Chapter 350: _He Won’t Know What Hit Him
"Here we are..." Althea mumbled, leading the way as our group walked through a portal leading directly into a territory I hadn’t seen in a long time.
The Luminari coven’s city.
Our little "group" in question consisted of me, Odessa and the high priestess, here immediately after getting the news of Ryker’s attacks in Canada.
I was dressed in a ceremonial crimson suit, my hair falling over my face in soft waves.
Odessa was dressed in a flowy crimson gown, her lush blonde hair made into a chignon. She interlocked her arm with mine as Althea led us through the streets of the city.
The city itself seemed to be doing quite well, bustling with cars and a mixed population of witches and humans going about their daily lives.
Children laughed and paraded their parents for toys under the evening air, but many soon glanced at us with curiosity.
It didn’t take long for the whispers to begin rippling.
"It’s high priestess Althea!" A little girl called out in awe.
"Shhh. Hush Imelda."
"What’s going on? Isn’t that Alpha King Kaelos?"
"And is that... Is that Odessa Pierce?"
Odessa, for once, didn’t pay any attention to their whispers, despite her history with the city. She didn’t even seem all that excited about being in her original homeland again.
Why would she when she was bullied here most of her life?
Althea finally led us to a grand-looking manor with a golden metal star at the top of the building. A fountain stood at the center of the compound and standing in front of the compound gates were a few guards, all witches.
"E–Elder Althea." One of them stuttered, bowing like the rest of them but she merely grunted, her robes sweeping across the floor as she kept on walking.
Odessa and I walked past as well, and just like the first time I stepped foot here to pick a bride, none of them dared raise their heads, keeping their heads lowered until we passed.
Just when we got closer to the entrance of the manor however, a voice boomed from the building. "Well, well, well..."
We paused in our tracks, my eyes squinting when two figures materialised in front of us.
I could recognise those stern wrinkled faces from anywhere.
The coven leaders of the Luminari.
"High priestess Althea. Glad you finally decided to return to your coven." Coven head Arachne deadpanned, not even bothering to glance at me.
Before Althea could speak, I stepped forward, tilting my head. "Oh, I’m right here too, witches. There’s no need to pretend."
Arachne finally dragged her old eyes to me, a small smile curling her lips. "Of course. Greetings, Alpha King. I could smell your presence the second Althea’s portal led you in."
I sucked in a breath, my fists flinching beside me.
This was going to be a long evening...
"I’ll go straight to the point on why we’re here so you ladies can go back to your yoga practice and sage cleansing or whatever." I clasped my hands in front of me, glancing back at Odessa whom they had completely ignored.
A part of me felt like severing their heads from their bodies... But I knew that "part" was nothing but Damon and would only set back our plans for an alliance.
’Hey, I resent that! You know damn well your blood lust is all you this time.’ Damon sneered in my mental space just then.
’Can you blame me when they’re so fucking annoying without trying?’ I scoffed at him before wearing the most solemn expression I could muster with the old witches. "North America is in danger. And we’re here to strike an alliance before going fully into war."
Elder Nimue’s eyes widened slightly but Arachne barely flinched, clearly unimpressed.
"Not the first time North America has been in danger, last I recall." The coven head drawled, definitely poking at a hornet’s nest she had no business playing with. "You have to be more specific."
I smiled sarcastically. "Ryker brought down the most powerful pack in Canada yesterday. And if he hasn’t been clear enough about it, he’s not exactly fond of witches."
I took a few more steps forward until my shadow loomed over them like a cloak. A warning.
"Now I’m not going to force you to do anything. But don’t think for one second that the war that’s about to spill over this continent... Wouldn’t affect your doorsteps as much as everyone else."
The two older women glanced at themselves, their jaws clenching with visible deliberation.
Gosh, they’d better deliberate faster.
"Even if we were to strengthen our alliance further by joining this war against your brother..." Nimue coughed, her eyes narrowing on me. "What help exactly are we going to offer other than collateral damage?"
Arachne added. "We’re talking about a hybrid so powerful that he’s somehow learnt how to tap into the Vein at unprecedented levels without the help of the Vein Born. Not to mention his army of an unknown number of artificial hybrids."
Now this was the part where I’d take a step back and let my wife speak up.
Odessa’s voice echoed through the evening. "The Luminari Coven sits as one of the most powerful covens in all of North America. If you take the lead, other covens will follow and join us in fighting this war."
I glanced at her, beaming with nothing but pride before bringing my eyes back to the witches.
"You’ll not be collateral damage," I said reassuringly. "You have prophecies of a hybrid leading the world out of this war, right? Then let Odessa be that key. Your coven and my wolves may not be enough, but if all covens band together with us..."
I didn’t need to complete that sentence for them to get the message.
Their jaws were clenched, Nimue tapping her ring while Arachne steadied herself on her staff.
From the looks of things, they were sold already.
It didn’t take more than a few more side eyes for them to finally come to an agreement.
"Very well, Alpha King Kaelos and Luna Queen Odessa. We’ll convene a meeting with the council of High covens." Coven head Arachne nodded stiffly.
Nimue coughed. "In the meantime, please feel free to pass the night here."
Odessa and I exchanged a look, nodding without saying anything physically.
Mentally on the other hand—
’The council of high covens is made up of the Elders of the most powerful covens in North America.’ Odessa explained. ’They make and break magical laws. If they agree to help us, we’ve basically gotten the backing of almost every coven on the continent.’
’The witches will be a great counter against the artificial hybrids. Ryker won’t know what hit him.’ I gave the equivalent of a mental grin.
Odessa’s mental voice suddenly became a promise. ’Oh, he will soon enough...’