Filed to story: Owned by the Alphas Novel
“Again, Kai. I have a mate. No need to make irrational threats,” Cain smirked then stepped back from us.
“Any sign of the witches?” Beenie asked.
Derik shook his head. “None. So we are here for something else.”
He nodded to the cupboard that blended into the wall like at Mom’s house.
Cain grinned then shook his head and turned to the fireplace. It wasn’t going.
He lifted the grate on the bottom.
“They find one, they find them all if they are in the same place,” he smirked and nodded down. Another tunnel.
I grimaced and went over to it but my heart rate picked up.
The scent of the twins hit me.
I grinned.
“Can I?”
Cain nodded. “I have this hut protected from being scented.”
I didn’t ask anything else, just climbed down the rope ladder that led down into a tunnel.
It was dirt and roots rather than stone and rock, so it wasn’t as stable as the previous tunnel I had just escaped from, but I didn’t care.
I could feel the kids.
And that was all I cared about. And that the witches didn’t know they were there.
Which they wouldn’t as long as we only went through Cain’s hut. At least that is what Brax said in the link after talking to Mom.
My Alphas followed, and Cain put the grate back.
My Alphas barely fit in the tunnel; they were so big.
I followed the scent of the kids down two short tunnels before rounding a corner into a mind-blowing system of tunnels.
It was a hub of vibrant energy, a communal area underground that was reinforced by wooden beams.
There were stones holding up the walls, flame torches lighting up the area. Small carpets, cushions, small sofas with books and chess tables.
Tunnels moved off the main area in so many directions with wooden signage posted at each one.
Sections 1-10. Barn. Nursery. Infirmary. Kitchen. Bathrooms. Crops. Livestock.
I headed toward the nursery, but my stomach pulled me in a different direction. In all directions. I frowned and looked at each tunnel, not sure where to go.
Anetta came over then. She was smiling. And pregnant.
I grinned, “Congratulations,” I said.
She smiled, glowing. She looked so much healthier. And happier.
“Thanks. We’re excited. I suppose you are looking for the twins and Alaric?” She asked, already leading me that way, a basket of crops in her arm.
I nodded.
“How are they?”
“So content. They don’t cry much and anything they want, they use shadows to get. The others are a little intimidated by it. Miss Enzi has been feeding Alaric every time he cries which has made us all a little redundant other than the changing of course.”
I followed her down the crops tunnel with my Alphas.
“They aren’t in the nursery?” I frowned.
She smirked, “If you saw a sign saying nursery and were looking for babies, where would you go?”
I grinned, “True. So none of them are correct?”
“Oh they are. Except that one. That tunnel is a trap that leads to the vampire territory where Evelyn and her warriors await the poor soul who attempts to go there without an invitation,” Anetta shivered.
Evelyn had that effect on people.
Good, I hoped they got a witch or two to fuck up. I was certainly going to try my best to do the same thing.
After I checked on my kids.
Anetta led us down a tunnel that had a few archway doors. She pushed the first one open and there on a carpet with all their favorite toys was my twins and Alaric.
Tears filled my eyes and I rushed in.
I brought Alaric to my arms and held him tight as my shadows doused the twins in affection. I filled them with how much I had missed them, how much I loved them.
When I had thought the witches truly had them, I had been sure my heart had broken.
It had given me the power to get out of the cage and I was damn sure it had come from them.
My Alphas sunk to the floor, taking their turns with the kids as we spent the next few hours pretending we were safe.
And we were as safe as we could be.
All of us knew the real war was coming, that the witches were not going to leave us all. I knew I was going to be tested more than I ever had. By magic, my shadows, and my hybrid body.
But getting these few special moments with the kids made me sure it would be worth it. Or at least reminded why we couldn’t give up. No matter what.
We stayed with the kids until nightfall. Their room had been boarded with wood to make the walls, with a large crib that all three of them slept in.
I bathed them with Brax, Derik cleaning Alaric. Then Kai helped me feed them.
We each had to tell a story. Kai had to tell two because Enzi demanded and he couldn’t say no to her.
I smirked and leaned my head on Derik’s shoulder, watching as Kai spoke to the kids over the crib.
I waited until they had fallen asleep before blowing out every candle except one.
Then I looked down at myself.
“I need to bathe,” I sighed, not sure if there was somewhere to get clean. I didn’t trust the signs here anymore.
“We all do. We’ll go find somewhere to wash up,” Derik said, grabbing my hand and leading me back out to the communal area.
There were fewer humans now, most of them heading down the sections. I knew what was down there. I remembered the rooms from when I had been captive. They were the cells.
“They’ve been redone into rooms,” Brax said. I nodded. I still didn’t want to go down there.
“We’re not. I feel the water. This way,” he took over the lead and took us down the bathroom tunnel.
Most of the tunnel was toilets made of holes and wooden boxes around them. They stunk, but the villagers had done well to mask it.
There were flowers and herbs hanging from the doors, and it made it easier to breathe.
I followed Brax to the end hall where there was a bathing room.
Three large square baths took over the room. Each of them was lined with stone, filled with clear water. I recognized the scent from the lake.
“How the hell did they get the lake water in here?” I frowned.
“That was your father’s work. He had the bathrooms down here from when he was building this place.”
“Then I’m glad it’s magic water because ew,” I grimaced.
Kai closed the door and locked it, pushing the wooden slat across.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?