Page 68 of Blood Sacrifice

Mother priestess waved my comment away. “Your soul is here but you are still connected to your physical body. Aisha is intelligent, but not as clever as Fate or her sister Destiny. The other gods may have abandoned this world, but they still monitor what happens here.”

I glanced at Cybele, and she bounced her eyebrows. “It doesn’t seem right to finally find your mate and have that stolen from you. There is a war brewing, and although we cannot fight in it, we can ensure the main warriors are kept on the battlefield.”

“I have no idea what any of this means,” I complained, holding my head as I felt nauseous. “And since when do ghosts feel sick?”

“We are spirits, not ghosts,” Cybele corrected me. “Just because we do not have a physical form does not mean we cannot feel or experience life in a different way. Now that you are here, you can help us brew this potion. I had it ready for your help.”

I was beginning to think that I was a ghost having a breakdown and experiencing hallucinations. I peeked under the pad Cybele had placed on my side, and noticed the wound had healed over and stopped bleeding.

“You always were a master of healing potions. I could never replicate the one you brewed for headaches,” I said, moving toward the cauldron to sniff what was brewing.

“A pinch of cinnamon helps incorporate it into your body, because everyone needs some spice in their life,” Cybele replied. “Now concentrate, because this is important.”

The years peeled away as I remembered what it felt like to work with these powerful women. They had been busy, collecting different herbs and crystals from the Earth realm, and some from the magical realm as well. They had discovered a new way to live even though they had no physical form.

A sharp pain tore through my abdomen, making me double in half. “What’s happening?” I gasped.

Mother priestess took my hand in hers. “I believe the spark of magic that is keeping your soul connected to your body is growing stronger. Your daughter is demanding the return of her mother.” My gaze met hers in confusion. “Salvator was your destiny. There was a reason Balor forbade priestesses mating with the dire wolves, and when that child is born, you’ll discover why.”

My hand unconsciously covered my stomach and my mind went to the night we mated and he knotted inside me. I had given up hope of ever being a mother, but it seemed Fate had a different plan for me.

I had been willing to die to protect my mate. Balor and Aisha needed to find somewhere to hide because I would tear the land apart to find and destroy them to protect my child.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Salvator

The spell had been aimed at me. I still couldn’t understand how Luna had appeared in front of me, but she took the full impact of the attack. Maia had kept her alive with mine and Dominic’s blood, but she was unconscious and non-responsive in the medical unit.

Our base had been searched from top to bottom, and we had found numerous surveillance cameras that were now destroyed. Dominic and his team had been relentless in their exploration, using equipment I had never seen before to detect some of the devices.

This was officially a magic-free zone except for those who had arrived to help my mate.

I stood beside the window staring at the world outside. Everything looked as it had before, people continuing about their business, but my entire life had been ripped apart, and regret consumed me from the inside. There had been hurt in Luna’s eyes, confusion at my treatment of her following my memories returning. What she didn’t understand or know was I internalised everything until I had time to understand it. She hadn’t had time to learn about the man I had become, only knowing the boy who had openly discussed his feelings.

“You look like shit,” Jethro said, appearing beside me.

“Fuck off,” I snapped. “Do you not have some witches to find and bring to justice?”

“Paulo and I have been chatting. We need to get out of this place and stretch our legs. Maybe assassinate a few of Balor’s priests along the way.” He paused for a moment. “You need to step away from this room and take your place as our alpha again.”

I stared at him for several seconds until he looked away. Then I turned my attention to the woman lying pale and still in the bed. “I was an asshole to her,” I finally said.

“You’re an asshole to everyone. She’ll understand.”

“Aisha made it sound as if we’d been lovers for years.” I paused. “I never touched her once in all those years. In my head, she was a sister figure since Luna was my mate.”

“She was a crazy bitch who had us all on leashes. I fucking hate everything she represents.” Jethro slammed his fist down on the desk beside the bed.

I returned to staring out the window. “I was made to catch, and then stand there and watch while they killed innocent women. What if there are more suppressed memories? If what Aisha said was true even though I don’t remember.” My skin crawled with the thought of being locked inside my body while Aisha violated me.

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Jethro replied, his voice low. “They stole our free will. I no longer know what were my real thoughts and emotions, and which were forced on me.”

We stood in silence, my own thoughts in turmoil until they landed on one fact: we were free. “Luna ensured we could never be bound again,” I said. “Everything we feel now is our own emotions, everything we think is our own thoughts. I suggest we do what we thought we were doing all along. Let’s hunt these fuckers into extinction and eradicate their dark magic from this world.”

“Amen to that,” Jethro replied. “I’ll happily slit their throats like they did with some of those kids when they sacrificed them.”

“We take the fight to them. Ask Maia to check all our wolves to ensure none of them are spellbound. Call all operatives back to base. I need every tracker out there with their noses to the ground and ears at every doorway.” I sucked in a breath and slowly released it. “This time we leave none of them alive.”

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