Chapter 24: Everett

Chapter 24: Everett

I hated waiting.

All my life, I had been a man of decisive action. Now, I had no choice but to simply sit and wait to hear back from Sebastian about the extermination attempt of David and his followers. It made me anxious, not knowing what was happening. I wanted to track Sebastian down and see their progress for myself. Out of curiosity, I checked my cloud for any new audio recordings, but I had lost the connection to the bug in Hexen Manor. Obviously, they’d removed it. But I did wonder what I would have overheard in the wake of their attack on my pack. I was sure whatever I would have heard, it would just fuel my anger.

Aislin had the idea to distract me again. She sat in my lap now, her hands on the sides of my neck as we made out. I cupped her ass and grinded against her, my boxer briefs taut over my enthusiastic erection that craved to feel as much of her as possible. For a few seconds, I focused on the feeling of her groin rubbing over me, then my thoughts would drift back to the Mythguard and I would find myself imagining their assassins sneaking through the woods, wondering if they survived their journey into the jaws of death. Then Aislin would nibble on my lip and bring me back to her, sliding her hand down between us and taking my length in her palm. I wanted to focus on her, I really did. And I appreciated her efforts. But people could die tonight, and I struggled to set that aside for the thrill of her touch.

Her hand moved mine onto her waist, then up her shirt, urging me to squeeze her breast. As she kissed my neck, I rumbled and searched for the time on the digital alarm clock beside my bed. It was 9 p.m. “Do you think they’ve tracked down David yet?” I murmured.

“Forget about them for now,” she hushed.

“It’s easier said than done.”

Aislin pulled back and peered down at me from under her lashes. She was beautiful tonight, with her hair tied up and red flyaways framing her face. Stripping off her shirt and bra, she was left in only her tight black panties before wrangling me out of my shirt too. Then she pushed me down into the bed and got me out of my boxer briefs. “You just lay there and enjoy the show, okay?”

I savored the muscular definition in her legs, the tendons rippling in her hips as she pressed against my cock. She teased me a moment longer before losing her underwear and grabbing a condom. Impatiently, I watched her put it on me, then she straddled my waist and slid me inside, scrunching her nose at the intrusion. “Can you take me like this?” I rumbled.

“Of course I can,” she replied, like what I’d said was a challenge.

Maybe it wasn’t that difficult to focus on her, now that I was inside her. All I had to do was watch. I kept my hands on her hips and rocked up and down as she rode me, doing all the work for me and leaving me to just relish the experience. She was even more beautiful from this angle, her body arched up and tits bouncing, her bare chest drawing my eye up her neck and to her narrow chin, her parted lips, her seductive gaze just for me.

Aislin was all mine. And as I watched her, it occurred to me how desperately I wanted to mark her then. Because if the Mythguard failed in their extermination attempt, I could guarantee that David would turn his wrath onto Eastpeak or Grandbay, or both of us, and I may never have another chance to establish the mate connection with Aislin. All I had to do was draw her blood, and have her draw mine. We could say the words. It would be easy. I throbbed, thinking about possessing her that way.

She panted, stimulating her clit as she undulated above me. Already feeling her getting tighter, my thoughts veered from marking and toward the pleasure her rhythms lit up in me. I was getting close, and so was she. With a groan, I allowed her body to take me into a sweltering orgasm, losing myself in the way she clenched around me. Aislin cried out in chimes of ecstasy. The sound filled my head, numbing me to all else. The distraction had worked, at least for a few minutes, leaving me reeling as she leaned forward and planted another series of kisses on my neck.

“You’re so sexy,” I muttered, like I was suspended in a dream.

Aislin giggled into my neck. “So are you, my big sexy Alpha.”

“Ais…” Her name slurred from me. I trapped her in a long kiss before, finally, the stupefying gratification of sex bled away and I was reminded of the Mythguard’s mission once more. “We should go back downstairs.”

“If you texted Sebastian, do you think he’d give you an update?” she asked, sitting up.

“I’d like to try.”

“Okay.” Aislin gave me one last kiss before extracting herself from my lap.

Despite having made the suggestion, I lingered instead, watching her collect her clothes off the floor. She glanced back at me over her shoulder, tossing me a wink and a smile. It made my heart flutter. There was no doubt about it now: I was very much enamored with her. Possibly even in love.

But I kept this to myself as I got to my feet, cleaning myself up before getting dressed too. Back downstairs, most of my pack had been minding their own business, either unaware of mine and Aislin’s dalliances, or just unbothered. We weren’t the only ones seeking distraction in any way possible. A couple of other mated pairs had gone off to spend time with each other too. There was little else to do besides waiting, so anything to take the edge off was a welcome pastime.

I tapped out a text to Sebastian, ‘Any word from the recon team?’

A few seconds later, the reply arrived. ‘They haven’t located anyone yet.’

‘You mean they haven’t found any of the selected shifters?’

‘No. There’s nobody in Dalesbloom.’

I stared at the phone, unsure if I was interpreting him correctly. ‘No shifters at all?’

‘None.’

‘Are they all at Hexen Manor?’

‘They’ve been surveying the building, but there’s no activity outside or in.’

‘What about scents?’

‘The wolf on our recon team can’t detect any fresh scents. The most recent seems to be David from yesterday.’

‘What does that mean?’

Sebastian took a few minutes extra to answer me. ‘It might mean that they’ve vacated the territory.’

“Shit,” I said out loud.

Aislin leaned in beside me. “What is it?”

“I think David’s taken everyone out of Dalesbloom.”

She stiffened in shock. The rest of my pack, having heard this news, all turned their attention to me. I looked out over all of them, then read the texts again.

“He must have known that the Mythguard would come for him after attacking us. It sounds like they may have possibly abandoned the territory and gone into hiding,” I added, then slowly shook my head. “I can’t say for sure. But Sebastian says the most recent scent in the territory was David from yesterday.”

“What does that mean for us?” asked one of my packmates.

“It could mean we’re safe for now, or it could mean the opposite. We don’t know where they’ll be, so we don’t know what direction to watch them from. They’re clearly evading the Mythguard,” I explained.

“What do we do, then?” asked another packmate.

“There’s nothing we can do at the moment besides wait for the extermination attempt to conclude,” I told them. “We’ll wait from the official report from Sebastian.”

My packmates began murmuring among themselves, concerned with the disappearance of our enemies. I was too. This meant that we really had no idea what David might be planning. We would be holding our breath for who knew how long.

I called up Gavin next. “Any activity outside the hotel?”

“None, why?”

So I told him what Sebastian had told me, and Gavin shared the same sentiment as the rest of my pack. Now all of us were tense with uncertainty.

It was another hour that we had to wait before Sebastian sent the next update. ‘Confirmed, there are no shifters around Hexen Manor. The most recent scent trail leads north past their borders.’

North would place them on the far opposite end of the Gunnison area from us and Grandbay. The distance was reassuring, but in the grand scheme of things didn’t mean much. There would still be ample time before the next full moon for David to regroup and figure out a new plan of attack.

‘Our recon team is pulling back now. We aren’t equipped to go beyond Dalesbloom.’

My heart sank with disappointment. David and his followers would survive this night, leaving us wrought with anxiety still over their next move.

‘Our shifter detected something interesting, however. There is an unfamiliar shifter scent near the north borders. We believe it’s Muriel’s daughter, Kiara.’

I stared at the message for a long time. Surprised that Sebastian would even divulge this to me, I showed the message to Aislin.

“No way,” she murmured. “Wait. Isn’t she a unicorn? How could they smell her?”

“I don’t know.”

Aislin gasped. “Oh my God. Does that mean they caught her?”

“He would have said if their scents intermingled,” I replied. “But maybe they haven’t determined that yet.”

“We need to tell Muriel.”

This thought made my chest constrict. There were still too many unknowns for me to feel comfortable sharing that with Muriel. But at the same time, it was her daughter—she deserved to know that Kiara was in the area. I feared that the Mythguard would end up tracking down Kiara and relocating her before Muriel could know, so, in the end, I sighed and nodded. “Yes, I agree.”

Upstairs, my office phone rang next. Agitation brewed in me that somebody outside of pack business might be trying to contact me. If it was an emergency at the lumber mill, they would have called my cellphone, but it was also too late in the evening for any of the machines to be running. I couldn’t imagine what it possibly might be, but I went upstairs anyway, and Aislin followed swiftly behind me. The office phone was already on its fourth ring when I abruptly answered it, “Hello?”

Silence stretched on for an agonizing minute before a distorted voice spoke, “We’re coming for the Grandbay Hotel. Room 303. Everyone will die… the unicorn belongs to us.”

My stomach dropped. “Who is this?”

But there was no response beyond that. The phone clicked, and whoever was on the other line hung up.

I held the receiver in disbelief, staring out the wide window overlooking my mountainside.

“What was that?” prompted Aislin.

“I think it was somebody from Dalesbloom,” I said. “I couldn’t recognize the voice. They must have used something to disguise themselves. They said they’re coming for the Grandbay Hotel, and they knew the exact room everyone’s staying in. Room 303.”

“Oh…” Aislin faltered, clearly scrambling to understand what I’d just said. “How would they know that? Are they serious? They’re coming right now?”

“I don’t know, Ais. But I don’t think I’m willing to take the chance and let Gavin and the others sit there oblivious,” I said, rushing past her and back downstairs. Again, my packmates watched me, but they could sense my unease. They must have smelled it in my scent, the bitter uncertainty that rose with my panic. I grabbed my phone again, once more dialing Gavin. “I just received an anonymous tip. Dalesbloom and the Inkscales are intending to attack you at the hotel.”

“Wait, what?” Gavin stammered.

“I couldn’t recognize who it was, but they warned me that they were going to attack right now. Gavin, you need to move everyone out of there. Close the hotel if you have to. Innocent humans could be caught in the middle of it.”

“Fuck. Okay. What do we do?” He asked himself, rather than me, since I had no idea how to react to this either. “Can we get help? The Mythguard or someone?”

“Aislin and I will be over there right away. I’ll inform Sebastian.”

“Okay. Meet us at the Mundy house, I guess.”

“Why there?”

“It’s the only place I can think of that David might not know where it is.”

“Understood. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

By the time I hung up, I realized I hadn’t spoken anything of Kiara, but now there was no time. I could tell them when we got there. Everybody had overheard the conversation and fear crested among my packmates once more. “Grandbay will need as much help as they can get,” I told them. “Anyone who is willing to fight, please join us. If not, then please stay here and guard the house.”

To my surprise, five more packmates rose up to join us. I called Sebastian and told him what was happening, and he swore under his breath before promising to send along some of the Mythguard—the assassins who were initially slated to snipe David. Then I gathered those rallying with me and we rushed out of the house.

The best thing I could hope for was that this was a false alarm. But if it wasn’t, I was ready to defend Grandbay with my life, and I was ready to confront David face-to-face.

Maybe somebody would die tonight after all.