Chapter 67 - The demon world ...

THEY SIFTED THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS of paperwork for days. Finding one demon was almost impossible, but they finally found it. The one thing that told them it was the demon they were looking for. The demon was known for playing with words. It was clever. Now all they had to do was figure out how the hell they would convince the demon to let Lena go.

Not just Lena … But all blood witches … It had to take back whatever power it gave them to become blood witches … But it had to let them go. Lena was beginning to wonder if it would even be possible, but they had no other way of getting out of this mess. Making a new deal with the demon was the only way they could get out of it.

And that was where they got stuck. How? How did they convince the demon to withdraw the terms of the old deal? It was a great deal for the demon. It didn’t have to do much work to reap souls. It just had to make sure that they used the death spell every once in a while, and then the souls would just come to it. It was a masterful plan.

One deal gave them limitless souls. One deal that it made centuries ago made sure that this demon stayed in the damn good books of whomever it served. It wasn’t necessarily who people thought it was. Demons don’t all serve one master. They served several. If they could find out who its master was … Lena felt as if she was going insane. She grabbed the laptop and was about to throw it clear across the room when Alaric took it from her and pulled her into his arms.

All the tears she had been holding back filled her eyes and burst out of her body in great big sobs. Her pack were putting their lives on the line on a daily basis against an enemy. An enemy that was so powerful it scared them. Alaric picked her up and carried her to their room where he softly put her down on the bed and slipped in behind her.

He held her tightly while she cried, and it broke his heart to see her like this. His strong, warrior princess was breaking and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t save her. It felt as though someone was literally ripping his heart from his chest. He was supposed to be this strong beast, but he couldn’t even protect his mate.

There was no way he would be able to carry on if those monsters tore into her like that! He still believed they should leave the pack behind, but he spoke to Max and Max assured him that the pack was behind them all the way. Even after everything they had gone through. Even after they had been attacked twice already, his pack were behind them.

There had been so much pain that it was indescribable. Lena was right. They had to figure out how to trap the demon. It was their only hope. It was their only hope to stay alive. To save not just Lena, but the pack. When Lena sighed deeply, Alaric knew she was awake. They took a shower and went back to the library to carry on the search.

The more they searched, the more they found questions and not answers. They knew which demon they had to face. Which demon Lena would have to face … But they needed something. Some kind of leverage, and finding that wasn’t going to be easy. Finding leverage over an ancient demon who made century-long deals would be impossible.

The alarm sounded and everyone was on edge as they rushed around getting ready for the attack. Lena tried not to listen to the howls. She tried, but it was impossible. Her people were dying to protect her. After the attack, Alaric came and got her, but this time she wasn’t crying. She was numb. How many people had to die to protect her? How many innocent souls had to be dragged into hell?!!

Lena went straight to the library to work on the information they had while Alaric got cleaned up and, in the afternoon, they held yet another funeral. It felt the same way it did when they were at war. It felt as though this would never end. As though she was in a dark pit and there was no way out. No light, and no hope.

Her heart was broken, and Lena was beginning to wonder if it would ever heal again. Life would carry on. She knew that. People would forget and life would carry on. Her body would turn back into dust and life would move on while her soul suffered in whatever place the hounds dragged it to. She would do that. She would suffer through it. If it meant saving her people. Her family.

Lena only registered where she was and how cold it was moments later when her toes pushed into the dirt around her. Her head whipped around and for a moment she thought she was actually back in purgatory, but she was in the coven grounds. She had no idea how the hell she got there. She had no idea why Alaric wasn’t there.

The last thing she remembered was reading and thinking that she had to save the people she loved. She was just about to start walking back to the pack house when Alaric’s wolf appeared. He shifted instantly and pulled her into his arms.

“Oh, thank the goddess! I found you!” His voice waivered and he clung to her. She had no idea how long she had been gone. She had no idea what the hell had happened. Warriors appeared on all sides and they took her back home. When they were alone in their room, Alaric had a million questions. None of which Lena could answer. There were just too many questions she couldn’t answer.