His Breath of Fire

Chapter Twenty-Four

    We still had nothing.

    No plans, no strategy, absolutely nothing we could think of to get the pack safely back and without giving up my mother and I.

    Robert and Easton are beyond stressed, and I don’t blame them.  They had asked their allies for help, but the other packs refused to attack another pack without evidence that the pack members were being held there.

    Lo and I have been getting closer.  We help each other with our spells, and she is a magnificent illusionist.  She is helpful for training the pack so they can understand more of how to deal with witches in the future, seeing as they’ve never come face to face with one before.  Not to mention she is a beast in her wolf form, perfect for a Beta Female.

    I can’t help but think that if I gave myself up we would at least solve some of our problems.  The fact that Easton and I can feel each other’s heartbeats means we can also tell when the other is upset—even from a distance.  From what I’ve gleaned from the little research available on heartbeats, it also means we can find each other anywhere.

    That’s why I think giving myself up is the best option.  Easton will be able to find me.  The only thing that would stop him from finding me is if my father found a way to stop or dull the mate bond.  But in order to accomplish that he would need access to dark magic.  And my research shows that the closest dark warlocks are in Russia.

    It’s not entirely comforting, seeing that we have no idea what allies my father has made and when he’s made them, but I have to have some hope.

    My mother has just finished her fourth month of her pregnancy, and that means another hybrid will be joining the world in little under a month.  But that also means the pack has been missing for almost a month.  Who knows what my father has done to them since we haven’t come up with any course of action.

    Have they given up hope?  Did they think we forgot about them—or worse, don’t care about them?  Are they being tortured?  Are some of them dead?  Are they under some kind of spell, making it so they don’t know they’ve been taken against their will?

    Bren, a voice sounded in my head, and I recognized it as one of the guards on the perimeter.  You need to come to the edge of the packhouse.  Someone wishes to speak with you.

    Who is it?

    Mara.

    I was up and out of my room within the next breath.  Something has been nagging me since the pack was ambushed and it has to do with Mara’s convenient disappearance as well.  I didn’t want to come to conclusions, however I suspected she was a traitor and told my father when to attack.

    Easton appeared beside me and we shared a look as we sprinted to the perimeter to see Mara.  Once we arrived, I saw a guard holding her shoulders so that she kneeled on the ground before shackling her wrists together with silver handcuffs.  She winced against the sting of silver, but smiled wickedly when she saw Easton and I approaching.

    “Baby!” she squealed, and I clenched my jaw so that I could hold in my growl.  “I’ve missed you, Eastie.  Tell Blake to let me go so I can properly hold you!”

    Eastie?  I asked, and he shook his head in response. 

    “Where have you been, Mara?” he asked, tone cold and detached as he kept his distance.

    “Luke took me, that’s why I’ve been gone.  I just was able to escape!  You have no idea the things he’s doing to the pack, baby.”

    I couldn’t control the growl that slipped from my lips and her blue eyes finally left Easton to take in my image.  “He’s not your baby.  And let’s cut the crap, Mara.  We know that you weren’t here when my father attacked the pack, that you left a little after the students went to school.  Did you really think we wouldn’t find out?”

    Her facade dropped, and her blue eyes darkened as a sneer contorted on her face.  “I told you I would never accept you as my Luna, Bren.  You have everyone wrapped around your little finger.  I needed to take away your support system.  By telling your father when to attack, everyone would see how pathetic you were.  Now there’s no one here to fall for your stupid facade.  I’m only sad that we didn’t get everyone, including that slut of a mother of yours.  God!  Gunning for my mate and my Luna position!  Ha!  You’ll never be able to—”

    My mate reacted to her words before I even had time to process her rant.  Easton’s fist connected with her cheek so hard that her head snapped to the side and she crashed onto the ground.  Since her hands were cuffed together, there was nothing there to break her fall.  A small cry left her lips, and Easton reared back to land another punch.  Quickly, I lunged forward to grab his hand, letting my touch soothe him but also stop him from attacking her again.  “We still need answers, love,” I whispered, and his black eyes switched back to the hazel ones I loved so much.

    Turning back to Mara, “Don’t ever talk about her like that again, do you hear me?  We are over, Mara, and the fact that you can’t let this go will only hurt you when you meet your true mate.”

    “I already rejected him,” she spat, and with a lot of difficulty sat up on her own since no one moved to help her.  We all looked at her in shock as we processed that bomb.  “He was a lowly warrior in Luke’s pack, he wouldn’t have been able to give me what I want.  But you, Easton, are what I need, what I want.”

    “Why did you come back here?” I demanded.

    “Besides wanting to be with Easton?” she sarcastically snapped, and I growled as a threat to her.  She is walking on thin ice.  She paled before continuing, “Luke has a message.  He says that he’s waited long enough for your response.  If you don’t give him Bren or Kaida within three days, he’s going to kill one member of the pack every day and send their head here.  See, this is why I came back.  Once Bren is gone we can be together and—”

    “Mara, you have been labeled a traitor to this pack and your punishment will be death.” Easton interrupted again, and Mara’s eyes went wide.

    “No, you can’t do that to me!  Don’t you remember the times we had together?” Her breathing sped up as her eyes darted everywhere. “Plus, you’re not the Alpha yet.  You can’t make that call.” She grinned in triumph, thinking she found a loophole.

    “He might not be Alpha yet, but I am,” Robert’s voice cut through the crowd and we all looked to watch him join us.  We knew he was here listening to the conversation, but Mara was too focused on herself to open up her senses to know he was here too.  Mara’s eyes got impossibly wider and her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.  “And I fully support Easton’s decision.  Take her to the dungeons.  We’ll deal with her later.”

    Mara screamed as the guards dragged her away, trying to fight off their grips but they were too strong and the silver was affecting her strength.  She cursed us, saying she’ll get her revenge.