Chapter 64

(**Irina’s POV**) 

The second those words left Fiona’s mouth, Anya pushed hard to be free. I know it would be easy to just let her out to attack the panther. We could fight her and possibly win, but at what cost? All my instincts are screaming at me to kill her so we can end the threat to my mate bond. 

The questions would remain, however. 

Why had this all happened? Was there a bigger picture that we are not seeing? Why would the Moon Goddess lead us to each other only to throw Fiona in our way?  

I will not let her take what is mine. 

“I am his mate! Not you. You are nothing to us but a woman who forced herself on someone who is already spoken for!”  

Fiona launches herself at me, only to be pulled back by the man behind her. She scratches at his arms with hands that turned into claws. Blood splatters the floor as he tries to control her. The foyer is quickly filled with screams of rage, pain, and heavy breathing. 

The rich coppery scent of blood calls to my wolf. Anya wants to tear the panther’s throat out. I want to let her free to do it, but I can’t. I will not risk the life of my unborn child to kill this thorn in my side. 

No matter how much I want to.

When Sebastion steps forward, rage flashes through my mind. My first thought is that he is going to her instead of staying by his pregnant mate’s side. Instead of going to her, he steps in front of me with his back to her.  

At first, I didn’t understand why until the hot splash of blood sprayed across my face. His body jerks forward slightly as I hear a scream of pure rage from behind him. The way his eyes flash to onyx lets me know Aries is right at the surface. 

That was when I hear the sounds of claws on marble as reinforcements arrive.

From my left, two wolves rush into the foyer. From their scents, I know it was Finn and Justin. To my right, two more wolves came out of the dining room. Their scents are unknown to me, but I am happy they are here.  

This causes Fiona to fight harder. I can understand the caged in feeling of being surrounded by others trying to take her down. That needs to happen. Even if they don’t kill her, she needs to be put down. 

Sebastion falls to the ground as Fiona tackles him from behind. Standing on his back in her panther form, she glares at me. However, before she can attack, she is thrown off him as Aries takes control. His huge, beautiful black wolf towers over me as he stands between us. 

Soon I am flanked on all sides by wolves. They are guarding their Luna with their lives. I know without a doubt that her goal is to kill me. Why? Because that is what I want to do to her. She thinks I am the whore who has stolen her mate.  

The second Fiona recovers from being thrown off his back, she launches herself at me once more. Aries blocks her by stepping in her way. She screams as she attacks him. The sound makes my blood run cold.  

Right after they start fighting, an aura fills the room that has my head whipping in the door's direction. The sight of the largest wolf I have ever seen makes me bow my head against my will. This wolf is something I have never encountered before. 

A true Alpha King. 

His fur looks brown, but I can see the deep red and copper underneath. His frame is much bigger than Aries. I can feel the other wolves around me bow their heads to him. Then he launches himself at Fiona and Sebastion. 

At first glance it looks like he was going to attack Sebastion, but he angles his head to clamp his massive jaw around her neck from behind. Together he and Sebastion subdue her and end the fight.  

When Sebastion shifts back to his human for I gasp in shock as I see his back. Deep gouges run from the back of his neck to his hip. Blood drips onto the white marble floor as he turns to face me. Tears spring to my eyes as I see his chest and the deep slash across his face. 

“I will heal, my love,” he tells me.  

I close the distance between us in just a few steps, then throw myself at him. Once his arms are around me, I start to shake. So much could have happened here. I could have lost him. 

“I hate to break this up, but we should find a place for her before she wakes up.”  

A deep baritone voice says from behind Sebastion, reminding me of the unfamiliar man who helped us. I see him in his human form as Sebastion turns to look at him. His reddish-brown hair reminds me of his wolf’s fur. I can see deep red and copper undertones throughout. 

His green eyes seem to stare straight through me, almost like he can see something no one else can. The power coming off him recedes as he takes the pair of shorts a man from behind him holds out. I can hear Anya whine in my head at the level of power this wolf emanates. 

“We have cells below the pack house we can put her in. There are other wolves down there, but there is nowhere else I will put her. I will not risk my mate or my family for that crazy bitch.”  

Sebastion nods to Finn and Justin to take Fiona away. When he mentions the cells, I am reminded that Issac and Westley are still down there. I have wanted to talk to them, but it slipped my mind since I have my daughter back. I will have to talk to them soon. 

“Once you get her settled, and you get cleaned up, we will talk about my theory. Until then, is there a place my men can food then rest after our trip?” The man I have yet to be introduced to asks Sebastion calmly. 

“Thank you for your help, Monroe. Wade here will show you and your men where you can rest and have someone bring food for you all.” 

So, this is the same Monroe that helped free the captives in Vicktor’s cells. Suddenly a lightbulb clicks in my memories. I have heard that last name before. However, it was thought that his family died out after their exit from Europe years ago. What I didn’t know then that I do now is who and what he is. 

“You are the Alpha King of all werewolves,” I say.  

My voice fills the foyer, but the silence that follows makes me look away from those piercing green eyes of Monroe’s. I can feel the power from him building as I see anger flash through his eyes. Sebastion blocks him before he moves towards me. 

“Relax little Alpha. I will never cause harm to your mate. Female Alphas are rare. You are a mated pair of true Alphas with a child on the way. Besides, I am no longer that man. They took that away from me before they ever knew who and what I was.” 

“The council isn’t aware of who you are?” Sebastion and I both ask in unison. 

“Oh, they are aware of my lineage. It sometimes skips generations. I will share more with you once we all clean up.” 

Sebastion signals for Wade, one of the other wolves who came to help us, to show Monroe where to go. Once they are all gone, and I am left alone with Sebastion in the foyer, the anger over what happened hits me. However, before I can scream my rage, Sebastion steps in front of me. 

“Calm down, Irina.”  

As I open my mouth to reply, he leans down and captures my mouth with his. This causes me to melt against him as his arms come back around me. I feel the anger dissipate, only to be replaced by desire. What a nice and sneaky trick.  

“Let’s go get this blood cleaned off you so that we can find those answers.”  

“What about your wounds?”  

As I ask this, I look up at him, only to see the slash across his face is already healed. I motion for him to turn around so I can see his back. Those wounds are already closing and will heal fully by the time we get upstairs. This lets me know just how strong he is.  

“See, I told you I would be fine.” 

Indeed, he did.  

(**Sebastion’s POV**) 

After a much needed shower, we are dressed and headed back downstairs. Irina is insisting that she be present when I talk to Fiona. I don’t want her back in those cells after what happened the last time with Eric. Her powerful will and need for answers make me bow to her wishes.  

However, we seek Monroe out first. Wade took them all to one of the newly furnished houses that is still empty. When we arrive, I see Monroe, his beta, Giles, and his gamma, Mick. They are lounging in the living room.  

Seeing his gamma reminds me, I need to talk to Wade about his additional duties. He is the Luna’s bodyguard now as gamma. I am not one hundred percent sure if I trust him with that role, but he has proven worthy in every other way so far. I will give him a chance to prove I can trust him with my Luna. 

“Ah, you have healed nicely, Little Alpha.” 

“That nickname has to go.” 

“It will soon. You are proving to be a much better Alpha than I thought you would be after our first meeting. I can also see that the Moon Goddess paired you with a worthy match. I think, however, that you may just be out of her league. Time will tell.” 

“Speaking of telling, tell us this theory you have about the panther.” Irina speaks up as she walks further into the room. 

I take a seat on the second sofa, and she joins me after she gives both the other men a sideways glance. Straight to business for my mate today. I honestly do not blame her for that after what happened in the foyer. 

“Magic.” 

That one-word answer makes me frown. Could it really be that simple? Is Fiona under some sort of spell? “Are you sure? What makes you think it is magic?” 

“The way it instantaneously drew you to her was a red flag. Knowing you already had a mate made me think something else was happening. The way she marked you how she did was another red flag. We had to sedate her the entire way to Canada. Each time she woke there was a battle.” 

“That is typically how a mate would react when kept from their other half though.” 

“Yes, but it is what transpired while she was sedated that lets me know this bond between you and her is manufactured.” 

This makes me frown at him. “What do you mean?” 

“Instead of calling out your name in her sleep, she called out another’s name.” 

“Who?” 

“The name Sineen was repeated often in her sleep. That makes me believe he is her true mate. Where he is, I don’t know.” 

“How do we break this spell that she is under?” 

“Well, you could find the witch who put it on her to have them undo it, or you could find another more powerful with to reverse it.” 

Why does it always come down to magic and witches for all our solutions? “What if there is another way?” 

“What do you have in mind?” 

“I am going to be sworn in as Luna in a few days. That will solidify our bond even further than it already is. Do you think that will break the spell?”  

Irina looks at me as she asks him that question. That is something I have been thinking about since she agreed to become my Luna. The mating and Luna ceremony will bind her to me further than we already are. It will bind her to the pack and the land we live on.  

I can tell Monroe is thinking about what she suggested. His face is scrunched up in a frown as he steeples his fingers together. From the way his eyes glaze over, I can tell that he is debating it with his men. This makes me jittery.  

After what seems like forever he says, “It could do the trick. However, I will reach out to a witch I know for you. Arabella and her coven are some of the greatest witches I have met in decades.” 

“That is the redhead from Rayne’s wedding,” Irina says. 

Oh, I remember her now. That is one woman who is very hard to forget. She knocked me out the night I attacked Shadows Retreat to get to Rayne. I remembered her voice when I heard it at the wedding.  

“Would they have to come here?” 

“In Fiona’s unpredictable condition, I would highly recommend it.” 

“Then will you make the call to see if they will come here for the ceremony. If Irina becoming my Luna doesn’t break the spell, we can have them try to undo it afterwards.” 

“I will do that for you, then after, if it all works out, I will take Fiona back with me to Bodega Bay. She will need somewhere safe to recover until we can figure out what happened to her mate.” 

“I want to see her now,” Irina demands. 

“What good will that do for either of you?” I ask her with a frown. 

“She was a prisoner of the same man who destroyed my pack. I want to try to reach her through our shared trauma. There must be some part of her that is reachable despite the spell that is doing this to her. She is just as much of a victim in all of this as we are.” 

That is a very valid point. 

“Fine, but I will be by your side the entire time.” 

“No, that will only agitate her further, Sebastion. You are the driving force behind her fighting.” 

“Then Finn will be there with you.” 

“No men. Give me one of your best female fighters. Fiona was Vicktor’s captive for who knows how long. We have no idea what he did to her, but it is best if there are no men in the cells when she wakes up. That means moving Issac and Westly somewhere else.” 

I agree to her suggestions then mind link Finn to do as she requests. The idea of her being down there alone with Fiona makes my heart beat faster in fear, but I have faith in my mate. What could go wrong with silver bars between them and two guards in the room? 

I send a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess to keep Irina safe.