The Unwanted Wolf
The Hunted Wolf – Chapter 44

MARK

“No one knows where Jori is there?” I said, more out of surprise than actually looking for an answer.

Scythe had returned an hour ago to give an update on Pack Sallow. Percy decided to stay behind to continue helping out the pack while the alpha was missing, but what they had found there was surprising. Jori had been neglecting his alpha duties ever since Percy was kicked out, maybe even before that. The pack was managing as best as they could, but work was piling up, and things were starting to fall apart.

“People also said Jori’s behavior has been erratic, even when he was there. He would snap at people without any prompting,” Scythe explained. His forehead was scrunched up as he recounted the things he saw. “The people there were on edge. I have never seen them like that. The pack house wasn’t lively. They don’t deserve to live like that. Their alpha is supposed to be there to protect people. The beta is supposed to be there to pick up any slack, but Jori made sure neither were possible.”

I grabbed Scythe’s shoulder and squeezed. Pack Sallow used to be our pack, so I understood why this upset him so much. Those were our friends, the people we grew up with. “We’ll fix this somehow. We’ll make things right.”

“We need to replace Jori. I have never been the biggest fan of his, but he cared about his pack. Something is wrong with him.” Scythe curled his fingers.

I thought back to what Reyland had suggested with Jori being involved with Adira’s kidnapping. Had the situation with Adira thrown him into such a dark spiral that he would neglect his duties? Would he really go to the lengths of taking another alpha’s mate? It didn’t seem like it was that simple, but I couldn’t figure out what I was missing.

“We can’t afford to spend extra resources looking for Jori directly, but Alpha Lyna has a theory. He thinks there’s a chance that if we replace Adira, we might replace Jori.” I hadn’t shared this idea with anyone else yet, but Scythe deserved to know.

Scythe’s face tightened. “Do you think he would be involved with Adira’s kidnapping?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “It’s possible, and until we get more information about her whereabouts, we can’t rule anything or anyone out.”

Scythe stared at me, pulling his lips tight. “How are you doing with all of this? Are you holding up okay?”

My body slumped because of his question. “Not great. There’s a pain in my chest that just won’t go away. If I think about it too much, I feel like I can’t breathe. I don’t know what I’m going to do if we can’t replace her. I-”

Scythe pulled me into a hug. “Alpha, we’ll replace her. Once Percy organizes things at Pack Sallow, he’ll send us any warriors he can. Everyone is doing what we can. We’ll replace her ad get her back.”

I squeezed Scythe back, melting into the hug. I needed it more than I realized. “I feel like it’s selfish of me to have so many people searching for my mate.”

Scythe pulled back, keeping his hands on my shoulders. “We all want her back. Adira is our luna, and she belongs home with us.”

–

ADIRA

Deep breath. Dig deep.

Deep breath. Focus.

I was sitting cross-legged in the bed, focusing on my breathing. Cain had only come back to drop off more food. He didn’t stick around for any conversation. I think he was less than pleased with my reaction to him. I thought about ambushing Cain again. If I shifted into wolf form, it would give me an advantage. If it was the building stopping me from using my powers, that would mean that Cain couldn’t use his as well. That would give me an advantage.

The issue then would be Jori. If he was still around, I would have to figure out a way to get past him. I hadn’t seen Jori since the first day I was here, and Cain said he had left, but there was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me that wasn’t actually the case. Jori wanted me, and he would go through Cain if that was what it took. Cain was too naive to see that, but I wasn’t going to let my guard down.

I decided it was best to make my move sooner rather than later. I needed to get out of here before Jori came back, assuming he left at all. Time was becoming a bit of a blur in this room. I had no access to the outside world. There were no windows with the sun to indicate morning or night, no clocks to keep my sense of time grounded. For all I knew, I had been held captive for weeks.

Deep breath.

Mark, it’s time for me to come home.

I stood up and moved next to the door, so that when Cain entered the room, he wouldn’t see me right away. I was able to overpower him once. I just had to do it again. I went over all of the self-defense techniques Mark had taught me as well, while waiting for Cain to show up with the next meal.

The lock to the door clicked, and I held my breath as the door slowly opened. There was a moment of silence where it seemed like time had frozen.

“Adira?” Cain called out. The concern in his voice told me he was on edge.

He started to shut the door behind him, just barely revealing himself to me. I lunged forward, punching him in the throat. His eyes went wide as his hand grabbed his throat. The tray of food he had clattered to the ground, spilling everywhere. He stumbled backwards, hitting the wall hard. I swiped my leg, knocking Cain to the ground. Before he could get up, I dug my knee into his back, pinning him to the ground. I grabbed his elbow and pushed up, making him cry out in pain.

“You are going to release me, or I’ll break your arm,” I demanded.

“You’re insane!” Cain cried out.

“No, you’re the insane one! You took me from my home, my mate, just because you think you know what’s best. You don’t get to decide what’s best for me.”

I gritted my teeth, holding back from doing any serious damage from Cain. He clearly wasn’t skilled with hand-to-hand fighting, which made this easier for me. I only had the basics, but that was enough. It gave me the advantage in the situation.

Cain suddenly flipped around, grabbing my wrist as he did it. He flung me over, and I landed flat on my back. Before I could counter, Cain held out his hand, sending an aura of magic around me. I could see the shimmer of the bubble around me, and I couldn’t move. No, that wasn’t it. I could move, but it was extremely slowed down.

Cain stood up and brushed himself off. “I’ve been patient with you, Adira. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy on you, so I have been trying to give you time to adjust, and this is how you treat me. Did you think you actually could overpower me?”

He paced back and forth in front of me, but all I could do was watch him. I had never felt so hopeless in my time.

“Did you forget that my specialty in magic is time manipulation? Or maybe you thought I couldn’t use magic here because you can’t.” He looked at me with narrowed eyes and then suddenly laughed. “You really thought I was stupid enough to bring you to a place where I couldn’t use my magic, leaving me just as helpless as you. It would have been unwise to send Jori away if that were the case.”

He started walking around me. “I need you to understand that the only reason I needed that wolf was to get close to you, especially with that old witch in your house. She put up magic spells that prevented me from entering. That’s why I needed that wolf to help. As for containing you, I don’t need help.”

He walked over and placed his hand on the wall. He took a sharp breath in, and for a moment the bubble around me wavered. It wasn’t enough to make more than an inch of movement, though.

“This prison was constructed by werewolves to hold sorcerers during the great war, but it doesn’t do much against stronger sorcerers. You haven’t had practice with your magic, so I knew it would be easy to hold you here, but I am stronger than these walls.” Cain had a small twinkle in his eyes as he spoke. “This place has long been forgotten and there’s no way for someone to tie me to this place. Even if your friends figure out I’m involved, they won’t be able to track me. They won’t replace you. Just accept it already. It’ll make your life so much easier.”

I wanted to respond. I wanted to fight back, but I was stuck, unable to do anything. Cain started walking towards me and knelt down next to me. He reached out and touched my neck, right where Mark’s mark was located.

He locked eyes with me. “This is going to hurt, but trust me. This will be for the best.”

Cain’s hand started to glow, and then the burning on my skin began. My body tensed, and I wanted to scream, but it was stuck in my throat. The fire moved through my veins, spreading through every inch of my body. The pain felt worse without being able to react to it. I wanted to twist and scream to let out some of the pressure, but it wasn’t possible.

After a moment, the pain completely ceased. Cain stood up, a small frown etched into his face. “You won’t understand this for a while, but with time, it will get easier. You won’t miss him so much this way.”

Cain released the bubble from around me before leaving the room and locking the door behind him. My entire body ached and felt completely drained. My hand moved up to my neck, feeling for my mate-mark, but the skin was completely smooth. My heart raced. There was no way he was actually able to remove the mark.

I climbed to my feet and stumbled to the small bathroom attached to my prison. I looked in the mirror, but my eyes quickly filled with tears as I looked at the empty space on my neck. It was like it had never happened. Cain must have manipulated time in a way that erased the moment Mark marked me. My fist pressed against my mouth as I tried to hold back the inconsolable sobbing that was making its way up my throat.

If Cain had erased the mark, then he had erased my bond with Mark. I wouldn’t be able to link, even if I somehow managed to escape this place.

A terrible thought suddenly crossed my mind. If Cain had done something to the mark, had he done any other damage to my body? My hand wrapped around my stomach. I didn’t know for sure if I was pregnant. I only had my suspicions. I wanted to wait to take a test until I talked to Mark. I wanted to know if he even wanted children. Then I had imagined taking the test when he was there and replaceing out for sure.

My body shook at the thought of Cain’s magic doing anything to harm a baby. I dropped to my knees, still holding my stomach. I had no way to confirm if I was still pregnant, if I had been pregnant in the first. I didn’t know what to do. A scream burst from my lips and the sobbing was finally released. I didn’t know how to escape or even send a signal out for help. My body doubled over, and I couldn’t breathe between the sobs. How could Cain say this was for the best? How did he think this would make it easier for me to give in to his demands? I felt hopeless and empty, and I needed Mark more than ever at this moment.