Defiance

03.

Lucius pulled her harder and I saw her arm turn red. A couple of other wolves followed Lucius. They stared at the witch and then back at me for instruction. They were patrol wolves: Janice, Leo, Evangeline, Jaxon, and Mardin; they were in charge of watching our territory and secure the boundaries of the Woods. I nodded to them in acknowledgement and turned my attention back to the witch. I almost crushed my fingers in an attempt to keep myself still.

She wasn't my mate.

I was not kind to witches. I was not soft with witches. I was not forgiving. Lucius threw her in my direction. 

"Don't worry, I already put the Maji necklace on her. She can't use any magic."

I saw the red ruby on her necklace. Werewolves had their own ways to control witches. If we didn't, we would have lost this war a long time ago. The necklace on her neck - made from the ruby stone and coaxed in the moon's magic - stopped a witch from performing any magic she wanted to. When she looked back up, I couldn't move. 

Mate. My wolf yelled.

Mate.

No. That's not possible.

She wasn't supposed to exist.

Mate.

I smelt the magic in her blood. It was alluring, it was pulling.

Magic. That wrench was doing magic to me. But she can't? 

The ruby wasn't working, I decided.

I don't have a mate.

I'm not supposed to have a mate.

"Get the truth potion," I told Lucius immediately.

I watched his eyebrows scrunched together but he nodded. He knew better than to question my authority. Then, without stopping, I pulled her off the ground. The very moment I touched her, I knew it was true. 

She was my mate. She was mine. The touch was so powerful, I felt the electrification. I could feel my hand seeping into her arm.

My wolf called out to her.

No.

It's not possible.

It's a trick.

"Please. Let me go! I don't mean any harm!" She cried. Even her voice called out to my heart. "Please."

I pulled her along anyway. The wolves in my pack watched the interaction. They could smell the magic in her blood but they could also sense her anger. I had to take her to a private place. The only thing that came to my mind was the prisons in the Dungeon my father built for witches years ago.

She was going to tell me what kind of magic she was doing to me. She was going to tell me how she was able to trick my wolf into believing she was my mate.

"Beta Aldric. Should we come along? Do you need anything else?" Jaxon, one of the wolves who came with Lucius asked.

"No. Go back into the woods. See if there are any other witches around. Keep the patrols going. Meanwhile, she is going to tell me what they did to Ella."

"Yes." Jaxon and the other patrol wolves nodded. They placed a fist on their chests at the same time - the sign of respect and order of our pack.

It didn't take me long to reach the dungeon. I pulled her down the stairs. Physically, this girl had no power. I could lift her easily. Magic was probably the only reason she was alive. I almost feared that if I pulled her too hard she would break.