He smirked at me, loving my attention. “A gift from my Goddess Hecate.”
I smiled back at him, he looked so formidable and refined.
André just wore black leather pants, riding boots, and a shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. The Dracul Kingdom that extended from his neck and over his chest partially showed under the half-assedly buttoned-up shirt. It also showed the ripped muscles of his chest, but most importantly, the chain with the titanium pendant he’d always worn.
It was a rectangular medal with the letter “I” engraved at its center—for Isabella, his mother’s name.
He was not one for uniforms or formality, and I loved that about him.
As my gaze took in the powerful mates around me, what we were about to do became painfully real. They were all prepared for war.
“What are the dangers to look after?” Queen Luna asked, keen eyes focusing on her son.
“Based on what we know so far, there are mostly Vampiri there right now. Too many of them.”
“From what little we saw during Dresden’s call, they seem to have been bread the old way,” André added. “They have strength but based on how they attacked, they seemed to have bloodlust-driven rage guiding their fight. Not true power.”
“Not to mention we’ll also have to face the one like Bjø?—”
“TheDark One,” I corrected Hannes before he could finish. “He’s nothing like our Bjørn.”
“I’m sorry. TheDark One,”he amended.
“There were also RavenWolves helping them,” I reminded them. “But Dad said he found the majority slaughtered when he got there. The guards helped him kill a few too as they advanced, but the others had been drained.”
“Unfortunately, we all know what that means,” Queen Luna glanced at me.
“They were used as crawler food,” Dante scuffed. “Disgusting.”
“Which means that place might be riddled with crawlers too.” I took a deep breath, steeling myself for this fight.
“Stupid bastards,” Hannes shook his head. “I knew that alliance was not going to last long. And it would only benefit one side.”
“I wonder if my dad or Bjørn saw Ryker,” I murmured, pulling everyone’s eyes to me.
“My guess is he’ll be where they have Anastasia,” André answered, taking my hand in his as if to offer me support. “He’ll be waiting for you to show up.”
“Are the crawlers and newborns a diversion, then?” Dante’s question called my attention back to him.
“A blockade.” Queen Luna interceded; her sharp mind focused on the fight ahead as she focused on me. “Meant to stop you from reaching your mother, so they can try to take you where you’ll be surrounded… minimal loss.”
“So, what’s our strategy?” The deep male’s voice thundered through the space, making us turn toward the hall behind us, to find the Iron King approaching.
He wore a war suit as elegant and intimidating as his son’s, with the molded gold chest armor that showed the ReinheitWölfe crest, and the crown-wearing wolf—he was the king after all. A terrifyingly large, but beautifully engraved sword was strapped to his back.
He wasn’t alone.
Alyce, Zelin, Gustav, and two other guards I hadn’t met yet stopped across from me with him. They had on similar suits, with the golden armor and the wolf crest too, clearly distinguishing them as royals, but Alyce’s and Zelin’s didn’t include the crown above the wolf’s head.
A confirmation that Alyce wanted nothing to do with the throne.
Theirs and the other woman’s suits also stood apart by the perfectly fitting chest plate that curved over their breasts and zinced toward their waists, specifically molded for their female bodies.
Gustav, however, wore a blue suit that seemed made of a liquid fabric, a second skin. It smoothly adapted to his everymuscle, every limb, every inch of his form, and he was barefoot. The sight of him like that intrigued me.
Did it have anything to do with him being the Wolf Overlord?
I had no idea how his power worked, but I was thankful he was willing to help us.
