Hunted (War of the Covens 1)

“You did all you could for him. I know you don’t want to hear it, but Mikhail had to have known what he was doing when he got mixed up with a dark witch. For goddess’ sake, Albus … he signed his own death warrant.”

Albus flinched, and Rafe immediately felt terrible. “I’m sorry. I just don’t want you blaming yourself any longer. You have a pack who cares for you, a pack that is now your responsibility. Not to mention a lovely wife and two kids she’s having a hard time controlling while you are out here in your garage, blaming yourself.”

“Why did he do it, Rafe? I can’t understand.”

Rafe shook his head. “She enchanted him. It could even have been a spell.”

Albus nodded. “Yeah, I’d thought of that.”

They sat in silence for a few moments longer until Rafe couldn’t keep his news to himself. “I’ve brought someone home with me, Albus.”

His friend, and leader, quirked an eyebrow at him. “Someone?”

Rafe smiled, thinking of the blond-haired beauty sitting in Ella’s kitchen. “A young woman I met on my travels.”

His friend smiled his first genuine smile in months. “Oh?”

“I was hoping she could stay with us.”

“You’re taken with her,” Albus stated in amazement as he stood. “Which pack is she from?”

This would be the difficult part. “She’s not from a pack. She’s a magik.”

“What?” Albus shouted in instant anger.

“A Daylight witch.” Rafe held up his hands in defense. “She’s good, Albus. I swear.”

His friend shuddered in pain. “Rafe …”

“Albus, it’s okay. I promise she’s not a bad person.”

Adriana watched the handsome lykan sleep peacefully beside her. She wondered if she’d inherited some of her mother’s perverse nature, because sex with this beast had not been nearly as intolerable as she’d thought it would be. She smiled wryly, remembering her inward reaction when her father told her she was to attach herself to this lykan, to give herself to him in every way, if needs must. She was the highest-ranking lady of the Midnight Coven, and she was to give her virginity to a … mutt?

But she considered her mother’s betrayal, and the thought of that betrayal becoming public, meant no sacrifice was large enough. Luckily for her, Rafe had been enchanted with her from day one. Within a week, she’d managed to weasel all his secrets out of him, including the fact that his former Pack Leader had an affair with the leader of the Midnight Coven’s wife.

“Who else knew this?” she’d asked, innocent and sympathetic to his pain.

“Everyone. Everyone except the children.”

Children, she rubbed her rounded belly and flinched, remembering her father’s fury when she’d returned to him with the news.

“Pregnant!” he screamed. “It’s not possible!”

She cried, kneeling at his feet. “It’s not my fault, Father. Please …”

He’d sent for their prophet. And then the horror of her situation was realized. Years ago, the prophet, an old immortal man who never spoke to or saw anyone except the leading family of the coven, had told of the coming of the child of mixed race who would contain such power they would bring the war to an end.

“Gaia has grown weary of her children’s war, my lord,” the old man had wheezed. “She has blessed your daughter’s union with the lykan male outside of a mating ritual, in order to bring forth a child from the prophecy.”

Devlyn had destroyed everything in sight while Adriana watched on, terrified of the thing growing inside her.

“The only way to kill it is to wait for the birth … or kill your daughter.”

Her eyes flew to her father’s face, his dark glare fierce on her. The silence stretched between them like a taut wire.

“And the child will definitely not just be a magik? It will have the genes of both my daughter and that … thing?”

The prophet nodded wearily.

His eyes burned on her as she began to cry harder.

“Father, no.” Ethan stumbled up from his seat in the corner of the room. Adriana’s heart pounded. How brave he was to face their father for her sake.

Devlyn stopped, took a deep breath, and shook his head. “No, old man, I won’t kill my daughter when she has done only what I asked of her.”

She drew in a huge breath of relief and smiled tremulously at her brother.

“What is to be done, then, Father?” Ethan asked for her.

“Adriana will return to the pack,” he instructed. “We don’t want to raise their suspicions. The child must be killed but so shall the pack be. We have everything we need to destroy them and the abomination growing in your belly. After the birth.”

“I’m sorry, Albus,” Rafe’s tears spilled down his cheeks as he cradled his baby daughter to his chest. “I’m so sorry I’ve brought this upon you.”

“You didn’t,” Albus bit out. “My brother brought this upon us. If anyone should apologize, it is my family.”