The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 147

HARPER

I saw red the moment Rido was on the battlefield. How did Winslow get him here? They had to have invaded the pack house to get him, and my muscles tightened at the thought. Almost everyone left at the pack house was young and defenseless. If Winslow wanted to, he could have slaughtered everyone there. They were too innocent, and the thought of coming home to a slaughtered pack made me sick.

I prayed to the Moon Goddess that even Winslow wasn't that cruel. I prayed he only took Rido and left the others untouched. Taking Rido was bad enough, and there was no way to check on the others in the heat of battle. Even if there was, there was nothing I could do for them now. "How did you get him?" Caulder demanded. He was fuming with every word.

I wanted to lunge and tear Winslow's head off for ever touching a child, but Rido was too close to him, and I knew Winslow wouldn't hesitate to slit his throat if we made the wrong move.

The fighting ensued on the battlefield, but time seemed to slow in a bubble around us, buying us time to deal with the situation without being attacked by another enemy. Caulder was glowing with magic, and I knew he was responsible for the time capsule surrounding us. He had practiced slowing down the space around him in preparation for this battle. I had witnessed his attempts, but I had never experienced it myself. The emotions running through him must have made his magic stronger, allowing him to expand the borders of this power.

"It was simple. He came to me when I called him, just as we had agreed upon," Winslow said with a smirk.

I watched Rido, horror filling his face. My chest tightened, and my mind raced. They had warned me to be careful with Rido. Even though he was just a child, there was a chance Draven had trained him to be used as a weapon against us. I didn't want to believe it before. The pain I saw in Rido's eyes was real. I still didn't believe he had betrayed us.

"He said he would kill them if I didn't come with him," Rido shouted, struggling against Winslow's grip.

"Shut up!" Winslow grabbed Rido's hair, making the child let out a whimper.

My body lurched forward, and the only thing stopping me from going after him was Caulder. He lifted his hand up, warning me to stop. His eyes had darkened, and he focused his gaze on Rido. His brain was whizzing as he came up with a plan.

"Who did you threaten to kill?" Caulder asked. He was buying time while he figured out his options.

"What's the plan?" I linked Caulder.

"I don't know yet," he admitted. "But if we attack him straight on, he might kill Rido."

He was right. As angry and frustrated as I was, I had to calculate my next few moves. If I let my instincts take over, I could make the wrong move and get Rido killed.

"I didn't threaten anyone," Winslow said. I could practically see black lies spilling from his mouth. "You just chose to put your trust in the wrong child. Surely that vampire boy, the one Remy thinks is her mate, recognized the scent of this boy. You must know this boy was born from Draven's own bloodline. He will inherit the coven one day. Why would he betray his father?"

Rido's eye twitched, and he stilled in Winslow's arms. This was news to him. He hadn't realized his father had been with him the entire time. This was the biggest mistake Winslow could have made. He was trying to tell us Rido had betrayed us and sold us out while simultaneously using him against us to get what he wanted. It made it extremely obvious that it was all a ploy. Winslow was desperate, and his cunningness was slipping.

"If that's true, then I guess it doesn't matter what happens to him," Caulder said. His voice was cold and uncaring.

I whipped my head towards him in complete disbelief of what he said. Of course it mattered what happened to Rido. Even if he was somehow working for Draven, he was a child.

"Play along," Caulder linked, making a point to keep eye contact with Winslow. I stilled my body, not wanting to mess up the plan Caulder was creating step by step.

"He's lying!" Rido shouted, trying to pull away from Winslow. His voice cracked, and he sounded like he was on the verge of tears. He was breaking at the thought of us thinking he had betrayed us. He had asked to be a part of our family, and I didn't care how good of an actor he was, I refused to believe the past few weeks had been some trick. Draven seemed to love his mind games, and that was all this was.

My heart beat against my chest, and I was glad I was in my werewolf form. It would have been nearly impossible to stop myself from comforting Rido if that wasn't the case. I wanted to tell him that Caulder and I believed him, but it would give away the upper hand Caulder was trying to win.

Winslow studied Caulder's face, looking for something. He pushed Rido forward, so the vampire child was standing in front of him. "He's yours for the kill. Teach him what traitors deserve."

"No! I'm not a traitor," Rido sobbed. "Please believe Harper, Caulder."

His eyes found mine, and my heart shattered. Winslow had turned Rido into a toy in his game. Rido had endured too much as it was, and this was just another reason added to the list of why I wanted my revenge on the man in front of me.

Seconds passed in silence, and I could tell Caulder was trying to figure out how to handle the situation. Winslow smirked, thrilled by the hesitation and the doubt filling Caulder's eyes. But it wasn't real doubt. Caulder was just a good actor. He believed Rido. I knew he did.

Then I saw Winslow's hand twitch. There was a flash in his eyes, and I realized he knew that we knew Rido was on our side. This was all a distraction. We didn't have the upper hand like Caulder thought, and if we didn't act soon, Winslow would win. "Caulder, shift to Rido and get him out of here now. I'll take care of Winslow." Winslow was completely focused on Caulder, and I realized that was how we could get out of this. He thought nothing of me. I was just the girl who stood by trembling as her mate was forced to leave her side. He didn't consider me a real threat, and it would be his downfall. I would be his downfall.

"But-" Caulder tried to protest.

"Trust me. Go now!" I repeated. Trusting Caulder would listen to me, I sprang forward, acting like I was going for Rido.

Caulder swooped in and shifted Rido out of the way of danger, and they were nowhere to be seen. With Caulder out of the vicinity, time resumed to its normal pace. I landed on the spot where Rido had been standing a split second after the two of them disappeared. I flew through the air again, this time aiming for Winslow's throat.

Winslow did move, slowed either by the bella donna or the surprise attack. It worked to our advantage, and I sank my teeth into Winslow's neck before he could block my attack. My mouth filled with the tang of iron as bit down as hard as I possibly could. Winslow shouted, and then I felt a searing heat on my side, and the smell of burnt fur filled my nose. The pain didn't sink in right away as the adrenaline pumped through my veins, but I knew I had to stop him before it got any worse.

I shifted into my human form and reached down to my ankle to grab the blade I kept strapped there. My wolf form was best for taking out vampires, but since I knew the field was going to be mixed with sorcerers, I wanted to be as prepared as possible for a situation like this. I lifted the blade up and drove it into Winslow's chest.

"That's for what you did to Caulder," I snarled after the blade entered his body.

Winslow shook under my grasp, trying to sputter words, but blood filled his throat, making him unable to speak. The knowledge of utter defeat filled his eyes. I twisted the blade for good measure, and I didn't get up until I saw the life flee from Winslow's eyes. After all of this time, he was dead. He paid for the pain he caused my mate with his life, and I didn't feel a drop of remorse for the blood that covered my hands.

-

CAULDER

I shifted Rido to the medical tent, knowing this was the safest place for him to be at the moment.

"I didn't do it," Rido cried, clinging to my leg.

I felt horrible for making him think we didn't believe him. I knew the instant Winslow spoke that he was just spewing lies. I could see the truth in Rido's innocent eyes and didn't doubt him for a split second.

I knelt down and grabbed Rido's shoulders. "I know. I believe you."

Rido sniffled and wiped his face. "You do?"

I smiled and nodded for good measure. "Of course. You're family after all. I'm sorry I made you think otherwise. I was trying to trick Winslow. I didn't want to hurt you, but I didn't know what else to do."

Rido burst into tears again, throwing his arms around my neck. I patted his back trying to comfort him as much as possible, but it was hard as I heard the sounds of fighting filling the air around us. Sooner than I wanted to, I pulled back and looked him in the eyes again.

"I need to go help Harper. I need you to stay here where you'll be safe. I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?" I wanted to ask him about my pack and what happened to allow Winslow to get him, but I didn't have time for that. We could figure that out once this battle was over and everyone was safe.

Rido nodded. I could tell he was hesitant and scared, but he seemed to realize the importance of me leaving. I didn't want to leave Harper with Winslow for longer than I absolutely had to. "Make sure she's okay."

I quickly shifted back onto the battlefield to where Harper had been. I smelled her blood instantly, and when I didn't see her right away, Muddy roared deep within me. I looked around, trying not to panic, but I didn't see Harper anywhere. I did see Winslow lying on the ground, and I rushed to him. There was a dagger sticking out of his chest, and I recognized the design on the handle as the weapon I had given Harper before all of this happened.

Winslow was dead, and I knew Harper had killed him, but I didn't see her anywhere. She should've still been here. Her scent was fresh, and I knew the blood on Winslow's hands belonged to her. She was hurt, but she wasn't here, and I had no idea where she would have gone. I was only gone for a few minutes.

"Are you okay?" I tried to link. I waited for her response, scanning the battlefield in a desperate attempt to find my mate.