Chapter Seventy-Nine
The gala glittered on, a swirl of silk and shadow. Avery moved through the crowd with practiced ease, her gown flowing like water, her fairies glowing faintly at her shoulders. She never lingered long in one place, never close enough to her mates to draw suspicion. To the casual eye, she seemed to flit from group to group, untethered, her circle scattered.
It was exactly the illusion they wanted.
From the shadows of the entryway, Londrell slipped inside. His eyes swept the room, sharp and hungry. His minions fanned out, subtle as smoke, gathering whispers, planting enchanted bugs in corners and alcoves. They would track her, follow her, learn her patterns. Taking her here would be too public, too risky. But tonight, he would see for himself the bond that tied her to her mates.
And there she was.
Avery turned, her gaze finding him as if she had known he was there all along. A regal, knowing smile curved her lips. She extended her hand with perfect grace, introducing herself and the nobles clustered around her — the dragon warrior, the gamma, the delta.
Londrell stepped forward, his obsession pulling him closer. He took her hand.
The world froze.
The music faltered. The crowd blurred. For a heartbeat, there was nothing but her eyes, her touch, her power.
Londrell staggered, disoriented. His connection to his minions snapped like brittle thread. He reached for them and found nothing. His mind spun, his vision fractured.
By the time Avery released him and moved away, smiling as though nothing had happened, it was already over.
His base of operations had been located. His men — every last one — captured.
Londrell slipped out of the gala, his cloak pulled tight, his mind reeling. He thought he had won. He thought he had seen what he came for.
But he was wrong.
So very wrong.
Riven gave the signal the moment Avery moved.
She slipped through the crowd like mist, her gown flowing, her presence ethereal. To the untrained eye, she was simply mingling, drifting from one cluster of nobles to the next. But her mates knew better. Every step was deliberate, every angle calculated.
Lucien’s orders had already gone out — his team was waiting at the rendezvous point, ready to intercept. Kael and Molly had slipped away moments earlier, their wolves tearing through the night, shadows on four paws, ready to follow the shades back to their lair.
And Avery… Avery had locked eyes with the man in the shadows.
She knew him.
Not from this life, not from this moment, but from the nightmares of her childhood. He had been the boogeyman in her dreams, the figure of smoke she had drawn for her nanny when she was small. Years later, she had seen him again — not in dreams, but in flesh. A teacher’s acquaintance, a man who lingered too close, who smiled too long, who never took no for an answer.
She had kept her distance. She had been relieved when she changed schools, certain she would never have to see him again.
And yet, here he was. Londrell.
Her stomach tightened, but her face remained serene. Through the mind link, she relayed it all to her mates — the dreams, the memories, the way he had haunted her even before she knew his name.
Riven’s fury burned hot through the bond. Kael’s wolf snarled in the distance. Lucien’s mind sharpened like a blade.
When Londrell finally slipped from the hall, his minions scattering like smoke, the trap closed. Teams followed, silent and swift.
Lucien appeared at Avery’s side, his presence grounding her. Without a word, they turned to shadow, their forms dissolving into darkness as they slipped unseen through the crowd.
They reformed at Riven’s side, his dragon already waiting, scales gleaming faintly in the moonlight. Avery climbed onto his back, Lucien steadying her, the bond humming with fierce unity.
With a powerful beat of wings, Riven launched into the sky.
The gala glittered below, but Avery’s gaze was fixed on the horizon, where Londrell fled into the night.
This time, she would not run.
Londrell thought he had slipped away, but the truth was far different.
The stealth team had already breached his base, moving like shadows through the halls. Every man was tagged, every piece of intel copied and secured. And when they left, they left nothing behind — no trace, no hint that they had ever been there.
This was not the time to tighten the noose. Not yet.
This was information gathering only.
Back at the council chambers, Avery and her mates were waiting. Maps had already been updated, debriefings completed, and the first threads of strategy woven together.
When the stealth team arrived, they turned over everything — files, recordings, enchanted trackers, and coded messages. The council scribes and analysts immediately set to work, their tables already covered in scrolls and glowing runes.
Avery listened, her expression calm but sharp. “We can’t go in guns blazing,” she reminded them. “Not without a plan. We need to know why. Why they are doing this. Why they are so determined to destroy hybrid pairs and mating.”
Her mates stood with her, silent pillars of strength. Riven’s hand rested lightly on her back, Lucien’s eyes scanned the maps, Kael’s wolf simmered beneath his skin, and Molly’s steady presence anchored them all.
When the report was finished, Avery stepped forward. Her voice was warm, steady, carrying the weight of leadership.
“You’ve done well. More than well. You’ve given us what we need to move forward. Thank you.”
Her mates echoed her praise, each offering words of gratitude, their bond humming with pride for the warriors who had risked so much.
The team bowed their heads, relief and pride shining in their eyes, before slipping away into the night.
The council would sift through the intel, piece by piece, until the truth revealed itself. When they found something, they would call Avery and her circle back.
For now, there was nothing more to do.
Avery exhaled, her shoulders loosening as she turned to her mates. “We need to get ready for school.”
The words felt almost absurd after the night they’d had — but that was the balance of their lives now. War and prophecy on one side, the semblance of normalcy on the other.
And tomorrow, both would demand their attention.