Chapter 53

DAKOTA’S POV

She sighed and shook her shoulders as though she was trying to gather strength for the tale.

“As I said earlier, witches get mates too, but the rules are different in some ways.”

“Like?”

“One: I might be the most powerful witch, but my powers do not work on Odin. Because he is my mate. I can’t do anything to him.”

“So, there is no way out for you?”

“There is. He has to die.”

I took a sharp breath.

“But that would kill you.” She shook her head.

“Hurt me deeply, yes. Kill me, no. Not at all. Like I said, the rules are a bit different.”

“But werewolves…”

“Are most likely to die if they lose their mates. I am aware…”

“That was why Mom was alright. They weren’t mates.”

“You’re getting the message. In the case of witches, we don’t die when we lose our mates. But when we are alive and together, we feel intense love for each other. The kind of love that physically and magically restricts us from harming them.” She smiled sadly at us now.

It made sense now. That was how he had the most powerful witch do his hideous bidding.

“What about the Luna?” A dark cloud settled on her face, and her eyes turned thunderous. She took a deep breath, and her features returned to normal.

“What about her?”

“Does she know? About you?” Angela shrugged.

“Yes.”

“Has she tried to do anything to you?”

“Oh, yes. Several times. She poisoned in my food and water. One time, I woke up to a snake slithering into my cell.” She threw back her head and laughed, and it hit me just how melodious her voice was. “She eventually stopped.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

“It must be really hard to have your mate treat you like that.” Her eyes turned sad again.

“It is. I have waited for a long time to meet my mate, only for me to meet him and he is a psychotic, power-hungry bastard. You two will be fine.” I nodded.

“But what about you? Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”

“I told you before. I can’t leave. He made me swear not to leave him.”

“How?” The question was out of my mouth, and it was only then I realized that I had said that. Her cheeks got tinted a rose color, and I got the idea.

“Oh…I’m very sorry for prying.”

It’s okay.”

“So, any other tips?”

“Fight him during a full moon. More moonlight equals more power to the necklace equals more power to you.”

I nodded my head.

“You can go now.” The gate to the cell slid open again, and we stepped out. The very

second the gate closed, we could no longer see her. It was almost as though she was never there.

No, wait. She was. It was as though there was no one there.

Akela and I snuck out of the prison and stealthily made our way back to the house. Just as we were about to step out of the woods, we heard raised voices.

“When?”

“Soon…” It seemed to be an argument between a male and a female.

“You’ve been saying that for a while, Koda!” I barely held back my gasp, I looked at Akela and he had his mouth hanging open as well.

For a while, I worried about him sniffing us out but remembered that the scent Anna gave us was still on us.

“What do you want me to tell you, Sophia?” Akela and I moved closer till we caught sight of the couple standing in a small clearing. The only article of clothing on Sophia was her g-string panties, with her upper body bare, while Koda was fully dressed. He seemed to be trying not to look at her if the way he tilted his head at the sky was any indication.

“That you love me and can’t wait to mate me.”

“But you’re not my mate.”

“Well, that bitch Dakota wasn’t your mate either, was she?”

“Watch your tongue, Sophia.” He looked at her and growled. Sophia gasped and squinted her eyes at him.

“Do you love her?” There was grave silence once she dropped that question, and then following the silence was tension so thick that you could cut through it with a knife. I could feel that tension from Akela. He wanted to know the answer to that question too.

“I asked you a fucking question!”

“Do not take that tone with me,” he said, using his Alpha tone. I saw Sophia try to fight against command, but she eventually bowed her head in submission. I didn’t miss the tears in her eyes as well. And for a second, a split second, I felt sorry for her.

“Do you love her?” He remained silent again. He rubbed his face in his hands and sighed.

“Yes. Are you happy now?”

Sophia took a few steps back and looked at him.

“But she isn’t your mate.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t love her.”

“Good. Then you will learn to love me too. Because there is no getting rid of me.”

“Are you sure about that?” He took threatening steps toward her. I might hate the bitch, but I had to give it to her; she stood her ground.

“Yes.”

“What happens if I take you to the cliff and throw you off it?”

“Well, I think you should know that I know your family’s dirty laundry. And for insurance, I gave it to a few trusted sources. If they don’t hear from me, they leak it.”

“They wouldn’t dare.”

“There is only one way to find out.”

Koda growled, but Sophia simply smirked and cupped his face.

“I hate you.”

“That’s a lie.” She gave him a sick smile, and then reached up and kissed him. We watched as Koda grabbed her into his arms and kissed her back. He suddenly pushed her away, took off his jacket, and threw it at her.

“Put this on.” She took the jacket and wore it with a huff.

“Let’s go.” We stayed still and waited till they were out of the woods. The silence between me and Akela was palpable.

I could feel his anger. It was clear that he didn’t seem to like Koda’s declaration of love for me. He fisted his hands, and I saw the vein in his chin pop. It was clear that his wolf wanted to come out.

“Akela…”

“Hmm…”

“Is…everything okay?” Of course, it wasn’t, but it just seemed like a good thing to say to break the silence.

He looked at me and then nodded. He started to walk away, but I held his hand.

“Talk to me, please.” Akela sighed.

“He still loves you.”

“I don’t love him.” That, I was sure of. There might have been a time when I couldn’t live without him, but now, I couldn’t care less.

“I…are you sure?”

“Yes. I swear it on my father’s grave.”

He looked at me and smiled. He hugged me, and I wrapped my hands around him.

“We should go home.”

“Yeah.” We parted and continued home.