Page 68 of Chasing Stripes (Enchanted Falls #3)

SIXTY-EIGHT

“T hey were testing extraction methods,” Bartek growled, the realization chilling his blood. “This was just a rehearsal for the eclipse.”

Together they examined the wound in their tether—a dark, cold spot in the golden connection where the knife had struck.

“It’s still intact,” Artemis whispered, her fingers hovering over the damaged area. “But weakened.”

“We need to complete the strengthening ritual before the eclipse,” Bartek decided, no longer hesitant. The attack had eradicated any doubts he harbored about fully committing to their bond. “We can’t risk them finding another vulnerability.”

The twins pushed between them, small arms wrapping around their legs. “We helped fight the bad shadows!” Lily announced proudly.

“Very brave,” Jade agreed, nodding solemnly.

Despite the danger, Artemis smiled down at them. “You were very brave. Your uncle is lucky to have such fierce defenders.”

“So are you,” Lily said with children’s directness. “You’re our aunt now. Forever.”

The simple statement brought unexpected tears to Artemis’s eyes. Bartek watched emotion wash across her face as she met his gaze over the children’s heads.

“Forever,” she agreed quietly, the promise seeming to seal something deep within.

As she spoke the word, the wounded area in their connection began to glow faintly, golden light creeping back into the darkened spot. Bartek felt warmth spread through his chest, countering the lingering cold from the knife’s strike.

Hudson approached, his expression grave. “The property wards have been completely compromised. We need to restructure our defenses.”

“And figure out how they got past them in the first place,” Gloria added, wrapping protective arms around the twins.

Bartek nodded, but his focus remained on Artemis. Everything else—the pride, the danger, his responsibilities—receded in importance compared to keeping her safe. The attack had awakened something primal in him, something that transcended his role as alpha.

“Take everyone back to the house,” he instructed his father. “Strengthen the inner barriers. Artemis and I need to examine her mother’s journal more carefully.”

As the others headed back toward the pride house, Bartek kept Artemis tucked against his side, unwilling to allow even a few inches of separation. His tiger remained close to the surface, senses hyperalert for any hint of danger.

“You’re trembling,” she observed quietly, her hand coming to rest over his heart.

“They took you,” he replied, his voice rough with emotion he rarely displayed. “Right from our bed. If anything had happened?—”

“But it didn’t,” she interrupted gently. “I’m safe. We’re both safe.”

The reassurance did little to calm the storm raging within him—fury at the intrusion, fear at how close they’d come to losing each other, and determination to ensure it never happened again.

“They won’t touch you again,” he vowed, his arms tightening around her. “I swear it on my life. Whoever this is will pay.”

The Collector

Deep beneath Enchanted Falls, in a chamber few knew existed, I made final adjustments to my elaborate machine designed to harness the eclipse’s power—a backup plan set in motion weeks earlier before my confrontation with the connected pair.

The stolen recipe book lay open on a pedestal before me, its pages glowing with unnatural light. Dozens of my hooded followers arranged ritual components in precise formations, preparing for the moment the eclipse would reach totality.

I paused in my work, head tilted as I sensed a magical surge rippling through the town’s foundations—the unmistakable resonance of the soul-tether activating at full strength.

“They’ve completed the strengthening ritual early,” I observed, keeping my voice steady despite my excitement. These fools had no idea how they played directly into my hands.

“Should we abort?” my lieutenant asked nervously. “Their bond will be significantly stronger now.”

I allowed myself a soft laugh, the sound echoing eerily through our underground sanctuary. “On the contrary. This makes our harvest even more valuable.”

I moved to the large covered cage designed to hold two occupants separated by a magical barrier. “More power requires more... extreme measures to extract.”

With a gesture, I pulled back the cover, revealing instruments of both physical and magical torture positioned to cause maximum pain during the separation ritual. The tiger would break first, I knew—his protective instincts would drive him to sacrifice himself to spare his mate suffering.

“Tomorrow’s dawn brings not just an eclipse, but the dawning of a new magical order.”

My assistants brought forward the final components I’d collected for the separation ritual: A lock of the baker’s golden hair, obtained when she slept. A vial of blood with tiger-shifter markers, collected from the scene of our first confrontation. The shard of magic wounded during our night attack

“With these components, we can breach even their strengthened connection.”

I raised my ceremonial knife, its obsidian edge gleaming with malevolent purpose in the candlelight. The blade had been drinking in magical energy for decades, waiting for this moment.

“Prepare the site. By sunset tomorrow, that golden string will be mine—and with it, enough power to rewrite the magical foundations of Enchanted Falls itself.”

I removed my glamour in the privacy of my most loyal followers, allowing my true eyes to shine in the darkness—one vampire-red, one fae-gold. My mixed heritage, once a source of shame and rejection from both sides of my family tree, would soon become my greatest strength.

“After all,” I whispered, running my finger along the ancient spells in the recipe book, “it’s only fitting that I claim what should have been mine generations ago...”

What the baker and her tiger didn’t understand was that her great-great-grandmother had stolen more than just a tiger’s heart. She had stolen my birthright—the soul-tether that should have formed with me. But destiny could be rewritten with enough power, and tomorrow, I would finally claim what was rightfully mine.

The eclipse would not just signal a new day—it would mark the beginning of my reign.