Chapter 6
Raven
Pungent cigar smoke irritated my nose, making me want to sneeze, but my face had frozen. When I tried to open my eyes, it felt like someone had glued them shut.
Every part of me ached. My head especially.
Where was I?
Since I couldn’t see anything, I focused on what I could hear.
A murmur of voices, the chink of ice in a glass, and the crackle of burning logs told me this wasn’t the club.
In a state of panic, I reached out to my loyal familiar. “Kenji?”
“What?”
“Something’s happened! Tiberius Vane is here and I can’t move!”
“Can it wait? I’m in the middle of something.”
“Kenji! Please, I need you!” If my eyes still worked, I would have cried. Instead, I poured all my fear and frustration down the bond with my familiar before reaching out to my mates.
I waited.
And waited.
But to my horror, none of them responded and realized I could no longer sense any of them.
Panic blew open the magic capsule in my chest. Heat consumed me in a fiery embrace as my power threatened to explode, but whatever heinous magic had paralyzed me also stopped my magic from escaping.
The heat and pressure burned me from the inside out, melting my bones. Or so it felt. Tears trickled down my cheeks at the agonizing pain tearing me apart.
“Father.” Alaric’s smooth voice stemmed my panic, easing the magic firestorm waging a war in my chest. I exhaled slowly and focused on trying to remain calm.
Kenji would be here any minute now. He’d have a plan. My familiar had always saved my bacon in the past. Mostly because I made sure he had an endless supply of bacon.
Alaric would surely help me too. He’d said in the library that he wanted to make me his, and I believed him.
So why was his father here, and why wasn’t Alaric helping me escape this malignant spell?
“It saddens me it took Rink to bring you into line, but I’m pleased with the outcome.” Who was Rink?
I tried to turn my head, desperate to see what was happening outside my field of vision, but the magic held me firm.
“She looks just like her mother.” The snooty female voice was not one I recognized, but the reference to my mom triggered a fresh burst of fiery magic.
I genuinely feared I might die. Burning alive was even worse than drowning. Who knew?
Was this what the witches burned at the stake endured? Goddess save us all.
“Stop fighting the magic, Alaric.” A pair of stockinged feet encased in elegant stiletto shoes crossed my line of sight before pausing. Stars above, were they made from troll skin? From the gray, stone-like texture, it seemed likely.
I nearly heaved my guts up at the very idea of magical beings being skinned to make leather shoes for rich bitch witches.
And yes, this bitch had to be a witch. Despite being paralyzed, I could sense her magic. The cloying power brushing over me suggested this was Alaric’s mother, Brianna.
I’d seen pictures of her online. Alaric looked nothing like his mother, strangely, but Brianna was undeniably beautiful in a cold, untouchable way. She and Tiberius made a very photogenic couple, and from what I’d heard, they were well-suited personality-wise, both of them psychopaths.
“I can see her father in her too,” the witch commented.
“Her looks don’t matter. It’s her magic I want.”
“Father…you…” A pained groan emanated from my left before I heard a faint thump as a heavy body hit the floor.
“Be quiet, son. If you continue to fight the enchantment, it could cause irreparable brain damage.” Tiberius sighed. “I’d prefer it if that didn’t happen, but you are not indispensable.”
A tinkle of feminine laughter followed, and I shivered as a cool draft brushed my legs.
“Sir, it’s time to leave.”
“Good, good. We’ll be there shortly. Check the wards to make sure the witch’s mates can’t find her.”
“Of course, sir.”
Something crashed to the floor.
“For fuck’s sake,” Tiberius grumbled. “I should have told Rink to reinforce the spell. He’s fighting it too hard.”
“Be careful, Alaric,” the female warned. “Your mother’s life hinges on your cooperation.”
Mother? Was Brianna not his mother?
“You…will…regret…” A blast of magic silenced Alaric. Ice coated the floor in shimmering blue crystals. When it reached my exposed skin, I sighed in relief as it cooled my magic.
“Come, my darling, it’s time,” Brianna urged.
My head lolled forward as someone dragged me to my feet and threw me over a broad shoulder. They carried me through an open door and down a thickly carpeted corridor.
“Kenji!” If my familiar didn’t get here soon, it might be too late.
“Goddess, what did I do to deserve such a pain-in-the-ass witch?”
I choked while promising myself that, the minute I escaped this predicament, I would apply for a new familiar. One concerned about my safety.
We descended a steep staircase. With every step, my stomach lurched. And with my dress hiked up around my hips, anyone who cared to look would have a stellar view of my ass.
Where were my males?
Even though they were all capable of defending themselves, I worried about them. There were likely dozens of highly trained mages working for Tiberius Vane. If they used dark magic enchantments, my beloved mates might end up hurt or worse.
I tried reaching out to them again, but the bonds remained silent as a grave. At least they were still alive.
Kai’s capture by the sea witch had been a painful lesson in what happened when a mate bond frayed.
“Put her over there,” Tiberius ordered before the male carrying me unceremoniously dumped my ass on a fur rug. This time, thank the goddess, I had a better view of the room. A tall woman with lustrous red hair stood waiting by a door on the far side.
My assessment earlier had been correct: this was Brianna Vane, leader of the Nightshade Coven.
When my gaze swiveled to my left, I spotted Alaric. Thick ice encased his legs, effectively immobilizing him, and his eyes were closed.
Goddess, he’d end up with frostbite if someone didn’t release him soon.
My magic surged forward again, eager to help my mate.
This time, the enchantment locking me in place failed to stop the heat from spreading.
As Tiberius and his evil bitch of a wife, who had successfully knocked the mer queen off the number one spot for the Worst Mother-In-Law Ever, talked in low voices, the ice around Alaric slowly melted.
Water spread, soaking the thick white pelt under me. I pushed harder, desperate to free Alaric before his parents noticed, but before I could complete the task, Tiberius turned to check on us.
“Well, well. This is interesting.” He chuckled with amusement.
Brianna the bitch pursed her lips. “She’s more powerful than I expected. We’d better speed things up before she frees herself.”
Tiberius flicked his fingers, refreezing the ice that locked Alaric in place. This time it spread to encompass his entire torso, leaving only his head free.
My storm mage showed no reaction. He’d checked out.
Once his parents turned their backs on us, I tried testing the strength of the magic holding me. I could move a fraction, but not enough to do anything useful.
“Dammit, Kenji, now would be good!”
“Five minutes.”
“We don’t have five minutes!”
“Three, then.”
“Sir, there’s been a disturbance on the perimeter,” a male voice said from behind me. “It appears the witch’s consorts are trying to get past the wards.”
Tiberius huffed crossly.
“Send the guards. Kill the bear if you have to, but bring me the incubus alive. I can use him.”
“And the other one?”
“The merman? Kill him. Laryssa won’t care.”
The male cleared his throat. “It’s not the merman.”
“Whatever, just fucking deal with it, Rink!”
Footsteps faded away, and a door slammed shut with a blast of magical energy.
Tears filled my eyes at the thought of what the mages would do to my soul-bonded mates. Only the knowledge that Maverick, Zane, and Rasmus were incredibly powerful stopped me from having a complete breakdown.
I had to remain strong for them. They were coming for me.
“You called, witch?” Kenji popped into view on a stone table. He took one look at the rug beneath me and his whole demeanor changed from bored to incandescent with rage.
“My brother!”
Oh my goddess, was this white animal pelt the remains of Kenji’s brother? Horror washed over me. Poor Kenji.
“I’m so sorry, Kenji. I had no idea.”
“They will pay for this!” Kenji’s eyes flashed molten, mirroring my witch fire magic. The spell holding me shattered. I gasped in relief at finally being able to move my aching limbs.
Brianna spun around. She spotted Kenji and cast dark magic in his direction, but he blinked out of sight before the spell hit him.
Alaric’s eyes snapped open, widening when he saw I was now free, but before I could use my magic to melt the ice around him once again, a wave of thick, shadowy dark magic washed over me.
Brianna smirked. “That should hold her until we reach the facility.”
Facility?
A glowing portal appeared at the end of the room just as the door behind me opened and heavy footsteps sounded. The unpleasant scent of an unwashed male rolled over me. Thick arms hooked under my armpits as a second male lifted Alaric’s prone body.
I tried to scream, but Brianna’s spell had sealed my mouth shut. Without Kenji’s help, I had no way of breaking the enchantment.
The mages carried Alaric and me through the portal and into a gleaming white room.
What on earth was this place?
The portal closed as a mage dropped me onto a gurney and anchored my wrists and ankles with thick metal cuffs.
The ice encasing Alaric melted away once a mage snapped cuffs onto his wrists too.
“Take her to room ten,” Tiberius ordered from the doorway. “I have a meeting, so we’ll begin tomorrow.”
I struggled to no avail. The cuffs blocked my magic.
The stinky mage pushed my gurney into a corridor lit with retina-searing strip lights. It was eerily quiet. No voices, cries, or yells.
Then we passed an open door, and I saw something that made my blood run cold. A female lay strapped to a table. Tubes siphoned blood from her wrists into a container on the floor. Red eyes landed on me as my gurney rolled by, and I spotted sharp fangs when she hissed.
Oh my goddess, Rasmus wasn’t the only vamp to survive the bloodborne virus!
But why was the female vamp stuck in this place, and why were they taking her blood?
We left the room behind and reached another metal door. The mage pressed his thumb to a small pad, and the door opened. He pushed the gurney in and then left me.
I screamed and yelled, but when it became clear nobody was coming back, I sucked in a shaky breath, forcing the panic down.
As a strong, independent witch, I didn’t need my mates to rescue me. I was more than capable of rescuing myself. And since Alaric was in no fit state to help me, I’d rescue his pathetic ass as well.
The mages would regret the day they’d crossed me!
Or they would when I figured out how the hell to break these stupid cuffs…