But just as quickly as the warm fuzzy feelings came, they were almost smothered by my sense of duty to protect my family.
There were no guarantees in life, not even for a wolf shifter. We could die and be maimed, we could lose our mates or lose our pups. We might not come through this war intact.
I vowed to myself then and there that I would fight with every last breath for these people. I would be their guarantee, their safe space, the one who protected them from all comers.
I would be their protector.
“So, you guys want to fill us in tonight or sleep first?” Lucien asked, running a hand through disheveled blond locks.
“We’ve got too much to wait, I think,” Valens said.
“Let’s all sit and get into it, then. The cook made snacks.” He gestured to the sideboard, and my mouth watered as I caught the scent of fresh coffee.
I beelined for a cup as everyone else found a seat, settling in next to Valens and passing him a coffee as he started filling them in.
We switched off seamlessly as we went, each of us sharing the bits and pieces we knew, our observations of who seemed to be aligned with whom, and I laid out the full results of my snooping expedition.
It took several hours and at least two coffee refills, but in the end, they had it all.
“So, the pixie king is enslaving his own people too. I guess that’s one way to ensure there’s no dissent among the population,” Fiona spat bitterly.
“And the vampire collar being poisoned is a step worse than we thought. What if we can’t remove any of them?” Reed asked.
I glanced at Valens, wondering if his new talent for reading the enchantments on the metal might be able to remove them. But exhaustion was dragging at my limbs by then, and everyone else seemed to be running on fumes too.
It was a theory to test in the morning.
The group broke up, and Valens whisked me back out to the waiting SUV, holding my door with a soft smile.
Once we were both inside, he paused, hand on the wheel. “Your place or mine?”
“I think mine. But can you stay over?”
“Always.”
Chapter 40
Valens
Istared up at my grandfather’s musty old cottage with more than a little trepidation. The hard truth was, I had no desire to step foot inside. When I did, it would be hollow, a brutal reminder that he was gone.
“This place looks like it belongs in a storybook,” Elodie whispered with hushed reverence, eagerly scanning the stacked stones, the moss and ivy clinging to them the way the finest lady’s pearl necklace clung to her slender throat. “Like there’s magic tucked in every corner, little mice in the closets who can talk and cook and mend fancy dresses.”
It was a fanciful rendition of the place, but even I couldn’t deny the roof was still solid, and my builder’s instincts insisted it was still quite sound, despite how I’d remembered it as nearly falling over.
Perhaps that was my mind’s way of protecting me from having to come back and face the pain of losing most of my family so close together.
Arms wrapped around my waist from behind. “Do you need a minute?”
I cleared my throat, resting my hands over hers. She could be gentle when needed, my warrior woman. “No, I’m fine.”
She scoffed, squeezing me tighter. “Everyone knows fine isn’t fine at all.”
I pulled her around to my front, letting my fingertips trail up under her chin, taking in her bright blue eyes, her blazing red lips. “I’m better than fine as long as you’re with me. Let’s go.”
She nodded and stole a kiss from my lips before turning, clearly excited to get inside, even though she was trying to tamp it down for my sake.
“Are you excited to find magic mice, or because you think we’ll find something useful in the attic?” I asked as I pushed through the front door without a single squeak.
