Chapter 17 - Annika
My heart pounds with discontent, hammering when I hear the thud of the door as it closes behind Heinrich.
I rush up to it, hand trembling on the handle as I fight every urge to go after him, to follow him into that fight, every instinct screaming at me that he's walking right into danger that will bring him back hurt, or worse…
Gulping hard because I refuse to think of it, all I focus on is the feeling shaking me to the core—this intense, relentless feeling that tightens my chest while my fingers tingle with sensation.
I know what this feeling is because I've felt it before, I've felt it every time Heinrich and I have touched, even briefly, or when we kiss, or when we made love…
It's the mate bond, and Sophie was right about what she said. It's why I walked down the hallway tonight, unable to fall asleep because all I could think about was Heinrich, and what it'd mean for my magic if I opened my heart to him.
Who am I kidding?
I want to be near him.
Not because he's my fated mate, or accepting him into my heart means that I can have proper control over my powers.
I want to be near him because I want him, in the most primal way a woman can want a man.
What's frightening right now is that beyond this feeling, the dread remains of watching Heinrich leave the cabin to go after the demons.
I pull my hand away from the handle and stare at both my palms, trying to find that center Sophie has been teaching me about—that quiet center that will allow me to control my power and wield my magic at will.
If I can find it now, I can safely go outside, follow him into the fight, and help him take down the demons. But no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I try to strain my mind, I just can't seem to find that center.
“Deep breaths, Anni…” I remember Sophie's words and close my eyes, trying to pick up on the same control I found this afternoon, the one that allowed me to control fire magic and blend it with Anastasia's earth power.
But a few deep breaths in, I still can’t find it, leading me to feel defeated, my shoulders drooping, and my head hanging with a sinking feeling in my chest. Maybe I didn't open my heart to Heinrich in time, maybe I didn't give him a chance.
No.
If tonight, when I couldn't fall asleep and found him in the hallway, proved anything, it's that I'm finally beginning to understand what this fated mate bond is all about. It’s a pull that I can’t ignore—perhaps one that I felt from the moment I saw him in that office when I walked in for an interview, oblivious to the fated mate bond, to werewolves, witches, and demons, unaware that an entire world existed beyond the one I knew.
I felt it then—that undeniable attraction toward him, despite how cold he appeared; there was a certain warmth in his eyes that I caught before he turned his gaze away, and perhaps he felt it too, and that’s why he kept his eyes glued to his computer screen that day.
Maybe that’s why he hired me despite my very unattractive resume—
Shit!
The realization hits me suddenly, eyes widening as the pieces of the puzzle begin to make sense, painting a clear picture in my head.
Heinrich and I were always destined to find each other, and we did, the moment I walked into his office for that meeting.
I didn’t need to know back then about his double life, because it wasn’t the time.
It was divinely orchestrated for me to be here now, for my magic to awaken in time to help the valley packs defeat the demons that have been devastating and haunting them for the past three years.
I close my eyes as a wave of recognition flows through me, covering my bones with a steady hum of warmth that spreads into every nerve ending my body possesses.
My eyes close naturally, and I discover the center I’ve been trying to chase.
It comes toward me now, flowing into my chest where I’d finally opened my heart to what it truly means to be the fated mate of an alpha werewolf.
Beyond that, and perhaps greater than just being the alpha’s mate, I find the core of who I am, blazing like a growing ember of gold and scarlet behind my eyelids.
I feel it permeating from the very pores of my palms, pulsing with heat, pulsing with control, following the rhythm of my heartbeat as I finally find the core I’d been searching for.
My eyes open, burning like glowing embers that fill my chest with determination and renewed resolve to go ahead and fight alongside my fated mate.
That’s when I take the door handle, feeling the metal heating beneath my touch as I open the door.
I step outside onto the porch, ready to take down anything in my way, when a strip of cold, paralyzing metal wraps around my wrists.
“Wh—”
Before I can properly yell out my horror, my gasp is stolen by a strange mist in my face, while my wrists are forced together as if a chain around them is being tugged tightly.
The mist in my face blurs my vision, and a cry of terror rips from my throat as I turn blind.
I’m trying to cling on to any semblance of my vision, but my burning throat makes it nearly impossible to even call out for Heinrich’s help.
Defeated, I fall to my knees, feeling the mist curling around my throat like dark tendrils of horror that are about to pull me into the throes of hell.
***
Pain is the first thing I feel. It seeps into my consciousness slowly, like poison dripping into my veins, spreading from my wrists to my shoulders, down my spine, and into the very marrow of my bones.
A soft groan escapes my lips before I even open my eyes.
The air smells wrong, like damp stone and metal, and something rotten lingering beneath it all.
My lashes flutter open, but the world swims violently out of focus. For a moment, I think the mist from earlier is still blinding me. Shapes blur together in dark grays and blacks until my vision steadies just enough for me to make sense of where I am.
A cave…
Cold rock presses against my back. My wrists burn with a searing ache, and when I instinctively try to move, the sharp clink of metal echoes through the cavern.
Chains.
My breath catches in my throat as panic slams into me, and I look down.
Thick metal cuffs clamp around my wrists, linked together by a heavy chain bolted into the stone wall behind me. My ankles are bound as well, another chain keeping me pinned to the ground like an animal.
My heart begins to race.
What happened?
My mind races with the recollection. The porch. The mist. The trap. Memory crashes back all at once, and I jerk violently against the restraints, but the metal bites deeper into my skin.
“Easy there.”
The unfamiliar voice cuts through the darkness like a knife, and I freeze. Slowly, my eyes lift, and a figure steps out of the shadows across the cave.
A man.
A very plain, ordinary man. Human. At least…he looks human.
He’s dressed in dark tactical gear—black boots, reinforced vest, holstered weapons strapped across his chest like something straight out of a military operation. Behind him, dim lantern light reveals more figures lingering in the shadows.
Humans.
Several of them.
My stomach churns with fear and recognition, because somehow, I can make out that they’re human. There is no scent like what the werewolves carry, that rich smell of earthiness that I didn’t quite understand before, and there isn’t the smell of sulfur from the demons.
“You’re awake faster than we expected,” the man says calmly, his voice smooth, casual. Like this is just another Tuesday night.
I swallow hard. “W-who are you?” My voice comes out hoarse and cracked.
The man tilts his head slightly, studying me like I’m a specimen under glass. “Someone who’s been looking for you for a very long time.”
My pulse pounds louder. “Where am I?”
He ignores the question. Instead, he crouches in front of me. That’s when I see the faint emblem stitched onto his shoulder.
A symbol I don’t recognize—some kind of black insignia over crossed blades. But something about it makes my stomach twist. His gaze drifts to the cuffs around my wrists.
“You feel that, don’t you?” he says quietly.
I frown.
Feel what?
Then I realize what he means, when the tingling in my fingers…the heat I’ve grown used to…the faint pulse of power that’s been living beneath my skin since my magic awakened, isn’t there.
It’s gone. Completely gone. A cold emptiness fills my chest where my magic should be. Panic claws up my throat.
“What did you do to me?” I whisper.
The man smiles faintly. “Special alloy,” he says, tapping the cuff around my wrist. “Military-grade suppression tech. Designed to neutralize supernatural energy.”
My blood runs cold. “You’re…human,” I breathe, narrowing my eyes at him..
“Congratulations.” He stands slowly. “You figured that out all by yourself.”
“Yeah, but not the good kind.”
A soft laugh echoes from somewhere deeper in the cave, and another figure steps forward. This one I recognize immediately. Not the face, but the presence, and the smell of rot and decay.
The same sickening energy that followed the demons in the forest.
A demon steps into the light.
Its twisted form stretches nearly to the cave ceiling, dark skin cracked like burnt earth, glowing eyes locking onto me with predatory delight. My stomach flips violently, and the human glances back at it with mild irritation.
“Patience,” he mutters to the demon.
The demon’s lips curl into something resembling a smile.
My breath comes faster now. “You’re working with them…” I say in disbelief, the realization hitting me like a blow to the chest.
The man shrugs. “It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
My mind reels. “But why?” I whisper.
The man’s eyes gleam. “Because power like yours doesn’t belong to creatures hiding in forests.” His gaze drifts over me like I’m something valuable. “Power like yours belongs to those who know how to use it.”
Fear crawls up my spine. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lie.
The demon lets out a low, rumbling chuckle. “Oh, we know exactly what you are,” it growls, voice echoing as if two or three people are speaking at once. It sounds like stone grinding against bone. “Don’t lie, witch.”
My chest tightens, and the human crouches again. “And not just any witch.” His hand suddenly grabs my chin, forcing my face upward. “A fire witch strong enough to close the portal.”
My breath hitches.
They know.
They know everything.
“Which means,” he continues calmly, still holding my chin, “you’re either going to help us”—His grip tightens painfully—“or we’re going to break you until you do.”
A tremor runs through me. I yank my face away from his hand. “You’re insane,” I snap weakly.
The human sighs. “Shame.” He stands, throwing over his shoulder, “Start with the wrists.”
Two of the other humans step forward. Before I can react, one of them slams something sharp into the cuff around my wrist.
Electricity explodes through my arm. A scream tears out of my throat before I can stop it. Agony rips through my nerves like lightning, forcing my back to arch violently against the stone wall.
“Still no magic,” one of them mutters.
“Good,” the leader replies.
The demon crouches nearby, watching with disturbing fascination. Pain continues to surge through my body in relentless waves. Tears blur my vision, but through the agony, one thought refuses to leave my mind.
Heinrich.
My chest tightens painfully. He’s going to come back to the cabin. He’s going to find the door open and find that I’m gone.
A sob escapes my throat.
Please find me.
Please…
The human grabs my jaw again. “Begging already?” he mocks, and I shake my head weakly.
“Please…” I whisper hoarsely.
But I’m not pleading with them.
My mind clings desperately to the one person I know will come for me.
Heinrich.
Even as the pain crashes over me again, even as darkness begins creeping into the edges of my vision, I hold onto that single, desperate hope.
He will come.
He has to.
Because if he doesn’t, I’m not sure how much longer I can survive this.