Page 40 of Captive Witch

The blast knocks me off my feet no matter how much I try to prepare for it, sending me flying a few yards back. Crashing to the ground, I slide on my back through dirt and leaves, rocks and tree roots scraping my sides. I take a deep breath, the inhale feeling like knives in my ribs, and the scent surrounding me makes me gag.

Mint and patchouli swirl together to create a sharp woodsy storm—an overwhelmingly strong smell that suffocates my senses.

Rolling onto my stomach, a growl tears from my lips. Monique. Of course this is her doing. Glancing over my shoulder, I’m thrown by the fact she would actually share her magic with a wolf, but at this point, nothing should surprise me. She hunted me for the coven, she worked with the wolf council against me, she shapeshifted into Gideon just to torture me, and now she’s given her magic to Aramin.

I push onto my knees, pulling myself up with a low nearby branch. Pain sears through my thigh, making my leg give out, and I catch myself on the tree’s trunk. Glancing down, I suck in a breath. Blood runs down my thigh from a three inch gash, my leggings wet and sticky.

Twigs snap and leaves crunch ahead of me, Aramin stalking forward with a sickening smirk splitting her face. I try to pulse my magic into my thigh, but the citrine sparks only stop the bleeding. I take a step back, gritting my teeth when my leg buckles again. Her eyes dart to my thigh, the exposed skin like a beacon of light against the black of my leggings, and her mouth presses into a firm line.

“You’re the reason he hates me, but with this,” she spreads her fingers, sparks like lightning jumping between them, “I can win him back. I’llmakehim love me. Then, I’ll have the alpha’s power.”

I scoff, my magic boiling beneath my skin. I wish I could find my wolf, but she’s blocked inside me—too deep to reach, but gods, would I love to sink my teeth into Aramin’s perfect skin right now. “You’ll never get anyone to love you like that.” I shake my head, my lips curling in disgust. “Now who’s pathetic?”

“He was with me before you came into our bar!” she screams, lunging forward.

I duck to avoid the spray of lightning, bark raining down onto my head as it hits the trunk nearby with a sharp crack.

“He waswith me!” Her fist connects with my cheek, and blood coats my tongue.

My head snaps to the side from the force, and a sharp pain shoots down my neck and into my arm. I cry out and bite down on my lower lip to contain it. I spit a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the forest floor and wipe the back of my hand over my mouth.

“He loved me before you showed up,” she snarls.

And I can’t help it—I laugh. I laugh so hard my stomach hurts, and I press a hand below my ribs, tears forming in the corners of my eyes. “You’re delusional,” I say, trying to catch my breath.

She blinks out of focus, but I’m ready this time, and I duck down, sucking in a breath at the pain in my thigh from the sudden movement, but the second she blinks back into focus, I throw my fist up. It connects just under her jaw, snapping her teeth together and throwing her onto her back. She cries out, a hand over her mouth as blood pours down her chin from her swollen and cut tongue. Glaring at me, her chest heaves up and down.

An icy tendril snakes down my spine, and Aramin’s eyes widen, connecting with something over my shoulder. I spin around, putting my back to another tree, and see a cloaked figure walking toward us. The black cloak’s hood comes down low, covering her face in dark shadows. The flora of the forest wilts in her wake, each step bringing death to the fragile life beneath her shoes. My mouth goes dry as I see the emblem on her sleeve—an arrowhead with a half-moon, a tribute to Artemis.

“A coven bounty hunter,” I whisper.

Aramin’s eyes snap to me. “Wha—”

“Don’t bother,” the hunter says, holding up a hand. “Your tongue is so swollen, so there’s no point in asking questions we won’t understand. Not that you’d deserve answers.” She doesn’t move, but her hood flies back, revealing narrowed hazel eyes and gray hair cut close to her ears. “Who…” The wrinkle between her brows deepens. “Monique Morrow—why do you have that traitor’s magic all over you?”

Her voice sends a shiver straight to my core—harsh, low, and laced with danger. She’s the first hunter I’ve met, and there’s not a single doubt in my mind that she’s caught every target assigned to her. They all have. Her eyes bounce between Aramin and me.

“Why is never important,” she says, more to herself than anyone else. She licks her lips, tilting her chin up as she stares down her nose. “Looks like I’ll just collect you both—the assignment,” she looks at me, then swings her gaze to Aramin, “and the bonus. They’ll love to interview you, sweetheart.”

The clouds in the sky scuttle, the wind blowing against the cut on my thigh, and birds chirp from nearby nests, their high-pitched songs like spikes to my throbbing head. My wolf’s voice yells something, but the words are lost to a sudden howling wind that picks up, swirling around me like a tornado. My hair whips against my face, the strands stinging my cheeks, and I clench my eyes shut, bringing my arms up to shield my head. Biles burns my throat, and I collapse to my knees, vomiting until there’s nothing left. A dark chuckle echoes in my head, the smell of vanilla and lilacs mixing with the acidic smell of my bile. A hand fists my hair, and the world slows, the sounds around me fading as my vision tunnels.

Chapter sixteen

Gideon

Pulling my car off to the side of the road, I stare at the mile marker that shows where the shield starts. Frustrated, I pull my hand through my hair. In my eagerness to get to Adara, I forgot to ask Chloe for something to help me pass through the barrier. I glance to my right, into the forest, and sigh. I’m going to have to walk to the birch tree.

I pull my phone from my pocket, locking my car as I head toward the tree line. I send Adara a text that I’m running a few minutes late and fight the urge to shift. It’d get me there faster, but I don’t have a change of clothes with me. My phone vibrates, but glancing down, I realize it isn’t Adara. It’s Brent.

“I’m—”

“She’s gone, boss,” he says, breathless.

I stop walking, pulling the phone away from my ear to stare down at the screen for a second. My knuckles turn white as my grip makes the plastic creak. “What did you say?”

“She’s gone. Adara. She… She came outside to meet the other two. Her bird, he’s here. He’s cawing and flying around in a gods damn panic, boss. The witches went inside to grab her phone, and she was sitting here. Isawher. I was right here. I—”

“If you were right there, then where the hell is she?” I growl, my pace quickening as I make my way to the birch tree.

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