Chapter 7 #2
"Truthfully, I don't know much about it," he admitted, his voice barely audible as we continued through the forest. "I've always wanted to go to the fairy realm to find out more, maybe even find some family. You’re my only hope, Breanna."
With a deep breath, I kept stepping farther into the embrace of the forest, the shadows swallowing me as I ventured into the unknown.
"Is that why you're helping Torin and me?" I asked. “Because you want to find answers in the fairy realm?”
Every snap of a twig or rustle of leaves sent my heart pounding in my chest. I was probably too paranoid, fearing Hayden would intercept us. Not knowing how the fairy illusion powers worked made my stomach churn. Would Hayden be able to undo the illusion Greyson cast with the help of the crystal?
"Partly, yes," he responded with a small smile. "But I also believe in what you two are trying to do, and Torin seems to trust me."
Torin didn’t easily trust, so I smiled back. Despite everything, the two men seemed to have formed an unlikely connection.
Suddenly, Greyson stopped in his tracks. "This is where I leave you," he murmured, giving me an encouraging nod before turning around and vanishing into the shadows.
My heart thrashed against its cage. If I didn’t fear Hayden’s appearance, I feared being alone with Torin. His presence tempted me, drawing me to him, and I didn’t want to cave to him.
"Anna." Torin's voice came from behind me, making me jump.
As I turned to face him, my heart raced for reasons I tried to ignore. He was no longer my mate, so why did I still feel this magnetic pull towards him?
His amber eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that made my breath catch in my throat. At this moment, I could no longer deny my feelings for Torin—they had gone deeper than the mate bond. These desires, these emotions, were all mine.
"Torin, what's going on?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.
He stepped before me, his chest only inches away from mine. “Why are you nervous? It’s just me,” he said in a low, deep voice.
Precisely.
“I’m not nervous. I came here because Greyson said it’s urgent.” I gulped nervously, and I knew Torin could hear it.
Torin’s finger touched under my chin, lifting it up until I had nowhere else to look but him. The amber in his eyes sparked, and he stared at me for a long, tense moment. It was as if Torin went into a trance of sorts, leaning in closer to my…lips.
His body froze when he finally blinked, and his gaze fell on the crook of my neck. I wore a long-sleeved shirt with a V-neck on purpose—avoiding another conversation with Hayden about me hiding my mate marks.
“I wanted to ask you a question.” He stepped backward and dropped his hand to his side. “Do you want to gain your wolf spirit?”
I blinked. “What?”
“I was the one who failed to protect you when Cordelia stole it, and I’m responsible for helping you gain it back,” he said as a matter of fact.
“That was the urgent thing you had to tell me?”
I was risking Hayden discovering us here, and since he’d been impatient recently, I could only imagine a brutal fight breaking out between him and Torin.
“I thought you wanted to have it back,” he said.
I nodded. “Yeah, but why are you really here?”
Torin ran his hand through his long strands. “I told you. I’m responsible—”
“Don’t give me that nonsense about your duty, Torin. Why are you helping me?”
Our exchange reminded me of the first time I’d met him in London. We were flames and sparks—we lit each other up with every touch and every look.
Torin’s jaw muscles twitched, and I thought I saw his lips curl up.
“Because I love you,” he said, shrugging.
My lips parted, and all I could do was gape at the man. He graced me with his arrogant smirk, and with his long finger, he lifted my jaw, closing my mouth.
I swatted his hand away, making him chuckle.
“Then don’t ask if you can’t handle the answer, little witch wolf,” he said, causing extra adrenaline to fuel more flames in my veins.
His words created a whirlwind of emotions, leaving me speechless. But beneath the surface of my skin, sadness prickled its way to my heart. I was already mated to another mate. My path would never intertwine with Torin’s—a bittersweet feeling I tried desperately to ignore.
I held back the response I wanted to give Torin.
What I felt couldn’t be stopped. There wasn’t an on-and-off switch to my emotions. The world seemed to crumble around me, but I would summon every ounce of strength to stay away from him.
Torin took a step forward, and I stepped back, engaging in a dangerous dance. I put my hands up to stop him from moving again.
“Anna,” he said in that husky voice that vibrated in my core.
I squeezed my eyes shut and reopened them immediately.
“I didn’t abandon you. I had to lead Victoria away from you that day.” He scoffed. “But it didn’t work the way I thought it would. Regardless, you gave me my life back, and I want to help you now. Just accept it, please.”
It was rare to hear Torin say please, and when he said it, his words were like a weapon, disarming me.
A lump formed in my throat. “I’ve always wanted to have a wolf, even as a child. I could at least hear your plan,” I said and cleared my throat.
Torin’s smile was nothing short of mischievous. "You need to enter Cordelia's dream realm. I can't access your dream realm anymore since you've mated with Hayden."
I didn't realize that by letting Hayden leave his mark on me, I would cut off the link with Torin, preventing him from entering my dreams. But since my mating with Hayden was now complete, it made sense.
Dad had told me that his chosen mate and Willa could access his dream realm.
What he didn’t realize, or at least didn’t mention, was that Willa could access his dream realm after he was fully mated to Mom because Willa was a witch.
At least it wasn’t Dad who sought Willa.
Dad loved Mom, and he was happy with her.
“We need to talk to Cordelia face-to-face if we want her to release your wolf spirit,” Torin said.
“Talk to her?”
Torin’s smile disappeared. “I’m not planning on killing your aunt, Anna,” he said with a clenched jaw.
He already felt enough pain from what he did to Uncle Derek, and even though Cordelia was a dark witch, Torin wouldn’t kill her because she was also family on my biological mother's side.
“Let’s see what talking to the witch will achieve.” I shrugged.
I wasn’t sure what talking would achieve with the dark witch, but I agreed to Torin’s plan because I wanted to feel complete.
Sitting down on the damp ground, I leaned my back against the hard bark of a tree. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to steady myself before entering my dream realm.
As I plunged into the rabbit hole, the world shifted around me, the familiar sensation of falling engulfing me. I landed softly on my feet within the enchanted trees. The pentagram and four symbols were etched deep into the bark of the trees.
I had to picture the town center where I’d seen Cordelia before when I broke into her dream world. This time, accessing Cordelia’s dream realm through her memory felt easy.
A moment later, I stood in the middle of the gray town square, surrounded by the familiar short structures and cobblestone streets.
“Why is it always night in her dream realm?” I muttered under my breath as I scanned my surroundings.
When the air turned heavy with dark magic, thick and suffocating, I twisted around to come face-to-face with my aunt.
“I’m really not thrilled you can pop in here any time,” Cordelia snapped.
The woman sneered as she stood before me, annoyance etched on her face.
"Torin and I need to talk to you," I said, trying to keep my voice steady, ignoring her irritation. "Face-to-face. We want to convince you to release my wolf spirit. There must be something you want in exchange."
Cordelia's eyes narrowed as she considered my words. "There is," she replied finally. "But you'll need the Alpha's help to get it for me."
"Torin's not an Alpha anymore." A pang of guilt for bringing up his painful past shot through me.
"He was born one, child, and he'll be one again," Cordelia said with a smirk. "It's in his blood, the same way it's your birthright to be the Queen."
I let out a sigh and fought the urge to tap my foot on the gray stones. “Will you come talk to us or not?”
“Your impatient nature came from your father’s side. Willa is a saint. Stubborn but patient,” Cordelia said, and her lips curved upward in a smooth arc.
I would have to describe her smile as almost genuine if it weren’t for the occasional twitch at the corners.
I shook my head slightly. Cordelia wasn’t exactly my favorite aunt. I wanted to pull my hair out and scream at her about leaving my biological mother in prison in a different realm, abandoning her. But I remained silent since I came here to ask for help, and Cordelia was somewhat receptive so far.
“I’ll meet you and the Alpha. I know where to find you,” she said, waving her hands in a dismissive manner as if shooing a fly.
I willed myself back to my dream realm, visualizing the enchanted trees and the white meadow of daisies. I took one last glance at the incomplete pentagram. Was the fated mate symbol missing because I was marked by one mate but loved another?
With a sigh, I opened my eyes and returned to the physical world, where Torin waited for me. He faced me, his arms locked over his chest, but I could see a quiver in his frame as if he were fighting the urge to touch me.
"Did she agree?" he asked, his expression tense.
"Sort of," I replied hesitantly. "She says there's something she wants, but I'll need your help to get it. She believes you'll be an Alpha again."
Torin's jaw clenched, but he nodded. "We'll do whatever it takes, Anna."
We waited, uncertain if Cordelia would actually show up in the kingdom forest. No security could stop her, so I didn’t worry about that, but I wondered what she would ask in exchange.