Chapter 34

“No fucking way.”

“I’m not asking.”

Elias’ clenched knuckles looked ready to punch through solid silver as Sylvie relayed her plan, rolling the tiny purple vial between her fingers.

Kerensa chuckled from her chair. “It’s a good plan.”

“It’s suicide.”

“Puh-lease,” Kerensa shot back. “He wouldn’t hurt your pet.”

“You don’t know him,” Elias growled, slamming his hand against the bed’s canopy beams.

“He’s right,” Kian said, taking Sylvie’s hand. “We could never put you in that situation.”

Rowan remained silent, but his eyes lingering on her neck proved he shared the other men’s sentiments.

“None of you have a choice. I’m doing this, and you can either help me or stay out of the way.” Sylvie crossed her arms after speaking and humphed.

Elias shoved Kian aside and wrapped his hand around her neck, his fangs baring. “Or I could tie you to this bed and find them myself.”

“Did you scent them? Or hear them? Did any of you?”

Noone replied beside Rowan’s subtle headshake. “You mindlinked.”

“It’s impossible,” Elias growled. “That magic doesn’t exist here.”

Sylvie clicked her tongue. “Well, you’re wrong this time. I felt them. And I can do this. Please just trust me on this. I won’t let you down.”

Elias’s grip on her softened, and he pressed his forehead to hers. “This is not about trusting you, Sylvie. It is about your safety.”

“Then help me. Stay hidden in the shadows, and step in if my plan fails.”

“He would sense us. And his guards wouldn’t be far.”

She sighed, rubbing her nose against Elias’ before pulling back.

“I’ll be okay. Trust me. I need to do this now before nightfall.”

“And say we do find the shifters, how will we get back to the earth realm? How will we open a portal big enough to get them through?” Kerensa stated bluntly from the corner. “The next solar event is days away. We won’t have enough juice to travel, let alone with years worth of kidnapped shifters.”

Sylvie groaned as Elias moved back to the window. “We’ll find a way! We’ll free them and hide somewhere until the eclipse.”

“You want to hide outside, where the turned hunt?” Rowan asked sceptically.

Sylvie’s mouth dropped open in exasperation. “Don’t you want to save them!”

“Of course I do, but finding them is only the first issue. Kerensa is right. We should wait.”

Elias sighed, drawing Sylvie’s attention, and he clenched his jaw a few times. “The thought of his hands on you....” he trailed off as his knuckles turned bone white, fists ready to punch through walls. “For this to work, he needs to believe you want him.”

“I think he does-”

“No. Hayes’ first instinct is always mistrust. He would more likely drain you and leave you for dead outside my door than meet you in the kitchens like a lover.”

His mouth twitched at the last word, and his gaze darted to Kian before tension ebbed from his massive shoulders.

“If this were to work, you’d need to seduce him. He needs to think I don’t have control over you, and you need to look breakable.”

“Well-” Sylvie pressed her lips together to stifle a chuckle but thought better of it when Elias raised his brow.

Maybe he had some control over her, but not as much as he thought. “I have a few ideas of how we can trick him.”

Rowan’s face drew her eye as his lips curled into a cheeky smile. She reciprocated and clasped her hands together.

“Okay, hear me out....”

The next few nights were filled with demure looks across the table at Hayes, horrific vivid dreams of the shifters hunting and a growing brattiness to Elias when they knew Hayes was watching.

Sylvie stood behind the bedroom door, panting as she waited for his cue.

The nerves grew like a roaring hum in her belly as a thump shook the door on its hinges.

“Open it, now.”

That was her cue. She ripped the door open and ran past Elias’ storming face down the hall towards the kitchens. In a blink, she flew through the air, the air whooshing from her lungs as her belly slammed into Elias’ shoulder, and he spanked her ass cheek. She yelped, writhing and pushing at his back, praying Hayes was watching from the shadows as Elias slapped her again.

Palming her hands into his lower back, she lifted her head, meeting Hayes’ icy eyes from the end of the hall. She panted, hoping he couldn’t see how aroused she was and lowered her gaze as Elias stomped through the bedroom door, turning to slam it behind them.

“Ouch. You didn’t have to spank me so hard.”

“I did.”

“Why? Cause he wouldn’t believe it?”

“Yes, and you required some punishment.”

She giggled as he threw her onto his bed and ran a hand through his hair.

“You better hope he believes; we only have one day left,” Rowan muttered from the window finishing his dinner. His agitation had only risen as each day passed, and Sylvie’s dreams woke them all from her screaming. Kerensa’s dark bags and nasty scowls would terrify anyone who didn’t know her.

“It will work. Just trust me.”

That night came and went without the telltale shifter dreams, and Sylvie woke in fear for another reason.

“What now?” Rowan mumbled, pulling her into his arms and sniffing her hair.

“Nothing,” she sniffled, sitting up and sliding off the bed. Elias and Kian followed as Rowan continued rubbing his bleary eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“Yeah, why the fuck are you waking us up then if you didn’t even have nightmares this time.” Kerensa rolled on her couch bed, sending her a glare, but Sylvie shrugged it off.

“What if that means something bad happened, and we’re too late?” She couldn’t meet Rowan’s eyes despite feeling his presence nearby.

Elias stroked her damp cheek and sighed. “It will be dawn in an hour-”

“I need to go now. It’s time- I can’t wait. I can’t risk them any longer.” Her eyes filled with tears as she pleaded with him. “I can’t be the reason they die when I could’ve helped them.”

He nodded and spoke to Kian. “Ward her the best you can without preventing our escape. When she finds them, we’ll need to leave fast.”

“Shit,” Rowan cursed, jumping from the bed and grabbing fresh clothes. “We’ll be ready for you, Sylvie. They’ll be okay. The mind link still hasn’t signalled their deaths.”

“How can you tell?”

“Imagine threads in your mind— like a spider’s web, each connecting to another. When a shifter dies, the thread is cut, and everyone knows. With the kidnapped shifters, it’s like their threads faded. Still intact but almost invisible. They’re alive.”

Sylvie nodded and wiped her tears away as Kian whispered words over her, a warmth settling in her chest as he finished.

She changed into a flowy dress that pooled at her feet with enough cleavage to show off her chest, which had barely shrunk despite her intense training with Rosie—damn men.

Kerensa strapped a knife on her thigh and stood stretching her tired limbs as Sylvie pulled her dress down. As soon as Hayes was unconscious, she’d cut the stupid thing short.

She took the small vial she bought from the merchant and rolled it in her fingers.

“That will work, right?” Rowan asked, eyeing the tiny purple liquid dubiously.

“I hope so.”

Nobody breathed as she popped the lid, covering the top with her finger and tipping the contents one drop at a time. She rubbed it onto her neck, wrists and cheeks in the hopes Hayes would either kiss or attempt to feed from her and pass out quickly.

“Come here,” Kerensa said, holding a white vial. “Drink this, then put some purple shit on your lips. This is an inhibitor. No potions will work on you for a few hours.” Enough time to save the shifters and escape.

She swallowed the sour white liquid and rubbed the last drops of purple potion on her lips like applying lip balm. It dried clear, and she hoped it retained its potency as she pressed her lips together. Now all she needed was to kiss him.

Just one kiss, and he would be out like a light. It was his swarm of guards she’d have to worry about, the dark tunnels between the kitchens and the shifters, and getting them back to her mates and avoiding the turned.

Goddammit, no amount of preparation would save her now. She hoped she wouldn’t have to use her training, but her resignation grew as the minutes to dawn ticked down. Either everything would go right today, or she would be dead.

Kian seemed to sense her dread and stroked her shoulder. “You can do this. Once we sense Hayes is unconscious, we’ll follow you to the tunnels.

“You better, or I’m dead.”

Rowan growled. “Don’t speak like that.”

“It’s true,” Kerensa grumbled. “This plan is halfbaked at best and entirely reliant on what-ifs.”

While Kian’s calming influence fought with Sylvie’s anxiety, she shook the jitters from her fingers and took a few deep breaths.

“I’ve got this. Let’s get it over with.”

She shuffled to the door, holding the train of her dress in one hand, gripped the handle, and turned to face her companions. Each stared her down with barely restrained discomfort.

“I love you,” she said. “All of you. I’ll see you soon.” With that, she pulled open the door quietly and slipped out into the hall, blinking back tears. She’d be okay. She could do this.

Her bare feet dulled the sound of her footsteps as she padded down the hall along the path she had taken many times in preparation. Straight, then right, down three flights of stairs, and another right.

Low grumbling voices echoed from her left as she reached the kitchen doors, and she snuck inside, closing them with the slightest click. Pressing her back to the door, she exhaled in a soft hiss, nearly jumping out of her skin when a looming shadow beside the cupboards moved.

She panted, the fear entirely real, as Hayes materialised from the darkness, his face coming into view as he struck a match and lit a tall candle on the centre island.

“My, my. What do we have here?”

She stammered, wracked her brain for an answer to appease him, and gnawed her lower lip. “I- I was just looking for some water.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what.”

So he was like Elias in more ways than looks. His voice held an edge that forced Sylvie to swallow.

“Yes, my King?” She clasped her hands around her elbows, pushing her chest up a fraction and turning her gaze to the floor.

“We’re you trying to escape, little pet?”

Her voice wobbled as she answered. “No.” She laughed nervously then, “But I wasn’t here for water.”

“No?”

The intrigued raise in his brow spurred her onward, and she opted to lay it on thick. “I was hoping I would see you.”

“Is that so?” His voice did not change, but his eyes narrowed as he rounded the counter to her spot, walking towards her until her face was forced to crane to meet his stare.

She realised her mistake a second too late as his hand shot out and gripped her throat.

“You are brazen, little pet, meeting my eyes like that. Who are you?”