That one statement was like ice water inmy veins, waking me up. Sure enough, I heard a screech as I felt dark magicbrush up against my skin.
Gretchen threw her arms to the sky with aroar and began walking around the back of the house, calling to the sky.
Muriel and Saben each fell in line behindher adding their magic to hers and the air charged up, making my hairs stand onend.
“Stay safe!” I shouted to Avery and Jaxonand then ran to the back of the Rover, quickly grabbing the bolt cutters Mamahad put there late last night. They looked to be brand new and I half wonderedif she bought them for me before I even showed up at her house. Shrugging thatthought off, I ran to catch up and get behind Gretchen. It was time to show thehumans just who they messed with.
We slowly stalked across the acreagebehind the old farmhouse and up to the thick brush that separated our abandonedfarm from where the humans were holding the pack.
‘Dad, shit’s about to go down. I have thecoven here with me and I need Mom to free Alexa, so that she can bring down theelectric fence.’
His reply was weak and I couldinstinctively tell it was because of the prolonged silver poisoning.
‘Now? There are guards outside withsemi-automatic rifles. Silver bullets.’
I had to trust what Mama said, that myparents would live a long life, and by doing this I would get everyone out ofthere.
‘Has to be now. Mom will be okay. Trustme.’It was a lot to askhim. Sending his mate out into the unknown, but my father did trust me.
‘Okay. She’s going to get Alexa,’he replied.
The clouds above us were darkening as thefog began to roll in. The rest of the witches from our coven were at my backand we were all chanting at the sky, willing Sky Father to lend us his fog toprotect our people. To right a wrong. As we made our way through the thickoverbrush, I saw Jaxon’s drone fly overhead. The fog descended then but notbefore I stepped out from behind the trees and saw the most awful conditions inwhich they were keeping my people. The shipping containers barely had enoughwindows for fresh air. They were two feet wide and held silver bars. Thecontainers look packed with wolves. They must have been sleeping standing up. Mythroat pinched with emotion and I pushed it down but not before my bear gave alow growl causing some of my coven members to turn and look at me with concern.
“Sorry,” I muttered and cleared mythroat.
The fog was thicker now, and just as it descendedonto the camp, I saw a streak of blonde hair running between two containers.
Mom!
“Look out!” Saben yelled as a crackingnoise rang through the open sky and a tree suddenly hurtled through the airright for us.
Gretchen pivoted herself and threw herarms up to the oncoming tree, diverting its path and causing it to fallharmlessly to the side.
Dark witches.
I could see now just beyond where thetree had come from, a thin witch stood with long black stringy hair and a halfsmile.
“Spread out!” Gretchen called. The covenmoved forward spreading around the gates to take on the dark witches thatsurrounded the property, but I stayed right where I was. I couldn’t see a thingthrough all the thick fog, but I knew that when the time came I needed to cutthis fence. Moving slowly, I walked into the fog, bolt cutters gripped firmlyin my right hand. I had to be careful not to walk into the electrical fence butI wanted to be close because I knew things were going to happen quickly.
Suddenly I felt a hand on my back andfroze as a yelp formed in my throat.
“It’s just me,” Avery whispered.
I sighed in relief, grateful I hadn’tclipped my best friend over the skull with bolt cutters. But my relief wasshort lived when I heard the sound of a machine gun firing. It had begun andboy did everything happen fast then. Mama was right, she was right about itall.
Both Avery and I hit the ground in acrouch. It wasn’t necessarily the snapping of bullets that sent chills down myspine, it was the scream. Alexa’s shrill voice cut through the night and I feltit then. Simultaneously I felt a huge surge of power through the pack bond asAlexa brought the fence down, but also I felt her essence leave the pack justas quickly. In order to kill a wolf with bullets you had to bleed them todeath. In order to bleed her that quickly they must have shot her body up withover fifty silver bullets. It hit me then, I told my father to trust me … Ikilled Alexa.
‘Oh God, Dad. I’m so sorry. Maybe weshouldn’t do this. …’
I felt his shock and grief flood into mebut then it was plowed over with alpha strength.‘We will not let Alexa diein vain. Two wolves were drained in the night, if we stay, we all die hereanyway.’
His words put a small salve on my woundand I fought down the urge to turn into a puddle of tears and rock in thecorner.
“Let’s go!” I whisper screamed to Avery,pushing the grief away that threatened to take me down. Inching along the grasson my knees, I looked up, relieved to see the fog still held. I knew my covenwas giving the dark witches hell because lightning was streaking across the skyfollowed by thunder. We had to move quickly before we lost the fog cover.
I could barely see three feet in front ofme but that was good. It meant the heavily armed guards couldn’t either. Aftera few more yards of crawling, I saw the fence come into view. I had felt Alexadraw on the pack’s power to bring it down but still … I reached out and grabbeda pinecone as Avery crawled next to me.
Tossing the pinecone at the fence, weheld our breath. It smacked against the fence without ceremony and dropped tothe ground harmlessly. I released the breath I was holding and stood, boltcutters in hand.
