His mother.
We could see Vivian plain as day from our hiding spot. She was smiling like the proud mother she was…with the Ezra of the past by her side, his arm over her shoulders and teasing her. Cahal walked behind them, smiling privately as he watched them…until his brows puckered and his head cocked. He glanced down the hallway in our direction.
Ezra and I froze.
Tipkin cleared his throat and asked gruffly, loudly, “Can’t you two get anything right? The ceremony is starting soon. You need to have your staff finish cleaning up the buffet tables.”
Cahal blinked, staring.
A small blessing occurred when Vivian called his name from inside the office.
He rubbed his chin and glanced in our direction.
But a moment later he disappeared inside Mrs Jonas’s office.
I swallowed heavily then whispered on the barest breath, “Maybe we should jump out the window for a few minutes until Elder Kincaid — King Kincaid, whatever — goes inside. He’ll scent us and wonder what the hell is going on. Tipkin can stay here. No one knows his scent.”
Ezra nodded slowly, barely taking his eyes away where his mother had entered the room.
We hopped out a window and stayed there, waiting for Tipkin to give us the all clear.
There were ten grueling minutes where Ezra and I had to pretend to be our past selves to any circling guards, and then we climbed back to our hiding spots inside the building. It was directly before we heard a gunshot from Mrs Jonas’s office — when I had shot my uncle. The timing could not have been better.
I would like to say that I waited patiently for the fucker Philip to arrive. But I did not.
I seriously hoped today would be the day he died.
My foot wanted to tap in anticipation so badly, but I pressed my body to hold still, working on sheer willpower alone. But the smile that etched my lips was danger peeking, and I glanced at the men sitting on either side of me. I whispered, “Philip’s always had a king complex, and this is King Hall. If he dies here today, it would be the perfect tomb for a wannabe king. One of his own making.” My grin widened. “King Tomb.”
Ezra chuckled softly. “That’s perfect.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I thought so.”
Ezra’s lips twitched.
My brows puckered. “What?”
He actually patted the top of my head.
Like I was a cute five-year-old instead of a fully grown woman holding a gun.
I bared my teeth, but I remained mute of any further comment.
In the silence, we waited.
Just when I became antsy again, two explosions shook the building.
And we saw him creep around the corner of the long hallway.
The three of us lifted to our feet.
I had a gun aimed, as did Ezra.
Tipkin’s hands were free so he could transverse us out of here before the rubble took us.
Ever so slowly, we stalked to the cracked door.
Philip was removing a backpack he wore. He silently unzipped it.
Ezra had been right. There was a bomb inside that he was activating.
The third explosion shook the building beneath our feet.
Still, we waited as he was. He wasn’t advancing on the room yet, just tapping his foot.
I knew there hadn’t been any gunshots inside the building before it had gone down.
Time ticked ever so gradually while I breathed steadily. My veins were as cold as ice as I watched Philip, his shirt still streaked in his blood from Tipkin’s arrow. That bit of blood made my wolf extremely happy, while the woman in me wanted there to be much more by the time we were through.
His foot stopped tapping, and he turned, running straight for the room, his eyes glowing.
All three of us raced from the room.
Ezra and I were right next to each other, with Tipkin directly on our heels; his hands were already on our shoulders, linking us to him.
Seeing us, Philip stumbled in his sprint, coming to an abrupt halt.
From inside the office, Antonio shouted, “Wait! One more! Get down!”
Just as the last explosion hit, we fired.
My shot went wide, my balance off from the blast that hit the building.
But Ezra’s aim was true. His bullet pierced Philip right through the chest.
Tipkin glowed a brilliant gold.
As his sphere began to engulf us, we watched as Philip flew back.
The ceiling was already crashing down. It was beautiful.
Still grinning like a fiend, even with dust covering me, I didn’t care that I was knocked over by Elder Jacobs’s power of wind when we transversed back to the present. Staring at the shimmering night sky, I shouted a whooping holler and wiggled on the grass where I lay on my back. Tipkin had brought us to the time directly after we had left. Cahal and Elder Merrick’s predators were even still growling, only abruptly cutting off as they stared at the three of us on the ground.
Tipkin’s head rested on my stomach. He chuckled quietly. “Bye-bye.” He disappeared.
Ezra grunted, then he tilted his head toward me. “He’s dead.”