“No, no, no...This... This isn’t the mutt. It’s witches.” The strategist in the king takes over, and his wheels turn. “Nobody speak unless it’s through mindlink. Nobody make any sudden movements, and we might make it out of here.”
Like a verbal group chat, the king opens a mindlink to all of us.
“It’s likely they’re watching us. Keep to the mindlink. I alerted my men here, and they’ve informed Alaina. She’s on standby in case anything goes wrong.”
“If you were able to reach them, then we must be in Bloodhound or at least close to it,”Sam says.
“Exactly.”
“How is that possible?”Taya asks.
“I think it’s like a parallel in time. We’re all here in the same location but at a different time,”Tyler answers.
“He’s right. Which means we are dealing with some seriously powerful witches,”His Majesty says.
Sam’s eyes shift from Taya’s to the king’s with worry.“What kind of witches?”
“Dark. I’m familiar with the smell,”I say.
Sam and Taya drop each other’s hands but remain close by. A mate is leverage and a grave liability—a known weakness.
“What’s the plan?”Sam asks the king.
“We hear them out.”
Just as the king says this, two women in their mid-to-late thirties appear through the fog, black smoke trailing in their wake. One woman has braided mahogany-glossed hair and hazel eyes. She wears a flowing onyx asymmetric maxi patterned with gold constellations and moons, cinched by a statement belt above a black crop top. Both sporting combat boots, her boho attire contrasts against her gothic counterpart with her haltered lace corset dress with layered necklaces and a choker. Their black only bring attention to her long, tousled copper strands.
“Selene. Dehlia,” Dax nods to them. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I imagine you already know, Your Majesty,” Selene answers.
Both witches bow their heads as she says the honorific.
“Humor me,” the king says, laying the charm on thick.
It works.
“As you are aware, we had a young witch in our coven go missing. He was our protégé. We found him dead on our grounds. Bludgeoned to death,” Dehlia says.
“I’m very sorry to hear that. My condolences,” Dax says.
“Yes, well, we have reason to believe that Bloodhound wolves were responsible for his death. And I’m sorry, Your Majesty, to drag you into this, but since all the wolves answer to you...”
“It involves me. I understand. How can I help?”
Selene and Dehlia exchange a glance before Selene clears her throat. “We are seeking the wolves who were involved. We ask they be delivered to us immediately.”
Uh oh.
The king doesn’t miss a beat when he says, “Of course. Do you know who these individuals might be?”
“Yes.” The witch conjures a hologram of the five from my pack I executed days ago—and Jay. “We were able to capture DNA from the scene, and we have identified these six individuals. If I’m not mistaken, I believe they all belong to Bloodhound. Do I have that right, Mr. Waller?”
All eyes turn to me. Including King Dax and Sam, who snarl in my direction.
The only saving grace I have is that the king gave his blessing over their execution—it’s probably why he’s not executing me.
“Speak mutt,”His Majesty orders.
