Page 19 of Rise of the Alpha

“Magz, go ahead and get undressed, then turn the water on, and let it run over your hands,” I tell her as I begin laying out everything I brought in my bag on the table.

She removes her shirt, exposing the forest green bikini she put on before we left our room. Sitting down in the tub, she runs her hands under the water as directed.

“Okay, focus all your attention on your negative thoughts and feelings. Let the water wash them off and down the drain,” I tell her as I light a candle and set it on the floor next to the tub.

“Now imagine the flame of my candle and use it to guide your inner thoughts toward your goal for this ritual.” I reach into the tub, plug the drain, and allow the tub to fill up.

Turning the faucet off, I hover over the water, willing it to wash away any unwanted spells, curses, or enchantments. “Skan pro malem entya celare eorim secreta,”I chant as I pour the salt and herbs into the bath, mixing them in the water.

We continue in this manner; me chanting the ritual words over and over and Magz just soaking in the tub, quietly focusing. Blaine and Brick are somewhere in the room watching. Brick refused to leave us, saying he was responsible if anything happens here.

Once the candle has burned out, I chant loudly, “Metum et ostenday nobus!”The ritual is now completed. I look at Magz and she is staring at me curiously before she lets out a scream and her body contorts; her back arching. She looks like she is the main character in an exorcism. Reaching out to her, I’m caught off guard as intense pain rakes down my body. I scream and can hear Blaine behind me doing the same.

Then the world goes black.

Magnolia

“Wakeup.Comeon,Magnolia. Wake up, baby.” I hear through a haze. What the fuck happened? My arms feel like lead when I try to move them. What the fuck kind of spell did she cast? Because that’s the last thing I remember other than bone-wrenching pain.

Strong arms embrace me and help me to sit up. Inhaling deeply, I smell the most delicious cedarwood scent.Blaine.But there’s another scent assaulting my senses.Mango?

My eyes finally come into focus as I scan the room. True to what I thought, Blaine is holding me, and being in his arms feels like home. Confusion fills me with why I feel so comfortable in his arms as if I were meant to be in them. Could my wolf and him be right when they say he’s my mate? I don’t know…maybe.

Wylla is looking intently at me, concern etched on her face as Brick helps support her standing body. My wolf immediately begins to growl, not liking the sight of it, but unsure of why it bothers her. Hell, it’s even bothering me.

She breaks free from his grasp and rushes over to me, dropping down to the floor with me and Blaine. “Fuck, Magz, I didn’t know that was gonna fucking happen. Are you okay?”

“Fuck, the way her back arched back like that, it looked like a fucking exorcist. Hell, she even looked like those kids from that horror movieMama.”Disbelief and shock coat Brick’s features as he talks. “Then the three of you screamed and knocked the fuck out, dropped to the floor with a splat.”

“Shut the fuck up, Brick,” Blaine shouts at him as he and Wylla help me to stand.

“Fuck you, Blaine. I let you do your asinine spell here, and I get freaking psycho shit instead. Look, the three of you need to get out of here. Ain’t no way no one else felt that power surge, and I don’t want to be here when they track it.” Nervously twitching as he speaks, Brick’s eyes flick between us and the door.

“C-c-can we just go back to the room, please, Wylla?” I beg her, my body weak, knowing I’m going to need help.

“Can I come with you guys? What were y’all trying to do with that spell?” Brick bounces around like a kid in the candy store, eager to get the new flavor.

“No, and shut the fuck up. Speak about this to anyone and I’ll kick your fucking ass,” comes from Blaine in a voice so forceful and commanding I want to drop before him and worship his body.What the hell is going on with me?

“Let’s go,” Wylla whispers as she begins to lead me toward the door. My steps falter as we go, feeling like rubber underneath me.

“I got you.” With his words, Blaine takes me from Wylla and swoops me up in his arms, cradling me close to his chest. The beating of his heart soothes me as it beats a melodious rhythm. Snuggling deeper into his embrace, I allow the music of his heart and the swaying of my body in his arms to lull me.

I feel content in his arms. But there’s an urgency in me that needs to know if the spell worked and what Wylla senses now.

They talk back and forth in hushed tones, words I should’ve been able to hear, but I can’t. All I can think of is cedarwood and mango.

We are moving, but time seems to stand still until suddenly Blaine comes to a halting stop, which has me lifting my head.The dorms.Wylla opens the door, allowing Blaine to move past her and enter with me in his arms.

“Where are you going?” I hear her ask when he turns to the left, in the opposite direction of the elevators.

“Stairs. I don’t want to run into anyone.”

“Ohh,” is all she replies, soft and short.

We move up the stairs in complete silence, no one uttering a word, the only thing you can hear is our breathing and beating hearts. Once we get to the third floor, Wylla holds open the door for us, and once again, Blaine steps through it into the hallway, not stopping until he reaches our room. I almost forget for a moment how he knows it is ours until I remember he walked in on me in the nude earlier.

Wylla opens the door, and we step inside.

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