It is hot, humid, and I am heavily pregnant. I have performed my Luna ceremony, and taken over the duties that come with the title. Many people are angry that an outsider claimed the title. But those people don’t know all that is to come. Ransom has been busy preparing for war, and I have been busy preparing for the baby. I want everything to be set up just right. When the time comes, I will have to leave him behind, and I do not know if I will ever hold him again. I want him to be able to learn about the time I was here, lovingly preparing for his arrival. To know that I will carry him in my heart. It’s a strange thing, to be a mother at 20. To be a witch and a werewolf, to never go home. I carry that sadness with me, but I will never bring that danger back to my human parents. I can love them from a safe distance, as I will do with my son. Phoebe brings me a sparkling water with a lemon wedge, and a big bowl of watermelon chunks. It’s the only things I can stomach these days. In
I wait five minutes, and check the hallway outside of my door. My room does not have a window, but if I can make it to one, I might be able to get a sense of where I am in relation to the attack. I have about 4 hours, but without cooperation from Elbrus it will be much more difficult. The hallway is clear, so I skirt the next corner, sending my senses out, searching for anyone who may be headed my way. I pick up nothing down the surrounding halls, so I dart to the closest window, scanning the grounds. I am five stories up, but the structure is old, made of stacked stones with deep grooves. This will prove easy to scale if needed. I make a mental note of what guard stations I can see, and send my senses out to note the others, and locate supplies. I still cannot communicate with Athena, but I’ll worry about that later. I find what seems to be a maid’s room, she is taller than me but about the same size, and her clothes fit well enough. I tug on some boots and tie my hair with a ribbon
Elbrus was no longer in the cavern, but several guards were. I didn’t fight when they took me down, I didn’t resist when they chained me to the silver hook in the sterile room. I simply waited for Elbrus.When he did come, hours later, he looked tired. Dark shadows smudged the olive skin below his eyes, his handsome face was lined with anger. Standing in front of me, arms folded, he demanded, “What was your pack doing with a member of my guard?”The unkown man, that must be how they found the tunnels to begin with. But why would a member of his own pack turn against him?“I don’t know who that man was, and I don’t know how or when they made contact with him.” I tried not to flinch as he stepped forward. “When I took Walt back to Summit Mist, I told Ransom not to try anything like that again. I didn’t give him any information, I left immediately after telling him to stand down.”“You gave him an alpha command?” Elbrus was only two feet away now, his eyes examined the table that held hi
Elbrus issued orders to the guards outside his chambers while I nursed Mariana on the sofa by the fire. It had been crisp outside when I escaped to stop the black ops team from poisoning the water system, but during the walk here I could glimpse puffs of frozen breath. Unsure of how long it had been since I dozed off, I shot up, clutching Mariana tight to my chest, which frightened her and made her cry. The noise that startled me was Elbrus, who had reentered the chamber. I soothed Mariana without magic, changed her, and swaddled her. Standing by the fire, I swayed and hummed to her while I waited for Elbrus to speak. “Do you plan to hold Mariana to the fire to sway my decisions, Witch?” Elbrus growled at me and stalked forward. Instead of cowering, I held up my palm in offering. “I would never consider such a thing, I remain open to your connection, check for lies if you wish.” When he didn’t move to make contact with me, I returned to swaying and rocking Mariana, humming softly
My head was pounding and my throat felt like sand paper, lifting my stiff neck up as much as I could, I forced my eyes open against the glare of light streaming through the open window. Someone chuckled and I snapped toward the fire place, instantly regretting the swift movements as I discovered the new crick in my neck. Eva sat in a large chair by the fireplace, laughing at me with baby Mariana in her arms. She gestured to her own hair, and I raised my hand to my curls. I’m sure I look as though I’ve been electrocuted. I huffed and rolled over the bed until my feet hit the ground. Before I could pull the upper half of my body into an upright position, a wave of dizziness hit me, along with the horrible realization that I had been sleeping in the bed of the king. Panic caused my heart to slam against the walls of my chest, and I eased myself upright, trying to push back nausea.Before I could take a step, Elbrus cleared his throat. “Eva, Please bring Mariana to the bed, I believe it
I woke in the early morning hours, a half-written letter stuck to me cheek, pen still clenched in my fist. I scanned the room for her. I could hear the steady rhythm of her sleeping heart to my right. She slept on my bed, hopefully this would be the last night she’d evict me from my own bed. But for now, her power, and her willingness to hand me that power, was the future of all packs within the veil. So it was important that she rest. I stretched, and scented the room for threats, but I found no scents beyond Marianas sweet honey baby smell, and the lemon and roses scent of my captive. Kneading my temples, I made my way to the sofa and stoked the fire back to life. I’d never spoken her name, and offering a treaty but treating her as a captive felt wrong. All those years of rage, the desire to tear her apart, I could remember it, even feel the ghost of those feelings. But she had released them along with the blood magic. I wonder if the cleansing caused a transfer of power to me,
I woke feeling mostly rested. The undercurrent of exhaustion was there, but Athena was stronger, and she was excited, hopeful. Her anticipation of what today would hold helped me drag myself up off the sofa. I had slept deeply, without dreaming, and the evidence of just how deep clung to my cheek. Curls matted in drool, disgusting. I shoved my wild mass of hair back, sending thoughts and prayers to my stiff legs, in hopes they would agree to carry my to the bathroom to wash up, when someone laid a hand on my shoulder. I shot up into a defensive stance, preparing to attack, but calmed when I scented Eva. Her wolf was at the surface, but her Amber eyes sparkled with amusement, and I heard Athena for the first time. “Play.” She whined, nudging at me to shift. “Settle down, she’s holding Mariana.” That sobered Athena, she mourned the loss of our pup, she longed to hold him, scent him, run with him through the forest and teach him to stalk prey. Pushing her down, I relaxed my stance an
Ridley let out a low growl, he stalked us, demanding Athena’s attention. She whirled on him, letting loose a mournful howl. Without completing the mating bond, or being a part of the pack, the wolves could not speak to each other through the mind link. But they both knew what the future held, and they already felt the loss. Ridley rubbed his body against Athena, circling back to scent her neck, when he was done, he gave a deep huff, his grief crackling through the air. Athena couldn’t stand his sadness, she rubbed against him, yipping and nipping at his paws. We were in the forest, we can run together, play together. When Ridley didn’t budge, Athena snarled, she was playful, but her snarl was an alpha snarl. Ridley’s ears perked up, the challenge intrigued him. Athena feinted an attack to Ridley’s throat, when he leapt back, she charged into the forest, knowing he’d take to the chase. And he did, flying through the forest, Ridley almost caught us several times, but we were too fast