Reed's POV
"Mom?" I asked anxiously. "Mom?" Still no response. I quickly ran in the direction of my house. The trees were burned dead. Houses were destroyed. Dead bodies were piled on one side of the street.
The whole scene was horrific. It could easily turn anybody's blood cold. I ran, stumbling over dead bodies till I reached my house. My house had met the same fate as the others did. The roof was half destroyed. I entered inside.
The moon was peeking through the broken roof. Dead bodies of several soldiers were laid across the gate. Whoever did that must be a powerful fighter or trained assassin. The ground was filled with blood. I covered my nose in disgust and started looking for my mother, fearing the worst.
"Mom?" My heart was beating fast, fearing if something happened to her. We were living here peacefully; we meant no harm, then why would someone attack us?
After examining every body, I sighed in relief. She wasn't here. I looked through each room, but there was no trace of her. However, her scent was still strong in the kitchen. The window of the kitchen was broken.
The window led to the path deeper to the forest. Blood was spilled across the whole path. Without a second doubt, I sprinted in the same direction. The path was covered in dirt and mud. I followed the marks of feet and blood.
My feet turned cold as soon my eyes landed on her. "Mom," I cried at the top of my lungs and ran towards her. "Open your eyes, Ma. I have come. Please open your eyes." I sobbed, feeling it difficult to breathe.
Her body was as cold as ice. She wasn't breathing. Her clothes were drenched in blood. I wiped off the blood from her face and tried to check her heartbeat, shaking her. Praying for some miracle. I sobbed and hiccupped. I cried for the first time in my life.
My eyes fluttered open. I looked at my surroundings only to find myself in my bedroom. I was breathing and sweating hard. The sheets were soaked in sweat. I looked at the clock on the wall. It was half-past midnight. I tried to compose myself. It was a dream.
I rubbed my eyes. Sleep was long gone. I kicked the sheets tiredly and went downstairs to grab something to drink. The moon was peeking through the window. I walked to her room. I peeked through the door. She was sleeping like a baby. Hell, she looked more innocent in her sleep. Her eyes, her hair, and her nose. Her nose was like a button. I chuckled, silently imagining her being annoyed and scrunching up her nose.
Her lips were the best feature of her face. Every time she bit her lower lip with her teeth, something stirred inside me to stop her and let me bite her lip instead. I don't know for how long I was admiring her feature before I moved downstairs and grabbed a bottle of red wine and a glass.
"Make it two." I looked up from my shoulders to meet Diana looking at me with a mischievous smile. Shit, she must have seen me peeking in Esma's room.
I filled the two glasses and sat at the dining table. "When did you return home?" I asked, taking a sip from my glass.
"Just now, when you were looking at your mate with lovey-dovey eyes," she said, eyeing me with the same expression, giving nothing away. She took a long sip from her glass before continuing.
"I thought of coming in the morning, but then you told me about the dead body so, I tried to come as soon as possible," she said tiredly. I hummed in response. "We will talk about it tomorrow," I said, trying to drop the topic.
She must have seen something in my behavior because she looked upstairs to check if Esma was still asleep before she came forward and held my hand.
"Same dream?" she asked, her voice laced with the same emotion, pity. Which I hated most. I don't want anyone's pity. I nodded and kept silent.
She sipped from her glass before handing it to me to refill it. I looked at her amusingly. Diana isn't a drinker, and if she wanted a round two, then there must be something that was bothering her.
I refilled both of our glasses and handed her hers. "Spill." She looked at me before sighing tiredly. "I have bad news and...bad news." I tried to look normal, but deep down, I was scared of the worst. Scared for my pack's safety, for Diana, for her.
"I tried to contact some witches from my last coven. You were right. The Oracle was behind the dead girl. They had a witch who is a master in finding incantation spells." Okay, this was really bad news. I nodded for her to tell the other one.
"They were planning to attack her pack." I inhaled sharply. "Why? Why were they after her?"
"You are their prime target. You broke the deal, and now that they know she is your mate, they will find her, torture her until you complete the deal," she said grimly. Now, the whole picture was coming into the light.
They couldn't do anything to me, so they were targeting my mate. An animalistic growl escaped my lips. I will wipe the whole existence of this fucking coven from the globe. Their name will remain nothing but a myth and will forever disappear from history.
This was becoming personal. I gulped the wine in one sip and took the bottle in my hand.
"When are they going to attack?" I asked, gulping the wine. I checked the time; it was already four past twelve.
"They want Esma before blood moon, so I would say they will attack in the next week." I hummed and put the bottle aside. I couldn't get drunk, not at this hour. I have to get ready for the war.
I have already told Dumeny and other alphas to prepare for it, but I don't trust them. I trust nobody except my pack and Diana.
"One more thing, they are preparing the army of rogues," she said, her voice dangerously low. I massaged my temples; the headache was dancing on my forehead by now.
"First, the witches had the blade, then they are planning to attack my mates' pack, and now you are telling me they are preparing a fucking army of rogues," I said and balled up my fists.
Diana shrugged her shoulders apologetically before signaling me to look behind myself.
"Who is attacking my pack?"
I turned to look at the most vibrant hazel brown eyes, but this time instead of innocence and softness and a welcoming gaze, they were filled with rage and fury. Her eyes blazed like scarlet coals, her wolf on the surface.
I already knew the night was far from being over.