That settled, we all moved into action, except Gael. “Wait. What do you need from me?”
Kane crossed his arms and seemed to brace himself, as if expecting backlash. “You’re going to take your wife and child, and you’re going to run. Far. Don’t stop until this is over, oneway or another. Call your father. Tell him you’re leaving the pack. Tell him you’re running away with the maid. I don’t care what you tell him, just make it clear that you’ve cut ties with us now, before any of this comes out. With his connections to the royal family, he’ll be able to get you both new identities, untraceable to Pack Blackwater.”
“Alpha,no. How the fuck could you expect me to abandon the pack now?” His fists balled up like he was about to put one through the nearest wall.
Kane lifted a hand, sharply cutting off Gael’s vicious protest. “That wasn’t a suggestion. It was an order. Gael, we may not win. Your mate is pregnant with the next generation of omegas. You can’t stay here, even if we do manage to survive. Leigh is too easy a target pregnant, and your daughter deserves a chance at life. Don’t forfeit that chance for pride. Someone must survive to carry on the change wolves need. If it’s not meant to be us, itwillbe you.”
Gael was nothing short of a warrior, but when his Alpha put a hand on his shoulder, cementing the order with a wave of crushing dominance, his face crumpled. It lasted only a second, but the raw emotion was pure gratitude. Maybe some terror at what was to come. But deep appreciation for an Alpha who was willing to save Gael’s mate and child, even at risk to Kane’s life.
When Gael finally dared to look back up, boldly meeting the high alpha’s gaze directly, his lower eyelids were rimmed with unshed tears. “You have to win, Kane. I can’t fight this fight alone.”
“Goddess willing, that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Now, go. Take care of your family, and we’ll fight like hell to give you something to come back to.”
I turned away as the two men embraced, barely hiding my own tears.
This was it. The end was coming, and if Kane was sending away his nearest and dearest, he thought we were going to lose. I stole one last look at Valens, our eyes locking for the barest second, before I shoved my way into the hall and hurried back to stand guard over the women.
Things sped into motion after that. Everywhere you looked, someone was working. There were heated arguments—mostly from Leigh, who bitterly did not want to leave her pack—and lots of tears over the next few hours of chaos.
But as midday marched toward evening, things settled into a quieter rhythm.
A knock on the door I was leaning against had me turning to open it. A haggard butler stood on the other side, a twig protruding from his normally perfectly coiffed silver hair.
“Madam Maiden, if you would please tell the ladies that we have found the best location to take the stone. High Alpha Kane and the other males are waiting outside to escort you all.”
“Excellent.”
Itwasexcellent news, because if Kane and Brielle were able to use the extra juice of the ley lines to knock out whatever problem the ghost of Narcissa’s past might have been causing with the stone… well, we could get the heck out of Dodge and back inside the enclave, where Brielle’s powers could more reliably be contained.
And, you know, four-foot-thick stone walls would also help in terms of warding off the ODL and their supernatural army of crazed sycophants, should the worst happen and they found us.
Please, Goddess, let us avoid this entire catastrophe.
My silent prayer felt like a paltry offering in comparison to what was breathing down our necks.
I turned to tell Brielle, Shay, and Leigh that it was time to go, but they were already on their feet.Wolf hearing.
Brielle stopped, frowning at Leigh as she put a hand on her arm to stop her from following us out. “You should stay here and rest. Everything today was draining, and you need all your energy for growing this little lady. I know you two decided not to get on the road until morning, but… the more you rest now, the better. Once you leave, you’ll be on the road for a while.”
Leigh scowled, resting both hands on her very prominent baby belly. “I’m coming. If this is the last night I spend with my best friends… damn it, I’m not sitting in the damn room. I don’t want to leave at all, but if we’re being forced to go, I am not leaving until the last possible second. I don’t know how many seconds we have left.” Leigh’s lower lip trembled, and she swiped at it angrily.
“Hey,” Shay murmured, stepping forward to wrap Leigh in a hug. “None of that. We just need you safe so we can kick ass without worrying about them trying to steal you or hurt Poppy. As soon as we wipe the floor with the ODL and anyone else who thinks they can take out Pack Blackwater… well, we’re coming to get you ourselves.”
I winced as Shay wiggled her fingers, sparkling magic dancing over them in promise. “Dude, don’t take her up on that. Word on the street is that flashing with a fae is about as fun as going through a bendy straw sideways.”
Leigh snorted at that, and the heavy mood was broken as everyone chuckled.
“Weak stomachs need not apply. Personally, I think it’s pretty fun.”
“Uh-huh,” I chided as we walked out the door, where Dirge and the slightly less winded Cristian waited.
Chapter 20
Valens
We stood in the forest just before twilight, not far from the burned castle. I could still scent a bit of ash lingering in the air, over the sweet scent of pine and the rich perfume of the damp earth underfoot. There was nothing to mark the spot as special, not even so much as a notch in tree bark or an oddly shaped stone. Waning light filtered through the leaves overhead, and a brisk breeze did its best to slice through my shirt.
It was just nature. Not that nature wasn’t grand, but… we had plenty of it back in Hungary.
