It’s not as though it’s the first time she’s done this to one of them. I’ve never had it done to me. I’ll be sampling Violet’s blood before, during, and after every bedding from this moment on.

I take a seat by him, not getting too close.

“Let’s take note of how much more we know.”

He grunts.

“Or how much less we know,” I amend.

He makes no sound to that.

“She’s been topside longer than we thought, and she has been stalking us—well, she’s been stalking you three, since you left me bloody buried as well. Everything she’s said and done has been a ruse. As far as that last part goes, it’s not as though we didn’t overtly suspect as much,” I tell him, even as he silentlyf broods, eyes on the moon, likely absorbing all the tranquility he can from it in this particular moment.

“Now that Violet’s started us down this new rabbit hole, I can’t help but notice Margie, Vance’s trusted housekeeper, was wildly suspicious. At least, now that I know Idun was up during at least those last years of my sentence. Anyway, turns out that Margie left just when the town started getting fun. Violet raising the Simpletons actually interrupted whatever plan Idun was initially working on. This tells us a lot.”

He growls.

“Yes, I agree. It tells us a lot that we don’t want to know, but it still tells us a lot,” I carry on. “I’m not just being an insensitive prick, but we know this game. Don’t let her in your head again, wolf. This is how she always breaks you.”

He cuts his gaze toward me, eyes fully dilated.

“Okay, so not exactly the same. She’s never been one to assume the identity of an omega before. I guess your omegas will be shaken by that knowledge. However, the premise is the same, regardless of the details.”

He stands and starts moving away from me, heading toward his home.

“You’re not charging into her lair and starting a war? Any chance we can keep this information to ourselves?” I ask, hoping to let Idun carry on with her charade, which would be easier if she thinks we’re still in the dark about things.

He says nothing, but I can tell just by his mannerisms that he’s not hotheaded over this. He’s just really upset and wants some privacy.

Thankfully, this discovery came on the perfect full moon. Almost too well-timed…

Violet’s simply not that calculated. Is she? No. She was genuinely worried Emit was off his rocker, and wasn’t playing any part.

She’s too sincere for all that.

Lifting my phone, I call Shera. She wastes no time answering, but her voice is shaky and oddly soft.

“Yes, Alpha?”

“I want my Monster Olympics ready within three days. I’m too impatient to wait any longer.”

“Of course, boss,” she readily complies.

No sass.

No complaint.

No anything.

“Did someone important die or something?” I ask, suspicious now.

“Arion, do you have a plan to deal with Idun?” she asks with zero preamble.

“Of course I do, Shera. It’s the long game but the sure one. It will work. We’re motivated,” I tell her.

She exhales a sigh. “Okay, Alpha. I trust you.”

With that, she hangs up, and I try to think of one single thing that’s made sense lately. My days are entirely too exhausting in this era.

I’m looking forward to a little fucking fun.

Chapter 26

VIOLET

It’s been two days, and Emit hasn’t said a single word. He’s waited until I go to bed to even come around, and then his arms come around me in my sleep, and he burrows his face in my neck.

If I try to speak to him, he walks away. If I try to find him, he disappears. It’s clear he needs some space, but I hate not knowing what to say or do. I feel helpless.

Feeling helpless is the hardest thing in the world for me.

Vance and Damien have been going over some sort of top-secret, anti-Idun plan…that will apparently take centuries to have a major impact. Since they have to find a way to dilute her fear-factor…which isn’t going to be a fast process.

Considering she was underground for longer than most betas and omegas have been alive, and is still a relevant boogeywoman—so to speak—even after all this time, is proof this isn’t going to be easy.

Anyway, it’s kept them busy and away for two straight days, which is worrisome.

I haven’t been let in on the full plan. The only reason I even know there’s a plan at all is because Shera apparently ambushed Damien and caught him on a day where he felt sympathetic enough to share that with her.

“Tomorrow is Arion’s Olympics. If you keep worrying about the wolf, the vampire will get pissed at him,” Shera tells me in her business-as-usual tone, pulling my hand to guide me away from the window.

“Surely Arion can find more compassion than that to spare for one of his best friends he’s just gotten back to a good place with,” I state quietly, hoping to spot Emit, since he was supposed to take a guided group of wolves to the Sanctuary running lands.

“It’s like you love him without really knowing him at all,” Shera inserts.

I give her a dry look, and she arches an eyebrow at me. Anna pops up behind her, rolling her eyes.

“Really, Violet?” Anna asks.

“He’s a soulless vampire, who has very adamantly decided this will be the grand gesture of a lifetime—a gentle tradition he’s starting in your sweet little honor,” Shera tells me, unaware of Anna’s presence. “I’m shocked he’s been this sympathetic, considering she’s done this to them so much it’s redundant at this point.”

“Are you a soulless vampire?” I ask her, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Not completely soulless. But I’m not supposed to know about this, so it’d be worse if I had any opinion at all,” she states before walking off. “You better find a way to enjoy every second of this thing, Violet. Otherwise, Arion will sulk for years about this because he’s convinced this is the perfect way to demonstrate his undying love for you. Then I’ll find a way to make you miserable. Tata. I have a hair appointment.”

Her voice becomes a near echo by the last part, as she nears the end of the hallway. But then she turns abruptly and faces me, allowing her voice to carry to me more directly.

“Violet?” she says, making my name sound like a question.

“Yeah?”

She hesitates, almost as though she doesn’t want to say whatever it is she wants to say. Finally, after what resembles an internal struggle, she releases a breath.

“Don’t get us all killed just because you’re too stubborn to kneel, okay? There’s no shame in backing down when you don’t have the power to step up,” she says, her eyes softer than usual. “We can’t control everything in life. The alphas should handle her. Not you.”

Staring at her, I can tell she’s just barely stopping herself from begging me to kneel to Idun.

“Even though she terrifies you, needles all she can needle, and takes lives for sport and petty agendas, you’d have me bend to her will? Even if it means compromising the integrity of Sanctuary after all this hard work?” I ask, as Anna props up and studies Shera.