Chapter 70 - Peace at last.

THE WITCHES gathered at the crossroads. The spell had been prepared to include them all. Alaric, Rebecca, and Ben were part of their bloodline, but they were kept out of the spell. The pack gathered on the outside of the crossroads. The old witch called the demon and seconds later black smoke appeared in the protective circle.

Lena held her breath as the demon appeared and lost it because he was trapped in the protective circle. The conversation went exactly the way the old witch told everyone it would. The demon hissed and barked profanities, but Lena’s attention was on the old witch. She didn’t seem to be bothered by the way the demon was acting.

As they thought, hell hounds appeared on the other side of the crossing to protect the demon, but three of the witches shouted something in their ancient language and the hounds were trapped the same way the demon was. Lena had to admit she was surprised. They said the hounds would come, but they didn’t even tell anyone that they were capable of trapping them as well.

It looked as though the spell wasn’t going to keep them trapped, however. The hounds were slowly pushing through the barrier. If the old witch couldn’t convince the demon soon, those hounds would break lose and they would come after Lena!

“We are here to make you an offer.” Lena focused on the conversation and not the hounds. “You can have all of our lives, but then you need to stop. You can have all the blood witch power back …”

“Why would I even think of doing that when there is a blood line up there on the hill that can give me even more souls!” The demon hissed and his eyes met Lena’s. “Hers already belongs to me!” He pointed at Lena and a shiver ran down the back of Lena’s spine.

“NO!” The old witch’s voice was demanding and the demon glared at her. “You will take all of us and that is that! If you don’t, we will call in a favour and you will be sent back alone!” Lena frowned and looked at Alaric, who shrugged. What did the old witch mean by calling in a favour? What favour could a demon owe a blood witch?!

Whatever the favour was, it had the attention of the demon. He actually looked frightened. Lena knew very well that the witches had been hiding something from them. They were well known for keeping secrets. Very few people mixed with the coven in the mountains. When her parents met with them, it was all very secretive and Lena wasn’t allowed to even mention the meetings to anyone in their own coven. Only her parents were allowed to deal with the mountain witches … Was there something more behind all of this that Lena didn’t know?!

“Take the deal or I will call in the favour!” The old witch shouted again and her voice echoed through the silent crossing. The demon seemed to be in incredible pain before he pulled out an old scroll from somewhere behind him.

“Fine! I will take your damn deal!” He hissed. “All the souls at the crossing and your power to declare the deal void.” He hissed again and the hounds disappeared.

“And Lena free from the deal!” The old witch demanded and the demon nodded. “I want you to say it!” The old witch hissed and the demon agreed. The old witch looked at Lena for a moment and nodded. It was the sign that Lena should come down and take the agreement from the demon. Since it would have to be torn up after all the witches were gone, they needed her. She wasn’t part of the blood line and was the only one who could do it safely.

The demon waved his hand through the air and the entire coven of mountain witches disappeared in the blink of an eye. Lena felt their deaths. The demon waved his hand again and Lena screamed as the power was ripped from her. She didn’t even see Alaric, Rebecca and Ben go through the same thing. As soon as she regained her composure, she demanded the agreement from the demon and he gave it to her reluctantly.

Lena tore it up before he could disappear. As soon as he was gone, her legs gave way under her and Alaric rushed to her side. He picked her up and held on tightly as she tried to catch her breath. It was finally over. No hell hounds would be coming after her or her family ever again. She couldn’t even believe that they convinced the demon to agree.

Her mind was still focused on the favour when Alaric picked her up and they made their way home. They were actually going to live in peace. After the war … After blood magic … They were actually going to live in peace. The pack gathered in the dining room and Alaric quickly brought them all up to date, but they knew most of it.

Alaric was just trying to make sense of what happened by running through it all. He told the pack not to relax too much. He still didn’t trust that the demon would stick to his word just like that. He gave the warriors their orders before taking his family to their rooms. It took some time for Lena to finally fall asleep, and Alaric looked at his incredible mate holding onto their boy while she slept.

He thought he was going to lose them. He was close to losing them, and now they were all safe. The blood magic was gone and he knew it was going to be an adjustment for Lena, but he was just so damn happy that they were all finally safe. Now all that remained was the council. He needed to convince them that the blood magic was gone.

He also had to admit that he never found and killed the mountain witches …