My blood boiled as Xavier recounted the devastation that he had witnessed at the Vampire Kingdom.
Now, there was definitely no question as to how brutal—how ruthless—the demons were willing to get.
They had swiftly wiped out the ruling class of vampires and were sure to come after werewolf royalty next. Without a leader, the surviving vampires would all retreat into hiding.
Lasarus might try to take me as his crown jewel or kill me for good measure.
I didn’t want to find out what he had in mind, and every moment spent worrying about it was just buying the demons more time to put my worst fears into action.
But there was one thing that did bother me: the companion that Xavier had brought back with him from the Vampire Kingdom.
I couldn’t shake her sad, doe-eyed expression from my mind.
When Xavier and Renee had retreated from our quarters, leaving me and Keith alone again, I voiced my concern.
“She is the daughter of a man who tried to mate with me, and then tried to kill me,” I said. “She was just attempting to form an alliance with demons.”
“Renee was desperate,” was Keith’s shocking reply. “She fell into a leadership role before she was ready. I’m not going to blame her for doing whatever she could to keep her people alive.”
“Including fraternizing with our biggest enemy? I really thought you would be more hesitant to have one of Samuel’s children under your roof. We don’t know anything about her.”
“Xavier believes in her. That’s all I need to know,” he said bluntly.
“Really? That’s all?”
“Listen Belle,” he said, softening his tone. “You’ll realize this soon but ruling over a group of people is the loneliest job in the world. Finding someone loyal is impossibly rare.
“But Xavier would risk his life for me. I have to trust that he would never do anything to put me or you in danger.”
I exhaled. I never liked to compromise, but Keith seemed so sure and steady in his conviction. I would have to follow his lead on this one.
Besides, we had bigger things to worry about. We were preparing to leave at nightfall, but as of now, we had nowhere to go. Werewolves are not particularly inconspicuous creatures.
Between the howling and the running, it would be difficult to conceal several packs of werewolves without leaving an obvious trail for demons to follow.
But there was one place I had in mind with enough magical protections to hide all the wolves from the demons’ prying eyes. After some thought, I decided it was our only viable option.
The only problem: I just wasn’t sure if we were welcome there.
When Belle knocked on the door of my guest room, I already had a feeling about what she wanted from me. And sure enough, my suspicions were correct.
Within moments, she was kneeling at my feet. “Can the werewolves hide out in the coven?” she asked. “Please, Tessa?”
Just because I had expected the question, didn’t mean I had decided upon an answer.
The coven was not just my home.
Suspended in a delicate balance, somewhere between space and time, Wiccan covens contain all the secrets of the universe in their construction.
Mine was built with magic I hadn’t yet been able to fully understand, and I was entrusted to protect it.
Inviting in a bunch of werewolves, with demons in hot pursuit, seemed like a surefire path to the coven’s destruction.
Belle could tell that I was hesitant, but she wasn’t prepared to give up.
“Listen,” Belle said to me, “we just need to buy ourselves a little bit of time. I need to learn how to harness my powers, and you need to figure out how to seal the portal. We can help each other.”
“Allying with werewolves is one thing, Belle,” I said. “Living with them is another.”
I thought of a compromise that might put this whole issue to rest. “You and Keith are welcome to stay as long as you like.”
But Belle shook her head ferociously. “I refuse to leave behind my people.”
“By blood, I’m a demon-witch,” was Belle’s reply.
“But in my heart,” she continued, “I will always be a werewolf. My parents are wolves. My mate is a wolf. I’m not leaving them behind to die. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I did.”
Under her gaze, my resolve began to shatter. She was right. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, knowing that innocent souls were at risk because of my own selfishness.
And at the end of the day, I needed the werewolves as much as they needed me.
“I will leave now and ready the coven for your arrival,” I said.
Belle jumped up and pulled me in for a warm, sweet hug. It felt right. I just hoped I wouldn’t come to regret my decision later.
It was time to get moving.
I called another meeting, this time just with the Alphas.
Pulling out a map of the surrounding area, I assigned each pack to a different region of the forest. If we spread out, it would diffuse the werewolf scent while we waited for night to fall.
At that time, we would all make our way to the perimeter of the woods and run as a group to the meadow that contained the entrance to the coven.
Our plan began at twilight.
Belle and I left the palace with just the clothes on our backs and a few other essentials.
When we reached the edge of the forest, Belle turned around and looked at my castle one last time.
But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I needed to operate with the full faith that I would return here soon, with my mate in my arms.
Believing in that future wholeheartedly made goodbyes unnecessary.
We ran for a few minutes until we reached the northern quarter of the forest. I picked this hiding spot for us out of my memory.
In my childhood, I had found a beautiful old oak with a large hole dug into the trunk, and I was relieved to see that my favorite tree was still standing.
I lifted Belle into the cavern and climbed in after her. The gap in the tree trunk was much smaller than I remembered, and Belle needed to sit on my lap to make room for both of us.
It’s true, we were in the middle of an escape plan. And yes, our lives were hanging in the balance.
But that didn’t make the feeling of my mate’s ass on my crotch any less enticing.
I lifted my hips into hers to let her know that I was thinking of her. She sat deeper into my crotch, moistening the seam of my pants in response.
I wished I could stop time, undress her, and make a new, X-rated memory in this tree trunk.
But there was no time. The last of the light was disappearing.
Protected by the cover of night, we took off again, toward the agreed-upon meeting point…toward an uncertain future.
When the troops were gathered, it was my turn to take the lead.
Keith had navigated to the coven last time, but now he was going to take the rear. He wanted to fight off any demons that might have caught wind of our plan.
“Are you sure you remember how to get there?” he asked me, new lines starting to form in his face.
“Yes, I can do it,” I said. I sounded way more confident than I felt. He didn’t need to know that.
I tried to kiss his worry away, but that was an impossible feat. I knew he didn’t want to be separated from me, but we didn’t have a choice. And we needed to start running now. Tessa would already be waiting at the portal to the coven.
I kissed Keith one more time for good measure. “See you on the other side,” I said.
He nodded back to me. “See you on the other side.”
And just like that, I shifted into my small wolf form and took off, my parents and brother directly behind me.
The rhythmic thumping of their paws hitting the ground gave me the courage I needed to forge ahead through the darkness. The rest of the wolves followed behind them in perfect step.
It didn’t take long until we reached the wide ravine that stood between the forest and the meadow.
I felt a familiar chill rush down my spine, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
I slid down the side of the ravine and bounded across the gorge.
Sharp rocks cut into my paws, making them bleed. I cried out in pain but didn’t slow my pace. I just kept moving one foot in front of the other until I finally saw her.
Tessa was standing next to the black, swirling portal with a smile on her face, bless her.
I turned around and spotted a demon looming in the distance.
In seconds, I transformed back into my human form to speak.
“Jump in!” I screamed to the wolves that were skidding to a stop behind me. “NOW!”
