Page 38 of Untraced Magic (Cutters Cove Witches #1)

Tyler

Adjusting my tie, I entered the ballroom, torn between not wanting to leave Morgan and respecting Alpha Aden’s wishes to speak with me.

Scanning the room, I wound my way through people mingling in groups, numb to the scandalous eyes of a blonde woman whose gaze traveled the length of me as I passed.

My focus was like tunnel vision; my goal to speak with Alpha Aden and get back to Morgan as quickly as possible, but he was nowhere in sight.

I spotted Colt leaning against the back wall, his tie uneven and the side of his shirt untucked like he’d either just gotten laid or just didn’t give a fuck, like he had better places to be.

I’d never seen him like this before, and if I was honest, I didn’t believe either of those scenarios as it just wasn’t Colt. He downed the rest of his drink like he was hell-bent on burying whatever had created the troubled lines now creasing his forehead.

I noted the empty glass in his hand, another perched beside him on the mantle by yet another statue of a wolf.

He lifted his chin upon noticing my approach .

“Alpha Aden requested I speak with him. Have you seen him?” I asked.

Colt set down the empty glass on the mantle. “Not since we arrived. Try over at the elders’ table.” He nodded toward the other side of the room, and I followed his line of sight.

I nodded before moving through the crowd, veering to the far wall where the Alpha came into view. He was speaking with an elderly woman as I approached, and resting my hand on her shoulder, the bones of her aged years jutted into my palm.

“Excuse me.” I politely smiled at her. “My apologies, Alpha Aden has a requested a word with me.”

The Alpha rose to his feet, smoothing the front of his suit jacket. “Tyler, sorry but I’m not following.”

I frowned. “Wes said you needed a word.”

The Alpha’s expression remained blank, my wary gut turning over.

He slid his hands into the pockets of his suit pants. “I haven’t spoken to Wesley since he arrived. Is everything okay?”

All the blood drained from my face, the color I was sure dissolving rapidly at an alarming rate. What the fuck was going on?

I turned on my heel, pacing back through the crowd, no polite excuses as I pushed my way back to the library.

The second I landed beneath the doorframe, I scanned the room. To the books still scattered on the floor, but I heard and saw no one.

“Morgan?” I yelled, storming inside, my chest heaving beneath my tux .

A silence lingered among the shelves, and I traced Morgan’s lingering scent, heightened from the mate bond back to where I’d left her.

Confusion rolled off me in heavy waves, tumbling me into its uncontrollable riptide.

The Alpha entered the library behind me, his two Betas at his side.

“Is there a problem? Do I need to alert security?” his voice commanded.

Reid entered the library next, hurriedly making his way to my side, his usually relaxed nature depleted and on edge. “Ty, what’s going on?” he said, concern rippling his forehead.

I knew it in my bones. Felt fear rush into me, claiming its new owner.

I directed my attention at the Alpha. “Alert every fucking pack member you have. Someone’s taken my mate.”

Reid’s hand clamped onto my shoulder. “Let’s not jump to any conclusions. Can you feel her through your bond?”

I threw my attention to him. “There’s nothing.”

I had begun to sense her through the bond, had been starting to pick up on her emotions. Where there used to be a comforting presence was now an empty void, and the loss of such a feeling was fucking devastating. Like I’d been stripped of her entirely.

Pacing the room, I threw a book across the wall where it landed with a thud . Knotting my hands into fists, they burned with rage.

How could I let this happen? It had to be a coincidence they were both missing.

“What about through mind link?” suggested the Alpha .

I threw my hands into the air. “What the fuck is mind link?” I seethed.

The Alpha’s stare sliced through me. Cold and brutal. Extending to his full height, his presence dominated the room, but there was no way in hell I’d back down to this wolf.

He didn’t own me. And I was not one of them .

I knew of his distaste for me. He had strongly disapproved of my relationship with Ava, and ever since, we had found ourselves in a mutual agreement. Acquaintances and nothing more.

Reid extended a hand between us. “Alpha, Ty has only yesterday felt the mate bond at its full strength. They’re still coming to grips with its workings.”

He veered his gaze back to mine. “You don’t feel Morgan at all?”

I shook my head. “There’s nothing. If anyone hurts her…” My voice trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. I meant every word. No one would lay a hand on Morgan and walk away alive.

Alpha Aden cleared his throat. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. She’s possibly gone for a walk.”

A blanket of rage smothered me. “She hasn’t gone for a walk!” I roared, venom slicing my tone. “I left her with Wes. He was to accompany her back to the ballroom to wait for me. Tell me how something so simple could go so wrong?”

Reid gripped my shoulders. “Wes has no reason to take her. I know it looks bad, but you know him. He wouldn’t do this.”

I wanted to believe it with every fiber of my being. But something snagged my insides, my intuition telling me there was more going on here .

“What about her magic?” I grimaced, not wanting to consider it.

Reid shook me this time. “Betty said her magic was rare. That it would be sought after. Anyone could have her, have them both even.”

I didn’t speak, afraid words once aired couldn’t be taken back.

The room stilled.

My heart beat furiously in my chest.

“Find. My. Mate.” I gritted out.

Alpha Aden addressed his Betas, his authority commanding the room. “Get your teams to run the perimeter. I want every part of this complex searched and secured. We need to know if Morgan’s still on the grounds. Understood?”

“Yes, Alpha.” They nodded and left the room.

As we waited to hear word from security, Skye walked into the library, surveying the room. “What’s going on?”

Reid quickly filled her in on the details.

“Wes wouldn’t do that.” Her voice was immediately charged with conviction.

“How sure are you of that?” I sniped, already regretting my tone.

“Really fucking sure, Ty.” Her irises flashed a florescent shade as her own fire element surfaced. “How can you think for even a second he has anything to do with this?”

Her wide eyes tore at my heart as she stared at me with absolute assurance.

My own element simmered under my skin, my blood growing hotter with each passing moment. “As much as I want to believe that, why would he lie to me then conveniently disappear at the same time as Morgan does?”

Skye’s lips set into a thin line as she fidgeted with the ring on her thumb. “I still don’t believe it, and neither should you.”

Rising to my feet, I strode over to the far wall, my gaze following the security team gathered outside.

Alpha Aden’s voice came from behind me. “I can confirm Morgan’s not on the premises.”

Rage speared through every inch of me.

“Fuck!” I overturned a bookshelf, its contents spilling to the ground. “Where would he take her? How do I find her?” I seethed. “If he lets anyone touch her, anyone hurt her…” I stabbed the air with a finger. “I’ll rip his throat out.”

“I think we need to talk to Betty,” Skye said quietly.

Reid nodded. “I agree. She needs to know what’s going on.”

This couldn’t be happening. Morgan had come so far; she didn’t deserve this. We didn’t deserve this.

The room slipped into a thick haze, a blanket of fear threatening to suffocate me. A cold, dark place I had been once before in the midst of grief and would not return to again.

Alpha Aden stepped forward. “There’s a car out front. The driver will take you wherever you need,” he offered, his eyes glazing over as if his thoughts were somewhere else.

I nodded at him. “Thank you.”

Charging down the front steps of the pack house, Colt rushed to my side, lines striking his forehead .

“Alpha Aden filled me in. We’ll get her back, Ty,” he said with a nod before sliding into the car beside the driver.

I held a door open for Skye. “Get in,” I ordered, and she shimmied into the back seat, myself and Reid following on either side of her.

Scarlet came running down the stairs next. “Wait… let me in!”

She opened the car door, staring at the already packed car, Reid closest to her.

“God’s help me,” he muttered. “Jump in.” He took her hand, helping her through the door until she perched precariously on his lap.

The sharp bite of leather forced through my nostrils as the car veered back into town, a midnight sky glooming over us as we rounded the streets of Cutters Cove. How could this be happening?

I’d only just found her. One minute, she was jump-starting my heart, then just as suddenly, she was gone like she was never there.

A tense silence filled the air, mixed with an uncertainty no one wanted to address. The elephant in the room, an uncomfortable beast. I sank into the leather, my fist finding my lips before connecting with the car door.

Wes had never given me cause to believe he could be after Morgan. I mean, what the fuck? To think he’d screwed me over sent thoughts of all kinds of sick revenge charging through my mind.

Skye fired me a look that said ‘get your shit together’ before peering through the gap to the front once more.

I lashed out again, my fist burning in protest until Skye’s arm wrapped around my wrist. “Get a grip and pull yourself out of whatever the hell this is. Morgan needs you, but not like this. ”

From the front seat came Colt’s voice. “She’s right.”

I desperately forced back the fury threatening to unload from my palms deep within me.

I glared at him, something I rarely did. “Easy for you to say,” I said through clenched teeth. “It’s not your mate that’s missing , and we don’t know if she’s hurt or how to find her.”

Everyone shut their mouths at my comment.

Reid pointed down the street to a house with a flowerbed below the mailbox. “It’s that one.”

A small cottage wrapped in white weatherboards came in to view. Its curtains were drawn, Betty would most likely be asleep.

The driver pulled the car to a stop, and we stepped outside, moonlight casting its glow over us. Looming behind us, our silhouettes stalked us as if in chase, and I willed myself to wake up from the sick reality I’d set foot in, a nightmare I wanted to rid myself of.

Skye rapped on Betty’s window, its echo slicing into the brittle evening. “Betty, open up, it’s Skye,” she whisper-yelled.

Fuck this.

My knuckles hit the front door. Hard .

“Morgan’s missing!” I yelled, rapping at the solid timber.

A curtain fluttered before the door creaked open. Betty stared at us blankly, as if we’d woken her from a deep sleep. A purple nightgown hung to her knees, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around herself as the cold air pressed against her.

A pained expression embedded the usually soft lines of her face. “Morgan’s missing?”

I nodded. “We need your help to find her. ”

Hell, I’d get on my knees if I had to.

Betty motioned us inside. “Of course, dear. Come in, tell me everything.”

Skye filled her in on the evening events, and Betty’s irises widened at the mention of Wes.

“And you’re certain he’s not gallivanting about with some woman?” she asked.

“He’s not out with a woman and he didn’t do this,” Skye said firmly. “He would never do something like this. He’s known Ty his entire life!”

The room tensed at her outburst.

Reid’s fingers thrummed his bicep as he stared awkwardly at the both of them. “We don’t know it was Wes,” he cautioned. “He just happened to be there, and now both him and Morgan are missing. At this stage, who took Morgan is … unclear.”

Betty’s voice cut the silence. “When was the last time you all used your magic?” she asked, leading us into her living room.

Skye shrugged. “I’m at full strength.”

Reid and Scarlet agreed.

I gripped the base of my neck with my hands. “Colt and I used ours last night, but we should be at full strength by now.”

Betty nodded. “Tyler dear, can you please fetch the candles in the spare room? Skye, the matches are in the second drawer down.” She motioned across the room to a dresser standing against the wall.

I located the candles, handing them to Betty, where she placed them in a circle on the living room floor .

“Please sit,” she beckoned, and we dropped to the faded rug that covered the floorboards. “Tyler, you need to prepare yourself for anything, or anyone. There are many people who would sacrifice Morgan to claim her magic as their own as you know.”

I nodded.

Dread had a taste, and it had settled in my mouth. A heavy weight of lead lodged in my throat. I gulped and it sank deep within me, a dark, dreaded thing that clung to my heart.

Betty instructed us to hold hands, then turned her attention to me. “You’re about to learn how far your magic can take you. You need to call on your mate bond and its connection to her. It will lead you to her if you let it.”

I nodded once more.

Betty hummed in approval. “I need everyone to channel your magic. Open it up to me. Let me use your strength.”

Our circle joined as one, with Betty speaking syllables I didn’t understand. It was clear she knew the real craft, a bit like Scarlet. She started to chant a verse, the same verse over and over, and the group joined her, our whispers turning louder with each anxious second.

Energy whipped around me as I forced my eyelids shut, pulling deep within myself. Magic scalded my sides as it entered me, its current an unimaginable force of every element in the room.

I felt them all. The warmth of Skye’s fire element swept against me in a subtle wave. Colts earth element climbed my limbs, its strength an incredible presence I had underestimated, mirrored by Scarlet’s, only gentler .

Betty’s air element ghosted through me, and I almost threw up at the raw slash from Reid, the taste of blood filling my senses as his gift muddled with mine, sliding through my veins.

I shut off my mind, letting them in, Morgan my only focus.

I’m coming for you, my love.