Raising the Dead

HOLLY

Everyone was looking right at me. Even Ekon, with no sight, seemed to be staring directly into my soul…

When I had first heard him say no ~witch~ was alive with Devina’s blood, it had sent me searching for an answer.

It seemed so simple, yet so far away.

And then it hit me like a bolt of lightning…

My idea wouldn’t be readily accepted. In fact, it actually made me start to sweat as everyone waited for my answer.

“Don’t just leave us waiting,” Ekon said.

~So much for encouragement…~

I swallowed hard and prepared myself for the blowback.

“No witch in Devina’s bloodline is still living,” I said. “But no one said anything about the deceased.”

I could see their faces wrinkle in confusion as they tried to decipher my statement.

“Which means what, exactly?” Bambi asked.

“Well,” I said anxiously. “We could try to resurrect Ekon’s mother, Rosette.”

Ekon nearly sprang from his bed, but Max was close enough to grab his shoulders and hold him down.

“You want to do what!?” Ekon shouted. “How could you even suggest something so insane?”

Everyone looked at me with wide eyes, silently repeating Ekon’s question.

“I’m not too excited about the idea either, for the record,” I said. “But she was a

powerful witch. And she birthed one of the most powerful witches of our generation. And she’s buried here at the compound.”

The scowl on Ekon’s face told me everything I needed to know. Bambi stepped closer and reached out a hand, but Ekon pulled away from her touch.

In only a few minutes, I’d managed to turn our arrival into a major burden for the entire complex.

“You realize that only dark magic can bring back the dead,” Ela said quietly.

I looked at her and nodded.

Of course, I knew it was a risky decision.

~What choice do we have, though?~

MAX

I walked along the fence of Ekon’s compound, taking in the brisk evening.

The compound was quiet. Especially now that the agents had left and ended the lockdown.

I breathed deeply, smelling the crisp scents of pine and fresh Alaskan air.

Their sudden departure had left me with many questions, but I wasn’t sure that I wanted the answers.

Because of the Rogue attacks, our kind had been considered a high priority threat. When we’d escaped, it had felt like the entire world was at our heels, searching for the runaways.

But after our unexpected return to the compound, it was as if the opposite happened.

Instead of being captured and tossed into solitary confinement, we were greeted with our first taste of freedom in weeks.

But freedom came at a price…and with Devina and Matthias still alive, time would tell if we would be able to pay in full.

Leonardo was still alive as well. He had escaped the fight, but he couldn’t run forever.

My phone started buzzing in my pocket and I pulled it out to find a message from my Beta.

Ryan

Alpha Maximus, I hope all is well in Alaska.

Max

Ryan! It’s good to hear from you.

Ryan

We’ve received another letter from the Royal Council.

Max

Put it with the others…

Ryan

They want explanations for what happened in South America.

Max

Don’t we all…

Max

I don’t know when I’ll return home.

Max

But I will talk to King Dmitri.

Ryan

Good luck.

Beta Ryan was my trusted advisor. When I’d had to escape, I knew he would take care of the pack.

But now it was my turn to take control once more.

Ryan was right—the Royal Council wanted answers. And at the moment, I had none to give.

Smoothing relations with the human government would be a damn good start…

Without the Rogues, we were autonomous. But with their continued threat, it might be nearly impossible to gain full freedom…

As I neared the section of complexes connected to the infirmary, I saw a lone figure exit.

After a few seconds, I found myself in the presence of Ela.

“How’s Hunter doing?” I asked.

“He’s fine,” she sighed. “But it was a close call. If we didn’t get back when we did…”

Ela’s eyes began to glisten with the threat of tears, so I pulled her close. She hugged me tight, burying her head into my shoulder.

“He’s a fighter,” I said. “He’ll be good as new in no time.”

Ela looked into my eyes, and for the first time in a very long while, she smiled.

Ela shivered as she wiped the tears from her eyes and then looked around the dark compound.

“What are you doing out here at a time like this?” she asked. “You’ll catch a cold!”

“That will be the least of my worries,” I admitted.

We began to walk back toward the main house of the compound. It was bathed in harsh lights, giving it an intimidating appearance.

“As a legal assistant of the pack offices, perhaps you could help me with something,” I said.

“Sure,” she replied. “But I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”

“The human government has pulled back their agents for now,” I began. “But if we don’t find common ground between the packs and the government, I’m afraid they’ll return.”

“To our compounds?” Ela asked.

I nodded. “And next time, they won’t leave.”

Ela and I stopped short of the front door. She looked deep into my eyes, concern etched on her face.

“But we stopped Devina from taking over,” she said.

“I know,” I replied. “It seems that winning the battle doesn’t matter. The government wants us to win the war.”

Ela nodded as if she understood everything that I felt.

“I’ll help you any way that I can,” she said. “If we don’t convince them we’re the good guys, another Great War could begin.”

“Exactly,” I responded. “And if we’re not careful…the next war could be between the humans and us.”

BAMBI

Another visit from the nurses.

Another smashed plate. This time with a heaping helping of mashed potatoes to clean up…

I watched Ekon’s scowl grow deeper and deeper on his face. We’d moved him back to the comfort of his room, but there was no peace to be found.

“It was just a suggestion,” I said. “Holly didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Devina’s spell messed her up more than we thought,” Ekon growled. “She wants to raise my poor mother from the dead. Or does Holly expect to make her a part of Devina’s coven as well?”

“Stop that,” I snapped.

Holly had made a rather unusual suggestion. But it felt like our hands were tied. We needed to take drastic measures, and Holly had supplied us with the solution.

I watched as the servant swept up the pieces of Ekon’s rage and tossed them into the trash.

My hand touched Ekon’s arm. When he tried to pull away, I gripped him tighter.

“Holly is only trying to help,” I said. “It would be nice if you could actually acknowledge that. Sometimes it feels like everything is lost on you.”

Ekon turned to me, and I returned his scowl with one of my own. Even though he couldn’t see, I knew he could sense my reaction.

Slowly, the wrinkles of his frown gave way to a stoic expression.

“And what happens when everything we do blows up in our faces?” he asked.

“Then we pick up the pieces and start again,” I replied. “Just like every other time.”

For the first time since our reunion, Ekon offered a simple grin.

“How did I get so lucky?” he asked. “You always see the positive in everything.”

“Well, between the two of us, someone has to see it.”

Ekon chuckled at my bad joke, and the tension in the room began to ease.

We kissed, and it felt good to taste him again. After so long, we were finally back home.

I loved my mate. And I knew that it was my job to take care of him.

But sooner or later, the tides would turn.

~Will Ekon be ready to take care of me?~

EKON

The idea was ludicrous.

It was blasphemous.

Resurrecting my mother from the dead would be like something out of a bad dream.

And, yet, I couldn’t push the thought out of my head.

Holly’s suggestion had seemed careless at first glance. But with every passing minute, the possibility of it actually happening grew more and more realistic.

Bambi had tried to calm me down. But after enough resistance and broken china, she finally got tired and left.

I couldn’t tell her how I felt…how I ~really~ felt.

I wasn’t solely mad at Holly for her suggestion. In reality, I was angry at my mother.

Rosette Vivian Jedrek.

Or ~Rose~ as she used to correct everyone…

She wanted to appear more simple and sweet…

But that was just a facade.

Mother of three children, yet she claimed only one.

~Me.~

She’d lied to me about so many things.

I’d tried to fight my brother to the death without knowing that he shared the same blood. My sister had taken my eyesight because of Rose’s decision to abandon them.

In the end, my mother had even died at their hands…

To me, Rose was the reason for my pack’s trouble.

~Would things have turned out differently, had we been raised together?~

The prophecy said no, but what if it was wrong? Putting one’s faith in a premonition is about as smart as swimming with a school of sharks.

At first, it seemed safe. The sharks weren’t hungry enough to worry about the meal swimming next to them.

But soon enough, they would grow an appetite and rip us to shreds…

My mother had held a lot of secrets when she was alive.

~What’s to say that she didn’t take even more to her grave?~

A witch with a sense of morality had raised me, which was rare enough. She’d taught me how to love and be compassionate.

The war had tarnished some of those teachings, but she had been a ~good~ mother. And I loved her dearly.

When she was killed, it was as if my world had imploded.

Now, there was a possibility she could come back. ~But do I want that?~

~What if bringing her back reveals more secrets that would stain my memory of her?~

~What if she’s not the mother I remembered?~