Page 63 of Fated Alpha Baby

“If I knew that for sure, Alpha Orlando, we would not be having this meeting.” She curls a fist. “We would have known exactly what to do and how to close that portal for good. All we have is speculation for now. And what we need is answers before the demons strike again.” Her gaze drifts toward me.

Toward Conan.

Toward the hallway where Clarissa and Nico are sleeping under heavy guard.

“I believe the answer lies with the Ashclaw bloodline.”

My stomach tightens with a painful knot. The witches from both the coven and the Bitterroot Valley exchange uneasy glances.

Every one of the Bitterroot Valley Lunas descends from Ashclaw.

Every single one.

“The portal...the hybrid children…the demons...we’ve done some digging, and it’s no coincidence that Nico was targeted. Candice Hawthorne was a descendant of Ashclaw, just like Luna Sophie, Luna Annika, and Luna Hannah. Everything keeps leading us back to the same place.”

“The south,” Amos murmurs.

“Yes,” Amalia agrees. “All of this seems to be tied to the south of the Bitterroot Valley. To Ashclaw. Perhaps it is why the demons have been attacking us in Helena Valley. Nico Caldas is also tied to the Ashclaw Pack.”

“Then we need to go south, to the ruins. Not just to fight demons, but to do more investigating,” Amos suggests.

Amalia nods. “But before we travel there and risk facing demons again, we need answers.”

Her eyes shift toward the door. Behind it, Marcus Hale, our prisoner, sits bound to a chair at the far end of the Red Moon dungeon.

Amalia’s expression becomes grim. “He knows something,” she says with a grunt. “He has always known something.”

Conan lets out a low growl, glancing at me, and I nod.

“I am ready for the ritual, Sister Amalia.”

“Very well.” She nods. “It is time.”

My pulse quickens, and I cling to Conan’s hand as he leads me to my feet. We follow Sister Amalia through the doors, with the other allies waiting behind for our return.

Milly rushes forward and slides her arm through mine, shivering with nervousness as the High Priestess leads us to Marcus Hale. Only Alpha Damian and Alpha William have joined us to keep watch, to pull open the large iron doors that keep the prisoner confined.

Candles burn behind the door, wards and sigils placed strategically around the single cell that Marcus Hale is locked in.

Conan doesn’t leave my side when we stop behind Amalia. She turns to me, producing a syringe from somewhere in the hidden folds of her cloak.

“We are going to tranquilize him so he doesn’t try anything, so this contains the potion, along with a tranquilizer. You won’t have much time, but from the message I received about this, it is you who will uncover the secrets he is hiding through this ritual. So, you have to be quick,” she tells me, lifting her eyes to Conan. “You will enter the cell with Hannah just as a precaution, but you may not make any physical contact with either Hannah or him.”

Conan nods, and I take the syringe from her while Milly releases my arm and steps aside. Conan unlocks the metal gate, the squeaking of the hinges echoing around the room.

Before we can step inside, Amalia places a hand on my shoulder. “I have faith in you, Hannah, to bring us the information we seek. Milly and I will be right here as well. Remember what I told you this morning about your intention. Focus on that, and it will give you the answers you seek. Nothing else is important.”

I nod as Milly offers me a tense smile before she falls into position beside Sister Amalia. I clutch the syringe tightly when Conan presses a reassuring kiss to my temple, and we both head inside the dark cell.

Marcus Hale looks up with a smug smile that he hasn’t stopped wearing since he arrived back in the Bitterroot Valley.

“You’re wasting your time, witch,” he sneers, and I tilt my chin up, suddenly feeling powerful.

In control.

In charge of my abilities in the face of adversity.

No longer afraid of what I have to do as a witch, no longer hiding in the shadows and avoiding the frontlines