Guiding Light

Max

~This was not good.~

We sprinted through the forest, leaping over fallen trees and slashing through overgrown vegetation.

The beacon or energy blast or whatever the hell happened sent us rushing back to Ekon, Ela, and Hunter.

No one had ever seen, heard, or felt anything like it before. It was like the Big Bang all over again, and a new universe opened up in the middle of South America.

We made a hasty stretcher out of branches and vines to carry Hunter. I suggested putting him on my back, but Ekon sniggered at the thought and hoisted him up.

“It’ll give me something to do,” he groaned.

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Yes, he could be a grade-A prick when he wasn’t drinking, but at least he knew it and took responsibility.

Maybe Bambi was finally getting through to him…

“I can smell Rogues,” Ela shouted as we pushed our way towards the otherworldly light.

“And I’ve picked up Holly’s scent,” added Bambi.

I lowered my head and fought against the burn of my aching legs, forcing them forward. My entire body was about to give out, but I refused to slow down. This journey was pushing us to our absolute edge, but I had a feeling we were finally getting closer to the end...

For better, or for worse.

I took in a deep breath and tasted bile at the back of my throat. Something was waiting at this beam…

I saw Bambi look back. I knew I didn’t need to say anymore. They had already picked up on their scents.

~Matthias and Devina~.

Just then a loud scream pierced the air, sending every bird in the treetops flapping for the skies. Ela looked at me and Bambi, fear etched on her face.

Holly

It was beautiful. A blast of energy so powerful that you could see its presence throughout the entire sky.

I couldn’t look away, especially as Devina raised the spirit of her ancestor from the great beyond. Joan Cabot’s ethereal form floated in the air above Devina’s own levitated body.

As the witches channeled their power, using Tyler and me as the ultimate conduits, Devina cast her spell...

Cabot’s power, thought long lost with her earthly body, was resurrected and transferred into Devina.

She shook as the dark magic entered her body, twitching strangely as lightning discharged from her being.

Her mouth opened and let out a bloodcurdling scream...

And just like that, it was finished.

Devina floated back to earth like a feather. When her feet touched the ground, it was scorched with the pure magic she had inherited.

The depleted witches continued to lie on the ground. It was exhausting for all of us. Even my former professor, beautiful as she was lying naked in the grass, was completely unconscious.

Even so, I felt alive. Never in my life had I ever realized what powers I truly possessed.

I had already surpassed my professor’s expectations, and there was so much further I could grow. With Devina, everything seemed possible.

I felt a presence move beside me and turned, expecting to see Matthias or one of his Rogues. But to my surprise, it was a different face, yet familiar all the same…

“She finally did it,” the deep, masculine voice said. “And to think it was you all along who would help...”

Bambi

“There’s so many,” Ekon said.

“That just means we’ll be able to boast that much more once we’ve killed them all,” Max joked darkly.

I tried to think if there was ever a time that I’d heard such fear in my mate’s voice. He’d been through a lot and fought his demons admirably. He may have beaten his desire to drink, but the fatigue and uncertainty were continuing to take their toll on him.

We were on a small hill overlooking the clearing below. Trees and rocks shielded us from sight, but that didn’t mean Devina and Matthias’s forces wouldn’t sense our proximity. Now we had an advantage, but for how long, we didn’t know.

I scanned the circle of witches, hoping to spot Holly. There were no Rogues in sight, but that didn’t mean they weren’t waiting in the surrounding trees.

Ela gasped so loud I feared she would give away our presence. Her hand shot out and a finger pointed straight across the clearing.

My eyes followed and I choked on my breath.

~Holly!~

She looked healthy and unhurt, but I couldn’t tell whether she walked the camp freely, or if she was being watched.

“How will we get to her?” Ekon growled. “We have no way of doing it without giving up our position.”

“Tyler…”

Max pointed again and my jaw dropped.

“I knew she was a traitor,” groaned Ekon.

I shook my head, not believing what I was seeing. She was so adamant that Devina had betrayed her! She ~couldn’t~ have lied to me.

“Look at her,” Ela replied. “She looks exhausted and filthy. That’s not what I’d call a willing traitor.”

“Then what does that say about Holly and Leonardo?” Max countered.

I looked at the others and saw Max nod.

“Looks like we hit the jackpot,” he said. “But I can’t tell if that’s good or bad.”

Ela gasped again and I immediately understood why. Standing beside Holly was a wolf we all recognized.

~Alpha Leonardo.~

Had he been taken captive as well? From his spotless clothes, it looked as if he’d joined of his own volition.

Holly and Leonardo were approached by a Rogue and escorted away from the scene. My heart lurched with dismay as I felt our chances of getting them back lessen.

But as I continued to watch their path, I realized they were only being led away from the group of witches, toward a small stream that wound its way through the clearing, before disappearing into the trees.

“If we follow the tree line we’ve got a chance of getting to them,” I said hopefully.

Ekon grunted. “Only if no one smells us.”

“Oh, they’ll definitely smell you,” Max joked.

He wasn’t wrong. Ekon had been sweating out the toxins for days, and it left an unmistakable trail. But he was the strongest of us, and we needed all hands on deck.

“Once we hit the stream we can follow it to the clearing,” I said. “Then we’ll need to act fast.”

Max nodded. “If that’s the only plan we’ve got, it’s the only one we need.”

Ela backed away from the edge of the trees and sat down beside Hunter. I could see the answer on her face before she even spoke.

“I’m staying here.”

It wasn’t a question, but a statement. Ela was too distraught to help us, and leaving Hunter here alone would practically guarantee his death if things went south.

I handed over my ration of water and gave her a smile. “Make sure the two of you keep hydrated. If need be, there’s a stream nearby. But we’re planning to come back.”

“Promise?” she asked, worried.

“Promise.”

But that was what worried me most… there were no more guarantees.

Ela

I watched them disappear into the forest and my hopes sank. There was no guarantee they would make it back, even with Bambi’s promise.

The only thing I had left to do was lie beside my mate and hope that the next Great War wouldn’t break out—or else it might just be the end of everything.

The ghostly trail of the frightening column of light still snaked its way through the sky.

“Ela…” a voice said, feebly.

I shot my glance to Hunter and was amazed to see his eyes open. He was finally conscious!

“Baby!” I gasped. “It’s so good to have you back!”

“What happened?”

He tried to move, but the makeshift stretcher held him in place.

“Just lie still.”

“Why can’t I move?”

I leaned in and gave him a kiss, quieting his restless body.

“You were injured. But Bambi, Ekon, and Max found us. They saved you.”

His eyes grew large with tears and I wanted to hug him so tightly.

“And what about you? Are you hurt?”

My eyes welled up with tears of my own that fell down my cheeks and landed on his tattered shirt.

“Now, I’m perfect.”

We’d had a contentious relationship filled with fighting and blame. But as we neared the end of this journey— as so much uncertainty surrounded us— I realized that he truly was my mate. And I loved him.

I snapped a few of the vines around him, freeing his upper body to move, if only slightly. He immediately reached up and caressed my face with his hands, filling me with a love I thought I’d never know again.

I kissed him hard and this time he held my head close, not letting me pull away. Our lips pressed together as our tears continued to fall from our eyes.

But something wasn’t right. I pulled myself away from Hunter as we heard a commotion break out in the camp below.

“What’s happening?” he asked, worried.

“I see some Rogue wolves…” I whispered. “Oh no! They’ve found Bambi!”

Bambi

We moved quietly along the banks of the stream. Holly’s scent was growing stronger with each step. If we could just get her back to safety and learn what was happening, then we at least had a chance.

Leonardo and Holly were talking with the Rogue whose back was turned to us. They were blocked by his body, so no one could see our approach. I gave the nod to Max who snuck out into the clearing, keeping to the path of the stream, and wrapped his arms around the unsuspecting Rogue’s neck.

With one quick pull, he snapped it off, catching the Rogue’s limp body as it fell to the ground.

Ekon and I followed close behind. After the wolf was dispatched, we gathered on either side of Holly and Leonardo.

“Boy, is it good to see the two of you,” Max said, grinning.

“Holy shit! I can’t believe you found us,” Leonardo replied.

Had they been planning their own escape and we somehow interrupted?

Holly looked at me with a small grin, and that was when I truly became worried. Something about her eyes was different; the glow that she had always possessed was somehow muted.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” Holly smiled.

I grabbed Ekon’s arm to try and pull him away, but he didn’t understand what was happening. Max looked at me, but before he could speak, Rogues descended from the forest, surrounding us.

~We were trapped.~

~They had found us.~

~And there looked to be no escape.~