Xavier
I run into the woods and pull off my clothes and shift into my wolf, and begin to run.
“Silas, can you sense her?”
“Yes, but I cannot connect to her mind like before; something is blocking our link.”
“ F**k!” I growl as my need to protect her deepens. I need to find more about this link. I need to speak to my uncle now. Why would he attack her? How would her dying help him? My thoughts are interrupted by a growling wolf who pounces out of nowhere and bares his teeth at me. I immediately recognize his scent; Jay and another familiar wolf, Sean, are standing before us and blocking my path.
“Grrrr”
“Get out of my way,” I growl through our mind link.
“If it isn’t the little Alpha,” Sean says; he’s a beta in Keira’s pack also sent with the alliance, he resents the fact that I’ll be the Alpha.
“Get the f**k out of my way!”
“Why would we?” he growls as his wolf circles me. “Seems you’ve been playing house with the witch.”
“What’s it to you?” I growl low as we try our best to restrain ourselves and not rip his throat out.
“Our packs will be united when Keira is you mate, or have you forgotten everything we’ve done for you? What Keira has given up for you, her home, her family, me.”
“ What have you done for me? Your pack was well compensated with millions for all the years of support. I’m still with Keira that has not and never change.” He growls as we approach him slowly “now get the f**k out of my way before I rip your throat out.”
“Ungrateful orphan, you are weak like your parents. They, too, chose to hide behind witches, which ultimately killed them. Fortunately for you, you’ll get an honorable death when I rip your throat out.” Something snaps in me as he continues to ramble on. Silas responds to my anger by lunches at him; he grabs his neck and sinks his teeth in. Sean’s wolf yelps out, Jay's wolf Shiloh attacks from behind bites Silas. My anger erupts; these fucking cowards have the never to question and threaten me; kill them now, Silas!
Silas sinks his teeth deeper in Linkx and rips out his throat; he yelps out and drops on the ground, lifeless. We turn to Shiloh, who now backs away, terrified. We approach him slowly, growling, mouth bloody.
“Chill, Xavier, we were just joking,” Jay says as his wolf tries to whimper away.
“Kill him!” Silas lunges at him; he grabs his side and sinks his teeth in. Shiloh yells out in pain.
“Xavier!” I snap my neck at the sound of my uncle’s voice ringing in my head. His wolf steps out and peers down at us.
“Stop this, now!” He growls as we still clutch Shiloh between our jaws.
“Release him.”
“Why should I? They ambushed me, their future Alpha. He should know that his actions come with consequences.”
“We will deal with them according to pack law. You cannot lead with an iron fist.”Silas pulls out and growls as Shiloh runs off.
“Do I lead with lies, uncle?” I shift into my human form, and he does the same.
“What lies?”
“Elina was attacked tonight...
“I’m sorry, but what does...”
“Wolves attacked her; her mother believes it’s a warning from our pack. What reason do we have to attack her? Any ideas, uncle?”
“ None, Noime is confused and upset, she’s,” I growl loud and angry.
“Stop lying to me! What is our bond? Why can I enter her mind? Why is Silas connected to her, and why would her mother think you would kill her because of it?” I approach him slowly, he sighs.
“ I knew this would happen; she was supposed to break it..” I furrow my brows, our bond? So he did know about it and lied to me all this time.
“Uncle...”
“Come on, let’s go home. I’ll explain everything.”He shifts back to his wolf and runs off; I do the same and follow him.
******
Iris
******
Raina and I jump out of the car and hurry up the steps to Elina's house. I press the doorbell, and Mr. Sutherland opens the door.
“Come in.”
“Where is she?” I ask,
“In here.” We both enter the room; Elina is on the bed, unconscious.
“I feel the sinister energy of an incubus.” My sister mumbles as she slowly approaches her.
“What?” I ask, surprised. An incubus? Why would an incubus be here? They haven’t been known to attach themselves to human women, but I have never heard them claim witches since we used their ancestors in all kinds of spells. Usually, they stay away from us.
“What is an incubus?” Mr. Sutherland asks, clearly confused about the supernatural world he married into.
“Ummm.” I wonder the best way to tell a father about the action of this demon.
“They have sex with sleeping women in their dreams,” Raina says nonchalantly as she pulls some items from her bag; well, I guess that is one way to say it.
“What?” He shouts, which makes me jump.
“Calm down, John.” Elina's mother walks in and nods at us as she approaches the bed.
“Raina, thanks for coming.”
“Honey, you didn’t tell me this was some type of sex demon. I don’t like this.”
“ It will be okay, sweetheart; we’ll get her out before he can do anything.” She says while she pats his back. I look down at Elina, who is sweaty as she tosses and turns; well, at least she doesn’t look like she is experiencing any lovemaking at the moment.
“How long has she been out,” Raina asks.
“ An hour since Xavier brought her home.”Xavier, why was she with him? But before I can think more about it, her mom explains.
“Someone attacked her; she hasn’t awoken since, but she keeps calling out for him.”
“Hmm,” Raina mumbles as she puts her hands on Elina's temples and closes her eyes.
******
Elina
*******
I cower behind the desk in the classroom, Xavier’s chasing me. He’s trying to kill me. I don’t know why.
“Come out, come out wherever you are.” He flips the desk, two desks before mine. I hold my breath; maybe he’ll leave. Please leave. He flips another desk, no I can’t let him catch me. I have to get away.
“ Valirxah Quentin,” I mutter a spell. The light bulbs smash, plunging the room into darkness. I make a run for it through the door and into the hallways. I try the pull the door of other classes open but nothing budge. I feel him walking closer; he’s coming for me. I reach the back door, push it open, but I’m too late; he grabs my foot.
“Want to be my mate, over my dead body.”His teeth sink into my leg, pulling me back into the building. I scream out in pain and agony. I’m going to die. I am going to die.
********
Iris
*********
After a couple of minutes, Raina’s eyes open.
“ She’s stuck in a dream.”
“A dream, what kind of dream? Why is she stuck?”
“She’s in a dream running from Xavier well not quite….” A lamplight burst as Noime clenches her fist.
“That damn wolf, he did this!”
“ It’s not him, just made to look like him because unless he’s an incubus, then he’s probably not our guy.” Her mother starts pacing back and forth as we all look at Elina crying.
“After all, I’ve done to protect….” She stops and turns to Raina. “What would an incubus want with her?”
“ I don’t know, but right now, he wants her to be afraid of Xavier; the dream world I saw is designed to make her fear Xavier. Do you know why he would go to such lengths? Unless...unless he’s unable to enter her dreams completely because of him. Are they mated?”
“No!!!!” She screams, okay, I’m totally teaming Xavier, but obviously, her mother is not.
“They will never be mates; they are bound; Elina saved his life when they were both young. The spell linked her with his wolf. I blocked the connection temporarily, but the closer he gets the selecting a mate, the more his wolf withstands the spell.”
“What?”This is beyond freaky.
“The incubus cannot have what he desires because of the bond; the dream is designed to have her be so afraid of Xavier she’ll do anything to break the connection or break her mind; either one would work.”
“ No, she can’t. I won’t let her, Elina! Elina.” Noime screams, my heart race, Elina, no, please be ok. Her face is twisted; she’s fighting for her life in that dream.
“We can wake her, but we will need that boy.”
“No! We will do this without him. I do not want that wolf near my sweet baby.”
“We need him; he’s linked to her; he is the one she is having the nightmare about; he has to be the one to wake her.”
“I’ll call him.” John pats Noime's back and walks out of the room.
“ Show me the bite mark.”
“I already cleaned it.”
“Show me; a regular wolf didn’t bite her. A demon wolf bit her, the servant of an incubus. She will need special herbs” Noime unwraps the bandage and gasps. The flesh around it appears to be rotting away.
“Use this.” Raina hands her a small vile. She takes it and looks at it quizzically.
“ It’s my blend. Pour it on the wound.” She instructs, which Noime immediately follows. She pours it on its foams, then removes the old bandages and replaces them with new ones. John walks back into the room a couple of minutes later.
“ I can’t reach him.”
“Did you try Alavic?”
“Yeah, and he’s not picking up.”Noime turns to Raina.
“ Is she in danger?”
“No, he’s only toying with; he wants something from her so she won’t meet any harm in the dream or the real world.”
“ Okay, I’ll go find him.” She announces.
“No, you’re too emotional right now and may….”
“Never tell an angry mother she’s too emotional.” She clenches her fist and glares at him.
“Honey I…” I feel the tension building in the room.
“I’ll go.” I volunteer because her mom may seriously kill him before they get back.
“What?” she asks, turning to me.
“I can take the car and grab him; I also won’t kill him before he gets here.”
“Okay, you can go.” She says, not denying my assumption. I nod and take a look at Elina. The color is draining from her face; she looks so lifeless, I have to hurry and find Xavier.
I run out of the house, jump in the car and speed off in the direction of his home. I think I’m going 85 mph, but I don’t care. Seven minutes later, I swing into his driveway and jump out of the car. I run towards the houses.
“What are you doing here, witch?” Mr.Cole stops voice echoes through the cold night air. I turn around to see him approaching me completely naked. All six-four manly, blond hair and blue eyes, my weakness, and… my eyes drift below his waist. Clenching my thighs together because I find myself getting aroused. Shit, I’m here for Elina. I avert my eyes and turn around.
“ I don’t have time for this, Mr.Cole... I need Xavier, Elina...”
“Needs to focus on little warlocks and stay away from him,” I grunt and start to walk away, but he grabs my hand and pulls me towards him. My heart pounds as our eyes stay locked, our bodies pressed together, his naked body against mine.
“ Mr. Col,e I….” He pulls me behind a tree.
“Call me Jackson.”
“What?” I ask, confused as his lips linger before mine, my heart pounding.
“Mr. Cole…”
“Jackson!” He growls. “I can smell it.” He mumbles, brushing his lips against mine.
“Smell what?”
“How much you want me.”His lips smash into mine, his tongue invades my mouth. What the actual f**k he’s kissing me. I close my eye,s wrap my hands around his head, and whisper a spell. The kiss is good, but I have other things to do. His body goes stiff. He can’t move anything except his eyes which he uses to glare at me as I pull away.
“We’ll pick this up later.” I blow him a kiss before running over to the house; I climb the steps and knock on the front door.
Knock
Knock
Knock
********
Xavier
********
“What do you mean Silas is linked to her?”
“Exactly as it sounds, she saved you, but the spell linked you two, you forgot, but Silas didn’t. I suspect he’s been lingering in her mind for years. Which is why he calls her his luna since he’s been with her so long.” I cannot believe what I’m hearing. Silas has been with her for nearly seven years; no wonder why he hates Keira and doesn’t acknowledge her.
“We’ve been trying..”
“How many fucking secrets do you have, uncle? I slam my fist into the wall, the house shakes.
“What happens if we can’t break it?
“ We will break it, Noime promised me.”
“Forgive me if I have no faith in you, now tell me what will happen!?”
“If she is not your mate and Silas rejects your true mate, then you cannot become the alpha since you have to mate under the purple moon to gain all your powers.”’
“F**k and if she dies?"
“The bond breaks, but I would never do that.”
“Does every elder in the pack think like you? Do you know if one of them sent someone to attack her?”
“ They would not; I’m sure they would never resort to that,”
“You better be...” I walk up to him, growling.
Knock
Knock
Knock
“Xavier Xavier,” I hear one of Elina’s friends calling my name. Elina, is she ok? My heart drums in my ear as I jump from upstairs into the living room. I rush to the door and pull it open.
“Elina?”
“She’s still unconscious; we need your help.” Considering how her mother just threw me out, I didn’t expect they would be calling me.
“With what?”
“An incubus is in her head, and she thinks it’s you.” A what?
“What?” she sighs
“No time to explain. We have to save her.”
“Okay, okay, Let’s go.”
****** Elina ****** I look down at my bleeding legs, which are covered in bite marks. Pain simmers deep into each wound. I breathe heavily, looking for a way out; he’s been gone for five minutes. I need to get up; I need to leave before he returns and kills me. I try to stand but immediately fall because my legs are too weak. I’m too weak. “You pathetic thing.” My heart race as his voice pierces my eardrum like a knife. He appears before me smirking; my head hurts, the bite hurts, but the betrayal feels worse; he saved me multiple times. He said he had no reason to kill me, so why now? Did he find out something about our connection and want to get rid of me because of it? “Xavier, please...we’ll break the bond, I’ll break it, please don’t kill me.” I try to beg, but my cries don't seem to touch his heart. Instead, he laughs, a maniacal devilish laugh; why is he like this? Was he always like this? “You’r
******** Elina ******** “You could have just asked to kiss...” He stops and looks around, finally realizing our surroundings. He slowly rises to his feet. “Where are we?” “I don’t know,” I reply, but it does look similar to the woods surrounding the house. "It’s your mind; can’t you control your thoughts."
Elina My heart pounds in my chest as I run through the dark woods illuminated only by the red moonlight. Dread fills my heart as we get closer and closer to Xavier’s home. Are they under attack? Who would attack them? I wonder, but I already have a sinking feeling in my stomach what today will be. I arrive through the clearing out of breath as Xavier and his younger self runs into an invisible barrier. Young Xavier growls loud as he tries to run into it, but he bounces back. A witches barrier, I note, these are used generally for witch meetings and counsels. Only witches can get in and out with ease. “Xavier, stop!” Young Elina screams, running to his side after his second attempt sends him flying into the woods. “Don’t touch me,” he shouts, brushing her off. “I’m trying to help. You can’t get through because it’s a witch's barrier; you need a witch to enter, so please take my hand.”She reaches out to him; he looks at her hand for a mo
Elina I watch, mesmerized as they continue to fight. “You were always too weak and a coward,” Xerxes growls. Titus jumps to his feet and lunges at him again. Xerxes dodges him and swings a right hook in his jaw, causing him to stagger and fall to the ground. “I am a coward; you are right. But there is no honor when you are dead.” He shouts, pulling a red necklace from his pocket. He throws it over his neck and immediately shifts into a wolf. Then he runs full speed lunging at Xerxes before he can react, biting him on his leg. Xerxes cries out as he rips his flesh out. He doubles over on the ground. Titus wolf continues his attack on Xerxes, biting and scratching. Xerxes starts rising to his feet. He swings his arm, knocking the wolf down. Then he goes to one of the dead wolves and pluck the necklace off their neck and shift into his wolf. “I pump my fist into the air. Yes, now they are on a level playing field. Xerxes’s wolf growls and
Elina Fifteen minutes ago “Hi, Elina” I look up at my younger self, her eyes pure white. I stare at her, confused. Why am I here? Can she see me? “You can see me?” “I did just say hi to you, so that would mean...” I frown; who is this little girl giving attitude? I mean, she’s me, but... “ you don’t have to be smart, “ I mumble. “You’re acting like it’s normal talking to yourself.” “I’m sure you’ve seen stranger things.” “Well yeah…wait, could you see me back there? Did you bring me here?” “I was the one who showed you the memory, and yes, I brought you here. The young version of yourself, however, was not me.” “Then who are you? Why are you people playing in my head?” I reply, frustrated and annoyed with everyone who thinks my mind is their own personal playground. “I am you; we are one.” I furrow my brows. “You said you weren’t the young me from the vision.” “I am
Alavic I sit in my office scanning the files detailing the search for Katerina. It’s been seven years, and we’re no closer to finding her. “Any movements by Titus?” I ask crus my second in command. “His people have been quiet for some time now, too quiet. Now that the Alpha is about to come of age, I’m afraid he’s planning something” I frown. That’s probably true; even though Titus has sworn he had nothing to do with them getting attacked that day, I had my suspicions. But I have no proof since Katerina is missing and my brother... BOOM. The sound echoes through the house as the walls begin to shake. “Are we under attack?” I ask as the sound echoes a second time. “Who would have the guts to attack head-on, not even Titus.”He replies. I jump to my feet immediately as the house shakes again. I open the door and walk out with Crus following. Whoever it is will pay dearly. I stop at the ton of the stairs and look over the banister. What I see shoc
“We three were always the best of friends because we were all only a year apart, your father the eldest at sixteen at the time, I was fifteen, and Titus was fourteen. We use to do everything together, fishing, hunting running, and although we were all boys, we all accepted that your father would be the next Alpha of our pack. Our family, therefore, was a peaceful one until Titus brought Katerina home one day. The moment she met, your father fell in love, and as you know, in our pack, the Alpha mate isn’t chosen by faith but by his heart. They chose each other, but Titus was already in love with her. He never forgave your parents for what he thought was a betrayal by both.” I listen intently as he recalls the past. So that is what he meant when he said he came from what was his back in Elina’s mind, “The first red moon, the year you were born. He attacked, but he was alone, and your father bested him quickly. We had forgotten about his hatred, so we weren’t on guard and I was
Xavier I walk through the hallways as I make my way to my first class; it’s English. Elina also takes this course, and although I don’t want to admit it, I’m looking forward to seeing her. I head into the class and scan the room, but she isn't there. I spot her friend Cassie sitting by the window, an empty chair beside her. Where is she? My mind begins to race with all the horrible possibilities. “Mr.Ivanov, if you’ve located what you’re looking for, will you please have a seat.” Mrs.Carter, the English, pushes up her glasses as she looks at me. Mrs. Carter's voice pulls me from my overthinking. I grunt then make my way to my seat, passing Keira on the way. She smiles at me, but my mind is only on Elina. Why isn't she in class? Is she more hurt than I thought? “Mr. Ivanov….Xavier Ivanov.” “Huh?” “Xavier Ivanov, were you paying attention? Your essay on love, are you ready to read it?” Essay? Oh, we di