Chapter Thirty -Seven

WOLF

I have this strange feeling suddenly running down my spine; swallowing hard, I’m instantly feeling restless, my heartbeat suddenly speeds up, and I can’t think straight.

What’s wrong with me? I grumble.

Closing my eyes for a moment, I try to steady my breathing...

“Wolf, hey man, did you hear a word I just said?” Looking up at Damien standing on the other side of this goddam force field, I suddenly hear a swooshing sound in my ears; it’s getting louder and louder.

I’m about to open my mouth to say something to him when I’m suddenly struck with a scorching sharp pain that shoots through my chest; gasping for air, I suddenly can’t breathe. Fuck, the dog tag, fuck. I’m grabbing at my chest the moment I realize I’m not wearing it; that’s when I remember that witch telling me to take it off and place it on the ground.

My eyes frantically start searching the soil below my feet; all the while, I’m starting to see little black spots forming before my eyes. And the moment my eyes land on the shiny silver of the dog tag, I dive for it, grabbing it with both hands. I’m fumbling with it between my fingers before finally sliding it over my head. Fuck. I’m half expecting the pain to completely vanish like before, but it doesn’t.

I’m suddenly able to gasp for air that wasn’t there a second ago, though, so at least I can breathe, but the pain is still sharp and intense; I can’t fucking think straight.

I’m suddenly up on my feet, deep growls of agony roaring from my chest. What the fuck is going on?

“Wolf! What the fuck, man? What’s wrong? Wolf!”

Damien’s words ring in my head, but I can’t think; the pain is too intense, too much to bear. It feels like my heart is being ripped from my chest; I’m screaming out as I spin around frantically,

“What the fuck is going on!?” I roar as I spin back to face Damien; his eyes are wide, staring at me in bewilderment.

The pain suddenly has me stumbling forward, losing my balance. I’m dizzy; everything spinning out of control. I can feel myself go; I can’t stop it; I’m going to hit the invisible barrier of the force field and be catapulted back at any second.

The moment I lose my footing and begin falling forward, the only image in my mind is Sasha’s face; something is wrong. I don’t need to be near her to know something is terribly wrong. I’m expecting an abundant amount of pain on top of what I’m already experiencing the moment I fall forward, but it never comes. I’m still falling...

The moment I feel my arms wrap around me before hitting the ground, a wave of emotions suddenly swirls around my aching chest. I’ve fallen through the force field; what the...

Damien grabs for my arm as he pulls me up to stand,

“Wolf! How did you... I mean... You’re out of the force field, man!”

I watch his eyes light up as his smile widens. I’m trying to come to grips with being free, but the pain won’t allow me to.

“Get me to Sasha, something’s wrong!” My voice suddenly thunders through the air, a sharp pain piercing my heart, bleeding through me with every threatening beat.

Damien nods, worry and panic sketched across his face as he starts leading me out of the hole and towards the exit.

The pain is slicing through me with every step I take, and the moment Damien stops, my brows turn into a full-blown scowl.

“Why are we stopping?” I grumble.

“Just wait here.” He replies loosely before leaning me against the wall and quickly ducking into an open doorway; the moment his head pops out, he’s suddenly holding a pair of black trainers up to me.

“Here,” He says as he shoves them into my hands; only then do I realize I’m completely naked. Of course, I am; I shifted into my wolf. I vaguely remember it, but the pain, fuck!

“Fuck man, Damien, seriously... I don’t have time to waste putting clothes on when Sasha’s life is in danger!” I bark, clenching my jaw as I push my forehead against the cold concrete of the wall.

“Just fucking humor me; I don’t need your junk out for all to see when we find them.” The one conversation Damien and I had when I was still stuck in the cage suddenly pops into my mind; he’s not worried about everyone seeing my junk, just one person in particular, Mason. Fuck, seriously.

“She’s your mate now; come on, man,” I retort irritably. Scoffing, he rolls his eyes as he helps steady me so I can put my leg through the leg opening of the trainers.

“Yeah, I know she is. But if she sees you naked, I might be forced to kick your ass, and I’m just trying to avoid getting my own ass handed to me on a platter by you again. Especially in front of her, you can understand how demoralizing that could be right.”

Smirking, I want to laugh, but the pain is too excruciating,

“Let’s just get to them before there’s no point in kicking each other’s asses, okay?”

Nodding, he suddenly has his arm around my waist again, pulling me forward. The moment we get outside, Damien’s brows furrow in confusion.

“How do we know where to start looking, man? It’s dark; they could be anywhere.”

“Mason’s your mate, man; just focus on finding her, and you’ll pick up her scent. I’ve already found Sasha’s; she’s that way.” I point toward the darkened woods in front of us.

“You sure?” And my brow lifts as I give him a questioning look,

“I’m seriously starting to question whether or not you truly are a wolf, you know that.”

“Fuck you.” He huffs with a grin, and I want to smile, but the fucking pain is eating me up inside. Fuck!

“Just keep moving...” I groan as I push forward.

~

Pretty soon, we’re both stumbling through the darkness, doing our best to try and avoid tripping over every goddam bush or log in our way. I’m usually quite fine in the dark, but that’s when my head isn’t swirling with enough pain to kill a bear.

When I think I can’t take another step, my beast suddenly roars inside my head. He’s in pain, too, suffering alongside me, but the moment he growls with thundering dominance in my head, I’m powerless to ignore him.

MATE. DANGER. MOVE. MATE. DANGER. MOVE!!!

He repeats it over and over again in my head, roaring louder and louder when, eventually, his roar becomes more piercing than the pain. All of a sudden, something far more chaotic and feral tears through my veins; all at once, I feel a driving force so ancient and powerful shoving me forward, and I know what it is; it’s the Ultima dominance of my heritage.

I’m suddenly letting go of Damien, my beast shoving me forward; I’m being driven with the determination of a thousand Spartan warriors as I follow Sasha’s scent.

Pain, fuck pain. I can’t feel anything besides the raw pull of my mate calling me to her; she’s in pain, something’s wrong, and I’ll be damned if we’ve gotten so far only to lose her now.

We’re close; I can feel her like static electricity coursing through my veins. I’m sprinting towards her, and the moment I come catapulting through the thicket into an open clearing, torches are burning scattered around us as they light up the horrifying scene before me.

I skid to a halt, my eyes wide, my chest rising and falling heavily as my heart thrashes against my chest.

My eyes spot Mason; she’s just lying there. She’s badly injured; I can already tell. When Damien darts past me towards her, my eyes instantly start scanning for Sasha.

I’m momentarily disorientated by the scattered rogue corpses aimlessly lying all over the place; it looks like a bloody massacre. My breath instantly hitches in my throat as panic crashes down on me. Sasha, where is she? Where’s my mate...

My eyes are frantically searching the clearing for her when they finally land on a bloodied body just standing alone, facing a large fire. The silhouette of her frame instantly has my breath hitching in my throat, and I suddenly forget how to breathe. Sasha.

I’m moving towards her until I’m right in front of her, giving her a once-over; I’m confused. Why is she just standing here by herself? Where is Captain Duche?

She’s covered in blood from head to toe, fuck. I’m instantly panicking.

“Sasha, look at me, say something!” She’s covered in blood, but I can’t tell if it’s hers or the other rogues lying scattered around her.

Her eyes are completely glassed over; she’s just aimlessly staring past me into the flames, her hands fisted by her sides. ‘What’s wrong with her?’

I slowly go to touch her cheek when I suddenly hear a woman shout from beside me,

“Don’t touch her!” I’m instantly swinging around to face whoever it is, ordering me not to touch my mate, my beast immediately pushing to the surface as he shows in my irises.

“Who the fuck are you!?” I demand with a growl; I’m so fucking over being told what to do, especially regarding my mate.

My eyes instantly fall on an oldish woman; she’s got long grey hair platted down her chest and kind, soft eyes. But I won’t be swayed by kind eyes, especially not after what I’ve been through.

She instantly holds her hands up in surrender,

“Easy there, alpha, my name is Edith; I don’t mean you any harm...” My eyes are narrow as I take in the name Edith; I know that name. Sasha spoke of an Edith...

The old woman allowed me to process what she said before continuing. “I’ve known Sasha since she was a little girl; I mean no disrespect to you; I’m sure you are eager to have her in your arms. I’m merely asking that you give her body a moment to process what she just went through.”

My eyes dart over her shoulder, and off to the right of me, I suddenly spot Captain Duche standing off to the side with what I can only imagine is the rest of his superhero squad. But there’s something in Atlas’s whole body language that’s way off; he’s got his head hung low as he stares vacantly at the ground.

I quickly refocus my attention back on the old woman standing before me. Captain Duche is not my problem; as long as he stays away from Sasha, I’ll maybe consider not killing him.

“Process what? What’s wrong with her?”

“She, um, died,” She says, caution imminent in her eyes as she pauses. My eyes blink as the words ’She’ and ‘died’ try to register with my brain.

“She what!?” I suddenly bark as I swing around to face Sasha, my eyes wildly scanning every part of her body before frantically looking over her shoulder for the witch.

“Where’s the witch? Where’s Lisbon!?” I roar frantically.

“Calm down, just breathe. Lisbon got away; she escaped through a portal, but Sasha’s fine.”

My eyes suddenly pierce Edith’s as a growl reverberates from my chest,

“Don’t tell me she’s fine when you just told me she fucking died!”

My eyes are back on Sasha; she’s just standing there like a statue. Fuck.

“Let me finish,” Edith says sternly, “She’s fine, but Lisbon smashed the cursed moldavite stone.” Swinging back to face her again, my eyes narrowed as I stared at her.

“H-how are we even still alive?” Shrugging, Edith sighs.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Atlas immediately gathered the shattered pieces of the stone, and we placed them in the palms of her hands. At first, nothing happened, and I didn’t have much hope; after five minutes passed, she was still not moving. I mean, she was dead.” I could see the baffling confusion in her eyes as she said it. “But then she suddenly gasped for a deep breath of air as she jumped into a seated position, hands clasping tightly onto the shattered pieces. It’s a miracle...” She says as she looks over at Sasha. And I’m instantly turning to face my mate as I stare into her glassy eyes.

“I’ve never believed in miracles,” My brows furrow when I speak the words. “But I believe in my mate, in who she is, and in what’s inside her. If that’s what you classify as a miracle... then yeah, I guess I do believe in miracles now.”

Edith nods with a faint smile, and the entire time, the only thing on my mind is wondering how long I have to wait to hold her in my arms; my wolf and I are itching to touch her, to hold her, and never let go.

I decided to try something; slowly touching my lips beside her ear, I softly whispered, “Come back to me, princess. Please, come back to me...”

And as I slowly pull away, I suddenly see a tear run down her cheek as her bottom lip quivers. I’m about to reach out to cup her cheek when she suddenly gasps, her eyes sliding closed as more tears run down her bloodied cheeks. A sudden moment of panic rips through me; ‘What now?’

Her face suddenly begins to illuminate, followed by her arms and, eventually, her entire body. The translucent light has my breath hitching in my throat. What the...

I’m still watching as her body glows before me when her bones suddenly begin to crack. And I know she’s about to shift, the tell-tale signs of being a wolf. I step back to give her some space, but my eyes stay glued on her as she crouches down on all fours.

My mouth goes completely slack as my eyes widen in astonishment; the moment her wolf slowly looks up at me, I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

She’s entirely illuminated, white, and shining brightly in a translucent glow; even her eyes glow. Electric blue shimmers are dancing across the lines of her features, and I’ve never seen something so breathtaking in all my life; she’s... like a celestial being.

“Sasha...” Her name leaves my lips in a whisper; I’m completely in awe of her. I don’t even notice when Atlas comes and stands right beside me, staring at her, even his mouth hanging wide open. I should want to kill him, but I’m too captivated by her right now to focus on that.

I can’t believe I’m engaging in any form of rational conversation with Captain Duche, but I guess I’m just too mesmerized right now by the glow of an angel.

“What does the symbol on her forehead mean?” I suddenly ask him curiously. There’s a strange symbol etched across her forehead. Letting out a deep breath, his brows come together, and only then do I notice a blue orb in his hands. Inside it, the broken shards of the stone swirl around like a mini-tornado.

“Queen of the white witches.” He finally says as his eyes stay glued entirely on her. Yeah, I should want to kill him; he’s looking at my girl way too long for my liking. But the moment he says queen, I gulp.

Suddenly, crouching down in front of her, I gently run my hand over the symbol on her forehead, “So beautiful,” I whisper. And she instantly leans into my hand as a whine escapes her. Her illuminated body is so warm, so perfect.

I instantly wish that I could shift with her, but this cursed dog tag around my neck instantly yanks me back to the reason that I can’t. Fucking Lisbon. “I’m in awe of you, princess,” I whisper softly; the moment she pushes her forehead against mine, I begin running my hands through her soft, translucent fur.

I suddenly have a deep need to hold her, to hold my mate in my arms. Breathing against the soft fur close to her ear, I suddenly whisper, “Shift.” It’s almost instant; her bones immediately begin to crack, shifting back into place and giving way to her human form.

Looking up at me, her naked, bloodied body is suddenly shivering, and I instantly scoop her up in my arms as I cradle her close to my body. The captivating green, blue, and red swirls dance across her eyes as they meet mine. Even covered in blood, she’s still beautiful.

“Hey,” I whisper as a smile turns up at the corners of my mouth. Tears immediately dance across her eyes, her bottom lip quivering as her chest shakes against me.

“Wolf, I- I didn’t think I’d ever see you again...” Her words rip at my heart, the pain I felt earlier long gone. The pain I feel now is different; it’s love, it’s knowing how fucking lucky I am to have her in my arms, and the crippling fear of knowing how close I came to losing her.

I slowly pull back and instantly crush my lips to hers, pulling her to me as my lips suddenly claim every part of her mouth. It fucking feels like I’m tasting her for the first time all over again, but this time, it’s so much more. And I couldn’t give a fuck who’s around us right now; the only person that matters to me is right here in my arms.

When I finally break the kiss, I slowly push my forehead against hers, breathing in her sweet scent as my stomach aches to claim every part of her.

“I would conquer the world to get to you, princess. Don’t you ever forget that?” And as her eyes focus on mine, she just holds my gaze, almost like she’s too scared to look away.

“My wolf,” She finally breathes. Nodding, I smile as I wipe a strand of bloody hair from her face. She’s still covered in blood, and I know we’ll need to wash that off of her soon. “Your wolf is so breathtaking, Sasha,” I whisper as I look deep into her eyes.

“I felt it come all at once; the brightest illuminating energy began running through my wolf; she was radiating a kind of magic I’ve never felt before; it must be because of what I am; it must be from... my mother.” She breathes the last two words like she’s trying to come to grips with something more profound.

Edith is suddenly by our side as she looks longingly at Sasha,

“It is... It’s because of your mom, Sam.” The moment Sasha looks up at her, her eyes suddenly glisten with fresh tears,

“Edith.” She whispers in disbelief, “You, you came for me?” Nodding, Edith wipes away a tear rolling down her own cheek.

“You’re safe now; the danger is over.”

But her words fall short the moment Atlas scoffs beside me. Fuck, I completely forgot about Captain Duche right next to us. Hope you enjoyed our show of affection and got the message to fuck off. I think to myself.

Getting up, he still has the blue orb cradled in his hands. He looks down at Sasha as her eyes lock on his, and it’s like they share a moment. My wolf instantly vibrates defensively in my chest. But Sasha doesn’t look away; her eyes are still on his as she gives him a questioning look.

“Atlas, what aren’t you telling me?”

Narrowing his eyes, he swallows hard before breaking eye contact with her,

“Sitting here and celebrating a false victory when Lisbon escaped through a portal into the witches’ realm doesn’t seem feasible to me. Oh, and let’s not forget that other rogue mutt, Caius, he’s still on the loose somewhere. And to top everything off, not only are you a hybrid, but you have a glowing white wolf. Which just puts an even bigger target on your back now, but yeah, let’s just all throw a party that the danger has somehow miraculously disappeared.”

Looking over at Edith, he suddenly narrows his eyes at her, like he’s pissed off about something he’s unwilling to share.

But then he turns away from us, muttering something to himself before moving over towards the other white witches; ‘What the fuck is his problem?’

Looking back down at Sasha, her eyes are instantly back on mine. I’m about to say something when I suddenly notice Damien and Mason come up beside us; Mason is hobbling, clearly still injured, but at least she’s moving, so that must mean it’s not fatal.

“Hey, you two all good?” I say as I look up at Damien. Nodding, he pulls Mason closer to his chest,

“Yeah, we’re good.” Nodding, I look back down at Sasha, but her eyes are on Mason as she reaches out to touch her arm; the moment Mason looks down at Sasha, I can’t help the confused look on my face.

“Thank you,” Sasha says with an appreciative smile. Shrugging, Mason smirks,

“It was nothing.” I’m still confused as I give Sasha a questioning look.

“It’s not nothing; you sacrificed yourself to break Lisbon’s force field. You could have died.” My eyes instantly fly up to look at Mason as she swallows a heavy lump in her throat.

“That’s true, Mace. Did you sacrifice yourself to save Sasha?” Looking at me, she shrugs before breaking eye contact with me.

“It was the right thing to do.”

And at that moment, I was completely blown away; Mason has never done anything for anyone else unless it benefited her. Sacrificing herself for another, especially Sasha, I did not see that one coming.

“Thank you,” The moment those words leave my mouth, Mason suddenly looks up at me in astonishment, clearly not expecting to hear those words coming from me. Tears suddenly dance behind her eyes as she nods,

“Yeah, sure, anytime.”

And at that moment, it’s like there’s this sudden shift, one I never expected I would feel from Damien and Mason, kind of like a pack thing, not that I would really know what that would feel like.

Sasha gently touches my cheeks as she smiles. The sunlight suddenly begins piercing through the trees, and the warmth I suddenly feel against my skin sends a shudder through my body. It’s morning; we actually survived the night; we actually survived Caius and Lisbon.