Chapter 456
101 – Elara
What the hell happened in the last twenty minutes? Ben doesn’t hesitate to follow me. We leave the barrier investigation alone for now. Jason calling for help is a sign from the Goddess where we are needed. The hesitation is over. We shift and run, and I start to feel the exhaustion Ben was talking about after our encounter with Junior.
Maybe that was the plan all along, to wear us down running all over the pack. It’s a smart move with the kind of power she has. Eliza’s not wasting any of her warriors fighting uselessly, but sending us on wild goose chases.
“Jason? Is everyone out and safe?”
“I think so, Alpha. I’m waiting on Brianna and Marietta to check in once they’ve done
a head count of all their people. Marge and Melanie are helping me with the wolves that were in residence. There seem to be a few stragglers and I don’t know if anyone has checked the cells for our prisoners.”
“Talk us through this fire.” I open the link up to Ben so he can hear while we run. “What are we walking into?”
“It started small, at the back of the packhouse, near your office, I think. My guess is you were onto something and getting too close, Alpha. Jax and Dev arrived just as it was really spreading. It smells like normal fire, but it’s blue and green and I don’t see any smoke. The heat is intense too. Brianna and a few witches, I can’t remember their names, had the flames in a kind of bubble and it was slowing down, then out of nowhere it flared up and took out half the house.”
“It must have found what it was looking for.” I mentally run through all the things I could have in the packhouse that a witch might want. Something tells me it’s not paperwork or maps. They clearly don’t give a sh*t about ownership by purchase or legacy. What else could my father have had that they want or need this desperately? “We’re close. Just a heads up, We think Malcom might be under control again. He’s got a nasty spell on his border, we aren’t sure if it’s to keep us out or him in, but he isn’t coming to our aid.”
“One of the warriors was talking about an invisible weapon. That must have been it. See you soon.” I can feel his link is open, but he is clearly focused on whatever is going on around him.
Ben and I burst through the forest and I understand Jason’s inability to explain what this fire is. Emerald and blue flames engulf the packhouse, but it looks like an image projected on the building. If I didn’t feel the heat and see the scorch marks, I wouldn’t believe it is real.
What I find surprising is all the witches circling the house, hands raised, humming. My wolves, warriors and omegas, are walking an outer perimeter, protecting them. They are all so close, how is the heat not melting them?
Ben splits off from me as I find and move toward Brianna. I shift and once I move into Brianna’s personal space the heat dissipates completely.
“What is this?” I ask, not looking at her. I’m still mesmerized with the shimmering flames.
“These flames are searching for something.” She breathes out, and for the first time I hear weariness in her voice.
“What could she possibly want from me now?” I match her tone for a brief second. We both breathe in the irritation of the situation that neither of us have been able to contain or get ahead of. Then I lock the feeling in the back of my mind for a time when Ben and I can be alone and let it all out. It’s Eliza, right? She’ already infected my pack with drugs to control my pups, and Shadow Markers that affect my mate and I. Why all of these small attacks? What the f*ck does she want!” I yell at the sky.
My heart is racing and I feel useless. I can’t do anything about this fire and what it is doing to the people that I have promised to protect. I scan the surroundings for the first time since getting here. Everyone seems to be fine, no injuries that are life threatening anyway.
“You have this fire tempered, can I walk through it? Is it inside the house? Whatever she is looking for won’t be destroyed by this fire.”
“We have it contained here, but as you may have noticed on your arrival we are only strong enough to hold it in this small area. I believe you are right though. Whatever she wants will not perish here, but it will destroy your home. That is her way of letting you know you are in her way. As terrible as this is, it means you are on the right path.”
“Have you seen her?!?” Jason runs up to us.
“Seen who Jason?” But I think I already know.
“Juliette! I brought her outside so I could help with the evacuation. She’s not where I left her and no one has seen her.
Several things happen all at once. A
torrent of yells and exclamations come from the other side of the
house, the flames flare to a P
white and a band of energy envelopes my waist pulling me and everyone around me back away from the burning house. Pm set on my feet while Jason lands on his ass next to me along with every other wolf that was near us. The witches still stand their posts in the magical perimeter around the house, only this time there is an addition and she is scary as sh*t.
“Juliette?” Jason breathes.
In
His mate is floating above the wreckage of my packhouse, arms open wide to her sides. That isn’t the weird part though. Her eyes are bright green, rivaling the tint of the flames. She lets out a yell that makes my ears pop, the flames rise and heat blasts my face. hear the house crackle and burn, like the volume was turned to a hundred Then everything slams into the ground and a deafening silence envelopes me.