by G. K. DeRosa
“Will do, thanks, mom.”
I waved at Braxton on my way out, and he tossed me a half-smile. My jilted fiancé wasn’t happy with me these days. Before the mate bond had been completed, he held onto the hope he still had a chance, but now… I huffed out a breath, burying the useless thoughts. Braxton never really had a chance with me anyway. Not since the moment I saw Hunter that day at Arcane Academy.
As I walked down Lupine Hill toward the portal station, I couldn’t help but think of my mate. I’d failed him. I’d promised him a way to break the curse and our only shot at it was minutes away from spending eternity in a concrete tomb.
“Why, Gram?” I shouted up into the clear sky. Now that the debilitating grief was starting to pass, anger was taking hold. I was so damned mad at her. At both of them really. My mom had kept everything a secret too. If she’d only told me about Hunter’s curse from the beginning, maybe we could’ve convinced Grams together.
“Talking to yourself is never a good sign, Violet.” My eyes jerked up to meet familiar obsidian ones. A ring of crimson encircled Ransom’s bottomless irises as he sauntered closer with an iced coffee in hand. Figures he’d be at his favorite café on campus. As he neared, the playful grin melted away. He must have noticed my deathly pallor and swollen eyes because his expression darkened. “Are you okay? Last I heard you were nearly recovered from the attack.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I muttered. “It’s not that.” The weirdest urge to tell him everything came over me, but then I remembered everything that had happened between us. We might not have been enemies anymore but were we friends?
“Then what is it?” He positioned his body so he blocked my forward momentum.
“My grandmother died,” I blurted.
His dark brows furrowed as he regarded me. “I’m sorry to hear that. I know you were close. Was there foul play involved?”
Just her own. I kept that thought to myself. “No,” I finally said. “But I’m actually in a hurry so I need to get going.”
He cut me off as I tried to move past him. “Off to meet your mate?” He quirked a dark brow.
“No, actually.” I spun the other way, but he blocked me again. “What are you doing?” I hissed.
“I want to talk to you.” A hint of vulnerability twinged his tone, an emotion I’d never heard from the Royal beta. “I want to try to fix things between us. I wanted to talk to you that day in the clearing when you showed up with that new male…”
Shift. Braxton.
“Convenient that you want to make up now that we’re going into the fourth round and Hunter and I have completed our bond, making us stronger than ever.” I wasn’t sure where the anger came from, but the words flew out, their sting hanging in the air, before I could stop them.
His head snapped back as if I’d slapped him, and I instantly regretted my harshness. The truth was that I was in no mood for Ransom’s games. If he wanted to be friends again, he needed to prove it. I was about to say just that when he seared me with a withering glare.
“I’ve actually found my own mate. We will be completing our bond any day now. I was going to suggest we meet up, but I see you’re not interested.” He spun on his heel and stomped off through the quad, shoving other students out of the way.
Guilt flared, but I ignored it, cramming it far down. I had enough to deal with today.
An icy breeze swept up my spine as I followed the stone path to the family crypt. The small cemetery at the edge of Midtowne, Maginaria held the final resting place for all members of the Alarie bloodline, AKA, Grams. She’d once told me that her last name meant all-powerful in French. I believed it.
The marble crypt rose from the earth like an alabaster beacon amid the sea of graying gravestones. The rays of the setting sun highlighted the name stamped across the door in swirly penmanship etched into the fancy granite. Alarie. Mom was here too, but I hadn’t been by to see her yet. Somehow coming here would make her death real, finite, and I wasn’t ready for that. But the mortician had insisted I come as the bodies were piling up and decisions needed to be made.
Drawing in a deep breath, I hauled the door open and forced my feet to move. The scent of moist earth and decay made my nose twitch. Would I end up here too? Or would I be buried with my mate? No, definitely with Hunter. I made a mental note to discuss that with him when I returned. I’d much rather be buried in a field in Moon Valley than in this creepy tomb.
In the center of the dank space, two bodies lay, covered in white sheets. I sniffed the air as dread uncoiled in my gut. I wasn’t sure I could handle their scent, but to my surprise, neither body smelled. Thank the gods for mystical embalming.
Dozens of candles littered the space as if ready for some ritualistic ceremony. I snapped my fingers and lit a few, their flickering flames warming the cold space.
I crept toward the two gray slabs in the center of the mausoleum and debated pulling back the sheet. A part of me wanted to see Mom one last time, but the other didn’t want to remember her like this. So instead, I stood between the two of them and said a quick prayer to the goddess. “I’ll miss you, Mom. You too, Grams. I wish you could’ve been honest with me all along. I can’t help but feel it would’ve saved us all a bunch of unnecessary grief.” Tears I didn’t think I had left burned my eyes, but I blinked them back. I was tired of crying. I promised myself I wouldn’t shed another tear for my grandmother. Not when she’d been so selfish.
Crossing my arms to keep myself from falling apart, I scanned the remaining empty tombs and mentally jotted down the two chosen spots to tell the undertaker.
Done. Now, I could get out of this eerie marble vault of death.
I took a step and the crunch of something underfoot caught my eye. Bending down to pick it up, I uncrumpled the old photo. My heart stopped as the three women’s faces took shape beneath the candlelight. It was the same photo I’d found at Grams’ last hideout. It was her between two girls, one my mom and the other the mystery girl. Her daughter. As I thumbed the worn image, I knew it with absolute certainty. With a sigh, I tucked the photo into my back pocket. Grams must have circled back for it at some point, and she’d had it on her when she died. Maybe Vander could trace it somehow—find out more about the girl.
As I spun toward the entrance, hushed voices raised the hair on my arms. My wolf awoke, and a low growl vibrated the back of my throat. A woman I was certain I’d never see again appeared at the doorway of the crypt.
The Empress of the Lune Sacré.
And behind her, the Emperor, along with a few dozen more witches. All Lune Sacré by the smell of them.
“What are you doing here?” I barked.
The woman glided toward me, her long black robe practically floating behind her. “Our High Priestess has died. Where else would we be?” The Emperor followed her, and the rest trailed behind him until the sizeable mausoleum felt much too cramped.
I struggled for oxygen, the marble walls closing in on me. “This is my family’s crypt,” I rasped, “you can’t be here without my permission.”
“Will you deny us the opportunity to say our last goodbyes?” The Empress seared me with her pale green irises. “It’s essential that the final rituals of the Lune Sacré be performed. Or would you deny your grandmother that honor?”
“Honor?” I spat. “She took her own life. She chose to end it all.”
Her expression turned grim, thin lips narrowing. “Hyacinth did what she had to.”
My brows slammed together. “So you knew?”
The Emperor stepped forward, the glimmer of candlelight reflecting off his bald head. “Of course, we knew. She sent word that you were getting close. She wanted her final wishes known.”
“And what were those?” I snapped more harshly than intended, but I couldn’t help myself. The entire coven who’d abandoned me had barged in on my last moments with my mom.
“She wanted us to perform the ceremony of the Grande Prêtesse.”
“I’m sorry, the what? My cov
en French is a little rusty…”
“The rite that bestows the power onto the next in line to be High Priestess,” the Emperor responded. His mouth twisted into a scowl, as if he’d taken a bite of a bitter lemon.
Shock pummeled into me as realization dawned. “Me?” I mumbled.
“Yes.” The Empress’s lips curled into a similar pucker.
“Why?” I blurted.
“You’re the next in Hyacinth’s bloodline. There is no one else.”
I whipped my head back and forth as all eyes focused on me. Their anger was palpable. They didn’t think I deserved the great honor. Lucky for them, I didn’t either. “Well, I don’t want it.”
Murmurs broke over the coven as varying degrees of surprise and anger raged over their expressions.
“Do you have any idea what you’re saying, child?” The Empress tucked her silver-violet hair behind her ears, accentuating her sallow cheekbones. “What you’re giving up?”
“Yeah, being leader of you all. I have zero interest. Thanks, but no thanks.”
The Emperor neared, his brows so furrowed a trench stretched out between his beady eyes. “I ask you to think for a moment before you decide. Hyacinth wanted this for you. Once you refuse, there is no going back. Another will be chosen, from a new bloodline. The Alarie family will never hold the honor again.”
“I’m totally okay with that.” I was a wolf, I felt the truth in my blood. I didn’t want to be a witch, a High Priestess or whatever. I wanted to be alpha, the call sang through my veins. I fixed my eyes on the Empress and softened the tight set of my jaw. “I appreciate you coming all this way for me, for Grams, but I have a different calling. If my grandmother had taken the time to know me at all, she would’ve realized. So, while I’m honored, I must decline.”
The Empress and the Emperor shared a look and something like contentment mixed with relief passed across their harsh features. “Very well,” she said. “And for what it’s worth, I believe you’ve chosen wisely.”
My jaw nearly unhinged. Had the ice queen just paid me a compliment? “Thanks,” I muttered.
“Do you mind if we perform the last rites?”
“Go for it. I was just leaving actually.”
The pair dipped their heads in my direction and the rest of the coven followed.
“Um, yeah, bye.” I waggled my fingers over my shoulder and darted out of the crypt. As I raced across the cemetery with the silver moon guiding me, a terrible thought lanced through my mind.
Had I been too hasty to reject their offer? As High Priestess, would they have been bound to help me break Hunter’s curse?
I whirled on my heel and darted back toward the marble tomb. Jerking the door open, my jaw dropped. They were gone.
Chapter Thirty
“I still can’t believe you went without me,” Hunter hissed.
“I left a note.” I winked and shot him a cheeky grin. “What? Too soon?”
“I’m glad you think this is funny. Going alone and exposing yourself like that was a risky move.” He paced across the top of Lupine Hill, while my gaze remained intent on the valley below. I’d expected this fight, which was why I’d chosen a battleground with a view.
“I already told you why I did it. And I was in Maginaria, not traipsing around Moon Valley. It’s the wolves that want me dead not the witches.”
“Or so you think. Who knows what the Lune Sacré will do now that you’ve rejected their grand invitation?”
I’d told my angry mate all about my encounter with the coven as soon as I’d returned, but I hadn’t mentioned my second thoughts about accepting their offer or the reason behind it. I figured I’d let him blow off some steam before bringing it up.
“They’re not going to do anything,” I muttered, hugging my knees to my chest. “They seemed as relieved as I was when I declined.” I chewed on my lower lip as he continued his impression of a caged tiger. “I’m worried I made a mistake.”
He halted and dipped his anxious gaze to mine. “Why?”
“If I’d accepted the role as coven leader, maybe I could’ve broken the curse somehow. What if Grams’ power would have magically transferred to me in the high priestess ritual?”
Hunter shook his head, the rage in his eyes melting away to something darker, more raw. “I don’t think that’s how it works, Sierra. Sure, you would’ve likely become more powerful, but that didn’t guarantee you’d be able to rid me of the curse.” He lowered down beside me, stretching out his long legs. “And even if it had been possible, you would’ve assumed the role of High Priestess, leading the coven from secret hideout to secret hideout? To what end? And what about your life—no, our life here in Moon Valley?”
“Hunter, anything would be worth it, if it meant you’d finally be free.”
He took my hand and brought my knuckles to his lips. He brushed them softly against my skin, setting off a wave of goose bumps up my arm. “You are far too good for me, and I don’t deserve you. It’s time you stopped putting my needs before your own. We’ve tried so hard to break it, but maybe we need to start dealing with the grim reality that it’s here to stay.”
My head whipped back and forth. “No. I’ll never accept that. What about the wizard we saw in Maginaria? He said there might be another possibility. We need to find out what it is.”
He shook his head. “Let’s just put it on the backburner for now. You have to focus on winning the trials, and we have to figure out what role Braxton will play in all of this. We can’t keep him hiding in your den forever.”
A smirk pulled at the corners of my lips. “You just don’t like us living together.”
“No, I don’t. I want us living together.”
My heart smacked against my ribcage as all the air from my lungs whooshed out. “You do?”
“Of course, I do. I’ve longed to wake up next to you every day since the moment I saw you huddled in the courtyard at Arcane Academy, with those pouty lips and soulful eyes.”
A horde of butterflies took off in my belly as I imagined waking in his arms. The mate bond pulsed, as if it were happy about the latest developments. It would certainly make life easier. Now that we were mated, being apart from him was physically painful, not to mention the constant desire to be with him. Thank the goddess for Cass’s contraceptive potion, or we’d be surrounded by a whole litter of pups in no time.
“Not at Silverstalker Lair of course,” he added.
How crazy was it that I was so in love with him I hadn’t even thought of it? I’d hate to live under the same roof as Tyrien, but if it meant sharing Hunter’s bed I’d probably be stupid enough to agree.
“So where then?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know yet. We could find a place just for us. When the trials are over, we’ll start looking. What do you think?”
I leapt into his arms and buried my nose in the crook of his neck. “It sure would be nice to have something to look forward to.”
“Good, it’s a deal then.” He held me out to arm’s length and tuck a few strands of wild dark hair behind my ear. “We’ll have to find something worthy of the next high alpha.”
I snorted and sat back, tilting my head to the clear blue sky. “What do you think is going to happen in this last round?”
“You’re going to show those males that you deserve to be their new alpha.” His expression darkened, hard lines carving into his features. “And I’m not going to lie to you, Sierra, it’s going to be difficult, horrible at times. The last round is the most brutal, the most savage. Any friendships you think you may have made will mean nothing now. There are only twelve of us remaining in the competition and every single wolf is there for one reason only. To become the next high alpha. There’s nothing they won’t do to get it.”
The jagged edge to his tone made my heart hurt. I knew he was speaking from experience, from his last time in the trial when he was only fourteen. I’d always wanted to know more about it but had been scared to ask. I steeled my nerves, pinning
him in my gaze. “How far did you make it last time?”
“Final round,” he muttered. “They dropped off the remaining competitors in the Underworld, and things back then weren’t as comfortable as they are now down there. Anyway, we had to make our way back on our own—no portals or other transportation. Tyrien took off without me the moment we’d arrived. One of my wings was broken, crushed by the current Atlantic alpha, so flying wasn’t an option for me. It took me a week to make it to the Nether Lands and by the time I got there, I was hobbling on two broken legs with a concussion.”
I hissed out a breath. “No…”
“A ryker demon found me and brought me back to his home. Once I could remember who I was, the demon contacted Tyrien for ransom.” He sat back and tilted his head to the sky, darkness eclipsing his brilliant irises. “He paid, surprisingly. I was disqualified from the trials, but I survived. Only to get berated by my father for failing.”
I threaded my fingers through his and squeezed. “I’m so sorry, Hunter. No one should ever have to go through that, least of all a fourteen-year-old boy.”
He shrugged, his gaze intent on the deep blue above. “I learned a lot in those four weeks, Sierra, and for that I’m thankful. That’s why I’m certain, when the time comes, I will show my father the exact amount of mercy he showed me.”
A chill raced up my spine as twin flames lit up his smoldering irises. Hunter was so gentle and kind with me I often forgot about the beast that lay below the surface. My beast. I leaned my head on his shoulder. “I know you’ll do whatever it takes to protect me.”
“Always.”
“Sierra, I’m going to go crazy if I’m stuck in this tiny apartment one more day.” Braxton guzzled a beer on the couch, the muscles in his back scrunched as he braced his elbows on his knees. Fur sprouted across his forearms, and a growl erupted from his clenched jaw.
“Relax,” I growled, lacing my tone with my new alpha power.