Elara POV
“Goddess, no!” My scream is a re whisper when I see Axel fly through the air.
Mason sprints towards him, but suddenly the thing dives at him. Whatever it is, it moves so lightning-fast that I cannot make it out. Is it a demon or so spiritual being?
Without thinking twice, I run closer, needing to make sure he is okay.
“Elara, don’t!” Kane shouts. “We need to get the babies inside.”
Shit. Kane is right, but how can I just watch as a mysterious dark cloud kills one of my mates?
I am about to pick up Stella when the thing stops moving. I freeze on the spot when I see a man. He picks up Axel and Mason by the scruff with absolutely no effort. To my horror, he drags them right up to the line of enchantnt and passes through.
Did Braden lie about the spell’s strength? Or does the spell only apply to wolf shifters?
“Elara, co on,” Kane grabs my arm. “The kids are inside; you should join them.”
But the man is already across the barrier, and as soon as he sees , his face splits into a wide grin.
“Hello, granddaughter,” he says. “It’s nice to finally et you.”
Granddaughter? What the hell?
This guy does not look like he can be more than thirty years old. His wavy blond hair is perfectly coiffed, his jawline is sharp, and his eyes are a vivid green. He is handso in a classic romantic lead sort of way.
So, what is he doing calling his granddaughter, and how the hell can he possibly drag two of the biggest wolves I have ever seen through the forest with his bare fucking hands?
“Back off,” Kane growls, throwing himself in front of .
“Don’t be afraid, Elara, and ... Elara’s friend,” the man says in a voice that sounds like warm honey. I get the feeling he has made a lot of people fall to their knees with that voice. “We’re family.”
“You’re an intruder,” Kane grunts just as Braden cos sprinting towards the cabin.
He stops next to us, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets when he sees Mason and Axel passed out on the ground.
“What the hell are you doing, Malachi?” Braden exclaims. “We talked about this!”
The guy Braden calls Malachi drops Mason and Axel. Their heads thud to the ground.
“Braden, what the fuck is going on here?” Kane demands.
“Elara, Kane, et Malachi the Ancient,” Braden sighs, waving from us to the handso guy. “Malachi, et Elara and Kane.”
“Pleasure,” Malachi replies, running to us at warp speed and extending his hand. Kane stares down at it and growls, his nostrils flaring.
“Vampire,” he hisses through gritted teeth. “Why did you bring more of them here, Braden?”
I look into Malachi’s eyes, and I am taken aback when I see sothing familiar there, almost comforting.
“Malachi’s the one I take orders from,” Braden explains. “A vampire descended from the original Masas Dima bloodline. He’s the reason we know anything at all about the Council and Orion’s plans with hybrids.”
Braden’s words trigger a mory of our conversation the day before. He explained that Stella’s hybrid blood was pure because my grandfather was descended from the original vampires.
Could this really be him? For so reason, I was picturing him a lot ... wrinklier and more disgusting-looking. This guy is almost dazzlingly fresh-faced.
Behind him, Mason and Axel start to stir. They stand back on all fours shakily, and when they see Malachi, they growl, low and threatening.
“Why do you give a fuck about hybrids?” Kane asks, and Malachi narrows his eyes, sizing him up.
“Because they’re targeting my bloodline,” he grunts. “And I’d quite like for it to live on.”
Over Malachi’s shoulder, I watch Mason and Axel shift back to their human forms.
“Then why the fuck did you knock us out?” Axel snarls. “We’re not the enemy.”
“I don’t trust dogs,” Malachi replies, his nose wrinkling. “Unless they’re family, of course.”
“Family?” Kane frowns.
“He’s Stella’s great-grandfather,” I answer, stepping forward. “In order for the Council to successfully build their army of hybrids, they need to use ones that were bred with his blood.”
“She’s exactly right,” Malachi says smoothly. “I see you got my smarts. Glad to know soone around here has so brains.”
He casts a glance back at Mason and Axel. When Malachi turns back toward , Axel creeps up behind him, poised to attack. But as soon as he is within a foot of him, Malachi whips around and has him in a chokehold before I can blink.
“Let him go!” I demand firmly. “Now!”
I look at Axel with concern. What the hell was he thinking of sneaking up on an ancient vampire?
“You will not try anything like that again,” Malachi commands, holding Axel’s gaze.
Axel nods, his eyes distant and unfocused. Malachi releases him, and Axel drops onto the ground. He shakes his head and blinks rapidly.
“Did you just fucking compel ?” Axel grunts.
“Yes,” Malachi smiles, amused. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“I’m still the Alpha of this territory,” Axel bites back.
“That’s true,” Malachi replies. “The Council has chosen not to elect a new Alpha for the ti being. Instead, they’ve put the whole pack on lockdown until you two are located.”
Kane and Axel’s jaws drop, and my heart stops. That ans everyone and their fucking mother is probably out looking for Kane and Axel right now. They are beyond stupid running off into the woods like that.
“But soon enough, the concept of Alphas will be obsolete,” Malachi continues. “If Orion and the Council have their way, there will be no ruler, only chaos.”
His words hang thick in the air. There is even more riding on our safety and ruining Orion’s hybrid plan than we could have imagined.
“Now co with , Elara,” Malachi says, waving closer. “We need to have a little talk.”
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