Wolf Untamed by Alexis Calder

21

Alec looked awful. His skin was clammy and pale, his breathing ragged. I walked behind whoever was carrying him, not taking my eyes off him.

He’d pushed me out of the way and taken the super high dose of toxin that was intended for me. I wasn’t sure if Tyler’s intention had been to kill me or to render me so incapable of fighting back that he could do as he wished. I shuddered at the thought.

Alec had saved me from so much worse than death. A grim thought settled in my mind. Was death the better option than risking losing myself to the mating bond?

I pushed the thought away. I couldn’t go there right now. Alec needed me. I was going to get him through this and help him recover. The rest of it could wait. It had to wait.

We approached a rocky hillside that seemed to appear out of nowhere. It didn’t match the rest of the landscape and it reminded me far too much of the caves back at Wolf Creek.

Sheila was leading us right for a huge rock that appeared to be rolled in front of the hill. My whole body tensed and my breathing grew rapid.

“Don’t tell me we are going into that cave with the huge boulder to trap us until we die,” I said.

Sheila gave me a sympathetic look. “I knew this part might concern you, but give it a minute. I promise it’ll be okay.”

“I’m not sure it will be,” I admitted. My feet were glued to the spot. I wanted to keep moving. Alec needed me, my friends needed me. But I nearly died last time I went into a cave like that.

The only reason I’d been okay in the cave with Alec was because it was shallow and closed on one end. On the other end, it had been fully open. It was more like an overhang than an actual cave.

Sheila placed her hand on the large stone and without effort, it rolled aside.

“Using magic to move it is making it worse, not better,” I said.

“You don’t have to go in yet. Please, just look.”

I forced myself to move. Each step felt robotic and agonizing. I stopped a good ten feet from the entrance. “Happy?”

“A little closer,” she said.

I took five small steps and peered into the opening. To my surprise, it wasn’t a dark cave. It looked like a window or a short tunnel. Instead of seeing rock and dirt, I saw a neat path that led to a meadow. There was an actual mother-fucking waterfall in the distance. “What the hell?”

“She made a deal with a fae,” Sheila said. “They did some of their super special magic for her.”

I blinked a few times, ignoring the fact that I’d been told fae were a myth. Who was I to argue? I was a wolf shifter, which humans thought was myth. “No wonder you’re not worried about her being found.”

“Yeah, but we shouldn’t linger and make that easier,” Sheila said. “Go on.”

Malcom, with Alec on his back, stepped into the passage. Kyle followed. Sheila waited at the entrance for me. “I have to close it so you have to go.”

I nodded, then held my breath and moved forward. As soon as I crossed into the tunnel, my chest felt tight, but I fought through it. After hurried steps, I emerged on the other side, my feet sinking into soft, mossy grass. The spongy ground was a relief for my injured feet. Walking for days in the woods barefoot was a terrible idea. I would never trash talk shoes again.

The meadow we were standing in was like being in another world. Huge, leafy trees swayed in the wind, rainbow-colored birds flitted from tree to tree, and a butterfly flew by. The air smelled different here. Like honeysuckle and lime. You’d never know we just left a mountainous pine forest. Magic was the only explanation. “This is incredible.”

“Never snows here, either,” Sheila said. “I don’t know what she did to win over that fae, but it was worth it.”

“She got a hell of a deal,” I agreed.

“This way,” Shelia led us through the enchanted-fucking-forest, along a well-groomed dirt path.

We walked for a while before a storybook cottage appeared in view. I stared open-mouthed at the brown house with red and white trim and a thatched roof. It almost looked like it was made of gingerbread. “This can’t be real.”

“Should I be worried about the fact that we’re walking toward a house that looks like it’s made of cookies to visit the witch who lives there?” Malcom asked.

“I was thinking the same thing,” I said.

“Nobody eat anything,” Kyle said.

“No kidding,” I agreed.

We approached the home and I marveled at the meticulous landscaping. Rows of flowers in every color of the rainbow surrounded the house. Hummingbirds and fuzzy honeybees busied themselves in the blooms. It was calming and peaceful, and despite the nervous feeling about meeting a powerful outcast witch, I found myself enjoying the beauty of her home.

“Wait here,” Sheila said when we reached the stone path that cut through the witch’s garden.

I had no problem waiting for her to go first. While she walked to the witch’s front door, I checked on Alec again. He didn’t look any better, but I didn’t think he looked worse, so I guess that was as good as it was going to get right now.

After making sure he was breathing and had a pulse, I set my palm on his forehead. He was burning up. I looked up at Malcom, who was holding Alec like a bride. His expression changed as he read mine.

“What is it?” Malcom asked.

“He’s got a fever,” I said.

“She’s ready for us,” Sheila called.

I turned away from Malcom and looked toward the house. Sheila was standing in the doorway, waiting for us.

Malcom walked ahead, cradling Alec in his arms. I lingered behind, waiting for him to get through. Kyle moved next to me. “He’s going to get the help he needs now.”

“I hope so,” I said.

“He’s tough, he’ll fight through,” he assured me.

I reached for Kyle’s hand and squeezed. “Thank you, for everything.”

“It’s my job,” he said.

“It’s more than that,” I said.

He smiled, then walked forward toward the house. I followed him, steeling myself for whatever would happen next.

The interior of the home took the exterior up a notch. It was like walking into a palace. The outside was fairy tale cottage, inside was fairy tale castle. Overstuffed cream-colored couches, vases of flowers on marble tables, pale blue velvet curtains hanging in the windows. Every detail was meticulous and lavish.

The polished wood floors had tastefully placed thick, expensive looking rugs covering main walkways and in the center of rooms. And there were a lot of rooms.

We were standing in a foyer that looked too impossibly large to fit inside the cottage we’d entered. To my right, was a formal dining room with a table long enough for at least a dozen people. To my left was a sitting room. Ahead of me, I saw the hallway splinter into several other rooms.

It was clear the magic of the meadow extended into the house itself. It might as well have been a fucking castle. Sheila led us down the halls, past closed doors, and down a set of stairs.

“You doing okay, Malcom?” I called. He was still carrying an unresponsive Alec.

“I’m good,” he grunted.

The staircase seemed to go down forever, taking us deeper into the ground. There was a damp chill in the air and despite the lights on the wall, it felt like it was getting darker.

“We’re not going to a dungeon, are we?” I said, only half joking.

“It’ll get weirder,” Sheila promised.

“Can’t wait,” I said.

We finally emerged into a sprawling underground space that resembled a cave far too much for my liking. Stone walls lined the room and the ground was dirt. Lamps flickered, providing some light in the dark room. It was a huge space, but it felt like it was getting smaller by the minute.

Aside from the strangeness of the room itself, the objects in here added to the mystery. Tables covered in bottles and jars with a mix of mysterious tools and instruments lined one wall. Against the other were rows and rows of plants. Orange lamps hummed above the plants, casting the plants in an eerie glow.

In the back of the room, there was a single white door. It opened and a teenager emerged. She was wearing torn jeans and a faded Nirvana tee. Her jet-black hair was cropped short and worn in jagged spikes on top of her head. Around her neck, she had several beaded necklaces that shimmered in the unusual light.

This couldn’t be the witch. She looked nearly normal, and she was far too young. The young woman looked up and I noticed her eyes for the first time. They were pure white, no iris, no pupil. Just a bright, nearly florescent white. It was impossible not to stare. I’d never seen anything like it.

“You’re the new female alpha, aren’t you?” she asked, her empty eyes locked on me. “I wondered when you’d visit me.”

I looked around, unsure if she was speaking to me despite the eye contact. “Are you talking to me?”

“No, to the other rudely staring woman,” she bit back.

I lowered my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m used to it,” she said with a grin. “I just like fucking with people.”

“Are you blind?” I asked. “Sorry, that’s probably rude to ask.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “I am blind, but not in the way you usually think. I can see with my magic. It’s not the same and I miss some details from time to time, but it works well enough for me.”

“Is that why they sent you away?” I asked.

“Cedar Coven doesn’t like anyone who might make them look weak,” she said with disgust. “Bunch of self-righteous assholes.”

I liked her. “Their loss.”

“Wait, you were part of the Cedar Coven?” Malcom asked.

“Yeah, what’s it to you?” she asked.

“Same group who locked in your pack.” Malcom lifted his chin in my direction.

“I know where you’re going with that but the answer, for now, is no. I’m not going to break any old wards,” she said.

“I suppose we’d have to pay you,” Kyle said.

“Oh, no, I’d tear down those wards for free just to fuck with those jerks who kicked me out. But we’ve got bigger problems, don’t we?” she said.

“Alec.” Why had we not pushed that the second we saw her? I felt awful for getting sidetracked. “He was given a huge dose of the toxin. He’s got a fever and he’s been out since yesterday. Can you help?”

She swept her arm toward a table that was mostly empty. “Put him down, I’ll see what I can do.”