We always intended one day to do something about the split pack on the mountain. I just didn’t think it would be like this. We thought we had time to come up with a plan. We have to protect them, they’re part of us too, and we can’t watch them die when most of them had nothing to do with what Juan did to my family. Their only crime was staying behind. And the reasons for that are not a simple case of loyalty to father or son or even choosing a side.
“We have zero time to plan, to even think about this. It’s now… happening, and we can’t ignore it.” Colton lets it out, the stress he’s been holding, and sinks on the arm of my chair, where I automatically lean forward to rub my hand up his back to console him. My touch softens his rigid posture a tad, and he leans in to scoop my other in his and pulls it to his lap to cradle tightly. My touch is his harbor sometimes, even when I feel like he’s locked up inside his head.
“We have half a day…. We can rally what we need. Pack the trucks and sit at the mountain, waiting for dusk. Juan won’t attack us if vampires are invading. He’ll be too distracted, so we can focus on the people. Separate them…. Juan’s loyal from the rest. Maybe if we divide two camps and work our ass off to keep them safe, then Varro will do what he needs to do and realize we won’t back down.” Meadow is determined, and I nod numbly, seeing the logic in her words and daring to hope. If we stand up for them, not standing in his way regarding Juan, then maybe we have a chance. If his efforts are focused on one camp, he may leave ours alone.
“I think with me there…. With Carmen there… we might have a shot at swaying them once they take down all Juan’s men. Juan, they can have him. As long as they know he has to live, they can take him away so the rest can be free.” I chime in, knowing somewhere my words will hurt Colton, but he doesn’t react or look my way. It’s still his father, but he knows it’s what he deserves.
“No, they’ll torture him… if they do that, you will all feel it when he’s close to death. You’ll feel extreme pain. They can’t put you all through that.” Cesar is drumming it over while tapping his thumb on his leg, and Meadow gets up and goes to him. Wrapping her arms around his waist as he envelopes her and hugs her back. Pulling her onto his lap, she curls up tight and, for once, looks vulnerable in his arms. I’m so used to seeing strong, sexy Meadow that this sudden need for her mate’s reassurance and the coiling up in him makes me even more determined that I have to protect my pack. We’re all scared of the outcome, yet here I am…. with the means to end this. Simply existing.
“When will this all end? I feel like I’ve spent my life killing and fighting these damn creatures, and one day, I want to settle down and think about puppies. Half the sub pack is already retired because they have their own…I want to be like that one day too.” Meadow starts to cry, shocking us all with the show of tears, and without meaning to my eyes fly straight to Carmen, who glances away and bites her lip. I curse myself for the reaction, but any mention of babies, and I can’t help it. She’s the first thing I look at. Guilt sweeps over me, and I stare at my hand in Colton’s instead as the heat from my cheeks engulfs my face.
“We have to get through this…. I told you didn’t I, your papi will give you the best pups when life is more stable. Maybe this is the last hurdle. We have so much time left, Princessa.” Cesar leans in and kisses her gently on the temple, and I caress my stomach absentmindedly, catching Colton’s eyes moving to follow my motion, and a steely expression floods his face as his warrior side shows face. That stubborn air comes out of nowhere, and he stands up, letting go of me and stiffening aggressively.
“You know, screw this. You’re right. This is the last hurdle, and after…..a stable life to raise my kids. We just got to suck it up, do what we got to do, and then be done with this shit. All of it. The vampires, the feud with the mountain, my father’s shadow, living in fear…..it all ends if we do this right and sort this out tonight. I will hand my father to that vampire myself if I have to. In a cage, bound and gagged, if it means this ends, and we all get to walk away alive.”
My breath catches in my throat, and my pain aches with how he just came out and said it.
His kids.
In one little reaction, he told me what I’d been waiting to hear since he found out. He wants them that somewhere deep down, he’s accepted they exist, and he is ready to protect them. He was never one for emotional chats or opening up too much when it came to feelings. Especially when he was carrying so much else on his shoulders, so this is enough for me.
I get that happy, joyous reactions are a no, given our circumstances and the way he was fired with a multitude of facts in one go, but this tells me what I needed to hear. He is happy. He’s holding it in check until he can relax, knowing we’re safe and he can let out his feelings about the fact he’s going to be a dad. He can prioritize them when his responsibility to everyone else is dealt with. I know him well enough to see that this is what this is.
“With the vampires attacking, we can at least separate the ones not loyal to your father as he’ll be focused on saving his own ass anyway.” Matteo, who’s been thoughtful, cuts in and throws Colton a reassuring look that we got this, and we have nothing to worry about. He’s right too. Juan won’t care about the people, only himself. His attention won’t be on the valley or anyone that can’t shield him. His loyal will protect him and look to him alone while they let the rest die. It won’t be hard to see which wolves we should be there for.
“Darrius and the Lord are the only two vampires with any kind of real strength that we should fear, and neither will harm me. Darrius won’t even lift a finger. If he took only the strongest from the mountain and left behind the weak, then it’ll be tougher than what we just did, but not impossible. Wolves have defeated halflings before. We will again.” Carmen brings the voice of certainty out, somehow finding that inner fire I know is always within grasp, even when she wobbles. The quiet nods of agreement seal our fate, as we all understand and agree on what’s to come.
She seems somehow stronger in this second, determined, and there’s a look in her eye that tells me she isn’t about to go down without a fight. A moment hits me in the stomach, a tiny little tremor that had I never come back to Colton, I think she would have been a Luna in her own right. She maybe isn’t the warm and approachable Luna in the traditional sense, but maybe in time, she might have grown that way if she had felt secure in her mate’s love. She’s a warrior for sure.
“Witches are no longer an issue; my only responsibility is what the vampires first asked of me…. To get Lord Varro to give up this vendetta and return to where he belongs to begin learning to rule. I can achieve that tonight, and your people will see an end to a twenty-year fight once and for all. So, I’m coming and can offer a little protection where it’s needed.” Leyanne’s voice cuts in from the open doorway, surprising me, and I realize that despite her leaving, she didn’t actually go far, or she’s come back. She is lazing against the frame, seemingly bored and looking out of place in such a casual manner.
Despite not being sure about Leyanne, I feel we can rely on her, and trust is growing regarding which side she fights for. She doesn’t seem bad. She seems disconnected and lacks feelings, yet helpful because it suits her to be. She keeps people at a distance much like Carmen does and she has an aura that she doesn’t care too deeply, but I guess at three thousand years old she has cared about many and had to watch them die. Maybe the repeated loss of people growing old and fading around her made her not want to soften towards anyone anymore. I cannot imagine the loneliness of her existence at all, and I could forgive her lack of heart when I think that maybe she’s just bled one too many times.
“I guess we do this. Meds call an early meeting in the hall; we need to see what numbers we’re taking and prepare. Radar, you are the commander of Luna’s guard, and that’s what I need now. Form the ones you want to shield Lorey and my mom. Make sure they’re worthy. I don’t want any mistakes… she stays safe in this. They both do. Matteo, go sort out transport for as many of us as possible. The rest will have to travel on foot. We need a map of the mountain and a tactical plan of where we wait and where we launch an attack. That’s on you, Cesar. I have to see my mom…. Leyanne, you do what you need to do. We appreciate the help. I guess we now hope and fight and see where this ends.” Colton scrubs his fingers through his hair, his voice strong, but I can feel the tiredness in his tone, his fatigue obvious, and stress weighing heavily on him. This is what he was born to do, and I doubt anyone else would be able to do it the way he does. I know his father is sitting heavily on his mind because either way, tonight, Juan will be the focus, and finally, this will be over. It’s why he wants to see his mom because he knows as well as I do that she will want to be there whether he wants her to or not.
She was his mate; she is linked to his soul, and she has just as much right to hate him and want to see him suffer as I do. She lost a decade of her life as his silent prisoner, and her future is empty because of her bond to him. It’s only fair that she gets a chance to see him shackled and caged and led away by a species that will make him live in agony without death for as long as he breathes. She wouldn’t want to stay here and see everything she suffered for happening without her.
“There’s one thing… I have a possible solution to a problem of yours, Colton. Seems I do have a trick up my sleeve. I’ll have it ready by the time we need to leave. I just need to make a few adjustments.” She holds up a book she didn’t have with her before, and I guess it’s where she went. She got it from the grimoire library and returned because she found something. I eye her with interest and let my gaze sway to the leather-bound ancient book held loosely by her side, aware that no other witch has ever been able to get a book up from down there before. Another nod to her power.
“What solution to what problem? Colton blinks as he stares back at her, also flicking a glance at the aged book in her hand. Leyanne moves to leave, stops with a self-satisfied smile, and gestures toward me with a flourish.
“A life bound…. only mates should hold that power. The fates didn’t ordain it, but by magic’s touch and with magic’s breath, it can be undone, especially when the source is standing right here. Although I don’t think you want to tell your mother about it…. who knows what ideas she might get if her life no longer endangers yours?” She shrugs with one shoulder as my mouth falls open, and I gasp in realization at what she’s saying.
“You mean unbind me from Sierra? So that her death is no longer mine?” That means Juan’s death would not take us from this world… only Sierra.
My blood runs cold as I realize why she doesn’t think Sierra should know, and Colton looks instantly afraid. His mind went to the same place as mine and came to the same conclusion. To rid the world of Juan and to end her bleak future, she would sacrifice herself. Like she once did to ensure my survival. We both know Sierra would do it without hesitation and the sudden chill of Radar’s aura sweeps my way as his own emotion overwhelm the space with the same realization.