CHAPTER 73
“I’m weighing out the risks that will affect my sister and going there now will not save her. You will put her in more danger and getting her back will become even harder. We’re not leaving.” He growled.
“Fine. I’ll go alone.”
“I will not let you risk Gabby’s life.”
“I’m saving it.” I seethed and turned. Nick grabbed my shoulder once again and I raised my fist. The whole house started spinning, the floors looked like I was standing on waves and they were about to be ripped away from under my fat. The walls moved in on me and nothing was still.
was.
Someone came up behind me and covered my mouth. I inhaled the different herbs and felt the raspy leaf grasp at my tongue.
1 grabbed the person’s hand but my strength wasn’t there. My eyes rolled into my head and 1 blacked out.
When I woke up I saw the tv and the pillows on the couch. My head and neck were sore so I carefully turned to see where the f*ck I
“Welcome back, bro,” Edmund said. He was sitting on the coffee table and swirling a drink in his hands. He handed it over and I chugged it all in one go.
“What happened?” I asked and groaned as I sat.
“She
can explain it better,” he said and looked behind me. The witch was sitting with a cup of steaming tea in her hands and my parents were sitting with her.
Her regular snarl was in place and her long nails made a clinking sound when they hit the ceramic cup.
Ugh, my headache was about to get a lot worse.
“You’re weakened by the absence of your mate. Your strength will gradually decline and going up against your brother in this current form would not result in a win on your part.”
“How do you know?” I asked her.
“I’ve seen it.”
“You said you couldn’t see the future?”
“No, at that moment I said I didn’t see it, but now I did. Because even sources bigger than us do not want to see your brother win. It would be chaos, unlike anything we have seen before. I know that you all are aware of this fact and have silently said it in your minds so !
will be first to say it aloud- Asher King must die.” My mom drew in a shaky breath and her head fell.
No matter how much of a psychopath your son is or however many bad deeds he had done, it was still her son. She had birthed him, loved him, and seen a future for him only to have it ripped away from her hands.
My mom told me how when Asher was banished from the pack she didn’t see him as an adult walking away, she saw the little kid she had played with in the fields walking away from her forever.
I got up on shaky legs and walked over to my mom. I bent down and wrapped my arms around her. She stood about and squeezed tightly around me, as though she was afraid that I would disappear as well.
“What can I do to regain my strength?
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CHAPTER 73
Regaining your strength completely will not happen until you are reunited with your mate. But there is something I can do to help you long enough for you to do what must be done.” She stood up and wilked over to me.
“Aiden, no matter the stakes or the hardships or any other obstacle you may encounter, you must kill your brother.”
The witch took out different herbs and poured me a cup of tea. She mixed them together and poured in two drops of something vile. It looked like cough syrup with blue dye in it but I’m guessing it was something more magical than that.
“Drink this,” she said.
I looked down into the cup and saw the blue hue sinking to the bottom. Our eyes locked and she tilted the cup up to my lips.
“Every last drop n
must enter your system,”
I gulped it down and fought when it tried to push back up again. It felt like I was swallowing something alive- it was moving in my throat on the way down. Edmund was grimacing and looked away and my mom was wrinkling her nose in disgust.
“You’re doing great, honey, She said and pursed her lips,
The cup dropped from my hand and fell broken on the floor. Slivers of the flower-embodied ceramic cup scattered by our feet.
I was heaving as I pressed my nails into my palms and looked down at the floor. When I raised my head, I felt it. I felt ny power, my strength as it should be. It surged through my body and once it reached my head I felt like myself again.
“Thank you.” I said and looked at the witch. My eyes glowed in yellow when my wolf stepped up, when I grew weaker-so did he, but when I grew stronger, he did too.
“Great, you’re doing better. The warriors have all been briefed on the situation. We’ll move out tomorrow.” Nick said when he came into the room. I walked up to him and nodded my head.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I know you only had Gabby’s safety in mind- so did L.
“I will always put my sister first, no matter who I need to stop in the process.”
“Good,” I said and grabbed his hand that he had reached out.
He stopped and tilted his head.
“There’s just one more thing,” he said and looked toward the door.
We walked over there to see what he meant and when I opened the door I was shocked by what I saw.
Several of our pack members had gathered outside the house. My old friends were standing in the front and everyone else I had known since childhood was there. Many of our old warriors who no longer fought stood ready with straightened backs.
Rows and rows of people stood with their shoulders rolled back. Dressed from head to toe in training gear and their faces not showing one single ounce of emotion.
“She’s our Luna and this pack is where she belongs. We are all ready to fight for her safe return.”
My father clapped his hand on my shoulder.
“Son, it seems you have forgotten this pack’s foundational values. No man stands alone and loyalty runs through each and everyone here. For decades it has been built like this but through your years, some of the fundamental values of what we stand for seem to have gotten lost.” He was right. They had. I had seen it as me leading them, taking charge, and making decisions. Thinking I knew best.
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CHAPTER 73
I had prepared to take all of their tears and anger once they found out that Gabby was gone but I was not prepared to take them with me into battle. Here they were, willingly ready to go off and save their Luna. Everyone knew about Asher now and the risks they were facing but they didn’t wince or turn away.
The warriors called them out onto the fields for their training. Many already knew how to fight and they were good but they also needed to be briefed. This wasn’t our usual enemy and it was far from fighting against rogues. These men had a plan and would stop at nothing to achieve their goal.
Edmund walked up to me with sweat dripping down the side of his face. He had taught some of the younger ones how to fight and looked happy as hell.
“You have some strong people here,”
“I know.” He nodded his head and his expression shifted into something more ominous.
He pushed his chest out and looked past me.
“We need to talk about Sam.”
Me and Edmund had walked into the house.
I poured us each a glass and we sat down in my office.
“What’s up?” I asked him and sat in the armchair by the fireplace.
“She left last night. I don’t know where she went but she got back late. We have one of our own warriors standing guard outside her place in the distance- keeping an eye on her.”
My brows furrowed and I looked at the burning fire.
“Huh, and you have no idea where she went?” He shook his head and took a sip.
“Nope.”
“Alright, never mind that for now. I need you to move on to the next step of the plan.”
“Which was?” He asked and winced. Edmund had been having fun with Sam but had forgotten about why he even banged her in the first place.
“Take her to your room, slip her the sedative, and when she’s knocked out you get the f*ck out.”
“You do know the room has both windows and a door, right? What she just leaves?” I sighed and tried to not look too disappointed at his stupidity.
“I’ve had the witch put a spell on your room, she won’t be able to leave. It’s the same one we put on Gabby’s room.”
“Yes and that worked great,” he said sarcastically.
“Watch it.” I growled.
“As long as no one else in the pack is willing to sell their soul to the devil, we’ll be fine.” I said.
“About the witch, how come she does favors for you? Do you have to pay her or is she just extra nice when it comes family?” I smiled and remembered when I was a kid, wrecking havoc on the pack and stressing my mom out.
to
the Alpha
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