Chapter 14
As soon as the door closed behind Mark, Caster let out a breath.
His frustration was back. As beautiful and skittish as he was, Mark was not ready to replace Nick.
Yet, he’d allowed the subservient wolf to interrupt his feeding session.
Now he was hungry and ill-prepared for the journey to find the witch.
He was at full strength, having only fed the other day, but he’d hoped to get a little more before they left.
Nick’s blood was not remarkable by any stretch.
He was average at best, but sufficient, and now, thanks to Mark and the havoc he wreaked on his emotions, he was no longer in the mood to feed.
All wolves, except Alphas, had a level of subservience in them, but with Mark, it seemed more than that. Was he aware of the effect his effortless obedience had?
His arousal gone, Caster reached into Riley’s mind. Are we ready to go?
We were just waiting for you. Everyone is in the study, ready for the teleportation spell.
Caster nodded and took a much-needed fortifying breath. He expected to shoulder the irritation of his less-than-successful feeding session for quite a while, and there was no need to take it out on the rest of his household.
Kyle unlocked the door as he approached. “Do you need me to go with you?”
Caster shook his head. “We are not even sure she’s there, and I suspect Damien won’t leave Julian behind.”
Kyle’s curt nod was the expected response.
The three wolves, plus Damien, Julian, and Riley, made his spacious study appear smaller than it was. His eyes landed on Mark, who turned away from his scrutiny. Unsure why he would intend to torture himself, Caster’s feet carried him as close to Mark as he could.
“Everyone ready?” Riley asked, his tremendous power already engulfing the space. It was a thing of beauty, his power. The tiny, almost imperceptible gasp from his left indicated that Mark had sensed it.
Caster reached into his mind. You’re safe.
He wasn’t sure why he needed to assure Mark of his safety, but he still glanced at the wolf just to make sure his message had been received.
Take my hand.
Mark narrowed his eyes.
We need to connect to each other, so we all end up in the same place.
Mark glanced at the others before placing his hand in Caster’s open palm.
Caster soon regretted the contact, but didn’t have a chance to analyze the foreign feeling before Riley’s power engulfed them.
In a split second, the warm familiarity of the study was replaced by cold and damp.
The sounds of the forest around them reached his senses first, and the tingling sensation Riley’s power invoked spread through his body as it dissipated.
It was then that he noticed the tight grip on his hand.
Mark held on tight enough to cause him pain.
You’re OK. He squeezed his hand.
Mark drew his hand away as if burned and took a few steps away from Caster.
“It is best if we split up. She could be anywhere.” Dean’s take-charge attitude was welcome at the moment. “Mikey, you go with Damien and Julian. I’ll go with Riley. Mark, you’re with Caster.”
Mark’s eyes found his, and Caster saw the same emotion he felt mirrored in them.
This was a bad idea, but they couldn’t disagree with Dean without drawing unwanted attention to whatever this was.
Everyone was on high alert, the tension increasing to obscure the beauty of the night in the few minutes it took for Dean and his youngest brother to transform into their animal magnificence.
Mark remained in human form. What was that about?
The group dispersed, disappearing in the cover of darkness and endless trees. Uncomfortable silence blanketed the air around them, and Mark’s arms went around his torso, as if to protect himself from a threat only he could see.
Caster walked through the undergrowth in the direction the others had reserved for them.
If they were to find the witch before daybreak, they needed to get moving.
Whatever it was between them could wait until they completed the task at hand.
Protecting his kind was his first and only priority, which meant finding the witch and bringing her to justice.
Caster heard Mark’s tentative steps as they moved through the brush. His senses picked up everything. The steady thump of Mark’s heart, the scurrying animals for miles around, and even the distant heartbeats of the rest of their party as they all focused on the task.
They’d only walked a few minutes when a low growl he couldn’t identify reached his ears, and he stopped mid-stride, reaching behind him to grab Mark’s arm before he could slam into him.
“What—”
Caster whipped around so fast, he had to grab onto both of Mark’s shoulders to keep him upright.
He shook his head when Mark opened his mouth to question him again, using his hold to push him against the nearest tree and pinning him there.
They were so close he could feel the warmth of Mark’s shallow breaths on his face.
He tried to zero in on the others, but the distant movement and faint heartbeats he’d heard earlier were gone.
Be quiet. He infiltrated Mark’s mind, begging him to quash his obvious desire to fight him.
There it was again, a low growl that didn’t belong to any animal Caster could identify. A sinister magic followed the second growl, engulfing the area around them. He tried to find any sign of the others, but the menacing growl and toxicity of the magic around them were all there was.
Mark frowned. “I—”
One look was all it took for the whispered words to die in Mark’s throat and his breathing to grow even shallower.
Breathe. Caster didn’t have time to coddle him. Whatever made that sound was close, and every fiber of his being told him it was more foe than friend.
Mark stilled in his arms as he took a much-needed deep breath.
Caster kept his heightened hearing in the direction of the threat and looked Mark in the eye, daring him not to look away. Something’s here. Do you hear it?
Mark shook his head.
Caster frowned. He should. Wolf senses were even more heightened than a vampire’s. He pushed back the niggling suspicion that perhaps there was more to this particular wolf. Right now, they needed to survive.
The growling grew closer, and a sense of darkness prickled his skin. Magic. Dark magic.
Mark gasped, and almost on instinct, Caster pushed even closer to his body. There wasn’t enough space for their chests to expand with every intake of breath.
Do you feel that? Dark, dirty, almost toxic magic tore into his skin like tiny puncturing needles.
Mark’s hand closed around his arm in a tight grip, no doubt experiencing the same pain.
It wasn’t anything like the tingling effect of Riley’s magic.
Caster looked at where their skin touched to make sure they weren’t bleeding.
Mark let out a tiny moan, gripping Caster’s arm tighter, and closing his eyes. His voice was a low whisper. “What is that?”
Caster shook his head. I don’t know. Look at me.
Tear-laden brown eyes met his. Whatever the dark magic was doing seemed to affect him more. Vampires healed much faster, and Caster’s body repaired itself with every pinprick. But shouldn’t the same be true of a werewolf?
Unsure why it would help, Caster released his hold on Mark’s shoulders to rub his arms in a gentle motion. Mark sighed in response, his body going slack as the pinprick sensation intensified. Whatever dragged the dark power towards them must be getting closer.
We have to move.
Mark’s forehead met his shoulder, his breath shallow sighs, his words a broken whisper. “I don’t think I can.”
Yes, you can. I’m right here.
He lifted his head, the obvious pain the magic’s effect caused on full display.
Caster took a breath and reached for Mark’s waist, intending to use his strength to support him through the burst of vampire speed they would need to get away from the current threat. Hold on to me, tight. Do you understand?
The small nod was sufficient response.
Caster needed to reach Riley, but first, he needed to protect Mark.
Gripping his body even tighter, he pulled Mark closer and willed his body to move.
The pain of the dark magic’s influence was now more of a stab than a pinprick, and the liquid coating his hands had to be Mark’s blood.
With no time to confirm his suspicion and with no apparent direction in mind, Caster called forth all his strength and speed, moving through the forest with such intensity that trees fell as he passed them by, careful to protect Mark’s battered body from further damage.
The pain lessened, the magic’s influence dissipating the further away he moved from it.
When there were no longer pinpricks of pain, he stopped, careful to keep hold of an unconscious Mark.
A quick assessment of their surroundings told him they were still in the forest. He focused his senses to find the dark power’s source, listen for the low growls of whatever had brought it, and breathed easier when it was no longer palpable.
He laid Mark’s body on the forest floor. His heartbeat was strong, but there were small cuts all over his exposed skin, including his face. The scent of his blood threatened to call forth senses Caster didn’t need right now.
He rubbed at his tired eyes, unsure why the wolf was not healing as he should. Was something wrong with him?
He knelt beside Mark and all but screamed for Riley in his head, hoping the others hadn’t encountered the darkness.
He waited, and no response came. It was unusual.
The protection spell Riley had placed on every royal family member meant their connection was always open.
Caster could call on Riley anytime, and the witch could find him anywhere. So, why wasn’t it working now?
He tried again, but still no response was forthcoming. Mark stirred, wincing as he became aware of the small wounds covering his body.
Caster reached for him, helping him to sit, braced against a tree. “Are you OK?”
Mark stared at his hands as if seeing them for the first time. When their eyes met a moment later, Caster saw more fear than he wanted to deal with.
He reached for Riley again and still…nothing.
“What was that?” Mark pushed to his feet, brushing off Caster’s attempts to stop him.
“The source of the witch’s power. I imagine.”
Mark started to walk away from their position, and Caster pushed to his feet, ready to stop him. But before he could, that low growl penetrated his senses again, this time louder. Mark turned to him, his shocked expression a clear indication he’d heard it too.
Footsteps approached from their left, and Caster signaled for Mark to get behind him. The footfalls grew louder, faster. Whatever it was ran towards them, gaining speed with each passing second.
Caster reached behind him, keeping his focus on the sound, and grabbed hold of Mark’s arm, ready to use his speed again to get them as far from the threat as possible. Mark’s quickened breaths matched his as they gathered the strength they would need to fight or get away.
The growls increased to the point of pain, and the source stepped out of the cover of trees towards the clearing they’d found.
Mark’s gasp joined his own as it came into full view.
The black body shimmered like cloth around the creature, its red eyes piercing the darkness with sinister intent, its giant feet flexing as it approached.
Caster roared, ready to unleash the vampire in him. Whatever this was, it wouldn’t take him alive. Another step, and it grew closer. He pushed Mark further behind him and braced for a fight.
Another step forward, and the monstrous animal whined, the sound loud and piercing, before stepping back. Caster’s gaze met blood-red eyes. It couldn’t cross something there. It tried again, roaring its frustration as the invisible barrier halted its movement again.
Mark moved beside him. “It can’t get through.”
Caster nodded, easing his coiled muscles into relaxation.
It was only then that he felt another magical presence.
Unlike the darkness that had threatened to tear him to shreds a few minutes ago, this one soothed his aching skin.
He glanced at Mark, who didn’t seem to notice their magical protection.
It was so subtle, Caster had missed it. It lacked the intensity of Riley’s often overwhelming power, but it was sufficient to keep the dark monstrosity from reaching them.