I didn’t doubt that, but I couldn’t abandon Theo even if Bodey wanted me to. It’s not an excuse, but Theo tried to do right by me and Stevie when we were younger. Zeke treated us even worse because of it, so Theo stopped. He was too young to take over the pack then.Yeah, but when he got older, he should’ve done something.It’s hard to see that when you were raised a certain way. I nuzzled into his side, making sure Bodey didn’t feel threatened by my feelings of friendship for Theo. They weren’t anything close to what I felt for Bodey, but I understood that Theo was a sore subject since he’d been trying to date me just a few weeks ago. Now that his eyes are open about his dad, he’s here, trying to do the right thing. He could schmooze up to Queen Kel and offer Mom and Pearl to her, but instead, he’s here to ally with us, and it has nothing to do with me. Now wasn’t the time to add that it probably had a lot to do with Jasmine.As long as we make it clear that you’re mine, I’ll manage.
The next day went by quickly as Samuel contacted all the alphas in Idaho, explaining his new role, and helped my childhood pack get acclimated. Luckily, everyone arrived without incident, and they took up the ten available houses scattered throughout the neighborhood. They’d stay in them until we could build more homes on the one hundred acres of woods the pack owned about an hour away.Mom and Pearl chose to stay with Theo, Tina, Charles, and Trevor, which made me cringe. She didn’t want to stay with Bodey, Jack, Samuel, Stevie, and me. I suspected she didn’t want to see us with our mates after losing hers of thirty years.The royal advisors spent all day contacting the alphas and coming up with plans to protect their packs. The witches reinforced their spells more often, and more wolves ran the perimeter. Weaker packs were instructed to relocate temporarily to a stronger pack so they could work together. Before we knew it, it was close to midnight, and we all crawled into bed.After
Let’s go, Samuel grasped the door handle. Our thirty wolves are together, and they’ve picked up the scent. They should reach the other wolves in five minutes. We can’t catch up with them, but we won’t be far behind if we move fast.A huge lump formed in my throat. I don’t think we should join them.He whipped toward me and froze. He blinked, then nodded. “It makes sense for you to stay here, but I gotta go out there with my pack.”He turned to march back to the door, but Bodey had already moved to stand in front of him.Samuel glared at Bodey as if he had two heads. He rasped, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”Bodey crossed his arms. “You shouldn’t go out there for the same reasons Callie and I shouldn’t.”“Like hell,” Samuel seethed as he tried to pivot around Bodey.Bodey pushed him in the chest, shoving him back several steps.“Get out of my way,” Samuel rasped as his shoulders heaved from how hard he was breathing. “You want to stay here, fine, but I need to be out there
Before I could answer it, Bodey placed a hand over the screen, blocking me.My head jerked up as he said, “Let it ring another time or two. We want her to think we aren’t desperate and might not answer her call.”I nodded, though I wasn’t sure if that proved we weren’t desperate. She could easily assume we were in wolf form, heading toward the threat she had a hand in.“While you answer, I’m contacting the pack that lives an hour away for help.” Samuel’s eyes glowed as his wolf surged forward, reaching out to the pack’s alpha.I allowed it to ring one more time, but I couldn’t handle waiting any longer. I inhaled sharply to steady my voice and answered, “Hello?”A dark chuckle came from the other end, followed by Kel’s bored, regal voice. “For a moment, I thought you might be sleeping in the woods or too preoccupied to answer.”Kel had called to gloat. She didn’t even pretend not to know what was going on. My blood boiled, adding to my shock.She was a sick, sadistic bitch who needed
Stevie.Lynerd must have told Kel she was still alive. I wasn’t surprised, but I wished he’d kept my sister out of it.“Listen here,” I started, but the line went dead. She’d made sure to have the final word, and I’d foolishly let her have that control.A faint sob came from Stevie, and I tossed the phone onto the end table.Jack pulled her into his arms and cradled her to his chest as he murmured, “They won’t get anywhere near you or Callie.”“What was the point of calling you?” Stella wrinkled her nose.“To gloat?” Lucas pursed his lips.“I think she meant what she said about Callie’s heart. She knows if she takes us over by force, she’ll lose more lives and loyalty, and she was giving Callie one more chance to surrender before she orders the witches forward.” Michael pinched the bridge of his nose. “The death of witches won’t be as easy for her to wash away, but if she promised the witches something they want badly enough, they’re more likely to overlook a few of their own casualti
Something wasn’t right. I could feel it in my soul.When I tried to race to the witch, Bodey held me tight, but that wasn’t what prevented me from going. Something invisible blocked me from moving more than two feet from where I stood.I watched helplessly as Dina’s body jerked and shuddered, and Chelsea ran out of the trees, her eyes wide and bloodshot.As abruptly as the chaos had started, it ended.Dina crumpled to the ground.“No!” Chelsea screamed, barreling toward the fallen priestess.CHAPTER TWENTY-THREEThe look on Chelsea’s face as she dropped to her knees beside Dina shocked me back into motion.I took a tentative step forward, expecting to meet the invisible wall, but when I didn’t meet resistance, I moved faster.Callie, wait, Bodey linked, but my feet had a mind of their own. He growled in frustration.I ran through the door, Bodey, Samuel, and Lucas right on my heels. Tears dripped down Chelsea’s face as she rolled Dina onto her back and placed her hands on her chest.S
An older woman with silver hair shook her head. “No. Just death.”Death.Dina had prayed to the death goddess. “We need to retrieve the wolves. We can’t leave them here. Can you help us?”“No.” The older witch shook her head so hard that a stray hair smacked the side of her face. “We can’t get any closer without tainting our souls. But you should be safe.”Should be safe.That didn’t sound reassuring. “Are the witches gone?” I didn’t want to walk into a trap.“They can’t hurt you or your pack.” The older one clasped her hands. “But we can’t get any closer than here, and the sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll feel safe again. The essence of evil is all around them. Bring the wolves to us, and we can wake them up.”Yeah, that wasn’t creepy at all. Everyone, let’s each grab a wolf. Between the witches’ response and the friction chafing my skin, I didn’t want us to stay any longer than we needed to.Several wolves shifted back into human form, not worried about their nudity. We all spread
Forcing one foot in front of the other, I entered the den with Bodey at my side.What do you think Chelsea meant? Jack linked. She could’ve been less cryptic, or maybe she shouldn’t have said a damn thing.I heard a whack, and I guessed it was Lucas thumping Jack on the back of the head. Confirming my suspicion, Lucas grunted and linked, None of us know, and we’re dealing with witches. Cryptic is ingrained in their blood.The corners of my lips tugged upward, easing some of the chill that had sunk into my bones thanks to the eerie situation. There was something comfortingly normal about Lucas and Jack bickering that grounded me.Dina sat in the center of the couch with Michael and Phil at her sides. Carl and Dan stood between the back of the couch and the kitchen island, where Stevie was sliding a plate of scrambled eggs over to the men.Dan reached for it just as Janet clucked her tongue and turned from her spot in front of the black stove. “Wait. She needs a fork.” She got one from