Page 40 of The Alpha’s Seer (The Shifters of Stormhollow #1)

Chapter Forty

CALIX

I’m moving in a trance-like state. I’m letting my wolf guide me and following the drag marks I keep finding in the woods. Leon came this way; I’m sure of it. Did they change him in the woods or take him somewhere else to do it?

Evil.

My wolf hasn’t stopped saying this since we entered this part of the woods, and I get why. Everything feels different here. Tainted, somehow. The trees loom over me with their burnt leaves and strange bark, and excitement thrums through my veins.

I’m close.

We are. Be on your guard—there is magic here, my wolf commands, and I nod. I can feel it.

I stop in a clearing, backing up to blend into the shadows.

I wait, wondering if I can sense or hear anything.

If there is magic here, then I need to be careful.

Part of me wants to tell the warriors to come here, that the rogues are hiding close to town.

The warriors are going in the opposite direction, and I need every bit of help I can get.

But something stops me, and I don’t know if it’s the fear of the unknown or the preservation of my kind.

Bringing angry wolves here would be suicide, and I’m not willing to risk any more lives.

I need to know what I’m up against and what magic is at work here.

I wait for almost an hour, but nothing happens.

I rise to my feet and slowly look around, my eyes peeled for an entrance to something—anything.

I know in my gut that Blair is close. I cross the clearing, slipping down a mossy, wet bank, which leads me to a dead end.

I stare at the mountain at the end, wondering if there’s a way to penetrate it.

It would be the perfect hiding place because I can’t see an obvious way inside.

My heart thunders as I trace the mountain rock with my fingers. I move, trying my damnedest to sense Blair. The rock is rough yet hot beneath my touch, the first sign that something isn’t right.

Be careful, my wolf reminds me, like I’ve forgotten, and I frown. The rock of the mountain bends naturally, and I follow it cautiously, every step light and silent.

Then I hear it.

The sound of sobbing.

My ears prick, and I concentrate. The sound of distant crying is still there. My wolf senses have picked it up; no human would hear this. I’m struggling as it is.

I step closer to the rock, and the sound increases.

“Fuck,” I hiss, leaning in so my ear flattens against the burning rock. It’s bearable, but only just.

The sound intensifies.

The crying is coming from inside the mountain.

I lift my head back and stare at it. There has to be a way inside. Women crying can only mean one thing… I’ve found their lair. After all these years of searching, it was right under my fucking nose.

Literally.

Even though I want to keep everyone safe, I have to tell someone.

Cox?

Calix?

I’ve found them.

What? Where? my Beta demands, but I shake my head.

Tell Lexie. There is dark magic here. I can hear the women, but the cries are coming from inside a mountain.

There’s a brief silence, then Cox responds, I’ll tell her. Can you tell me where you are?

I have to. I tell him my exact location but instruct him to warn the warriors that dark magic is dangerous, so they must stay back until I say otherwise.

Cox doesn’t question me further, only telling me he will let me know when he is with Lexie.

What if Lexie doesn’t know what it is? my wolf hums, still pacing. We need to get inside.

I gaze at the mountain again. It rises to the top of the trees and then slopes back down, too high to see the top. I search for an entrance again, circling it until I shake my head in puzzlement.

There is no way into this thing.

That you can see, my wolf scoffs.

I grit my teeth.

Blair? I try hopelessly to mind-link my girl.

I wait painfully for a response, but none comes. What if the magic is preventing her from mind-linking? But then, why is the magic not preventing the sounds of the women crying?

My wolf says it could be a trap, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s right.

I’m with Lexie, Cox announces. We’re coming.

Only you two. Tell the others to stay back. I don’t want to draw attention to this place.

You got it, Alpha.

I wait for what feels like hours, but Cox is fast. When he and Lexie approach, I’m relieved they do it silently and stealthily. They come to stand on either side of me, staring at the mountain.

“Can you hear it?” I demand, staring at them in turn.

“The crying?” Lexie responds softly, rubbing her throat with her fingers. “Yes.”

Cox frowns. “What is that? Where is it coming from?”

Lexie steps forward, her fingers touching the rock lightly. She rips her hand back like she’s been burned, before muttering something under her breath and reaching for it again.

“Shit,” she mumbles, twisting her hand this way and that, her features etched with concentration. “Damn.”

She drops her hand and peers up at the rock. “You’re right, Calix, this is dark magic.”

“Is Blair in there?” I rasp louder than I intend to.

“I don’t know, but this is a protection spell. It won’t allow us in, so it must be keeping a secret.”

“Mountains don’t keep secrets,” Cox remarks. “If they’re in there, Lexie, we need to get inside.”

I nod my agreement, my voice broken. “My mother, my mate, and countless women need us.”

Lexie takes a deep breath and stares at her hands. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough,” she confides.

I glare at her. “You’re the strongest witch I know.”

Lexie looks at me from the corner of her eye and shakes her head slowly. “No. There is one who is stronger, but she’s been missing for a long time.”

I frown and rack my brain.

What witch?

I look at Cox, and his eyes widen.

“Loralie?”

Lexie grimaces but nods. “Yes.”

“Loralie the witch? I thought she died,” I mutter, crossing my arms.

“We hoped she did, you mean,” Cox counters.

Loralie was a witch who no one liked because of her use of dark magic and refusal to help others. My father and the other Alphas had practically exiled her, so when she went missing, no one cared. No one looked for her.

My stomach churns. “Do you think this is her work?”

Lexie nods again, and fear grips my heart. The thought of Blair in there with Loralie and those other sick fucks makes me want to smash the mountain to pieces. Because if Lexie can’t do anything, we’re fucked.

Completely fucked.