Chapter Thirty - Three

SASHA

The rush of heat suddenly jolts me awake; it feels like it’s burning through the core of my soul, pulling me towards something...

I instantly grab my head; it’s pounding, and I feel like I have a massive hangover. Urgh!

Screams and howls are exploding on either side of me; I don’t know what’s going on; it’s utter pandemonium and confusion all around me. What the hell?

I’m trying to get to grips with what I’m seeing, but I feel dizzy between the pounding in my head and the whirlwind of movement rushing past me.

It’s only then that I notice I’m in my human form. I’m completely naked as I lunge into a seated position, and the sudden rush of blood to my head has my ears ringing when my hands fly up to steady my head. I feel a trickle of something tickling my upper lip, and when I go to wipe it, a smear of blood lands on the back of my hand.

My jaw clenches when my eyes shoot up.

The last thing I remember is Lisbon tearing my... gasping, I’m instantly stretching my hands out in front of my face when I notice I’m shaking. I’m trying to remember what happened a mile a minute, my brain trying to catch up in a split second.

Lisbon, Caius, Wolf, me... our wolves being ripped from us. I felt my wolf being torn from my body, and that’s when I must have blacked out. I instantly panic when I think I’ve lost my wolf, frantically calling to her in my head, needing to know she’s still there.

At first, I hear nothing, only the pounding in my head; it’s driving me insane. But then, suddenly, I hear her; she answers me from the furthest part of my mind, and instant relief washes over me the moment I realize she’s alive.

Thank goddess.

Focusing on the madness all around me, rogue wolves are going ballistic, and blue power rays, along with beams of electric green, fire red, and mist-white energy, are all shooting down on them like a suffocating fog. What the hell did I wake up to? I can’t see Lisbon or Caius anywhere.

The moment my hand stretches up towards my neck, I feel my mark, and it’s like a jolt of electricity that shoots right through my body when I gasp.

Wolf?!

My head whips towards the direction I saw him last, the circle, the flaming ring of fire. And my eyes instantly land on him; he’s on all fours, still in his wolf form. He’s got his back to me, growling and snarling at every rogue mutt that sprints past us in a frantic hurry to escape the fog of chaos swirling around them.

He hasn’t noticed that I’m awake; his growls and snarls at the rogue wolves baring their teeth at him have got his full attention. About six of them continue taunting him on the outer ring of the circle.

A frown stretches across my face; I wonder why they don’t just jump over the small wall of fire to get to him; it’s not even high?

But then, out of my prereferral vision, I quickly notice the moment a rogue starts charging straight at me, his mouth wide open, his canines ready to rip me apart at any second. I instantly jump up and stumble back a bit, bracing myself for impact, but it doesn’t come?

The moment his body collides into the burning circle I’m standing in, it’s like he slams into some invisible force field; he’s immediately catapulted back, landing far away, snarling at me but not attempting his attack again. Instead, he turns on his heels and runs towards the hole entrance, only to be engulfed by a blue cloud of smog. My eyes do a double-take as my jaw drops in surprise, my heart racing.

What’s going on?

When I turn back to look at Wolf, I realize why the rogues aren’t attacking him; they can’t get through the invisible barrier.

Wolf still hasn’t noticed I’m awake; his beast is in complete control and wants to kill every rogue mutt on the other side of the flaming circle.

I’m about to mind-link him to get his attention when I’m startled by a sudden shift in energy.

I feel it fill me up from the core of my belly when I hear him in my head, a voice I recognize...

A voice that feels like my soul wants to reconnect with something it’s missed all its life? That voice, it’s like it’s part of my genetic makeup; it’s like I’m connected to it somehow. As my eyes slowly slide closed, I turn my head toward where I feel the pull coming from, breathing his name like I’ve known it all my life...

“Atlas...”

His name falls from my lips like a prayer, and my eyes instantly lift to a cascading cloud of power blue haze in front of me; the moment my eyes meet the gaze of a man standing amongst the powerful energy, a shiver runs through my body.

I know him.

I’ve never met him before, yet I know exactly what he is and that he’s connected to me somehow, and that exact moment of familiarity suddenly scares me. He’s a witch; why is he connected to me? Why do I want to go to him? Why does my soul feel like it’s intertwined with his?

He’s standing a few feet away from me. Even amid utter chaos, his eyes stay locked on me, piercing mine as they keep me prisoner, blue electric swirls dancing across his irises, completely keeping me spellbound.

A warm smile lifts up at the corners of his mouth as he rakes his eyes over me when he swallows hard. I’m suddenly acutely aware of how naked I am.

“Sasha...” A whisper falls from his lips, which instantly yanks at a tightly gripped ball of heat in my stomach when I gasp. Even though nudity is nothing new to our kind, I suddenly feel aware of his eyes drinking in every inch of me. At that moment, I wanted to hide away from his intense stare.

He tilts his head, and the rays of energy bounce from the palms of his hands so playfully, like he’s toying with the dangerous components coursing through his veins. Long, wavy dark hair hangs past his shoulders, and even with his long black coat covering his entire body, I can tell he’s powerful just by the way he’s standing.

Goosebumps tickle my skin as a rush of heat forms within my belly. My arms instantly wrap around me; I’ve never felt so self-conscious around anyone in all my life. I need to shift into my wolf, to hide my body from his prying eyes, but I can’t; no matter how hard I try, his gaze on me won’t allow it.

I gulp, eventually lowering my eyes when I hear his voice inside my head, and it’s as if my entire body reacts to his voice the second he murmurs,

“Walk out of the circle, Sasha; you know you can.” As my eyes dart up to meet his again, I can see the encouraging dominance in them, like a parent trying to teach his child to walk for the first time or something; he’s looking expectantly at me as he waits for me to do as he says.

Instantly breaking eye contact with him, I shake my head as a full-blown frown stretches across my face. I’m not stepping outside this circle only for it to do to me what it did to that rogue.

I’m still silently debating the crazy pull I feel towards him with myself when suddenly, I’m yanked forward by so much dominating energy I almost stumble over my feet; the second I hear his voice demand me, my entire body tenses.

“Sasha. Move!”

I gasp, my eyes flying up as my jaw goes slack, only for my gaze to lock with his intensely beautiful ones. My feet involuntarily step forward; clenching my jaw, I scowl at him.

Who does he think he is to order me?

I’m instantly annoyed with his energy and its effect on me. With my fists clenched tightly by my side, I keep my eyes fixed on him when I step through the flames and out of the circle.

Wait, what? I did it.

I should be entirely amazed by the fact that I just did that, but all I feel is pissed off.

Out of the blue, he’s right in front of me, having me blink in surprise when a quick air intake surpasses my lips at his close proximity.

“See,” He smirks with a cocky grin, “I told you, you could do it,” His body is so close that his heat feels like it’s burning me.

“Get out of my head!” I scold him as a sudden source of electrical energy begins coursing through me.

“No, I quite like it in there,” he mutters when he smirks.

His response irks me; even amidst the chaos surrounding us, I’m glaring at him the moment I link back,

“Stop treating me like a child.” And I’m expecting him to back off after that, but he merely scoffs when he grabs my arm and tightens his grip on me before linking back,

“Then stop acting like one, sweetheart,” I’m about to lash back at him when I suddenly get an all too familiar feeling coursing through my veins; it’s warm, safe. It’s the one man who holds my heart, soul, and happiness inside of him.

Wolf.

My head snaps towards the source without skipping a beat when I stare straight into my mate’s eyes.

Mine.

He’s facing me, his eyes piercing mine, a mixture of adoration and agonizing pain to touch me evident in them. He’s shifted back into his human form, and his eyes are locked on mine.

My heart skips a beat like a fluttering butterfly, and my feet instantly begin moving towards him, my emotions overwhelming me as tears begin to roll down my cheeks. Amid absolute anarchy, I couldn’t care less; he’s standing right there, and all I want to do is leap into his arms and never let go.

I’m just about to step through the circle to get to him when something grips my wrist, yanking me back hard with a jolt, my back instantly connecting with a hard chest.

Vibrations of energy surge through me when his grip tightens; my eyes shoot up and back in shock and surprise when they meet his piercing green and brown ones. Atlas.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He scolds me through gritted teeth as he narrows his eyes at me; his death grip is tight against my wrist, and I’m acutely aware that my naked back is pushing up against him, but I’m too pissed off to care right now.

“Let go!” I snap at him. He shakes his head as he tightens his grip around my wrist,

“No.”

Yanking my arm back, I try to break his hold on me, but I’m instantly surprised by his strength. I’m a wolf, and we’re automatically stronger than humans and such, but his grip on me is like steel. It’s then that Wolf growls and barks at Atlas,

“Get your fucking hands off her!” He glares at Atlas, his Ultima wolf vibrating through him as his eyes glow deep red.

Atlas merely smirks as he scoffs at Wolf before looking back down at me. My eyes meet his, and I’m instantly torn between the electrical energy drawing me to him and wanting to break his nose.

I decide to choose the latter as I swing my free fist around at his face, and it’s just about to connect with his cheek when he blocks it. Grabbing my fist, his hand folds right over it as his eyes pierce mine with sparks of blue dancing across them, a grin creeping up at the corners of his mouth.

“Listen, little spitfire, there will be plenty of time for foreplay later, but I asked you a question right now, so answer me. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Fuck you!” I grit out,

“Not now, later,” He smirks.

Glaring at him, I push against his hold, but he doesn’t loosen his grip on me; clenching my jaw, I’m staring daggers at him.

“I’m getting my mate out of that thing,” I grind out irritably. His eyes instantly narrow when I say the word mate, specs of blue exploding into his green and brown. Looking up from me, he stares hard at Wolf for a moment but instantly straightens up with an amused look.

“Well, that’s interesting,” And he generously looks bemused,

“What is?” I ask, annoyed. Looking down at me, he gently runs his fingers down my jawline, a zap of electricity prickling at my skin as specs of blue light up his eyes.

“Nothing.”

I’m confused by his response, but he quickly breaks eye contact with me and looks back up at Wolf, who, if he wasn’t stuck in that circle, would have torn into Atlas and ripped him apart by now.

He still has his grip on me when he suddenly lets go to remove his long black coat before folding it over me, covering me entirely as it hangs to the ground. I’m drowning in it, but I’m not complaining; at least I’m no longer exposed to his prying eyes.

Turning to look back over his shoulder, he nods in a direction. I slowly follow his gaze when my eyes land on another obvious white lighter; he’s dressed the same as Atlas, just with blonde hair. He gives Atlas a knowing nod like they’re silently communicating.

“Who’s that?” I ask as I look back at him; his eyes trail down at me, a sudden seriousness etched at the corners of them when he grits out,

“I need to get you out of here; Lisbon got away.”

“Got away?” I repeat in a panic as my eyes start scanning the whole area. It’s incredible how everything has completely died down; where are the rogue wolves?

“Come.” He says sternly as he starts pulling at my wrist.

“No!” I yank my arm back, freeing myself from his grip, “I’m not leaving here without Wolf.” Looking past me, his jaw ticks as he stares at Wolf.

“He’s stuck in a cursed circle; if you step into it, it will trap you in there too.”

“So, how do we get him out?” I grind out when my eyes land back on Wolf, who’s glaring daggers at Atlas.

“We don’t.” He shrugs nonchalantly.

“What!?” I snap at him; I can feel my blood boiling at how he brushes it off like nothing. His eyes piercing mine as he steps towards me,

“Look, Lisbon has the moldavite stone; she can kill you with the enchantment she placed on it.”

“Tell me something I don’t already know.” I retort. Narrowing his eyes at me, he scoffs,

“Okay, the rogues ran deeper into the woods; we can’t find Caius. We were about to capture Lisbon when she disappeared in a dark smoke cloud. I know it sounds corny, but it’s true. My guys picked up her energy just southwest of this place. Now, if you want to save him, come with me and help me capture her; after all, she is after you, not me.”

“I’m not leaving Wolf.” I snap.

“Well, lover boy over here can stay where he is,” He grinds out,

“You can’t do that!” I bark at him as I shove a hand against his chest.

“I can, and I will. He is not my problem; you are!” He snaps back.

“You’re a white lighter witch, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And you can help me, can’t you?”

“Can and want are two different things.” His eyes narrow in response.

“So you don’t want to help me free my mate, is that it?”

“You know what, you can be fucking annoying when you want to be, Sasha.”

It’s at that moment that Wolf lashes out like a man possessed,

“Who the fuck are you?”

Atlas looks up and scowls at Wolf.

“I’m Atlas, protector to the thrown, bound to the Queen of white lighters, and betrothed- to her.” He drawls out the last bit as his eyes pierce mine. My eyes widen as I stare at him, blinking twice. “Sorry, what?” It feels like someone emptied a bucket of ice water over my head.

“W-what?”

“Yes, spitfire, we’re engaged, practically, been linked since birth.” My heart suddenly stops beating for a second.

“Bullshit!” Wolf growls as he slams into the invisible forcefield, and he’s instantly catapulted back, slamming into the dirt as he gasps for air. Black electricity sparking from where he connected into the force field.

“Wolf!” I shout as I leap towards him, but Atlas instantly grabs me around my waist and pulls me back against him.

“Didn’t you hear a word I just said, cursed circle, getting stuck? Ring a bell?”

“Let... Go!” I snap at him, fighting against his grip, and it’s doing nothing. My eyes remain on Wolf; when a sudden surge of energy explodes from the second I scream,

“NO!” And it’s as if something snaps inside me, an electric blue super wave shattering through me and instantly slamming into Atlas, knocking him right on his ass.

Panting hard as my eyes remain on my man, my mate, Wolf. The blue haze slowly dies down around me; I’ve suddenly got Wolf’s wide eyes on me; my energy pierced the invisible wall and even knocked him back down, and the moment I turn my head and look down, my eyes lock with Atlas who is sitting back against on his butt, smirking as he looks up at me, I can see swirls of his magic excitedly dancing around in his eyes. He’s turned on by what just happened as he stares at me,

“If you want to get him out of there, then use that anger you’re feeling and direct it at Lisbon, sweetheart; she’s the one with the key to getting him out, not me.”

I swing back to look at Wolf, his eyes still completely shocked at what he saw. I’m about to say something to him when a sudden voice has me swinging around,

“We’ve secured the perimeter from the outside with the help of your white lighters. No other rogues can get in, but I don’t know how many more are inside...” And the moment Damien’s eyes fall on me, they widen in surprise when Atlas pulls me to his side protectively.

Blinking, I’m just staring blankly at him; what the... I thought Wolf said Damien left? I instantly try to pull back, but Atlas pulls me into him as he wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me tightly to his side.

“Good, and Caius?”

“We haven’t been able to pick up his scent outside, so he’s definitely inside.”

I’m completely shocked, and the moment I look over at Wolf, his bewildered, shocked expression tells me he doesn’t know what’s going on either.

Wolf suspiciously stares at Damien; he’s about to say something when another voice has both our heads snapping to see Mason jogging over to us.

“He’s in the west wing; I picked up his scent...” She’s out of breath the moment she stops beside Damien. I can’t help the sudden growl that reverberates through my chest directed straight at her when I bare my teeth.

I hear a more dominant and threatening growl spread through the air, which instantly has me turning my head to look at Wolf, except he’s not growling at Mason; he’s glaring at Atlas.