Filed to story: Owned by the Alphas Novel
‘We are going to go the other way, back to our homes to replenish what we can before we fight.’
“Thank you,” I said, smiling, looking at the tunnel where Kai waited for me.
The boy looked between us, ‘Thank you. You did not have to release us. For that, we owe you a debt we promise to repay.’
And then he and the rest of the small frames like him ran silently down the other tunnel.
I went into our tunnel, bringing up the rear with Kai.
He held my hand, and the comfort in his touch was everything. Especially since we didn’t have the link yet.
“Let’s go get our kids, Little Luna,” he whispered.
Heading deeper into the dark tunnel, I nodded, “And kill some witches.”
He grinned, “That’s my girl.”
35. The Ash
Lorelai
The tunnel was long, winding, and dark. I used magic to light a torch on the wall, giving it to Brax who went first and spread his shadows so we knew which way to go.
Derik was in the middle with a torch as I walked at the back with Kai, my shadows trailing behind, making sure we weren’t followed.
I wasn’t sure where this tunnel led but I hoped it was somewhere warmer, with food. Or with some witches I could sink my teeth and magic into.
I had no idea if I was going to be any match for them or not. I had no idea what they could do but even if I wasn’t, I had to try.
We had been walking a while when we heard it. A deafening scream that shook the entire mountain.
I held my ears as it tried to pierce my brain then threw my magic over us like a blanket. Ever since I had let it burst out of me like it had, it had become stronger, more responsive.
I was going to need that, I could feel it in my fingertips. But until I had to, my instinct was to run.
I wasn’t sure why but instead of questioning it, I ordered the pack to do it too. “Run!” I whispered as loud as I dared.
And we did, running fast through the muddy rock tunnel of the mountain.
It was so cold, so dark but we kept going until there was finally a small light at the end. A medium gap in the mountain with ferns and brush covering it.
“Stop,” I said and sent my magic to test the exit. There was magic on it.
But my magic knew what to do. It went up to it, smothering the entranceway, blanketing the archway instead of us. It siphoned the magic from the exit.
I knew when it was finished, the consuming of it happening in the turning of my stomach. “Go!” I ordered.
Brax nodded and pushed his shadows through. It was clear. So he started sending through the pack, holding the torch so they knew where to step to get out.
My heart was racing, my shadows checking over the tunnel behind us, making sure we weren’t followed. My skin prickled and I turned to narrow my eyes on the passageway.
It was too dark to see though. “Hurry,” I whispered.
I shivered as the prickly sensation got worse. We were being hunted and I had a feeling we were about to be caught.
The rest of the pack made it through, then Brax so he could use his shadows to find out where to go next. Then the hole started closing at the same time there was a scream from behind me. I spun to one of the witches launching herself at me.
I blasted her back with purple magic then threw the same ball of magic into the side of the mountain, stretching the hole back open in the dirt. “Go!” I screamed at Kai and Derik.
Both of them hesitated. I gritted my teeth and blasted the hole as it tried to close again. “Go or I swear to the realm I will blast you too,” I snapped.
Kai looked at the witch who was climbing to her feet. She dusted herself off then came back at me. I threw up a shield so she couldn’t get past.
She squealed an awful high-pitched sound, lifting her face to the ceiling of the tunnel. Like she was alerting the others.
That was probably exactly what she was doing. Which meant we had no time left.
“I can’t leave–“
“Go! I can’t keep that open and deal with her. Go through so I can!” I said, holding my shield steady as the witch threw some gold magic at it.
My magic pulsed it away. It shattered into golden flecks, the hit not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Even the witch seemed surprised.
She threw more magic in spinning gold balls over and over. My shield rebounded it all.
I grinned as I backed up towards the exit. Kai and Derik were in the threshold of the hole, waiting until I was ready to go through. But the witch was not letting me go easy.
She yanked a gold sword out of her gold cloak and started hitting it against my shield. Those hits I felt. I grunted and stumbled.
Derik caught me, growling as Kai came back down to stand in front of me. But I didn’t want their help. I wanted to know the answer to a single question.
Could I kill a witch? Did they die like others? I was willing to test everything I had to find out.
I sucked my shield back in and spun my magic through my shadows. It was barely a thought, moving without instruction, only instinct.
I pulled them into a glowing, pulsing orb of shadow and magic. “Move, Kai,” I warned as the witch went to step forward.
Kai stepped out of the way. The witch looked at the orb, her eyes going wide. She lifted her head to the roof and I knew she was about to scream. It was the only sound I had ever heard directly from this one.
And I didn’t want to hear it again. So I launched the ball at her.
She choked on her scream, looking at us, her eyes wide. The magic pulsed, racing over her, spreading and shocking her body. It twitched with the pulses, her hands flying to her throat as she started choking.
I threw another orb. And another. Each one landed on her. It burned through her gold cloak, seared her skin until she dropped to the floor.
“Where are my children?” I demanded as she writhed on the floor, her skin and body deteriorating by the second.
My shadows came back to me, the magic staying on the witch like I asked it to. She frowned at me for a split second.
Like she was confused.
But she said nothing and that was her death sentence. I picked up the gold sword she had dropped and lifted it over her. I sunk the gold magic into her heart.
She turned to ash. As soon as she did, the other witches’ screams echoed through the tunnels, shaking the mountain.
“And it’s time to go,” I said, turning to blast us out of the hole in the mountain.
Kai and Derik moved through it. Derik reached back to help me over the mound of dirt I had left.
As soon as we were through, a rush of exhaustion fell over me. I gasped and fell to my knees.
Brax was there in an instant, helping me up. “Focus, Spitfire. The links are coming back in,” he said like he knew something I didn’t.
I took deep breaths, my hands digging into the soil of the forest floor. There were dense trees and foliage everywhere and I had no idea where we were.
But Derik knew. “This is close to the forest villages. About a day from the humans,” he said.
I took another deep breath, the dizziness still making me weak. “Focus, you’ll feel them, Spitfire,” Brax whispered.
Before I could ask what he meant, there was a small crash. The side of the mountain caved in where we had gone through. Trees and roots cracked, falling in front of it so it couldn’t be used again.
I smiled. The realm was helping. It was reassuring but was not a guarantee.
The pack started stripping off what clothes they had, turning on Kai’s instruction. He was organizing his warriors.
Derik looked over at me, “Ride on me, it’ll be safer with your shadows and magic,” he offered. I nodded and went toward him.
Brax pulled me to him first though, his eyes were wavering as he met mine. “Spitfire. I’m telling you to listen. Feel.”
He placed his hand over my heart and I frowned but did what he asked. I closed my eyes and focused.
There were birds close. Our footsteps crunching on leaves and roots of the forest floor. The pack link was slowly coming into focus but that was Kai barking orders like usual. Derik was in there trying to get an update from the vampires.
We had asked them to stay behind to watch the humans as the last line rather than at the battle Heather gave us. They had been on standby when we had been taken but I had no idea what had happened since.
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?