Page 7 of Captive Witch

“I could ask you the same thing.”I lift my head, standing tall.“Someone is threatening my best friend and I want to know who.”

His head bobs, admiration pulling his lips into a small smile.“Stay here and watch the door. I’ll take a look around.”He takes a few steps before looking over his shoulder at me.“I’m glad you’re back. Mila’s lucky to have a friend like you by her side… and I know another wolf who’s better off with you around too.”

His shadow fades into the darkness of the woods, the silence of his steps eerie in the night. Settling back into my spot, I stare hard at the door, unmoving. The air is still around me, and the only noise I hear comes from the few creatures scuttling in the woods, the occasionalhooof an owl in the branches above.

Fatigue nips at my mind, pulling at the edges of my vision and weighing on my eyes. The cool forest air relaxes my muscles, and I blink a few times, my eyelids feeling heavier with each passing moment. My head slowly moves to rest on my paws, and a yawn overtakes me, but I jump when a loud snarl echoes through the trees.

My head snaps around, but empty air is all that stares back at me. The hair on the back of my neck raises.

“Kaylus?”I ask, reaching out to the raven above me and hoping he’s awake.“Do you see anything?”

The snarl comes again, louder. Closer.

I take a few steps back as I scan the forest, the scent of eucalyptus slowly shrouding me. A shape materializes from the shadows, the wolf’s head low to the ground, dark eyes like slits focused on me.

“What an interesting surprise to find you here,”the wolf says, his voice sliding over my skin like sludge.

I glance from him to Mila’s house, outrage building inside me.“Are you the one leaving those letters on Mila’s door?”

He laughs, sharp and grating as it echoes in my head.“You think I’d leave some cute little love notes?”Stalking toward me, his lips curl up.“I don’t leave my messages like a coward. I deliver them in person. Where’s your alpha, girl?”

My mouth goes dry when Gideon’s face appears in my mind, and I take a few steps back, entering Mila’s yard.“Who are you? Why are you looking for—”

The black wolf’s head snaps up when leaves rustle behind me, his eyes narrowing.“You,”he snarls. He moves forward quickly, and his shoulder connects with the side of my head, knocking me to the ground.

Scrambling back to my feet, I suck in a breath when I see Frank at the other end of the yard. The black wolf is almost as tall as him, more lithe where Frank is broad, but the rippling muscles beneath each wolf’s fur speaks of an equal fight.

“What the hell do you want, Ulysses?”Frank snarls, circling around the black wolf as he lunges at Frank’s throat.

“You think just because you killed Moren, you get to claim his pack?”Ulysses gives a flat laugh.“You think I wouldn’t come back for you? To claim justice for my alpha?”Roaring, he lunges at Frank again.

Frank drops to his stomach, rolling to the side, but a yelp strikes the night air when Ulysses’s teeth tear into his flank as he skids past. Getting to his feet, blood drips down Frank’s leg, the muscle shaking when he tries to put weight on it.

My breath catches in my throat, and I step forward, but Frank’s eyes cut to mine.

“Do not interfere,”he says, his brusque voice sending chills down my spine.

Ulysses stalks forward, a smirk playing over his lips.“Joining in, girl? Gods know I love a challenge.”

“Leave her out of this!”Frank yells.“This is between you and me.”

Looking at both wolves, my mind spins.“But wasn’t he looking—”

“Adara,”Frank snaps, his eyes glaring at me with such an intensity that the words die on my tongue.

“Frank! Watch—”I gasp, stumbling back as Ulysses takes the moment of distraction for his advantage. His teeth sink into the fur at the back of Frank’s neck.

A high pitch scream splits the night around us.

Stop her!my wolf yells.

Bolting toward the sound, my paws hit the front step just as Mila throws herself into the yard. My shoulder digs into her stomach as she collapses onto me, screaming Frank’s name over and over.

Chapter four

Gideon

I’ve struggled to focus all day. After ordering the bouquet from the florist to be sent to Mila’s house and making a few calls to finalize the rest of what I have planned to give Adara, I’ve barely been able to sit still, let alone accomplish anything.

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