“Where is she?” I ask as I burst into Nikoli’s office, after Snow called me and told me what had happened. I don’t pause as I push past the giant wolf and take another step closer. I get that they think I’m a threat to their alpha or whatever, but Harper has been threatened, and I won’t have that. No one threatens my Harper.
“Don’t,” I warn him, and he moves out the way. I reach Nikoli, who is leaning over a map of the house, the forest, and the town. The pack lands actually surround the town; I learned that when I researched everything I could about this pack before I came for Harper.
“Harper is fine, don’t worry. I would be out there killing them now if they’d touched her,” Nikoli says, and I take a deep breath. As much as I trusted his sister when she told me Harper was okay, I still needed to hear it from her or Nikoli. The rest of the wolves in the room seem to relax at Nikoli’s words, not seeing me as such a threat anymore.
“What’s the plan?” I ask him, and he nods, looking back at the map. The big guy from before comes over and stands next to me. On the other side of the table is Gold, Harper's friend, and a blond guy I would guess is her brother. The guy who tried to stop me, with dark hair and darker eyes, stands next to Gold.
“Everyone, this is Colton. As you know, he is Harper's other destined mate, and I trust him to help us. We will need this help as we cannot call other packs in to help us. The rules say nothing about covens, or other beings helping us because they wouldn’t expect them to help wolves over a mate dispute,” Nikoli says, and there’s whispered agreements in the room.
“They wouldn’t expect vampires; plus, they move so fast at night, they could kill a lot of them quickly with some weapons,” Gold’s brother says.
“Who are you?” I ask him, but it’s Nikoli who answers.
“That’s Erik, and his sister, Gold.” He then points at the guy next to me. “This is Lewis. These three are my betas.”
“I’m Tam, the pack healer,” the other guy next to Gold introduces and I nod.
“Can you help us? From what you have told me, you have a small coven,” Nikoli says, and I nod.
“I have family, distant, but they would come here to fight for my mate,” I say, after thinking about it for a moment. My mother’s sister was turned, and they had many kids, who mated and have their own children now. I know they would come and fight for me, as we stick together. The only reason we aren’t in a coven together is that they are old school vampires, and still hunt humans.
“How many?” Nikoli asks me.
“Twenty vampires. The rest live too far away and wouldn’t be able to get here in time,” I tell them.
“Okay, but make it clear that they can’t hunt the humans in town.”
“Understood,” I reply.
“Right. The best thing we can do is set up a constant patrol until the fight. Groups of five, and they change every two hours,” Nikoli says.
“I can sort that,” Gold says, pulling out her phone. “I will make a pack group chat, so I can tell everyone when it's their time.” That’s smart.
“Tam, I need you to get the hall ready for the people that cannot fight. Mainly the children. Make sure that every one of the children know where the escape tunnel is, and where it leads out to. If anything goes wrong, they can escape while I’m sure their parents will fight for them,” Nikoli says, and Tam gives him a nod before walking out. “Lewis, you’re in charge of weapons and making sure everyone is sorted out.”
“I will sort everything, alpha,” Lewis responds.
“We have our own weapons,” I tell Lewis, who smiles.
“Good vampire,” he says and walks out. A man of little words right there.
“How’s the group chat going?” I ask Gold.
“Adding seventy people is hard,” Gold says, making us all chuckle.
“Erik, I want you to sort out traps. Traps like you make for catching rogues,” Nikoli tells him.
“What kind of traps?” I ask, wondering what he could do.
“Pits of silver daggers, basic Hog traps made with silver. Rope catches, that hang the Hogs in the air. Lots of different ones,” Erik says, sounding bored, as he waves a hand.
“It would work, slow them down,” I comment.
“That it will become, Vampire,” he says in a cocky tone. I have no doubt he meant that as an insult.
“It’s Colton, not vampire, wolf,” I say, leaning forward on the table as he growls.
“Enough! Out now, Erik,” Gold says, grabbing Erik’s shirt and dragging him out the room.
“I’m going to need to move my coven here. It's not going to be safe in the house we are renting for long,” I tell Nikoli, who rubs his face with his hand as he leans back in the seat.
“You have a child with you, right?” he asks, referring to my little sister I told him about the other night.
“Yes,” I reply.
“Okay, have them come here. There is plenty of room in the house, but they must not feed on anyone here,” he warns. “I won’t be able to save them or side with your coven if they do.”
“We don’t feed on humans, let alone wolves,” I remind him.
“I believe you or I wouldn’t let you come in here,” Nikoli tells me.
“Where is Harper? I need to tell her she can’t stay on Tuesday. And I just need to see for myself that she is okay.”
“I don’t know. Maybe she is painting? The room next to her bedroom,” he tells me.
“Thanks,” I say and walk out as he goes back to looking at his map. I pass a few wolves as I make my way to the stairs and run up the two flights before seeing Harper straightaway. Nikoli was right; she is painting with the door open. I think back to the ten paintings I have in my room that she painted. I love seeing them, they are beautiful, and I know no matter how long I live, they always will be, much like Harper herself. I walk over, leaning against the door, and watching as she moves the brush across the canvas. The painting is just outlined so far, but I think it’s the forest, which you can see out the window. It’s a beautiful view, and I know her painting will be amazing.
“Are you going to stare all day, or say hello?” she asks, never stopping her movements with the paintbrush. I smile as I walk in the room, closing the door behind me.
“Can’t I stare at you? You’re beautiful,” I comment, and she chuckles as she puts down the brush and looks over her shoulder at me. Harper’s hair is up in a messy bun, bits hanging out, and a white coverall over her leggings and top. She has a little white paint smudged on her cheek, and she looks stressed.
“I’m moving in, me and my coven,” I tell her, and her big eyes widen.
“Nikoli was okay with that?” she asks.
“Yes. He knows it’s the safest thing to do for my coven, and we are going to help win this war. I won’t let anyone take you,” I tell her, stepping closer and picking her up off the chair.
“I’m scared. Not for myself but for everyone else. I finally have people I care about, and I can’t imagine losing even one of them,” she whispers, our faces close together.
“I know, but think of it this way; they feel the same about you. They couldn’t stomach the thought of losing you, Harper. So, we will all fight for you,” I tell her, and she leans forward, gently kissing me.
“I know you’re right, but I also don’t know how to cope with the idea of losing anyone.”
“I will try my hardest to make sure you don’t lose anyone,” I tell her, and she rests her head on my shoulder as she cries silent tears. She doesn’t have to tell me what she is thinking, or say anything. I just hold her as close as I can and be there for her.