Chapter 61

ELLA

Half an hour after Leo left, Max came over. But this time he brought an extra visitor.

“Milly,” I said, hugging his now almost adult sister as she came to the door, “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Max said you were in need of some cheering up,” she replied. “And since he is self-aware and knows he is a miserable old git, he got me to come too.”

I laughed as Max rolled his eyes. “Remember when she was a sweet little girl, Ells?”

“And now look at you,” I said, taking her hands, “so grown up and tall.”

She smiled down at me and laughed.

She was a few inches taller than me and had the most elegant figure, despite only being seventeen. Her eyes were large, dark, and round and her hair was thick, long locks of dark brown. She really was beautiful.

“Yeah, and she has all the boys swooning over her,” Max grumbled. “I’m having to fight one in particular off the doorstep almost every day.”

“Oooh, Milly,” I teased, “looks like you have a secret admirer.”

“His name is Otis, and he’s just a friend,” Milly responded. “Or at least he would be if Max didn’t scare him off every time. I haven’t seen him since school ended for summer.”

“Maximus,” I scolded.

“I know the look in his eyes when he sees you,” Max replied. “He wants to be more than friends.”

“And so what?” Milly replied “He’s cute.”

“He’s also not your mate,” Max replied.

I smiled and rolled my eyes. “Will you two stop bickering and come inside? The kids will be delighted to see you, Milly.”

I let Milly come through the door, at which point Lili, Marie, and Francesca realized she was there and bombarded her with cuddles. I then stepped in front of Max, blocking his entry.

“You better get the fuck off her back,” I hissed.

He laughed. “Who are you to tell me what to do? Did you raise her? Are you her guardian until she’s eighteen?”

“She’s seventeen. If she wants to date, let her,” I added.

“Or what?” he asked, pushing past me and into the house where Mathias jumped into his arms.

I sighed and went into the living room where my daughters were already braiding Milly’s hair.

“Oh, girls, be careful with your cousin’s hair. Don’t pull too hard,” I said with a laugh as Milly winced.

“Can we try out our new hairstyle on you, Milly?” Marie asked. “Mommy’s hair isn’t long enough.”

“Of course you can, Marie,” Milly replied. “Just listen to your mom and be gentle.”

I smiled and then turned to Max who was already holding Mathias upside down as Cato and Silas attacked a leg each, chanting, “Slay the beast.”

They all screamed in delight as Max pretended to be overwhelmed and dropped to his knees before Cato quickly climbed onto his shoulders and screamed, “Victory!”

“Never,” Max roared, before standing up, still holding Mathias and now with Cato on his shoulders.

Cato could hardly contain his excitement as Max swooped down and hauled Silas into his arms too.

“I will not be defeated by three small humans!” he continued.

I laughed and tried to bury my anxiety about the height Cato had ended up at. I trusted Max not to drop him, but I couldn’t help but wince when he put his little hands over Max’s eyes.

The trouble with Cato was he had absolutely no fear. Ten meters up a tree? Not a problem. Jumping off a high rock into a deep lake? Not a problem.

Sitting six feet high on his cousin’s shoulders, who is also holding two other squirming children, and then covering his eyes in a house with many obstacles? Definitely not a problem.

“Careful, Cato” was said by both me and Leo at least ten times a day each along with “No, Cato,” “Sit still, Cato,” and “Stop, Cato.”

Eventually, the slaying the beast game came to an end, and I took a deep breath before we managed to get all six of the older ones settled in front of ~Shrek~ and Stefano and Zacharias quietly down for a nap.

Max sat buried by them on the sofa as Milly and I stood in the kitchen.

“So…,” I began. “Tell me about this Otis.”

She smiled and looked over to Max who either was too engrossed in ~Shrek~ to listen or was pretending not to listen.

“He’s just a boy that lives in our village, and I sit next to him in math class,” she said.

“He’s smart, and I’m not good at math because of all the school I missed before the amulet, so he always helps me with the hard questions, and we do our homework together at lunch.”

“Aww,” I replied.

“I know he likes me, and I like him too, but I know there’s no point because of Max,” she continued with a sigh. “He’s made it clear from the second I started school that I’m not allowed to date.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“He says because I can’t risk my secret getting out, but also just because he’s Max,” she said. “Apparently, I will wait for my mate…”

“I see,” I replied. “He loves you, Milly, and he has always done everything he can to protect you. If he thinks Otis is gonna cause you harm or break your heart or whatever, he’s not gonna change his mind.”

She nodded.

“Max never changes his mind,” she said.

“He’s stubborn, that’s for sure. But he’s not always right, and I do think he should give Otis a chance. He seems like a nice boy. He helps you with your math, that’s good, right?” I replied.

“Two words: ulterior motives,” Max piped up from the sofa.

“Private conversation,” I snapped.

“About me? I’m entitled to listen,” he replied.

Milly rolled her eyes.

“Don’t worry, Ella. There’s nothing you can do to help,” she said, before raising her voice deliberately and turning to face Max. “I’ll just be miserable and lonely until I find my mate.”

Just then, the front door opened, and Leo came in.

“Hey,” he said shortly, before going straight to the fridge, hardly acknowledging any of us.

“There’s some pasta in there for you,” I said.

He nodded, found the pasta, grabbed a fork, and began eating it, not even sitting down.

I exchanged confused looks with Milly.

“What’s up?” I asked.

He looked up. “Nothing.”

“Leonardo, do you take me for an idiot?” I asked. “Is it the training?”

“No. The training is fine, but…” he began, before looking at Milly and Max. “Never mind.”

“Out with it,” I said sternly. “But what?”

He sighed and put the pasta down. “I’m afraid it won’t be enough. They may be elite and fast learners, but to turn a thousand men that have hardly touched a gun into master shooters in one day? It’s impossible.”

Max and I exchanged nervous glances.

“And don’t you dare tell Blair. I have to keep morale up, and if they find out their own alpha doesn’t believe in them, that would be disastrous,” he warned.

“You might have more than a day to get them up to scratch,” I pointed out.

“Or we could have less than a day. Martinez could attack any minute. We don’t know where he is or what he’s doing,” Leo replied.

I went over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

“Okay, Andrea’s men are better shooters than yours. But yours are better trained in every other aspect. They are also more loyal, more obedient, and more intelligent,” I said.

“I lived with them for months, remember? When was the last time you had to kill one of your own men for betraying you? Because Andrea was doing it almost every week.”

“And what value does loyalty, obedience, and intelligence have against a bullet?” he asked.

I sighed and leaned my head on his chest as he put his hands on my waist and rested his head on mine before letting out a deep breath.

“Alpha, I’m sorry if I’m speaking out of turn, but I think I could help,” Milly suddenly said.

I let go of Leo and turned around to face her as Max shot her a glare and got off the sofa.

“How?” Leo asked.

“My power has been growing,” she said. “I can feel it. As promised when I first got the amulet, I only practiced in my room at home, but I know I can do so much more than move books and set candles alight.”

Max marched over. “Absolutely, categorically no,” he said. “You are not getting involved.”

“What do you think you can do?” I asked.

“I can move things...big things...and set fires and change the weather and who knows what else. I’ve never had the chance to try,” she said.

“And the amulet lets you control it?” I asked.

She nodded.

I looked up to Leo, who had been quiet, to see him deep in thought.

“Alpha?” Max said. “Please say you are not considering this?!”

“The legends say that the other wolves with Hecate’s powers could use them to defend their packs,” I pointed out.

“Yes, apart from the ones that were killed by their own powers or by others who feared them,” Max snapped.

“There’s a good reason we’ve been hiding her abilities for four years. Why the fuck would we reveal them to the entire pack now?!”

“Because they could save this entire pack,” Leo said. “And I want to see what you are capable of, Milly.”

“No,” Max said. “You are not using my sister as a weapon.”

“I want to help my pack, Max,” Milly pleaded. “I can’t watch people suffer if I know I can help—”

Max held his finger up to her, and she instantly shut her mouth. “You are still a kid. This is not your decision.”

“But I am the alpha, and it is mine,” Leo said.

Max tightened his jaw before turning to me. “Ella, you know everything there is to know about Milly’s powers. Surely you can see how this is a terrible idea?!”

“She has the amulet, and she is in control,” I said.

“When moving books and lighting candles,” Max replied. “What about when the fear and stress of being in public let alone a war zone takes hold?!

“And what about when the people of the pack see she is one of Hecate’s descendants? When they see she has the same power as the girl who killed all those people centuries ago? They all know the stories, Ella.”

“Do you really think they’d turn on the girl that saved them?” I asked.

“And what if it goes wrong?”

I sighed and stepped back, nothing more to say.

Max then roughly took Milly’s arm and tugged her toward the door.

“Maximus, stop,” Leo ordered. “I want to see what your sister can do.”

He clenched his jaw again and let go of Milly. “Alpha—”

“We will go to a quiet spot in the forest and give her a chance to test the full potential of her abilities,” Leo interrupted.

“If I have the slightest suspicion that she is not ready, we will not go through with it when Martinez attacks.”

Max let out a short sigh. “I can’t argue with you, Alpha, but I am not happy with this.”

Leo nodded. “You care about your little sister, I get it,” he said. “But I care about my pack and my family, and if this could save them, I’m willing to try it.”

Max gave a forced nod before glaring once again at Milly and then me before taking a walk outside.

“I’ll call Luca to come and watch the kids, then we’ll go into the forest,” Leo said, before leaving to go to his office.

“He’s mad at me,” Milly said, burying her face in her hands. “I hate it when he’s mad at me.”

“Oh, Mils,” I said, putting my hand on her back. “He’ll get over it.”

“It’s easy for you to say. You’re used to it because he’s mad at you like ninety percent of the time,” she replied with a sigh.

“Yeah, and I think he’s more mad at Leo and I right now and just worried about you,” I reassured her. “Once you show him you can do this, he’ll be fine.”

Leo came back into the kitchen. “Luca will be here in ten minutes. Are you ready, Milly?”

She nodded. “Yes.”