Page 115 of Freed By the Witchbone Knife

I forced my head to turn toward him. He sat in the driver’s seat, hands relaxed on the wheel as the UTV bounced over uneven ground. But his eyes⁠—

I sucked in a breath at the sight of them.

His eyes were glowing. An eerie silver-white that made them look almost metallic in the darkness. They reflected the headlights’ beam like an animal’s might, but worse. Unnatural.

“Ah.” He caught me staring and smiled. “Do you like my enchantment? Night vision magic. Quite useful for situations such as this.”

My stomach dropped at the reminder of magic, and that’s when the emptiness hit. That hollow space where my magic used to live. Gone. All of it. I’d used every last drop trying to—what? Defend myself? Escape? All I’d managed to do was destroy The Roost and exhaust myself.

All because of him.

“You’re a monster,” I hissed.

“I’m practical.” He turned those glowing eyes back to the path ahead. I had no idea where we were going. The UTV’s headlights carved through the darkness, illuminating the forest in harsh white light. Trees loomed on either side, their branches reaching overhead like skeletal fingers. “And I’m strategic. All it took was a careful plan. A few hints to a lovesick girl. And here we are.”

“You manipulated Iris.”

“I inspired her.” He barked out a laugh. “She was already jealous. Already resentful. I simply helped her see that you didn’t deserve him. That she’d waited longer. Been more patient. More devoted.” He laughed. “It was almost too easy. All I had to do was sympathize. Tell her how unfair it was. Suggest that maybe she should take action. That you belonged with me, and she belonged with him.”

My stomach heaved again. Bile rose in my throat. “I will never belong with you,” I hissed out. The UTV lurched over a particularly rough patch, and I bit back a cry as the harness dug into my chest. “And she’ll never be his.”

“She doesn’t need to know that.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’m ambitious.” His voice hardened. “There’s a difference. The Supernatural Council has its eye on me. As soon as my father retires, a seat will open up for me. I need to prove I deserve it over the other candidates. That’s where you come in.” He glanced at me, those glowing eyes assessing. “Imagine how it would look if I not only secured a marriage alliance with the Miller family, ending our centuries old feud, but broke the curse on your family as well. I’ll be hailed a hero.”

Disgust made my skin turn clammy despite the cold air. “So all this time, you simply wanted me to serve your own political agenda.”

“In part.” His jaw tightened. “I gave you a choice, Rebecca. We could have had a partnership. A marriage that elevated both our families. But you refused me.”

“Because I don’t want to marry you,” I spat. “And after this, how could you ever think I would comply?”

“Because after this, you won’t have a choice.” The words came out cold. Final.

“What are you talking about?”

He barked a laugh. “Once I have the witchbone knife, you’ll have no other option to break your curse. No magical solution to save you. You’ll come back to me because you’ll have to. And we’ll both get what we need.”

And that’s when I saw it. My own GPS unit. Mounted on the UTV’s dashboard, its screen glowing in the darkness. My stomach lurched as I registered what it was displaying—a route. To a saved waypoint. My waypoint. The one I’d carefully marked after Axel finally showed me the cave.

Horror washed over me.

“I hope you don’t mind,” Ambrose all but purred. “I borrowed that from your bag.”

My eyes tracked the route on the small screen, then lifted to take in our surroundings with new understanding. The trees. The terrain. We were on Axel’s property. Headed to the cave. To the witchbone knife. The knife I’d put off retrieving Sunday, because I’d been growing comfortable with a certain werewolf.

“You won’t get away with this.” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “Axel will come for me.”

“By the time he realizes something’s wrong, we’ll be long gone. I’ll have the knife, and you’ll be coming with me back to Walton. Your wolf won’t be able to track us through the wards I’ve placed on our scent and trail.” He smiled again. “And even if he somehow manages to surmise what we’re up to, what’s he going to do? Fight me? He might have strength and speed, but I have raw power. He can never hope to best me.”

The threat against Axel made something sharp and desperate claw at my chest. “Don’t you dare⁠—“

“Cooperate, and I won’t have to do anything to him.” Ambrose’s voice dropped lower. Dangerous. “But if you fight me. If you make this difficult...” He let the threat hang.

I wanted to scream. To rage. To do something. But my body felt heavy and uncooperative. The drug still clouded my thoughts, making everything feel more distant and sluggish. And even if I could move—even if I could somehow break free of the zip ties and the harness—where would I go? We were in the middle of the forest. In the dark. On Axel’s property, yes, but miles from the cabin. From help.

“And once you bind me to you in marriage and break the curse?” The question tore from me, desperate. “Once I have my full magic back? What’s stopping me from seeking revenge for everything you’ve done? What’s to stop me from filing for divorce? What’s to stop me from leaving you?”