Page 32 of The Omega's Bloodline: Part One

A good portion of the altar was dedicated to Hecate. I’d been following her since I’d first dreamed of a woman made of starlight and heard her whisper her name to me in the dark.

“Hecate,” I whispered, “whatever this is…don’t let it take them from me.”

I pressed my palm against the smooth wood. My dad had built the altar for me when I’d asked for one as a teen. He’d worked as a carpenter for years and had taken the opportunity to carve tons of flourishes—leaves, flowers, even a snake coiling up one of the legs. Mom had been super into wood-burning art at the time; I still had several items on the walls that she’d done, and she’d burned in protective runes and other symbols I’dchosen before we did the final polish. It was far too big to take on the road and was the one item in my home I didn’t want to leave. All of the things my parents had left me were irreplaceable.

Grief closed off my throat. It hit me at random times that they were gone, and being forced to abandon the home they’d left me was dragging it all up to the surface. If whatever this was found us, if it wanted Seth or Caden, then this home wouldn’t be safe for them anymore. The refuge I’d welcomed them into would be a danger. If we couldn’t come back here, I’d have to leave my last connection to my parents to stay with Caden.

It was probably silly to worry about all of that now, but I couldn’t stop the thoughts from coming. I had no reason but sentimentality to stay where I was. I’d been working remotely since before Caden and I met so that I could foster kittens and be at home for them. I’d never lived anywhere except for this house, where the walls were steeped with memories.

A sob snuck out before I could silence it and Caden appeared in the doorway, instantly gathering me into his arms. I curled into his embrace, trying to ground myself with the heat of his body and the earthy scent that sank into my senses.

“I’m here,” he whispered against my hair.

A tiny paw tapped my knee, and I adjusted so Seth could climb onto my lap in his house cat form. Seth’s purr wasloud, and he shoved his little head under my chin, paws kneading my shoulders. I let out a hiccuping laugh and kissed his forehead, tucking tighter against Caden.

This was how things were supposed to be. Seth was supposed to be here with us.

Please let me come with you.

Caden’s low growl rippled through me. “Fuck no. You’re the reason we have to run in the first place.”

“Of course you can come,” I replied, cuddling him to my chest. “How else will I know you’re safe unless you’re with us?”

Caden tensed like he wanted to argue, but it wasn’t a fight he would win and we both knew it.

I can help. Seth rotated in my arms to lie like a baby.Better to have two guards than one, right?

“I guess,” Caden grumbled.

I’ll be good.

“I’m not even convinced you knowhowto be good,” Caden retorted.

Rude. Seth wriggled, stretching out his back leggies until every toe was separated and he looked up at me with enormous eyes.Toe stretch magic. You stopped crying.

Caden wiped away the lingering tears on my cheeks and settled more comfortably, dragging us both with him. “We don’t have much time left. If there’s anything left to pack, we should get it in the car. I don’t want to rush you, but?—”

“I know. I’ll be okay, just feeling a lot at the moment. Give me a few minutes and then we can go.”

Caden left me with Seth to pack up while he went around unplugging all of the appliances except for the freezer.

I tucked a star-shaped lepidolite into my bag alongside a handful of tiger’s eye and hematite.

Seth paw-tapped a bowl of dried hawthorn berries, flicking them like he couldn’t help himself.Bring these ones.

“Yeah?”

Can’t hurt.

Run, little star. The voice reverberated in my head, ancient and smooth as flowing water.

Run?

Seth didn’t seem like he’d heard the voice.

Urgency snaked up my spine, panic locking around my throat. What the hell?

Go. Now.

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