I am Wolf
Chapter Thirty - Two

SASHA

I suddenly feel a rush of energy leave my body, and all at once, I gasp as I grab my chest, instantly replaceing it difficult to breathe.

The voice still echoes in my head, and I don’t know how to make it stop; it’s like having another person inside your head besides your fated mate and not knowing how to switch it off.

Within an instant, I have Wolf’s arms snaked around me, pulling me to his hard chest. He’s calling my name, but I feel entirely incoherent; I can hear his voice calling out to me like a murmur, but the loud voice in my head won’t stop. I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience.

Who is this voice, and why does it feel like it’s a part of me like it’s been a part of me all my life?

I’m babbling incoherently, words that I know make no sense to Wolf, a language I know is so ancient and foreign to him, a language witches use, a language now overwhelmingly overactive in my head.

Wolf’s eyes are bewildered as he grips my shoulders. He’s shouting at me, but there’s too much going on in my head; it’s too loud, and I can’t hear him anymore.

I’m suddenly being spun around and slammed against the wall behind me, his lips crashing against mine as his body pushes heavily against me; it’s a mixture of lips, tongues, and teeth wildly nipping, tasting, and clawing at one another.

I’m kissing him like my life depends on it, focusing on only him as my fingernails suddenly sear his back, drawing blood as I wrap my legs around his waist; I feel his hands cup and squeeze my ass cheeks tightly, a moan escaping me.

His mouth completely dominates mine, devouring me like a starved man; the loud voice in my head begins to fade, mainly because I’m forcing it out with all of my might, but also because Wolf’s presence is helping to shut it out.

I feel his heavy bulge pushing up against my heat. My panties and his slacks are the only thing in the way; my white t-shirt has already ridden to my waist.

I’m panting, moaning, clawing at him, needing him inside me now. He’s kissing my neck, his teeth nipping where he marked me, and oh... I can’t wait any longer. Fuck foreplay; I need him now!

“Please, please, Wolf...” I’m panting wildly in between, shamelessly grinding against him like a crazed woman.

“What do you want, princess?” He growls against my throat, and a shudder runs straight down my spine and to my pussy, my toes curling as I gasp.

“Fuck me, just fuck me already, please,” I plead, panting as my lips suddenly come crashing down on his. The fabric of the shirt I’m wearing tears, Wolf ripping it from my body. Could he turn me on any more right now? I guess so...

His trainers fall away, his cock springs free, the head glistening with pre-cum, the velvety smooth crown rock hard and ready to claim me as his. He pushes his chest against mine to support us against the wall, my shirt completely falling away as he devours my mouth.

“Now Wolf, please, fuck me now...” I’m begging in between pants, not being able to have him make me wait for it, not now.

He suddenly pulls back, lining the head of his cock to my entrance after gripping my panties and tearing them off; he hungrily rubs the crown up and down my slit. Without a second to spare, we both thrust forward simultaneously, making an explosive impact that instantly takes our breaths away as his entire length fills me up, hitting my cervix hard and making me cry in pleasure.

I repeatedly gasp as he slams into me, his cock vigorously claiming my pussy, the voice in my head long gone; it’s only him, only Wolf, in my head when his mind links me.

“You like this baby girl? You want more?” I nod, my eyes locked with his when I link back,

“More, please, more...” The palpable energy arching in my veins as it connects with him when he lowers me to the floor, my feet hitting the cold concrete when he spins me around and shoves me against the wall, my hands hitting the hard surface, heat pooling between my legs as I push my knees together.

“Push out your ass, princess,” He growls lowly beside my ear, and I immediately do as he says, pushing my ass out as he slams his hands beside my head.

A shudder runs through my body, the anticipation making me whine.

Lining his cock to my slick slit, he suddenly drives it home hard, thrusting deeper in this angle than before; I gasp with a deep groan as I choke on a breath.

Warm tears of ecstasy spring from my eyes every time he slams into me; I suddenly feel him wrap his hand around my throat, squeezing as he keeps pumping into me. It’s a mixture of pleasure and pain beyond anything I’ve ever felt. Pressure building within my core as breathy moans escape my lips, his lips coming right up next to my ear as he growls,

“Is this more, princess?”

“Yes,” I pant, moaning deeply as I lean one hand back to grip his thigh, but he quickly grabs my hand and places it back against the wall with a low growl reverberating beside my ear.

“Did I say you could remove your hand from that wall, princess?”

“No,” I pant.

“No, what?” He growls again, an instant shudder running down my spine as he keeps pumping into me.

“No, alpha.”

He suddenly stops midway when I call him that; it naturally falls from my lips.

Bringing his mouth right up against my ear, I feel the vibration of dominance radiating from him as he tightens his grip around my waist.

“Repeat that...” He growls.

Dragging my bottom lip through my teeth, carnal excitement ripples through me the moment I drawl it out,

“Alpha. My. Alpha.”

A possessive growl vibrates through his chest and suddenly has him grinding forward, slamming in deeper, an excited scream tearing from my throat as I beg for more; he keeps pumping into me repeatedly. I know I will be sore after this, but I don’t mind, not one tiny bit.

I’m feeling dizzy with lust, groaning as the pressure begins to build, my wet heat dripping down my inner thighs when I suddenly scream out his name, my vision tunneling as my knees buckle; the only thing keeping me up is him as the most earth-shattering orgasm comes out of nowhere.

Holding me firmly against his rock-hard chest as he finally slams into me one last time as, warm cum shoots deep into my channel. Groaning with every spasm of ecstasy, I feel his heartbeat thrumming against my back like a jackhammer.

We both stand like that for a while, unable to move as we slowly come down from the most insane orgasm ever.

“You are fucking amazing, princess, you know that?” He pants in a husky tone, and I stifle a chuckle, breathing hard as I say,

“Thank you. I’m learning from the best.”

He smirks, pulling me close, when he plants a kiss against my temple before slowly removing himself from me; I can feel the moment his warm cum starts dripping down against the sides of my inner thighs.

Turning me around and pushing me back against the wall, his forehead pushes against my own when he whispers, “I fucking love you, princess,” and my heart shudders behind my chest with so much love and adoration for him, when I breathe,

“Mine.”

~

I suddenly sit up with a jolt, clutching a hand over my frantic beating heart. Looking down at Wolf, he’s still fast asleep beside me, but I can’t sleep, the vision in my head replying repeatedly...

In my dream, I’m standing in a ring of fire; he’s there, his eyes searching mine. He suddenly murmurs... “Step out of the ring, Sasha; it won’t burn you.” His eyes are piercing right through my soul, and I’m drawn to him as if I’ve known him all my life, and yet, I’ve never seen him before this moment.

And then I suddenly woke up.

WOLF

Suppose everything boiled down to just one moment, one decision. The only way out is to fight for it; if the very thing you’re fighting against isn’t just of flesh and blood but spiritual warfare of sorcery and incantations, how do you fight against that?

The moment she finally stirs beside me, my head turns as my eyes land on her, leaving the pages of the book I’m reading.

Her eyes flutter open, and I’m instantly lost in the beautiful forest of her green eyes; she looks tired like she hasn’t slept at all, even though I’ve let her sleep the whole day.

“Hey,” I breathe as I turn toward her, my fingertips gently running up and down her arm,

“Hey,” She whispers, looking up at me with big doe eyes.

Today is the day of the full moon, tonight being the night leading up to all this torture. Honestly, I have no fucking idea what we’re going to do to get out of this mess, but I trust in my mate; I trust in what’s inside of her, even if I can’t understand it.

A tiny smirk creeps up at the corners of her mouth as she touches the cover of the book I’m still holding in my hands, “What are you reading?” She asks in a raspy voice. Besides the apparent daunting reason of what’s to come tonight, I also know that she’s probably still tired from what transpired in the early morning hours when I fucked the chaos right out of her.

Closing the book, I hand it to her as I grin, “Prufrock.” I say with a slight shrug and fuck; she’s beautiful, messy bed hair and all; she’s a goddess, a vision of perfection in every way, her hair flowing around her head like a hallow.

Taking the book from me, she looks at the cover, her brows knitting together suspiciously before looking back up at me.

“T.S Eliot, wow, you’re just full of surprises now, aren’t you, kind sir,” She says in a velvety soft voice as swirls of green and red dance across her eyes. “So what is it about sir Eliot that captivates you enough to read his poetry?”

“Having desires and dreams, yet failing to act on them because he deems himself inferior, unworthy, and a failed person. It resonated with my own past life somehow,” I shrug nonchalantly.

Biting down against her lower lip, Sasha suddenly sits up and cups my cheek in her hand, her eyes looking deeply into mine as she swallows hard,

“You are worthy of more than just the world, Wolf, so much more,” Gently placing my hand over hers, I swallow hard as my brows furrow for just a second,

“I don’t want the world; I just want you.” Dipping down, my lips brush up against hers, her intoxicating scent instantly swirling around my head as I become drunk on it. But before I can devour her lips, her tummy rumbles, my eyes lowering to her flat stomach, grinning. I nudge my nose against hers when I murmur,

“Somebody’s hungry,” And a shy blush colors her cheeks when she shrugs,

“I can’t remember the last time I ate,”

“Well, it’s a good thing that Damien brought us some food in the early hours of this morning then,”

“Wait, Damien brought us food; when? Why?”

“Earlier, when you were drawing all that stuff on the wall,” I say, nudging towards the wall; the moment her eyes fall on the symbols, she frowns as she clenches her jaw.

Realizing we still haven’t addressed the white elephant in the room, I slide off the bed and grab the black duffel bag from the floor.

“I know we need to talk about it, but let’s first get some food into you.” And with that, I lay the bag on the bed and opened it before her.

Sasha’s eyes immediately land on the blueberry muffins inside, and they light up like a Christmas tree. Her eyes quickly shoot up to me and then back down,

“Dive right in, princess...” The moment I say that, she instantly grabs a blueberry muffin and brings it to her mouth, soft moans escaping her lips as she begins devouring it. The muffin is so big it fits in both her hands put together, but it doesn’t stop her. An instant smile creeps up at the corners of my mouth as I watch her before grabbing for a turkey leg inside the Tupperware in the bag.

When she notices the turkey leg in my hand, she stops chewing the muffin, her eyes zeroing in on it like a carnal wild animal amid a hunt. Smiling at how fucking adorable she looks when she’s about to attack me over a piece of meat, I stretch out my hand to her, dangling the turkey leg right in front of her face with a smirk,

“You want it?” Her eyes move from it to me, and I could melt into her doe green eyes when she murmurs,

“Are you sure?” Nodding, I smile as I hand it to her,

“I’m sure; look, there’s another one in here.” Picking it up out of the Tupperware container, I hold it to my mouth, “See,” I shrug with a grin as I take a big bite into the turkey leg I’m holding. Only then does she nod and smile before diving into the meat in her hands; she’s wholly starved, and to be honest, I know the feeling. The moment the meat hits my pallet, I can’t help a sudden groan of satisfaction rumbling through my chest.

“It’s so good,” She moans as her eyes replace mine,

“So good,” I reciprocate as I nod. If things were different, this would have been our first official date, I think to myself.

Imagine that.

I would have taken her out into the forest, laid out a picnic blanket under the stars, and made a small bonfire while lying in each other’s arms and talking about everything and nothing at all.

We’ll still be able to do that one day, I think, with a hopeful smile as it lifts at the corners of my mouth.

If we can get out of this whole thing alive, that is.

We’re both completely stuffed when we clean ourselves off; Damien packed too much food. Still, with us being shifters and having a healthy appetite in most cases, we managed to finish every last bite. Changing into the clothes Damien put in the bag, I can’t help as a grin creeps up at the corners of my mouth when I look over at her. Sasha’s wearing a pair of tight black tights and a long-sleeved, slim, fit black t-shirt. She slipped on the sneakers she wore when I brought her into my room the first night. She even pulls off casually, looking like a fucking supermodel, and I can’t help but take a step towards her as I pull her into my arms.

Fuck, I love this girl.

I’m wearing a white t-shirt and beige slacks, and the moment she looks up at me, I gently brush a lock of her hair away from her face. She turns her head to look at the wall and sighs,

“Mind telling me about this?” Staring at the symbols carved out on the wall, she turns her entire body to face the wall, and I let her go,

“Well, funny story. I woke up to replace you carving out these symbols with a sharp stone,” Nodding, she smirks in response,

“I don’t even remember doing this.” Turning my head to look at her, my brows furrow,

“Not at all?” Shaking her head, she turns to look at me,

“Nothing. The last thing I remember is standing in front of this wall with a stone in my hand, but then I blanked out after that; I just kept repeatedly hearing this voice in my head,”

“Voice?” I repeat, my brows furrowing in response,

“Yeah, a male voice kept saying the same words repeatedly; they kept getting louder. Eventually, I thought I would lose my mind. I understood the words, but I have no idea what these symbols mean,”

“What did the voice say?” I ask, now slightly concerned about some guy in her head.

Biting down against her lower lip, she frowns as her eyes lower to the floor,

“There was so much, but what he kept repeating, over and over, were ‘Protection, banishing dark forces, coming for you; protection, banishing dark forces, coming for you’...” Closing her eyes, she suddenly kept repeating it to herself, and I had to physically give her a little shake as I gripped her by her shoulders.

“Hey! It’s okay; look at me, it’s okay.” Nodding, she looked into my eyes with worry swirling behind her eyes; I was about to say something when the door suddenly flew open, which startled both Sasha and me as she pushed herself up against me.

The moment my eyes landed on the witch, I growled in response, my wolf ready to defend our mate at all costs.

What the fuck does she want now? The full moon isn’t until much later.

Rolling her eyes, she scoffed at me,

“Oh please, calm down-” But the last word suddenly got caught in her throat when she stepped into the room and looked over at the wall, her eyes widening in shock and then turning into molten anger as they flew over at Sasha,

“What. Is. This?” She drawled out in a snarl as she pointed at the wall, staring daggers at Sasha. Not getting an answer from Sasha, she looks at the wall again, seething as she quickly walks up to it and waves a hand over the symbols.

Stopping midway, she suddenly starts cackling with laughter as she looks at Sasha,

“You foolish child, elemental white lighter magic only works if you understand their meaning, and it’s impossible that you would,” She laughs wickedly the moment she stops laughing; however, she cocks her head as she narrows her eyes questioningly at Sasha,

“Who taught you to write these things, little girl?” Sasha’s entire body tenses as she scowls at her, “I asked you a question,” She spits the words, “Who taught you how to draw these!?” She bellows, and it takes every ounce of strength not to lunge at her and rip her throat out.

“I don’t know,” Sasha grits out, “There was a voice in my head; he kept repeating the words to me...”

“He?” Lisbon mutters in surprise as her eyes narrow into slits; she’s in deep thought when she lowers her eyes and grinds out, “Atlas...”

“What?” Sasha mutters when her brows furrow as she blinks at Lisbon. Narrowing her eyes at Sasha, she clenches her jaw,

“Nothing, nothing I can’t handle,” She snaps as she quickly pulls something from her cloak pocket; I growl deeply when my eyes land on the dog tag necklace dangling from her bony fingers, but she doesn’t look intimidated by me this time; tossing it at my feet, she suddenly speaks one word, which I will never forget and always associate with death.

“Kletva!”

It’s instant. Dropping to my knees, I suddenly gasp for air, feeling like my entire body is being ripped apart as I scream in agony.

My back arches as I hit the floor, my body spasming, ears throbbing with pain.

“Stop it! Please, just stop!” Sasha’s voice breaks as she falls to her knees beside me, tears pouring from her eyes as she tries to touch me, but the pain has me shuddering in waves of agony.

“You better hurry up and get that dog tag around his neck quickly; he only has seconds left before the full force of the curse rips his wolf from his body,” Lisbon smirks with a sinister grin.

Sasha darts a handout, grabbing the chain off the floor, almost knocking it away with her hand when she finally grabs hold of it, fumbling with it frantically; she suddenly manages to get it over my head as she sobs when she cups my cheeks.

The moment the dog tag falls against my chest, the pain stops, like it was never there. The only signs are my exhausted body aching as if I’ve just done an intense five-hour gym session or something.

Man, everything fucking hurts.

Sasha looks down at me, relief and sadness spreading across her face. My beast suddenly thrashes against my rib cage with the heaviness of captivity now back around my neck. Still, before I can reach out and touch her face, Lisbon grabs Sasha by the arm and yanks her up and away from me.

I growl, glaring up at her, but all my efforts deflate the second she grinds out,

“Get up, Wolf. We have a sacrifice to get to.”

Turning towards the door, she pulls Sasha along with her, and my feet, although heavy, start moving towards her as if being pulled in the direction of my mate; the moment Sasha disappears around the corner of the bedroom door, I’m already up and rounding the corner after her.

I have to do something, fuck, but what? How do I fight against a witch who can end my life with just one word before I even get a chance to dig my claws into her?

SASHA

Lisbon drags me into this great open space; I immediately know this must be the hole Wolf told me about. Right near the center of it stands an almighty high rock formation that stretches up toward this vast hole in the rocks above, exposing the night sky, the twinkly stars, and freedom just out of reach, and for a brief moment, I wish that Wolf and I were birds, having the ability to just fly out here and away from all this madness.

Gulping, I turn my head to look over my shoulder, and instant relief washes over me the moment my eyes land on Wolf not too far behind us. He’s still in pain; I can see it in every step he takes. He needs to lie down and recover, not run around right now.

Lisbon immediately yanks me right out of my thoughts the moment she pushes me towards a small circle on the ground, shoving me forward; she tells me to get inside the circle and that I will die if I step out once inside. Reaching inside her cloak pocket, she pulls the moldavite necklace from it and places it inside the ring on the ground right in front of me.

I scowl at her, but she pays me no attention as she carries on doing whatever she does.

Suddenly looking over at Wolf, Lisbon narrows her eyes at him,

“You get into that circle right next to hers, and don’t try anything; I have zero tolerance for your wolf bullshit tonight.” She grumbles the last bit with annoyance. The moment she grins wickedly at me, I notice Caius standing beside her; he’s staring at me with a sinister grin of satisfaction plastered all over his face,

“The rogues are all in position; they won’t let any of those white witches in, trust me,” He shrugs smugly. Lisbon quickly turns and glares at him,

“The reason for your rogues to be out there isn’t to stop them; it’s to alert me if they come and trust me...” She grits out, turning back to look at me, “They’re coming; one, in particular, is coming just for her,”

“How can you be so sure? This place is well hidden; they’ve never even met the girl; I doubt very much that-” Cutting him off, she takes a threatening step towards him; all the while, Wolf stands inside his own circle just a foot away from mine, staring at me, concern and worry sketched across his features.

“That’s the problem with you, Caius; you think you know everything when, in fact, you know nothing about our kind and our true abilities and powers. They might already be here, you idiot!” She spits the words like venom at his feet; scowling at her, he growls but says nothing.

Looking up to the hole above, I can’t see the moon yet; I can feel it drawing closer, though, the energy of it already tangible in the air around us.

A full moon is meant to be the one night in a month our kind shifts together, to run in our packs like a family. Realizing that I wouldn’t be running with my father and brother tonight fills me with so much sadness; I was never allowed to run alone, only with them, and now they’re gone. The moment I look over towards Wolf, the pain I feel knowing that we won’t be running together tonight grips tightly against my heart, the pain aching deep inside of me as I look at the dog tag hanging around his neck like a death sentence, the very reason why we won’t be able to taunt me.

Lisbon leans down and begins scrummaging through a black bag; pulling something shiny from it, she quickly shoots up, instant excitement creeping up on her face as she holds it up to me,

“Look what I’ve got; it’s a crown. It’s fake, but it’s all shiny; I got it just for you. We can’t sacrifice you without it now, can we, princess of the elemental white lighters.” She drawls out the word ‘princess’ mockingly as she grins wickedly at me before stepping forward and ordering me forward.

I slowly step to the edge of the ring as I lower my eyes to the ground, instant helplessness eating away at me as tears spring from my eyes and the moment she forcefully pushes the crown down against my head, the sharp edges of the cheap plastic dig into my skull; having me instantly wincing when it pierces the skin with force.

Blood starts trickling down my face, and I can’t help as tears fall from my eyes. Wolf growls, but there’s nothing he can do; he can’t fight against this; he knows it, I know it.

It’s hopeless.

I’m not crying because of the pain, no... I’m crying because I can’t believe that I’m related to someone like Lisbon; her nature’s cruelty is slicing through me like a rusty sword gashing through my soul. How can I be related to someone as wicked as her?

Lisbon suddenly steps back as she takes in her handiwork. Wolf growls fiercely at her, and I know he would rip her apart if given a chance.

I wish he could.

She doesn’t even pay him any attention. Instead, she laughs wickedly as her finger rests against her chin, Caius now assessing me as he gives me a once over with a smirk,

“Look, you made her cry. Don’t worry, princess, soon you’ll join your family in the afterlife,” He scoffs with a grin, and the instant memory of him killing the only woman I ever knew as my mother suddenly crashes through me, the pain almost crushing me where I stand, that along with taking my father and brother from me, and it’s too much to bare.

He’s taken so much from me, and now, he’s about to take the one thing that will surely kill me away from me, too.

Wolf.

Sighing to himself, Caius cocks his head as he gives me an amused look,

“Such a pity I never got to taste you; such a pretty little waste...” The moment he steps towards me, I freeze, “Such a pity Wolf had to go ahead and do what I told him not to do when he marked you, or perhaps I already knew he would; perhaps it was all part of the plan. The moment he marked you was when you started changing, your abilities and his wolf’s realization of what he actually is... the mark kickstarted everything we wanted and more.” Smirking, Caius stretches a hand out to me as I flinch back.

Wolf tries to step out of the circle, growling and baring his teeth as he glares at Caius, but it’s pointless; he can’t. An invisible forcefield has been placed around the ring, keeping him inside the circle.

Wolf’s growl becomes louder and more threatening in frustration as he glares at Caius,

“Touch her, and I’ll show you how far I’m willing to go, old man...” He growls louder and louder as his eyes start glowing with the red of his Ultima wolf. But Caius merely bursts into laughter as he turns to look at Wolf,

“I’m almost sad to see you die, almost.” He scoffs, “After tonight, I’ll be able to harvest your Ultima powers, finally claiming them for myself. I’ll become the most powerful beast in all the world, and with the help of your mate’s sacrifice, I’ll be able to get rid of every alpha male on the planet. Can you even imagine them all dropping dead like flies across the globe? I mean, can you?” He laughs wickedly as he shakes his head, almost delirious with smug satisfaction.

Wolf’s eyes glow bright crimson red as his growl suddenly lowers to something far more threatening than ever before. The moment he stares Caius down and grits out,

“I promise you I will be the one to end your life, Caius. Be it today, tomorrow, a fucking year from now, it will be my face you see when you take your last breath.” Caius’s wide smile drops, gritting his teeth as he blinks at Wolf, the satisfied grin suddenly wiped away as he clenches his jaw.

He doesn’t respond to Wolf; instead, he turns away from him before facing Lisbon and gritting out,

“Get fucking on with it; I don’t have all night to wait.” Picking up a dead torch from beside Caius, Lisbon begins speaking over it, and the end suddenly catches a light in a huge flame.

My eyes widen when she lowers it to the edge of my circle, speaking in a low tone when she commands the ring, which suddenly catches on fire.

My body tenses as my hands become fisted by my side, the vision in my dreams coming back to me, the same image of me standing inside a ring of fire just like this.

I’ve seen this; it wasn’t just a dream.

Moving over towards Wolf, she smirks as she goes to light his circle after speaking words too soft for me even to hear; the moment his ring lights up with flames, I swallow hard as my eyes fly up to meet Wolf’s. His eyes remain locked with mine, his jaw tightly clenched when he links me...

“Sasha, what do you want me to do?” Blinking, I feel so helpless; I’m trying to think, trying to understand the meaning of the symbols I carved out on the wall, but I can’t, I can’t think straight, I’m scared of losing Wolf, scared I’ll never see him again after tonight... I can’t lose him.

“I- I don’t know...” I whimper back in the mind link, “I wasn’t brought up a witch, I don’t know how to channel anything, I don’t know what to do.” I sniff as tears well up behind my eyes.

Lisbon suddenly orders Wolf to remove his dog tag around his neck; frowning at her, he narrows his eyes in defiance,

“Not a fuck.” He growls at her, but she merely cocks a brow at him as she smirks,

“The circle you’re standing in is your only safety net, Wolf. Trust me; it’s the only place you can shift into your beast, so please don’t make me ask twice. Take it off and place it down in front of you inside the circle before I take out my anger on your mate.” She’s talking to him like he’s a defiant toddler, and the moment she smiles wickedly at him, my growl suddenly reverberates through my chest.

Lisbon’s eyes instantly fly up toward me when she chuckles with widened eyes,

“Look at this; your little mate is getting all protective, Wolf. You wouldn’t want me to end her life right now, would you? Not when she’s finally replaceing her purpose to fight back.” Lisbon looks thoroughly amused, grinning at Wolf as she pouts her lips.

Wolf glares at her but hesitantly removes the dog tag from around his neck as he lowers himself to place it at his feet. Getting back up, he glares daggers at her when he grits out,

“There.”

Clapping her hands together delightedly as her eyes light up at the sight before her, she looks wickedly excited as she turns to face Caius,

“We will sacrifice both their wolves under the blood moon, but the moment we start the spell, nothing must disturb it, understood?” She grinds out sternly, all traces of her excitement now gone and replaced with a severe deadpan expression.

Nodding in response, Caius steps back like he’s moving away from us, but then I notice him stepping inside a circle opposite Wolf’s; my throat tightens, my brows furrowing when I watch Lisbon set his ring alight.

What’s he doing? Why is he inside a circle?

Lisbon moves towards me, and when she stands opposite me, she grins at me before lighting another circle with fire, gulping; my heart starts racing.

What is she doing? Why is she inside a burning circle? Is this all part of the plan to take our strengths and drain our life forces under the full moon?

My heart is frantic as I watch her bend down to retrieve a book from the ground; opening it up, she stands up and looks down, studying the writing on the pages.

I look over to Wolf, and I’ve never been so scared in all my life; I’m trying to remember the carvings on the wall. Were they meant to protect me, protect us? Wolf swallows hard, and I can see uncertainty and fear in his eyes, not of dying but of losing me, and I feel the same way; I can’t lose him.

Lisbon starts reading from the book. The words make no sense to Wolf, but I understand the language now.

The language of the witches.

“I will call on your powers to take what rightfully is mine; the darkness of the shadows will devour you, separating your beast from your witch, offering the wolf as a blood sacrifice to claim the powers within the body. Witch and Wolf mated and fated. Chosen by the moon and sacrificed under the blood of the coven of darkness, I call on you now, give Caius the power of the Ultima, and give me the power of the white light spirit element witch Queen... Shift into your wolves, shift into your beasts, and release the power... Now!” She suddenly shouts the last word as she slices her hand open with a dagger, my brows furrowing in a panic the moment I realize it’s the same dagger Mason used to stab me with. Gulping, I turn my head towards Wolf, but a sudden sharp pain starts running down my hand.

Wincing in pain, I look down to see a gash across the palm of my hand; my eyes fly back up to meet Wolf’s bewildered ones the moment I notice he’s got a gash across his hand as well.

How did she...

Looking over at Caius, I notice he has one too. A sudden pain shoots through my entire body, making me gasp in response as my bones crack. Groaning as I hit the ground, I look down at my hands; I’m shifting involuntarily; I have no control over it; my bones are cracking beneath my skin as white fur begins to sprout from my arms. I’m trying to stop my shift, but it’s impossible. My wolf is growling in my head, delirious as she begins to lose her mind, but we can’t stop this from happening.

Black fog swirls around Lisbon as it flows around us like a suffocating smog of smoke.

Coughing on the feeling of being suffocated, I look over at Wolf when I notice him shifting into his wolf, and when I look at Caius, so is he.

I groan again, more bones snapping as I grit my teeth.

This is it; this is the end; I can feel it.

Lisbon is the only one standing there, eyes black and dead, hands stretched out toward Wolf and me as she keeps chanting in the language of the witches, and the enchantment of our shift suddenly has me fully transforming into my white wolf when I growl.

Standing up against all fours, my wolf shakes out her soft fur; she looks over at Wolf’s beast as he stares back at her. They share a bonded moment before turning their heads towards Lisbon, deep growls and snarls coming from both of them directed straight at her.

The black fog swells around us when electricity cracks explode between the darkness. Caius has also shifted into his brown wolf, and I want to rip his head off; I can feel my wolf wanting the same thing as she growls at him. This is all his fault, the thought of him killing my wolf mother, my father, my brother, and being the reason Wolf no longer has a family. I want him dead; I’ve never wanted to kill anyone before tonight.

Lisbon starts chanting again, but I’m no longer listening to her, the noise of the fog and darkness swirling noisily around us. The moment my wolf starts howling uncontrollably, I know something is wrong. The pain shooting through us is unbearable; my wolf looks over at Wolf’s beast and then howls in pain when she drops to the ground.

She’s killing our wolves, sacrificing them like she said... A haze of blue begins to flow outward from my wolf; I can feel her being ripped from my body and soul. It feels like someone is trying to tear my spine right out of my body; the pain is killing her and me. I’m crying out, delirious, as everything blurs around me.

The pain is too much to bear.

I suddenly notice muffled screams coming from somewhere in the distance. Lifting her head, my wolf looks up from the ground; she’s lying on her side, unable to stand. All I can see is rogues and more rogues. They’re pouring in through the entrance, screaming frantically like they’re possessed by something.

It’s chaos.

They’re crashing into each other to escape something. I can’t make out what’s going on; it’s all too chaotic. My wolf tries to focus, but I can feel her slipping away; the pain is far too real as I feel her being split from me.

I look over at Wolf, and he’s down on the ground; my wolf immediately whimpers for her mate. And I’m sobbing inside as I feel myself go, we’re going to die; I can feel it the moment I slip into darkness...

~

Slowly opening my eyes, they feel so heavy as they flutter. The blurry vision comes into view when I stare up into the eyes of a man, a stranger, yet it’s like I know him somehow.

My eyes try to adjust, and I don’t know if I’m still in my wolf’s form or my human one; everything feels strange. He’s got long dark brown wavy hair and a strong jawline, olive tanned skin, but when I look into his eyes, a shudder instantly runs through my chest; the soft kindness in them when he gently touches my face and runs his hand down my cheek instantly soothes me.

I know him.

Smiling softly at me, his eyes swirl with something so warm and desperate when he whispers,

“Hey beautiful, did you miss me...” Frowning as I stare at him in confusion, I try lifting myself, but I can’t.

“Who?” Gently tipping my chin up to him, his eyes suddenly swirl with blue fire when he murmurs,

“Get up, Sasha; it’s time to step out of the ring now; you know it won’t burn you.” Frowning, I feel like I’m experiencing the worst case of Deja Vu ever; where have I heard those words before?

Oh yes, my dream.

“It’s you,” I breathe, “It’s...” But then something sucks me back into darkness the second my eyes close, and it all disappears.