Praised By Magic: Unbreakable Series, Book 3

Chapter 5

Tyler

An intense stabbing pain grows in my head. I drop the wood I was gathering in the woods and press my hands against my temples. My eyesight blurs and becomes clouded. I close my eyes, hoping to relieve them. I fall to my knees. The sudden attack of pain has made my body tired. A calm breeze flows in around me. It brings with it Kris's voice.

Tyler, please help. Her voice sounds weak. Angela has me locked in a concrete cell. I didn't have to hear it from her to know who kidnapped her, but I know where she is now. She has to be at Arrowhead.

Kris's voice disappears as quickly as it came. The blinding headache diminishes with it. I open my eyes and find that I'm instantly better. I stand back up on my feet. I'm both pleased and worried about this. If it went away with Kris's voice, it means we briefly connected. I experienced what she has felt. Before I can process it all, the shifters arrive in front of me. They know where Kris is and what she has said to me. The others are close behind.

"I'm going to go get her," I say.

Kyle steps forward. "I'm coming with you."

"I can do it alone." I insist.

"It's best if we all go," Alex says, walking up beside Kyle.

"Fine. Kyle and I will go." I sigh, "Alex, I can't let you go."

"Why not?" He frowns.

"Kris would have my ass if I let something happen to you." Alex grins at my comment. I guess he'd enjoy watching his sister kick my ass. "Stay here with your mother and the rest of the group. Keep training."

He nods.

Sarah hugs me tight. "Be safe."

"I will," I say, returning her embrace. I'll be as safe as I can be. Nothing about this mission is safe. Our lives aren't safe anymore. No one's is.

I don't have to say where we are going first. It's a given to start at Arrowhead Headquarters. I believe Kris's concrete cell to be there. I had the opportunity to stay in the cell she is talking about once. I was sent, or rather should I say thrown into it by Angela's deputies for trying to enter headquarters in my wolf form. Shifting at headquarters used to be a normal thing, but once Angela took over, it became forbidden. My stay in the cell wasn't pleasant, and I can only imagine Kris's won't be either.

Starting at headquarters where Angela first set eyes on Kris seems to be the best place to begin our search. Angela feels the safest there. It's ironic to me because it lies in my land. I know the ins and outs. I know it like the back of my hand.

I worry Kyle's intentions aren't all that pure. I know he loves Kris and would do whatever it took to keep her safe, the same as me. It goes beyond that, though. She loves him too. She claims not romantically, but I saw the way she looked at him when he was injured by Jason. The desperation in her eyes for him to heal. The love in her eyes as she watched over him. I dismissed it at first because of the intense situation we found ourselves in at the time. He almost died then, and I wonder if for a moment she had second thoughts about their friendship. I know she loves me. I don't doubt it for a second, but I wonder if I should've just stayed away from her. If I had, maybe she wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe Kyle would've been the better choice. I try to keep the thought to myself. Shielding it from the others. As the leader in the group, I can control some of my thoughts from being heard by the others.

Can you feel her? Kyle's question brings me back. We keep our fast pace and continue deeper into the woods to locate a portal.

In my heart. I say. I get feelings now and then. Sick to my stomach, dizziness, headache, weakness.

Even when she was with us, she was barely keeping her head straight. Kyle shakes his head. How is she going to keep it together with Angela and her deputies alone?

She'll manage. I try to sound optimistic. I'm not sure if he believes me. I'm not sure I believe it myself. Kris is strong, but under the constant pressure of Angela and her sick mind, even the toughest succumb to her will. At least we know she's alive.

For now. His voice sounds sarcastic, but I know he is meaning to get at me for letting her go into the woods alone. I know I should've followed her.

I knew it was dangerous to bring her to headquarters in the first place, but I didn't have a choice. I could've taught her everything she needed to know all on my own, but we needed allies. And without taking Kris to headquarters, I'm not sure we would have them. Each member who has become our ally in this mission has done so because they believe in Kris in their own way. I can see it. Some of them are my friends, but some she has recruited on her own. Just by showing them who she is. Her powers as a witch are not completely known, even to her, but they are evident to us. Shifters can sense things the average person cannot.

There are more members from other headquarters stretched out throughout the United States. We will need to find more members to come over to our side. I know we can't take down Angela and the secret government agency without bigger numbers. I know if the majority are shifters, we will have a better chance of defeating them. We will have an edge in battle because we can shift into many forms. We aren't limited to just one. All of us have a chosen form, but we can still pick.

First things first. I have to get Kris away from Angela. It is my job to protect her to the best of my ability. I made a promise to her we would do this together. I won't break my promise. Especially to her.

Do we have a plan? Kyle asks.

Find Kris and get out as fast as we can.

I know it sounds simple, but both of us know it won't be. I could've brought more Neiamiah and Beau with me too, but I didn't want to risk being too noticeable when we enter headquarters. It is a risk to enter with just the two of us, but we know Kris's scent the best, which will hopefully make it easier and quicker to find her.

A large, round oak tree stands alone in the woods in front of us. Its canopy is stretched out wide, stealing the sun from the ground beneath it. The closest tree to it is about fifty yards away. I know this massive tree to be a portal. When I was a small boy, my parents would bring me here to play under its canopy. A part of me wonders if they wanted to show me as much land as they could to keep me from being lost and to allow me the opportunity to have a place to go on my own.

I press my palm to the trunk of the giant oak. A keypad slides out. I push in 7-8-5-9. The light flashes green as the world spins in front of my eyes. I know Kyle is right next to me, but I can't see him. When we stop moving, I find myself in my room at headquarters. Everything in the room is the same as when I left. The sparkling stars I painted on the ceiling still shine. Kris's scent still lingers in the room and for a second I close my eyes and envision her standing in front of me. Her long hair falling across her shoulders, the dreamcatcher tattoo on her arm peeking out from under her hair. A smile stretches across her face.

Man, I hate to interrupt, but we need to move. Kyle snaps me back to the now.

I reach under my mattress and pull out two handguns. I didn't want to take anything from camp. If something were to happen there, I wanted the other members to have the weapons for their own protection. I hand one gun to Kyle, and he cocks it back. I do the same with mine. Both guns are loaded and ready. I nod to Kyle and we start out the door of my room and into the hall.

I lean out and listen for a few seconds for footsteps or voices in the hall. There are none. I wave us forward. I remain in front of Kyle because I know the area better and where some of the potential threats may be. We keep our footing soft but quick. Doing our best to keep from being heard or noticed. I'm sure Angela has cameras in the halls. It will only be a matter of time before someone or something intercepts us. Still, I keep the hope that we can make it to Kris before anything happens.