26. Chapter Twenty-Six

Ewan’s phone woke us in the middle of the night, Birch calling to let us know that the vampires had struck again. The attacks were more brazen and widespread, and a few were even filmed. Videos of salivating vampires with glowing red eyes lit up supernatural social media. By sunrise, the human-dominated portion of the internet had picked one particular clip of a woman in an alleyway, drinking her victim dry and leaving him twitching near a pile of trash. The camera caught his blood dripping from her fangs as she skipped off, presumably in search of dessert.

“They’re attributing it to the drug epidemic,” Birch informed us over breakfast. He ate leftovers cold from our fridge, while Ewan and I drank our bottled blood.

“It’s not like we’re totally in the shadows. Humans do know about the supernatural world. Someone in authority somewhere must, right?” I tried to control my expression as I watched Birch dip forkfuls of lasagna in ketchup and shovel it into his mouth. Even when I still ate solid food, I would have found the sight nauseating.

“They do. Nearly every government has a department that liaises with the Zodiac Councils,” Ewan said. “Essie and Walter both have contacts among the human authorities, so we should know soon how they plan to handle it going forward.”

“This is Mat, right? He’s sending his vampires on killing sprees to force supernaturals into the open, yes? Or I am totally off base here?” I glanced between Ewan and Birch for confirmation that we were all on the same page.

Ewan ran a hand through his hair. “That’s the consensus.”

“You don’t agree?” I felt his hesitancy, leaving me a little confused. In my mind, Mat was the only explanation.

“I think Mat is behind the attacks, and I definitely believe it’s part of his plan to drive supernaturals into the open. I don’t know, though. Feels like there’s more at play.” He growled his frustration. “Maybe this is all just a distraction so we won’t try to stop him from breaking out Demi.”

I had considered the same, but I couldn’t wrap my head around one part of that theory. “Who is he trying to distract? Us? The Zodiac Councils? The world?”

Ewan shook his head. “I really don’t know.”

We both turned to Birch. He swallowed audibly. “Don’t look at me. I’ve never met the guy.”

“What about Reggie? Has she sent any updates?” I asked.

Ewan frowned. “No. She hasn’t responded to me either, not since yesterday morning.”

“Should we be worried?” I asked.

His cell buzzed, Winter’s name flashing on the display. “We can ask the ghosts,” he said, hitting accept on the call. “Hey—”

“It’s her! It’s her! The video is her!” Winter’s shrill shrieks pierced my eardrums.

Alarmed, I looked to Ewan for understanding, but he was just as confused.

“Hey, it’s me. Can you open a portal? I’ll come to you,” I told her. “We’re at the house.”

Gold threads of magic appeared in front of the fireplace. I rushed over to the portal and slid through the moment it fully opened. Ewan and Birch followed my heels, all three of us exiting into Archer’s makeshift hospital room.

Winter was on her knees sobbing, clutching her phone to her chest. The guys hung back as I dropped down beside her and took her face in my hands so she would look at me. Her heartbreak tore me in two.

“I’m here. Tell me what happened,” I said, speaking slowly to help her focus.

Tears filled her green eyes and poured down her stained cheeks. “Lena. S-s-she was my best friend before I went to college. Mat turned her because we took Cassius. She’s the vampire in the video.”

And now I want to cry, I thought, refusing to give into the urge. Winter was on the verge of hysteria, and I didn’t want to make it worse.

“We need to do something, Zara.” Her water eyes pleaded with me, and I had a bad feeling I knew what she really meant by “something”. The cure. Winter wanted to give our one dose of the cure to Lena.

I wasn’t so much against the idea as not totally for it. Yes, I deserved some of the blame that Winter shouldered for her friend’s undead status. But, well, we only had enough to cure one vampire, and I wanted to save it for the right person.

“We could send trackers after her, have them bring her here,” Winter continued. “We can help her.”

“Oh, I don’t know. It might be too dangerous. If Mat sired her, she’s loyal to him. She was human first, right? She might not be strong enough to fight his influence.” I was making up shit and rambling because I couldn’t bring myself to just say no.

“She’s in that video. Everyone is looking for her. They’ll kill her if they find her. Please? Let me at least try to talk to her, and she’s been with Mat for months. Maybe she knows something we don’t.” Winter turned her pleading eyes on Ewan.

“Have you talked to Walter and your mother about this?” he asked her. “I can send a few of our trackers after her if you want, but that video was shot in an alleyway in New York City. That’s your father’s territory. He’s better equipped to find her.”

“Walter and my mother are at your mom’s house. I think Rosalind is there, too.” She sniffed and wiped her nose.

“What are they doing?” I didn’t like all of them spending time talking without us. Maybe I was paranoid, or maybe I just hated being left out. Whatever. It felt like they were up to something.

“Having breakfast.” She shrugged as if unconcerned.

“Did they invite you?” I pressed.

“No. I guess not. They told me they were leaving and then did. Why are you so interested?” Winter wiped her cheeks with the sleeve of her sweater.

“I don’t know. It feels like they know each other, you know, from before. When they were younger.” Saying it aloud, I felt ridiculous.

Winter sat back on haunches. “They do. Sort of. My mom and Mrs. Wynn went to Arcane U together, and Rosalind worked in Arcane Landing. Archer overhead them talking.”

“My mom had a job?” Of all the things I’d learned about my mother recently, this was definitely the most shocking.

“Yeah. I think it was a potions and cosmetics store or something. I don’t know that they were friends, but they knew of each other.” Winter narrowed her red-rimmed gaze. “It’s not that weird. We all met in Arcane Landing.”

“Right. And we’re all eternal,” I said, ridiculous theories running through my mind. “How did your mother meet Walter?”

“Um, he was passing through town, I think. They had a short but intense fling, which produced me. I never got the impression they had a relationship or anything.”

I wasn’t as certain. Winter’s parents were too comfortable around each other, too aware of one another. Whatever the situation between Walter and Colleen, it was more than a passing fling.

If we weren’t planning to bury my father later that evening, I would’ve marched my suspicious ass down to Mrs. Wynn’s house and demand answers. But I wouldn’t start a fight with my mother on such a sad occasion and tarnish her last memories of her true mate. Tomorrow, all bets were off, though.

“Why are you so interested in the past today?” Winter cocked her head to the side and screwed her mouth to one side.

“I’m always interested in the past. That’s where all the answers are,” I said, only realizing once the words left my mouth that they were true.

I stood and helped Winter to her feet. “Come on. Let’s get you some tea or whatever.”

She laughed. “You sound like Nana.”

“Where is Essie?” Ewan asked as if just appreciating her absence.

“With Frann and that dead bat thing. She’s performing tests on it still.”

I looped my arm through Winter’s and led her from the bedroom as Ewan’s phone buzzed. “It’s Zach. I need to help him with something for tonight. Stay here, hang out, Zara. And Winter, I’ll talk to Walter. We’ll see what we can do for your friend.”

Ewan left Birch with Winter and me, and he fixed tea for all three of us. Without a blood additive, I had no interest but felt rude declining. We were all tense, waiting for the next disaster to strike. It was Birch who remembered to ask if either Missy or Archer had seen Reggie. Neither had, which I found concerning.

The dynamic incorporeal duo had, however, seen quite a bit of Mat. From the sounds of it, the eternal king had been barhopping all over Traitor’s Hell, which seemed so… odd. He was both in the process of revealing supernaturals to the common human world and planning a prison break. Didn’t the guy have better things to do than drink himself into oblivion?

While Hayden and Enzo didn’t accompany their king on his bar crawl, Archer had followed both at separate points to Malia’s apartment. I was dying to know what the seer told them, but like so many things, that too remained a mystery.

That bad news bomb we’d all been waiting for dropped during our third round of teas. Wolves were running rampant through small human towns, shifting in the middle of their streets. Mostly, their aim appeared to be chaos, which goal achieved. The humans almost universally responded in one of two ways: they shot the wolves, or they filmed them. A well-placed bullet of any kind could theoretically kill a shifter. Our rapid healing abilities made it hard, though. Interestingly, it was the fact that their guns weren’t effective that made people cry witchcraft, not the transforming from man to wolf in front of a school bus of children.

I recognized several of the wolves from the videos—Virgos. Including Liam, their new alpha. Dick, I thought as I watched him barrel down a sidewalk full of people. Then, I realized the bigger implications.

“Have the Virgos joined Mat?” I asked, directing the question to Birch since it seemed like something he might know.

“Not that we’ve heard. Their new alpha is a proponent of revealing, so not too surprising if they have. What’s left of their pack, anyway,” Birch said.

“Yeah, you don’t know Liam like I do, and I would find it very surprising. Wait. What happened to his pack?”

Birch went all wolf-in-the-headlights. “I thought Ewan told you about the random wolves all wanting to join our pack. A lot of them are Virgos.”

“He did tell me, but I feel like he underplayed the magnitude.” Or maybe I had been too caught up in my grief to appreciate it.

“About a third of their pack is now in these mountains. We estimate another third has defected elsewhere.”

“Why? Liam is the rightful alpha. Isn’t he?”

Usually, the only wolves who switched packs were the daughters of alphas. Single wolf defections were rare and notable enough that we learned about them in school. A mass exodus like this only ever happened when there were two true alpha contenders, and that was really more like a splitting of the pack. So it didn’t make sense for so many Virgos to denounce Liam unless his claim to the top spot was in question.

“It’s murky. You aren’t just any wolf. You’re the Luna, so you killing Jonah Ames carries as much weight as if your brother had. More, really.” Birch fidgeted in his chair, very Birch-like of him. This topic rattled him, and I didn’t understand why.

“So, you’re saying, they recognize me as alpha?”

“No. They recognize you as their Luna because you hold power in your own right. Your bond joins that power to Ewan.”

“Okay. So, they recognize Ewan as their alpha?” I felt like I was back in school trying to puzzle out algebra or something when this really shouldn’t have been so complicated.

Birch shook his head. “Not exactly. They want to pledge loyalty to him. Once they do, then he’ll be their alpha. Like with strays.”

“But your pack calls me Luna because I’m bonded to your alpha.”

Birch looked like he wanted to be anywhere besides in my firing line. “Winter, say something,” he pleaded.

“Don’t drag me into this. Wolf pack dynamics are confusing even without the Luna factor. I don’t even understand fae hierarchies. I mean, I thought we passed our surnames down our maternal lines because I’m a Sable, Mom’s a Sable, my grandmother and great-grandmother are Sables.”

“Isn’t that true?” I asked, confused.

“It is in our family, but not most fae families. And I’m pretty sure Nana Essie started the tradition. I don’t even know my great grandfather’s last name.”

“Fascinating,” I deadpanned, though I actually did find her anecdote interesting. “Back to me. What does it mean that I’m the Luna, you know, for me?”

Winter gestured to Birch with her mug. “You know more about this than I do.”

“Right, but Ewan can’t do anything to you for telling her. Me?” Birch shuddered.

Winter sighed loudly. “Okay. Whatever. According to legend, a true alpha and true Luna will rise and lead the supernaturals into a new dawn and usher in the reign of the wolves.”

I frowned. “What legend is this you speak of?”

“I read it in a book called Coven of Eternals. I checked it out from the library. A lot is in old faerie and hard to translate. There’s an entry about it. Some fae guy went to a fortune teller, and she told him about this reign of wolves. I think it happened in London, but the passage is written in Italian with some faerie mixed in.” Winter nodded vaguely toward Archer’s bedroom. “I have it here. Mom has been helping me with deciphering the writing.”

My gaze shifted to Birch. “And this is the legend the Taurus wolves believe?”

He took a sip of his tea and nodded.

“Ewan’s trying to protect you, Zara.” Winter covered one of my hands with hers. “No one really knows what any of it means. Mom thinks the fae soulmates bond you guys have is what makes you the true alpha and Luna. Gaia-marked are two halves of a whole. Equal in power and strength. That’s why the Virgo wolves are pouring in. Ewan is the most powerful alpha, the true King of Wolves. And you as the Luna are just as powerful.”

“The King of Wolves has but one rival, and he will know her in his soul.” The words came from my lips, and no one was as surprised as me. They popped into my head without an accompanying image, but I knew where I’d heard them. “That’s what the royal seer said when King Orrin brought me to her. I think.”

“I’ve heard different variations of the saying from the elders,” Birch admitted. “The true alpha has but one enemy, and he will know her in his heart. I’ve also heard ‘he will feel her blade in his heart’, but that’s less common.”

“And Ewan knows all of this?” I sat back in my chair and folded my arms. “Fascinating.”

Honestly, I didn’t know how to feel toward Ewan. I was definitely furious, especially that I found out on the day of my father’s funeral. When I needed Ewan the most. I wanted him to hold me while I cried and then fuck me until I forgot why I was upset. But his lie put a damper on my plans for the day.

Instead of leaning on my mate, I stayed with Winter until Colleen and Walter returned and then went to the lodge to be with my family. After all, it wasn’t like Ewan even knew my father. How could he appreciate my loss? Except, well, even mad, I still saw logic. He had recently buried his alpha father, so Ewan appreciated my loss more than most. Still, it felt right to sit with my mom while she told stories about her life with her mate.

Gemini wolves gathered in her suite to pay their respects privately and listen to her talk. She cried, which surprised me. Mom never let herself be vulnerable. The pack cried with her, including me, and it felt good to let it out.

Not so long ago, my father’s death would have crippled me. Before I met Enzo and Hayden and fell down the eternal rabbit hole. I liked to tell myself it was because I was an emotionally stronger person. That I had grown the fuck up. Maybe I had. Or maybe I had just experienced too much death and devastation over the centuries, which I remembered thanks my liquid diet. Or, Essie might’ve upped the dose of calming magic in my bottled blood so I wouldn’t fall to pieces.

Whatever the case, the grief didn’t consume me. I embraced it. The guilt feeding on my intestines was still there. If I hadn’t gone through the portal, Kiernan wouldn’t have followed, and my father would still be alive. Yet not one Gemini wolf mentioned my part. No one wanted to talk about how he had died, only how he had lived.

His pack had loved him just as much as our family had, and that warmed my undead heart, when before it had made me mad. He’d touched their lives without even knowing it in some cases. My brother had one helluva legacy to live up to. Plus, he was going to father a child that could potentially unite the Gemini and Taurus packs permanently, if Ewan and I decided to end our immortal lives. That was a lot of pressure for a guy who probably needed Essie’s calming magic more than I did.

Ewan wasn’t at the house when I returned with Birch to get ready for the formal part of the day. I didn’t ask where he was or what he was doing, and Birch wisely didn’t even say his name. My trusty bodyguard/babysitter/fashion adviser had somehow found the time to have a dress sent for me to wear under my ceremonial robe.

“The blue flames are for your Gemini ancestry, and then the orange to represent your place in the Taurus pack. I would have asked, but I didn’t want to interrupt at the lodge,” Birch said as I admired the dress. It was mostly black, with the twisted flames only around the bottom hem.

“I love it. How did you get this made so fast?” The design was simple, but the dress was tailored to my measurements.

“Magic,” he deadpanned.

I squinted at the dress. “Like glamour?”

Birch shrugged. “Better if you don’t know. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

I took my time getting ready, luxuriating in my aloneness. Birch didn’t count since he was quiet and stayed in the kitchen, while I lounged in my bathtub and drank blood from a martini glass that I kept refilling. I drifted in and out of sleep. Zosia felt closer to me somehow, and I felt more like her than ever. Her father—my fae father—had died a few years after she became a wolf. By then, she had a family of her own—Enzo and their two children. Because Zosia was an alpha’s mate, she went to the funeral. Her sister wasn’t allowed.

The memories were sad, but I wanted to be sad, so I didn’t mind. I cried a few times, sobbing loud enough for Birch to have heard me. He didn’t come check on me, which I appreciated. I didn’t want comfort. I wanted my heart to bleed so it could start to heal.

Ewan found me in the tub, alarmed when he noticed the five empty bottles of blood on the tile floor. “Are you drunk?”

“No. High, I think. Essie’s magic is strong. Why didn’t you tell me this would happen?” I trailed my fingertips across the water’s surface, spreading the bubbles so Ewan could see my naked body. “I would ask you to join me, but I’m mad at you.”

This was not the moment for this fight, and a part of my brain realized that too late. I had planned to save this conversation for the following day, or at least after I said goodbye to my father.

“I know.” He sat on the edge of the tub. “I felt it. Until you started downing blood martinis. Do you want to talk about it now?”

My head felt heavy, so I let it fall back against the inflatable bathtub pillow. “Isn’t almost sunset?” I pointed to the window, where dying rays of light peeked through the curtains.

“The ceremony will start when we get there. So, do you want to talk about it now?” He used his alpha voice, which rankled my inebriated wolf.

I splashed water on him, annoyed. “No. I want to be sober so I can be properly mad at you. Now, I just want to be mean to you while you placate me because I’m grieving. I reserve the right to be mad and yell at you tomorrow. Oh, and this is between you and me. No one else. Got it?” I poked his chest with my wet, soapy finger.

His lips fought a smile, amusement clear in his expression. “Do your worst, Snyder.”

Because I was drunk on fae magic and Ewan’s blood, he helped me into my dress and brushed and dried my hair. He drew the line at makeup.

“You don’t need it. You’re beautiful without it,” he told me.

“You would say that,” I snapped back, hating that my wittiness had gone away with my sobriety. “Don’t just tell me what you think that I want to hear.”

“I’m placating you.”

“Yeah, well, you suck at it.”

He draped a long white cloak over my shoulders and fastened a ruby and gold latch in the front to hold the two halves together.

“Is this real fur?” I asked, stroking the white strands.

“Yeah, fox fur, I think,” Ewan said, tossing his own cloak over his shoulders like some sort of Victorian era villain.

We were in the living room, about to leave to meet up with Zach, Brooke, Mom, and Mrs. Wynn. Birch had one hand on the door, a not-so-subtle push for us to hurry. We were only a few minutes behind schedule. He really needed to calm down.

“Can I say one thing before we leave? I love you, Zara.” Ewan took my hand.

“I don’t hate you,” I said.

He squeezed my fingers. “I’ll take it.”