by Sara Snow
I smiled. “Three to go.”
They attacked me all at once, their sharp blades slicing into my flesh as I tried to keep up with them.
"Focus, Elinor,” all three taunted me. “Which is the real me?”
I reached out and grabbed one by the throat. I squeezed just enough for her to gasp, and the others stopped attacking.
“This one,” I whispered to Angelisa, and she tapped my hand, surrendering. I released her as the two clones vanished.
“How did you know?” she asked, her brows furrowed. “Even my sisters can’t tell me and my clones apart.”
“You create them from your thoughts, just like your other illusions. So they look the way you think you do,” I said as the other sisters joined us. "Earlier in our fight, I lightly scratched your right shoulder blade with my divinity. It wasn’t enough for you to have noticed, since you pay so little attention to the pain you feel.”
Ariel laughed as Angelisa attempted to look over her shoulder. “You marked me?”
“Yup,” I answered smugly, and Ariel and I fist-bumped each other.
“Not bad.” Angelisa patted my shoulder. “Not bad at all.”
"When I use my divinity to cause wounds, they don't heal as quickly, and that goes for you guys, too."
Abruptly, Tien strode off, heading towards the mountain and the cabin without saying a word.
“Tien?” I called after her, but she didn't look at me. I heard her sniffle before she jumped into the air and disappeared, landing on the mountain. “Did I say something?”
Angelisa and Ariel’s gems glowed as they communicated with each other telepathically.
“Guys?”
“You didn’t,” Angelisa answered, and even though she smiled, there was regret in her eyes. "Your time with us is over. That’s why Tien’s upset. We . . . don't want you to go, but we know you must.”
“This is all we can teach you,” Ariel added. “But we wish you all the best.”
She looked away, unable to hold my stare. It saddened me that our time together was over, especially because it meant the real battle would begin. Still, I couldn’t help feeling that there was something deeper troubling the sisters.
I’d spent three years with them. I knew them all, and they knew me. It broke my heart that I'd have to leave them here, trapped in this place.
We walked in silence to the cabin, and inside, Tien waited by the portal with her chin resting on the end of her staff. Her staff hadn’t shrunk the way it usually did after a training session, and her eyes were glossy with tears.
“Tien?”
“It was an honor training you, Elinor." She pulled me into a hug, and my eyes grew teary. "I'm so sorry."
“Sorry for what? I enjoyed every minute of . . .”
Without warning, her hold on me tightened to the point that I worried she’d crush me, and she threw us both through the portal. We came out on the other side stumbling, and I slipped from her grasp. Her staff bent like a snake, something I hadn't known it could do, and wrapped around me.
Tien pulled me to her, pinning my back to her front, and I came face-to-face with Levi.
“Hello, Elinor. Welcome back.”
Elinor
"Levi?" I growled, twisting my arms, but my hands were pinned to my side.
“Hold her tighter, Tien. We can't have her breaking loose now," Levi instructed, and Tien’s staff tightened further.
I winced but kept my mouth shut, ignoring the pain as I glared at him.
Levi smiled triumphantly, the widest smile I'd ever seen on his face. Now I knew why the sisters had seemed so upset. Now I understood the regret in Angelisa’s eyes, and the reason Tien had apologized.
They had all known Levi was coming.
Across the room, Cyrus was unconscious on the ground, black smoke rising from his body, while Will, Darian, and Skye were being held by werewolves in uniform.
The wolves’ outfits were black like Darian’s but they didn't have a strip of color on their left arm to signify the pack they were from. Instead, they had a tight cloth going up their necks to their nose, leaving only their black eyes revealed.
They were all larger than even Darian, standing at least a foot taller than both him and Will.
This was the first time I'd ever seen the Elite Guards used for protection by the Council. Until now, all I had heard of them were rumors. They were trained killers the Council sometimes used to track down rogue wolves. And they obeyed the Council members without question.
A clawed hand was wrapped around Skye’s throat, a dagger that was already stained with blood was at Darian’s, and Will's arms were bound behind him by an old rusty chain. I was surprised it was keeping him in place.
His eyes were scarlet, burning brightly as our gazes locked. He tried to move, and the guard behind him punched him in the back.
My eye twitched at the sound of breaking bones, and Will fell to his knees.
I looked at Levi, who was smiling at Will's pain, and clenched my fists at my side. Whatever those chains were made of, Will couldn’t break free. Of course, Levi would come prepared, bringing with him items he knew could overpower everyone. What I wanted to know was, why was he doing this?
"Levi, what the hell are you doing?" I twisted my arms, but Tien’s staff only tightened further.
"Please stop moving, Elinor,” she begged, her voice cracking. “My staff will tighten each time you move.”
"Aww, that's sweet. You've grown close." Levi's smile was sickening to see. "Ariel, Angelisa, a pleasure as always. Why the long faces?”
I couldn't see the sisters behind me, but I had a feeling they were staring daggers at Levi, the same way I was.
“I’m so sorry,” Tien whispered to me, and my heart ached at her pain.
“It’s okay,” I told her. “I know you have no choice.”
"Thank you, Tien, for always being so obedient," Levi clapped his hands and then took a deep breath. "You trained her well. Just look at her. I can smell her power. Now you can help me make it mine.”
“You’re a sick bastard. You don’t deserve to be on the Council!” Skye growled and then began choking as the Guard behind her tightened his hold on her throat.
“Stop! Stop it!” I screamed, but the monster kept choking her.
Levi waved his hand, and the Guard loosened his hold but didn’t release her. Skye gasped for air as tears ran down her cheeks. Cyrus stirred but didn't open his eyes.
This was exactly what Angelisa had taught me. It was all about pain. People used pain, even the pain of others, against us.
Cyrus, Will, Darian, and Skye's suffering was my own, but I needed to take the attention away from them and get Levi to focus on me only. I could handle whatever he threw my way.
"What do you mean? Make what yours?” I probed. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because of you,” he drawled as if I should have known the answer. He opened his palm to reveal a small bottle of white liquid. "It’s all because of you, Elinor.” He stepped forward until he was inches away from my face. I fought to remain still, strong . . . and now show him how disgusted I was that he was so close to me. “Your power is what I need. Why should I settle for the power of Enchanteds when I can gain the abilities of a white wolf? The power you have is being wasted on you.”
“The power I have will end this war! You’re wasting time doing this while the Vampire Queen is slaughtering our people!”
Levi had the audacity to look indifferent, as if he didn't care about what the Queen was doing. He backed away and held his arms wide apart. “The Queen is thinning the herd, and I'm not against it."
"Our world is falling apart, and all you can think of is stealing power! You're the lowest of the low!"
"Your insults mean nothing to me, girl. Besides, what better time is there to gain power than now? Once this war ends, I'll still be the one who comes out on top." He held the bottle up. "I’ve finally perfected the formula, and all I need now is your divinity."
> "You won't survive," Angelisa spoke up from somewhere behind Tien and me. "Your body can't take such power."
“It can now, because of the divinity I’ve already consumed from Enchanteds." He turned away, holding his hands behind his back. "Once the Queen's done laying waste to the world, she can have the territory she wants. The rest will be mine. I will eliminate the Werewolf Council and rule as a king."
“What makes you think the Vampire Queen is going to relinquish any of the lands she did all of this to gain?” Will hissed.
Levi turned to look at Will. "Because once I finish with Elinor, I'll be the white wolf. And the Queen will know that if she wishes to live, she'll have to stay on her side of the world. That's all there is to it."
I started laughing hysterically. Levi did not know what he was doing or even asking for. I knew what it felt like to live with the power I possessed, the way it relentlessly dug at my insides, desperate to be released. And I knew how painful it felt when it turned on me because I was too weak to handle it. And I’d been born with it. Levi didn’t stand a chance.
“You’re not strong enough to wield my power. You’re a pathetic man made even weaker by your greed.”
With three long strides, he crossed the room to where I was being held. His hand came down hard on my face. I could hear the others fighting with their guards across the room, but they were quickly overpowered.
The pain I felt was dull compared to my desire to rip Levi’s throat open.
“How can you help him?” Skye screamed at Tien. “And how can you two stand there and not do anything!” she yelled at Ariel and Angelisa.
“She doesn’t have a choice!” I said, defending Tien.
Skye's mouth clamped shut, her lip busted and bleeding.
"Tien doesn't have a choice, Skye, you know that. He’s forcing her to do this.”
"And her sweet sisters can't act because if they do, I'll order Tien to kill them. I’m not sure I’d want to see that fight.” Levi looked thoughtful as he scratched at his chin. "Actually, I would. But either way, if Tien slaughters her sisters, or if they’re forced to kill her, none of them will have a hope in hell of becoming an angel after such a horrible crime."
Ariel hissed a thread of clipped words I couldn't understand, but Levi ignored her. "Your Goddess will punish you for this, Levi. Don't you care about that?" she said to him.
“No,” he replied bluntly. “I don’t.”
"I trusted you." Darian's face was livid—his eyes were black, and a vein on his forehead bulged against his skin. His body was practically shaking, and he didn't seem to care that a knife was being held to his throat. "You’re hurting the people you took a vow to protect."
Levi rotated his hand as if humoring Darian. “I was waiting for your lecture, Darian. Your self-righteous word vomits are always so entertaining. You're a Guard. The only thing you’re good for is taking orders and doing as you're told. That's your sole purpose in life. So here’s an order for you—shut up."
The Guard behind Darian pressed the knife into his skin, but Darian didn't flinch or look away from Levi's demon-like eyes, even when the blade drew blood.
Levi opened the bottle in his hand and held it up in the air. Then he held his head back and, closing his eyes, downed the contents. Once done, he smashed the bottle on the ground.
He took a deep breath through his mouth, and when his eyes opened, the yellow of his eyes had changed to black.
20
Faelen
Running at full speed, I burst through the barrier that surrounded Alpha Grayson’s pack. Erected many years ago by a witch to repel dark creatures, the pack used it now to hide from the vampires and Resurrected. It had become their temporary haven.
Not all packs had been so protected the night before last, during the full moon, and many of them were attacked. Alpha Grayson, Connor, and a handful of Guards got to a small pack in time to save a few of its members, but it wasn’t enough. If this kept up, the vampires and Resurrected would successfully annihilate the werewolf species.
I paused for a moment to catch my breath, glancing at the few wolves busy cutting wood or performing other mundane chores. Many looked back at me with curiosity, while others merely nodded before turning back to their activities.
I knew how I looked. I’d been running through the forest all night trying to make it back. The three Werewolf Guards who had accompanied me for my protection appeared through the barrier as well and walked straight toward a well.
I, however, had no time to stop and drink, no matter how badly my throat burned.
“Where is Alpha Grayson?” I yelled to no one in particular.
“In the third house!” A woman with black hair peppered with white pointed to the third two-story house.
"Thanks!" I lifted my dress and sprinted to the house she had indicated. I had good news to impart. The High Priestess of the witches, Circe, had agreed to aid us in this fight. One of her coven leaders had contacted her before my arrival, telling her that Elinor and her companions had fought to save their town and that the white wolf rumors were true.
Elinor would be our savior. Her name was spreading like wildfire.
Unfortunately, during my meeting with Circe, I was knocked unconscious by a vision.
“Alpha Grayson!” I yelled as I burst through the front door. “Alpha Grayson!” I shouted up the stairs because my legs had decided they couldn’t take me any further.
He materialized at the top of the stairs, strands of his ear-length hair covering his forehead. “Faelen? What’s going on?”
He flew down the stairs and pulled me by the hand into his office. Once inside, Connor, the pack's beta, showed up with a goblet of water for me. I downed it in one quick swig.
"Levi—" I began to say, but I was still breathing too heavily to speak further.
Work, lungs! Work, damn it!
I closed my eyes and took deep breaths, calming myself. It took a moment, but I knew I needed to tell Grayson everything. Because once I shared what I'd seen, he'd want me to contact Darian, Cyrus, Elinor, or anyone I could.
“Levi will attempt to steal Elinor’s divinity,” I finished. As expected, Grayson’s eyes darkened. “He’s been experimenting on Enchanteds, trying to find a way to absorb their divinity. And now he's figured it out. On the way here, I contacted someone within the Council, and they confirmed he murdered seven Enchanteds before fleeing.”
“And he’s the only one who knows where Elinor was taken because he sent her there," Connor growled.
Grayson's fists, twice the size of mine, clenched so hard that they shook, and he started to pace. “He’s probably heading straight to her now.”
“If he’s not there already,” I added. “I should have expected him to try something like this.”
Grayson turned to face me, his eyes black orbs despite his calm voice. “Can you mind-link with her?”
"I can try, yes," I answered as I walked across the room and sat down. "If I can't, I'll try Darian, then Cyrus. I’ll keep trying until I connect with someone."
“Okay, do it.”
I took a deep breath, held it, and then released it. My tense, tired body grew slack as I called on my divinity. It warmed me from my toes upwards, and my head fell backward. I picked through the auras in my mind, the faces of each person cloaked in the color of their aura.
It took a moment, but I found Elinor’s distinctive light blue aura, swirled throughout with white like mixed paint. I reached out to her, trying to slip into her mind, but I couldn't. It was as if there was a barrier around her, preventing me from entering her mind and pushing me back.
Either her mind was being guarded, or she was in a place protected from outside magic.
I growled and moved on, searching for Will, but I couldn't connect with him either. Darian's red aura was bright and pulsating, but like the others, his mind was guarded.
I gasped loudly as I jumped up, my hand on my chest. "I can't mind-link with any of them so far. Just give m
e a moment, and I'll try Skye next."
“And if you can’t get through?” Connor inquired. “What then?”
I looked at Grayson, knowing he would not like my answer. “Then there is nothing we can do until I can.”
Grayson's jaws clenched and he crossed his arms over his chest. His display of self-restraint underscored why he was so highly regarded among the Alphas. Alphas were the backbone of the pack, and for that reason, they had to remain in control—of themselves and others.
I knew, however, on the inside, his wolf must be howling up a storm to be released, to sniff out his daughter and bring her home safe. Grayson had trusted Levi to protect her, and instead, the Council leader used and fooled us all. As diabolical as I knew he was, it hadn't crossed my mind he'd take things this far, murdering so many innocent Enchanteds and then targeting the only hope we had for vanquishing the Queen.
I wasn't blessed with a mate or child, not yet, but I knew when the day came, I'd feel the same way Grayson did now if their lives were in danger. I'd want someone to help me, so now, I'd do everything in my power to aid him.
"There seems to be some kind of barrier preventing me from entering their minds; I'll try to push through it."
Grayson nodded, and Connor adjusted his blond ponytail, although it was perfect and in place. I could tell it was a nervous tic, and I wished I had been a part of a pack like this one. Not all packs were so close-knit like this.
During my younger days as an Enchanted, my pack had treated me horribly. Not that long ago, Enchanteds had been considered freaks of nature. Now, discrimination was hidden behind fake smiles and jokes rooted in truth, but back then . . .
I shook my head, not wanting to return to my past when I had a job to do.
I closed my eyes again, allowing my body to relax so my mind could be transported. It took a moment, but finally, I found Skye's aura. Unfortunately, I couldn't connect to her, either.