Chapter Four
Aurora drove back toward the exit where her sister’s cell phone showed they’d gone, hoping she would be able to find their location without giving herself away.
Of course, the ones who’d kidnapped Starla had no reason to think anyone had followed them, let alone her, since they believed they’d killed her.
In the small town of Huntsman, she realized their trail was easy to find. However, she couldn’t follow them into the woods with her Bronco without risking being seen or observed by them, which left her no other option but to find a place to park and wait for them to come out.
Her need to set up protection wards for her and Starla almost overrode everything else in her psyche until she realized that even now, she had her wolf unsuppressed.
If the males' heightened senses caught her scent, they’d be on her faster than she could say boo.
With her eyes closed, she focused inward, feeling the sweet connection to her wolf one more time before she locked it away again.
The loss of not only the other part of her soul, but the extra abilities gutted her each time she had to close her wolf off.
One day, she and Starla would be free to be completely whole and hold nothing of their true natures from the world.
Once her equilibrium balanced out, Aurora visualized a glowing white light surrounding her body and the interior of the vehicle, cleansing everything within it of negativity.
She needed to purify every inch of her surroundings of the events that had unfolded over the last twenty-four hours, before chanting the words of protection.
After several minutes of quiet, Aurora allowed herself to breathe in and out, testing for negative energy surrounding her. She let out a relieved sigh as only lightness filled the interior of the Bronco.
“Circle of light, pure and bright. Guard me now, both day and night,” she said with her eyes closed, and then repeated the words two more times, focusing on her breathing between each chant.
She let out a deep breath when she finished and then opened her eyes, checking her surroundings before starting the next protection spell.
“By root and flame, wind and sea. Only good may come to me.” Again, she repeated the words three times, maintaining her even tone, breathing, and focus.
As the last word left her lips, she opened her eyes, a sense of ease filling her.
Yet, a lingering feeling of dread threatened to send her spiraling, knowing her sister was unprotected.
She let out a frustrated puff of air and searched for the link that she and Starla had created years ago, hoping they were close enough for her to somehow connect with the younger girl.
Seconds felt like hours as she imagined the golden string flowing from her through the woods, searching for Starla.
A protection spell for her sister flowed from her as she sent the thread further. The words were seamless even as she feared she couldn’t hold the link much longer.
“Wrap Starla in light, strong, and clear. Keep her safe, bring her near.” Aurora gave a hard push with the last words, praying to the Goddess for extra strength.
The sliver of light became brighter, and then she felt her. Starla. An image of her sister in the backseat of a large SUV flashed through her mind.
“Starla,” she whispered.
Her sister seemed to sense her presence. She looked so small, but then Aurora realized it was because Starla was lying in a position that made her appear smaller. A shiver wracked Starla’s body, making Aurora want to wrap her arms around her.
The Tahoe’s leather seats were probably cold under her sister’s bare skin. Stupid shifters left a human girl alone in the vehicle while they went off to run in their fur, not thinking about her comfort—the assholes.
“Aurora.” Starla’s voice broke through her mind.
“Oh my god, Biddy Bee, is that you?” Aurora cried.
“How are you in my head?”
Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, but she fought them back as she held their connection, showing her sister the way she found her.
“That is so cool. Can we do this with anyone?”
Aurora chuckled, loving how innocent her sister sounded. “It’s not that easy, nor something you should do with just anyone. Some might find it creepy or get strange ideas about us.”
“Oh, like during the witch trials.”
Aurora got a picture from her sister’s mind that made her flinch. “Oh lord, don’t think of Salem and us in the same vein. But that’s not far off from what could happen if you ran into some crazy person, and they decided to make an example out of you or a name for themselves. You just never know.”
Starla projected herself, rolling her eyes. “You’re rambling, sis. I totally get it. I mean, it would be really cool if I could do this with the smartest kid in class and read all her answers—kidding.”
“I love you, Biddy Bee. I’ve been so scared since they took you.”
“Not half as afraid as I’ve been thinking you were hurt or worse. They said they’d killed you, but I knew you were alive.”
Aurora pressed her fist against her chest, wishing she could hug her sister. “I’m going to get you out of there.”
“They have me in the backseat of the Tahoe with duct tape on my wrists and feet. The alpha glared at me as if I’d killed his favorite pet before he placed the last bit of tape over my mouth.
I swear, Aurora, my world shrank as they filed out of the vehicle and left me inside, and then the howling began.
They all shifted. I’m glad they’re out there, and I’m in here.
Wolves can’t open doors, on account of the whole opposable thumbs thing, right?
” Her sister’s question tumbled into her mind so fast that it took her a beat to catch up.
“Alright, first, I’m glad you’re safe in the vehicle. They haven’t hurt you, right?” Aurora needed to hear Starla tell her they hadn’t touched her or harmed her in any way.
Starla shook her head, the image as clear as if she were right in front of her.
“Okay, good. As for them having the ability to open doors in their wolf form, the answer is no.” She didn’t mention the ease with which most shifters could change from one form to the other since it wouldn’t serve her any purpose.
“Well, that’s a relief. Obviously, I knew about shifters.
Heck, you’re one, and so am I, or I will be when I finally do the dang thing.
It’s not like I haven’t seen you in your gorgeous white wolf form.
Which, you know, amazed me each time I saw you.
I don’t understand how your wolf is white when your hair is so dark.
It makes me wonder what my wolf will look like, given that my hair is the opposite of yours.
Do you think that our animals’ fur is the opposite of what’s on our heads? ”
Hell, Aurora didn’t know what the rules were or how biology or the makeup of wolves and shifters worked.
More howling split the quiet night, but they sounded further away. “Starla, is there any way for you to lock the doors or maybe even wiggle your way to the front and see if the keys are in the ignition?”
Starla looked down at her body, projecting the image of her taped hands and feet into Aurora’s mind again.
The feeling of hopelessness filled her mind at the thought of her little sister’s predicament.
Tears pricked her eyes as she thought of her sister and how easily the males could return and do whatever they wanted to Starla.
“When they’d said you were dead, I knew you weren’t. Do you know how I was so sure, Aurora?”
She waited for Starla to continue, her throat constricting with unshed tears she knew would come across even through their link.
“When mama and daddy died, I felt a piercing pain in my chest just before we escaped from the vehicle, and it fell over the rocky ledge. I never shared that truth with you because you were already carrying so much guilt, and I didn’t want you to feel another layer on top of what you already carried. ”
Aurora could remember every moment of that rainy day all those years ago.
Knowing her little sister kept silent to lessen the burden on Aurora’s shoulders filled her with pride and sadness.
If their parents were still alive, Aurora knew they’d be beaming and nothing anyone could say would dim their light.
“You’re truly remarkable, Biddy Bee,” Aurora said, meaning every word, times ten.
They continued to talk throughout the night, neither of them allowed exhaustion to pull them from their connection. As the first light of the sun broke through the darkness, she felt their connection grow weak as the moon sank below the horizon.
“Biddy Bee, can you look out the window and tell me what you see?”
“Oh my gawd, Aurora. They came back. The shifters. They’re all around the vehicle,” Starla whispered.
Aurora shifted in her seat and tried to control her own panic. “Stay calm, Starla. They’ve obviously been there for a while if they’re sleeping. They must’ve come while we were talking, and you didn’t hear them.”
“Aurora, how am I supposed to keep myself safe if I can’t even hear huge ass wolves outside the damn window?”
She didn’t miss the high-pitched way Starla’s tone sounded through their link, even though it was getting harder for her to keep them connected.
“Listen to me, Starla. They might have a custom-built vehicle that blocks outside sounds. Whatever the reason, you have to keep calm, so they don’t sense your agitation. Do you understand me?”
Wolves loved to hunt, and if they thought her sister was scared, they could become excited and want to play with her.
Like a dog with a new toy, wolves could be unpredictable, especially if her sister’s body happened to be releasing other pheromones their canines found tempting.
Aurora wouldn’t hesitate to drive right into wherever they happened to be and do everything within her power to save Starla or die trying.
Her life wouldn’t be worth living if her sister lost her life, or worse, she ended up passed around the pack like she was nothing but a vessel.
Nope, she would rather take her and her sister out first.