Chapter 20 - Brooks
I watch as Rissa stares thoughtfully at the gadget in front of her, her hand curled into a loose fist under her chin, and her eyes narrowed at the small device.
It’s small, shaped like a landmine, but it’s meant to be powerful once charged with a witch’s powers.
Thane and Dawson worked hard over the past two weeks to perfect the gadget so that it could not only lure a demon dog to Girdwood but also trap it in the magic.
Back when we used it just to lure a demon here, all it did was send a signal out that a witch’s magic was being used to draw the spirit in, since they seem to be drawn to a witch’s power.
Now the gadget has been upgraded to trap the demon in an illusion similar to the one it creates to distract us.
Both Aurora and Yvonne were tricked by an illusion created by a demon, but this time, we’ll be doing the trickery.
Once its vision is blurred by whatever it's meant to see, we can successfully decapitate the demon and send its spirit back to the underworld.
Aurora and Yvonne have already charged the traps using their magic, and now it’s Rissa’s turn.
But she seems hesitant.
“What’s wrong, Riss?” I ask gently as I step behind her and place my hands on her shoulders.
She shrugs diffidently, then turns to me. “I might have another idea, but I’m not sure if it’s gonna work.”
I purse my lips in contemplation. “We don’t have much time,” I say, reminding her that we’re supposed to test the gadget in an hour. “But what is your idea?”
Rissa gnaws on her bottom lip with hesitation, then turns fully to me. “I know we’ve been using our magic to charge the device, but what if we used our magic in wolf form?”
“In wolf form?” I frown. “That hasn’t been done before. Is it even possible?”
“It’s something I’ve been considering. I know the three of us are omegas, but having a wolf might count for something. If we combined it with our magic powers, won’t it intensify the effects?”
“You might be onto something,” I consider with a thoughtful nod. “I’ve just never seen it in action before. Each time Aurora or Yvonne fought a demon, they were in human form.”
Rissa sighs despondently and turns back to the trap. “It’s a silly idea. It probably won’t work.”
Seeing the way her shoulders slump when she says this, I shake my head and quickly step in front of her. “No. I think it’s a brilliant idea. Do you think you could try it out? Right now?”
Rissa stares at me with narrowed eyes as if she’s searching for a reason not to give it a try. I stare back with sincere faith in her idea, and it seems to give her the courage to nod.
“I mean, it’s worth a try. When I was practicing with the lunas, I couldn’t help but wonder why they hadn’t used their powers in wolf form. It’s either gonna work or it won’t.”
“I believe in you, Riss,” I encourage with a smile as I step forward and press a kiss on her forehead. She smiles sheepishly in return, nodding slowly before she takes on her wolf form.
The golden-brown wolf glances at me, her eyes a radiant shade of green as she brings her powers forward.
She cautiously steps forward toward the trap, placing her furry paws on the device and lifting her head to let out a gentle howl at the skies as if calling in her innate strength as a wolf shifter to enhance her mystical witch powers.
She’s different—I know that much. As a descendant of a long line of wolf shifters, it’s surprising that she has the powers of ancient tribes who wielded magic. We’ve not been able to make sense of it, except that someone in her ancestry must have been a witch, and she just wasn’t aware of it.
That power comes through her wolf paws now, charging the device with emerald surges that make the metal glow with a mixture of the three colors that all three witches resonate with—green for Rissa, violet for Aurora, and silver for Yvonne.
Once Rissa is done charging the device, she whimpers as she steps back, her human form coming through and slouching in front of me. Realizing that she’d just exhausted herself by using her powers, I pull her into my arms and hold her close, whispering words of praise for how well she’d done.
“You should go back home, Rissa,” I tell her. I plant a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m gonna take the trap to the others, and we’re gonna try it out.”
“I’m coming with you,” she says as she shakes her head and lifts her eyes to mine. “I wanna see if it works.”
I nod slowly, acknowledging her determination to protect the pack at all costs. I pick up the device, and Rissa and I walk hand in hand to the other alphas and witches of the pack, where they wait for us behind the pack den.
Usually, this clearing is meant for celebrations, but tonight it’s meant to be a battleground for the demon. As soon as the others see us approaching, Alpha Thane comes over to get the trapping device from me, and Rissa and I proceed to the group while he sets up in the center.
Boastfully recounting how Rissa used her magic while in wolf form, the others are impressed, and Rissa receives praise from the other alphas.
“I had no idea we could do that,” Aurora says, surprised. “Why didn’t we think about it before?”
Rissa shrugs. “The thought just came to me out of the blue. It feels like my instincts are becoming heightened.”
“Any visions?” Yvonne asks her, to which Rissa shakes her head.
“I haven’t had a single one yet.”
“Perhaps it’s coming,” Aurora says in a reassuring tone.
The witches have all had visions that prophesied the coming of more demons and other witches, but Rissa hasn’t had any of those. I can feel her disappointment in herself, but I squeeze her hand with gentle reassurance as Elias speaks.
“We’re gonna test it out,” Elias says. “But there’s a high possibility that turning the trap on will lure the demon over. We have to be prepared. I’ve already informed our betas, and they’re on standby if anything happens.”
“I have a good feeling about this,” Dawson smirks as he wrings his hands together in anticipation, turning to his mate.
I take a deep breath as I turn to Rissa, placing my hands on her shoulders and bending my knees so I’m level with her eyes.
“I want you to stay behind me at all times. If the trap works, we won’t need you to use your magic.
The device will do everything it needs to do.
If it doesn’t work, you still stay behind me, okay? ”
Rissa nods, her eyes wide as she stares at me. Just then, Elias calls us to take our positions in our hiding spots before Thane fires up the gadget.
Whiffs of colorful smoke begin coiling from the ground where the trap is set and curl into the air.
A screeching cry in the distance signals the demon’s arrival just as the sky darkens over our heads.
My furry wolf’s hairs prickle across my back, and I glance at Rissa, who’s standing close behind in human form.
Since the witches haven’t trained in their wolf forms to fight the demon with magic, it’s best if they’re in human form for tonight.
The screeching cry of terror becomes louder as whirring enters my eardrums, the trap bursting with colors now as if the power gathered in it responds to the demon.
The dreadful spirit comes rolling through the forest in wafts of thick, black smoke, floating toward the trap, oblivious that it’s about to get caught.
When it emerges from the forest and enters the clearing, Elias sends out a mind link to warn us to be ready.
As soon as the demon’s black smoke touches the vibrant colors permeating from the trap, it’s abruptly forced to shift into its physical form: a shaggy, dog-like creature whose claws touch the ground.
“Now!” Elias roars through the mind link, and the four Alphas of Snehvolk charge forward when the ground shakes with the impact of the demon’s claws on the ground. It means the trap worked, and the demon has been forced into its physical form, trapped there long enough for us to get to it.
Alpha Thane is the first to strike the demon, and I throw in a hit with distended claws, clipping the demon’s ear and drawing black, grimy, ooze-like blood. The demon tries to counterattack, but it’s outnumbered and overpowered, unable to morph into its spirit form to get away.
Elias crushes the creature’s back with powerful paws, then growls as he latches sharp teeth on the demon’s neck. We don’t stop striking the shaggy mutt until Elias tears its head from its neck and spits it out to the side.
A whirring cry rings out as the demon’s spirit body bursts through the air, then disappears with a flash as if it was never there. Even its physical body disappears, as it’s sent back to the underworld.
It worked!
“It worked!” I cry out excitedly as soon as I shift into human form and race toward Rissa. Scooping her into my arms, I pepper kisses all over her face in celebration. “We did it!” I rejoice, just as the other alphas embrace their mates in the meadow.
Only Thane, who doesn’t have a mate, approaches us and smiles at Rissa.
“Well done, Rissa!” he congratulated with a sharp nod. “Your ideas were brilliant. At this rate, we’ll never have to worry about catching a demon again.”
Rissa blushes profusely, batting her eyelids at me in the cutest way that has my soul singing with all the things I want to do to worship her for everything she’s done for the pack.
“It was a team effort,” she admits shyly, and I’m compelled to hug her tightly again.
“Wanna go for a run, just you and me?” I suggested in a whisper on the top of her head.
She nods. “That sounds lovely…I wanna use my powers in wolf form again.”
I take Rissa’s hand, and together, we walk toward the entrance of the woods for a fun run to celebrate our victory. It feels nice to have Rissa running beside me, keeping up with my speed with her magic abilities in wolf form.
For an omega, she sure is fast and agile on her paws, posing a challenge to an alpha wolf who has to fight to keep up. As she runs ahead of me, her chestnut wolf a blur of flashing emerald light that surrounds her furry body, I have a profound realization that threatens to slow me down.
The realization slows my heart down enough to let the thought sink in, along with the feeling that washes over me.
I’m in love with Omega Rissa Rudolph. It’s the most natural thing in the world for me to feel when I allow myself to feel in the first place.
It’s just that I don’t think she’s ready to hear it yet.