FAZER LOGINLucien's POV The transition from the witch’s lair back into the Craglands was within seconds.One moment, I and Calla were submerged into the air like we had passed through a portal. And the next second we were back on our feet on the Craglands ground.Calla's feet buckled beneath her but I caught her immediately, pulling her against myself. “I have you,” I pressed a kiss on her forehead. We had barely taken a step when Fenric rushed toward us, holding Fenris by his arm and dragging him so he followed him.“Lucien! Calla!” Fenric called out, his voice laced with relief. He stopped a few paces away, his eyes darting between us. “You were gone for hours. What happened there? Did you see her? Were you able to reach Willow?”I looked at my Beta, seeing he sweat on his brow and the genuine fear in his eyes. “Yes. We found her, Fenric,” I said, my voice deep. “But it seems the situation is more complicated than we imagined.”Fenris, who had been huddled in his rage, straightened himself
Calla's POV “Willow!” I called out, though my voice didn't make a sound, yet it echoed through the space of connection Elara had built. “Willow, baby, can you hear me? It's Mama.”Willow looked over her shoulder at first, then she turned her head fully and looked straight at me. It had been a long time since I saw the smile that played on her face. It had been a long time since I saw that look. “What are you looking at?” The old man asked.Willow immediately looked away from me and tilted her head. “Nothing. I just felt a rush of cold.” “You are cold? Let me go get you your coat,” the man said, stood up and was coming my way. I instinctively moved away, stood still until he was gone out of the garden.“Mama.” Willow whispered. The word didn't come through my ears, it bloomed inside my heart. “You came. I felt you. I just didn't know where you were.”She rushed and almost touched me but I immediately moved back.“Don't Willow. You can't touch me. If you do, I will be trapped.”She
Calla's POV Elara's fire danced in my eyes and my heart hammered against my ribs. I looked at Lucien, his face was a mask of hard resolve but I could feel the tremor in his hand where it gripped mine. I was bracing myself, ready to drift into the unknown for the sake of our daughter.“Are you certain you want to do this?” Elara asked again, her ancient eyes searching mine. “Remember what I told you, once the bridge is built, your soul will be adrift. If you lose your way in the Ironwood's mental maze, you may never return to your body.”She should have just gotten on with what we had come for. Instead of warning me about what I could face and what could happen. I was starting to feel more fear clung up my chest but with Lucien’s grip on my hand, I felt a little safe, knowing he would be there to pull me out in whatever way he could. “My daughter is there. That is the only thing that matters.” I said with a firm voice and Lucien nodded once at me.Lucien squeezed my hand. “I will b
Lucien's POV Stepping into the ball of clouds, Lucien found himself on the ground in a different place entirely. He looked around, trying to grasp hold of where he was but could not tell either. He looked up and then he saw her.Calla stood ten paces away. She looked a little fragile from afar, her hair wild and her eyes bright with the remnant of her own private hell. For a heartbeat, neither of them moved as the fear of what they saw had not yet shaken off. “Lucien!” Calla's voice trembled.“Calla.”The name was like an answered prayer for the both of them. It was like the name they both called woke them up from a deep slumber.In an instant, they both ran toward each other and the distance between them closed up. Calla lunged forward and Lucien caught her, his arms wrapping around her waist with a desperate force. She buried her face in chest, her hands clutching the leather of his jacket as if she were trying to anchor herself to his very soul.The mate bond which had been se
Lucien's POV The moment I stepped over the invisible line into Elara's territory, the world stopped making sense. One second, I felt the rough stone of the Craglands under me and Calla's warmth emitting from her hand. But the next second, the ground pushed me into another white nothingness and Calla was gone.I tried to reach for the mate bond but it was like reaching into a void. I was alone in the Path-Stitcher’s web.I blinked but the mist didn't clear, rather it changed into the familiar stone walls of the Nightmoor Great Hall. I was standing on the high floor but something was wrong. My pack stood before me, but their faces were not filled with the usual respect. Some looked at me with pity and some looked at me with disgust.In the center of the hall, Fenric stood. He wasn't the loyal beta who had bled beside me for years. His face was hard and the way he smirked looked like he was mocking me. “Look at him!” Fenric's voice boomed, echoing off the rafters in a way that made m
Calla's POV Immediately I stepped across the invisible line into Elara’s domain, the hand of Lucien simply vanished. One moment I was anchored to him and the next, I was adrift in a sea of white nothingness.“Lucien?” I called out but my voice didn't echo. It didn't even seem to leave my lips. It was swallowed by whatever the witch had done in its realm.Panic flared my chest with great pressure. My mate bond which usually hummed went silent. It was as if a thick curtain had been dropped between our souls and I was alone.Truly, I was utterly alone. I kept walking because standing felt like inviting the dark to eat me. But then, the smell changed. Another scent hit me and it was suffocating. My lungs seized as I was sure I knew this smell. I had lived with this smell in my nightmares every night since the day the world ended. The color of the environment around me began to change from white to glowing orange. The floor under my boots softened, turning from jagged rocks to the wood







