Aiden’s POV
It was rather damp, as i could smell the rain, the sky above us was getting darker and darker. There was the low growling of thunder in the ferment and the wind rose and waltzed through the trees. I stood at the edge of the forest looking further down the path that our group seemed to take. The mud around me felt like I was several layers beneath my boots as I tried to walk through it. We got so close, so close to Elara’s hut. Everyone knew Elara, the witch who lived in an Isolated part of the forest. Sometimes her hut will be visible and sometimes her hut is nowhere to be found. I was surprised when Shenaya told me she once took care of her when we thought she had died.
Beside me, I heard the soft sound of Shenaya’s footsteps. They were calm and assertive, though the going got extremely tough. We hadn’t really stood side by side like that since that night we marked each other. Just when we settled things between us and were ready to be a family again a new problem arose. I realized that even despite the fact that we are now mates, we still have this gap between us, it felt so weird and I just wanted to grab her and hold her tight in my arms.
I had a lot of things I wanted to say and do with her but we had barely seen each other in the last few months. I attempted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out of my mouth, they were stuck in my throat. What could I say? That I was sorry for how things had turned out? That I still cared about her, even though I can see she is going through a lot right now? None of it felt right. None of it would be enough.
“Are we getting close?” Shenaya’s voice broke through my thoughts. Her tone wasn’t harsh, but it carried that edge of focus she always had whenever she was serious.
“Another mile or so,” I replied, turning to glance at her. Her black hair with the undergrowth of red, now damp from the rain, clung to her face and shoulders. She looked just as fierce as ever, the fire in her blue eyes undimmed by the weather or the journey.
She gave a curt nod, her eyes flicking back to the path ahead. She hadn’t said much to me since we started this mission, and I couldn’t blame her. Things between us had been… different, ever since Zoey came into the picture. I see Zoey as my daughter as well, my responsibility, but Shenaya has taken on so much more than that. She had become a leader, stronger than I had ever given her credit for before, and maybe that’s why the distance between us felt so much bigger now. She didn’t need me to comfort her like the weak Omega wolf I once knew.
Ethan came jogging back from his position up front.
“We’ve got movement,” he said, his voice low. “Rogues, just ahead. It’s Andrew’s men, no doubt.”
I cursed under my breath.
“How many?”
“Too many to count from this distance. They’re waiting for us.”
Shenaya stepped up beside me, her brows furrowed in concern.
“We are not retreating,” she said in a firm tone, “We came here to find Zoey, and we are not going back without her”.
I nodded while meeting her gaze, the only thing I saw in her eyes was no fear, just that passion that I have always found her to possess.
“We fight,” I agreed.
Together we went forward to see what Ethan was talking about, our large group becoming a team while the rain was getting heavier. Instead, the moistness of the ground and the more bitter smell of hunting wolves were in the air. It became essential to set my alarm because every fiber of my being was ready to battle what lay ahead, and sure enough, they showed up quickly as Andrew’s rogues and with darkness in their eyes. They interrupted my path to Elara’s giving a good wall of fur and snarls. I could sense the electricity surging between Shenaya and me and there was so much unspoken animosity, it was amazing.
“Stay close,” I muttered to Shenaya as we stepped forward, ready to pounce on any wolf. Though she was a werewolf, not a witch, Shenaya was no less dangerous in battle with her stance. Her instincts were sharp, her movements quick and lethal. This was the first time I had seen her fight and deep down, I fear she might take me as well.
The rogues lunged at us without warning, and the fight began.
I met the first wolf head-on, my claws tearing through his side as we collided. His growl turned into a pained yelp, and he crumpled to the ground at my feet. Another one charged at me from the left, but I was ready for him. With a swift motion, I swung my sword, cutting through his shoulder and sending him crashing into the mud.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shenaya in the thick of the battle. She fought with an elegance I’d never known she had, her movements were fluid as she dodged and struck with precision. A rogue tried to get the jump on her, but she sidestepped him easily, slamming him into the ground with a force that shook the earth beneath us.
She was magnificent.
The fight was brutal, but we held our ground. Ethan and the warriors fought fiercely alongside us, taking down one rogue after another. But there were too many of them, and we were getting worn down.
“We have to move!” I shouted to Shenaya as I took down another attacker. “We’re too exposed here.”
She nodded, her chest heaving from the effort.
“Elara’s hut is just ahead. If we can make it inside, we’ll have a better chance.”
I forced the pace, driving the last of the rogues before us as we struggled our way to the hut. The rain poured down now and a man, but I kept running, kept struggling. Zoey was close I could feel it. There was no force on this earth which would be able to prevent me from reaching her.
Finally, when it seemed that perhaps the world would never end, we came to the hut. The construction was small and hidden at the end of the holly forest, and there was something mysteriously eerie about the place that felt the skin on my back crawl. Elara’s magic. I had such a feeling once when I came here for the first and last time.
We rushed inside, throwing the door shut and ignoring the clashing of swords getting quieter and quieter. The interior of the hut was not very bright, and smelt of herbs and the burning candles. Elara stood in the middle of the room her ebony gaze shifting between us.
“You just came back too late,” she answered, even though one could see that the situation outside appeared to be getting worse. “The ritual is about to be completed.”
“What ritual?” I demanded, stepping forward. “Where’s Zoey?”
Elara pointed at the far end of the room where a small form rested on her animal furs as if dead. My heart stopped. It was Zoey. But something was wrong. It is not right to say she rests; her eyes are shut tight, and her limbs do not relax.
“What have you done to her?” Shenaya snarled, her voice trembling with barely controlled rage. She moved to Zoey’s side, kneeling beside her.
“She’s not harmed,” Elara said, her voice eerily calm. “But the witches inside her… they’re not so easily removed.”
My blood ran cold.
“The witches…?”
Elara nodded.
“They’ve been inside her since she stumbled into their cursed land. They’ve taken root, and they’re growing stronger. If we don’t act soon, they’ll consume her completely.”
“No,” Shenaya whispered, her hand trembling as she touched Zoey’s forehead. “We can’t let that happen. I already held tight when I went to the spirit world, she trapped them all and she was settled, I couldn’t bring her back with me because her body wasn’t with me”
I stepped closer, my chest tight with fear. Zoey was just a child, our child, and now she was caught in something far beyond our control. The guilt weighed on me like a stone. If I had been faster, and stronger, maybe I could have prevented this. Maybe I could have kept her safe.
“Is there a way to stop it?” I asked, my voice hoarse.
Elara hesitated, her dark eyes unreadable.
“There is… but it’s dangerous.” she looked at us for a while “Andrew went into the spirit world to take more powers from the witches, he has released all the witches Zoey trapped and now they are fighting her. One of you has to go in there to help her out but this time you will be landed in the spirit world as a wolf, your inner wolf because the energy in there has doubled”
“I’ll do it” Shenaya stood, her face set with determination. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
I looked at her, my heart clenching. “Shenaya, you don’t-”
“She’s our daughter, Aiden,” Shenaya said, her voice steady. “I won’t lose her. Not like this.”
It was impossible to argue with her. I saw the fighter in her, the passion that she has kept to live for her kids all these years. To save the girl, Zoey, she was ready to lose everything, and for that, I understood I had to support her no matter what.
It initiated the ritual to purify the house, she collected herbs and candles then she sang incantation. Suddenly, the air of the room charged with magic, and I sensed that it had pinned me down from above. It is the darkness outside which her storm is created but inside, she is completely silent, it is so quiet.
I knew Shenaya was afraid but her hand was tightly clenched with mine with such force. I felt her squeeze my hand tightly,
“we will get her back,” she said as her stare bore through me. “We have to.”
I nodded assenting her grip as I held her hand tightly.