Chapter 13 #2
“Very good.” Condescension dripped from Sereana’s compliment.
We turned to find the witch watching us as if we were a science experiment she was observing to record.
Between her high cheekbones, shiny caramel-colored hair, and plump lips, she was stunning. She bore no wrinkles or age spots, and there wasn’t a single strand of silver in her hair, making her appear to be somewhere around my age, but she looked no older now than she did when I was little.
All magic wielders were slow to age. Rust said it was the universe’s rectification for our tragically low birth rates. But Sereana’s youthful appearance was definitely unnatural.
A fitted yellow dress with white flowers accentuated her curves, ending about an inch above sandaled feet.
Her only imperfection was the dingy white fanny pack cinched around her waist. Screen-printed with the silhouette of Seattle’s pre-war skyline, it seemed to hold an unlimited quantity of spell ingredients.
The eighteen-inch machete sheathed at her waist added strong don’t-mess-with-me vibes, but it was the bone-chilling look in her eyes and the stench of brimstone tainting her scent that kept everyone away.
Stormy gray eyes conducted a quick perusal of Mackiel before she announced, “He’ll do.”
For what?
Before I could ask what deranged machinations she had for my boyfriend, the alpha emerged from the shadows, taking me by surprise thanks to the cacophony of scents that made up her garden.
“As I’ve told you before, witch…” He strode across the rooftop, stopping directly in front of Sereana in a flex that only Chaz McCarthy, Alpha of the Evergreen Pack, could pull off. “I don’t need your approval of the management of my wolves.”
Sereana smiled, showing him every single one of her gleaming white teeth. My aunt wasn’t a shifter, but she didn’t drop her gaze to anyone. And she sure as shit didn’t bare her throat.
“The pup is escorting my niece across the desert. I merely sought to make sure he could control his beast. As is my right as Ziara’s sole living family member on her mother’s side.”
Sereana was complicated. Sometimes I got the feeling she wanted me dead, but then she spouted off protective crap like that, and it only confused me.
“Hello, niece.” She turned to face me, showing her back to Dad, who ground his teeth at her snub. “I trust you brought the artifact with you.”
It wasn’t a question, but I tugged on my backpack strap and answered, “I did.”
“Of course you did. The pack’s little bitch will do anything for her alpha, won’t you?
” She held out her hand, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
I had faith in my aunt’s knowledge, but not necessarily her motives.
Dad, Rust, and I were in this for the pack, but the witch didn’t have an altruistic bone in her body.
Not for the first time, I wondered what was in it for her.
I checked in with the alpha—who gave me an irritated nod—before sliding my bag down my arms, unzipping the pocket, and removing the bloodstone.
The warm, tingly sensation returned as soon as I touched it, so I handed the thing over like a hot potato.
Eyes gleaming with amusement at my obvious discomfort, she held the rock up to the moon before tucking it away in her fanny pack with a ghost of a smile and a curt nod.
“Come, Ziara. It’s time.”
With the guys on our heels, Sereana ushered me into the shed at the back of the roof.
I glanced at my father, hoping with all I was worth that he’d ask Mack to stay outside.
No such luck. When their footsteps followed me inside, I had to resist the urge to look back and catch Mack’s expression because Sereana did, in fact, own a cauldron.
And it really drew the eye upon entry. The scent of old blood hit, making me want to cover my nose, and my usually dormant wolf stirred within me.
She knew what was about to happen, but she was too weak to fight it.
Especially since we were binding her a week early.
This time, locking her up would be a piece of cake.
At least that was what I kept telling myself.
It didn’t matter how many times I’d been through this, goose bumps still erupted across my arms like mini volcanoes as I marched past wooden tables laden with odd-smelling candles, spell books, and other creepy shit.
A severed toe caught my eye, just lying out in the open as if it were normal.
The thing was dark gray, tipped with a talon, and twice the size of mine. What sort of creature was it even from?
And where was the rest of its body?
Curiosity was a goddamn curse.
I glanced over my shoulder right as Mack saw the toe and turned a little green.
That didn’t bode well for what was to come, but I forced myself to relax.
He usually mirrored my emotions, and that was the last thing we needed right now, because in the center of the shed, surrounded by a giant pentagram of salt sprinkled with blood, stood a wooden block topped with a stone slab.
The slab was about the size of a twin bed and slanted slightly downward in the center, creating a reservoir that drained into a collection bucket at the foot.
Steel bars equipped with leather straps encircled the base, and two-inch metal spikes covered one side of the straps. It looked like… well… a torture bed.
And every inch was stained with my blood.
I met Mack’s gaze, and my stomach fell. When we were growing up, he’d begged me to tell him what the binding was like, but I hadn’t wanted him to look at me like he was now.
Trusting Dad to keep him in line, I stripped out of my clothes and climbed onto the stone slab, trying to pretend that being naked in front of my boyfriend and dad wasn’t awkward.
Mack had seen me naked only hours ago, but this had to be weird for him, too.
I almost preferred Hitch’s pervy eyes on me.
Almost.
“Prepare her, Chaz,” Sereana said.
My father bristled at the order before striding forward.
He nabbed a stick from a nearby table and held it up to my mouth.
I dutifully opened and secured it between my teeth as he stretched a leather strap across my shoulders with the metal spikes facing down, resting against my skin.
He checked the positioning and then drove the spikes into my flesh.
Mack made a sound that he immediately strangled.
My wolf surged, weakly battering at her magical cage as Dad tightened the straps, latching them on the opposite side.
I bit down on the stick and focused on breathing, imagining myself safely tucked away in my room.
He stretched the next strap over me. Pain erupted across my chest, and I broke into a tremble I couldn’t stop.
Blood pooled around the spikes and rolled down my sides. Mack staggered forward, but the alpha let out a growl that forced him to drop his gaze, hands fisting at his sides.
Sereana chanted in the ancient tongue of magic as Dad completed the physical binding.
The storm in her gray eyes broke, and her pupils glowed silver as she dug into her power.
Magic built, singeing my nostrils, as electricity hummed beneath my skin.
My trembling evolved into a full-body shake, and despite the chilly air against my skin, my insides felt like they were on fire.
Sereana’s spell crested. Magic slammed into me, violently twisting and squeezing my body until I was a rag wrung dry. I gasped for breath and swallowed back bile, teetering on the edge of consciousness and wishing I could just pass the freak out.
Flashes of memories crashed into me, reminding me why I did this. A woman screamed. Hot blood splashed against my skin. Someone sobbed. The alpha asked what happened to Jillian.
Binding my beast might be torture, but it was vastly superior to letting the bitch free.
When I was sure I couldn’t take any more, the magic finally ebbed and then fled completely. Exhausted and trembling, I blinked until the edges of the room came back into focus, trying to muster up the energy to turn my head and check on Mack.
Sereana stepped into view, tugging the bloodstone from her fanny pack. The binding was over, but instead of removing the stick from between my teeth like she usually did, she raised the artifact into the air and started chanting again.
Sweat plastered her usually perfect hair to her face as she tensed with the bloodstone in the air. Magic built toward another crescendo.
Then she stabbed the bloodstone down on my neck.
A crimson curtain of gore splattered my vision as my nerves caught fire.
Echoes of anguish ricocheted in my head as Mack screamed my name.
Then everything went blissfully black.