048 – The Mercenary and The Witch
ADAN STONE.
Three days went by swiftly, and I’ve been on high alert ever since Lucy accidentally made her palm glow
red with fire. I was certain Lucien would appear out of nowhere, but so far, it has been calm, which is
making me more uneasy.
The censor cameras, which had been custom-built to monitor body
temperature similar to Lucy’s, had already been installed in every border, including the middle of the
forest, which
was connected to the neutral forest, and around the packhouse. I had never splurged my own money on
something like this, but I didn’t even hesitate to
open my bank account this time. All for
her.
I had never left Lucy alone, and in cases
where I had to be away, my Beta or
Gamma would be with her. And two days
ago, my parents moved to the packhouse under the pretense that my mother wanted to spend time with
her, but in reality, I sought help from Dad.
Two Alphas could protect her better than one. I laid out everything I knew about her, and if there was any
doubt in me that my father would consider me crazy for protecting a she-demon, it flew out of the window
the moment he said they would be moved back to the packhouse.
And Mom didn’t need to be persuaded. I was half expecting she would ask me if I was planning to make
Lucy my Luna, and that my answer would be the basis for
whether I could get help from them, but
the question never came.
Maybe they knew the answer already.
I watched from the balcony of my office
in the training building as my father trained Lucy in the cold weather. They were using different sharp
weapons,
from the morning stars that she
requested to simple daggers. I could see the amazement on the faces of my
warriors and other people as Lucy used those weapons with skill and speed.
She was a natural warrior, and I had no doubt that if she could just control her fire, she would be
excellent at protecting
herself.
‘Alpha, Blade arrived with one female
companion. I was assuming it was the witch. He was overly protective of her and stated that he would
only respond to you directly after I asked questions about the
female.’
‘That sounds like Blade. Did you check
the security camera to make sure the body temperature of his companion is not the same as Lucy’s?’
‘I did, even before they reached the northern border. Blade’s temperature
was normal, while the witch’s is different but nowhere near Lucy’s body
temperature.
‘Good. Let them in. I will meet them at
the old packhouse but take them in your
car. Leave their car by the border and let
the men check it thoroughly. If Blade disagrees, tell him it’s Alpha Stone’s
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtorder.’
‘Noted, Alpha,’ Kingston answered, and I immediately cut off our mindlink before
opening one to my father and my Beta.
‘Blade arrived with a female. I am
assuming it’s the red mountain witch. I will meet them at the ruin. Dad, Collin, I
want you to keep an eye on Lucy.’
‘Noted, Alpha,’ Collin answered.
‘Take Collin with you, I can take care of
Lucy, and we’re surrounded by warriors. Witches can be deceiving.’ Of course, Dad would disagree and
think I didn’t trust
his capability to protect Lucy.
‘I have Kingston with me. And I will take
a few men as well. I want to secure Lucy,
Dad. Don’t argue. Alpha’s order.’
‘Fine. I hope all turns out well, son.’
‘Me too. Keep your mindlink open all the time, and do not say a word to her until I
talk to the witch.’ I added before making my way down the building. I checked
from afar if Lucy would be able to see me,
but it was a good thing that my father moved her position so she had her back to
I didn’t waste any more time before I slipped inside the forest line just beside the training building and
began running.
I knew it would be faster with Beast, but
without Lucy, it would be harder to
control him, so I had to rely on my own strength to reach the old building that used to be the pack’s
packhouse over a
century ago.
‘Any update?’ I connected with my Gamma again.
‘You’re just right on the timing. Blade just finished arguing with me about leaving his car, but we’re good
now. We’re heading to the old building. Man,
this man hasn’t changed a bit. Still fucking growly and annoying.’
1
‘I know, but he’s the best man for this job.
‘If I were right, he was overly protective of the female with him. Maybe something
brewed while they were traveling.’ He
chuckled.
‘Are you telling me he was smitten with an older female? Doesn’t sound like the
Blade I know.’
‘Older? Nah! This one looks almost the
same age as Lucy.’
‘What the fuck?’ I growled in my head! Who did Blade take with him?’
‘Relax… If it’s a witch, maybe she can disguise herself as a younger version of herself. She looks young,
but she doesn’t
look like she’s naive.’
‘No, fucking witches are naive. I’m near the building now. I’ll wait for you inside.’
I reached the ruin in no time, and there were already three warriors around it. I
asked them to be here even before I left
the training grounds. I acknowledged their greetings before heading inside the decaying building. It was
empty, and some parts were destroyed, but it was still standing strong. We’ve been using this place as a
training ground for combat with weapons until we were able to build
a more suitable arena on the other side.
So this place had no use at all, but I let it stand. I actually had no idea why I
decided to meet them here, but I wanted to make sure the witch was on our side before I introduced her
to Lucy.
It didn’t take long before the sound of an approaching car erupted in the thin air, and I prepared myself to
meet them. I hoped Blade brought the right witch because I don’t think I could wait another week to get
answers.
Blade’s scent reached me, and I turned in the direction I was expecting them. Loud footsteps echoed
around the ruin, and three people came to view – my Gamma, Blade, and a young female with dark plum
hair which I believe was shorter than Lucy.
And she looked like she was not even
eighteen.
I couldn’t stop the low growl that
reverberated from my chest the moment they stopped three meters in front of me.
“What kind of greeting was that? I didn’t travel this far for that animosity, Stone.” Blade grunted.
“I asked you to bring me the witch of the red mountain! Not a fucking teenager!”
He chuckled as if what I was saying was funny, and it didn’t slip my eyes the way the female raised her
eyebrows at me.
“She’s the next best option,” he
answered as he shrugged his shoulders.
“Correction, I’m your only option. Now, if
I’m not needed here, I’ll go. I don’t need
to waste my time, it was not me who
needed help in the first place.” Her voice
was soft but she did have a sharp tongue.
“Who are you?” I asked her directly.
“I’m Althea. Daughter of the red
mountain witch as what you’d like to call
her.”
“Where is she?”
“Dead. Unless you want to dig her body up and cast spells to bring her back to life, then you don’t have a
choice.”
“Since you’re direct to the point, I’ll be as well. Did your mother tell you anything
about the demon world?”
“Whoa! Whoa! Are we going to fucking discuss everything here? I’m hungry.
Don’t I deserve decent food after a week
of travel?” Blade hissed, his forehead
creasing.
“Didn’t you eat decent food on my table?” Althea snapped at him, and Blade opened
his mouth only to shut it.
That was new. No one could scare Blade
or shut him up.
Blade and I went to the same training, and he was older by two years, but he had been mated and lost
her almost six years ago, so the chance of him being feral
without a mate was lower than mine. But still, he could be as grumpy as me, and maybe that’s why we
remained friends up
until now. 1
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“I’ll get you some decent food once I’m done talking to her. I just need to make sure I can get her to my
side.” I told him after I sent a mindlinked to my Gamma to have someone fix dinner for them.
“And if not, you’ll throw me out of your territory?”Althea asked.
“No. You won’t be able to get out of here alive.” I answered almost immediately.
A loud growl erupted in the air, and it shook the ground. I was in a serious situation, but I couldn’t help
but chuckle
at Blade’s reaction.
“I overreacted, yes, you’ll be escorted out of the territory. Forgive me for my rude response, Lady Althea.
I just wanted to hear the growl from my friend.”
“Fuck you!” Blade spat at me, and I saw he had his fangs out already.
“Stop growling. I can take care of myself. “The witch whispered to him, but my werewolf hearing made it
possible for me
to hear her. 1
“Lady Althea, will you help us?”
“I don’t know exactly what you want
from me.”
“What did your mother tell you about the
underworld.”
“Everything she knew and experienced
– the abuse, power, and spells they forced her to perform, and how she managed to escape from them.
So what
exactly do you want from me?”
“Everything you know about it,” I
replied, “but what guarantee do I have
that you’re on my side.”
“Didn’t you hear what I said? My mother
was abused, so anyone against the demons is my friend.”
“My girlfriend is half-demon. And I want you to help her.”
“No! Absolutely not! I was not informed I would be helping a demon!” She threw a
glare at Blade, and he just ignored her
this time.
“Half-demon,” I stopped myself from growling just in time. I needed her on my
side. “She didn’t want to be a demon
herself. Her mother was raped by her
father in his incubus form. She wanted a
way out.”
“I want to meet her to make sure she’s
not just acting before I can decide.”
“I will let you meet her if you promise me that if you decide not to help her, you will not tell her directly.
You,” I pointed my finger at her before pointing at my chest. “Need to tell me. She’s asking for help, and
the last thing I want is for you to crush whatever spirit she still has.”
“Interesting. I didn’t know demons had a soft side.” Her lips twitched into a sarcastic smile.
“I told you, she’s half-demon.”
“And the other half?”
“Her mother was an Omega before she went rogue.”
She nodded her head. “Then I want to
meet her. Maybe I will help her. Or not,
depending on what transpires at our
meeting.”