Divide

EVERETT

~Goddess...~

~Please don't be too late.~

My car skids to a halt in front of Xander’s cottage, and I get out, sprinting down the pathway toward the house.

Without losing a step, I kick the wooden door down with a ~CRASH~ and run into the house.

“AURORA?” I yell out, scanning the dark house.

But the entire cottage is dead silent.

Panic rises up in me as I make my way down the hallway, pushing the door open to Xander’s office and stepping inside.

And sure enough, the door with the strange eye symbol is unlocked and slightly ajar.

My heart starts to race as I walk toward it, pulling it open with a creak and staring into the dark passageway below.

Strange sounds echo out from below.

~Am I too late?~

~“Let me out,”~ Chaos growls. ~“If they’ve touched a hair on our mate’s head, I’ll rip them to shreds.”~

I nod, letting Chaos take over as my body shifts.

Chaos bolts down the stairs, turning the corner.

And what we see stops us in our tracks.

Xander stands in the middle of the strange, dimly lit room, and Mia is floating in the air, her feet kicking weakly as she gasps her last few breaths.

I spot Aurora—who looks unharmed—with a look of horror on her face as she stares at Xander and Mia.

I don't waste a moment.

Chaos leaps into action, bolting across the room and tackling Xander to the ground before he has a chance to react.

Mia falls to the ground behind us, gasping for air as Xander turns his focus toward me.

I growl and snap my jaws, aiming for his throat, but I feel a powerful force lift me up and throw me back against the stone wall.

Pain shoots through our body, and Chaos whimpers from the impact, but quickly staggers to his feet.

I spot Eddie, his eyes glowing an inhuman yellow color.

I remember that color.

~Nemesis.~

This time, I charge at ~her.~ Nemesis tries to back away, but her movements are awkward and slow, so she falls to the ground.

Xander quickly lifts up the stone slab and brings it in front of Nemesis like a giant shield.

He's protecting her.

“My Queen, you are still weak,” Xander yells out. “We must go.”

Nemesis staggers to her feet, nodding.

I growl, making another charge, but Xander raises his hands, causing the entire room to tremble.

Huge chunks of stone and a massive ceiling beam fall down, nearly hitting me as Xander makes a hole in the ceiling, destroying his entire house above.

Xander and Nemesis float up, disappearing above us.

“Let’s go after them,” Chaos growls. “They’re weak. We can kill them.”

But I ignore him, shifting back and throwing my arms around Aurora.

***

RORY

Everett picks me up in his arms, showering me with kisses.

“Are you okay?” he says, worry filling his eyes. “Did they hurt you?”

I smile weakly. “I can’t die, silly.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t be hurt! What was I supposed to think when you ran off like that in the middle of the night?”

Everett puts me down, and I feel a stab of guilt for what I did.

I lied to Everett and went behind his back by letting Eddie and Oliver out of jail.

But instead of yelling at me for disobeying him, Everett just pulls me close, stroking my hair.

“So you’re not mad?” I ask.

“I’m furious,” he says, “But not at you.”

I stand up on my tippy-toes and kiss him, feeling the warmth and safety that a single touch from him gives me.

When Everett pulls away, he glances at me and then looks to Mia.

“Alright. Let’s get you two criminals out of here,” he says softly.

***

EVERETT

Aurora explained everything to me on the ride home from the pack house.

Nemesis is back, she’s got an army of rogues, and she’s got a psycho magic bodyguard by her side.

~Goddess, how could this get any worse?~

When we pull up to the pack house, I find my answer to that question.

All the pack warriors and the entire council stand outside, waiting for us.

In the front of the crowd, Amber stands with her arms crossed, glaring at us.

“Look who returned…~without~ the prisoners,” Amber calls out as we get out of the car. “I’m sorry, but we have no choice but to arrest the luna for treason.”

Ace steps forward. “Alpha, I tried to explain the situation but—”

“The luna isn’t going anywhere,” I say, cutting him off. “Because we have a bigger problem now.”

“Do we?” Amber scoffs. “How could we possibly have a bigger problem than humans spreading the secret of werewolf kind?”

“They won’t tell anyone! And if they did, no one would believe them,” Aurora says. “Please, you need to listen to Everett!”

“And I’m supposed to trust these humans? I’m supposed to trust ~you~?” Amber yells.

She turns to two Red Moon guards behind her. “Arrest her.”

“Stop!” I say, stepping in front of Aurora.

“The Goddess Nemesis has returned. There’s going to be a rogue attack any minute, and if we want to have a chance of surviving, we need to put our differences aside and band together.”

Amber laughs, turning around to face the entire pack.

“Look at this! Our alpha is so desperate that he needs to come up with fantasies in order to maintain his power. Am I really supposed to believe that?”

I look around as the wolves murmur agreement. Even some members of my own pack actually look like they don’t believe me.

I open my mouth to argue, but then, I feel Aurora tug on my hand.

I look over at her as she points to the forest behind us.

All along the tree line, there’s an ominous dark smoke, blocking out the moonlight and making the air pitch-black. Dozens of yellow, glowing eyes stare out of the darkness.

By now, the other wolves are starting to notice, too.

“Now do you believe me?” I say, turning back to Amber.

She stares in disbelief at the rogues gathering around the pack house.

“We won’t make it if we don’t stick together…,” I say, reaching out my hand to her. “Are you with us, or against us?”