Page 43 of The Alpha’s Seer (The Shifters of Stormhollow #1)

Chapter Forty-Three

BLAIR

Faolan is still talking, but I’m barely conscious. My mind dances between this world and the next, and I try not to pass out. But everything hurts to the point where it is easier to let go and fall asleep. Although I’m not a doctor, I know it’s not wise for me to sleep in this state.

“So you need to play your role, sis.”

I vomit over his shoes, and I manage a smile when he reels back in disgust.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he bellows, shaking his boots to rid them of the clumps of my insides clinging to them.

Has he seen his fucking face? The audacity of this prick.

“Well, it could be the moldy bread or the fucking concussion you’ve given me!” I mutter, closing my eyes briefly.

Blair, if you can hear me, I love you. I’m coming, baby.

My eyes ping open, and I freeze, wondering if this is part of me losing my mind. There’s no way I just heard Calix.

Right?

Calix?!

“You’ll have more than a fucking concussion if you don’t start behaving,” Faolan snaps, slamming his boot onto my hand.

I didn’t think my body could take any more pain, but it surprises me with a fresh wave of agony as Faolan crunches my fingers into the ground. I scream, and I can’t help but scream for my mate.

Calix! I don’t know where he is, but I need him. I need him to kill this sick bastard before he kills me.

Blair! What the fuck is he doing to you? Calix screams in my mind, the pain in his voice tormenting me more than anything Faolan has done to me.

Finally, Faolan kicks my limp hand away, and I draw it to my chest, my body convulsing.

“If you can’t fucking see, you’re no use to me.” Faolan stalks from the room and slams the door shut, leaving me alone in the darkness.

I weep, and hot tears burn my skin. The pain throbs around me in a red hue, and I try so hard to stay conscious.

Blair, baby, talk to me!

But I can’t. I’m in so much pain. Hearing Calix’s voice soothes me, and even though I know I should talk to him, telling him everything I know, I can’t. So instead, I listen.

I’m right outside where you are, I think. There’s dark magic surrounding you all. We’re trying to get in, but so far… We can’t.

I focus on his voice, anger stirring in my stomach that these fuckers are causing so much pain and agony for so many people.

I need you to stay strong, baby. Please.

Dark magic. Why can’t I do anything? What’s the point of having visions if you don’t have them?

I love you so much. Don’t you dare give up! Do you fucking hear me, Blair?

I sob at his words but know he’s right. I can’t give up, but I can’t take much more. I summon all the strength I have to send a message to my love.

I’m chained up, Calix. I’m so weak and in so much pain.

The howl that barrels through the mind-link makes me wince, and a fresh wave of agony shuts off my senses.

Then it’s all black.

I wake to screams and shouts, louder than I’ve ever heard them before.

“I’ll kill her! I’ll slit her fucking throat right now!” a female screams, and I try to sit up.

What the hell is going on?

“Calm down and move away from the witch,” a male voice directs with intense disbelief.

The witch? Lexie?

I’m so fucking groggy. I can barely see in the darkness as it is.

“I won’t!” the female screams back. “I’ll do it, I swear to the Goddess!”

My head throbs, and my tongue feels thick in my mouth. Dried blood cracks when I open my mouth to breathe, and I wince as new blood trickles down my chin.

Fuck!

My door swings open, and I cover my eyes, praying it isn’t Faolan.

Please, anyone but him.

I can’t take much more of this.

“Blair,” a voice rasps. “It’s me. I haven’t got long.”

Hands reach for mine, and I let out a moan as my ribs splinter with pain at the sudden movement, but then my wrists are released. My shoulders slump with relief, and I turn to stare at my liberator.

“Leon?”

He stares at me, his eyes bloodshot and wild. “I’m fighting it, but not for long. I need to get you out of here.”

My heart soars as he lifts me into his arms, and I bury my head in his chest. He doesn’t even smell like my brother, but I know this is him. I push away the pain as someone shouts, “He’s taking the Seer!”

“Fuck, fuck!” Leon mutters as he climbs the steps, holding me tight.

Footsteps thunder behind him, and I grip onto him tightly, knowing if they catch us, he’s dead. Every step feels like a mountain. His grip slips, his arms trembling as if something inside him fights every step.

The air is thick, clawing at my lungs, and I can’t tell if the pounding I hear is his boots or my heart giving out. I want to believe this is my brother, but a voice in my head keeps whispering: What if it’s a trick? What if he’s delivering me straight back to hell?

“Leon,” I whimper.

“I know,” he says through gritted teeth, his fingers digging into my skin.

I cry out, and he lets out a scream of frustration, his movements slowing.

“No! Don’t stop,” I sob, lifting my head to look into his eyes. “Leon…”

“Now!” he roars, and I freeze, wondering if this is a trick.

Is he going to throw me down the steps? Is this how I die?

But something else happens. The world seems to hold its breath. For a heartbeat, I think he really might drop me down the stairs. Then—

A woman screams in the distance, and black dust suddenly surrounds us, and I choke as Leon pushes forward.

There’s intense pressure at my back, and I cry out just as Leon is grabbed from behind.

His eyes widen, and for a brief second, I see my brother; the fear and confusion swirling in his now clear eyes, his mouth gaping briefly before he shoves me forward, hard.

“Leon!” I scream, but he shakes his head sadly as I’m shoved through rock, my bones protesting as he gazes at me.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, then a hand yanks his head back by his hair, and he’s gone.

I’m falling, my limbs flailing, my mouth open in a silent scream.

I’m going to die.

Leon just saved me, but I’m going to die when I hit the ground. Wind tears at my throat, my ears filling with a rushing roar. I brace for the impact that will shatter me. I have time to think of Calix, of my aunt, of everything I’ll never see again. One endless second stretches on forever…

Except I don’t.

Because I land in someone’s arms, and the familiar scent wraps around me as I start to cry.

“Blair,” Calix mumbles into my hair, his arms gripping me tightly as he moves into the woods.

“Calix!” I yelp as he falls to the ground, his eyes finally meeting mine.

It’s surreal. Calix is here—right in front of me. His presence alone soothes me, but then our mating bond does its thing, and my wounds miraculously begin to heal.

“Oh my God,” I sob, unable to stop shaking.

“Your hand,” Calix rasps, watching as the bruises fade but the bones stay the same. Mangled. “Who did this to you?”

But I can’t talk. I just want my mate.

I slam my sore, bloody lips against his and sob, ignoring the searing agony as his arms circle me. He kisses me back with such force it takes my breath.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” I sob, threading my fingers through his hair with my good hand. My left eye now repaired, I can see with both eyes—and what a sight Calix is.

He looks haunted, and he hasn’t taken his eyes off me.

“Calix, we need to get in there now!” a voice snaps, and I look away from Calix to see Alpha Asher staring down at us. “I’m glad you’re safe, Luna Blair.”

Calix rises to his feet with me still in his arms, then moves back into the trees.

“Don’t,” I plead. “Don’t go in there. Don’t leave me.”

Calix kisses my head and stops, easing me to my feet. “Turn around, Blair.”

I do, and I’m staggered to see the woods filled with wolves, snarling and growling.

“Calix…”

“It’s okay, Blair. I’m not going in alone.”

Fear seizes my chest. “You can’t go in at all! None of you can!”

Calix grips my hands in his, and I wince, my hand still painful. Calix releases it immediately before saying, “Those women need us. Those children need us.”

My mouth opens and then closes, and suddenly, I feel warmth behind me as a blanket is wrapped around my shoulders.

“It’s okay; it’s only me.”

Luna Marie.

My knees threaten to buckle, and she half carries me away from Calix, who’s staring at me like he’s trying to memorize my face.

“Be safe,” I whisper, knowing that no matter what I say, or how much I beg, Calix is going inside.

His chest rumbles, low and violent, as if his wolf is about to tear out of his skin. His eyes keep darting from my broken hand to the mountain and back to me again. I can feel the argument raging in him—the wolf snarling to keep me caged against him, the Alpha knowing he must go back.

For one dizzy second, I swear he’ll choose me over them, and my heart breaks because I almost want him to.

Calix versus Faolan, the man who killed his family and held his mother hostage for years. Abusing her. The man who took his mate and caused such pain.

The man who turned my brother.

Fresh tears fall at the thought of Leon, but Calix has already gone, shifting into his wolf as hordes of wolves head for the mountain.

The mountain looks tiny on the outside compared to what it is like on the inside.

Dark magic.

I notice Lexie and Cox standing at the base of the rock, her hands pressed against it as she mutters to herself. She looks over at me and gives me a weak smile, and it’s then I realize what’s happening.

Good magic.