Chapter 2-Helping Sam

Odett’s POV

  “Easy,” he said softly.

  “I want to help,” I said.

  “You can help by letting me get you somewhere safe,” he said.

  “But Mom—” I began.

  “Would tear this entire castle apart if anything happened to you,” he said, and I knew he was right, but I still hated it.

  Sam lifted Joshy into one arm and held his other hand out to me. I took it, though every step toward the shelter carried me farther from Mom. Ms. Stephanie stayed close as we descended beneath the castle and passed through a heavy metal door I had never seen opened.

  Guards stood on both sides while families hurried through. Some people were crying while others were praying to the Moon Goddess. A few of the older pups were trying to act brave for their younger siblings, but I could smell their fear.

  Underground, I heard hearts pounding, claws scraping somewhere above us, and an explosion that shook dust from the ceiling. Sam brought us to blankets laid along the far wall. I sat down because Joshy did, but I kept watching the entrance.

  “Stay here,” he instructed.

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  “I need to help secure the entrance,” he answered quickly.

  “I will be right over there,” Sam promised reassuringly.

  “I won’t leave the shelter,” he added before the metal door opened again.

  Aunt Jess rushed inside, followed by Grandma Ezmerelda, Dr. Jameson, and two nurses. Each nurse was holding a tiny bundle, and for one second, I forgot about the war.

  “The twins,” I whispered.

  Aunt Jess found me in the crowd and smiled, even though tears were streaming down her face. “They’re here, baby girl.”

  I ran to her, and she dropped to her knees in time to catch me. “Where’s Mom?” I asked as I clung to her.

  “She’s okay,” she answered, but Mom wasn’t with them.

  “Why isn’t she with you?” I asked.

  Aunt Jess looked at Grandma. Their silence lasted only a moment, but it was long enough for me to imagine Mom alone beyond the castle walls. I pulled away and searched their faces.

  “Where is she?” I demanded fearfully.

  “She went to help your father,” Grandma said, and my arms fell away from Aunt Jess.

  “She just had the babies,” I said in confusion.

  “We tried to stop her,” Aunt Jess explained.

  “But you know your mother,” she added.

  I did know her. Mom had once offered herself to a rogue to save Aunt Jess and me. She had fought while injured and protected people who would not have done the same for her. Of course she had gone after Dad, even with the twins only minutes old.

  One of the nurses approached and lowered the first bundle so I could see the baby’s face. “This is your sister,” she said.

  My sister’s skin was flushed, and a dark tuft of hair showed beneath the edge of her blanket. One hand had escaped. I offered her my finger, and she closed her tiny fist around it. For one breath, the noise of the shelter fell away.

  “Zerina,” I said, making the adults look at me.

  “What did you say?” Aunt Jess asked.

  “Her name is Zerina,” I answered.

  The other nurse stepped closer with my brother, and the answer came just as easily. “And he’s Zander.”

  Grandma smiled as if she already knew I was right. “Well, then, I suppose we should welcome Princess Zerina and Prince Zander to the family.”

  A loud explosion shook the shelter before anyone could celebrate. The lights flickered, and several people screamed. Grandma immediately lifted her hands, sending a wave of magic through the room as a glowing barrier spread across the ceiling and walls.

  Aunt Jess stood and turned toward the guards. “What happened?”

  “We don’t know,” one guard answered tensely.

  “The link went silent for a moment,” he added.

  “Is the King alive?” someone called from the crowd.

  “What about the Queen?” another asked.

  Questions rose all around us. Aunt Jess stepped away from me and faced the frightened pack, though I could see how badly she wanted answers herself. She would not let fear turn us against one another.

  “They are alive!” Aunt Jess shouted with fierce conviction.

  “Our King and Queen are fighting for us,” she continued firmly.

  “We will not dishonor them by falling apart now,” Aunt Jess finished with commanding resolve.

  The shelter grew quiet, but the fear did not leave. Something tugged inside my chest, less like the mindlinks the wolves used than a thread tied around my heart. It pulled toward Mom.

  I closed my eyes and concentrated. For a second, I saw flashes of silver fur moving through the trees. I saw Dad’s black wolf covered in blood. I saw fire, water, and green strands of light. Then I saw nothing but white.

  The ground rolled beneath us, and Grandma’s barrier brightened as cracks spread across the stone ceiling. I dropped beside the twins, covering them with my body even though the nurses were already protecting them.

  “Mom!” I screamed as a wave of power moved through the shelter.

  It was so strong that every wolf lowered their head, and every witch gasped. My vampire side wanted to run while my wolf side wanted to submit, but something stronger kept me in place. I knew that power. It belonged to my mother.

  Then the thread vanished. It had not grown faint; it was simply gone, leaving a terrible space in my chest. “No,” I whispered. I tried to stand, and Aunt Jess caught my shoulders.

  “I can’t feel her!” I screamed.

  “She blocks the link sometimes,” Aunt Jess said.

  “This is different,” I said as I struggled against her hold and panic took over.

  “She’s gone!” I screamed with terrified certainty.

  Grandma knelt and placed her hands on my face. Her grip remained gentle, but her determined expression held my attention despite the fear behind her eyes.

  “Listen to me, Odett,” Grandma said.

  “Your mother isn’t gone,” she insisted.

  “Do you understand?” Grandma asked.

  “I can’t feel her,” I said through tears.

  “Then we will have faith until we can,” she said with a confidence I couldn’t find in myself.

  I wanted to believe Grandma. Her hands were steady on my face, but I had seen the fear in her eyes when I told her what happened. I stayed where she could hold me and listened for Mom through the silence.