The Weight of Lost Bonds

The Weight of Lost Bonds
Madi carried me down into the battle, my hands gripping her fur as she rushed between clashing vampires and werewolves. Thompson followed close beside us, blocking any vampire who attempted to rush at us. I didn’t pay them much attention, counting on my Betas to watch out for me as I followed the pull of the dark magic.

“Take me to the waterfall!” I yelled out to Madi, pointing to the running water at the center of the cave. She didn’t hesitate to follow my directions, turning her body and kicking up loose rocks as her paws pounded into the ground. Only when a vampire rammed into her other side did she falter, my body flying through the air off of hers. Thompson caught me in midair, landing hard on his side with me safely against him. I pushed off of the large brown wolf, pointing to Madi as several vampires surrounded her.

“Help her!” I commanded, putting all the authority I could muster into my voice. “I’ve got this! You watch her back.” He let out a growl of protest, the sound falling on deaf ears as Madi let out a painful howl, a vampire biting into her neck.

“Go!” I yelled, zapping him with magic to punctuate my command. The large Beta yipped at the shock, standing to run to Madi’s aid, leaving me at the water’s edge.

“You certainly have a way with animals,” a soft voice laughed behind me. I spun at the sound, my eyes widening as I recognized the witch from my vision. Her skin was papery thin, the black veins evident, the look of sludge moving through her body from the effects of her dark magic use.

“You aren’t as pretty as you looked in the vision,” she said with a frown. “Maybe it’s all those piercings. I don’t think your astral body had any of those. Didn’t your mother ever tell you that so many holes diminish the value of a fine piece of art?”

I scoffed. “Are you really lecturing me on the defilement of my body? With those veins?” 

The dark witch looked down at her arm, laughing as she looked back at me. “All the better to smite you with.”

A tendril of dark magic slashed out at me like a whip, wrapping around my arm. She yanked me forward, pulling me into the spring that separated us, the water deeper than I had realized. I slipped beneath the surface, the dark tendrils of magic wrapping themselves around me and holding me under. I fought against them, drawing on my magic to help ease my screaming lungs. A bubble of air formed around my mouth and nose, manipulating the oxygen in the water so I could breathe as she attempted to drown me in the pool. At the relief of my lungs filling with air, I could focus my magic on her, pushing the inky black magic from my limbs and breaking through the surface.

“Oh my! What strong magic you have,” the witch cackled at me. “All the better to fight you with,” I countered, sending ice at her feet to hold her in place. 

She let out a screech of anger, pointing her magic at her feet to free herself from the ice. It didn’t take her much to do so, but it gave me plenty of time to get out of the water and regain my footing as I readied myself for her next attack. I gathered my magic in my hands, facing the witch just in time to see her smile drop as she looked behind me. A gasp drew my attention just enough to glance back, finding Thompson in human form staring wide-eyed at the witch on the other side of the cave spring.

“Silva?” he asked, shaking his head as he stood frozen in place.

“Hello, Thompson,” she responded. “Fancy meeting you here.” Her blackened eyes almost softened when she looked at the Beta, tilting her head to the side as stray curls of hair slipped over her shoulder.

“What happened to you?” Thompson asked, stepping closer to the water’s edge. I watched his reaction to her, turning my head back and forth between the dark witch and the Oceanside Beta.

“How do you know her?” I asked, keeping my hand raised and power sparking in my palm. 

Thompson shook his head. “She grew up near our pack. She and Markus were best friends. Inseparable up until he took over as Alpha. After that, he was always so busy. He just didn’t have time for her.” 

The witch cackled, holding her sides as the black magic wisped around her feet. “That’s what you think, Thompson. That’s what I made sure you thought.” Her eyes turned to mine, a curious look in her gaze as she looked me up and down. “How is it you managed to get the Oceanside Pack here? Markus would never have agreed to follow the werewolf king. He’s too proud.”

Thompson’s head drooped, stepping back. “Markus is dead, Silva,” he answered for me. “He stole Alpha Nyte’s mate to claim her as his own, and he paid the price with his life.”

Silva’s eyes narrowed at me, disgust twisting her lips. “He tried to replace me with her?”

Both Thompson and I shared a shocked look, turning back to the dark witch as she sneered at me. “What?” Thompson asked. “What do you mean replace you?”

Silva cackled again. “Did I really cast that good of a spell on you, Thompson? I was Markus’ fated mate. Your pack was not happy with that, but that’s okay. Thanks to my new mate, I found the strength to reject the bond before he could mark me.” She smiled behind me, my gaze following hers to see the vortex of a dark aura.

I could feel Nyte inside it, his irritation and fears slipping through our bond. As I turned back to the witch, I found her eyes piercing into mine once more. 

“There is no denying the fates,” I said. “Even if you rejected him, the link would still be there. I looked into this when I thought that Markus was my mate. There is no way to escape the plans laid out by the fates.”

Silva smiled with amusement. “That’s why I cast the spell over the pack and Markus. Making them forget that I was ever his mate so he couldn’t try and come after me.” She chuckled. “I guess I didn’t do so well on him. It would seem he was looking for a witch mate all along. I wonder what it was about you that reminded him of me. We don’t look alike. Hmm.” She tapped her finger to her lips, walking closer to the water on her side of the spring.

“No,” Thompson gasped, shaking his head. “You can’t be serious, Silva! I know you! You wouldn’t have done what you claim you’ve done.” 

Silva looked at him, narrowing her dark eyes. “Come on, Thompson. You never actually knew me. You never actually cared for me. You were among the loudest to protest me as your Luna.” She glared at me again. “Though it would seem you have accepted her nonetheless.”

Sparks flew before my eyes—a vision entrapping me inside myself. “No!” I screamed as the flash of light fell back into darkness. “No, no, no. Not now!” The vision began to swirl, taking form before my eyes as quickly as it came. I gasped in shock, shooting back into the present like nothing had happened. What felt like hours had now seemed to only last a moment.

“Thompson,” I gasped, looking at the Beta at my side.

“Why would I have rejected you as Luna?” Thompson yelled back at Silva, seeming not to have heard me call out to him. “I loved you like a sister! I still care about you!”

“You won’t remember,” she spat. “The spell I put over you to forget is still as strong as ever. But the rejection of the pack is not forgotten by me. The only one who was there for me was Lord Aidas. He accepted me as his chosen mate, and I accepted the power he offered me.”

“He tricked you!” I yelled, gaining back the attention of the Beta and dark witch. “He manipulated you and the pack. He forced you into solitude so he could be the only one there for you.”

She rolled her blackened eyes at me, dismissively flicking her wrist at me. “Aidas doesn’t have that power over me. You should know just as well as me that vampire’s compulsion doesn’t work on witches.”

“No,” I agreed. “But it does work on werewolves.” I pointed to Thompson, his eyes widening as he looked between me and who should have been his Luna. “He compelled the pack to reject you. Isolating you from those who cared about you the most and whispered promises of love and acceptance. But his words were empty.”

A sharp dart of magic flew past my ear, the buzz mixed with the whooshing sound of the air. “Stop trying to distract me!” she shrieked. “He loves me! He loves me more than anyone ever has! He chose me!”

“Markus chose you!” I yelled back. “And even as your spell confused him, he still chose you! He wasn’t looking for me. He was always looking for you. The missing piece of his soul, darkened by the curse you placed on him to forget your bond.”

“No!” she screamed, hurling more magic at me. I narrowly blocked her barrage, pulling Thompson to my side to protect him from the ricochet of her powers. “Markus rejected me for his pack! He didn’t want me! He didn’t want a witch for a Luna!”

“And yet, he kidnapped me because in his confused state, he still knew that his Luna was a witch. Even with your spells, he still chose you!” I yelled back, pushing against her power. “To his dying breath, he swore that his mate was a powerful witch. He threatened his own pack if they didn’t accept that. He loved you so powerfully that all the magic in the world couldn’t stop him!”

“NO! Stop it! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” the witch screamed, her attacks becoming more frenzied. I could feel her panic in each burst of magic against my shield and her confusion at my words. The truth in my voice as I told her. They were the truth; I had seen it all. I saw the way the vampire lord slipped past the werewolves, whispering into their ears to reject the witch they had all grown up with. 

He filled their minds with fear of the power she possessed—lies of how she could turn on the pack. She wasn’t good enough for the pack. She was a danger to the pack. It was those words, compelled into the minds of the pack members, that had turned them against their would-be Luna. And the words that slipped into the mind of Markus were just as cruel and filled with lies. He had convinced him that she had cast a spell over the Alpha, leading him to believe that their bond was false.

“I saw it!” I yelled over the noise of her power going out of control. “The fates showed me it all in a vision of the past. He doesn’t care about you, Silva! He never did! He just needed a witch to help him with his quest to return to the old ways—the way he lived before awakening to this new world. He felt your power and knew you were the perfect candidate to help him. He just needed you to trust him and only him!”

“You’re lying!” she screamed, a harder wave of magic hitting against my shield. She was so filled with fury and heartache as she knew deep in her soul that I was telling the truth. No matter how hard she was fighting against it. “You’re the one trying to manipulate me! I don’t believe you!”

I pushed a pulse of my magic at her, knocking her off her balance as I did. A rush of despair rushed through the bond from Nyte. I turned to look at the void, screaming out to him to not give up and reminding him that he could do this. He was the only one who could. My shield held as I reassured my mate, my attention returning to the dark witch on the other side of the spring water as I felt his confidence return. Her gaze was now on the vortex of miasma, fear sparkling in her eyes as she must have known what was about to happen. This was the end, but I wouldn’t allow her to go without knowing and understanding the truth.

“Silva, look at Thompson. Look at the emotions in his eyes. The compulsion is gone. Your spell to make him forget the bond ever existed removed the compulsions from his mind. He cares about you as only a Beta could care for his pack Luna.” I stepped closer to the water's edge, sending my ice magic out to form a bridge to walk across. “He would never have willingly rejected you. He cares about you. Markus cared about you. I can see it in your eyes that you still hold love for them. That it kills you inside to be against them. Let me show you what the fates shared with me.”

I held out my hand to her, watching her eyes move from me to the vortex at the center of the cave as its winds began to slow, the power inside shifting. “Let me help you,” I begged, dropping my shield.

Thompson yelled for me to stop. Madi’s voice soon joined his on the other side of the spring, but I ignored them both. I stared into the inky depths of Silva’s eyes, willing her to trust me, if only for a moment. Her hand clasped into mine, the sparks of the vision flashing between us, and I showed her everything.

Memories belonging to Markus flashed around us. The moment he knew she was his mate. The joy filling his heart filled our chests. His adoration and admiration of her power and ability. I watched her eyes fill with tears, glistening like polished onyx stones. Then, the vision shifted, revealing the truth of the vampire she had claimed as her chosen mate—the darkness he leaked into her and how he accomplished it. She watched as the man she thought was her savior turned everyone she had ever cared for against her.

As the visions slowed, coming to an end, she watched as her true mate’s life ended, his heart shattered and mind scattered as he searched for the mate he felt but couldn’t find. She let out a shaken breath, releasing my hand as she fell to her knees and clutched at her heart. A pained scream filled her lungs. Markus’s name was on her lips as she mourned his loss.

“Do it,” she gasped out, looking back up at me with tears in her eyes. “Send me back to my mate. Cleanse my soul of this darkness so I can be with him again.”

I gathered the magic I needed in my hand, whispering the cleansing spell required to help save her. I closed my eyes against tears, feeling a tear escape. “I fill you with light and send your soul to Summerland to rejoin with your other half. May the gods guide you safely.”