Page 109 of Locke

I inhaled, feeling the crisp air fill my lungs, and shifted my posture to face the tranquil lake. Gradually, his head emerged from the water, its sheer size obscuring the moon’s delicate glow and the fading wisps of clouds.

“I get it. But where the hell is Idris? He better be buried underneath a rock in the deepest part of the lake.” I spoke aloud.

Anaki’s large serpentine head looked back.“His heart stopped beating and I held him in my mouth, but he disintegrated. Is that how the fae die?”

I snarled and ran my claws through the fur between my ears. “I don’t know. We will have to speak to Bram. He knows more. Where is your mate, and her son?”

Anaki’s long forked tongue whipped across his lips.“Safe within my cave. Her grandmother ran off and said she must fulfil her destiny. I tried to stop her—”

I shook my head and held up my hand. “She fulfilled it. But, she is no longer with us.”

Anaki’s dragon slumped and turned away.“I failed her.”

“No—” I shook my head. “It had to be done. It was her destiny and I’m sure the Goddess will bless her in the afterlife.”

Anaki left me on the shore. I held my mate for a few minutes longer as I prepared myself for the aftermath. All that we have worked so hard for, I knew, would be gone.

The trek back was far quicker than I wanted it to be. All I wanted was my mate in my arms and a nest to hold her in. Her body was weak, her mind even more so and my rage was still brewing below the surface.

I would have to take care of my needs later, and the only solution seemed to be having sex with her. I was a simple male, but now that I was mated, I had to think of her.

As I approached the clearing, I knew I needed to assess the damage of the cabins and the packhouse, but first I took in the men and women that I once called a club—now formed as a pack.

As I looked around, the sight of many individuals, their bodies bleeding and fighting for their lives, was disheartening. However, there was a glimmer of hope as they were recovering, at a swifter pace than usual. The air was filled with the sound of murmurs, groans and the occasional gasp of pain. The scent of antiseptic and medicine lingered. Despite the progress, we still had a long and challenging journey ahead.

Grim sauntered up to me, Journey by his side, as always. “It was won as soon as the link was established.”

As I surveyed the cabins, a somber sight greeted my eyes. The vast majority lay in ruin, particularly the unclaimed ones,leaving behind a sense of time and energy. However, the true devastation unfolded before me as I approached the packhouse. The third floor, where I had painstakingly crafted my den in the past few days during my mate’s heat, and my rut, was fucking ruined. All efforts were in vain.

“My old sleuth will be here at dawn. They will help put it back together. They work fast, you know that.” Bear came up beside me and patted my back. “We can’t have our alpha and luna without a proper place to stay.”

Nadia placed a blanket over my naked mate’s body, and I nodded my head in thanks.

Any other time I believe I would have snarled and slashed anyone for looking at my mate’s body, but I had too many things on my mind.

My wolf was terribly silent—pacing inside me. He wanted more blood. He wanted Idris’ head. An unsettling feeling settled in my stomach.

Pack members continued to take the dead bodies of the enemy and put them into the fire. To my surprise, we didn’t lose manyif any. Sizzle was still counting, and Bones was patching up the wounded.

“Everyone did well, especially when the fae arrived. If we didn’t have them, I don’t know if we would have lasted until the link was established.” Hawke said. “That headache was so bad we couldn’t even shift.”

I continued to walk with my mate in my arms to survey the damage.

“Where were the fae, what happened with them?”

Hawke picked up a broken limb in our path and threw it into the forest. “Idris rounded them up, his men and witches had fire torches, and threatened to burn up the whole place. You know fae and nature. They don’t want to see nature suffer because of them.”

I hummed in agreement; spring and summer fae had a weakness for nature. Flooding or fire to any of their creations and they throw a fit. They must have realized they were outnumbered and under-prepared. Fae don’t have the muscle power, and they liked to plan strategically.

“There were magical cages just out of the camera’s view and the enemy locked them up so they couldn’t join the fight.”

“Sneaky bastard,” I mumbled under my breath. “So, who freed them?”

“Emm’s grandmother,” Hawke said in surprise. “Don’t ask me how.” He threw his hands up. “But she did.”

My mate groaned in my arms, and I sighed heavily. I needed to tend to her. “Anything else?”

“I think we can handle everything. Bones and Nadia are tending to the weak. The fae are helping with the cleanup. They are getting the forest to pick up shit.” He rubs the back of his neck. “The clubhouse is quiet. Are you going to take the luna back there? I can make an effort to keep people’s noise level to a minimum, until the cabins are rebuilt and the packhouse is somewhat livable.

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