66
66
The Mythguard might have been critical to us protecting our towns and packs and getting rid of David, but they were still a threat in their own right. We couldn’t risk history repeating itself, allowing Muriel, Kiara, and any other unicorns in their care to become targets of shifters seeking the Lycan ritual.
“How did you know the shifter you detected was Kiara?” asked Aislin.
We all focused on Sebastian again. “We have ways of identifying unicorns under our care,” he said vaguely, then rose from the chair, sensing that he had overstayed his welcome. “I’ll keep you updated regarding our searches and the sentries positioned in Grandbay. Was that all?”
“Yes,” I dismissed.
He tipped his head and turned, leaving the office.
It didn’t sit well with any of us, how the Mythguard were approaching this issue. I never realized how unreliable of an ally they were until I found myself and my pack embroiled in a conflict that they were supposed to resolve for us. Perhaps Gavin, and even David to some extent, had a point: some wars were meant to be fought by shifters, and shifters alone. Only we could create our own justice.
With Gavin, Billie, and Aislin beside me, I believed we could come out of this alive. We were capable of passing all the judgment that was needed. I looked between my companions, and for the first time, I felt like our packs were truly united.
Eastpeak and Grandbay would stand strong against Dalesbloom.
David would come to regret ever trying to divide us.
Chapter 31: Aislin
T
he effect of the marking ritual was distinct and immediate. The swirling, volatile angers within me met their match in the preternatural bond granted by the Moon Goddess, and the inferno of my fear and fury became tamed. I was eternally bound to Everett. My wolf would never have to run alone again.
That first night, I slept better than I ever had. Snuggled up against Everett’s warm, comforting chest, I finally felt at home with him, and I was ready to live this feeling for the rest of my life. Everett March, the stoic Alpha of Eastpeak, was my mate.
After meeting with Sebastian, I felt the compulsion to do more. There was only so much we could depend on the Mythguard for. Everett and I shared that thought. While he got our packmates ready for the hunt in the yard and we waited for Gavin and Billie to bring my mother home from the hospital, I sat by myself in Everett’s home office. In the chair where he usually pondered his next move, I gazed out across the world that had for so long been his—and now was mine. The mountainside dark with twilight, stars glistening between dim cotton clouds and the faintest glow of the sliver of the new moon. This would become my domain. As the Alpha’s mate, I wanted to be known for the actions I would take, too.
I gazed up at that dark sliver of the moon and sighed. The marking ritual had made me feel closer to the Moon Goddess than ever before. It reminded me that she was real, however intangible an entity she was, her magic was true and flowed through my veins as well as Everett’s. She was looking down on us, wise enough to choose the perfect fated mate for us. Aware of us… and aware of what was transpiring with David and the wicked dragons.
Closing my eyes, I reached out to the Moon Goddess with hope in my heart. “Luna, if you can hear me… please, please don’t grant David and Lothair their Lycan powers. You know as well as I do that it’ll only cause more death, and we’ve already suffered so much. So many wolf shifters—your shifters—have had their lives ripped away. Our packs are broken. If you let him succeed, then everything you have already done for us… for me, for Gavin… will be in vain. Please listen to me, Luna, heed my prayer. We are your children. And we want to live.”
I fell silent, waiting for a response. Nothing happened.
Even when I opened my eyes and gazed down the mountainside, I hoped to see some sign that the Moon Goddess had heard my pleas, but there was only stillness in the dark. I wasn’t sure if it was futile, making this prayer to her, or if she even cared… but at least I could rest assured knowing I had made the plea, rather than doing nothing at all.
I walked downstairs in the same moment that Gavin walked through the door supporting my mother on his arm. My heart leaped, whatever disappointment I faced from the Moon Goddess’ silence overwritten with joy to see my mother. Racing down the stairs, I greeted them with a warm smile. “Hi, Mom.”
My mother was still wrapped in bandages, walking frailly beside Gavin. She might be healing faster due to being a shifter, but she was still pretty fragile, and I could tell from the slowness in her body that her burns hurt her terribly. She looked at me and mustered a small smile, reaching out for me. I all too quickly took her from Gavin, carefully embracing her where she wasn’t burnt. “Aislin. It’s good to be here and out of that noisy hospital,” she said softly.
“It’s good to have you here. You’re all I’ve been thinking about.” Well, Everett was heavily on my mind too, as was the safety of our packs, but mostly, I had been worried about my mother. Every minute I was away from her, I ached over what we had both lost.
“I suppose we’ll be spending a lot of time here for the foreseeable future, hm? How does Everett feel about that?” my mother asked quietly.
I pulled back and searched her eyes, rubbing the side of my neck to draw her attention to the scar there. “He’s happy about it. We’re mates now.”
My mother’s eyes lit up and glistened. “Oh, Ais. That’s wonderful. Since when? How much have I missed…?”
“Not much,” I laughed softly. “It was only last night.”
She drew me into another hug, tighter than before. Her love was expressed in the long, silent seconds she spent wrapped around me, so purely happy for me and relieved that there was an inkling of positivity in the face of all the darkness. It was unspoken, but I felt it. “Before I know it, you’ll be getting married, moving into his house, having his babies…”