Chapter 523: Plans
August sighed as she and Nedra walked over to where the males were standing all cleaned up and dressed. Graeme could feel her coming, and she saw his chest release a long, heavy breath as well.
There was comfort knowing this Chapter was done. All she wanted to do was feel his body next to hers, feel his warmth against hers, feel the completion that snapped back into place once they were next to each other.
Graeme was still speaking with Zagan, but he opened his arm to receive her when she approached. It was the side that wasn’t injured where she nestled into him. He winced at the movement, but then his whole being immediately relaxed. August’s touch always had that effect.
"Can we go home?" She asked softly, not wishing to interrupt the three of them. But she was exhausted. She was tired of this island. Now that they were done, she wanted to leave it and never come back. And she desperately needed to rest. Her eyes felt heavy as if she could barely keep them open.
"Are you feeling sick again?" He shifted his focus from Zagan and Seth to scan his mate. With his arm around her, he could sense her better.
What he had witnessed from her in the council chambers and here at the island surpassed everything he had imagined her being capable of. August was spectacular. She was fearless and powerful and loving and forgiving. She gave of herself and of her abilities in such a selfless, hopeful way.
And she did it all without him—finding herself and the fullness of her truth without needing him by her side. Others respected her and looked up to her. She was adored not only by their pack but also by everyone on this island—Zagan and Penelope included.
But now she needed him. Her energy had waned, and she needed her mate. She had shrunk herself down from the fae goddess who was capable of guiding others in magical rites of creation to the female who wished to be comforted. She reminded him of a pup hoping to burrow into him and hide, and he loved it.
"You are tired," he mumbled into her hair. He felt her release a heavy breath against him.
"If you’re still talking, I am okay for a while longer."
"Just tell me you’re tired," he mumbled again, chuckling at how she was resisting admitting it.
"Okay," she chuckled softly in return. "I’m tired."
"We were just discussing what Zagan and Penelope plan to do," he told her. "He thinks Penelope may already be expecting."
"It’s hard to believe," Zagan said with a small smile as he admired the pair in front of him—a powerful Alpha male unaffected by the vulnerability of a mate. In fact, his mate made him stronger. There was something uniquely satisfying about seeing the two together and the wholeness of their embrace. It gave him hope for a future.
"It’s hard to believe, but it feels as though I will die happy when the time finally comes," Zagan said. He placed his hand over the heart that was beating in his chest as if it was a reflex.
Graeme nodded in silent understanding. To think that the ancient creature behind all of this had been someone searching for his mate without realizing it... it was not at all what Graeme expected.
Being in Zagan’s presence now was like being in the presence of someone almost entirely different. He had that hollow, haunted emptiness driving him before where his actions could bear no consequence.
But now, Zagan was warm. He had humility. There was a deep well of guilt in his eyes when he spoke, and as much as Graeme would have liked to blame him for everything and insist on an ultimate punishment for the losses and suffering he had created, he couldn’t bring himself to feel that way now.
Penelope approached from where she had been chatting with Sage. The pup was truly remarkable.
"So what do you plan to do?" August asked the pair. "No more Eliade?"
"No. Definitely no more Eliade," Penelope chuckled. "I don’t know. What do we plan to do?" She lifted her chin to ask Zagan, a radiant smile breaking across her face as she did.
They could do anything now as long as they were together. All of this could be left behind. It was hard to believe.
"Live peacefully," he smiled back at her. "Somewhere quiet. Far from lycans and vampires."
Penelope chuckled. "That’s for sure. No offense," she glanced at the rest of them.
"No offense taken. We certainly don’t want you," Graeme chuckled. August scoffed and slapped him playfully.
"Ow," he said, pretending it hurt his ribs. "What? We don’t."
August shook her head and laughed. Obviously they couldn’t have the former vampire living amongst them, but he didn’t need to be mean about it.
"What do we do about Eliade?" August asked, looking at Penelope. "This isn’t over, is it? The virus is still out there. They still have students they are experimenting on. They are still searching for me."
Penelope sighed. "As long as you are with the Hallowell pack, they won’t find you. But you’re right. It’s not over. My time with them is, though. They will have less success without me helping them."
August frowned. That wasn’t a solution or an answer, but it seemed Penelope wasn’t interested in helping with one. That meant Eliade would likely have to be a problem that she and Graeme dealt with on their own in the future.
"Can’t you... make them forget?" She asked.
"There are too many players, and it’s global. It would never work. Even if I managed to do the enchantment successfully, just the mention of the pandemic would break it. I wish it were that simple, but..."
"I understand," August bit her lip, the idea of another threat looming in their future unsettling the peace she felt.
"I do have something to share with you, though," she broke away from Zagan and grabbed August’s hands. "You may have already figured it out, but whenever you want to break the memory enchantment I did on your family, all you have to do is show up there. Or call her on the phone. She will remember you. Your mother is already trying to. It won’t take much."
August’s brows furrowed with the thought. That would mean Eliade becoming even more of a present threat. Who knows if phones were tapped or if her mother was being watched.
"Thank you," she said softly, wondering if she would ever be able to use that information. It was doubtful.
