Page 103 of Witch Undecided
“What will you do?” Jessie asked again.
Leif’s jaw ticked. “If they’ve taken the women through a rift, there’s nothing we can do.”
“What?” Poppy raised her head and glared at him. “What the fuck do you mean?”
“We aren’t permitted to go through the rifts,” Leif said. “Our ancestors took an oath never to cross over.”
“And you’ve already broken that oath, because the female dire wolves have crossed over,” Sloane pointed out. “So fuck the rules.”
She was right. “Leif, we have to go after them.”
He closed his eyes. “We can’t. The oath prevents us from passing through willingly. The varga will have physically forced the wolves to pass, but unless we’re captured and forcefully taken through, there is no way for us to get through. We’ll be repelled.” His mouth twisted. “Trust me, I’ve tried chasing after the fuckers.”
Fuck. There had to be a way… “What about witches?”
Leif frowned at me.
“Can we get through?”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“So that’s a yes.” I looked at Sloane, who nodded.
“Dammit, Cora,” Leif snapped. “It’s unknown territory. If you get bitten or scratched, you’re fucked, not to mention you can’t fight them with magic. They can null you.”
“Not if I’m around.” Jasper stepped out of the gloom, and my heart leaped into my throat. He didn’t look at me, though. He kept his attention on Leif. “I can help.”
Leif locked gazes with Jasper, his eyes narrowing, and then he nodded. “Thank you.”
So it was settled. “We’ll go after them. We just need to open a rift. Can we do that?”
Jessie’s lip curled. “I dunno, but I’ll give it my fucking all.”
Poppy wiped her eyes and stood. “They need to pay for what they did to Danny.”
Leif put his hand on her shoulder. “Danny wouldn’t want you putting yourself in danger. If you do this, you go in stealth. You get the wolves out. You do not engage the enemy.”
Poppy’s chin jutted mulishly. “If they step into my path, then they’ll get obliterated.”
Leif opened his mouth to argue but something slammed into the main doors, fists pounding. My head whipped around to find Tor standing outside, palm pressed to the glass as he peered into the gloom.
Trenton rushed across the room and unlocked the door. My monolith of muscle mate strode in. Frost clung to his short dark hair and kissed his lashes, and smoke curled off his skin as the moisture from the air outside evaporated against the heat emanating off his body. He was in joggers, sneakers, and a long-sleeve navy V-neck sweater that showcased his biceps and powerful chest.
Rune padded in behind Tor, bringing the scent of the forest with him. His golden fur shimmered with flakes of ice and he shook his huge body, dispelling the moisture, before looking up at me with his huge hazel eyes dappled with liquid gold.
“No rifts,” Tor said. ‘The fuckers have gone.” His gaze raked over me, checking for injury, then he inhaled, his attention flicking from me to Leif. His jaw tightened.
Oh fuck. Could he smell Leif on me and vice versa?
I noted the muscle ticking in his jaw and the storm in his steely eyes. “Later,” he growled at Leif. “We need to post guards at all the regular rift sights. We can grab a varga as soon as one comes through, and—”
“The Elites are going in,” Leif said.
Tor’s gaze flew to me. “No.”
Typical Tor. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Tor.”
“You’re the fucking anchor. We can’t risk your life.”
