8. CHAPTER 8
I want to kiss her again, I want to taste her lips and show her just how important she is to me. I need her to know that now that we’re mated, she’s the only one I’ll ever see, touch, and love. Before I have a chance to do any of those things, we’re interrupted by the horrible reality that is our current situation.
They’re coming,my wolf warns me at the very same moment that I catch the shuffling of footsteps nearing the door.
Even though she doesn’t need protection, I try to pull Alyssa behind me to cover her with my body. She doesn’t budge and shoots me a look, wordlessly telling me that she can handle herself. I give her a small smile, realizing that I’ve forgotten that while she’s my mate now, she’s also my Alpha.
We don’t need to talk it through to know what comes next. When the witches enter the room, we’ll have to use the advantage of surprise and try to take them down as quickly as we can. If they regroup and put their protections up before we can do some serious damage, we’re royally fucked.
As they come closer, Alyssa and I find each other’s hands and share a comforting squeeze. In that small gesture, we exchange all the little things and emotions that we didn’t have time to name yet. It’s everything we need to do and say in case we don’t come out of this mess alive.
We won’t die, my wolf says, sounding more confident than I feel. We can’t die. Not now that we’ve found our soulmate.
You’re right, I reply. If life wasn’t worth living before, it certainly is now.
Let’s fuck them up!my wolf growls, breaking through several of the spells the witches used to block my connection with him and my abilities. Although I”m not as strong as I”d like to be, I”m no longer vulnerable.
With a single thought, I invite my wolf to come out and share this experience with me. He doesn’t hesitate to answer the call, lending me his fangs and claws. I slightly open my mouth to keep the extracting fangs from piercing my lip. My nails grow five times their normal size, the tip turning into a sharp and deadly claw. I’ll use Darkness as much as I can, but if they put up a fight, I might be too weak to break through their defenses.
Not knowing that we’re free, the witches take their time coming to us. In the spur of the moment, I decided to try to buy us another few seconds that could make a difference between life and death. It’ll mean using my ability, which will make it harder to attack them with it, but if it gets us more time, I can cut their throats before they realize that we’re free.
Do it, my wolf agrees, following my train of thought.
I take Alyssa’s hand and move us to the corner of the room opposite of the chairs. She doesn’t question my actions and simply follows my lead. Because I’m too weak to use only my mind, I lift my hand up and point my extended claws toward the chairs, using it as an extension of Darkness.
With the help of Umbrakinesis, I gather as many shadows as possible around the chairs, thickening the darkness around them. Since it’s impossible to see through them with the Night Vision, I hope that the witches won’t be able to immediately notice that we’re not still tied up there.
Alyssa figured out my plan and starts channeling her own type of darkness. Instead of manipulating the shadows to help me strengthen the illusion, she envelops us into one big shadow, using the Shadow Mimicry ability that I didn’t have a chance to even try to master yet.
The doorknob rattles, signaling their arrival. They’re here. We’re out of time.
As I predicted, the moment that the four of them enter, they go straight for the chairs. No one bothers to glance in our direction, nor do they question the thick impenetrable darkness around our supposed seats.
Now, my wolforders, giving me a sign at the exact same moment that I push off the floor and jump toward the nearest witch.
I’m not sure who moved first and who followed whom. It’s as if Alyssa and I are moving as one, catching the witches with their guards down.
When in a jump, I pull my arm back, readying myself to swing it forward and extend my long claws, aiming for the neck of the witch closest to me. My bloodthirsty heart is eagerly pumping a pure dose of adrenaline through my veins, further feeding into my feeling of invincibility.
My quick wolf brain conjures up the next few actions, predicting the result like chess moves. When my claws connect with the witch’s throat, I immediately jump onto the other one, forgetting about the one that I left choking on her own blood. Since the next one is aware of the attack, she’s putting up more of a fight and even conjures up a protection spell. Working fast, I counter it with my own Darkness, using the shadows to attack her from behind.
Two witches for me and two for Alyssa. Sounds simple enough, but unfortunately nothing went the way my brain calculated it. The first reason is that we’re both more spent and tired than we expected, and the second, which points to my inexperience in real-life fights is, that I’ve underestimated our opponents.
While I cruise through the air toward my target with my sharp claws extended, more witches from their coven appear at the door, chanting the same words that paralyzed me in mid-air not too many hours ago. With the coven’s numbers doubled, the witches overpower us before we can do even the slightest bit of damage.
Fucking bitches, my wolfgrowls angrily, doing his best to help me fight the bonds of the spell. It’s futile, but it doesn’t stop us from trying.
I find myself suspended in the air once again, but at least this time, I’m wearing clothes. I probably shouldn’t, but I’m counting this as progress.
The witches unite in the same room, making a small circle as they surround us. They’re all wearing the same black cloaks with a hood as the four Linda sisters. The leader steps forward, but when she speaks up, her voice isn’t the one we’ve come to know as Yalinda.
“Do you think us fools?” the witch snarls, her voice sounds many years older and full of hatred. “I’ve been saving this Earth from wolves since long before you stopped wearing a diaper.”
We did what we could under the circumstances, my wolf assures me, trying to hide just how disappointed he is by this development.
It was a wild ride, my friend, I reply. I hope you’ll find it in yourself to forgive me. I should never have tried to drown us in all that poison.
Water under the bridge, he says, sending a dark caress down the connection that only a wolf and its shifter possess.
Even though I don’t actually move, I like to think that I managed to lift my chin slightly higher and give those wicked bitches my most defiant and arrogant look. I’m determined to fight them every step of the way. They won’t have an easy time getting the information out of me.
My chest unexpectedly warms up and my heart skips a beat. If the sensation wasn’t so pleasant, I would’ve thought that the witches were casting another spell on me. The wave that washes over me is too pure and much stronger than anything the witches could’ve come up with.
I wish I could turn my head and meet Alyssa’s eyes. I want to tell her that I can feel her. I want her to know that she’s not alone. I’m trying to communicate all that through the bond. I have no way of telling if it’s working, but if she experiences even half of what she’s making me feel, then it’s enough.
“You did good on calling us, Yalinda,” the old witch says. “These two are too important to lose. We should take them to Hekate as soon as possible. If your information is correct, then I’m sure that half of the American wolves are out here looking for them.”
“What about our reward?” Linda asks, sounding like a whining child. “We’re the ones that caught them, and we deserve to be recognized for it.”
The old witch turns her head in Linda’s direction. It’s as if the time has stopped still, and the temperature has fallen several degrees. It’s clear that the old witch is dangerous and powerful.
“Hekate will know what happened here,” the witch replies with a voice that’s burning with cold anger. “Don’t you dare imply that I would lie to my Venerable Superior.”
Linda drops on one knee and bows her head. “That was never my intention. Please accept my sincerest apology.”
“Get up, child,” the old witch snaps and impatiently gestures for Linda to stand. “We don’t have time for that nonsense.”
When Linda gets up, the old witch turns our way again and nods her head. As one, the whole coven starts chanting, weaving a new spell over us.
We have to fight it, my wolf urges, but his voice sounds distant as if it’s coming through a tunnel. We can’t fall asleep.
I don’t even know how to try to stay awake. It’s impossible. There are too many of them, and as a united group, they’re too strong.
My eyelids are too heavy to keep them open. Every time that they close over my eyes, I do my best to open them once again, but it gets harder with every attempt. If my muscles were tense before, they’re now relaxed and free like jelly. My body’s weightlessness has nothing to do with the way the witches have me floating and everything with the sensation one gets when resting on the most comfortable mattress as if lying on the fluffy clouds themselves.
“Yalinda, watch out!” Linda screams, her voice a mixture of surprise and horror.
The chanting stops, leaving me in a semi-sleepy state. I have a hard time grasping at my thoughts and it’s even harder to open my eyes. My ears are still working, but distinguishing the sounds ends up being quite a chore.
The witches throw spells around but as individuals. They’re too distraught to unite as one, which makes them weak and vulnerable.
This is our chance, my wolf whispers, and then he makes a yawning sound. He’s doing his best to help me fight the spell, but even though it was only half-cast, they weaved it as a coven, a united group with doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled their normal strength.
The screams and cries reach my ears. A metallic scent fills my nostrils. The sound of a bone breaking, the growl of a wild animal, and the familiar voice of a woman I’ve gotten to know in the most intimate way.
Tiana, my wolf gives her a name just as my brain conjures up her face.
The Pack of Shadows is here, I say, letting my wolf feel my relief.
Alyssa and I are saved. My father must’ve sent them after us, and not a moment too soon. Our entire species would be fucked if Hekate got her hands on me. Major crisis averted. I get to live another day and explore the wonders of the soulmate bond.
All of a sudden, the feeling of weightlessness disappears and my body crashes on the floor. I groan in pain, and though I’m finally able to move a bit, most of my muscles are still paralyzed.
Alyssa’s closeness battles the coldness of the floor. I don’t need to touch her to feel her, and for now, that’s enough.
“Your Highness,” Tiana says when she enters the room.
I manage to open my eyes a bit only to see her standing above me with two wolves from her pack behind her. She looks impeccable, clean, and without a hair out of place. It’s as if she and the Pack of Shadows didn’t just massacre a coven of eight witches.
Tiana lowers herself into a crouch and gives me a small smile, her horrific scar stretching to comical proportions across her face. “I’ve been wondering where he hid you. The bed’s been cold without you to warm me.”
Alyssa growls, the sudden sound feral and animalistic. Tiana jerks her head Alyssa’s way, not missing the possessiveness in the gesture.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Tiana asks, her eyes narrowing to thin slits. “You’ve been fucking me night after night, but you mate with this whore?”
“Watch your tongue,” Alyssa hisses, still sounding rather weak, but the fact that she’s already talking confirms just how strong she is. “Give me one reason, and I’ll tear it out for you.”
Tiana’s eyes darken, her face contorting with pure hatred. Unaffected by any of the spells and at her full strength, she’s fast as a flash of lightning when she moves and clutches Alyssa’s neck.
The bitch is crazy enough to kill her!My wolf exclaims, then dives his head into the vast well of Darkness to dig a path to our ability. If I can’t move to stop her, I need to use the shadows.
The two wolves accompanying Tiana leave, deciding not to interfere with their Alpha’s business. I’d like to think that I’ll remember their faces to punish them later, but I’m not so sure that the fog over my mind has cleared up enough.
Tiana’s lips curl up into a feral smile, her eyes locked on Alyssa, who’s not doing herself any favor by staring just as stubbornly and defiantly back at the crazy Alpha. Slowly, as if to make a point to show her superiority, Tiana’s nails extend into claws, breaking through Alyssa’s soft skin and drawing dark red drops of blood.
Faster!I internally scream at my wolf, desperate to do something to save my fated mate. I’ve never felt more useless than I do now. With the sleepy haze still affecting me with the heavy power of a coven, and the after-effects of being paralyzed, I’m unable to lift a single finger to stop the crazy bitch. I don’t even have a way to call her attention to me.
Alyssa’s face is turning blue, a stark contrast to the redness pooling from the wounds on her neck and onto Tiana’s hand. Her eyes are losing their spark, the life slowly leaving her. It’s not hers that dims first, it’s her wolf’s. This is the worst kind of torture for a shifter.
I need to do something not only to save Alyssa but to save her wolf inside her that makes her the person she is. Without her animal, Alyssa will never be the same; just an empty shell of the person she used to be.
Right on time, and not a moment too soon, my own wolf accomplishes its task, building a temporary shadow bridge that connects me with the powerful Darkness inside me. I don’t hesitate to claim it, to call it, and to use it.
My need is so great and my desire so strong that I don’t have to focus too hard or move my arms to help wield it. The Darkness responds with eagerness, aiming to please its master. There’s no time to come up with its shape nor the chance to think through how I want to achieve my goal as long as it gets done.
The shadows gather together as a cloud with the thickness of a wall. It slams directly into Tiana, throwing her several feet away from Alyssa. I don’t bother to look where she landed, my eyes are only for my mate.
There was no precision in my attack. The blunt and powerful force only had one intention, one goal. I’ve been too rash, too desperate to do something that I didn’t think about the consequences of separating Tiana from Alyssa while she still had her claws deep into my mate’s throat.
“N-no,” I stammer, forcing the words out with sheer will as I fight my worst fears.
Alyssa’s motionless body is sprawled on the floor next to me. Her throat is slashed open, the blood flowing out of her in a small but steady stream from the wounds made by the wolf’s claws. Her brown eyes hold onto mine, silently saying goodbye.
“Please,” I plead quietly, begging whoever is willing to listen.
With great effort, I turn my body to the side and lift one arm to put a hand over her wounds. I don’t know how to help her. If I apply pressure on it to stop the bleeding, I’ll cut off her airway, but if I don’t do it, she will most certainly bleed out. I’ve no other option but to press gently but firmly, telling myself that she’s not getting blood instead of air inside her lungs anyway. This way, I might stop her from both bleeding out as well as drowning in her own life liquid.
I’m looking into her fearful brown eyes, searching for any sign of her wolf. She should’ve kickstarted the healing process by now. I can only hope that Tiana didn’t hurt her wolf too much, and that she’s working on closing the wounds.
“Hold on,” I beg, trying to communicate with my eyes just how much I need her to get through this. We have so much of life left to experience together, so much to discover about the new bond that unites us and the love that we didn’t give the chance yet to fully form and grow.
The blood drains from Alyssa’s face, and my is hand unable to stop the bleeding. Her eyelids begin to lower as her lips part. I can’t tell if she’s dying or only slipping into unconsciousness.
“Please,” I beg, desperate enough to sell my own soul for her life.
When Alyssa’s head falls to the side, a massive wave of emotion floods over me. It’s so intense that I need to let it out the only way I can. I open my mouth and let out a guttural scream, the sound so primal and animalistic that it’s foreign to my own ears.
That’s when something inexplicable happens. My hand that’s pressing against Alyssa’s wounds starts to heat up as if I suddenly developed the ability of a fire wielder. Instead of a flame coming out of my hand like it would with a fire user, there’s a ball of darkness that a distant part of me recognizes as the purest and holiest of abilities. Somehow, I managed to call on the rarest and most unique parts of Darkness. This sub-power only has one name and has only been wielded by a handful of users. I’ve just become one of the very few wolves that used the Sacred Darkness.
Underneath my touch, and with the help of the Sacred Darkness, Alyssa’s wounds begin to heal and her blood purifies as it seeps back into her body. I don’t have the time to admire what’s happening, nor do I spare an extra thought to it because, at that moment, Alyssa takes a breath, one that’s not weak nor shaky.
Her eyelids flutter open, locking straight onto mine. The color gradually returns to her cheeks, dispelling any visible signs of the spells that still affect me. The corners of her mouth lift into a small smile that makes my heart skip a beat.
I lean forward and gently press my lips against hers, wordlessly promising to protect her now and always. I’m never going through anything like we just went through again.
“Let’s go home,” I whisper against her soft lips.