Page 77 of Cage Me

Fighting back feels futile, but I refuse to give up. I won’t let her hurt Spencer.

In my mind, I’m thrashing around, but I have no clue what’s happening on the outside. Parts of me feel frozen again, as if I’m back in Tartarus, invisible to the world.

Dread fills me, weighing down over my body, only making me feel even more confined. I won’t let this happen again. I’d rather die.

Spencer! I shout in my mind.

I know she can’t hear me, but I need her. I won’t be trapped again. I won’t lose my mate after only just finding her.

Minutes seem as if they turn to hours. My wolf finally quiets, but so does everything else until I hear Spencer’s voice.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do, then?”

I groan, but no words come out, and then her hands are on me. “Drake? Can you hear me? Wake the fuck up!”

The terror in her voice makes my heart crack. I hate that I’ve done this to her, put her in this position. I should have let her reject me.

“I have the cloaking spell up,” Spencer snaps. “I just told you that.”

I have no idea who she’s talking to, but I need to get my shit together and help her.

My heart pounds, and the faster it beats, the more tired I feel, but I refuse to pass out. Kel will not beat me this time. I might think Spencer would have been better off without me, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up now.

I can’t change the past, but I can do my damnedest to make sure it doesn’t repeat.

Forcing my body to relax, I breathe deeply and settle my mind. Spencer wanted me to be angry earlier and I understand why. Rage is better than fear, yet I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something else I’m missing.

I focus on my breathing, slowing everything down until there is only calm. As soon as that happens, a glow begins to grow within me.

The bond.

Kel might still have some of her magic within my mind, but she isn’t my mate. She doesn’t own my heart.

I draw on my connection to Spencer. My thoughts remain only on her and our connection and the strength I draw from that.

When Spencer and I completed our bond, it wasn’t only her that glowed. My body had taken in some of her energy, and I don’t believe it ever left.

I can use her pureness to fight back against Kel. I won’t be at that witch’s mercy, not ever again.

The tether that connects me to Spencer warms and brightens. I tug on the link until it’s taut, then change my focus back to my mind.

There are dark spots there I mistook for my previous wrath, but that’s not all they are. Kel wanted me to break. She wanted to unleash a monster, but I won’t be her puppet. Not today or any day after.

With the light energy from Spencer, I push the remnants of Kel from my mind and clarity returns. My body no longer feels trapped within itself, and I can sit up on my own.

We’re in some sort of diner, and Spencer is pacing in front of me with the witch’s pocket in her hand.

Before I can say anything, she stiffens and turns around. “Drake.”

Her shoulders drop, and she’s on the ground next to me before I can take another breath.

My arms wrap around her, and I kiss her forehead. “It’s okay. She’s gone from my mind.”

She drops her phone and chokes before her words finally come. “I didn’t know what to do. Natalia didn’t have anything for mind control because she thought you were free of that, and the only thing I could think to use next was whatever Kasha gave us, but I didn’t want to accidentally kill either of us.”

I chuckle at her rambling and rub a hand over her back. “I’m okay, and you did exactly what you should.”

Releasing her, I start to stand, and she tries to help me, but it’s not necessary. My muscles pulse with new energy, and my heart beats steadily in my chest. There’s no fury within me, only determination to protect those I care about most. With my mind right, I’ve never felt stronger.

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