Chapter 439


    Chapter 439


    Xander


    We moved through the human town, all of us tense and alert, but nobody there gave us any trouble.


    The port town attracted a lot of tourists, so even a small pack of supernaturals didn’t seem out of


    ce. None of us even turned a head as we stopped in a cafe to pick up some breakfast.


    “I’m ready to eat the table. Isn’t there some kind of magic Ste can cast to stop us from being


    hungry?” I growled under my breath to Lanie as she and I waited to pick up our order.


    “She could feed us, but it would only be an illusion. Better to wait for real food, love.”


    Lanieughed, but her voice sounded a little strained. Her eyes kept finding our daughter, who was


    waiting to the side with her other fathers. I could see the worry etching lines in Lanie’s face, and I


    wanted to ask her what she and Ste had talked about earlier. It would have to wait until we were


    alone.


    The server showed up with our paper bags of food. Ste stepped up and mimed swiping a credit


    card through the machine at the cash register. Even though I’d seen her doing amazing things, I


    was still not sure this was going to work…until it did.


    “Wow,” the server said, blinking. Her grin spread across her entire face. “Thanks for the tip.”


    We bustled out of there with our food, all of us eagerly tearing open the foil around our breakfast


    burritos and gobbling while we walked toward the docks where we’d board the yacht.


    “Human towns smell…different,” Ste said, wrinkling her nose. She’d only nibbled at her burrito.


    I scented the air, letting my wolf rise a bit. “I smell grease and breakfast meat. And coffee. And


    yeah. Humans. The smell kind of stale, like they could use a good, hard, run. How are we doing on


    time?”


    “We’ll be there on time,” she said, barely pausing even though her vision went that weird cloudy


    gray that looked like it should make it hard for her to see where she was going.


    I took thest bite of my burrito and crumpled the foil to toss into a nearby garbage can. I could see


    the water ahead of us.


    Ste handed me her burrito. “I don’t want this. Will you eat it?”


    “You need to eat something,” I scolded her, but didn’t push it. I took the burrito and bit into it.


    Ahead of us, Lanie walked between Zane and Mason. Ste had assured us the human town


    offered us no dangers, but we weren’t taking any chances. We wanted to get through here as fast


    as we could without attracting attention.


    Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!


    “Anything from the High Council?” I kept my voice pitched low.


    Ste nodded. “They figured out the tunnel block was an illusion. They’ve taken some time to mount


    their forces. They’re calling in everyone who wasn’t with them already. It will take them some time to


    catch up to us.”


    “But they will,” I said.


    “We’ll be at Fallen Crest with time to prepare for them. But, Daddy…we will have to fight.”


    “I know that, sweetheart.” I finished thest of the burrito and tossed the garbage in another nearby


    can. We’d reached the edge of town. The sidewalk led beyond the row of shops and restaurants


    toward the docks.


    She looked at me. “There will be so many of them.”


    Leaving Lanie, Zane, and Mason to keep walking ahead of us, I stopped and tugged Ste’s sleeve


    to make her pause. “Are you seeing something bad? Something you should tell us?”


    She hesitated. “There are so many branches, Daddy. And we don’t win at the end of every one of


    them. I’m doing my best to keep us on the paths that lead to our victory, but…everything we do


    could change the future. I mean, everything and anything.”


    I wasn’t really sure I understood what that meant. I didn’t have visions. I’d never been touched by


    the Moon Goddess in that way. For me, reality was what I could touch. Punch. Kick. What I could


    fight with my fists, not with my mind.


    “Look. There’s the yacht.” Ste pointed. I was happy to see the grin spread across her cheeks. “It’s


    called The Eclipse. That’s why I booked this one. It was the only one that had a moon name.”


    “Great,” I said, but my enthusiasm didn’t match hers.


    I watched her as she ran up ahead to push herself between Zane and Lanie, so she could link arms


    with her mother. They bent their heads together,ughing as Ste pointed out the yacht. I could


    hear her telling Lanie about the name, too.


    I wasn’t as excited. It might have been the only boat that had a moon name, but that didn’t seem to


    me like the good omen my daughter obviously thought it was.


    After all, an eclipse is when one celestial body blocks the light of another one and makes it go dark.