Page 70 of Freed Wolfsbane

Malachi pushes up from his seat and braces his hands on the table. “You need anything from the five of us before we go make some calls?”

Vale makes eye contact with me. “I just need to speak to Bee for a moment alone.”

Glancing down, Malachi wordlessly checks with me to see if I’m fine with that. I give him a small smile and subtle dip of my chin. “Okay. We’ll be right outside when you’re done.” Bending down, he plants a hard kiss on my lips before he strides out of the dining room.

Saint, Xander, and Bastian each give me a kiss of some sort before they follow Malachi. I’m sure I have a dopey smile on my face. It always makes my heart feel all mushy when my mates can’t leave my side without kissing or hugging me.

Uncle Vale stands up and walks around the table. He offers me a hand, and I take it, letting him pull me to my feet. He starts for the door at the far end of the dining room.

Following him, I try to ignore the intense gazes of the enforcers. They’ve been staring at me like I’m the answer to all their prayers since they found out that Dido is reincarnated into me. It’s a ton of pressure, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m going to let them down.

Pushing open the door, Vale leads me into a bustling kitchen. The people inside are busy making all manner of snacks for the hungry shifters that are constantly coming and going through the mansion. In an hour or so, they’ll probably switch to cooking lunch for the mages and wolves camping out in the dining room.

We head out a door at the rear of the kitchen, and I’m surprised to walk out onto the patio. The late winter air is chilly, and the wind stings my cheeks. I hug my arms around myself, the crewneck I stole from Saint not doing much to keep the cold out.

It’s a short trip across the gray pavers to the retaining wall where Vale seems to love to have talks. He sits down and gestures for me to do the same.

Much less gracefully than Vale, I lower myself onto the stone wall and let my feet swing in front of me. “What did you wanna talk about, Uncle Vale?” I ask when the silence stretches.

My voice seems to startle Vale out of his thoughts. He runs his hand over his beard before turning to me, his piercing eyes, the same shade of navy as Malachi’s, seeming to stare into my soul. “I need you to promise me something.”

I’m nodding before I have a chance to think it through. “Of course. What is it?”

His mouth flattens into a grim line. “Storming the Knights’ stronghold will be messy, violent, bloody, and filled with death. No matter what happens or what you see, I need you to promise me that you’ll take care of yourself, my boys, and your mage above all else.”

My blood turns icy in my veins at his stark warning. “What do you mean?”

He puts his elbows on his knees and shoves his hands through his graying hair. “I mean that I need you to promise not to sacrifice yourself to save the other people on the battlefield. People are going to die, Bee, and it will all be for nothing if you jump in front of the first bullet or sword you see aimed at someone else.”

I gape at him incredulously. “You want me to just let people get hurt when I could help them?”

“No. I want you to focus on what will help them the most—breaking the curse. If you stop to help every single person who needs it, you’ll never reach the curse. The Knights will take you and my boys out before you’re even close. All of the lives we sacrifice will mean nothing without you fulfilling the prophecy.”

“What if I can’t?” I ask, the familiar doubt creeping in. That’s the thing about the prophecy, it says I’m the only one who can break the curse, not that I will break it. If I fail, there’s no one else who can do it. It’s a lot of pressure, and I find myself lying awake at night, worried that I don’t have what it takes.

Wrapping an arm around me, Vale enfolds me in a hug and pulls me into his side. “You can, Bee. You are the most powerful wolf I’ve ever met, and I have met many, many shifters in my life. You’re capable of amazing things. Just look at how you’ve united shifters and mages, and you’re uniting packs that rarely talk to each other all across the country. So very many people believe in you. With your mates by your side, I know that you can accomplish anything and everything you set your mind to.”

I close my eyes and lean into him, trying to absorb his belief in me, because the time for doubting is over. This is happening, whether I think I can break the curse or not. I absolutely refuse to let all these people put their lives on the line for nothing, so I have to believe that I can do this.

CHAPTER34

BRIAR

“How are you feeling about today, baby girl?” Malachi murmurs into my shoulder as he tightens his hold to crush me even further against his hard chest. His arms are wrapped protectively around my waist as he holds me from behind.

The five of us are standing near Vale and his betas as we observe the thousand people milling around a clearing about a mile from the Wyldhart keep. While there are a lot of wolves, there are also a ton of shifters I’ve never seen in person before, like jaguars, bears, lions, hawks, and even snakes. My exposure to shifters has been pretty limited, admittedly.

I can’t help the mildly crazed giggle that slips out when I process his question. “Terrified. You?” I’m not sure what else I’d feel when we’re only an hour out from leaving to attack a Knights stronghold that’s a million times more fortified than the facility they broke me out of.

He hums into my neck. “Worried about your safety. I hate you being in the line of fire. You’re the only one we’re bringing with us who doesn’t have a ton of training, so I’ll feel better once it’s all over with.”

I snort at that. “I may not have any training, but Dido can kick all of your asses in hand-to-hand combat. I’m not really worried about that aspect of it.” If I ever need to fight my way out of a situation, I have full confidence that Dido can take over my body and handle it expertly.

“Doesn’t mean we don’t worry about you,” Saint rumbles from beside me. He squeezes the hand he’s holding comfortingly. All my mates are touching me in some way, like they need reassurance that I’m still here. Xander’s holding my other hand, and Bastian’s sprawled out on the ground with an arm wrapped around my legs.

“Yeah, we’re all worried about you, pretty girl. That’s why we made sure to nab you one of the new bulletproof vests. That way, a bullet doesn’t sneak through one of the existing holes.” Bastian grins up at me, and I gape at him.

Jesus Christ.

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