Never Leave, A Human Mate - (Book 2 The Mist Series)

~Chapter 28 - Variant Wolves and Witches~

~Dawn~

The rough fur of the mutant wolf pressed against my cheek was an unsettling sensation. For what felt like an eternity, we had travelled, the rhythmic thud of its paws a constant drumbeat against the earth. My blindfold, a coarse linen that chafed my eyelids, did little to dampen the swirling chaos in my mind. Where was she? The voice in my head? The unwanted companion who had started in my thoughts only today. This was a moment I could have used her voice.

The only sounds were the deep, guttural breaths of the beast beneath me and the murmur of voices, hushed and conspiratorial, somewhere in the periphery. I strained my ears, trying to piece together fragments of the conversation. The blonde woman… Salista, I think I heard her name was. Her voice, sharp and carrying a note of triumphant obsession, cut through the stillness.

“Freya Greystone,” she repeated, the name a caress on her tongue laced with an unnerving eagerness. “How did they get her soul into a human?”

A second voice, deeper and laced with a weary caution, responded. “I don’t know, Salista, but she will be a great assistance with the plan. The stories of her first life are terrible… amazing and powerful, but violent and bloody. She even turned on her own sister, Faith, during the Freedom Wars… She’s a powerful being.”

“Shh, Maddison,” Salista hissed, her tone sharp enough to draw blood. “This is not to be discussed until we’ve returned home. Understand?”

“Yes, Salista,” Maddison replied, her voice subdued.

Freya Greystone. The name resonated somewhere deep within me, a faint echo of a forgotten melody. Alda had called me that! Turned on my own sister, Faith. The words sent a shiver down my spine, an icy dread that had nothing to do with the lingering night air. Violence. Blood. Power. What had Reece and the others done to me? What had they put inside me?

Then, as quickly as it began, the world of sound seemed to contract. The wolves’ breathing, once a grounding presence, faded into a strange, humming silence. It was replaced by a peculiar popping sensation, a series of tiny explosions that thrummed in my ears, like the distant crackling of dry leaves. My senses, already heightened by the darkness, shifted.

The air held a bizarre fragrance, both foreign and unsettlingly recognizable. It smelled of pure, wet earth, like water drawn from deep within the earth, laced with the raw, metallic tang of underground caves. The scent tugged at me, pulling me back to a memory: our first camping trip as a married couple, Nate and I—the trip that had ultimately led to James. It was a scent of veiled places, hinting at secrets lying dormant beneath the visible world.

The chill of the night, which had clung to my skin, receded, replaced by a burgeoning warmth. Not the gentle warmth of the rising sun, but a deep, internal fire, as if my very core had been ignited. A bonfire?

I was removed from the wolf’s back and settled against a frigid stone wall. The blindfold came off. Accustomed to darkness, my eyes struggled against the unexpected light of a yellow fire. It flickered across the cavern walls, throwing long, animated shadows that writhed and twisted like living creatures. I found myself in a vast cavern, its ceiling swallowed by the gloom above. Water dripped from unseen stalactites, the echoing sound a constant, rhythmic percussion in the immense space.

Two women stood before me, their faces illuminated by the faint glow. The woman who had pulled me from the car, with her impossibly blonde hair that seemed to absorb and reflect the light, was radiating an almost manic joy. Beside her, a beautiful woman stood, with curves that were accentuated by a figure-hugging mauve dress. Her dark hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. Dark brown eyes filled with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity, watched me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.

The mutant wolf that had carried me stood patiently beside them, its massive frame creating an imposing silhouette. Beside it stood another wolf, this one sleeker and darker. Its eyes, even in the dim light, seemed to bore directly into my soul. Four more were located around me, all of them watching me with caution.

“Welcome, Freya Greystone,” the blond woman said, her voice dripping with anticipation. “Or should I say, Dawn? Though I suspect Dawn is merely the fragile human shell for the power that truly resides within you. My name is Salista. You may have heard of me…”

I said nothing, my mind still reeling. Freya Greystone. I should have listened to Reece, or at least let him explain. I wanted him… to be in his embrace, in the warmth of his affection. Stupid impulsive i***t I was!

“You’ve finally awakened,” the other woman murmured, her voice softer than Salista’s, more contemplative. “Though I’m still surprised that the Moon Goddess put you in such a frail human.”

“Maddison,” Salista said, turning to her. “Why don’t you grab her a drink? And a blanket.” She turned back to me. “Our guest looks cold.”

“But she’s a wolf,” Maddison groaned. “Why would she be cold?”

At those words, I shivered, finally registering the chill.

“She’s not quite a wolf yet,” Salista deflected. She knelt before me, peering deep into my subconscious. “Hmm, something is keeping Freya back. I wonder if it’s this nightmare that keeps replaying in her mind?”

“What… what are you talking about?” I finally managed, my voice a rough whisper. The sounds I made felt alien to me, as if they belonged to someone else. “Werewolves aren’t real!” I squinted back at her. “Wait, did Reece put you up to this?”

“That Beta,” Maddison laughed. “He’s clueless. They all are, especially Louise! And Faith, I still can’t believe she’s a part of Louise now! That weak little wolf!”

“Louise?” I gasped. Reece’s words replied in my mind. And suddenly, pieces clicked into place, sharp and painful like shards of glass. Louise. Faith. Alpha. Beta. Luna. These weren’t random words; they were titles, roles, a hierarchy I was entangled in. Reece’s words, so clear in my memory, now held a terrifying new significance. Louise is our luna, Faith is her wolf. Joseph is our Alpha and I’m the beta to George. I shuddered. Reece had been telling the truth!

Salista’s gaze sharpened, her manic joy momentarily eclipsed by a flicker of annoyance. “Reece is a romantic fool,” she stated dismissively, as if the mere mention of his name was an affront. “He thinks he saved you, Dawn. Instead, he’s given us a weapon. The Moon Goddess doesn’t choose weakness. She chooses power. And by giving you Freya Greystone, you are brimming with it.”

Maddison, who had been rummaging in a satchel, produced a small, ornate flask. The liquid inside swirled with a deep crimson hue. “Here, Dawn,” she said, her voice soft, offering it to me. “This little concoction of passionflower and rose to help you connect with Freya. It opens the mind, clears the fog.”

My instinct screamed at me to refuse, to recoil from the potent, unfamiliar scent emanating from the flask. It smelled of fermented berries, something earthy and wild, and a sharp, metallic tang that made my teeth ache.

“It’s not poisonous,” she clarified, shoving it under my nose. “And if you don’t drink it, we’ll force it down your throat.”

I stiffened. The implications of Maddison’s offer were too serious to ignore. If all this drink did was clear mind fog, then surely it wasn’t dangerous. And if it could bring that arrogant voice back, it wouldn’t be so bad. Hesitantly, I reached out, my hand shaking. As my fingers closed around the flask, the sleek, dark wolf beside Salista let out a low growl, its dark eyes fixed on me, a silent warning or perhaps a test. I didn’t know which.

“Go on,” Salista urged, her smile returning, wider and more predatory than before. “Embrace your heritage, Freya. Embrace the power the Moon Goddess bestowed upon you. Learn what you truly are.”

The crimson liquid burned as it slid down my throat, a wave of heat washing over me, chasing away the lingering chill. It tasted of crushed petals and something ancient, a flavour that settled deep in my bones. As the warmth spread, the strange popping sensation returned, more intense this time, like champagne bubbles bursting behind my eyes. The cavern walls seemed to pulse with a newfound vibrancy, the flickering firelight casting ethereal patterns on the stone.

And then the voice returned. Not the insidious whisper from earlier, but a clear, resonant tone that filled my mind, pushing aside the confusion and fear.

“Finally,” the voice declared, with an almost palpable weariness. “When you’re stressed Dawn, you put up a good fight to keep my back!”

I blinked, my vision sharpening. The heat from the drink seemed to anchor me, grounding me in this bizarre new existence.

“Are you Freya?” I managed, the words feeling more natural on my tongue this time. The fear remained, a tight knot in my stomach, but it was no longer paralysing. It was a brittle thing, easily shattered.

The dark wolf beside Salista shifted, its head tilting. Salista, meanwhile, beamed, her earlier impatience replaced by a triumphant glee.

“She speaks!” Salista crooned, her gaze fixed on me with an almost unsettling intensity.

Maddison offered a tight smile, her dark eyes still studying me with that unnerving mixture of caution and curiosity. “Indeed. Though I still don’t understand how the Moon Goddess put her soul into this human.”

“Moon Goddess?” I repeated. Reece had spoken of the Moon Goddess too, hadn’t he? He had summoned her to save me. I should have believed him!

“Yes, you should have!” Freya said, her voice sharp. “Now, we’re in danger!”

“What!” I said aloud.

Freya growled. “Salista is no friend to wolves! She is a witch, and if she’s working with these wolves, she has a bigger plan than we could imagine.”

“Then we need to reach out to Reece and the others!” I replied in my mind. The sensation was odd, but it wasn’t as hard as I had imagined. “We need help!”

Salista’s laughter echoed, sharp and brittle, a sound that scratched at my sanity. “Oh, look at you two communicating. But enough chitchat.” She stepped back and gestured at the creatures beside her. “You see these creatures? These are my creations, Variant Wolves, I like to call them. They are only faithful to me…” her hand landed on the largest wolf. “This is—was—Faron. He was once a delta werewolf for the Celestial Moon clan.” She turned to the slightly smaller, grey wolf. “This is Mariage, Faron’s little brother. But they are no longer such pitiful, weak wolves. They are Variants, deadly mutants that will kill on demand.”

Maddison chimed in, pointing a manicured finger at a golden beast and a grey monstrosity whose eyes glowed with an unnatural malevolence. “And these two,” she cackled, a sound that made my skin crawl, “former delta warriors from the Sunset clan. But they no longer obey Alpha Tyson.” Her own growl, raw and filled with venom, vibrated in the air. “This is my little revenge on Tyson… He should have accepted me as his mate… not that little skank Tiana.”

A choked gasp escaped me. I flattened myself against the cold stone wall, the reality of the situation hitting me with the force of a physical blow. This wasn’t just a confrontation; it was a twisted spectacle of revenge, fuelled by bitterness and warped power. “Why?” The word was a desperate plea, ripped from my throat. “Why do you want me? And what do you want with Freya Greystone?”

The strange drink, Freya’s disembodied voice in my head, the sheer, unadulterated absurdity of it all—it was coalescing into a potent brew of icy fear and a surging, desperate instinct for self-preservation. My earlier hesitation, my refusal to trust Reece… it all felt like a colossal, life-threatening mistake.

“We want to unleash her,” Maddison said, her voice dropping into a chillingly serious tone. “We want Freya to fight for us… to help us destroy all the packs that turned their backs on us!” Her eyes, previously a startling blue, now blazed with an eerie, blood-red light. “You will kill Faith and Louise,” she commanded, her voice laced with a sadistic glee, “destroy everything they love, and bring me Joseph’s head as a little gift. Then I’ll move to the Riverbend clan. Alpha Hugo will pay for rejecting my advances. And his son…” a wicked, guttural laugh escaped her. “I’ll destroy him the way he destroyed my heart!”

“What!” I exclaimed, my hand going to my heart. Louise had been nothing but kind and accommodating during my stay there. She had three small children and showed nothing but love for everyone around her. “You’re crazy!”

“Faith is my sister!” Frey’s voice thundered through my mind, a fierce protectiveness igniting within me. “I won’t allow them to—”

Suddenly, Freya’s voice, so vibrant moments before, snapped into silence. A strange, invasive sensation washed over me, burning deep into my very bones, following the path the strange liquid had carved through my veins. It felt like my essence was being rewritten, my will being subjugated.

“Oh,” Salista chuckled. “You don’t have a choice. That liquid we gave you… It mutates you… makes you more pliable. Makes you one of my Variants!”

“Oh,” Salista chuckled, the sound laced with triumph. “You don’t have a choice, my dear. That liquid we gave you… it mutates you. Makes you more pliable. Makes you one of my Variants!” The implication hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. I was not a captive; I was becoming a weapon.

My own body felt alien, buzzing with a power I didn’t understand, yet felt dictated by an unseen force. Freya’s silence was more terrifying than her earlier pronouncements. It was a void where her strength had lived, leaving me exposed and utterly alone with the grotesque reality unfolding around me.

“You see?” Maddison’s triumphant voice cut through the growing dread. “Freya’s going to be a magnificent addition to our collection.”

“Indeed,” Salista purred, her voice dripping with a venom that made my skin crawl.

I stumbled to my feet, my legs unsteady, as if they no longer belonged to me. The world swam for a moment, the edges of my vision blurring. The heat intensified, a searing inferno consuming my very essence. I could feel my muscles tensing, my senses sharpening, my human limitations beginning to peel away like shedding skin.

The strange liquid was working its insidious magic, weaving its darkness into the fabric of my soul. I was becoming what they wanted me to be. A weapon. A tool of their vengeance. And the genuine horror was a part of me, a dark, nascent part, was beginning to embrace it. The thought was more chilling than any physical threat. I was losing myself, piece by agonizing piece, to the twisted ambition of Salista and Maddison. The fight was not just with them, but within me. And that was a battle I was rapidly losing.