Chapter 34 ∣  One Last Stop

-Evicka

"Thank you, Kane," I acknowledge one of the many coven leaders Kenzie and I had been informing as we made our way across the country. They were all given the orders to kill any werewolves on sight. If we couldn't get the name of their Alpha King, maybe causing enough deaths would draw out his presence.

This could prove as a stupid idea though...if our own numbers weren't strong enough to end the lives of many who would come before this one wolf. Part of me was wondering what Rainier would do now as he obviously would have felt his mate's death.

Would he seek us out on his own vindictive vendetta to kill the one who took Hendrix's life? He may not get the chance as things with Eris were only getting worse.

I used to hold so much hope for this world, but I now see there's no possible way for our species to get along with anyone. The humans will always fear us, for taking and plaguing their world and the werewolves...now they had every right to resent us for killing one of their own without just cause.

I never wanted this bloodshed...after the deaths of the coven leaders, I thought the world could move forward in peace. But it can't.

It never will.

I just have to accept what we are seen as...

"If I may ask," Kane brought me from my thought, my eyes lifting to meet his deep blue ones, "why now?"

Kenzie shifted in her seat, her own uneasiness clearly reflecting my own. I took a deep breath before I exhaled and said, "We had a lead. We had captured Alpha Hendrix, but..."

I couldn't say it...I just couldn't. If anyone else knew the issues with the demon we were facing, our own judgment might be jeopardized by the views of others.

"-he wouldn't tell us where the Alpha King was," Kenzie spoke up, Kane's eyes traveling to her, "so, we are done playing games and King Lucca decided it was time to strike fear into their hearts. None of them are safe."

Thank you, Kenzie.

She turned to me and waited for me to agree with her. I did, reassuring Kane, "Those are the orders. We tried playing nice and just asking for their King to come forward to settle this. Clearly, he likes to play games, so let's see how much he likes to lose the lives of his own kind."

This world is going to turn into a bloody war...Evie, what's going to happen to the innocent?

Unfortunately...the humans will be caught up in it and hopefully, they'll hide like they once did long ago.

"Well then," Kane lifted from his chair, Kenzie and me rising as well, "it seems...things are about to get rather interesting."

We walked with Kane and as we approached the entryway, the double doors in sight, I noted to him, "If the Alpha King reveals himself," I turned on my heels, Kenzie opening the door and allowing the cool night air to seep into the mansion, "get the word out immediately."

This had been a request to everyone that we came across. Yes, phones would have been more convenient, but we weren't sure who would be listening in and possibly jeopardized why we were going to become actively aggressive in the first place. Letters could easily be intercepted, so that's why Lucca thought it best to have the word spread personally, so there were no questions about his command.

From royalty.

Kane nodded and replied, "Of course, Queen Evicka."

Kenzie and I said our goodbyes and headed off once again on the pathway to the next coven. It was early into the night when we had stopped by Kane's residence, our run turning into more of a walk. We stayed on the roads, for the most part, only cutting across country and into the forest regions when there was no other choice. We each carried twin swords at our hips, two guns on either side of our thighs, ready for whatever challenge came across our path.

Kenzie was silent beside me, her eyes only seeing what a few feet in front of her was as she kept them on the pavement. When the silence had gone on too long, I asked her gently, "What's bothering you Kenz?"

Her eyes never left the ground, but I caught the faint skip of her heartbeat at the question. She's been awfully quiet lately...in fact, I didn't even want to mention what I knew it must be.

Her voice was clear when she answered, "I can't even feel her anymore Evie..." her voice trailed off and my suspicions were confirmed.

"It's alright," I reassured her, knowing a similar feeling when Rook had taken Lucette away for a while to be with him in his own coven. It had hurt, I won't deny the pain of slowly losing her, but I had to understand that she'd always have a bond with us, no matter how far she traveled, when she came near, we'd always feel her presence once again...at least they had grown up knowing their daughter to form that solid bond, I never had that with my own parents...which is why my father and I never even knew we were having a father-daughter dance at his mansion that night in Hollywood.

Wherever Micah had taken Tamsin, it was much further away than Kenzie and Killian were prepared for.

"It's not alright," Kenzie sighed, her steps slowing even further until we had all but stopped on the side of the road. Her eyes turned to me and I saw the tears that had been hiding away for so long, her heart breaking when she finally said, "I never got to say goodbye to her when she left. I wanted to tell her so many things..."

"You will," I smiled and reminded her, "If...well...hopefully when Micah returns, maybe you could ask him to bring Tamsin by for a visit. I'm sure he'd understand the bond between a mother and daughter, and how much she means to you."

The tears faded away as she let a smile form on her lips, "I never thought of that."

"See! There are no permanent goodbyes when your child finds their beloved and leaves," I exclaimed and hugged her tightly, her own arms wrapping around my back, "Everything is going to be just fine."

We continued to stop by three more covens, sending out the word until we came upon a fourth where an active dispute was taking place. It appeared that a small hunting group had set its sights on the smaller coven, taking advantage of its size, and hoping to extinguish its existence.

Kenzie and I had arrived just in time, teaming with Payton's coven to fight off the ten wolves that had dared to enter their walls. Payton had lost her commander, a loss she would be trying to get over for a while as she'd put so much trust into him. I'd offered her a place in our own coven, to seek out Lucca and tell him of what had happened. If this were just a hunting party, there were sure to be many that would follow, especially because none of them would return to their pack.

"Thank you Queen Evicka!" Payton exclaimed and shook my hand with the entire thanks of her coven. When she left her small mansion, she had ten people in tow with her. Hopefully, they would make it to our own coven without being attacked again. Unfortunately, Kenzie and I couldn't guarantee their safety as we were headed in the opposite direction.

There was just one more stop we had time to make before the sun would rise, the colors of the clouds slowly changing hues from purple to burnt orange. At this time, there wouldn't be too many individuals awake and whatever hunting parties the werewolves had, would have gone home to retire from their all-nighter.

A span of twenty miles of the forest stood between us and our destination, Kenzie turning to me as we approached the forest's edge and asked, "Do you think we have time for two more or just this one?"

"Better to be safe and just stick with the one," I nodded to her and we slowly made our way into the forest. I knew we could potentially hit another stop after this one, but I didn't want to risk us being exposed and out in the open, only having the safety of the forest's leaves to protect us.

We were only a couple of miles into the thicket of the trees when we both came to an abrupt halt. Kenzie turned to me, a shiver traveling through my body when I could feel the heartbeats of many.

Evie...

At least forty.

I knew she was waiting for me to confirm what she already knew. It was a very unnerving feeling though, not being able to see the ones lurking in the shadows, skulking behind the trees, and watching us with keen eyes.

Kenzie, it has to be a branch off of the hunting party that attacked Payton's coven.

They must have followed us?

Waiting for us to enter into the forest...

There's no other way to get to Garrett's coven aside from this path. Do you want to go ahead, and I can stay behind to distract them? Go get help?

I'm not leaving you behind Kenz, there's too many of them to fight off by yourself and you can only evade them for so long before they catch you. Who knows...there might be hunters among their ranks as well?

She went silent after that, her eyes scanning the area as we took overly cautious and slow steps. If we broke out into a run, I could easily evade them as I could move almost as fast as a cloaked assassin, but Kenzie would be caught. I couldn't leave her, so we tried to play it safe.

I tried to formulate some plan, but even if I had her run for safety, there were forty wolves...one of them was bound to catch her even if I stayed behind. She'd never let me do that though.

Evie...we're running out of time.

I knew what she meant, feeling the wolves coming closer to the edge of where we were walking with every step we took toward our destination. Garrett's coven was still too far away.

Our only logical option as this point...

We stand and fight together Kenz.

No! You are worried about my safety. You run Evie; everyone needs you.

I'm not running. Leaders should not run.

You're not a leader...you're a Queen...now run, Evie!

I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't seal her fate right here...right now. Instead, I stopped walking altogether and yelled, "What are you all waiting for?!"

"Evie," Kenzie was startled and taken aback by my bold decision, calling them out.

"I'm not going to run and have them chase us and I'm not going to run into the forest after them," her heart skipped a beat at my words as at the exact same time, rustling came from beyond the trees. I turned and looked her straight in the eyes, low growls and snarls filled our ears.

If things go wrong...you promise me, you'll run Evie.

N-

Promise me!

They started coming from the shadows, Kenzie's and my gaze leaving each other to see the wolves coming out of the trees. There were three distinctly larger wolves in comparison to the rest, my only thought racing and concluding they were more than likely betas...or Alphas.

But, why so many?

Kenzie's hand touched my arm, those three larger wolves howling loudly in unison. Our hearts were beating sporadically, the light rising slowly over the trees, and signifying we had hardly any time before the wolves wouldn't be our only enemies.

Not two seconds later after the howling began, the wolves all lunged, launching forward in our direction. We were surrounded, quickly encircled by the ones who had been hunting us. When the first one launched forward, Kenzie quickly took a knee, the wolf sailing over her head where I was waiting. I unsheathed one of the blades at my hips, swinging it to the side and sliced clean through the neck of the wolf. The body fell to the side of me, the head flying to the right and landing near the ever-growing closer crowd.

While Kenzie knelt down, she'd unholstered her two pistols, rising to her feet as she swung them in front of her, aimed directly at four more wolves that charged our way. With the blade in my right hand, I unholstered one of my own pistols, giving my back to my best friend. The shots we fired off, rang through the forest area, killing several wolves while others were only wounded.

Evie...I'm out.

We only brought two clips each, not thinking we would come across what could have been an entire pack. The once forty...was only growing. More wolves came sprinting through the forest, rallying together to take us down.

Kenzie threw her pistols to the forest floor, unsheathing her blades as she waited for the wolves to near her. I glanced to my left, pulling the trigger on my own pistol, knowing it would be my last shot. The bullet sailed clear through the wolf's skull, the body falling to the ground. I threw the pistol to the ground, reaching to unholster my other one, but I never got the chance.

Kenzie's scream ripped through my ears, coming from behind me. I turned around, feeling the air behind me whiz right by and saw that one of the larger wolves sink their teeth into her elbow, viciously tearing her away from me. She flew a good twenty feet away from me, her body hitting the ground hard as her blades came loose from her grasp.

"Kenzie!" I made a move toward her but found that I couldn't when I landed hard on my chest, my chin hit the ground. Strong and powerful limbs kept me pinned to the ground, hearing a dark growl in my ear as saliva dripped onto the shoulder of my coat.

When I tried to shrug the wolf off of me, a piercing scream left my own lips as razor-sharp teeth sank into the flesh of my shoulder. Its jaw locked onto me and the more I tried to move, the deeper it cut and the more damage it caused. I shook my head, clearing my vision as wolf legs were all I could see rampaging in front of me.

Soon though, I saw through the chaos, Kenzie on her back with one of the larger wolves pinning her down. She fought, her struggle only ended when two more wolves attacked her legs and she cried out in pain again.

Kenzie...Kenzie!!!

Run...

That was all she was able to muster before my eyes widened in horror. The wolf's teeth viciously snapped at the front of her neck, tearing away the flesh, muscle, and her windpipe when it suddenly pulled away. Gurgled sounds came from her lips as blood spewed from them, gushing from her wound as she fought to hold onto her life.

"KENZIE!!" I frantically pulled forward on the ground, the wolf's bite snapping harder onto my shoulder, ignoring my own pain as I attempted to claw my way to her.

One, two, three, four...

Her heartbeat weakened and the wolves attacked her defenseless body.

One, two, three...

Ev...

One, two...

"Kenz-Kenzie..." I hadn't realized multiple bite wounds had also punctured my own body, trying to tear through my own flesh. I can't lose you...I can't...

One...

Tears blurred my vision and a very loud scream was ripped from my lungs as I felt her existence fade away. Her final heartbeat pounded in my ears, not wanting to believe this was happening...that Kenzie was dead.

I can't...no I won't accept this...I won't!!

Not a small and warm flicker of life came from the center of my chest...no, it was like a blazing inferno took hold of my body. It was all too familiar, but not something I ever expected to feel again. Not once I'd been told it was siphoned from me...

...not since Maverick's birth.

It flooded my veins, coursing through every cell, and rapidly expanding them with little needles. The hatred in me only grew, my eyes shifting to a black rose while my fangs elongated.

I was the first of my kind.

I was the first pureblood vampire huntress...

No one knew what I was capable of, there had never been another like me...not until Maverick was born.

The heat flooded through me like a cloak of reassurance, a long-lost part of myself that had broken free from its dormant state. Hiding away and growing stronger with each passing second...years of believing it was stolen from me...but clearly...it wasn't.

I welcomed it.

The let the radiation spread out of my body, slicing through the wolves that were trying to kill me. I felt their heartbeats stop, taking hold of their blood and bringing the veins to the surface of their bodies. There was no more pain, my wounds accelerated their healing as I stood to my feet. I held onto that feeling, forcing the blood through the bodies of the dead wolves, the blood circling around me as a protective shield. Some backed away, fear clearly reflecting in their eyes as I walked toward my fallen friend.

The wolves moved further away, but the larger one turned toward me, setting its sights on my life. It ran straight for me, lunging and in mid-air, I morphed the shield, the outside reflecting long and jagged spikes. When the wolf landed, its body was impaled on the spikes, releasing control of the blood as it collapsed to the ground.

Kenzie's body was bloodied, hardly recognizable at all, one of her arms torn clean off while half of one of her legs was missing at the knee. Sad tears cascaded down my cheeks, her eyes open as blood trickled on her skin from the lacerations. I fell to my knees beside her, my hands cradling what was left of her shoulders as I cried. My body broke just like hers, only I couldn't bring hers back...I couldn't do anything.

What made my tears turn from ones of sadness to ones of complete and utter rage...was when I heard the growling surrounding me once again. I felt the blood lift up from Kenzie's body, taking control of every cell spilled on the forest floor. It slithered to me, encircling around my body as it continued to move almost as if it had a mind of its own.

But it didn't...it was forced to feed off the pain and anger I felt and the second a step was taken toward me, I stood quickly to my feet. I screamed so loud that I could have broken my own eardrums, the blood splintering out and away from my body as many jagged spears were formed. They hit all their targets, every wolf in the area not able to escape the blood magic that sailed toward them.

I couldn't hear a single heartbeat anymore.

Only mine.

Not Kenzie's...like I should have been able to...

Only mine...

It was warm, something I'd never felt in my entire life.

I tilted my chin up and opened my eyes to glimpse an incredibly beautiful orb of light. Its rays bathed me in its light, my skin feeling the majesty that I finally understood was...the sun.

I glanced down at my skin exposed through my torn clothes, seeing as it hadn't changed at all. It was intact. There were no searing wounds, no ashen skin reflecting the damages it had caused by being in its presence. But when my eyes fell to the ground...the smoldering ashes were all that remained of my best friend...

Kenzie...

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To Seduce a Mortal by K. A. Young and Laisha C. Gardner

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