Yeah, I wouldn’t admit in front of everyone that I was spooked. I’d faced down twenty wolves without hesitation, but going down those damn stairs was giving me the willies. “I’m fine.” I took his hand and tugged him next to me so we descended side by side.
The stairwell consisted of about twenty steps, and at the bottom, Beatrice opened the door to let the light from inside illuminate some of the darkness.
“Tell us who knows we’re here,” a loud, deep voice demanded.
A deep chuckle was the response.
Inside the basement, a witch stood in front of the naked shifter, glaring at him. The shifter had his eyes to the ground with a smirk. He was purposely pissing off the witches.
Of course he’d be naked. He most likely hadn’t brought clothes to change into after he shifted back.
We piled into the room, with Aidan on one side, Beth on the other, and Finn right behind me. Everyone else was behind us except for Amethyst and Beatrice, who made their way next to the male witch.
The ground was dirt, and the room was hot with moisture and no airflow. The sides were cement, but there were cobwebs woven throughout. There wasn’t even a window down here.
Beatrice stared down the shifter. “Has he told you anything?”
“No, he hasn’t.” The vein in the witch’s neck bulged. “He just chuckles after every damn question.”
I had to piss the shifter off so he’d get reckless with his words. “That’s unfortunate.”
The shifter’s head snapped up, and his eyes locked on me. “You’re the girl, aren’t you?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.” I batted my eyelashes, smiling innocently at him.
His focus turned to Aidan and then Beth. “You are here. We were told we had a traitor who clung to her.” He nodded at the place where my hand was wrapped in Aidan’s.
“Traitor?” I arched an eyebrow, and Aidan’s hand tensed. “I’m thinking you meant to say someone strong enough to see both sides of the story.” He must not be from Aidan’s pack since he didn’t recognize the man.
“No, easily manipulated is more like it.” The captive’s breathing increased.
I tilted my head. “Well, you guys were obviously idiots to only bring twenty wolves against an entire coven.”
Beth strolled over to stand beside me. “Must have had a death wish.”
“Unless they didn’t know.” Aidan examined the shifter. “You must be from the Jones pack.”
“If you think I’m impressed, you’re quite mistaken.” The guy sneered. “You’re leaving me tied up here, surrounded by witches. You’re worse than a traitor.”
Wait… Jones… he was from Jacob’s roommate’s pack. I’d have to ask Jacob about it later because right now, this guy would enjoy the fact that I didn’t know it. “What exactly have the witches done to you?”
“They cursed the original alpha.” He wrinkled his nose in disgust and growled. “We had to split the original Murphy pack hundreds of years ago to keep an eye out for this abomination.” He pointed at me, making the chains clang together.
“I mean your friends will be here any second to rescue you, right?” I figured if they were going to, they would’ve by now.
He winced.
“He’s scared.” Amethyst glanced at me. “And feels alone.”
“So, no one is coming.” Aidan smirked. “How does it feel to know you’ll be dead in a matter of hours?”
“They may not know where you are, but they’ll find you.” He bared his teeth at Aidan. “Mark my words.”
Beth’s forehead crinkled with confusion. “Why wouldn’t they tell them where we’re located?”
“Because they were arrogant and didn’t consider that we might be with witches who would protect us. They expected us to be alone and unprepared.” Aidan leaned back on his heels and laughed humorlessly.
The guy’s eyes darkened, confirming Aidan’s theory.
“I guess there isn’t much more to gather from him.” We’d learned we hadn’t been exposed—yet.
“Then let’s go back upstairs,” Coral said eagerly. “I hate being down here.”
“I can’t say I disagree.” Samuel headed to the door and opened it.
I’d almost expected air to blow into the room, but with how deep the basement was, the room remained stagnant.
“I’ll take care of him.” Finn stepped between Beth and me and looked at Beatrice.
“I’m not sure—” she began, but he cut her off.
“Please, let me do this,” Finn begged.
I’d never thought I’d hear someone actively hoping to kill another.
“I would appreciate it.” The other male witch’s shoulder sagged with relief. “I’m not sure I have it in me.”
Beatrice sucked in a breath and glanced from Finn to the shifter. He was still staring at me with hatred. “Fine,” she muttered.
The rest of us left Finn and the other male witch with the shifter.
Aidan
Tonight had been worse than I could’ve ever imagined. Those wolves’ sole purpose had been to kill Emma. I’d live with the horrible images of her fighting and getting injured for the rest of my life.
It worried me because Bradley hadn’t been involved, which meant that another attack would be imminent. They would be waiting for their fighters to return to inform them whether Emma had been eliminated and other details before launching another fight. Both packs would be involved in the next battle. However, when the Jones pack wolves don’t return by morning, it’ll escalate their schedule.
But right now, I didn’t want to burden Emma with that. She needed sleep to heal. I hated that she was now involved in a war.
She deserved happiness and freedom. Not to worry about a witch’s curse. I loved her so damn much it hurt, and I’d do anything to never see her hurt like that again.
Emma
Aidan and I headed upstairs to our room as the witches went to perform the ceremony for those who had died. I’d offered to go along with them, but they wanted Aidan and me to stay behind and get some rest. I was injured, and I still had so much to process. They said the ritual would start at midnight, so Aidan and I had this place to ourselves for the next thirty minutes.
As soon as we entered our bedroom upstairs, I pushed him into the wall.
Not missing a beat, his lips touched mine. They buzzed, and the taste of mint hit my senses. His tongue stroked my lips, asking for entrance into my mouth.
I opened my mouth, touching my tongue to his. The connection thrummed between us, and my wolf surged forward. A low growl came from my throat as I pushed him to the bed and climbed onto his lap. Even though my arm hurt, my need for him was stronger than ever. Fighting our connection had been stupid. We could have lost each other tonight.
Desperation crashed through me, and he grabbed my waist, digging his fingers into my sides. His hardness pressed against me, and I began rubbing, needing friction.
I bit his lower lip, and he groaned, pulling back a bit. “Dammit, Emma.” He fisted his hands in my hair and smashed my lips against his. His hand slipped under my shirt and inched up my waist.