Page 51 of The Wolf's Captive

“Please show me the way to the basement,” Victor said, clicking his fingers.

The lights flicked on all over the house, illuminating the dark hallway. I wasted no time in marching towards the doors that led to the main ballroom. I wanted this over as quickly as possible.

My footsteps were as heavy as my heart as I stepped into the ballroom and shot across it to another exit. I didn’t want to remember my dance with Kieran on the first night of my captivity. I also didn’t want to re-live the moment when I ran away from my mate in order to catch Kieran, only to be dragged down to his level and then violated in the second worst possible way.

“Della,” Malone whispered, appearing beside me. “Are–?”

Gripping his hand, I stopped him talking. “I’m fine,” I whispered, knowing full well that the others were close behind. “Just need to get this done.”

He held me tightly, reassuring me that he understood. He only cared about me, I knew that. However, I wasn’t going to be okay until the spell was done. It was as simple as that.

“Just down here,” I said, pointing down a small flight of stone steps.

Hovering on the top step, I licked my lips as my heartbeat increased. Nigel would be waiting outside until Victor had prepared the area. It didn’t help knowing that I would soon be in the presence of an evil werewolf.

“I remember.” Malone went down first, holding my hand gently in case I didn’t want to follow.

Using his strength, I forced my feet to move. They trod carefully, almost skipping the rest of the way.

The door at the bottom opened easily, revealing the dungeon type basement.

A lump came to my throat as I spotted the chains hanging over a wooden beam. The other witches had been tied to them when I’d arrived the first time. This time, they were empty, completely still in the middle of the room. This time, they’d hold the werewolves so they couldn’t escape their fate.

“Shit,” one of the women said. “I fucking hate this place.”

A shudder moved through her as she went to stand by the chains. She gingerly reached up before pulling back, a wince marring her features.

I went to her and took her hand, squeezing it in an attempt to comfort her. I hadn’t been tied like they had, completely powerless. Although, the witch had managed to incapacitate me with her super-freak magic. I never had found out who she was.

“Okay,” Victor started, “if you sit on the ground near where you were last time, I can prepare the area.”

We all glanced at one another before doing what he said.

Malone sat next to me, crossing his knees and waiting patiently.

I glanced at him, smiling gently. “This is for us,” I whispered.

He blinked slowly, his eyes suspiciously glassy as he watched me. For a moment we got lost in each other’s gazes, our wolf spirits purring as they stretched towards one another. It was as if they knew that once this was done, there wouldn’t be anything holding us back. A shudder moved me as a single tear trickled down Malone’s cheek.

“You’ll feel my magic settle over you,” Victor announced as he spread a salt circle around us. “Erm…” He paused by Malone, an awkward expression crossing his features. “You’ll need to stand away from the witches.”

The alpha clenched his jaw before nodding once and leaning over to kiss me. “I’m right there if you need me.”

I stroked his cheek and whispered my thanks. He was my rock, the man I had been fighting for since I’d met him. Almost. At first, I’d hated the bastard who’d scratched me, but I couldn’t deny, he had been sexy as fuck.

Now? Now I would do anything for him because he was my mate, my fated mate.

“I love you,” Malone whispered.

Blinking away my own tears, I cleared my blocked throat. “I love you, too.”

Getting to his feet in one swift movement, Malone retreated to the opposite wall, leaning on it almost casually.

“Right, I need you all to concentrate. Once the wolves are in place, you’ll need to use your magic to ground into the Earth. Imagine a chord coming from the bottom of your spine and digging through the stone and into the core of the Earth. That’ll keep you grounded.” Victor came to stand in front of us. “Once that’s done, I’ll reveal the ethereal chords connecting you to your familiars.”

“Ugh,” Frederick muttered, shuddering violently.

The rest of us cringed at the exact same time. Our experience had been vile, and yet, we were proof that magic was stronger than we’d ever imagined. We just had to make sure no one else knew about what had taken place. Otherwise, there’d be other power hungry witches or werewolves trying to do the same.

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