Page 147 of An Oath at Midnight

Willow blew out a frustrated breath. “War’s being a stubborn ass. I have a feeling they won’t do what they’re told.”

“Oh, I know they won’t,” Iris said. “But Ash is going to do her best to talk sense into them, or at least stall them. She’s an alpha; she knows their language.”

I searched the sky and the surrounding trees for Bram. If he was here, he was staying out of sight. “They’re worried, and in Bram’s case, hopped up on newly-mated-male possessiveness. He won’t be stopped. Tell me he’ll eventually calm the hell down?”

Iris laughed. “That’s a myth they tell us to make sure we mate them. The truth is, it gets worse the longer you’re with them, not better.”

“Just wait ’til you’re pregnant,” Willow said. “Relic promised to try and stop Warrick if he loses it and comes after me. Or get a bunch of his brothers to hold him down, whatever works.”

It was going to be hard on all of them. Our mates were going to have to fight every one of their instincts to come after us, to protect us, but they also knew what we’d been through to get to this point, and they wouldn’t mess that up for us, not unless they absolutely had to.

“How fast do you think Marcel and Emma are moving?” I asked Rose.

She’d gotten back from a reconnaissance flight a few minutes ago.

“They’re moving fairly quickly, but we won’t have any trouble catching up.”

“Probably because they’re not hungry yet,” Iris said.

No, they’d only eaten Robert a couple of hours ago. “We need to be quick. They won’t be satisfied long.” I strapped my knife to my thigh. “I think if we send Rose back up, she can keep us updated on their position and can use her powers to knock them back if she absolutely has to, though we don’t want you draining too much of your magic.” I checked my pack, making sure my vials were easily accessible. It wasn’t just Emmaline and Marcel we had to worry about in that forest. “Iris, if you go wolf and run ahead, it’ll drive most of the demons back.” Since Draven’s pack had been culling the demons around their keep ruthlessly for a few years now, they tended to avoid a wolf when they sensed one. “And, Wills, do not engage. Do not get close, not to the demons or the fucking zombies. Peanut comes first. She’s more important than this trial, more important than anything, understand?” I pulled on my pack and adjusted the straps. “None of you get close enough for Emmaline or Marcel to touch you. If they get hold of you, they’re not letting go and then they’re taking a bite out of you. We corner them, then I finish them the way we planned, agreed?”

Silence greeted me, and I looked up from strapping on a set of throwing knives. All three of my sisters were watching me—surprise, but mostly pride on each of their faces.

“You got it,” Rose said and bit her lip. I knew it was to stop it from quivering.

“Good plan,” Iris said.

Willow grinned. “Well, aren’t you the little badass.”

“Why yes, yes, I am.” I grinned. “Though, obviously, I defer to you. You are the oldest.”

Willow shook her head. “You don’t need to defer shit to me, Mags. Your plan’s perfect.”

That felt good, really fucking good. After two years of fucking up, of worrying my sisters, worrying my entire coven—feeling in control, feeling like me, and making my sisters proud, felt amazing. “Okay, let’s go catch us a couple bloodthirsty zombies.”

Rose’s white bat wings unfurled, and her eyes flicked to black. “I’ll stay back, but I’ll try to slow their progress,” she said, then lifted off.

Iris called on her wolf, and her eyes changed from brown to blue. Physically, she stayed the same, no matter what animal she chose to surround her. But you could still see the animal, and a translucent wolf enveloped Iris now. “I’ll call the animals when I get close. They’ll help drive them back this way.”

Then she jogged into the forest, and Wills and I followed. It wasn’t like we’d be able to keep up, not when she went wolf.

Fifteen minutes later, we were deep in the forest and our plan was working. The scent of Iris’s wolf had the demons scattering, and until now, we hadn’t seen any. The one that had just stepped out onto the path ahead of us was tall, gray, and its mouth was wide and full of razor-sharp teeth.

Willow moved fast, firing her blade at it. The magic knife never missed and sunk deep into the demon’s throat. It charged at us, and I rolled, sweeping its feet out from under it. It hit the ground hard as Willow’s knife dislodged itself and flew back to her hand. I quickly pulled mine from its sheath and finished what Willow started, removing its head. I didn’t want her getting anywhere near this demon.

“Nice decapitation, little sister,” she said when we kept running.

“Thanks.”

We met three more demons a few minutes later. Willow fired her magic at the forest floor and tree roots burst from the ground, wrapping around them, stopping them from running at us. I pulled a vial from my pack and tossed it at them, and we kept running, their screams echoing behind us.

Wills smirked. “Vicious little thing, aren’t you?”

“Something we have in common.”

She chuckled. “These undead fuckers better not be too much farther. Another couple of hours and my morning sickness will kick in.”

“Trust you to get your morning sickness at night.” My phone buzzed. Rose. “Your wish has been granted. Rose says they’re less than a mile away from here.”