Russo's POV
Night was falling, and everything inside the church's basement was ready. Our pentagram and all of the symbols were written in the specific ink. Our offering was laid out, one each of the five donations on the five points of the pentagram.
Beside me, Lisa's forehead glistened with sweat. We were at zero hour. It was time to start the actual ritual.
She chanted the words that would open us to the magic, then connected that magic to the pentagram and the orders with power over demons written therein.
On TV, magic always showed up as a flashy light show, but this was different, subtle. Being a fae, I could feel the magic whisper across my skin and through my hair like the slightest breeze, one which would tickle the flame on a candle without blowing it out. Yet carried in that whisper was a measure of power that stunned me.
I took a gaping glance at Lisa. I had no idea that my bride-to-be could conjure up that much power. All
Helen’s POVRather than pushing me away like he usually did after our lovemaking, my Huntsman crawled back on his hands and knees, groaning again. But this time, it looked like his face was not contorted in pleasure but in pain.I was torn. I wanted to lay on my back, tipping my hips up so that his seed could find its way as deep within me as possible. I wanted him to have impregnated me. But I also wanted to go to his side and ease his pain.I patted the floor next to my shoulder. “Come here, my love. I'll try to tend to you.”He grunted and started towards me, and then collapsed to the floor, face down on the carpet. I shrieked, scrambling to my hands and knees and shaking his shoulders.“Huntsman! Huntsman! My husband, my darling, my love. What's wrong?”This time he clutched at his throat and let out a scream. Fire shot from his mouth. I shouted and scrambled back from him. Even Martin hurried
Helen’s POVThe end of everything felt like being under a collapsing tower of wooden blocks. Even though it brought relief, it wasn’t easy. All the edges and corners and individual pieces pummeled my heart, brain, and body. Julianne looked as if she felt the same.Julianne nodded at me. “I feel sick to my stomach,” she said.“You and me both,” I agreed.Now I gripped Julianne’s hand. “We need to try and look and see if we can find any of the other pixies. Was there anything upstairs where he kept you caged that would have indicated that there were other prisoners up there?”Julianne shook her head.I bit my lips in frustration. “How about before he put you up there? Were you take it anywhere by Martin? Did Martin say anything about anywhere else that they were keeping people?”Julianne sorted through her thoughts; I could tell. Her face was screwed up in concentration, and if her head felt anything like mine, it wasn’t an easy task trying to find the memories because everything from t
Helen’s POVThe poor man just stared at me with blank eyes. His hair was matted, and his cheeks sunken. He’d clearly been here a long time.“Do you have any idea where the Huntsman kept the key?” I asked.The man continued to stare at me.“You can answer me without being afraid,” I said, soothing the prisoner. “He’s dead.”“Dead?” the poor man on the floor croaked.“Yes. The Huntsman is dead. I saw it with my own eyes. He was killed by his own magic.”That was the best way I could describe the rite which had taken down the Huntsman to somebody whose consciousness was being strained simply by keeping himself awake. If he wanted more details after I’d gotten him help, we could worry about that then.He made another harsh noise trying to speak and gave up, simply pointing me to the back wall.I turned and, to my great relief, found a key hanging on a hook behind the door. I rushed over, grabbing that, praying the whole time that it was really the key that would unlock this poor man’s cel
Helen’s POV“I’m going back to check the other rooms,” I said.I went up and down the hallway three more times. On those trips, I found one more room that had nothing but several bodies, and then I rescued two more male werewolves and one more female. None of them looked lucid enough to share their experiences with us.Though, after seeing them in that state, I honestly didn’t care whether they had been fooled into working with the Huntsman or whether they had consciously made the decision. It was clear he didn’t care even for his own companions or those serving him. And no matter what the Huntsman had said to gain the trust of these werewolves, I was sure it didn’t involve the truth because there was no way that anyone would have gotten willingly involved with a demon, was there?I shuddered at this mixed feeling of compassion. Perhaps I should let Justin deal with these people that we found. They could be given a trial if necessary, and we could find out whether or not they willingl
Justin’s POVIn the pause, while I waited for Randy’s answer, the silence seemed to drag on like something physical. How could it take so long to spit out such important words? Had we killed that bastard of a wizard or not?“I didn’t get to it myself,” Randy said. “I’m actually on my way to confirm now. Julianne’s husband, Peter, got ahold of Martin. He was the closest, and after we told him about Julianne being abused by the Huntsman, I’m sure he wanted a chance to take him down.”I growled. “I wanted a chance to take him down.”Randy let out an answering growl. “I did, too. But Peter was in the correct position to dish out punishment.”Randy sighed. “At least poor Julianne didn’t have to go through what Helen went through.”“We hope,” I added, crossing my fingers for that one.“I’m gonna get off the phone now,” he said. “While I am verifying the body belongs to the wizard, why don’t you give Russo and Lisa a call and let them know that things seem to have gone pretty well here? They
Justin’s POVWe locked the door behind us, and I grabbed the edge of Helen’s shirt, lifting it off over her head. She didn’t have a bra on, and her breasts greeted me with a tantalizing bounce and stiff nipples. I bent, taking one in my mouth and running my tongue across the raised pink button.Helen moaned and stroked the back of my head with one hand. With the other, she undid the button on my jeans, sliding her hand inside the pants and gripping my shaft through the fabric of my boxers. My cock throbbed at her touch.I’d had to work to hold myself back this time. I didn’t want to come before she was ready again. Especially since . . .“Helen,” I panted. “I want you to have my pup. Are you willing to have a baby with me?”She faltered a moment. “I thought there were issues. I thought you had to have sex with me in your lycan form, and that was too dangerous.”I pulled my shirt off, then hugged her to me so our naked torsos were pressed together. The heat from our skin mingled and te
Helen’s POVI left the backroom with Justin, feeling much more settled than I ever thought I would have after everything I’d gone through. If he could really control Beowulf that much, it showed me how hard he’d fought himself and how much he’d come to terms with who we were as a couple.When we got back to the room that had the pool tables, a bunch of the warriors from the True Mates pack were there helping with the injured captives that we’d set free. As if she knew how much they meant to me, Julianne was guarding the little group of pixies who sat on top of a table. She shooed away any of the warriors who came over and tried to help with them.“You’re back!” She gave me a wave. “Did you work everything out between you?” she asked when I got close.“Yes. Hopefully, things will go as well with you and Peter.”She bit her lip and looked down at the table. “I hope so, too. In the meantime, the pixies wanted to go with you, and I figured you’d want the same. So, I wouldn’t let anyone el
Russo’s POVAfter I’d gotten the call from Justin, it took a few minutes for his words to sink in. We were free. We were safe. It had been so long since I’d had those things that it hardly felt real.Lisa must have felt the same because, after her initial tears of relief, she set about cleaning up the mess we’d made doing the ritual. The church might have been abandoned, but leaving our pentagram and offerings behind seemed tactless.I silently got to work, helping her. She loaded up the expired materials, and I searched the closets until I found an old mop and bucket. While the ink we’d used did mop off the floor, something about the ritual had etched the symbols into the cement, leaving rough outlines even after the drawings were removed.Well, I was the best I could do. If anyone bought the place, they could always cover the marks with carpet or hardwood. Once everything was clean, Lisa and I left.She paused on the stairs out of the basement. “We can’t just throw the remnants of t