Chapter 46

Chapter 46

I slept fitfully, even in Mason’s arms. Something just felt… wrong.

Oh, there was nothing wrong with Mason’s sleepy desire poking me in the back while he snored. No, it was something else. Something…

A bright red light suddenly cr ackled at the front of the cave, knocking Shawn all the way to the back. He sat in an unconscious, fried mess while Mason and I scrambled to our feet.

Deborah, actually levitating an inch or two off the ground, her hair in a wild circle around her head, appeared at the cave entrance, wrapped in an electric red glow.

“Did you think I wouldn’t find you?!” she screamed.

Mason moved a little in front of me. “We were rather hoping you wouldn’t.”

Deborah raised a hand, red magic cra ckling around her fingers. “Fools!”

Mason and I dove in different directions as a bolt of red shot our way.

“I will destroy you for killing my son!” Deborah shrieked. “I will DESTROY you!” She turned her attention to Mason, raising her hands and weaving them in the air.

In the cave, there was nowhere to go.

My heart pounded. “Hey, witch!”

Deborah turned her head to look at me.

“I killed your precious little angel, not him,” I said.

“Kora!” Mason protested.

Deborah carelessly sent a bolt of magic his way, which caught him in the arm.

Mason grunted and rolled on the ground out of the way. He made a move to come to me, but hit a magical barrier.

“This is between me and the bi tch, Alpha. You just sit tight. I have punishment aplenty for you as well,” Deborah seethed.

I circled Deborah, prepared for anything.

Or so I thought. With a maniacal smirk, Deborah made a motion in the air as though she were manipulating a puppet by its strings.

My father came shambling into the cave, his eyes glowing red like Deborah’s magic.

“Oh, Goddess,” I whispered.

“The Goddess can’t help you now,” Deborah cackled. “I saved this extra special family moment just for you.”

I was trapped in the cave, facing down my father, who was clearly gone. I didn’t even know if he recognized me. “Father?”

The shell of a man blinked at me, but that was all. His l*ps curved up in a smile, mirroring his mistress’s, and then he came shambling toward me.

“Father, please, don’t make me kill you, I said, backing away. My back bumped into the burning bubble of the magical barrier, and I hissed.

My father lunged at me, claws outstretched.

I dove to the side, which meant my father hit the barrier with full force.

For some reason, her magic hitting itself made the bubble burst, and then Mason was on my father, pinning him. to the ground.

“No!” Deborah screeched. She rounded on me. “You…”

“He was a conniving, womanizing a shole, and the world is well rid of him,” I said, trying to keep her attention on me while Mason grappled with my father.

“DON’T YOU SAY THAT ABOUT MY SON! Deborah bellowed. She directed more bolts at me, which I dodged deftly.

The last bolt singed my back, and I winced. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to stop shooting fish in a barrel. and actually fight like a wolf. You know, fairly.”

Deborah snorted. “Not very likely.” She shot a few more bolts my way.

Sparks of her magic exploded off the walls of the cave every time she missed, creating a haze of red smoke and gravel. I coughed.

“I’m not going to kill you. Deborah grinned evilly. “I’m going to knock you out, take you home, and torture you for YEARS. I will make you lose your extremities an inch at a time, and when you beg me for death, I will do more. You will be my favorite pet and pastime.”.

“As much fun as that sounds,” I said, “I’d much rather just be done with it here and now.”

Deborah shook her head slowly. “No, I think I like my way better.” She threw another bolt at me.

It cl*pped my shoulder and I fell to the ground. Just as I was about to get up again, a thought occurred to me. There was no way I could beat Deborah while she had her magic around her.

But if she thought I was unconscious…

I closed my eyes and laid prone on the floor of the cave.

“Kora!” Mason said.

I wasn’t sure what was happening because my eyes were closed, but I heard a blast and a yelp. I could only pray Mason was alright.

The soft approach of feet alerted me to Deborah’s presence. I could feel her looming over me.

“So disappointing,” she muttered. “I’ll just have to have fun with you in other ways. You and your mate.”

Deborah bent over and grabbed my hair.

“Go to hell,” I grunted and slashed her throat.

Deborah released my hair and stumbled back, gripping her throat, but it was too late. The cut was too deep.

Deborah fell to her knees with an indignant gurgle, then slumped over onto her side. Dead.

I panted, then looked around for Mason. In the haze and debris, it was hard to see what was going on.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and jumped. When I saw it was my father, I prepared myself for an attack.

My father dragged me into a hug instead. “Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you, Kora. It’s over, my sweet girl. It’s

over now.

I choked on a so b and hugged my father back. Then I remembered Mason and pulled away.

“Mason?” I said, crawling around in the dirt. “Mason?”

I touched Shawn first, who came around with a groan.

“Did we win?” he asked with a wince.

“We sure did, son,” my father said, going to his side.

I kept feeling around and finally grabbed Mason’s arm. “Mason!” I cried, shaking him. “Mason!”

“Let’s get him back to Coswald. Jim will be able to help,” my father said softly.

“Yeah, let’s go see Jim. He’ll know what to do to help him,” Shawn agreed.

I thanked my warrior training that I could lift Mason up in my arms. My father had Shawn’s arm draped over his shoulders and was helping him walk.

It was slow going, but by the end of the night, we were back in Coswald, crossing Jim’s doorstep.

The motel owner blinked at us, coming out of his crossword haze. “Well, you’re back.”

“Hi, Jim. The bi tch is dead, but we’ve got some wounded,” my father said.

“Never a dull day being your friend, Oswald,” Jim chuckled. The balding man came out from behind his desk. “Go ahead and bring them to room six.

We made our way there, and I tiredly laid Mason on the bed, while Shawn sat on the edge. I was sweating from head to toe, having taken Mason’s weight with few rests.

Jim shuffled into the room with his large bag of goodies and began examining Mason. “Well, he’ll be fine. Just knocked for six.” Jim stripped Mason’s shirt off and began tending to his burns.

When he was finished, he did the same for Shawn, then looked at me.

With a sigh. I took off my own shirt and let Jim put salve on my magic burns.

Mason groaned then…. Be ogling… my mate… Shawn…”

Shawn let out a bark of laughter. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Alpha Hale.”

I threw myself on the bed, wiggling between Shawn and Mason to wrap myself around Mason. “Mason!”

Mason clumsily stroked my hair. “Sok. M’kay”

I felt wetness rushing down my checks and realized I was crying.

“Welcome back, son,” my father said quietly.

Mason just gave a tired nod. “Need.. go… home. Fix… things.”

“We’ve

got

all the time in the world,” I assured him: “All the time in the world.”

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