Page 91 of Blood Sacrifice

We reached the car in time for me to watch what was being sent to the secure channel on my phone. Luna leaned over my shoulder to watch the drones moving through the darkness in the tunnels.

“Those are too big to be tunnels,” Luna said. “They are corridors leading to an underground village.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention while I watched the drones move until they entered a large cavern, revealing a large habitation area with an open fire, and a domiciliary area to the side that had cubicles for people to sleep.

“It reminds me of where we lived during my service to the Empire,” I said. “We didn’t have homes, but small areas big enough to sleep and nothing more. Many didn’t even have anything to sleep on.” It seemed that those ruling this side of the war hadn’t evolved much, but then those in power rarely saw life from the point of view of those beneath them.

Luna’s hand curved around mine, her head resting on my shoulder. Her presence soothed the rage my wolf felt at the memories accosting us, calming him effortlessly. I watched the images on the screen, pressure building in my chest as the drones found an area where they kept prisoners, their bodies and spirits broken. The network continued down a series of tunnels, each stretching out into an open area some for magic users to live in and some for lycan guards. It must have taken them decades to hollow out this place, slowly forming a civilisation on top of this to hide what was under the ground.

“You need to be careful,” Luna said in a low tone, and I turned my head to stare at her. It was only then that I realised my claws were fully out and my canines lowered. Everything looked too bright, which meant my eyes were glowing.

“I’m not leaving you,” I muttered.

“Yes, you are,” Luna said. “Our paths diverge here. I need to follow the one that leads to the volcano because there is a mystery there connected to void magic. You need to do what you excel at, and that is saving lost souls.” She lifted our joined hands to her lips and kissed the top of my wrist.

“We promised to stay together,” I replied, already knowing I wouldn’t win this argument.

Luna shook her head slowly, her eyes filled with sadness even though love shined brightly in them. “You will never forgive yourself if you don’t try and save those who are enslaved down there. This is the last step on my journey, and there are those who have walked beside me who are waiting for me at the end. Mother priestess and Cybele will be watching over me and guiding me.”

I growled and glanced away. The only one who should be protecting my mate was me, my wolf didn’t trust anyone else because no one would ever love her the way we did.

Her hand tightened around mine. “We need to meet the others and split off into teams.”

I spun so quickly that her eyes widened and mouth opened in an O shape. My hand that she had been holding curved around her throat and I tilted her head back. “You are mine, Luna. I don’t care about fate or prophecies, all that matters is that you survive. Anyone touches a black hair on your head, and I will submerge them in a world of pain and misery until they can’t remember their own name.”

Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, and I memorised every tiny nuance that created the woman whoowned my worthless heart. I leaned forward, my lips brushing against hers in a tantalising silent vow. No matter what happened, I would find Luna and claim that happy ending that eluded us the last time. I had served my time trying to save my people and those who lived on this land, and we deserved some peace and happiness.

My organisation may have been spellbound, but the vast network that Luna was part of had been operating in the shadows undetected for years. All of our safehouses and businesses were known, but it seemed that they owned buildings across the globe to ensure the safety of their people wherever they were.

I wasn’t sure whether I should be impressed or terrified at the sheer size of the structure that could accomplish that sort of dominance.

Their building was on the outskirts of the city in an area that wouldn’t be frequented much by tourists. I felt the familiar touch of Luna’s magic as I approached the building pressing against my skin as I drove through the enchantment cloaking this place. Behind the charade was a bustling hive of activity, which was hidden from prying eyes. Soldiers in full battle attire moved rapidly to load up vehicles or congregate into groups ready for a command.

I parked the car, gripping the steering wheel and staring straight ahead. “Take no risks,” I said, fighting the urge to stick the car in gear and drive far away from here.

Her small hand landed on my thigh. “We both have a role to play, and then we are going to travel the world together and see all the miracles of nature that I wished you had been there to witness with me.”

I nodded once, not daring to speak again as I swallowed my emotions. The man who stepped out of this car was a cold-blooded killer, the man sitting here was a lover and mate. Thosetwo sides warred inside me, my wolf howling the loudest in the competition. He didn’t care about the upcoming war, his entire focus on our mate and our baby she was carrying. Nothing else mattered.

“I want that, too,” I replied in a low voice, knowing all the magical creatures here had heightened hearing, and my relationship was off limits to them. My fingers found Luna’s, my touch saying all the words that I couldn’t vocalise right now, my grasp crushing hers. I felt her fingers contracting to return my sentiment.

These were the last few moments of the calm before the storm, and I sat in silence drinking in her presence. It wasn’t enough, but then a thousand years wouldn’t be.

My phone rang, breaking through this private moment. My eyes met Luna’s and I lifted her hand to my lips to press a kiss to the pulse point on her wrist before I climbed out of the car. The man who emerged from the car had all his emotions locked down as I became the cold-blooded killer I needed to be to lead my pack.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Luna move across the courtyard toward where the magic users were gathered. Jethro exited a door, his phone in his hand, walking in my direction when he saw me.

“I was just ringing you,” he said, pointing at me with his phone. “One of our buildings has just been attacked. Tarrack’s motion alarms were activated and he was able to watch them.” We had evacuated a lot of our properties and our men are either here or in another secure location that Aisha doesn’t know about.

Luna’s organisation had been a shocking discovery. It had been spreading across the globe when none of us had been looking. This network wasn’t about domination, it was aboutsupport and protection, and the world of creatures needed that as humanity spread across the globe. We were stronger together.

“Did they get anything?” I asked, walking into the coolness of the building.

“No, all our technology is in offsite underground storage facilities. We swept the compounds when we left.”

Balor had lycans in his ranks who could track our scents, so we cleansed our bases regularly through the air conditioning system when they were empty.

Tarrack was already set up, surrounded by a wall of monitors, his fingers moving rapidly over the keyboard in front of him. Images flared to life on more monitors behind him when he noticed me, and I witnessed the moment our facility was raided.

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