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Because I was not weak. Nor was I in need of anyone's protection. I was a strong young woman. My talents are necessary in figuring out our future, and I will lead us through the tangle that fate had given us.
Walking out of the barrier surrounding the witch lands, I went over to the portal. I can use it to go to the cave with no one's help.
Finding it on the witches' land was easy. It shone with a bright light to those with the Sight. I saw it when I closed my eyes, in the space I escaped to when my powers filled me.
Now all I had to do was to trace the correct symbols, think of where I wanted to go, and I would land in Artemis' Temple. Simple magic.
Right.
Except for me.
Everything went wrong.
I must have done something weird, because while I had left the coven's lands, I didn't arrive in the cave.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, I realized I was some place else. I was outside of a forest, in a field somewhere. Looking around, I wasn’t even sure where I was. Even the trees appeared different from those at home.
Frowning, I tried to figure out where I was. Squinting to see the scenery surrounding me didn't help in any manner.
This place was over-the-top. Everything looked almost as if someone had painted it on canvas, following some idea of what the landscape should look like. Take the trees. Their colors were what I could only describe as a paint-by-numbers scheme. The bark was a uniform deep brown and the leaves were the bright green you expected from them in the spring.
Even the grass surrounding me was the perfect color one would pick from a crayon box; the lush green everyone wanted their lawn to be. Along with that, every blade appeared distinct to my eyes.
The sky above held a shade of blue that contrasted with the lemon yellow sun, giving the impression of warmth without the heat.
Where the hell did I end up?
Someone cleared their throat behind me and I whirled around, my hair flying into my face as I crouched down into a fighting stance.
Two tall men with bronze skin and blond hair stood there, studying me. Their eyes both were an unusual shade of blue, but that was where the similarities ended.
One of them was bulky, his shoulders wider than most doorways. They tapered down like an upside-down triangle to slim hips and then flared out to accommodate the thick muscles in his thighs.
A condescending grin graced his lips while those disconcerting eyes discounted I was even a threat. Everything about him made me want to punch him in the nose. Definitely an asshole.
The other man was thinner, but I couldn’t think of him as any less. No, his lines were long and lean, like those of a runner or swimmer. His eyes were brighter—almost a bluish silver—and were watching me with a knowing gaze.
Of the two, I would fight the asshole first. The other man was definitely the brains of the pair, even though he had his measure of brawn, as well.
Exhaling, I stood up taller, thinking about what I should do. I doubted I could run away from these guys. Their legs were longer and while the meathead would lose in a sprint, the other man would run me down like a lion after a gazelle. I eyed him again. Something told me it wouldn't matter if I was a wolf, he would win.
Besides, it was two against one. What I needed were allies.
Reaching out to check if Betta was within reach, I found her mental path inaccessible. As were the ones that led to Lark, Lexi, and even Soren. My Alpha, Shane, was only a comforting warmth in my head, unable to be used. Something cut me off from the pack and my siblings’ bonds.
Okay, first test. I am on my own. But I'm not defenseless.
I don’t think.
“Hello. I don’t think this was where I wanted to go. Where is this? Who are you?”
“Is this how you address those who are superior to you?” The meathead's voice was a low rumble.
I suspected he would push me over the edge into anger if I had to stay around him too long.
I pushed my nose up, which was a little funny given these men towered over me by over a foot.
“I see no such persons,” I replied, a bit of snark creeping into my voice as I crossed my arms over my chest and popped one hip out to the side.
