Chapter 52

DAKOTA’S POV

When we got back home, the first order of business was to get to the prisons and see for ourselves if the witch truly resided there. We got news again that Odin had gone on another one of his ‘alliance’ trips. They didn’t disturb me before, but with the current knowledge I had now, it was very disturbing.

Alan and Anna were happy to see us, of course, and were even more delighted to hear that my mother was safe and sound. And we all agreed that that piece of information must be kept away from Odin and his camp.

A lot of things made sense now. First of all, why there were always a particular set of guards at the prisons if there wasn’t anybody there.

We snuck up towards the back of the prison, grateful for the awful-smelling scent that Anna had given to us to mask our scent.

We snuck into the prisons and sighed when we successfully got into the compound. Akela picked the locks, and I made a mental note to ask him where he learned that once we got back. He closed the door silently behind us. I looked at the length and breadth of the prison and genuinely wondered how anyone would be here and I wouldn’t notice. It was not like it was one of those large dungeons that some packs had. I sighed.

“I’ve been waiting for you two.” I could have sworn that I jumped a foot in the air.

“What the fuck?”

“Don’t be afraid. Come closer to me.” We followed the sound of the voice to the cell. It was the last one on the left. I wondered how she was here, and I didn’t know. We stood outside the cell, and the gates of her cell slid open on their own. Akela and I looked at each other and slowly stepped into the seemingly empty cage. As soon as the gates closed behind us, the fog began to fill the room, which was odd because there was no window or entry point for the fog, and there was no fog outside, to begin with. And then a shadow emerged and began to move towards us. I took unconscious steps back until my bag hit the rail gates.

A sense of déjà vu filled me, and I realized that Akela and I had experienced this before. My head jerked to Akela, and the way he was looking at me, I could tell that he was thinking the same thing. She stopped directly in front of us, and we could see her full features. She was beautiful and looked quite young for someone alive for a long while.

“You were in our house the other day.” She nodded.

“So, do you know why we’re here then?” She smiled and nodded again.

“You want to challenge Odin.” Akela growled lowly, and I immediately held his hand. She moved closer to me and cupped the side of my face. Her hands were cold against my skin.

“You will need help. He is going to use the potion I made for him.”

“Why are you making the potion for him?” Her eyes darkened with sadness, and she looked away, withdrawing her hand. I must have hit a nerve. The silence that followed was deafening.

“Why did you mass produce the potion?”

“He wants to give it to rogues. Odin…has plans. If you’re going to challenge him, you need to do it as soon as possible.”

“I am going to challenge him.” She looked at me again.

“Good. You’re just as strong as your father.” Her eyes landed on my necklace, and she touched it; her eyes began to glow, and I felt an odd power inside me. I gasped, and she stopped.

“This will help you.” She nodded, then she looked at Akela. “Where is yours?” He looked at me.

“Um…I don’t have it.”

“I can see that. I meant, do you know where or who has it?”

“I think my dad…” She raised her hand at him, shutting him up. I could tell that Akela didn’t like that, but he kept his cool.

She fisted her hands and closed her eyes, chanting what I could only assume to be a spell. Then she opened her eyes and her palms, and in there lay the other half of my necklace. I gasped. She lifted my necklace and joined the two pieces together. It shone so brightly, and then the two pieces fused. I gasped again, and so did Akela. She simply smiled.

“My goodness. What is this necklace exactly?”

“The one tool that can help you defeat Odin.”

“How?”

“It will make the potion impotent when he sprays it on you. And in addition to that, this necklace is a direct gift from the moon goddess to her creation. When you wear the two pieces merged, it draws powers from the moon, making you stronger.”

I nodded and smiled, holding the joined pieces of jewelry in my hand.

“We need to get you out of here.” She threw back her head and laughed. She laughed so hard that I didn’t miss the drop of tears that fell from her eyes.

“Oh, honey. You seriously think that if I wanted to get out of here, I wouldn’t?”

“But…”

“If I couldn’t help myself, how did I get into your room the other night? Or how did you get into my cell?”

“Why do you want to remain in captivity then?”

“My work here isn’t done.” All the laughter disappeared from her eyes. “Even at that, I cannot leave. Only you can help me with that.”

“How do you mean?”

“You see…Odin. He is my mate.” I gasped so loud, and my eyes opened so wide that I could feel they were the size of saucers. I wasn’t alone. Akela looked like he had a bee down his throat.

“What?” She smiled sadly and nodded.

“But…but he has a mate…the Luna!” Angela wiped a stray tear from her eye and cleared her throat.

“So, what are you doing here?”

“Well, we found each other when he came to me to make the potion. He had heard of my prowess and needed the best.” She sighed and turned away from us, facing the stone wall.

“Of course, we knew immediately that we were mates. I, blinded by love, helped him make the potion. He, blinded by ambition, just wanted power. One thing led to another, and he brought me here.” She swept her hand over the expanse of the cell.

“But why can’t you just leave?”

“Or kill him?” Akela piped in. I slammed my hand into his chest and shook my head.

“Because he has power over me.”

“But…how? You’re one of the most powerful witches…”

“The most powerful witch.” She raised her hand in correction.

“The most powerful witch. Why don’t you do something? Why do you let him treat you like this?” She turned around and sighed.

“Witches get mates too, but the rules are a little different for us.”

From her stance, I could tell we were getting the lecture we needed.