Chapter 189

Helens POV

The week before the full moon was jam-packed with activities. After we’d found the key of Solomon, I thought the two weeks leading up to the full moon were going to take forever. I wanted to act so badly.

I had made arrangements with Freya for the spine, and I saw Justin when I could. But for the first time, I realized a flaw in Justin’s plan. Or maybe not so much a flaw because he’s been pretty upfront with me about the fact that he wanted me to do the research and then to sit back and let him in the warriors handle things.

What I didn’t internalize when he said that was that once I had done the research, my job was pretty much over. And all I was left to do was worry.

At first, I tried sitting in on the meetings that he and Randy had with the warriors. No one stopped me, and I got a little thrill from being what I felt was an active part of this until I realized that the strategy was beyond anything that I was capable of working on.

Randy and Justin were setting up a perimeter of warriors so that any of the Huntsman’s men left following the Huntsman’s orders could be rounded up and taken care of expediently after we confirmed that the ritual worked and the Huntsman was dead.

I couldn’t really have any place in that planning. While it wasn’t active fighting like Justin wanted me to stay away from, I had no experience in battle tactics. Meaning I really had nothing to contribute to the conversation, and after the second meeting, I quit going.

Instead, I fell back on my friends. Julianne was feeling nearly as lonely as I was because Peter was going out with the warriors, too. In the evenings, she would not stay at my house anymore because she needed to be home with her mate. But as soon as he went off to work with Justin for the day, she was back at my place.

I would have happily included Lisa in this as well, but Lisa had to be part of the planning. She and Russo, and Freya were working on the magical elements of everything that we were going to be doing. They were securing the ingredients and figuring out and practicing the rite so that it would go off flawlessly. Because we definitely couldn’t afford a mistake that would give this demon any greater powers than he already had.

Today, they were out scouting a location to do the actual ritual. It had to meet a very certain set of criteria, which, as a witch, Lisa was prepared to find. And Russo went along to help.

The only thing positive that I had to say about being left out of that dynamic was that at least it seemed like Russo and Lisa might be more than just friends. I hadn’t had a chance to confirm this with either of them yet. They’d been too busy. So, once again, I was left to sit at home and cross my fingers and hope that my research and diligence had paid off.

Julianne patted me on the shoulder. “Why don’t we watch some TV or something?”

I shook my head. “No. I need to do something. I’ve only completed two of three tasks that Justin gave me before all of this got started. I might as well work on the other one. And I think you might be a good one to help me with it.”

She let out a huge sigh. “I could definitely use a task. What is it that we’re doing?”

“Well, it’s actually the second half of one of the tasks that I have already started on. Justin asked me to find the Key of Solomon and figure out how we were going to take down the Huntsman. And you were such a great help with that.”

Julianna shook her head. “I don’t feel like I helped at all. You guys took off and went back to Juden’s library and found the most important parts on your own.”

I grabbed her hands. “That’s not true at all. You helped me here. You helped me get set up in this house and to be productive, and you helped in the library here at home.”

She smiled at me. “That’s sweet of you. What can I do to help you this time?”

I let go of her hands and went over to sit on the couch. “I didn’t introduce Lisa to Russo just so that she could help us take down the Huntsman,” I admitted. “I actually went looking for someone compatible with his DNA. Remember how we discovered those files on genetic compatibility?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I thought if we found a nice witch for him, that he could have fae offspring, and then he wouldn’t be the last of his kind anymore. Maybe he won’t be so lonely. He’s done so much to help Justin and me. The least I could do was start repairing the damage that was done in his life too.”

Her smile was sweet and even broader. “That’s so like you, thinking of everyone else. It’s good that Russo’s got a friend like you. So then, what’s the second part? It’s not like you can help them have kids.”

I laughed. “No. That’s up to Russo and Lisa. But he’s not the only one who has been alone the whole time and been stuck working for us.”

She covered her mouth, eyes wide. “You want to find Randy a mate!” she yelped.

I blushed. “Yes, I do.”

Julianne clasped my hands and let out a squeal of delight. “That is the best project ever! I’m so glad you thought to ask me for help.”

“Do you know anyone?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Not a chance. But I do know my way around the online werewolf dating site. I say, without telling him that we set up a profile for Randy, that we get him online and try to find someone for him. You and Justin have expanded the True Mates pack and absorbed two whole packs. If Randy hasn’t found someone at home, he’s probably not going to anytime soon. And we can’t just wait for someone to move into the area.”

“My thoughts exactly,” I agreed.

“I can’t wait. Let’s get on there and get Randy a profile.”

I hurried upstairs to my bedroom and got my laptop, and brought it back down, setting it on the kitchen table. The two of us took seats and opened up the werewolf dating site, clicking to create a new profile.

I searched through my phone, looking for the best pictures that I had of Randy. He was such a sweet man, and while I knew he still probably had feelings for me, those were misguided, and he was definitely ready for love. This was going this was going to work out so nicely.

A huge crash sent glass from the window behind us, spraying across the table and cutting into the back of my skin. Julianne and I screamed, and at the same time, a sting and a prick hit the back of my shoulder. The room around us grew fuzzy, and my head felt like it weighed a million pounds.

I had just enough time to reach over and grab Julianne’s hands before my head hit the table, and blackness took over my consciousness.

The next thing I knew, I woke with a raging headache. I was sitting right next to Julianne on an unfamiliar couch in a small but nicely decorated living room with a view of wide-open fields and the mountains beyond.

“Julianne?” I called her name, but she didn’t respond. She still lay limply on the couch, still knocked out from whatever drugs had been used on us before.

“Nice to see you again, Little Wolf.”

My blood chilled in my veins. I knew that voice.

The Huntsman.

I tried to scramble off the couch and found that both my wrists were bound behind my back, along with both my ankles tied together.

“What do you want?” I spat at him.

“I promised you a while ago that I would find a new way to play with you. You didn’t think I’d forgotten that promise, did you?”

My heart fluttered faintly as if trying to escape from behind my ribs. “No,” I answered through cold lips.