He whispered something so softly in her ear that I couldn’t make it out, but her eyes widened, and she was suddenly gasping for another reason.
What do you think he said? I asked Dastien.
Don’t know. I couldn’t hear him.
Weird. “Let’s get this over with. Where are we doing it?”
“The Quad,” Mr. Dawson said. “It’s got the most room.”
“Plus, it’s where Astaroth came through before. It’ll be a weak point,” Claudia said.
“And when he comes through again?” I asked.
“We’ll be ready,” Lucas said.
Would we? “Are you going to fight him?” I asked Eli.
“I’ll be busy sealing the bond,” he said.
“And we’ll be busy with the spell,” I said. “Then who’s going to be fighting Astaroth?” I thought the other Alphas were going to come, but campus seemed pretty empty when we got here.
“They are,” Blaze said as he pointed to the window. “Right on time.”
I moved around the tables, careful not to bump into any stools, and stared down. In the distance, car doors were slamming. A stream of werewolves started to pour into the quad, a few of them undressing as they moved into view. I spotted the Alphas from yesterday, thankful that they weren’t so upset that they wouldn’t show up tonight. The rest were all in black.
Cazadores.
Wow. I didn’t know there were so many of them. There had to be hundreds. Way more than had left yesterday. “Where did they come from?”
“Everywhere. We’re werewolves. When the call goes out for help, we don’t say no,” Mr. Dawson said. He looked fierce as he stepped closer, looking down at the gathering crowd. “That’s our way. That’s why we’ve protected humans for so long and will continue to do so. It’s in our blood and it’s part of being an Alpha. There might not be a Seven anymore, but I’ll always be an Alpha. And I’ll always be there if help is needed.”
I pressed my forehead against the cool glass, watching them for a second, before glancing at Mr. Dawson.
“Thank you.” He wasn’t fey, so I could say it. “I really appreciate that.”
He gave me a nod. “I’ll be outside with the other Alphas.”
When he was gone, I looked to Claudia. “What do we need to take down to the quad?”
She started handing everyone things, and we hustled down there.
As I carried a stack of candles, my stomach was in knots.
Doing this spell on the land where Astaroth appeared just twenty-four hours earlier was going to be like drop kicking a hornet’s nest.
It was a terrible idea, and it was the only idea.
We’d better nail it or we were going to lose everything.
Twen
ty-Four
The crowd of Cazadores made room as we entered the quad. We had to form a circle with me as the center. I’d be the focal point. The one that tied it all together. I didn’t want it to be that way. I wished I could’ve pawned it off on someone else, but there was no one that could take my place. No one else that straddled three species like I did. If I’d had a touch of fey in my bloodline, that would’ve been even more of a help, but as far as I knew—I was just human, witch, and Were. As I stood in the center, setting up a mini-altar while everyone else took their places in the circle. I hoped it was enough.
There was no plan B. If the spell didn’t work, I was opening a portal with no real way to close it.
So, we were going to make it work.