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Chapter Six
Cordelia
“Ican’tdothisanymore. This isn’t worth it.”
My pulse skittered as I watched Briar throw the token at the gateway, the portal flashing to life in a shower of shimmering colour and light. Memories of the last time I stood here assaulted me, making nausea churn in my gut.
My entire body was almost humming with anticipation, the need to run leaving me almost bobbing on my toes, but I was also totally torn. A huge part of me couldn’t wait to get back to my mates. It was hell without them, being left with this numbness inside, and only a few steps would take me back into a realm where I could at least feel them again. The other part of me, though, wanted to sprint in the opposite direction. The questions and doubts over what had happened constantly plagued me, and I wasn’t sure I could handle the idea of facing Zeke after his blatant betrayal.
And then there was the tiny voice in my mind that questioned whether any of them would be happy to see me again. The idea that I could have been wrong, that they had all agreed to leave me, had grown stronger with every day I’d been here. I was pretty sure that facing that truth would break me completely.
A large hand landed on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’ve got you, Cor.”
I dragged in a shuddering breath, glancing back at Linc with a small, but grateful, smile. The idiots had refused to give up in their fight to come along. After letting me rage at them, Spencer had just given me a shrug and shown me the portal token that Cas had stolen from Briar’s belongings when she’d tumbled into their territory. They planned to follow me through either way, and after I had calmed down I’d begrudgingly admitted that it made more sense to stick together.
Linc and Hawk had both insisted on coming along with Spencer, so the three of them threw travel supplies together while leaving the elders in charge of the pack. Cas had agreed to stay in the village to help guard it while the Alpha was away, and I had seen Spence giving Brax and Ruby murmured instructions before we left.
By mid-afternoon we had set off from the village, taking one of the newly fixed trucks. My heart had ached a little as I left my small slice of home behind, but the pack understood. They were fully informed of what was happening back home, and anyone with a mate bond knew just how painful it must be to be separated, especially after watching me fall apart over the last few months. Ruby had utterly failed in her attempt to hold back the tears, loudly blaming her hormones and catching the full attention of the pack as they realised what she meant, allowing us to slip away with minimal drama.
The five of us now stood facing the shimmering gateway, hesitating and unsure. For the three shifters, this was a whole new level of trust. Not only were they stepping into a whole new realm with us, they were trusting our power to get them there safely. And back again. For people who had lived their lives with humans, not experiencing witch magic at all, this trip was a huge deal.
For Briar, it was a step back into a world that had only shown her control and captivity. The only reason she was going back and facing the Queen at all was for my sake. I imagined the desire to run in the opposite direction was even higher for her, and I grabbed her hand in mine as she took a centring breath.
“Thank you,” I murmured to them all. “For being with me.”
“Always, doll,” Linc answered, planting a kiss on my temple.
Hawk huffed and pushed forwards.
“Enough sappy bullshit,” he snapped, striding purposefully towards the gateway. “Let’s go deal with this bitch.”
Linc blinked in surprise as Hawk disappeared through the portal, and I found myself grinning at the stunned look on his face.
“Well shit,” he exclaimed. “Did he just go all alpha on us?”
I gave him a knowing look. “Don’t act like you didn’t love it.”
He turned to me with a wicked grin, shrugging a shoulder before grabbing my hand and tugging me towards the doorway. “I do appreciate his bossy side.”
My hand slipped from Briar’s as Linc pulled me through the portal with him, the light surrounding us as every nerve ending in my body fired with sensation. The infinite moment of weightlessness didn’t surprise me this time, and it felt like mere moments before my foot fell down on solid ground once more.
I felt Linc stumble beside me as I broke our grip and threw up my hands, ready to defend us against anyone who might be waiting. Hawk eyed my sparking fingers warily from where he stood a few feet away, arms folded across his wide chest.
“There’s no one here,” he said simply, making me raise a brow.
“Luckily for you.”
He sniffed haughtily at me as Linc hauled himself back to his feet.
“Shit, that was a trip,” he groaned, rubbing his shoulder.
I swept my gaze around, taking in the barren clearing and the forest beyond. It was late afternoon, but the place was unnaturally calm and silent. Nothing like when we had initially come through. Only the markings in the dirt would ever tell someone that this had been a busy trade portal, but I didn’t want to hang around in case there were still spies lurking.
“Uh…” Linc’s voice drew my attention. “Is there some kind of delay on this thing? Where are they?”
I followed his gaze back to the portal, which still glowed with power. “No, they should have come straight through behind us.”
I glared at the glowing runes etched into the gateway as my heart began to pound.
