Chapter 17

Brie’s assessment of the Triumph was more than justified; Adriana was able to make good time and she could feel not only Greg’s anger but Decker’s as well, flowing down the bond until she shut them down. She could no longer shut Greg out completely—he would still be able to locate her using the newly formed bond link, but she could keep Decker from having that information, and could shield her thoughts and emotions from them both.

Tightening down her link to her fated mates, she allowed the link to Eoghan to flow freely.

“There you are,”he rumbled. “Come to me Adriana or the little witch will die.”

Adriana kept a close rein on both her feelings and thinking, and used the link to actually manipulate the information Eoghan was able to pick up. She wanted him to believe she was frightened of him and would do whatever he wanted in order to keep Erin safe. It wasn’t as difficult as it might have been because she was willing to do whatever it took to keep the little girl safe. She’d had enough violence and chaos in her life.

Adriana knew that Eoghan and his men were neither at the village outside the coven’s compound nor at the compound itself. He had taken refuge at his own stronghold, where he had taken Erin as well. Adriana was treading a fine line. She had to make Eoghan believe he was still in control, and she had no way to keep herself and Erin safe. But there was a part of her that needed him to believe the time they’d been apart had changed her—not necessarily for the better as far as he was concerned. When she’d run from him to her coven, she’d been shattered by what he’d done to her. It might have been better to let him believe she’d never recovered, but she couldn’t let him have that victory. She needed him to know that she had grown and would never be his victim again.

She watched as the gothic gates creaked open and two of his men, including his beta, came out to confront her. She was certain Eoghan had given them instructions to bring her to him and force her to kneel in front of him. Well, that wasn’t happening.

Gunning the engine, Adriana sped up and raced towards the iron gates, swerving closer to the man who wasn’t the pack’s beta. She leaned the bike toward him, making him jump back as she brought up her opposite leg and slammed her foot into the beta’s solar plexus, knocking the sonofabitch backwards and onto his ass. That prick would think twice before putting his hands on her again.

Adriana opened up the throttle and roared into the courtyard, skidding to a halt at the foot of the stairs that led to the front door.

“Eoghan O’Shea!” she shouted.

Two more warriors came running down the steps. Adriana raised her hand and pushed them back with a violent shove of energy.

Eoghan appeared with Erin at his side, his hand clutching her shoulder. Not in command of her power yet, Erin turned and kicked him in the shin, running down to Adriana and throwing her arms around her as Adriana dismounted from the Triumph.

“Really, Eoghan? Terrorizing little girls? You truly are a bastard of the first order,” growled Adriana.

“So, my mate has found her inner wolf,” drawled Eoghan.

“Seize her,” cried his beta from behind them.

Adriana whirled and brushed him away with a flick of her wrist and a gale-force gust of wind.

“Call your mutt off, Eoghan.”

“Cease your magic. It will not work on me. You bear my mark.”

“One inflicted on me without my consent, and one that only protects you. The rest of this mongrel pack of yours isn’t so lucky. I got your message. I’m here with the protection of no clan, and I’ve told no one where I was coming.” Technically that was true. She’d told no one her destination, but Greg should be able to track her along their link.

“Why would I exchange one witch for another?” Eoghan snorted. “She might be young and puny now, but who knows how she’ll develop. If I keep you both, I would have double the power, and who knows what her true value might be?”

Trying not to let him know how much she feared him—not for what he could do to her, but to Erin—she opened the link to Greg and tried to figure out how to stall for time as well as probe for information.

“So why are we so important to you? What is our significance? What is it you think our magic will do for you, and what makes you think we’ll do your bidding? I might not be able to use my magic against you, but Erin is not your marked mate. She may be able to use magic, and my Sisters have taught me how to defend myself without magic.”

“The prophecy that will give the Shadow League and its leader the power required to rule humans, shifters, and the entire paranormal world requires a witch/wolf-shifter hybrid. They are incredibly rare and are doubly moon-blessed… at least, that’s what that ancient dragon-shifter believed. I figured you were the first step, and I could use the little witchlet there to keep you in line until she’s old enough to turn. Then I’ll have the both of you wearing my mark.”

Adriana gently pushed Erin behind her. “You promised me that if I gave myself up to you, you’d let her go.”

Eoghan gave a nasty laugh. “I never promised you any such thing. What you assumed is on you. What better way could I have to keep you in line than to keep control of the child?”

“If you lay one hand on her, I will dedicate the rest of my life, and all the power I can wield against you, to make your life a living hell. You’ll never close your eyes again without worrying that I’ll pull this monstrosity of neo-medieval architecture down around your ears. Or maybe I’ll just crumble one of your butt-ugly towers,” Adriana snarled, starting to feel a rush of power she had never felt before.

Turning toward one of his guard towers—the one she thought might most easily see Decker’s approach—she curled her hand and then popped her fingers wide, watching gleefully as the top of the turret exploded, sending the men who manned it flying.

Erin clapped her hands. “Can you teach me to do that?”

“That depends, sweetie. If Eoghan there doesn’t let you return to the abbey, we can start your lessons right now.”

“Bitch,” he growled, charging down the steps.

When he reached them, Eoghan backhanded Adriana, knocking her to her knees before fisting her hair at the nape of her neck and dragging her towards the inside of the keep.

“Don’t you hurt her,” screamed Erin.

“Don’t, Eoghan,” Adriana pleaded as she read his dark thoughts. “She’s just a little girl. Please don’t hurt her. I won’t teach her anything, and I’ll make sure she isn’t a nuisance.”

She scrambled behind him as he dragged her toward a large room, binding her with silvered iron to the wall. The metal burned—not because she was a witch, but because she was a wolf.

“Not so powerful now, are you?” he growled, his eyes flashing red as he murmured an incantation that bound her far more effectively than silver ever could.

“So why bother with the silver?” she asked.

“Because it’ll cause you pain. I was far too kind to you in the past. You can stay here and think about how you belong to me and how you will learn to comport yourself as the meek and subservient mistress of this pack.”

He strode out the door, slamming it behind him. Her heart sank as she felt the magic he had imbued in the walls surrounding her, imprisoning her in a way steel, silver, and bars on the windows never could.

She opened the link the tiniest bit wider between her and Greg. She wanted to reach out to Greg without alerting Eoghan that she had done so. She could feel the virtual gasp as Greg realized he could not only feel her thoughts and emotions, but he could also feel where she was.

“Decker has a small special ops unit, I’ll let him know you aren’t at the village. You have to hang on.”

“I can take whatever Eoghan throws at me, but I fear what he’ll do to Erin. If I can, I will get her out and will send her down toward the sea.”

“Good. I’ll get Colby and some of the other warriors. We’ll come by boat. We’ll make sure we get Erin away. Stay strong. You are not alone, and we will come for you.”

“I will wait for you. We will defeat his evil, but you must bring Brie and have her take Erin away. She doesn’t need to witness another blood bath. I’m going to dampen the link. I don’t want Eoghan to know that it exists.”

“Do not close me out,” he roared down the link.

Greg was pissed, and she knew he had every right to be. She didn’t even want to think about the level of Decker’s anger. Her warrior mate’s anger was going to be epic.

“I won’t, my love. I’ll make sure you can follow the link like the breadcrumbs Hansel and Gretel left.”

“That doesn’t work out so well for the witch,” he reminded her.

Adriana smiled. “Yeah, but only because she didn’t have two big bad wolves coming to save her from those bratty kids.”

She could hear Greg chuckle. Establishing contact between them seemed to have helped both of them.

Adriana’s attention was diverted by the sound of a key turning in the antiquated lock. Erin peeked inside, looking around before she crept inside. She ran to Adriana, pulling at the manacles.

“How did you know where I was?” Adriana asked.

Erin grinned. “I’m just a kid. As long as they thought they knew where I was and didn’t try to leave, nobody paid much attention. I’ve been having a look around since I got here. Decker said when ever anything bad happens or you’re unsure of things, you should pay attention and make notes in your mind.”

Adriana shook her head. “Erin, you need to leave.”

“You came for me. I won’t leave you. I left my coven, and now they’re all dead.”

“You still don’t know that…”

“I do. That bad man told me, and I believe him. I’ll use my magic,” the little girl said, stepping back and raising her hands.

Adriana could feel the room and the manacles vibrate, but Erin was not yet old enough, nor did she have enough strength, to break the spells that bound Adriana. The fact that she could get into the room and even try told Adriana that Eoghan had cast spells specific to Adriana alone. She knew Erin would never leave her just because Adriana told her to.

“Erin, I need you to do something for me. It won’t be easy, and you aren’t going to want to do it.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“You must. You are the last legacy of those who went before you. Do you think you can get away from the fortress and get to the sea below?”

“I don’t want to go without you.”

“I know, sweetie, and I know it isn’t because you are afraid for yourself. I need you to get to the beach. Greg and Colby are coming by sea. Decker and some of the other warriors are coming by land. If you can tell Colby and Greg how to get here from the beach, that will really help.”

“You’re just saying that…”

“No, I’m not. Have you seen the way down to the beach?” Erin nodded. “Is there a path?” Erin nodded again. “Then you have to go. I have only seen the way in by land. If you can show our people the way to approach from the sea, that will give us the advantage. Sometimes to protect those you love most, you have to do something you don’t want to do. This is one of those times. Do you understand? Do you think you can do what I’m asking you?”

Erin seemed to think. “Decker talked to me about patrols and how to make them the most effective…”

Adriana rolled her eyes internally, thinking, of course he did.

“And Decker told me things you could do to make things that were happening to you, less scary. So, when I realized the bad man lied to me, I started watching. He has patrols, but they aren’t heavily manned, they aren’t staggered, and the perimeter is only guarded along the interior walls. Other than the towers, there are no guards on the parapets.”

“You did so good. That’s going to be really helpful, and I don’t know that I could have told them any of that. Go now, before Eoghan finds out you’re here and figures out what a threat you are. Your people would be so proud of you, as am I.”

Erin nodded, stopped long enough to close and lock the door, and then Adriana couldn’t hear or see her any longer. She opened the link back up to Greg.

“Erin is headed your way.”

“Is she hurt?”

“Actually, she’s a tough little cookie. She’ll be able to tell you where I am, and how to breach the stronghold from the sea.”

“Why won’t you be with her?”

“We were right; Eoghan is a warlock. He’s bound me not only with silver, but with magic.”

“Try not to pull against the silver. It will burn you. It won’t kill you, but it’ll be painful. I’ll have some salve with me. Decker is going to come at them from the front. With Erin safe, our objective will be you. Hang on, sweetheart, we’re coming.”

Dampening the link, Adriana did the one thing she’d never thought she’d have to do. She waited for her fated mates to rescue her. She found that oddly comforting.