Chapter 22 - Willow
I'm back in the woods, orange and ruby flickers of light cracking the air in front of my face, and Rissa smiles at me warmly.
I gasp as I lift my hands, seeing my veins ignited with gold pulses of light, my magic stirring awake.
Without thinking it through, I step forward just as Dawson emerges from somewhere behind the trees. When I look up, I notice the full moon glowing above us, casting its silver light on our surroundings.
Dawson is carrying something—the cauldron—and a tap on my shoulder has me glancing back. It's Thane, holding out a bag of the herbs toward me.
“You got this, Willow,” he says, his reassurance prompting me to take the bag and empty out the contents into the cauldron that Dawson has since placed over the fire.
Aurora stirs the pot, the herbs and plants mixing with the moon water before she adds the last key ingredient—alpha blood.
A combination of the blood of all four alphas of the Snehvolk pack is poured into the mixture, a cloud of white smoke curling upward as Yvonne steps forward, her arms held out to the sides.
Yvonne chants, calling on the honor of the moon that glows above our heads, the Moon Goddess who created our beings, and our ancestors who came before us.
I've never heard those words before, but I recognize their meaning, even as Yvonne continues chanting the words like a mantra that magically swirls the potion in the cauldron.
The cloud of smoke groans and puffs out to disappear, and Yvonne nods at me. Aurora steps forward with a ladle, scooping up some of the potion into a wooden cup.
She holds the cup out toward me, and I take it without hesitation, lifting the cup to my lips when the vision cuts and I find myself standing in front of Thane.
“Willow…?”
My breath enters my lungs with vigorous force, and I can hear my heartbeat hammering in my chest. I look down to see that I'm still holding the needle meant to draw Thane's blood, and my fingers tremble with noticeable force.
Gulping hard, the needle and tube slip from my quivering fingers, crashing on the tiles and shattering into tiny fragments of glass like my fears scattered on the ground.
Unable to meet Thane's eyes, I spin on my heels and bolt for the door, taking the steps two at a time until I'm on the landing and racing for the front door.
The cold air hitting my face is a snap back to reality, drawing out the sob in my chest that I'd been trying to stifle.
My hands fly over my face, my palms filling with my tears as realization knocks into me like a ton of bricks and forces me to my knees.
“Willow…?” Thane calls out warily from behind me, and I quickly sniffle and fight back my tears, wiping my face as I try to straighten up.
His hands are on my arms to help me, but as soon as I'm standing, I swat his hands away.
I can't face him—not after what I just saw.
He steps in front of me, bending to meet my eyes.
“Hey…why are you crying?” he asks gently, his voice my undoing.
“I-I can't—” My lips quiver, my hand flying to my throat.
“Shit,” Thane mumbles under his breath before he grabs my shoulders to steady me. “Breathe, Willow.” He inhales slowly. “Follow my breathing.”
I do as I'm told, following the way he breathes in and out, slowly, the cold air traveling down my lungs and calming me.
“That's it. You're gonna be okay,” he assures, hands smoothing my arm with so much care that I have to meet his eyes now.
That's when I see it again—my reflection, serving as a reminder of what I saw in my vision and what I must do to seal the gates that lead the demons to our world.
The vision might have cut, but there's no mistaking what happens after I drink that potion. There's a lethal amount of wolfsbane in there, and drinking the potion could only mean one thing.
I'm meant to sacrifice myself to seal the gates and protect this pack.
The shock has passed, and all that's left is the acceptance of my fate.
But I can't bring myself to tell Thane what I just saw. Not when he stares at me with the warmest green eyes, soft and glowing with safety I've never felt before.
If I sink into that feeling, I won't be able to go through with what needs to be done.
Firmly pushing him off me, I take a deep breath.
“I wanna go home,” I say, and Thane nods.
“Yeah, we should go home,” he murmurs, silently falling into step beside me as we head back to Elder Charles's place.
But the weight of Thane's worry hangs on his shoulders, his eyes boring into my neck even when we arrive. I head inside, making a beeline for my bedroom, when Thane grabs my wrist and pulls me into his.
He shuts the door behind us with a firm slam of his palm.
“What's going on, Willow?” He turns around slowly, eyes wild with confusion. “What did you see in your vision?”
“Nothing we haven't seen already,” I shrug, trying to play it off as I fold my arms. “Am I sleeping in your bed tonight? Is that the plan?”
Thane frowns. “Something is wrong,” he says suspiciously, but I laugh it off.
My voice cracks when I say, “N-nothing's wrong, Thane. I just wanna sleep.”
“This isn't like you. Why won't you just tell me what the vision was?”
Gulping hard, I shake my head slowly, willing myself to lie to him because he won't be able to stomach the truth.
I can hardly do it myself.
“I saw…” I stop myself, shaking my head violently now, because I can't bring myself to tell him, or lie to him, either.
“Tell me what you saw, Willow.”
“No!” I say too quickly, too harshly, and Thane snaps because he knows something is wrong.
“Why won't you just tell me what's going on?!” Thane bellows, and I've never seen him as angry as he is right now, wearing his last name on his face with the way his dark brows furrow.
There's no point in hiding it any longer.
“In my vision, I saw what needs to be done with the potion we made,” I say, not fearful of his reaction, but exasperated.
Thane takes a deep breath, his frown remaining. “What happens with it?”
“I have to take it.”
Thane's eyes widen as realization dawns on him, but he shakes his head, rejecting what I just claimed. “What do you mean, you have to take it?”
“I have to drink the potion, Thane. I am the one who drinks it in the vision I had tonight.”
"There's enough wolfsbane in there to kill you!” he argues, and I keep my lips pursed.
“Have you lost your mind, Willow? Why does it have to be you? There must be another way.”
“No, Thane,” I hug my chest and turn my back to him. “There is no other way. I know what I saw, and I know what needs to be done. It has to be me.”
“I refuse to accept this, Willow,” Thane huffs behind me. “I'm all about doing whatever is needed for the safety of this pack, but this shouldn't be on you.”
“Why not?” I snap around and narrow my eyes at him.
“Because I had plans, dammit! Plans for us!” Thane growls furiously, pounding his chest with a tight fist. “For our future! Now you wanna go and throw it all away?!”
“You're the one who brought me here, Thane. I never expected to emerge as a witch, but it was something I had to make peace with. I had to accept it.”
“I'm not accepting you dying.”
“You have to. It's why our paths crossed again, and I was led here. It's all part of the prophecy.”
“Fuck the prophecy!” Thane shakes his head, exasperated. “I don't care what you say! You're not doing it! You're not taking that potion! I won't give you my blood!”
“You can't boss me around anymore, Thane! This is bigger than us. It's for the pack. That should be your priority.”
“You are my priority, Willow,” Thane sighs, frustratedly. “Didn't we see how things don't always go according to plan, like the visions when I almost died, but you saved me? We don't need to follow this vision.”
I shake my head, refusing this fight. “You guys have been following the prophecy, these visions, for almost two years. You can't stop now when you're so close.”
“Falling in love with you all over again wasn't part of the prophecy, Willow. Somehow, that happened. And that's on you.”
I pause, letting his admission sink in, my heart shattering. “That's not my fault…” I whisper.
“It is your fault!” He takes a step forward, grabbing my shoulders with strong hands. “You're everything I could have ever wanted, and now you want me to accept your sacrifice. I can't!”
“Thane, I—”
“No, dammit!” Thane roars, tugging me forward. “I can't live my life without you!”
Thane crushes his lips to mine, and it's nothing like any kiss we've shared before. This one is hotter, more desperate, begging to be heard, and aching with a plea.
A plea for me not to go ahead with what I saw clearly in my vision.
That plea is written in Thane's eyes as he pulls back, tears glossing over the warm green shades, and the gold specks in them glitter.
“Don't do it, Willow. Don't leave me. Please.”
His soft tone, aching with yearning, is my undoing. I grab the back of his head and pull him in for another kiss, this one a promise that I would never leave him.
Thane's right, and I feel it in every layer of clothing that falls to the floor until we're pressed skin to skin, him lifting me and carrying me toward the bed. His lips don't leave mine, not even for a breath, as he sinks between my thighs and enters me with a firm, possessive thrust.
“Thane!” I cry out in ecstasy, his rough hands all over me, his body consuming me as he thrusts like he's claiming my life.
Claiming it for himself, his eyes full of possession as he breathes, hot and heavy, against my lips.
“Don't do it…” he rasps, his voice vibrating on my lips. “I can't lose you…”
“You won't,” I reassure him, grabbing his face with both hands. “I promise.”
Our lips meet again, our tongues dancing to the rhythm of our bodies as we both reach climax. He shudders into me, filling me with hot ropes of cum as my walls tighten and milk him for every last drop.
Thane collapses, his body weight grounding me onto the bed, where it's impossible to accept that life could ever be void of this feeling.
How can I possibly take this from him when I know that he feels the pull of our mate bond just like I do?
“You're not taking the potion,” Thane sighs, on the verge of falling asleep on my chest.
I run my fingers through his hair, pressing a light kiss to the top of his head. “I'm not.”
“Good,” Thane breathes, his arm tightening over my waist as he pulls me closer. “We'll speak to the others in the morning and figure out something else. I'm not losing you.”
“You won't,” I whisper and smile gently as Thane sighs again and falls asleep on my chest.
My body still tingles from our session, and I ride those waves as I stare at the ceiling, mulling over everything that's happened these past few weeks.
Not long ago, I was just a wolfless omega about to become a Blood Claw wolf's breeding slave, and now I'm a powerful witch on the brink of altering Snehvolk's future and preserving the pack.
Closing my eyes, I try to find sleep, but it doesn't come. Behind my eyelids, I'm haunted by flashing images of the vision, and I snap my eyelids open again with a frustrated sigh.
I can't change what I saw. Not when I know that the alphas and witches have been working tirelessly to save the pack from the demons.
I'm still not sure how Elias's and Aurora's son is involved, since Aurora's first psychic prophecy claimed that Emile would be the key to locking out the demons, but I know what I have to do.
Carefully pulling myself out from underneath Thane's arm, I check that he's sound asleep before tiptoeing away to his bathroom. Once there, I stare at my reflection, noticing the way my scar has been healing, and meet my own eyes in the mirror.
That's when I decide to follow my gut, follow my intuition, and let it guide me no matter what. While I stare at myself, I'm mentally preparing for what comes, holding my heart together so it doesn't break for the man lying in bed, sleeping peacefully, and believing that I'm safe.
What about the pack? Emile and Gio and all the other kids?
We can't keep them safe with those traps forever.
I have to devise a plan—a failsafe, even if Thane doesn't agree with it.
He doesn't have to know.
But I'm missing something he won't give willingly now that he knows about the potion.
One thing that's missing from it for it to be complete.
I inhale a sharp breath, spurred into action as I search Thane's bathroom for a medical kit. The cupboard above the sink, the towel drawer.
I find it behind the towels, nestled like a clue against the side. Grabbing it, I breathe out in relief when I find a syringe and a needle.
I've seen what Thane can endure, gauging his threshold of pain from when he was injured fighting the demons. He's even survived death.
He can survive a small prick.
I gather what I need—the syringe, a cotton ball—and tiptoe back to his bedroom. I lie down beside him, a tear falling from my eyes and pooling on the pillow, but I hold my breath, so I don't make a sound that might wake him.
Keeping my lips pursed, I lift the needle and slowly sink it into Thane's flesh where his arm is exposed, and a vein remains prominent, watching as he flinches and waiting.
But he doesn't wake up.
I draw some of his blood—not more than a few drops, but enough to work—before gently pressing the cotton ball on the tiny prick that will go unnoticed.
Letting out the breath I've been holding steadily, I take the syringe back to the bathroom, hide it in the medical kit, and tuck the bag back where it was nestled amongst the towels.
A failsafe. That's all this is. If we can't figure out another way to lock the demons out, I won't have another choice but to take the potion.