Page 21 of The Alpha's Fated Destiny

Something's not right, but I don't know what.

"Elsa," I mumble, turning my head to look in the direction of the sleeping witch. She isn't looking so great and I know it's because she is expending a lot of magic on stabilizing my mother.

Getting to my feet, I approach her, giving her a light shake and feeling guilty as I do so. "Elsa?"

However, she doesn't wake up. Instead, she slumps down by the tree she was leaning against, and falls on her side to the forest floor.

Alarm fills me.

"Elsa?"

I turn to look at Alex, panicking. "What's wrong with her?"

Alex is by my side in a heartbeat. Crouching down, he presses his fingers against her neck and then sniffs her. His eyes darken. “She’s not sleeping. She’s unconscious."

We’ve been making quite a racket, but nobody has woken up and asked us what is going on. Brian approaches the Alpha closest tous and checks him. Getting to his feet, he frowns. “Also passed out."

One by one, he and Alex inspect all the men lying still on the forest floor and come to the same conclusion. "All of them are out.”

“How?” I look at the two men, bewildered. "I cast a barrier around us. No magic should be able to come through."

"Assuming this is magic,” Alex murmurs.

My eyes settle on Brian. “Why are the three of us not affected by whatever this is?"

Alex looks between the three of us. "What did they do that we didn’t?"

His sentence tapers off, realization dawning in his eyes. "The stream. They went to the stream to get some water. You shared our water, Brian, the water from last night. That’s why you’re fine.”

Brian tenses. "Was the water poisoned?”

Alex shakes his head. “When we went to the South a few months ago, it was fine. We stopped by this area. There are no poisonous plants here that would affect the water supply.”

“What if it was poisoned recently?” I get to my feet. "What if somebody messed with the stream here? But why would they do that?”

“Karina had no way of knowing we would use this route, did she?” Brian is looking at Alex now.

My mate is quiet for a moment, his brows knitted together. “This is the free zone. She might’ve suspected it but…”

He doesn’t get to finish the sentence, because I clutch my head suddenly, a feeling of filth and unease crawling over me, followed by a wave of crippling nausea.

“Sophia!”

Alex steadies me before I crumble to the ground.

“The barrier,” I gasp. “I wasn’t imagining it. Something is attacking the barrier!”

I look up at Alex, my eyes squinting in pain. "It's that same feeling. Dark magic.”

Brian pales. " Surely you don’t mean somebody is using dark magic to attack us?"

"I think so…" The words are barely out of my mouth before I throw up violently. Dark blood is expelled out of my mouth.

My insides are burning like araging fire has been lit inside me. I can't breathe.

Alex is supporting me, but I push him aside, falling onto my hands and knees. What is happening to me?

Each time I throw up, I feel the vibration against the barrier become almost painful.

---