The Offer

LORELAI

I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. My body flew into the throne, Silas having escaped it before I could get to him. My magic hit nothing but air as he chuckled darkly from where his form stood by the window.

It was dark outside the huge windows, the moon nowhere to be found, just like in my territory. Heavy black curtains lined the windows, and the floor was polished black marble—a stunning texture that I hadn’t seen with the wolves.

I snarled at Silas, who smirked back and opened his arms for me to try again. I perched on his throne and shook my head.

“What the hell do you want? You destroyed the border, you let Adrenna out, you stole my son. Why should I let you live?”

“Let me live? Big words from such a little hybrid. You’re courageous, though; I’ll give you that,” he said in a patronizing way that had my skin prickling with hatred.

I glared at him and inched to the edge, ready to throw myself at him again. My shadows were angry and swirling, purple magic filling the room. He didn’t even care, his easy smirk pissing me off even more.

“Why did you bring me here?” I demanded. He strolled to the middle of the silver carpet that lay in a runner from the black double doors at the end of the room to the spiky black throne I was on.

“Well, it wasn’t so you could kill me, so you can get that thought out of your head. I’m not going to give you that opportunity on a silver platter, so to speak. But I am rather looking forward to watching you try when we come for your kind.”

It was then I knew that he had every intention of bringing us down, and my blood boiled. What the hell was he waiting for?

“I will kill you if you don’t give me some answers.”

“Not here you won’t. These little meetings in limbo, a paradox outside of time and reality, are not our physical entities. We barely exist here in any other form than our souls; therefore, your ability to kill me is non-existent. Aside from your threat, though, I am here to make you an offer,” Silas said, slipping his hands into the pockets of his pants.

I didn’t care what his offer was. I was not doing anything but tasting his blood between my teeth and feeling the life leave his body. And despite what he said about not being able to, I doubted he knew all the ways my soul had broken the rules before. I was willing to test the theory on him now.

“What offer?” I snapped.

“An offer of marriage. You are powerful, with magic in your veins, shadows of a winter born, and a wolf that can be tamed. You are exactly what my disciples need. I need—”

“No,” I cut him off. There was no point in listening to his spiel. There was nothing in this world that could convince me to do what he was asking, so whatever the reason or explanation, it was a useless one.

“You haven’t—”

“I said no. I am mated; I have the ones I have chosen for myself. I reject your offer,” I stated firmly, and he scowled.

“I do not take rejection very well, I’m afraid. I must insist you hear my terms.”

“I don’t take murder very well, nor kidnapping, nor threats, so surely we are no match.”

“There you are wrong. But I will have you whether you come on your own free will or not, so I was giving you the option. When you leave here, the decision is final, and should you still choose to reject me, I will carry out the consequences of that decision.”

“You think I would leave the alphas for you?” I raised a brow, shocked that he was serious.

“Oh, I am under no illusion they would be part of our deal. You are mated, which means they are the reason for some of your strength, so they will come with you. The abominations you birthed too. We will pick out a nice cell where they can live out their days unharmed and have a somewhat comfortable—isolated—life. You will be my wife, lending me that magic, doing my bidding, and helping me hold dominion over everything in this world for the end of time.”

“Ew, I’m not going to be your wife. And if you’re putting my mates and children in a cell, then you better put me in there too.”

“Oh no, I have other plans for you. Of course, I have no interest in you romantically; fuck your wolves whenever you want, do whatever you want, but you will swear servitude and lend your magic to me when I ask of it. I’ll also require an heir, so that is the exception to that rule. We will procreate as your body allows hybrids, and I will get my line to carry on the throne name with someone so powerful.”

“Are you being serious right now? You stole my son. I’m not touching you, I’m not doing anything for you or with you unless it is draining you of blood and watching you shrivel up and die before my eyes,” I warned, climbing down from the throne and the steps to stand before him.

He was so much taller than me, but he was thin and so pale. His teeth shot out, and I scowled, taking a step back, my shadows hissing in warning.

“I can smell you even through this connection, and I want a taste. I have since the first time I sensed you at Tabitha’s. As for taking your son, that was for leverage, but since nothing gets done right unless I do it myself, I thought I would go straight to the source.”

“I would rather die than agree to your offer.” I spat in his face, and he clenched his jaw.

“Your pack will die at our hands should you choose this path, little girl. I suggest you change your decision.”

“My pack will survive because if I am as powerful as you say I am, then it means I am a threat to you, and you know it. You’re trying to neutralize me, and it’s not going to work. So come for us, try to take what isn’t yours, but we’re strong, and we’ll fight you every step of the way. Maybe you’ll win, maybe we will, but whatever happens will be a better alternative than having you on a throne making us kneel,” I bit back.

The fire in my blood, the urge to protect the pack, my alphas, my children was making my magic feel warm in my body as if it was powering up. It made me think that maybe my theory held some weight to it. There was only one way to find out.

“You really care so little for the future of your children? I will personally drain every last drop of theirs if you reject this offer. It is the only chance you have.”

“Fuck you and your chances,” I snarled, then shoved him away.

My hands connected, and I grinned at how stunned he looked before swiping my claws across his cheek. His screech pierced my eardrums, and I clutched my head, the siren sound echoing inside it like nails on a chalkboard. Then the room filled with vampires.

All with red eyes, black clothes, red cloaks.

They came for me, and I shoved them away with my magic, blasting every single one. My eyes were trained on Silas. He stood as still as a statue by the window as his cheek stitched back together from my claw marks.

My magic swelled inside me as more vampires piled in, taking shots. Teeth sunk into my arm, and I flung the vamp back, refusing to acknowledge the burn. Then my outer thigh, but I still fought back.

My shadows and magic refused to tire, refused to stop. I wanted Silas. I charged him and caught his hand as he tried to speed away.

He spun on me, baring his fangs, but I gave him a jab to the jaw, a solid right hook that my alphas would have been proud of. Just as I was torn off him by his minions.

They dragged me into the middle of the throne room, screaming and kicking. My hand hurt from the pain of punching him. He followed me as his vampires pinned me to the ground.

I kicked them off and threw them off with magic and shadows, but there were so many of them—swirls of black and red that moved too fast for me to see. I screamed as one bit my side, then more bites. My shadows hissed and burned them away from me as my magic glowed intensely, as if it were powering up. Silas didn’t realize how much danger he was in, though; he stood above me with that fucking smirk and evil red eyes.

“I am going to have you, taste that sweet hybrid blood, and when I do, you are going to be mine. I gave you a choice, and you have chosen the hard way. So you can run back to your alphas and tell them that war is coming, that Silas is coming, and it is all your fault. I’m sure they’ll take that well.” He smirked, and that’s where he was wrong.

They would never blame me for this; of that, I was sure. And he still didn’t get it: I was stronger with my pack, with my alphas. They were never going to be my weakness.

And my magic that he coveted so much? It was the very reason he should be afraid because I didn’t own it. I used it, and it let me because I looked after it. Which is exactly why, when I felt the tightness in my chest, the glowing all over my body, the swell of pressure, I didn’t panic.

I just gave Silas the same patronizing smirk.

Purple magic exploded out of me, a burst of energy and light that poured out in a wave so fierce it tore the vampires from me, throwing them into walls and statues.

Bones cracking was music to my ears, the outraged screeches of vampires that had no hope against my magic. It poured into every single one of them, shutting their bodies down one by one until it was just me and Silas standing there among his kind.

They weren’t dead—I wasn’t even sure how to kill them—but they were knocked out and would not be helping him kill me any time soon. My magic retracted back into me, and I internally thanked it for helping. It preened at my compliment, like a proud child getting praised.

I smirked wider at Silas, who looked like he wanted to tear my head off.

“You will never taste my blood; you will never have the future you are fighting for because I will stop you every time. You have no idea what I am capable of now, and your first mistake was underestimating me and taking my son. You are the one going to pay for your decisions; we’ll make sure of it. See you soon, Silas,” I warned before asking my magic to sever the connection and take me back.

It did, and I was spun back into the room with Derik, Cain, and Beenie. I was lying on the floor, a blanket on me, my head in Derik’s lap as he held me. Cain looked pale, drawn out, in pain as Beenie rocked him. Kai was in my head instantly with Brax.

“What happened?” Derik asked as soon as I was conscious. I slowly sat up, dizziness washing over me.

“I—”

Cain whimpered in the corner, and my head snapped to him. “Cain?” I asked, but Beenie shook her head, helping him up.

“I’ll take care of him. Whatever pulled you in kept Cain tethered to maintain the connection; it drained him. He’ll need time to recover, so any plans you had of using his magic for more of your own bullshit, you can just figure out yourself,” Beenie snapped, then pulled Cain out, who sagged into her.

She slammed the door shut, and I turned to Derik, who was there in an instant, his fingers running over my arms. I frowned at how my skin ached and looked down to where he was touching.

There were bite marks, in the final stages of healing.

“It was Silas,” I whispered.

“We assumed that. How bad was it?” Derik asked.

~“I’m going to kill him,”~ Kai vowed in my head, drawing closer.

~“He shouldn’t have been able to harm you through the connection,”~ Brax snarled, and I shook out their questions so I could get a clear head and explain, hoping I was right and they wouldn’t blame me.

“I uh, I kind of did something.”

“What?” Derik asked, his brow creasing.

“I really pissed him off.”

~“That’s my luna,”~ Kai snickered, his presence almost with me.

~“What’d you do, Spitfire?”~ Brax asked gently.

I took a deep breath and let the words out in a rush.

“He offered me an out where we all survive. All I had to do was marry him, and he’d let everyone live. He’d rule them and become King of us all, but I would be at his side. He promised you guys and Enzi and Zale would stay safe but locked up where I could still have access to you, but I refused and clawed at him. He had his vampires rush in and pin me down, bite me, but my magic was with me, my shadows too, and took them all out, leaving me with him. I promised to kill him, and he did the same. He said they’re coming to kill us all.”

My head was silent as Derik frowned, harder and harder. Brax was even quiet as he took in the information. Finally, the silence was too much.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have antagonized him and made the situation worse, but he said that was the only offer he was going to make, and I couldn’t take it. I couldn’t be with him like that or betray the mating bond like that, and I know we are strong enough to beat him; we have to be—”

“We’re not mad, beautiful. It’s just… You shouldn’t have been able to take them all down like that. You shouldn’t have been able to be harmed in there, and you shouldn’t have been able to fight Silas in there. It’s a lot to take in. The rules of our world seem to be changing, and I don’t know how we are meant to change with them when we don’t know what they are anymore,” Derik admitted, his frown harder.

I climbed into his lap and kissed the V away, brushing my thumb along it.

“I know, but we can do this. We can beat him. His face said it all; he’s scared. Of me, of the border magic. I think that’s why he hasn’t killed Adrenna yet. He isn’t sure what it can do and knows it makes us strong.”

~“Fucking vampires, they’ll die at my teeth if they come for us,”~ Kai said, bursting into the room, shirtless, brushing his hair back. I smiled up at him and nodded.

“They will. We won’t let them hurt us or the pack. And if we get Adrenna on our side, we’ll have even more of a chance.”

Derik nodded as Brax spoke in our minds.

~“Zale and Enzi need you, Spitfire; I think they sensed that you were gone. As for the vampire thing, we’ve got shadows, border magic, a beast, and a pack with three alphas. They have numbers. We take that away, and we’ll win this,”~ Brax said.

I saw the flash of a plan in his mind and grinned as we stood up. I needed to see the twins. Kai and Derik followed me as I contemplated Brax’s idea.

“You think if we send out hunting parties to take out the vamps bit by bit, it will slowly diminish their only advantage?” I said, and Brax agreed in the link. It could work if we could find vamps alone. And assuming they weren’t about to attack us because I pissed Silas off.

“I’m going to get the council together and discuss security, as well as get plans in place for when the vampires attack,” he said. “They’ll be interested to know the new information we have.”

“What new information?” I asked, as Derik tried to veer off down a different hall.

“That we have a way to hurt them in their minds. That Silas wants to bridge the gap with someone as powerful as you. That he is scared of you,” Derik said with a smile, and I smirked in response.

“He should be. I have mama wolf instincts now and three killer alphas at my beck and call.”

Derik’s smile widened, and he kissed me softly. “That you do, beautiful,” he confirmed. Then he brushed his thumb over my lip and left me with Kai.

“No more mind connecting for now, okay, Little Luna?” Kai said as we headed toward the nursery.

“Probably a good idea. I still want to talk to Tabby though.”

“She’ll make the trip. It’s taxing on her, but under the circumstances, I think she’ll be agreeable,” Kai said. I thought that too, so I left it at that and moved into his arm. He wrapped it around me as we walked, his warmth covering me in comfort.

I felt so safe there, like nothing could get to me. No matter what tried, they wouldn’t—couldn’t—break us. I hoped like hell that was true because that pit feeling I’d had for so long was still there.

I thought it would have dissipated after finding Zale and getting that whole feeling I had been missing, but it hadn’t. The wholeness was there, but it was heavy, not light and airy as I expected to feel.

“Maybe it’s because you worry too much,” Kai teased, kissing the top of my head.

“I don’t think so. I think it has to do with the witches, humans, and vampires that are constantly trying to kill us.”

Kai had nothing to say to that. He curled me tighter against him, walking us into the nursery.

Brax met me with a soft kiss before handing Zale over. He was fidgeting, upset, but as soon as I had him in my arms, his eyes stopped leaking and he stared. Such a wide, bright stare before he grabbed my finger.

I smiled down at him as he sent through his feelings in bits of shadow. He had been scared; he couldn’t feel me. I reassured him I was fine, sending that comforting warmth to both him and Enzi, who was fussing for Kai.

They calmed down, and I spent the next hour with them, holding them, cuddling them until my eyes grew heavy with sleep.

The twins were fed and bathed, sleeping in their crib with Brax curled up between my legs on the settee. Kai was by the window, looking out of it, watching. He was so tense, on guard, the vampires giving him the worst case of insomnia I had ever seen.

There was a light tap on the door, and Mom came in.

“How are you doing, Sweetie?” she asked in a whisper, as Brax snored loudly, shuffling in his sleep with a low whine coming out as he gripped my legs. I brushed my fingers through his hair, comforting him even in sleep, before looking up at Mom.

“I’m okay. How are you and the humans?” I asked, and she nodded.

“Good. They’ve adapted surprisingly well considering what we’ve all grown up hearing. They’re blending in and assimilating to this life, even making friends with the wolves. It’s…peaceful,” she said with a smile. I grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

“I am glad,” I said truthfully. I had been worried about the buddy system and the wolves, but since I had their shifting working, they were mostly able to control what went on inside them.

The only concern now was the heat and how that was going to affect everything. But the humans had a safety bunker now that they had been building. It was strong enough to keep werewolves and vamps out, with an escape route if needed.

Hopefully, we didn’t need it, but just in case. Even on a full moon, it might be helpful. If we survived the winter, of course.

“Where’s Galen? He’s usually following you everywhere,” I teased.

She blushed. “He’s checking on Ryleigh. She may be in labor, so he is monitoring her and the baby overnight.”

“Oh, that’s exciting.”

“Yeah, it is,” she said with a smile, then looked over at Kai, to Brax, then to the door.

“Something wrong?” I asked, and she shrugged, patting her dress down, playing with the hem.

“I just—I just wonder how long we’re going to pretend that things are okay? I mean, there is a beast in the barn. The witch is out there. The Elders have just told us about the vampires confirming their intent to attack. It makes my head spin, and I find it hard to sleep at the moment with it all,” she admitted with a sigh, and my heart clenched for her.

She was normally my rock, the one I turned to for advice and help, but this time? She needed me, and I had to be the one to comfort her. I slowly pulled myself from Brax and went to Mom, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her in.

“I love you, Mom, and we’re going to be okay. I promise,” I said, knowing I had to keep it now. I had every intention of doing it before, but now, I had a word to stick to. I couldn’t let her down.

“I trust that. I don’t mean to despair. I’m just tired,” she said, and I held her tighter.

“I know. But it’ll be over soon, and we’ll be able to sleep. Both of us.”

She nodded against me and held me back. I’m not sure how long we sat like that, but before I knew it, Galen was waking us up. He lifted Mom, who was still sleeping, into his arms. I went to protest, but he stepped back.

“I’ll get her to bed without waking her. She needs the sleep.”

I hesitated, then nodded. “And Ryleigh?”

“I think we may have a baby by the weekend. I can’t be certain, but I believe it will be Sunday, three days from now, and that child will be born,” he prophesied. He was good at specifics, so I trusted that, smiling as he walked out of the room.

Once he was gone, I stretched, looking for the alphas that had been in the room when I had fallen asleep. They weren’t there.

I went over to the bassinets, my heart racing at the emptiness.

***

“Where the fuck are they?” I demanded in the link.

“Calm down, Spitfire. Kai and I have them in the dining hall. They woke up, and we didn’t want them to wake you,” Brax said in my mind, and I let out a breath. Then I ran to the dining hall.

There weren’t many people or wolves there, and the ones that were had meals in front of them. They were eating and talking to each other as Brax, Kai, and Derik sat at their table with the twins.

I smiled at them, walking up slowly and assessing the scene. My heart was full with so much at the sight before me.

“My entire world, you know? Right here,” I said as I got closer, leaning on the table and popping a grape from Brax’s plate into my mouth. My alphas smiled back at me, and Derik grabbed my hand and kissed it.

“We sent out the first hunting party,” he said, and I nodded. I had felt that.

“And when do we get to go on one?”

“Soon. We’ll talk to the beast, add him to the pack—and the link—then we’ll go hunting for a witch. Once she is caught, we can offer her humanity with her lover. If she takes it, then we can lock her away until we trust her. Both of them can still be together that way. But if she refuses, then we kill her. Slowly,” Kai said, and I shivered at the hatred in his voice. It was as dark as it was sexy, and I licked my lips.

Despite the depravity in the situation, I hoped she picked her lover. I wanted to save her, to know she could come back from the fate the witches had given her. The added power would be a nice bonus too.

“If I get the magic back, I might be able to put the border back up too,” I theorized, and Derik nodded.

“That’s the hope.”

“Actually, I hope we get to kill all those fuckers, but I guess your way is…cleaner.” Kai smirked, and I grinned; he was right. Killing them would be satisfying, but I didn’t want them all dead, just Silas.

And if we could come out of this with an alliance, then it meant we all went home happy. The humans could have their villages back, we could have the city back, and the vampires could have whatever their territory was.

“It’s a mix of both. They have a mansion like this one in a city like ours, but it is far more spread out. They like more of a solitary lifestyle, and most of their homes have a top level but expand out underground. They like things dark,” Kai explained, answering my unspoken question.

“Do they have the things you guys have? Like showers and toilets? Because the villages don’t have those, and I’m a little offended by the fact. We’ve been using chamber pots and holes in the ground to do our business for years.”

Derik nodded, smirking. “Yeah, they have bathrooms like ours.”

“Well, that’s good news. Wait, do they even need the bathroom?” I asked, wondering how the bodily functions of a vampire worked.

“I’ve never thought to ask, to be honest,” Derik admitted.

“They never needed a bathroom break when they were in the cell with me,” Kai said darkly, and I tensed, looking up at him. Pain in his eyes was leaking into me. I hated them for what they had done to Kai, but Silas was going to pay for it all, and I had to hold on to that.

I moved to sit on Kai’s lap since he wasn’t holding a baby. He wrapped his arms around me, and I kissed him.

“I’m going to ask them when we see them.” I grinned, and Kai rolled his eyes.

“If you can before I rip their heads off, sure.”

“Oh c’mon, at least let them answer me first,” I teased.

Kai chuckled and kissed along my neck. “I’ll try, but having you anywhere near those things makes my wolf a little…erratic.”

Derik and Brax both scoffed at that.

“You’re erratic whether there are vamps involved or not,” Brax jibed. Kai grinned.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing, but imagine if I hadn’t had a tantrum about going back to the village and getting my little human back? Hmm?” Kai said, and we all knew that future wasn’t worth contemplating.

I grinned and kissed him again. “I should go talk to the beast,” I sighed, knowing there wasn’t really time to be sitting around joking, even if it was exactly what I wanted to do.

“Wait until we have information from Tabby. She will tell us whether our plans for Adrenna are even possible. If they are, we’ll join him, if not—”

I interrupted Derik, “If not, then having him as part of the pack will be beneficial for hunting Adrenna and stopping the vamps from getting in here.”

“Spitfire, as nice as the thought is, the vamps tore him apart. He isn’t immune.”

“But he might be more resilient under the pack. And he will give us strength, whether we can give him the happy ever after or not,” I said, not sure why I felt like I had to defend him, but I did. Something in me told me there was a reason we were able to free him.

My alphas went quiet, and I took that as an agreement. “You should wait for Tabby. She knows more about the beast than we do.” “That could take days.”

“So we train in those days. With your magic, shadows, and combat. Prepare you to go hunting with us. We’ll look for vamps and Adrenna, anything on this side of the territory, but not until we’ve seen Tabby,” Derik ordered, and I scowled at him.

I didn’t want to always rely on her. It was great that she always had information that was useful, but we couldn’t always expect her to drop everything and come running; she had to maintain the balance, and sometimes, I wanted to tell the balance to get fucked and just help us for once.

I wanted to go to the witches and demand they help because it was the right thing to do. But that wasn’t going to happen, so I wanted to figure it out ourselves. But I respected Derik, and I knew he was doing things by the book, doing it any other way stressed him out—something I didn’t want for him—so I sighed and nodded.

“Fine. I’ll wait for her,” I sulked. “What did the council say anyway?” Derik took a sip of his ale with a grimace.

“They’re not happy about the beast joining the pack. But they understand why we need to,” he said, but I sensed he was leaving something out. “But?”

“I couldn’t convince them to allow Adrenna the same courtesy. Even if she is turned human, they want her to pay for the crimes she committed,” Derik revealed, and I frowned, my heart aching at the future I wanted to promise them but was slipping away.

But I wasn’t giving up; I would convince them when the time came. “We know you will,” Brax winked, and I smirked at him.

“Want to go train?” I asked, not meaning it to sound sexual, but my head filled with the images of him and me, training in a naked kind of way, and he grinned.

“Thought you’d never ask,” he teased, then handed the baby to Kai, who handed me over. I gave my family a kiss each before heading out of the hall with Brax. I was tired, mentally, but physically? I was always up for training with my alphas.