Page 65 of The Dark War

“Everything is going to be all right.” I stroked his arm, his eyes boring into me. Pulling me up, he had my legs wrapped around him. He held me tight, sitting on the ground in the middle of the foyer. Torin was stirring inside him, rage building by the second. Torin was a beast. There was no question about that. I don’t know where my Kane would be if we never found each other or when it was too late.

“Thank you, Luna.” Marcus linked as he shuffled away, not daring to turn his back to Kane.

“We aren’t finished.” Kane growled. “You are my eyes and ears, and you failed.” Marcus’s eyes went heavy, shoulders slumping in defeat. “Three of my warriors are dead, Marcus.” I duck my head low, Kane feeling my sorrow for those warriors. But it wasn’t Marcus’s fault. Kane wanted someone to blame.

“It was my fault. I am at your mercy, Alpha.” Marcus’s haunted look made me question that there was much more than the disappointment he gave Kane, but I let it lie. I didn’t have the energy, time, or right to reach into Marcus’s life right now. Too many lives were at stake.

“Marcus, you are doing a wonderful job,” I spoke louder. Kane stiffened, his mouth opening to argue, but I put my finger to his lips. “They were under the dark magic. We didn’t know they were coming. They were silent, odorless. Even the dragons guarding the portal didn’t see them until it was too late. You are not at fault.” My glare at Kane had him purse his lips.

“Go, get some rest.” I tenderly stared at Marcus. His bright personality had considerably darkened. He strode out of the foyer. Warriors and omegas that begged to stay to help with food and accommodations took the long way around to keep out of their alpha’s way.

Stroking Kane’s cheek, he shivered in my hold. “It’s okay, Alpha.” I ran my hands through his hair. Torin calmed, his constant growls ceasing while I rocked him back and forth as his head lay on my chest. “We will get through this, right?” I hummed into his messy hair.

“We have to speak with Adam,” Kane grumbled. “He will be able to tell me if any of his dragons were responsible, and we need to order him to have his tribe look out for others.”

The entire pack house was tracked with mud and debris from the outside. No time to clean, no time to tidy up. We were running on adrenaline making physical barriers to slow down any rogues that dared to climb the walls. Petting Kane’s hair continuously, August strode up, kneeling to the floor, placing a fist on the now dirtied marbled floor.

“Better be good news,” Kane grumbled. August was now the bearer of all things evil. Each message he gave us was nothing but a wrench in our plans. August held a parchment of paper with Osirus’ seal stamped on the front. “Why is Osirus not using the mirror?” I asked, taking the letter.

“Mirrors are compromised. Like the mind-links when we get too close to the dark magic, there is nothing but static.”

“Fudge.” I ripped the seal open, Kane still holding onto me for dear life, trying to calm his beast. “Double fudge.” I rubbed my hands over my eyes. August glanced over my shoulder, swearing a few curse words as he paced the room. Kane paid no mind, his face breathing into my chest all while rubbing his hand up and down my back.

Kane was worse off than I thought. The heaviness of being a king, an alpha, and his worry for me put so much pressure on a wolf who was ready for just fighting. Now, the news I was about to break to him would put him over the edge, and no doubt lead to a steamy session here in a minute.

Not that I minded…

“Kane,” I whispered in his ear. He hummed, still rubbing his scruffy beard on my breasts. “There is no easy way to say this, Alpha, but—” Kane came out from my breasts, his haunted soul bore into mine.

Goddess, this was hard.

“Alpha Adam, your friend, who claimed Amora all those years ago, is not his true mate.” Kane stiffened, his breathing stopping all together. “He has been using dust, a white magic powder, to erase her memories, making her think they were mates. The same powder that made us all forget our fight at Osirus’ palace.” Torin’s eyes flickered their bright amber. “Alpha, Adam has been working with the enemy,” I muttered.

“Who wrote this?” Kane ripped the parchment from my hand, Osirus’ signature at the bottom, along with Amora’s. He had come to know Amora after the mating ceremony he was invited to. Amora was a kind fae raised with the dragons after her family was killed by rogue vampires so long ago. She was everything a good female alpha dragon should be, even if she did have trouble shifting into her animal. It now made sense how she couldn’t shift well. Adam wasn’t her mate, making her dragon weak.

“I’m going to fucking kill him.” Kane crumbled the paper, throwing it to the ground. The details of that letter were so vivid, so harsh, we dared not read the rest. Amora was subjected to years of rape and didn’t even know it.Goddess, how is she feeling right now? Does that mean those dragons that came to us today were sent by Adam? An alpha we trusted?

I wanted to believe that Osirus made a mistake, but Osirus would never lie about something like this. This was a major offense with a penalty of death that would be carried out by Kane, no doubt.

August picked up the parchment that Kane and I couldn’t finish. He peeked over the rest as Kane stood to his feet, keeping me firmly planted to his body. “There’s more,” August muttered. August tightened his fist, then ran it through his own messy hair. “Creed is not who we think he is.” He trailed off.

Which is what I initially thought.

“Creed is innocent in all this too. He was cast out by Adam after this memory powder erased everyone’s memories. Adam is responsible for his parents’ deaths.” August’s eyes narrowed at the parchment. “Fuck,” he whispered.

“Oh my gods.” I gasped, holding onto Kane. Torin’s anger sprouted forth. His radiation of power consumed the room. August fell to the floor, his neck bared. More thuds around the pack house had whimpers invading the mind-link. Peeking outside, many more wolves lay on the ground.

Unknowingly, Kane was using his royal command. My hand traced his cheek, having him stay with me. “Let’s go upstairs and calm down,” I cooed. “Please, just take me upstairs.” It sated him as wolves began to slowly stand.

“Raine and Leia have a list of chores,” I spoke to August. “See to it that it is completed. We aren’t to be disturbed.” August graciously nodded. His hands shook while running out the door. I couldn’t let Kane show his royal command out too soon. The results would be disastrous. Rogues would find us far too quickly, and if we were a key in this war, then we needed to stay hidden as much as we could.

Kane ran up the stairs four at a time until we found our room. He kicked the door open and slammed it shut with the same foot. He growled out, gently dropping me to the bed.

“Fucking hell.” He paced the floor. I crisscrossed my legs, waiting for what he wanted to do. Concentrating on calming him, letting my power flow through me and the room around us, his pacing stopped.

“He was my damn friend,” he finally let out. “I trusted him with keeping the area of the north safe.” I listened as he pulled off his shirt. The sprouts of dark hair covered his chest, and parts of his tattoos were gleaming with sweat. The dark circles under his eyes had me reach out, drawing him toward me.

We lost three warriors today in death. Our daughter, our family, along with the weakest shifters, had gone through the portal. That in itself was hard, but they were safe. That was what mattered. Cyrene had left soon after the attack, worried that the power she had radiated led the rogue dragons here.

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