Page 51 of Fated Alpha Protector

Guilt and shame for being the only member of Mystic Moon to survive Blackclaw's attack overwhelms me. Wiping my tears away, I notice that I'm moving slowly.

Slower than usual. As if time has slowed down, even if the distant ticking of a clock sounds normal.

“What–” Trying to make sense of the distorted concept of time, I lift my hands in front of my face. The metal chains shackling me to the floor shine as if they've been polished.

Instinctively, I sniff the metal bars and don't find an odor. Unlike the sulfuric smell of ordinary metal, the chains don't have a smell. I run a finger across one band, noting how smooth the metal is.

“Silver…” I gasp as realization dawns on me. Silver, in its purest form, sterling and glinting, binds my wrists to the chains. And only sterling silver could slow down my sense of time. The only metal lethal to a werewolf.

Blinking my eyes is cumbersome as I struggle to get to my feet. It takes every ounce of strength in me to pick myself up. When I finally do, gripping the bars of the cell surrounding me, I feel a tug in my chest.

As if my heart had just been squeezed. My mind feels fuzzy as if it's trying to tell me something.

And that's when his name rolls off my tongue.

“Theo…”

Like a mystical reply, a buzzing sound erupts in my eardrums. The slow pace of my heartbeat steadily begins to rise. Not alarmingly so, but enough to warn me that I have to get out of here.

Staring at my wrists, I try thinking of a way to get free. The bands seem solid and unbreakable. And because they're silver, I won't be able to bring my wolf forward to break through.

The longer and harder I stare at my wrists, the tighter my brows knit into a frown. I'm startled when hairline cracks form on each band around my wrists. Shoving my hands down, I take a deep breath before lifting them again to inspect.

As if I don't believe what I just saw.

To confirm my suspicions, the little cracks still exist over my inner wrists. I stare intently at the bands again, and the cracks tear until the silver bands fall off my wrists.

Still glowering, the bars on the prison cell bend to my will, which I'm hardly aware of. Until now, when I realize that I possess a power that allows me to use my vision to break things apart.

The fuzziness in my head clears as I regain my full capacity of being. As soon as I'm clear-minded, I hear a familiar voice entering my head.

‘Mia! Mia, where are you?!’ is Thedore's urgent cry. He's here, in Rocheport. But the desperation in his voice is evident, and I know that I have to get to him.

Chapter 18

THEO

‘Mia! Mia, where are you?!’ I call desperately through the mind link.

When my mental voice – the voice of my wolf – extends beyond my mind, I know that she can hear me. Relief washes over me, fueling my resolve as I'm faced by a dozen wolves on either side of the corridor.

Blackclaw wolves who snarl and sneer at me, licking their wolf tongues over their sharp teeth.

‘I'm coming, Theo!’

Mia's reply prompts me to shift into wolf form. Arms distending and configuring into the furry forearms of the wolf, my legs become the wolf's hind legs. Standing on those hind legs, I roar a resonant howl in the air as the Alpha is unleashed from within me.

My mate's presence – even though it's only in my mind – fuels my strength and makes me feel unstoppable. Invincible, as I tear through the group on my left.

With sharp claws slashing into them, I fight through them before my ears perk up. The fur on the back of my neck prickles to attention, my senses being heightened instantly.

I feel Mia's presence long before her scent becomes evident in the air. Slicing through my opponents, a brown Blackclaw wolf latches its canines on my arm.

I roar into the air as the pain disintegrates my focus. I bare my teeth, about to counter-attack when Mia lunges for the culprit. She knocks into the wolf's large form, snapping its teeth from around my arm and sending it into a wall.

The force is so strong, the wolf breaks through the wooden wall, leaving a gaping hole from which the outside becomes clear.

‘Quick!’ I alert Mia, snapping my head in the direction of the woods. She follows my direction, leaping through the hole and onto the lawn.

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