Page 1 of Captive Witch

Chapter one

Adara

Fog swirls thick through the trees around me. My breath comes out in heavy pants as I rest on all fours, staring at the hard packed dirt below me. Tears burn at the backs of my eyes, but I clench my teeth, trying to keep them in. I refuse to cry in front of her.

“Come on, Addy. Let’s just go,”Kaylus says from the ground beside me. He hops back and forth, his head tilting as he studies me briefly before flicking his gaze to the trees.

“No,” I ground out.

“You should listen to your friend, girl,” the Lockwood witch says, her voice echoing through the fog around us. “There’s nothing for you here.”

I slam my fist into the ground. “Yes, there is!”

“Your power is yours. Claim it,” she hisses.

That’s right, claim it,my wolf says, pulling forward images from our training earlier today.

I clench my teeth together and scream as I push myself to my feet, ignoring the shaking in my limbs. Embers float in the air around me, small flamers flickering at the ends of my hair. “Teach me how to wield my fire magic. I know you have it too!”

The witch only cackles, taunting me as the scent of palo santo thickens in the air.

“I want to grow it, control it. Gods damn it, show yourself!” Turning in a circle, I try to see through the fog, but nothing can pierce the magic surrounding me. “If you won’t help me, then let me seek the well!”

The witch’s cackle grates against my nerves, and I lift my palms, throwing fire into the fog in every direction, not caring that it won’t work. Because it’s never worked, no matter how many times I try, no matter how angry I get. Her maniacal laughter grows louder as my fire dies.

“Stop playing your games!” I scream, wiping the sweat gathering on my brow. My nose wrinkles as the smell of smoke envelops me, my hair singed and burning.

“Addy… it’s been three days. We should just go back—”

I whip my head down to glare at Kaylus. “Go back towhat? The friends I can’t save? The sister that’s safer at the academy than with me, but only for now?” Tears spill over, running down my cheeks. “The mother who hates me? Or the man who—who…” I swipe angrily at my cheeks, wiping away the moisture. “I can’t go back there until I deserve to be with them, Kaylus. Until I’m strong enough to protect them.”

“You do deserve them. It’s—”

“It isn’t a matter of magic or strength, girl,” the witch scolds. “It doesn’t look like you’ve learned anything in the last few days or in the days since you last came here.”

I suck in a breath, a woman flickering within the fog, black hair spilling out from her blood red hood. Shadows cover her face, but silver eyes glow from the darkness. My wolf jolts, her anticipation making my chest tight.

“It’s time for you to go home, lycan witch, and discover who you truly are.” Embers swirl quickly through the shadows over her face, filling the fog around me.

“Wait, no!” I stumble forward, but my weakened legs give out as the world fades to black.

I bolt up with a gasp, my eyes snapping open before I clamp them shut again. Sunlight sears into my vision, and a sharp pain lances through my head. Groaning, I put a hand to my temple and peek through my fingers to see where I am.

Grass and fallen leaves tickle my ankles, and I’m grateful to see a pair of jeans covering my legs. A heavy, navy blue sweatshirt keeps me warm, and I bite my lip when I realize it’s Gideon’s. Slowly adjusting to the bright sun, I look around, a lump growing in my throat.

The lake water glistens before me, trees surrounding me in every direction. The smell of lake water, pine, and the crisp air of fall surrounds me and brings back a flood of memories. Running my hands over the grass, the memory of gliding my fingers through Gideon’s hair, brushing my palms along his chest, makes my breath hitch.

The witch hasn’t done this—banished me from the forest—in the three days I’ve been trying to talk with her. At first, I expected her to send me back to Gideon’s or Mila’s and wake up in bed the next morning, like every other time I sought her out. A part of me wished she would’ve. To wake up in Gideon’s bed, in his arms again, would be a solace I haven’t allowed myself to miss in what feels like ages. Instead, she beat me to a bloody, bruised shadow of myself by nightfall each day until I passed out from exhaustion. Once I’d wake up, my wolf would train me and teach me how to heal my wounds until I saw the fog returning.

Go home,my wolf says, whimpering at being separated from our mate for so long. The mate bond pinches in my chest, and I bite down on my lip to keep my tears at bay.

A caw sounds above me, making me jump, and I glance up to see Kaylus swooping down from the branches above me.

“You miss him.”He tilts his head at me, the sun shining off his feathers.

I shake my head, unable to form words with the ache deepening—I know lying to him is pointless.

“Don’t even bother trying to hide it. I read your thoughts, as much as I didn’t enjoy seeing him naked.”

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