Page 57 of Outnumbered

“How are the magic preparations going on the mage side?” Dad asked.

“The implosion spell is harder to use than we anticipated. Only three are able to use it so far,” a man off to the side answered. “We’re working on an alternative magic, one that will be strong enough to damage their scales to allow for breaks in their defense that way.”

These magic spells and weapons were not only dangerous for hybrids, but all of us. I needed to tell Jolie and her mates as well. This was terrifying.

They talked about a few other magic items, weapons, and spells that had me chilled to the bone.

When they finished their meeting, I hopped down and hid beneath the dumpster, scrunching my nose at the smell, but stayed still and silent five minutes after the last car drove by.

Hopping out slowly, I stayed along the wall, listening for any noises to indicate someone had stayed behind.

Hiding behind the wooden pallet I had first gone to, I waited another ten minutes to confirm no perimeter guards were left. Just as I was about to hop away, I heard a voice from the front of the building. Hopping closer, I peeked around and saw Dad talking to a mage.

“I don’t care what you have to do. The next fight, you must kill Ember. Her death will weaken the prince and allow us the chance we need to take him out.”

“You don’t want to capture her and use her to make him surrender?” the mage asked.

“No, if there’s a chance she can be saved, he won’t give up. She must die. Cut her head off in front of him or stab her through the heart. Just make sure he sees her die.”

Pain at this betrayal, this confirmation that he did not love me, had me stumbling back against the building, tears in my eyes making it hard to see. I knocked into the wooden pallet, causing it to fall with a loud bang.

“What was that?” Dad demanded.

Running as fast as I could, I headed into the fields of rusted vehicles where they wouldn’t see me and kept running until I was sure I had lost them, my vision clouded by tears no matter how much I tried to get them to stop.

When I ran into the busier streets of the city, I had to dodge people’s feet, making a few women in club dresses scream as I hopped between their legs and towards the coffee shop.

Caleb’s eyes snapped up as he saw me through the window of the coffee shop and he ran outside, scooping me up into his arms. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you injured?”

“Get in the SUV,” Ezio ordered us.

Caleb climbed in, still cradling me against his chest. He wiped at my tears, but they continued to flow.

Was I doomed to be betrayed by everyone who should have loved me? Would I end up hated by Caleb and my pack just like my parents and adoptive parents?

Was I truly unlovable?

Chapter

Seventeen

Ezio drove us to a high rise building in the center of downtown and took us up to a conference room where all of the kings, queens, princes, and princesses waited.

It had taken ten minutes for me to calm down enough to shift into my human form and even then, my chest hurt and tears felt imminent, but I held them at bay.

Once they had confirmed I wasn’t injured, the guys set their hands on me, providing me silent comfort.

Looking out the window at the city below us, I waited and felt a numb feeling starting to spread within me.

“Okay, Ember, tell us what you learned,” Caleb said.

“They’re developing new weapons and magic spells,” I started. “Ones that do damage previously thought impossible.”

“Like what?” Nico asked.

I turned and said, “They have a sword that they claimed can easily cut through dragon scales.”

Emrys and Rhys growled.

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