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“You did this to me?” Every word took effort.
“It was your father’s idea.”
She grunted as though she’d finally opened a jar lid, and something inside of me cracked apart.
No, it wasn’t inside of my body, but deeper than that… in my very essence. With everything I had, I pushed in that direction, and Pandora stumbled back, her eyes widening. The pain instantly tapered off.
Then her eyes narrowed, and she straightened, recovering. “You’ll be better off without your magic, girl. You’re only a half-mage, and your magic alone will never amount to much. But if you give it to me…”
“No,” I growled.
Inside me, my wolf paced, and my inner eye noticed lightning crackling along her fur.
“You bottled up my magic so you could take it later,” I accused, my voice rough from the paralyzing pain she’d inflicted on me.
“No, I did it to protect you.” She waved a hand in exasperation, as if I was just a silly girl ungrateful for the favor she’d done for me. “Your mother and father were killed because wolves and mages are never meant to mix. They both carried the stigma, never fitting in with our people or hers. The Denraider pack hunted them down and killed them for creating an abomination — you.”
I glared at my aunt. “My parents are dead. Why would you dishonor your brother’s memory by hurting his child?”
Without answering, she raised her hand again, and I flinched with the memory of the pain she’d already inflicted. But this time, the pain eased into me like a dull ache… nothing worse than a bellyache assailed me.
She let out a sound of frustration, and I grinned. “What’s the matter, Auntie? Your magic’s no match for mine, huh? Guess I’m not the weakling you thought.”
“Stubborn girl. It seems I’ll need my coven’s help to unseal your magic, since you’re unwilling to surrender it to me.”
“Even if I knew how, I certainly wouldn’t give it to you, Auntie. You ruined my life!”
She scoffed dismissively. “You’re a pathetic half-breed. Your magic probably isn’t even worth taking.”
I crossed my arms. “Keep telling yourself that.”
Pandora shrugged, then raised a hand. “Unfortunately for you, it will stay locked away. Just when you need it most,” she taunted.
The air around us shimmered, and my heart fell along with the next illusion. This time, we remained on the same craggy path, but the loss of the illusion revealed a dozen wolves surrounding us.
I recognized them all too well. I’d watched these wolves run every full moon, leaving me behind. They’d shown me nothing but disdain on a daily basis, and a few of them had demonstrated that physically. They’d all helped chase me out of Ironwood packlacks. And now, they were here to drag me back.
Two of them shifted back, and I stooped to grab the handgun, only to find it missing from the ground around me. I patted down my leg, wishing I’d stopped to strap on my trusty blade before I left, for all the good it would do me against this many wolves.
Someone beside me tsked, and I straightened up, refusing to let them see me lose hope. The wolf shifter set my gun on a waist-high boulder before pulling clothes out of his sling bag and slowly getting dressed. I seethed. Thanks to my aunt’s illusion, I hadn’t seen him walk right up and take my only weapon. I was even more annoyed when I recognized who he was.
Vaclar had been raised and groomed to become Luka’s enforcer when he took over as pack alpha. I shouldn’t have stood there gloating over my aunt’s inability to drain my magic. I should’ve run. I should’ve screamed for those two wolves I foolishly chased off. I should’ve—
“Ready?”
The second wolf who’d shifted back had also gotten dressed. Yuriko flipped her hair over her shoulder without even giving me so much as a glance. Her question was addressed to Pandora.
As an alpha around Luka’s age, Yuriko might have been a candidate for Luka’s enforcer, except that Jameson had barred her way. Perhaps he’d been worried his son would fall for her instead of being married off for a pack alliance. Or maybe hewas just a sexist bastard who didn’t want to acknowledge female wolves could be as dominant as males.
“Yes, fine,” Pandora grumbled. “Get me out of here.”
“We’ll be glad to,” Vaclar said, his eyes glittering with malice as he stared me down. “Just as soon as we deliver Luka’s mate.”
“You’re not taking me anywhere,” I said.
But then Pandora raised her hand again, and the world shook under my feet. I fell on my ass just before everything around me went black.
“Remember, Luka is not to kill her until I’ve reclaimed her magic.”
