by Arizona Tape
I gritted my teeth and bore the humiliation of having to walk all the way back to the front. With pain in my heart, I tugged the locket out of my pocket. The amulet felt heavy in my palm and I could feel the magic wrap its tendrils around me, almost begging me not to break the bond. My wolf howled one last time and then he grew quiet once again.
Mother grinned menacingly as she clutched the amulet and hung it around her neck. For a moment it was silent. Calm.
And then a chill swept through the air and I could feel her wolf awaken. Everyone around me cowered as the ancient magic merged with Mother and unleashed one of the most frightening souls I had ever met. The Alpha.
“Thank you, my dear,” Mother smiled sweetly, but every word was lashed at me with a power I almost couldn’t bear.
A faint voice howled for me and it took me a moment to recognise the call as Danny’s wolf. Embarrassed and pained I couldn’t feel her as strongly as before, I let my head fall to my chest. Downtrodden, I dragged my body away from Mother and her Alpha.
Danny’s arms wrapped reassuringly around me. “It’ll be fine, love,” she whispered, but the barrier in my chest disagreed. I could feel my wolf grow restless, how he was howling and thrashing against the invisible wall around him. How he was howling for her.
I placed a hand on my hollow chest. “He’s locked in.”
My redhead pressed a kiss on my cheek and placed her hands on mine. “Maybe he is, but I’m not.”
A surge of magic passed through me. Shapeless, endless, undefined. It was magic I’d never seen before, but I recognised it nonetheless. It was Danny’s wolf. Only now, I couldn’t recognise her form, couldn’t make out her shape. But I could still feel her. She was still with me, she would always be with me. We were mated for life.
“Thank you,” I whispered, my voice hitching in my throat.
“Until we turn to dust, right?” she smiled, pushing up my chin so I’d look her in the eye.
I nodded. “Until we turn to dust.”
“Now let’s go. Your mother is on a power trip and it’s making me nauseous.” She slipped her small hand into mine and pulled me out of the great hall, away from the dark aura that was Mother.
The next two days and nights, I spent almost exclusively in the back garden. Training. Sparring with Darren, fighting with Ashleigh, preparing with JP. And most of all, practising with Aspen.
Practising to resist his Alpha, to ignore his call, to escape his command.
“Again,” he softly spoke, shaking his head in disappointment as I froze again. Like a fickle fire, his warm and carefree aura warped to the dangerous and imposing Alpha he kept locked inside.
“Kneel,” he commanded, his voice low and hard. Acting on their own accord, my knees buckled and with a thud, I sank to the ground. Pain slashed through my chest as I fought against his voice, against his magic, but nothing helped. Bound to Aspen’s Alpha, I grovelled into the dust, helplessly, spinelessly.
Almost when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, the pressure lifted and the pounding headache disappeared.
“Not good enough,” Aspen muttered, a sad look in his eyes.
“You okay?” I asked, knowing how much he despised using his Alpha. The only reason we were doing this, was because he insisted I needed the practice. And I really wasn’t in a position to refuse. I needed to be stronger, I needed to learn how to break the Alpha’s spell. Otherwise, there’d be no chance in hell I could defeat my mother.
“One more,” my friend nodded, cracking his neck in exhaustion.
I dusted off my jacket and tensed my body, hoping to ward off his command. I curtly nodded, letting him know I was ready for more.
Electricity crackled in the air as Aspen’s aura turned from a warm orange to a thick black. With a voice that wasn’t his own, he growled menacingly.
“I said kneel,” he ordered, his power lashing out and attacking me from every side. Pain stabbed in me like thousands of needles and I fell to my knees, my chin hitting my chest.
“Kneel, Regan,” Aspen laughed, his magic twirling around me, binding me, suffocating me. It was excruciating. Unbearable. Unthinkable. It was sharp and venomous, a fog that was ready to engulf me. Ready to destroy me, wipe my existence from this very earth. It was too much. Far too much. I just wanted it to stop. I needed him to stop. Why wasn’t he stopping?
“Aspen!”
As sudden as it came, the tension lifted and the fist squeezing the air out of my lungs, disappeared. Warm arms pulled me up from the ground and I was glad they kept supporting me. My legs certainly weren’t.
“Are you crazy? You could’ve killed him!”
The voice was loud. It was female. I knew that voice. Ashleigh.
“Are you okay?”
Another voice. This was a man. Darren. Or JP? No, JP stuttered. Darren.
“C-Can you stand?” That was JP. He still stuttered.
“I’m here.”
Another voice, one I would always recognise. Danny.
I wheezed, every part of my body aching as I tried to keep myself upright. “Right,” I managed to mumble, before collapsing into Darren’s arms again. I was weak, very weak. I had never felt this drained before. This had never happened before.
“Aspen,” I whispered, trying to turn my head. Something wasn’t right. His command had felt different. Wild, uncontrollable, untamed.
Even though the world felt muted, I could hear faint voices.
“Snap out of it!” Ashleigh called out to her brother. I could tell she was yelling, but it only registered as a whisper to me.
“Damn it, get a grip!”
Another wave of nausea hit me as a visible shudder ran through Aspen’s body. Everything about him was tense. He was lost, almost as lost as I was. What was happening to my friend? Did I do this?
“Aspen, fight it!” Ashleigh begged, shaking her brother in the hopes of breaking his trance. Or whatever he was under. I wasn’t sure, I had never seen something similar happen. It was like he was locked in his own head, suffering terrors too awful to imagine.
“Danny,” I whispered, nudging her the best as I could. I would be okay. But Aspen needed their help. The help of a wolf. Something I no longer was able to give.
My redhead nodded and from the glances she gave JP and Darren, I knew they’d be staying with me.
Every muscle in my body groaned, and protested as I pushed myself up. I wanted to be able to watch Aspen. I needed to know he was okay. I made him use his Alpha, I put this strain and pressure on him. I needed my friend to be okay.
The two women danced around him, snapping their fingers and patting his cheek. Finger-snapping turned into loud claps and gentle patting into harsh pokes and prods. But nothing seemed to be working. Nothing seemed to penetrate the barrier the Alpha drew around Aspen.
I tried to lift my hand. But it was so heavy. It ached. I ached.
Just a little bit.
Why was I moving so slow?
Was the world fragmented or was I?
Aspen... I could feel parts of his pain. Parts of the command he put me under were still in effect. I was still tied to him, to his will. To his destruction.
Was this the end? The end before the end?
Fuck, my head was pounding. Was my brain going to explode? At least, it felt like that. I groaned, trying to figure out what was going on. Grass. I was on the ground. Did I pass out?
“Regan? Regan?”
I opened one eye, grunting as I pushed myself up on my elbows.
“Guys, he’s awake!”
“What happened?” I mumbled as warm arms wrapped themselves around me. As painful as it was, my lips tugged up in a smile. Even barely conscious, I could still recognise Danny’s touch. At least I had that going for me. Danny.
“You passed out, love.”
“Aspen?” I asked, looking around for my friend. If I already felt this awful, I couldn’t imagine how he must feel.
“He’ll be okay.”
I sure hoped he w
ould be. Aspen was on the ground next to me, only a couple of metres away. He was conscious, but in bad shape. He was hugging himself and rhythmically chanting words I couldn’t understand. Poor guy, he was probably processing past events. Not that I really knew what happened.
“What was that?” I grunted, wishing I could stop my friend from hurting. I should never have asked him to use his Alpha this much.
“I’m not sure,” Ashleigh muttered as she glanced in worry at her brother.
“P-Possesion?” JP suggested, scratching the back of his head in confusion.
“A body swap gone wrong?” Darren added, not very sure either.
Swaying, I pushed my body up, forcing my legs to work. If Aspen could deal with it, so could I. I wasn’t going to fail. There was too much on the line.
“Are you okay to stand?” Danny asked, wrapping her arm around my waist so I could lean on her.
“I’ll be fine.”
“You look hurt,” she winced, concern flashing through her eyes.
“You worry too much,” I muttered back, only loud enough so she could hear.
“Of course, I worry. I love you.”
My chest filled itself with a soft and warm humming. Yes, I’d be just fine with Danny by my side. “I love you too.”
“But don’t ever do that to yourself again,” she added, trying to sound stern.
I tried to chuckle, but it turned in a dry cough. “I’ll try.”
There was no way I could promise not to get hurt again. Not with the war going on. Or Chesca hunting us. Or my fight with Mother coming up. Shit. Mother.
“What time is it?” I croaked, not able to see the sun dial from my position. I should still have some time to recuperate before my battle. I would be alright.
“The sun is setting.”
“Already?” That couldn’t be right. Had I been out for this long?
“The showdown is in little under an hour.”
“I’ll be fine,” I repeated, not sure whether I was trying to convince Danny or myself.
“You can’t fight like this,” my wife protested, glaring at me.
“I have to.”
“She’ll beat you to a pulp this way.”
“We have no choice,” I grimaced, trying to shake the cramps from my leg.
“I’ll do it.”
What? Was she saying what I thought she was saying? No way would I allow that.
“I’ll fight your mother.”
I shook my head. “Not a chance in hell.”
“Regan, you can barely stand. How do you expect to fight your mother?”
“I’ll figure something out,” I muttered stubbornly.
“You’re crazy, you can’t win this way. She’ll kill you!” Danny hissed loudly, pulling my face towards her. “I’m fighting in your place.”
“No!” I exclaimed loudly. Danny frowned and I lowered my voice. “I won’t allow it. This is between me and Mother. I need to figure it out.”
“You need to heal,” she pouted, pulling me against her. “If only you had your wolf, you’d heal a lot faster;”
“If only.”
“Maybe if I... Hang on.”
“What?”
“Hang on, I want to try something.”
Patiently, I stared at my redhead. She closed her eyes and pressed her hands against my chest. At first, I didn’t feel anything. Except for her hands. But then slowly, something hummed to life. A stream of magic entered my body and wrapped itself around the boundaries around my wolf. Some of the magic tendrils even slipped through the unliftable curse.
And little by little, I could feel myself recharging. It wasn’t as fast as if I were in my wolf form, but it was working. Somehow I already felt better and she only just started healing me. If she’d be able to keep this up, I’d be recovered in no time.
“I’ll be there the whole time to support you,” she whispered, a last surge of magic filling me. She wrapped my arm around her shoulder to support me and moved us back towards the castle.
“Aspen?”
“He’ll be okay in no time, worry about yourself first.”
“But—”
“Regan, he’ll be okay. Look, they’re already there.”
I turned my head, hoping my face didn’t show just how much I was hurting. But relief flooded my system to see Aspen walking amongst the rest. His cheeks regained some of their original colour and his eyes had returned to the orange colour. He was back to his old self.
Apologetically, I pressed him a hand and we exchanged a short glance. He nodded and my chest relaxed. He didn’t blame me and we were still alright.
“You okay?” Danny asked, brushed my chest.
I nodded, not daring to speak. My voice would betray just how much pain I was in. And I didn’t want her to worry about me.
Darren swung the doors open to the hall and a murmur ran through the ball room. At least half the population of the village down below had shown up to watch. Not that I blamed them. It was probably a welcome change from their drab lives.
“You sure you’re okay?” Danny whispered, glaring at all the spectators.
Darren patted my shoulder. “Yes, are you okay? You look a bit faint.”
I grimaced, waving away my friend’s concerns. They were being overprotective. But having them all walk up with me definitely left a warm feeling in my gut. It was good to know I had people I trusted in my corner.
Unlike the villagers, and some of the more shady members in the staff. To them, this was probably a show. For me, this was my fate.
“I’ll be fine,” I muttered back, ignoring the stinging ache in my sides. I’d be in pain after one blow from Mother anyway, what was a little pre-battle pain, right?
“You can barely stand,” Danny hissed, waving at the people around us. How sweet, she was trying to divert their attention. From the soft murmur and the clattering of coins, I just knew there were bets going on in the crowd. I really didn’t need them to be rooting against me, especially if I were to win.
“I still think I should fight in your place,” she argued.
“Not a chance in hell.”
“Hmmpfff.”
“I’ll be okay.”
She narrowed her eyes and glared. “You better be.”
I pulled her softly into me and kissed her temple. I knew she wasn’t really mad. This was just her way of voicing concern. And support. I knew she’d take my place in the fight if I let her. I stifled a snort of disdain. As if. This was my fight, and I was going to win.
“You’re mother looks absolutely crazy.”
A smile tugged on my mouth. “That’s her usual look.”
She giggled against me, before quickly composing her posture. It probably wasn’t very proper of us to be giggling, but then again, nothing about us was proper.
“Alvar,” I nodded, greeting him respectfully.
“My Lord, my Lady.”
At least most of the staff in the castle would be happy if I won. That much I did know.
“Mother, Father.” I bowed slightly, hoping my face didn’t reveal the pain shooting through my chest. I didn’t need them to know just how much I weakened I already was. And I couldn’t let Danny know either.
“My son, welcome. I see you’re in great shape, today,” Mother cackled, her eyes boring deep into mine. She was probably gauging my strength.
I puffed up my chest, and I could feel my muscles ripple under my clothes. If they thought I’d been solely relying on the power of magic, they had another thing coming. Even without my connection to my wolf, I was still strong.
“How joyous of you to join us here today for the tournament and trial.”
Very joyous indeed. She was treating it as a spectacle. But that shouldn’t surprise me.
“Whenever you’re ready,” I growled, bulking my shoulders as wide as I could. I saw something flash through Mother’s eyes and I knew she was slightly intimidated.
I’d show her. I was no longer the weak boy that Father could th
row around. I no longer feared them or their power. Gone were the days they could whip me, or threaten me, or try and break me.
I glanced at Danny, power surging through my veins, like wildfire through a forest. White hot, searing, consuming. Yes, Danny made me brave. She made me strong. I was no longer afraid. I was no longer a boy. I was a man with a wife and a quest. And I could do this. I could stand up to my parents like I wish I could’ve done in the past.
“Bring it on,” I growled, pulling my jacket open. This would be the first time I’d show everyone just how well they treated me. The silver rain of scars on my back would tell a tale I had no words for.
The cold air blew across my skin as shocked gasps murmured through the crowd surrounding us. Even from afar, it was pretty clear how mangled my back was. Anyone could tell those were marks from years of abuse.
“I-I can h-hold your c-coat,” JP smiled, holding out his hand to grab my jacket. His eyes flitted over my back and I could see compassion stretch across his face. But no pity. He just nodded in acknowledgement. And I knew why. He understood. The hidden scars on his side told me just how much he understood.
He draped my coat over his arm and awkwardly patted me on my shoulder. “Y-You’ll be fine, r-right?”
I gave him a grimace. “Not you too.”
“J-Just be c-careful. Danny needs y-you.”
“Although, with you out of the way...” Darren joked, not wasting a second look on my scars. “No, for real. Be careful.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, not really sure how I could show them just how grateful I was. Even if JP and I had a rocky start, and Darren started out trying to slice us in half, we really had come a long way.
“What are you doing, my dear boy?” Mother trumpeted through the hall. I groaned. Why did she insist on always playing these games?
“Ready for the trial.”
A loud cackle bounced off the walls. One that made the hairs on my body stand up.
“My dear son, I’m not fighting you.”
The surprised murmurs ran through the crowd.
“What do you mean,” I hissed between my teeth, flexing my muscles. Did she finally realise how strong and big I’d grown?