Chapter 26

Alex

As a child, I always loved to hide in small spaces. It made it harder for the other children to find me, but my parents would always know where I was. It didn't matter whether I was curled up in the trunk of a tree or in a closet where no one ever looked, my parents would always find me. I never minded small, dark, and confined areas.

And then I saw my parents die before my eyes. I saw my uncle murdered as he tried to protect me. And the woman who killed my father, all the while smiling so sweetly at him, dragged me to a cage and thrust me inside. It was a cage meant for a small cat or a dog. It was not meant for a nine-year-old little boy. My body would not fit, and I had to pull my knees to my chest and curl into a ball.

That was the first time I learned that there were times when breathing was hard. That drawing in air was not always as easy as it seemed.

Over the next seven years, I would often be punished this way, stuffed into a cage and stashed somewhere where very little air could reach me.

Humans called it claustrophobia.

My kind doesn't give it a name because it doesn't happen to us.

I spent years hiding this weakness from even my closest friends because I was ashamed.

But Karina knew.

She always knew and she delighted in subjecting me to this torture.

As I grew stronger, she stopped doing it. And I began to forget about it. I never wanted to think about those years.

But as I stare at the bars of the cage, my body squeezed into the small space, I feel like a child again, scared and unable to breathe.

My heart isn't beating fast enough. It is beating too fast.

I want to get out of here.

I want to go back to that cell. At least I could breathe in there.

I don't know when I begin to feel a sense of calm. Maybe it's the thought of Sophia. Maybe it's the fear of the fate that awaits her. All I know is that her image is floating in my head, and I know I have to get out of here for her. The fear and breathlessness begin to abate.

Nobody's coming to protect me, but I have something to protect, something precious that Karina cannot get her hands on. The dirt is packed around the cage. I cannot break the bars, but I can dig in the dirt. Using my fingers, I scrape at it. It falls within the cage, and I don't care.

I'm not thinking straight. In fact, I'm not even thinking at all. I just have to get to my mate.

The bars are made of iron. Breaking them is impossible right now. But I keep digging. However, when I start digging in the dirt above me, it begins to fall into my cage, and it occurs to me that I might just end up buried alive.

It feels like a lifetime. My fingers are bruised and bleeding as I dig like my life depends on it. It would be easier if I could break the bars. I could use one of them to help the digging process.

I am plagued by thoughts of Sophia. Where is she? Has Karina gotten to her yet? How much time has passed?

I am now digging around the cage instead of on top of it. But as I do, I hear something strange. It's as if somebody is digging above me.

The dirt is falling on my shoulders, on my hair. I can't stretch and I'm feeling that sense of suffocation again.

The dirt has now piled up all the way to my face. A little longer, and I'm going to be out of air. My heart is pounding, but I refuse to give up. I have to deal with this somehow. If Sophia were here, she'd have a way out. She always has something cooking in that clever brain of hers.

She always underestimates herself, but I see how clever she is and how incredibly resourceful she is. Her brain connects dots in a way mine never could. If she were in my situation right now, after her little panic attack, she would have started figuring things out.

I take a shaky breath. I can overcome this. For her, I can overcome anything. Sophia needs me. I'm not going to let this situation get the best of me.

It's a wonder what the desire to protect something does to a man's morale.

I push the dirt to the side, forcing my face to stick up, trying to draw in air. And then I hear something hit the bars. It's a metallic sound. At the same time, I scrunch my eyes when light hits me.

Somebody is pulling at my cage. I hear the sounds of grunting, and then a loud clanging sound as if a person has jumped on top of my cage. I can't see because even though it seems like it's dark outside, there's a flashlight in my face. I can't even get the scent of who it is because the dirt is surrounding me. Another grunt, and I hear one of the iron bars break. Panting sounds. Sweat falls on my face.

Whoever it is, is determined to get me out of here. It can't be Sophia. She would have ripped the bars off. The second bar breaks. Then the third.

I keep my eyes closed because the light is shining directly into them.

With the last bar breaks, the person jumps off of my cage, and then begins dragging me out.

"Goddess, why are you so heavy?"

My eyes fly open as I recognize the voice. If I wasn't feeling so weak, I would have attacked her.

I'm dragged out, and then something is forced into my mouth.

"Drink, you idiot! I don't have all day!"

When I refuse to drink, the woman squeezes my nose shut, and I'm forced to open my mouth, swallowing the liquid.

"Finally!"

Within a few minutes, I feel some of my strength begin to return, and as it does, I feel the link to my wolf.

I open my eyes and come face-to-face with Tina, Elsa's daughter. The same girl broke Sophia's heart by betraying her and putting her mother in a coma.

"You!"

I would have sounded more menacing if my voice wasn't so hoarse.

"You can thank me later," Tina sneers at me. "We have to get out of here. Those guards are going to wake up any minute."

I look in the direction she's pointing and see a couple of unconscious shifters on the ground. I can smell their blood, but they're beginning to stir.

Tina scrambles to her feet and begins running. I have no choice but to follow after her. I don't know where I am, but there is something about this place that bothers me.

My strength is beginning to return, and I shift. Grabbing her by the back of her shirt, I toss the witch in the air, and she falls on my back. I ignore her cry of pain and keep running. Her fingers dig into my fur for dear life, and I want to recoil from disgust. As I run through the forest, I begin to recognize this area, and I come to a halt.

No.

I know this place. This is…

I'm standing at the edge of an abandoned town. I thought Karina had developed this place.

I begin heading into the town, ignoring Tina's protests. When I come to a stop, she rolls off my back. I then shift into my human form, looking around, bewildered.

My hometown. Karina seized this land and always told me how she built a resort here. She never did anything to this place.

"Why are you stopping here?" Tina demands. "Karina's men will be following us!"

"Shut up!" I say roughly, my eyes on a building in the distance. I know the urgency of the situation, but I walk toward it, my steps uneven.

The door of the house is broken. As I walk in, I recognize the burn marks on the furniture.

My childhood home.

No wonder Karina was convinced nobody would find me here.

I can't help myself.

I head to my parents' bedroom, and a thick ball of emotion gets stuck in my throat as I see a familiar ratty-looking blanket hanging off the bed. I used to climb under it at night when I wanted to sleep with them.

The room has been destroyed. It's not the destruction that comes from years of abandonment, but the kind that is the result of malicious destruction. Everything is shattered and broken. I see something sticking out from under the bed and I crouch down to pick it up.

It's a photograph.

The frame is cracked and layered with dust.

I wipe it with my hands, and I see my parents smiling at each other, their hands on my shoulders.

My legs nearly buckle.

This is the first photograph I've seen of my parents ever since they died. Karina destroyed all the other photographs, but she forgot this one. I leave it there, tucking it back under the bed. I'll come back for it.

My room is untouched, but as I head outside, Tina following me, I see the garden. Everything has rotted away over the years. The ground that had once been lush and green is burned and dead. If I close my eyes, I can see my parents and my uncle standing here watching me and smiling. I can hear their voices in my head.

Overcome with grief, I turn on my heel, walking away.

"What? What the hell was that all about?" Tina demands, trailing after me. "I'm telling you we don't have time…"

"Do you ever shut up?" I raise my voice at her.

Tina blocks my path, her eyes flashing. "I just saved your life! You don't get to speak to me in that tone! You owe me!"

I glare at her. "You must have me confused with my mate. Unlike her, I don't think with my heart. You saved my life, not because you wanted to, but because you wanted something from me. Sophia may be easy to fool, but I'm not. How did you know where I was?"

She snaps her mouth shut.

I take a step toward her. "You knew where I was the whole time, didn't you? Were you part of this whole plan? Where is Sophia? You better start talking, Tina, or so help me…"

In a town where not even animals reside, I hear a muffled sound in the silence. My head turns to the left, and from the corner of my eye, I see Tina turn pale.

"What was that?"

I'm about to go investigate when she stops me. "Let's just get out of here. It's nothing. It must be some wounded animal."

I shake her off. "I don't think so."

Her desperation to stop me can only mean that she's trying to hide something.

Is it Sophia? Does she have Sophia stashed in this place?

I ignore her protests and follow the source of the sound. The muffled groaning is getting louder as I reach a small house. Opening the door, I see a sparsely furnished room with a table and a chair, and a bed in the corner. On that bed is a familiar figure.

"Is that Noah?" I narrow my eyes.

Tina immediately steps in front of me, spreading her arms, protectively. "You can't hurt him!"

"Hurt him?" I push her aside to go see what is going on. A horrible smell reaches me and I cover my nose. Noah's face is pale, and there's a large hole in his stomach that is rotting away.

"How is he alive?" I ask in growing shock.

When Tina doesn't reply. I look at her. "What happened to him?"

When she speaks, her voice is trembling. "You're right. I saved you because I need your help. I need Sophia to heal him."

"Heal him?" I stare at her. "What happened to him?"

Tina grits her teeth, tears in her eyes. "Karina. Karina happened to him. She needed help getting access to the South Alliance. She told Noah that we could join hands. I was against the whole thing from the very beginning. I don't trust that woman. But he wouldn't listen to me. He went and helped her out, and in return, she injured him and had one of thewitches cast dark magic on his wound. It will never heal. I can't interfere because the spell is cast byanother witch. But Sophia can. She can get rid of the dark magic so that he can heal."

I stare at her and then look back at Noah, who is writhing in bed. His eyes are dull, and he doesn't seem to be completely conscious. "Why would Sophia help either of you? You betrayed her and you hurt her mother. She doesn't owe you anything."

I'm about to walk out when Tina stops me. "She would never have found you without me. This place, this entire town has been sealed by a dark witch. That's why nothing lives here. I was able to get in because I followed Karina's people here. I watch them bury you here. Even if something happened to Karina, Sophia would never have been able to find you. She'll help me. She'll help me because I'll bring you back to her."

"She can save Noah so that he can turn around and stab her in the back again?" I demand. "I will not let Sophia help you. Let him die."

Tina crumples to the ground, clutching onto my legs, tears in her eyes. "Please. She's my only hope now, Alex. Don't let him die. I can't live without him. He's all I have."

I stare down at her, shocked. The woman I remember was too prideful to beg. But the woman in front of me is broken. "I can't lose him. I don't know life without him."

"I won't…"

"I can help you get to Sophia. She's in danger. I can help you" She looks at me, pleading. "Just tell her to save my mate. We'll go away from here, somewhere far away. You'll never hear from us again. Just don't let him die. I can't see him suffer like this. It's killing me."

I want to walk away from her, but her words make me pause. "What do you mean Sophia is in danger?"

Tina's eyes are wet. "Karina is trying to capture her. She's attacking the humans as we speak. And Sophia went to stop her. You don't know what Karina has done. Nobody can stop her now. She's going to destroy Sophia. I can get you to her. I can help you save Sophia. In return, you have to convince her to save my mate."

There's no time to consider my options. "Fine. I'll talk to her. Take me to Sophia."

I pull her to her feet. "Let's go."

"Y-You'll have to shift. It's not that far from here."

I do as she says. Tina closes the door behind her before getting on my back. She begins guiding me. As I run through the forest, it occurs to me that she's lost a lot of weight. She's a shell of the psychopathic witch I remember. But love does do strange things to people.

It doesn't take me long to smell the blood. How close were we? An hour or two away?

Screams, howls. There is the smell of blood and something else in the air.

I shift back when I see the wolves all over the forest, battling each other. Among them are white wolves and brown one. Why are the Central Alliance and the South Alliance here?

Tina touches my shoulder. "Walk. They won't see you."

I can hear her murmuring something under her breath. She's using magic.

We walk through the battle and I suddenly hear Karina's voice. "Kill the Silver Wolf's mother."

The sky is burning. Arrows of fire fly into it.

I remember the marble in my pocket and it feels heavy. I can feel its weight against my leg. Reaching into my pocket, I see Sophia. She's falling on the ground. She's in a terrible state, anguish in her eyes.

I smash the marble on the ground and I step away from Tina. Suddenly, my line of sight is blocked by multiple figures who appear in front of me. I push past them, and as I do, Marlene is on my right.

"We were waiting for your summons."

Her eyes are harsh but mine are on Sophia.

"Alex?"

There is such heartbreak and fear in her voice, that I abandon everything and rush to her side. Cradling her in my arms, I watch her break. "Is it really you? I'm not imagining things?"

I kiss her fiercely. "I'm here."

She grips me by the front of the shirt. "I knew you would be fine. I knew you were coming for me. You always come for me."

The faith and conviction in her eyes make me want to hold her close and never let go.

"You!" Karina looks shocked. "How did you get here?"

I get to my feet, Sophia in my arms. Marlene steps up beside me. "You handle her. We've got the witches."

The battle that begins is unlike any other I have ever witnessed. I knew Marlene's coven was a strong one, but I didn't know how powerful they truly were until I saw them in action. It makes sense because the coven is very ancient. One by one, the witches drop.

It's as if my presence has rejuvenated Sophiabecause, leaning against me, she targets the black wolves who are acting as if they're possessed. The wolves drop and Karina howls in fury.

Marlene and the others are also helping her.

My eyes are on Karina, who is looking around inshock. Her eyes meet mine, and I sneer at her. "You buried me in my hometown? Sometimes I think I know how depraved you are, and then you go and surprise me again."

"This time I'm going to kill you!" she snarls. Shifting, she leaps toward me, all teeth and claws.

But I'm ready for her. Nudging Sophia aside, I don't even bother shifting. Grabbing Karina by the throat, I slam her on the ground on her back. She struggles in my hold, her claws scratching me, but I don't blink.

"What did you say to me? Do you remember all the threats you made against Sophia? You're going to die because of those threats." I rake my claws into her belly, and she howls in agony.

"Without your witches and your dark magic, you're weak," I taunt her. "You never made a mark on this land. Your revenge was pathetic. Even in death, you kept my parents together. They were never separated from each other. They were always together."

Madness fills her eyes, and Karina shifts back, screaming and clawing atme. "I'll kill you first! I'll kill you!"

I squeeze her neck. "No, you won't. You've lost. And it wasn't me that defeated you. It was my mate. You failed."

I don't torture her. I don't prolong her death.

I just snap her neck.

And just like that, the woman who has tormented the entire North Alliance for decades is dead, her eyes staring unseeing into the night sky.