Chapter 203

Helen’s POV

“I’m going back to check the other rooms,” I said.

I went up and down the hallway three more times. On those trips, I found one more room that had nothing but several bodies, and then I rescued two more male werewolves and one more female. None of them looked lucid enough to share their experiences with us.

Though, after seeing them in that state, I honestly didn’t care whether they had been fooled into working with the Huntsman or whether they had consciously made the decision. It was clear he didn’t care even for his own companions or those serving him. And no matter what the Huntsman had said to gain the trust of these werewolves, I was sure it didn’t involve the truth because there was no way that anyone would have gotten willingly involved with a demon, was there?

I shuddered at this mixed feeling of compassion. Perhaps I should let Justin deal with these people that we found. They could be given a trial if necessary, and we could find out whether or not they willingly helped create the misery that caught them up and nearly destroyed them.

As for being punished, I personally felt that perhaps they’d been punished enough. But I wasn’t the only one involved in this mess. Somebody like Russo, who had had their entire species taken away from them, might feel differently, and I shouldn’t negate their voices. They had a right to have their feelings heard.

And if additional jail time was necessary, seeing justice played out for those who had willingly served the Huntsman, the one thing I know for certain was that even if they faced trial and punishment at our hands, they would never be in a state like they are now.

“Julianne,” I said, calling her over to me. “We can’t help this many people on our own. There’s no way. I want you to stay with them while I go out and see if I can find Randy or Justin and some of the—”

“No need to bother,” Freya interrupted me.

I glanced over at her, curious.

“I have that earpiece with Justin,” she explained. “I’ve already told him we found survivors. When he and the warriors are done cleaning up the last of the Huntsman’s henchman, they’re going to come help evacuate the people that we found here. Justin said not to go anywhere. He wants to see you as soon as he arrives.”

“How long is that going to be?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I have no idea. I don’t know how many people they’ve got working out there. He’s not giving me moment-by-moment updates.”

She fluttered over and landed on my head. “Can I make a suggestion?”

I nodded.

“As I told you before, Justin saw the video of you being put under the spell of the Huntsman. He knows that anything that the Huntsman did to you over the last few days wasn’t a conscious decision that you made. However, even sitting on your shoulder, I can smell the Huntsman’s scent all over you. The last thing that happened before he burst into flames was the two of you having sex. Do you really want to greet your mate smelling like sex with another man? Especially his mortal enemy?”

A new sort of sick settled in my stomach. “No, I don’t.”

She wiggled in my hair. “There’s a bathroom with a shower at the other end of the hall.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“Because it’s labeled pool locker room. I assume a pool locker room has showers. And even if you use the hand soap from the sinks, at least you won’t smell like the Huntsman. At least not quite so strongly. I don’t know how much a lycan’s nose can perceive.”

“More than he’s gonna want to,” I said. “But still, it’ll be better than nothing.”

Not wanting to miss Justin when he arrived, I hurried down the hall that Freya had indicated. Even if I wasn’t doing it for Justin’s sake, the shower felt good for my own sake.

As my memories of the past five days came back to me, I knew I hadn’t once taken a shower after the two of us had sex. I was too worried about making sure that I didn’t wash away anything that would get me pregnant. And every time I thought of that, I nearly lost the few lunches that I’d eaten.

The whole time I’d been with the Huntsman, I hadn’t eaten, nor had I slept well. And I hadn’t bathed properly. All in the hopes that the Huntsman would come back and see me.

I would have to ask Russo about witches’ and wizards’ abilities because I wanted to make sure that no other witch or wizard had the ability to control people’s minds like that. Another horrible thought occurred to me. Lisa had never mentioned that witches were capable of that kind of control, but I knew from what we had read in Solomon’s Key that one of the things people sought from demons were abilities outside the realm of the usual.

I wondered then if maybe the Huntsman hadn’t given or helped Martin find those illicit skills that he was using. Somehow that wouldn’t surprise me. I didn’t know if demons could actually use such magic on their own or if a half-demon was still capable of that as well. But it seemed like the sort of knowledge that he could drag out of hell and pass around to those he had doing his bidding.

Regardless of how Martin had come across the mind control information, I really hoped that he hadn’t found a way to give it to anybody else or hadn’t given it to anyone else before. Mind control needed to die with him when we found him.

Justin’s POV

All around me, the sounds of fighting echoed through the forest. Though, it was better than it had been for a while. The exodus from the Huntsman’s compound had started slowly. But news of his demise must have traveled fast because, within a few minutes of hearing from Freya that the Huntsman had gone up in flames, his cohorts came flooding out of the neighborhood like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

Thankfully, all of my men were waiting. We cut them down without mercy because when had the Huntsman ever shown mercy to anyone he had encountered? Whoever he had working for him didn’t deserve something that they wouldn’t have shared with anyone else.

Most of the fleeing people were human and were absolutely no match for my enraged werewolf warriors. Maybe I should have felt bad since they were so helplessly outmatched. But then thoughts of what the Huntsman had done to my kind and to my mate would flicker through my mind, and it was all I could do to keep from shredding them even after they went down.

Slowly the sounds of combat started to die down. I took my phone out of my pocket and used it to dial Randy. He was reliable enough that unless he was actively engaged with somebody, he would answer. Sure enough, on the third ring, Randy picked up, sounding slightly out of breath but otherwise in control.

“Where are we at with things?” I asked him.

“Not much left to do on my side. How about yours?”

“Same here,” I said. “I don’t have anyone alive left where I can see them.”

“Me neither.”

“Did you happen to get to the wizard?” I asked. I had given Randy directions to where he was running after Freya filled me in. Thank goodness she gave me that little magical earpiece. Otherwise, we would have been flying blind. I just hoped it had been enough.