Chapter 136

Hannah

I looked over at Wrenley who lay in the arms of Sebastian. She was completely oblivious to everything going on, which was exactly how I liked it. I met Sebastian’s eyes, and he mirrored the same concerned look back at me. We both looked back at Gemma who stared down at her feet, awkwardly. I could tell this was taking a lot out of her to tell us the truth; this has been something she’s been hiding. Because she knew if we knew the truth, we would open the portal.

“What do you mean that Wrenley is the key to opening both sides of the portal?” I finally asked after a long pause.

Gemma finally rose her gaze to meet my eyes.

“I never wanted to reveal this information. Nobody else knows the truth except for me…” Gemma breathed; her shoulders were slumping, and she looked defeated.

“You need to tell us everything you know,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “Is Wrenley in danger?”

“Not unless they know the truth,” Gemma answered. “She’ll be safe just as long as you never reveal this to anyone.”

“Reveal what? That she’s a key?” I said in a low tone.

Gemma nodded and motioned for us to follow her. I gave Sebastian another wary look before heading into the living room behind Gemma.

Gemma turned to us and narrowed her eyes; I could see the fear and worry on her face. I wanted to calm her down, but I was so worried that I wasn’t sure what to say to her. I just wanted to know the answers and I wanted to know them now.

“What’s going on?” Sebastian asked for us both.

“Sebastian’s wolf is the key to unlocking the portal from the inside and Hannah’s wolf is the key to unlocking the portal from the outside,” she answered. “However, the product of you both can unlock both sides of the portal at the same time. Which is Wrenley…”

“She’s only an infant,” I said firmly. “She doesn’t even have a wolf yet.”

“She’s still a werewolf being even if she doesn’t have a wolf…”

“How could she unlock the portal?” I asked. “If she doesn’t have a wolf, how is it possible.”

“To unlock the portal from the inside, Sebastian needs to channel his anger. Or in other words, his fiery passion. To unlock the portal on the outside, Hannah needs to channel her love. I’m assuming the way Wrenley unlocks the portal is by a combination of the two. Love and anger coexist and create sadness.”

“You want us to make our daughter sad?” I asked with disbelief. I looked over at Sebastian who was staring down at Wrenley with a frown.

“A tear…” he said slowly before gazing back over at me. “It’s a tear. If we want to open the portal, we need a teardrop from her.”

“I refuse to make her cry for our benefit…” I said, still disbelieving that they were thinking such a thing.

“She’s a baby; it’ll come naturally eventually,” Sebastian reminded me. He was right; eventually, she would cry on her own, and then we would be able to unlock the portal. But I still wasn’t sure I wanted to involve my daughter.

I saw the worried look on Gemma’s face and I knew she was second-guessing telling us this information. She really didn’t want that portal open because she knew what would happen as soon as it was. The vampires and other creatures of the night would roam our land free. It might be impossible to put them back without the help of the moon goddess. We couldn’t just open the portal without a plan.

“So, how do we open the portal without unleashing all things darkness?” I asked, staring between the two of them.

They both looked uncertain as they thought about it.

“That I’m not sure…” Gemma said. “The moon goddess didn’t tell me.”

“Well, we need to figure it out before we do anything. We can’t open the portal and allow the vampires to escape,” I said, looking over at Sebastian who nodded in agreement.

Before any of us could say anything more, Arnold came into the room with Adira and a couple of other gammas trailing behind him. Adira glared at me as soon as she walked into the room. I already got a chilling vibe from her, even when I didn’t have my wolf. I felt defenseless and powerless without Nora; I couldn’t even imagine how Sebastian must be feeling. He’s the most powerful and fiercest wolf king; he must have felt so empty and maybe even weak.

“The gammas and alphas are getting ready in the arena. Will you be joining us?” Arnold asked Sebastian.

Sebastian glanced at me before answering his beta.

“I’ll need you to handle it today,” Sebastian ordered. “There are some things we need to take care of.”

I knew Sebastian didn’t want to alert Arnold, or anybody for that matter, of what was going on. Word travels around the kingdom fast and we didn’t want there to be a frenzy.

“Yeah, of course, Alpha,” Arnold said with a head nod. “Is everything okay? Need any help with anything.”

“I just need your help with the training,” Sebastian answered.

“Will do,” Arnold said before leaving the room.

Most of the gammas followed him, but one stayed. Adira.

She was frowning at Sebastian who didn’t seem to notice her at first, but then he felt her eyes on him and he glanced at her.

“You aren’t coming to training, Alpha?” She asked with a sad frown. I wanted to rip her hair out of her head. I didn’t like the way she was looking at my husband. But I knew I was completely defenseless without my wolf.

“I’m afraid I have some business to take care of. Family stuff,” Sebastian told her, keeping his tone even.

“You can’t stop by even for a moment?” She asked, batting her long lashes at him. She began swaying her hips from side to side and giving him a loving gaze. “I wanted to show you my new moves.”

“I’m busy this evening,” Sebastian told her, glancing over at me and then back at her. He could feel my discomfort. “But I’m sure Arnold would be glad to see your efforts.”

She looked frustrated by his rejection, and she spun around to look at me. I knew she wanted to say something rude, but she wouldn’t dare with Sebastian so close to us. She bit her tongue and left the room.

“I really don’t like her,” I muttered, walking toward Sebastian and Wren.

“You don’t have to like her,” Sebastian said, eyeing me carefully. “But she is a good fighter, and we could use her on our side.”

I rolled my eyes and peered up at him.

“Just don’t let her get all over you,” I said.

This made him smile; he leaned down and pressed his lips gently against mine. Even without a wolf, I still felt a pull toward him; he still smelled so good.

“You’re the only one I want all over me,” he said in a low murmur against my lips.

“I found something!” We were interrupted by Gemma who sat across the room; I almost forgot she was there.

She was reading a book she grabbed off the bookshelf and I realized that it was a book of spells. Gemma was a good friend of Sebastian’s family; so, it didn’t surprise me that they had a spell book somewhere in this palace.

“What is it?” I asked, approaching her.

“It’s a moon goddess ritual,” she answered. “This ritual keeps the darkness away from our lands. If we perform this ritual while we open the portal…”

“We can keep the darkness away,” I finished for her looking over at Sebastian. “Maybe that’s how we keep the vampires from escaping.”