by G. K. DeRosa
I couldn’t hide my surprise as I gawked back and forth between the two. Was this a date? Had things progressed between my bestie and Vander without me noticing?
“Yeah, sure,” she finally answered, avoiding my questioning stare. “As long as you don’t want me to come with you guys.” She finally faced me. “For some magic power?”
Hunter’s arm snaked across my shoulders, and he drew me into his side. “I think Sierra can handle it if necessary.”
“I like this look on you, Hunter.” Vander playfully punched his friend in the shoulder. “I don’t know if I agree with you outing yourselves like you did today, but I’m glad you’ve finally embraced the inevitable.”
“Geez, thanks, Vander.” I shot him a glare. “You make it sound so romantic.”
“You know what I mean. You know I’m one hundred percent team #Hunterra.”
I snorted on a laugh, nearly doubling over from hysterics. “You did not just say that.”
“I came up with it,” said Cass proudly. “Don’t you dare steal my ship, Vander.”
“And on that note, I think it’s time to go.” Hunter steered me to the door as I attempted to suppress the giggles.
“Thanks for your help, Vander.”
He dipped his head and offered me a smile. It was easier to focus on a silly nickname than on what we were about to do. Because if Tyrien couldn’t lead us to my mom and his guards didn’t either, I feared we’d never find her.
Every nerve in my body was on high alert, a thrum of energy free flowing through my veins as we trailed behind Walt, one of Tyrien’s personal guards. The other, Grayson, remained with the supreme alpha back at the lair.
Hunter and I crept behind him, hidden within the cloak I’d magically conjured. Sure, I’d used my mate as an amplifier, but I’d gotten the job done nonetheless. If I only had some free time to practice, I was certain I could master more.
He’s definitely not going home. Hunter’s voice echoed through my mind as we crossed the center of the valley. The bustling downtown was quiet, all the vendor carts deserted for the evening.
Where do you think he’s going then?
At this hour? Either he’s got a mistress or… He shook his head. Let’s just wait and see.
The soft moonbeams brushed over my skin, a gentle caress from above. The pale light soothed my rattled nerves, and I drew in a deep breath. I had to stay positive, or I’d lose my mind.
We followed Walt past the central square and through the inner ring of the valley. In wolf form, the old guard moved silently. It was a good thing I’d managed the cloaking spell, or I was fairly certain we would’ve been spotted. Wherever he was going, he did not want to be followed. His furry gray head pivoted behind him on more than one occasion, freezing the blood in my veins.
Sierra, could your mom know anything about the curse? Hunter’s question stopped me in my tracks.
What? No, why?
I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out what Tyrien would want with her, and nothing makes sense. Except maybe that. She’s Lune Sacré after all.
I spun at him, a swell of annoyance bubbling up inside. You know she doesn’t have any magic. She was raised in the human world and had nothing to do with the coven. She couldn’t have.
I know you said that, but is it possible you’re wrong? I can’t help but think all of this is too much of a coincidence.
I gritted my teeth as unease churned. The same thought had crossed my mind, but I refused to say it aloud. I don’t know. I used to think I knew my mom, knew my family, but they’d lied to me for years about my dad, about who I was, so I guess anything is possible.
He ticked his head toward Walt who’d suddenly picked up his pace. We were nearing the woods, and we couldn’t risk losing him under cover of the trees. Hurry.
We jogged behind the wolf as the towering pines closed in on us. The thick canopy above obscured the moonlight, sinking us deeper into darkness. Should we shift? I shot the question to my mate as I kept my eyes on the ground to keep from tripping over fallen branches.
Not yet. Let’s see where he leads us.
A few yards ahead, Walt trotted past a gigantic oak and disappeared behind it. We sped up and turned at the same tree. I scanned the blurs of greens and browns beyond, and my brows knitted. He was gone.
“Where the hell did he go?” I hissed.
Hunter sniffed the air and took a few steps, then his eyes fixed to the forest floor. “His trail just stops.” He circled the oak before placing both hands on the massive trunk.
My mind whirled back to the secret portal Vander had taken me through in the surrounding woods outside of Arcane Academy. “Could it be a portal?”
“You tell me. You’re the witchy one.” He smirked as he took my hand and placed it on the rough bark.
A thrum of energy grazed my palm, and my eyes jolted wide open. “Definitely magic. A hidden chamber, maybe?”
“A perfect place to keep a hostage,” Hunter muttered.
I circled the tree, scanning every inch of the colossal trunk. There had to be a password or a hidden key or something. I inhaled deeply, breathing in the smokey, charred scent of magic. Where are you? Running my finger over the bark, I searched for a swell in energy. Grams had taught me that the first time she’d shown me how to access her farm.
My palm tingled and I slowed my scan, hovering over the spot. “Apertum,” I whispered. The air shimmered, and a scanner appeared built within the tree. “Wow…”
Hunter peered over my shoulder and swept his palm over the reader. A tiny robotic arm jutted out from the sleek device with a pointy needle at the end. Blood. It was always about blood with these supes.
“If this is your father’s secret chamber, then his blood must unlock it.”
Hunter’s lips thinned into a tight line. I could feel his trepidation zipping through the bond.
“As his son, yours might work too, depending on how sensitive it is.”
“I figured as much,” he said as he offered his index finger to the scanner. It thrust forward and pricked his fingertip before retreating into the metal encasement. White dots flashed across the screen as I held my breath.
A green light streaked across my vision, and a small door appeared within the massive trunk. It slid open with a groan as I watched, my mouth curved into a capital 0. “It worked,” I whispered.
A tangle of emotions battered my insides. Hope for the first time in days, fear at what I’d find, and anger for the confirmation that Tyrien had been behind this all along. Identical emotions surged through the bond, the battling sensations increasing my unease.
Hunter unfroze beside me and took a step toward the entrance. “Ready?”
I steeled my nerves and focused my energy on maintaining the cloaking spell. A dribble of sweat slid down my spine. Maintaining the incantation was taking a lot out of me, but I had to hold on. Gritting my teeth, I nodded.
We got down on all fours to pass through the small doorway. Even my five-foot-nothing frame was too tall to enter without crouching. Hunter’s broad shoulders barely made it through the opening.
How had Walt made it in so quickly? Perhaps it had been spelled to recognize certain magical signatures automatically. I shook off the stray thought as moist air encircled us. Hunter moved in front of me as we crept down the narrow passageway. He was forced to move sideways so as not to disturb the fragile earthen walls.
Hushed voices filtered through the tunnel, and Hunter ground to a stop. Wait. His voice echoed through my mind.
Do you recognize the voices?
It’s Walt and the other sounds familiar, but I can’t quite place it.
My feet were itching to move, my heartbeats quickening with every step. This had to be it. My mom was here; she just had to be. I tipped my head back and sniffed the air, but the pungent scent of moist earth blocked everything else out.
He shook his head and screwed his lips. I don’t like going in there blind.
Hunter, it’s
my mom. I laced my thoughts with as much steel as I could muster.
Okay, but stay behind me.
We crept forward, Hunter leading with his back against the wall. The voices grew more distinct, but I couldn’t recognize the other male. Dim lights emitted from an archway ahead and again he slowed. I was about to jump out of my skin.
Stay behind me, Sierra. No matter what we see on the other side of that arch. Do you understand me?
“Yes,” I hissed. I was going to have to drop the cloak soon. Whatever was on the other side of that archway would require my full energy, and I didn’t want Hunter to know what a toll it was taking on me.
We inched forward the remaining yards, and Hunter peered around the entrance to the second chamber. I stood on my tiptoes and tried to see around his broad back. A figure slumped on a chair at the far corner sent ice crystallizing through my veins. Mom’s long dark hair was plastered to her pale face, blood and dirt streaking across.
Chapter Twenty-Six
A gasp erupted from my clenched jaw. My head spun and fire replaced the numbness from a second ago. My claws extended, biting into my palms. I scanned the dark room, and two figures took shape. Walt and a vaguely familiar lanky young guy. They were dead, both of them.
Hunter must have sensed my murderous urges through the bond because his arm slapped across my chest like a flesh and blood barrier. “You promised,” he growled. “We have to be smart about this.” He ticked his head toward the shadows, and more figures coalesced from the darkness. At least five or six wolves. Tyrien’s guards no doubt.
I huffed out a breath and forced my wolf back. For now. “Who is that?” I ticked my head at the other guy.
“It’s the Royal Pack’s warlock, Aras.”
That’s how I knew him. He’d been at De La Sangue lair the other day when we’d confronted Lucien and Sonia. “Hence the magical chamber,” I spat. “So Lucien lied. He said he knew nothing about my mother’s disappearance.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised. And I wouldn’t find it impossible to believe that he’s the only Royal that’s been lying to us.”
Ransom? No, he couldn’t have known. My eyes flitted to my mother once again. Her eyes were closed, her body limp. If it wasn’t for the slow rise and fall of her chest, I would’ve believed her dead. What had they done to her? A growl slithered up my throat.
The groan of rock sliding against another hard surface spun my attention to the back of the chamber. A huge gray wolf appeared and trotted right to Walt and Aras. The hair on the back of my neck bristled as I eyed the familiar beast.
I jabbed my elbow into Hunter’s side. “That’s the wolf. The one that attacked me the night outside of Silverstalker Lair.”
His nostrils flared as he tried to pick up its scent. He shook his head. “Can’t be. That wolf was a rogue, no pack affiliation. And that’s a Royal.”
“It’s the same one. I know it.” I didn’t even know how, but I was certain.
The gigantic gray wolf turned its head toward us and angled its neck. A streak of crimson whizzed across its obsidian irises.
“Shit…” Hunter snarled.
A scarlet haze surrounded the beast’s limbs then crawled up its body before blanketing it completely. I blinked, and a naked woman stood in its place. Jet-black hair cascaded over her breasts as her eyes bored into us. Sonia De La Sangue. Ransom’s mother whispered into Aras’s ear, and the warlock narrowed his gaze in our direction.
His magic pulsated over my shield, tiny blades piercing holes in the cloak. Shift. Shift. Shift.
“What’s wrong?” asked Hunter.
“I think they found us. Get ready.”
He shoved me behind his back as his massive reptilian wings snapped out, forming a barrier between me and the room full of traitorous wolves. He sprang forward as my magic fizzled out and revealed us to the Royal Pack queen.
“Ah, Aristaeus, I thought that was you.” Sonia’s nostrils flared. “I thought I scented you through the forest. And what a pleasant surprise—you brought your beloved fated mate.”
“Release Sierra’s mother at once, or I will have no choice but to charge you with treason.”
A shrill laugh burst from ruby lips. “Silly boy. You think your father will charge me?”
The pieces of the puzzle slid into place, and nausea churned in my gut. Sonia had been working with Tyrien all along. She must have known what her husband was up to and stepped in when Lucien bowed out.
“He won’t need to when I become supreme alpha,” he snarled.
“My, my. The little wolf is all grown up. Power suits you, Aristaeus.” She crept closer and every muscle in Hunter’s body strained. “Perhaps it’s your mate bringing out the feral side.”
“Stay away from her.”
“I wish I could, but you see, the Royals and Mystics have never gotten along. The last thing I want is a successful pairing between you and the witchy wolf. That will only lead to more Mystics and combined with the Dragos bloodline… Well, no one wants to see that happen.”
“Then why take my mom?” The question erupted from my mouth before I could stop it. “Why not just kill me?”
She smirked. “If you recall, we tried a few times and—” She shrugged. “Well, it just never worked out. I’d hoped the trials would do you in, but dear, chivalrous Aristaeus never leaves your side. Even with the curse, he can’t seem to leave you alone.”
“And my mother?” I gritted out. “What does she have to do with this?”
Hunter’s hand came around mine, his fingers instilling not only reassurance but power. A blast of energy seeped through his warm flesh to mine. Be ready to fight our way out of here. His warning sped through the bond.
“I’d hoped to find out more about the curse. If I couldn’t kill you, I had to make sure you and Hunter never completed the mating rites.”
I snorted on a laugh. “My mom doesn’t know anything about the curse.”
“Of course she does, naïve girl. She’s Lune Sacré, just like the high priestess who cursed your lover.”
“My mom doesn’t know anything. She doesn’t have magic and never has. She’s never had anything to do with the coven or the curse. You’ve been torturing her for nothing.”
Another eerie giggle burst from Sonia’s lips. “I hate to be the one to tell you, but your mother’s been lying to you. Not only does she have magic, but she’s also quite powerful.” She ticked her head at my mom’s limp form as bands of doubt tightened around my chest.
My head whipped back and forth. “No, you’re wrong.”
“Not only that. She knows exactly who cursed poor Aristaeus, I just haven’t yet been able to get it out of her. She seems to be immune to my compulsion which is quite frustrating.”
Hunter’s eyes met mine and shock ratcheted through the bond. “She’s lying,” I cried.
Sonia curled her index finger, beckoning Walt closer. The old man lumbered over, thick arms crossed over his burly chest. “Wake her.”
“Don’t you get near her!” I screamed and lunged forward, but Hunter’s arm snaked around my waist pinning me against his chest. I kicked and squirmed to get free of his hold, but his arms were like iron. “Let go of me!”
“I won’t let them hurt her, I promise, Sierra,” he murmured against the shell of my ear. “But I have to know the truth.”
Walt pulled a flask from his pocket and uncapping it, waved it in front of my mom’s nose. She didn’t move. Fear’s nasty claws dug into my heart, tearing at my fracturing organ. He passed it under her nose a few more times, and her lids began to flutter.
“Mom!” I cried. “Mom, I’m here. You’re going to be okay.” Tears streamed down my cheeks as my fingers ached to reach for her.
Her swollen lids opened, and her head lolled back. Walt picked up a cup from the floor and brought it to her lips. She spat and struggled until he pulled it away.
“Mom!”
Her hazy eyes met mine, and the hint of a smile flashed across her sallow che
eks. “Oh baby, you shouldn’t have come,” she muttered, her tone a ghost of its normal bubbly tenor.
“Aras, show her.” Sonia ticked her head at the warlock.
Adjusting his collar, the warlock sauntered over and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He held his hands out for a moment, and his lips began to flutter. The scent of magic intensified and he brough his palms to either side of Mom’s face, pressing his fingers into her temples. She fought beneath his hold, but her weak body failed her.
“Stop hurting her!” I shrieked.
“Relax, Sierra,” Sonia interjected. “He’s not causing her any pain. Aras is only trying to give you a front row view of her thoughts.”
No sooner had she finished the sentence when a blurry image blinked to life in the center of the chamber. My mom’s hands flashed across the magical screen as she gesticulated wildly to a faceless form in front of her. Whatever we were watching, it was through my mom’s eyes.
Once Mom stopped screaming, my eyes narrowed on the scene unfolding before us. She was arguing with someone, but the voices were too low to make out.
“Turn up the volume, Aras,” Sonia barked.
“I’m trying. The witch is fighting me.”
An internal battle raged within me as I fought against Hunter’s hold. Curiosity to find out more about the curse versus faith in my mother. If she’d known something about his curse, she would’ve told me, wouldn’t she?
My eyes darted across the space to meet my mom’s. I threw her a questioning glance, and her mouth screwed into a pout. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed, and my heart sank.
The image cleared, and voices abruptly filled the chamber. Whoever she was speaking to was still blurry, an indistinct blob in her mind. But my mom’s voice was loud and clear.
“You shouldn’t have punished the boy like that. A curse like that it’s, it’s… too cruel. It’s Tyrien that deserves our wrath not his seven-year-old son!”
All the air evacuated my lungs. My legs wobbled and I sucked in ragged breaths, trying to force air into my failing organs. No, it couldn’t be. The picture distorted, fuzzy lines streaking across the screen before it blinked out of existence. My mom let out a yelp as Aras released her.