Page 45 of The Alpha's Fated Bond

So, I force a smile onto my lips. “You certainly took your time getting here.” It doesn’t help that my voice sounds so raspy. I can see the anger now forming behind his eyes, and without missing a beat, I say, “Is somebody going to get me some water?”

I hear movement, but my eyes are focused on Alex.

I am in so much trouble.

He straightens me up and holds a glass of cold water to my lips. I would rather have something hot, but I don’t complain. Sipping the water, I begin to feel more like myself.

That’s when I notice something.

My lap is empty.

Lexie is gone.

“Where’s Nathan’s sister?” I demand.

“He took her,” Lily tells me, and when I look her way, I can see how exhausted she looks.

“When?” I demand.

“Two hours ago?” Lily replies, exchanging a look with Alex for confirmation.

How is that possible?

“What’s wrong?” Alex looks worried now. “Are you feeling sick?”

“I’m fine.” I try to sit up, but my energy isn’t all there. While I’m not at death’s door like last time, my body feels like it has been sucked dry. “I could still see the threads. Even when you took her from me, I could still see the dark magic around her core, and I was still undoing it. The process wasn’t interrupted.”

The color drains from Lily’s cheeks. “Are you sure?”

I nod. “I’m telling you. I only stopped when I started feeling like I would fall asleep. It seemed dangerous to me, so I decided to pull back.”

She doesn’t look convinced. “That’s simply not possible. The object that the magic is being cast upon has to be in the vicinity. If you were still undoing the threads, that means…”

She pauses, deep in thought.

I take the time to look up at Alex. “When did you get here?”

“Around the same time Nathan took his sister from you.” Alex doesn’t look very pleased. “Why didn’t you wait for me?”

I could easily throw Nathan under the bus, but he was desperate, and I can understand why.

“I wanted to do it.” I sigh. “I have to try, Alex. I told you that Lily would help me. And it worked, didn’t it?”

“It wasn’t easy,” Lily admits. “Undoing the magic is fairly difficult. I’m not even entirely sure this is dark magic. It is magic, but if it were simply dark magic, I would be able to undo it, as well. The fact that I cannot interfere with it means the witch who cast this spell doesn’t practice necromancy.”

She sits down on the couch, watching me. “I’m more concerned about the fact that you were able to keep working on undoing the magic when the child was gone. That means you have the ability to cast magic at a distance. That is extremely rare for a witch. I don’t know a single one who can do that.”

“But I’m not a witch,” I remind her.

A strange expression crosses her face. “You’re right. You’re not a witch. I need to stop thinking of you as one.”

She gets to her feet and wobbles. Alex grabs her arm to steady her.

“I’m all right,” she says as she pushes his hand away. "I just need something to eat and I’ll be fine. Maybe a few hours of shuteye as well. How much did you get done?” she asks me curiously.

“It was easier this time,” I tell her. “Last time—Well, you know how that was, but the bursts of energy that I was getting from you today definitely helped. I was able to focus more. I’ll need to see Lexie again tomorrow.” My eyes dart toward Alex, and I already know what he’s thinking. “And don’t you say I can’t. This is happening. I can handle it.”

He doesn’t look entirely pleased with me. I wait for Lily to leave the room before murmuring to him, “You’re not just my mate, Alex. You’re also an Alpha. You have a duty to your pack. You can’t forget that because of me.”

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