Page 51 of The Wolf's Appetite
The silence that followed was broken only by the faint rustle of paper as maps were unrolled and the low rumble of voices. “The witch—Magdalena—who sacrificed herself for my Aisling… she told me something.”
Everyone’s attention snapped to me instantly.
“She said this was always meant tae happen—that we–her, me, my mate–were always meant tae be here, together, for this moment.”
“What the fook does that mean?” Tavish asked.
My other triplet, Caelan, leaned back against the wall, arms folded and expression stern. All the males with mates held the same expression–a mixture of worry and anger that their mates and children had been too close to danger.
A muscle in my jaw ticked. “She also said there’s magic in play older than anything recorded. No’ the kind of darkness our enemies usually dabble in. It’s something deeper. Feral. It’s fooking magic that can rewrite the world.”
“The covens are working round the clock trying to track it, but we are getting word it’s too thick, too dark. It’s unlike anything they’ve seen or dealt with before,” Da said, his voice tight, his expression even more so.
“Their dark magic is… alive.” My voice sounded faraway as I stared at the maps.
“Untilwe know exactly what we are dealing with, we’re fighting blind,” Kane muttered.
Sebastian nodded. “The wards are holding—for now—but they won’t hold forever.”
My wolf pressed against my skin, restless and snarling at the thought of another threat to my female. “So, what’s the plan?”
“The plan,” Cian said, “is tae keep the wards reinforced, keep the breach under constant guard, and work with every damned coven willing to stand beside us. But even then…” He trailed off, expression and voice grim. “If this magic is as dark as she says it is—we might no’ be able tae reseal it at all.”
His words–the truth in them–settled heavy in my chest.
“And I assume that fucking portal rip could possibly stay open indefinitely or even widen and let more of these motherfuckers through?” Adryan said.
Da’s voice was flat when he said, “Aye. And then it won’t just be the Leandrean we’re dealing with. Anything on the other side will have free passage to come through.”
For a moment, the room was heavy and tense with fear, anger, and confusion. My Lycan didn’t like the uncertainty, the threat to what this all was. Aisling was still upstairs. My family and the females and the children were safe for now. But if this gotany worse…
“I still donna understand what any of this has tae do with my mate and me and the witch,” I said, my voice like iron.
“No one fucking does,” Sebastian replied evenly.
Adryan broke the tension. “Until we have answers, we work with what we’ve got, and we work together. Wards, covens, constant patrols, and reaching out to all the otherOtherworldfactions for backup. We need all the alliances we can get right now.” He scrubbed a hand over his face.
I stepped up to the table, scanning the map one last time. “Then, we hold the line. And if this magic is as dark as they say…” My gaze swept over each of them. “Then we find something darker.”
It was a promise. Because whatever had been strong enough to make that breach and hold it open, it wasn’t finished.
33
AISLING
The estate had never felt this big before, this tense or strange.
I walked the halls, but they seemed too wide, too empty. The vaulted ceilings made me feel like there was no end, and I hated that I couldn’t just enjoy a place that I not only worked in but a place I considered like a second home.
It had been only a few days since everything had happened with the Leandrean. In that time, I’d gone through an array of emotions. Guilt was sitting heavy in me, knowing Magdalena sacrificed her life for me was difficult to digest. Why me? I never saw myself as someone special.
I’d only met the witch once, but there’d been this strange, underlying sensation that maybe we’d knowneach other before. Maybe in another life or another world?
I knew I could handle danger if I saw it coming. It was the unknown of it all that scared the shit out of me.
I inhaled deeply as I kept wandering. Lennox was gone most of the day anymore, planning the next course of action, figuring out what the fuck was going on. At night, we spent our time together in bed, naked and sweaty, and just relished the fact we had each other.
I held him so tight it was hard to breathe, afraid something would pull us apart.
