Page 77 of Wolf Touched

Then the ground under my own feet began to shake, and a magic I’d never felt before surged with it.

My eyes opened, and I looked to the right, where I felt the magic coming from. A woman who had to be close to my age stared back at me with her palm raised.

Then, a hole opened underneath me, and I dropped as my power stopped.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

My stomach lunged into my throat, and my paws hit muddy ground. I’d dropped eight feet deep. When I looked up, earth crumbled on top of me, hitting my face.

More and more crashed down on me, my eyes burning from the grit.

Holy shit, I was getting buried alive.

Skylar,Raffe linked, his terror slicing through our fated-mate bond. He appeared at the top, his light-blue eyes glowing. Then more earth fell over me, and I couldn’t see a damn thing.

My power roared to life as bigger chunks fell on top of me and the sides crashed in on me, filling the air pockets all around me.

I pawed at the dirt, trying to break through as I gasped a breath of mostly dirt. I hacked, making it hard to continue to attempt to get out from the dirt.

Head spinning, I couldn’t decipher which way was up or down as the weight pressed against me from all directions.

My power radiated from me, wild and feral, but Icouldn’t let it loose with the people I loved standing above me. I had to be careful, so I didn’t harm any of them.

I’m digging you out. Hold on,Raffe linked, but then a sudden, intense pain filtered through our bond.

My world tilted. Raffe was hurt, and I’d come too damn close to losing him once already. I couldn’t go through that again.

Lungs screaming, earth filling in the holes around me, I fought against pressure so intense that I couldn’t move an inch. The little bit of oxygen I’d taken escaped me, and my head felt as if it might implode at any second.

If I didn’t get out of here in the next few seconds, I’d die. Hysteria gripped me, and my head grew fuzzy.

Skylar, stay with me,Raffe linked, and though he was in my mind, it sounded as if he were miles away.You can fight this. I’m coming.

Raffe, I tried to reply, but it felt empty even in my own head.

Another shock of pain crashed through our bond, stirring me a little, but I wanted to go back to where the pain hadn’t been so intense moments before.

Move, Raffe,Keith linked.Or you’re going to die.

I’m not moving from this spot until I reach her,Raffe replied as more agony surged through our fated-mate bond, and it felt like he was being burned.

No. He was going to die because he was determined to save me. That wasn’t something I could accept.

Raffe, run,I replied, trying to break through the dirt again, but I couldn’t move a claw, the crushing weight debilitating.

His determination flared.Not without you.

Every inch of me hurt, and I couldn’t take in a breath with the surrounding weight. My power sang and pulsednear the top of my skin, waiting to be released, but I kept holding it back to protect everyone above me.

Then, realization slammed into me.

Who said I had to escape directly upward? I was letting panic dictate my thoughts.

My consciousness ebbed, and in a last-ditch effort, I imagined the earth breaking apart and bursting out around the wolves and the witch in the small clearing in front of the coven neighborhood where we’d fought the first few wolves. Then I imagined the earth underneath me pushing me out, so I landed on all four paws, ready to fight the coven members attacking my mate.

My power pulsed from me. The intensity grew, and just when I thought I couldn’t survive this any longer, my body moved.

At first, it was mere inches, but I edged upward, the dirt filtering away from my body. I sucked in a shaky breath. Dirt particles still lodged in my throat, making me hack again.

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