"Everyone clear out! Get into position. Make sure to be close enough to reach Isabelle if there's trouble, but far enough away that Hayes can't sense you. Remember, Mistletoe isn't as trained as Moonlight is, so his senses probably won't be as sharp. Jason will get everything organized," Jaxon shoots Jason a severe look from the corner of his eye and Jason inclines his head forward before spinning around on one toe and exiting after the rest of the warriors.
I linger in my chair for only a moment as Jaxon settles his palms flat against the desk and drops his head. Slowly, I rise from my seat and start for the door, aiming to give him some privacy.
"Where do you think you're going?" His voice is coarse and low, but loud and domineering enough for me to hear it.
"I was going to give you a moment alone," I state, whirling back around to meet his icy blue eyes. They're harder than I expected them to be, but there's something else encapsulated in those blue orbs—worry.
"Oh no," He shakes his head and rises to his full height, "you're not leaving my side up to this meeting and immediately after." He motions me toward him with a two-finger wave and I wake up my limbs to heed his command.
When I stop, only the corner of his desk separates us and he exhales deeply, seemingly looking upon me with disappointment.
"What did I do?" I question, absent-mindedly running my finger down the grooves in the side of the desk.
"What did you do?" He hisses my question back to me like it's a curse on his tongue. "What did you do? Your plan is completely idiotic and out of line. Not to mention, it's dangerous. Do you even know what Hayes is capable of?" He lectures me, his voice rising in volume.
Befuddlement envelops me and I furrow my brow, "You just told your warriors he's weak."
"Physically, yes. But in strategy and magic, well, he's the best Alpha in the South—maybe even the entire country— when it comes to that. We've lost so much to Mistletoe under Hayes. I've lost so much," Jaxon's expression turns pained for a brief second. However, it's as if he realizes he's showing weakness and he masks it with a frown. "Do you even know how old Hayes is?"
"I don't know, twenty-seven?" I shrug, unsure at this line of questioning.
"Try four-hundred," Jaxon enunciates and I stumble back a step. "He used his magic to suspend his aging as well as some of the other members of his pack. So physically, we can beat him. But he's had four-hundred years to perfect his spells and strategy. He also has had that many years to pinpoint Moonlight's weaknesses and use them against every Alpha in the Moonlight succession."
"You seemed to be getting along fine, before this and my encounter with him in the woods. I mean, didn't he lend you something so I wouldn't die during my induction?"
"It appears he's only cooperative when you are involved. And I want to know why."
Silence settles between us and I finally lift my gaze to his again to find him watching me intently. "Are you asking me?" I wonder aloud. "Because I have no idea."
"When you first met Hayes, what were you doing?"
Uh-oh.
"Does it matter?" Sweat rises over the back of my neck as my heart rate shoots up. I can't tell Jaxon—he'll be furious. He may even kill me out of spite.
He will not kill you, stop being melodramatic, My wolf breaks into my thoughts and I jump at her sudden presence.
"I wouldn't ask if it didn't. Why are you so reluctant to tell? Don't tell me it was some sort of clandestine meeting between lovers?" His words hit my skin like acid and I recoil even further away from him.
"First of all, if it was, you would've been able to sense it so don't even try to pull that bullshit. Secondly, why do you just assume I've been unfaithful when you were the one who broke our mate bond first—with Hera," I clarify, my words just as pointed as his.
His eyes flash black for only a second before he exhales sharply and steps out from behind his desk, "You're right." Slowly, he approaches me. Part of me wants to flee, but the other part knows he'll love the chase and doesn't want to give him the satisfaction. "I'm sorry," He stops right in front of me and slowly curls his fingers around mine.
"I-It's fine," I mumble, still looking at anything but him.
He tilts my head back by my chin until our lips are brushing. Right when I think he's going to kiss me, he murmurs, "What were you doing, Isabelle?"
I pull away at his statement and take a few steps back once more, attempting to keep a clear head. "You really want to know?"
He cocks an eyebrow as if to say obviously and I exhale, shaking out my sweaty palms. "I met Hayes when I-I—" I meet his eyes and finish my statement, "when I sent the letter to the Council... the American Council of Werewolves."
His eyes open wide and his brow shoots up, "What?" He questions, deathly quiet.
"He-He—uh sent it for me."
Jaxon stares at me for a long time. I'm unsure of how long we stand there, suspended in time with him staring at me. The air in the room thickens and becomes stale in my throat as dust floats across my vision in the stream of light that's just begin to shine in through the window to my right.
"Jaxon," I finally say, taking a step toward him but he interrupts me.
"The meet is happening soon. You need to get down to the salt line so we can rescue my baby sister," He moves past me, barely brushing his shoulder against mine.
"Jaxon," I spin, following his movement, but he continues out the door and down the hall. I hesitate momentarily, but then decide to follow him out. The wind whips at my dress as I step out of the small mansion and Jaxon, Grant, and Neil are standing in a small circle a few feet from the steps. Their eyes glance over me as I approach them. The wind excessively tears from side to side, manipulating my dress and hair while also throwing me a little off balance.
Grant grips my arm to steady me, but immediately lets go when Jaxon glares at him. "Ready to do this?" Neil asks and I shrug.
"More than I'll ever be, I guess," I clear my throat, observing Jaxon who is blatantly looking away from me.
"Okay then," Neil stretches out the first word as he flits his eyes between us. "Let's head to the salt line. We can take the golf cart for most of the way, then we'll need to head on by foot."
I nod in understanding and follow them to the golf cart a few feet away. I sit on the back with Grant when Neil and Jaxon occupy the front seat. I turn around to give the back of his head another glance before Neil jolts into drive and I have to turn forward and hold on.
"Fighting?" Grant mumbles. I'm unsure if Jaxon can hear him because of the sound of the golf cart, leaves below us, and the window around us.
"I guess so," I mutter back, watching the trees streak around us as we pass by them.
"You just have to let him cool off, you know how he can be," Grant's attempt to console me does the opposite.
"I don't think he's going to cool off from this," I whisper, wistfully, and lean my head against the side of the cart.
"No talking," Jaxon barks back at us and our conversation ends there.
Why did I tell him? It's not like he gave me much choice. Why did I send that letter? I shouldn't have. But, in my defense, at the time I was being severely mistreated and saw no end to the torture. I did what I thought best. Maybe I should recant my statement? I don't want to be seen as a liar, but I also don't want Jaxon, myself, and hundreds of others to die.
I'm hesitant, though, because he tried to use that factoid to manipulate me into recanting and that doesn't sit well with me. Maybe, I should focus on this later. One problem to solve at a time.
The golf cart screeches to a halt and Jaxon beckons us off the vehicle. We all hop off and begin to walk through the forest, all of them slowly backing up so I can have the lead. When I look back again, they're all gone—blended into the forest. I wonder if they're in wolf form? I wish I could be in wolf form.
You and me both, my wolf communicates to me and I roll my eyes at her.
"Well, then, why don't you fücking manifest already?" I mumble to her as I walk along. She doesn't say anything else and I'm grateful she's out of my head. I can't afford to be distracted.
The white salt line comes into my view and I casually walk alongside it, making it seems as though I'm out for a walk. It's only a few minutes before I hear the cracking of a twig and I whirl around to find him standing a few feet away.
My eyes travel across him—long, blonde, tangled hair, a shirtless torso covered in runes and symbols, a surprisingly clean pair of white linen pants, and mud-soiled bare feet. Around his neck hangs a leather string attached to a wooden whistle—he has Annabeth.
"Alpha Hayes," I smile, spinning on my boot to where I'm against the edge of the line. "How are you today?"
"I am doing well, Luna Isabelle. What brings you to this part of the forest?" His voice is smooth and captivating and I can see what's so "magical" about him.
I shrug, "I needed to clear my head. Jaxon made me go to a pack picnic today."
I figure the best strategy to gain his trust, is to degrade my relationship with Jaxon. Last time we spoke, he seemed to believe I belonged to him and not my mate.
"Jaxon seems to force you into a lot of things, doesn't he?" He cocks his head to one side, then grazes the side of his neck with his fingers—the side that my mark is on my own neck.
"Um—yes. He just wants his way in all things," I clear my throat, tucking my hands behind my back.
"I know—even forcing you to be inducted despite the clear health issues associated with inducting an unshifted wolf. I had to be the one to ensure your safety, with the puer inductionem enchantment."
"Yes, thank you for that, by the way. I'm glad to be alive."
"I'm glad you're alive, Isabelle."
"Uh, that's pretty," I motion to the whistle around his neck. "Is it hand-carved?"
"Why, yes, it is," He smiles, stepping closer to the line to show it to me. My fingers graze over the smooth wood as he holds it out. I notice the tiny "ABT" carved into the side—Annabeth Thames.
"Is it functional?"
"Yes, it works. Just as a normal whistle does."
"Just as a normal whistle does? Does that means it's abnormal?" He laughs at my question, then encircles the piece in his hand.
"I suppose it is. It's magical, if that's what you'd like to know."
"What does it do? You're not like a pied piper are you?" I pose the question as a joke, attempting to gauge his reaction. His eyes slightly narrow at my words, but the smile remains on his mouth.
"You are too smart for your own good, parvulus. It is pied piper mechanism," He raises the whistle to his lips. "Once the spell is complete, I blow into it, and whomever it's made for comes to me."
"Who is that one for?" I smile, making the question light.
His eyes never leave mine, penetrating and green, as he says, "Your mate's youngest sister, Annabeth." I feign shock, since I already knew this information. "But you knew that already, didn't you Isabelle? Have you come here to trick me?"
"No," I refute his accusation quickly, vehemently shaking my head. "I just wanted to see where she'd wandered off to—she's just a baby, Hayes. She hasn't done anything wrong."
"No, but her brother has. Maybe he'll learn from this lesson not to take something if he cannot sacrifice something else in return."
"Please, Hayes, don't hurt her. I love her," I say anything I think will prey on his emotions or feelings for me. "She's family to me and is one of the only people I like to be around. Please, don't take her away from me. Don't force her out of my life like Jaxon has forced everything else away from me." He pauses for a long moment, the wind blowing through his long hair and painting a majestic portrait of a mystical, woodland sorcerer.
Finally, he nods, lifts the whistle to his mouth, and releases a high-pitched, bird-like sound. I hear rustling in the bushes behind him and out comes Annabeth, her wide blue eyes brimming with fear and tears.
"I thought she'd like to see the wildflowers," Is all he says as she comes closer and closer, stopping by him at the line.
"Hey, Annabeth, you ready to go home?" I ask, my voice low and sweet. She nods silently in response and I pick her up over the line. Her foot kicks the salt as I pick her up and I expect it to scatter and break.
Yet, it remains intact and unmoved, as if nothing had been done to it. Why would he warn me about breaking the line if it can't be broken? I hold her close, on my hip, then turn back to him.
"You have to break the whistle," I mumble so she can't hear me.
"As you wish, Luna," He flashes me a mischievous grin as he breaks it apart using his two pointer fingers. The whistle snaps in half with a high-pitched him and a flash of silver sparks.
"You have to promise you won't make another—please, Hayes. She's only a baby," My tone is insistent, but pleading and he observes me. His eyes travel up and down my whole body and I become uncomfortable at the thought that he's undressing me in his mind.
"I promise not to make any more whistles... for her, at least," He smirks and as I'm about to correct the statement, Jaxon calls my name from behind me.
I whip around to see him barreling toward us, sliding to a graceful stop and taking Annabeth from my arms so he can hold her close. She's crying now and he's hushing her with soft coos and gentle words.
I turn back to face Hayes once more but he's gone. I scan the area for him, but he's nowhere to be seen. His absence and the Mistletoe woods send a shiver down my spine and I cross my arms about myself.
"Let's get out of here," I mumble to Jaxon, still staring into the ominous forest before me and backing up, hand on his shoulder. He shrugs me off, as expected, and we venture back to the golf cart where Neil and Grant are waiting.
I hear multiple thuds around us warrior wolves trek back through the woods to the estate. Before getting on the vehicle, I give the forest one last glance, Hayes' words ringing in my mind—
"I promise not to make any more whistles... for her, at least."