SEVENTY-SEVEN
WILLOW
Onyx doesn’t stop until we’ve reached the manor.
In the middle of the field in front of our castle-like home is Hassha, Korah, the Blackwater Clan, and several of Hassha’s warriors. The Regals’ hands and eyes are ignited as they glare at the hovering mass in the sky.
“Why is she here already?” Caz asks as soon as he’s met up to Korah and Hassha.
“She shouldn’t be.” Hassha grimaces, her eyes never straying from the menacing rock. “Contact all territories and tell them to come to Blackwater as soon as possible. Tell them to be armed and ready.”
“Is it time already?” Juniper’s eyes flood with panic as she looks at everyone. My throat thickens as I look from her to the black mass in the sky again. Clumps of dirt and rocks fall from it, slamming into the barrier and causing it to rattle with lightning.
“It’s time to get ready,” Korah confirms. She and Hassha look at each other and nod. “We will take ourselves out of the barrier to see what her plans are and what we’re dealing with. She is not supposed to attack until the full five days have been completed.”
“But knowing her, she doesn’t want to wait any longer,” Hassha growls. She whips around, turning for a cluster of her warriors. “KESSALA!”
“KESSALA!” they shout back, slamming the bottom of their spear handles into the ground.
“It is now our time to fight,” Hassha declares. “Gather the other women and children and bring them to the manor for safety!”
The warriors waste no time running toward the forest to collect their tribe.
“Juniper, while Maeve is recovering, you are in charge of everyone in the bunker,” Caz says, gripping her by shoulders.
Her wet eyes expand as she looks him all over, taking in his new appearance. “Caz, what’s happened to you?” she asks.
Killian and Rowan turn to look at him too, their eyes going just as wide. They were all too stuck on the floating rock to fully notice him before.
“Brother,” Rowan breathes.
“Yuri,” he returns, shrugging. “Do you think you can do that, Jun?”
“Sure, but that is a lot to put on my shoulders. I’m not Mum, Caz. I don’t think as quickly as she does.”
“Of course you do,” he returns. “You’ve always been much quicker in thought than all of us. Why do you think you’ve always been such a pain in my ass?”
She huffs a laugh, but it does nothing to wash away the fear in her eyes.
“You’ll take Willow with you to the bunker along with Hassha’s tribe and their children. Hassha and Korah have agreed to keep it protected during the war so nothing should be able to get in or out until it’s over.”
“Love of Vakeeli.” She pulls away, looking from Caz to her brothers. “I can’t believe this is happening. Promise me all of you will stay alive. Promise to make it back to us.”
Killian and Rowan look between each other before their chins fall an inch.
Caz holds on to her gaze but doesn’t answer.
Juniper draws in a shuddering breath, and when a tear drifts down her cheek, she swipes it away. Then she’s slamming into Killian and Rowan, hugging them tight around the necks as she chokes on a breath.
They hold on to her, hugging her back just as tightly. Rowan’s face crumples, and Killian’s misty eyes close as he wraps his arms around his siblings.
“Come back to me,” Juniper whispers when she finally pulls away from them.
“I love you, sister.” Rowan plants a kiss on her forehead.
Killian ruffles her hair, but I don’t miss the tears collected in the corners of his eyes. “Keep ’em safe, Jun.”
“You should be safe in the bunker.” Caz stands in front of me, and I look up at him, feeling my heart beating a mile a minute. “There’s food, water, everything you need. When this is all over, I’ll be the first to come for you.”
I can’t find my smile as I focus on him. Thick, hot tears blind me, and I bury my face in his chest and hug him as hard as I can.
“Please don’t die, Caz,” I whisper.
“If I die, you die too. I won’t let that happen.” He cups the back of my head with one of his large hands, planting a kiss on top of it. Then he collects my face and tilts my head up. “Oi, look at me.”
I do.
“You’ll be safe. And no matter what happens, you must remember that I love you. If neither of us makes it out of this life, I’ll find you in the next. We’ll always be together. You understand?”
I suck in a breath, trying desperately to bite back the tears. My eyes are burning, my throat is raw and it hurts. When the tears fall, Caz rubs them away with the pads of his thumbs.
“Go on,” he whispers, bobbing his head in Juniper’s direction. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
I lean up to kiss him, to feel his warm lips, his hands on my waist, his body, his racing heartbeat. All of him .
“Make sure you beat her ass,” I say when our lips part.
He cracks a smile. “Trust me, I plan to fucking obliterate her.”
Cerberus appears, sniffing at Caz and whining. Caz takes a short step back and squats. “No, no. Not this fight,” he murmurs to Cerberus. Cerberus licks at his chin then presses his face deeper into Caz’s chest.
“Go on with your Mum. I’ll be back for you too.” With one more scratch behind Cerberus’s ears, Caz stands upright again and takes my hand.
He places a kiss on it while holding my eyes. My other half. I love you more than anything.
This time I can’t help the sob that breaks out of me. I can’t believe any of this is happening. It’s now that I realize the gravity of our situation.
All the lives going to that battlefield.
All the people who will be lost.
All the blood that will be shed, the fear, the anguish.
Caz squeezes my hand, and I draw in a breath, trying to pull my shit together as I swipe at the tears with the back of my arm.
When Caz and I part, our fingers linger, and it takes everything in me to walk away from him. The only reason I do is because Juniper has my other hand and is leading the way to the manor.
Silvera and Cerberus join my side, whimpering along the way. Cerberus stops in the middle of the field and whines, like he’s begging Caz to change his mind.
Caz shakes his head, pointing toward the manor. I don’t miss the way his eyes sadden as he does it.
With a reluctant spirit, Cerberus follows us.
Separating wasn’t so bad for us before, but knowing this could be the last time I look at Caz and the last time I feel him, well…my heart is aching, and I’m sure our wolves sense that. Our pain is theirs and theirs is ours.
But I have hope.
I saw him in that meadow. Even Hassha was stunned by how quickly he’d gotten a hold of his power.
He will come out on top.
I just hope he doesn’t lose too many of the people he loves in the process.