Promised

by S Cinders

  Wolves were dropping without anyone around them. I turned to try and see what was happening when I felt my mind begin to get foggy. I tried shaking it, stumbled badly and then fell.

  As I lost consciousness I called out to Jonah, but he wasn’t there.

  Thick chains of silver were locked around my legs, and I was encased in a silver cage. Looking around me I saw a dozen or more wolves in the same situation.

  I called out to Jonah through the link and I heard his faint cry. I looked back and saw his white wolf caged behind mine. Blood coated his fur and he howled again, the sadness in his tone wrenching my heart until I began to ram my body against the cage, trying to break free.

  They had our Trix. Panic, horror, disbelief, and dread were just a few of the things I was feeling. This couldn’t be happening. I slammed into the bars again and again.

  I felt Tobias reach out to me. Looking around wildly I saw his cage over in the corner. He was alive, but just barely. Cal was next to him and too began to howl, the sound causing my wolf to join in until every wolf in the room was crying out.

  There was no response and no way to change into our human forms. Our language through the links was very limited. I could convey my worry and hurt but not the details of what had happened.

  “Trix?” I called out to my mates. “Safe?”

  Jonah’s voice came through, “Taken.”

  Again the wolves began to howl a great and terrible sound. This time two men came into the room. They smelled of dishonor and I could almost see the evil pouring off of them. One raised a gun and shot a wolf directly in front of him.

  We all panicked, thrashing against our cages.

  “I will keep shooting until you bastards are quiet.”

  He raised the gun again to take aim and silence filled the cavernous room. I could see the floors were made of stone, and it smelled of disuse.

  The two men were human, not wolves. It didn’t make sense. Abaddon had never dealt with humans before. And yet, I could smell it. I sniffed, hoping to catch a hint of Trix, but there was nothing. I didn’t know where we were or if she was even alive. My wolf wanted to lash out, but we were trapped.

  Never in my life had I ever felt so completely helpless.

  The men turned to leave but not without brandishing the gun.

  “Hope,” Jonah sent through the link.

  I didn’t have any idea what he could be talking about.

  “What?” I responded.

  “Hope,” he replied again, “not all captured.”

  He sent the same message to all the pack and I knew that many of them felt a little better. But Tobias and Cal were confused. They didn’t know these other wolves nor did they understand who they were to us. This was too much information to send through the link, but I pushed through the one word that they would understand.

  “Pack.”

  After the attack…

  Strike

  “Greggor? Wake up! You are not going to die on me today!” Strike growled in his ear, nudging him with his paw.

  The other wolf transitioned into a man and Strike felt a wave of relief. He too transitioned into his human form. The deep gash on Greggor’s side had begun healing, but the amount of blood that he lost looked bad. But, showing that he could still transition was a huge indicator that he would be okay.

  “Where is Ryker?”

  “Taken,” Strike told us. “We were being hauled off when the priestess spoke in my heart and said that you weren’t dead yet. She created a distraction so that I could get away.”

  “Many thanks to her then,” Greggor said, and attempted to sit but slumped back down again.

  “We have far to travel. How are you feeling?” Strike frowned when he saw Greggor wince.

  “Where are we going? I want to go after Ryker,” Greggor said in response.

  Strike nodded. “We will. But the priestess said we have to go back to her village and bring her sisters.”

  “Women? Why? Are they priestesses?” Greggor growled.

  He shook his head. “I do not know. Other than it is what the High Priestess commanded and so it is what we will do.”

  Greggor clutched his side. “Hurts like a fucking bitch.”

  Strike stood and offered his arm.“There is a stream we can wash you off in.”

  Greggor looked down at his masculine body covered in dirt, grime, and blood. “Right,” he agreed, grabbing my arm and coming to his feet. Greggor was unsteady but held his own. The man was fierce and determined. Strike knew of no other wolf that had the sheer stubbornness that Greggor possessed.

  “Does it worry you?” Strike asked, “Getting those women. It has been a long time since we have been around a female. The high priestess was hard enough and she had her mates around her.”

  Greggor turned to offer Strike a smirk. “Are you afraid that you’re going to attack them?”

  Strike scowled. “I could drop your crazy ass here on the ground.”

  Greggor nodded. “Aye, you could. But chances are I would still get up and kick your ass.”

  Strike rolled his eyes. “Not a chance.”

  Greggor’s expression softened. “I don’t know, Strike. Maybe they are ugly and we won’t desire them.”

  Strike snorted. “Yeah, and maybe roses will sprout from my dick.”

  Greggor laughed and then winced when his stomach muscles were engaged.

  “Stop making me laugh!”

  They got to the edge of the stream and then Strike turned to Greggor and pushed him in.

  Greggor came up sputtering and fighting mad.

  “What the fuck, Strike?”

  Strike smirked down at Greggor. “Mark my words, those women, they are going to be trouble.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Trix

  My mates were close but I couldn’t see or hear them. At least the bond allowed me to know that they were still alive. I wasn’t sure what had happened. After I shared my magic with all of the wolves to reunite them, I passed out again and when I awakened I was bound up and tossed into a corner.

  I could hear men talking. They obviously thought I was still out of it.

  “Buck, when are we going to get paid on this?”

  Another man responded, “I’ve told you a thousand times, Wayne. You don’t mess with the Abaddon. They are good for it, we just need to lay low until we are able to get our money and get the hell out of here. The immobilizing elixir is getting very thin; I don’t know if we have enough for another attack.”

  “I don’t feel good about any of this. Did you see those wolves freaking out? Shit, I thought I would have to shoot a dozen of them before they would settle down.”

  Sickness enveloped me. Had they shot a wolf? Had there been an attack? How many of them survived? I could feel my four mates, but I wasn’t linked to the pack like the wolves were. I had no idea of knowing if there were dozens or any that remained.

  In that instant, I had a memory flash before my eyes.

  But it wasn’t anything I had done. The Moon Goddess was showing me something. I was being loaded onto a cart along with many of the wolves. They looked lifeless and dead. The Moon Goddess spoke to Strike in my voice telling him they must get my sisters.

  By why would they want Jessica and Juliana? My sisters did not possess magic and they certainly didn’t know anything about the world I had stumbled into. For a moment I was afraid, terribly afraid, that everything I had done to protect them was all for naught.

  But in the same breath, I knew that I had to trust the Moon Goddess. It is said that everything that happens to us is for our good. I prayed over and over for my mates and Strike to be strong.

  More voices joined the first two and I felt an overwhelming sense of evil enter the room.

  “Voltar, the wolves are subdued,” Wayne spoke in respectful tones, obviously afraid of these other men.

  “It won’t be long now. When the girl is in her Moon Cycle we will complete the mating ceremony and destroy the Wolves of Kencull fo
rever.”

  Panic sliced through me. The man speaking, Voltar, spoke with such vehemence that it rattled me. Why did he want to kill all of the other wolves? I remembered something my mates had said about the division where half decided to follow the Moon Goddess and half went with the evil spirit Abaddon.

  It appeared that they wanted to wipe the earth of them.

  And why did they need me? Surely, I would need to consent to mate, wouldn’t I?

  “The bitch will need to be killed when you have mated with her and she has borne a child.”

  “Crog, no need to worry about such things, we will dispose of the girl in due time,” Voltar continued.

  So, this Crog character wanted to kill me. I don’t know why I was surprised, given the circumstances that we were in. But I sure as hell had no desire to die, and certainly not by their hand.

  I had to find a way out of the ropes that bound me.

  “What is to be done with the other wolves?” Buck asked. “The elixir is getting very thin.”

  A low menacing growl filled the room. “Then you had best prepare more. The only thing keeping you alive is the fact that you are necessary to our plan,” Crog said.

  “Crog!” Voltar snapped at the other man.

  The response was swift, “Yes, Voltar.”

  “Take the girl in with the others, make sure they know what is to become of her. Wayne and Buck will start preparing more of the immobilizing elixir. It will be necessary to mate and bed the witch.”

  I gasped, forgetting that they didn’t know I was awake.

  A strong hand reached out and grabbed the back of my dress lifting me off the floor.

  “Listening in?”

  I turned to see that the man who they called Crog had grabbed me and was speaking. His eyes were a dull yellow, cloudy and sick looking. His fangs were extended even in his human form. And he was big, perhaps bigger than Cal or Tobias. He shook me none too gently.

  “I asked you a question!”

  I frantically searched my mind to remember what he had said. Was I listening in? How was I supposed to answer that? Either way, they would know I was lying.

  “Don’t torture her,” Voltar, a man with slick black hair tied into a ponytail and the sickly yellow eyes admonished Crog. “Take her in with the others.”

  Crog didn’t bother to carry me, only dragged me by the back of my dress so that my legs were getting bruises and scrapes from the stone floor. He took me into another room and paused a moment as he unlocked the door. It was dark inside but I could sense my mates.

  “Quiet,” Tobias called out to me through the mind link.

  I had no desire to speak, especially not in front of Crog. He walked into the room and threw me against a metal cage. My head smacked the metal and bright spots appeared in front of my eyes. I grunted, not being able to hold back the sound. But I didn’t cry.

  “The bitch will be mated during her moon cycle. You will never have her. And once Voltar harnesses her power, you will all die. Abaddon does not like disloyalty and treachery.”

  With that, he slammed out of the room. I was crumpled onto my side, trying to fight the pain. I felt the intense rage that was radiating through the room.

  “Pumpkin?” Jonah whispered through the link and I turned to see his white wolf staring at me with worried eyes. I tried to reach out a hand but remembered too late they were tied behind my back.

  “I am all right,” I said softly. I felt Cal, Silas, and Tobias sending me their worry and concern.

  Jonah licked the side of my face through the bars. It was then that I felt the tears begin to fill my eyes. Never had things seemed so hopeless. We were trapped by madmen who served an evil spirit. There was no sign that help would soon come. We were on our own.

  I couldn’t really communicate with the wolves and they were unable to shift with the iron bars. I didn’t know what to do, and honestly, I felt defeated. I looked around the room and counted the cages. There were twelve that I could see.

  Tobias, Cal, Silas, and Jonah took up four cages. And there was Ryker in another one. So, that left seven cages with unknown wolves. Only seven, where had all the other ones gone? Were they dead?

  There had to be something that we could do.

  “What is your name?”

  I jerked back hearing the low tone of another female in the room. My eyes narrowing, I could faintly make out a woman who was bound like me.

  “Are you a wolf?” I whispered.

  “No, I am a witch like you.”

  “Why are you here?”

  She flinched. I couldn’t see her face but I knew the question had startled her.

  “I am Morgan. Voltar captured my coven when he was searching for you.”

  I looked around but couldn’t see any other women.

  She shook her head. “I am the last. I think they intended on using me as a back up for you.”

  “What are they trying to do?” It didn’t make any sense to me.

  “Their intention is to wipe out all other magical creatures and harness their power. But only a high priestess could wield that kind of magic. We tried to tell them, but they insisted on trying again and again. Each time the witch died.”

  She paused for a moment and then spoke, “Please, can I have your name?”

  “Beatrix,” I muttered softly, “But they call me Trix.”

  I could sense her relaxing. And then slowly she began to inch her way across the floor. I watched as her face came into focus and saw that she was around my age. Her hair was as black as night and she had the most unusual golden brown eyes.

  “I have been waiting for you,” Morgan said once she was beside me. “I have much to teach you and little time.”

  “Teach me? I don’t understand.”

  “Your mates came to our coven,” she said, and pointed to the cages where Tobias and Cal were chained. “They told us of your powers and the blackouts. There are ways to harness your energy so that you do not lose consciousness even during a vision. We were planning on coming with them when the Abaddon wolves attacked and took us all prisoner.”

  “How did they know that Tobias and Cal were there?”

  Morgan shook her head. “They didn’t know. But as they tortured and killed the coven witches, some broke down and told them who they were and why they had come for us. We must hurry.”

  I nodded. “Anything. I will do whatever you ask me to do.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jessica & Juliana

  “I miss her.”

  Jess looked up from the dough that she had been kneading to give her sister Julie a sympathetic look.

  “Me too, Jules. I had hoped to hear from Trix by now.”

  “Do you think she’s safe?” Jules bit her lip, worry written across her face.

  It was a question that Jess often asked herself. Their younger sister Trix had always been one to jump into things with two feet—guns blazing. The night when she and her twin sister had fallen so ill, Jess had been terrified of Trix’s plan to go out into the night. But that was Trix’s way. She saw a problem and tackled it without any thought to herself.

  They owed their lives to her. But Jess couldn’t help but wonder if that night was what took their sister from them. She had said she would return, but weeks had passed and there was no word, not even a sign of Trix returning.

  Jess put a smile that she didn’t feel on her face. “I am sure that if something was wrong we would have heard about it. You know how Trix is, the girl is slippery as an eel. She will be all right.”

  Jules nodded and went back to her sewing. It was strange how the two sisters could be identical in appearance and so vastly different in personality.

  Where Jess was strong-willed and independent, Jules was shy and retiring. Jess tended to be more like Trix, and Jules was very much like their father—content to see life from the sidelines.

  There had been numerous times when Jess had to check herself against resentment of her sister. She loved her more than lif
e itself. But there were times when Jess felt like she was carrying two loads.

  The thought of marriage and family was that of a dream. They were both on the wrong side of twenty-five and considered spinsters. It wouldn’t have mattered if they were the most beautiful women in the world. And in truth, the girls were lovely, but their name, and the stigma of witchcraft in their family was enough to deter any suitors that may have come calling.

  Jess was destined to live out her life with her sister and that truly was a blessing. Some people didn’t have anyone.

  There was a firm knock at the door and both girls froze.

  “Who could that be?” Jules was obviously frightened.

  “Go to the back room,” Jess said. “I am sure it is nothing.”

  Jules scurried off and Jess went to the door carrying the heavy rolling pin in her flour-covered hands.

  Slowly she opened the door. The two men on the doorstep took a deep breath as if drinking in her scent.

  “Mate,” the larger one growled and took an aggressive step forward.

  Jess did the only thing that she could do. Lifting the heavy rolling pin she bashed it over his head. Except he didn’t fall to the floor as she had expected and the rolling pin snapped in half like it had been a twig.

  “Leave here!” Jess commanded, her hands and voice competing for the shakiest award.

  The other man touched her arm, and she tried to wrench it away, but the moment he touched her she felt peace wash over her.

  “You are a sister of Beatrix?”

  His gravelly voice did funny things to Jess’s insides. “She is my younger sister. Do you know her?”

  “She is in danger and in need of your help,” the man answered. “My name is Strike and this is Greggor. I was told that you have another sister?”

  “Jules,” Jess called out. “It’s all right; they know Trix.”

  Greggor blinked when the woman with the same face as his mate entered the room. But there wasn’t the pull or desire for this woman that he and Strike felt for the first.