9

ELIAS

WE had less than twenty minutes to get the vehicles moving, and we were late.

I tried not to let my anxiety show, but it was becoming difficult with how slow the agents were moving. My wolf rose to the surface, stalking the mages trying to get our SUVs ready for transport, prepared to take any of them out should they prove useless. It was irrational, but with the knowledge that I’d be reunited with my mate soon, I couldn’t keep the thoughts at bay.

“Relax,” Archer muttered. He fell back against the wall beside me and crossed his arms over his chest; from the corner of my eye, I watched him assess the agents. “We’ll be out of here soon and you’ll be reunited with Ivy.”

“We have such a short window of time to make it to the ferry, and we have wasted too much of it.” I kept my mouth shut about how we’d fucked up. From the other side of the loading bay, Jay barked orders at his team, working them tirelessly for departure. We should have left hours ago, and based on the recent check in I’d had with Ivy, they were set to leave soon.

Archer shifted on his feet. “You get anything else out of them?”

Them . The reason we were behind schedule. I snarled. “Nothing worth repeating.”

Other than their useless repetition of the phrase ‘death to the Queen, long live the true King ’, we’d gained no knowledge verbally of their plans. The information we’d found about their extended lives was being stored exclusively with our team.

“Their lifespans require extensive questioning.” The mage’s eyes found mine. “It’s almost like someone is trying to extend lifespans similarly to how the Queen’s magic does.”

My jaw clenched, but I shook my head. “It’s impossible.”

“Is it?” he asked quietly, brows furrowing. “Look, I think—”

The cell phone in my pocket gave a shrill ring, cutting Archer off from the rest of his theory. I spared him a sharp glance before reaching into my back pocket.

Cyrus’s name flashed across the screen, and I held my breath. The call ended, but he didn’t try to call back. My heart rate picked up; had he found something about Ivy’s Fae mate? Maybe found the bastard himself?

Thoughts about it almost overshadowed the pack up, but I tried to push them aside. “You okay there, Wolfy?” Archer asked, stepping up beside me.

“Yes,” I replied through gritted teeth, shoving the cell back into my pocket. “It’s nothing.”

Archer’s eyes darkened, but he held his tongue and turned away. The vehicles were finally finished, their charms activated and protections sealed. If we had Kingsley or Ivy here, the charms would have been stronger.

I prayed to Nyx it would be enough.

“Let’s get the prisoners onboarded,” Jay barked, his voice carrying over the low murmur of the working agents.

Four agents split off the main group and started for the hall where we kept the prisoners. We’d managed to keep the two we had alive weak and easily moveable, but something in my gut told me it wouldn’t be enough. That even if they were as compliant as we thought they were, there was still something we were missing.

My back teeth ground together when the agents returned. Tension rolled off Archer as he took up a similar position as me. Once the prisoners were locked in their respective vehicles, we were meant to get Thea and the kids into our heavily charmed SUV and take off before the others. There was already one other SUV doing a slow patrol of the warehouses around us.

The vampire came out first, followed by the shifter. Both had sacks over their faces, mostly to protect our identities, but to also keep them from seeing the children and Thea up close. It was also a sensory deprivation technique, so the sacks were charmed to not only blacken their vision, but they also couldn’t hear or scent anything around them. Perfect for two of the biggest predators in our world.

All supernatural creatures had their strengths, but shifters and vampires were hunters. Take that away, and they had little left to offer.

So why do I still feel like they have something planned?

We’d spent hours going over whether capturing them had been a mistake, something they might have planned. Had they purposefully been taken by us? Had they intentionally put themselves in our path?

Nothing they did confirmed or denied that. So, it became a matter of assuming the worst, and planning for it.

Should they prove dangerous, they would die and be reunited with the Goddess they so deeply wished to shun. Let Her take their souls and punish them how She saw fit.

My eyes narrowed on the first set of agents and their prisoner as a soft voice pierced the barrier of the charmed bag. I took a step forward, but it was a voice I’d become familiar with during the long days spent in his cell.

“The fuck did you say?” one of the younger agents growled, his voice carrying through the bay. He ripped the bag off the vamp’s face and pinned the lanky creature up against the wall.

The prisoner in front of him smirked; the vampire’s face was no longer a mangled mess of cuts and bruises. He’d healed between then and now, but it shouldn’t have been that quick. The runes carved into his chains should have stopped it.

But the bastard’s eyes drifted from the agent holding him to meet mine. His dark lips moved, but I didn’t understand what he was saying. The agent slammed the vamp into the wall again, the prisoner’s head snapping back with a loud crunch at the impact.

I moved before I could even comprehend what was happening; the shift burned beneath my skin, and it took all my willpower to not let the wolf out. My canines elongated, and claws ripped through my nail beds, but I felt none of the usual ache or discomfort that would normally come with it. Instead, there was just the burn of Ivy’s strength and power shuddering through me.

Tearing the agent away from the vamp, I clamped a hand around the male’s throat, letting the claws bite into his flesh. Red eyes met mine, glassy from the impact, weakened at least from the chains, but still as alert as he had been earlier during our session.

“What. Did. You. Say?” I growled, baring my teeth at the smarmy bastard.

Pale lips moved, but I tightened my hold.

“Do I look like a fucking lip reader?” The vampire’s mouth opened and snapped shut in a gasp. “Speak. Or you’ll find you won’t have fangs for a very long time.”

A fury I’d come to know all too well filled his eyes, but it didn’t give me pause or make me reconsider what I was about to do.

“Your little would-be-Queen isn’t here,” he rasped, eyes flickering around the now still loading bay. “Her power isn’t detectable at all.”

A growl rumbled through my chest. “You don’t get to speak about her. Hell, you probably shouldn’t even be thinking about her. Not when I could rip out your throat at any second.”

Pale lips pulled up into a smirk, revealing bloody teeth. “She’s never going to make it to the throne. She’ll never take the crown.”

“You keep telling us the same thing over and over again. Don’t you ever get bored?” Archer quipped, before slamming a glowing blade into the stomach of the vampire. The creature hissed as Archer twisted the knife. “You aren’t worth much if you don’t speak. You really think your little would-be-king actually cares if you die? ”

Vamp’s eyes darkened, a snarl ripping through him. “You follow an unfit Queen, and yet you try to pit me against a true leader.”

“Your leader is hiding in the shadows, like a coward.” Archer shrugged, keeping his voice light, unserious. But he pulled the dagger free and inspected the blood dripping off the end. “Not poisoned, so you’re still the same idiot we grabbed. Good to know.”

Vamp bucked, but my hold remained firm. “He’s right, you know. You are worth nothing to your leader. If he cared, he would be here, fighting to get you back. You are nothing to him. But you are to her .”

Disbelief filled his reddened eyes, but he barked a loud, unhinged laugh. “I will never kneel to a Queen again. Long live the true king. And let your bitch die.”

The wolf in me snapped. I tore the vamp’s throat open with my claws, releasing him as he collapsed into a puddle of blood at my feet. He would live—barely—but he’d have a hard time speaking for a while.

“Get him into the SUV and start fucking driving. I want nothing else from these two useless pieces of shit until they’re locked in their cages.”

I ignored the murmured sound of agreement and stalked away from the limp body to wash my hands of his blood.

Maybe I was no better than a brute, a killer and torturer, but for my mate, I would be the sword she needed to protect her, the hangman delivering punishment. I would be the axe falling on the necks of her enemies, and I would do it all in a heartbeat. Because I am her protector.

And I will never let her be hurt again.

~

Despite the ache in my body, I remained eerily still as the walls of the cramped SUV closed in around me. I was better now at handling tight, immoveable spaces. I had to be.

Uncertainty writhed like a living creature in my stomach as I watched the blur of houses and cars speed by, leaving no impression on me other than impatience. We were three hours out from the final location, and I could barely keep the beast contained, knowing it would soon be reunited with our mate. With what the vampire said still lingering in my mind, the pressure in my chest seemed to worsen with the need to run.

From the front seat, Archer held his gun holstered at his side, eyes keenly watching the streets for any vehicle that gave off an unusual feeling. The screen on the dash, which directed us to the ferry drop off, beeped with a sensor enchanted to detect magic in the field. We’d managed to link it to residual magic used by our two prisoners, both of which were being moved to their own new prison, rather than the Phoenix Compound. And after that last moment with the vamp, I wasn’t feeling too guilty about sending them to their new cage.

Thea, in the passenger seat, also carried a weapon. It’d been her idea to do so, and I didn’t want to stop her from feeling like she could protect herself. I’d heard the story from Jay, of my girl and Thea holding them at gunpoint inside Ivy’s home. As much as I hated the idea of my angel needing to protect herself in that way, I was glad they knew how to at least shoot.

Maisie rested her head on my shoulder from where she sat between me and Ginny. Eloise sat on her sister’s other side, eyes glued to the window, her fear showing only through the small trembles wracking her body.

How are you feeling? I reached out, feeling for my mate through the bond.

Her grogginess filtered through, but so did her happiness. I’m fine. We’re on the road now. How is everyone on your end?

We’re sticking together, I replied, offering her a mental image of the situation. Everyone is sick of each other, I think.

Put the radio on and you’ll be sick of Ginny the most. She somehow knows every song ever and can sing along to all of them. Especially K-pop, and she doesn’t even know Korean. Her amusement warmed me, and I couldn’t help but look down at the tired little girl, with her dark hair pulled back in braids, who didn’t resemble the sister Ivy described at all.

But I wouldn’t let Ivy worry about that. We’ll be there in three hours , I said instead.

The wolf purred at the warmth reaching through the bond. It settled him greatly, and almost put the bastard to sleep. I can’t wait to see you. All of you.

I wanted to take her in my arms, to wrap myself around her body and never let go.

We have a lot to discuss when we get to Avalon , she added. Especially about what we’re doing next. About this whole academy thing.

She seemed wary of the idea, of what the academy might hold, but I wasn’t too interested in anything but her. Tell me in person , I said. I want to hear the words from your lips.

Her response was a huff of indignation. Fine. I’ll tell you in person.

After your lips have been wrapped around my cock.

She laughed through the bond, and replied, in your dreams, wolf.

I growled, and the wolf lifted his head in offence. You’re already the star, the moon, and the night sky, Angel. And that means in my dreams, too.

Ivy went quiet for a moment, her emotions barely an impression, like she was holding herself back. I tried not to think too hard on the fact that I might have overstepped, but she knew I loved her, and I needed her to know that had not—and will not—ever change.

When I see you, she said, I’ll give you my response to that. Lips around your cock and all .

At that, I chuckled, and let the bond go dark.

“Everything okay back there, Wolfy?” Archer asked, his eyes meeting mine through the rear-view mirror.

My lip curled at the nickname, but when Maisie giggled, and Ginny made an almost laughing sound, I let the comment go. “I just spoke to Ivy. They’re on the road and everything is going well. We’ll meet them at the ferry.”

Archer smirked and gave me a nod. “Good to know.”

If the bastard thought he’d get away with that, he had a whole new problem.

“I’m so ready to get out of this car,” Thea muttered. “I hate driving.”

“Told you to get ginger candy,” Eloise muttered, dropping her head onto the window. “If you puke, I’ll kill you.”

Thea groaned dramatically and gagged. “Don’t worry, I’m not sick .”

“You got sick when we went on that rollercoaster once,” Ginny said, the first full sentence she’d spoken in days. “Ivy and Mom said you aren’t allowed milkshakes anymore.”

I stiffened at the mention of her mother, and from the corner of my eye, Eloise did, too.

But Thea didn’t comment on it, and instead snarked back, “You little shits dared me to drink the milkshake and eat the corndog before going on. So, if anyone is to blame, Miss Virginia, it’s you three.”

Maisie giggled into my chest. “She called you Virginia.”

Ginny giggled too, the sound loosening a tightness in my chest that had appeared the moment I’d found them without Ivy. It lightened the atmosphere of the SUV, and after a moment, even Eloise joined in.

But the tightness returned almost as quickly as it disappeared. I rubbed my sternum, waiting for it to disappear, but it sharpened into something else.

Fear unlike anything I’d felt before struck me, fast and hard like lightning. It burned through me, igniting fire in my chest.

I sucked in a sharp breath and reached out for Ivy through the bond, seeking her end of the eternal tether bonding us for the rest of her reign.

What I found was darkness. Thick, overwhelming nothing between us. A chasm yawned between me and my mate, and no matter how far I reached, how hard I tried to find any impression of her thoughts, I grasped on to nothing.

The nothingness terrified me, but it was the silence that had me clawing at my chest.

The wolf howled, broken and distraught within me, as we searched for her light, her warmth, within the broken shards of our bond.