Page 78 of Chosen Destiny

Bodey growled and bared his teeth.Of course Jasmine is out there. She was supposed to stay at the house.

I paused, thinking through my response. Jasmine was a strong wolf and didn’t like hanging back while the people she loved were under attack. Bodey was a protector, and he struggled when the people he loved were in imminent danger. Unfortunately for him, he had a strong-willed mate and sister who weren’t okay with being left behind.Maybe you should train her to fight. That might make you feel better.

Her staying behind is the only thing that will work!His frustration bled through our bond.Knowingthe two of you are safe would make my life a whole lot easier.

Choosing not to respond, I kept my focus forward. I tapped into my wolf, attuning my senses to anything that seemed out of sorts and pushing myself faster. The only sounds were of wolves, and I could feel the tug to each of them in my chest, informing me they were our pack.

Lucas linked,We’ve found the wolves and some of Dina’s coven members. But something’s weird.

Don’t get close to the smoke,Bodey reminded him.It’s gassed.

There’s no smoke,Samuel replied.I don’t know what the hell this is.

I flinched. I’d assumed that the witches would keep directing the smoke toward our houses, but maybe that wasn’t their plan. That made me nervous.Stay back until we reach you.I didn’t need them running into trouble before we got there.

Miles and Jack huffed and spread out, and Bodey and I parted ways to dodge a tree trunk. I spotted fur through the thinning branches.

We were getting close.

I scanned the area for anything out of the ordinary. I half expected a witch to jump out and cast magic at us, but nothing happened.

The rough sandpaper sensation brushed over my skin, and my wolf whimpered. Trying to remain silent, I forced myself to keep moving forward, though everything inside me screamed to retreat.

Do you feel that?Jack linked from behind.It feels like something is hovering over us, but I can’t see a damn thing.

It’s probably witch magic,Miles replied.We could be attacked any second.

I glanced at the treetops and saw the gas-infused smoke, but nothing happened to us.

When we joined the others, our neighborhood witches were grouped together and glancing at one another uncomfortably. Forty of them stood at the edge of the boundary, their eyes locked on an area across from them. Many wolves lay unconscious where Kel’s witches must have been located.

Our witches huddled together, their faces pale, even with the moon shining brighter than it did on most nights. Something was off with them, so I headed to their group.

I lifted a hand, wanting to seem unthreatening, given their apparent wariness. It took me a minute to read the expression on each of their faces.

Fear.

“Do you sense the other witches?” I whispered just loud enough for the first few of them to hear me.

An older woman with silver hair shook her head. “No. Just death.”

Death.

Dina had prayed to the death goddess. “We need to retrieve the wolves. We can’t leave them here. Can you help us?”

“No.” The older witch shook her head so hard that a stray hair smacked the side of her face. “We can’t get any closer without tainting our souls. But you should be safe.”

Shouldbe safe.

That didn’t sound reassuring. “Are the witches gone?” I didn’t want to walk into a trap.

“They can’t hurt you or your pack.” The older one clasped her hands. “But we can’t get any closer than here, and the sooner we leave, the sooner we’ll feel safe again. The essence of evil is all around them. Bring the wolves to us, and we can wake them up.”

Yeah, that wasn’t creepy at all.Everyone, let’s each grab a wolf.Between the witches’ response and the friction chafing my skin, I didn’t want us to stay any longer than we needed to.

Several wolves shifted back into human form, not worried about their nudity. We all spread out and chose a person to carry, either alone or with help. The witches remained on one side, watching us and not providing any aid.

The anger Bodey gave off overrode the eerie sensation. I linked,What’s wrong? You’re upset, more so than you were a few minutes ago.

---