Adan
“Is everyone ready?” I looked around at the two groups, ready to go. I was traveling with Brenna, along with three other warriors, and Magenta had Mason and three warriors with her.
“Aye!” the warriors yelled in unison.
“We’ll see you on the other side.” I winked at Brenna, hoping to relax her. She looked both pumped up on adrenaline and nervous at the same time.
“Wait!” Magenta yelled, stopping us. “Whatever you do, do not let go in the Space-Time Continuum. If you do, you could be lost in there forever.”
“Aye!” everyone replied again.
Magenta locked eyes with Brenna. “Ready?”
Brenna nodded. “Let’s do it.”
Pride welled up in my chest as I watched her. Although she hadn’t been a Luna long, she’d taken to it as if she had magical powers all along. In truth, she probably did, but they were awakened and strengthened when she became a Luna.
“Traiceret, Darius Snow!” Brenna and Magenta yelled at the same time.
We zoomed through the transparent tunnel of the Space-Time Continuum, past dark matter and stars as wind rushed by. We stopped a moment later in the Snow Warrior Compound.
“Hold it right there!” Darius held a sword to my throat as soon as we materialized.
I grabbed his sword by the blade, ignoring the pain as it sliced into my hand. I pulled him to me, but he twisted away, and two warriors grabbed my arms. Immediately, he slapped a silver bracelet on my wrist, and it instantly embedded itself into my skin.
“What the hell is this?” I tried to pull it off, but to do so would rip the skin right off my arm. Panicked, I looked around, and Darius’ guards had everyone at the point of a sword. Wolves stood along the perimeter, growling and gnashing their teeth. We were outnumbered... by a lot.
Two men held Brenna’s arms, and one had a sword pressed to her throat. Her eyes met mine, filled with anger, but not at me. She knew what I knew. We were sold out.
“Stop! Don’t kill her!” I held my arms up. “Warriors of the Moon Shadow Pack, stop fighting! Now!”
Everyone froze.
“Put the silver bands on all of them and take them to the dungeon!” Darius snarled as he stepped close, grabbed a handful of my hair, and yanked it back. “How dare you think you could ever outsmart me?”
“Who sold us out?” I demanded, struggling against the grasp of my captors. “Who? Give me a name!”
“Take them away!” Darius yelled, throwing my head forward as he released me. “Oh! And don’t even think about shifting. The silver bands prevent it.”
“Let go of me!” I struggled as they led us through a hallway and into the dungeon.
They threw all of us in there and left, but Darius was the last to leave. “You will remain here, Alpha, until I decide what to do with you,” he growled and then stormed out. The heavy door slammed closed behind him. A guard looked through the small window with bars and then walked away.
I motioned for everyone to come close. “We can’t talk too loudly. There’re guards just on the other side, and they can hear every word we say.”
“What the hell?” Dominic growled as he grabbed Mason by the shirt collar and lifted him off the ground. “You! You sold us out!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Mason’s eyes were wide, his voice strangled as his feet dangled in the air. “Let me go!”
Although Mason was great at money, Pack management, and strategizing, he wasn’t a fighter. Dominic could easily pulverize him, if I let him.
“Enough!” I yelled, and Dominic released him.
Mason coughed, rubbing his neck as he stepped away from Dominic, but I grabbed him.
“If I find out that you sold us out, I’ll kill you myself,” I growled, my eyes boring into his. “There were only three people who knew besides me: Brenna, Magenta, and you.”
“Dominic knew!” Mason lifted his arm, pointing a shaky finger at Dominic.
Dom growled as he stepped toward him, his fists balled at his sides. “I only knew we were going on a mission. I wasn’t told where.”
Although he didn’t say it, he knew exactly where we were going. But Dominic wasn’t the one who sold us out. I’d stake my life on it.
“So, that only leaves you,” I growled, my eyes boring into Mason’s. “But I will deal with you once we leave.” I pushed him away, releasing him roughly, and then walked over to Magenta and Brenna, rubbing the wristband. “Magenta, what are these?”
She looked over at the door and then back at me, keeping her voice low. “They’re silver bands that keep wolves from shifting.” She looked over her shoulder at Mason, who was cowering on the wall, rubbing his wrist. “They also prevent the use of magic, but they may not know that.”
I nodded. “Is there any way to remove them?”
She shook her head, letting out a deep breath. “Only the witch who made them can remove them. I know the spell, but even if I use it, it won’t work.”
I bit my lower lip and released it. “Give it a try anyway.”
She nodded and then held her hand over the band on my wrist. “Absolvisti,” she whispered, but nothing happened. She shrugged. “It’s no use. The silver band is also preventing my use of magic.” She let out a deep breath, thinking. “Short of ripping them off, there’s nothing I can do. But if you rip it off, it’ll take your skin with it.”
I nodded and then grabbed the corner of it and began pulling. Blood oozed from around the band, but it clung tightly to my skin.
“Stop,” Brenna said, wrapping her hands around my arm. “They must have a Pack Witch, and she’s the only one who can safely remove it.”
I nodded, letting my wrist go. But luckily, the part I had pulled away hadn’t reattached itself. “Magenta, is there another way to remove them?”
She let out a deep breath. “I can go to the Head Witch of the Witches Council and see what can be done, and I can check my grimoires once we get back. But short of ripping them off, there’s nothing I can do.”
“Our only chance is to escape.” Brenna kept her voice low so Mason couldn’t hear. “Then we can deal with the silver bands once we’re back at the castle.”
Dominic arched an eyebrow as a mischievous look appeared in his eyes. “Or we could kidnap the witch.”
My eyes met his as we both burst out laughing. “That works, too.”