Jax walked out of the kitchen, a sandwich in one hand, a Coke in the other. “Did somebody say strength? If so, I’m in.”
24
“I don’t want you fighting with us.” Kayla argued with her brother in the backseat as we sped toward Florence. “You’re not ready yet. Your powers are…unpredictable.”
“Not anymore,” Jax answered proudly. “Naomi and I practiced a bunch. She was a great coach. I can shift and hold my control now, no problem.”
Naomi smiled and turned in her seat to face Jax. “Oui, he did very well. He was very brave and tried to break us out many times. After the first few times he shifted, his control was impeccable.”
“I was always worried before,” Jax explained, “that somebody would see me, or I would hurt someone. So when I shifted, I freaked. But not anymore.” Jax was clearly proud of his newfound control over his skill.
Any supernatural in their teens went through a rocky transformation when they came into their magic, especially wolves. It was all about hormones and power swirling around at the same time.
Danny chuckled. “When I shifted for the first time as a young lad, I was a wild animal. It was a horrid experience. It took me months to figure out how to shift without pain, much less control myself once I got there.”
“You’re still a wild animal when you shift.” Tyler shook his head from the backseat next to Kayla. “When you shift, it’s like you lose your damn mind.”
“What can I say?” Danny shrugged. “I love to feel the wind running through my fur, and I don’t give a damn what anybody else thinks. Indulging my wild side makes me feel whole again. Shedding this skin feels glorious.” He patted his arm. “It’s completely liberating.”
Tyler leaned forward to address Jax. “It takes time to master the art of shifting and reining in your animal side, who is always fighting for control. I’m not familiar with what you are, but it sounds like you are figuring it out, no problem. I’d be proud to have you fight alongside us.”
Kayla seemed to soften. “Okay, Jax, you can join us. But if I feel like it’s getting too dangerous, you have to leave, no questions asked.”
Jax was about to protest, but I cut in. “Your sister is right. If you want to be part of this team, you agree to take orders without argument. We can’t be efficient in defeating a threat if we’re worried about you. Do you understand? If your sister is distracted, or if I feel like I need to intervene on your behalf, or Rourke does, it could make or break a fight. In time, when you come fully into your powers, you will be an incredible asset to us—possibly one of the strongest players we have. But at fifteen, and as a new shifter, you have to agree to listen to all of us, either that or you’re not invited to the fight.” My tone was final. “If not, you’re welcome to wait in the villa.”
Jax glanced around the group for a few seconds, seeing that all of our faces mirrored the same expression. This wasn’t playtime, this was real life. “Got it,” he replied. “If anyone tells me to leave, I’m out of there. But I promise I can help. When I shift, my skin is like stone. Nothing can pierce it, not even wolf jaws.” His chest puffed up a little. He was beyond cute.
“What about magic? Are you resistant to spells?” I asked.
He looked uncertain, glancing at his sister. “We think he is,” Kayla answered. “But he’s never encountered a witch before, so we don’t know for sure.”
I nodded. From what I understood, gargoyles could resist magic because their skin was so dense that spells couldn’t penetrate. Sounded like Jax might be the same. “I certainly don’t want this fight to be your first exposure to magic,” I said. “You can deflect the wolves and help us get into the bunker, but stay away from the witches and the goddess. She used to be a witch and can cast spells.”
Rourke drove the SUV. There were two other vehicles behind us carrying my father and his wolves. “Almost there,” Rourke said. “We park outside the Compound and walk in.”
“Yes,” I said. “Nick and Lucas, and whatever wolves he’s been able to amass, should be waiting for us at the end of the driveway.” I’d talked to Nick halfway through our drive back to Florence. They were having luck talking to the wolves, although a few had gone to join their Alpha already.
It seemed Julian knew he had a fight in front of him.
Ten minutes later, we pulled over and parked on the dirt road that ran parallel to the villa and piled out of the car. Nick and Lucas, and what looked to be twenty to thirty wolves, had gathered up the road. That was a significantly higher amount than I’d thought would show. Julian must’ve been ineffective for a long time to cause this kind of defection.
My father took the lead.
The wolves would respond to his power, instinctively wanting to follow the most powerful Alpha they could find. He didn’t waste any time. “My name is Callum McClain,” he announced in a voice ringing with strength. He immediately commanded an audience. I watched as the faces of the wolves changed from trepidation to interest, which would quickly morph into loyalty. “I am Alpha of the U.S. Territories. It has come to my attention that your Alpha here has broken sacred Pack rules. He chose to pursue personal endeavors for his own gain, rather than for the wealth of Pack. He has put my daughter, Jessica, in jeopardy and has kidnapped my allies, including my second. He will pay for this with his life.” His voice held certainty, and we all believed it. “You are not required to fight alongside me, but if you wish to join my Pack when this is all over, I suggest you do.”
They didn’t need any more convincing.
As my father stood with his arms folded, his feet spread apart, the wolves came up one by one and placed a knee to the ground in front of my father, bowing their heads. They freely gave him their fealty. It would take more to officially become part of his Pack, but this was what wolves did in a time of change or stress.
Once it was over, my father asked, “Who among you is at the top? Come forward. You will serve as my advisor. Anyone who has specific details about where Julian is and who is with him speak now.”
Two of the bigger wolves stepped forward.
One appeared to be Scandinavian, judging by his height, build, and honey-colored hair. The other seemed to have Greek heritage, with jet-black hair, dark features, and light skin. But it was hard to be certain. The Scandinavian bowed his head as he addressed my father. “I am Carl, the highest-ranking wolf in attendance. There are two above me, including Julian’s second, Stephen, and one other. Both have gone to fight alongside our former Alpha’s side. This is Alastair.” He nodded toward the Greek wolf. “He heads our communications and is privy to information you will need. Julian has been careless. When he brought the goddess and the witches here, he had no regard for how we would feel about it. He has forced us to accept his new ways, or face death. We no longer fear him.”
“My son tells me you are all installed in bunkhouses nearby. Is that correct?” my father asked.
“It is,” Carl confirmed. “But that was not always the way of things. The top ten ranking wolves lived at the villa until approximately eight months ago.”
“I see,” my father said. Wolves enjoyed Pack mentality and living close to their Alpha. The higher-ranking wolves would feel the bite of separation the greatest and likely be the most bitter. That Julian’s second, and the next in line, had gone to fight with their Alpha now was likely nothing more than a reflex of wanting to be in his good graces again. Wolves craved attention and command, much like a toddler tugging on a mother’s skirt. It didn’t diminish their physical strength, just explained how Pack functioned in the minds of wolves. “The underground bunker where they’ve been holed up, tell me about it.”
“It is heavily fortified, made to withstand bomb blasts,” Carl stated.
“Julian also paid a lot of money to have it spelled,” Alastair added. “If he doesn’t want you in, you’d have a hard time breaching it.”
“When a wolf is challenged, he fights,” my father answered vehemently. “That is our way. That has alway
s been our way. He will come out and face me and own up to his wrongdoings.”
“He might come out and face the challenge,” I said from my position just behind my father. “But he might choose to have Ceres fight his battles for him. If he knows he could lose to you, which he should, it would be to his benefit to have her take you out, rather than come and fight you and lose his Pack.”
Judging by my father’s expression, I could tell such thoughts hadn’t occurred to him. He was old-school to the bone. Honor and respect were revered in his world, as they should be. Julian hadn’t been playing by the same rules lately, which made me doubt if he would actually stick to the old ways when a grab for power was on the line.
“Jessica’s right,” Rourke said. “We prepare for a battle against a goddess and her witches, and after we beat them, we fight the wolves.”
“We just have to figure out how to breach the bunker,” Tyler added. “They’ve got the advantage. And who knows how many are down there against us?”
“We can’t forget we have allies in the bunker,” I pointed out. We assumed that was where Ray, James, and Marcy were being held, but we could be wrong. “Including a pissed-off reaper vampire who’s going to be mad as a hornet that he got snatched. If we can free them once we break in, that would be ideal. Then they can fight alongside us.” I was about to say something more when there was a noise to my left.
We all turned our heads and watched as Eudoxia emerged from the brush beside the road. Apparently, she didn’t take joy in landing right next to us and scaring the crap out of us like Ray did.
Today’s outfit was foam green, her skirts dragging over the ground as she moved. She looked a little ragged. I squinted. Was that a piece of straw in her hair? Before I could inquire as to what had happened, Danny quipped, “Did you fancy a roll in the hay before coming back, then?” He chortled at his own joke.
She reached up and plucked the errant hay out of her coif and flicked it away angrily. “They thought to take me unawares,” she fumed. “It was the last mistake they ever made!”
“Who tried to take you?” I balked. Eudoxia’s reputation preceded her. I didn’t know many—if any—supernaturals who would dare to try such a thing so blatantly.
She stalked forward. “A school of witches. Obviously a kindergarten group. They thought to spell me, but did not realize that I can spell right back,” she huffed. “I left them stunned, if not dead. They will think twice before approaching me again. Fae magic is of a different breed, one that they have not prepared themselves against in far too long. They were easy prey. They were squirming in pain.”
“But why would they want to kidnap you?” I asked, stunned. “That doesn’t make any sense. They have Tally.” I glanced at Rourke and my father. “Ceres can’t take the fae position on the Coalition. She can only hope for the witch seat. Why would they want Eudoxia?”
Rourke shrugged. “Leverage? Things must have gone badly down there, and now they’re trying to clean up their mess. If they had the Vampire Queen as their prisoner, she could swear a vow to exonerate them in exchange for her release.”
“That would never happen,” Eudoxia scoffed. “If anyone dared keep me captive, they would die. There would be no vows or exchanges.”
I addressed her. “They have Tally, Ray, James, and Marcy. We’re about to go and break them out and fight the wolves. This is now a personal fight for you. I can’t believe I have to ask this question, but are you in?”
“Of course I’m in,” she answered in a condescending tone. “Anyone who dares give the order to harm me will pay the price with their lives. Those witches didn’t act on their own. They were following orders from their superior.”
“And they have our friends,” I suggested helpfully. “That’s reason enough to go after them.” Eudoxia gave me what amounted to a snort as a reply. My friends were clearly not an issue for her. “One of them is Tally, who will claim the witch’s seat on the Coalition. You at least have to care about that.” She rolled her eyes. “I know your heart is several sizes too small—that is, if you have one at all—but I have to believe there’s a little bit of love or some speck of emotion in there someplace. If anything, you can tell yourself it’s a necessity to join us, because without Tally, we can’t take our vows. And let’s just be thankful she’s still alive, or Ceres wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to nab you. If Tally were to die, there’s a good chance that Ceres would take her place.”
Eudoxia placed her hands on her hips. “She might’ve.” She raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “But once Ceres was dead, the power would be forced to choose another.”
Okay, then.
25
We formulated a quick plan as we moved forward. It basically consisted of: We’re stronger and tougher than you are, so we will prevail.
It wasn’t heavy on the logistics.
My father addressed the wolves, ordering them to fan out around the bunker. If Julian had left his wolves to guard the door, defeating them would be our first priority.
Once we got within a few yards of the bunker, we could see there were no guards stationed. “Don’t you think it’s a little strange he hasn’t positioned any of his wolves here to be the first line of defense?” I asked. I lifted my nose and scented the air. My wolf growled low.
Something was wrong.
Before I could voice my concern, my brother said, “I smell something strange. Like smoke mixed with ash. I’ve never smelled anything like it before in my life.”
“I smell it too,” I said. “Ray spotted a strange signature out here before, one that he couldn’t identify.”
Eudoxia stood next to me. She didn’t have the same nose as a wolf, but she was old and had been around the block a time or to. “The vampires were right,” she stated flatly. “A celestial being is nearby. I’ve smelled that scent twice before in my life. Neither time was particularly pleasant.” She didn’t bother to elaborate.
“Why would a celestial being be helping Julian?” I asked. “I thought they were here to facilitate formation of the new Coalition. We’ve already met Leo. I can’t imagine him helping the opposition. And he didn’t smell like sulfur. In fact, he smelled good.” Like a sweet, musky earth coupled with fresh air.
“I am not here to do anything other than observe.” The voice filtered through the wind, and my head snapped toward it. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female.
We all glanced around, but saw no one.
Danny walked up to me. “A voice with no body is a bit peculiar, isn’t it? I don’t like this one bit. Getting into another battle with an opponent we can’t see is not high on my to-do list.”
“I will not battle you,” the voice said.
“If you are no threat to us,” I said, “show yourself.”
Approximately twenty feet in front of us, the air wavered, and a female figure solidified.
She was dressed in black leather, with long, flowing blonde hair. She looked as angelic as Leo, but feminine, her eyes bright and clear. I knew she had wings underneath her glamour. She looked badass as she walked purposely toward us, like a biker chick with a serious Harley parked somewhere nearby.
My wolf howled in my mind, her hackles up. Is she a threat? I asked. My wolf clicked her jaws together decisively. I took that as a yes. What do we do? Her power is crazy strong, just like Leo’s. It lashed against us, its tendrils stinging our skin. My wolf only continued to growl, which was not exactly helpful.
“What’s your name?” I asked as she stopped before us, openly assessing our group, her eyes landing on Rourke and staying there.
If she didn’t let up, I was going to start growling.
“Romeial,” she said. “But you may call me Romy.”
“You’re the Angel of Fertility,” Kayla said softly. It was a statement, not a question.
“I am, among other things,” the angel replied.
It seemed Ceres had some things in common with this angel. I would doubt it was a coincidence an angel
with the same powers as the goddess was standing here in front of us.
“Do you protect those inside?” my father demanded.
Romy casually glanced over her shoulder toward the bunker. “Yes and no. I’m ultimately here for another reason. Normally, another dark angel would preside over this, but orders are orders.”
My eyebrows reached my hairline. She sounded like Jeb. This was just another day at work for her.
“You’re going to have to explain,” I said. “None of us is familiar with how the Coalition works, or who you are, or why you’re here. So if you could be a little more specific, that would help. Our friends are inside, and we’re anxious to free them.”
“I know,” she replied. “I helped put them there.”
“What?” I had trouble keeping my voice at a normal volume. “If you’re not helping Ceres, why would you do that?”
She rested her hands against her hips and tapped a foot. “Well, I figured you’d want this to be over with sooner rather than later, and this was the best way to handle it. They are all in one place, no need to search for them. One confrontation and it’s over.”
“I’m extremely confused,” I said. “If you helped Ceres, she thinks you’re on her side, which is likely why no wolves are present to fight us. She thinks you’re going to do her dirty work for her.”
“If I gave her that impression”—the dark angel shrugged—“that’s on her. She didn’t ask for specifics, and I didn’t give them.”
“But you’re the Angel of Fertility, and she’s the Goddess of Fertility,” I said, still frantically trying to piece this story together. “Aren’t you on the same side?”
They might even have the same gene pool. Who knew?
“Nope. It doesn’t work that way,” Romy answered. “I was born into my position, she was voted in. Much different. If humans had prayed to her in another capacity—say, as Goddess of Anthills—she would’ve gladly taken that route, presiding over the ants of your world. It’s hardly the same thing.”
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