Chapter 9

Nine

“Tell me what you’re thinking.”

I glance over at Elias lying at my side, still breathing heavily after hours of enjoying each other. Lazuri didn’t come to bed tonight and neither did Rune. They”re making sure Rune’s army who arrived yesterday doesn’t kill his wolves in the many, many arguments that have broken out between them already. Things are growing increasingly tense. Our kind have never got along easily, but my father’s half-wolves are shocking enough to both the wolves and the fae that they stopped their hatred long enough to listen to their alpha and prince. Only time will tell how long it will last.

In the weeks following my father’s arrival, we’ve managed to gather most of the armies. Elias” army should get here any day now, but since they are travelling on foot and not as close as the others, it might be another week before they arrive, and we are at our strongest. Before we can follow Rune’s carefully crafted plan of attack, all the people who can’t fight—children and elders—will be guarded inside the pack grounds. This includes the fae armies’ families that they brought with them. I don’t know about our future going forward, but we have managed to live in one city for two weeks now without killing each other. That’s got to count for something.

My body is still tender, in the best way possible, as I link my fingers with Elias’. “So, I’ve been thinking...”

Elias nuzzles into the side of my neck. “Mm?”

I look up through the skylight above the bedroom. Although this isn’t Lazuri’s bedroom, I like being here with my nest and mates. Elias has taken it over the spare room as his personal space, and it’s the only room with a skylight. It feels like I’m lying directly underneath the stars in this bed, with the ceiling so close. When I rode Elias earlier, I felt like I was breathing the sky in through each moan. I still don’t understand why Lazuri didn’t make this his master bedroom.

“You were thinking? Elias presses, as he leaves a gentle trail of kisses down my throat.

“I was thinking about what the gods above will think of us going to war,” I say.

“Thought you didn’t believe in the gods?” His tongue moves down and over my breast, swirling until my nipple pokes through my silk nightgown.

“It’s not that I don’t believe in them. I just don’t understand how they could sit by and watch so many people suffer. People who worship them.” I moan and arch my back as Elias gently bites my nipple. “I’ve been wondering what they’ll do when hundreds, if not thousands, of us might die in the name of peace. What they must think of us as we battle, scheme and do anything possible for our futures.” He breathes over my breast and gently bites down again, sucking my hardened nipple between his lips. “What — what will the fae and wolf children will tell of this time in years to come? What stories might come out?”

I peer down at my handsome mate. He looks up at me like I’m more dazzling than the stars shining through the glass above. “Don’t you wonder about that, too?” I whisper. “Will we be seen as the villains who raided the fae lands and killed the king? Or the heroes who avenged the fallen and united the living? At the end of the day, our hope is to conquer their lands, right? To hopefully make it a safe place for our children. But the fae won’t see it like that. Not to begin with.”

“You’re right,” Elias sighs. He moves back up to sit beside me and rests a hand on my stomach, his hand so big that it takes up the width of my waist. “They might not see it that way to begin with, but they’ll see it in time. They’ll have no choice either way.” I watch as he draws idle circles around the soft skin below my belly button. “I don’t care if we’re seen as the villains, not to the wolves, to the fae, or anyone else for that matter. I only care that when our child is born—if you are indeed pregnant as we suspect or get pregnant in the future—that he or she is safe. That you, their mother, my beautiful, wonderful, fucking crazy mate, is safe too. That’s all I will ever care about. Fuck everything else.”

“Elias—”

“Yes, there will be expectations of any child we have,” he interjects, “but there are expectations and there is war. While the king rules, he will always be a threat to our future children. He will always be a threat to you.” He leans his head on his hand, on my stomach. “You’re the first alpha female of the wolves, and you’re also half fae. An omega with untapped power in her blood and mixed with our power… Any children we have will be incredible. If we don’t fight, we might as well roll over and give him our first born.” He blinks up at me. “We might as well accept defeat, and when it comes to you, Verena, I’d rather burn this world to the ground than let that happen.”

I blush under the heaviness of his gaze, the intense protectiveness. “This doesn’t seem real, you know.” He frowns at that. “I mean, it feels like everything has happened so quickly, like we just met. And now I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you. Will all three of you.” I gently stroke his face, and he leans into my palm. “I don’t want war, and if I was selfish enough, I’d demand we all hide away.”

Elias falls silent for a moment and just watches me, then his hand falls over mine. “I wish I had turned up earlier that night. I could have saved her. I could have stopped him from taking her life, but I second-guessed myself that day.” I frown, watching his eyes close like he is back there. “I was following your scent—towards you. I second guessed myself that I was intruding on another pack, another alpha’s territory. I never wanted war even between our kind and I thought it was best that I turn around. Now I realise that if I hadn’t hesitated... things could have been different. I won’t hesitate in this war and risk losing anyone else.”

It’s my turn to fall quiet. “You know, I think Kris was meant to die that day,” I whisper, so quietly that I only want him to hear us and not the gods for this moment, “so that the pack would fall. Maybe Kris is the one who will unite our people, and that even though I’ll forever hate that she’s gone, maybe it was the will of the gods after all. Maybe it’s the only way we can be at one with each other.”

I have thought about this a million times, especially since talking to Mera. I don’t think our pack would have fallen without Kris dying. It would have suffered and endured like it had always done. I would have suffered and endured, and I may never have found Elias, or Lazuri, or even Rune, and we might have all been killed by the fae king in the end.

“I think even if you had turned up,” I say, “she would have died either way.” I run my fingers down his face in a caress. “I don’t know what our paths are in life, but l I know I want to spend the rest of mine with you three. I want a family and no more death or suffering. I’m willing to fight for that, even if war terrifies me to my core.”

“My mate…” Elias leans over me, and I shiver as every impressive inch of him pushes inside me. “There isn’t a fight in this world I wouldn’t take on for you.” He groans as I squeeze around him. “We’ll build this world together, Verena, and there will be no more?—”

We both shoot up in bed, sensing the exact same thing right before a boom echo in the air. The blast is loud enough I cover my ears and lean back as magic smashes the skylight and glass shatters around us. Elias throws himself over me, still inside me, and grunts as most of the glass hits his back.

“Elias!”

His eyes are lit up, glowing like a wolf in the dark as he climbs out of the bed and pulls on a pair of jeans. I wince at all the cuts on his back as I adjust my nightgown and follow him outside of the bedroom into the main room. Cold air blows in through the shattered glass windows that overlook the pack. My eyes widen as I see the ward crackling in the air, almost sparkling as it fades away under a wash of dark crystal magic.

Just outside the borders stands another army, their armour a wave of navy and gold as their crystal spears glow silver. Fear thunders through my heart, filling my blood with ice cold dread.

“Stars above!” I shoot my eyes over to Elias who appears just as shocked as I feel. “How close are your wolves again?”

“Not close enough,” he growls, snapping out of his stupor. He marches over to the sofas and flips one of them over. Dozens of swords and various daggers are clipped to the bottom. Lazuri must have told him where his secret stash of weapons were hidden in case of emergencies. Not that wolves need weapons, usually. Elias grabs a sword, sheathes it, and hands me two daggers. “Get dressed, mate. It’s time to fight for that world you spoke of.”

Rushing back to the bedroom, I quickly throw my clothes on. A thin, long-sleeved black shirt and dark leggings, alongside a leather vest. The material looks and feels light, but every fabric of my outfit is laced with magical threads strong enough to bend swords. Or so Lazuri says when he ordered me to wear them should we fall under attack.

I tug on a waistband with daggers around my hips, sliding the weapons in as I run back out into the main room. “We need to find my other mates and my father in this chaos. Where’s Mera?”

“Preparing for the attack.” He pauses, looking outside and back at me. I can see the argument in his eyes, the indecision. He wants me to stay here where it is safe. “Elias do not make me stay watch the pack be destroyed. Let me fight. I need to fight.”

But it’s clear by his expression he doesn’t want to let me. “I can’t be looking over my shoulder every two minutes to make sure you’re unharmed.” The softness of his voice only annoys me more. I’m not a child. “But I’m not asking you to stay here. Just don’t come to the front of this war unless you have to.” He turns back to me. “Let us fight them, mate, with all the training we have. You can help with the evacuations. Get the people safe and let us fight.” He comes over, placing his hand on my shoulder. “I know Laz and Rune want the same for you. Please stay on this half of the city, in the centre, and focus on the evacuations. Get the people out. Remember what Lazuri said? There are tunnels all throughout the bottom of the city that led far out, through the forest and to the sea where the emergency boats await. You need to get people into those tunnels on the boats them, okay? Defend them if need be.”

I kiss his lips softly. I know if I demanded to go with him, he would take me, but he’d end up having to protect me because I’ve never fought in a war before. I haven’t trained for one my whole life like he has, and Lazuri and Rune and Daphne, and all the other warriors.

I touch his cheek, my instincts telling me to stay as close to my mate as I can, but he”s right. I’d just end up being a distraction and therefore a liability. That’s the last thing I want to happen.

“Be safe, Elias, and come back to me,” I whisper.

He kisses me, not softly, but with a burning passion that lasts long after he tugs his lips from mine. “I’m going to show them what happens when you mess with my mate.”

I smile at him, wishing I could kiss my other mates before they fight this. I wish I could tell my father that I hope we’ll have a future together after we have made amends. There is still so much I want to do and say before this fight takes place. There’s just no time.

Elias kisses me again, this time softer. He plants another kiss on my forehead before leaving the room. I follow him out, catching Mera waiting at the top of the staircase for me. She is fully equipped in Laz pack armour and her weapons. The armour suits her.

Elias looks over his shoulder before charging down the stairs. “Be her shadow, Mera.”

Mera bows her head and turns to me. “What’s the plan?”

I clear my throat. “Evacuation. We”re going to focus on getting all the people out, especially the children, through the tunnels and then onto the ships in case we need to...” I can’t finish my instance. We won’t lose. We can’t lose. “The fighter will rush to the front and everyone else is going to panic. There are several boarding schools and orphanages near here.” I remember Laz telling me about them on his tours around the pack. “I doubt they’ve got enough people to help get all the children awake and out on time.”

It seems time is our biggest enemy right now.

We waste no more of it talking about what we need to do, and we snap into action. We have to make sure our people get a chance and that no one is left behind. I’ve been the weak and downtrodden before, and I have no plans to ever be that again or let anyone else under my care be treated like that.

With Mera at my side, we run down the stairs and head straight out into the street as fast as our feet will allow. The usually calm and peaceful street is filled with hordes of terrified people. I don’t think any of them are injured. I don’t even think the fae have breached the gates yet. They’re just scared out of their wits and running in every direction. It’s utter chaos.

“Daphne showed me the way to the tunnels,” Mera says. “This way.”

I follow her through the crowd, grabbing her hand so I don’t lose her. Huge wolves’ barrel past us, snarling as they head to the front and two women jump away. The same happens over and over as we struggle to get through the madness. We pass the bordering school, where loud alarms are blasting, and it looks like many people already went to help them. The first orphanage is just around the corner, and we have to check it next. We run together through the thick waves of people—people shouting for their loved one, people crying, people screaming. I hear the sounds of war in the distance and my stomach flips, knowing my mates are fighting out there for us.

We finally cross an exit tunnel, steps going down into the darkness. In bright red letters, ‘evacuation’ is written across the top on a sign. I sprint over to the entrance and open the doors. Mera helps me and then finds a box on the ground filled with oil lanterns. She lines the steps with them, and I see dozens of similar boxes at the sides, ready for people to carry their own lights into the tunnels.

“I’ll go to the orphanage,” I shout to Mera. “You start getting people in here. There are so many fae women and children here too that don’t know about the tunnels. Some of the wolves might have even forgotten them.”

“We are not splitting up!” Mera grabs my arm before I can leave. “I have and will always be your shadow, Verena. I am not losing you again.”

“Mera, this is war. I’m just over there.” I point at the building, only ten feet away. No one is coming out of the doors and most of the windows are still dark. “One of us needs to help them.”

She looks at the building and then back at me before reluctantly letting me go. “There and back,” she angrily warns, pulling a heavy box into the centre of the crowd and standing on it. I try to reach within myself in search of that strange power. It flows to the tips of my fingers, a little of it escaping into the air around me, and the crowd falls silent as they look up at the sparkling crystals. I manage to hold my power back enough to prevent them shattering. “Everyone that cannot fight must enter the evacuation tunnels behind me,” Mera bellows, loud enough for the gods to hear. “This is a command from your alphas. We will follow the tunnels in a calm manner to where there will be ships on the other side. Tunnels. Now!”

At this moment I’m certain Mera will be the perfect beta for our pack once this is all over. The surrounding people go quiet as they actually follow the orders, and I smile at Mera before running straight to the orphanage. People barely notice me in their bid to get to tunnels as I run by them. I’m the only one going in the opposite direction. I hope word will spread quickly to the other far, wolves, and half wolfs at the other side of the pack.

I barrel into the doors of the orphanage, quickly looking around. It’s nowhere near noisy enough. “Wake up!” I shout at the top of my voice.

Several children flood to the top of the stairs, half dressed and rubbing their eyes sleepily. Three women in robes rush down the stairs, each one holding two children”s hands’, followed by dozens more. The only woman carrying a sleeping child in her arms stops to bow to me. Her dark blonde hair is twisted into a bun and her blue eyes are lined with deep heavy bags that have a haunted look to them when they flick back up to meet my gaze.

“Have you come to help us, Alpha Verena?”

Alpha? It stops me in my tracks. I have only ever been called omega, or slurs intended to insult me. Now that I’m mated to the alphas, I guess that does make me the alpha too. I feel a little stupid that I didn’t consider that sooner. I have had a lot going on.

“You should be at the front of the evacuation with the young.” I touch the back of the boy in her arms, who is shivering cold. “You need to hurry.”

Her eyes harden. “We are not leaving without the children. All the corridors except this one”—she nods to her left— “have been checked. I will wait here while my sisters take the others.”

“No, there isn’t enough time,” I say hurriedly. “I”ll go room to room and send them your way.”

The woman’s eyes widen at me, instantly filling with tears when she realises that I’m helping.

I do exactly as I told her and open all the room doors. I wake up the children as gently as I can and tell them we’re evacuating. Most of them are so scared, but they are strong, as they each let me guide them back to the entrance hall.

When I think I’m done, I look down the corridor. “Go, take them,” I tell the women. “That’s it.”

The blonde one nods and rushes the children out of the door. I rush down to join her, pausing when I see one door shut. Did I check that one? I push it open just to make sure, only to see a red-haired little girl tucked into bed with moonlight flashing down on her as she looks at me, her bottom lip wobbling. She must be about five, maybe six years old. My heart drops when I see her little pale leg in a full plaster all the way up to her thigh.

“I can’t walk.” She sobs as I rush to her side. “What are you doing?”

The sounds coming from outside send a shiver down my spine and if they scare me, stars above, the little girl must be terrified.

“Do you like piggy backs?” I ask her softly.

“Y-yes, but you’re not…”

I turn around and sit on the edge of the bed, showing her my back. “Climb on and I’ll take you to the others.”

“But you’re not...”

I turn to look at her, frowning. “My name’s Verena and I am not leaving without you.”

Her eyes are so wide. “I know who you are. Everyone is talking about the pretty alpha and wants to meet her.” She tries to move, but she’s shaking, and it’s clear she’s in pain. “I can’t move… I’m really scared.”

I reach for her hand. “Hey, hey. Look at me. What’s your name?”

She sobs it out. “El-El-Elemence.”

“Well, Elemence. I’m scared too. But you know what? It’s okay to be scared sometimes especially when something big and scary is happening. I bet even Alpha Elias and Alpha Lazuri feel scared at times.” I squeeze her hand gently. “I bet you’d like to see your friends again, huh? They’re scared too, but don’t worry. My mates are the strongest, fiercest warriors ever known, and they’re out there fighting the mean fae king and are going to keep us safe. I just need you to climb onto my back. Do you think you can do that for me?”

She shakes her head and sobs again. I know she wants to come with me. She’s just too terrified to move. I don’t expect anything less from her. I was a scared child once too, and Mera was the one who helped me. Now it’s my turn to help.

“I know right now you are really, really scared, but I need you to be big and brave, okay? I’m not going anywhere. We can do this together.”

With a shaky nod, she reaches for me. I turn around again and wait for her to climb onto my back. She shuffles over and I help her onto my back. After hooking my arms under her thighs, I carefully make my way back into the corridor. Smoke blows through the front doors, which have been left open, and screams echo on the wind, followed by howls and loud bangs that make Elemence jump and cry again. I try to soothe her as I carry her through the doors. Outside in the street, wolves and fae scramble by, making their way to the evacuation tunnels. The heavy scent of death fills the air like smoke. It’s thick and foul-smelling.

“How did you break your leg?” I ask.

I need to distract myself as much as I need to distract her.

“I was playing kickball with some of the bigger boys. I was told not to, but it was really sunny and I really wanted to go outside.” We both cough as I climb down the steps leading onto the street, the thickness of the air increasing. “There is a boy who always hits the ball too hard, and he is really strong. He accidentally kicked the ball straight into my leg and broke it. I heard it crack.”

“Ouch,” I reply, trying to find a way closer to the evacuation tunnel, but there are so many people. “That sounds painful. You are a very brave girl, Elemence.”

She doesn’t say anything, but I can sense her thinking about something as I carry her through the chaos. In all the pushing, someone bumps against her leg, and she cries out. Fuck, this isn’t going to work. What was I thinking? I try to keep distracting her as I back away to the edge of the crowd, thinking about what to do next.

“When did you break your leg, Elemence?”

“A few days ago,” she sniffles, her arms tightening around my neck. “The pack healer said I need to be in plaster for two weeks before she can heal it. The healers said it’s not right to heal broken bones in any other way until you’ve shifted for the first time, and I haven’t yet. When they have naturally men… mended, they will heal it.” She keeps talking everything about healers and I pick up quickly that she must like them.

When she stops talking, fear choking her as much as me, I carry on, knowing that talking is the only thing distracting her from sobbing at my back. “Our pack had a healer too. Her name was — is Mera. She adopted me when I was a little girl. I was just like you once.”

“Like me?” There’s an air of awe to her voice.

“Yup. She’s helping get everyone to safety, and Mera is never scared.”

However, I can’t see Mera anymore, and that does make me a little scared. She’s not on top of the block, nor can I hear her commanding voice in the crowd bellowing out instructions. There are so many wolves, some of them shifted, and fae running about that finding Mera would be like finding a needle in a haystack right now. It’s just pure chaos and I need to get this girl to safety.

Think, Verena. Think.

Then it hits me. I remember Lazuri stating there’s an evacuation tunnel under every three blocks of the towers. I know that I can’t get anywhere near the one closest to me, not without risking serious harm to the child on my back, and quite possibly myself. But I think I could reach one of the other towers safely enough.

I head to the left, down the alleyway by the orphanage, my mind made up. Time to find out if I made the right decision. I stay in the shadows of the alleyway. Both of us fall quiet like the night sky while I mentally count every tower we pass, knowing there are three in every block. When I reach the ninth tower, I peer out the deserted alleyway and see the street is busy, but nowhere near as busy as the other one had been. I will find Mera on the ships. She must have started escorting everyone there.

On the other side of the street, I see the evacuation sign written in bold, red ink that now glows in the dark. The doors are wide open, light pouring in from the inside, and two wolves are running down the steps as I rush over. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find someone to take her, and then I can help more people. Alpha females defend and protect their pack. Always.

“What happened to your parents?”

Elemence whispers to me, “My parents both got sick with a cough that made them cough up red things and it never stopped. The pack got it around once before when I was born, but I survived. The healers told me I was immune and that my parents are watching me, loving me, from the stars above.”

My heart breaks for her. Being forced to endure trauma at such a young age… She reminds me of myself.

“I’m surprised no one has adopted you,” I say. “You are just so lovely.”

She giggles at my back, and it warms me to hear it. “You could adopt me.”

I chuckle, surprised it is even possible to smile at all at a moment like this. She is just as good at distracting me as I’m trying to be for her. “I don’t think you’d want that,” I say with another chuckle. “I have three big scary mates and they can be very annoying sometimes.”

We are halfway between the buildings, getting closer to the tunnel. So close to escaping and making sure she is safe. There are hardly any people around now. Most of them have gone down the tunnels and or left to fight. She whispers to me. “One of your mates is fae?”

I can sense it’s a question, so I nod. “Yes.”

“But the fae are attacking our pack?”

I blow out a breath, sweat trickling down my spine. She is getting heavy, but I’m not putting her down. “Yes, but those fae are not like my mate. I’m half fae too, you know. They’re not all bad. We’re not.” I remind myself of the last bit, knowing that I’m going to kill a lot of them to make sure this pack is safe if they come after us. I finally reach the top of the steps and I risk looking over my shoulder at her. “They’re people just like us. We’re all just people at the end of the day.”

“You should not lie to the little wolf.”

A cold voice echoes from the tunnel, pouring out from darkness within. It’s deep and powerful, matching the body that slowly emerges from shadows. The tall, imposing male drags two wolves with him, one of them black and the other white. Both of them dead, with their necks snapped and their fur covered in blood-stained crystal shards. He drags them by their front paws as he steps out of the tunnel, and I immediately back away from him.

I don’t need to know his name to know that the man standing in front me is none other than the fae king himself.

He looks a lot like Rune, only he’s much older. A black crown rests on top of his short dark hair, glistening in blood, and the same blood coats the rest of his body too, gleaming on his hands and face. Although he has the same olive skin and piercing green eyes as his son, I’ve never seen cruelty in Rune’s eyes like I do in the ones staring back at me now.

They’re not just cruel—they’re vicious.

Nothing but pure hatred swimming around in those depths.

He looks me up and down, and whatever he sees clearly does not please him. “Are wolves not supposed to be intelligent and protective of their packs?” He laughs, the nasty, bitter sound floating around my ears along with the racing of my own heart. “Of course we found your people in the evacuation tunnels. Such an easy way to slaughter you all while the rest of my army posed as a distraction. Now we will hold the front and exit. A good way to win a war, no?”

“No...” I choke out, feeling sick to my stomach as agonising screams echo from deep within the tunnel. From the sea. Fear lances into my heart. Everyone headed down there is in trouble and the Alphas—they don’t know.

The king cocks his head to the side, his black cloak blowing to his left side in the wind. “I knew those filthy mutts would send you into the tunnels. What a smart move for your Alpha mates... for my son. As if he accepted sharing you. Dirty whore.”

“Don’t speak to the Alpha female like that!” Elemence screams past my ear.

I tighten my grip on her thighs. The king only sneers at her. “I will enjoy killing you both but you…” He looks right at me. “The whore who caused my son to disobey me for the first time in his ungrateful existence. Oh, I am going to enjoy making you scream and beg for death in front of him. Your slow death will break the boy once and for all, and I’ll have him right back where I want him.”

I straighten my back, refusing to back down. He might be more powerful than me and older, but I won”t give in. I was not born to. “You’re not going to touch her, or me!”

Sliding Elemence down, I leave her on the ground behind me, even when every one of my instincts tells me not to leave her side. “Crawl to the building and do not look back,” I whisper to her.

She shakes her head, her eyes full of tears, but I can’t risk looking at her for more than a second. I haven’t had much time to practise my power, but I know with absolute certainty that the fae kind is not going to touch her. He won’t hurt anyone else here ever again. He drops the wolves to the ground like they’re nothing, like they’re just animals to him and not people he killed. I can’t see through my anger and grief for all the people he has killed here as his power explodes out of his fingertips. It looks like chaos, pure sparkling crystal black chaos. His magic is nasty, cutthroat, as it shoots through the air like an arrow looking for its mark. My own magic floods out of my hands in bright white waves, smashing against his.

—BOOM—

The bang of our magic colliding together sends crystal shards shooting in every possible direction. I scream as several of them slam against my body, cutting through the skin on my arms, my chest and my face, until my own blood sprays the ground beneath me. I hear the king roar in pain, too, and then I hear Elemence screaming out for me. He got hurt in that blast, but I know it’s worse for me. I fall to the floor as another wave of dark crystal magic hits me, slamming against my head, making the place spin. The king is on me within seconds.

He grabs me around the throat and lifts me off the floor and into the air. I struggle, gripping his hands, letting my power flow through me, but his magic counters mine and pushes it right back until we are at a standstill. Light and dark, like the wolves lying dead at our feet, so perfectly matched. Deathly matched.

“I am older than time, half wolf whore. How did you ever think you were going to defeat me?”

He pulls out my dagger, the one Elias gave me, and pierces it through my chest, between my ribs, and then, amongst the agonising pain, there is only darkness.

Beautiful, blissful, familiar darkness.