In the castle, Lillian woke first and saw Blaine's hands resting on hers. She smiled, then held her stomach as a sharp pain shot through her. Gently, she lifted Blaine's hands, careful not to wake him. She slipped out of bed as silently as she could.
She reached the spot where Bryan was sleeping soundly and got distracted by his chubby cheeks.
How does he have chubby cheeks when he's not even close to fat?
She smiled mischievously and massaged his cheek. Suddenly, Bryan grabbed her hands aggressively, his eyes red, a snarl escaping his lips. Lillian startled, and Blaine woke up.
"Oh, it's you!" Bryan exclaimed.
"You startled me!" Lillian frowned and hit Bryan on the head. Blaine giggled.
"Why would you do that?" Bryan held his head. "Why the hell would you touch my cheeks?"
"Because they looked soft – so chubby. I tried touching them, only to be almost killed." Lillian walked away while Blaine laughed.
Bryan glared at Blaine. "We've always told you that you have chubby cheeks, but you wouldn't believe it. Even Lillian couldn't resist your cuteness." Blaine jested.
Bryan playfully released his claws and fangs. Blaine raised his hands in surrender without laughing and quickly left, walking downstairs. Bryan followed with his medical kit.
---
Lillian reached the living room and found the other young alphas – including Tony – sleeping like there was no tomorrow. She sighed, turned on the TV, and woke them.
The news was already covering what had happened the previous night. She smiled.
Everyone stretched and saw Lillian standing with her back to them, staring at the TV. She turned around, her smile gone.
"I did it. It's on the news."
"Uh, more like we did it," Diana said, emphasizing "we".
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Lillian sat on the couch with a nonchalant tone. "Tony, send me the video where Hazel's name was mentioned by James last night."
"Okay." Tony pulled out his phone.
"You guys should have slept in the spare rooms," Blaine said.
Everyone exclaimed in realization.
"You keep getting dumber," Bryan teased and sat down with them.
"Are you not going to work?" Blaine asked.
"Have you forgotten it's Saturday?" Luna replied.
Lillian's phone beeped. She picked it up, smirked, and dialed a number.
"What's she doing?" Tiara, whose head was on Tyler's shoulder, whispered.
He shrugged, forcing Tiara to raise her head angrily.
"Hi, Hazel," Lillian said.
"Did you miss me?" Hazel teased in a wicked tone.
"Have you seen the news?" Lillian asked.
Hazel, sitting in her study designed exactly like her office, signaled Mr. Paul to turn on the TV. The moment the screen lit up, she saw James being taken into a police van. The headlines were in Lillian's favor.
Hazel stared, her face red with anger.
"If I were older than you, I'd say you remind me of my younger self. But when I was young, I would never act the way you do – especially toward someone who hates to lose. You should have faked evidence no one could trace. You should have kept an eye on me. You should have brought me to my knees. Still, even if you had done all that, I would have won.
"Guess what? I have another gift for you. If you try anything like this again, I will bring you down and destroy Mirabel – your precious daughter's life."
Hazel's second phone beeped. She opened it. There it was – a video proving she had sent James to spread the fake news.
"Imagine what my fans will do to you, Hazel. Or what will happen to Mirabel's books."
Lillian rested her back against the chair, brought the phone close to her mouth, and whispered, "I really wish I could see your face right now. Too bad you're not here." She hung up.
Hazel threw her phone on the floor and swept everything off her desk – breakables and unbreakables alike. They shattered. She screamed in anger.
Abruptly, she stopped and looked at Mr. Paul. "Have you found Blaine's brothers?"
"No, but I'm on it."
"Be fast. And keep an eye on Lillian." Hazel instructed. Mr. Paul left. She faced the wall, furious.
---
At the castle, after the call ended, Tiana spoke. "That call led me to a question."
Everyone sighed in frustration.
"I'll say my mind no matter what you do." She faced the others, then looked at Lillian. "Why would Hazel be jealous of you? She's rich, has a successful publishing house – second best in all of America – and still looks elegant and beautiful at her age."
"She's not jealous of me. She'll never be. She's the mother of the girl who came here the other day – Mirabel Hudson. She's been through a lot, from what I heard from her ex‑husband, Mr. Hudson. Everything she does to me is for Mirabel, not herself. She knows what rivals can do. She went through unimaginable pain because of rivalry. She doesn't want Mirabel to suffer the same fate, so she's trying to bring me down. But I don't care. Everyone has a sob story."
"Since the plan worked, Blaine's brothers should be here tonight, right?" Luna asked calmly.
"If they saw the news? Yes. And that's all the more reason Lillian should leave the castle and go back to Mr. Hudson's mansion for a few days – until we deal with Blaine's brothers." Bryan spoke confidently.
"How many of you are fighting Blaine's brothers?" Lillian asked.
"Gandulf said that since there are only four of them, we young alphas should face them. If we need help, he and his mate will step in," Shawn answered.
Lillian stood and looked at them with a grave expression. "You're underestimating Blaine's brothers. The banshee told me he would die and she said it in fear. But nine – maybe seven – of you will fight those wicked brothers of Blaine?."
"Exactly my point. I told them that, but Gandulf refused," Bryan said.
"That's because we're all alphas. We can't just let Betas face them when Betas could be out there helping other Alphas and Betas against vampires or were‑panthers," Diana replied.
"If the banshee – whom you say is a harbinger of death – told me Blaine would die, then he will die if only six alphas are there to protect him."
"The more I look at it, the more I think you underestimate us," Diana shot back.
"Yes, I am underestimating you – because I'm not stupid, and I won't let Blaine die!" Lillian shouted.
Diana stood and tried to approach Lillian, but Luna held her back while Bryan stepped between them.
"Gandulf and Nimona have led us right. We don't need your insight! Just because you're our Savior doesn't mean you can throw away our Alpha's decision!" Diana shouted, already partially transforming. But Lillian stood her ground.
"Then Gandulf is stupid with his decision," Lillian shouted back.
Diana raised her claws, but the other werewolves growled at her. She stopped. Lillian didn't move an inch.
Blaine pulled Lillian aside. "We followed your plan. Please – leave the castle. I can die, but you can't."
"Don't say that word again. Please. Don't say it again. You won't die. I won't let you." Lillian looked into his eyes.
"You're wounded. I didn't protect you enough. Think about it – if you stay, I'll have to protect you, and in the process, I'll be killed. So if you don't want me to die, leave this castle." Blaine smiled faintly.
Lillian seemed to think. Then she looked at the other werewolves. "Fine. I'll leave. But you must win against your brothers. And you must stay alive."
Blaine smiled and, as usual, gently brushed her hair back. After he stopped, Lillian gave a gentle smile, walked over to Bryan, touched his chubby cheeks, and went upstairs.
"Seriously? My innocent cheeks." Bryan touched his cheeks. The tension partially dissolved.
Soon, Lillian came downstairs with her luggage. Blaine rushed to help.
"Lillian, don't think too much about what your father said about your family yesterday, okay?" Tiana said softly.
Lillian scoffed. "Why would I think much about it?"
"I thought it would still be heavy on your mind – you even cried last night," Tiana added.
Lillian stared at her with a sad face, and tears rolled down her cheeks. Then she smiled. "Those tears were fake, I can always fake my tears. The more I think about them – though I miss them – the more I realize they were the ones who decided to put up with the torture. If I were my mother, I would have poisoned him daily with a poison that slowly paralyzes people, then left him in the scorching sun to suffer, unable to move."
The others stared at her in surprise.
"I'll be going now." Lillian walked to the car. Blaine followed. They settled in, and he drove off.
---
They arrived at Mr. Hudson's mansion. Herakim and Mr. Hudson were already waiting. Lillian stepped out. Maids took her bags from Blaine and went inside. Blaine waved and drove away.
Lillian, Herakim, and Mr. Hudson remained.
"Mr. Hudson, why is Herakim here? How do you know him?"
"Oh, he convinced me not to kill Gandulf's werewolves many years ago, when werewolves first arrived in New York. There was a prophecy that a Savior would be announced here. I stopped hunting werewolves and became a vampire hunter instead, before I retired. Also, he came to tell me that you are the Savior. He asked me to protect you for the time being. He was actually leaving." Herakim silently walked away.
"Before you go, Herakim – tell me why I'm not healing."
"The amulet I gave you – the Tears of Isis – will slowly take away your healing powers. You healed after stabbing yourself in the neck because it hadn't fully taken effect yet. Now it has." Herakim explained.
"You heard about that?" Lillian asked. He nodded and silently walked away.
"Let's go inside," Mr. Hudson said.
"Where is Miles?" Lillian asked as they strolled toward the house.
"He's on an important business trip. He's trying to wrap it up quickly because he saw how your father came back to harass you last night on the news." Mr. Hudson said.
Lillian smiled lightly. "He shouldn't worry about me. I was only injured a little. When will he be back?"
"Tomorrow. I told him you'll be staying with me for a while, but I didn't say why." They entered Mr. Hudson's study – huge and spacious.
"How has it been living with werewolves?" he asked.
"Not bad. I actually feel good living with them. But I feel bad that I can't do anything to save Blaine." Lillian's tone turned sad.
"Wow. The Lillian I knew didn't have any empathy at all. Now you do." Hudson teased.
"That's why I decided to come here. I need your help gathering your hunters." Lillian said sharply.
"You see, Lillian…" Mr. Hudson began.
"I know you're retired and you hate killing supernatural beings now. But just this once, I want you to save them from Blaine's brothers."
Mr. Hudson exhaled deeply. He raised his head. "What time do you need them?"
"By midnight." Lillian replied as if she already knew he would agree.
"I can't guarantee they'll all arrive early by midnight, but I'll call them."
Lillian's face lit up.
"If you're destined to be the Savior of werewolves, then I'll gladly support you." Hudson patted her shoulder. Lillian hugged him.
"It's okay." He hugged her back.
"It's been a while since we played clay shooting. Let's go shoot some things." Lillian linked arms with Hudson playfully.
"Okay, okay. Let's go. I'll call them to prepare for us."
They walked toward the door. As they opened it, they saw Miles standing outside, shocked.
"You're a werewolf Savior?!" he exclaimed.
Lillian unlinked her arms and smiled foolishly. Hudson couldn't even make eye contact.
---
End of Chapter 18
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Miles knows. What happens now? Drop a Power Stone and add to library – Chapter 19 is coming fast.