Chapter 7 Ghost #2
“Run,” I tell Silas, taking off in the direction I want him to follow. I cased out these woods between welfare checks. I wasn’t expecting an attack. I have no idea how they found us, but I’m prepared.
Then I hear her voice.
“Ohmm-e-gaah,” Deidre sings. “Mona, come!” she barks.
Mona’s breath catches and her eyes go blank. Then her body jerks, as if yanked by invisible strings, and she twists so violently in Silas’s grip, her elbow connects with his face, and she falls out of his arms.
Her knees hit the ground, and she begins dragging herself toward Deidre’s voice.
“Come here, omega, now! Mona, come to me!” Deidre’s voice is laced with sulfuric magic, shimmering like heat waves.
Fucking blood magic. How did she get Mona’s blood?
It doesn’t matter. Mona crawls to a stand and runs toward the witch. I lunge forward, swinging Mona by the waist just before she leaves my protection spell.
Forcing my shield outward, it’s like pushing through sludge, and I have to chip away at Deidre’s commands as they try to hook into Mona, while reinforcing the barrier around us.
A crack splits the air. Blasts of magic hit the trees, wood splintering, pinging off my shield like hail on a tin roof.
My larger perimeter ward crumbles, and suddenly a chorus of voices floods in—a dozen witches, incantations slashing at us.
Sulfur burns my nostrils, the acrid scent of their magic slapping against my senses.
“Move!” Silas grabs my elbow, and we sprint through the underbrush. As shifters, we’re faster on foot than the witches, but my concentration is split. Deidre’s scent mingles with her sister Tracy’s, and at least eight other unfamiliar witches.
Silas doesn’t freeze at the sound of her voice, he doesn’t hesitate or waver. If anything, hearing her spurs him on. He takes off faster than I do, shifting into wolf form. And then he disappears ahead of us.
For a moment, I think he’s abandoning Mona. Us. But I follow his footsteps. She’s tense, not saying a word, trying to fight against the blood magic, while still coming off her heat. She’s warm to the touch. But she doesn’t fight against me.
When the trees begin to thin, I move faster. And then we clear through the brush, jump over fallen logs, then massive stones lining the border of a small park. We emerge onto clean-cut grass, passing a playground set in the corner of the field.
I’m shirtless, carrying a naked woman in my arms. Fortunately, it’s late, and the park is closed. I still don’t see Silas, but I follow his scent.
Glass breaks. I pivot and find him breaking into a car. He’s in the driver’s seat, fiddling with wires. We reach him before he has the car started, so I stuff Mona into the backseat.
“These new fucking cars are harder to hot-wire—”
I place my palm over the engine under the hood.
It whirs to life with magic. I climb into the passenger seat.
We take off just as the witches clear the park’s edge.
The car rattles, the entire frame swaying as the witches throw spells at us.
I turn and hold out my hands to shield us.
Deidre’s strong, and with the coven, her power is tenfold, but the car is faster than they are on foot.
In the distance, I notice something in her palm.
A vial. It’s too far away to tell exactly what it is, but I have a guess. Silas sees her in his rearview mirror, but the car speeds up and their figures grow smaller until we turn the corner and they disappear entirely.
“How did they get her blood?!” he roars beside me.
I turn and face Mona in the back seat. She’s curled up, trembling, trying to hide her body with her legs. The sight of her, so small and scared—but it’s her scent that hits me like a punch to the solar plexus. Bitter, almost metallic. She’s full of absolute despair.
It fucking guts me. But just as that feeling swells—worry for her, not just her physical self but her heart, her happiness—I cut it off. Turning away, I look out the window as we speed down the road.
“We need clothes or something,” I reason.
“No time. We need to get out of here.”
“Your mate needs comfort—”
Silas growls, but stops himself before he says something reckless. Something mean.
I don’t know what she’s feeling on her end of the bond, but whatever he kept himself from saying, she heard it, deep inside her. Looking out the window, uselessly covering herself, tears stream down her cheeks.
The air is tense and volatile. The only sound is the engine and Mona’s muffled crying.
I roll down the window partway, letting the wind cool her.
She’s still in heat. Naked and miserable.
And I’m just sitting here, feeling useless.
At some point, Mona’s sobs quiet. She wipes her cheeks with the backs of her hands.
Every time I glance back, she’s a little smaller, trying to disappear into the seat, her knees up, arms wrapped around her small frame.
The car jolts over a pothole, and Mona’s body jerks violently.
“Sorry,” Silas mutters, shifting uncomfortably behind the wheel.
His gaze remains fixed on the road ahead, knuckles turning white on the steering wheel, not once looking back to see if she’s okay.
This woman he just spent days inside of.
I can’t imagine what she must be feeling.
For an hour, we wind through town after town like this, passing cars, suburban neighborhoods, and storefronts. When it feels we’ve gained a safe enough distance from the witches, I force Silas to pull over outside a department store.
“Get down, hide between the seats,” Silas tells Mona once the car is parked near the back of the lot. He’s shaking. Vibrating, practically.
Mona does as he says, moving gingerly. The bruises are healing, but she’s clearly sore. Silas is stark naked, he can’t go inside.
“I’ll set a shield around the car while I’m gone, so no one can see in. She doesn’t need to hide. I’ll be quick. Food, water, clothes. In and out. But Silas, if they have her blood, they’re already on their way—”
“Just hurry the fuck up,” Silas snaps.
He’s losing control again. He’s terrified, but if he doesn’t stop barking orders, he’s going to hurt Mona.
Worse, actually.
“Shit fucking mates,” I mutter as I climb out of the car.
Silas’s scent spikes with shame, but he turns away.
I set a glamor spell, so it looks like I’m wearing a shirt, and an aversion spell so no one pays me any attention, while I rush through the store, grabbing a bag and filling it with supplies.
We need to get to Silent Peak. Deidre will still be able to track Mona, but the omega will have full clan protection there. Constantly weaving a protection spell for the three of us will only get us so far.
And then my duty is done.
I can stick around a little longer, to make sure Deidre is dealt with. But after that, I’m gone. This is already too much pressure. Too many people to keep safe.
Too much potential for disaster.