Chapter 30
Victor
No more games.
It’s time to get down to fucking business.
We’re in the penthouse and Silver Pack is nearby. We’re doing these fucking rituals. I have Ingrid here to assist in case anything unexpected happens.
“The others don’t seem like miracles,” Ingrid says, thumbing through the book. “Grandeur. Wonder. Life. The last one obviously brings her back. The rest you’ve done are gone from the book.”
“Yeah, after I do the ritual, it disappears,” Taryn says. “I guess that means I can only do them once.”
“You can’t exactly reincarnate Ishtar twice,” Ingrid says dryly. “Well, let’s hope it will never be necessary.”
“Right,” I growl. “Let’s get on with it. Ritual of Grandeur. Light the fire, cut your finger, and let’s unleash whatever Mother Nature thinks grandeur is on Covington.”
“When you say it that way, now I wonder if we should do it somewhere else,” Taryn says nervously.
“No. We’re doing it,” I say firmly. “Now.”
Taryn nods. Ingrid lights the fire, then Taryn cuts her finger. As soon as her blood hits the flame it flickers into a rainbow that glows, then poofs into a cloud that shimmers like a kaleidoscope in the air before fading away.
“Was that grandeur?” I ask, raising a brow. “I’ve seen better magic shows in Vegas.”
“They didn’t have fireworks in Mother Nature’s time,” Taryn says, glancing over at me. “That was probably impressive back then.”
“For a Cosmic Twin?” I chuckle. “It doesn’t matter. Grandeur achieved. Now let’s unleash some wonder on the world.”
“We used to wait days between these,” Taryn sighs, moving to the next bowl.
“Is it taking anything out of you? Do you need a break?” I ask, the back of my neck bristling with concern.
“No, not at all. I feel great,” she says. “I just hope we’re not cursing Covington or something.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Ingrid says. “Ready?”
“I guess so,” Taryn says, squeezing her finger.
The blood drips onto the flame and it’s similar to grandeur, but there’s something different. A scent. Like sniffing curiosity at the source of creation. A wonder that spans eons and universes before the scent is gone.
“Strange,” I mutter.
“Yeah,” Ingrid agrees.
“I thought it was… kind of calming,” Taryn says, shrugging her shoulders. “Wonder. It’s Covington’s problem now. Goddess help us.”
“The last ritual,” I snarl, reaching into my pocket. “Don’t start it yet. I want Silver Pack here in case there’s trouble.”
“Good idea,” Ingrid says in agreement.
I text Saul and wait. A few minutes later, Silver Pack arrives. I introduce them to my mate, and we crack a few jokes while we wait for everyone else. Saul’s the last to arrive, so once he’s in the penthouse, I turn my attention to Taryn.
“You’re up,” I say. “Bring Mother Nature back to life, mate.”
“I hope she doesn’t just crawl out of the bowl,” Taryn mutters as she prepares to do the ritual.
More fire. More of my mate’s blood. Then there’s a golden shimmer that makes us shield our eyes. When we can finally stand to look, there’s a blonde woman standing in front of us wearing flowing green robes and a shimmering tiara.
“Ishtar,” Ingrid gasps.
The woman takes a step forward but nearly collapses. Saul catches her before she can hit the ground and hoists her back up.
“I’m sorry. I’m extremely weak,” she mutters. “I need Nanaya. She should be here.”
Suddenly, everything shimmers to a stop except for us. I’ve seen this before. It’s Finn. Except when the nothingness appears, it isn’t Finn who steps through. It’s an almost identical twin of Ishtar, except her hair is brown and her tiara is dull and slightly tarnished.
“Sister!” she gasps, rushing to Ishtar’s side. She sinks to the floor with her sister in her arms, the two of them weeping—for joy or regret, I cannot tell.
I tense up and move close to Taryn, then pull her away from the table. There are two goddesses in our penthouse. I’m going to stay out of the fucking way.
But right when I think it’s safe to relax, several golden seams rip through the air. Men in armor pour out of the torn rifts, as an enormous one begins to split the space near the fireplace.
“Oh fuck,” I snarl, shoving Taryn behind me. “Hide! These are those same assholes from Paris!”
She listens. Thank fuck. I don’t bother removing my clothes, I just shift. These guys aren’t frozen. They’re breaking into this time lock, or whatever Mother Fate’s emissaries manipulate.
My Silver Pack brothers shift with me and we tear into the soldiers.
They pull ancient weapons that are as useless as their armor.
We slice through their flimsy attire with ease until there’s nothing left but a bloody mess in the penthouse.
We’ll have to figure out how to clean that up later.
I really regret not doing this elsewhere.
“These are soldiers of Gilgamesh!” Ishtar shrieks. “Just like the first time!”
“Except now he has some of your power,” Nanaya cries, clutching her sister close. “He can harmonize time like we can.”
“No, there’s no way! Enough time passed. He didn’t have the power of immortality. I made sure of it!” Ishtar cries out. “No, no! I’m too weak to defend us!”
“Gilgamesh is dead, right? Right?” I snarl, barely completing my shift before asking.
“Gilgamesh… uh, disappeared,” Nanaya says, her eyes glued to the enormous rift stretching wider. “Oh no…”
I catch the scent of death, grief, and despair a second before a mangled, disfigured wolf with crimson fur tears through the rift.
He hits the ground with a thud so heavy it feels like the entire building shakes.
He’s three times the size of the biggest wolf I’ve ever seen, but he looks like he’s been through wars on top of wars.
“Gilgamesh?” Saul asks into the stunned silence.
“That’s my guess,” I yell, shifting back into wolf form.
I really hope Taryn found a good hiding spot, because Mother Fate’s emissaries are shifting. That means they can’t manipulate time. Mother Fate is getting up too, and it looks like she’s joining the fight.
“Usually, I say I like our odds regardless of how many we’re about to fight,” Saul transmits. “I don’t like our chances today.”
“He looks like some kind of disfigured abomination,” Ryker transmits. “If I die, put that on my tombstone. I want everyone to know what killed me.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Seb says. “If I was betting, I’d put your money on us.”
“Not your money?” Ryker asks.
“Never,” Seb transmits.
The large crimson wolf steps forward, looking around at us, his gaze finally narrowing on Ishtar.
“I have been frozen in time for thousands of years waiting for this moment. The last time we fought, I couldn’t handle the power of immortality,” he snarls menacingly. “As you can see, that is no longer a concern.”
“There’s a lot of us between you and her,” Austin growls, his voice distorted by his wolf.
“Snacks. Maybe an appetizer or two,” the crimson wolf says, licking his lips with a long, partially decayed purple tongue. “Today, I don’t get just one goddess but two. I’ll have both halves of the universe in my control. I’ll be able to manipulate time itself.”
“No!” Nanaya yells. “An abomination like you will never gain access to that power.”
Nanaya channels some sort of purple beam that locks Gilgamesh in place.
I look around and make sure there’s no sign of my mate before I leap at the crimson wolf.
The rest of Silver Pack join in. We clamp down on his throat.
We tear at his legs. We pull away chunks of red fur and meat that tastes rotten.
But the beam doesn’t hold. Gilgamesh shrieks, breaks it, and snaps his enormous jaws across Ryker’s spine. Saul roars with rage and goes for Gilgamesh’s throat. The beast lets go of Ryker and slams Saul to the ground underneath one massive paw.
“Age didn’t make you wise, old wolf? Do they still tell stories about what happens if a crimson wolf comes to your door?” Gilgamesh asks as though engaging in casual conversation instead of waging a battle to the death.
“No,” Saul wheezes breathlessly.
“Everyone dies,” the red wolf roars, biting for Saul.
I react in a moment, rushing in and biting deep into the back of Gilgamesh’s leg. It causes him to snap his attention toward me, sparing Saul, who scampers away. I move and avoid his attacks, playing defense, rather than offense. I have no fucking idea how to bring this bastard down.
“My magic isn’t strong enough; I need Ishtar’s magic, too!” Nanaya screams.
“I’m too weak,” Ishtar gasps. “I need a druid… maybe one of your emissaries could help.”
I already know it’s coming before I hear it. I fucking feel it. She’s supposed to be hiding, but she’s heard too much.
“I’m a druid,” Taryn declares, pulling away from Ingrid who tries to stop her. “Tell me how I can help.”
If I didn’t have this wolf’s attention, I’d put my mate over my knee and turn her ass the color of Gilgamesh’s fur, but I’m just trying to stay alive.
I don’t know if their combined magic can do anything, but if something happens to my mate, Gilgamesh won’t be the most dangerous thing in this fucking penthouse.
I don’t know what I was thinking doing the rituals here. There’s going to be so much fucking blood it’ll seep through the floors. We should have done this outside where the ground could claim what is left when we’re done.
“Take my hand!” Ishtar commands. “I can’t channel my magic, but you can. You’re strong; I can sense it.”
I don’t like that any better than hearing my mate volunteer, but I keep moving to avoid Gilgamesh until Austin gets his attention and then he’s after him.
This penthouse is in ruins. If this time lock wasn’t in place, we’d have the entire city coming to find out what was making so much noise.
Vases are smashed, cushions torn apart, the carpet covered in blood and fur.
All the nice clothes I bought Taryn are scattered on the floor. A few still have price tags on them.
Ishtar yells, “Together, we can see every timeline and freeze him before he can make a move! Now!”
Suddenly, a golden light joins the others, and Gilgamesh is once again frozen in place. He manages to turn to them, but then he’s stuck.
“Go for the throat before he breaks free!” Saul transmits.
I glance at my mate, seeing her standing there, one hand extended, Mother Nature’s magic flowing through her. Her eyes are molten gold, like they were during the frenzy, and she’s never looked more beautiful. She shines. She just better be okay when this is over.
But for now, we finish this. Silver Pack and the emissaries all tear into the huge wolf’s throat, spine, and chest. He shrieks and howls, but the magic holds long enough for him to go limp as blood pours across the floor, forming an enormous, grotesque red pond.
“Fuck,” Saul gasps, covered in blood after he transforms.
“Yeah,” I say, shaking my hair and wiping my face. “You don’t get bloodbaths like that fighting MCs.”
“No,” Austin agrees, looking around. “Let’s check on everyone.”
Ryker needs medical attention and Saul could probably use it but is choosing to tough it out. Outside of that, everyone seems to be fine, but I don’t let out a breath of relief until I have my mate in my arms.
“Are you okay?” I ask, pulling away and looking her over. “There’s blood.”
She looks down at her shirt, then up at me. “Blood from hugging you.”
“Oh, right,” I allow a little smile to turn up the corners of my lips, inspecting her a little closer and not letting the tension out of my frame until I’m certain she’s safe.
“I promise, I’m fine. All I did was just, aim… and channel her power or something. I felt tingly all over, then it was over and the wolf was dead. Gilgamesh,” she says in awe. Turning her attention, she looks me over. “Are you okay?”
“Tired but unharmed,” I mutter, looking around. “This is over then? The rituals are done. Mother Nature is back.”
“Yes,” Ishtar says, taking her sister’s offered hand to stand up tall. “Nanaya will take me back to our realm. I have to recover, but then I’ll be ready to get back to work. I’m sure my sister needs a break.”
“It’s been an honor to hold things together until your return.” Nanaya looks at my mate. “Taryn, we owe you a debt. Truly. You are a druid, just like your ancestors. The ones my sister could always rely on.”
“I’m sorry it took me so long to figure out the book,” Taryn says hesitantly.
“Everything happens at the right time. That’s why we’ve always used that power sparingly,” Mother Fate says. “Now I must get my sister home.”
The emissaries open seams and the goddesses disappear through them. Finn nods to me before stepping through with the rest of Mother Fate’s emissaries.
A few seconds later, time resumes, and there’s a really big mess in this wreck of a penthouse.
“Fuck it; I think I’ll just buy the building,” Saul growls. “After I put on some fucking clothes.”
“Great idea,” I chuckle, pulling Taryn close before looking for some clothes to put on.
“So, that’s it. We saved the world and all we got was a destroyed penthouse?” Taryn asks, looking around.
“I suppose we got each other,” I say.
“Only if you still like me,” she says teasingly.
“Like you?” I scoff. “No, I love you.”
“After all of this, you better fucking love me,” she says, nudging me gently. “Because I certainly do love you.”
She used to be a foolish little girl playing with my magic.
Now, she’s my perfect mate.