“They should.” I would find a way to make things right. If I’d stayed away, the wolves never would’ve attacked them.
“No, they shouldn’t.” Beth rolled her eyes. “And it’s not like wolves never attack witches. Even if our packs got along with them, there are several other packs that hate them. Your mate’s being one of them.”
That was why Aidan had walked away from me over four years ago. Right after our first kiss, he’d seen my mark—a birthmark of a star, or a pentagram as the witches called it—and disappeared from my life until we ran into each other at the university. Only a couple of days had passed since he’d turned his back on his pack to be with me.
As if my thoughts had called him to me, Aidan stepped from the woods right as we reached the tree line. He moved toward me as if to take my place.
I mind linked with him. I’ve got this. Please don’t keep pushing.
He frowned but nodded. I just hate seeing you deal with this. I’m supposed to protect you.
No, you’re supposed to stand beside me and treat me as an equal. I understood his instinct. Hell, I even had the same one toward him, but being overprotective of each other wasn’t possible in this new world of mine. To get through the coming months, I need you to get on board.
He huffed. You’re right, but I’m not happy about it.
Never said you had to be. I winked and dropped the conversation. Now wasn’t the time to celebrate our bond.
I’ll go help Samuel and Finn with the last few. He headed off toward the male witches.
I wasn’t sure that was the smartest idea, but they would have to learn to work together. Beth and I took a foot trail and found five male witches digging the last three graves. Ugh. There were twenty in total—one for each shifter.
“Take him over to Mom.” Amethyst’s face was lined with dirt, which made her dark violet eyes appear haunted. Her body sagged as she ran her hand through her dirty blonde hair and picked up her shovel again. Even though she was petite, she plunged the shovel into the loose dirt and began burying the dead shifter.
Beth groaned. “I’m still surprised we’re taking the time to do this before we get out of here.”
“Everyone deserves to be placed back in the ground. It’s more out of respect for Mother Nature, and we pray that they find peace despite experiencing such a violent demise.” Beatrice, the coven’s priestess, placed a hand on her heart as her blonde and gray hair spilled down her face. “I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years.”
“Hopefully we won’t have to see it again.” I meant those words, but a prickly stab of fear latched onto my skin. I was terrified that I might see so much worse in the very near future.”
“Bring him right over here, girls.” Beatrice waved us over. Even though she wasn’t shoveling, dirt still smeared her face. “We need to hurry. The pack will begin searching for their members and catch their trail soon, and we need to be out of here.” Dark circles lightened her purple eyes.
Between tracking their cell phones and all of the other modern technology, it wouldn’t take them long to find their cars and track their scent right to us.
“Anything else we can do to help? The guys are getting the last three—” I winced before I could say the rest. “—bodies, and we should be ready to head back and pack.”
“The sun is about to rise, and the pack will be on the hunt soon. Luckily, we’ve been preparing for this moment. Most of the coven should already be on their way home,” Beatrice said as she stood tall, stretching her back. “Sage, Rowan, and Coral should have most of our things packed if not everything.”
“Home?” That struck me as odd. Even though they didn’t have many items, I’d figured this was their home.
“Yes, it’ll be nice to be back where we belong.” A small smile teased the corners of her mouth.
“Why don’t you all head back up now?” The older man who was digging the grave pointed at us. “I’ll finish this up while Agatha and Tulip finish packing things. We’ll be done in the next thirty minutes.” Sincerity filled his cobalt blue eyes.
“All right. You three be safe on the drive down. Call me if you need anything.” She turned and waved at us to follow. “Let’s go.”
The four of us returned to the houses in amicable silence. Truth be told, we might’ve kept quiet from exhaustion.
When we broke through the tree line, we found Finn with a shifter over his shoulders. Blood dripped down the guy’s face and onto the grass. The blood looked sticky and cold instead of warm and runny.
Vomit threatened to come up my throat, but somehow, I kept it down.
“Hurry up.” Beatrice’s hands shook as she took in the area. Blood coated everything, even the trees. “We need to get out of here.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Finn nodded and picked up his pace to the graves.
I hurried past him, and thankfully, Samuel and Aidan were being more careful, dragging the guys by their feet.
I focused on Aidan. “We’re going to help finish packing.”
“Okay, cool,” Samuel groaned. “We’ll be ready soon.”
“We all need a shower.” Blood clung to me, and I needed to get the smell out of my nose.
“That is a very true statement.” Beth pointed at me. “I’ll go to Coral’s and Rowan’s to get clean and grab my things. Shouldn’t take longer than ten minutes.”
“Time is of the essence.” Amethyst stilled as if she sensed something no one else did. “They’ll be here soon. I feel it in my bones.”
Dread filled my stomach. We had to make it out before more wolves arrived. Next time, I wasn’t sure we could fight them off.
Aidan
“Surprised you stayed to help us witches since Emma left,” Finn said with hatred.
I was getting so damn tired of his comments. I got that my pack had killed his parents, but that wasn’t me. I’d been a newborn. It was so hard keeping my mouth shut, but I was doing it for Emma. He was her family, probably the only biological family she would ever have, and I was trying to make it as easy as possible for them to have a relationship. I’d turned to focus on another body when Finn grabbed my arm.
“Dude, come on.” Samuel sighed. “Yes, he was an ass to us at first, but he grew up hating us like you’ve grown up hating them. He stayed behind to help, for Goddess’s sake.”
Instead of listening to his friend, his hand tightened.
“You better back off.” I wouldn’t fight him, but I had to stand my ground somewhat. My wolf was surging forward, wanting me to put him in his place.
“Or what?” Finn sneered. “You’ll kill me like you did my parents.”
“No, asshole.” I worked to keep my wits. This guy was asking for a beating, but I had to remember Emma. “But I won’t keep letting you push me around.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed, slackening his grip. Then, I shoved him away. “The only reason I haven’t beaten the shit out of you is because of one girl who is important to both of us. But if you keep pushing, I’ll bite.”
Finn’s jaw clenched, but Samuel came over to stand between us.