His head tilted to the side as he scrutinized it. “This crossbow is enchanted to fire with a hundred percent accuracy,” he read slowly, as if unsure at first. “But only when wielded against true evil.”
“That’s handy information to have,” I murmured, not wanting to interrupt his newfound discovery.
He sidestepped to the next case, where a collection of fletched arrows hung in a quiver. “There’s no writing anywhere that’s not metal.” He carefully drew an arrow, squinting at the sharp metal tip. “This arrow will explode on impact, then regenerate inside this quiver so long as it’s bonded with the carrier.”
“How can a weaponbondwith its owner?”
“I have no idea. It doesn’t say.”
We made a slow circuit around the room, with Valens stopping here and there, while passing some things over completely. All in all, it was an interesting talent.
A useful talent, given what was coming. And he’d only just started to explore it. What could he do with it in the long run? An idea struck me.
“You have a forge, right? Where you make things?”
He grinned at me. “On occasion, when I need to think. It was my dad’s hobby, and I guess I inherited his pyro genes.”
“There are worse things to pick up. But do you think you might be able tomakeenchanted weapons? You’ve obviously got a connection with metal. Someone had to make those guardian swords in the past, right?”
He dug his hands down into his pockets, studying me as he thought it over. “Yes, someone did. And I felt… I felt a connection with the metal when I touched it. Like it called to something deeper inside me.”
I nodded, understanding in a way, even though I’d never felt that with an object. I felt it withhim, though I wasn’t ready to admit it outside the privacy of my own thoughts.
Funny how I could be reckless with my life, time and time again, but never with my heart.
“Power moves in interesting ways. I was just curious. Something to try out in the future.”
He nodded, closing the distance between us to wrap me in a hug. “You’re surprisingly calm about all this. Does it freak you out?”
“Excellent question. Is it fair to say that I’m not sure how I feel yet? Clinically, I can see it as a powerful tool for what’s coming. Emotionally, you scared the life out of me when you got branded.” I let my fingertips trail lightly over the spot on his chest where his new shirt covered the brand. He covered it with his own, pressing me in close. His heartbeat was steady under my palm, comforting. Solid.
Valens could be my rock, if I’d let him. I knew that now, knew he was a man who stood strong no matter what life threw his way, no matter what avalanche tried to bury him.
But that wasmyrole. I didn’t know how to accept it from a man, because I’d never known a man like him. Would that have been different if my father had lived? If I hadn’t been taken in by a cold Alpha who saw me as a chess piece?
It was one more thing I would never know and couldn’t go back and change.
I just had to go forward.
Chapter 44
Valens
It took the rest of that day and the two after to get those of the pack who could answer the high alpha’s call on the road. Fully half of it was battening down the hatches for those who would stay behind: the elderly, the children, the caregivers who couldn’t fight.
As I moved through my little town, going from home to home and business to business, the hours ran together in a stream of preparations.
The pizza place was going to keep running with a skeleton crew of grandparents, so the family members staying behind had somewhere to gather. Some of the families were leaving the country, saying tearful goodbyes, to go to distant family members for support they wouldn’t have while Mom or Dad fought for our freedom.
It was a time fraught with emotion and tears, but with strength too. Goddess, I wondered a hundred times a day how long would my people have to bear up under this strain? How long would our superhuman strength have to hold before something irreparable crumbled? What would our pack—allthe packs—look like when this was done?
I didn’t know.
But in the end, our busy little hamlet had turned into a near-ghost town. The few who remained lined the road, waving with tears in their eyes as our caravan pulled out.
I drove a heavy truck with a quarter of the Hungarian armory packed in the back. Many of us would fight with tooth and claw and sheer muscle, but not all. The less skilled fighters would have options that might save their lives.
Elodie rode with the other women, serving in her maiden’s capacity, even though she was technically on leave until after her heat. It was too ingrained in her to change, and I didn’t begrudge the time to think as I drove.
