Bound to the Alpha King (Forbidden Alpha Kings #2)

31. Jax

31

Jax

Anna’s whole face went slack as Dirk advanced on the past version of herself. Not wanting to see what happened next, or wanting Anna to see what happened next, I pulled her into my arms and toward the door. “They’re not real, Anna. Just me. I’m real. Focus on my heartbeat,” I ordered as I tried to open the door to the hut.

It didn’t budge.

God fucking damn it, we were not going to be trapped in here. For all I knew, Anna was still linked to little Anna. What kind of terror was gripping her? Pain?

Katherine’s dead body disappeared, and I slammed my shoulder against the door. There was a satisfying crack, and I smiled grimly. Behind me, Dirk roared.

“Don’t look, Anna. Stay with me.” I slammed my shoulder into the door again. This time, the whole cabin shuddered.

Third time’s the charm. I slammed my shoulder again, and we broke free. The scene around us fractured, and I closed my eyes and held her tight as the ground shook. Above me, the window howled through the trees, but I still didn’t let her go. Not even when everything was still and quiet.

Cautiously, I opened my eyes. Back in the forest. At least we weren’t in the hut, but was it too much to ask for a hotel room with a bed so Anna could get some damn rest?

“All right, look at me. Are you still linked to her?”

Slowly, Anna raised her head. “He killed her.”

“I know, baby. I saw it. I’m sorry.”

“I…I mean on some level, I shouldn’t have been surprised. That’s what he does. He kills women.”

“Anna, that happened is in the past. You definitely need time to process, but right now, I need to know that you aren’t still linked to your past self. Tell me what you feel.”

“Me. Just me,” she sighed. “And I feel empty.”

Empty. Not good but a far cry better than whatever Dirk did to her after he killed his wife. I’d never seen anyone change so rapidly.

I’d also never known anyone who’d killed their mate.

“All right. Sit here. Take a moment. There doesn’t seem to be anything here, but your memory could start any minute. I’m going to take a look around and see if we can’t find a quicker exit.”

“How many more memories do you think I have to endure?”

Actually, my suspicion was that that was the last one. Unless her mother’s magic was able to work after death, we might have started completely over except that I’d gotten us out. Or, maybe the spell kept working, and we’d see more. It really was all a guessing game.

“I don’t know. I’m not going to go far. Do not move.”

Slowly, Anna sank to the ground. “I don’t think I could even if I’d wanted to.”

With one eye on her, I started walking around the space. It was clear enough that I could walk a pretty far distance without losing sight of her on one side, but the other was dense with trees and rocks. It was harder to explore that side.

No doors to break down here, but also, the scene didn’t shake or shudder as I moved. Nothing got angry, like I was upsetting a memory.

“Maybe it’s just her mind,” a voice echoing my thoughts taunted, and I turned, annoyed, to see Katherine there. “It is, you know. Just her mind. You managed to hammer through my spell, but then, I’m not surprised. Wolves are a thick-headed bunch.”

I looked back at Anna.

“Oh, she can’t see me. I thought it was time you and I had a private chat since you seem so hell bent on breaking her out.”

“I have nothing to say to you,” I told her softly as I turned and started to walk in the other direction. Slowly, one step at a time, looking for anything that was even remotely off. A tree that shimmered. A soft rock. A giant red button that read Push here for exit.

“I never meant for any of this to happen,” Katherine sighed. “Dane and I…we were intensely in love. He was so devoted to me. I think it bothered him, on some level, that I couldn’t feel the wolf bond. Like maybe he feared I didn’t feel the same way he did, but I was in the love with the man. I left my coven to be with him. Surrounded by a bloody pack of wolves.”

A pack. I whipped my head around. “Your alpha knew what she was.”

“But on some level, I think he always doubted me. You know that feeling well, don’t you Alpha? How the null your wolf chose didn’t feel the mating bond?”

“Which pack did you belong to?” I asked.

Katherine looked over my shoulder at Anna. “When the Crone demanded that I kill her, I’d never felt so terrified in my life. What kind of vision could she have seen to demand such a thing? She was just a child, but I’ve seen her wield magic. My little Andrea is so powerful. What if the Crone was right?”

“I don’t give a flying fuck why you bound her magic. You shouldn’t have done it, but any explanation or apologies aren’t owed to me. You should give them to your damn daughter.”

Katherine continued on as if she couldn’t hear me, but I knew she could. Her eyes flickered to Anna again, and I saw just a hint of redness on her cheeks. Shame. “I betrayed my husband to save my daughter, but I had no idea what it would do to him. As soon as I saw his eyes, I knew he was going to kill me.”

“And it drove him insane,” I finished tersely. “He murdered dozens of women after you.”

“Yes. I follow Anna in her memories.”

That gave me pause. “You do, don’t you. You’re just an imprint of her mother’s magic, but you’re not really Katherine. She’s dead.”

Katherine cocked her head. “Do you think it makes a difference?”

“Yeah. You are the imprint of a woman who was running scared from an alpha and a powerful witch. You were just told horrible things about your daughter, and your relationship with your husband was crumbling. You made a decision, a terrible decision, but you had no idea that you were going to die. That you couldn’t monitor it or undo it.”

“You’re suggesting that I would have changed my mind.”

“Damn right. Once you saw how incredible she was, you would have realized that she can handle what was given to her.”

“Perhaps she’s only strong because of what was done to her.”

“Don’t,” I snarled. “Don’t you dare tell me that her father made her a stronger person. He didn’t break her. That’s on her.”

“You love her,” Katherine said softly and smiled. “I can see that. You’ve also made mistakes with her, and it’s easy for you to think that everyone else has made mistakes too. I did make mistakes with her. I made the mistake of teaching my daughter how to use magic. I made the mistake of honing those skills.”

“Stop,” I snarled.

“Jax?” Anna’s eyes widened as she stood. “Did you find something? I can’t hear you.”

Glaring at Katherine, I turned and held out my hand for her. “Just talking to myself. I don’t think this is a memory. We’ve been here awhile and there’s no mist and no people. Just us. I think we’ve broken the cycle of memories, and this is your mind. You can rest here.”

“Your love will be the end of all,” Katherine said darkly. “You’ll set her free, and when you need to end her life, you won’t be able to do it. She’ll bring darkness to the mountain and beyond. That’s what the Crone said. And now you’ll share the blame with me.”

She winked out existence, and Anna touched my face. “What are you looking at?”

Just another person who’d failed Anna by underestimating her.

I would not do the same.