It had been three days and Dedric was losing his mind. Laura hadn’t seen the exterior surroundings before being taken into the cave, which made it harder for them to find her. Plus some sort of spell protected the mountain. They were deep in the forests dotting the mountainsides. Dedric knew he was close to her, within a few miles, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly where.
The last time they spoke his mate had sounded tired from holding the stone at bay. Dedric begged her to take as much power from him as she needed, but he could feel her fear at taking too much and leaving him weak for battle. Thankfully, she continued to draw the power she needed to keep their pup safe.
“Anything yet, Dedric?” Samson asked as they walked through another clearing. The sun was setting at their backs signaling the end of another day searching.
“Nothing, and she’s getting weaker by the day.” Dedric sagged. “I’m failing her.”
“From what Lothar said it took him several days to home in on Ceva. You’re not failing her; you haven’t stopped searching since she was taken,” Samson reminded him. “Our alpha has never failed us.”
Dedric wished he felt as confident as his beta but he swore he would never stop searching for his mate. Nothing would stop him.
Mate…
Laura, can you hear me sweetheart?
Yes. There’s lots of movement around here, I think you might be close to us.
“Laura says there’s movement on her end and thinks we’re close.” Dedric announced to their group. Everyone froze and scanned the areas around them.
Dedric, someone’s coming.
Laura…Laura, but she didn’t answer, she was gone.
“She’s close. Look for anything out of the ordinary, an entrance of some sort.” Dedric ordered as he began hunting. His mate was close; he could feel that. Nothing was going to stop him from getting her back safely.
Another pair of ogres stormed passed the small entrance to her room. That had been the fourth pair in the last few minutes. Something was wrong. She had to get out of this cage before more of her power was drained. She’d be forced to reach out to her mate for more, not such a good idea especially now that there may be a battle looming, but she’d never risk her baby’s life either.
Laura was torn; if she took from Dedric to protect their baby, that put her mate at risk. If she didn’t, their baby wouldn’t be able to survive the constant pull of power draining her. She would never choose between her baby and her mate. She would protect both.
You will take power from me, as often and as much as you need. Dedric’s voice came through loud and clear as if he was yelling.
I didn’t mean to scare you, Dedric, but they have a team of ogres in here. Do you have many warriors with you?
I’ve brought backup. All you need to do is keep yourself and our baby safe until I get to you.
Some of the roots she’d been summoning began wrapping around her arms. She redirected one toward the yellow stone on the wall in front of her. She was still a good inch away but if she could reach it she could use its power as her own.
Do it. Take the power you need from me and grab it, mate.
Laura knew she had no other choice. It was obvious her time was coming to an end so she reached deep, pulled power from Dedric, and pushed it straight into the root. Laura was amazed by how fast the root moved, even though she hadn’t taken that much power from him.
The root coiled around the stone and pulled it free from the wall before placing it in the palm of Laura’s hand. The other roots that she’d managed to coax between the rocks while fighting off the stone wrapped themselves around the frame of her cage. Now that she didn’t have to fight the stone’s power anymore she could use it to get herself out of here. Their baby was strong and healthy and now so was she.
The metal began to scream in protest as one by one the bars of her cage bent and broke. Laura quickly sent the roots back down into the soil and crawled out of her cage. It took her a few moments to get the blood to return to her legs as she stumbled over to the opening of the cave. She needed to find a window so she could send Dedric a picture of it for Ceva to teleport the rescue team closer to her location.
Laura peeked out into the hallway and found it was empty. Quickly she decided going left was as good as right, and headed that way. The hallway branched out in four different directions. The entire time she kept up a dialogue with Dedric. She chose the third hallway; she could feel the fresh air calling out to her from somewhere down its dark bends.
She headed straight toward it without question, not wanting to run into the sisters on her way out of this creepy-ass place. A few doors down she came to a room filled with light. She peeked inside—empty—and she stepped in. On the far wall were three large arched windows, and the center one was broken. The room was devoid of furniture or drapes; instead it was covered in cobwebs—dusty, long cobwebs.
Carefully she made her way through the loose floorboards and over to the window. What she saw outside was breathtaking. This room was situated at the bottom of a crater in the center of a mountain. There was a waterfall high up spraying water down the sidewall over by a small pond. The foliage was thick with fragrant flowers and honestly it surprised Laura that something this beautiful could live near dark witches filled with such rage.
Dedric, I’m going to use my gifts and get my butt to the top of this hole.
Be careful, my love, we’ve sighted ogres coming our way. We’ll be back together soon.
The growling was her first hint that she was no longer alone. Laura turned and looked into the multiple beady red eyes of a Storan. Shit.
Laura watched as the eight-legged beast stalked her. Its thick matted fur clung limply at its sides. They were common in the mountainous areas since their four-inch claws could be used to scale vertical slopes with ease. They remained wild creatures, vicious to the core and fearless, with three-inch canines ready to rip flesh from bone.
She needed her wolf’s claws and teeth right about now but she still had the stone in her hand. If she went furry, her clothes would shred and she’d lose control of the stone. She looked down at the stone in the palm of her hand, no bigger than a peanut, and knew she couldn’t allow it to fall into the hands of the sister witches, or any dark magic wielder.
With one quick motion, she made her choice and swallowed the stone before shifting into her white wolf. Laura prayed she hadn’t just doomed herself or her baby. The Storan paced back and forth only a few feet away from her and pawed the earth. She bared her large teeth at the beast, hoping to convince it to leave, but the Storan simply continued to growl.
Laura brought her powers in close to her and felt an extra rush of strength pulsing through her. She knew she hadn’t taken any from Dedric but soon she lost her train of thought as the beast charged her. She called out to the plants covering the floor and walls of the crater and they attacked immediately and without mercy. It felt as though she had a direct line to their movements, more control over each and every vine and bloom.
While the beast was distracted Laura called upon the wind, and much like the cake she saved at the welcoming party, she used the force to lift her up and out of the deep crater. When she was roughly halfway up she released her hold on the Storan. There was no need to kill the beast who was acting on instinct alone. Then it hit her: Why don’t I just teleport to the top?
Since she was unable to use the gift Ceva had given her while the stone sat in that golden shrine sucking the power from her, she hadn’t even tried. Laura looked and stared at the place she wanted to be, concentrated and felt the wind swirling around her. The next moment she felt the earth beneath her feet and found herself standing above the crater. She sent the picture of the area to her mate and waited.
Within seconds she was surrounded by warriors all holding hands with Ceva so that she could teleport them all together. Dedric rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her furry body. She couldn’t help but lick his face in happiness. Laura never wanted to be away from him again and she snuggled further into his hold.
“I’ve missed you, my mate. I love you so much and never want to go through that again.” Dedric buried his fingers deep into her fur.
Ceva walked up to them carrying clothing for Laura; the benefits of being a white witch—poof!—clothes. She handed them to Dedric and Laura shifted back into her human form before dressing quickly. When the last button was done up, Laura was gathered into her mate’s arms. His stormy expression on his face said it all; he knew.
“I couldn’t leave the stone in their hands. They would have used it against innocent people.”
“I understand the logic but what will it do to you and our baby?” Dedric asked as he buried his face in her hair, filling himself with her scent.
“Actually, I’ll have to look into it but I don’t believe the stone will attack either of them,” High Priestess Farrow announced as she neared. “It would view you as its master and as such protect you. The baby is essentially a part of you.” She paused for a moment then continued, “I’ll make inquiries when we return to your pack, Omega Laura.”
“Thank you, High Priestess,” Dedric answered. “Anything you can do is greatly appreciated.”
The warriors were scanning the area while the king and Ceva discussed whether to go after the sisters when Laura heard the earth, ground, trees and plants all cry out to her. “They’re on their way. We stay and fight. These two shouldn’t be left free to harm another soul.”
Laura wiggled out of Dedric’s arms, wishing to stand on her own two feet. Warriors scanned the forest and rocky terrain as Dedric looked her over.
“Are you strong enough, mate?” he asked, his concern easy to see.
She gave her body a once over and actually realized she felt better then she’d ever felt. “Good to go, my love.”
Dedric released his canines, pulled his gun from its holster and growled, “We’re going to send these two back to the hell they came from.”
The warriors cheered for their alpha as weapons were drawn. Laura stood in the center of the group along with the white witches as the others took up defensive positions around them. Ceva’s black leather armor shone in the sunlight and her glossy black wings swept through the air as she and Lothar prepared.
But the only person that mattered to Laura was staring back at her from across the clearing. His eyes were golden with his wolf and the tips of his canines peeked out from under his top lip. Her mate was a remarkable sight, dark eyes blazing with gold, his muscles rippling, and the blade of his sword gleaming. Her teeth ached to bite into her mating mark on his broad chest and she couldn’t help but growl.
Ceva’s laughter filled the area. “We’re about to do battle and the two of you look like you’re ready to tear each other’s clothes off. Ah, the young.”
Laura smiled, unapologetic for desiring her mate.
The ground began to shake and swords were raised. Guns could slow an ogre down but to kill it you had to remove the head from the body or it would keep coming. One by one, the creatures appeared out of the tree line but they all stopped short of attacking, as if waiting for permission.
In a flash of light Ula and Ethne appeared amongst their beasts. Both looked angry, making Laura chuckle. Unfortunately, in the quiet her laughter rang out, bringing the sisters’ attention directly to her.
“Do you honestly think this is the time to be laughing, mutt?” Ethne squawked in anger.
“After today, witch, you won’t be a terror to anyone else, especially those poor fairies you kill so that you can see.” Laura smiled wide, displaying her impressive fangs. Were they always this long?
Her hands were getting warmer but she didn’t dare look away from the sisters to see what was going on.
“You believe yourself strong enough to defeat us?” Ethne bellowed but Ula looked a bit unsure. “Attack!”
Ogres rushed forward and the battle began. Laura called the surrounding trees and roots into the fray, grabbing ogre after ogre and dragging them beneath the earth long enough for Dedric to behead them. They were a team, in tune with each other on a level she’d never felt before.
The white witches worked in absolute precision, taking out ogre after ogre. Ceva, Lothar and the king with his royal guard were mowing them down as quickly as they appeared. The tide was turning as ogres fell and Laura turned her attention back to the sisters.
Ethne stood stabbing her gnarled walking stick into the ground, while Ula sat back with a strange smirk on her face. Dedric was engaged in a fierce battle with two ogres who had teamed up against him. She saw Ethne zero in on her mate with death in her eyes and Laura lost whatever restraint she had. Her hands were heated and she noticed they glowed blue, much like her legacy tattoo.
Everything seemed to slow around her as her vision sharpened. The last of the ogres fell headless to the ground as Ethne raised her hand, a death spell on her lips. Ula looked at Laura, that grin still on her face before she vanished. Laura raised her hands and began pulling the powers out of Ethne. This was the day Ethne paid for what she’d done. The time had come for this dark witch who caused all this heartache and death.
Laura had no idea how she knew how to pull in her power; it felt like her body was on autopilot. Ethne was caught in the same blue glow of Laura’s hands, unable to move, as if frozen to the spot. Laura could hear people around her, but it was simply background noise. Every bit of her concentration centered on Ethne.
Ethne’s powers began to weaken as Laura stripped them away from her, until eventually she was left with none. She released Ethne who instantly slumped to the ground. Laura was quickly wrapped in her mate’s arms and her hands stopped glowing.
“Is she dead?” the king asked.
“No, but she is powerless and mortal,” Laura answered before snuggling in close to her mate’s chest. “She’ll never be able to hurt another soul again.”
Ethne began screaming, “My eyes, I can’t see.”
“Would someone please take me home? I need a nap,” Laura asked as her eyes slowly closed and sleep took her.