Chapter 92: Unbreakable Bonds- Part II
Tynan:
I should have known sooner…
I should have smelled it in the air…
I should have sensed it in the way death was all around us…
I should have guessed it when my little Ora spoke of a massacre, one which I was made to believe was performed to eradicate me, how self-centered was that thought?
I realize it now as the sun finally hides behind the horizon, leaving behind maroon trails as if reflecting the bloodied soil of this now cursed land, and I feel it, death, just like that time in the pack when the dead attacked, I look around me frantically, but before I can give my warriors orders to burn the bodies, they are claimed, I watch as one by one they rise as if possessed by demons, humans, witches, shifters, terrified screams fill the place as they attack, claiming more soldiers to their army before we could even react, every warrior we lose is one they gain.
Leora! I think as terror fills my every cell, something in my soul telling me that for this ritual to be successful, something horrific must have happened to her, the thought alone tilts my world upside down and I barely keep myself on my feet, she is alive, she must be alive and okay, I lie to myself, unable to accept any other possibility.
“Master!”
“Alpha!” Ben and Ray shouts out at the same time, and I know what is expected of the two of us right now, I look at them and then at Axel who looks just as terrified as everyone else, the stupid fuck, fighting the dead witches coming at him with burning vehemence as if having a personal vendetta against him, I would have called it karma if not for the fact that I still needed him alive, so without a second thought, I jump to his aid, biting and clawing and tearing limb after limb, some of my warriors setting the falling corps on fire to prevent them from coming back to life, but even with our efforts, it is clear that the dead have the upper hand, and we are nowhere near being prepared for such an attack, fighting with the living? Of course, but fight the dead who would refuse to die and would keep coming at you? It seemed impossible even with me on the livings' side.
“We can’t keep going like this!” Ben exhaustingly exhales out his words, I catch a glimpse of him, the giant who usually moves with the agility of a cheetah, looking as if his ankles have been shackled with invisible chains, and not just him, everyone around me seems to be slowed and exhausted, and that is when it hits me, we are on a cursed soil now, this land is no longer suited or welcoming of the living, it is marked by blood magic, one that I am still immune to unlike everyone else which is why I didn’t notice it at first, a losing battle, no matter how ferociously we fight, we will end up losing.
“We need to stop the magic summoning the dead before it spreads everywhere and every single dead person in the world is brought back!” I don’t wait to catch my breath as I shout the words through the mind link, knowing damn well that he is capable of hearing me, I hate to admit it, but time is a luxury I no longer possess, and no one knows how long it is going to take me to find where the remaining witch is keeping my Leora and using her before she withers away before it is too late for her and everyone, and that is why, I need his help…
“I will not let you hurt my mate!” he growls back, and I barely stop myself from attacking him, not that I can blame him, there is nothing I wouldn’t do to this bitch of a mate of his if I found out she harmed my little Ora.
“We would all die, Alpha, all of our pack, everyone, all the people who trusted you to lead us and followed you blindly into this godforsaken trap! And it wouldn’t even stop there, you need to stop her, this is the only way to save everyone, including Ciana, from this sin, from herself, and from his wrath!” the wolf named Ray shouts from across the field, his human body covered in ugly deep wounds as he stands like a fortress, protecting his mate who is in her wolf form, but I don’t pay them any attention as I am focused on this dull-witted brother of mine and the gears spinning in his head, he gives his Beta a nod, before turning to me, a silent threat mixed with a silent plea in those gray eyes of his, he knows that unlike me, he has no immunity against this magic, his strength is compromised by it, he cannot make it to where they are, which he knows and I don’t, me, the only person capable of breaking us through…
“Stay alive, I will rectify this mess, you hold on until then,” I tell Ben through the mind link and he gives me an encouraging smile through his blood and rot-covered face shouting back with strange optimism, “And don’t forget to bring her back home, I kind of miss the love-stricken puppy you are when around her.”
Not having any words to say to that but to thank the man who stood by my side all this long, praying that no harm would fall upon him or anyone before jumping in front of the silver wolf, giving my beast all reign as it tears up one dead body after the other like the monster he is, the silver wolf following close behind, doing the little fighting he can with his wounds and a curse shackling him, we swiftly manage to break off the cursed circle, running as fast as he could, none of us daring to look behind to see all our friends that we left behind, knowing that we won’t get to see most of them when, if, we return.
“The temple of the witches is located far in the southern region, which would take us hours on a good day!” Axel stomps a little and I wonder if I would have to carry him all the way to the damn temple, but the way he glares at me tells me he doesn’t welcome the idea which consequentially makes me glare at him, his tardiness is something I can’t afford, and the bastard refuses to keep me an exact location, knowing damn well that I will drop him midway if not kill him to go find my mate on my own, he is withholding information, not trusting me more than I do him, something I don’t blame him for but don’t applaud or appreciate either.
And that is why I regretfully need him, and the roaming dead we encounter on our way, obviously meaning to stall us, the one he has no hope in defeating by himself is why he needs me, a situation none of us is thrilled about, but have to go through for our mates, our packs, and our future, I never imagined myself working with the one person I hated all these years, jumping in front of enemies and taking hits for him, defending him and covering his blind sides, but if life has taught me anything beside how unpredictable the bitch can be, it is that I will stop at nothing when it comes to my girl, whether it is pushing my own barriers or tossing my own morals aside, which is the case with Axel, even now, even after learning the dark truth about his mate and how she manipulated him and used him as her puppet, he is still willing to join forces with me and leave his pack behind for her, something we both have in common I suppose, but the punch line here is that I don’t believe he would be welcomed back if he returned, I don’t think his pack would look at him the same, and I kind of feel sorry for him, but not enough to have any sympathy that would stop me from ending him and his witch if they threatened my mate.
And so it goes, for hours, we run, fight, run, fight some more, and run, with me doing most of the fighting and him doing the leading, and right when I thought my patience was at its end and that it was a bad idea to trust this motherfucker, right when I started believing that he was leading me on so his mate could escape, I caught it, a whim of my mate’s distinctive scent, one that I could recognize among thousands and millions, so faint, so delicate, my heart quivers as I realize how close I am to finding her, after all this time, after all these sleepless nights filled with nightmares and regrets, my beast roars, his emotions spilling through me, we missed her, I missed her, with every fiber in my being, with the heat of a thousand suns, I feel tears gather in my eyes with all the emotions, fucking tears, and I would have let them spill if I didn’t catch the scent of her blood, so much blood…
But that is not the only scent I got….
No…
There are many, and my blood turns to frozen clots as I realize who they belong to…
Not just my mate…
There was someone there…a faint smell I barely remember, the witch…
A woman I love so dearly…Delilah…
But the remaining two? What are they doing here?
Why would she be here?
And how could he be here?