Natalia’s P. O. V

Silence, dumbfounded silence.

Then…

“Are you all out of your minds?!” He exploded.

“Probably, but that’s not the point here.” Hailey quipped.

He ignored her, “Were you not listening to my story?!”

Kaesha replied, “Yes, we were.”

“They destroy packs and are powerful enough to make the sizeable ones fear rejecting their visits and you still want to go up against them?!”

I nodded, “Yes, we do.”

“They have the resources to consistently hunt for a gifted, trained Battle General Werewolf for three years! Do you know how many times they’ve come lose to capturing or killing me in that time?! Six hundred and seventeen times! Six hundred and seventeen times, they could’ve either ended my life or thrown me in a musty cell, never to see the light of day again! And you still want to go against them?!”

“I believe I’ve already answered that question.”

He blinked, letting the fact that two Werewolves and a witch were, apparently, mad enough to fight a notably powerful pack sink in.

Having finally absorbed that information, he scoffed, “No matter how strong the three of you are, you can’t go up against them. You don’t act like someone on their radar. You should count yourself lucky that they freed you and just make a new life for yourself. Don’t get too full of yourself just cause you know a few jiu-jitsu throws and have a witch and a newbie with you.”

‘Don’t get too full of yourself…?’ Candy growled

He had no right to say that, “They did not free me! They hated me right from when I was born and made damn sure they showed it. I’ve seen their tenacity. I’ve served and cleaned and slaved for them, in both the teen and adult pack houses. I know what they have, what they are, what they can do, more than most others. I freed myself.”

I leaned closer, daring him to argue, “Or were you not listening?”

He said nothing.

I stepped back and turned to Kaesha, who had been regarding me with a concerned look, “Is it possible to restore the Sienna with magic?”

Refocusing on the present, she nodded, “I’d been in that death trap long enough to know it’s form. It’ll take a while though. And I’m tired.”

“That’s alright. You can go about it however you wish. Just don’t overwork yourself, okay? You’ve done a lot today.”

“I’m on it. Don’t worry, I’ll take it slow.”

Hailey piped up, “I’ll help! You can channel me.”

They started towards the battered vehicle.

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely! It’s the least I can do, after what you, Tim and Ari did for me.” Hailey confirmed.

“If you say so. Not sure I’ll ever get used to you calling her Ari, though. She seems more like an Ava to me.”

Hailey shrugged, “Ava… Ari… She’s still the same baby sis’ we both love.”

Kaesha looked at Hailey sharply, surprised, “You’re sisters?! You look nothing alike.”

“Half-sisters.” Hailey corrected.

“When did this happen? I thought her only family was back at that horrible pack.”

Hailey shrugged again, “We just found out yesterday, after you left. Apparently, our old man wanted to try all flavours in bed.”

“Eww, girl! TMI!”

Hailey laughed.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

I really needed to fill Kaesha in on what she’d missed. I turned back to Timothy. He’d picked himself up, however wobbly, and stood, a sceptical frown I was sure wasn’t too different from his neutral expression on his face. He looked from Hailey and Kaesha back to me.

“Our biological father is Clark Lightwood.” I stated simply.

Sceptism morphed into shock, “Why would the Alpha treat his kid like crap? And does he even know about bubbles and sunshine over there?” He indicated to Hailey, who was chattering away as Kaesha worked, a hand on her shoulder.

“He raped my mother, then resented me for daring to exist. I doubt he knows about Hailey and her twin sister but the only one that can tell you that for sure is their mother. Either way, we don’t qualify as his children. They’re the assholes that are next in line to lead the Lightwood pack.” I regarded the trees around us, “Could you straighten all this out when you’re strong enough? We don’t need anyone, humans or otherwise, seeing this.”

“Was already planning to. I wouldn’t’ve survived this long if I left a trail everywhere.” Timothy rolled his eyes.

“Good to know.” I turned to leave.

“You won’t be able to touch them.” He stated suddenly

“Who said anything about touching them?” I turned back to face him, “I’m going to demolish them.”

He scoffed again, “Easier said than done. Having two Alpha wolves and a witch won’t do anythi-”

“And a Luna.” I interrupted.

He blinked, “What?”

“My half brother, the next in line for Alpha role, rejected his mate and took another. After that, she came to me.”

He folded his arms, “So, where is she? Why isn’t she here?”

Telling him was risky. There was a high chance he could go back to the Lightwood pack with this information in exchange for his freedom. I regarded him. From the way, he held himself to how he waited impatiently for my reply, he seemed like someone that hated more than feared in any given situation.

He might not have wanted to join us, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to do anything major to hinder us.

“She’s on the inside.”

“Inside as in… she’s still in that pack?”

I nodded, “She’s our intel.”

His eyes narrowed, “And if she turns on you? What if she already has? She was supposed to be the next Luna, right?”

“I can’t lie,” I said, “that is a possibility. My wolf and I worry about it each passing day.” I glanced back at Hailey and Kaesha, working together and laughing, and he followed my gaze.

Then I looked back at him, smiling softly, “But my pack will be built on the very thing the Lightwood pack severely lacks: trust.”

Even though I’m still learning how to do it myself.

I turned again, facing Hailey and Kaesha.

Facing my pack.

“The Lightwood pack will be destroyed by my hands.” I stated, not bothering to face him, “So you can either be one of the orchestrators as it’s playing out on the stage or catch whispers of the reviews when it’s all over and you’ve exhausted yourself from running.”

He said nothing and we remained silent for a while, watching the others. Hailey would ask Kaesha a question about the technicality of witches or something pertaining to what they were doing, her voice carrying obvious interest and curiosity. Kaesha would respond patiently and in detail, obviously happy to be talking about her heritage.

Hailey was probably the only person to ask her such questions since she’s left her coven. Maybe since even before then.

“Timothy…” I called finally.

“What?”

“I once read that, ‘Those with the brightest smiles often have the saddest hearts.’”

“So?” I heard him huff.

I turned my head so that I could see him in my peripheral, “So don’t underestimate bubbles and sunshine.”

I started walking, making my way to Kaesha and Hailey as they worked patiently to revert the Sienna to its original state.

“Ari.”

I turned back to him.

“How do you know it won’t be the other way around? How do you know they won’t catch on and demolish you before you can even get close enough to sniff them?” His gaze strayed to something behind me. My guess of that something was Kaesha.

His eyes returned to me, his expression no longer simply hard and unyielding, but underlined with worry. The kind that most likely remained suppressed for three years. The kind that was nurtured with loneliness and crippling paranoia.

The kind that was now for someone other than himself.

“Because I’m trusting them.” I glanced back at the others, smiling, “I’m trusting Kaesha and Hailey to have my back. I’m trusting my inside person to deliver with incriminating information on them. And I’m trusting myself to become strong enough to slay my demons before they hurt anyone else I care about.”

He regarded me, intense and searching.

“And if I join? What will you be trusting me to do?”

No longer smiling, I looked him dead in the eye, matching his intensity, “I’ll trust you to want to slay the same demons almost as much as I do.”

“No.”

I raised a brow.

He raised his arms up, rotating his wrists as they reached for the cloud filed sky. The trees immediately surrounding us followed the instruction, unfurling themselves from whatever unnatural position he’d put them in and standing upright.

I could see the immediate effect of such a big action while he was still tired. A new layer of sweat replaced the sheen that had evaporated, glazing his forehead. His breathing became laboured again, chest heaving and muscles quaking.

“You can trust me to slay the bastards right alongside you.”

I held my hand out to him again and he took it, grip as firm as his conviction.

“I’m in.”