Chapter 23 Prison Break
Josh
Elias is a bastard.
When trapped in the dark and futilely struggling to free myself, there’s plenty of time to reflect on just how much Bane’s father sucks. No matter how much I attempt to bring out my wolf or call on magic to help me, it’s no use.
“Come on! Break free. Break free… right… now!”
Elias said I was trapped here and that my magic was tied up too. Since I’ve been studying potential crafts and spells while searching for my calling, his veiled comments ring a bell. A tether hex. An object mutes my magic and traps it here.
I won’t be able to leave, practice magic, or change forms until I destroy whatever is trapping and blocking me. It must be nearby, here somewhere in the cabin.
But even starting to look for the object is impossible with me tied up and blinded.
I’m stuck here. Helpless, miserable, and safe. Safe while Bane faces his siblings alone.
I never thought I’d crave danger, but if that’s where Bane is, then I need to be there too, watching his back.
A faint sound reaches my ears. At first, I think I’m imagining it, but the noise gets louder. Could it be...?
“Bane?” I call out. “Is that you?”
The front door suddenly bursts open, then the hood gets yanked from my head. I blink, my eyes adjusting to the dim light of the cabin.
And there, standing before me, is not Bane. It’s his cousin Wynn.
We stare at each other, both unsure what to do.
“What, Wynn, how did you find me?”
Wynn tugs at the knots binding me for a second before giving up, then shifts his hand into a sharp claw and slices through the ropes. The tight bonds around my chest fall away.
Wynn reaches into his pocket and tosses something to me, which lands on my chest and falls into my lap. Bane’s charmed watch that can lead him to me.
“Bane hasn’t taken it off since you gave it to him, not until the fight. He told me it could find you. Return that to him when we get the hell out of here.”
Wynn holds out his hand. I stare dumbly at it.
“Dude, come on. Be a team player with this rescue effort.”
But I shake my head. “I can’t. Elias put something in here that won’t let me leave. It’s targeting my magic, tethering it here. You have to destroy it before I can go.”
Wynn and I survey the cluttered cabin, overwhelmed by the sheer number of potential objects that could be trapping my magic.
Dust motes swirl in the dim light filtering through the grimy windows. Nobody has used this place for a while, but someone once took the time to decorate this place. Overdecorate it, in fact.
Mismatched furniture dots the long living room, and crowded shelves that line the walls. A jumble of trinkets and curiosities. Carved wooden figurines of forest creatures, ceramic pots and vases on the coffee table, scenic paintings on the walls, and even a couple packed bookcases.
“Fuck, there’s a lot of stuff in here,” Wynn mutters.
“Start anywhere,” I suggest. “Destroy stuff. If there are large pieces, break those too.” Leaving it all to him is safer. I won’t be able to interact with the item and shouldn’t risk triggering a volatile reaction.
“How will I know if I get the right thing?” Wynn asks.
“I should know. It feels like I’m rooted here and stuck. That should lift once the tether is broken.”
Wynn processes this information, then leans over and knocks a ceramic pot off the coffee table. “That do anything?”
“No.”
Wynn brings his boot up and smashes a smaller pot. The force of it breaks both legs of the coffee table on the side where he kicked. The surface now uneven, all the items on the coffee table slide to the floor, some of them coming apart.
“How about now?” he asks.
“There’s too much stuff for you to ask every time.”
“Right, guess I’ll just keep going.”
Wynn begins stomping on all the items from the table that are still intact.
I watch Bane’s cousin ransack the cabin for a moment before I have to ask. “How bad is it? Is Bane okay?”
Wynn hesitates, clearly trying to determine whether to sugarcoat it or admit the truth. “It’s not great. Fucking Elias. Fuck him.”
No argument there.
“My uncle is fucking insane. Now he’s kidnapping people?
” Wynn scowls and plucks a vase off the shelf.
He hurls it at the opposite wall with more than enough force, watching with grim satisfaction as it shatters into pieces.
“You know, many pack members see our Alpha as a strong leader and like that he’s strict, even though there’s no reason to be a fucking drill sergeant.
I’m not one of those people. Come on, we aren’t fighting a war. ”
I swallow hard. “Elias wants to change that.”
“What?”
“That’s why I’m here.” I quickly explain everything that led to my being trapped here and the information Elias revealed about driving out the other wolf pack.
Wynn’s eyes widen. “Oh shit. Elias is a bastard.” My thoughts exactly.
Wynn furiously grabs one painting off the wall after another, stabbing through the middles with his fist. He uses his knee to break the frames, scattering wood shards across the floor. Either those paintings seriously angered him or he’s getting some frustration out while trying to free me.
“Not everyone will agree,” he says when he’s calmer. “But there are definitely some wolves in our pack that would fight for Elias. I’ve got no problem with your pack myself.”
“If Bane and I don’t win, will whoever becomes the new Alpha go against Elias?”
“Well, once Adelaide replaces her father, it’s her decision,” he says slowly, thinking it over. “Adelaide and her mate won’t be happy enacting Elias’s plans during their reign. If he doesn’t finish his schemes in time, they won’t see it as their responsibility.”
Almost good news. Too bad I sense a ‘but’ coming.
“Except in this case, they’d be on board. Adelaide herself isn’t overly cunning or even cruel, but she does love battle and doesn’t always think things through. With Elias planning it and their strength, they’ll be able to drive your pack away before he’s officially replaced.”
“The witches won’t like it.”
“They’ll find a way. Sounds like he’s been planning for a while. You think he doesn’t have ideas on how to explain an attack or make it look justified?”
I sigh heavily. Elias hinted at the same thing. “You’re right. We have to win.”
“First we have to get out of here.” He looks around at all the destruction. “Any bright ideas?”
I look around helplessly. He’s destroyed so much. And still not the right thing. The tether remains in place.
“I’m not sure. It could be in plain sight, or all the crap in here is a distraction. It could be something harder to reach.”
Wynn thinks it over and shoos me out of my seat. “Knowing Elias, it’s not going to be as simple as something on a shelf or up high…” He rips through the seat with his claws.
“I can’t touch the item,” I remind.
Wynn kicks the chair over. An old book is revealed, lying under the chair forgotten. Unless it wasn’t forgotten. Wynn rips the book in half.
I shudder and a ripple of air passes through the room. “That did it. I’m free.”
“Then let’s go.” Wynn’s already at the door. “You’ve got a fight to win.”