A/N I know I left a cliff hanger so no way was I going to let you wait too long. I really appreciate some of you recommending my book to other readings. Makes my day! Just for clarification, Lyle's pack is the Starlight Park and Xander/Blaze's pack is Black Hearts.
Lyle's POV
School was annoying, but what was even more annoying was the fact I had to train the Omegas after spending eight hours attempting to learn. Weston went into heat on Sunday morning, meaning that the Omega training session was canceled at the last minute due to Weston scurrying off to Black Hearts to be locked up with Oliver. Now knowing the horrors of heat, I felt bad for Weston and the pain he was about to endure. And for this reason, I had been the one to collect all his belongings from Macey and deliver it to him on Sunday, making sure everything was neat and in order just as Blaze instructed. That was the extent of my kindness for Blaze's friend. Now I was cursing out Weston for leaving me to train the Omegas on a Wednesday afternoon.
What made this bearable was Alex and Macey joining me and the sight of Ace. Ace had this weird calming effect on Fallon, which I appreciated in this moment. I had a problem with having a short temper, and I've acknowledged that, but this session being right after school was not helping me manage my emotions.
All the Omegas lined up in their usual spots. Macey had helped Weston on several occasions with these sessions, so she was able to understand their routine. Alex was simply there because Macey and I were. Or that's what he claimed. However, I suspect he joined us to get his mind off his feisty mate. Alex has been checking his phone religiously every minute, then looking disappointed every time.
"Alex, why don't we put our phones in my bag? Checking it won't make him text you back faster," I encouraged, holding up my black duffle bag.
Alex groaned, raking his hands through his hair in frustration. "He said he'd text me when he got out of school, but that was like a half hour ago," he whines, eyes glossed over as if he was actually about to tear up. I rolled my own eyes at his actions.
"There are a thousand reasons why he hasn't texted you back right now. Why don't we put the phone away for now and focus on making sure the Omegas don't kill each other?" Alex was hesitant, but finally plopped his phone in my bag next to mine. I zipped up the bag and placed it next to a tree.
"Okay, guys! Listen up! You may have heard, Weston went into heat on Sunday, and that is why we are taking over for this session. We will try to stick to your normal schedule, okay? We are going to do a warm up lap, then stretching, then practice some of those moves that Weston taught you last week," Macey announced, cuffing her hands around her mouth to project her voice.
As we did the lap, stretching, and finally started some combat practice, I noticed how strong the Omegas have gotten over the past few months of training. Thinking back to one of their first sessions I helped with, before I even knew Blaze was my mate, they could barely stay on two feet. Now they were beating the crap out of each other. Some of them could even pass off as warriors with the amount of muscle they were now sporting.
Alex and I were helping one pair of girls get their forms right when I felt the hairs on my back stand up. Something felt off. I stopped what I was doing to smell the air, but nothing smelled different. I scanned the perimeter only for my eyes to land on a wolf charging right for Ace and his partner. I was quick to move, but a throwing knife beat me to it.
The knife came out of literally nowhere and was too fast to even register before it hit its target. The gray wolf fell to the ground next to Ace, sporting a black and gold dagger lodged in its skull. I paused, shifting in the process, then scanned the area again to see at least a dozen wolves at the edge of the woods. Alex was next to me, ordering all the omegas to get behind us. Ace was too stunned to move that Macey had to physically drag him away from his position.
Before the wolves could approach us, a wave of flaming arrows flew above our heads, landing in a perfect line in front of the wolves. The wolves were stopped by the wall of fire created. The wolves snapped at us, but kept their distance, obviously cooperating with whoever they were working for.
One of the larger wolves shifted back into a human man and stepped forward. I immediately recognized Vace's face from the photos of Blaze's beaten body. Fallon was scratching at my mind, begging me to rip his throat out then and there, but the more rational side of me knew fighting wasn't an option. We were outnumbered. Even though I felt warrior wolves rushing towards us, I knew it wasn't a good idea.
"I apologize for my warrior's irrational attack. We were just passing through and were startled by seeing other wolves. We were sure we were in No Man's land," Vance spoke sauvely, a friendly smile never leaving his lips.
Against my instincts telling me it was a bad idea, I shifted into my human form in order to talk to him. A glare was perminnent on my face.
"This is Starlight's territory, hard to mistake when packlands have such a distinct smell. And judging by the fact you and your friend's lack of scent, you've led me to believe that you did in fact know this was a pack's territory. Care to enlighten me?" I accused, keeping my calm.
He laughed humorlessly for only a moment before placing his fake smile back upon his lips. "You caught us. You are quite smart for such a young Alpha." I did not respond even though he waited for me to. He frowned slightly before continuing. "You see we are a small nomad pack from Canada, and recently my daughter, Lia, went missing. I've been concerned for her safety, so we have been wandering in an attempt to pick up her scent. I apologize if we startled you and your little Omegas, but we mean no harm. We will be on our way." He started to back away, and his pack followed suit.
My heart pounded in my chest as an idea flickered in my head. I felt the warriors approach us, ready to attack at my command, so I let my mouth go.
"We will let you leave the grounds safely. I hope you find Emilia soon," I replied with a polite smile on my lips. Vance's eyes hardened for a moment, making contact with mine. What I said dawned on him instantly, but he only let it appear on his face for a brief moment. His forced smile returned and he turned with his pack to flee.
As soon as they left the packgrounds, the flames that burned on the arrows went out all at once. I turned back to see a confused group of people. I took a deep breath, glancing at Ace, before coming up with a plan in my head.
"Macey and Clifford, take the Omegas back to the packhouse. Omegas, when you get back there, start packing any essentials you and the pack may need." People stood still as the realization of why I was ordering this came over them. I turned to Felix, then. "Felix, you go to Henry's dad and start organizing all the warriors. I'll be there soon to speak to them." Henry's dad was the head of the warriors, and considering Henry was Felix's mate, this sounded like the best plan. Those groups left, but Ace stayed instead of going with the Omegas.
I turned to the remaining warriors who came to service. "I want you guys to survey the lands, make sure there are no lingering wolves. They were covering their scents somehow, probably magic, so you can't rely on your noses to track them down. Look for anything else suspicious and let me know as soon as you find anything. Check in every ten minutes by mindlinking Alex," I ordered the men. They didn't hesitate to nod and run off into the woods.
Now it was just Ace and Alex in front of me, both looking bewildered.
"Where did those arrows come from?" Ace asked as soon as I looked at him. I glanced at the line of arrows, then up at the trees.
"Quinn, are you stalking us or something?" I called, not positive which tree he was hiding out in. I was spooked to see him jump down from the tree right next to us. Ace and Alex looked at him with wide eyes. The boy was sporting an old fashioned golden bow with a pack of arrows on his back. He was in black jeans and a green shirt, which is why he was probably difficult to point out in the trees. That and his lack of scent.
He quirked his eyebrow at me with a look of disgust. "As if I'd willingly step into werewolf territory. Do you know me at all?" Quinn leaned down and ripped his knife out of the skull of the wolf he killed minutes before. He looked unfazed by the blood or dead wolf lying at his feet. I swear all these orphans in my life need some serious therapy.
"You are moving in with Hayden soon, who is a werewolf, and your house will be on wolf grounds," I pointed out while I dug in my bag for my cell phone.
Quinn rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he mumbled. When I stood up to hand Alex his phone, I noticed he was still frozen in shock, staring at Quinn. I guess he was confused on why Quinn doesn't have a scent, which I don't blame him.
"The convent lost track of Vance," Quinn finally said, not even looking up, just staring at the blood on his knife.
"Oh?" I spoke, noticing quite a few missed calls from Blaze. Mindlink only works from so far apart, so he must've been too far to reach me.
"So I went tracking him, and it led me here. Blaze said he'd call you, but something tells me he wasn't fast enough." I shrugged, clicking on Blaze's name and the speaker button so Ace, Alex, and Quinn could all hear the conversation.
"Thanks for throwing that knife and saving me," Ace said to Quinn, who looked uncomfortable with the attention on him. "You have really good aim," Ace continued to compliment.
Quinn shrugged. "I never miss," he stated simply, providing no further explanation. I did notice that Alex was still staring at Quinn with various emotions, and Quinn was doing everything in his power to avoid eye contact with the boy.
"Thank goddess! Are you alright, Lyle? Is Ace okay? Is Quinn there?" Blaze answered the phone with a hundred different questions. Ace smiled softly at this, but Quinn rolled his eyes.
"You already knew I was here, dumbass," Quinn sassed over the line.
I snorted at the comment, loving Quinn's attitude in such a grave situation. "Quinn made a wonderful appearance with a shower of fiery arrows. It was beautiful." Quinn sent me a playful smile at my words.
"We are all fine," I continued before he could ask more questions. "Vance was here, and I may have done something that you won't really approve of..." I admitted hesitantly.
There was a brief pause over the phone. "Lyle, what the fuck did you do?" Though the comment sounded cold, his voice was dripping with concern and fear, emotions he rarely expressed in any instance.
"They were looking for Emilia, and just as he left, I said her name. Vance referred to her as Lia, but I said Emilia as they left." Blaze made a muffled sound of distress over the line.
"Why on Earth would you do that?" He cried so loudly that Alex took a step back at the volume.
"There was a reason. They were headed in your pack's direction, so instead of letting them go to you, I just convinced them that Emilia is here. They left so they could regroup and attack us. See if they went to your pack and found Emilia, Vance knows your packlands well, and you'd have a disadvantage. Now we have time to prepare for a fight we know is coming and lead them away from Emilia," I explained, proud of my little plan I came up with.
"That's actually a good plan," Ace complimented first, patting me on shoulder gently to reassure me.
There was a sigh over the line before my mate spoke. "You are impossible sometimes," he whispered. "Xander and Hayden are on their way over. Lilith hid Xander's Alpha scent, and he's going to pretend to be me. He was worried shitless about Ace." Ace beamed at this information, but I rolled my eyes.
"Quinn?" Blaze asked hesitantly. Quinn raised an eyebrow, leaning closer to my phone.
"Yeah?"
"Did you kill anyone?" It was a weird question. Quinn and I glanced at the body a few yards away from us.
"Just one that was about to attack Ace," Quinn explained with no shame in his voice, but more curiosity.
There was some soft talking over the phone. I recognized Joseph's voice, and I could tell that Quinn did too as he waited patiently for my mate to respond.
"Do you know what type of magic it was?" Joseph asked over the line. Without hesitation, Quinn brought his bloody knife to his lips and he licked the blade's red substance off. Alex grimaced due to his hatred for blood. Ace just looked concerned, knowing that it probably didn't taste good.
"I had a feeling it was dark magic, but the blood confirms it. I knew it had to be something clumsy but dangerously powerful. It tastes like..." he trailed off in thought, then looked at all three of us. "What's something that's sweet?"
"Chocolate?" Alex offered. Quinn thought for a moment before nodding.
"Tastes like chocolate. Not like I've ever had chocolate before, but you get the point. It's ridiculously sweet." As Quinn explained this, he licked the other side of his knife as if it was the most appetizing thing in the world.
I couldn't help but join Alex in grimacing at the incubus. "I think I need to talk to Hayden about what food he's giving you because chocolate should've been top of the list," I insisted, but Quinn didn't seem fazed by my comment.
"Quinn, is there a heart?" Blaze suddenly asked. Quinn paused his movements, then brought his blade to his side. His face was blank as he stared at the corpse with an unreadable expression. I was confused by this conversation, but didn't ask questions so as to not waste time.
"Have the witches been able to pick up Vance's location again?" Quinn asked instead of answering Blaze's question.
"No." Quinn turned back to the corpse, scowling at it now.
"You are lucky I like you, Blaze. You better kill the son of a bitch Vance for me," he grunted to the phone before stomping over to the corpse.
We all watched silently as he stuck a knife into the lifeless wolf, slicing down the chest. The blood covered the poor incubus, though he didn't seem bothered by it as he stuck his hand into the body and searched for the organ he wanted. After a few minutes of Blaze and I discussing our plan, Quinn finally returned to us holding a still heart. His entire arm was dripping with blood. Alex looked absolutely mortified, even gagged a bit at the sight.
Quinn stopped to survey the field, searching for something. "When are Xander and Hayden coming?"
"We are right here!" Xander announced happily, wearing one of Blaze's leather jackets that was a bit big on him and a pair of sunglasses. They hadn't come from the woods as expected, but instead the direction of the packhouse. "Your dad let us through and told us where you were," Xander explained. He didn't pay anyone but Ace much mind. He was quick to embrace the Omega in a tight hug, then kiss him on the head. I was a bit surprised when he turned to me, raking his eyes along my body to check for injury.
"Finally, dumbass," Blaze shouted over the phone at his brother.
Alex was frozen once again, staring at Blaze's twin rather confused with his mouth slightly agape. "Alex," I called to get his attention. "This is Xander, Blaze's twin brother." Alex's eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't manage to say anything.
"Oh, Alex is hot. No wonder you were sleeping with him, Blaze," Xander laughed, stretching out his hand to the Beta in greeting. Hayden was not amused by this comment, and neither was Quinn for some reason. Quinn was staring holes into Alex, even though he was just avoiding eye contact with him at all costs a few minutes ago.
Alex took Xander's hand, but didn't say anything to the comment.
"Now is not the time, Xander," Hayden mumbled as he made his way next to Quinn. "You good, Quinn?" Hayden questioned softly, looking at the heart in his hand. This made Alex now burn holes into Quinn. Something weird was going on here.
Quinn shrugged, turning his attention back to the phone. "Well what's the plan because once I do this there is no turning back," he asked irritatedly to Blaze.
"Okay, uh, yeah, so Xander is going to pretend to be me for the day. We should evacuate all the Omegas, children, elderly, and disabled to either Black Hearts or any of your allied packs. Though I'm not sure how much you trust the other packs in the region," Blaze told me.
"I'll send them to Blazk Hearts. I don't want to deal with any drama right now," I confirmed, sighing at the thought of how messy this was going to become.
"Lyle, you and Xander will work on preparing your pack for a fight. Try to keep the fight in the clearing as much as possible," Blaze continued.
"Where are you going to be?"
"I am going to take some warriors from my pack and attack the rogue pack's base after they leave to fight you." This was an interesting approach but smart.
I glanced at all the people around the phone in thought. "Do you know where their base is?"
"Not yet, but Quinn will be able to lead us there." I turned to Quinn who wasn't even paying attention to the plan even though he was the one to ask. He was instead studying the heart that he held in his hand. "We will take some witches with us so they can stop the witch that is casting all the spells for the pack."
"Good because I can only lead you there. I'm not a witch, so I can't stop whatever witch is pulling this shit," Quinn snorted, tossing the heart up in the air and catching it as if it was a ball.
Alex's head snapped to face Quinn with a look of pure confusion. "You aren't a witch?" I have never seen Alex more confused in his life, but I couldn't blame him for such a complicated situation.
Quinn blinked a few times before answering. "No, I'm not a witch," he confirmed.
"Are you human?" Alex questioned further.
Quinn raised his eyebrow and looked rather annoyed. "Alex, you just watched me shoot thirty flaming arrows all at once and detect magic by tasting blood. You think I'm human?" The amount of sass that rippled through his words was deadly, and I was happy not to be on the receiving end of that tone.
Alex cowered slightly. "Well you smell mortal? Actually you don't have much of a scent at all," he complained, throwing his hands in the air in mild frustration with the sassy boy.
I leaned closer to Alex, which Xander apparently didn't like because he narrowed his eyes "Quinn is part incubus, part werewolf, but was raised by witches," I clarified, letting Alex in on some of the withheld information.
"So you've known I was a werewolf?" There was a lot of hurt in his voice, which was weird. Hayden glanced at me as if I knew what was going on, but it took me a minute to realize what was happening. I winced at the thought.
Quinn rolled his eyes. "Obviously."
There was a moment of silence for the confusion. "Am I eating the heart or not, Blaze?" Quinn snapped, which did not help with the mood at all.
"Your diet consists of sex and hearts but not chocolate?" I whined, turning to Hayden now. "What are you feeding him?!"
Hayden looked annoyed at this. "Why is feeding him my job? He's 17, he can eat what he wants."
"What's wrong with hearts?" Quinn asked, taking a bite out of the thing like it was an apple.
"I think I'm gonna puke," Alex announced, using his hand to cover his eyes from the sight.
"It's sweet, like chocolate, remember? You guys are so dramatic. I'm taking Alex with me to Black Heart's territory. He can help with the attack on the base, then he will be able to help lead the wolves back here," Quinn ordered in between bites. There was blood around his mouth that he wiped off with his sleeve.
I glanced between Alex and Quinn, knowing exactly what's going on. "Okay, that's fine. I don't think Alex will be of any use here anyway." I waved the two off.
"Hey!" Alex protested my comment. I shot him a knowing look, which instantly made him shut his mouth.
Quinn's eyes glowed slightly as he looked into the distance, but didn't focus on anything in particular. "I've got their location. They are camped out in No Man's land currently. A warlock is performing the magic, but he's an ameteur for sure." I was surprised at how fast he was able to pinpoint their location, but at this point, I wasn't going to question Quinn's weird abilities.
"I'll meet you two at Black Heart," Blaze announced. "Joseph is going to you, Lyle. He can help with some of the healing, and he needs to feed."
Xander laughed a bit. "What a polite way of saying Hayden is about to get laid." Hayden sent Xander a glare that made him shut up.
I was about to hang up when Xander got a phone call. His face went white, and he clenched the phone tight. I'd be more worried if Blaze wasn't on the phone with me, but his voice was reassuring that he was okay.
"Emilia just went into labor."