You couldn’t really ever prepare for war. You were never really ready to risk your life and rush into battle willing to kill someone. There was a deep place inside of all of us, that place where the fight or flight response came from, that prepared you as much as it could, but you had to push yourself the other half of the way. I stood at the open gates of Paladin Village, bringing myself the other half of the way, readying myself for war, where anything was possible.
Marmal had just shown up with over two hundred troll volunteers, all ready to defect from Troll Village, which was currently battling a famine, and live in Wolf City once we restored it. Sawyer had agreed that the future of Wolf City was a shared space where everyone who helped to liberate it was welcome. Witch, troll and werewolf, both Paladin and city, would live in harmony and create a new future that was hopefully unbreakable.
“I’ll go in the front lines with the trolls as they disarm the vampires of their technology,” Walsh said, snapping me from my thoughts.
Sage and Walsh had been slipping each other awkward glances, and I knew they still hadn’t talked about whatever it was that was still between them. Now just wasn’t the time.
“Willow and I will accompany the women and children into the bunker,” Arrow said, Willow standing beside him with Daisy slung in a cloth pouch around her neck.
Sawyer and I nodded at them both.
Rab stepped forward. “Eugene and I will lead our army behind the trolls and decimate the vampires with fist, teeth, and bow.” He grinned, looking feral, and I felt so much pride. My pack was wild and fearsome and un-fucking-stoppable.
“Sage, Sawyer, Creek, and I will be in the Dark Woods, awaiting the queen’s arrival,” I said.
It felt slightly cowardly to just go and hide in the woods while a war was being fought, but we’d explained to the pack what our plan was and everyone agreed that if we could just take out the queen, the mastermind, we could end this war. Her son Vicon was dead, her husband the king was dead thanks to Walsh, and if I could bring her down it would throw the entirety of Vampire City into an uproar. Cause them to mourn and shut down for thirty days just like Luka said. In that thirty days, we would strengthen our borders and secure our land.
“And I,” Luka addressed the crowd that stood in front of the Paladin gates, “will lure Psycho Auntie through Paladin Village and into the Dark Woods, where she will meet her untimely death.”
The crowd cheered and I grinned at his term, Psycho Auntie. I had to admit, Luka had grown on me … for a vampire.
“Alright, say your goodbyes!” I yelled to the crowd. “We will celebrate when this is all over.”
Sawyer nodded. “I owe my wife a proper wedding and you’re all invited!”
That got some chuckles and cheers. It was amazing how at ease the city wolves were with the Paladins now. Coming here to this land had bonded them and taken the stress off of the two tribes who’d been pitted against each other for centuries.
A male city wolf worked his way through the crowd, as warrior women hugged their children goodbye and husbands their pregnant wives.
He looked so familiar but I couldn’t place him. It took me a moment. He was the werewolf representative for the freeloaders, or whatever the hell they called themselves.
He tipped his head to me. “We would like to help, if you can use us.” He held a samurai sword in one hand and a sharpened spear in another.
Well, well, look who finally had taken a side. Instead of gloating, which I really wanted to, I returned the nod. “You and your people can go with Rab and help fight in Wolf City.”
He nodded his head in understanding and then disappeared into the crowd, a small contingent of people following him.
Sawyer looked confused so I said, ‘I’ll tell you later.’
When I turned, my mother and father were standing there with Sawyer’s mom. Creek was asleep in my mother’s arms; her eyes were filled with tears. “Are you sure I can’t take him with me into the bunker?”
Sawyer shook his head. “We need to stick together. The queen will exploit any weakness, and we can’t leave that to chance.”
My mom tearily handed Creek over to Sawyer, who slipped him into a sling that Willow had given him. Seeing a shirtless, heavily tattooed male wearing your child was basically the hottest thing ever. Pulling my attention away from my sexy husband and child, I stepped over to my mom and dad and let them pull me into an embrace.
My mom burst into tears, shaking against me as I tried to calm her by patting her back.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” I told her.
We wanted this to be quick. And whether we won or lost, I thought it would be.
After a lot of tearful goodbyes, Arrow and Willow set out under the cloak of darkness to hide our people who couldn’t fight in the bunker. That was nearly half of our force, but still left us with a little over ten thousand warriors.
As we waited, I started to get nervous about how all the pieces of the puzzle would work.
I pulled Sawyer aside and took in his stressed appearance. He looked tired. His hair was messed up in a cascade of dark strands that fell across his forehead. I could sense the anxiety between our imprint. He wasn’t sure this was going to work, and neither was I.
I couldn’t be sure of anything anymore, but we had to try.
I reached up and smoothed his hair. “I just wanted to tell you that I love you and you owe me a new wedding ring.” I kept it light and he smiled, seemingly grateful that I didn’t go too deep or try to say goodbye.
“I love you too, Demi, and I owe you a lot of things.” Leaning in, with Creek pressed between us, he placed a kiss to my lips, causing an ache to form in my heart. We’d been through so much together, I just wanted a happily-ever-after. Was that too much to ask?
I was about to say something else when a searing pain sliced up my back and I cried out, falling to my knees.
“Demi!” Sawyer yelled.
I screamed, the pain reaching epic levels as I felt a pull of power from my wolf.
No.
‘I’m so sorry I left you,’ I sobbed as the pain wracked my body in waves. What were they doing to her? I couldn’t sense anything but agony.
‘It’s … okay,’ she huffed out, and I knew in that moment that the queen had just fed off my wolf. I just knew it.
‘Where are you?’ I asked, sending out my sensations to try to see where she was, but the brief link to my wolf was quickly gone, clamped down as if she’d been torn away. They’d recuffed her. The queen had removed her cuffs, fed on her, and then locked her back up.
“Demi?” Sawyer was on the ground, looking me in the eyes while he cradled Creek with one hand.
I whimpered, wiping my upper lip with the back of my hand. I’d broken out in a cold sweat from the sudden pain.
“I’m okay,” I said. “My wolf … the queen fed from her … but I’m okay.”
He frowned, not looking as shocked as I expected, and helped me to stand.
I didn’t know how she knew, but the queen knew we were on the move. Just like Luka said, she would be “juiced up” on my essence and ready to throw down.
We spent the next half hour getting the mounted warriors onto their steeds and in battle formation. They would be the front line, right after the trolls. I anxiously awaited word from Arrow and Willow, but I didn’t want to pry and distract them. Sneaking this many people into Wolf City in the dead of night, when the vampires were most active, was no small feat. If everything lined up right, we would attack just at daybreak, when the vampires were weary. Not one of us would sleep tonight. No, our reward of sleep would come tomorrow morning.
If we were still alive.
An hour ticked by and everything was in place. The trolls, the front wave of warriors riding horseback; second wave with spears, bow and arrow; and then the snipers bringing in the rear. We had to assume the witches would use magic to disable the guns, but we were as ready as we would ever be.
Maybe we stood a chance.
‘Okay, everyone’s in the bunker, awaiting your all clear to come out,’ Arrow said.
Relief washed through me. They made it.
‘If this goes south, and we lose … if I don’t make it and Sawyer doesn’t make it … take everyone into Spokane. I don’t care what the hunters say.’
He was silent.
‘That’s an order, Arrow. Everyone to Spokane if this fails. The vampires will lay waste to Paladin lands next. Promise me.’
‘Okay. Fine. We go pretend to be human if we lose. Got it,’ Arrow countered.
Next, I gave the go-ahead for Marmal and her trolls to move out. Marmal rode Pearl like the badass warrior that she was. They were a sight to behold.
“I want to go with them,” I told Sawyer, who stood beside me, rocking on the balls of his heels with Creek on his chest.
“I know. Me too. But we have to focus on the queen. It’s what I didn’t do before,” he said.
The trolls moved quickly into the woods, ready to disarm the vampires. Then Rab and Eugene were standing before us.
“We’re ready to follow,” Rab told me, thousands of warriors at his back. They stood there, battle ready and wearing expressions of strength and determination.
“I’ll bring up the rear,” Eugene stated, sitting aloft on a jet-black horse. Gone were the helicopters and Land Rovers. This war would be won the old-fashioned way. The Paladin way.
The horses whinnied as if they could sense the impending conflict.
“Go,” I commanded.
‘Good luck,’ I sent out to my entire pack.
Heads nodded in my direction and then they were off. Rab kicked his horse with his heels and thousands of warriors rushed into the forest.
As Rab and Eugene took off into the woods, the sky started to pinken, throwing swirls of orange as dawn arose.
Something bothered me about hiding in the Dark Woods and leaving it to Luka to be the bait. I wanted to make for damn sure that the queen found me. This whole plan hinged on her.
“Luka, are you sure your aunt will follow you?” I asked. I wanted to kill that woman more than I’d wanted anything in my life.
He shrugged. “Pretty sure.”
That wasn’t good enough for me. I turned to Sawyer. “Trust me?”
He raised one eyebrow. “Yes…”
I nodded. “Good. I’ll be back in a bit. Be ready to roll out when you see me.”
He frowned. “I don’t want you going anywhere alone.”
I looked at the tall vampire covered in tattoos. “I’m not. You’re coming with me.”
Luka looked surprised, and then at Sawyer as if asking for permission. Sawyer pinned his friend with a glare. “Hit on her and die.”
Luka grinned, the points of his teeth extending. “Hey, I look but never touch.” He held up his hands in a gesture of submission.
Sawyer’s eyes flashed yellow. “Look and die.”
Luka chuckled, stepping forward and clapping Sawyer on the back. “You alphas and your possessiveness over women, I’ll never understand it. You have my word, friend. I’ll treat her like she’s my sister.”
That seemed to calm my husband. Sawyer’s eyes flashed back to blue and he gave Luka a curt nod.
Now that the rules had been established, I started to jog out into the forest as Luka zoomed beside me using his vampire speed. “What’s the plan, blondie?”
I shook a finger at him. “No flirting!”
He grasped his chest in mock horror. “I’m commenting on your hair color.”
“No pet names,” I scolded him gently. I wasn’t really mad, but I could smell the testosterone and charm coming off of this guy, and it was thick. He’d probably lured hundreds of women with that shit and I had a man, one I was perfectly happy with.
He just gave me a halfcocked smirk, but nodded, keeping pace with my jog easily. “Demi, alpha of the Paladin, what do you require of me?” he asked formally, which only caused me to snort laugh. When I reached the halfway point between Paladin Village and Wolf City, I stopped, catching my breath.
“I’m going to do something, something I know for sure will lure the queen, and then you bring her the rest of the way into the Dark Woods.”
He raised one eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “And what is that?”
“I’ve done this before.” I pulled out the tiny sterile needle Raven had given me and pricked my finger, letting a fat drop of blood bead at the tip.
Luka swayed, his nostrils flaring as he grasped the tree trunk near him. “Dear God, woman, that smells like cotton candy. You’re so lucky I just fed.”
I just shook my head and reached out, smudging the drop onto the tree trunk Luka held. He leapt backward ten feet, startling me.
“Don’t wave that liquid heroin in my direction,” he growled, his voice predatorial. Maybe I should have thought this through more.
I winced. “Sorry.” Squeezing my finger again, I let one more drop form, and then dripped it onto a leaf that rested on the forest floor.
Luka grabbed his mouth. “Holy hell, my mouth is watering. Can we be done with this?”
I tried not to smile but I couldn’t help it. Sucking my finger into my mouth, I licked the blood drop off and nodded. “All done. She will come now.”
He nodded. “If I don’t lick every red blood cell off of that leaf, she will.”
“Don’t you dare!” I yelled at him.
He rolled his eyes. “I’m kidding. Get out of here. She’s fast. She’ll only be maybe thirty seconds behind me. Get to the Dark Woods.”
He was right. It was time to scram. “Thanks for everything,” I told him.
He just pinched his nose shut and waved me away. Ripping off my cuffs, I used my vampire speed to zoom back into camp, where Sage, Walsh, Sawyer, and the baby were waiting.
“Let’s go!” I told them, slipping the cuffs back on.
Sawyer picked up the pack we’d filled with things for Creek and we set off with Sage and Walsh beside us at a brisk jog.
Sawyer looked sideways at me. ‘Did he flirt?’
I felt the slight spike of jealousy and had to keep the grin off my face. ‘He was a perfect gentlemen.’ When he wasn’t lusting after my blood, I wanted to add.
‘That would be a first,’ Sawyer half chuckled into my mind.
We jogged so fast into the Dark Woods you could almost call it a run. I wanted everyone settled in the cabin before the queen and Luka arrived.
The moment we crossed the threshold of the Dark Woods, Sage whimpered. My eyes snapped to hers and then I followed her gaze.
Fuck.
She’d stepped on a nail! There, on the ground, was a piece of wood with a freaking nail poking out. The whimper turned into a wail as she pulled her foot up and the nail yanked out of it.
“Holy hell.” Walsh moved to help her, but she put out her hand.
“I told you the woods were cursed!” she snapped at him. “And I don’t need your help. I’ve done fine on my own this past year.”
Walsh’s face crumpled into pain, but then he nodded. Okay, that was only slightly awkward. These two were going to have to just have their big fight; otherwise they wouldn’t be able to move on.
Sawyer looked down at Creek, who was fast asleep in his little sling on his chest, and placed a kiss on his forehead. Then he pulled the sling over his head, and holding Creek’s butt, passed him off to Sage. “Here, maybe if you hold him, the … curse or whatever won’t hurt you.”
He was right. We’d discovered this over our time here, and it was a nice gesture even though my son was essentially being used as a shield.
She nodded, taking Creek and limping forward. “Let’s go!” she snapped, angrier than she probably should be. Her now bleeding foot, Walsh, being back here in the killer woods … I think it was all getting to her.
Sawyer and Walsh followed closely at my side as we ventured farther in. The trees were still in the path I remembered when we’d left, a wide, diagonal, five-foot row that led right to the cabin. They hadn’t moved, maybe because I’d shown myself worthy. Whatever the cause, I was grateful. Slipping through the path at a hurried pace, we all stopped when a twig snapped just behind us. Sawyer was bringing up the rear, so when I turned I was the first to see the giant bear a mere two feet from my mate.
“No!” I snapped, walking right up to the bear and slipping off my cuffs quickly. Now that I had dealt with him twice, I had less fear of him. “They are just here for protection, and will be gone soon. Don’t harm them.” I pushed the compulsion power into my words and the bear took a step backward.
‘Whoa,’ Sawyer said through our bond.
“Go on!” I screamed at the bear. We didn’t have time for this.
The bear gave me a long look before he turned, sniffed the ground, and then took off running as I put the cuffs back on.
I spun back around to see Walsh and Sawyer watching me with shocked expressions, while Sage just looked amused.
“I miss the cabin. Come on!” Sage said, and ran with Creek down the rest of the path, limping. The boys shook out of their stupors and followed her. The moment the trees opened up onto the log cabin where I’d spent the last year of my life, I had to swallow down a sob. This cabin had saved my life, my sanity. I had my son here. This was home in a way that was hard to explain.
“Is that it?” Sawyer’s voice held a reverence to it. I’d told him all about the cabin. He knew this place was special to me.
I nodded.
He looked impressed. “It’s cute.”
That brought a smile to my lips, as Sage and I ran giggling to the meadow that held our former home. The tubers she’d been cutting when I’d told her I knew how to get us out of here still lay shriveled on the ground in the same spot.
Slipping into the hut, I looked around and couldn’t help but smile at the familiarity. The clay pots, the rabbit fur pelts, Creek’s bassinet, everything was so heartbreakingly recognizable.
“You girls lived out here all alone, hunting and fishing and having a baby?” Walsh sounded shocked. Maybe he thought we’d had running water or solar like the Paladin village.
Sage nodded, pointing to the adjoining room I’d built. “I delivered Creek right in there.”
Sawyer moved past us, stepping into the room, and dropped to his knees to press his open tattooed palms onto the flat ground.
“I wish … I could have been there.” His voice was growly.
Sage set Creek on my bed and then started to rummage around, arranging the pots how we liked them and cleaning up like it was any old day.
Sawyer suddenly stood, striding over to me, and pulled my face to his with his giant hands. “I can’t let anything happen to you or Creek … and I find myself wondering if you can take on the queen yourself.”
I frowned. I’d been expecting a pep talk. He didn’t believe in me. “You don’t think I can?”
Sawyer shook his head. “It’s not about that, it’s about the what ifs. What if she’s more powerful than you? You said she fed from your wolf. What if she brings twenty vampires? What if they kill us and take Creek?”
Shit. Now he was just scaring me.
I swallowed hard. “I … I have powers—”
“So does she now! She’s feasted on your wolf like the bloodsucker she is and now she can do what you can do … and maybe more.”
Fuck. He was right.
“What do we do? It’s too late to retreat or—”
Sawyer pulled my lips close to his, hovering just over them. “Do you trust me?”
“Always.” I didn’t even hesitate.
“Take off your cuffs,” he directed, and I frowned.
Reaching up, I took off my cuffs, ever aware that Sage and Walsh were watching us like hawks. He still held my face in his hands, and the second the cuffs slipped from my wrists, I felt a tug at my power. Fear spiked through me as Sawyer’s eyes flashed yellow, and he leaned forward, inhaling.
What the…?
Blue mist, much like that day we first kissed, leaked from my mouth as Sawyer pulled my power into him. It was like he was a vacuum and I was helpless not to be sucked up into his force.
I was so confused about what was happening until it hit me like a ton of bricks. Sawyer was feeding off my essence so that he could help take on the queen. With the two of us sharing this power, we would definitely stand a chance.
I opened myself to him then, as a rush of blue mist lit up his face and his veins glowed with it.
“That’s enough!” Sage yelled. “You might weaken her!”
Sawyer broke away, gasping as he looked at his hands as if he didn’t recognize them. “Holy shit, I feel it.”
“Cuffs on?” Sage, ever the mother figure, rushed to hand them to me.
I shook my head. “Let her come right to me.”
It was time to end this war, this hunt, this queen. I wasn’t going to live the rest of my life being chased across the Magic Lands by this bitch who was hellbent on stealing my power.
