18. Bexley Blackforge

Chapter 18

Bexley Blackforge

I had thought, or maybe naively assumed, that I'd experienced magic before. After all, shifters had innate magic, which was doubly true for storm dragons. I'd experienced it before I even learned that I was one myself.

Our breed of magic was fast. Unbreakable. An unbendable, lethal force that could be deadly and explosive. Disastrous .

But that wasn't the only type of magic that existed in this world.

There was an older brand of magic, the type that lulled you into a state of security as it crept forward until suddenly you realized that you were surrounded, trapped within its deadly grasp. A silent killer. Or maybe in this case, a silent savior .

The estate had been demolished on one side, ripped away as if it had never been there. I couldn't even see where it'd gone. It was like it'd been blown away by the force of my power, or maybe disintegrated. But where there should have been rubble and crushed bodies…there was a dome. A silvery shell of magic protectively surrounding every single individual that had taken shelter in the grand hall.

I struggled free from Jagger's grasp, falling to my knees. I stifled a sob as I took in the sight, the faces of the people whose lives I could have so easily extinguished. That I almost had extinguished. I could even hear the stir of people in the courtyard behind me, all of them safe.

Someone had stepped in and saved all of them—but who?

My question was answered as the dome shifted, encapsulating everyone in a bubble that floated above my head before being deposited in a clearing outside of the estate walls. Joyful voices reached my ears as the ward popped, leaving me staring at the now empty, destroyed hall. Well…with the exception of one singular individual.

Carol —Fletcher, Olivia, and Thomas's mom.

Except she was far from the broken woman I'd seen in the cells of the pack lands. This woman looked liberated. Her previously dull hair was vibrant, streaks of gold moving through it, and her bright eyes were on me with a soft smile. Her clothes were still the same, but the way she wore them made it appear that they were so much more than the rags they were.

"Cupcake, are you okay?" My mates rushed to me, helping me stand as I wavered on my feet. I could feel their intense worry over my state, but luckily my main injury—the claw marks on my ribs—were already healing.

I was so damn glad that I'd avoided his teeth.

"Is everyone okay?" I asked, my eyes on the woman walking towards me with all the patience in the world.

"Yes," Jagger assured me. "She created a ward to defend from the blast."

"Carol, right?" Breaker said loudly as the rest of our family and friends joined us. Almost immediately Olivia broke through with an excited giggle, launching herself into her mother's arms. Emotion clogged my throat as Carol buried her nose in her daughter's hair.

"Yes," she finally said and looked behind us. "But not the Carol many of you knew—not even the Carol my sons knew. Boys, please come here."

My gaze turned to find Fletcher and Thomas striding through the gates, guards blocking the entrance once more to grant us privacy.

"Mom?" Fletcher's voice was filled with shock.

"Did he finally release you?" Thomas demanded. "Where is the bastard? More than half of his forces stopped fighting all at once. We don't know what happened, but?—"

"It was Bexley," Carol explained, sitting down on the stairs. "The reason that so many in the pack fought unwillingly was me." From the looks of everyone around me, I wasn't the only one who didn't understand what was going on. "I was able to enhance your father's pull as alpha—because my magic was being controlled by a singular source. A source that Bexley just extinguished."

"Please explain," my mom said. I nodded as encouragingly as I could because Carol's summary of events had created more questions than answers.

"Right." She pulled Olivia against her further and let out a tiny sigh. "Where do I even start? I suppose at the beginning."

I leaned back against Breaker's strong frame as my mates kept close, each of them touching me in some way.

"I lived my entire life hiding what I truly was—much like Rebecca." Carol motioned to the woman who stood near the back of the group, speculation and curiosity clear on her face. "I'm a half breed. I don't show many outward characteristics, but I'm both witch and wolf. I suppressed my witch's abilities most of my life, something that was fairly easy since my mother was never around. I didn't even realize I was capable of magic until I was in my teens. And when I found out, I made sure to never use it."

I completely understood what it felt like to be shocked by a part of yourself that was hidden—especially when it came with extremely powerful magic.

"When I first met Linan, I truly believed I could trust him. He said and did all the right things. He married me, made me his mate, and for a time—right until Thomas was born—everything was perfect. Until one night, we got into a fight. It came out of nowhere…" Her voice softened and her eyes narrowed on the ground nearby, no doubt at his body.

"Or not out of nowhere, I guess. I realize that now. He always knew, and he'd always planned to pull it out of me. Every time he got violent, my magic reacted, and eventually there was no denying the truth. I had magic, and it was something he planned to exploit.

"So instead of fighting, he made me a deal. He wouldn't hurt me or the boys as long as I used my magic to increase his influence on his people." At this her gaze turned downward, unable to meet our eyes.

"Of course it wasn't that simple. I lived in a state of fear, feeling like an axe hung over my head. But I did everything he wanted, including building those cages. Creating and giving him power-draining weapons, and even increasing his alpha power to persuade his people to fight for him.

" I did all of that. I may not have been the aggressor, but I will never deny my part in all of this." Her eyes welled with tears as she looked at my mom. "I am so incredibly sorry for my part in your clan being destroyed."

"No," my mom said fiercely. "I remember how scared you were of him. You didn't do any of that for him —you did it for the people you loved. You would've done anything to keep your children safe, and I can't blame you for that."

Tears dripped down Carol's face as she inhaled shakily. "It was around the same time he locked you up that he did the same to me, removing me completely from the boys. I knew he was worried about my influence on them, and even worse, he placed me in a cell of my own making. It slowly pulled out my magic, to the point that I couldn't even defend myself from him physically."

"So this entire time you were down there by yourself?" I asked softly.

"Me and Olivia," she said, her chin tilted up. My eyes stung as I realized the implication of how Olivia had come about. The girl's eyes were closed as she fell asleep against her mom, finally feeling safe. "So once again he had a weapon to use against me, which is why I continued to help him. It was also why I had you take her—she was probably more valuable to him than even my sons."

"Why?" my father demanded, although his tone was filled with compassion for her situation. I had a feeling he'd known something was up, that he'd noticed something strange about how Clanguard regarded his daughter.

"Because she has magic like me," Carol whispered. "Because she could be a tool for him."

"Which is why he was so furious," Breaker concluded.

"When the other women and I were finally released, thanks to Rebecca and the team you sent, my power came back to me. I could feel Linan's anger and victory through our mate bond, and I knew he had to have found you. I was worried we wouldn't make it before he did something drastic, so I portalled us here, and right in time. Moments later and I wouldn't have been able to shield those in the great hall. But I made it, and you… you freed me, Bexley. You freed everyone from him."

I wiped tears from my face, letting out a shaky breath. "I didn't know I was even able to do that…" My voice faltered. "Thank you so much for saving them."

"You're capable of that and so much more," she said softly, standing and handing her daughter off to Thomas. She came to stand in front of me, putting her hand on my cheek. "You are the future of this territory. Remember that."

Then she walked past me, and I allowed myself to fully lay eyes on Clanguard as she crouched down next to him. "This bastard could never truly love anyone—he was rotten to the core. No matter what you would've said or done, nothing would have changed it. The only thing he ever cared about was power, and that is the unfortunate truth of Linan."

"But now he's gone and we can move forward," Fletcher said.

"Yes—but we have to do something first. We have to release his magic so that the succession of alpha can happen officially. I don't want it to die with him, and considering he can't perform a ceremony right now…

"Which of you will take his place?"

My eyes widened as I backed up. This was a moment for their family. Rachel joined them as Thomas offered his brother a nod, the understanding between them clear. I swallowed as I watched Carol whisper words over the body, her hand pushing into his chest cavity and emerging with a crispy, dry piece of something. She crushed it in her hand and the breeze picked it up, spreading it around us.

The pieces lit up in flames and then smoke, circling around Fletcher and running up his skin. His body twitched as if he were resisting the urge to shift, and I couldn't help but watch in wonder as the power settled in his frame. Through my mate bond, I could feel the shift in power as our four dragons recognized Fletcher as no longer just the future alpha of his pack—but the true one.

"Never again," Carol said. "This territory will never again face another Linan."

"This territory will never be the same," Gage agreed, the sentiment resonating with the crowd.

I looked down at Linan and then at my own hands, my vision blurring as the reality of everything that had just happened began to crash down, threatening to bury me. My words were soft, but I knew my mates would hear them.

"I'm not sure if I'll ever be the same again."