Page 73 of Eclipsed Heart

CHAPTERNINETEEN

My heart thunderedin my chest. That sounded ominous. “Is the queen there?” At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was, though that would mean more than a battle. That would be a declaration of war.

The pack would’ve alerted us,Bodey linked, squeezing my leg.It can’t be her.

“No, she’s not,” Dina bit out. “Everyone here is okay.”

I took in a shaky breath. The queen had rattled me, and I wasn’t thinking clearly. Another way I was failing at this entire thing. “Right. Of course not.” I groaned, leaning back against the headrest.

Dina sighed. “You sound tired. Janet told me you helped to bury the dead. Did you get any rest last night?”

“A few hours.” I yawned, which caused my eyes to water.

And it wasn’t good rest.Bodey glanced at me.You need sleep.

So did he, but I didn’t want to argue with him. “So, if it’s not the queen, and you aren’t under duress, is another witch coming to visit?” If I’d had enough energy, I would’ve crossed my fingers.

“Yes. Priestess River from the coven that lives with Miles’s pack contacted me. She didn’t want to visit until Miles and Stella got back. But under the circumstances, she’s willing to come for a day and offered to be here tomorrow. She needs to know if that will work because she’ll drive down tonight. Since the queen has been attacking mainly in Oregon and Idaho, she wants to meet with us sooner rather than later so she can return before Queen Kel decides to attack their area.”

I bit my lip and took a deep breath, filling my lungs. I wanted to think this through, especially since we could put it off and go check on the Ontario pack. But I wasn’t sure that would be wise. We needed answers.

“Could she come in two days?” That wouldn’t be too much of a stretch and would give us time to stop and check on Lynerd and his pack.

“She could,” Dina agreed. “But more attacks could happen before we learn anything.”

And then more people would be asking questions…the very ones Heather had asked that I didn’t have answers for.

And the queen had made it clear last night that she meant to teach me a lesson, shortly followed by two attacks happening within ten minutes across Oregon. I doubted that she would slow down now. Meeting the witch as quickly as possible was as much of a priority, if not more. “Give me a moment.”

I connected with Samuel, informing him of what was going on. Then I linked Bodey into the discussion and said,If we drive to Ontario, we’ll get there around eight this evening, and then it would be another six hours before we would reach home.

Babe, I know you want to check on the pack. I do too, but if we go there, it won’t be a quick trip. We’ll need to stay and reassure them before we leave for home. We won’t get back until early tomorrow morning.Bodey exhaled.And if Heather was asking those questions, demanding answers…

He didn’t need to finish that sentence. Lynerd would want to know the same thing, and he wouldn’t be as tolerant as Heather. When we did visit them, we needed to be able to tell himsomething.

Samuel interjected,We need to meet with the witch.

Since Samuel agreed, there was no doubt in my mind it was the right choice. “Tell Priestess River to come, that we’ll be ready to meet with her in the morning.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “We’re heading home now.”

Ask if we need to prepare a house for the coven. There are two vacant wolf houses near our coven if she needs them,Bodey linked.

I repeated the question, and Dina replied, “No. We have a house she can stay in, but thank you for asking. We’ll come to your house in the morning around nine. I just need you to make sure you rest well so she won’t have a hard time connecting with your magic to feel the spell.”

I’d take her word for it. She’d never lead me astray. “Okay. We’ll see you then.”

I hung up and rubbed my sweaty hand on my pants leg. I wasn’t sure if this was the right call to make, but I was beginning to believe that there was neverarightcall, just a bunch of shitty ones. There was no guarantee that meeting this priestess would give us any answers. We might be blowing off a strong pack to chase a dream.

Samuel’s voice popped into my head.You need to inform Zeke. He’ll need to make Lynerd aware that we aren’t coming today.

There was no getting out of it—Bodey and I were the only ones that could pack link with Zeke. A fact that I tried not to think about. I needed to check on them anyway.

I tugged on the connection, opening up the communication between Bodey, Zeke, and me.Are you still with Lynerd’s pack?

Yes, I’m in the Ontario pack’s neighborhood. They’ve buried their dead, but the pack is on high alert. They want to know how Queen Kel’s wolves managed to attack the coronation, the crowning ceremony, and now their lands. I’m hoping you’ll arrive with answers, otherwise, I’m not sure what’s going to happen.

My shoulders slumped, and I hung my head.We might have a lead, so we’re heading back home.Though I hadn’t spoken the words, my throat ached as if I had.But if you need us to come there—

No, I’m fine,Zeke interrupted.I’ve been an advisor for over twenty years. I know what I’m doing.

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