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Chapter Thirty-Nine

ASHER

A sher struggled against the chains bound behind his back. He wasn’t sure what was happening, but considering he and Abe hadn’t done a patrol on the back side for who knows how long, it wasn’t looking good.

Part of him wanted to hope Sunny could find him, but that thought terrified him.

It terrified him because he wasn’t sure that she would even look for him. She had promised to not leave him again, but he was having trouble trusting that. But the flip side terrified him even more. What if she was still here? What if she tapped into their connection to find him?

The idea of Sunny there with him without being able to protect her was way worse than her leaving him.

While he wasn’t exactly sure how it worked on her end, if she was anywhere in the Hollow, he could feel her and find her. If she could, what would he be dragging her into?

And why wasn’t his magic working? As he sat here, all the moments when he’s sensed something being off, he did nothing. He’d assumed it was Sunny’s return, but this was much more.

The night of the full moon, when the forest had come to life, he had thought it was because of the sheer powers of him and Sunny, but maybe it was something different. And he would wager these two warlocks who had chained him to the wall had something to do with it.

“Let me go!” he bellowed again as he struggled against the chains once more.

The warlock had his feet kicked up on the desk, picking his teeth.

The phone on the desk rang.

“Yeah?” answered the man.

“Boss,” he said, straightening up. “One second, let me go get it.”

The man stood and walked out of the trailer, leaving the door wide open.

This was Asher’s chance.

He yanked the chains again. He tried to get his wrists to slip out.

A pain shot up his arm as he pulled at it before a stream of blood ran down his hand.

Even with the door open and the forest in sight, he was stuck here.

If only he could get there, he knew the forest would take care of these two douchebags. But that thought just mocked him.

The two warlocks made their way back into the trailer.

“Hello... Yeah, we got one of them... The skinny one... Yeah, he’s alone... We’ll be here.”

Wind gusted around the trailer so hard it started to shake. Both men exchanged a curious glance before peeking through the dingy blinds.

The ground started shaking. The blinds they’d just been looking out began to slap against the windows.

Asher’s eyes went wide. There had never been an earthquake on this mountain. Then hope pricked at his heart—he only knew of one person with this kind of power.

Bridget.

“What is going on?” one of the guys said with a concerned expression as he looked out the window.

A loud bang sounded as the front door was kicked open. Abe, Esther, Bridget, and Sunny came storming in. As soon as he saw Sunny, his heart soared. A part of him had been so afraid she had left him, but here she was, saving him. She must have used the bond. There was no other way.

And the fact that Abe wasn’t a big grizzly bear pointed even more to the fact that somehow their magic wasn’t working.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” one of the guys said, stepping up to Abe.

Abe grabbed him up by his shirt and slammed him against the wall. “You look familiar. Give me one reason not to kill you right now.”

“You won’t be able to kill us like you did our brother,” the man said before he spat in Abe’s face.

His brother.

His brother was Dale, the motel owner who had come after Julie last fall.

Another piece of this mysterious puzzle clicked into place.

“You’re related to the little weasel from the motel, then?” Bridget asked, seemingly unbothered. “What do you say we let the mountain handle them, just like we did with your brother?”

Asher’s eyes were glued to Abe and the man he had pinned to the wall. He had almost forgotten about the other brother and the fact that there was a shotgun in here until he heard the cocking of the hammer.

His eyes flew to the man who had been inching closer to the gun. He was surprised to find him standing with his hands up, angry eyes on his sister.

“Don’t even think about it,” she said, pointing a handgun at him.

He’d never been more thankful to have a terrifying older sister.

“I’m done.” Abe pulled the man from the wall and took him outside.

Esther forced the other man out of the trailer.

“Move,” she said, jamming the barrel into his back.

Asher watched from the wall he was still chained to, too powerless to help, as his brother and sister marched them out the door.

Sunny came running to him. “Asher! Oh my god, are you okay?”

She pulled in vain on the chains before noticing his hand, gasping, “You’re hurt.”

“No, Sunshine. I’m okay,” he said, wishing he could comfort her.

“Give these a try,” Bridget said, tossing her keys she found on the desk.

Luckily, they slid right into the lock, and she pulled away the chains.

“Well, well, well. What have we here?” a voice sneered by the door.

“You,” Asher said, recognizing him from the times he’d tried to buy Sunny’s house.

He moved to push Sunny and Bridget behind him, but both inched away from him. His wolf growled and snarled, trying to get out, but it was no use.

Even if Sunny and Bridget would have stayed behind him and let him protect them, what could he do in this state?

“You know, you really should have taken the offer,” said the suit, who he now knew was Bradford Wilkes, making his way over to Sunny. “You could have left with more money that dilapidated cesspool is worth... Now you won’t even leave with your life.”

A look of defiance filled Sunny’s face as she went toe to toe with him. Asher would have loved it if he weren’t terrified of losing her again.

“You think you’re so big. Trying to finish what your daddy started,” Sunny said to him.

A look of confusion danced across his face before he fixed it back to his previous snarl.

“My father and the coal company just wanted your mountain. They wanted to mine it, but I know there’s something even more valuable in it.

That’s what I’m here for. And I mean, working for the coal company—we’ll take that, too.

As long as VenDeer gets their coal, they don’t really care how I do it. ”

“Oh, yeah?” Sunny said, stepping up to him. “I have all the proof I need right here to show that the coal company ran my mother’s car off the road. I have the letter they signed to leave my land and this mountain alone.”

Asher felt the need to get in front of Sunny, but he also knew these women were more powerful than he and Abe could ever dream of being.

They were just the muscle, but that didn’t look like she needed it.

Still, he wouldn’t think twice about snapping this man’s neck if he stepped a foot closer to her.

“This is bigger than VenDeer. This is about stomping out your kind once and for all. The coal company doesn’t care what I do as long as they profit.”

“Their hands are tied,” Sunny protested.

“Their hands may be tied, but the churches are not.”

Asher’s wolf was scratching and growling, trying to get out, but he still could not shift. He would feel a lot less vulnerable if he was a wolf and not a naked man.

“I’m done fighting. If you’re dead, then I won’t be able to stop me.”

Before Asher could stop him, he pulled a gun from his back pocket.

The world slowed as Asher watched him pull the trigger.

A deafening bang filled the air. No! He ran to Sunny, who looked at her chest at a dark spot.

He waited for that dark spot to grow or turn red, but it didn’t.

Sunny, confused, clutched her chest, but the substance came away clear.

The man shot it again. Only this time, there was no bang, only a stream of water that came from his gun. He inspected the gun and pulled the trigger again. His face contorted in rage.

“That’s not possible,” he bellowed as he pulled the trigger.

“That’s quite the squirt gun ye have there,” Bridget said with her Cheshire grin.

“There are magic blockers up. How is this possible?” he asked, pulling the trigger again as the door swung open.

Abe’s face contorted as he took a spray of water straight to the face.

“What the fuck?” he growled out, wiping his face.

“Oh, did ye put a blocker up? Ye sure are a smart witch hunter. I’m guessing it didn’t include Fae magic, though? Ye see, that’s where I get all my magic. Take him to the forest,” Bridget said.

“This isn’t the end. There is no fighting what’s coming. Your end is coming for you and all the freaks like you.”

Abe took ahold of him and pushed him out the door.

They all followed as Abe carried him over to the tree line with the other two.

Sunny squinted in the darkness and saw that they seemed to be tied up with vines.

The closer Asher got to the tree line, the more he could feel his wolf breaking free.

They all took him to the mountain, which started to come to life. A breeze ripped through the valley as the trees began to thrash and bang into each other.

“You can kill us, but there’s more coming.”

“And we’ll deal with them just like we’re dealing with you,” Asher growled at him. “Any warlock or witch hunter who comes on to my mountain will meet the same fate.”

Abe dropped him in the trees with the other two.

The vines from the forest wrapped around his ankles and up his legs, then his waist, pulling him down.

“Take them,” Abe growled.

And the forest did just that. The vines pulled them deeper into the forest, slowly, out of sight, until all they heard was the creaking of slamming of trees and the screaming of the warlocks and witch hunter.

The shouting stopped until the only sound left was the rustle of a soft breeze.

“You’re amazing!” Asher said as he slipped his arms around her and picked her up, holding her close.

“Asher, stop! You’re hurt!”

“I’m fine.”

Asher cupped Sunny’s face. “I love you, Sunshine.”

“I love you, too,” she said before surging up on her toes to kiss him.

“Why don’t you drive back to Abe’s with Bridget and Esther?” Asher said to Sunny.

“I want to make sure the forest handles them. We’ll shift and make our way back.”

Abe nodded to him before walking into the tree line.

Asher turned to Sunny and cupped her face again. “You’ll wait for me at Abe’s, won’t you?”

She nodded. “Of course.”

He pressed another kiss to her lips before he disappeared into the trees and joined the bear waiting for him in the forest.