CALLIE POV:
I was startled awake by the sound of a growl. A tall man stood towering over me a twisted grin on his lips. A muffled scream drew my attention away from him. I looked and saw Lux bound and gagged across the room. I could see the silver cutting into her ankles and wrists as angry tears spilled down her cheeks.
I glared back up at the werewolf. "Why are you here?" I asked with venom in my tone. "Alpha James requires your presence witch." He spit back in a gruff voice. I looked over at lux and saw her still struggling against her restraints. "Lux, stop. You need your strength." She stilled a confused expression came across her face. I stood and nodded at the intruder. "Fine, I'll go with you just leave everyone else alone."
He grunted and pushed me forward. Lux was screaming and struggling to break free. I smiled at her and laid a hand on her shoulder as we passed. The man growled and shoved me out of the room roughly.
"Lux, please just stay calm I will be okay. Try waking the others. Just stay away! If I'm in danger I'll teleport back. I'll see you tonight, I love you." I spoke through our mind link. She immediately tried to argue with me, but I shut her out and keep walking.
Soon I was in the second pack house. All eyes were on me the second I stepped in the house. What I saw broke my heart everyone's eyes were sunken in and you could just tell that this was a miserable, broken pack, a pack that had given up all hope. I went to speak, but a boot struck my back throwing me across the room before I had the chance. I slid across the floor until I came to a stop at someone's feet.
I looked up and saw James dark eyes looking down at me an evil smirk on his face. He yanked me up by my hair I winced in pain as I stood. "James, it's lovely to see you again." I said my voice dripping with sarcasm. He jerked my head back and snarled in my ear.
"If I were you I wouldn't be joking right now witch." He shouted as he threw me into a chair. He snapped his fingers and three of his followers chained me down.
"Pack, meet your future Luna! Callie is a witch and we all know how vile they are! Who wants a witch to lead the pack?! He shouted out to the clearly terrified pack. The room fell silent. No one dared answer him, no one even dared to look up.
I sighed "tsk, tsk, tsk oh Jimmy are you a little nervous about tonight? Does the big bad alpha need a bargaining chip to beat his own daughter?" The room erupted in whispers and murmurs. James snarled loudly , the floor shook with his rage and the room fell silent once more.
His fist connected with my cheek. The force threw me to the floor. His men set me back up. I laughed bitterly and spat blood on his shoes. "That tickled." I said through a laugh. He growled and I watched as his claws formed on his hand. He swung and slashed my face leaving gashes across it.
I screamed in pain, but lifted my head and held his gaze.
I started chanting a spell and James and his group froze before he could hit me again.
"Please, listen all of you! I know you don't know me and I know you've got no reason to trust me, but I promise you Lux is coming to save you! She has laid down the challenge for James! After tonight your nightmare will end."
The last part of my speech came out pained and quiet. A young woman only a few years older than myself broke out of the pack and approached me. She kneeled down inspecting my face.
"How do we know you speak the truth witch?" I shook my head. "Yes, I am a witch, but I am a good one I swear to you." I said weakly. She nodded and moved my hair out of my face. "How is Luna Grace?" She asked curiously. "She is well. She regrets leaving all of you, but she needed to prepare Lux for what was coming."
The girl smiled. "Good, now how are we gonna get you out of here?" She asked excitedly. I shook my head "You aren't gonna do anything. I can take care of myself." She gave me a confused glare. "But you're chained down. How are you going to get out?" I chuckled "Never underestimate an white witch." She shrugged and turned back to her pack. "Wait! I never got your name." She smiled "Sloane" she answered and went back to her group.
James unfroze and immediately struck me in the stomach and I felt my ribs break. I gasped trying to catch a breath. He let out a cackle and spit in my face. Once I could breath I grunted in frustration "I hope you've had your fun Jimmy, because the next time you see me will be the last."
He laughed again "I don't think you realize that you are only going to see your precious mate once more before I make her watch as I tear out your throat, but don't worry witch she'll join you soon enough! He yelled like a giddy little child he's eyes held a crazy glare.
I smiled "That's where you're wrong." He snarled at my response, but before he could react I teleported out of there. The last thing I saw before collapsing in pain and exhaustion was Jess and Sky rushing over to me and the coven staring down at me.
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LIZA POV:
I woke up in the early morning with a bad feeling in my stomach. I shook Max awake quickly. "Babe, what is it?" She muttered tiredly. "Something feels off Max." She sat up sniffing the air. Her eyes widened "What is it?" I asked urgently. "Blood." She whispered.
We jumped out of bed and ran to Callie and Lux's room. Max threw the door open and rushed over to Lux who was unconscious, tied up, and gagged in the floor. Max removed her gag and went to get the restraints. "Stop!" I shouted before she touched them. She froze I kneeled down and undid them myself. "They are laced with silver. Look at the marks they left."
Max picked Lux up and laid her on the bed. She shook her trying to wake her, but everything she tried didn't work. "Why isn't she waking up?" I asked softly. Max growled in frustration. "There's got to be a piece of the silver in her somewhere. She probably got a sliver when she tried to break free." She paused thinking over her options.
"Go get LG she'll know what to do." I nodded and rushed downstairs flinging LG's door open. She sat up startled and snarling.
"I'm sorry, but it's Lux there's something wrong!" She jumped out of bed and followed me back to Lux and Max."
"She's got to have silver stuck in her somewhere." Max explained worriedly. LG nodded agreeing. "Liza are you up to do surgery?" She asked seriously. I chuckled nervously. "You're kidding right? I've never even dissected a frog before." She shook her head if Max or I touch that silver we will get severe burns. It's got to be in it pure form for it to have such a strong effect on Lux. You're the only one that can do it."
I sighed "Okay, I'll do it. I wish Callie were here. Wait, where the hell is Callie?" I asked suddenly aware of my missing sister. Max sniffed the air again. "LG, Thomas has been here." Max said urgently. LG growled looking at me with pity. "She's been taken by my husbands beta." I took in a shaky breath. "Do you think she's okay?" LG nodded. "James might rough her up, but he won't kill her, at least not until the battle."
"Why is that?" LG's lips pursed like she was reluctant to tell. "Just tell me!" I shouted.
"What better way to ruin Lux's chances of winning than to kill her mate in front of her?" She said softly. I let out a soft sob. Max pulled me into a tight embrace. "Hey she's gonna be okay if she gets into any real trouble she'll just teleport out of there. She whispered. I took in a deep breath. "You're right. She's okay. Come on let's get Lux on a table the longer the silvers in there the weaker she'll get." I said brokenly. Max scooped lux up and we rushed to the infirmary.
Soon I was all scrubbed up and ready for surgery. LG and Max were with me to guide me. Max turned me to face her and I stared into her beautiful eyes. "Take a deep breath, try to relax I'm gonna be right here." She said gently. I did as she said. LG handed me a scalpel.
"Okay Liza you need to make a small incision in all of her burns. Whichever bleeds the most with have the silver in it. Now you'll have to use a little pressure to cut deeply enough to effectively use this method, but remember don't cut too deeply, because if you do you risk nicking an artery." LG explained.
I lifted the scalpel my hand was shaking. Max laid her hand over mine to steady it. She slowly guided me to each burn and helped me use the right amount of pressure. Lux's left wrist started spilling blood almost immediately. "Okay Liza now you need to see if you can find the silver. It should shine a little so it should be easy to spot. I tried to look through the blood and a small glimmer caught my eye.
Max handed me forceps and I slowly tried to grasp the silver. It took a minute but I finally pulled a sliver of silver about the size of a toothpick out of Lux's wrist. I threw it in a jar and immediately cast a healing spell to close up her incisions. Max laid her in an empty bed. Now all we could do was wait.
"You did well Liza." LG whispered proudly.
"Thank you." She nodded and pulled max to the side for a private conversation. They spoke briefly until LG left trudging tiredly out of the room. Max pulled me into her side her thumb ran over my hip. I gave her a questioning glare. "I sent her to bed. Emma showed her how to make a sleeping aid so she's going to take one and sleep for as long as she can before tonight."
I nodded in understanding "She needs it. She's been walking around like a zombie ever since Emma and them left." Max kissed my temple softly and pulled me into one of the recliners next to Lux's bed.
"Speaking of sleep... it's way to early for us to be up." She muttered. I glanced at the clock and it read just past 5. "How long till Lux wakes up?" Max shrugged "An hour or two depending on how long the silver was in her system. I smiled tiredly and curled into Max's side. She wrapped me in her arms. She was always so warm, every time she did this it felt like I was in my own safe cocoon. I felt so at peace in her embrace it wasn't long before we were both asleep.
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JESS POV:
The whole coven was relaxing in the den before we went to bed when suddenly our alarms went off indicating an incoming intruder. We all stood at the ready, but our defenses fell once we saw Callie materialize. She was wobbly on her feet. She had gashes across her face that were bleeding profusely, and her eye was swollen shut. The coven stood frozen in shock. Her lips tried to rise in a smile, but she collapsed hitting the ground hard.
Sky and I rushed over to her. "Get Emma! Now!" I yelled back to the girls. I kneeled down taking note of all of Callie's injuries. In addition to her face she had multiple broken ribs and bruises on her wrists and ankles. Sky gently pressed on Callie's ribs to get an idea of how badly they were broken, and the second she did that Callie's eyes flew open and she let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Sky quickly stopped and a tear slid down her cheek. Callie was awake, but she was in so much pain she had her eyes squeezed shut and her breathing was uneven and panicky. Emma quickly made her way to us. She let out a small gasp at Callie's state.
She told me to carefully carry Callie over to the couch while Sky sent all the young ones off to their rooms. I laid Callie down as gently as I could but she still let out a small cry. Jenna was now by my side worry written across her face. "She's gonna be okay just do me a favor and grab a healing potion." I whispered over to her. She quickly sprinted to get one.
"Callie what happened to you?" Emma asked softly. Callie's eyes opened slowly.
"I-it h-hurts." She mumbled as she took in a gasp of air. She was struggling to breath because of the pain. I quickly cast a calming spell over her and it seemed to help.
Jenna rushed over to me with the potion and I helped Callie drink it. In minutes Callie's eye was normal, her bruises disappeared, and her gashes were pink new scars. Sky healed Callie's ribs. We sat anxiously for a half an hour waiting for her to wake up.
She woke up with a start sitting straight up and hyperventilating. Sky quickly calmed her down by reassuring her she was safe.
Once Callie calmed down a confused glare rested on her features. "Why am I here?" She asked us all clearly surprised about where she had woken up.
We all shook our heads. "That's what we want to know." I said with a smile. Callie slowly moved to a sitting position. "I was kidnaped by James this morning and he was beating me to a pulp in front of the pack. I just thought about wanting to be somewhere safe. I figured I would end up at home not here." She explained.
"Why would James kidnap you?" Sky questioned quietly. "Because Lux is challenging him tonight and he wanted to kill me in front of her and the pack before the battle. Oh my gods! I have to get back Lux needs me!" She said urgently before trying to get up.
I held her in place. "No, you need to rest. Just for a little and then you can go. You don't have enough energy to teleport anyway." Emma said sternly over my shoulder. Sky left and quickly came back with a cup of tea. She gingerly handed to Callie who quickly thanked her.
Once Callie finished her tea, Jenna spoke up. "Callie, can I heal your face? She asked shyly. Callie smiled "Jenna you don't need to ask if I need to be healed then please heal me." Jenna smiled and nodded. She made quick work of it and Callie was back to normal. "Thank you, sister." Callie whispered as she gave Jenna a tight hug.
We sat and talked for about an hour before Callie decided it was time to go. "I'll be back with news of the battle soon. If it doesn't go our way I fear we may need a sanctuary." She muttered solemnly.
"You and your family are always welcome here Callie." Emma reassured her and she pulled her into a big hug. Callie's eyes shined with tears as she hugged us goodbye.
Sky's small hand gripped mine tightly as we watched Callie slowly disappear. Once she was gone I pulled Sky into me, both us needed a sense of comfort.
"They'll be okay girls. They always are." Emma said softly as we all made our way to our rooms. Sky and I quickly fell into a restless sleep both of us worrying for our friends.