28. Oria

The sun rose, giving way to the new day, but no matter how brightly the sun shined, dread and disappointment left me uneasy. All our attempts to get out of here had failed. Nothing I made yesterday worked, and if I didn't find something this morning, they were going to leave.

It was for the best; they needed to leave. Mother would not take too kindly for someone to be here and my doubts about her were only cementing the idea that Mother was using me.. The amount of money she was making off the Oria vials made me believe she was pocketing most of it and making it seem like we had nothing to live on.

She was manipulating me to work hard to produce more for her own gain but what would she need all that money for? The more I thought about it, the more I realized there was a lot I didn't know about the situation. Mother had secrets that she had been hiding for years and here I was thinking everything she was doing had been for me. Mother was painting a very different picture than reality and I couldn't stay here anymore. If I stayed, my life would be within this mountain, and I would rather die than be taken from my mates or live the rest of my existence here. I hadn't aged in almost two hundred years, and I didn't want to find out how long I could live for with my power.

Eternity was a long time.

The room grew brighter when an idea formed in my head. I still had time and I would use every minute I had to get the hell out of here. The twins weren"t asleep when I jumped out of the bed, my body deliciously sore from the way they worshiped me last night.

"Sunshine?" Gray sat up, looking adorable with his disheveled hair and boyish smile.

"Blondie, isn't it too early?" Soren was a mirror image of his brother down to his boyish grin.

"I have an idea that I want to try before you leave," I said, throwing on a long dress.

I really needed to do laundry and actually put the load in the dryer.

"I'm not leaving, we are not leaving," Soren growled.

"Soren," I sighed.

We talked about this yesterday. He was adamant about confronting my mother, but I knew that was suicide.

"What are you doing, Sunshine?" Gray asked, glancing at his brother with concern.

"I cannot be apart from you." Soren's voice brought tears to my eyes. "You can't?—"

I held up my hand as I walked to him.

"Let me try this and then we can start using Plan B," I said, kissing his forehead.

"Blondie," he sighed.

I knew he was ready to argue with me, so I kissed him again.

"We will revisit that after I test my theory," I said, slipping into my slippers.

I didn't stick around to argue as I raced downstairs to my workshop when I noticed Loki and Ryder in the kitchen together. He was in low hung pants that made my mouth dry up. He was giving Loki a piece of meat to eat before leaning back against the counter. Loki meowed for more food and Ryder gave him another piece of meat before rubbing his head.

He looked up at me as he took a sip from a mug like he knew I had been there the whole time. Goddess, he was so handsome with his beard, disheveled hair and those piercing amber eyes with a body that I'm sure many women had enjoyed.

Our bond thrummed in my chest like a heartbeat as we continued to look at each other in this bubble we were in. The woman he had lost must have been someone amazing. If his love was so strong it contended with our bond, it made me worried that he might never consider bonding with me. I knew he needed to heal. I wanted him to heal, but every molecule of my being wanted to make him mine.

"Good morning," I said smiling. "Looks like you made a new friend."

I walked up to Loki, giving him a pet.

"I fed him," Ryder said with his deep timber. "And he's alright."

I shivered wondering how he would sound saying my name. Loki looked up at Ryder like he was offended.

"Thank you."

I kissed Loki's head and gave him a little more love since I had been so busy these last few days. Standing up, I tried to convince myself not to look at Ryder, but I felt his gaze on me. Glancing over my shoulder he was watching me with yearning. His eyes flashed yellow, and I wondered if that was his wolf trying to shift. My heart rate quickened as I heard the twins coming down the stairs. It took everything not to break our moment again as I turned around to run downstairs to my haven.

Our bond was settled in my chest the further I walked away from Ryder, the longing and the intense need to go to him was fading. I squeezed my thighs together in hopes of easing the ache I had, but all I could do was grow hot thinking of what it would be like with my shifter.

Shaking my head, I tried to get my shit in order so I wasn't so horny and figure a way to get myself out of here. I played some music on my phone humming along to someone named Lizzo.

Loki came into the room, rubbing himself against me before perching by the window to watch me. I grabbed my ingredients, laying them out on my worktable getting started on my concoction. It was a quick modification to the magic canceling potion we had made, adding a few items to amplify the power.

The spell required a moonstone, and I needed all the power I could get. I ran down the stairs to go to my garden, dug up a moonstone that was fully charged and took another stone.

My garden had been neglected for too long. The urge to go tend to it was like an itch, I needed to scratch. While I missed the routine of my old life, the possibility of a free life—well, more free than staying here—made me so excited. I grinned as I went through the garden picking up some cherry tomatoes and berries before I went back inside. I'd make myself a new garden one day.

Stepping into the workshop, I focused on the spell. I added ingredients, stirring, saying a few incantations until a silvery liquid sat in the bowl. It needed something more. It needed my blood.

My stomach churned at the thought of adding my blood. It might change the entire potion for the better or worse. Blood magic was unpredictable, but I needed to take a chance. It was life or death at this point and I chose to live.

Pricking my finger, I only added a few drops. The potion glowed a brilliant yellow, illuminating the entire room. The potion pulsed with energy before dimming until there was a trace of light.

Goddess, please let this work.

Once I bottled it up, I grabbed the necklace that Soren had used to get in, and made my way down the stairs. This was it. If this didn't work, I was screwed and getting away from mother would be twice as hard.

Leaving the tower, I walked to the barrier with nerves fluttering in my stomach. The morning sun felt great on my skin, and I was desperate for summer and the possibility of seeing new places. The thought of being free brought tears to my eyes until I ran into a very hard chest.

"Whoa, Ria. You ok?"

Tay's voice brought out a flight or fight response, skyrocketing my heart rate. He held me by my arms as I yanked away from him, remembering what Demitri had said. He and Mother had used me, played me so they could keep me in line.

I stepped away from him, seeing a lot of men coming in behind him.

His brows furrowed. "Ria, what's going on?"

"Where's Mother?"

"We need to talk, Ria," he said, frowning. "Let's go inside and talk."

I shook my head, stepping back.

He took a deep breath.

My panic overwhelmed me. I didn't know what to do.

"Ria, what the fuck is going on?" he snapped, reaching me. "Why do you smell?—"

A growl behind me alerted me to Ryder.

"Who the fuck are you?" Tay snarled, pushing me behind him.

"Tay, stop," I said, trying to move away from him, but he didn't let me.

"Get your hands off my mate." Ryder"s voice was lethal, giving me goosebumps as my heart soared that he called me his mate.

"Mate?!" Tay laughed.

I tried pushing Tay away when someone grabbed me from behind trying to hold me still.

"I said. Let. Her. Go." Ryder"s eyes glowed yellow.

"I doubt a wolf would be able to do anything against us, you're outmatched," Tay taunted. "Stand down and I'll think about letting you live."

"Ryder!" I yelled.

We locked eyes as I tried to plead with him not to do anything stupid.

"Please," I whispered.

His eyes bore into me like he was trying to say something, but I couldn't hear him.

"Last time. Let her fucking go or die," Ryder growled.

I struggled out of their hold, desperate to go to Ryder.

Tay laughed. "Get her out of here while we deal with him."

The man holding me dragged me away from Ryder as I kicked and screamed trying to get away, when a flash of something came at us.

One of the twins.

He snapped the man's neck before moving on to the next man and pandemonium ensued. Several men tried to grab me, but my men were always there to intercept them. I ran away trying to keep my items close to me, worried I would break my potion. Gray and Soren were a blur within the chaos, but I could feel them, just like I could feel my wolf biting and ripping off limbs.

One of the twins grabbed me, running when we ran into a shield and when he turned us around, we were stuck inside.

"Stop or they die!" Tay bellowed.

One of the twins stopped and Ryder ripped one of the men's throats out. Only four men were remaining..

I shivered, worried about my mates, thinking if Tay wanted to, he would kill us all. He was strong like Mother, but unlike mother who needed to recharge, Tay was an endless supply of power.

"It"s ok, Sunshine," Gray said, holding me close.

"You won't kill her," Soren clipped.

The shield around us shrunk, making the space tight.

"Try me." Tay tightened the shield again.

Gray and I were crushed together. He grunted while I cried out. He tried to push his hands out, but Tay was too strong.

"I still don't think you'd kill her." Soren stepped up to Tay.

I tried to take a breath in when the air grew thin. Panic settled over me as I hit the shield pleading for Soren to stop.

My lungs were screaming for air as I gasped, feeling woozy and just as I felt myself about to faint, the shield disappeared.

My body took a deep breath when I landed on the ground. Gray landed over me snarling at Tay.

"She leaves with me and that"s the end of it." Tay walked over to me.

"Like hell she is." Gray stood in front of me. "She's ours and your stupid fantasy that she is somehow yours, is all in your fucking head."

Tay's jaw ticked as he glared at Gray.

"Fine, we will do this the hard way." Tay snarled.

He lifted my mates up with his power and I did the only thing I could. I grabbed the vial I just made and threw it on Tay, hoping that it worked.