Chapter Thirty - Four

WOLF

“I’m not going to tell you again; get your fucking hands off, my mate!” My growl reverberates through the air; I’m seething, fueled by a carnal rage to protect Sasha at all costs, as my eyes stare daggers of fucking death straight at him.

I should be glaring at Mason; I should want her dead right now; after all, she was the one who tried to kill my mate, not this fucker. But I can’t help it; he’s got his arm around what’s mine, and my beast is losing his goddamn mind, snarling, growling, and aching for the chance to end his life.

Fuck.

Who the fuck does he think he is? Some white witch wants to be a superhero here to save the day; it’s not fucking happening. Not with her, not a chance.

He looks up from Sasha, and his eyes lock on me with a smirk, the corners of his mouth turning up like he finds this situation amusing. He still got his arm around Sasha, keeping my beast growling.

MINE.

He’s thrashing against my rib cage like a savage animal; he’s clawing so hard that I swear I can feel my ribs cracking one by fucking one.

“What’s the matter, wolf? Do you feel threatened by someone like me?” And I know he’s not referring to me by name when he addresses me, but rather the animal inside of me, so he wants to play it that way, does he? Fine by me.

I can see an electric blue shimmer across his eyes, his gaze continuing to taunt me.

“Take down this barrier between us, and I’ll show you threatening,” I growl, a rumbling wave vibrating through my chest, and I swear by the moon, the moment I get out of this fucking thing, I’m going to take that smirk right of his face and shove it right up his ass.

Sasha instantly squirms against him, trying to move away, but his grip is so tight that she can’t get away.

Or can she, and she’s just choosing not to? My brows furrow in response when my eyes shift from her to him and back again. Rather than trying to fight to get away, it’s as if she’s leaning more into him instead.

What the fuck?”

I glare at him, vibrations rippling chaotically through my entire body. Is he delusional enough to think he’s got any real claim over her?

Stupid fuck.

We’re still death-glaring at each other when another white witch comes hurrying into the hole; he struts over towards us, his jaw set tight, and his face strained. I recognize him from earlier, Blondie; he looks like he’s never lifted anything more significant than a magic wand in all his life.

The moment he stops right in front of superhero wanna-be over here, his scowl turns into a full-blown frown of concern; he looks stressed, poor fucker; I wish I cared.

I don’t.

“Kris?” Atlas acknowledges him questioningly, his brows furrowing like he’s expecting some big news or something.

“We’ve found her. I’ve got the guys boxing her into a gridlock, but we’ll need you to complete the five-point star hold before she gets away again.” Nodding, Atlas tightens his grip around Sasha, and I swear I’m about to lose it completely.

Keep it together, Wolf, just keep it together, man; you’ve dealt with far more arrogant assholes in your life; you can do this and stay calm a bit longer. Pep talking myself usually works, but not today. Another deep growl rumbles from my chest, which even gets this Kris guy’s attention.

“What’s with the wolf?” He asks in curiously,

“Nothing important.” Atlas shrugs nonchalantly, and Sasha pushes against him to break his hold on her. However, he’s a relentless clingy mother-fucker.

“That wasn’t my question, Atlas. Is he an asset or a liability? We need all the help we can get with Lisbon, you know that.” Blondie’s eyes look stern and pissed off as he narrows them at Atlas.

Atlas’s face hardens into a scowl as he stares hard at this Kris guy, an unspoken moment of tension lingering between them. Is Atlas’s superhero position being challenged by one of his own? I suddenly quite like this Kris guy, actually.

“He’s stuck in a cursed force field; can’t get him out without breaking Lisbon’s hold on it first.” Atlas’s expression looks bored as he shrugs at Kris.

Kris narrows his eyes at Atlas, then looks down at Sasha again before looking back at me; I can see he’s trying to assemble the pieces. The moment his eyes drop to the silver dog tag on the ground right in front of me, he clenches his jaw before looking up at me again; he shifts his eyes back over at Atlas when he shrugs with a smirk,

“Whatever, man, if you say so.” He looks irritated, like he knows something we don’t, and I can’t help but wonder what that little comment was all about. Looking down at Sasha again, he sighs.

“And the princess?”

Turning his head, Atlas looks down at Sasha,

“She comes with me.”

“The fuck she does,” I growl at him. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”

“Says the one stuck in a cursed force field,” Atlas scoffs as he rolls his eyes at me.

“You know what, fuck you. You’re all talk only because I’m stuck in here; I wonder if you would still be so cock sure of yourself if I wasn’t in this cursed circle,” I growl. Blowing out an amused breath, Atlas scoffs,

“I’m not scared of wolves.” Smirking, I narrow my eyes at him,

“Wolves? Maybe not, but me... You should be fuck scared of me.”

“And why’s that wolf? What makes you so special that I should waste my time fearing something like you?”

I’m about to answer him when Kris groans in frustration,

“Fuck, Atlas, we don’t have time for this; if we can use him, let him out.”

Atlas stares Kris down, a sudden tick in his jaw when he grits out,

“I told you, I can’t. Now let’s capture Lisbon, get her back to Aeonian before my dad has a fucking aneurism.” A moment of tense silence stretches out between them when Kris finally groans,

“Fine, whatever. Let’s just go; I wanna get home.”

Turning his head to give me another look, Blondie sighs irritably when he shakes his head.

I narrow my eyes at him when I shrug with a smirk,

“Your funeral, man.”

Sasha suddenly pulls away from Atlas, turning to face him. She scowls as her jaw clenches, then turns to face me and swallows hard, her eyes shimmering with tears about to fall at any moment.

“Wolf...” Her voice sounds so small and helpless; it’s fucking killing me, being stuck in here when all I want to do is wrap my arms around her and make it all better.

Fuck, I hate this.

Parting her lips to say something, she’s about to take a step toward me when Atlas grabs her wrist,

“Sasha, seriously... I can’t leave you here unattended. The rogues are all contained, but we don’t know where that Caius guy is, and besides, Lisbon is out there right now; if you want to end all of this, then come with me,” pointing towards me, he narrows his eyes irritably when he grinds out, “If you want to free him, then stop being so damn stubborn, and let’s go.”

Damien and Mason are silently standing side by side, wary eyes on Atlas; they look like statues at this point. I guess I should have expected them to be the ones to work with witches, but for some unknown reason, it still irks me that Damien would fucking do it after he showed me a different side to him when he came knocking at my door.

Sasha’s head snaps back to me again, her eyes confused and torn; when she breathes,

“I...”

But Atlas doesn’t give her a gap, pushy, clingy fucker that he is; he’s trying all angles to get to her.

“If getting him out of there is really that important to you, then you’ll come with me. Because the only way to break the curse is to attack the source of it, and that’s Lisbon.”

Swallowing another heavy lump in her throat, she slowly nods and breaks eye contact with me. And it feels like everything breaks inside me at that moment; that angle he used sure did the trick.

“Once we capture Lisbon, we’ll be able to set you free from that force field, Wolf.” She doesn’t look at me when she says those words; instead, they come out strained, like she’s trying to convince herself of that more than me. I can hear the tears in her voice; she doesn’t believe it.

“Don’t go out there by yourself, Sasha, please...” I plead, my voice cracking when I take a step toward her, but then I quickly remember the invisible barrier.

Fuck.

“She won’t be by herself; she’ll have me,” Atlas smirks.

Glaring daggers at him, I can basically taste his final moments on my tongue because, mark my words, this prick won’t live to see another day if I can help it.

“Fuck you; I wasn’t talking to you,” I say, gritting my teeth as I clench my teeth.

“Right now, I’m the only one who can protect her, so deal with it,” He grits out, his eyes narrowing on me the second they take on a threatening blue swirl.

I hate that he’s right; I’m stuck in here and can’t get to her. Every time I even touch this force field, it knocks the wind out of me.

“She doesn’t need someone like you protecting her,” I growl, my eyes fixed on my mate.

“Would you rather have another wolf protecting her then?” He scoffs as he rolls his eyes.

“Anyone would be better than you,” I grit out as I look him dead in the eye.

Smirking, he looks at Damien and Mason, both silently observing the whole situation.

“You, are you a good fighter?” He snaps at Mason, and her eyes suddenly dart up to meet his stare; clenching her jaw, she scowls at him,

“Fucking deadly.” She retorts with her wolf shimmering behind her eyes.

“Great, you’ll help protect Sasha then.”

“No fucking way is Mason going anywhere near her!” I roar at him. Smirking, Atlas cocks a brow at me,

“You said anyone is better than me. So, then the she-wolf will help protect her.”

Damien turns to look at Mason, concern on his face.

“You sure about this?” He asks her questioningly.

Shrugging, she looks me dead in the eye,

“Dead, sure.”

I’m roaring with anger as I start pacing up and down; there’s no fucking way Sasha is going off with Atlas and Mason, no fucking way. I can’t let this happen; no, I refuse to believe I have to put my trust in this Atlas prick and Mason, the backstabbing bitch who tried to kill my girl.

Fuck no!

Sasha comes right up to the outer ring of the force field, looking up at me; her eyes are pleading with me as her bottom lip quivers. I’m breathing heavily as my eyes pierce hers, my heart bleeding through them, trying desperately to reach her, to tell her to stay.

“Please, don’t do this, don’t go, please...” I’m begging her; I’m desperate for her to stay here where I can watch her.

“It’s the only way to get you out.” She sniffs back tears.

“I can’t lose you.”

“And I can’t watch you be trapped in there, don’t you see? It’s the only way...” she whimpers, putting her hands up to me but then hesitating as she sighs when she remembers the invisible wall between us.

Kris suddenly shakes the moment between us when he snaps at Atlas,

“Atlas! We only have one window of opportunity before she breaks free. We need you out there; we can’t complete the star gridlock without you. And I’m not explaining to Ronan why we’re returning home empty-handed yet again; now, let’s go.”

Nodding, Atlas suddenly takes Sasha’s hand in his as he’s about to start walking toward the exit, but she instantly pulls her hand from his as she scowls at him.

“I know how to walk by myself, thank you.”

Smirking, he shakes his head at her but carries on walking,

“Fine, spitfire, follow me.” And with that, I watch after her as she follows after him, practically tripping over her own feet because of the coat she’s wearing that’s five sizes too big for her.

As I watch her go, a relentless wave of panic curls inside my stomach, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it.

Once they’re out of sight, I just stand there staring at the empty space, secretly hoping she’ll come back and tell me she changed her mind, but she doesn’t. I gulp down a heavy lump as I scrub a hand over my face. Fuck.

“Hey man, don’t worry about Mason...” Damien’s voice suddenly pulls me back to reality as I glare at him.

“Don’t fucking tell me not to be worried about Mason!” I bark at him with disdain in my voice. His hands immediately go up in surrender,

“Woah, okay, chill, man. I’m just saying Mason won’t do anything to...”

“Won’t do anything?” I snap at him, “I think the mate bond has made you soft in the head, Damien. Do I need to remind you what Mason did to Sasha?”

“That was before...”

“Before what?” I snap. I’m in no fucking mood to play nice.

Tilting his head, he exposes his neck to me, and there, as clear as daylight, sits a freshly pierced mark. Scoffing, I roll my eyes at him,

“A mark means nothing to someone like Mason.”

“Hey, I get that you’re pissed because you’re stuck in that thing, but if it wasn’t for Mason and me, you two would have been burnt offerings compliments of Lisbon by now.” My eyes narrow as I stare him down,

“How do you figure that? It’s pretty convenient how you rock up here with that fucking duche bag; you working with witches now, Damien, stepping into Caius’s shoes so soon?” My voice is laced with disgust, even some hurt; I can’t believe he would turn on me like that. I thought we had laid all our shit to rest.

Damien scoffs as he shakes his head,

“You know fuck you, and it’s Captain Duche.”

“Huh?” I grumble back in confusion as my brows furrow at him.

“His nickname, you know, because he thinks he’s special and all, the witch, Atlas, it’s Captain Duche.”

Smirking, a small smile turns up at the corners of my mouth at his remark,

“Well, are you?” I ask as I look him dead in the eye,

“Am I what?”

“Working for him?” Damien looks at me long and hard before finally scoffing and shaking his head,

“Nah, it was more like an ambush. Mason and I were heading out when Captain Duche and his fantastic four cornered us.”

“Fantastic four?” I ask, confused.

“Yeah, there’s four others; you met Kris, he’s Atlas’s second in command, and then there are three others.”

“So he didn’t come with some almighty army then?” I scoff.

“Don’t think they need one; you saw what they’re capable of; they’ve got the rogues contained in a force field down in the west wing, fucking funny, actually.”

“So you’re helping him because you’re scared of him?” I smirk.

“Yes and no, they are powerful witches, man; I’m not messing with that shit. But I’m helping them because I saw them as a way to get you out; I had to take it.” A small smile makes me smirk.

“Don’t get all soft and sentimental now, Damien.” Scoffing, he rolls his eyes at me,

“Fuck no, I still can’t stand you. But that doesn’t mean I want you dead either.” He suddenly smiles, and I can’t help but feel a tug of gratitude toward him.

“Thanks, you know, for coming back,” I grumble. Nodding, Damien shrugs,

“I didn’t have anything better to do, so don’t sweat it.” He teases with a smirk, and I nod appreciatively in response.

There’s a long moment of silence that stretches out between us when I finally sigh,

“Why is he even here anyway?” Damien looks up at me and frowns,

“For Sasha.” His answer suddenly has my head spinning with a protective growl,

“Over my dead fucking body,” Damien scoffs when he raises a dubious brow at me,

“I think he was surprised to find out that Sasha has a wolf mate, so it’s gonna be interesting to see this all play out,” he shrugs.

“Why, because he’s apparently meant to get married to her, another thing that’s not fucking happening,” I grumble.

“Man, I can’t even wrap my head around that one. How can she be mated to you and also meant for another?” His question sends me right back to the moment when Lisbon showed up and turned both our lives upside-down, telling Sasha about his father’s 2 mates, amongst other shocking things.

The whole memory sent an unpleasant shudder down my spine.

“It must run in the goddam genes,” I grumble as I tighten my fists.

“Fuck! I hate this, trying to catch up with all these unbelievable, life-altering revelations by Caius and Lisbon. What’s next? Do I even want to fucking find that out?”

“What are you going to do?” He asks, furrowing his brows questioningly. Staring him dead in the eye, I suddenly feel my beast push to the surface with a ripple of rage ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice when I grit out,

“Easy, I don’t fucking share.”