Chapter 88 Maddy #2
“The spread is rapid,” Viola said. “We know it’s only going to get worse.
I am calling on all government agencies around the world to enter into a state of emergency.
These are untested waters, but all avenues of containment must be not only considered but fully implemented.
All registered shifters must turn themselves into the nearest facility within the next forty-eight hours.
We already have the full approval of the presidents of The United States, and Mexico, along with the Prime Minister of Canada.
The announcements will go out within the hour.
I’m calling on the presidents, royal families, and prime ministers of all other countries to follow suit.
It is our belief that this is the only way to quell this outbreak and keep as many people safe as possible. ”
“This is part of the plan,” Nico said. “She’s desperate to get us all in these facilities, and then we’ll get wiped out.
They’ll make it look like maybe some feral shifters turned on their own, or maybe they all went feral and had to be culled, but it’ll be something.
I fucking know it. Her end game is the end of all shifters or to destroy our population so completely that we’ll die out in two or three generations. ”
His words hung, dark and foreboding, in the air.
There was a distinct feel of truth to the words, though.
This was what the royals wanted. They wanted all shifters dead.
It would be the culmination of what Viola’s ancestors started all those centuries ago.
The complete and total end to not only Edemas’s bloodline but all shifter bloodlines.
Wolf, bear, panther, dragon, and everything else in between.
It was almost too much to contemplate. Millions of lives.
Hell, we were almost a third of the total population—it would be more like billions dead.
The last miles to home were uneventful. Sebastian finally turned his phone off, telling us he was tired of listening to the world end.
The guard shack was a bustle of people. The usual one guard had been increased to five—one inside the small guard building, three spread out in front of the fence, and another on the inside of the gate to open it.
Nico pulled up and rolled his window down.
The obvious look of relief on the men’s faces when they saw their alpha had returned was both heart-warming and scary.
They were desperate for leadership. The flicker of fear was in all their eyes.
Nico put his hand out the window to shake hands with one of them.
“Zeke. How are things? We’ve heard the reports. ”
Zeke shook his head and gazed back down the road that we’d just come in on.
“Had some issues early this morning—big truckload of good ol’ boys came by.
Had a bunch of hunting rifles and stuff.
Yelled at us that we needed to turn ourselves in or they were gonna drag us down to the facility in Tampa.
Did a few donuts in the grass and fired some rounds into the air.
Nothing egregious, but it’s still early.
We’re a little worried about what might happen tonight after they’ve had a few beers in them. ”
Nico sighed in disgust. “Okay. Where are Luis and my dad? I need to get a full update from them.”
Zeke pointed up the driveway. “Pretty sure they were actually at your house last I heard.”
Nico leaned forward and patted Zeke on the shoulder. “Stay alert. You all are doing a good job. We’ll work on getting you some relief, so you can catch a nap and some food. Thank you, boys.”
Zeke gestured for the man inside to open the gate. “No problem, Nico. Glad to have you back.”
“We’ve been gone less than four days, and they look strung out,” Felipe said from the back. “This is not good. The stress is gonna start eating at people. And then they’ll make mistakes.”
“They’re doing all they can,” Nico said. I could hear the strain in his voice. He’d noticed it, too but didn’t want to vocalize it and give weight to the thought.
A few minutes later, we were out of the van and walking up the path to Nico’s house.
I walked beside Nico while the other three unloaded our bags.
Inside, we found Luis and Carlos sitting at a table, poring over a map.
Luis saw us first, and a relieved smile spread across his face.
Carlos jumped up and ran over to hug Nico, pulling me into the embrace as well. “My boy. Welcome home, son.”
It was so strange. Like Felipe had said, we’d been gone a total of about three-and-a-half days, but it felt like we’d been gone a year or more.
The whole reunion reminded me of the welcome people got after coming home from being at war for years.
Everything had changed while we were gone.
The sensation that we were tipping over the edge was like a bright hot ember in my chest waiting to burst into flame.
That was what the world was right now too. Ready to set itself on fire.
“Have we gotten in touch with the other alphas?” Nico asked as he sat at the table with Luis and his father.
Luis nodded. “As soon as I got off the phone with you.” Luis gave Nico a look that I couldn’t read.
“They’re all pissed. Pissed and scared, but they won’t admit that.
Not every pack is as stable as ours. Some of them can’t show weakness, or an up-and-comer or rival will challenge for leadership, but it’s there.
I don’t want to say terrified, but it’s on the way there. Mostly what showed through was anger.”
“No shit,” Nico barked, laughing humorlessly. “I’m fucking furious. As an alpha, the one job you have is to protect your pack, your family, and your lands. The royals have made all three of those things much harder. They’ve pinned our backs against the wall.”
Sebastian and the others, having dropped our bags on the foyer floor, joined us at the table.
Sebastian rubbed his face and said, “I’m keeping an eye on news reports.
They haven’t implemented a state of emergency yet, but the signs are pointing that way.
They have already announced the forty-eight-hour time frame, though.
We’re perilously close to being totally fucked. ”
Luis’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait. What the hell happened at the cave? You haven’t told us how that went down yet.”
The five of us shared a look. Tiago leaned back in his chair, shaking his head, and Sebastian and Felipe nodded toward Nico and me to tell it.
We gave an abbreviated version of everything that happened.
Luis and Carlos listened intently, but when we told them what was actually in the vial, their faces fell.
Luis pounded a fist into the table. “Son of a bitch,” he hissed. “Is this whole witch thing even real? We’re getting dangerously close to Halloween stuff, right?”
Carlos held up a hand for him to slow down.
“I will say one thing, I have never met a witch, but I do know for a fact they are real. They aren’t what legend says they are, though—eating children, living with black cats, and all that.
But they are rare enough that they might as well be nothing but legend. ”
Luis rolled his eyes. “Okay, sure, but can they live for fucking three or four hundred years?”
Carlos shrugged. “I don’t know. Possibly? Who knows.”
My own thoughts were turned inward. All I could think of was how fucking crazy Edemas must have been to create this broad and elaborate game.
A game he wanted to play on the royals. My blood was boiling.
I’d risked my life, the life of my mate, and our friends, all to help a long-dead werewolf king get his jollies off. It was twisted and sick.
One thing had happened since I’d swum out of that cave.
All my hesitation was gone. If the vial was real?
There was no longer a question of whether I would destroy it or drink it.
Viola had erased one of those ideas. She’d proven how strong her organization was.
They’d bent the entire world to their will.
I needed every ounce of strength I could get to take her down.
If we found that vial, I wouldn’t hesitate to drink it. I’d made my decision.