She struggled against my hold. What had Alvin done to her? It was as though my mate was nowhere to be found. The chill of fear sat within my gut, slowly creeping outward to consume me.
The reek of witchcraft hung in the air. It smelled of dead things and musty souls. The witch must have helped Alvin again. I would need to have a talk with her. If this was how she conducted her business, then I did not want her on my territory. My beast growled in agreement.
Ness made a guttural sound. I hushed her and rocked back and forth while praying that this would pass. I’d gotten her back only to lose her.
This wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair in the least. I didn’t deserve to keep losing everything I held dear. First, it was my father. Then it was my clan and my home. Now, I’d lost my mate to this dark magic.
If Ness didn’t return to me, then I would hunt the witch down and make her pay. My beast craved blood and violence. I swallowed the craving back down and let my fear eat at it. Letting my beast have what it wanted wouldn’t help anyone right now; not when I had to be here for Ness.
She twisted her wrists. Her claws found my sides. She dug them into my flesh, making me grimace. I wouldn’t let go, though. Instead, I tightened my grip. Ness couldn’t do much damage from this angle. Everything would be fine.
It would be fine.
My beast wasn’t convinced, but I repeated the words while we rocked back and forth until I could somewhat believe them. I loathed this useless feeling. Though I wanted to do so much more for her, I was out of options. There wasn’t anything else I could think of that would pull her back to me.
Even the bond that the witch had revealed was now dead and gone. Though I tried to find it and tug on it, there was nothing to grasp for. No light flashed on my skin. Nothing.
“Ness, where are you? Are you in there still? Can you hear me? I need you to snap out of it. You’ve never let anyone control you before. Don’t start now.”
I had no idea if what I said was true, but it felt true in the moment. Ness wasn’t one to let others manipulate her. I knew that she would gladly sacrifice herself for others, but no one twisted her will to turn her into their plaything. She would never let that happen.
She growled. The sound turned into a scream as she thrashed in my arms. I swallowed my fear and held on tight. I had to believe that she was still in there somewhere. This animal wouldn’t win.
“Hound?” I asked when a thought occurred to me. “Can you hear me? Pull Ness back from wherever she is.”