Edward POV
I storm down the stairs and see my family waiting for me. Even that motherfucker, Billy. I can't stop myself when I see the iron rings shining on his fingers. The stupid asshole didn't even have the sense to take them off. He is smirking at me, not even trying to hide his pleasure in hurting my mate.
A snarl rips from my throat, and his smile falters. Billy tries to hold up his hands in defense, but I don't let that stop me. I land my first punch right across his jaw. He stumbles backward, and Aunt Mae rushes to pull me off him.
I shrug her off and swing at him again. Mae tumbles to the ground and screams. There is chaos in the entryway of the mansion. I am swinging at anyone who tries to pull me off Billy. It isn't until my mother commands that I stop and step away from him.
"Whatever is going on can be dealt with later," Mom shouts. "There are a hundred fae on the front lawn, and they are still coming."
Wiping the blood from my knuckles onto my pants, I glance out of the window and conceal my shock. Mom wasn't exaggerating. There is a huge tear in the sky. It doesn't look real. It can't be real. Legion after Legion of Fae march through the makeshift portal. "They are here for Macy," I mumble under my breath.
"We can't let them have her," Winston says from behind me. "I won't live without my mate."
"We won't have to live without her," I tell him. "She is ours. They must understand the importance of the mate bond."
"I wouldn't count on it," Billy laughs from behind me.
"I will fucking kill you before this day is over," I warn him. "You will never put your hands on my mate ever again."
"She was begging for it," Billy hisses through his teeth. "Don't think I don't remember what she used to dress like before Raven cleaned her up."
"Stop," Mom screams. "I don't care about any of that right now. We have to deal with this."
I glance back out of the window, and an enormous man appears through the ranks. I don't know what I was expecting when I pictured a Fae man, but this isn't it. His shoulders are broad, and his long black hair is pulled into a low ponytail at the base of his neck. Pointed ears stick out from his hair, and his silver eyes glow brightly. He is dressed nicer than the rest, clearly in charge.
"It is the middle of the day," Mae whispers. "How can they be so bold?"
"We have something they believe belongs to them," I growl.
Stepping from the window, I suck in a sharp breath before opening the door. When it swings open, the man is standing right in the doorway with a smile on his face. If he is trying to be menacing, he is failing.
"You must be Cassian," I growl.
He cocks his head to the side, and his eye dart between Winston and me. "Lycans," he smirks. "Born and not made. The Moon Goddess is up to something."
When I don't respond to him, he looks down at his feet and picks up the ridiculous Welcome mat Mom insisted on putting out there. "This is interesting," he says, and he steps into the mansion like he was invited.
"Are you Cassian?" I demand to know.
"No," he says. "I am afraid my son is unavailable for this particular meeting. My name is Roland. I was the King of the Immortal Realm."
"Was?" Winston asks.
"I got tired of ruling. I would rather grow fat and lazy while Cassian rules," Roland grins. "May I have your name?"
I open my mouth to speak, but my mother beats me to it. "Our names are of no importance, and you may not have them. Why are you here?"
"You have something that belongs to me," he says, not pressing for our names any further.
"She belongs to me," I snarl. "She is my mate and my brother's."
"That silly bond the Moon Goddess puts in place," Roland chuckles. "It means nothing on our side of the portal. Now, if you will give me the girl, this will all be over with. I would hate a war between our kind."
"No," I shout. "You cannot have her. She was born in this realm, and she belongs here."
Roland doesn't say a word. His face remains unchanged as he waits for us to change our minds. Mom steps forward, wrapping a protective arm around her pregnant belly. "I am the Queen of the Werewolves. Can we please talk about this civilly?"
"Is that not what we are doing?" Roland replies.
'Something is off,' Winston says through the mind link. 'I am going to check on Macy.'
'I agree. Why haven't they attacked us yet if they want her so badly?'
Winston ducks back upstairs, and I keep my eyes on Roland. His silver eyes watch Winston climb the stairs, but his face remains unchanged.
"I can see we are at an impasse," he says suddenly. "I will see myself out."
I glance out of the door and watch as the massive army that has amassed outside disappears as if it was never there. The sky is beginning to heal itself. Roland walks gracefully to what's left of the portal. We all stand in silence. Utterly confused by what has happened.
"Why did they come here?" Mae whispers. "Just to leave with nothing."
"It was a show of force," Raven whimpers. "They want us to know what they are capable of doing."
Winston's growl rumbles the walls of the pack house, and I race up the stairs. He is destroying everything in the bedroom. The mattress is ripped to shreds, and he is punching holes in the wall. "They fucking took her. In broad daylight, they stole our mate."
It wasn't a fucking show of force. It was a distraction so they could take Macy. Winston's rage can no longer be contained, and he shifts in the middle of the bedroom. His lycan, Graydon, rips down the stairs, clawing the walls on the way down. He is out for blood, and no one will be able to stop him.
I stand at the top of the stairs as he approaches Billy. Graydon glances at the hand with iron rings and rips it from his body so fast that no one can interfere. Billy drops to his knees and clutches the bloody nub to his chest. Kieran is cussing loudly, but no one dares to approach Graydon when he is like this.
'Are you coming or not?' He growls.
'Mom needs us,' I sigh. 'We agreed to stay for her.'
'You are fucking coward,' Winston says before rushing out of the mansion.