Chapter 11

Alex

I'm standing in a garden that is far too familiar.

The grass is lush and thick, the flowers that are blooming in every corner providing a mesmerizing explosion of colors that's hard to look away from. My mother always liked chaos in beauty. The trees are well-maintained and cared for. There is a pathway of stones and cement that I remember my father laying out while I stood by and helped as much as a child could.

My mother's complaining and my father's amused voice filter through my memory, and if I look hard enough, I can see her holding the tray with that special juice only she knew how to make. I can imagine my father kneeling on the grass, his cheek pressed against the ground as he tried to gauge whether the pathway was level or not.

When did I forget that memory?

I stare down at the pathway, confused. How is this possible? I have not been here in decades. A creaking sound over the humming of insects has me looking over at the large oak tree that has a swing dangling from it. The same swing that my father and uncle set up together for me. The wooden seat is still intact and not protruding from my uncle's chest as it was the last time I saw it.

I touch the rope, and it burns my hand like it always did when I was a child.

I look around in wonder.

The sun is shining, the sunbeams scattered on the grass and the foliage from the trees providing shade. "A good place for a child to play" as my mother used to say. The rest of the garden that my mother and father created together is bathed in sunlight, the winding path leading to a set of chairs and a table where my mother often had her morning coffee.

I'm back home, in my childhood home, the one that was burned to the ground.

My last memory here was of my uncle throwing me to the ground to protect me. The shifter who had tried to attack me had torn the wooden seat of the swing and stabbed my uncle through the chest with it. I can still hear his blood gurgling from his mouth, that painful rattle in his chest, as my father‘s brother had looked at me in such shock. Even in his last moments, he had feared for me, worried for me.

They had set the garden on fire. Karina had made me stand there, her hand holding my jaw in place as she set fire to every memory, every piece of love that had gone into this place. Her laughter is ringing in my ears even now. My screams are still vibrating in my bones.

My parents had loved each other. They had adored each other, and I had been a product of that love. This garden was planted when my mother had been expecting me. It had grown with me and it died with my parents.

And yet here I stand.

Back at the time when Karina's rot hadn't touched this place.

A soft, familiar humming sound that I haven't heard in years has me turning around hastily.

My feet are moving on their own, anguish filling me.

As soon as I round the group of trees where the reading corner had been set up, I see a slim woman crouched by the herbs, shears in one hand, a ratty looking straw hat on her head, her dark curls tumbling down her back.

I grip the tree closest to me, my legs feeling weak.

Maybe it was all a bad dream.

Maybe, my mother never—maybe Karina was just a figment of my imagination.

I stagger forward, hope blooming within me.

Yes, all just a nightmare…

My feet suddenly come to a halt.

Not all of it was bad. Not everything was a nightmare. Sophia wasn't a nightmare. She was like a ray of sunshine in a world that had grown too dark for me to find my way. She was my other half.

My mate was not part of that bad dream.

So where is she?

I must've made some sound, because my mother gets to her feet and turns around.

I'm a grown man who has experienced so many hardships that I've had to teach myself how to harden my heart. I learned not to shed tears over every misfortune. And yet when I look at my mother's face, I can't stop the tears from flowing.

"Mom." A broken sound escapes my lips.

She smiles at me in that way she always did when she was exasperated with me. "Where did you go off to, Alex? You promised to help me get rid of the weeds. You're just like your father, running off at the first sign of work."

She holds out her hand.

The skin of her palm is just as soft as I remember.

"Why are you crying, my sweet boy?" She wipes my tears away. "What happened? Was Patrick mean to you again?"

My mouth moves, but not a sound escapes. All I want to do is drink in her face. I don't want this to be a dream. I want this to be real. "Mother…"

She chuckles. "Mother? You never call me that. Where did you pick that up?"

I wrap my arms around her in a hug. She smells the same.

"You must've had a bad dream." She laughs, before kissing my cheeks and pulling away. "I'm here, aren't I? You have nothing to worry about. As long as I'm here, nothing bad will happen to you."

I look at her, my heart breaking. "What about when you're gone? What about when you leave me?"

Her hands push away the strands of hair off my face. "And where will I go? Don't worry. I'm never going to leave you."

She crouches back on the ground, and I stare at her, scared to move, scared to shatter this—whatever this is.

Maybe it was just a nightmare that seemed too real. Maybe…I crouch beside her, pulling out the weeds as I used to do as a child. "How are you and Dad?"

"Content." She looks at me with a smile. "We're together, and that's enough for us."

I glance at her, my throat tight with emotion. She's not looking at me as a child. The meaning behind her words couldn't be clearer.

"Together," I murmur. "Yes. You are together wherever you are."

She doesn't respond, and my heart sinks.

She knows it's a dream. And so do I.

We work together in silence for a few minutes, and then I say, "I met my fated mate, Mom."

She looks up at me in surprise. "Say that again?"

"My fated mate." My hands are full of weeds, and I stare down at the soil, wishing I knew what to feel. "You would love her. She's been through a lot and she acts all tough, but she's the kindest person you'll ever meet. You could almost say that she's kind to a fault. She keeps getting into dangerous situations and…"

My mother drops her tools and takes my hand, pulling me to my feet. "You found your fated mate."

Her eyes are filled with a wild joy. "Come. Let's sit. Tell me all about her."

She guides me to a bench in the shade, next to the small pond I had once insisted on digging by hand. Studying the look in her eyes, I realize that only my mother could be this happy for me.

"I was." I try to smile, missing my mom desperately even though she's sitting before me. "When I found out about her, nobody wanted us together. I was supposed to mate the Silver Wolf to save the pack. If you had been there, you would have told me to be with her, wouldn't you?"

"That shouldn't be a question, my sweet boy." My mother takes my hands in hers and squeezes them, her smile warm. "Your happiness comes first to me."

"I've missed you," I whisper, hoarsely. "So much. I thought it would get better with time but it doesn't. It doesn't stop."

"It will." She tilts her head at me. "Soon. I promise you. Now, tell me about the girl who's the love of your life."

"Her name is Sophia. She's lovely, mom. And I keep messing things up with her, but she always forgives me. She is the Silver Wolf, by the way. Strange how that ended up happening."

Mother's expression shutters. "She's the Silver Wolf? And are you happy?"

"She's healed wounds that no amount of time had been able to heal before." I look down at her hands before lifting my gaze.

My mother's eyes sparkle with tears. "Then it doesn't matter if she's the Silver Wolf, or an ordinary shifter. As long as she can make you happy."

"You would really like her if you could meet her."

"I don't need to meet her, Alex." She touches my chest, placing her hand on my heart. "As long as she has your heart, she has my heart."

My heart is heavy. "Things have been very hard, Mom. Sometimes I felt like I just couldn't go on. Sometimes I just wanted to close my eyes and never wake up. But I tried. I never gave up."

"I know."

Her smile is gentle with a hint of sadness. "It wasn't easy for your father and me to come here. But we knew you needed us, and we couldn't fail you one last time."

I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder and I look behind me; there's nobody there.

"This is a dream, isn't it?"

I lay my head on my mother's shoulder, feeling like my heart is going to rip apart, voicing what we both know will not easy.

"I would prefer to call it a short meeting till we meet again." My mother kisses my forehead, soothing my hair back. "Your father and I raised a strong boy who we are very proud off. And your mate sounds like a wonderful person. I'm so happy you found somebody who adores you so much."

"Does it make me a horrible person for not wanting to wake up from this dream?" I whisper brokenly.

Her arms come to wrap around. Me. "No. But right now, your Sophia needs you. She's struggling without you."

My mother takes my face in her hands, forcing me to look at her. "She is your other half in every sense of the word. The Silver Wolf is an incomplete being. You complete her. Don't ever forget it. You are her strength, her protector, her guardian. Your bond is not complete yet. And it's hurting her. It's going to hurt you as well."

I seize her hands, confused. "What?"

The heavy grip on my shoulder appears once again and when I look up, I see my father standing behind me. "It's time for us to go, son. It's time for you to go as well. We're proud of you and everything you have done."

My mother's lips press against my cheek, and slowly before my eyes, the garden begins to disintegrate till there's nothing but the darkness and the lingering scent of my mother's favorite perfume in the air.

I stay frozen in place, my throat clogged with emotion. I only got a few minutes with them, but those minutes meant the world to me. I press the heels of my hands against my eyes, my breathing rough.

The darkness around me is suffocating. I finally look around, recalling my mother's words.

Sophia needs me.

But where am I?

I have to be dreaming. But how do I wake up from this dream?

Out of nowhere, I feel a pulse of urgency, an acrid fear that's not my own. A call for help.

Sophia!

Something is wrong.

I search for the bond between us that is always throbbing inside of me, almost like a second pulse.

It's still there but it's faint.

Alarm bells go off in my head. The last time it was this weak was when we faced the dark witches Karina sent. What the hell is going on? Why is Sophia so weak? And where is she?

I have to wake up!

However, no matter how hard I try, it's as if there is something blocking me from getting out of this darkness. My wolf is fighting against something I can't comprehend. It's not paying attention to me. I can't get a hold of it.

The desperate cry for help rings out again.

Growling, I feel for the thread of my mate's consciousness inside me. I can see it when I close my eyes. The glow around the thread is fading, its thickness disappearing. It's now a fine thread, on the verge of breaking. Without thinking, I grab on to it.

My strength flows through me and I see the thread pulse.

Once.

Twice.

I see the glow returning to the thread but it fades soon enough. I don't know what I've done, but when I try it again, I realize that it's just a temporary measure. The thread shows a hint of strength before fading back.

This isn't working.

I need to get to her.

I need to wake up!

Getting my wolf under control is not easy, which is a surprise. I've always been in control of my wolf. This is the first time I'm unable to reach out to it. It's blocking me off. Snarling, I force my will on it, ignoring its struggles to resist.

Our mate needs us.

Whatever she is trying to face, we can face it together.

Snarling, I push against the mental block he's placed around himself and this time my beast has no choice but to bend to my will.

My eyes fly open with a gasp.

For a moment, I am disoriented. My feet are not on the ground. I'm floating.

It takes me a few seconds to realize that that is not the case. My wrists and ankles are burning as if they're on fire. That's a sensation that can only be caused by iron. Wolf shifters and iron do not mix well. It is the best material to use to restrain my kind. I try to pull against the manacles suspending me in the air. The burning sensation is intense, scoring into skin, like a thousand hot needles piercing into me.

This isn't the first time I've been restrained by iron manacles. Karina has done so a few times in that past in an attempt to humiliate me and hurt me. However, these chains are different.

Calming myself, I try to think back.

How did I end up here?

The last thing I remembered was eating a meal with those old women in the village, and then Sophia collapsed in my arms. That's it. I don't remember anything else.

How is that possible?

I look around. I am in some sort of stone chamber. There are candles all along the walls and when I look below, there's a creepy-looking pentagram drawn on the floor with blood.

My blood, I realize.

Dark witches.

That's the only explanation I can come up with. We were duped.

Groaning in embarrassment and anger, I try to think of a way out of here. There's something different about my restraints that are holding me in the air. I have a feeling that escaping them isn't going to be as easy as I first thought. And I'm proven right. The more I pull against them, the more they tighten against my skin till they're digging into my flesh.

Hissing with pain, I look around. There has to be another way out of here. I don't know where Sophia is, but she needs me. I don't know what they've done to her.

Even as my worries grow, I maintain a sense of calm. No wonder my wolf was struggling. It must've been trying to escape.

If I bring out my animal, I might have a window of opportunity within that second split second of the shift. My bones will break and reform and that will give me the opportunity to slip out of these manacles. It's not easy to do anything during the shift. This is because during the transition from human to animal or vice versa, the magic of the shift is intense and we lose control for that split second. This is the first time I will have tried to pull off something like this during the shift and I don't know if it's going to work. But it is the only option that I have.

Closing my eyes, I reach out to my wolf. It is watching in grim acceptance. I have to maintain my consciousness during the shift. I don't know how I will do it, but there is a first time for everything.

Closing my eyes, I call forth my animal. As my bones begin to break, I feel two hands on my shoulders and my father's voice in my ear.

You've got this, son.

My eyes fly open, and I yank the manacles around my wrists and ankles.

I fall into the pentagram in my wolf form. Dazed for a minute, I stumble, unable to find my balance, and then my wolf gains control.

I move quickly.

Sophia.

I have to get to Sophia.

I don't bother with waiting around to see if anybody is outside. I streak out of the cave into the forest. But as I do, it occurs to me that I can't catch Sophia's scent anywhere.

Forcing myself to a halt, I look around. If I can't find my mate, I can look for the witches. They will lead me to her. But the more I walk around, the more I begin to realize that I don't know where I am. Normally, it's not very hard to find a hint of a scent or something to guide me to the right location. However, in this situation, I'm fumbling in the dark. It's almost as if something is blunting all my senses.

My wolf lets out a displeased growl. As if I am going to let something like this stop me from getting to my woman!

Shifting into my human form, I look around for the tallest tree, and begin climbing. Once I get to the top, I look around. There they are. The fields.

I slide down to the ground and shift back to my wolf form, before breaking into a run in the direction of the village.

Unlike others of my kind, I always studied the humans around me. After all, humans are the most vicious of the Goddess' creatures. They're unmatched with it comes to violence and bloodlust. So I learned from them.

After being with Sophia for a time, I noticed how peculiar my mate was. But what I thought was peculiarity was actually resourcefulness. She didn't just depend on the gifts that the Goddess gave us. She used everything she could get her hands on. I would never have thought of climbing a tree to find my location if I had not once seen her do the same.

My blood is pounding in my ears as I run through the trees. If they have so much as touched a hair on Sophia, I will bathe this village in their blood.

I blame myself for this foolishness. All this time, I kept telling Sophia to be more alert, and not to believe what others show her or tell her. And what did I go and do?

I put her in danger all because it was an old woman in front of me.

Why did I not consider that at the end of the day, those women were witches?

I must have been placed somewhere deep in the forest because it's taking me far too long to reach the village. My wolf is panting now, and I'm sure half an hour has passed. I've passed the same tree multiple times.

Dismay fills me. Surely this has to be some sort of magic that is making me run around in circles.

And if it's magic, how can I counteract it?

No! I have to keep going!

Pushing myself to my limits, my Sophia's image in front of my eyes, I keep running.

Out of nowhere, I feel a ripple in the air, and suddenly all the scents that had not been present before are overwhelming me. Whatever barrier had been placed here has been broken. But along with the scents of the witches, there is another smell, one that grips my heart tightly in fear.

Smoke. Fire. Blood.

I break past the trees that overlook the fields and the village, and come to a screeching halt.

The sky is painted a terrifying red.

The village is on fire. So are the fields. I can hear the screaming.

Sophia!

I throw my head back and howl before charging forward. The closer I get, the thicker the smell of blood is in the air.

I howl for my mate, but there's no response from her. Something is wrong with her. Sophia knows to let me know her location if I call for her. If she's not responding, it means she can't.

I can see the dead bodies littering the ground, the manner of their deaths violent and gruesome.

This isn't my mate's work.

I pause.

I've seen her kill in a bloodthirsty manner before, but that was when she thought I was dead. She had lost control. I can't see her losing control right now, especially with how weak she must be right now.

I walk over the bodies, my heart hard.

The sounds of fighting reach me and I take off in that direction.

The first thing I see is a large brown wolf tearing off the head of one of the witches.

His fur is matted with dried blood and his body is emaciated. Some of his wounds are fresh, but he doesn't seem to feel the pain. There are a couple of witches still standing near him, fear in their eyes. The baskets I had seen them wearing are now on the ground, broken. They are chanting loudly and gesturing with their hands but their attacks aren't slowing down the wolf shifter.

He is tearing them apart. I begin running in his direction. I don't know if the shifter is a threat or not, but I bet he knows where my mate is, and I want answers.

As I approach him, I see a figure crumpled in the corner. The scent of Sophia's blood hits me like a ton of bricks. Without a second thought, I head toward her, only for the brown shifter to block my path with a growl.

His eyes hold madness and death. However, I am not that easily intimidated.

When I growl back, he bares his teeth, which are covered in the blood of the witches.

He's warning me away from Sophia.

Who the hell is this man?

Snarling, I jump at him, only for him to swiftly avoid my attack like an experienced fighter. I go after him again, and from the corner of my eye, I see the last witch try to escape. The brown shifter notices the same thing and he abandons me. Running after her, he gives me the opening I wanted, and I use his absence to reach my mate.

The first thing I do is sniff her all over to make sure she does not have any fatal injuries. Nudging her with my nose, I try to wake her up, but she's incredibly weak right now. The bond between us is fading, and I feel my own panic setting in.

I know the brown shifter will return and probably attack me, but I could not care less at this moment.

Assuming my human form, I cradle Sophia in my arms. I press my ear against her chest. Her heartbeat is slow.

I've never felt this kind of terror before. I'm losing her. I'm losing her and there's nothing I can do about it.

I have to get a healer. I have to get to somebody who can help us. Picking her up in my arms, I'm about to leave, when a dangerously low voice growls softly, "Put her down and get away from her."

When I turn around, I see that the brown shifter has transformed into his human form. He is half starved, and his clothes are rags. Even in his wasted state, he looks like a fighter. His eyes are menacing as he approaches me. "Put the girl down, or it's your head I'll be ripping off next."