Trapped With the Alpha (Balfour Shifters Book 1) (29 page)

Looking down at me, I see a ring of red begin to seep in and mix with the black depths of her eyes. The red begins to swirl with the blackness in a way that shows exactly how much anger and turmoil they hold in their depths.

“Blain Balfour was so selfish that he crucified us in order to keep her by his side. He didn’t care that we were no more than dead souls because of him. He saw her as his mate and acted upon it before he even questioned the consequences of his actions.”

Swallowing the blood now pooling in my mouth from the puncture in my tongue, I continue to force myself to maintain eye contact with her. The more she talks, the faster the colors in her eyes begin to swirl together. The anger coursing throughout her body must add to her magic, strengthen it somehow. I can almost taste it as it pours off of her in waves.

Snapping my head to the side, her other hand comes up to wrap around my throat. I feel her nails digging into my flesh the harder she squeezes. Fighting to suck air into my compressed windpipe, stars begin to dance in my vision due. “No, please, stop.”

Leaning down so that her lips are directly against my ear, she releases her hold on my throat only slightly as she says, “Oh, but I taught that bastard what happens when you cross me. You see, I made sure he would never get in my way again.” Releasing me, she begins to laugh manically as she comes to stand before me again.

Immediately, her laughter stops, and she leans down to rest her hands on my thighs. Staring me directly in the eyes, she begins to squeeze at my legs. Her nails begin to dig into my flesh to the point that I feel them breaking through the material of my jeans and then tearing through my tender skin. Unable to resist, a whimper makes its way out of my traitorous mouth.  

Raising a brow at my reaction to her torment, she smirks before shaking her head in disgust. “Not so tough now, are you?”

My head shakes back and forth, and I do my best to hold back a pain-induced scream.

A wicked smile spreads across her face as she says, “He was the same, you know. As I stood over his frozen body, he looked at me with such fear in his eyes it was almost comical. The Alpha, leader of the Balfour Clan, was actually scared. They all act so tough, but you know what makes them weak? The same thing that made my daughter weak, their hearts. The second you threaten to take away their mates, they are useless—nothing but a waste of skin as they allow themselves to wither away, deemed useless by heartbreak.”

As she sinks her fingers deeper into my now bloodied legs, a howl of agony rips free of me. Panting, I attempt to get my bearings on the pain, just enough to keep her engaged. The more I cave to the pain and the fear, the more she amps up her attempts to break me. 

Closing my eyes, I say a silent prayer that someone, somewhere is on my side. If I don’t have someone out there giving me the will to continue, I fear I will give in to the agony long, before Brody has the chance to arrive. Noticing that my eyes are closed and I am no longer paying attention to her torment, she releases one of my legs and grabs a hold of my chin. 

Giving me a swift shake, she spits directly in my face, causing my eyes to snap open in shock. “Ah, there you are. I knew that move would get your attention. Guess all those late night visits to The Den paid off. Now, pay attention, you little bitch. We are just getting to the important part.”

Fighting back the urge to vomit again, I simply give my head a slight nod, encouraging her to continue. “You see, what I didn’t factor into my little plan was that when I cursed him to be frozen in sleep for one-hundred years, my daughter would wither away without him by her side.”

Shaking her head, she goes on. “So, yet again, that cursed heart was the death of her. Nothing I did would help her. Because of the mating bond, I had no choice but to watch her wither away into nothing but ash before me. There was no hope in ever saving her. If I had allowed him to awaken, they still would have been inseparable, thus putting us directly in the path of the pain and torture that we would be due from her true mate.”

She looks past me, as if replaying the memories in her head. “So, I kept him asleep. She still died, but at least she was able to find peace in death. If I had kept him alive, she would have been forced to endure a much worse fate than death. Even though I may be dark through and through, I could never have done that to my own flesh and blood.”

She pauses to take a breath, and I can see tears beginning to gather in her eyes. No sooner than I notice the moment of weakness does she turn to stone. Standing abruptly, she moves her arm in one swift movement, and instantly, my body rises from the chair and slams into the wall behind me. A scream leaves my throat as my already beaten body absorbs the impact.

Before I am even able to get a word out, my arms are forced above my head. As if out of nowhere, chains drop from the ceiling. She makes another gesture with her hands, and the chains begin to twine around my wrists. At the same time, I feel chains begin to wrap around my ankles. Frozen in place, I am forced to do nothing but witness what feels like the final nails in my proverbial coffin. 

For the life of me, I can’t even force words out of my throat. Not only has she stolen my body, but she has also stolen my voice, rendering me unable to defend myself in either way.

Stepping toward me, I feel her powers begin to course throughout the room. Without there being any open windows or doors, a wind begins to come from out of nowhere, blowing her hair wildly around her face. Raising her hands above her head, I begin to feel the pressure in my head from before return. Only this time, it has returned with a vengeance, and the agony is unlike anything I have ever felt.

“I had to watch my only child become nothing more than a pile of dust because of that wolf’s bond!” she screams, her eyes swirling franticly. “As I watched her ashes scatter in the wind, I swore to myself that no Balfour Alpha would ever have their true mate again. He stole her life from her the second he sank his teeth into her throat. I’d be damned if I didn’t do the same thing to every Balfour Alpha.”

The pain is becoming so severe that I feel my eyes begin to roll back in my head. Just as the darkness begins to take me, I feel her presence surround me. Sucking up every bit of strength left in my body, I force my eyes to center themselves and gaze upon her once more. 

“When I cursed his bloodline, I swore I would do whatever it took to make them all suffer. But did you know that, even with the darkest of magic, there is always a loophole?” Shaking her head, a bitter laugh escapes her. “Oh, yes, those nasty fates always have a way of turning things around, for better or for worse. You know what the loophole was in my curse?”

Unable to move my head or speak, I do nothing but blink my eyes at her in question. 

She flicks her fingers, sending a shockwave of pain throughout my body. “That loophole, my dear, is you.”

A gasp escapes me at her mention of my place in this whole mess. How on earth I could wield enough power over her and this curse is beyond me. The only thing I am guilty of is loving Brody. I hardly see how that gives me enough power to break something that has lasted for thousands of years and ruined dozens of lives.

“Ah, I can see even you are confused by this little insight. You see, long before my time, the fates devised a clause to break all curses. No matter who cast them, they would be immediately broken if this one action came into play. It is said that when the truest of love is formed, an unbreakable bond is created. That, even in death, the bond cannot be broken, essentially making the bond as much of a curse as it is a gift. But what isn’t often mentioned is that, if there is a life created out of this pure love, the threads that hold the curse will be irreparably broken.”

Confused by her riddle, I continue to blink up at her in question. Releasing a huff of irritation, she steps forward and placing her hand across my chest, directly over my heart.

“These wolves may all have mates, but only once in every three-thousand years is there said to be the perfect pair. A pair that will find their way to each other, no matter the forces used to keep them apart. You and your wolf are that destined pair. With the coming together of your souls, you will give birth to a child who will have the strength to condemn me for what I have done.”

Pushing harder against my chest, I begin to feel as if the breath is being stolen directly from my lungs. Gasping in desperation, I fight the mental holds on my body with everything in me, but no matter what, they won’t give. 

Leaning toward me, she places a gentle kiss upon my cheek before resting her own cheek against mine and whispering, “And that, my dear, is why I cannot let you live even a moment longer.”

Before she can say or do anything else, the sound of someone walking around upstairs grabs her attention. Releasing me, she heads to the stairs. I’m left alone to pray that Brody finds me.

Brody

KNOX IS
driving like a bat out of hell, but it seems like it’s taking forever to travel the few miles to the witch’s house. Staring out the window, I see my brothers and Elise on our tail.  With their help, maybe we will be able to take the witch out without too many casualties.  I just pray we get to my woman in time. 

“Fuck!” I growl out as I slam my hands against the dashboard. “I can’t believe this is happening. How did this happen?”

“I don’t know what to say, other than I’ll make sure that Blair never pulls this kind of thing again,” Finn says, fidgeting in his seat, obviously uncomfortable with Blair’s whole part in this mess. 

I realize Blair messed up by telling Izzy about the witch, but at least she came through at the end and told us the truth. Honestly, I know she didn’t give her the information to be malicious. I don’t know exactly why Izzy would go out of her way to find a witch, but that’s something I can ask her about later. 

If it weren’t for Blair, we would have no idea where Izzy was. I just hope she gave us the information in time. If I lose my mate, I will die. Hell, I’ll take my own life. Being forced to forget her before was one thing, but to knowingly lose her now would be the worst form of torture I could ever imagine.

I pull my gaze from the window, look at my cousin, and give him a curt nod. “I know you will.”

He runs a hand through his blonde hair before looking at me. “How could she have done this?”

I can only imagine what he’s going though, thinking his mate betrayed his pack. “I don’t think she gave her the witch’s address to hurt Izzy. In her own way, she was trying to help.”

He starts to say something else but closes his mouth as Knox pulls the truck up to the front of the witch’s house. My hand goes to the door, and I’m climbing out before he can even cut the engine. My wolf pushes to the surface as soon as my feet touch the pavement. I won’t let him come out fully, but I allow my canines to drop and my claws to lengthen. I will do anything I possibly can to get Izzy out of that house and back by my side where she belongs.

Rushing toward the front of the house, I only have one thing on my mind. Just as I’m closing in on the door, Aiden grabs my arm and pulls me back. “We can’t just go in there guns blazing. We have to have a plan.”

I rip my arm from his grasp and let out a roar. “The plan is to get my mate back. That is the only thing that matters right now.”

Knox steps up beside us, putting a hand on my shoulder in a move meant to calm me. “Aiden is right, Brody. We need a plan. I know you just want to burst through the door and tear the bitch to shreds, but we need to be smart about this.”

I take in a deep breath, realizing he’s right. Turning from Caleb, I look at him. “I want you to stay out here. If she comes through that door, do whatever you have to do to take her ass out.”

“No way. I’m gonna go in there and help get Izzy back,” he says, walking toward the house.

“I need you out here. If the witch comes out, I want you here to handle her. You are one of the only ones I know who is strong enough to hold his own against her.”

He shoots a glare at me. “Aiden should stay out here. He doesn’t have as many battles under his belt as I do.”

I don’t have time to fight him on this, so I show him my canines and pull the rank card, something I don’t often do with my boys. “Aiden has to be inside. He’ll be vanquishing the witch, and you will be guarding the house.”

“I need to be with you,” he shouts, moving closer to me. 

Knowing I can’t waste another moment on this, I grab him by his neck. “I am your Alpha, and you will do what I say or pay the consequences.”

“Fine,” he says before looking at the others. “You all better watch my brother’s back.”

Turning to look at Finn and Knox, I give them their order. “I want the two of you to go in through the back. I don’t care if you have to climb through a window, just get inside and secure that end of the house.”

They both nod, but Knox is the one to respond. “We’ll get inside. Don’t worry.”

“If you see Izzy, you get her the hell out of there. Take her back to the lodge. Do not wait for the rest of us. Just get her the fuck out of here,” I order them before turning back to my youngest brother. “Aiden is going in the front with me. I need you by my side when I find the witch.”