by G. K. DeRosa
“I’m not sure I want any more surprises.” Stifling a yawn, I reached for my own phone. I had about a dozen missed calls and messages. Oops. I quickly shot off a text to Cass assuring her I was not in fact in a sex coma. Besides my best friend, the second most attempts at communication came from… “Lucien,” I blurted.
“Huh?”
“He’s called and messaged like a hundred times. He said he has to talk to me, and it’s urgent.”
Hunter held up his phone, and I scanned the screen. “Looks like I got the same messages.”
My heart constricted as my mind immediately jumped from Lucien to Ransom. My friend died protecting me. At least I’d won the trials like I’d promised. I hoped he was watching me from somewhere, proud. His face flickered across my vision, those bottomless darting eyes and that trademark smirk. I even missed my annoying nickname.
Pushing back the comforter, I forced myself up. “Come on, let’s go see what Lucien wants.”
Hunter shook his head, frowning. “If it’s coming from the Royal alpha, it can’t be anything good.”
The great hall at the Royal lair felt bigger, emptier than last time without Ransom’s booming presence. My knee bounced up and down as we waited for Lucien. His guards had escorted us in a few minutes ago, and every moment that passed escalated my heartrate.
I pivoted to Hunter, the silence stretching to uncomfortable levels. “What do you think he wants to see me about?”
“No idea. If it was anyone else, I’d have a general notion, but with Lucien it could be anything.”
“Did you try…” I pointed at his temple.
He nodded. “His mental blocks are up. I could press harder, but he’d know, and I figured what was the point since we were about to see him anyway.”
“Right.” I snagged my lower lip between my teeth. I’d already checked in with Connor and Braxton and all was well. I couldn’t help but feel like I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Hunter and I were together, Tyrien was dead, and we could finally get on with our lives, so what was up with this boulder-sized pit of dread in my gut?
The creak of the door opening sent my head whipping toward the entrance. Lucien shot me a tight smile then turned to the man walking in behind him. Aras. If I hadn’t seen him at the arena, I never would’ve recognized him. The warlock’s cheeks were sallow, skin drawn and his eyes… they were too shiny. I supposed months in a coma would do that to someone.
I waited for the hatred to bubble up as he strode closer. This man had a hand in killing my mother. He’d helped Sonia torture her for days, stole into her mind and did who knew what else? But despite knowing that, I felt nothing. Maybe I’d maxed out on all my emotions in the past few days.
Hunter’s nostrils flared as Aras approached, and I heard his subtle intake of air. Do you smell that? He shot through the bond. I inhaled but I was too distracted by the dark eyes trapping me in their gaze. They were too familiar. The pang of loss punched a hole in my gut. This was the first time I’d seen Lucien in private. The scene at the arena had been too much of a frenzy to extend my condolences, and now here he was right in front of me, and all the words stuck at the back of my throat.
“Thank you for coming,” Lucien began as he folded into the couch in front of us. “I imagine you must both be very busy preparing to take on your new roles.”
“Yes, we are,” Hunter muttered, his eyes intent on the warlock. “So what’s the urgent matter, Lucien?”
“It concerns your mate, Aristaeus, which I assume concerns you too.”
Adrenaline skyrocketed through my blood as I hung on his words. This was it, the other shoe.
Lucien crossed his legs and arched a dark brow. “I have good news, two pieces of it actually. But before I continue, I’d like to settle a few things.”
“What now?” Hunter growled.
“I believe I’ve been a friend to you both, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes,” I blurted. “And more than that, your son was a great friend to me. I’ll never forget that, and I’ll never forget him.”
His lips bowed into a tight smile.
“Are you asking for something, Lucien?” Hunter sat forward, bracing his elbows on his knees.
“I only want to cement our new relationship. You, Aristaeus, as the new supreme alpha will need strong leaders at your side. I only hope you will look upon me as your father once did. You may have not approved of his methods, but he was a force, and that is what’s necessary to rule over the shifters of Marlwoods. I’ve been around for a long time, boy, and you could benefit from my wisdom. You were there in Nocturnis, you know what’s coming. I can help you.”
“Fine. As long as our goals remain the same, I will look to you as an ally.”
“Wonderful.” The Royal alpha folded his hands in his lap before turning his darting eyes to me. “And you, High Alpha Sierra, I believe congratulations are in order. I have a gift for you.”
My eyes widened, and Hunter tensed beside me. I could feel the muscles in his arm and thigh strain beside me. “What’s that?”
He motioned at the warlock. “Since Aras’s miraculous awakening, I’ve noticed certain changes.”
Hunter’s nose twitched again, and this time I focused my scrambled thoughts on the male in front of us. Inhaling deeply, I caught the faint musky lupine scent. My wolf sat up, nudging at my insides. White fur sprouted across my arms as she tried to force her way out. A slight throb pulsed at my belly button.
I slid to the end of the couch and scanned the lanky warlock. Pack. Pack. Pack. My wolf took up the chant. Spinning toward Hunter, my brows slammed together. “What the…?”
Hunter leveled Aras with a glare. “Do you have any wolf blood in you?”
The haughty warlock lifted his nose, puckering his lips. “Of course not. My family hails from the most powerful covens of Maginaria.”
“Well, you do now,” I spluttered. I didn’t know how I’d missed it earlier. He reeked of wolf, more than that, he smelled like me.
“Lucien, what exactly are you getting at?” Hunter asked.
“I believe Aras is becoming a wolf, and not just any wolf. My guess is he will be a Mystic.”
My jaw unhinged, and I was certain I’d need a forklift to scrape it off the floor. “What?” I screeched.
Aras’s pallid complexion whitened a few more shades. Apparently, no one had let the wolf out of the bag.
“Wolves can’t be made,” Hunter interjected. “Only the goddess can—” His words trailed off as my brain made the same connection.
“Holy wolf babies…” My mind spun to the conversation with Luna. You are all the pack needs to survive. “But how?”
“You bit him,” said Lucien. “Whether it’s in your saliva or your blood, I do not know. But I am certain of one thing, this warlock is changing.” He motioned to Hunter. “You’ll have to perform your test to confirm, but I’m almost certain you’ll find a new Mystic in our circle.”
“This can’t be…” I muttered. But gods, if it was true, all of our problems would be solved. All the guilt I had about choosing Hunter over my pack would finally disappear. I leapt up before I could stop myself and threw my arms around the Royal alpha. Squeezing him tight around the neck, I whispered, “Thank you.”
“I live to serve, High Alpha Sierra.” He winked, and it reminded me so much of Ransom I had to blink back the tears.
“So I’m turning into a wolf?” Aras cried, as if he’d suddenly been clued into the conversation. He rubbed at the faint bite mark at the back of his neck.
“Looks that way, warlock. Welcome to the pack.” Hunter stood and smacked him on the shoulder.
The slim male looked like he was about to buckle over, vomit, or both. Hopefully his new form would come with an attitude adjustment. I wasn’t sure I could tolerate this new member of my pack. My wolf whined her disapproval. “I wonder how long it’ll take for him to shift.”
“I took the liberty to ask Terra to join us for a meeting later,�
� said Lucien. “She can evaluate him and give us her opinion. Until the change comes, I’d be happy to keep an eye on him here at Royal lair. I’m sure the two of you have enough to handle right now.”
“I appreciate that, Lucien.” I reached for his hand and squeezed.
“We keep this strictly between us for now,” said Hunter, his gaze drifting over Lucien and Aras. “Everyone understand?”
The pair nodded, and I wondered if Lucien could compel the warlock into submission. Until he was officially part of the pack, I didn’t know if my alpha power would extend to the morphing warlock wolf.
About a million questions popped into my mind. Could I change anyone into a wolf? What about a human or an animal? Would I just have to bite them? Would they remain in a coma for months like Aras had?
Relax, Sierra, we’ll figure it all out as it comes. Hunter’s soothing voice quelled the building storm as his fingers intertwined with mine. This is a good thing.
I know. It’s the best thing. I squeezed his hand tighter.
Lucien raised a finger. “One more minor issue. But I’d like to discuss this with Sierra, in private.”
Hunter frowned, his head already whipping back and forth. I tugged on his hand and turned him toward me. “I trust Lucien, Hunter, and so should you. Besides, you can wait just outside, right?”
The Royal nodded. “Of course. It’ll give you and Aras a chance to get to know each other.”
Hunter grunted but led Aras out the great hall anyway with Lucien’s guards stepping in tow. As soon as the door closed behind them, the Royal offered me a seat beside him.
“I know there is nothing stopping you from telling your mate as soon as we finish our discussion, but I wanted you to make that decision,” he began.
I nodded slowly, that pit of dread growing once again.
“Ransom cared for you, more than I understood. My son was a good man, but I’d never seen him do a selfless thing in his life. Hunter told me what he did for you in Nocturnis. And it is because of his sacrifice that I’m telling you this today.”
Hot tears rose, the pain of his loss burning the back of my throat.
“Ransom is alive.”
My heart stopped. For what felt like at least the second time today. “What?” I cried out. “But how?”
His expression darkened. “Carmen Rosa, the vampire queen, she was able to turn him.”
“He’s a vampire?” The words tasted like ash. After seeing those rabid vamps in Nocturnis and encountering the wild ones on the Isle of Mordis, my stomach twisted.
His head dipped slowly.
“Is he okay?” Translation: is he going to become like one of those bloodsucking fiends?
“It’s too soon to say,” he answered, as if he’d understood my veiled question. “The transition is difficult for all, more so for wolves like ourselves. In dying, we lose our connection to our beast. That’s a loss like no other.”
“Can I see him?”
He shook his head. “Not even I have been allowed to do so. Carmen Rosa is caring for him during the transition. She’s promised me that as soon as it’s safe, she’ll allow it.”
“I want to come with you.” Gods, I had to see him. To thank him and yell at him for risking his life for me.
“If it’s possible, I will do my best.”
“Okay.” I forced myself to smile. “This is good, Lucien. At least he’s alive.”
The Royal nodded grimly. “I hope so, Sierra.” He crossed his arms over his chest and exhaled a long breath. “The fewer people that know about what’s happened the better. Until Ransom’s mental state is determined, I’d prefer to let his memory remain intact. Should he survive the change, we can resurrect him then. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes. I promise I won’t say anything.” I hated lying to Hunter, but I had to keep this secret for now. I promised myself I’d tell him later because I knew Ransom would survive. He had to.
“Thank you, Sierra. And I do truly wish you the best. Ransom must have seen something in you, or he wouldn’t have given up his life. In honor of his memory, I will do what I can to help you.”
Fresh tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them back. The Royal didn’t seem like the type who would do well with crying. “I appreciate it, Lucien.” I turned and hurried toward the exit, my mate’s anxiety already rippling through the bond. He must have felt my reaction to the news. Now I had to find a way to cover it up. At least for now.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“Are you ready, High Alpha Sierra?” Hunter glanced up at me from the desk in the corner of his bedroom. He’d been spending an inordinate amount of time huddled over stacks of files. The big Alpha Council meeting was coming up next week and though my mate wouldn’t admit it, he was nervous for his first encounter with the high alphas of each of the shifter packs of Marlwoods. He’d been poring over his father’s old notes to familiarize himself with each of the leaders.
But for now, I had my first high council meeting with the Lunar alphas and the first task I wanted to accomplish was the admittance of the lesser packs into the assembly. Something I knew would incur major backlash, but I didn’t care because it was an issue I felt strongly about. After competing against dozens of lesser pack wolves, one thing had been clear, they deserved it. They fought just as hard as every Lunar wolf with none of our special abilities. There was no reason they shouldn’t have a say in the governing of our lands.
“Yes,” I finally answered.
“You’ve got your speech ready?”
I tugged the stack of flash cards from my inner pocket and waved them at him. I was wearing a freakin’ pantsuit. I had to portal over to Maginaria to get the fancy thing, but somehow, I felt it was necessary. I wanted the rest of the males to see me as their new high alpha, not the young witchy wolf without a pack. It had been three days since we’d seen Aras, but according to Lucien the change was coming more swiftly now. He was certain the warlock would shift on the next full moon.
Once it happened, and he was confirmed a Mystic, I’d feel better. It hadn’t escaped me that all my pack members were males, and at this rate, there’d be zero Mystic pups in the future. But if I really could make other wolves, it would change everything.
That brought a whole other moral dilemma—who would I turn? Would I ask for volunteers? The Mystics didn’t exactly have the best reputation within Moon Valley and beyond our territory, no one knew the sparkly unicorn packs even existed.
“Sierra…” Hunter growled. He appeared behind me a moment later. His arms came around my waist and he tugged me to him, resting his chin on my shoulder. “You need to stop obsessing about all of this. We’re going to figure it out together. Just like always.”
I spun around and glared up at him. “You mean like how you ran off by yourself to break the curse and accidentally lost all your emotions in the process?”
He tossed me a rueful smile. “Touché.” Cupping my cheeks, he forced my eyes to his. “But that was before. Now we’re #TeamHunterra, right?”
I chuckled at Cass’s ridiculous but adorable nickname for us. “Right,” I muttered before his lips found mine.
He released me too soon, the fire in his eyes still burning. “Good. Now, let’s get to that meeting before I decide to cancel and spend all day in bed with you instead.”
“I could be persuaded to go for that option.” I rose to my tiptoes and swept my lips against his one more time.
“I love you,” he breathed against my mouth, “And now it’s time to show everyone else the fierce, unstoppable woman that is my mate.” He smacked me on the butt before giving me a gentle shove toward the door. “Let’s do this.”
The muttered whispers ceased the moment Hunter and I stepped into the alpha’s hall. Five heads whirled in our direction, intense eyes scrutinizing. The scent of alphas thickened the air, and the large chamber suddenly felt too small for so much power. My wolf surged to the surface, and I could feel the violet glow emanating from my irises. T
he five males lowered their gazes and my girl chuffed happily, curling back into the warm nest she’d made in my core.
Her presence reminded me I was an alpha. Not only was I an alpha, I was a kickass, powerful one. I may have won the title by default, but I fought hard and deserved it. I’d prove to everyone here that I was born for this role.
As we approached the long table, the massive black throne loomed closer. The wolf’s head jutted over the top, the jagged stone dark and foreboding. Hunter moved in front of me and pulled the colossal chair out. “For my mate, the new high alpha,” he said, loud enough for all to hear.
I wanted to yell hell no! I didn’t want to sit in that thing, but I couldn’t reject his sweet gesture, especially not in front of the entire council. So I sank into the rock mountain of a chair, the spiked edges spearing into my flesh.
Next time I’d rather sit on the floor. I broadcasted my thoughts at my mate.
The hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lip as he settled into the high-backed chair beside me. It disappeared a moment later, shifting into alpha mode as he turned to the others. “Gentlemen, I know a lot has changed since the last council meeting. Not only is my father gone, but now Sierra has joined the assembly as high alpha. Since Tyrien had assumed both roles for so long, I will now determine a division of duties with my mate. I remind you now that you will give her the same respect you afforded to the previous high alpha. Is that clear?”
Muttered yeses rolled across the table.
“High Alpha Sierra will preside over today’s meeting.” Hunter tipped his head toward me, and I inhaled a steeling breath. “Go ahead.”
Clearing my throat, I scooted to the end of the blasted throne so my feet could touch the ground. “As Hunter mentioned, there will be some changes going forward, ones that I believe will benefit all wolves. Having been an outcast, a wolf without a pack, since my arrival in Moon Valley, I feel strongly that all wolves should have a voice on this council. It’s not fair for us to decide the fate of so many.”