Chapter 9: Please

CORALIE

I turn to the alpha, my hand still resting on his arm. “Please, I need to hear what he has to say.” I can sense his unease, but he places a hand over the top of mine and nods.

“We will escort him to the cabin.”

I nod and mouth a quick ~thank you~ before motioning for Darius to follow me.

We walk to the cabin with the patrol still standing guard around us, not that they would be a match for Darius. The fact that they are still standing is proof that he did not come with the intent to harm anyone.

Once the three of us are inside the cabin, the patrols go back to their stations.

“What information do you have, Darius?”

He stands with his back to me as he studies the pictures on the wall.

“Are you sure he should be here, Cora?”

I look at the alpha. I can tell he’s trying to trust me, but he doesn’t like any of this. It’s better if he hears it himself. “Yes.”

Darius turns with an amused expression, and I notice his gaze travel down to the ring on my finger. “How is that working for you, by the way? Has it suppressed your…nature?”

I fold my arms over my chest, tucking my hands out of sight. My secret is already out with Alpha Jordan, but Darius doesn’t know that. “It has done as intended, yes.”

He takes a step toward me, his eyes searching mine for something before a strange smile forms on his face. “Such a shame. Denying yourself power and happiness—and for what?”

I step closer, my anger burning in my eyes. I need him to get to the point. “You know exactly why, Darius. Why are you here?”

He chuckles darkly and moves to sit in the chair. “Caleb is coming for you, Cora. You won’t be able to hide much longer. Do you remember the Silver Light Coven? The band of weak witches you helped ten or so years ago?”

I feel my heart drop as I nod. “Yes.”

His strange smile fades, and his expression becomes cold.

“He laid waste to the entire coven. People like you who don’t follow all the rules are getting hit. You think you can get away with transport magic and whatever else, but whenever you do, it’s like you’re throwing up a flare for anyone to see. I warned you that using your magic will make it easier to find you. You’re being reckless, Cora.”

I take a deep, steadying breath. He’s right. I’m being reckless. But magic is who I am. “Once I finish here, I will leave. Luca warned me, but I didn’t realize how close he was getting.”

Darius stands up and walks over to me, pulling me into his arms.

“Even after all these years, he still watches over you. When you finish here, I want you to come stay with me. We will come up with a plan. I will not let him get to you, Cora.” He releases me and offers what is meant to be a reassuring smile, but his fangs dull the intent slightly.

Still, I’m grateful. “I will contact you when my task here is complete.” I want to talk to him about finding Luca for me. He was always so much better than me at wayfinding magic. But that would have to be a problem for a different day.

He gives my shoulder a squeeze, then directs his attention to the alpha.

“Please take care of her, alpha.” The warning in his tone is clear.

To my surprise, the alpha simply nods.

We watch as Darius fades into a black mist, dissipating until nothing remains.

“If he was able to do ~that~”—he points to the place where Darius had just vanished—“then why did he enter the pack lands the way he did? Why not just ~poof~ into your cabin?”

I bite back my laughter at his question.

“He was trying to show that he was here peacefully. He was showing you respect.”

He raises a brow, likely not believing someone like Darius to be capable of being respectful.

“How did you meet someone like him?”

I walk into the kitchen and get a glass of water. “You mean a vampire?”

His lips curl into a snarl at the mention of vampires. “Yes, and one in such a high position of power.”

I smile and lean against the counter. “Darius found me three years after I had fled the council. He knew who I was and why I was running. He offered to help me, to protect me, to help me to hide. With his help, I’ve remained off the council’s radar for all these years.” I chuckle nervously at the last of my words.

“Who is coming for you?” He asked me to take care of you, but I can’t do that if I don’t know who I am protecting you from.”

Normally I’d play dumb rather than say too much, but I feel like I owe him the truth. He genuinely seems to want to protect me. I walk over to the chair, my glass of water held tightly in my hand, and take a seat.

“Remember I told you about the thing I refused to do for the council?”

He takes a seat on the couch across from me. “Yes, I remember.” He leans forward, giving me his undivided attention. “Maybe it’s time to tell me the details.”

“Twenty-one years ago, the council approached me about a task they needed handled swiftly and discretely. I accepted the job, as I had all the others before it. I had to take out a group of rogue witches. They were rumored to have a great deal of dark artifacts. They were supposedly performing dark rituals and even necromancy. I went in with every intention of completing my task, but when I scouted out the group, I couldn’t do it.”

He raises an eyebrow.

“They weren’t even witches. The group I was supposed to kill were just elderly women, a few men, and small children. Not one of them had a magical bone in their body. These people, they were just that—people. Maybe it was a religious group or something. I don’t know who started the rumors that they were witches.”

“I contacted the council with my findings. They put me on probation and sent someone else to deal with the group. I snuck out of the council confinement and searched for the group because I wanted to warn them. I found them only a mile away from where they had been when I had observed them.”

“Oh, no.”

“It was a massacre. Blood and bodies littered the ground. I found a young girl—she couldn’t have been more than five or six years old—and she was barely alive. I used every ounce of my energy trying to save her, but the damage was too severe.”

“How did you respond?”

“My beast came out after this girl drew her last breath. My beast was brought out by my rage and desperation. My beast fed on my anger, and she was insatiable. We hunted down the men who had taken the lives of those innocent people. Hector Altier was his name. I could smell him everywhere. My beast and I found him and made him pay with his life. Blood for blood.”