Page 78 of Chasing Stripes

Bartek nodded, but his focus remained on Artemis. Everything else—the pride, the danger, his responsibilities—receded in importance compared to keeping her safe. The attack had awakened something primal in him, something that transcended his role as alpha.

“Take everyone back to the house,” he instructed his father. “Strengthen the inner barriers. Artemis and I need to examine her mother’s journal more carefully.”

As the others headed back toward the pride house, Bartek kept Artemis tucked against his side, unwilling to allow even a few inches of separation. His tiger remained close to the surface, senses hyperalert for any hint of danger.

“You’re trembling,” she observed quietly, her hand coming to rest over his heart.

“They took you,” he replied, his voice rough with emotion he rarely displayed. “Right from our bed. If anything had happened?—”

“But it didn’t,” she interrupted gently. “I’m safe. We’re both safe.”

The reassurance did little to calm the storm raging within him—fury at the intrusion, fear at how close they’d come to losing each other, and determination to ensure it never happened again.

“They won’t touch you again,” he vowed, his arms tightening around her. “I swear it on my life. Whoever this is will pay.”

The Collector

Deep beneath Enchanted Falls, in a chamber few knew existed, I made final adjustments to my elaborate machine designed to harness the eclipse’s power—a backup plan set in motion weeks earlier before my confrontation with the connected pair.

The stolen recipe book lay open on a pedestal before me, its pages glowing with unnatural light. Dozens of my hooded followers arranged ritual components in precise formations, preparing for the moment the eclipse would reach totality.

I paused in my work, head tilted as I sensed a magical surge rippling through the town’s foundations—the unmistakable resonance of the soul-tether activating at full strength.

“They’ve completed the strengthening ritual early,” I observed, keeping my voice steady despite my excitement. These fools had no idea how they played directly into my hands.

“Should we abort?” my lieutenant asked nervously. “Their bond will be significantly stronger now.”

I allowed myself a soft laugh, the sound echoing eerily through our underground sanctuary. “On the contrary. This makes our harvest even more valuable.”

I moved to the large covered cage designed to hold two occupants separated by a magical barrier. “More power requires more... extreme measures to extract.”

With a gesture, I pulled back the cover, revealing instruments of both physical and magical torture positioned to cause maximum pain during the separation ritual. The tiger would break first, I knew—his protective instincts would drive him to sacrifice himself to spare his mate suffering.

“Tomorrow’s dawn brings not just an eclipse, but the dawning of a new magical order.”

My assistants brought forward the final components I’d collected for the separation ritual: A lock of the baker’s golden hair, obtained when she slept. A vial of blood with tiger-shifter markers, collected from the scene of our first confrontation. The shard of magic wounded during our night attack

“With these components, we can breach even their strengthened connection.”

I raised my ceremonial knife, its obsidian edge gleaming with malevolent purpose in the candlelight. The blade had been drinking in magical energy for decades, waiting for this moment.

“Prepare the site. By sunset tomorrow, that golden string will be mine—and with it, enough power to rewrite the magical foundations of Enchanted Falls itself.”

I removed my glamour in the privacy of my most loyal followers, allowing my true eyes to shine in the darkness—one vampire-red, one fae-gold. My mixed heritage, once a source of shame and rejection from both sides of my family tree, would soon become my greatest strength.

“After all,” I whispered, running my finger along the ancient spells in the recipe book, “it’s only fitting that I claim what should have been mine generations ago...”

What the baker and her tiger didn’t understand was that her great-great-grandmother had stolen more than just a tiger’s heart. She had stolen my birthright—the soul-tether that should have formed with me. But destiny could be rewritten with enough power, and tomorrow, I would finally claim what was rightfully mine.

The eclipse would not just signal a new day—it would mark the beginning of my reign.

SIXTY-NINE

Artemis leaned against the counter of Honeycrisp Bakery, her fingertips tracing the edge of a map spread across the wooden surface. The familiar scent of cinnamon and yeast should have comforted her, but anxiety knotted in her stomach as she studied the intricate layout of Enchanted Falls.

“The eclipse begins at 3:14,” Rust announced, his voice breaking the tense silence. The lion shifter traced a path along the map, his mayoral authority evident despite the informal setting. “According to the magical sensors we placed overnight, there’s been unusual activity in the underground tunnel network.”

Artemis closed her eyes briefly, centering herself. When she opened them, she found Bartek watching her from across the room, his amber gaze steady and reassuring. Without a word, he moved to her side, his warm palm settling against the small of her back. The handprints beneath her clothing pulsed at his touch, golden light seeping through the fabric of her shirt.

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