Pursued: Silver Falls University 4, page 19
It had been. I pulled my knees further against my chest, only getting so far because of the chains on my ankles, and my chest squeezed painfully at his words. Despite being in the same space together, the way he had us chained apart was so isolating. I wanted to be close to my mates, to be able to weather this storm as one. I realized in that moment just how often we were together and I was able to touch them. These restraints made me appreciate each of those moments ten times more.
“We need to get out of here,” I said, my brain moving a million miles an hour. “I can try to heal everyone from over here, but I imagine after being exposed to the cold for so long… Well, eventually I won’t be able to. And Ryder’s magic is cut off because of those cuffs they put on him.”
“It’s a good thing,” Ryder said evenly, “that they didn’t put them on you.”
I blinked, realizing he was right. But Hastain knew that I had some type of true magic…so maybe those handcuffs were just for kitsune magic? If that was true, I would still have access to that. Even if my other magic wouldn’t help us get out of here, the kitsune magic would. I looked around, seeing that all of my mates were reaching the same conclusion, but no one said a word out loud. They thought someone was listening.
“This is fucked,” Tore bit out. I blinked, then nodded, agreeing with his analysis completely.
“It’s going to get worse,” Caedmon predicted, his gaze on the lake. “He’s not going to just let us sit here all night—that’s far too passive for him.”
“You think?” My throat threatened to close up at the idea of my mates being in so much danger.
The door at the back of the cave opened, nearly hitting Julian, who barely managed to get out of the way, his chains not giving him much leeway. My entire body went tense, dread trailing down my spine.
“He’s not wrong.” Hastain strolled in as if he was on a relaxing evening walk, four security guards standing behind him in the hallway. A growl left one of my mates’ chests as I narrowed my eyes at the man who’d put all of us in this situation—the man that seemed to be waiting around every corner, ready to ruin everything.
To shatter my new, happy reality—my snow globe.
“Why are you doing this?” I demanded, tears of anger warming my cheeks. Normally I hated that emotions incited tears for me, but right now I didn’t care. Right now I just wanted answers.
“I could ask you the same question.” He regarded me with a bored expression as he crouched in front of me, tugging on my chain.
“Get the fuck away from her,” Dakota growled, the rolling sound causing me to shiver as Hastain’s gaze darted over cautiously.
“As I was saying, I could ask you the same question,” he drew out. “Why are you doing any of this, Effie? You say these men are your mates, yet you continuously put them in situations where they’re punished for your insubordinate behavior. They would be fine and safe if you’d just agreed to be my son’s mate from the start.”
“He’s not my mate,” I said through clenched teeth, trying to ignore the guilt surging through me. Hastain was right. I knew my mates wouldn’t view it that way, but I did. “His pack has a fated mate.”
“Yes,” he spat in disgust. “I’m aware. In fact, my son was the one who unintentionally led me to where you were staying—it was how I realized you were friends with their mate, if you can call her that. I should’ve known what a traitor he was.”
I froze up, wondering if he’d heard our conversation, but considering he didn’t immediately mention it, it made me think not. I also couldn’t help but pray to the Goddess that Ruby would realize that something bad had happened. I mean, there would be proof at the house. Maybe they could follow our scent and find us…
“I had to use magic I promised I would never use.” He clicked his tongue, and I saw Ryder tense. My eyes widened as I realized that had been…his magic? How powerful was this guy? His lips pressed into a smile at my obvious realization. “But you see, it’s worth it, Effie, because of you. You are a prized possession that I never expected to purchase—one that the Whitepaw pack didn’t even realize the value of.”
My stomach churned as he continued. “I’ve made many purchases through the years—brought together lines and created successful deals—but you… You’re different. You don’t even come from this realm, Effie. You’re a goddess, aren’t you? One that comes from a long line of lykos. One that has an extraordinary amount of power at your disposal.”
Oh no.
Hastain’s gaze moved to Ryder. “I suppose I should’ve known when you showed interest. Lykos and kitsune, two halves of a whole…although that won’t be happening here. No, Effie, I’m here because I have a deal for you, one that will work in both of our favors. One that will allow you to keep your mates safe and will give me what I want.”
“What are you talking about?” Caedmon demanded, his voice and the alpha command in it causing Hastain to freeze for a moment before rolling his eyes, trying and failing to hide his fear of my lycan mate.
“I want one thing from you,” Hastain drew out. “If you agree, I’ll release your mates and you’ll come with me. I won’t touch them. Won’t harm them. They can continue their lives as normal.”
“No,” Julian bit out, but I continued to stare into Hastain’s gaze.
“What is it?” This was going to be bad.
“Break the mating bond.” His gaze sparked with challenge. “Break the mating bond so—”
“Your son has a mate!” One of my mates snapped.
Hastain chuckled darkly, grabbing my chin. “I don’t want you to mate with my son—I want you to break the mating bond and mate with me.”
21
EFFIE HARLOW
Was…was he being serious?
Hastain’s idea immediately wrought chaos, threats and feral growls being thrown at him, the power surging through the cave causing me to tremble. Not in fear, but with the exhilaration of knowing how powerful my mates were. How willingly they were ready to fight for us, for our bond. To not let anything get in the way of our future. It gave me a bravery and determination that fueled me.
Unfortunately, it didn’t make me feel any better about Hastain’s suggestion. He really was serious. I could see the greed as well as the hope in his gaze. He thought, authentically, that he was offering me a good deal. Bile rose in my throat at the idea of this man ever touching me. His current grip on my chin was bad enough, let alone…
No, I would throw up if I even thought about the idea of mating him.
That was disgusting.
He was horrible. Everything about this man was toxic and vile. I rarely called someone truly evil, but he was that and so much more. It no longer surprised me that his magic was like poisonous gas—it made far too much sense considering who he was as a person.
“Effie, do not listen to him,” Dakota demanded. I looked over, finding him panicked. It was mixed with an unparalleled amount of rage, but Dakota was worried—really damn worried.
My gaze moved to the rest of my mates, their reactions extremely similar to Dakota’s…and I knew why.
Hastain was playing a guilt card that could have easily affected me to the point of agreeing to this ridiculous deal. It may have even worked when I first arrived at Silver Falls University. But in my short time here I’d gotten a large dose of reality, and I knew that what he was saying, what he was promising, was empty.
“I don’t believe you,” I said softly. Anger filled his gaze, his grip tightening on my chin to the point of bruising. “I know you’ll still hurt them—you’ll probably try to kill them. I would never break my mating bond with them, and I would never consider mating with you.”
The hard hit that came across my face, open-palmed, had me whimpering as my head spun. The creaking of chains and a furious howl filled the space, making me realize that one of my mates had shifted. I could feel my men trying to get to me, but Hastain was blocking me from seeing anything, from making sure my mates understood that I would do anything to keep them safe—but that I knew Hastain’s deal was bullshit.
He yanked my head back, gripping my hair as he chuckled darkly. “Smart girl. You’re right; I was trying to give you the illusion of choice. You’ll mate with me, Effie—saying no isn’t an option, and I know exactly how to break the mating bond between you and these bastards. You can’t be mated to someone who’s dead.”
“Do not touch them.”
I didn’t want to show him just how much true magic I had—I didn’t want to give him that power over me—but if it meant saving the lives of my mates, I would sacrifice anything, even a partial secret that could be used against me. Even if Hastain would want me more because of it.
Hastain let out a low growl. “Oh, I won’t. I have a method that will cause much more damage, but I’ll make you watch as they’re torn limb from limb.”
Panic filled my throat as he smacked me with the back of his hand, jolting my head again. It was supposed to be a light movement, but it was anything but. My head hit the rock behind me, and my stomach rolled as he stepped back and gave me a view of the room.
I nearly smiled, knowing now why Hastain wanted to get out of here—my mates looked truly feral. Ryder’s breathing was rough and his eyes were glowing pure gold, his magic surrounding his cuffs on him. I thought I saw them begin to melt. Caedmon’s skin was rippling with the pure need to shift, and while he was trying to hold back, fury coated his features as his gaze went to my cheek, the reminder of me being hit fueling the violence under his skin.
My gaze cut to my two mates that were the closest to him besides Ryder. Julian had shifted, the chains cutting into his wolf’s bulky limbs. He growled, the sound filling the space as he tried to lunge at Hastain in passing. The man dodged around him as his fear saturated the space, the formidable wolf clearly causing him to panic. Tore’s gaze was hyper-focused on him, his eyes tracking his movement as he said something that had Hastain pausing, his face paling. I couldn’t hear what he’d said over Julian’s growls, but it was obviously something really bad.
Then there was Dakota, sitting completely silent and unmoving, his eyes on Hastain as he reached the door. Dakota was going to kill him. I had never been more sure of anything in my life. I didn’t feel an ounce of guilt or concern over that. In fact, all I felt was the need for retribution for both what Hastain had already put us through and what he planned on putting us through.
Turning back to me, the man held my gaze. “Remember, when all of them are slaughtered, I’ll be waiting for you to scream my name. For you to beg me to let you out, to beg me for mercy.”
He chuckled softly and looked at the guards. “Send them in—unchained.”
A premonition slammed into me as I saw the room coated in blood. My scream echoed in my ears, and I knew without a doubt that something bad was going to happen, but I didn’t know if it was in our favor or not. I didn’t know who would emerge from this circumstance. I wouldn’t…I wouldn’t let it be the others. No matter what that would mean.
“Fuck,” Ryder hissed, his gaze moving over to me as the door slammed shut. “Effie, I need you to make yourself as small as possible.”
“What? Why?” I asked, watching the door, feeling a surge of power pressing in from the outside and begin to move towards us.
“He’s going to send lycans in here. It’s what he always does,” Ryder spit out, trying to look calm. “Caedmon is going to shift in minutes, if not seconds, which shouldn’t even be possible right now, but because his mate is in trouble, I don’t think his magic gives a fuck about lunar cycles—and I predict that it won’t be long until the others break out. It’s going to turn into a bloodbath in here. You need to make yourself unnoticeable until we’re done.”
“I can use my magic to help—”
“No,” Dakota rumbled, stopping my thought process as his magic rolled through the space in a deadly wave. “He’s right—curl up tighter and move as far as possible to the edge. I know the chains won’t allow for much room, but I want you to keep your head down. I need to know you’re safe, little wolf—maybe don’t watch.”
“You can’t ask that of me,” I said fiercely. “I’ll keep curled up, but I can’t listen to you guys fight and not know what will happen. That’s not possible for me.”
Dakota’s face was painted with pain. “I don’t want you to see any of us like this, little wolf.”
I looked around at all of them and spoke with a strength I knew my mates needed to hear from me. “Nothing that happens will change how I see you. We are fighting for our literal lives, and I understand that they will die. I understand you will kill them. I just want all of us to make it out alive.”
My words removed the tension from the space, and immediately it was replaced with a lethal determination. Just in time, as well, because a crashing sound mixed with savage snarls filled the hallway, a chill of apprehension rolling over me. Horror washed over me as time seemed to slow and several things all happened at once.
The metal door blasted open, shooting through the space and out of the cave, crashing into the waves below.
Three lycans, fully shifted, surged forward, trying to force one another out of the way while savagely injuring one another with their claws and teeth.
Caedmon shifted.
The room devolved into a gruesome battlefield in seconds.
My gaze darted across the room as Caedmon’s shifted form burst from under his skin, the chains ripping from the wall. He immediately tackled one of the lycans, claws and teeth clashing as the rip of muscle echoed in my ears. Their forms crashed against the wall Dakota and I were on, causing it to shake, and rock fell from the ceiling.
With a furious howl, Julian broke from his chains before ripping Tore from the wall like it was nothing, both attacking the second lycan. It was almost beautiful how in a mere minute they managed to start working in flawless synchrony. Julian’s teeth clamped down on the lycan’s leg and flesh tore, making me almost look away, my stomach rolling. This…this was insane. I’d known my mates were dangerous, but seeing it—experiencing it—was so incredibly different. I watched Tore easily snap the lycan’s arm, and its howl of pain turned into one of anger as he slammed my mate back against a wall.
The entire display had me momentarily forgetting about the third lycan, who now sprinted across the room towards Ryder. I watched in horror, realizing my mate was trapped—or I thought he was. All of the sudden, something flashed over his skin, and like a gold coating, his metal restraints melted away. He howled, shifting and tackling the lycan. Dakota cursed, turning away from the searing light. I tried to move closer to him, pulling on his chains, wanting to get out of the way of Caedmon and his adversaries.
“I can try to melt them off,” I said, grasping Dakota’s hand. I tried to melt his chains, pulling on the kitsune power that I channeled through my pendant. It was a magic I didn’t understand fully, but it worked anyway, melting the metal in small spurts of energy. I needed to practice with this magic more, but it was strong enough for now. Dakota worked efficiently to remove his and then mine as I melted them, my gaze finally moving back to Ryder.
What he was doing was a vision of carnage that I would never unsee. In fact, I would never want to unsee any of this; I wanted to always remember how hard my mates fought for us. How much they were willing to sacrifice to ensure that Hastain didn’t break our bond.
My men were brutal and lethal, but Hastain had known that, so when a hulking lycan, larger than the rest, came through the door, I realized he had been waiting for the others to be distracted. Dakota immediately shifted and came to stand in front of me as the lycan moved towards us, noticeably more lucid than the others and with a burning fury painted across his face. I wasn’t positive if the others realized there was a fourth, but Dakota’s deep, dangerous growl barely had the lycan pausing, its attention fully on me.
He was going to try to kill Dakota, and then he was going to grab me; I knew it. I didn’t know how I knew it, but the vision popped into my head, and all at once my magic rushed to the defense of my mates. They were fighting for their lives and mine, so if this lycan managed to hurt Dakota and grab me, it would be for nothing.
My pendant warmed against my chest as pink, blue, and red lights sparkled around me, causing me to shiver as I felt a transformation roll over my skin. I didn’t understand it, and I couldn’t see what had changed about me…but it was something. The new magic connected and rushed strength through all my bonds, healing my mates, and Dakota immediately lunged at the lycan once it was in reach. When they met in a head-on clash, I realized that my magic planned to help. Pink smoke filtered through the room, my magic chaining the lycan to the floor and allowing Dakota to brutally attack him.
It was only once the lycan was a bloody mess that my magic faltered for a moment, wanting it to be over—but it wasn’t. His arms came up and hit Dakota, slamming him into the wall. Then the lycan sprinted towards me as if the injuries were nothing—as if it hadn’t even fazed him.
A wall of magic rose up to meet him, and I found myself speaking before I even realized what I was saying. “Stop!”
The lycan came to a stop. Everything came to a stop. The room seemed to waver in power, and my breath caught as I realized that my magic was producing some type of…compulsion? Was that it? The lycan trembled, trying to break free, but it couldn’t.
“I have no idea what I’m doing,” I breathed out, panicked that I was somehow going to fuck this up. “What do I do?”
“You’re…you’re using compulsion, Effie.” Ryder moved towards me, shifting back flawlessly, but everyone else was frozen. “They all have some form of magic attached to lykos, so it’s working on even your mates. ”
Ryder froze as my magic wavered slightly, causing the lycan closest to us to let loose a growl. I inhaled sharply and tried to keep myself focused, knowing that I was playing a fundamental part in this fight. My mates were clearly winning, having brought the other three lycans to the point that I wasn’t positive they could move, with or without my compulsion.
