bChapter /bb220 /b

    April POV

    237

    A sound wakes me before the sun does. At first, it’s muffled and sounds like thunder rolling too far away to be a threat. Then it grows sharper andes closer, until the entire pack house is stirring. Boots strike against the floors in hurried rhythm and voices begin barking orders. Repliese in clipped tones and doors m around the ce. What the hell is happening?

    push up quickly and blink the sleep from my eyes, trying to focus on everything. The room feels too bright, the light from the morninges through the high windows, and it makes me flinch. This is itoo /imuch too quick, I need to wake up

    before all my senses are assaulted. For a moment, I think that Eryx might be causing issues, that maybe the Hollowed

    Queen has taken control and is tormenting the guards. Fear twists in my stomach when I consider it, and I hate that she

    has that power over him.

    Trying to rx I force and hear something else. It’s low, steady and powerful, it’s not a wolf, but it carriers weight all the same. I scramble out of bed, and go to the window, feeling the pull. My fingers grip the curtain as I peer down into the courtyard below, and I see someone there.

    A man is standing in the centre of the stone yard. He’s tall and thin, and wrapped in a long coat that somehow seems to shimmer in the morning light. It’s like it’s woven with threads that aren’t made for this world. His hair is long, and white. As I focus, I see his face, and he looks far younger than his hair does, like he’s aging slower than his hair. His eyes glint like something molten and catch the light, holding it unnaturally.

    Around him, the guards keep their distance, their weapons are in their hands, but not a single one of them has it raised. It’s like they know striking him would be the same as striking a storm. It won’t help, it will only make them a target.

    Something inside of me clenches, and I don’t know why but I know instantly without asking that this is the warlock. It has to be, something about him screams it. He’s the one that Xander promised woulde to help.

    I don’t think, Instead, I move quickly. I get dressed, tugging on one of Eryx’s shirts, the hem falls loose over my stomach, and my fingers shake as I fasten he front. I don’t slow or stop though, I get ready, and my boots scuff against the floor as I hurry, I tug open the door just as a blur of movement streaks past me.

    Xander.

    His stride is long and furious, and I follow before I can question myself, he doesn’t even notice, he’s so focused on where he’s going now. The halls are chaos, but the guards part for him, and I keep close to his shoulder. I don’t call his name. I don’t want him to stop me, I want to go, to hear what is said, to find out how they n to save Eryx.

    When we step outside, the air is sharp and cold. It carries the bite of iron and woodsmoke. The guards are restless. I can see them shifting uneasily, but none of them bdare /bstep too close to the man in the yard. It’s like they are all ready to run.

    He doesn’t move, not even to nce at them, though I know he feels every one of their eyes. He doesn’t look happy, if anything, he looks ready to take everyone down with a single move.

    “Warlock,” Xander says, his voice low, even. “I sent so many messages asking for your help, and you came. Come inside, and we’ll exin.”

    The man’s lips curl faintly, but it isn’t a smile. I was right, he’s not happy to be here. His eyes sweep around the pack

    b1/3 /b

    09:34 Sat, 30 Augu.

    slowly, and then the air itself shudders as if it doesn’t want him here. When he speaks, his voice is calm, but it cuts straight through the morning noise.

    “This ce stinks of dark magic,” he says. “It chokes me. I won’t take another step until I know what it is I’m standing in

    the shadow of.”

    The words hang in the air, heavy as stone. He has to, he can’t leave, he has to listen, he has to help us.

    Xander stiffens, his hand twitching at his side, but he holds hisposure. “It’s my son,” he admits, his voice rough with the weight of the truth. “He’s bound in the cells beneath us right now. The Hollowed Queen’s darkness infected him when he tried to save his mate. He’s fighting it, but it’s twisting him. We can’t hold her much longer. If he gets free theni…/i” Xander stops, he doesn’t need to say it, then we all die. The Hollowed Queen’s first step would be to take out the wolves.

    The warlock finally turns his head, those strange, glowing eyes narrowing. “The Hollowed Queen,” he repeats, the words like a curse. Then he scoffs, a sharp sound that makes the guards flinch as though struck. “You wolves never learn. You y at power, thinking you’re strong enough to stand against it, and then you ie /icrawling to those you’ve spent centuries spitting on. Be ready to watch your world burn.”

    He pivots, turning away, the coat ring at his heels like dark wings. What? I thought he was going to help, Xander and Serafine said he agreed to help, why isn’t he helping!

    “No,” I whisper, my voice breaking. My feet move before my mind can catch them. I stumble forward and push past Xander then I push past the guards, until I’m running across the courtyard. The stones scrape my knees when I fall to them, but I don’t care. I can’t let him walk away, I can’t let him leave.

    “Please!” My voice cracks as it rips out of me, and I press my palms against the ground as if that will keep him from

    leaving. “Please, don’t turn away. You can’t. You don’t understand?

    The warlock stops. He doesn’t turn, not yet, but the air thickens, and I can feel his attention on me like a hand pressing against the back of my neck.

    Tears stream hot down my face, blurring him into a figure of light and shadow. “He’s not just my mate,” I cry. “He’s everything. And this baby-” My hands clutch my stomach desperately, the words spilling without shame, without thought. “Please. I don’t care what it costs me. I’ll give you anything. Just save him.” I mean it. I will give up my life, I will give up our bond, I won’t live here, I’ll leave, I’ll do anything.

    The courtyard falls into silence, long, deep and crushing silence, and a sob escapes my lips. Slowly, he turns around.

    His eyes sweep over me, unblinking like I’m nothing to him. Like I’m just a pathetic wolf begging a walock for his help. I feel stripped bare under the weight of his eyes. He takes a step closer and I want to flinch away but I don’t, I watch him, each stride is slow, and inevitable, until he stands directly above me. I tilt my head back, my breath catching. Up close, he feels less like a man, and more like something carved out of the oldest part of the world.

    His gaze drops andnds on my stomach, then he kneels. His hand rests on my stomach, and I hear the guards shift, and Xander telling them to stand down. For a long time, the warlock doesn’t even move. Softly, he whispers something, words that I don’t understand. Sybles that curl around my bones like smoke and make my skin prickle.

    Then, he stands and exhales, it’s sharp and wearly, like a man setting down a burden. His hand lifts for a moment and hovers above me, like he’s about to touch my head, then it falls again.

    “Your baby,” he says finally, his voice quieter but no less powerful. “Your baby is the future. If it wasn’t for her…” His gaze flickers briefly to mine, unreadable, before dropping again to my belly. “If your daughter didn’t exist, I wouldn’t help. But now… I willi./ii” /i

    The ground feels like it falls out from under me, and I sag forward. Sob break free, and wreck my chest, this time though it’s from the raw release of hope, that I didn’t think I’d feel again. He’s helping, he’s actually going to help us.

    Behind me, I hear Xander let out a long, shaking breath. The guards murmur among themselves, restless but careful not to break the fragile moment hanging between us. I understand, one word out of line and he could take it back and refuse again.

    I lift my head, my tears still flowing, and whisper, “Thank you.”

    The warlock’s face remains unreadable, it’s carved into perfection, but his ivoice /icarries finality. “Don’t thank me yet. To save him, we’ll walk closer to the Hollow than you’ve ever dared. And when I call for blood, someone will bleed.”

    The courtyard goes still. No one speaks, not even Xander. And I realize in that moment that I’ve changed everything, not just for me, not just for Eryx, but for all of us.

    Because now, the warlock will help, and that means the fight has only just begun.

    AD

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