Chapter 10 - Heinrich
I stare down the hallway, long after Annika left and disappeared into her bedroom, my heart hammering in my chest, my fists tightly wound against my sides.
Deciding not to go after her, I turn back to the kitchen and clear the table, dishes to the sink, before I head out to start my day. Annika needs space, and I’ll have to respect that.
The council has called us in for another meeting, and it sounds pretty urgent.
I don’t want to waste any more time—not when I have to worry about Annika’s safety.
My wolf won’t allow me to rest until this thing with the demons comes to an end.
If I was concerned about it before—having to protect my people, the wolves under my leadership—I’m restless now, my priorities slightly shifted toward my fated mate who, for now, doesn’t have her powers unlocked to protect herself.
Not the way Sophie, Damian’s mate, can protect herself with her fire magic.
“Good morning,” I greet when I enter the council chamber in the Red Moon territory in the north of the Bitterroot Valley, where Damian is the alpha. He’s not alone; his newly pregnant mate is getting to her feet with his help when I approach them.
Damian greets me with a shake of my hand, and Sophie greets me with a gentle nod.
“Any idea why the council called for a meeting here?” Damian asks, a frown furrowing his brows.
I shrug as I encourage the two to return to their seats and sit down across from them. “No idea. Were we supposed to go hunting today already? I thought it was tomorrow, unless the plans changed when I left last night.”
“We agreed on tomorrow,” Damian responds with a thoughtful frown. “Let’s just wait for the others to arrive.”
“How is your mate doing, Alpha Heinrich?” Luna Sophie asks, prompting me to sigh and hang my head.
“As expected, she is not taking it very well,” I reveal, and Sophie sighs.
“Have you told her about her powers yet?”
I shake my head. “She hardly believes anything I tell her. She was quite shocked when I shifted into wolf form and passed out on the spot.”
Sophie giggles lightly. “The same thing happened to me, but I was in the city when it happened. It’s a good thing you haven’t told her about her powers. She needs to discover them on her own.”
“Yeah, Ana suggested the same thing. The only thing that worries me is that Annika has a sister in the human world. We can’t risk it right now.”
I purse my lips as Damian goes on to list all the reasons why traveling to the city would be a bad idea, and I bite my tongue because even he doesn’t know about my dealings in the human world, and the plan was to attend a meeting there today.
Maybe it’s not such a great idea to travel to the city by myself. Not now, anyway. I made a mental note to cancel my meetings, tell the office that I’m out of the country for a few weeks, and put all my attention on pack dealings.
The meeting cabin in Red Moon begins to fill up with the elders and the research team.
Recently rebuilt after the devastating attack a few weeks ago, the chamber has barely been restored to its former glory, but the ancient oak desk in the center of the room remains like a steady relic with scorch marks and engravings that tell of its history, especially the most recent incident.
My father also enters the chamber, looking stiff as he gives me a nod. Amos, the head of the research team, steps up to the table and unfolds the map he used before.
“The team has been to the spot where we suspect the demons are entering our world through a portal. We’ve picked up on a condensed amount of dark residue on that part of the mountain, but there’s no portal in sight,” Amos explains.
“Perhaps the portal isn’t open all the time,” Sophie suggests. “It was open in my vision, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s open unless they’re going back and forth.”
“Luna Sophie has a point,” Amos concedes, pointing to the map and running a circle across a particular spot.
“This entire area is covered in demon residue, but there was no sighting of them. And, we still don’t know how much the demons know about this world, how they’re tracking the witches, or how they have gathered any of this information. ”
“If it was something the research team uncovered, then clearly they have access to the same information,” Conan suggests, brows furrowed.
“Definitely,” Damian agrees with the third alpha. “But that means we don’t know everything there is to know about the demons. Are they wild, malevolent creatures, or are they intellectual beings?”
“More importantly, are they working for a bigger evil? A leader of some sort?” I add, and silence stretches over the meeting chamber, quiet enough to hear the trees rustling and the river flowing outside, the waters gushing as if they’re in a hurry to travel downstream.
“Whatever we don’t know about the demons, we’re doing our utmost to uncover. We found scrolls in ancient Latin, and we’re decoding the encrypted messages on them,” Amos informs us. “So far, we’ve found another ritual that might secure protection around our borders and keep the demons out.”
Elder Bernard, Conan’s grandfather, leans in. “Another ritual? How do we know it will work?”
“It’s worth a try, Elder Bernard,” Amos implores. “The writing appears to be the same as from the scroll that told of the ritual for fated mates. We have nothing to lose, especially now that we have to wait until Alpha Conan conducts his ritual for a fated mate.”
Elder Bernard nods and turns to the other elders.
“We will proceed with this ritual, Amos,” Elder Joel concedes. “What is needed from us?”
My father raises a hand to silence the meeting room, and that’s the moment a ringing sound bleats through my ears.
It’s Dedrick, the delta of Silver Stone, calling out in urgency.
“Demons!” I stand up even before I hear the full message, my heart pounding with dread because I know exactly why they’ve been spotted in Silver Stone territory.
Damian and Sophie rise immediately, sharing my innermost fears as they stare at me with worry evident in both their eyes.
“Annika…” I tell them, and they nod, falling in step behind me, and no one argues, a silent, shared agreement passing through the meeting hall and putting everyone on high alert.
We’re headed east in no time, following the emergency call, following the scent of sulfur and darkness into the Silver Stone side of the valley, screeching cries echoing against the mountains that secure us from the human world, but leave us open to these attacks from the demons.
The two alphas are at my side instantly, Silver Stone soldiers meeting us at the border in their wolf forms as we approach.
The three leaders shift into wolf form, and it’s a surprise that even Conan doesn’t put up any resistance like he usually would.
It’s almost as if he’s finally understanding how much trouble we’re actually in, and accepting that our fated mates are the key to defeating the demons.
Or maybe he’s just tired of fighting and being resistant. Either way, he’s the first to lunge forward when a demon comes forward, surging in all his might, a torrent of uncontrollable magic whisking through the air as he uses his dwindling air powers in wolf form to push the demon back.
Damian follows through with a blast of water magic, and a flick of his furry ivory head is all it takes to swing the water from the pores of the earth at the demon. The jetted, malevolent creature whines as it tumbles backward through the air, but it catches itself and comes swooping forward.
It doesn’t get very far when Sophie hits it with a burst of fire, the scarlet flames consuming the dark creature and turning black smoke into ash that scatters to the ground.
Another demon swiftly swoops in from the left, and I use my disappointing magic to throw the lightest log in its direction.
The dismal attempt at using my magic is quickly intercepted by the demon that dodges the flying log, but Damian quickly takes over, fighting the demon with force as Sophie joins him.
Fire and water become a powerful union that rips another demon to shreds, the immaculate display of their combined magic mesmerizing as I imagine what it will be like once Annika’s magic erupts.
I know it’ll strengthen me, too, sharpen my earth magic and allow me to reclaim the strength I’ve lost since the demons began attacking, and seemingly draining our energy and magic.
The slight pause to think, just a brief moment, is to my detriment when I lose focus for a split second, and a swarm of demons suddenly appears from the woods.
Not coming toward the army of wolves in the clearing, but headed for the mountains where the cabins are situated.
“No! They’re rushing in! We need to stop them!” I roar out through the mind link and rush forward with Conan and Damian at my sides. Damian has his mate on his back, carrying her forward into the swell of the fight, chasing the demons as she throws fire at them.
A black mass swivels and turns toward us, spearing toward me like a tornado that knocks me off my paws and throws me into a sharp rock. I instantly shift into human form, my wolf weakened, injured, and incapacitated in a way that even it can’t handle.
Blood pools at my side, warming my left arm and ribcage as my vision begins to blur. Wolves howl as they fight the demons, but I can’t shift into wolf form again to help them fight.
Conan stands in front of me, like a shield of protection, while Damian and his fated mate take down the demons until none are left. All I can do is watch, feeling useless, too injured to shift back into wolf form, too exhausted by my inability to do much to help my friends.
When the fight is over and injuries are being counted between the soldiers, the other two alphas shift into human form and surround me.
“You need to get to Anastasia,” Damian says with urgency in his tone as he reaches down and hooks my good arm over his shoulder, helping me to my feet.
“No…” I groan, flinching from the pain as I realize the source of the blood loss is my twisted elbow that feels like it’s out of place.
The wise thing to do would be to see Anastasia and let her heal me, but the only thing on my mind is Annika.
Going to her, making sure she’s safe. Nothing else matters.
I can pull my own arm straight. I can stitch myself up.
As long as I’m close to her, I can figure out the rest.
“Take me home. I need to know that Annika is safe.”