Page 40 of The Powerless Witch

Pack came first. Pack mattered the most. My mate and my feelings were irrelevant if I couldn’t keep my family safe.

“Look around, Ally,” I said, turning to the street where the rest of our people were quickly, efficiently clearing the dead bodies. A small crowd had formed around Alice and the way she directed them made me see the little girl again who bossed me around like it was the most natural thing in the world. I had thoughtshewould make a good Alpha one day, never thought it’d be me who would be responsible for people’s lives. Catching myself, I shook my head. “All these people are alive today because of you. Because you kept them together. We knew the witches were up to something, but we didn’t know when and what they were planning. If it wasn’t for you, many more would have died. You did not let them down, I—”

“Don’t,” she cut me off before I could finish. “Not here.”

I nodded in acceptance, letting go of her shoulders when I noticed her mate glancing at us from where he was kneeling beside Alice. He wasn’t a fighter, so his clothes were clean, but the fear was present in his expression, in his movement, in his presence. Not for him, though.For her.

It made me think of Celeste and how she had jumped in front of that thing for me. No matter if she knew what it was trying to do, she had moved so fast, she wouldn’t have survived if it had gone for her heart, not her soul. I still couldn’t believe she had risked her life for…me.

“Go help your mate,” I said. Allison raised an eyebrow, glancing at where Eddie was still watching us, and her expression softened. For once, she didn’t argue while she hurried to his side, crouching next to him and Alice.

I turned my back to them, preparing to join the others in the cleanup before the humans had gotten a whiff of what had happened when a familiar melody made me pause. Frowning, I listened past the voices and the shouting, focusing on that sound.

My phone.

I had left it in the car that was still abandoned in the middle of the street, doors wide open. I jogged to the passenger’s seat, grabbing the device with my heart in my throat. When I recognized Daniel’s number, I cursed, picking up immediately.

“Daniel, were you—?”

“Attacked, yes,” he finished, the strain in his voice telling me he was barely keeping his emotions in check. “I take it you were as well. That makes three of us. I spoke to Kai a few minutes ago.”

“How bad?”

“Bad,” the other Alpha snarled. “I have over twenty dead and so many wounded, we had to call all the doctors we knew in the city. They went after the children too! Fucking witches!”

I closed my eyes as I pinched the bridge of my nose.‘They are not all the same,’I told myself while I tried to find the right words.‘Not all deserve our hate.’

It was hard to believe those words when I watched the bodies of my people being dragged away. But if I let my hate slip back in, if I let it consume me like before, there would be no going back. And whatever was growing between my mate and I…it would be over before it got the chance to become what I was always searching for. Even if she was…a witch.

“They are not all the same,” I muttered without thinking and the line went silent. I tensed, cursing myself as I looked at the screen in the hope we had gotten disconnected. We hadn’t. Clearing my throat, I did the only thing I could—I changed the subject. “We have to hit them back. They can’t think us weak or they will come again and—”

“Isaac.” Daniel’s voice was low and sharp when he spoke, and I could almost imagine his matching expression. “Weareweak.” I opened my mouth to argue, but then my eyes landed on two of my warriors helping another because half of his leg was missing and he couldn’t move on his own. Alice had stopped the bleeding somehow, but I doubted she had the skills to return his limb to him. “They did this. They pacified us with the stupid Council and talks of peace and coexistence while bleeding us out little by little. This was a show of force, a statement. Don’t you see it?They didn’t come to obliterate us. They came to show they could. Why do you think there are so few dead?”

My mouth went dry and even as I scrambled to find something to say, nothing came out.

“I barely have enough people to protect my pack. I can’t afford to retaliate. And neither can Kai. If you feel like sending yours to their deaths, be my guest, but we both know the only thing you’ll achieve is to force the witches to hit you back. And hit harder.”

“So we do nothing?” I snarled, clinging to my anger because it was better than falling into the desperation and helplessness that were trying to suffocate me.

Daniel let out a long, drawn sigh.

“No, boy, we do not donothing,” he said in a clipped tone. “We do what we are supposed to do. We take care of our own first, then we come up with a plan. And we…” he paused, clicking his tongue in displeasure. “We find allies. We even the playing field. Then, and only then, do we retaliate. Being an Alpha is not always about being the strongest, Isaac. It’s about making the hard choices, doing what is right for your pack, even if you don’t like it.” There was another pause as someone said something to him and Daniel snarled before speaking into the phone again. “Do not do anything stupid, Isaac. Goddess knows we lost enough people today. I have to take care of my family. I suggest you do the same.”

The line went dead, and I stared at the bright screen, realizing just in time I was squeezing the device too hard. I relaxed my grip before it broke, running a hand through my hair as Daniel’s words echoed in my head.

We find allies.

The words finally sank in and I gasped, cursing myself for not thinking of it earlier. I punched Roman’s number, raising the phone to my ear while ring after ring echoed over the emptying street.

“Damn it!” I cursed as the call went to voicemail. Now it was not the time for him to be ignoring me. No, he wouldn’t ignore me because he thought I was with Celeste and when she was concerned, there was no way he’d dodge my calls. Unless…unless he was attacked, too.

I called him again. Then again. No answer.

I was going to call him one final time when I noticed Alice walking out from the nearest house and hurrying toward me. Her face was serious, blood and herbs coating her clothes and hands.

“Are you okay?” I frowned as she rubbed her temple with a wince.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” She waved her hand dismissively, looking up and down the street. The wounded had been all brought inside while the dead bodies had been dragged out of sight. Two of my warriors were even working on uncoiling a hose to clean up all the blood. “I’ve tended to the life-threatening injuries, or at least stabilized them for now, but I’m out of supplies.” She raised her bag, letting it fall limply against her. “I didn’t exactly pack for…this. I need more herbs and a greater variety. I have no magic, so this is the only way I can help them. If not, you might need to find a witch willing to heal them.”