Clarissa's POV

Autumn, Atticus, and I were in the same vehicle together, while Griffin and Damon were ahead with Anya and her sister. Dante drove with everyone else behind us.

“Do you mind telling us where you were?” Atticus asked, glancing at me through the rearview mirror.

“I had to get answers,” I replied. “Once we reach the pack house, I’ll explain everything. But Autumn, we were right about Anya all along. She’s much worse than any of us ever thought.”

Atticus tightened his grip on the steering wheel at my words. I had finally cornered her. She had nowhere to run now.

“I told you not to go there without me,” Autumn scolded. “I knew how dangerous it would be. Look at your condition! Why must you always put yourself in danger?”

Now she sounded just like Atticus, both of them worried about me.

“Where did she go?” Atticus demanded. “And how do you seem to always know more than me when it concerns Clarissa? How much have you been keeping from me, Autumn? I thought there were supposed to be no secrets between us. What exactly have you two been up to?”

Autumn fell silent at his questions, fully aware of the secrets she was hiding.

“Tell me,” he insisted. “What have you both been hiding from me?”

Before she could respond, a loud explosion erupted behind us.

“What the hell was that?” Atticus shouted.

I turned to see another vehicle had crashed into Dante’s jeep. This wasn’t good.

Another vehicle sped past us, blocking Damon’s jeep from moving forward.

“What’s happening?” Autumn asked, horror creeping into her voice.

They weren’t alone; four more vehicles were approaching.

“It’s an ambush!” Atticus yelled. “We’re under attack!”

He pulled the jeep to a stop at the side of the road, and we all jumped out.

“It’s Anya!” I shouted. “She must have planned this all along. This is her backup if the marriage didn’t happen. They were waiting for us!”

“Why would she want to attack us?” Atticus asked, confusion clouding his features.

“Because we killed her mother!” I shouted. “The witch who claimed to have Anya under her spell, the same witch who tried to kill me, is none other than Anya’s mother.”

I pulled the picture from my dress and showed it to them.

Atticus’s eyes darkened with fury as the realization hit him.

“I can’t believe it. All this time, she’s been our enemy. All this time, it’s been her.”

Autumn gasped. “How could she do this?”

Atticus ran a hand down his face, pinching the bridge of his nose, shock etched across his features. At one point, Anya had been the love of his life; that’s what she wanted him to believe.

“And who are all these people?” Autumn asked as more figures emerged from their vehicles.

Dante and the others soon joined us.

“It must be friends of Anya or her mother,” I answered. “She was planning to marry into our family, to gain our trust before attacking. She didn’t expect me to uncover the truth before she could marry Damon.”

“What madness are you saying, Clarissa?” Dante asked.

“Are you not realizing that Anya is no longer beside us?” I shot back. “She’s with the others now.”

At my words, he looked around for her, surprise washing over him when he found her with the enemy.

“What is going on?” Damon demanded.

“Anya’s mother is the witch who tried to kill me, Damon,” I explained, his eyes widening.

“Yes, that’s right. The woman you were planning to marry, the one I begged you to stay away from, is the same woman who nearly caused my death,” I taunted. “She isn’t the sweet, innocent girl you thought she was. This was all a plan she devised with her mother. She was sent to harm us—and she did a damn good job at it.”

I pushed the picture into his hands, and he snatched it, his eyes narrowing as he crumpled it in his fist.

“ANYA!” he roared, his voice shaking the air, but she showed no sign of fear now that she had her allies.

Dante looked heartbroken, maybe still under her spell, unlike the others.

He walked toward her, even though she was now surrounded by people intent on harming us. I tried to stop him, but Atticus held me back.

“Is this true?” Atticus asked gently. “Are you responsible for everything that has been happening to my family? Was this all a plan to get closer to us just so you could hurt us?”

Her eyes were cold, emotionless as she glared at him. She didn’t need to pretend anymore; her true feelings were evident.

“Of course it’s true,” she snapped. “Did you think I was actually in love with you? Are you blind? I liked you the least out of the other two. The only one I ever had feelings for was Atticus, but that asshole broke my heart when he chose to be with Autumn. I tried to protect him from my mother. She wanted to get rid of all of you to hurt your parents, but I asked her to protect Atticus. I should have never listened to my heart, because in the end, it cost me my mother. I never loved you, Dante, and I never loved Damon. You’re under a spell I cast. At first, it was my mother, but after she died, I had to continue her plan. I had to finish the job for her.”

How could she speak to him like that? He was in pain! Why wasn’t the spell breaking? Why was he the only one still trapped in her web?

“I know my feelings, and it’s not because of a damn spell!” Dante roared. “I love you, damn it! How could you betray my feelings? I trusted you. I protected you. Why would you do this to me? Why, Anya? Why?”