Chapter 254: Grace
I couldn’t get Maizie’s words out of my head for the rest of the drive. My heart hurt for her. I knew how bad she wanted to shift, but they had really messed her up in the program, and it sucked. She had learned how to shift at a fairly early age, but whatever they had done to her made it impossible now. I didn’t think she had been bound like me, but the emotional damage was enough. Only a handful the kids who we had taken in could shift. The mental heaviness of everything was just too much for most.
I stared out the window and watched as terrain began to live up to its name. The Wildlands. I had never been out here before. It was technically under Rhys’ rule, but also it wasn’t. Only a portion of it. It was divided among the supernatural, but it was less regulated. I had never fully understood exactly why Sandra had even wanted to come out here, but before I could even process that thought, another one crossed my mind. What if the Lycans secretly had land out here? It would be the perfect place to hide. The perfect place to conceal their truth. The Prison may not have been near here... But what if the program was?
I thought about it for a long moment, trying to make sense of everything that was slowly beginning to click into place in my head. It wouldn’t make sense if Iris had been a last-minute lure for me to go back. But if they were planning this right, they would have probably assumed at some point they were going to need me to get in line and could have pulled her one of those first couple of nights. In shifted form, I’m not sure how long it would have taken, but this was awfully far from their pack, but it did stretch out quite a bit to where it wouldn’t be ridiculously far...
Were we even completely sure that Sandra was on our side? I mean, the last time we had seen her, she had promised to unbind me and then played games with us. Was that just a witch thing? I had researched and researched, but I still felt so behind on everything, and I definitely felt like I didn’t understand anything about any of the other supernatural creatures we were trying to ally ourselves with.
I tried to calm my nerves as the limo pulled up to the only known house in this part of the Wildlands. I could tell that Rhys hated not having the SUV in case of an emergency, but I knew I could shift if I needed too. Rhys, Sawyer and Kerris could also shift, and Vampires were notoriously fast. That really just left Maizie, who maybe could shift if needed, but could also ride on Sawyer’s back if it came down to it.
I hoped it wouldn’t come to that thought. Everything was leading up to this moment, and I needed answers. We needed to be able to move forward. We needed to free those kids and take down the corrupted government.
I took Rhys’ hand as we walked up the overgrown walkway. I was surprised Sandra didn’t keep up with her yard. She didn’t seem to be the kind of person who would like the tall grass like this, but maybe it kept her hidden.
Rhys knocked on the door as if this wasn’t a big deal. That the Alpha King and Prince and ex-Luna Queen, and the Vampire Queen and Princess all show up in the Wildlands for fun. But being calm was a necessity. We had no idea what we were walking into.
But no one answered the door, and a bad feeling filled my chest. I didn’t trust Sandra, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something horrible had happened here.
“Don’t.” I called out as Rhys reached for the doorknob.
He looked down at me, and I knew we were both remembering the time with the teacups at Red Blood pack. It wasn’t as strong as it was last time, but the darkness was overwhelming.
“Grace?” Maizie questioned, her eyes never leaving my face.
Rhys stared down at me before pulling me off to the side as the panic began to rise inside. My heart thundering at whatever terrible thing laid inside as every stared at me, wondering why I had stopped us.
“I support and love you.” Rhys said taking me by surprise as he pulled me close to his chest.
“Something bad happened.” My voice barely audible to my own ears.
“Can you tell me what?” He asked, gently brushing the loose strands of hair out of my face.
“I don’t know.”
“Can you try?” He pressed gently.
“How?” It was barely a whisper.
“Close your eyes.” Maizie guided. Her and Sawyer had broken away from the group and huddled close to us in a way I hadn’t expected. “Focus on the feeling you have. Let it come to you.”
I did as she said, and as soon as I did, it all happened so fast...
The room inside was tinted in blue, and her magic was out of control, zipping around the room in complete chaos as Sandra paced in the center of the room chanting something I couldn’t make sense of.
My grip tightened on Rhys’ sleeve, but I didn’t pull out of the vision as another shadow approached.
“You helped her.” The man growled. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn’t place who he was.
“Ich beh helios,” Sandra chanted. “Canter oli tobas.”
“You have made a grand mistake.” He told her taking a step forward, clearly unafraid of her magic.
“The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes.” Sandra hissed as he knocked her to the ground. “She is the chosen one.”
“She is nothing!”
“She is the chosen one.”
And the magic that had been zipping all around the room in colorful streaks finally found its target in both of them.