Chapter Fifteen
1527 Words
“Are you sure about this?”
I pulled the long black cloak tighter around my body as Cassy tucked the strays of my hair in behind the hood. I nodded to her, meeting her green eyes.
I was too nervous for words.
Night had fallen, and with it, an eerie mist descended around the surrounding woods. To my surprise, when I left the pack house, I encountered no resistance.
The guards had looked on as if I didn’t exist.
“I have to be Cassy. I have to get away while I can.”
She looked at me with pity, and I couldn’t take it. I didn’t have it in me to admit to her that Hunter was my mate. I didn’t want her heart to break alongside my own.
“When does the spell kick in?”
I checked the small bag that I would be living out of from now on. It contained a change of clothes, all the cash I could discreetly take from the house safe, and some potions from Cas with various labels ‘for emergencies.’
An owl hooted in the woods above us, making us both jump.
Cassy was also fidgety, glancing around us like the bogeyman would spring from the bushes.
“As soon as you leave pack territory, the witches can’t cast as strongly on pack lands.”
I nodded again. It was nearly time to move, and unbelievably, so far, our plan was on track. But that meant one thing: leaving Cassy behind. We had both agreed that it would be too predictable if she came with me. I would do better on my own. But leaving Cas behind was like ripping me in half.
So, the witches were called in one more time. And I wasn’t sure I was ready for those consequences, but I was sure I was not ready to become Hunter's queen or any of that other stuff I refused to talk about or think about.
I could still feel his touch, still sense when he was close. I felt like I was suffocating. I was waiting on my execution day, and Hunter was my judge, jury, and executioner.
As the mist gathered around my feet, I knew that was my signal. Get to the territory boundary and meet the witch. Apparently, I would know how to find her, and I knew her when I saw her. That part made me very nervous. Just as I was about to make the awful goodbye to Cass, a piercing howl erupted through the woods, and our frightened gazes met.
“You need to go. NOW!”
I was shoved into the trees and took off. I couldn’t change into my wolf form; she was too unpredictable, mainly when Hunter was concerned.
The trees rushed past me, yanking at my hair and clothes. Hunter was on my trail, and my wolf was fighting me, urging me to let her take over and change. I couldn’t make that mistake. It was now or never, and I needed my freedom, mate or no mate. I needed to get out of here.
The fog was thickening around me the further I got from the packhouse. Good, the witches are doing their job. The mist will daze Hunter and slow him down, giving me a little more hope to get away. I wasn’t thinking about the odds, Hunter was an alpha and a royal one at that, not to mention a trained prince of the realm.
A massive crash to my left had me increasing my pace; he was closing in.
Move
Move
Move
Where was the witch?
I couldn’t keep up this pace. My body screamed in protest, and my mind was foggy from fighting my wolf so hard.
The trees just continued on and on.
Had I lost my way? Had the witches turned alliances? Was this all one big game? Was the prey?
I stilled, and everything around me seemed to quieten. Almost as if the forest itself held its breath.
Why was it so quiet?
He was on me. He must have changed back to human form when I paused. We fell to the forest floor, our limbs tangling in the struggle. Hunter.
He rose above, his eyes wild with the shift and his skin hot and sweaty.
His skin. Gods, he's naked.
I refused to look down, my hands on either side of my hips; I could feel every inch of him pressed up against me. Our breath mixes with our heavy breathing.
“I told you not to run.”
His eyes ate me up, His strong legs and arms caging me in.
No way out.
Cassy's Potions.
I had hoped to save them, but it was definitely an emergency. I could feel the bag by my hand. I just needed to distract him...
I did the one thing I swore I wouldn't; I raised my head and kissed him.
He instantly responded. His hands tangled in my hair, his teeth nipping at my bottom lip, and our tongs dueling.
My legs hooped around his hips, and I could feel him press down on me. A ragged moan came from him.
What was I doing?
Finally breaking from my lust spell, I grabbed my bag, Hunter's kisses trailing down my neck, distracting me.
One of the bottles was in my hand; I removed the stopper and slowly brought it up behind his head.
He stilled
Shit.
His golden eyes met mine.
“Be careful, Serina. This next step will change everything. I won't be able to stop the Hunt, and when I find you, I won't be able to control my wolf.”
I made my choice.
The bottle smashed against the back of his head, and he fell. I was quickly untangling myself from him.
Don't look. Don't look.
I stole a glance at his passed-out. Form.
Goddess..
I bolted again, racing further and further into the trees.
I had stopped in a clearing that was unfamiliar to me; no scents of my pack lingered.
I must be at the edge of the territory. Or hopelessly lost. A wolf is getting lost in the woods; only my luck.
I could feel it then, the awareness. The tingling sensation of magic all around me, almost like the earth itself, rose and awaited. The trees whistled in a silent, still wind. Tcolorsurs of the forest brightened before my eyes. Even my disagreeable wolf was silenced. I had never felt so raw, exposed, and at one with every fibre in my being.
“Be still Serina Redmoon. No harm will befall you.”
The voice did not speak, yet I could hear it; it was everywhere and nowhere. It was utterly peaceful but wholly commanding.
I tensed; this was not right. Mind powers were far beyond the standard witch capability.
“I am summoned by none other than myself. Our interests meet Serina, and thus, so I am here.”
That voice in my head again, like a melody as sharp as a blade scratching my skin.
“Show yourself”
My voice sounded stronger than I felt, and I thanked myself.
A shape, no, a figure, appeared at the corner of my eye. I turned, and for a moment, I was stunned.
Angelic came to mind. A young woman, maybe ages with me, stood. I could feel her white gown flowing in the wind and raise the hairs on my arms. Her electric blue eyes stared into mine, warm with a warning in them still. Her white hair tumbled down her thin shoulders.
“Something tells me you are above Cassy’s pay grade.”
She smiled, and I had never witnessed anything more beautiful yet terrifying.
“Cassandra Elmrood has a lot of bargains, but I have not made one of them. You are safe, Serina, be at ease.”
Somehow, I was, all feeling of terror gone, Hunter momentarily forgotten.
“If you are not the witch I seek, why are you here? What do you want of me?”
She was getting closer now, and I could smell the magic from her.
“As I said, our interests align. You will need me in the days to come. Just like you will need your mate.”
I flinched as she said that word.
“You may fight the bond, Serina, but be no fool. There is more at play here than rouges and alphas.”
The world started spinning, all moving but her, everything; everything began to blur around me.
“I don’t understand”
She met my eyes, and it was all I could focus on.
“You will, Serina Redmoon, summon me when the time is right; fiber This favor I give you seals our deal.”
Before I could ask her what she was talking about, I was pulled, thrown, or shoved. All at once, almost backward, I fell into a chasm of night and mist, darkness eloping me.
I fell
I fell through time and space.
I fell through the world.
Horrifyingly fast yet agonizingly slow simultaneously, screaming without making a sound, floating endlessly.
Sleep took me unwillingly.
- Writer
