Reed was gone as soon I completed the whole story, covering every single detail about the hooded lady, the veiny guard, and beta Casper of Dumeny's pack. I gulped down water to ease the functioning of my brain. It was already past midnight, and I doubted anybody wanted to sleep.
Dumeny was sitting beside me. After his incident with Diaz, he had his guard up. Any movement and he will change into his wolf. Reed returned sooner than I anticipated. He threw two bags on the table. I easily recognized one because it was mine. He quickly placed some papers in them, zipped them close, and turned towards me.
"You are going with me," he said matter-of-factly. Before I could say anything, Darek interrupted. "Then what? They want her blood; they wouldn't stop until we hand her over to them. They have the blade of Zydus." Dumeny looked at Darek as if he was out of his mind.
"Have you heard yourself? They wanted us to turn back on each other. They wanted us to fight." Dumeny said. He stood before Reed. "And she is not going anywhere."
Reed's face worsened if it was even possible. He kept glancing back between him and me, and I swear I saw a tint of jealousy in his eyes. "Yes, she is," he muttered under his breath, and with that, he grabbed my wrist and started walking towards the door. Every atom of my hand danced with sparks wherever he touched me. The sparks were faded but still present. I closed my eyes in bliss. Every other emotion was subdued under the sparks. Just before I could have left the room, Dumeny caught my other arm.
"She isn't going anywhere." With that, his eyes turned silver showing his wolf was on the surface. The whole aura of the room changed. Again.
"Leave. Her. Hand." Reed said each word slowly in between his breaths. The nerve on his neck was beating almost a hundred times per minute. I could still sense from the mate bond that he was mad. Not mad. The word was too short to define what I was feeling through the mate bond.
"Why would we trust you? You were an outcast. You were the one who created this mess in the first place. And maybe you have already made some deal with the witches. Where were you when they attacked us? Why would you..." Reed grabbed Dumeny's throat and backed him to the wall. His eyes turned pure red, not leaving any sign of blue.
"Ask her. Oh yes, she won't." Reed smirked, tightening his hold on his neck. "I would never make a deal with the witches, especially not with my 'mate' on the line. The letter was not for her. It was for me. They want to get back at me, and I am not gonna let that happen."
Realization dawned upon Dumeny as the words slowly starting to make sense to him. He stopped struggling. He looked towards me as if not trusting him. I bit my lip and smiled apologetically. He was my best friend, and I lied to him on his face. Reed loosened his grip.
"It is not the time for fighting. We have to be strong for what is coming next," Reed said, eyeing every other alpha present in the room. "Prepare your best fighters and try to stay low. Until I figure out how to sort this mess." With that, Reed started walking out of the room with me.
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"For the sweet lord of Jesus, would you tell me where the hell we are going?" I asked politely for the hundredth time. We were continuously driving for two hours straight in the forest. I have already informed August that the meeting was extended for another week. Dumeny and the others already got their job to gather their warriors and prepare for the war, leaving only us. Us.
"Just far away as possible so 'we' could buy some time for you.'" I looked out the window only to meet the darkness.
"Why you suddenly caring about me?" I said, voicing my thoughts aloud. Reed held the steering wheel so tight his knuckle turned white.
"I don't," he said after a momentary silence, and his jaw twitched. For the first time after our last encounter, I was sitting so close to him. I silently admired his facial features. He was unmistakably handsome. His lips were pink and plump and so kissable. A perfect nose and chiseled jawline so sharp it could cut swords. And his eyes, I don't know what they were, but every time I looked into them, everything disappeared. And the piercings...
I shook my head and looked again; he had a hole in his right ear and right eyebrow I didn't notice before. Why did he have to be so devilishly handsome? He looked in my direction only to catch me starring at him already and narrowed his eyes.
He picked out the phone from the pocket and dialed who knows who.
"Yes. Now. I know. Do it." With that, he hung up the phone and continued driving. After covering a considerable distance, he stopped the car in the middle of the forest and stood outside. I quickly did the same. A portal opened out of nowhere. My eyes could’ve popped out of my sockets any second. It was like a black hole that could take us somewhere else. I have only read about it in my father's journals.
I have always thought of them as some crazy witch stories until now.
Reed started walking towards the portal; before entering, he looked in my direction. "Are you going to stay the night here?" and with that, the black hole completely devoured him. Without a second doubt, I closed my eyes and jumped into the portal. The sensation of being squeezed took over. As if someone was pulling me out of my soul.
When the feeling of being squeezed finally went away, I opened my eyes, feeling very dizzy. For a moment, my vision was blurred, and my head was spinning. When my vision focused, I noticed we were standing before a huge castle. Reed was standing patiently at the stairs. I climbed the stairs and stood by his side.
He knocked on the door only to be opened by a girl. She looked young, maybe in her twenties. She quickly hugged Reed, and my insides boiled in jealousy because of the stranger. Reed hugged her back. "Why did you seem so urgent on the call?" she asked. Her voice was sweet, just like the witch.
I quickly stepped back from her. I could not believe it. Reed really brought me to the witches. As if reading my thoughts, he looked at me. "Yes, she is a witch, but she means no harm. She is on our side." I straighten my posture, trying to believe his words but keep my guard up.
The witch stood before me and examined me as if she did not believe her eyes. "You brought her," she exclaimed and hugged me excitedly, and looked at me from head to toe.
"Sorry, I am Diana," she chirruped. She took my hand and crossed it with hers. I was overwhelmed by her energy and enthusiasm, and the top of that, her eyes were a little intimidating.
They were the bright contrast of purple and black, one I have never seen before. "You must be Reed's mate?" she whispered in my ear. "Oh, where are my manners? You must be tired. Let me show you your room." As if on cue, I yawned like an elephant. Maybe she was not that bad.
Before she could take me to her room, Reed interrupted. "The Oracle had the blade," he said hurriedly. All of a sudden, Diana dropped my hand and looked back at Reed. Her body language completely changed in a second. One minute she looked cheerful and full of joy, and now she was terrified just by the name of Oracle.
"And they know about her," he said, nodding towards me. I kept looking between the faces of Reed and Diana.