Page 62 of Fur Ever Wicked
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Goodbye, my dear Wade. I will never forget our time together.”Adalyn’s voice unexpectedly filled Wade’s mind. His heart stopped beating the second he and the others flashed to Adalyn’s location. Her ominous goodbye did not bode well.
Not at all.
His already spiraling wolf went into full-blown panic mode, practically clawing his way through Wade to get out. The animal wanted to shift and find his mate. To protect her at any and all cost.
Freyja had warned his mate was in trouble. Was he too late? Fear sliced through not just his wolf, but himself as well. Throughout his long life, he’d never known such terror. The mere thought that Mariska had killed her nearly sent him to his knees. He couldn’t lose her now. Not when he’d just found her.
She had to be there and alive. There was no other option.
The smell of burnt flesh hung thick in the air, sickening him and reminding him of his frequent visits to Hell. His stomach churned at the thought of someone attacking his mate in such a way. That it could be her lifeless body causing the stench in the air.
His heartbeat sped to a deafening pace, drowning out all other sounds. Was it possible for the damn thing to crack his ribcage and break through his chest?
Because it sure as hell felt like a distinct possibility.
“No!”his wolf shouted in his mind.
“Adalyn! Where are you?”he asked through their mating connection, desperate for a response from her.
In return, he heard nothing but dead silence. His heartbeat having stopped all together in hopes of hearing from his mate.
His group appeared to be alone, but appearances were often misleading. He knew that to be the case. He could feel her presence, though he couldn’t see her.
“Damn it to Hell!” he shouted.
Wade opened his senses, scanning the wooded area.
“Where are they?” Rafe was the first to ask.
“I can feel their presence—the majik, but I can’t see them. I can feel Adalyn’s presence all around me. Fuck!” Wade answered, waving his hand through the bank of thick fog blocking their view.
“They’re being cloaked by a spell.” Erin gestured with her hand and chanted a hushed counter spell.
“Can you break it?” Rafe paced back and forth, combing his fingers roughly through his hair.
“Give me a minute. This majik is stronger than anything I’ve ever encountered.” Erin resumed her chant.
“Mariska’s majik has grown over the years,” Brenna warned. “It won’t be easy to undo what she has done. The barrier has several layers of majik to it.”
“We’ll find her and Bjorn. We have to. There is no other option. I won’t leave here without my mate,” Grace said, with a look of fierce determination.
Slowly, the fog started to thin out. Shadowed figures danced in the distance. A deadly game of cat and mouse, playing out before their eyes. Wade tried to flash to her location, it would be the quickest way to intervene and save his mate.
His instincts told him to wait for Erin to give the all-clear, but instinct be damned. He had to get to his mate.
Instead of flashing to his mate, he bounced back on his ass, skidding across the dirt as if he’d hit some sort of mystical brick fucking wall.
“What the hell?”
“Mariska’s majik is blocking us from getting through. Think of it as an invisible force field that is completely impenetrable. We have to wait until Erin breaks the spell or at least finds an opening. I don’t like it any more than you do.” Rafe offered Wade a hand, helping to pull his sorry ass off the dirt.
With Rafe’s help, Wade jumped up off the ground, brushing the dust off his backside. He glanced to the shadowy figures then back to Rafe. “I can’t make out who’s out there or what’s happening. Can you?”
“Not yet, no. This fog is still too thick, but every instinct in my body is screaming at me to get in there and fight. That my people need help. I can’t fucking stand this waiting game. It’s not my thing. The Alpha in me demands action.”
“Same. I need to get in there and make sure Adalyn’s okay and find out where the fuck Bjorn is. My wolf is ready to tear into the first thing he gets his teeth on.” His wolf was ready to break free, forcing his shift. How he kept the animal from taking over, he had no idea. His senses were on overload as his beast fought for control.
