With a flick of her wrist, Lucine had me bound by the smoke tendrils. I choked when they tightened around my frame, making it nearly impossible to breathe. It sent Rheon in a frenzy and with a blood-curdling snarl, he charged at her.
"Rheon, no!" I tried warning him, but too late.
Lucine lifted a hand and Rheon ploughed into the grass, whining as her magic penetrated his skull and senses. He scratched at his ears until blood coated his claws.
"No!" I cried and thrashed against the red smoke surrounding me. "Stop it! Stop it!"
"Beautiful, isn't it?" She admired Rheon squirming on the ground, "Imagine what it must feel like to have hundreds of thousand needles penetrating your skull. A fracture of a millimeter deeper, and his brain will lose all function. He'll be nothing but a living corpse."
She seemed to consider it as she circled him. I fought against the binds with everything I had but they wouldn't budge. Blood started coming out of Rheon's ears. My stomach clenched when he stopped squirming.
He lied there motionlessly.
Lucine tilted her head and shoved him with her foot. "Even without senses he's beautiful."
She extracted her claws and stabbed them into the back of his neck. I screwed my eyes shut as she twisted her hand, causing blood to ooze from his wounds and tint her knuckles red.
Stepping back, she waved her bloodstained hand. Rheon jerked to life and struggled to his feet. He was visibly in pain from torture she inflicted on him and still, he resumed his fighting stance. When his eyes locked on Lucine, they were dark and vengeful. Rheon backed up to shield me from the half-witch, never letting her out of his sight.
But even as he protected me from her, I realized nothing he could do would be able to stop her, not while she had magic that could render him helpless with a flick of her wrist. There had to be another way to end this.
A loophole.
Something Blake said after we escaped the cave echoed in my head. For the curse to become permanent, Lucine had to mark Rheon. And sticking to my profile on the witch, I assumed she wanted to do that in front of all the packs of Scotland. She wanted to make a spectacle out of bringing the most powerful alpha to his knees in before her.
Perhaps that's what needed to happen to get her out in the open – it would surely give Blake the opportunity to confine her without risking someone else getting hurt. It was risky, though. Who was I to say Blake would seize the chance when it played out? I haven't seen him since I left the garage. He could be injured for all I knew, and I'd be sending Rheon to his demise.
But it was all we had and when faced with limited options, you take what you get.
"Rheon," I saw him tense when I said his name, "You have to let her mark you."
His head jerked to me as if asking 'have you gone mad?!' Perhaps I did. I don't think I've been completely sane since discovering werewolves are real and it showed. This plan was a gamble whether Lucine would fall for it and whether her brother could recognize an opportunity when he sees one.
"You have to," I pleaded, "It's the only way to stop this war and save your pack."
A sinister grin spread across Lucine's face – she's falling for it.
I could see the conflict in his eyes as he looked at me. He was begging me not to make him do this. But whether this plan would work or not, depended entirely on Blake - he better be ready or else I'll kill and skin him myself...if Lucine lets me live.
Despite my heart hammering in my throat, I willed myself to look brave, to nod my head and plaster on a sad smile. "Trust me."
'We need to get her out in the open,' I thought as loudly as I could, hoping that my suspicions of him hearing my thoughts were true. 'Please, just trust me, I have a plan.'
I didn't know if he heard me or not, but he turned towards Lucine and lowered his head in defeat.
A wolfish grin tugged at her lips. "Well, this evening turned out to be lovely."
With a single whistle, her pack of werewolves dropped what they were doing and formed a large circle in the center of the lawn. They parted like the Red Sea as she strode through them while a blanket of dark red smoke floated over the grass, swirling around her legs as she moved. It was exactly like I predicted; she was putting up a show claiming Rheon for herself in front of every pack in Scotland.
Rheon cast one final look at me before entering the circle of werewolves. I watched the smoke waft with each step he took, glowing with dominance like the alpha he is. I felt proud knowing I'm his mate despite the consequences that title brought upon Craven Pride.
I could hardly breathe as Rheon stopped at the center to face off Lucine. She awaited him with an expression radiating victory, running her finger down the porcelain skin of her neck, foreshadowing what was about to occur.
My nerves left me an anxious mess as the witch took a step toward my mate. Now would be a great time to do something, Blake.
To my relief, a surge of grey smoke swept over the grass, following the outline of the wolf circle until it surrounded only Lucine and Rheon. The smoke formed a globe-shaped barricade around the two of them, expanding upward too far for my eyes to see.
All heads turned to Blake as he emerged from the crowd with outstretched arms and palms facing forward while clouds of grey smoke poured from them. Lucine's eyes flashed when she realized she'd been betrayed by her own flesh and blood. The glare she sent him would have been enough to burn him alive on the spot.
From where I was bound, I saw Blake chanting the ritual meant to strip his sister of her magic. The more the ritual manifested, the darker his magic grew. The grey smoke slowly turned black, blurring everyone's view from the wolf and the witch inside the barrier.
I had to squint my eyes to see Rheon within the chaos. He was smart enough to stay clear of Lucine while Blake's magic whirled around her legs and up her frame. It was getting harder to see by the second, but I felt the plan was working. Any moment now, these red tendrils will vanish along with the curse.
Any moment now, we would have won.
But as I allowed Blake to spark hope within me, the temperature in the air dropped just as it did that night when I was exploring the castle halls.
It happened too fast for me to comprehend.
Lucine's hand broke free from the magic and thrusted forward, an invisible force sending Blake flying backward. He ploughed into the ground several yards from where he was standing, the impact sure to knock the wind from his lungs. With a flick of Lucine's wrist, hundreds of red smoke tendrils wrapped themselves around Blake's sprawled out form, slowly squeezing the life out of him.
Out of the crowd of werewolves, a bone-chilling snarl shook the earth before a dark wolf emerged. I instantly recognized Clemmy as she stormed the barrier with her fangs bared, fully controlled by rage and ready to kill Lucine herself if not stopped.
Lucine's expression twisted into a wicked grin. Just as Clemmy pushed off the ground to invade the barrier, the grey smoke turned to red, causing her to bounce off the wall. Clemmy was on her feet in a second and charged again, but the result was the same. Lucine has overtaken Blake's magic, meaning the ritual didn't work.
Rheon was trapped with no way of getting out, and no way for anyone to get in.
"NO!" I fought against the tendrils as Lucine took her place in front of Rheon.
There was always a greater chance that the plan might fail, but I clung to the hope that it would work. Blake should've stopped her.
My body shuddered in defeat as it dawned on me that Lucine had won.
I failed.
Lucine's hand settled on Rheon's neck, parting the fur where she planned on leaving her cursed mark. Even he was rooted to the ground by magic, foiling his chances to escape if he planned to.
Every fiber in my being was ablaze with raw desperation while all I could think of was him. My mate. In that moment, I would've killed anyone who threatened his life, or stood in my way of protecting him.
A primal instinct dug into me, and I wrestled against the tendrils around my arms while urging my legs to stand. The more I moved, the tighter the smoke wound itself around me, squeezing the air from my lungs. It was getting nearly impossible to breathe, little black dots clouding my vision as I started to lose consciousness.
However, as I focused entirely on Rheon in my final attempt to break free, I found a traction point in the grass and forced my legs to push off the ground. The tendrils snapped and I sucked in an enormous gulp of air, feeling my lungs burn as they expand.
There wasn't time to wonder how I managed to break free of Lucine's magic. Snatching up the discarded flamethrower, I rammed into the barrier with all I had left, passing right through the smoke.
Figures, Lucine didn't consider me breaking free as a possibility, so she only created the barrier to keep out werewolves. Joke's on her.
Up ahead, the witch's face was inches from Rheon's neck, her fangs bared as she's seconds away from marking him.
My movements were entirely driven by the need to save my mate. Knowing what I'd do next would hurt like a bitch, I grinded my teeth and rammed shoulder first into Lucine, sending her rolling across the grass. Rheon's eyes were swimming with fear as he looked at me in panic, begging me to run, to save myself.
I did the exact opposite by placing myself between him and Lucine, flamethrower at the ready.
Lucine unleashed a rageful screech and pushed herself off the ground. Spinning on her heel, I was shaken to the core at the sight of her. The whites of her eyes have turned black, and dark veins spiderwebbed all over her face.
"I should've killed you at that fountain when I had the chance," she seethed and advanced toward me.
"You're right," I adjusted my grip on the flamethrower and added, "You should've never underestimated me."
I closed my hand around the handle and a flaming cloud burst from the nozzle.
Lucine's eyes widened as she brought up her hands to conjure a shield...but too late. The flames had already found her hair and clothes, spreading across her body like wildfire. The screams and wails she unleashed tore through each and every werewolf's senses, and even I had to drop the flamethrower to cover my ears that threatened to combust from the noise. At last, the pandemonium of her squeals reached their peak until every window of the castle in proximity shattered.
And then it stopped.
The witch dropped to the ground, the flames spreading over her corpse until I could no longer determine the outlines of what once was a woman.
A deathly silence ruled as the barrier of red smoke vanished into thin air along with the tendrils that confined Rheon. I dropped to the ground as relief and exhaustion replaced the adrenaline, never tearing my eyes off the fire.
Lucine's dead. This time, she must be.
Did this mean we won?
Once they realized their leader was dead, Lucine's pack scampered in several directions, desperate to escape their uncertain fate. I watched as four werewolves chased after them, assuming they were hunting them down.
But even with the enemy pack running, Rheon's paws were lodged in place. He stared at me with an unreadable expression before slowly shrinking into himself, bones cracking and morphing back to human size.
The fur hardly disappeared underneath his skin before his arms found their way around my frame, holding me flush against his bare chest. I couldn't be more desperate to grab onto him, closing my eyes as I allowed myself to believe this was real, we had won. Only when that thought sank in, did I bury my face in his chest, muffling the cries that shook my body.
Rheon's lips were against my neck, hands roaming all over my back and arms as if making sure I wasn't a figment of his imagination. I held onto him for dear life, afraid that if I let him go, I'd wake up in that cave and all of this was nothing but a cruel dream. I didn't even care that he was completely naked and covered in both his and other's blood.
All that mattered was that we were alive, the curse was broken, and that we won.
"The curse..." I gasped when I remembered, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes, "Is it broken? Can you..."
Rheon nodded slowly, leaning down to bury his face in my neck and inhaled deeply. Goosebumps spread across my whole body as he exhaled in bliss, his warm breath fanning against my chilled skin. "You smell...divine."
That was it, then; the curse was broken. For the first time in ten years, he could smell, and my scent was the first to invade his senses.
I bit the inside of my cheek to muffle the sound that almost escaped my mouth when his roaming hands became more fervid. He was losing himself in my scent and growing rather excited while our bodies were pressed together.
But the moment didn't last long before a cry sounded behind us, "Craig!"
Both our heads whipped around to find Victor and Alexander carrying an unconscious Craig onto the lawn. I felt my legs buckle at the sight of the deep claw marks across his chest and arms, as well as the teeth marks in his neck.
"Goddess Three, it can't be..." Rheon breathed as his brothers lied his uncle down at our feet. I was too shocked to mutter a word as he gave his uncle a shake. "Craig, wake up! Why isn't he healing?"
A small crowd huddled around us to see what was happening, all holding what was left of their torn clothing to their naked bodies. Rieka gasped sharply and hid her face in Emric's chest, while Seren and Clemmy could only stare at Craig's lifeless form in shocked remorse.
Bile rose in my throat. The last time I saw Craig was when I left him at the garage. He was protecting me from those werewolves, and I never even thanked him. I didn't even notice the tears rolling down my cheeks at the thought that he was...that he could be...dead.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blake push through the crowd. He froze upon witnessing the scene in front of him and his eyes shifted towards Clemmy, who was trying her best to muffle her sobs. His jaw clenched before he advanced towards Craig, only to be stopped by Alexander and Victor.
"I can help him," he said.
"Why should we trust you?" Alex glowered at him, "You kidnapped my sister and brother's mate. For that, you deserve to rot in hell with your sister."
I opened my mouth to vouch for him, to explain how he saved us from that cave, only for Clemmy to say with a trembling voice, "I trust him."
Blake and Alex both gawked at her in shock. The latter shook his head in disbelief. "Don't be naive, Clemmy, he's rotten just like his sister."
"He's my mate." That came as a shock to everyone except for me. Even Blake couldn't believe that she proclaimed that for everyone to hear.
Emric and Rieka's faces were pale as the former alpha asked, "Are you sure, darling?"
Clemmy nodded. "I know I'm too young to feel the bond, but it's there. I'm sure of it."
Brief flashes of her charging at Lucine after she attacked Blake with magic replayed in my head. There was no way the others missed it. Clemmy fought with such fury, it's impossible to believe it wasn't inspired by anything else than the bond she shared with Blake.
"Alright, then." Emric gave in and gestured for the young wizard to step forward.
The werewolf-wizard hybrid crouched beside Craig's body and set to work. He stuck his finger into the gashes in the older man's chest, using his blood to draw a tree-shaped symbol in the palm of his hand. Blake squeezed his hands together and blew into the gap between his thumbs. I watched in silent anticipation as he opened his hands above Craig's mouth. A white mist descended onto the older werewolf's face and disappeared into his parted lips.
Everyone waited, anticipating whether it worked or not.
A second passed, then two, then three...
"Queen's bollocks! Tastes lik' someone took a jobby in me geggy..." Relief washed over me as Craig's voice filled the silence.
There was a symphony of solaced breaths around us as Blake helped him sit upright, only for Clemmy to tackle her uncle back into the ground, followed by Victor and Seren. I breathed a laugh at the sight and, despite my throbbing arm, joined in. And soon everyone was dog-piling Craig, who could only cry out for help.