Page 132 of A Chance at Love for the Twin Alphas

“Apophis caught her and tried to take advantage of our bond, but I already set her free, and he couldn’t use her the way he wanted to. He locked her into my mind to stop her from seeking help.” Auset’s eyes gleam in mischief at the prospect of having tricked a deity. “He also couldn’t stop Arman from taking her with him. That brave young man risked his life for me.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Henry asks.

She smiles at us. “There isn’t much more I can tell you that you won’t know already. You did a tremendous job in finding out the truth, Young Alphas.”

“We had help, though,” I point out.

“It’s not failure to let older and more experienced alphas help you,” she says. “But a lot of it, you did on your own. As I said, most of it you found out yourselves, but I can try to fill in the gaps.” She pauses. “Back at home, when we were still in Egypt, there was a cult forming around Apophis. It’s a group that invited all kinds of supernatural beings, as long as they shared their extremist thoughts.”

“What’s their goal, though?” Elise blinks.

“Power,” she says. “It’s as simple as that. Power and, at the same time, decimating the werecat shifter population. Apophis is just using these fools, though. He doesn’t care for them. All he wants is to weaken Bastet’s rule. It’s an old feud that has been going on for many centuries.”

“Hence why he locked in her son?” Marcel asks.

She nods. “Maahes is very brave. He has always tried to do the right thing, but Apophis is smart and lured him into a trap.” She pauses. “It’s not that simple to win over Maahes, though, because he always has a vessel in this world. Apophis didn’t know that. He was too ignorant to deem humans worthy of anything.”

“A vessel?” Dalila blinks before her eyes widen. “You mean, you are his vessel?”

“Maahes and I have a contract,” she tells us. “I can ask him for help and for his powers, but if he needs to, he can borrow my body. He is not one to abuse his power, so I agreed. Apophis wasn’t able to kill Maahes. He was just able to lock his presence inside my mind and bind us both there. Arman weakened Apophis by waking up my lynx first and then further by freeing Maahes.”

“But how do we beat Apophis?” I ask.

“You can’t beat him,” she tells us. “He is a deity, and only a fellow deity can keep him under control,” she says. “But you can win over their cult.”

“If only we knew where it’s located.” Henry frowns.

“But you do know.” Auset smiles. “Because I know.”

When we look at her in surprise, she shakes her head in amusement. “The cult attacked me, remember? They wanted information from me, but I don’t think they were aware I was Maahes’ vessel. I don’t believe they even know about Maahes. Initially, my connection to him saved me. Actually, it saved both of us because as much as the cult was unaware of Maahes’ existence, Apophis was unaware of mine. Their ignorance saved the both of us.”

“Is the cult also the reason my mom and grandma were killed?” Dalila asks.

Auset’s eyes are clouded in sadness. “Yes, my dear. They were constantly on the run. Nephthys made sure to protect you, but she couldn’t do the same for your family.”

“That’s why I survived,” Dalila concludes. She sounds sad but also like she expected the answer. “At least I finally know what really happened.”

“I wanted your mother and grandmother to join our pride,” Auset says. “But they refused.”

“They didn’t want to endanger your people,” Elodie concludes.

Auset nods.

“But couldn’t you have used Maahes’ power?” Henry asks.

“No, my body isn’t strong enough,” Auset explains. “I’m just a placeholder,” she says. “Maahes knew about my gift. He also knew I was opposed to the cult and tried to help Dalila and her family. It’s the reason he chose me, but he can’t reach his full potential with me as his vessel.”

Silence engulfs us for a moment until I shift it back to the previous topic. “So they knew you had found their location,” I say.

“How can we go there, though?” Marcel frowns.

“Maybe with the help of a witch,” Elise muses.

“Be careful though, children,” Auset says. “They have dark witches with them, and they’ve learned a few tricks from their master.”

I nod, caught in my thoughts, when I realize Dalila’s hands on my knee. “A witch can take us to Egypt?” she asks. “We won’t need to take a plane?”

Are you going to tell her that she can’t join us, or is it on me?Lys wants to know.

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