Arlen's POV
I barely had time to process what happened to me under that witch's spell when Eli brought the Red Witch in and started CPR on her. Brynn and I knelt down to assist Eli to try and revive Miranda.
"Stefanie, get Dr. Byers and his team! Tell them to bring the defibrillator and a stretcher!" I commanded. She and Ezra ran out of the room.

"King Arlen, we have to save her!" Eli sobbed. This man never gets emotional. I studied his face and in seconds, I knew why Eli was working so hard to save Miranda.
"Which brother?" I whispered to him.
"Emmett!" Eli whispered back. I began to assist with rescue breaths, understanding the urgency. Emmett Holt was mated as soon as he turned eighteen to a human girl named Lindsey. But sadly, just weeks after she accepted him, Lindsey discovered she had a rare form of brain cancer. She lived for another year, even officially marrying Emmett. When Lindsey passed, Emmett was never the same. Ever since, he has poured his life into his work.
Goddess Aine, Emmett has lost one mate already. He can't lose another, especially like this!
I assisted with rescue breaths until Dr. Byers and his team arrived with the defibrillator. All of us ripped Miranda's shirt open to put the pads on her. Dr. Byers commanded everyone to stand back as the defibrillator delivered a shock. After that first shock, I heard the familiar beeping of a heart rate and Miranda's color instantly returned. She opened her eyes and studied Eli as the medical professionals worked to transfer her over to the stretcher.
"You look like my mate, but you aren't him. Where is he?" She croaked.

"He's coming, Miranda. We look alike because your mate is my brother. And just so you know, there are four of us. We're Quads." Eli smiled at her.
"Miranda, you were the one who broke my spell?" I asked her.
"Yes, King Arlen. I'm so grateful that it worked, because I really didn't think it would. That had to be the strongest spell I've ever come across." Miranda confirmed to me.
"What happened after you broke it?" I asked her.

"For about a minute, nothing. I waited and felt nothing and thought that the witch who cast the spell didn't know I was the one that broke it. Just as I was getting ready to leave the closet, I felt a crushing sensation in my chest! And then some woman's voice said to me, you f****d with the wrong witch, b***h! I don't remember anything after that!" Miranda told us.
"It had to be Sophia Lombardo. She's the only witch I know strong enough to do these kinds of spells!" I told everyone.
"King Arlen, even though I'm confident this event was the result of a spell, I'd like to take Miranda to the hospital and observe her at least overnight and make absolutely sure there wasn't another reason her heart stopped." Dr. Byers told us.
"No, please, I really hate hospitals!" Miranda fretted.
"You saved my life and my bond with my Queen, young lady. Let us help you." I told her.
"ELI!! Is she OK?" Emmett ran into my office frantically with the Starr brothers and Edward, and rested his grayish eyes on Miranda. "Hello, I'm Emmett Holt. You're my mate." Emmett was fighting to grab her off the stretcher.
"I knew as soon as I saw your brother Eli here. And I accept you!" Emmett ran to her and held her.
"Your mate can stay overnight in the hospital with you." Dr. Byers suggested. Emmett looked at her.
"I'll stay with you. Please, you've already scared me enough today. Put my nerves at ease." He smiled, clearly beset by the enchanting Miranda.
"I suppose I can do it for tonight." Miranda grumbled, but her blue eyes shined bright for Emmett.
"Should we do some kind of Fae protection to protect Miranda from another spell attack?" Brynn asked us.
"That won't be necessary." All of us turned and saw the Goddess Aine standing in the doorway.
"Miranda James, you are under my protection. No more spells will come to you. But you will need to do daily prayers of protection to maintain my magic. I will go over that with you later." Aine assured her. Miranda and Emmett sighed in relief, and Dr. Byers and his team wheeled Miranda out of the room and to the hospital.
"Ezra Hunter, Stefanie, I have some news about Sheri." Aine told them. Judging from the somber look on her face, I knew what was coming.
"Is she finally dead?" Ezra asked her. Aine nodded her head. Eli put his arms around Stefanie when he saw a couple of tears run down her face.
"Sadly, there is more. Luca, Marshall and Sophia realized that Sheri was half-demon and questioned the lengths she went to hide her identity. Sophia cast a spell to bring Sheri's memories forth to discover what she was hiding. To make a long story short, their mother and father were not mated to each other. Sheri's mother discovered her fated mate, a Fae, much later when Lorenzo and Sherri were already teenagers." Aine explained.
"I know the story. Lorenzo's dad went into a rage and killed the Fae and his wife helped him. My parents had him and his wife executed." I said.
"That's what we thought all these years. But in reality, Sheri was the one who murdered the Fae, and lied to your parents to get her parents out of the way. All because they wouldn't let her date a Fae boy she was in love with! When Luca learned this and that Sheri had been lying to him constantly, he vanquished her!!"
"Oh my God!" Stefanie cried out as Ezra and Eli grabbed her before she hit the floor.
"All our time together, all our marriage, I never suspected once Sheri had demon blood. How?" Ezra whispered.
"She went to great lengths to cover it up, even taking water purification tablets daily." Aine explained. Ezra and Stefanie shook their heads in disgust.
"Aine, why didn't my parents look into the matter more?" I questioned.
"I can't answer that, but your father helped pay for the Rossis' funerals and helped Lorenzo and Sheri for years. We'll never know his reasoning for that, but Domico Rossi had many allies. They were questioning Sheri about the events frequently. It's why she left her hometown and changed her name when she became an adult. Marrying Ezra gave her another name to hide under." Aine told us.
"All that, just because she wanted a man she couldn't have and in the end didn't get?!" Brynn shuddered, disturbed by the actions of her own grandmother.
"The really sad thing is, is that Kenneth would have been Sheri's fated mate. In spite of the half-demon part of her, Sheri had a good heart from her human side. I was really hoping her bond with Kenneth would have been enough to keep the demon side of her at bay, or she would do what Lorenzo did when he met his mate and have her powers bound. But when Sheri resorted to that plot, I realized her soul was too far gone. Kenneth's parents also suspected Sheri knew more than she let on and moved far away to protect Kenneth and the rest of their family." Aine explained.
"And Lorenzo, why did he betray me?" I asked her.
"Revenge. He deeply resented your parents, and you by proxy, for his parents' deaths."
"All this time, he knew who I was. Didn't he?" Brynn's face was bright red.
"Not until he overheard about the DNA testing. And Lorenzo doesn't care one bit about who gets hurt. He just wants Arlen to suffer!" Aine confirmed.
"Anything else we need to know?" I asked her.
"Marshall Sherman is working with them. They have recruited at least twenty witch covens and counting into battle. And Arlen, they are recruiting Faes you have banished or have quarrels with you." Just then, the Starr brothers came into the office.
"We traced the Lombardos here, King Arlen. They are staying in some cabin not that far from Dreake and have many witches gathering with them!" Aiden Starr confirmed.
"Now is the time to attack!" I pounded my fist on my desk.
"I strongly advise against that right now. There are too many witches, and we know now that they need very little to attack any of us. We need to figure out a way to neutralize their magic before you attack." Aine gently told me.
"Goddess Aine is right. Several wolf packs are experiencing attacks and Fae magic isn't helping stave it off anymore." Anthony agreed.
"Bunicol, what about the gold shields you and I can do? What if we can do that to protect Dreake?" Brynn suggested.
"That may work, however we will need to put Gypsies in the other packs to use a defense shield. I'm not sure if there are that many Gypsies in the United States to cover everywhere the witches are attacking."
"What about the Wizards?" I said out loud.
"Between them and whatever Gypsies Ezra can help round up, we may have just enough to get everywhere covered." Aine said.
"In the meantime, what will weaken the witches?" I asked her. Aine looked at me and smiled, holding her arms out. Seconds later, another entity with flowing blonde hair appeared beside her.
"King Arlen, I am Gaia, the Goddess of the Werewolves." All of us in the office bowed our heads in respect.
"Aine has explained the peril all of you are in. However, I wanted to tell you I learned what kind of spell Sophia used on you. She tested it first on several of my kind and just about destroyed many of the bonds I created. It's not only designed to wreck the mate bond, but goes much deeper into your subconscious to find weaknesses for the enemy to use against you. Whatever things came out of your disagreement with your Queen, it is imperative you talk them through and find a way to overcome them ." Gaia urged me.
"Gaia, how can we stop these kinds of attacks until we can recruit enough help to shield our kingdom and other wolf packs? Miranda was able to break Sophia's spell, but it almost killed her!" Brynn told her.
"The fact she was able to break it tells me Miranda's own power is very strong, much more than she realizes. She must figure out a way to channel it. With the Fae magic, your gold shield, and whatever Miranda can offer, it should be enough until the Gypsies and Wizards can help." Gaia replied, then turned to Ezra.
"Ezra Hunter, I have spoken with the Gypsy Leader Andrei. He is in agreement to help us, so you could start reaching out to your sources." Gaia smiled, and internally I breathed a sigh of relief. While I knew the Wizards would help us, I am not too familiar with the Gypsy realm and what their rules are.
"So that covers giving the Faes extra magic to help patrol the wolf packs, as well as Ezra and Brynn here. And as soon as Miranda recovers, we can see how she was able to break Sophia Lombardo's spell." I clarified to everyone as Eli came back into the room. He appeared ashen and drained.
"King Arlen, I think I know how Miranda was able to break Sophia's spell. They did a full work-up on her and found nothing wrong with her heart. Dr. Byers wasn't satisfied with that because he said that, by rights, Miranda shouldn't have survived. The kind of spell Sophia cast has a high fatality rate. So he did some blood work."
"And?" Brynn asked with trepidation.
"Miranda is three months pregnant, and she told Emmett and I it could only be Luca Lombardo's child!"