Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
Winter deserves the truth about the monster who made her. My king. If only she’d talk to me.
—Lorinne Leroux’s private journal.
In their wolf forms, the sprint back to the farm took almost a day.
They didn’t stop to relieve themselves or eat.
While West could sense Everett was alive through their blood oath, he needed to see the pack.
Both packs. Twenty werewolves had been sacrificed to dark magic before they’d been taken underground and kept there for weeks.
They arrived by nightfall, running beneath the front signage and up the mile long drive. Moonlight cast a white shine across the snow-ridden property.
She caught Everett’s cedar scent a second before he appeared, racing towards them in his human form.
The hood of his cloak flew back as he neared.
No—he was taking it off and chucking it to West. Next came his dark green tunic, up and off his back, careening towards her.
His glowing skin was impeccably carved, distracting her.
It made shifting back to her two-legged form take even longer.
By the time she tossed Everett’s tunic over her shoulders, West was in his second’s cloak and wrapped in his arms. Jealousy was an understatement. Winter rushed over and threw her arms around them both, squeezing as hard as she could.
“Neither of you can die again.”
West pulled back, eyes glassy with tears. “Everett … I need to know who’s dead. Tell me everything.”
His second broke away from the hug, rubbing the back of his neck. He listed off the names of the pack members who’d been taken too soon. All twenty. His voice was calm and he held care when sharing every name. It gave West enough time to process each one. When Everett finished, the air thickened.
“We’re healing,” he offered, but West wept anyway.
Winter held her mate, eyeing his second. “Are you okay?”
“Better now that you’re both back. I sent wolves to the palace, West. They wouldn’t let them inside.”
West turned irate. “Why? You’re forbidden from going there—everyone is.”
She’d expected Everett to cower, but he stood taller. “Because I recently learned some rules are better broken, sir. Especially the ones regarding your life, and more importantly …” He faced Winter and sighed. “Yours.”
Her eyes widened. “Why me? What’s going on?”
Pain flashed in across his features. “West didn’t win the hierarchy battle, Fang did.”
“Fang’s dead,” she pointed out. “The queen suffocated him.”
West went pale as a ghost, scrubbing his forehead. “He’s dead?”
Winter held him tighter, not realizing he hadn’t been told. “Yes—she killed him with her serpents.”
Everett scratched his head. “So there’s been talk about the legitimacy of your title.”
“Legitimacy?” she snapped. “Fang was on drugs!”
Nostrils flaring, West asked, “What are you saying, Ev? And what does this have to do with Winter?”
He glanced around the frozen property and back to West. “While you’ve been gone, Mellie and I spent the past couple weeks championing your title, answering every question related to why you deserve to remain in position.” He met Winter’s eyes. “And why wolves are to remain guarding the archives.”
She angled her head. “You did that for me?”
“Of course.”
Her heart did a mini roundoff back handspring. “Thank you.”
He held out a hand, holding off her praise. “It wasn’t easy. At least, not at first.”
A low growl escaped West. “What happened?”
“When there was pushback for another hierarchy battle, I told them the truth. I had to, West. Two alphas are invariably stronger than one will ever be.”
Winter’s stomach sank. “You told them we’re mates, didn’t you?”
West pulled away from her. “Dammit, Everett.”
His second dropped his head. “I’m afraid that’s not all.
After the announcement, a petition stemmed from Xavier’s side, and gained popularity fast. His wolves want stability, closure, and space to heal.
” He glanced back at the farm. “And so do ours,” he admitted.
“There’re almost two hundred signatures on it—more than a majority. ”
“A petition for what, Ev?”
His throat bobbed. “They’re forcing your hands in marriage.”
West stood motionless, gazing at the moon like he was calling it down for answers. She was in shock too. Winter stepped back, pretending Everett didn’t just say that.
This wasn’t a time for marriage. Between the ridiculous prophecy, Kaden’s behavior, and learning the truth about her so-called father, she couldn’t handle another thing. Winter didn’t want to be the seventh witch or a wolf. She wanted to flee.
Needing to distance herself from this farm, she turned around and walked away.
“Wait,” Everett called.
“No,” she snapped, tears brimming her eyes. If she didn’t keep walking, she’d collapse.
He caught up with her. “I didn’t know it would turn out like this. I promise.”
“Well, it did.”
He reached into the pocket of his pant leg, pulled out her wand, and held it between them. “Here, I fetched this for you.”
She snatched it feverishly. When he didn’t turn back, she glared at him. “Don’t you have an alpha to tend to?”
“Yes, and she’s barefoot.”
To be continued.