Wolfsbane: The Wolf Within

by Bethany Shay Porteous

  “Everyone put your head down and cover your face,” I ordered.

  Some people heard me and did as they were told but I couldn’t help the rest of them. I only prayed to Morgana no one would get too seriously hurt by my actions. Catching that thread of panic and fear that trailed through the room I pictured myself balling it up, holding it tightly to my chest before I threw it in the air and the sound!

  It sounded as if a bomb were going off, the air that came from it knocked everyone flat on their backside, the windows shattered again, the door flew open and those closest got to their feet and rushed out. The sound of sirens was close now and I trembled at the sight of more injured people and I hoped that it wasn’t too serious.

  I turned back to Lucy who was being gathered up by Geoff in his arms and I was relieved to see she hadn’t been impacted by what I had just done.

  “Do you think they’re still out there?” Hannah asked me worriedly.

  “I don’t know,” I rushed out. “But if their intention was to kill me by burning me alive, not giving a damn about who else they killed—then I am way too in over my head Hannah.”

  Hannah ran her hand down her dirt streaked face, dried blood smearing unknown to her. “Where’s Aiden?” she asked me. “Do you think he managed to reach The Luna and your dad?”

  Aiden!

  He wouldn’t have left the gym without me, I assured myself. He’d be in here looking for me… I closed my eyes and tried searching the bond, pressing on our mark, waiting to feel those sparks I always felt when he was close by.

  Nothing.

  My eyes flashed open and I noted the gym was now mostly empty, all the screaming teenagers gathering outside, and my stomach sunk anxiously.

  “Aiden?” I called out panicked, walking over broken glass and whatever else there was on the floor, going back to the table where his phone would have been. Most of our stuff was now on the floor and my mouth dried when I saw his phone on the floor, looking very deliberately smashed, given mine was in much better condition.

  Next to his wallet a small cluster of yellow flowers sat, taunting me angrily and I knew they were Rosewood flowers.

  Those bitches took my mate.

  I felt like my blood suddenly ran cold, pure rage flowed through me and the ugliest sound I had ever made escaped my lips. My canines seemed to drop instantly, and fur sprouted on my skin as a vile scream came up from my chest.

  I will kill them, my wolf promised.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Evelyn,” Hannah pleaded as she pulled at my arm. “Listen, we need to think this through as calmly and rationally as possible. You can’t just go storming off in any direction, half shifted trying to find your mate. You could just end up getting lost and losing him altogether!”

  I growled and shook her off my arm as I further ventured into the thicket at the back of the school. All I could see was bloody rage, there was nothing else going through my mind aside from getting my hands on those girls and ripping them to shreds. They had what was mine. They had my mate and they would not live to beg for forgiveness.

  Death, my wolf sentenced.

  “Evelyn!” Hannah started again. “Please, just wait for The Alpha—for your father at least! They can help us track him.”

  “I can track my own mate,” I snarled. “I have our mark and I have our bond. If you would stop talking I could do it!”

  “You’re almost shifted Evelyn,” Hannah protested. “You need to get your wolf under control to do magic. You can’t do both—”

  “You know,” I huffed. “I’m getting really sick of people telling me what I can and can’t do. This is my magic, and I’m not a half and half like you. I’m something entirely different, so stop trying to train me the way you were trained, clearly it doesn’t work!”

  “Evie,” Hannah gasped.

  I couldn’t find it within myself to console her hurt feelings. My mate had been taken by two psychopaths and that was what was at the forefront of my mind. This is what Morgana had me ready for. She told me to trust myself and trust my magic, to ignore what everyone had to say. I could do my magic while half shifted. Why would she tell me I needed my wolf if one cancelled out the other?

  I stopped dead, placing my hands on my head and trying not to cringe at the feel of the pointed ears poking from my scalp. My wolf paced within my mind, but she had a different air about her. There was something stronger and more resolute now. She wasn’t whiny or pining, but strong and courageous, knowing that tonight was the night we proved ourselves.

  All I allowed was Aiden’s name to go through my mind, I needed to focus on him to be able to track him. My other hand went to our mark and my wolf instantly went on alert as the familiar tingles shot through us.

  He was close then.

  Aiden, I chanted in my mind, picturing myself pushing against the barriers of his mind. What could I see? What could I feel from him? Where was he? Aiden, Aiden, Aiden.

  Evelyn. Evelyn, help me. Are you there, can you hear me?

  Aiden? I pushed harder.

  Evelyn? His voice came back sounding almost disbelieving and relief washed through me. Evelyn, we’re still in Oregon territory. They’re just holding me here, one of them has gone off somewhere but the other one is waiting. I don’t know what they’re going to do.

  I’m going to find you Aiden, I promised. And when I do, I’m going to kill them.

  Suddenly our connection seemed to snap, and I felt like I was grasping at air. He was gone, his mind now sealed from me and I screamed in frustration, shooting out my hand and snapping a giant tree in half, ignoring the shocked yell from Hannah as she darted out of the way.

  “He’s still here!” I rasped out. “In Oregon.”

  Find him, my wolf ordered.

  “Evelyn!” another voice broke into the surrounding and my father stumbled into the space, followed by The Alpha, Josh and Trey. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I waved my hand. “Aiden’s gone, the Rosewood sisters took him. I managed to get through to him, but then it stopped. He’s still in Oregon, for now.”

  “You got through to him?” my father asked in surprise.

  “Yes!” I growled. “Has anyone managed to scent him?”

  “We didn’t catch any new or familiar smells,” Josh said in annoyance. “If what I’ve heard witches can do is true, is it possible they’ve managed to mask their scent from us?”

  “Possibly,” Hannah said. “That could present an issue.”

  “I can find them,” I said confidently. “I will find them.”

  We will.

  “My wolf is here,” I touched my head and noted my ears were still present. “Somehow, I’ve managed to shift half-way, is this normal?”

  “Yes,” The Alpha told me. “At some point you’re going to shift fully tonight. The longer Aiden s away from you, the more stressed your wolf is going to get, which will make shifting near impossible. She’s not going to be able to focus.”

  “I need to find Aiden before that happens,” I panicked. “I need to be able to concentrate in tracing him.”

  “We’ve got the wolves out searching the entire Oregon area,” Trey told me. “If he’s still in the area someone has to stumble across them.

  “They could be invisible,” I started off. “These sisters are powerful, and I know what I can do, so what they can do is surely multiplied.”

  “You can go invisible?” my father questioned.

  “Yes,” I admitted. “I’ve done it a few times.”

  “Why did you never say anything?” The Alpha asked. “That is something else Evelyn, but something you may be able to use against them.”

  “And they could be using it against us,” I pointed out. “Heck, they could be around us right now and we can’t even see them.”

  “We’ll work this out,” Hannah assured me.

  “My mate is in the hands of a pair of mindless psychos,” I spluttered. “We don’t have time to work anything out, we only have time to
make a move!”

  “Try and link with Aiden again,” Cornelius started. “See if you can push through whatever it was that knocked you out—”

  “They’ve taken Sam,” The Alpha cut in, his eyes glazed over. Someone was communicating with him through the pack link. “They found Karla in the middle of the woods, the pair had been out for a run. Karla can’t remember a thing.”

  “How do we know they have Sam then?” Josh asked.

  “His scent is coating the area,” Trey said. “Why take the rogue for?”

  “He was sent here in the first place to deliver Evelyn to the sisters. This is probably his retribution for failing,” Hannah explained.

  “So now we’re missing two wolves,” the Alpha started. “I have two of the oldest witches alive somewhere in my territory, and the life of our future Alpha is at stake, in turn risking the future of this pack.”

  “Heavy when you put it like that,” Trey muttered.

  “I want every wolf out in search,” The Alpha started. “No one rests until this is over and my son is found alive and well. If anyone sees the sisters, they are not to approach. That’s for Evelyn. If you have an opportunity to take them down, that’s on your head.”

  I couldn’t reach Aiden; his mind was blocked from me and I knew that the sisters had done that. I didn’t know what else I was supposed to do here, where did I go with this? Think Evelyn. They wouldn’t have made it too complicated to find him. The whole purpose of them taking him was to lure me to them, obviously. They’d want to toy with me for a bit, drive me crazy not being able to reach Aiden.

  They wanted to mess with my head, to make me an easier and weaker target.

  Why take Sam? I questioned. I mean, yes, he failed his job, but why bother taking him at all? There was no real point in that. Unless the pair of them were so awful they just wanted to hurt as many people possible.

  My wolf was starting to become impatient, she was pushing at the confines of my mind and trying to break through and the ache that ran through my body was enough to make me sway on my feet a little. She wanted to shift, this half and half thing was not for her. She was ready to come forward and take control, but I couldn’t let that happen. I had to hold her at bay until I really needed her.

  “Can you get through to him?” my father asked me. “At all?”

  “I’ve got nothing,” I huffed as I ran my hand down my face. “Maybe I could try Sam? I don’t have a connection with him, but they may have left his mind more open.”

  “You could try,” my father said doubtfully.

  Okay, I thought as I shut my eyes.

  Sam, Sam, Sam, over and over in my mind as I focused on the red-haired wolf. Where are you Sam… where…

  A flash of color darted through my mind and I gripped it for dear life, watching as an image began to take shape. It was still the forest and Sam was on his knees, staring at the backs of the Rosewood sisters. His head turned slightly, and Aiden came into view, his head hanging in resignation as the two sisters spoke in quiet tones to one another?

  What were they saying?

  Listen harder Sam!

  “…When she comes this will all be over,” Tatiana whispered. “Once and for all, and we can live without this fear of this little girl.”

  “Our mother is a joke,” Danyeela sneered. “Thinking a little half-blood nobody could end us, after all these years!”

  Once we’re done with her, we’ll teach our mother a great lesson,” Tatiana promised. “She will beg and plead for our mercy.”

  “You won’t get away with this!” Sam snarled viciously at them, his voice floating through my mind. “You underestimate Evelyn and her power. You will be the one’s begging for mercy, and you can bet that in taking her mate, she won’t grant it.”

  “Shut up Sam,” Aiden growled.

  “Yes,” Tatiana crooned. “Listen to your Alpha, or we’ll rip out your tongue and deliver it to your mate.”

  “Oh,” Danyeela gasped as she considered Sam’s eyes, and I felt like she was staring right at me, her eyes going cold. “Is that a presence I see?”

  I gulped.

  “Oh, darling Evelyn,” Tatiana laughed. “Are you spying on us?”

  “You better hurry Evelyn,” Danyeela sighed. “I’m getting bored of playing baby sitter. Your little mate and the rogue don’t have much time left. Are you going to keep hiding in the minds of others, or actually face us?”

  “She could say the same for you,” Aiden snorted. “Didn’t you put Salem in her mind because you were too scared to approach her yourself—”

  Pain laced through my stomach at the same moment Tatiana kicked Aiden in the gut, cutting him off as the wind was knocked from him. He coughed loudly, and I felt tears stinging in my eyes. All I wanted to do was reach out and hold him, to take the pain away.

  “Enough of this!” Danyeela hissed. “You have half an hour Evelyn, otherwise they both die and then you die and everyone else you love.”

  The last image I had was Danyeela raising her hand at Sam’s face before it felt like I had been thrown across a great field, landing back into the present. I stumbled to the floor and Hannah screamed in shock at my sudden movement as she scrambled to help me up.

  “Evelyn?” she gasped. “What did you see?”

  “Them,” I rasped.

  “Where are they?” Cornelius questioned. “Did you get an idea?”

  “They’re close,” I whimpered. “I have half an hour to find them or they’ll kill Aiden—they’ll kill all of us.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” my father told me. “We will find them Evelyn.”

  “Let’s start walking,” Hannah suggested. “You can use your magic and try to feel for his aura or Sam’s aura if you can locate it. If you can even catch a trace, it’ll be enough, and we can send the wolves in that way as well.”

  I nodded, feeling robotic as I traipsed after her and my father, trying to will my mind to focus. My wolf was pacing, pushing me to let her in and I was pushing her to stay put. I needed to be a human right now. I needed full working use of my mind to save my mate but that was becoming increasingly difficult to do.

  I was totally useless.

  I walked without seeing anything, desperately grasping for threads of mine and Aiden’s connection and coming up blank. These witches were cruel and were playing with me, putting me on a timeframe but then making it impossible for me to find them.

  Because they wanted to kill my mate.

  Killing Aiden would make it a million times easier to kill me—I wouldn’t want to live earlier. I still had the memories of the start of the half-life I had experienced when Aiden had died last time. It was the worst experience I had ever gone through and the very thought of reliving that had a thick lump resting in my throat and a ball of anxiety grew in my stomach.

  “Anything Evelyn?” Hannah asked me.

  “No,” I ground out.

  Mate, my wolf whined pathetically. Aiden. Aiden. Aiden.

  Something grew within me each time she chanted his name, it was strong and near overwhelming and my hands tingled the more she did it. She was searching for his scent while I searched for his aura and for the briefest of moments we caught something at the same time, but it disappeared just as instantly, as if it had never been there.

  “I feel something,” my father murmured and raised his hand to stop us. “This feels powerful—even for me.”

  “The sisters?” Hannah tried nervously, her hands shaking slightly.

  “It’s close,” he said.

  “I felt Aiden for a moment,” I told them. “Then it vanished.”

  “Then we’re on the right track,” my father decided. “Be extra aware now girls. Sienna and Phoenix are out here somewhere as well, so keep that in mind if you feel magic at all.”

  “Evelyn,” Hannah asked. “How is your wolf feeling?”

  “Close to the surface,” I said. “But I have her contained, for now.”

  “Okay,” she nodded. “It
doesn’t appear that you’ve progressed any further into your shift either so that’s good.”

  We picked back up on walking and I began searching once more with my wolf, combining our efforts. I combed through every possible aura out here tonight, some familiar and some not so familiar. I was pushed backward by a lot, the feeling of a stranger brushing the barriers of their minds unwelcome but that didn’t happen often. The moment I felt an aura that didn’t match, I left it alone, but there was energy everywhere tonight.

  While we walked, wolves ran past us and around us, which tended to throw the three of us off in our search as well, but we knew we were close. It was when I realized we’d been stumbling around for nearly twenty minutes, that the panic sent in and my wolf in turn became frenzied, pushing harder against me and now refusing to work with me.

  I can find him, she growled. Let me out!

  No! I fought back. You can’t!

  “We’re running out of time!” I cried out. “I can’t find him!”

  “Evelyn,” Hannah said quickly. “Just focus as much as you can—”

  “I can’t focus, my mate is out here somewhere with a death sentence hanging over his head Hannah, tell me, would you be able to focus?” I shouted.

  “No,” she sighed. “I wouldn’t.”

  A sudden blow to my head had me falling to the ground, knocking the air out of me. My skull throbbed in agony as I tried to see through my blurred vision, wondering where the attack had even come from. Hannah was hovering over me and so was my father, so clearly the threat was no longer around.

  “Evelyn!” Hannah panicked. “Are you okay?”

  “What was that?” I groaned out.

  “We don’t know,” she gasped. “You just fell over!”

  It didn’t take long for me to connect the dots and my panic overrode the ache in my head as I scrambled to my feet, swaying slightly. That was Aiden’s pain I felt—not mine. No one had hit me, but someone had certainly hit Aiden.

  “It’s Aiden,” I said quickly. “I can feel what he feels.”

  “Shit,” my father cursed. “That’s not good Evelyn.”