Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
A sharp wind blew through the trees, biting at Kade’s skin. It wasn’t often they made it to mid-November without snow, but he didn’t miss it. This hike was challenging enough—they didn’t need the added complication of wading through drifts.
Kade led the way, with Liam and Aran following close behind. The neutral area between the pack territories was some of the wildest the forest had to offer. There were no natural paths here. Instead, they scrambled over rocks and carved through underbrush. As they wove between gnarled trunks, their steps rustled the thick bed of fallen leaves beneath their feet.
From time to time, they strayed into Victor’s territory, and later Grant’s, when the land was too unforgiving for the mages to traverse, but they attempted to stay outside the pack wards as much as possible. If they were going to find any signs of someone else patrolling or indications of what was happening on Niall’s land, it would be in this unclaimed area.
But there’d been none. No broken branches, no tracks in the dirt, no scents in the air.
“Ugh.” Liam’s whole body shuddered as he passed within a foot of Niall’s wards. His repulsion twisted through their bond. “These things make my skin crawl.”
Kade grimaced in agreement.
Victor and Elijah had grudgingly approved this scouting expedition after an extended debate over whether or not they should accompany them. In the end, it was decided Elijah needed to continue working on ways to break pack wards quickly and the three of them could go provided they absolutely did not, under any circumstances, touch Niall’s wards. Kade wasn’t going to argue over that. Whenever he got too close, a warning buzzed through him, prickling down to his bones, screaming at him to stay away. The wards might have been invisible, but there was no question where the barrier lay, no chance they’d accidentally brush against it.
Niall’s land was suspended in eerie stillness on the other side, deceptively peaceful, no spirits in sight. A glance at their map proved otherwise. It teemed with ashy streaks.
“Okay,” Aran said. “We’ve been hiking for nearly two hours and haven’t seen a damn thing. I’m bored, and it’s so cold my balls are trying to retreat into my body. So, I need a distraction. Kade. Accountant.”
“Please, no.” Liam pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Oh, that’s easy,” Kade said. “I’d appreciate his assets.”
“Or C if he wants a P in his A?”
“That works too. Your turn. Pharmacist.”
“Could we not?” Liam asked, but Aran ignored him.
“Obviously we’d get Rx rated.”
“But over the counter can be fun too.”
“It can. Computer programmer.”
“Of course I’d be getting into his backend.”
“ Guys ,” Liam said, exasperated.
“What?” Aran grinned at him. “Would you rather we rank our favorite MateHub scenes?”
Liam groaned. “I’m never going anywhere with both of you ever again.”
Kade inhaled, about to respond, but then froze, his senses suddenly on high alert. He scanned the area. It appeared undisturbed, but when he took another deep breath, the ghost of corrupt magic invaded his lungs.
Liam and Aran had stopped as well and were looking at him in question, but Kade closed his eyes and concentrated on that reek. Foul magic polluted the air. This was different from the stale scent that had lingered in Grant’s territory; this was fresh. Two mages and at least two shifters.
They were nearing the part of Niall’s land that ran parallel to a narrow county road. If these unknown mages wanted to check out the territory like they had with Grant’s, this was a good balance between remote and accessible.
“Mages,” Kade explained, his voice low. “Possibly the same two. And shifters. I think they’re still here.”
Liam and Aran exchanged a glance, their expressions concerned.
“Do we continue?” Liam asked.
“Fuck yes, we do.” Aran’s tone was resolute. “We need to know who these bastards are.”
Kade couldn’t have agreed more.
The three of them gathered closer together as they proceeded. They crept through the trees, each step placed with precision. Tension coiled around them.
Kade’s heart thundered; his muscles bunched. Every instinct he possessed demanded he get Liam out of there, get him to safety. He did his best to ignore the impulse.
Icy gusts scattered the corrupt scent of magic like loose leaves, but they weren’t far from the source. The mages and their shifter accomplices were just up ahead.
He signaled for Liam and Aran to halt so he could close the final distance on his own. Neither listened.
They crouched and inched forward until four figures were visible through the dense growth. Kade had never seen any of them before. Two shifters flanked the mages, both with the gaunt, worn look Victor’s father had taken on after he’d started to let that bastard mage drain his energy regularly. Their scents were muted in that odd way Kade didn’t understand.
The two mages were facing Niall’s wards, their hands raised, sensing the barrier. One was older, his hair a mix of black and gray. The reek of tainted magic hung around him like a noxious cloud. The other mage was younger. He couldn’t have been much past twenty, perhaps an apprentice, and while his magic was harsh, it lacked the foul scent of darkness.
Kade strained to hear their conversation, their words snatched away by the wind.
“…too strong…”
“…wait until…”
The shifter closest to the older mage leaned in and whispered something that stilled the mage’s movements, a deadly calm washing over him.
He stepped away from the wards.
“We’re heading out.” His voice was quiet but authoritative, and as one, the four of them turned toward the road.
Before Kade could do anything, Aran pressed his hands to the ground. The scent of his magic spiked, and the trees around them stirred.
The mages and shifters spun around. One shifter lunged at them.
Liam leapt up, putting himself between the shifter and Aran. The warmth of his magic bloomed in Kade’s chest as he called a fireball into his hand and lobbed it at the shifter, not aiming to hit him, but a clear warning shot.
The shifter didn’t flinch. Kade cursed and sprinted past Liam to intercept him.
“ Stop ,” the older mage barked, halting the shifter mid-step as if he’d used alpha command, though that didn’t cut off the shifter’s growls.
The older mage slipped a hand into a satchel that was slung over his shoulder and said, “Ward.”
Annoyance marred the younger mage’s face, but he raised his hands in front of him, his fingers moving like he was weaving threads in a tapestry. His eyes glowed purple, and a moment later, a transparent wall of magic was sweeping toward them.
“What the fuck is that?” Aran asked from a few paces behind Kade.
It slammed into Kade first—as frigid as the darkest winter night, stealing his breath. It rolled over him, leaving him shaken and chilled to the bone, but unharmed. He pivoted on his heel and saw Liam running forward and Aran dashing off to the side.
The magic didn’t hit Liam—it curved and enclosed him in a dome.
Something whizzed past Kade’s head, carried by a wind of corrupted magic, and he took a step toward Liam, toward that strange wall of magic that had trapped him.
There was a flash of brilliant white, and the wards solidified as Kade’s fist connected with the barrier. It didn’t budge.
His gaze locked with Liam’s wide-eyed stare for one heartbeat, but then something inside the ward exploded.
A silvery fog billowed in the dome, blocking Liam from Kade’s view.
But he felt him.
Felt his lungs filling with smoke.
Felt him choking.
Coughing.
Struggling to breathe.
Kade battered at the ward, scrabbled with ineffective hands, scraped against it with his claws. Panic inundated him. He had to get to Liam. Something was wrong with him. More than not being able to breathe. This went deeper.
The forest groaned. Trees creaked and came to life, and Aran’s magic flared again.
Kade wrenched his eyes away from the barrier and saw the mages and shifters fleeing as roots shot up to snare their feet. They dodged branches that lashed out, snagging their clothing. They struggled and fought through it until they disappeared among the trees.
“ Fuck .” Aran hurried over. “I can’t control trees I can’t see.”
Kade had zero fucks to give about that. Liam was still trapped. Still felt off in his mind.
He turned back to the barrier. The smoke inside had cleared enough to reveal Liam on his knees, shaking hands braced against the ground as he coughed, then took in a rattling breath. The sight of him barely eased Kade’s nerves. He didn’t know what was happening to Liam or how to help. Frustration ate away at him, mocking his uselessness.
“Go after—” Liam’s words were interrupted by a coughing fit.
“Oh, shut up,” Aran said. “Like hell I’m leaving you here. What happened? What did they hit you with?”
“Artemisia,” Liam said, then coughed so hard it had Kade pounding against the ward before he realized what he was doing.
Aran gently pushed him away. “That won’t do anything.”
Kade knew that, but he couldn’t just stand there. Liam needed help. He snarled.
Aran placed a palm on the ward. “This is well made, but there isn’t much power behind it. I bet that fucking kid could make wards only Elijah could break, but this I can handle. He must not have had time to set it properly.”
He crouched and pressed his hands to the ground. Roots slithered up from the earth and wrapped around the base of the ward. It flickered and shimmered, and the roots grew thicker, like they were feeding off its energy.
“It’ll take a bit for the roots to leach off enough energy for me to break it,” Aran said. “You might as well sit.”
Kade pushed against the barrier and swore it gave a fraction, but when he did it again, it felt as solid as before.
Liam looked up at him, his eyes watery from coughing. He gestured for Kade to sit. “I’m—”
“Don’t even think about saying you’re fine,” Kade said, and Liam’s surprise sparked through their bond. “Artemisia?” Kade asked Aran, the word finally registering. “Is that the shit that keeps you from using magic?”
Aran’s expression was grim. “A certain variety of it, yes. I’ve never heard of a mage using it offensively before. Most won’t touch the stuff.”
That was it. That was why Liam felt off. He couldn’t access his magic.
The fog had dissipated completely, and Liam seemed to be catching his breath, his cough subsiding, though Kade still needed to get inside that barrier.
An eternity passed before Aran stood, the roots he’d summoned sinking back into the ground. He rested his hands against the dome, his eyes narrowing as he focused on sending a pulse of magic into the ward.
It shattered, the remnants of magic falling away, and Kade rushed to Liam, dropping to his knees beside him. Liam didn’t resist as Kade pulled him into his arms and ran his hands over him.
“I’m fine.” Liam’s voice was wrecked, so rough he sounded nothing like himself.
Kade didn’t believe him for one minute. He skated his hands up to Liam’s neck and froze when they brushed against skin.
Liam’s magic wasn’t moving under his fingertips; it didn’t respond to his touch.
Liam was not fine. Not even remotely. Kade sensed how uncomfortable and unsettled he felt.
“How long does this last?” Kade asked.
“Depends on the dose,” Aran said. “It usually wears off after about twenty-four hours, but if Elijah has any on hand, I can use a spell to help draw it out of Liam’s system. That’ll speed things up considerably.”
“Then let’s get to the pack house.”
Liam shook his head. “We should go after them.”
“No. That’s not happening.”
“Yeah,” Aran said, “I’m with Kade. We aren’t chasing down dangerous mages when you can’t use magic. Besides, if they’re intelligent at all, they’re long gone. They probably had a car waiting, and we do not.”
Liam seemed about to argue, but then he deflated. Kade helped him up.
The journey back to Victor’s territory was rougher. Liam was unsteady on his feet, his mind fuzzy from the effects of the herb and the adrenaline crash after their confrontation with the mages. Kade had to restrain the instinct to pick him up and carry him home. Liam wouldn’t appreciate that, and Kade was trying not to push him, trying not to freak him out more than he already was over the last few days.
He was fairly certain Liam had realized they had a true bond, but he clearly needed time to process it. Kade had sworn to himself that he’d give Liam space to do that, but goddamnit, that promise was difficult to stick to when his wolf wanted to comfort their mate, to wrap him in his arms, to keep him safe and care for him.
Once they got to Victor’s territory, they followed the regular paths.
Aran sent a message to Elijah, and as they neared the house, Elijah’s reply came through. He didn’t have any of that particular variety of artemisia in the shop, and he didn’t believe there was any in the attic.
“That’s not surprising,” Liam said. “Who’d keep something on hand that can do this to them? But I’m fine waiting it out.”
Kade didn’t call him on that either. “Wolf packs generally don’t keep wolfsbane around, but Grandma did. Apparently she could use it to cure wolfsbane poisoning if necessary.” From what he understood, only mages could do that, so packs without mages kept it as far from themselves as possible.
Aran nodded. “It’s basically the same spell I would have done on Liam if Elijah had some of the right artemisia. It’s a like-to-like thing. You aren’t healing the mage or shifter, just removing the poison so it can’t do more damage.”
That made sense, and for shifters, once the wolfsbane was out of their system, their enhanced healing would kick in and take care of the rest.
“Honestly,” Liam said. “I’m kind of glad Elijah doesn’t have any. I’ve done enough coughing today.”
Kade frowned, not following.
“It comes out the same way it went in,” Aran explained. “If you inhale it, you have to exhale it. If it’s ingested, it gets thrown up. If it’s in your blood, you bleed it out.”
Liam grimaced. “So the chances of it not bringing on another coughing fit are exactly zero. But that doesn’t matter. Did you recognize those shifters or mages?”
“No,” Kade said. “They aren’t from around here.”
“If they’re waiting for the wards to fail, they aren’t allied with Niall’s pack.” Each word sounded like it’d been dragged over gravel. “And if they need the pack to be weakened before they attack them or capture them or do whatever they do to them, they must not be strong enough or have enough people to take on an entire pack. Those are both good things.”
“But we still haven’t discovered who they are or where their hideout is,” Aran countered. “I’d wager any amount of money that the blood we’re tracking is from a shifter who wasn’t with them today.”
“That younger mage’s scent wasn’t corrupted,” Kade said. “Is it because he’s young? Does it get worse as you get older?”
Liam cocked his head. “He might not have done anything too terrible yet. But considering who he’s working with, it seems like only a matter of time.”
“That ward he did,” Aran said. “It moved. I didn’t think that was possible.”
“Same. We’ll have to tell Elijah.”
It wasn’t long before they could do that. Victor and Elijah were on the back porch, and Elijah bounded down the stairs to meet them the moment they emerged from the forest.
“Are you okay?” Elijah asked. “Yes, yes, I know you’re fine. Beyond that?”
Liam huffed. “I just need some time to recover.”
Elijah shot Kade a look. “Can you keep him in bed until he does that?”
Aran cackled. “Do you even have to ask?”
“I don’t need to be in bed!”
“That’d be more convincing if you didn’t sound like you’ve been deep-throating sandpaper,” Elijah said.
“I can’t use magic, and I coughed a lot. That doesn’t mean I need to be confined to bed.”
“I’ll bring you any book you want from the attic,” Kade offered.
Liam paused, eyeing him.
“As many as you want.”
When Liam didn’t immediately protest, Elijah clapped his hands. “Perfect. That’s settled. Liam gets a day in bed reading.”
“But I should be—”
“Nope. We’re done for the day. We’ll pick things up tomorrow.”
Liam grumbled, but let Kade herd him up to their room. He felt frustrated, though Kade didn’t need their bond to know that—they were all frustrated. Not that they could do anything about it. They had to wait. Wait for the artemisia to leave Liam’s system, wait for Elijah to figure out a quick way into Niall’s territory, wait for the stone to stop so they could find the hideout. Wait, wait, wait. Enough waiting to test anyone’s patience.
Kade hovered until Liam climbed into bed and grabbed the book on his bedside table.
“Can I get you anything? Something to eat?”
“No, thanks. My throat can’t handle food right now.”
“Something to drink? Tea? Soup? Broth?”
“I’m not sick. You don’t need to bring me chicken soup in bed.”
But what if he wanted to?
“Are you going to be able to relax and read if I don’t let you bring me something?”
Well, Kade was feeling called out. If he answered that truthfully, would Liam think he was fussing too much? “Umm…”
“Okay. Tea, please? And if you must, soup for dinner.”
Kade fought back a grin and slipped out of the room.
Maybe a little waiting wasn’t so bad after all.