Cage Me: A Wolf Shifter Romantasy (Immortal Vices and Virtues: Shadow Shifter Bonds Book 1)

Chapter 27

Once we get out of the main part of town, Spencer retrieves a portal spell from the pouch and takes us about an hour north to a city she’s been through before. Though, when we get there, it isn’t anything like the one we just left.

There is only one building still standing. The rest are caved in on at least one side or merely a pile of rubble. The paved streets are cracked and have holes every so often that look like bombs went off.

“Huh.” Spencer shrugs and holds her head higher. “Some sort of battle must have happened here in the last month, but I don’t sense dark magic, so I don’t think it was Kel.”

Tartarus might be filled with some dark souls, but destruction like this isn’t normal. “Why would people destroy homes so thoroughly?”

“This is No Man’s Land,” she answers. “Home of the Houseless, the rejected, the lawless. Crossroads is the exception.” Her hand gestures around us. “This is pretty normal unless you live in one of the House territories.”

“Why don’t you live with a House?” I ask, wondering if they’re not as safe as they sound.

“Thanks to my father, I was banished from my pack,” Spencer replies. “Though, I don’t actually know if the Alpha Supreme Kinsley would let my banishment stand. She’s been turning Fire and Fluorite into an honorable House, something that place hasn’t been in much too long. We could always go back there and see what happens if you didn’t want to be in Crossroads.”

Taking Peter back to the place where he killed his father doesn’t sound like the best plan, but I appreciate the fact that she instantly caught on to my discomfort and was open to change.

I have no doubts Crossroads will be a good home. I’ve seen the way people have cared for my mate in their own ways, and I don’t want her to lose that. That just isn’t how Tartarus was, and living under the command of someone raised in that world gave me pause.

Though, I don’t know Styx. Maybe there’s a reason she’s here and not back in the shadow world. I shouldn’t preemptively judge.

“Seeing as how things aren’t as I last saw around here,” Spencer says, “how about we shift and run for a while? I don’t want to teleport too far north and miss Kel if she’s headed south.”

We just had a long sprint this morning, but my wolf still perks up at the idea of getting out again. I can’t blame him and agree with Spencer’s idea. Teleporting can only help so much.

“I won’t ever say no to a run.”

She steps back first, her skin glowing briefly before energy swirls around her. My eyes attempt to watch every part of her shift, but her body contorts so quickly that I feel as if I’ve missed the whole thing when her wolf appears just a few seconds later.

The stunning white beast stands proudly before me. Her bright blue eyes spark with interest as she comes closer. I hold my hand out, and her head settles into my palm.

“Such a stunning creature,” I whisper and lean my head down closer to hers. “Thank you for keeping her safe.”

The wolf rumbles in response, then nudges my hand away, making me laugh. “I hear you. You don’t want me, you want him.”

Her tongue rolls out the side of her mouth, and I have my confirmation.

Shifting comes easily, and as soon as my dark wolf appears, Spencer’s leaps at him. They nip and growl playfully at each other, but not for long.

None of us have forgotten we’re not out for fun. Kel could be anywhere, and the heaviness in my heart only grows as more time passes. I don’t know if that’s just my dread or a sign that we’re getting closer, but either way, we can’t let our guard down.

The two wolves begin to run, staying side by side as we move through the ravaged remnants of the town. Our paws kick up dust as we traverse the forsaken road until we leave the destruction behind and reach a main road.

The world around us is eerily quiet as we continue north, scanning the area for any new scents. Miles pass without any signs of life, but as the sun creeps higher into the sky, I have a feeling that won’t last long.

Just as I’m about to nip at Spencer, suggesting we stop, she comes to an abrupt halt, her wolf’s ears pitch forward, and a growl rumbles deep in her chest.

I don’t sense what she does, but I move to stand by her side. When I’m only a few feet from her, the air in front of her tears open, creating a dark void. Six shadows burst from the gaping hole, their snarls echoing around us as they leap to attack without hesitation, their snapping jaws aimed to kill.

My instincts scream to protect Spencer, but one of them barrels into me, its claws sinking into my flesh as we crash to the ground. With a grunt, I push the beast off, feeling the warmth of my blood staining my coat. Still, I’m on my feet in a heartbeat, facing down three menacing adversaries.

A fleeting glance toward Spencer shows me that she’s already a force of nature with one enemy down beneath her. I can’t help but feel a surge of pride as I launch myself at the nearest wolf, aiming for its throat. He moves swiftly out of my way, but that doesn’t stop me from changing focus and aiming for the shifter behind him.

With my teeth bared and claws out, I latch on to the next wolf and rip into his throat. His body thrashes against mine, leaving gouges from his claws in his wake, but I don’t relent.

Not until another one jumps on my back.

An ambush from behind nearly brings us down, but we roll out from under our attackers just in time to see the first wolf we struck staggering to the ground, unlikely to rise again.

The other two come after me at the same time. I could run to the side, try to split them up, but I want to be done with this. They’re literally bleeding dark magic, which makes me believe this isn’t a random attack.

Kel sent them here.

You’ve always been such a smart man, her voice sounds through my mind, distracting me just long enough for the two wolves to attack without me being prepared.

How the fuck am I hearing her? I assumed when it happened before that it was because the curse had just been broken and she was reaching out one last time before the hold on my wolf was officially broken. This, though? This changes things, and my mate isn’t going to like it.

As one wolf lunges for my throat, the other slashes at my belly. My wolf lets out a loud roar and rolls away from them, but we don’t get far.

Did you think you could beat me so easily?Kel taunts. I’ve been alive since the beginning of time. There is no stopping me.

Fuck you, I snarl and start to fight back even as I’m losing blood.

The two wolves above mine are relentless in their attempts at killing me, but my wolf shakes our head back and forth, barely avoiding a deathly blow.

A roar tears from me, a sound of determination as I evade another strike to my neck. My wolf kicks our back legs out and takes one of our attackers by surprise. There’s a brief reprieve, and we use that to finally stand back up, but our limbs are shaking, and each step sends shooting pains across our spine.

A deep growl catches the attention of the two wolves stalking closer to me, but they barely get the chance to glance left before Spencer’s wolf is on them. She’s covered in blood, but the scent isn’t hers. The ferocity in which her wolf fights the remaining two beasts is awing.

Her teeth rip into the first one as if he’s being served to my mate on a platter for lunch, and the second one goes down with a few swipes of her front paw. When she’s done and looks at me, the fury pulsing off her is the only thing that keeps me standing.

Spencer’s white wolf approaches mine, licking some of his wounds as they slowly begin to heal. I don’t believe I’ve lost enough blood to fear for my life, but I’m definitely going to need rest.

Only I have no clue if rest is coming.

I search for the presence of Kel in my mind, but she’s nowhere to be found. I can’t seem to communicate with her like she’s just done to me.

Spencer shifts first and her rage is no less palpable when she’s standing before me on two feet. “I’d kill them again if I could.”

She pulls the witch’s pocket from her jeans and opens it. A second later, she has a jar of salve in her hand. “This should help you.”

Opening the small container, she dips her fingers into the creamy substance and walks around my wolf, placing the balm over the wounds covering him. Each spot burns from whatever concoction she’s using, but then there’s relief.

Not entirely, but enough that by the time she’s done, I feel as though I can shift back without worry of further injury to my wolf or human half.

I step back from Spencer, not wanting to hurt her during my transformation. The change takes longer than normal, but in under half a minute, I appear on two feet, fully clothed.

With a silent thanks to the ring Natalia gave me, I go to Spencer, wrapping my arms around her. She trembles in my arms, gripping me so tightly that I expect there to be holes in my t-shirt when we part.

“I thought…” she starts to say but doesn’t finish.

“That certainly wasn’t good, but you did incredible,” I say. “Kel underestimated you.”

She pulls back, a frown between her eyes. “How do you know that was her?”

I’ve yet to tell Spencer that I heard the witch in my head even before, and I don’t suspect it’s going to go over well, but after that attack, I know I can’t keep this from her.

“She spoke inside my mind and?—”

“She what?” Spencer’s roar makes my ears hurt. “How?”

I reach for her hands, hoping my touch will calm her, but she only shakes harder. “I don’t know. I thought Natalia stripped any hold Kel has on me, but she was there in my head somehow.”

“Could she control you?” Her tone is cold as her eyes darken.

I shake my head. “Not even my emotions. And I don’t sense her now. It doesn’t seem to be a two-way communication.”

“Too fucking bad, because I’d love to tell her a few things right now.” Spencer growls. “Though, she’ll be dead soon enough and we won’t have to worry about her screwing with your mind.”

I fucking hope so.

She gives me another onceover and pokes around my collarbone. “You need more medicine. The wounds were so severe that the bruises carried through when you shifted.” She grabs my hand and leads me toward some trees.

“Where are we going?” I ask. Though, it doesn’t really matter. I’d follow her to the ends of this Earth.

“You need to rest, but we need to be out of sight.” She glances around. “Kel isn’t the only psycho out here that we need to worry about.”

After passing through that town, I wouldn’t assume so.

“Maybe there’s a cloaking spell in the witch’s pocket,” I suggest, but Spencer doesn’t slow.

“We still want to be out of sight. I don’t want to risk something not working against whatever creation that was back there.”

I wasn’t the only one who noticed those wolves weren’t regular shifters. They might have been at one point, but whatever Kel likely did to them was dosed with dark magic I don’t miss from all the times she used to try to sway me.

I used to wonder why she never forced my hand. Considering she was capable of sending those wolves to attack us, I have no doubt that she could have manipulated my thoughts into believing I cared for her.

My stomach viciously churns at the thought of what my life might have been if she had manipulated me. I guess that’s one thing I can be grateful for. The witch at least had some lines she wouldn’t cross. Or maybe her ego is really that big that she can’t fathom someone not wanting her on their own and that still has her unwilling to leave me alone. Unfortunately for us, it’s likely the latter.

We find a spot between a close grouping of trees, and I lay down on the overgrown grass. Moisture from the earth soaks my back, but the coolness soothes the aches there.

Spencer is kneeling beside me and wastes no time taking care of me. I watch as she rubs more of the salve on my wounds, lifting my shirt and checking over my ribs. Every touch sends tremors along my skin, and before I realize what I’m doing, my fingers are roaming over her body.

“I’m supposed to be helping you, and you’re distracting me.” Her words are sharp, but she can’t hide her grin from me.

“You’ve done such a good job, I feel the need to repay the favor.” I grab her hips and tug until she straddles me.

Her brow raises and she sets the balm down, rubbing whatever is left on her hands onto her jeans. “Is that so?”

“Hmm, yes.”

Her hips move over my hardening cock and any thoughts of wicked witches and possessed wolves are long forgotten.