Chapter 6 The Aftermath

Cole POV

I know Lyric was upset about not coming, but she's been so sick and out of energy for weeks now. Between carrying the twins and trying to keep up with the kids, she's barely been making it through the day. The last thing she needs is to be running through the forest chasing an unknown threat, no matter how much she wants to help.

As we're running toward where the hunters were spotted, I suddenly skid to a stop. The smell hits me so strongly I almost gag, and Zeus immediately pushes against it, clearly just as disturbed as I am.

"What the hell is that smell?" Dom links, slowing beside me.

"I don't know. We need to find out," I answer, crouching lower as I follow the scent through the trees.

The farther we go, the stronger it becomes. Rot. Blood. Death. It's so overpowering that it clings to the back of my throat, making every breath harder than the last. Even the forest feels unnaturally quiet, as if every animal nearby abandoned this area long before we arrived.

We reach a small clearing, and I freeze.

Bodies.

Dozens of them.

They cover almost the entire clearing, scattered in every direction. Some are little more than skeletons wrapped in decaying flesh, while others still look fresh enough that they couldn't have been dead for more than a day. It makes no sense. The sight alone is enough to make my stomach twist.

"What the fuck is this?" Hunter yells through the link.

I take a cautious step forward, intending to get a closer look, but something slams into me before I can reach the first body. My feet slide back across the dirt from the force of it.

"What the..."

I move a few feet to my left and try again.

The same thing happens.

I circle toward the opposite side of the clearing, hoping to find another opening, but I hit the same invisible wall.

"Someone put a barrier around this spot," I say, looking around the edge of the clearing. "We need Tabitha."

I mind-link Jace immediately.

"Jace, I need you to find Tabitha and tell her to do a tracking spell to find me. I need her here now."

"Yes, Alpha."

The five minutes it takes her to arrive feel much longer. We spend the time circling the clearing, searching for another way through the barrier, but every attempt ends exactly the same.

A portal opens behind us.

Tabitha steps out with Toby at her side before immediately covering her nose.

"Oh, my Goddess... what is that smell?" she asks, her voice muffled behind her hand. Then her eyes lift to the clearing, and the color drains from her face. "Where did all of those bodies come from?"

"I don't know," I admit. "The entire area is blocked."

She slowly walks toward the clearing until she reaches the invisible barrier. Carefully, she stretches her hand forward. The moment her palm touches it, faint magic ripples through the air like sunlight reflecting across water.

She closes her eyes and begins chanting quietly under her breath.

A few seconds later, her hand slips straight through.

"I've opened it."

The moment I see her hand pass through, I move past her and into the clearing. Hunter and Dom aren't far behind.

As I get closer, the details become clearer, and they only raise more questions.

"Wait," Hunter says, kneeling beside one of the bodies.

We all stop.

"They aren't all human."

He points toward another body lying several feet away.

"Some of them are wolves."

I scan the clearing again, paying closer attention this time. He's right. A few of them still have partially shifted claws, elongated canines, or patches of fur scattered across their bodies. Whoever fought here wasn't just being hunted by humans.

"Tabitha," I say, turning toward her. "Can you get rid of the smell from the bodies?"

She looks at me, confused.

"Yes... but why?"

"I want to see if there's anything underneath it."

Understanding flashes across her face.

Without another question, she begins another spell. Magic flows through the clearing, and within seconds the overwhelming stench of decay begins to disappear. The air is still heavy with blood, but now other scents begin to emerge.

I close my eyes.

Zeus immediately pushes forward, sharpening every scent around us.

One by one, I separate the ones I recognize.

Hunter.

Dom.

Tabitha.

Toby.

The hunters.

The wolves.

Then...

Two scents stop me.

They're both female.

One is unmistakably a witch.

The other smells like a wolf...

But something about it is different.

It's close enough that Zeus recognizes it as a wolf, yet there's something underneath it that neither of us can identify. It's unfamiliar in a way I've never experienced before.

"They were hunting someone through here," I say, opening my eyes. "Two women."

Everyone turns toward me.

"Whoever they were chasing decided to stop running... and fight back."

My eyes travel across the clearing again.

The bodies still don't make sense.

The blood is fresh. The battle couldn't have happened long ago. Yet some of these bodies look like they've been dead for weeks, while others look like they died only hours ago.

"Something's off with their deaths," I say quietly. "All of them died today, but it doesn't look that way. What kind of gift can do something like this?"

Nobody answers.

The silence is deafening because none of us has ever seen anything like it before.

"We need to find whoever they were chasing," I finally say. "They've proven they can defend themselves, but they're still in danger. As long as they're inside my kingdom, they'll have my protection."

I look between Hunter and Dom.

"I want female tracking teams put together immediately. Spread them out from this clearing and search every direction."

"On it," Hunter answers.

"Make sure they remain cautious," I add. "Whoever these women are, their gifts are completely unknown. Don't underestimate them."

Both of them nod before heading off to organize the search.

Zeus is already pushing to leave.

For the last several minutes, I've been feeling a wave of sadness pouring through the mate bond. It started around the time we reached the clearing, and it hasn't let up since.

Something's wrong with Lyric.

Without another word, I shift back into Zeus and take off toward the palace, weaving through the trees as fast as my legs will carry me.

The trees blur together as Zeus pushes harder, eating up the distance between the clearing and the palace. The sadness pouring through the bond hasn't eased once. If anything, it's only gotten stronger, making my chest feel heavier with every passing second.

The guards throw the gates open the moment they see Zeus racing toward them. I don't slow down. I shift back before I even reach the palace steps, ignoring the sting that comes with it as I hurry inside.

"Alpha?" one of the guards calls after me.

I don't answer.

I take the stairs two at a time before making my way straight to our bedroom. The room is empty.

My heart sinks.

I check the sitting room next.

Nothing.

Then I hear soft giggling drifting down the hallway.

The nursery.

I push the door open and immediately find Lyric sitting in one of the rocking chairs with Ellie asleep against her chest while Zach and Adonis happily play together on the floor.

The tightness in my chest eases the second I see her.

"Hey, love." I walk over, crouching beside her chair. "You okay?"

She looks up at me, her eyes already shining with tears.

"I'm happy you didn't die," she whispers.

My brows pull together.

"What?"

"I'm happy he didn't kill you."

The first tear slides down her cheek before another quickly follows.

I carefully lift Ellie from her arms, making sure not to wake her, and gently settle her on the blanket beside her brothers. Once I know she's comfortable, I pull Lyric into my lap, wrapping both arms around her.

"What's wrong, baby?" I ask softly, brushing a few curls away from her face.

Before she can answer, the nursery door flies open.

Kairo rushes inside, breathing harder than usual as his eyes immediately search the room until they land on Lyric.

He drops to his knees in front of us.

"What's wrong, baby?" he asks, worry written all over his face.

For a second, Lyric just stares between us.

Then she bursts into laughter.

Not a quiet laugh.

A full, uncontrollable laugh.

She bends forward, laughing so hard she has to wipe tears from the corners of her eyes before a snort escapes her.

Kairo slowly looks over at me.

Completely confused.

I simply shrug.

I have no idea what just happened.

"You two are so dramatic," Lyric says between laughs. "Kairo came running through a portal, and Cole practically sprinted through the entire kingdom."

She shakes her head, still laughing.

"I'm sure if one of you could've flown here, you would've."

Her laughter slowly begins to settle as she wipes at her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Oh... thank you, mates," she says with a smile. "I needed that."

The smile doesn't last.

It slowly fades until the sadness returns to her eyes.

I gently rub circles across her back.

"So..." I say quietly. "Do you want to tell us what happened?"

She nods, staring down at her hands for a long moment before finally speaking.

"Winter told me she misses Mason."

Her voice is barely above a whisper.

"She said she hasn't brought him up because of what happened. She didn't want me feeling guilty every time she talked about him, so she's been keeping everything to herself."

I feel Kairo tense beside us.

"She said she hates that she can't even talk to me about how much she misses her own brother."

Lyric pauses, swallowing hard before letting out a slow breath.

"Then she asked me to call Selene. She wanted me to ask her to bring Mason."

Neither Kairo nor I interrupt. We simply let her talk, giving her the space she needs to get the words out.

"Selene never came... but Mason did."

I pull her a little closer, rubbing my hand up and down her back. "What happened?" I ask gently.

"Winter... she was angry." Lyric's fingers tighten around mine as fresh tears spill over. "She said it wasn't fair. That it wasn't fair you got to live and he didn't. She said the Moon Goddess should've saved both of you." She hesitates, her voice catching in her throat before she forces herself to continue. "It was almost like... like she thought it should've been you instead."

She immediately shakes her head. "Not because she hates you. I know she doesn't. She was just hurting, and I know she didn't mean it the way it sounded, but..." Her voice breaks, and she buries her face against my chest.

I wipe the tears from her cheeks before tipping her chin up so she's looking at me.

"Baby, she lost her brother," I say quietly. "You and I both know Winter didn't mean those words the way they came out. Grief doesn't always make sense, and it doesn't always sound fair."

I glance over at Kairo before looking back at Lyric.

"If blaming me for surviving helps her get through losing Mason, then that's okay. I can live with that. She has every right to grieve him however she needs to, and I'm not going to hold that against her."

Hunter's voice suddenly echoes through the link.

"Alpha... we found one of the women."

Relief lasts all of half a second.

"Is she alright?" I ask.

The silence on the other end makes my stomach drop.

"I... don't know what she is."