33. Thirty-Three

thirty-three

P enn drove us back to the farmhouse to shower and change before setting off on our errands. He planned to visit Paula and see if he could talk her into leaving. We agreed she was more likely to see logic without me around, so Penn took me to Evera’s house.

“I’ll be fine,” I assured Penn when he locked the door before I could climb out.

“Things are more dangerous than before.” He leaned across the seat and brushed his lips across my cheek, whispering in my ear. “Be careful. Don’t leave the house until I come back for you. Promise me?”

I turned my head and captured his mouth. “I promise,” I muttered.

He finally unlocked the doors, and I slid out into the cool morning. Penn waited, engine purring, while I trotted up the short, icy walkway to Evera’s front door. My initial knock went unanswered. I pressed my ear to the cold wood and listened. Nothing. I pounded again. Shuffled feet hurried toward me from inside the house, and I only just managed to step away from the door before Evera yanked it open.

“Oh, thank Gaia. I’ve been so worried.” She grabbed the front of my jacket and pulled me inside, waving to Penn with the golf club clutched in her free hand. Evera threw her arms around me. “Are you okay? I can’t believe him. I always knew Finneus was an asshole, but this is next level douchebaggery.”

She stiffened when I returned her embrace. “Drake, is there something you want to tell me?”

My short bark of laughter held no humor. “So much.” I rested my hands on her shoulders and studied her face. “But first, are you okay? Did Finneus hurt you?”

A shadow fell over her green gaze. “Just my pride. You should have let that bitch take my magic.”

Evera carried her golf club from the foyer into the living room and sat on the overstuffed couch. I shrugged out of my jacket and scarf, hanging both on the coat tree before joining her.

“You and Penn have more in common than you think, both so eager to play the hero. I’m fine. See?” I gestured to myself. “Totally reenergized.”

Evera tilted her head to the side, red hair cascading over one shoulder. “Was it the sex or the fae magic?”

My jaw dropped. “H-h-how did you know?”

“You smell like you had a threesome.” She sat up straighter and thrust her shoulders back. “Sadly, for my own fantasies, I don’t see Mr. Serious sharing—especially with a fae.”

“You don’t seem surprised,” I noted.

She shrugged. “It seemed inevitable, to be honest. The two of you have more chemistry than Marie Curie’s lab.”

Irrational anger rose within me for a beat because she was right. Penn and I were inevitable, in a much more real sense than she could ever imagine. Our story was written a very long time ago. Diana and Lucien had sealed our fate as well as their own when they bonded.

How much of what I felt for Penn was real?

Evera snapped her fingers in front of my face. I blinked, resurfacing from memories of the past.

“Oh, there you are,” she said, leaning back against the fluffy cushions. “I thought I lost you.”

“Um, the fae came as a favor to Frann,” I said, steering the conversation into safer territory. “His name’s Walter Stolly.”

To my surprise, Evera’s eyes went wide. Clearly, she’d heard of the mobster. “He shows up a lot on that gossip site I go to. He’s all sorts of scandalous. Dated a few famous humans over the years, but now he’s supposedly dating another fae, and I hear they have a kid together.”

The thought of Walter having a child seemed at odds with everything about him.

“Well, apparently, he and Frann spent an unforgettable couple of nights together, and they meant enough to him that he traveled all the way here to help me.”

Evera shook her head. “I envy that woman so much. I only hope when I’m her age my stories are half as interesting.” Her expression turned serious. “Must’ve been bad for Penn to let a fae touch you.”

My body gave an involuntary shiver. “It was. But I’m okay now.” I hesitated before asking, “Have you seen your mother?”

Anger threaded dark yellow bands in her green eyes, and her shoulders deflated. She’d been delaying the inevitable question since I arrived. “Finneus says she has to stay locked up until he completes the ceremony with his true mate, but she will not be harmed.” Bitter laughter filled the room. “Does it make me a bad person that I want Paula to be his mate, even after what he did to her, just so my mom can come home?”

“Oh, sweetie.” I wrapped her in my arms. “No. You’re not a bad person. Grace will come home.”

Her shoulders shook with silent sobs as I rubbed her back. My best friend so rarely cried. She was usually my sounding board, not the other way around. Now that the tables had turned, I was powerless to help her. I couldn’t even find comforting words that didn’t sound hollow.

Instead, I held her while she cried and tried to swallow my guilt over spending the night with Penn while Evera was alone and worried about her mother.

“I’m so sorry I haven’t been here,” I whispered.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and pulled out of my embrace. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She hiccuped and waved off my apology. “You’ve been recovering. I’m just being dramatic.”

“Hardly,” I scoffed.

I needed to tell her what Penn and I had learned. It was a lot to process, particularly with her mind on Grace. But Evera deserved to know that Finneus wouldn’t be finding his true mate because he wasn’t the prophesied warrior. Penn was—whether he liked to admit it or not.

There were a few false starts before I found the right words. Evera was appropriately shocked with each new revelation. She found the dreams most fascinating, especially the ones that told a darker, more sinister history of our pack.

“My father, just before he died, he said ‘One warrior must fall so the true warrior may rise.’ Finneus is under the false assumption that’s about him, but it’s not. Penn’s the true warrior, the reincarnation of the original alpha,” I finished.

Her lips parted and she narrowed her eyes. “You think Penn was the warrior meant to kill Basil?”

I hadn’t considered it from that angle. Was that how it should’ve happened? Had Dad known the truth? Was that why he’d been acting strangely the night he died? It was almost like he’d known what was going to happen.

Had he known?

That would explain the accounts he’d established for me at the markets, and why he hadn’t even tried to fight back. I’d thought the shock of his beta’s betrayal had rendered him unable to react. But maybe that wasn’t the case. Maybe my father knew he had to die in order for the true warrior to rise. Maybe he also knew the true warrior would never kill him.

There was another flaw in the logic there: Penn wouldn’t kill his brother either.

“I know you’ve already come to this conclusion,” Evera said, tone hesitant. “Have you considered Penn’s not the true warrior?”

“You think Finneus is?” I countered.

Expression equal parts exasperation and empathy, she shook her head slowly back and forth. “If everything you’re saying is true, there are two winners of the games in this pack—two true warriors.”

Walter’s careful word choice, his implication that Diana and Lucien reigned as a team. Lucien’s return wasn’t what the Ophiuchus feared, it was mine. That was likely the true reason white wolves were killed once they emerged.

The air in the room suddenly felt too thick, too hard to breathe. I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh or faint. Beneath me, the ground gave a small tremor, and I was just glad I wasn’t on my feet.

Evera’s cool fingers wrapped around mine. “There’s only one person Basil would’ve willingly died for, and only one person he knew without a doubt would never kill him.”

The front door burst open. Evera was on her feet, golf club gripped between her hands. I was slower to react. Six snarling strays invaded the living room and surrounded us before my mind and body synced back up.

My pulse leaped, adrenaline quickly replacing the shock. Evera brandished the golf club like a baseball bat, though none of them tried to come closer. Then I heard footsteps on the icy walkway. For a fleeting second, I held onto the hope Penn would come through the door. Of course not. It was the wrong brother, and Finneus wasn’t alone.

As soon as I saw Paula’s haughty face, I knew what must’ve happened. Penn had gone to her with a promise of safety, and she had run straight to Finneus. Some people made it very hard to be nice to them.

“I believed you, Drake.” Finneus shook his head, clucking his tongue in disappointment. “The council warned me not to trust you—a traitor’s daughter. They thought I was mad for giving you so much leeway. But I knew you’d never run.” He moved between two wolves to join Evera and me in the center of the circle.

Her grip tightened on the golf club.

“Put it down,” Finneus snapped.

She rolled her shoulders without showing a hint of acquiescence. Finneus’ eyes flashed.

“Defy me again and you’ll stay in wolf form a lot longer next time,” he growled.

“It’s okay, Evera.” I grabbed the end of the club and tugged it gently from her hands before tossing it at Finneus’s feet. “Happy now?”

He squared his shoulders and puffed out his chest. “No, Drake. I’m not. Out of respect for our childhood friendship, I didn’t listen to my advisers. I treated you fairly, and all you’ve done is betray me every chance you get. First you attack my mate, and now you’ve convinced my brother to help you kidnap her.”

My teeth ground together. “Where’s Penn?” I hissed.

Finneus grinned down at me. “Let’s call it a time-out.”

A lump formed in my throat. Penn had kept me safe since Dad died. He had defended me against the strays and my own pack members, and now I was alone. My gaze snagged on Evera. No, I wasn’t alone, but she needed my protection more than I needed hers.

I straightened my spine and channeled my father’s grace under pressure. It was time I started acting like the leader he’d always hoped I’d be.

“What do you want from me, Finneus? You want me to admit I tried to help an innocent woman live through the weekend?” I held my hands up. “Fine. I admit it. She’s not your mate, Finneus. You and I both know it.” I peered around him to where Paula and Malia stood together and fixed my gaze on the caster. “I’m sure you know it too.”

Paula’s face contorted, upper lip curling back. Having her magic sucked out hadn’t dampened her spirit, though her frail, porcelain-doll appearance was a tad unnerving.

“Her family line goes back to the Valley of the Elements,” Malia said in her sweet, sultry voice.

I laughed even though nothing was funny. “So that’s how you’re choosing them. Belinda’s family has roots that deep too, right?”

The caster beamed like a proud parent. “Just like yourself, and your little feisty friend.”

Confusion flitted across Finneus’ face, but he let it go.

“As I have told our most exalted alpha, the warrior’s true mate will rise from one of the ancient lines.”

Getting Paula to safety had been a way to buy more time while we figured out how to deal with Finneus. Sadly, it seemed the clock had sped up instead of slowed down. I honestly couldn’t think of a single way out.

Well, maybe one.

Evera stood between Finneus and me. I gently nudged her aside and met the eyes of my father’s murderer.

“Do the ceremony with me,” I said.

“Drake, no!” Evera hissed.

“What? Gaia, she can’t be serious,” Paula snapped. “Finn, tell her. I’m your mate.”

Finneus didn’t jump to her defense or make assurances. He kept his gaze on me, a slow smile spreading across his face.

“Words I’ve been waiting to hear, Drake.”

Gaia, what had I just done? This was exactly what he’d wanted, and I had just played into his hand. Was it too late to take it back?

Paula rushed forward and grabbed Finneus’ arm. “Don’t do this. Please, Finn. Take me as your mate.”

The begging was hard to watch, as well as slightly irritating. I didn’t need her to thank me, but she could’ve at least stayed quiet while I tried to save her life.

He glanced down at her hand as though it offended him. “I will claim my true mate as my mate,” he snapped.

She whimpered and backed away, lowering her eyes to the ground. “I am your true mate,” she whispered.

“Maybe.” He sighed loudly, never looking away from me. “But my money’s on our little white wolf.” He took a piece of my hair and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger. “You do look just like her.”

My blood ran cold. He knew exactly who I was. Not good. I dug my nails into my palms and forced myself to not draw back from his touch.

“Have the dreams not started for you?” Finneus lifted an eyebrow. “I’m certain we can change that. It took a while for me to see her face— your face.”

What the fuck was happening? Finneus had been dreaming about my past lives too? What did that mean? Was I not Diana? Was Penn not Lucien?

“You will remember me, and the bond we shared,” Finneus continued in a soft, almost seductive voice. Had his alpha thrall worked on me, I might have found him charming.

“No,” Paula whimpered pitifully. “You’re wrong. You’ll see, Finn. She doesn’t deserve you.”

Gaia, I hoped that was true. In as many lives as I’d lived, I prayed I’d never done anything so bad as to deserve Finneus as my mate.

He offered me his arm. Indecision kept me rooted in place. I had underestimated his knowledge. Clearly, he knew about the reincarnating alpha couple and genuinely believed he was Lucien, the prophesied warrior come to reclaim his throne. He’d even mentioned the dreams.

No, it was some sort of trick. It had to be. Penn was Lucien. His was the face in my dreams. We shared a connection that only made sense if we were true mates. The way I felt about him only made sense if we were true mates. If we were Diana and Lucien.

“Drake,” Evera warned, grabbing my hand and squeezing until I faced her. “Think about what you’re doing.”

Was I being impulsive? Probably. But desperate people did desperate things. Oddly, I felt calmer than I had in a long time. Maybe the inevitable wasn’t so bad. Fate had already written the ending in prophecy.

In my heart, I knew no matter what claims Finneus made, he was not my mate. As surely as I knew Diana and I were one and the same. I wasn’t as certain that I was the true warrior, but my father had died because he’d thought so. That was good enough for me.

The Ophiuchus were my pack by laws that superseded any we had now. I wouldn’t let another person get hurt. Taking Paula’s place at the ceremony would keep her safe and give me a few days to figure out my next move.

“I have thought about it,” I told Evera. “It’s in fate’s hands now.”

With that, I took Finneus’s arm. Paula glared daggers at me. I thought for certain she’d throw a punch, and I wouldn’t have blamed her. She balled her hands into fists and stomped her boot like a child.

“I’m coming with you,” Evera called. Finneus led me past the strays to where Malia waited with a smug smile on her beautiful face.

“I’ll be—”

Finneus cut me off with a pointed stare. “Of course Evera will be joining us. I’m not a fool, Drake. Until our match is confirmed, I need someone to keep you in line. My brother is probably sufficient, but I don’t want to take any chances.” He patted my hand. “I wouldn’t want anything to ruin our big night.”