Page 168 of Ensnared by the Pack: The Complete Series (Destined Realms #3)
AUDREY
I waited for a few seconds on my suite’s patio to make sure Knox had a good head start and would hopefully be off the Residence’s grounds by the time I walked around the front of the castle.
If he saw me, he’d insist I go to bed, and if I told him about the black smoke and controlling the grimalkins, he’d freak out. And that wouldn’t be helpful at the moment. Searching the area around Stonehaven and ensuring everyone in the pack was safe, not just me, was important. Without a doubt, he was the most powerful hunter they had, and they needed him. I didn’t want to get in the way of that.
And while I didn’t want to hide anything from him, I also couldn’t distract him from his duties. Once I’d talked to Whil, I’d have a better idea what was going on and I’d tell Bishop. It was a bit of a cop out, but Bishop wouldn’t freak out and he’d know how to talk with Knox to keep him from losing it.
With that decided, I summoned my strength, pushing through my exhaustion and aches and went to Whil’s greenhouse library cottage. The building was tucked against a large protective wall at the back of the grounds. Bushes and trees and vines were all in full bloom regardless that it was summer and some of the plants bloomed in the spring or fall. They crowded around the half English cottage half greenhouse structure giving it a whimsical, magical feel, which was fitting for the home of a summer fae.
I knocked on the wooden doorframe to the greenhouse. “Whil?”
No answer.
“Whil?” I tried again as I took a few steps inside.
Still no answer.
Maybe she was in the cottage half of the building.
I headed deeper into the greenhouse, walking through a garden bursting with brilliant flowers and vibrant leaves. Bookshelves crammed with books and scrolls and knickknacks hid amongst the greenery, growing more predominant the farther I walked.
I followed a path that was half wide flagstone and half moss or short grass, and up a step or two, then back down again, or down then back up with no noticeable reason for the steps, until I reached the seating area at the back made up of mismatching pieces of furniture. Beyond the sitting area stood an archway heading into the cottage proper.
“Whil?”
But before I’d even spoken, I knew she wasn’t home, or if she was, she was sleeping or concentrating on something. The cottage and greenhouse felt too still, too empty.
Of course, now that I thought about it, it made sense that she wasn’t home. She might not have been a shifter, but she was still a member of the pack and even with her minimal sorcerer’s ability, she could still help.
Swell. I’d have to wait to get answers and I’d walked to the back of the Residence’s grounds for nothing.
With a sigh, I marched back to my suite and collapsed on my bed.
Loud knocking and someone calling my name woke me, and for a second, I couldn’t remember where I was.
Then it all came flooding back. I was in a realm with two moons and dangerous beasts. The son of my previous pack’s alpha and his friend had tricked me into starting a mating bond and then tried to sacrifice me to a monster. I was mate bonded with two of three pack alphas — and wanted to be mated to the third as well — and now I was breathing smoke and controlling grimalkins.
“Audrey,” Quinn called, her voice muffled with my door and my suite’s sitting room between us.
“Coming,” I called back, realizing I hadn’t undressed out of my borrowed scrubs or even crawled under the blankets. I’d just collapsed on top of my bed.
I hurried out of my bedroom, surprised that I wasn’t as sore and achy as I would have expected after the fight. I rushed across the lavish sitting room with its handcrafted everything, unlocked the door, and opened it.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “You should be with Zavier.”
Quinn offered me a weak smile and held up a garment bag and a handbag as if that explained everything. “Whil put him into a magical sleep so he can heal without pain, and I’d already promised Bishop I’d help you get ready for tonight.”
“I’m sure Bishop would understand if you wanted to stay with Zavier,” I told her even as I stepped back to let her in.
“Zavier won’t wake until tomorrow and I couldn’t keep sitting there and crying. I know he’ll recover. It’s just going to take a while.” Her weak smile turned into a fierce one that looked anything but happy. “It could be worse. Last I heard, twenty pack members had died and two dozen were injured like Zavier.”
I swallowed hard, the wildness rising within me at the thought that I’d lost twenty shifters and even more were hurt. They were mine to protect and I’d failed them. Even if I couldn’t have been there to help them, I’d still failed them somehow.
“Five humans, two gryphons, and three Dedearc died as well,” Quinn continued as she walked through my sitting room and bedroom and into the bathroom. “More were hurt, but Representative Folmar’s son is the worst.”
“Cohnal?” I asked, relief sweeping through me. He might be hurt, but from how Quinn mentioned him, it meant he was still alive after fighting three grimalkins by himself.
“He lost half of his leg, was blinded in one eye, and I’m told his beautiful feathers were shredded. Sit here,” Quinn said, pointing to the edge of the tub. “Let’s see how many scrapes and bruises I have to cover up.”
I huffed and sat. “I wouldn’t bother trying. You’d have to wrap me in a full bodysuit with a mask to cover up the fact that I went toe to toe against a grimalkin.”
Although it could have been worse. Poor Cohnal had lost his leg, and his feathers had been damaged. I didn’t know if they’d grow back because I knew nothing about gryphons. Up until this morning, I thought gryphon shifters were only a myth.
“You mean many grimalkins, not a grimalkin,” Quinn said her expression daring me to argue with her. “You killed two grimalkins without shifting, and your alpha power…” She barked a harsh laugh and started pulling jars and bottles and tubes from her bag. “I don’t think Finn even knew what he was doing until he killed that grimalkin. You must be amazing at blocking your power because it feels like you don’t have any.”
“Right now, I don’t,” I confessed. “It only shows up when I’m upset and that only started happening recently.”
Quinn frowned at me so I told her about my pack and how my ancestors had cursed themselves and future generations so we could hide among the humans. I also told her how the curse was broken on the summer solstice after our eighteenth birthday, how mine was still in place, and how now it didn’t matter if we were shifters or not. The archangel Michael had proclaimed war on all humans and every supernatural being had stepped up to save them.
Quinn did my makeup while listening, and I went on to tell her about Sterling and Royce betraying me and me hopefully fucking up his plans by still being alive.
“I’m glad your pack doesn’t have to hide anymore, but I can’t believe someone tried to exterminate a whole realm,” she said, motioning for me to turn around.
“Some people are like that. Greedy, hungry for power,” I said, obeying her and turning. “They’ll crush anyone who’s weaker than them to get what they want.”
“There’s something wrong with them if that’s the way they are,” she huffed as she gathered strands of my hair, twisting and braiding them into a complicated updo that only required six simple pins to keep it in place.
After she was done, we returned to my bedroom and she unzipped the garment bag. The dress inside was similar in design to the one I’d worn this morning with a thin neck strap and a higher back, except this one was gold with delicate green embroidery.
“Where’s Bishop getting these dresses?” I asked. “They fit perfectly and hide half the scars on my back.”
“He ordered a bunch of them specially made for you just before the festival,” Quinn said. “And he’s got great taste. You look amazing.”
Quinn turned me so I could see myself in the two-person wide full-length mirror. My breath caught in my throat. Somehow, she’d made me beautiful.
The makeup was soft and subtle, just enough to highlight my eyes and hide the worst of the cuts and bruises, and my hair was twisted and curled with tendrils framing my face and accentuating my neck. The dress clung to my barely-there curves, but still seemed to cover the fact that I hadn’t gained back all the weight I’d lost during my heat fever and even my bruises and cuts — those that could be seen — seemed paler, as if they were a few days old instead of a few hours. Molly must have given me an elixir from a particularly potent batch.
“Your alphas won’t be able to keep their eyes off you,” Quinn said.
At her words, the memory of Cyrus kissing me like he wanted to claim me, his eyes hungry and dark with his wolf, shuddered through me.
Not my alpha.
And once we had our talk, I was sure he was going to make that clear.
Except my stupid soul didn’t want to listen to reason. He was mine, just like Bishop and Knox.