Page 100 of A Wolf in the Garden

I cry out when it is Ellie’s pain that is fed back through to me, back through the same channels the fae are using to control us both, making me stop immediately. I slam the ground with my fists in frustration, becauseI can’t do anything. Thosefuckershave set this up so that if I break free fromthemI am hurting Ellie, tearing apart the natural connection we have through our joint magic, and I cannot do that to her. I cannot do that tome. I whimper, claws pressed to the ground, head bowed, defeated. It’s only the thought of her, my poor mate, trapped and alone out there, that has me rising again, standing on two feet, lifting my head to find her out there in the ocean.

For the first time I register my mother’s presence, growling in her wolf voice through spell after spell, a continuous chant, the sky lighting up in a flash of gold, the ward shimmering with the strength of it. There’s another voice, higher pitched, yelling spells in anger.Nerilina. I afford them the quickest of glances, see both with their hands outstretched, bodies glowing with their auras, but I don’t have time to watch them. I have to watch Ellie. I have to know that she is safe.

Another werewolf approaches, ears pinned back against his skull.Seth.He looks out at the water, growling continuously. “They could control a whole pack, like that, through an alpha like you.”

I look at him in horror.My pack. “Lacey —”

“She’s safe, she’s safe. Your orc friend bundled up the pups as soon as you raised the alarm. Lacey’s running beside the car, back to his place. I saw her leave. She’s safe, brother. Your pack is safe.”

The growl that rips from my throat is anger directed at myself, the most useless, irresponsible alpha.I forgot about my own pack.

I should never have let Lacey come here. I should have told her to stay with my father’s pack; I have no business being alpha, I —

“Van! Look. He’s got her.”

My eyes are on the water again. I see my father shift from wolf to man again so that it is his two-legged form that approaches Ellie, stopping her mid-swim, pulling her against him. She struggles, fighting him, limbs flailing, the water churning around them. They are so close to the edge of the ward, and I am terrified they’re going to get dragged out further.

The sound of my mother’s voice intensifies, so loud now, and I realise she is screaming in her mother tongue, the glow of her magic lighting up the entire bay. There’s a roaring that comes from the land behind us, the crack of huge wings snapping in the air, and the next moment the shadow of a dragon, black against the night sky, soars overhead. It roars again, covering the span of the bay in mere seconds, the purple scales on its belly glinting in the eerie light.Kaito.

The witches are screaming, the dragon is breathing fire, and I am yelling until my throat is raw. It’s madness, and in the middle of it all is my mate, still trapped in the water, still trapped by the fae. I can see her struggling against my father, fighting him, and I whine, knowing that the man who I have fought with for so long is now the only person capable of keeping her here in this realm.

Kaito’s great dragon flies up and through the ward before swooping down towards the fae, a huge stream of fire burning from his throat. At the same time the spells my mother and Nerilina weave come to a head in a blinding flash of light, the shock of it reverberating like a sonic boom, echoing against the cliffs, the sound of it deafening. I gasp, because I amfree, and I lurch forward, bounding down the bank, crossing the sand to the water’s edge and splashing into the sea.

I cannot swim in this bulky form, but I wade as far out as I can, waiting, watching my father — now a wolf once more — swim back, my mate draped across his back. The fae are gone, the night silent once more save the crack of wings as the dragon continues to circle overhead, and the only light is that from the moon, now hanging low on her descent towards the horizon.

I whine as my father approaches, Ellie clinging to his fur. “Van,” she croaks, sliding off my father’s back and into my arms, and I cradle her, whining, licking her face, more wolf than man in this moment as I return to shore, falling to my knees again at the waterline, curling around her. She is crying, sobbing into my wet fur, and I can do nothing but cry alongside her, whimpering in the night.

“Evander, we need to get her dry, or at least warm, before she becomes hypothermic.” Nerilina’s voice is calm and collected as she approaches. I don’t answer, and she places a hand on my shoulder, pushing me. “Evander!”

I snarl violently, teeth snapping dangerously close to her hand, but she holds her ground.

“Evander, son, listen to the witch. Take your mate home.” My father’s voice is an authoritative bark, and I snarl at him too, not hearing the words, my wolves choosing violence. I don’t have words. I can’t speak. I’m not in control here — instinct and pain are all that is driving this body right now.

It’s Ellie that brings me back, just enough for my wolves tothink. “Van,” she whispers through chattering teeth. “Van, baby,please. Please take me home.”

I rise. I will do anything for my mate. I take huge strides, breaking into a run, eating up the ground beneath me.Take me home.Home is wherever she is, but I will keep her safe, safe and warm, and I crest the hill, cross the lawn, leap onto the back deck that overlooks the bay. Other wolves are hot on my heels, and then the footsteps of a man following me down the hall, directly behind me, as I duck through the door of my bedroom, barely fitting through the opening. I snarl at him as he follows me into our private space.

“I’m borrowing clothes, son. Get her into the shower. Warm water.”

He’s not my alpha, but I listen anyway.Get her warm.I have to hunch in the bathroom, have to kneel to fit under the spray of the shower, and it’s her shaking hands that adjust the temperature, but the water that falls from the ceiling is warm, and I hold her tight, breathing in her scent, the only thing keeping me calm. I want to tear those fae apart for daring to touch her, and it’snot fairthat I couldn’t do a thing to stop them.

“Evander.”

Ellie’s hands are still so cold as she lifts them to my muzzle, her eyes full of concern, and it’s only then that I realise I have been growling the entire time, my lips pulled back to reveal all my teeth. I stop, panting heavily, staring into her eyes.

“Are you… are you there?” she asks, eyes welling with fresh tears. “Or are you all wolf right now? It’s okay if you can’t, but if youcanspeak, I would love to hear your voice.”

Finding the words is like searching through fog, but I get there after a moment. “I’m here.”

She sags in relief against me, pressing her face to the side of mine, her hands stroking behind my ears. “Thank fuck for that,” she says. “I was so scared I’d broken you somehow.”

“Broken me?”

“With the mind control…” Her voice wavers, her chin wobbling. “With the fae, with what they did to us.”

In this form, my hand is as big as her head. I cup the side of her face now, and her eyelids flutter closed. The more she speaks, the easier the words come for me, too. “No, baby. I’m fine. I’m fucking furious, is what I am.I’ll kill them.”

Brown, bloodshot eyes open, searching my face, and I wonder what she can see in it, when I am like this. “Evander, they got to mymind. They got to you, because of me. They got right past all those wards… they could do that any time! What’s to say they won’t take over my body right now? Or in the middle of the night? What if they have me grab a weapon, or make you…”

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