcus Hale. Only Alpha Damian and Alpha William have joined us to keep watch, to pull open the large iron doors that keep the prisoner confined.
Candles burn behind the door, wards and sigils placed strategically around the single cell that Marcus Hale is locked in.
Conan doesn’t leave my side when we stop behind Amalia. She turns to me, producing a syringe from somewhere in the hidden folds of her cloak.