Page 18

Draven

"D raxis," I finally force out, barely holding myself together. "Draxis, stop! Stop thrashing. I need you to talk to me. Tell me what’s happening."

He doesn’t stop. Doesn’t even spare me a glance. Just keeps snapping his jaws at the red, glowing threads coiling tighter around him, wild and desperate. Like he can’t hear a damn thing.

Panic gnaws at the edges of my mind, rising faster the more threads I see slithering over him. Tangling. Binding.

I don’t have time for this. I need to get out. I need to get back to Kass.

Pain lances through me, searing and endless. It burns like a shadow made of knives, carving through my flesh.

I know what it is. The bond. It feels betrayed and it’s screaming in protest. The pain is constant, relentless. But every few seconds, it spikes into pure agony. Like someone’s tearing my soul to pieces and then slamming it back together just to rip it apart again.

Kass... She’s feeling this too. The thought guts me worse than anything ever could.

My mate. My beautiful mate is in pain because of me.

Bright, brilliant Kassira. Too good for me in every way that matters.

Strong where it counts. Fierce, clever, stubborn.

She fights like hell even when the world stacks itself against her.

She’s everything I ever dreamed a mate could be.

And now — because of me — she’s drowning in this pain, and I can’t even reach her.

How can I have all this damn power inside me... and still be powerless to save her?

A roar tears from my throat, full of fury and desperation. I charge forward and slam my fist into Draxis’s snout with everything I have left.

He jolts backward with a vicious snap of his massive head, stunned for a heartbeat.

Good. We need to talk.

When he finally lifts his head, slow and dangerous, he fixes those molten silver eyes on me — and for the first time since I landed in this darkness, he sees me.

"Stupid human," he spits, drool flinging from his fangs.

I roll my eyes, the pain shredding me from the inside barely kept at bay. "Are you done now?"

He snarls low in his chest.

I start pacing in front of him, running a shaking hand through my hair. "Kass was right," I mutter. "You really are a dramatic bastard."

His growl rumbles through the air, but he doesn’t twitch a muscle.

I force myself to keep moving, to breathe through the next spike of white-hot agony. "What the hell is happening?" I snap at him. "Where the fuck are we? I’m guessing inside my mind?"

" Our mind," he growls, voice rough, cracked with something like fury.

"Our mind," I echo grimly. "Fine. Whatever. At least you can talk normally here. That’s something."

I meet his furious gaze and huff out a humorless laugh. "Nice to finally meet you, by the way. Real pleasure."

He just glares at me, muscles rippling under the mass of glowing bindings strangling him.

I square my shoulders. "Now, can you tell me about the witch," I demand. "The one who did this. To you. To us ."

The last word sticks in my throat, because suddenly — finally — I feel it. Something thick. Tight. Burning against my skin. My hand flies to my neck. Finds it. A collar. Just like his. Burning with magic.

A fucking leash. Dragging me further from her with every breath I take. I guess it makes sense. It was probably hidden from view before. There was no use hiding it on Draxis, since he was suppressed and I couldn’t shift.

"Yes, I can tell you," Draxis says, snapping weakly at the glowing binds once. "The witch bound me from speaking to others, but not to you. She would’ve needed a separate spell for that — and she didn’t bother.

Thought she was safe once our connection was cut.

She thought I was locked away for good."

He lets out a rough huff, nostrils flaring. His silver eyes burn like twin stars. "The magic she used has a catch. It's powerful, it keeps us chained under her will — but it cost her. It weakened her so much that her memories bled into the spell. I saw enough of them to know the truth."

My pulse roars in my ears. Finally. Finally, a crack in this damn nightmare.

"Who is it?" I demand. "Who’s the witch?"

"A bitch," he snarls. "Amira’s mother."

"Luna Hana?" I ask, thrown off.

"No," Draxis growls, shaking his massive head. "Hana isn't Amira’s real mother. Her true mother is a full-blooded witch. Red hair. Eyes like gold. Her name is Galla." His snout curls in disgust. "And this witch’s father? He's not mortal. He’s a god. One of the old ones."

A chill sweeps down my spine. "A god?"

"The God of War," Draxis spits, rolling his eyes. "He’s still salty about losing that war to our kind. He knew about the two of us long before we were born. The prophecy was whispered among the gods. So he seduced a witch, made her bear a daughter, and he gave that daughter a mission."

"What mission?" I grind out.

"To steal our power. The power of a hellhound," Draxis says, chains rattling against him as he struggles to move. "To leash us, to bind us. To take what should never have been touched and hand it over to someone under the God of War’s dominion."

My stomach twists into a cold knot. "So... Galla wants our power for herself?"

Draxis scoffs, a bitter sound. "She can’t. Not anymore. She burned too much of her own strength, leashing us. If she tried to take our power for herself, it would kill her instantly." He leans closer, eyes flashing. "That’s why she’s using her daughter."

A curse tears from my throat. "Fuck. Fuck. That bitch will kill Kassira—"

"She won’t," Draxis growls, deep and dangerous. "Not yet. She can’t."

He jerks against the threads around him once, frustrated.

"The first time we met our mate, she could’ve killed her then.

But now? Our bond grew, it’s too strong.

Killing her would rip the bond apart violently enough to break the leash.

It would shatter the spell completely." His lip curls into something savage.

"They won’t risk it. Not before they force us to mark that false Luna.

That evil bitch. Through the mark, all our power will transfer to her. "

“So we could’ve marked Kass and transfer all our power to her?” I ask, feeling stupid all of a sudden. We could’ve avoided all this.

“No, the magic is weaved in such a way that our mark is safe only for Amira. It would’ve hurt our mate.” He looks to the side, in shame. “I got too carried away once, I couldn’t help myself. I almost marked her.”

I clench my fists tightly, feeling the urge to punch a hole through something. Rage and helplessness burn in my veins.

"Amira knows all this, doesn’t she?" I ask, my voice a low, dark threat barely disguised as a question.

"What do you think?" Draxis snaps back, all teeth and snark.

I bare my own teeth at him. "Drop the attitude, hellhound. Not the time, not the place."

I start pacing in front of him again, fury sparking in my blood.

"I need answers. Everything. You said she got weak when she leashed us all those years ago.

But now?" I gesture sharply at the glowing, red ropes coiled around his massive frame.

"Now you’re trussed up like a sacrificial boar. So how the fuck did she pull this off?"

Draxis rolls his eyes. Again. Kass was so right. Drama queen.

"Fine," he growls. "You want the short version? Otherwise we’ll be dissecting this stuff until we’re dust."

I cross my arms and glare at him. "Spare me the details. Short version is fine."

"The God of War — our favorite asshole — guided Galla through everything," Draxis says, voice like grinding stone.

"Told her exactly when to move, who to target.

Alpha Parrin was having issues with his mate.

His bond with her was weak. And he had a high enough rank.

Perfect victim. So Galla hit him with a love spell while he was vulnerable.

Made him believe he was… having fun with his true mate. She got pregnant. Twins."

"Twins?" I echo, my gut tightening.

He nods stiffly. "One a shifter, Amira. One a witch. Her twin, hidden away. Galla dumped Amira on Alpha Parrin’s doorstep like a gift basket.

Somehow, Parrin convinced Luna Hana to raise her — and I’m guessing everyone in Mirenwulf agreed to pretend she was his mate’s biological daughter.

Probably to save the alpha’s reputation. "

He keeps going, voice darkening.

"Galla kept visiting Amira in secret. Training her. Preparing her."

He shifts slightly, the red ropes glowing brighter around him.

"And now the other daughter — the witch — has fully awakened. Galla is siphoning her power. That’s how she reinforced the spell.

That’s how she has enough strength to choke us out with all this crap.

Unfortunately for us, that daughter of hers is very powerful. "

I curse under my breath, pacing harder.

"I used to be able to break through sometimes," Draxis says, his voice lower, rougher.

"I could project thoughts to you, nudge your instincts, protect us the best I could.

I gave you the wings. Some of my scales.

That was my biggest win against the leash before our mate cracked it and I could shift. "

His silver eyes flash with rage.

"Galla couldn’t act before to cut me off completely. She wasn’t strong enough on her own, and her witch daughter wasn’t ready yet. She had to wait. For us to lose hope. For Amira to be shoved into our lives, positioned to be our Luna. She was counting on us marking her."

He snarls, voice pure defiance now. Shining with pride.

"But she didn’t plan for her. For our true mate. For the hurricane we bonded with. Kassira ripped their careful little plan apart before they even knew what hit them. Not even the God of War saw her coming."

A slow smile pulls at my lips. No one could ever plan for Kass.

"Galla’s been preparing for this ever since we first met our mate,” Draxis cuts through my thoughts. “Her witch daughter is fully awakened now — and completely under her thumb."

"She laced the Mirenwulf packhouse with magical markers. The second we crossed that threshold, we walked straight into her claws. She didn’t even have to get close — she worked from the shadows."

"She killed Alpha Parrin, didn’t she?" I whisper, though I already know the answer.

Draxis snorts, unimpressed. "Of course she did." He leans forward against the glowing restraints, his lips peeling back in a snarl. "She couldn’t come into our territory — not without setting off every damn alarm we have. So she played it smart. Set the stage. Lured the idiot human into her trap."

I roll my eyes so hard it’s a miracle they stay in my skull. "There was no getting out of it. You know that. Alpha Parrin was a Prime. If it had been anyone else, I would’ve made an excuse and stayed the hell away."

I drag my hands down my face, fighting the pressure building under my skin.

"She killed our parents too," I whisper.

It’s not a question. It’s truth. A brutal, ugly truth that tastes like blood in my mouth. Draxis doesn’t bother answering. He knows I don’t need him to.

I grind my teeth, every muscle in my body locked tight. "Does she have anyone else helping her? How much of her memories did you get?"

"Enough to make me wish I could bleach my own brain," Draxis mutters. "I got almost her entire life shoved into my skull. And Sinalyn’s — her other daughter —, too. That one's… bad. Just bad." His muzzle wrinkles in disgust. "But no. It’s just Galla and her two daughters. No army. No secret coven."

Great. So it’s just us against a psychotic witch, her brainwashed offspring, and a pissed-off god who apparently holds grudges for millennia. No big deal.

This is so fucked up. I never imagined this.

I lost so much because of a stupid god’s pride.

I wasn’t even born and this bastard already planned my entire demise and the death of the people closest to me.

He made me hurt my mate. That last thought makes fury rise in me so high I can feel it cracking my bones.

I bite down on the rage clawing at my insides.

I meet Draxis’ silver gaze head-on, my voice dropping into a lethal snarl.

"How do we get out of here? How do we keep Kass safe? If any of those bitches hurt her, I swear I’ll burn everything to ashes. Everything. The entire fucking world can go straight to hell."

He bares his bloody fangs at me, grim and brutal.

"There’s only one way to keep our mate safe."

I know what he’s going to say before the words even leave his throat.

"Our death."

I grit my teeth and roll my shoulders back, no hesitation inside me.

"So be it," I say, my voice razor-sharp. "If death’s the price — then death it is."