Layla lashed out with several swear words. “Who else can we call on the compound?”
Dane had a strict communication plan, making it hard to contact anyone from his pack. Two-way radios were used on-site, and only a small group of shifters had cell phones.
I went through Tripp’s contacts. “We need to get ahold of Dane. He’ll be able to reach someone on his compound. Tripp, you said the shifters took him to a vet, right? Rebekah is with him, then.”
“Yes,” he said. “Her number is in my phone.”
Red flashing lights illuminated the darkened road as a fire truck came toward us in the opposite lane.
I made quick work of calling the Special Forces medic, Rebekah, but failed. Then I tried my father. I had no luck on that front either.
Silence followed us for a mile.
“How do you know Kendra?” Agnes’s voice broke through the hell I was burning in.
“Long story,” Layla replied. “But not one I want to talk about right now.”
Agnes was the key to understanding Layla’s maternal side of the family—the Drakes and the Monroes. She was also Abbey’s great-grandmother. Jo would definitely be excited to learn more about Abbey’s mom, Rachel. My sister had been trying to locate anyone in Rachel’s family. But I agreed with Layla. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about their family tree and the tangled web of who was who. Frankly, I didn’t give a fuck.
“What I would like to know, Agnes”—I swiveled in my seat—“is why my fire element isn’t working.”
“What the fuck?” Tripp blurted. “Did the witches take your powers?”
“I got them back, thanks to Agnes,” I said. “Or at least I got my earth element back.”
Tripp slowed to a stoplight. “We need a weapon to fight against witches.”
Layla sniffled. “You have one. Me.”
I rounded my gaze on my beautiful wife. Her cheeks were flushed, and her auburn hair was messy, as if she’d been rolling around in bed. What I wouldn’t give to be tangled between the sheets with her right now. “You were amazing tonight. I’m so proud of you.”
I’d been in awe, watching her as she chanted the spell that had set the fire. What a sight to see. Her illuminated yellow eyes were brighter than the sun on a scorching summer day. Her siren voice was mesmerizing as she spoke each word with purpose, passion, and force. Dare I admit that my cock was jerking in my pants at how fucking stoked I was that my wife had magical abilities? Granted, she had a lot to learn, but with Agnes’s help, Layla would be unstoppable. And she was right. We did have a weapon to fight against witchcraft. Above that, if the prophecy proved true that Layla would be the Mystic, then no one would be able to touch us or our children.
Our future was looking better by the day. Maybe that happily ever after we both wanted was within our reach.
“It might take time before you’re one hundred percent again, Sam,” Agnes said, breaking my concentration.
Layla twisted in her seat so she could see Agnes. “One thing I would like to know. Did Orion suffer from blood deprivation?”
I looked out the windshield at the city of Bismarck and listened.
“No,” Agnes started. “Given the prophecies, we knew your children were inhuman. We also knew that one or all four had to be vampires. But Orion was fussy and cranky and crying nonstop. Adam still had a supply of Sam’s blood from when Sam had been his prisoner.”
“So Orion didn’t drink anyone else’s blood?” Layla asked.
“Maeve did try hers, but he got sick.”
I growled.
“And Luna?” I asked.
“Luna didn’t show any signs that she needed blood,” Agnes said evenly. “So we didn’t give her any. Besides, we had to ration Sam’s blood because Adam didn’t have much of it left. Maeve believes that Orion is the one who will turn witches into vampires.”
“All of them could fit the prophecy,” I mumbled.
If my children were vampire witches, I wondered what that meant in relation to the prophecy.
“You’re right, Sam,” Agnes said. “Or none of them will turn witches into vampires. Prophecies are predictions with loopholes and can change over time. However, witches believe prophecies to be true more often than not.”
