Chapter 24 - Hazel
I sat next to Asher in the meeting room. Everyone was there. The room felt packed as my leg bounced underneath the table, everyone seeming to talk at once.
“You can’t be seriously thinking about going out there,” Jade snapped at Brandon. “This is dangerous. You’re talking about going into their camp! It’s a fucking suicide mission! Do you not remember how that went last time?”
“It’s the only way to end this,” Brandon said, talking too calmly. “And this isn’t the first time we’ve done something like this, honey.”
Jade’s lips curled in, and you could see just how pissed she was about the idea. Nora looked over at Kaleb, looking just as uncomfortable. “I don’t think this is a good idea either. You guys could come up with another way to do this. You guys hardly made it out alive last time.”
“There isn’t any other option. Their numbers have only continued to increase since we arrived here.” Westley stated. “If we had another option, we would go with it. If we have a chance to take them down, we need to take it.”
“I can’t agree with your guys’ idea,” Gabriella said, giving Westley an irritated face. “This is insane. You guys could all end up hurt, or worse.”
“Do you have a better idea?” Brandon asked, looking at all of them. “I’ll gladly take an idea. Anything at this point?”
They fell silent. I looked over at Chelsey and Marie, who had been relatively quiet in the corner. The space felt different as we all realized what they were planning. We knew what was at stack.
“And what about us?” Jade asked. “What about our daughter. About the pack? What happens if it goes to shit and you don’t come home? Have you thought about that?”
Brandon didn’t have an answer for her. She threw her chair back and got up. “You are not going out there!” she snapped at him before turning and storming out of the room.
Brandon sighed. “Excuse me.” Brandon slowly pulled himself up and followed after her.
“Jade…”
I swallowed, watching as the room went quiet again. You could hear Jade screaming in the distance, her words echoing. Brandon was trying to calm her but failing.
“Is this really your only option?” Nora asked, looking at Kaleb. She chewed on her lip, her eyes staring at Kaleb.
Kaleb nodded. “We can hunt them all we want, but until we take away their power, they will continue to have the upper hand. They will grow their numbers until our barriers can’t hold them back. It’s only a matter of time.”
Kaleb reached across the table, his fingers tightly wrapping around hers. “We need to do this to save the pack. As hard a decision as this is, it’s our only way.”
I looked over at Asher, who had remained quiet at my side. His hand was wrapped around mine under the table.
“I want to go.”
Kaleb and Westley both looked at me. I sat up straighter. “Actually, correction. I’m going.”
“No,” Kaleb said, shaking his head. “It’s too dangerous.”
“You can’t go without me. You don’t know where the body is buried. None of you do.”
Westley shook his head. “Hazel, this is dangerous. Anything could happen, and we can’t protect you out there.”
“I don’t care. I’m not staying here. I could help. I can protect myself.”
“If she’s going, we’re going,” Nora spoke up.
“Not happening,” Kaleb growled. “None of you is going. End of story.”
“You can’t break the curse.” I snapped. “So you have to take at least one witch.”
“Chelsey is going.”
I looked at Chelsey, realizing that was why she was being quiet. I wondered when they had made that decision.
“You need more than one witch to break the curse. You can’t just put all of that on Chelsey.”
Kaleb sighed. “Asher, will you talk some sense into her?”
I looked at Asher, who glanced at me. But he didn’t. It wasn’t for the lack of trying. He had tried to convince me during the drive here. But I proved I could handle myself. And there was no way I was letting him go out there alone without me.
Asher shook his head at Kaleb. “No. She understands how dangerous it is. If she wants to come to help, then she can.”
Kaleb’s mouth hung open for a moment. “You can’t be serious. Asher, think about this for a moment. She could get hurt. She could die if things go wrong.”
“She protected herself just fine when we were out there. She took down a hybrid by herself and managed to hit several more while riding on my back. I’m not going to tell her she can’t go.”
“This is outrageous!” Gabriella shoved herself up now. “You are not going out there with them! I am not going to possibly lose my husband and my sister in one day!”
“They need me to find the location of the body.”
She shook her head, stumbling to find words. “No, you….Hazel. You can’t go out there with them.”
I held my head high. Asher and I had already talked about this on the drive here. We knew how dangerous it was and the chances that things could go wrong. I knew he didn’t want me to go, but I was the only one who knew. I was the one with the visions on where to go.
“I am.”
“This is Brandon’s call to make. He’s Alpha.” Gabriella turned to the guys. “She can’t just make that decision.”
“He is,” I said as I nodded my head. “But even he can’t argue my facts that I will be the only one who knows where the body is.”
“You could tell them where it is.”
I shook my head. “We can’t risk them not finding it. The area is large, and they don’t have time to dig around for it. We only have one shot.”
Gabriella shook her head and stormed out. Westley looked at me, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He didn’t say anything, just nodded his head before hurrying after her. Nora looked at me, and Kaleb sighed, rubbing at his eyes.
“Well, this has been fun,” Nora said as she pulled herself up. “When are you guys leaving?”
“In the morning,” Kaleb said, smiling at his wife. “We all need a good night’s sleep.”
“If you think you’re sleeping tonight, you are sadly mistaken.” Nora rounded the table. “I mean, not at first, at least.”
Kaleb and Nora left the room a moment later. I looked over at Chelsey and Marie.
“When did you know you’d be going?”
Chelsey frowned. “Brandon asked me a while ago. He said if they ever made a trip like this, he wanted me to join.”
I soaked her words in and watched as Chelsey and Marie got up. I glanced at Asher.
The space was silent between us. “We should go home.”
He nodded in agreement. His fingers were still tightly wrapped around mine. “Let’s.”
The drive was quiet. Neither of us spoke. It was peaceful. I expected my mind to be going everywhere, but it wasn’t. I just wanted to enjoy the silence. Considering this might be our last night together.
We arrived home and headed inside. We froze, neither of us seeming to know where to head. I felt him tug me toward him. I stepped into his space and felt his arms wrap around me. His lips pressed against my forehead, and I leaned into him.
“Stay with me.”
I tightened my hold on him, feeling tears build up in my eyes. I suddenly felt that fear I’d been waiting for. The fact that we could die. Tonight could be our last night together, and I didn’t want to spend it with anyone else but him.
“Can I admit something?” I asked softly, leaning back. I stared into his eyes, realizing just how much I loved him. I loved his laugh and his smile. I loved how he was comforting and how he had my back. I loved everything about him.
I didn’t want to go into the woods tomorrow and never say the words. I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life.
“I don’t expect you to say it back, but I wanted to say it. Just in case I never get the chance again.”
“I love you.”
My eyes widened in shock, and he tugged me close again. His lips pressed against mine softly. I moaned at the contact and sank into him. His lips kissed my cheeks and down my neck. His teeth scrape down my collarbone.
“I wanted to say it first. You know, just in case I never get the chance again.”
I felt tears break free. “I love you too.”
His hands cupped my face as he kissed me deeper. His tongue slid over mine, and I moaned louder. His hands reached down, hoisting me up. My legs locked around him as his mouth devoured me. His hands were soft against my skin, and I wanted more.
“I’ll stay with you,” I said between a kiss. “Even after all of this is over and we survive. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I don’t want this to end.”
His teeth bit hard onto my neck, and I moaned loudly.
He turned us down the hallway toward his bedroom. I ran my hands down his back, digging my nails into his shirt.
I felt my back hit the bed, and he towered over me. I grabbed at his shirt, holding it tightly. I licked my lips as I stared at him. There were so many things that I wanted to say to him, but not in this moment. I just wanted to feel him against me.
He grabbed my pants, yanking them off. I grabbed my shirt and threw it aside. He pulled his shirt off, tossing it with the rest of my clothes, just before unbuttoning his jeans.
I grabbed at his arm, tugging him down. His body pressed against mine, and I felt more tears build up. I didn’t want this to be our last time, the last moments we had together.
I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. I wanted to have more memories and time with him. I didn’t know what I all wanted in my future. Suppose that included kids or tons of animals. But I knew I wanted him.
Asher kissed me, his cock sliding into me with ease. I wrapped my arms around him.
I didn’t think. I just turned my mind off and let him make love to me. I felt his scent wrap around me. I basked in the knowledge that he loved me, and I loved him back. If we did die, I would know he loved me unconditionally.
We did it several times. His lips left marks all over my body. His breath was hot against my skin. Sleep was the last thing on my mind.
After we finished, we lay in silence. I clung to him, listening to his heartbeat. I ran my fingers over his chest, feeling numb. I felt his arms stroking my arm, his other arm wrapped around me.
“Are you scared?” I asked, lifting my head to look at him. “Have you been scared before?”
He nodded. “Yeah. We’ve been in situations like this. My kidnapping wasn’t exactly a pleasant time.”
I swallowed, my mind traveling back to waking up at the healing center. I knew my disappearance was nothing like this, but it still hurt the same.
“Did you get nightmares from it?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I had a hard time sleeping when they found me. Took me months before I felt even a little normal. I still have bad nights. I don’t think they will ever go away.”
I rested my chin on his chest and softly smiled as I stared. I took in his calm face. “Do you think we have a chance? Or do you think we’re fucked royally?”
He clicked his tongue. “I hope we win. But we honestly have no idea how many they have. We won’t know until we get there.”
I rested my face down and closed my eyes. I felt him tug the blanket over us, and I basked in the warmth. My stomach churned with the knowledge we only had hours before we were leaving.