“Mom!” Adam yelled, shifting back as he rushed over to her, pushing the broken pieces of wood and debris off of her. “Mom, are you okay? What is that?”
“It’s nothing, baby. You’re okay,” Lyra replied, hugging Adam tightly. “Everything is going to be fine. We’re going to go to Grandpa’s for a bit, okay? So we can clean up here, and make sure everything is fine, alright?”
Adam nodded and turned to see Levi getting to his feet.
“You okay kiddo?”
Adam nodded again, and Levi smiled, walking over to the boy and rustling his hair a bit. Levi noticed how hot he was, and looked to see what had happened to the demon. It had been shoved so hard that it broke through the wall and had become nearly flat. Adam was just a kid, and he was so strong. They quickly rushed out and got into the car, driving back to the other house.
“Are you sure he’s going to be safe there?” Levi asked, speaking under his breath so Adam wouldn’t notice. Lyra heard him perfectly clearly as she drove.
“The basement is sealed off from all sides, and there’s no way any demons can get in there. If we leave him there, he’s going to be safe, we all are. But I don’t want to just besafe,” said Lyra.
“Yeah,” Levi replied, knowing she was right. Something had to be done. He pulled out his phone and started to text Val. Realizing how she would react to the fact that he was driving around with Lyra, he changed his mind and called Adebayo. “Round up the pack.”
“Did something happen?” he asked in a hushed tone.
“Yeah, just round them up and make sure everyone is safe. These demons are getting bolder and stronger, and we can’t lose anyone, not now.”
“We aren’t going to win this fighting on multiple fronts. If these things are attacking us in our homes now, we have to put up a united front,” said Lyra.
“Well, I was going to say that we need to bring peace to the dragons and werewolves, but maybe for our own survival, we need to bring peace to just both of our packs. We work together and make sure we exterminate these threats once and for all,” said Levi.
Lyra nodded. “That’s the only way we can do this. I’ll talk to my father. You’re going to need to find a way to make it work with your people. It’s now or never, because we are the only thing standing between these demons and humans.”
“Fair point,” Levi replied, as the car pulled up to the werewolf residence. “Get going, kid. Your mom and I want to talk for a bit.”
Adam nodded and got out of the car, hurrying into the house. Levi turned to her. “Can I tell him I’m his father, at the end of all of this?”
“I’ll think about it,” Lyra replied. “Right now, we need to focus on keeping him safe. That’s all that matters to me.”
Chapter 12 - Levi
Levi felt awkward talking to Orson, but he knew it was no social call and they had bigger problems than their personal feelings to deal with. Orson was a smart man. He knew not to allow his sentiments to get in the way. When Levi looked at him, he saw a lot of Lyra and even Adam. It was a blessing, really.
Orson had called for him the day before, but he couldn’t make it on time. He knew he had to honor the invite, not just because the man was Lyra’s father. They may have their differences, but Orson was highly revered.
“I think we have to come to an agreement,” Orson said in his living room, a book on his lap.
Under different circumstances, Levi would have joked about the fact that he was readingTwilight.
“We’ll make a pact. The werewolves—and I speak on behalf of the pack—are ready to fight. Demons don’t have any place in this world, and as long as we continue to allow their reign of terror, they will continue to attack both my kind and yours. It’s all hands on deck, and we are ready to fight if you, on behalf of the dragons, are as well.”
“I agree we have a common enemy.”
“Then you’re smarter than you look.”
Levi took that as a compliment. “Say the dragons are ready to fight with you, what’s the plan? How do we know we won’t be walking to our deaths?”
“Because your deaths would come to you eventually if you don’t fight to rid yourselves of demons. The longer they stay, the stronger they become.”
Levi already knew this. “You have my word then…and the dragons to fight side by side with.”
That evening, Levi returned to the mansion with the other dragons. They had limited time to plan the course of action for their fight. It was probably the first time in a long history that both dragons and werewolves would be together and there was no plan of bloodshed. As much as it was for a good purpose, it still felt pretty strange.
“Welcome to my humble home,” Orson said—but there was nothing humble about the mansion.
They all gathered in the living room, like a cult group. Levi and Lyra sat opposite each other and couldn’t keep their eyes off each other, much to the annoyance of Val who noticed almost immediately. As they couldn’t take their eyes off each other, Val couldn’t take hers off them, and thought that maybe, just maybe, the meeting would not be as free of bloodshed as it was supposed to be.