Ian’s POV:
All that went through my mind was, “It’s all my fault,” over and over again.
If I hadn’t allowed others to come with me and Felix that night, everything wouldn’t have happened.
Aurora’s hand went on my thigh, tapping there a few times.
“Is there a way to track him down or find him?” Lee asked.
“Now the traitor speaks. Is this how you repay me for showing you my generosity years ago?” Damon asked coldly.
It was clear he wanted Lee to keep his mouth shut about his pack.
“Cut it out, will you,” I whispered softly, trying to calm myself down.
“You don’t get to tell me shit, Ian. This is my…”
“Quiet!” Axel growled angrily when he took over for a second.
The room instantly fell silent, and no one dared to move.
In his voice was not only dominance but also a clear warning. If he continued mocking us, we would gladly take him down. Just because I was playing the meek act towards him so I could get his help, it didn’t mean Axel was in on it.
When I knelt down in front of him, Axel was beyond furious and tried to take over, but I couldn’t let him. If he killed him, we would lose our only source of help, and we could be tied down by a bloody war while our little girl would still be in the clutches of that hybrid bastard.
Damon shifted his gaze to the side and chose to say nothing.
“Is there a way to track him down or find him?” Aurora asked, and this time her tone was full of command.
“Beth, tell them,” Damon whispered in a low, cracked voice. It was obvious he was being affected by her command.
“No. There is a powerful witch that protects them as of now. The council made sure that whatever happened in the past would never repeat itself, so they made a deal with her. They were to grant her the ancient books of dark magic that were in their possession in exchange for having her shield them for the time being, as well as answer to their demands,” she answered.
“So, in short, we are screwed,” Toni said in a low tone.
I groaned low and forced myself to my feet.
“Then I guess this is all there is to know. Thank you very much for being so fucking useless, you son of a bitch!” I spat loudly as Damon sighed heavily.
“Angel, tell them,” he said softly to Beth.
When she looked at Sherry, Sherry nodded.
“Let them hear everything,” she encouraged her.
What the hell were they implying? Was she not telling us everything?
“Girl, speak or I’ll rip your throat open! You are a defenseless seer, not a fucking witch,” I spat furiously, then looked at Aurora, who grabbed my wrist.
“We may hate Damon’s actions, but she’s just a little girl who looks so terrified right now. Talk to her gently,” she mind-linked me.
I looked at the girl and noticed she had tears filling her eyes.
“Ah, damn it. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I apologize,” I said softly.
She was close to Roxanne’s age, if not the same age.
“Angel, remember what I told you? No matter what, your mother and I will always protect you,” he whispered, and that seemed to lift her spirits.
She nodded, then lowered her gaze to the ground.
“Go on, Beth,” Damon encouraged her.
“Lord Garren’s parents were actually a part of the elders of the coven. I’m sorry I wasn’t honest about that part,” she said as I glared at her.
“If they were elders, then how the hell did they fail to escape that fire?” Neo asked loudly.
“According to the elders of the coven, you are a nuisance to them. Your behavior in the past was rather disturbing, and you showed potential of one day attacking their own territory for your own greed and selfishness. To them, you are a threat they should eliminate, no matter how long it takes. Your men setting up the fire gave them a perfect plan to carry out back then,” she answered, then continued.
“Lord Garren’s parents didn’t actually die in the fire. They were murdered by the elders of the coven. Their reason was simple: to frame you and have Lord Garren fall under their grasp as their puppet and be used to kill you,” she said as I took a deep breath and released it.
“Alpha, they feared how Lord Garren would also become a threat to them. That’s why they lied to him about his parents’ death, since he was just a young child who blindly believed them and thought of them as family,” she said as Aurora stood up.
“What?” she asked in a whisper.
“I know it’s hard to take in, but whatever Beth said is the truth,” Chase said as I glanced at him.
“I think you all have noticed that she is one of your kind, besides being a seer, so she can’t easily lie to you, not after you threatened her that badly,” he pointed out.
He was right. We all knew that she was a she-wolf, but that didn’t stand out to us. What did stand out was the fact that she was a seer.
“I’m sorry. I know she was wrong to keep a few things out, but now she will tell you everything,” Sherry said calmly.
I looked at Beth seriously, then shifted my gaze to Aurora.
“So we have crazy, selfish elder vampires on our hands and some naive bastard who is being used by them willingly, not to mention how we can’t find out where he is! Can this fucking day get any worse?” I yelled.
“Lee, can’t you make a portal that can lead us there?” Felix asked.
“No, I can’t. It would be useless because the witch’s magic is stronger than mine. Remember, I couldn’t even see Garren’s face, so no matter what, I can’t make a portal that would lead us there. Even if I were to make one successfully, it still wouldn’t lead us there,” he answered.
“I say let’s go for the elders!” Neo suggested.
“That would be suicide because I believe they would be expecting us. Unless we go with the whole pack, but that would only be war and a lot of our pack members would die,” Aurora answered.
“I suggest you work on finding the witch,” Sherry said as we all looked at her.
“She’s right. The way we know witches, they are so full of themselves, mostly if they are too powerful. Just because she put up a protective spell doesn’t mean she has done the same for herself,” Damon said.
That made so much sense. It was possible that the witch wasn’t protecting herself.
“How can we find her?” Aurora asked thoughtfully.
“That will be simple because all we have to do is bring Lexi to Felix’s house, and then the three of us can track her down without her sensing our presence,” Chase answered.
“Yeah, that would work,” Lee whispered.
“That’s not happening. Lexi is….”
“Whitney, she won’t do much besides help us out a bit. As soon as we track that witch down, she will be sent back home through a portal she came from. If it makes you feel any better, the twins will be invited too,” Chase said, strongly cutting her off.
“Fine, but if anything happens to her, I won’t forgive you no matter what,” she answered.
“Okay, now that we have all decided on that, I think it’s time to go back,” I said, looking at Damon.
“If you don’t mind, would you all stay for dinner and spend the night here? You can start early tomorrow morning. It’s very late right now,” Sherry said.
Damon sighed softly and nodded.
“She is right, it is late,” he backed her up.
“Fine, we will accept your offer,” Aurora answered before I could refuse.
“Then I’ll ask the twins to set up your rooms,” she said, then stood up.
“Excuse us, we will join you in the dining room shortly. For now, Maggie will come and attend to you,” Damon said after he had grabbed Sherry’s hand.
“Sherry,” Amelia called, getting her attention.
Now that our important discussion was over, Aurora was no longer the one in control.
“I know we started off on the wrong foot, but I would like to believe that the past is supposed to be left in the past. That’s why Ian and I would like to open our borders to you. If you ever miss Nana or want to just step foot on the land you once called home, know that we will gladly welcome you,” she said softly as Sherry sniffed.
“Thank you so much,” she answered in a cracked voice.
Damon nodded at us, then shocked us when he gave a bow before walking out of the room with her beside him.
“Well, that went well,” Toni whispered.
“Yes, but we still have a lot of work to do,” I answered.
“Should I call Leo and tell him how everything went?” Whitney asked.
“Sure, but not now. Do it once you are in your own room,” I answered.
When a knock came through, I reluctantly answered.
An elderly she-wolf walked in and gave a bow.
“My name is Maggie, and I will be the one attending to you. For now, please come with me to the dining room. Alpha Damon and Luna Sherry are waiting for all of you,” she said as Amelia linked her hand with mine.
“Thank you, and it is so nice to meet you, Maggie,” she answered politely.
In a minute, we were all out of the office and following her.
I still found it hard to believe that Sherry would easily forgive us. That’s why I still had my guard up.