Page 33 of Curses and Casualties (Hunters Hollow #3)

Ryan

L ucien languidly claims a picnic table as the others settle into easy camaraderie. “Partying over the spilled blood of our enemy is fun and all, but I do hope someone has a more detailed plan than ‘charge when the moon is high and hope for the best.’“

“We have a plan,” Georgia says, shooting me a sidelong glance I know means we absolutely do not have a plan.

“It’s a simple one. But essentially, we need all of you to distract while we complete the bond ritual at the Soulcave.

Once the bond is complete, we’ll join the fight and push out the rest with you.

But the timing is crucial—we need to start the ritual as the supermoon rises. ”

“And if the distraction fails and the Alpha gets there first?” the color-shifting fae asks, its voice almost too smooth to stick in the air. Its eyes are blue glass, unblinking. “Because he will. They’re already moving. I heard his howlers running the basin at sundown.”

“We go through them,” I answer, anger making every word flint. “We have to.”

“Well, that’s a wonderfully wolfish solution,” drawls the vampire.

“But maybe consider a touch of misdirection, hmm? Feeding time usually brings out the best in my kind, but there are only so many wolves I can take down directly. I’d rather not get my own entrails on these shoes if it can be helped. ”

“And I don’t like how simple this plan is,” Jules mutters, pulling ingredients from a pouch at her belt. “Simple plans die quick deaths.”

“OK. Then we make it complex,” Georgia says, surprising everyone by taking charge.

The firelight catches in her hair, and for a moment I see not my gentle geologist but the Alpha female she’s becoming.

“Three-pronged assault. úlfhéenar from the north at moonrise, witches and fae from the east just before, and whoever’s craziest hits the compound directly as a diversion. ”

“That would be me,” Scarlett volunteers immediately.

“And me,” Lucien adds with a theatrical sigh. “I suppose centuries of existence have made me sufficiently crazy.

“OK then,” Georgia continues. “Scarlett, you and Lucien will lead the direct team. Make as much noise as you can, draw their best fighters and”—she glances at Amara, who gives her a nod of confirmation—”buy us time to reach the Soulcave.

If they think we’re going brute-force and head-on, they’ll throw everything at you. ”

“Sounds like suicide,” Lucien says, though he looks more interested now.

“You’re immortal,” Scarlett points out.

“I can die,” he retorts, playing with a charmed ring that allows him to endure sunlight. “I just don’t want to die in this god-awful place.” He slaps a mosquito buzzing around his head and mutters, “Disgusting little blood suckers.”

Ethan coughs a laugh. “What about you?” he asks Georgia and me. “How are you going to get in that cave when the only opening will be guarded?”

“I’ll portal them in,” Amara says, stepping forward.

“Tomorrow night, just as the moon crests the mountains. We’ll need to be about a mile from the cave—any closer and the magical resonance interferes with my spells, any farther and their witches will be able to track us.

The Soulcave’s energy should mask my signature on entry if I’m careful.

” She pauses, meeting my eyes. “I can put you in the cave system through the old tunnels, but you’ll have to reach the main chamber on foot. ”

“Or paw,” Georgia says quietly, and I notice the way her fingers flex, like her skin can’t quite hold her wolf anymore.

“The ritual needs to begin within an hour of moonrise for maximum power,” the silver-haired witch adds. “Any later and you risk the bond being incomplete.”

“What exactly are the fae bringing to this fight?” Ethan asks, studying the three otherworldly beings with obvious wariness. “I mean, no offense, but I don’t know what you guys actually do.”

The deer-like fae’s form flickers, becoming more solid. “We manipulate reality itself,” it says, its voice like rustling leaves. “Illusions that become truth. Paths that lead where they should not. Time that warps around intent, not logic.”

“We can make their enforcers chase shadows,” the willowy one adds, stretching fingers that definitely end in thorns. “Lead them in circles while you reach your destination.”

“And when the moon rises,” the color-shifting fae says, “we can amplify the magical resonance. Make your ritual’s power reach farther, hit harder.”

“No pressure,” Georgia mutters.

“Speaking of outside interference,” Amara’s gaze sharpens as she scans the perimeter. “Are you aware there’s a wolf prowling our magical boundaries?”

“We know,” Georgia says quickly. “We think it’s Magnus’s.”

Amara’s eyebrows rise. “The broken Alpha? Isn’t he bound?”

“He was when we saw him last,” Ethan supplies. “But he and Scarlett seem to be mates. His wolf went nuts when he saw her. Pushed against its cage.”

Amara frowns deeply. “That’s... unusual. Especially for a binding done by someone as powerful as Evanora. I mean, it’s not unheard of, but if the wolf has actually broken its cage, we could be dealing with something more?—”

She’s cut off by the sound of an engine approaching. My wolf recognizes the rumble before my human mind processes it. Owen’s old truck.

“That’s Owen,” I say, already moving.

The headlights cut through the trees before the engine dies.

Owen emerges looking haggard, medical bag slung over one shoulder.

I step out of the magical perimeter, and we stop three feet apart, a decade of living in the same world but with two completely different experiences of it yawning between us despite our continued closeness.

“You look like hell, little brother,” he says finally.

“Still prettier than you.”

It’s an old joke, worn thin with time, but it cracks something open between us. Then we’re hugging, fierce and desperate, like we’re boys again before the world went mad.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “For leaving. For everything.”

“Shut up.” He pulls back, eyes fierce. “You survived. You found your mate. That’s all that matters.”

“Were you followed?”

“I don’t think so. But that doesn’t mean much when you’re dealing with man-sized wolves.”

I walk him back inside the perimeter, so we aren’t so exposed, and he immediately glances past me to where Georgia waits by the fire.

“Is that her?”

“Georgia,” I call, and she approaches cautiously.

Owen studies her with doctor’s eyes, taking in the silver glow beneath her skin, the way she moves with a slight limp still. “It’s good to see you well, Georgia.”

“It’s good to see you too, Owen,” Georgia says with a wry smile. “Although, I’d love to see you one day when my life isn’t on the line.”

“I’d like that too,” Owen says with a smile. “In fact, when all of this is over, Honey and I would love it if you’d both come to our wedding. Hell, we’d love it if you all came to our wedding.”

Scarlett gives an appreciative whistle as she leans on the table. “Well, look at you, Mr. Grownup. Who knew Ryan’s brother was the impulsive one? How many weeks has it been since you and Honey hooked up?”

Owen shrugs off the heat in his blush. “It’s not impulsive when you know you’ve found your One.” He touches the piece of heartstone hanging around his neck. “Besides, this world has enough reasons to put things off. We’re not waiting to bind our lives together.”

I’m about to ask if he needs food or rest when Owen reaches into his bag, producing a silk-wrapped bundle. “Luna’s fragments. It’s all I recovered.”

Jules steps forward, examining the wrapped bundle with professional interest. “May I?” When Owen nods, she carefully unwraps a corner, revealing the glowing shards. “How much did Evanora say you need?”

“A half teaspoon,” Georgia says, and Jules nods.

“Perfect. These will work beautifully for the ritual.” She hands the bundle to Georgia and steps away.

“It’s enough?” Owen asks, looking between us.

“It is,” I say. “Thank you.”

Owen grips my shoulder. “Half the pack wants you to succeed, Ryan. Parents who’ve buried human children, wolves who’ve watched their bloodline wither—they’re desperate for hope.”

“We’ll give them more than hope,” Georgia says quietly. “We’ll give them a future.”

“I believe you might,” Owen says, studying her before he turns back to me.

“Listen, I don’t know how helpful this will be.

But from what I’ve gathered, the Alpha’s moved most of his forces to guard the compound and the main approach to the Soulcave.

The main entrance will be a killing field.

” Owen pulls out a hand-drawn map, marking positions.

“He’s expecting you to come in force. Use that arrogance against him. ”

“We will.” I pull him close again. “Now go. Take Honey and get to the human side of the valley. Stay there until this is over.”

“Ryan—”

“You promised me.”

He nods reluctantly. “We’ll be staying with the Valentines in town. But if you die?—”

“I know, you’ll be bringing me back to kick my ass.”

He gives me a worried smile. “See you at the wedding, yeah?”

After he leaves, we refine our plan. Jules and the silver-haired witch cast subtle protections while Erik coordinates with the úlfhéenar via some sort of runic sending.

Lucien produces an impressive array of weapons from his pack, humming what sounds like show tunes.

The fae seem to be communing with the forest itself, their forms flickering as they weave spells I can’t begin to understand.

“Six months ago, I was writing a paper on the post-volcanic sedimentation rates in the Pacific Northwest,” Georgia says, shaking her head as she runs her palm over the wood grain of the picnic table.

“Now I’m planning military tactics with vampires, witches, and beings from another realm just so you and I can go have glow-in-the-dark sex in a cave to reboot the magic grid. Life is pretty wild.”

“Regrets?”

She turns in my arms, eyes blazing silver-green. “Only that we have to wait until tomorrow night for the sex part. Luna’s so close to the surface I can taste moonlight.”

“Soon,” I promise. “Tomorrow, when the supermoon rises, we end this.”

“Or it ends us,” she says, but she’s smiling, fierce and wild.

Around us, our unlikely army settles in for the long wait ahead. Tomorrow will be the longest day of our lives, waiting for night to fall. But as I hold my mate close, feeling our bond pulse with each heartbeat, I know we’re ready.

Tomorrow night, under the supermoon, we reclaim our future or die trying.