Who is Magpie?

“Alpha, there is a rogue at the front gate,” Tamara rang over the phone, getting straight to the point when Ezekiel answered.

He was exhausted, barely sleeping between cleaning up the mess of charred and burnt buildings, staying by his brother’s bedside waiting for him to wake up, and avoiding his bedroom that still smelt of Jessamine.

“Arrest them and put them in a cell to await questioning,” he muttered in return, flipping through more damage reports and death certificates.

Tamara cleared her throat to keep their tone neutral despite their excitement. “They have a letter from the Luna.”

Ezekiel nearly leapt out of his chair, but moved to straighten his disheveled appearance instead. “Bring them to my office immediately.”

Five minutes later Tamara led Mina into the room, and despite her feeling like a rabbit in the wolves den she held her back straight. She locked eyes with Ezekiel, taking in the bags under his eyes, the wrinkled shirt, and the hair that looked like he had just run his fingers through it. He looked like he had been through the wringer, and, despite everything Mina had heard about him, she thought he looked wrecked without Jessamine.

“Hello, I am Ezekiel Ashford, and you are?” He stood and presented his hand, trying to contain his emotions until he knew what the letter said.

She accepted the handshake but didn’t smile. “I’m Mina, rogues don’t get to keep their last names.”

He nodded sadly. “You have a letter for me?”

She nodded sadly as well. “The Luna asked me to bring this here if they didn’t return on time.”

She handed him a note folded so intricately that it was unlikely to have been read and refolded the same. On top was the note with the instructions for Mina.

-“If we aren’t back by when Azural says, take this letter to the Ashford pack house. I swear on my life that they will not harm you and you will be released to return home, under threat of Me if he doesn’t do as I say”-

Ezekiel chuckled at the note. It was for sure Jessamine’s hand that had written it. “Do you know what the letter contains?” He asked Mina, directing her to sit.

She shook her head. “She slipped it into my pocket as they were leaving, I think she had suspicions that something would go wrong and worried for our people if she and our Alpha didn’t return.”

He unfolded the note carefully, pressing it flat over the desk. It laid out that they were going to meet with her Fae friend and gather information, but also to prove that Jessamine was alive and well. It wasn’t meant to be a long meeting so any hold ups could only be bad. She denoted that the rogues didn’t harm her and they had not only been misinformed, but her memories of Azural had likely been altered severely.

-“if you’re reading this now the Fae likely have me back or I’ve been injured severely. Knowing them it could honestly be both. I hope that Azural and his men have survived, because their knowledge of the Garden’s layout could be invaluable.

-If he is not, or severely injured, you will offer all of the rogues that Mina approves safety and residence in our pack.

-Do not act rashly, my love and I need you to increase Bronx’s care, if they drug me again I won’t be able to keep my focus to give him my strength. I hope he is alright, please tell him I love him, and I will forever regret touching that gun.

-There is so much to talk to you about. But I’d rather do it in person, I’ve included a second note if that becomes impossible. I know you have had to be so strong these last days, and our pack has suffered too much because of the Fae. Come and find me my darling, and we will race to claim the Martin’s head for our fallen. I love you, m’eudail. Bring me home <3”-

He looked up at Mina, who hadn’t been reading along, for answers or confirmation, which she didn’t have.

“Is this everything?” He asked, testing her.

She shook her head more sadly and handed him another folded note with one haunting line written over the creases ‘To read in the case of Jessamine Hemlock’s death’.

He put that note directly into his desk drawer, praying he never needed to open it, and stood. “Thank you Mina,” He began, and then a little more begrudgingly continued, “we will try to return your alpha to you.” He sucked his teeth in frustration before adding, “and if he should be unable to fulfill his duties due to injury or death, the members of your pack that are approved by you will be offered sanctuary here with us. You will be cared for and protected, as my Luna commands.” Her face showed her utter shock. “You doubt my word? You came all the way here.”

Mina hesitated before responding. “The Luna asked this of me directly. I would not refuse her, especially after she won our fight, but I fully expected to be imprisoned.”

He chuckled mildly. “I would also not refuse my Luna. You are free to go. I will be assembling a team to check their last location in the next half hour.” He stood to leave and called his guard into the room, making Mina stiffen. “See to it no one bothers Mina on her way out and that she isn’t followed. I have privately interviewed everyone still living on the grounds to assure their loyalty to us but I will not risk anyone going against what Jessamine has asked.”

At the dinner Jessamine had talked to them, and they explained and exchanged truths versus lies spread by the Fae. She had said Ezekiel was fair and kind, but Mina had leant more toward believing he had also controlled her. Now, she was sure that he loved and cared for her, which drew a strange feeling inside her when she thought of Azural.

Mina went off with the guard to the gate, from there walking through winding roads to weed out anyone tailing her, eventually leading to a car she’d hidden to return home with the news and the offer.

Ezekiel first went to Fiona and had her assemble his strike force and tell them to prepare. She was given the address to look into the locations aerial map and develop a plan. He went the opposite way to their new, in progress, medical wing where Bronx still slept.

The wound had been bad, and, despite the gel Jessamine applied, got terribly infected. Ezekiel had spent the first two days mad at him, believing his brother’s depression in losing her played a larger role in his condition, but now he was furious.

He kicked his sick bed as he moved toward his face. “Hey dumbass, you’ll have to get better on your own now. The Fae have our Jessa so she can’t give you her strength anymore.” He sat in the chair, some of his anger dissipating. “She’s wrecked with guilt over hurting you, so you better pull through this. I don’t know that even I could console her if we had to bury your sorry ass.”

Bronx didn’t move, didn’t so much as twitch in the bed he had been ridden to for nearly a week. Ezekiel had expected as much when he made the trip down to see him, but hoped that the mention of Jessamine in worse trouble would do something. He sighed heavily and leant on the bed to rest his head in his hands.

“I’m heading to her last known location in twenty minutes, but I know nothing we find there will be good.” He made a low sound he stifled for the patients in neighbouring rooms. “She wants me to offer the rogues a home here if Azural is incapable. Something about the Fae’s lies trying to start a wolven war, likely to distract us from them… but still. He’s the reason you’re here, and now the reason she wasn’t with us and the Fae have her again. Not to mention they’re the reason she went there in the first place….

I’ll do it for her, but I could have used my brother this week. Losing my mate, my beta, a great number of our pack, and the damage to the property…”

Ezekiel stood, groaning at an ache in his back from sleeping at his desk, and pat the hand that rest on the bed. He didn’t move but it was too late to wait for anything else to happen.

Back up in his room that smelt so strongly of lilies getting plowed, he got changed and prepared to leave. Fiona gave a short presentation as the cars were loaded with emergency supplies and weapons. She had mapped out their best point of entry and assigned a team to watch outside when a wolf burst into the garage, shifting back in front of them.

“Delano, shit what happened?” Ezekiel asked, rushing to his friend who panted heavily on his knees. “At your last check in, Kai said you guys were staking out the rogues camp. Wait where’s Kai?”

Delano continue to try and catch his breath. “Kai, I couldn’t stop him. When he saw where they were taking her he rushed after the van. He’s in the Garden.” Delano’s breaths began to slow and Fiona draped a blanket over him. “We followed some of the rogues, they met up at that location,” he pointed a finger at Fiona’s map.

“Yes, one of the rogue’s came with a note from Jessamine. Did you see them take anyone else?” Ezekiel asked, urging everyone into the cars.

“They dragged out some of their own, some Fae, all tied up..” Delano trailed off, another thought distracting him until his Alpha growled for him to continue. “They didn’t tie the Luna up. She was dragged out kicking and yelling, in a body bag.”

Everyone’s hands slowly moved to their ears, prepared for the roar that came from Ezekiel. “Even those that betrayed them… they treat her like an animal. I’ll show them what an animal looks like.” He looked at the others who’s commitment was with him. “Delano…”

“I’m coming with you, we watched them go in, not knowing it was a trap. And I have more to tell you,” Delano interrupted, shifting as Ezekiel did to lead the cars there.

Along the way Delano told him everything they had seen. How Jessamine had been calm, not forced to go in or showing any signs of injury. For that he was grateful, but he knew chances that she wasn’t being harmed now were slim.

They came up to the building, checking the surroundings in teams and entering the main building from opposite sides. Delano and Ezekiel shifted back, quickly hopping into some clothes before entering.

Everything was clear, even as they walked through puddles of water tainted with wolvesbane that splashed over their boots. At the final door both teams coordinated to enter at the same time and saw what remained of the fight.

One dead Fae girl laid in a puddle by the door, a pool of blood beneath her head. The rest of those lying dead or nearly dead were wolven, their breathing laboured and strained. Some of them turned to the sounds of approaching people, garbled curses leaving their mouths when they saw it wasn’t their own pack.

“Where is Azural?!” Ezekiel hissed and he watched an uncaring hand move up off the ground. He recognized the hair immediately and went over to subtly stand on his other hand as he bent to speak. “Today is your lucky day, for a much as I want to skewer you, MY Jessa has asked that I help you.”

His face lit up, full of hope. “Jessamine sent you, you have her, she’s ok?”

Ezekiel growled and crunched the fingers under his boot. “No, a Mina from your pack brought us a letter, that she wrote before those Fucking Fae dragged her out in a body bag thanks to you.”

Ezekiel felt a pang of sorrow and regret, and his own anger grew. He lifted the bruised and burnt man by his neck and looked to either side of it before catching sight of familiar bite on his forearm. He growled again, louder, more warningly and even Azural’s men tucked their heads down.

“You mated with MY mate?!” His anger was winning over, ready to kill him despite what Jessamine wanted.

“She was dying. ..-Giving all her strength to that other mate. ..- she couldn’t eat— could do nothing but sleep until last night,” he choked out around the fingers. “It was Leti who made the call..— after Jessamine passed out, for me to mark her and give her my strength.”

Quoba came to life within him, feeling his possessive instincts kick but knowing his submissive mate wouldn’t have done this lightly. He dropped Azural painfully onto the floor and looked around to his men that had begun checking the bodies for a pulse.

“Congratulations, thanks to the gracious command of, apparently, our Luna, you’re being rescued. You will be treated for your injuries, but you better heal quickly because the second we find a way into the Fae’s Garden, you will be joining our team to repay your debt to her. Get the stretchers.”

There was a strange aura of confirmation in the room. Those there agreed entirely, believing they would die slowly away from their families and leave them unprotected. It was easy to agree to back up a much larger pack on the rescue they had been working towards for years.

Ezekiel looked over Azural again, seeing his strong alpha blood playing a role in healing him compared to the others whose burns still looked much worse. “Can you walk?” He demanded.

Azural chuckled, an uneven set to his lips from landing face down in a collection of the tainted water. “I’m afraid after helping Leti to fix that ankle and trying to live until the sprinklers ran out of reserves, my energy is quite depleted.”

Ezekiel rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He lifted the man and threw him over his shoulders. “In no way do I trust you or your men,” he muttered under his breath when he had gotten him far enough away from the rest in the direction of their cars. “But I will do anything to make Jessamine happy, and if I killed you now it would cause her more pain than you are physically worth.”

“Glad we are in agreement. The only one of any value in this.. arrangement, is Jessamine, and she cannot be left in their care for another seven years. I hope you have a plan.” Azural grinned despite everything else, feeling cocky at surviving another near death experience.

Ezekiel dropped him into the backseat of one of the RAVs. “Not yet.”