Rage flowed through Gerard. Kindra was gone to him. He risked much to tell her the truth, and now she was fighting against his hold.
“What is it?” Gallus asked on Gerard’s hundredth pace through the room.
“She’s broken all contact to me. I cannot reach Kindra. Something pushed my influence completely out of her. I wasn’t surprised when my influence over Valen evaporated, but I never imagined someone so far gone as Kindra would have the strength to resist.”
Gallus moved in front of Gerard. “You are a fool. I told you not to trust her.”
“It’s her son. And I know we haven’t had our own children in thousands of years, but he was to be one of us.”
“Ah, but if your goal was for him to be one of us, you would not have treated him so poorly over the years. You pushed him away, made him feel weak, insignificant. That was not the way to form a bond. But you’ve never kept a woman long enough to know how to nourish a child, have you?”
The bastard was right, of course. He always was. However, Gerard wouldn’t admit it. That would only mean defeat. No, there had to be a way to win her back. Even if he couldn’t take Valen with them.
And that was the problem. But with the young man dead, she would have nothing left but Gerard, who had taken care of her over the years.
“It’s fine. I simply need to find Valen and kill him. Since we no longer can reach his wife, who happens to be behind wards in another coven, I’ll have to resort to killing him.”
“That won’t win her over,” Genova spat. “You have never understood women.”
“She is a creature of desperation. She will cling to me desperately, as she did when she helped me kill Anders.”
“Which failed, and she’s likely been in his presence. Which means, she’s choosing the husband she lost,” she snapped.
“Not true. He won’t take her back. Why choose what she can’t have? I made sure he would never forgive her.”
“Then why isn’t she dead? He is a werewolf, correct?” Gallus countered.
He growled and stormed away. If Anders had killed her, it would have made things easier. And yet, he wanted Kindra by his side. She was hardening, becoming stronger. And somehow, she tore him out of herself. She wasn’t dead. He could sense her, but he couldn’t find her.
Gallus stepped in front of Gerard. “We can’t wait forever to go to Edenton.”
“I know.” Gerard threw his hands up. “Damn it, I know that better than the rest of you. It’s my life at stake.”
“You should have made sure he was dead,” Gallus growled.
Genova laughed. “You shouldn’t have picked him. I told you to go for the high priest. You were never going to manage to break that boy.”
Gerard glared at her. “I should have killed him like the rest. In all the years I’ve brought us to new cities, I’ve always managed to come out on top.”
“Not this time,” snapped Gallus. “You’re failing, you’re fading faster. All because he’s alive. And that’s why you haven’t put as much care or thought into keeping up the façade. That’s why the coven rejected their beloved Anders Woeller.”
“Perhaps he is the one the prophecy mentioned,” Lester added.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” snapped Gerard. Only, that thought had plagued him since he learned that Anders had lived. However, it didn’t make sense. How was he still alive? Why hadn’t he faded sooner? Becoming a werewolf didn’t kill Anders, it simply made him more. There was something strange about Anders from the very beginning.
Anders was harder to pull energy from than anyone else. He’d run into those individuals who were harder to become, but they always gave the most power when he completed the transfer. And yet, he never got that chance with Anders. No one had managed to survive being drained by him until Anders. And still, he knew it deep down, that he could complete the transfer and the payoff would be bigger than anything that had come before.
“Besides, we don’t have a choice, unless you plan to leave me behind.”
Gallus held up his hands, shaking his head. They had always leaned on him for guidance, and granted, this incarnation of their people had not gone as planned, but that didn’t change the fact he was still their leader, and the one who could help them grow in power.
“I’m sorry, Gerard. I’m simply stressed. We can’t wait much longer to make a move, but Edenton is unlike any town we’ve attempted to take since Badb. She nearly ruined us. Most of them passed away before you finally killed her after she took Minosa away from you.”
“Kindra will replace Minosa. She already has. Don’t you see?”
“No, I think you’re wrong. I don’t argue often but think about the fact she’s finally broken your hold.” Genova shook her head. “Kindra broke your hold because you made her believe she loved you. She doesn’t truly, she loved Anders, and probably still does. I’m surprised you didn’t break the poor girl’s mind when you forced yourself into her life.”
Gerard growled. “Her mind is not broken. She’s stronger for what I’ve done.”
“For what she survived, more like,” Genova hissed.
“You haven’t seen her when it’s just the two of us.” Of course, when it was the two of them, she still called him Anders as if she wanted to believe he was the original version. “And even still, if she has to die, she will, just like his current mate. I will take Anders’ place, or kill him and find another.”
“Perhaps killing him would be wisest,” Gallus answered. “Start over fresh, somewhere else. Take a generation or so to recover from everything we’ve been through this time around.”
“We’ll see how it goes when we get there. Because right now, until we take care of him, I cannot do a damned thing different, and you know that.”
“Maybe I could scout. I still have the ability to glamour. I could sneak in and find out what we can, without being caught,” Lester offered.
“Even by Cora?” Gerard demanded.
“Of course. She never liked me much, avoided me whenever possible. Even before I took this persona, she didn’t like who I was.”
“Very well, go,” Gerard answered.