Redamancy (Monachopsis Book 2)

by Lyra Winters

  We made it to the edge of the wooded area before the clearing that held his packhouse. Lockhart’s pack members covered it, but they didn’t mingle about. Everyone kept to themselves except to start a fight. The wolves were aggressive as fuck, feral even.

  They were always asshats, but never that much. A weird, sinister feeling clouded the atmosphere of the pack grounds. I couldn’t wrap my mind around it, but being here gave me chills.

  “What’s that smell? It’s like sunflowers and magic. It’s… almost warm?” A guy with long brown hair stopped waking as he was passing us.

  “Magic?” Another passerby chuckled. “That’s fucking stupid. You know magic isn’t warm. It’s ice-cold, dumbass.”

  “The fuck did you say to me?”

  “You heard me.”

  The two wolves shifted and went after each other’s throats. Harlow huddled into my side and I wrapped my arm around her. The one that had the long hair lasted a few seconds before the other wolf tore his throat out.

  Fucking shit. My eyes must’ve been ready to bulge out of my sockets. I’d never seen two pack members fight to the death over something so fucking trivial. Lockhart was insane. Looking around, none of the other wolves were concerned. They just went about their damn business like a member didn’t just get murdered in front of them by another.

  As the wolf trotted away wearing its prey’s blood, I moved Harlow toward a big tree. “Can you teleport us to the highest branch?”

  She nodded, taking my hands and teleporting us high up in the tree.

  I sighed. “We should be able to observe better from up here.”

  “Good thinking.” Her voice shook a little.

  “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

  She winced. “It’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting this pack to be so brutal among their own.”

  “Me either actually. That’s new…” I trailed off as I noticed her stare go blank. “Harlow?”

  She flinched, whipping her head toward me with wide eyes. “I sense magic.”

  “Why do I feel like you’re not talking about your own?” I rubbed my chin. We couldn’t catch a fucking break.

  “Mindlink the pack now. Tell them there’s a possibility they are working with a dark coven. I’ve felt magic similar to this, but not nearly as cold as what I feel now.” Fear pulsed through our bond. “That must’ve been why that wolf said that earlier.”

  I’d only felt fear from Harlow once before and that was the first time we’d met.

  Alpha? I mindlinked Riley, and she immediately answered.

  Did you infiltrate the pack?

  Yes. I told her. But Harlow thinks Lockhart is working with a dark coven of witches.

  We’ve never dealt with witches before. Should we regroup and have you all come back?

  My heart jumped. No. We will contact you in an hour.

  We’d come too fucking far to stop now. Harlow and I’d push through until they showed up tonight.

  Harlow scooted closer to me on the branch and rested her head on my shoulder. “We’ll be okay as long as we stay cloaked.”

  The hesitation in her voice wasn’t lost on me, and I pulled her into my chest.

  We were quiet for the next hour with a fog of tension hanging over us. We’d observed the wolves and noticed some anomalies. They were bloodthirsty killers from the start, but not within their own pack—and yet they were taking their own out. We’d witnessed three more fights to the death among their pack members for no fucking reason.

  “I’m going to make the second mindlink.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  With my lips lingering on Harlow, I mindlinked Riley. The wolves are acting weird as fuck, Alpha. Killing each other over little things with no consequences. Haven’t seen Alpha Lockhart yet.

  Xavier, you and Harlow be careful. I have a bad feeling.

  Got it, Alpha. I ended the link and opened my eyes.

  “Speak of the devil.” Fuck. I had just told Riley we hadn’t seen him, and there the fucker was, walking around pack grounds with an aura of death surrounding him. His fiery red hair made him look like a demon with his black eyes and tattoo-covered skin.

  “Is that him? Their Alpha?” she asked in a whisper. I nodded. “He seems tense, almost like he knows something.”

  Damn, she was right about that for sure. His shoulders were visibly stiff, and he was talking with a couple of his higher-ranked members with haste.

  “Really?”

  I flicked my eyes toward Harlow then back to Lockhart but whipped my head toward Harlow once I processed what she was doing. The little witch had crawled out on the branch and was talking to a squirrel. No shit, a squirrel.

  She reached out and let it crawl into her hand and used her other hand to help support it. “You’re absolutely sure?”

  The squirrel’s tail twitched and it nodded.

  “Thank you for your help, sweet one. Be safe around here.” She sat it back down on the branch, and it scurried away.

  Harlow crawled back toward me and dropped her voice. “Half-pint said-”

  I almost laughed but disguised it with a cough. “Half-pint?”

  She pressed her lips into a thin line. “Yes, that’s his name. Now focus, he said the wolves have been acting erratic and that he’s seen witches around here.”

  My heart thudded in my chest. “No shit?”

  “Mindlink the pack. I’m teleporting us back. I’m sensing something bad.” Her eyes widened and glazed over as if she was the one mindlinking.

  Bad magic. Harlow is teleporting us back. I mindlinked Riley or at least tried to. It didn’t seem to be working, and she wasn’t responding.

  “I can’t reach her.”

  “Oh, fuck.” Harlow’s arm shot out and she grabbed my bicep, nails biting into my skin. “My cloaking spell has been breached.”

  My skin crawled. It must’ve been serious for her to drop the f-bomb being as she didn’t cuss like I did.

  Something in the air changed, and the last thing I remembered was wrapping Harlow in my arms as we fell out of the tree with the ground rapidly approaching beneath us.

  TWENTY FIVE

  Harlow

  My eyelids fluttered open as I roused from a heavy sleep, and my limbs flexed in shock. Zip-ties bound my hands behind the back of the metal chair. I strained against them and felt warm blood run over the translucent plastic. Ouch.

  I blinked, and the blurriness faded as my surroundings became crisp. I sucked in a lungful of the freezing air, stealing any warmth I’d had. Other than the noise of breathing, the room was silent. I craned my neck for a window but came up empty.

  For all I knew I could be deep underground in Lockhart’s cellar. The only source of light was an old fashioned bulb on a bare white wire that dangled above, light spilling over the rough-textured concrete walls.

  Deep groans came from behind me, and I froze. “Xavier? Is that you?”

  A throaty cough came out before he answered, “Yeah. Where the fuck are we?”

  “I don’t know. A cellar or a basement of some kind? Last thing I remember was my cloaking spell being breached and falling out of the tree.” I groaned, my body screamed at me in pulsating aches. We must’ve hit the ground when we were captured, and we still had at least six more hours until the pack was coming to our aid. “Are you hurt?”

  Clanking from his chair hitting mine echoed through the small room. “Fuck! I’m fine, but I can’t get these damn binds off.”

  “Someone enchanted them. They’re unbreakable.”

  “Can’t you un-enchant them?”

  My reply died on my tongue as adrenaline flooded my system so fast I almost vomited. The scream of hinges echoed off the walls as the door slowly prised open, revealing the one person I hadn’t expected.

  Elder Evanora cackled as she strutted in. The old hag had to be approaching a hundred but looked half of that. Her white hair was pulled up, stretching her wrinkly face back, making her dark eyes look all the bit creepy as they wer
e. “I’m impressed, Miss. Oak. I may have made a mistake with you.”

  Xav tensed, probably wondering how I knew the crazed witch.

  I kept my mouth shut. She was the monster of a witch that refused to avenge my parents, killed my grandma, and banished me from the coven. Flashbacks of all my run-ins with her invaded my mind, sending icy chills down my spine. The old hag was evil incarnate.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t have banished you. Your powers are strong.” She gripped my chin, her long nails digging into my face.

  I jerked my head back, and her nails sliced open my skin. It stung as hot liquid dripped down my face.

  Xavier let out a low, threatening growl. “Don’t fucking touch her.”

  Her lips pursed. “You’ve mated a werewolf? Impressive. Do you want to know a secret?”

  I raised my gaze and met hers. “No, but I feel like you’re going to tell me anyway.”

  “Our coven teamed up with the Lockhart pack ages ago. We’re going to take down all the packs in existence, and when we do we will become unstoppable. We will have power over all the wolves.”

  “And why would you want that? What’s in it for you?”

  She smirked. “So naive. Werewolves are stupid. They let their emotions control them. I play behind the scenes. I manipulate the dumbass dogs into doing whatever I want. It’s genius, really.”

  Disgust crawled up my throat. “You’re proud of that?”

  “Oh, you sound just like your parents when they found out.”

  My heart stammered in my chest. “My parents?”

  She gave me a mocking saddened expression. “It’s sad really, they were going against the coven. They thought it was a bad idea and were planning on leaving and joining some small coven instead.”

  The Lunar coven. I swallowed a lump that slugged down to my stomach and dropped like a rock. “So you had them killed.”

  She tsked me. “Of course. They were disobeying me. Betraying me. They needed a painful death.”

  Tears trickled down my cheek and stung within the open wounds on my face. “And when my grandma found out…”

  “She needed to be made an example out of. She tried to leave as well. So, we showed the coven exactly what happens when they disobeyed the elders. It’s why I banished you. To show them even if they are killed, their loved ones will also suffer for their actions.”

  “You evil bitch.” Xavier spat on the floor behind me.

  “Xavier, it’s fine,” I said. He didn’t need to lose his cool around her. She was dangerous, and I couldn’t lose him. Fear slammed into my soul and knocked the wind out of me.

  “No, it’s not fine.” Her smile was one of pure insanity as she conjured up a flaming dagger and plunged it into my thigh without any hesitation.

  A scream tore through my chest as burnt flesh hit my nose and pain rippled through me. Xavier’s wolf roared as the chair began shaking behind me. My vision blurred, and I knew he was trying to shift.

  Whines and howls of pain left him as Evanora laughed maniacally. “One of my favorite ways to torture your kind is to stop you mid-shift when your bones and tendons are in shambles.”

  “No!”

  Our agonizing wails mixed with each other, and my heart broke over and over again. I couldn’t help Xavier no matter how much I tried.

  TWENTY SIX

  Xavier

  I’d never been so fucking hopeless in my life, even when I’d watched Liv get her throat slit in front of me. It was nothing compared to the pain of not being able to help Harlow.

  Deep, rumbling laughter rolled into the room as Lockhart himself came in. “Stop it, Evanora. Even I cannot be that cruel.”

  She sighed and the spell she’d cast ceased, and I shifted back to human form. “You have no sense of humor.”

  I inhaled a lungful of oxygen, and my eyes dropped closed. I never wanted to experience that kind of soul-crushing pain again. “Harlow, are you alright?” I croaked the question.

  “I’m managing,” she said in a weak voice.

  My wolf was pissed and so was I. I wanted to tear that witch limb from limb and burn her body parts.

  “Look who found his real mate.” Lockhart strolled around to me with a smile on his smug face.

  I panted, and sweat trailed down the side of my face. “The fuck are you talking about?”

  “This witch is your mate, no?”

  “Of course she is,” I growled.

  He threw his head back and laughed. “But you haven’t figured it out yet?”

  “What are you rambling on about, Lockhart? Spit it out.”

  “Haven’t you realized a difference between your bond with this witch and my little sister?” His fingers tapped against his lips with delight.

  Of course I had. My bond with Harlow was stronger. Pieces started to click together in my mind as he kept talking.

  “With the help of Evanora, we placed a spell on Olivia and Sophia’s Beta, which was you, to mimic the mate bond. Olivia knew all along she wasn’t your true mate.”

  My heart dropped. It made so much fucking sense and hurt all at the same time. Betrayal coiled around my blood cells and pumped through my entire body.

  “But the bitch got attached to you like some lovesick puppy. I had to kill her because she knew we were working with witches. Hell, she knew everything because she was a part of it all, and it was a matter of time before she ratted us out.” He smirked.

  My canines popped out and back in as I struggled not to shift. Olivia wasn’t my mate. She was a traitor. She was an imposter, and she robbed me of that first moment with my true mate. Olivia made me so fucking suspicious of Harlow when we’d first met and it was unwarranted.

  I’d gone so long thinking she was my mate and that I loved her just because she was my mate. The signs were all there, the sparks, the urge to protect her, and the pain I carried when she was killed. It was all for nothing. It didn’t mean shit. Was all the abuse shit too? Or did she play on the protective nature of my wolf to gain my trust?

  “That’s so messed up,” Harlow said.

  He laughed. “I’m messed up, sweetheart.”

  I growled at him. He better stay the hell away from her.

  Xavier, I’m pushing my thoughts into your head. It’s me. Harlow kicked my chair leg. I used the last bit of my magic to call for help from the Lunar coven. They should be here soon. I love you.

  “I love you, Harlow.”

  “Oh, how sweet,” Evanora cooed before focusing her attention on Lockhart. “I’m going to leave you alone with the wolf and take the witch with me.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t care what happens to the witch.”

  “Well, I do. I have so many plans for this one.”

  Lockhart grabbed my chair and turned it toward Harlow. All I could see was her back, but her hair was in disarray and her body trembled as blood leaked from her leg to the floor. I saw fucking red, and I wanted their blood.

  The witch, Evanora, looked like an old hag in a younger form, but still disgusting. She slinked over to Harlow and healed her wound for some reason unknown to me.

  “Can’t have you bleeding out on me, can I?” The crone lifted her hands and the binds fell off her as she levitated Harlow in the air.

  My mate was bruised and battered despite the witch healing whatever she’d done to her leg. We must’ve fallen hard from the tree, but my body was able to handle the impact. I hadn’t even thought it had affected her.

  Panic exploded within me as the witch curled her fingers and a floating Harlow trailed behind her in protest.

  “Where are you taking her? What the fuck are you doing?”

  The door slammed shut behind them without ever answering me.

  “Former Beta, Xavier Kingston. I have plans for you,” Lockhart said as he stepped forward with Wolfsbane in his gloved hand.

  Oh, fuck. If it wasn’t the most dangerous plant known to our kind. He didn’t say he wanted to play dirty, but if he was—so would I.

  TWENTY SEVEN


  Harlow

  My body floated unbound behind Evanora across the pack grounds. Wolves didn’t stare but took quick glances. She must’ve had these wolves deep under a chaos spell. I didn’t know how I hadn’t seen it before.

  I absorbed her magic as she used the levitation spell on me, repairing my body and recharging my magical energy as we went—and she hadn’t even noticed as she blabbered on and on about her nefarious plans.

  I glanced around the woods. We weren’t near the packhouse, and she’d taken us about ten minutes away from wherever they’d kept Xavier and me. “Where do you plan on taking me?”

  “Home.” She glanced back with a sharp smile. “I’m sure the coven has missed you.”

  “Tough.” I flicked my wrists and canceled her spell, dropping to my feet.

  She stopped. “I didn’t think you had it in you, witch. Consider me impressed.”

  “I don’t want to impress you!”

  “You’re a spitfire just like your mama used to be.”

  Rage slithered up my back and exploded through me. “Don’t even speak of her! You lost that right when you had her and my dad killed.”

  Her persistent cackling rang out through the trees, scaring off tons of poor forest critters. “Behave, Harlow. You’re coming with me the easy way or the hard way.”

  I cocked my head. “I’m not coming with you at all.” I hadn’t dared dream of defying her when I lived in the coven, but I couldn’t dream of doing anything else.

  Not even a second later, a fireball was thrown at my shoulder, searing the flesh. I winced, grabbing my crisp, bloody shoulder. Pain erupted through it and radiated along my chest. Lunar coven needed to hurry. I wasn’t sure how long I could hold my own against her.

  I threw my arms out and summoned energy from the tree and wind spirits who were more than happy to help me take out a dark witch. Wind wisps swirled on my palms before I shot my hands forward, sending spears of wind to pierce her stomach.

  The spears of wind tore through her skin, muscles, and tendons before cutting clear to the other side of her. She coughed up blood and spat it in front of her. “You’ve got moxie, kid. Too bad you have no allies.”