But first thing was first, we needed to find Gemma and the twins.

  “It’s okay,” Mom said, shooting Wyatt a glare. “You just needed a minute.”

  “Unfortunately, we don’t have time for me to have any more breakdowns. We have to save Gemma and the twins.”

  “Already on that,” Christian said. “Hayden and Knight are trying to get the packs to help track them down and go up against your grandmother.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  This was witch business. Besides, I didn’t want to put anyone else in danger. I had to end Constance. I could do it without putting the packs in danger.

  “Because we need help,” Mom said. “My mother is a borderline psychopath. She’s worse than my father. She won’t hesitate to kill you.”

  “She’ll definitely have the power to,” Wyatt said. “We think the reason she took the twins was to gain their powers.”

  “How?” Kane asked, chiming into the conversation.

  “By absorbing their power,” Mom said. “Which would kill them.”

  “We have to stop her,” I said.

  “We will,” Christian said.

  The front door swung open. An angry Knight and Hayden walked through, followed by a very worried looking Jade.

  Jade.

  I felt a pang in my chest. I couldn’t imagine what she was feeling right now.

  No, I could. I felt it when I lost Wyatt. We had to save Lexie. I didn’t want to have to watch Jade go through that kind of pain. It stayed with you. I still felt it and Wyatt was alive and well. Literally.

  “What’s wrong?” Kane asked.

  “The packs won’t help,” Knight said. He looked at me. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Good thing you cleaned your face,” Hayden said. “That was gross. In the future, please be less messy.”

  “Sorry you had to see that.”

  “It’s all good.” She smiled reassuringly, but it didn’t take away from the embarrassment I felt at losing control like that.

  “Why aren’t the packs helping?”

  Knight and Hayden shared a look.

  There was something they didn’t want to tell me.

  “What is it? Guys we really don’t have time for sparing my feelings. Just tell me.”

  “They know you’re a tribrid now. They don’t want you as their alpha.”

  “No one ever said that I was going to be their alpha.”

  The pack drama was getting on my last nerve. We didn’t have time for this.

  We needed their help, as much as I hated to admit it.

  I pulled my phone out and texted Dad to call a pack meeting between both packs.

  “Who are you texting?” Hayden asked.

  “Dad. I want to talk to the packs.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Knight said. “They really don’t like you.”

  “I don’t care. I don’t really like them either. I just care about finding and stopping Constance.”

  “Knight’s right though,” Hayden said. “I hate saying that out loud, but it’s true. They won’t be receptive to anything you have to say.”

  “They’ll be receptive to this.”

  * * *

  When we got to Hayden’s, she walked into the house and turned around to look at me. She smirked. “I guess you can’t come in, huh?”

  That was a good point. I glared at her. “Hayden. We don’t have time for this.”

  “You can come in.”

  The two packs were gathered in the dining hall.

  I suddenly regretted my decision to do this. They were all staring at me with so much hate.

  “Tough crowd,” Knight said.

  “Yeah.” I looked at him. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay with what we talked about?”

  He smiled at me and squeezed my hand. “Yeah, Hope. This is what I want.”

  “You two aren’t talking about sex, are you?” Hayden said abruptly.

  Knight glared at her. “I was just starting to like you.”

  “No, we’re not talking about sex.”

  “Then what are you talking about?”

  I took a deep breath, trying to gather all the confidence I could. “You’ll see.”

  Dad hugged me when he saw me. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

  “Thanks. And thanks for getting the packs together so quickly.”

  “Of course,” he said, pulling away to look at me. “You’re my daughter, Hope. I’d do anything for you and Hayden. Anything.”

  I smiled. I knew how true that was.

  All eyes were on me, waiting for me to say something.

  “Hi.”

  Hayden snickered and shook her head at my nervousness.

  I refrained from giving her the finger and turned to face everyone. “I need your help. All of you. I have to stop my grandmother, and I can’t do it alone.”

  It was something I still had a hard time getting used to. I had people. I didn’t have to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders anymore.

  “We don’t help vampires,” Calvin said. He glared an icy glare at me and puffed out his chest.

  “I’m not just a vampire. I’m still a wolf too. I’m a part of this pack. A pack that is supposed to have each other’s backs.”

  “You’ve made it abundantly clear that you care more about protecting vampires than you care about protecting your own.”

  I couldn’t argue with him, and I didn’t want to. It was the truth. I was always going to look out for the vampires. They were my family. I couldn’t turn my back on them, ever.

  “I agree.”

  Hayden looked confused.

  “You guys don’t want me to be the alpha because I’m impartial to vampires. Because I am one myself now. I’ll never stop defending vampires. They’ve taken a lot from me and many of them are evil. But they’re also the reason I have the life that I have now. A life I wouldn’t change at all. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t go tooth and nail to defend the pack. But, I’m not meant to lead you guys.” I looked at Hayden and smiled. “She is.”

  “Hope?” Hayden said.

  “Hayden, you’re the alpha we all need. You were born to boss people around.”

  Dad snickered. “She’s right.”

  I looked back at the pack. “She’s your alpha. Not me.”

  Chapter 26: Knight

  The pack was getting ready to go searching for Constance. Miraculously, Hope was able to convince them to help.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Hayden said to Hope.

  “Yes, I did. You were born to lead the pack, Hayden. You have a big heart. No matter how much you try to pretend you don’t. You don’t let it rule you though. Not like me.” Hope rolled her eyes and looked away sheepishly.

  I could see the remorse coming to the surface again. It was going to take a while for her to get over what happened with James. I don’t know if she was ever going to get over it completely.

  I hated that she felt guilty for killing that asshole.

  Hayden held her hand. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with letting your heart take the lead. It’s why so many people are just so infatuated with you.” She rolled her eyes. “That and probably the boobs,” she added to lighten the mood.

  It worked. Hope smiled. “You’re going to make a great alpha one day, Hayden.”

  “A bit of a problem there though.” She looked at me. “We’re not mates. The packs were supposed to merge with you two.”

  “We found a way around that,” I said. “If the alpha of a pack gives up his alpha status and pledges allegiance to the other pack, the packs become one.”

  Hayden looked at me. “Knight, you can’t do that.”

  “I want to. I never really wanted to be the alpha anyway.”

  It wasn’t the life I wanted. I knew Mom would want me to do what I felt in my heart. Being the alpha was never something I wanted.

  “And where exactly did you find this out?”

  “Dad,” Hope said.

  “And is your pack going to be okay with this?”

  I shrugged. “Considering it’s either this or Hope becoming the alpha, I think it’s safe to say they’ll prefer this.”

  “Thanks,” Hope said with a glare. “We should go help with the search.”

  “Are you sure you’re up for it?” I asked her, stepping closer to her. “I imagine you don’t feel great right now.”

  I knew we had to find Gemma and the twins, but I couldn’t help my instinct to keep Hope safe.

  “I’ll be fine, as long as Gemma and the twins are too.”

  Hope got a text message she quickly checked. “It’s my mom. She was able to do a locator spell with the twins' mom. They know where they are.”

  “And there’s no chance at all that that’s a trap,” Hayden said sarcastically.

  “It definitely is,” Hope said. “But we have to save them.”

  “We will,” I said. “There’s a lot more of us than there are of her. We’ll stop her.”

  “We have to stop at the house first.”

  “What for?” Hayden asked.

  “To get the athame.”

  I tilted my head. “I thought the plan was to kill Constance?”

  “I can’t do that again. I know she deserves it, so the athame is the next best thing. She’ll spend eternity inside of it, unable to hurt anyone else.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “She could get out.”

  “Not if no one can find her body. I’m sure.”

  I just hoped this plan worked. If it didn’t, I’d try to kill Constance myself. I wasn’t going to let her hurt Hope ever again.

  Consequences be damned.

  Chapter 27: Hope

  The wolves were forming a perimeter around the grounds of the house we tracked them to.

  There was no way for Constance to escape.

  If we weren’t able to stab her with the athame, the packs were going to tear her to shreds.

  Knight was right. There were more of us than there were of her.

  Kane, Francesca, Wyatt, Christian, and Elizabeth met us at the house.

  “Wyatt, you should…”

  “Don’t you dare tell me to go home, Hope. The puppy here can’t even shift.”

  Knight glared at Wyatt and crossed his arms. “I’m still stronger than you.”

  “I’m not leaving, Hope. We see this through to the end. All of us.”

  My chest clenched as a loud scream rang through the air. It was…

  “Lexie!” Jade yelled, running in the direction it came from.

  “Jade, stop,” Christian said.

  Kane rolled his eyes and groaned. “Stupid love sick girl.”

  I shot him a look, running after Jade.

  The others followed me to the back of the house where we found Constance standing over an unconscious Gemma on the ground. They were inside of a circle made of salt, which meant we wouldn’t be able to enter.

  The twins were inside of a circle of their own. Only theirs was engulfed in flames. They looked terrified.

  “Lex! Hey, it’s okay. We’re going to get you out of there. I promise.” Tears filled Jade’s eyes as she and Lexie looked into each other’s fear ridden eyes.

  “Mother, let them go,” Mom said, coming up to the circle. She looked down at Gemma. “What did you do to her?”

  “She was going to endanger my future grandchild with her irrational behavior. I calmed her down.”

  “Let them all go. This is over.”

  “No. This is far from over, Melinda. I will not rest until balance is restored in the world.”

  “You lost,” Kane said. “We put the sun spell back up. We won’t let you take it down again.”

  She grinned devilishly. “I’ve already started.” She closed her eyes and started chanting in another language. It wasn’t latin. It was a language I didn’t recognize. It must have been some pretty old magic she was using.

  The twins bent over in agonizing pain.

  “Lexie!” Jade screamed.

  “She’s absorbing their powers,” Mom said frantically.

  “Stop!”

  Constance didn’t pay any attention to us. She kept chanting. She was killing the twins and all we could do was stand around and watch.

  What good was being a tribrid if I couldn’t use my powers to help my friends?

  There was no way this was how this ended.

  Suddenly, she stopped chanting. Her eyes shot wide open, a look of shock written across her face.

  She looked down at Gemma, who at some point woke up, if she was ever really asleep to begin with.

  Gemma had a look of fury on her face as she mumbled words to herself. She was saying a spell and holding onto her mother’s ankle.

  “I will not let you hurt anyone else. Even if that means doing something I never wanted to have to do. Kill my own mother.”

  Gemma had tears in her eyes as she kept uttering the words of the spell.

  Constance stayed frozen in place. Her eyes shifted between mine and Mom’s. The fear on her face was evident.

  She didn’t think Gemma had it in her to actually go against her. Not like this.

  Her own daughter killing her wasn’t something she’d taken into consideration.

  “I did what was best for you.”

  “You threatened to take my child! You threatened Hope! I cannot allow my child to grow up in a world where you exist.”

  Gemma wasn’t a daughter anymore. She was a mother protecting her child. She’d do anything to protect the growing life inside of her. Even destroy the person that gave her life.

  Whatever Gemma was doing to her looked painful as hell. Constance was turning a pale gray color. It looked like she was hardening.

  Gemma was turning her to stone.

  “You taught me well, mother. I’m just glad the one lesson you tried to instill in me never took. Hatred.”

  Constance looked at me one last time before her eyes froze over into marble.

  Gemma let out an exhausted breath and laid back.

  The fire around the twins fell with Constance.

  Francesca felt behind her neck and let out a sigh of relief. The mark was gone. Her magic no longer had any power in this world.

  “Fitting. She did remind me of Medusa.”

  Hayden glared at Kane.

  Gemma stood up and broke the circle of salt. Mom put an arm around her. Gemma leaned against her.

  “Are you okay?” Mom said.

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Gemma, I’m so sorry that you had to do that.”

  She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Hey, listen to me. She was never going to stop coming after you. I would do anything to keep you safe, Hope. Always.”

  I hugged her and Mom. This was finally over.

  Jade was holding onto Lexie and looking her over. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Aria scoffed. “Oh, I’m fine. Thank you.”

  Jade didn’t pay her any attention. She brushed hair out of Lexie’s face and looked at her lovingly. “I thought I was going to lose you.”

  Lexie caressed the vampire’s cheek. “Never.” She pressed her lips to Jade’s.

  “Get a room,” Aria said, but she smiled at the two.

  I wasn’t stupid. I knew that the world was still full of threats that would come after me and my friends.

  There were more vampire hunters out there. More people just like my grandparents.

  But as long as I had my family, I knew I could face anything that came our way.

  Chapter 28: Wyatt

  Hope spent the night at the house, mostly because I didn’t want to let her out of my sight.

  She was strong and capable of anything now. But I was never going to stop wanting to protect her.

  It’s one of the reasons I was considering what I was considering. I just had to tell Hope.

  Kane came into the house with Hayden. I think they were officially doing whatever those two did together. I honestly didn’t want to picture it.

  He went right to the minibar. “Good morning, all.”

  “You’re happy this morning,” I said. “It’s annoying.”

  “As are you my friend.”

  Hayden rolled her eyes and took Kane’s drink from him. “How are you?” she asked Hope.

  “Good. Still getting used to hearing every single stupid sound there is, but I’ll get there.”

  She didn’t have to, if she didn’t want to.

  She could take the cure and be free of all of this, but that was a decision she was going to have to make for herself. I’d respect whatever she decided. Like I hoped she would respect my decision.

  “Hey, is Jade and Lexie here?” Hayden asked. “Aria’s blowing up my phone that she’s missing from her bed and leaving her on ‘read’.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes. The two are upstairs in bed. They didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  I could hear them from down the hall and I didn’t even have super hearing anymore.

  Hope and Hayden laughed.

  “Good for them,” Kane said, pouring another glass of scotch. “I’d like to take some credit for that.”

  “How?” Hope asked incredulously.

  “If I hadn’t murdered Jade, she’d still be a bore too nervous to share her feelings for Lexie. You could call me Cupid, in a sense.”

  Hayden made a face. “Shut up, Kane.”

  Kane glared at her. “I question why I like you sometimes.”

  Christian came into the living room. “What are you two doing here so early?”

  “We have something to discuss,” Kane said. “Just one thing first.”

  “What?” I asked.

  Kane appeared behind Hope and snapped her neck in one swift motion.

  “Kane!” Hayden yelled.

  He grinned devilishly. “That’s for yesterday. I am so glad Hope is so durable now.”

  “That was completely unnecessary and barbaric,” Christian said.

  He shrugged and waved it off. “She’s like my little sister. It’s my job to pick on her and make her life hell.”

  “I hope she skins you alive when she wakes up,” I said, sitting down next to her and putting a pillow under her head. “What did you two want to talk about?”

 

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