Milly’s eyes widened and a slow smile slid over her lips. Her eyes flicked to Liam’s but he couldn’t read her well. If he didn’t know better he’d have said she was happy. But that didn’t fit.

Slowly, she sat up, a fierce light in her green eyes making her seem, almost protective. Again, that seemed off to him, yet there was no other word to describe Milly in that moment. She was trying to protect him and Pamela at the cost of her own skin. “No, you’re right, Veronica,” Milly said, “it isn’t up to you. It’s up to me.”

She flung her hand at Veronica who sailed backward, into the wall with a solid crack, her body sliding down and crumpling onto the concrete. Freed, Liam scrambled to his feet.

Pamela was backed into a corner, squared off against four witches, sweat pouring off her face. He didn’t think, just sprinted toward them, leaping at the one on the left side, taking down the Black Coven member without a single whimper.

Milly dispatched two, and before Pamela could take the life of the last, Liam crushed the black witch’s neck with a single bite.

The teenager glared at him. “I had it, Liam.”

He snorted and shook his head. Milly stood beside him, breathing hard. “That was close. Where’s Tara?”

A groan whispered, “here.”

They found her under the body of one of the Black Coven members. She shot him, but not lethally and it looked like he retaliated. Milly crouched beside her, and laid a hand to her head. “Easy, it’ll be okay.”

Tara stiffened, let out a low moan, her body twitching like crazy. Slowly, her twitching eased, and then she blinked at them, her eyes free of pain. “You healed me. I didn’t know such a thing was possible. Thank you.” Tears glimmered in her eyes and he had no doubt she thought of her children.

Milly stood and brushed her hands on her skirt. “Liam and Pamela, are you okay?”

He bobbed his head. Fuck, he owed his life to her. How the hell could he go on hating her when she’d been ready to sacrifice not oacr?”

Pamela reached out and touched Milly’s hand. “You have your magic back. So you know we’re all family now. That’s what Giselle said.”

“I suppose I do.” Milly looked at Liam as she spoke, then toward the interior of the building. “Do you think Ingers is still here?”

Only one way to find out. With a toss of his head, they headed out on a hunt together. The weirdest pack around, but one he knew without a doubt he could trust with his life.

Gods be damned, even Milly.

“Doran.” I shifted in my seat. “I don’t think we can outrun this.”

“Are you sure about that?”

My head snapped around and I was shocked to see a grin on his face. He winked. “I never knew just how much trouble you managed to find, Rylee. Let me say this now, if I never meet another Tracker, it will be too fucking soon.”

A giant snake was in front of us, with most likely our death on its mind, and I burst out laughing.

“Doran, I don’t think you will ever have the pleasure of meeting another Tracker. Besides Jack, that is.”

The snake stopped moving about four hundred yards in front of us. Still, too close for any sort of comfort.

“Let me guess.” Doran squeezed the steering wheel and pushed himself back in his seat. “No plan.”

“No plan, I don’t have a fucking clue.”

Really, the only upside I saw was the snake hadn’t moved any closer, just seemed to be watching. Doran’s eyes didn’t leave the creature. “I’d bet there is a territory she’s in, that she protects, that’s how it was with Seps. I’d also lay a bet she is one of the ‘challenges’ the supplicants have to face.”

Seps. Someone else had said that name and suddenly it rang in my ears, an entire memory cascading over me. Scales and the old mine shaft, Milly and Giselle. My head throbbed with the suddenness of the images assaulting me. Was this part of what Milly erased from my mind all those years ago? Fuck me.

I cleared my throat. “Seps wasn’t bad, she could be reasoned with to a degree, if I remember right.”

“Yes, did you meet her?”

Leaning forward, I put my head on the dash. “I was there when she died. I think. Giselle killed her.”

He sucked in a sharp breath. “Well, that explains her sudden disappearance. I’d wondered.”

“Listen, that doesn’t matter now. Obviously, there is more than one giant fucking snake. Who are we dealing with here?” I lifted my head and stared at the coiled body.

Doran frowned. “I know Seps had sisters. Could be one of them.”

The snake’s scales glinted red and orange, a flash of gold. Beautiful and deadly, like so much in our world.

I Tracked the Blood, and the fuckers were, of course, directly on the other side of her. “Seps wasn’t a Guardian, not like Eagle or Bear. So this one should be able to be killed if we have to.”

Doran laughed. “You want to try and kill that on our own? Even you can’t be that ballsy.”

“I have my days,” I muttered. “Let’s see if we can get around her. We’ll go north,l on our staying close to the edge of her territory. If she follows, we have our answer.”

Doran nodded and backed the truck and headed north. The massive snake uncoiled and slithered parallel to us. I ground my teeth in frustration. Tonight was the night of the equinox; we had to be at ground zero to stop Berget or it wouldn’t matter if Orion was alive or not, if the demons wanted to take over.

There was no way the power in Berget would allow any of us to live, not once she didn’t need us.

“Enough of this, head straight for her, slow down when you’re about fifty feet away.” I shimmied out the window, my ass on the edge of the window ledge.

“You sure?”

“Nope.”

“Excellent, I was worried you suddenly had a plan.”

Laughing, I worked my way out the window and clamored to the top of the cab. I had to believe we could do this.

Alex let out a barking laugh and thumped the roof, claws scratching the paint.

“Ryleeeeeeee!”

I grinned down at him. “Ready to rumble with a big snake?”

He gave me ‘thumbs up’ with one claw. “You betcha.”

I slid down to the hood of the truck and stood up, legs braced for any bounces, swords drawn at my sides. We drew close and Doran slowed the truck to a stop. The giant serpent raised herself into a cobra-like position, without the flare of a hood. It didn’t take a fucking genius to realize with the length of her body, she could probably strike me from where she was.