Page 253 of Alpha Mates

The fact that one hadis as strange as it is ominous. But we’re running out of options, and if Julian’s willing to try this, then so am I.

I mirror each of Julian’s steps, keeping one ear on the forest and the other on the movements of the others with us. There are five of us out here: Beckett and Emitt, who refused to leave our sides, and Isabel, who volunteered the second we said we needed an extra scout.

As familiar as it is being together, it’s still strange walking through the unclaimed lands where I usually hunted for rogues. It feels like my two worlds are meeting when I never wanted them to. But we’re not here for rogues today, and Julian already knows the gritty details of that habit.

To our right, Beckett moves in a low crouch, a protective shadow at Julian’s side that hasn’t let up since we told them about the search. I can tell he’s got a shit ton of questions, but he and Julian have this freaky thing going on where Julian would look at him, Beckett would nod, and then they would just focus on the task at hand. Unfortunately, I do not have that with Emitt.

So, we’re looking for a witch?he asks through our link, following a few feet behind, watching our backs.Do you know what type of witch?

Emitt, I don’t know,I answer, scanning the trees for runes.I didn’t see her. Julian did.

I’ve never seen a witch before,he goes on, like this is small talk.What if she kills us all before we even find her?

Then at least you’ll die with friend,I shoot back, keeping my tone even.I would hope that with all our training, we’d sense her before she could.

But what if we don’t?

We will.

But what if—

Emitt,I whisper with straining patience.We won’t know until we’re in the thick of it. So please stop confusing this link with a dump for your personal thoughts.

I hear Emitt huff but, thankfully, he leaves it there.

Up ahead, a blur of brown hair flickers between the trees. Isabel creeps ahead, blending in so well she almost disappears. She moves quietly and carefully, the perfect vanguard warrior, but with a silent hunger that reminds me of my own. The pride barely settles before she stops dead, lifting a hand.

We all freeze.

I barely breathe, scanning the woods ahead. Nothing moves. Nothing beyond the natural, at least—but if we’re dealing with an earth witch, “natural” doesn’t mean safe. Everything in front of us could be a trick.

At the curl of her fingers, we inch closer, moving silently until we crowd around her. I follow her gaze, seeing nothing at first, just the same stretch of forest beyond our borders. My lips part to ask, but then I see it.

It’s barely there. A thin stripe in the air, still until you look closer and catch the faint warble, like heat shimmering off asphalt.

A spell,Isabel hisses through the link. eyes flicking to Julian.

His focus is locked straight ahead, searching for something. The open pasture he told us he’d first spotted the witch in, isn’t there.

It could be a barrier,I hazard, eyes narrowing as I catch the space warble again.Or a gateway.

Dear Goddess, I hope not,Emitt whines.What if we go through and then fall into a pit of spikes on the other side?

Every head turns towards the smallest in our group, but he just blinks up at us like we’re the crazy ones. Honestly … fair point. Witches do have a thing for impaling their enemies.

Beckett crouches, grabs a twig off the ground and flicks it into the distortion.

It never lands.

The air splits open with a hiss, revealing a tear between what could only be the underworld and our own.

Four flaming purple scythes rip through the opening. Magic singes my nostrils as the blades swing, slicing through the air with lethal precision three times before slinking back into … who the fuck knows. When they’re gone, what’s left of the twig is in smoking pieces on the ground.

No one says a word.

Well,Emitt breathes, speaking quietly even through the link,the good news is—it’s not spikes.

Julian’s gaze cuts to me, and I know what he’s thinking before he says a word. The witch is here. And she’s every bit as powerful as he said.