Chapter 26: Colt

Chapter 26: Colt

I didn’t remember falling asleep, but when I jolted awake on the couch, the sun hadn’t even risen yet. The front door cracked open, and Everett spoke quietly to somebody just coming in. Gavin was still dozing beside me, with Billie beside him and Aislin on the other end of the couch. Craning my neck, I looked past the couch and saw a few men clad in black step inside, then met Everett’s eyes.

“The Mythguard are here,” he said. “Wake everyone up. We’ll begin planning while the recon team visits the mine.”

Aislin was already unfurling her limbs and blinking sleep out of her eyes, which was fine. I didn’t want to get near her. I gently shook Gavin’s arm, then tipped forward to my feet while he and Billie stirred, looking up at the people coming inside. Everett welcomed a swarm of strangers into our space, looking focused and hardened while we sagged with exhaustion and dark circles under our eyes.

After a quick breakfast, we sat around the table with five Mythguard representatives. Another four patrolled outside, while the remaining six that were sent as backup went to check on the rest of Everett and Gavin’s packmates, taking refuge at Everett’s mother’s house. The recon team consisted of ten more operatives. We had twenty-five Mythguard operatives in total, plus the five of us. We were still outnumbered by Dalesbloom and the Inkscales, but we only needed to get as far as taking out David and Lothair before the fight would likely end—it was doubtful the rest of their followers would continue fighting if their leaders fell. We counted on their loyalty wavering once David and Lothair became Lycan.

The plan became that the Mythguard would approach the mine first, armed with tranquilizer guns, and would lure the front line out into the open or push into the mine if necessary. As the Lycan ritual required exposure to moonlight, we had to strike before nightfall as we suspected my father would be hiding deep within the mine until then. We would knock most of the defending line unconscious and then enter the mine, using lethal force if necessary, until we encountered David and Lothair. They would be exterminated, and Kiara would be rescued. The plan was simple in theory, but in execution, none of us knew how it would turn out, and we were prepared for more death. It was a risk we had to take to ensure the safety of our home. I was ready to sacrifice myself if it meant keeping everyone else safe.

At 6 AM, the recon team arrived at Everett’s house. “We counted three wolves and four dragons patrolling the outskirts of the mine. Brad and Carla have also confirmed David’s truck carrying the scent of Kiara is parked at the mine, which leads us to believe both David and Kiara are inside,” one of the Mythguard reported.

An hour later, we loaded up into a couple of Mythguard vans and made our way to the mine.

Everyone was silent. I anticipated that this would be the last day I saw my father alive, and I was prepared to do what needed to be done. If it meant watching him die, so be it. My nerves were electric, my ears ringing with anticipation. A chill took over my body, but I didn’t suspect it was from anything other than my nervousness, even if it was intense enough to make me shiver. I balled my fists tight on my lap, the three balsam resin darts in my pocket destined for Lothair.

We drove as close to the mine as possible without being detected, but even once we parked the caravan and all of us filed out, slipping through the trees and up the mountainside to the edge of the pit, our presence was already known. The seven shifters were waiting for us, some hiding behind boulders, others lurking in the darkness at the mouth of the mine. When one of them made the mistake of exposing a little too much of their arm, one of the Mythguard snipers fired, hitting their mark. The stricken shifter shouted and stumbled into the open, firing a handgun in our direction. They missed, then dropped to the ground, already made dizzy by the tranquilizer.

In the blink of an eye, our Mythguard operatives flooded out from hiding, and the shifters advanced, bringing the fight to a swift conclusion. One Mythguard human lay dead on the dusty ground, and all of the wolves were unconscious—my packmates—as well as all except one of the dragons. That one dragon was sprawled at the bottom of the pit with a broken spine, having tumbled over a rocky ledge.

I was already sweating, and I hadn’t even engaged in any combat. A few operatives slipped into the mine while the rest of us waited for signs of further engagement, but only silence followed. A few seconds later, the operatives appeared outside. “There’s nobody inside,” they said. “It’s empty.”

“What?” growled Everett.

“They have to be in there,” said Gavin, pushing forward.

“The first few rooms are all clear,” confirmed an operative.

Gavin stepped into the darkness. Not even the lanterns were lit inside. I followed him while Everett stormed after us. “We should allow the operatives to sweep the entire mine before we go in,” he said.

“If there’s not an entire clan of dragons here to protect David, I doubt he’s hiding in the back,” said Gavin.

“Gavin’s right. They must have only left a few shifters behind to give off the illusion that they were still here,” I said. “But I can still smell someone. There’s a fresh scent inside.”

The three of us followed the tunnels deeper into the mine. Billie and Aislin hung back under the protection of the Mythguard, but all three of us were determined to be at the forefront to protect our packs and our mates should we come face-to-face with our opponents. I felt a strange solidarity with Gavin and Everett here. We all had the same goal, the same hatred for the ones who had thrust our home into chaos.

But as prepared as we were for the final showdown, the mine was empty of life. My little nook in the cavern was untouched. The room where my father stayed, with his table and his sleeping bag, and his empty crates, had grown cold without his presence. As we approached the tunnel where Muriel and the girls were kept prisoner, the scent became stronger. Light from the only lit lantern in the tunnel flickered against the walls. We turned the corner and simultaneously tensed at the sight of someone in human form waiting for us.

He raised his head, blond hair falling in front of his sad, sunken eyes while he cradled the infant in his arms. A chain around his ankle kept him anchored to the floor. “You’ve come to kill me,” drawled Lothair, voice cracking with defeat. “Make it quick, then.”

Terrible sadness shrouded the dragon Alpha, but it didn’t show on his face, only in his posture in the heavy atmosphere surrounding him. I didn’t know what I felt for Lothair at that moment.

Gavin lunged forward, all too ready to do as he was told, only to stop suddenly when his eyes fell upon the child. Everett and I quickly joined Gavin’s side, and there we saw the baby girl in Lothair’s arms with her eyes closed, breathing gently in her blanket, lulled into the comfort of restful sleep. “She’s still alive,” I said, unable to keep relief from my voice.

“Yes. Muriel used the last of her magic to heal my daughter,” Lothair replied without emotion. He peered down at the infant, seemingly disconnected from her, looking at her like she was just an object and not his own beloved child. “She is perfectly healthy.” Then he looked back up at us again. “But I suspect that won’t be for long in your custody.”

Anger prevented Gavin from saying anything.

Everett turned his attention to the chain around Lothair’s ankle. “They left you behind. Why?”

This time, Lothair hesitated to speak. His stare ventured past us.

But I knew the answer. “They overthrew you.”

Lothair frowned. “Yes. My Inkscales decided that I was too weak to continue leading them.”

“Are you serious?” sneered Gavin.

“He disappeared after Sibyelle’s death,” I explained. “Evidently, the Inkscales didn’t take kindly to Lothair’s grieving process.”

“Any of you would have done the same had your fated mate died before your very eyes,” Lothair said bitterly.

He was probably right, of Gavin at least. I didn’t know if Everett would have isolated himself. But that didn’t matter—what mattered was that Grandbay and Eastpeak wouldn’t have just ousted their Alphas for mourning the deaths of their mates. That was where wolves differed from dragons.

“Is Kipling the Alpha now?” I asked.

“No,” said Lothair. “That whelp may have rallied the dragons against me, but he doesn’t know how to lead worth a damn. They have pledged their allegiance to the one who offered them a chance to become Lycan alongside him. The Inkscale dragons now serve David Hexen.”

A growl rumbled out of Gavin. “Guess it just goes to show how righteous the dragons really are. They aren’t doing this for some honorable reason, for freedom. They just want carnage!”

“My dragons do want freedom!” Lothair bit back. “They’ll serve whoever will give them what they want.”

“Yeah. That’s why it was so easy for you and your dragons to slaughter my parents, wasn’t it?”

Lothair narrowed his eyes. His lip curled, exposing a sliver of his fangs. “Our priorities never changed. David promised us he could achieve freedom. We do what we have to do.”

In a swell of anger, Gavin charged toward Lothair, ripping the baby out of his arms and roughly handing her to me. Then he grabbed Lothair’s shirt collar and punched him, knocking the dragon onto his back. “I should just beat you to death right here,” snarled Gavin.

Coughing, Lothair leered up at all of us. His eyes briefly went to his daughter in my arms, then detached from her for good, fixing back on Gavin. “I am the only one who sees that David is leading my dragons astray. I’ve realized that we’ll never achieve the freedom we want. Dragons will never be free to embrace their true forms; the day will never belong to us. David is using us for strength in numbers,” he said hoarsely. “I was always prepared to turn my back on David. Why do you think I suggested he and his pack hide in the silver mine?”

Everett grabbed Gavin’s arm and pulled him back, curiosity piqued. “What are you talking about?”

“My dragons used this as a hideout long before Dalesbloom occupied it. I had nitroglycerine dynamite hidden throughout the tunnels, ready to be triggered at a moment’s notice. I was never going to allow David to become Lycan alongside me. If he had chosen to stay here, then tonight, as he and his pack prepared for the ritual, I was going to collapse the silver mine on them. If the cave-in didn’t kill them, the silver poisoning would have. They had no idea that nitroglycerine is even here. The silver prevented them from smelling it.”

My eyes widened. All this time, Lothair had planned to kill my father for us. And if I hadn’t broken away from my father, I would have been one of the casualties alongside him. This entire tunnel was rigged to collapse on Dalesbloom. I didn’t know whether I wanted to attack Lothair or praise his ingenuity. But Dalesbloom was still my pack—I wouldn’t stand for any more needless deaths, even of my own callous packmates. “Do the other dragons know about it?” I asked.

“No. It was mine and Sibyelle’s little secret,” said Lothair. “I’m sure they smelled it, but they wouldn’t have known what it was. Unfortunate that my trap has been rendered useless.”

“Where are they now?” demanded Gavin.

“I don’t know,” said Lothair. “Wherever they are, I can guarantee they will perform the Lycan ritual tonight. There is but one reason David may return to the mine in the midst of his massacre. He will want to kill me before the Inkscales to assert his dominance as their Alpha. He left me alive so that he could do so as Lycan, to demonstrate his ability to keep his cognizance.”

“Where’s the trigger for the dynamite?” asked Everett.

The stoicism on Lothair’s face was alleviated by a thin, conniving smile. “Undo my chains, and I will see to it that the mine collapses when David comes for me.”

Hesitation caused Gavin, Everett, and I to reconvene with Billie and Aislin. We shared what Lothair had told us, and nobody trusted the dragon, but we knew he wasn’t about to give up the trigger on his own. When we returned to him, Everett stepped forward with a large rock in his hands and smashed the padlock on Lothair’s chain.

“This the wisest decision you have made yet,” said Lothair, slowly standing up. His attention went back to me, holding the infant on my hip. “Keep her safe. I have no reason to pursue you or her anymore. My clan is gone, and my mate is dead… anywhere I go, I will be a wanted man. So I will keep my word as long as you promise to protect my daughter.”

Lothair could just as easily deceive us, but what choice did we have? Crushing David in the mine was just one solution of many, and we weren’t going to give up that chance. There wasn’t anything Lothair could do to screw us over besides allow us to corner David in the mine once he inevitably turned up to kill Lothair, anyway. I nodded.

His expression softened. “I have decided on her name,” said Lothair. “It’s Nefrit.”

The baby girl stirred and yawned as though the first iteration of her name woke her from a dream.

“You better keep your word,” warned Gavin. “I won’t hold back next time.”

Lothair said nothing. He merely watched as we retreated from the mine with his daughter, leaving him awaiting his destiny.