Page 65 of The Soulless Witch

“One of our team found him near the wreckage of the house.” Chester’s voice came from the door and I looked at where the butler was standing with a leash in his arm. “He recognized it from the pictures of the Martens and brought it back. I had it bathed and checked for injuries, but it was getting agitated in its fear, so I thought a familiar face might calm it down.”

“It was getting agitated, so you brought it to her?” I snarled, and Chester flinched.

“It’s fine,” Celeste said weakly, a hint of a smile in her voice. She held her hand for the dog to lick instead of her face, her eyes staring at it with worry that I doubted was for the wretched creature. “I guess it doesn’t hate me anymore. Do you, you ugly thing?” The dog barked, almost in indignation, then laid down, putting its giant head on her knee. Its eyes went to where Nym was lying, and the dog whimpered, pressing harder against Celeste. Nym just stared for a little longer, then closed his eyes as if keeping them open was too much of a bother.

“It’s calm now, so get it out,” I ordered, nodding toward the furry beast. “She needs rest and—”

“No,” Celeste interrupted and as I looked at her, she had a protective arm laid on the back of the dog. “Let it stay.” I stared between them, then sighed in resignation.

“I’ll be back later. Once I have the nest leader’s cooperation, we’ll come up with a plan.” I stopped by the door, glancing back to find her petting both animals’ heads. “We’ll get them back, Celeste, I swear. I’ll do whatever I need to do.”

She nodded, her lips parting like she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.

“Call Isaac,” she finally said. “He is a blind fool, but he will do what is necessary to help his people. Use that. And he will not hurt me, not until I tell him what he wants to know.”

I searched her face, but I could see nothing except traces of her weakness. Yet the gentleness in the way she said his name made my insides coil in the most unpleasant of ways. I didn’t care if she invited him to her bed as long as she returned to mine, but the way she was willing to give him chance after chance, despite all the times he tried to hurt her, made me want to feed him silver and watch him suffer a slow, agonizing death. I told myself that she cared because of the promise she made to his sister, but a nagging voice in my head insisted there was more.

“Get some sleep, Celeste.” I forced a smile to my face. “I’ll take care of the rest.”

I walked out of the room, tugging on my tie and slipping it into my pocket. Quiet steps followed me, but I ignored them, pulling my phone out and staring at the screen. It was still showing fourteen missed calls from Isaac, but to my surprise, there was not a single new one. Maybe he was finally taking my advice and thinking over his blind hatred instead of just ignoring the fact that he had made assumptions based on nothing. But while just hours ago I was angry at him for not figuring it out earlier, now part of me wished he never would.

“Fool,” I muttered, pressing the call button.

“Master?” Chester’s voice came from behind me, reminding me he was still following. I brought the phone to my ear, turning to face him. “Your orders?”

“Effective immediately, we are at war. Activate our defenses and tell the staff to take an extended vacation. They are not to come back until I say so.” The call connected and there was a commotion on the other side, almost like somebody had dropped the phone. I kept my eyes on Chester. “If anyone tries to step inside this house or anywhere near Celeste, make sure there isn’t even a body to bury. Understood?”

“Yes, Master,” the butler replied, bowing his head.

I turned my back to him, striding down the corridor. The person on the other side of the line didn’t speak, but I could feel their labored breathing and impatient pacing.

“This is your last chance, wolf,” I said, clenching my jaw. “Can you put your vendetta aside to save your people? Or will you let hatred take your pack away from you again?”

Chapter 34

Isaac

“Areyouabsolutelysurewe can trust them?” Daniel asked while he tugged on his leather gloves, looking around warily. The edge of the industrial district—all vampire domain—was quiet and dark, but that was the place where Roman had insisted we meet. Under any other circumstances, I would have refused to go so deep into enemy territory with only a handful of my men. Not to mention I had the Alpha of the Shadowcrest pack with me, which meant if Roman was planning to strike a deadly blow to the werewolves in the area, this would be the perfect opportunity.

But I had to come. I had the feeling that if I didn’t, I would never uncover the truth about my past, about my family, about my pack. And I…I needed to know. I needed to look her in the eyes and hear it from her—the reason she attacked that night, the reason she killed my father, the reason she massacred everyone, and…no, not massacred. She said she hadn’t done it.

“We have no choice,” I replied, meeting Daniel’s gaze.

When I relayed Roman’s message for collaboration, the others rejected the idea. But when I told them that it was likely we would find all of our missing people in the Order’s headquarters—and both Daniel and Kai had lost a number of them just last week—they opted to listen. Now all that remained was for Roman to show up and prove I wasn’t wrong to trust him. Prove that a vampire’s word could hold some weight.

Allison shifted closer, nodding her chin toward the shadows. I had sensed something watching us—several somethings, actually—that I could only assume were more vampires. With the wind blowing away from us and the cold strong enough to dull our sense of smell, it was hard to be sure. This place reeked of death and blood, which was no surprise since there was supposed to be a nest of them nearby. Just another reason I hoped this gamble paid off.

The sound of steps, loud ones even for a human, echoed through the dark alley where Allison had pointed. Everyone tensed, moving just a little closer in case this went downhill.

I kept my eyes on the figure that stepped out of the shadows, the pale moonlight illuminating his fancy suit, which looked even more ridiculous in this setting than Daniel’s custom-made coat and shiny black shoes. Roman appeared as unbothered as usual, not a hint of the man that cradled Celeste’s body to his chest while murder danced in his eyes.

There was another vampire behind him—tall and bulky, with tanned skin and gleaming red eyes. He couldn’t hold a candle to Roman’s nonchalance, but as he surveyed the werewolves in his territory with disdain, he didn’t so much as bare his fangs.

“You came,” Roman said with an easy smile, as if we weren’t about to discuss storming into a death trap. “And brought friends! How proactive of you.” His eyes stopped on each of us, lingering longer on Daniel. “Harding. You look just like your father.”

“Thank you,” Daniel said stiffly, raising his chin.

Amusement danced in Roman’s eyes as he added, “That wasn’t a compliment.”

---