Filed to story: Owned by the Alphas Novel
There was no point complaining. I could, I had lots I wanted to say, but there would be no point. The alphas couldn’t do anything but coddle me, and that was the last thing we had time for, so I pushed through.
I came up to a cliff edge and focused through the snow, looking for a foothold.
There wasn’t one.
I jumped to the ledge but slipped off it, the snow tipping on me. I sighed and looked up as Brax knelt down, leaning over the edge, holding his arms out.
I held my hands up and he hoisted me up onto it. He didn’t say anything though.
What could he say? He knew I wasn’t okay, but I had to deal. He smirked at me, probably in my head listening to me whine internally. He gave me a wink to let me know that was true, but before he could leave, I stopped him.
“Why can’t we use our shadows here? Or feel them?” I asked, not able to sense his or find much left of mine.
It was unnerving, especially since I knew if they were here in full capacity, they could keep me warm like they had when I was a baby.
“The witches. The shadows interfere with their magic. They don’t like it, so they silence them.
“They can’t have full control of them like they do everything else, we can still hold onto them inside us where they can’t reach, but we can’t draw them out,” Brax explained, having to shout over the howling wind as we climbed the next steep rock, Derik jumping up on the ledge behind me.
And then we heard it.
An ear-piercing scream through the wind.
41. The Balance
We all spun to the noise, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where that was.
The scream turned to a screech as my heart raced. I shivered, holding my arms as I squinted, trying to find out what the hell was going on.
The poison taste in my mouth came back, and I frowned.
“It’s a vampire. I think.” I shivered, and the alphas looked at me, confused.
“How do you know?”
“I don’t know, it’s like I can taste it when they are around. I can taste it now.”
“Then they are the ones who pissed the witches off,” Derik realized.
“Good. Hopefully it was Silas. Then they’ll get rid of him for us.” Kai laughed, turning to carry on.
We followed as Brax looked over me with a frown. “My shadows don’t whisper to me like that,” he said. “Yours are getting stronger. That’s a strong whisper for being here.”
I shrugged. “Isn’t that a good thing?” I asked, following him up more pointy rocks.
“Hope so,” he whispered, then kept climbing.
I shook it off; I couldn’t do anything about it now.
Whatever the vampire had done to piss off the witches must have been decent enough because we were all getting punished.
The wind was still getting stronger, the snow was treacherous, and my human body was almost at its limit.
I wanted to be strong and get through it, but there was only so much I could physically do, and with the magic of the alphas getting weaker, they were slowing down too.
Nowhere near as much as I was, but it was enough that I noticed.
When we finally made it to camp, it was barely a reprieve. We were still being punished. There was no hot soup. Not big hut. Just a tiny triangle hut that had open flaps and one fur blanket.
I shivered and hobbled toward it. My feet were sore, my legs freezing and numb.
There was snow covering the tiny ledge, even smaller than last time, and I forced my eyes away from the edge so I couldn’t look down, or I’d never get any sleep.
I couldn’t see much in front of me, that was scary enough. Kai’s hand came through mine and he dragged me toward the hut, pushing me inside and shrugging out of his clothes.
I wiped the wet snow off my face and hugged my body, still shivering.
“Fuck this shit,” Kai growled, hauling me into him.
I sighed at the heat that radiated off him and seeped beneath my skin, defrosting me slowly. Derik and Brax ducked in then, pulling off their wet clothes too. I smiled, my eyes raking over them both appreciatively.
“Stop that, beautiful. Tonight we stay alert–and alive,” Derik ordered, eyeing Brax and Kai, who nodded.
“Why? Aren’t we safe here?” I asked.
Derik hesitated, and my heart rate sped up.
“We’ll keep you safe,” Kai tried.
“From what?” I shivered, my body trembling as it tried to keep the warmth, but it was just so cold.
“The vampire that we heard could still be out there, trying to get out of whatever torment it is being put through. Not to mention the distraction it might be. We have to be careful. I’ll take first watch,” Derik said, going to leave the tent.
“Wait, you’ll freeze to death.” I tried to stop him, but he just grinned.
“We’re wolves, beautiful. We run hot. Until tomorrow when we leave, we’ll be able to keep you warm,” he said, then left, tying the hut shut as tight as it would go.
I blew out a cold breath, trying to get closer to Kai, but I was already as close as I could be.
“Take your dress off, it’ll help you get warmer quicker,” Brax said, grabbing the blanket.
I peeled off my dress, stumbling a little, needing their help with the bits of it, my fingers still frozen.
I left my panties on, then lay down on the bottom of the hut, which was lined in a lumpy piece of leather that was better than the snow but still freezing.
My teeth started chattering, and I couldn’t stop them.
“They know I’m human, right?” I asked.
My shadows stirred inside me then as if to remind me I wasn’t completely. They swirled inside my body, but they were light, like a feather’s touch, but they spread enough warmth that I let out a sigh.
The hut went silent. I peeled an eye open at Brax and Kai kneeling next to me, frowning between me and each other.
“You just used your shadows,” Brax said, his voice and eyes wary.
“Yeah. Can you hurry up and get down here, please?”
I shivered again, choosing to ignore their worried glances and “What the fuck”
comments in their heads.
Kai shrugged out of his pants, then moved up against me. I curled into him, shaking as my body tried to regulate. Then Brax was there behind me, laying the throw over us.
With my shadows, their body heat, and the blanket, I managed to stop shivering, but it was still cold.
“Will you still want me when I have frostbite on my nipples?” I asked through a dry laugh.
Kai chuckled and kissed my forehead. “You know we will,” he said, and I grinned against his pec, blowing on my icy fingers, my eyes closed.
Brax’s arm was over my waist, our legs all entwined, and eventually I was warm enough to fall asleep, but it was restless.
The wind was so strong, howling and crying all night, shaking the hut with a fierceness that had me waking up constantly. Derik came in a while later and switched with Kai.
The blizzard kept going.
Then it was Brax’s turn.
“Are we staying while the storm is here?” I asked, not sure what time of the day it was or how long it had been, but I was starving and impatient.
Derik hesitated before he nodded.
“I told you before, once we leave here, we have no magic. We’ll be vulnerable like you are. No shifting, and we won’t be able to protect you. We’re making sure they aren’t waiting for that.”
“But the witches?”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?