Chapter 42
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
By mid-morning, the back pavilion was full.
The four leaders of each of the other witch covens were present, including Reed and Erica.
Tony and Ander were sitting near the back with a couple of their upper-ranking pack members.
Caden, Caspian, and Garrett sat near the back as well.
They wouldn’t be participating in this battle and would instead stay behind and protect the pack.
Adam, Sam, Winston, Jin, and Chasen were all sitting close to the front with the Black Ice Pack’s chosen warriors behind them, while Hunter and Freja stood together, side by side, in the front.
Hunter looked over the group that had gathered.
“We all know why we’re here. We need to decide how best to proceed.
I understand you wish to avoid unnecessary casualties.
Let me make myself clear. We will not tolerate being attacked.
As long as the other witches in the Briar Coven stand down, we shouldn’t have a problem.
But exactly how to proceed is the question.
I don’t want to delay this any longer. Every second that witch is alive is another moment she could potentially do harm.
You understand us werewolves can not tolerate her behavior.
And according to our nature, she must be destroyed immediately.
” Hunter looked at the other witches that had gathered.
The leaders all seemed to be in agreement. Meryl had to die.
Erica stood up, her eyes meeting Hunter’s.
“The Briar Coven is grouped together. All of them live in the same village. However, Meryl and her closest witches live in a manor above the village. We can seal them in the area around the manor while members of our covens can go and explain things to the other witches. We don’t think any of them will be a problem.
And your group can handle … the unpleasantries. ”
Tony stood up and turned to look at the coven leaders. “Who will be the next head? How is that decided?” He was worried that another equally crazy person would be chosen.
The leaders of the coven all grew silent.
They looked up, their gazes falling on the green eyes in the front of the room.
Erica then cleared her throat. “The thing is, leadership follows an order. Freja’s mother was supposed to be the current leader.
Naturally, with Meryl gone, leadership would then fall to Freja. She is still a witch, after all.”
Freja’s body tensed, and she shifted uncomfortably next to Hunter.
His warm, comforting arm wrapped around her.
She glanced up at him and he gave her a reassuring smile.
Taking in a deep breath, she looked at the coven leaders.
“The thing is … I’m the luna of this pack.
I’m also the Queen of the Werewolves. I think I would be spreading myself too thin to be the coven leader as well.
Therefore, I relinquish my right to be the next head of the coven with no disrespect.
” When her mother refused, they had held it against her.
She hoped this would not be the case again.
Erica smiled and nodded. “We figured as much. There is another young girl who is next in line after you. The leadership will fall to her.”
“How do we know this young girl isn’t as corrupt as Meryl?” Tony said, a bit agitated.
One of the witches clicked her tongue in agitation.
“Contrary to what you believe, us witches just want to live our lives. Are there a few bad eggs? Sure. But what species doesn’t have those?
In either case, because the girl is young, she will be the head but will have to intern under us for a couple of years.
During this time, we will be able to see her true colors. ”
Tony sat down, grumbling lowly. He wasn’t satisfied, but there was nothing else he could do.
He was a werewolf, not a witch. He felt Ander brush against him with his shoulder gently, reminding him not to overthink things.
And he could admit it. He was more cautious now because of what had happened to them.
“Also … we’re sorry about what happened before, with your mother and you, Freja.
Your mother had every right to step down and live her own life.
And we’re sorry you ended up paying for the coven leader’s animosity.
We moved too slowly.” Erica frowned. “We’re at fault for not moving faster.
Meryl has been able to do a lot of damage—all because we didn’t want to get our hands dirty. ”
Freja squeezed her fingers tightly together. Sorry? They’re sorry. Well, that makes everything all better, Freja scoffed internally.
We can rip out their throats and apologize afterward. Ember growled in annoyance. Freja smirked internally. She and her wolf were on the same page.
“I know sorry doesn’t make up for everything. It’s a start though, right?” Erica added, offering an apologetic smile.
Freja inhaled quietly. This person didn’t cause her any direct harm and was also Sam’s aunt.
She swallowed some of the bitterness inside her.
These people were also helping them out now.
In the future, it would be best to all be on good terms with one another.
In the end, all Freja could muster was a small nod.
She would try, but any words right now would be a lie.
She understood. She would withhold her feelings of forgiveness until after Meryl was killed.
They would have to prove to her that they were different, and allowing Meryl to be killed was the first step.
Hunter tugged Freja closer into him, rubbing his hand gently over her side. He could feel her slight tension and could sense her hesitancy. He knew she was holding back and trying to be the leader she needed to be now, and he loved her for it.
He looked up at everyone. “How long before you’ll be ready? We’re ready to attack tonight.”
“We can be ready by then,” Erica said as she looked at the other coven leaders.
“Honestly, we need to move quickly. I’m sure she suspects, and we don’t need for her to come up with a plan.
We can send a couple of experienced witches to fight alongside you guys.
You might need more than Freja’s magic alone.
While it is powerful, there are several powerful witches there. ”
“If we attack them fast enough, we won’t need magic,” Ander said simply. “Just don’t give the witches enough time to protect themselves.”
“Ideally that works. But just in case, I can have witches on standby.” Erica looked up at Hunter, who nodded.
“That’s probably a good idea. I think I like having the extra precautions. I don’t want to lose anyone on our side.” From the corner of his eye, Hunter looked at Freja. He was going to have his mate with him, and he wanted to make sure she was safe.
“So, where are we headed?” Sam asked, turning his gaze toward his aunt and uncle.
“It’s a couple of hours away from here. We’ll meet up in the trees behind the manor. This way we’ll go unnoticed. If we drive right into their village, our cover will be blown immediately.” Erica looked over at Reed, who then stood up.
“Let’s prepare and meet in four hours. I’ll send you a text with the rendezvous coordinates,” Reed said as the other coven leaders stood to take their leave.
“Thank you. We’ll use this time to go over our plans.” Hunter nodded in appreciation.
“Sam, come with us for a moment. I have a map of the manor that may help you with coordinating your attacks.” Reed watched as Sam trotted over to him, and the group left to go back to their vehicles.
Freja looked over the group in front of her. “Which of you are the fastest?” she asked as she scanned the room. She tilted her chin up at Hunter. “We need the fastest to lead the way. Obviously, this means us first. But who else is considered pretty fast?”
Before Hunter could answer, Tony spoke up. “Alphas will be faster than the other wolves. Ander and I are most likely the next in line when it comes to speed and strength.”
Chasen growled. “Not strength. Speed … probably. But when it comes to strength …” He looked at the two alphas.
“I’m stronger than the both of you put together.
” He wasn’t being smug about it. It was just a fact.
Werebears were stronger than wolves, and he was a guardian.
He was supposed to be strong enough to take out a small group of wolves on his own.
The purpose of a guardian was to protect the fairies and their kingdom.
Though he was different in that aspect. His line was the start of a division from the fairies.
He was Hunter's guardian, someone who would never rule Elysia. It was fitting for him to be the guardian of the Werewolf King, though. It actually made sense. While fairy blood flowed in Hunter and he was the Fairy Prince, he wasn’t the standing fairy prince.
That title would go to Reiya’s mate. Chasen would be the first guardian who wouldn’t live out his life in Elysia. And he was fine with that.
Sam returned and handed Hunter the blueprints to the manor. Hunter and Freja’s eyes widened when they saw it. The place was huge and had several entrances. There were four of them, to be exact. Hunter rubbed his forehead and sighed loudly. He didn’t like the looks of the size of this place.
“You do realize we’re going to need to split up, right?” Freja said quietly provoking a low growl from Hunter.
“No, Freja. I want you by my side.” Hunter shook his head adamantly.
“Hunter, this is a battle, not a dance. We need to be efficient. We divide up into four groups. Each group will take a different entrance.” Freja pointed at the map as everyone gathered around it.
“Tony, Ander, Hunter, and I will each take an entrance. Now, we just need to divide the groups up among us.”
Hunter shook his head as he looked at the blueprints. The place was a maze. The different entrances were on opposite ends and well spread out.
“Hunter … I arguably have more combat experience than you. You’ve sparred and practiced all your life.
You’ve recently had a few battles with demon wolves.
I’ve been doing this for years. Trust me.
We need the fastest at each point.” Freja looked into his stormy eyes as she calmly spoke to him.
She wanted to be with Hunter, too. It just wasn’t the practical thing to do.
Their job would be to lead others. They needed to believe in one another and have faith in their abilities.
“What happens when we find someone? Do we kill on sight? What if there’s a child in there?” Sam asked, wanting everything to be clear.
Hunter nodded. “I’ve been thinking about this as well.
I think everyone should judge the situation for themselves.
We’re being told that the adults there are those that can be eliminated.
However, I’ll allow you all to make the call between killing and subduing.
I will say this. It was a young girl who injected me with the blood potion, so be on your guard.
” He’d let his guard down once. He would not make that mistake again.
However, he also wasn’t going to order them all to kill on sight.
At the least, they could just subdue the person.
“Chasen, we should also split up,” Jin said as she looked at the map.
She saw his wide eyes and she smiled at him.
“We need to be rational about this. We’re both powerful and should be dividing our strength.
I think one of us should accompany Ander and the other Tony.
We need to even out the forces instead of stacking them in one concentrated spot.
” Instead of them going with Hunter and Freja, who were both incredibly strong, it would be more beneficial to go with Ander and Tony, who were far weaker in comparison.
Hunter looked up for a moment, then shook his head in frustration. “Okay, this is what we’ll do. “Sam, you’ll go with Jin. Adam, you’ll be with Freja, and Winston, you’ll be with Chasen. Then I’ll divide up the other wolves accordingly.”
“I’ll be with you, Hunter,” a familiar voice said from behind.
Hunter turned his head, his eyes wide. “You don’t need to come along. Your job is to stay here.”
“That’s an old man’s job. Besides, Garrett and Caspian can handle things here.
I’m coming to look after Asher’s boy. You need someone strong as your wingman, and that’s me.
No arguments, young alpha. Let me come.” Caden had been listening to the arrangements and didn’t like that there wasn’t a high-ranking member with the alpha.
Hunter might be strong, but he should still have someone strong watching his back.
Hunter smiled at Caden and nodded. “Alright, Caden. I feel like I can’t argue with you about it because I know it’ll only mean me getting lectured by my dad later. Your experience will be invaluable to us.”
“I know it.” Caden winked with a cheesy grin. “Time to show you pups how to really fight.”
Hunter chuckled and took in a deep breath.
“Okay, let’s divide everyone else up. Everyone, keep this in mind: These witches have attacked both your alpha and luna.
Your king and queen. We cannot appear weak in this situation.
Others will be watching, and this will be an example for all.
This will be our statement of vengeance of what happens when you mess with the werewolves!
” Hunter said in a low growl. The others yelled in agreement, pumping their fists in the air.
No one messed with the werewolves without retaliation.
And no one dared to touch the Alpha King or his Queen without signing their death certificate.
Hunter’s gaze met with Freja’s. Though everyone around them was shouting and making noise, it was silent for the two of them.
Things hadn’t been quiet in their relationship.
Hurdles kept being thrown in their way. This was just one more obstacle …
one more that they needed to leap over. It would be hard, but Hunter would trust in Freja and her strength. It was time to hunt some witches.