Page 53 of Prey of the Lycan Queen (Unwanted #2)
Chapter Fifty-Two
A potent mix of relief and distress fills the air as the freed half of the coven streams from the depths of the mountain bunker.
Kelly, a powerful witch who happens to despise me, staggers forward, her energy severely depleted.
Her body is marred by the unforgiving clutch of King Slavic and his men.
Despite hating me, she allows me to help her, which is a relief because I’m pretty sure she would have dropped in the tunnels had I not grabbed her.
Leila, an unwavering small girl amid the turmoil, helps drag the last woman out before I have a chance to go back for her. She stumbles out with the woman, who is choking desperately on the dust and debris. Her eyes search and scan the faces of her coven.
“Grandma?” she calls out, and I see James also peering around, checking the faces of the women here, but they are far too young.
Kelly stands straighter, shaking off my hand holding her arm. “Crap.” She walks over to Leila, her steps heavy and tired. “Leila,” she calls, her voice hesitant as she waves to get the girl’s attention. “Your grandmother...” She pauses, unsure how to continue.
Leila’s face hardens. “Where is she, Kelly?” she asks, but I can still see the fear in her eyes. Kelly looks back at the mountain and sighs heavily. “What happened?” Leila asks, a hint of desperation creeping into her voice.
“Half the coven is still trapped...Your grandmother is with them,” Kelly replies.
Leila bites her lip, her gaze fierce but trembling. She takes a deep breath and looks back at the mountain’s tunnel entrance. “Well, I guess I’ll go get her,” she declares, her voice filled with conviction, and I can tell there won’t be any way to talk her out of it.
“Leila, the mountain is crumbling, it’s literally falling apart. I can feel it under my feet, that place isn’t stable,” Kelly says, grabbing her arms.
Leila takes a step back. “I never said you had to go with me, but I am going, Kelly. I promised my brother I’d bring our grandma home, and I will.”
Kelly glances at the mountain before her lips form a hard line, and she grabs the girl tightly. “You listen to me, and you listen well. You have until the third crack, the fourth it falls. You need to be out by the third crack,”
“Third crack?” Leila questions.
“You’ll know it when you hear it. The mountain is angry, we disturbed its peace, and it wants it back,” Kelly’s words make goose bumps rise on my arms, so eerie with the way her voice changed pitch on the last part.
Hesitantly, I step forward, my heart beating at the young witch’s resolve. “Be out by the third crack,” Kelly states, letting her go.
“And if she’s not?”
“Nothing can hold it back from falling, not even the gods can move this mountain,” Kelly says, peering up at it, the highest point of it lost in the clouds.
“I’ll come with you,” I state, my voice authoritative yet gentle.
My gaze meets Leila’s. She’s young, but there’s a determination in her eyes that belies her years.
Something in her spirit, in her fierce protectiveness, reminds me of my sons and how they’d do anything for me, something I sometimes took advantage of.
I played them against each other, used them as weapons to fight my battles and shields to protect me from those I oppose.
“We’ll get my sons and daughter-in-law and your grandmother,” I tell her.
I was never one for pep talks, more grunt and order, yet I find I can’t be mean to this girl.
She did, after all, keep me company at my worst of times.
The words hang heavily in the air, unsure if it’s a promise I can actually keep, but it’s one I intend to.
Hearing our conversation, Regan wanders over from helping James with the last ones.
“We need to find another entrance,” Regan says, and I nod.
“You’re coming too?” Leila asks, looking confused. “My mate and brothers are in there, of course I am,” he says, peering up at the mountain.
A bitter laugh escapes him. “I’m good as dead anyway,” he says, making my heart heavy.
I may have lost one son, but we can try to at least save the other two. Regan and I both know that without Zirah’s mark, it’s only a matter of time. He’s a ticking time bomb, kind of like this mountain.
Kelly looks at him strangely, her head tilting, and it’s almost as if she looks straight through him.
“James!” Regan calls out. “You’ll be alright here if I take Gnash and Hunter?
” James gives him a thumbs up and Regan whistles.
Gnash’s ears perk, and Regan nods toward the mountain.
“Follow Dad in,” Regan orders the wolf. Shadow wanders over, and Regan points at James.
“He’s fine. He’ll only whine, let him go,” James dismisses Regan before he can order the wolf. Regan clicks his tongue before glancing at me.
“Since we can’t go straight through, I’ll find another entrance to the other side,” Regan says before darting off into the tunnel.
I move to follow, but Kelly’s voice draws me back. “The third crack, not the explosion, ignore those. The cracks are the mountain’s countdown.”
A violent shudder runs through me. Slavic’s backup plan. My jaw clenches at the news, yet Leila’s resolve doesn’t waver. “We’ll be fine, Leila has me. Therefore, she has magic,” I tell Kelly.
Kelly’s gaze goes up the mountain while I glance after Regan, then I turn back as Kelly pulls Leila into a quick embrace. “No one can harness that sort of energy, Leila, so don’t you be stupid enough to try.” Kelly’s pleas are weak but insistent.
Without another word or glance back, Leila’s off, plunging back into the tunnels with me at her side. Each rumble of the rocks around us sets me on edge, and I pray that I didn’t just sign up for a crushing death.
Behind us, James stays with the rescued coven members.
His vampire blood can heal them, but I can’t when I am this weak and on the verge of death.
I can only scare them. The terror of the mountain and its impending destruction looms over me as we move inside the tunnel, each step leading us closer to the death we should be running from.